The first exercise I did was in chapter 8 p 74-76 in this chapter we discuss the ability to refer to the associated emotions that accompanied the original experience. The exercise wants you to get a few photos of your choice and imagine photos taken a day ago versus those taken a year ago. The whole point of this is to see what your emotional memory is. The photos I looked at were from when my son was born versus the photos he took last week. For me the day I had my son I can remember how much love and instant happiness I had. I don't necessarily remember everything, every single emotion I felt, but for the most part I can remember. Now, with the photos we took last week, I can obviously remember word for word and moment by moment what I felt with my son. I also tried the suggested exercise standing in front of the mirror. I think it's amazing how our brain basically has a pre-existing image that can allow us to do things like close our eyes and do other things. This exercise was helpful because it allowed me to go back in time and be in tune with my feelings from the past. Feelings, which were so great. This exercise will help me with my emotional memories, maybe not on a daily basis, but in life in general. I say not daily because I don't take old photos and I don't look at them often. I plan to take more photos and look back at what my emotions were then and what they are now. In the book it says “If we allow our emotional memories to disappear, we will eventually lose touch with ourselves.” (Restak p 75)The second exercise I tried was to see if I have the ability to read emotions in myself. and others. The reason I chose to do the exercise is because everyone I know has met you for a long time...... middle of paper ......cultivating fine motor skills involving my hands. I already have the thought in my mind that our hands do much more than we think. The thoughts that would run through my mind if I didn't have hands. This chapter describes the hands as the primary tool that carries out the motor commands of the brain. Any job, be it business or pleasure, needs your hands. According to Restak, it's best to think of the hand as an extension of the brain. I plan to play computer games or Jackstraw to improve my brain power. Both exercises are positive and will only help me improve. This book contains many ways that can be beneficial for brain function. The moral I took from this reading was to figure out what is best for you, what works in your best interest, and ultimately, don't compete with yourself but simply maintain and improve your brain function.