Science verifies the existence of God

"One test is worth a thousand theories." ~ Jim Sinclair

In the book, “Transcendental Physics”, by Dr. Edward R. Close, the amazing Aspect Experiment is detailed, which verifies the existence of God by science. He also traces the history of physics which led to this discovery. The Theory of Relativity (Einstein) explains the physical world on a cosmic, macro scale (light is waves). But it creates certain paradoxes with phenomena observed but not explained by it.

Then quantum physics (Planck and others) came along and explained the physical world on an atomic, micro scale (light is particles). Again, there were certain paradoxes that it couldn’t explain. And the theories did not agree with each other on several points. Relativity is deterministic (no free agency), while quantum theory is probabilistic (yes free agency).

So Niels Bohr came up with his Copenhagen Interpretation, which theorized that a photon (or other quanta – the basic building blocks of all physical things) did not really exist until it registered an effect that was observable by an observer. Until there was an observer and a measured effect, the photon was just in the "spectrum of all possible states" – could be a wave, could be a particle – until a distinction was made by an observer. The observer chose and caused the creation and nature of the registering photon.

What?! The photon doesn’t actually exist as a physical thing traveling between the source (like light) to the photographic plate until a consciousness registers its effects?

Wheeler and others came up with Bell’s Theorem, which is the mathematical proof of the Copenhagen Interpretation. But even the mathematical proof was still a logical theory until it was tested and proven. So in 1984 Alain Aspect in France created a lab experiment that was able to show light registering as wave patterns, then light registering as particles, depending on his conscious choice in the experiment. He did a double-slit experiment with a venetian blind of photographic plates in front of the final photographic plate.

But the kicker came when he did a delayed-time experiment with the light source, the slits, and the venetian blind. With enough distance between source and registering plate, he could calculate the time (based on the speed of light) a photon would need to pass through the slit, then wait until after that time to choose to close the venetian blind. What would happen?

Normally, with the blind open, light behaved one way, and with the blind closed, light behaved the other way. After the delayed-time of choosing to close the blind, the light should have behaved as if the blind were open, because it should have already passed. But the light behaved as if the blind were closed before it got there. The blind was closed after the point (time) of passage. This was a conundrum, but it scientifically proved the Copenhagen Interpretation and Bell’s Theorem mathematics. It was the choice of the observer that brought the photon out of the spectrum of possibilities and created its characteristics. The observer created the photon. And time must be three-dimensional!

Out of this has come Dr. Close's mathematical proof of the Calculus of Distinctions, proving that a Primary Consciousness (God) had to exist before the first photon was ever created, before the Big Bang, before everything. It proved that all physical structure was created by the Primary Consciousness first, and without whom nothing in the physical world can exist. Science has proven God. Primary Consciousness has to be the very first step in quantum mechanics.

Dr. Close continues with his logic that the Primary Consciousness has to have 2 functions: first to make a distinction (choice of creation), then to continuously uphold that order and structure in the universe. Otherwise, entropy causes it all to fall apart. Well, this sounds like God the Father is the first function of consciousness: the mind/will of God (or the word of His mouth) – a thought, a distinction – creates all things. And it sounds like God the Son (Jesus) is the second function, to create the order and structure of those distinctions and sustain it all throughout. The empty space of the universe has infinite energy in it, proven mathematically by someone else, and this reminds me of the Holy Ghost, in all and through all.

Relativity and quantum theory in the physical world view time as linear and always moving forward. However, transcendental physics and the Calculus of Distinctions, born out of Aspect’s experiment, have shown that time is 3-dimensional and can move forward or backward, as well as have different linear times cross each other up and down (backwards and forwards) in a whole matrix. This reminds me of Neal A. Maxwell’s quote of Joseph Smith who said that – for God – the past, present, and future constitute one, eternal NOW.

No atheist can cling to science as proof against God. Science has proven God exists and is the Creator. Anyone who clings to atheism ought to belong to the Flat Earth Society, or still believe that the sun orbits around earth. There is no more denying the Primary Consciousness! Why has science ignored Aspect's Experiment for over 30 years, now? Others repeated his experiment with the same results. There should have been a scientific paradigm shift, one in which the physical sciences and quantum mechanics starts with God first, in the mathematics and theorems. Yet they have ignored the data or swept it under the rug (don't tell the children)!

Many of the ideas and logic arising from Aspect’s experiment were revealed to Joseph Smith back in the 1830s. Science is just now starting to catch up. Dr. Close mentioned several famous spiritualists in history, including Jesus, but left out a very important one – Joseph Smith.

Joseph Smith revealed that new heavens and earths are created as old heavens and earths pass away. Scientists mocked him back then. Now the Hubble Telescope has captured evidence of galaxies and stars dying, and galaxies and stars being born. Joseph Smith said that Jesus Christ lit the solar sun with the light of His glory. He did. Joseph revealed from God that He made everything and gives us our every breath and supports us from moment to moment. So does transcendental physics.

Joseph Smith revealed that tobacco and alcohol are harmful for our bodies over a century before science did. And so much more!

He also revealed that all things are created spiritually before they are created physically. This is also found in transcendental physics logic. Basically, the Primary Consciousness has the spectrum of all possibilities and chooses to collapse them out of that spiritual realm into the physical by an act of distinction.

Actually, Joseph Smith taught that we are eternal intelligences that always existed. Whether we were carved out of God’s intelligence or just with him in a state of "being", I don’t know. But first God created our spirit bodies for our intelligences out of spiritual matter which is of a finer substance than physical matter. Then he created our physical bodies to put our spirits in on this physical earth. Steps of distinctions. From here, death will separate our spirits and bodies for a time, but resurrection (thanks to Christ) will reunite them again eternally. Our bodies will then be immortal, incorruptible, never to part again.

What was the first distinction? I actually think that Jesus was the first distinction, therefore the First Born of the Father.

Transcendental physics says that all things are created with God first, which is correct, but some proponents still think He is only spiritual or of a spiritual substance. However, if He thought of physicality and thought it was important for us, then logically He has a physical body, too, albeit perfect, immortal, incorruptible, and in complete spirituality with control over all the desires, appetites, and passions of the body. After all, we were created in His image. Literally! Plus Jesus was resurrected with His physical body in perfection, and He still has it. So why not the Father, too?

We all have a spark of divinity in us, a piece of Primary Consciousness. We saw God’s physical body and wanted one, too. Somehow we had or were given our own consciousness and agency, and wanted to become more like Him. Eastern philosophies and religions denounce the physical body and think it holds us back. Perhaps, in this carnal world, it does hold us back from spirituality because of sin, ego, and temptation. But in the eternal scheme of things, an immortal, incorruptible body, over which we have learned control of our desires, appetites, and passions, would be a glorious thing! Would be much better than just a spirit body! To have all spirituality coupled with physical creation would be absolutely wonderful! And in 3-D time, no less! To travel anywhere in the blink of an eye!

Transcendental physics does not try to say exactly what the Primary Consciousness is, just that it definitely exists, and existed prior to everything physical. Dr. Close doesn't try to specify if God is Christian, Islam, Hindu, or other Eastern deity. He just is.

However, what if God Himself stepped into our physical world and told someone who He was exactly? Would people want to know? Well, I testify that He did just that. It is the First Vision of Joseph Smith, and it is glorious. God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ are two separate beings, each with physical, immortal bodies. The Holy Ghost is a personage of Spirit matter. The three work together with one purpose. It was time for the true gospel to be restored to the physical world. The Book of Mormon is a second witness of Christ, to go hand-in-hand with and support the Bible.

Prayer puts us in touch with Primary Consciousness, God our Father, lets us connect to the non-physical world in a very real way. Prayer is energy and power. It is a real substance.
Also, the Eastern idea of reincarnation is a counterfeit, fool’s gold to true resurrection. And the universe is the creation, not the Creator. We should send our hopes and dreams up to God in prayer, not to the universe in positive thoughts. People are worshipping the clay pot instead of the potter who made it, so to speak.

One more thing: by the Second Law of Thermodynamics - entropy - evolution does not work. It is a faulty theory and completely illogical. Aspect's Experiment upholds intelligent design. Evolution is a religion of faith, but it is a false religion. All so-called "proofs" have been found wanting; many have been disproven or discovered to be fraudulent. Hybrids and differences in species are a LOSS of DNA information, not a gain. They are whittling down from DNA which had all characteristics down to specific, selected characteristics, and the new hybrid or species has lost some original DNA.

Let's get this new, scientific paradigm, which is 30 years overdue, rolling!
http://thegodfreymethod.com

It is a child, not a choice - non-religious arguments

Children are precious!

I am anti-abortion and pro-life, which I post on social media often. Some of my atheist cousins and friends are pro-abortion (as pro-choice), and they don’t want to hear any religious reasons for debating against abortion. In fact, some have challenged me to show why abortion is wrong without bringing God into it. This morning as I showered to prepare for work, the Spirit gave me some thoughts about this subject.

Scientific studies have proven that fetuses feel pain. Science has also proven that a fetus is its own person, not part of the mother – it has its own unique DNA, its own heartbeat, its own circulatory system which is separate from the mother’s, and reacts to stimuli.

Atheists usually believe in something, even if not God, like Karma or energy in the universe or the Law of Attraction (or compassion for the defenseless innocent animals and trees, save the death-row inmates, etc.)

That being said, what is the Karma of torturing and murdering 60 million innocent babies, so far, in the United States? What is the Karma as a nation of so much violence and blood? Many of these babies are ripped to shreds while alive, or have their brains and body organs harvested while they are still alive, or are born alive then left to die on a cold, steel table. What is the Karma for the mother who does this to her own baby, another human being? What is the Karma for the doctors and nurses who perform such violent atrocities?

Many believe in putting positive energy to the universe (the Law of Attraction) in order to draw positive energy back to oneself. What kind of energy is sent out by ripping a living child to pieces to die? What kind of energy is attracted by so much murder and atrocities? What kind of energy is now coming back to the mother? To the doctors and nurses? To the nation?

Investigative reports have also shown that Planned Parenthood clinics have been used by child molesters to hide their sins (usually someone the girls know - fathers, brothers, step-fathers, uncles, family friends, neighbors).  They bring young teenagers, whom they raped and impregnated, to abortion clinics without their mothers’ knowledge. The law doesn’t require parents to be notified!

What is the Karma of raping a child then getting her an abortion? What is the Karma of that for the doctors and nurses? For the nation? Where is justice for the girls? The sins of the perpetrators are hidden. This black energy will also come back to us. This Karma will return. We are an evil nation for accepting this as pro-choice.

We know from physics that energies are real wavelengths that resonate at different frequencies. Lower-energy frequencies cannot resonate in the same spheres as higher-energy frequencies, therefore lower energies tend to gravitate to lower and higher to higher. The lower (dark or negative) energies cannot stay in the same plane as the higher (light or positive) energies.

So from the very laws of physics, creating negative energies of killing life will draw more negative energies. Who wants that in his/her life? Abortion brings lower-resonating energy to us all, which affects the overall health of our nation. Lower-frequency energies mess up the functioning of our body organs and systems and can cause chronic illnesses. Chiropractors know this truth.

I do not understand how the same people who want to save trees and baby whales and prison inmates feel no sorrow about torturing innocent baby humans. They are messing up their Karma. They are putting very negative, violent, dark energy out into the universe. They are bringing down our nation. Scientific studies also show that women who have abortions have much higher incidents of mental and emotional break-downs later.

Any woman who can murder her own child doesn’t deserve to be a mother. But that does not make abortion any less despicable or bloody. If one doesn’t believe in God, then believe that the universe is not happy with all this negative energy, and that we are reaping a dark Karma on ourselves.

The choice begins before the woman gets pregnant. Unfortunately, most abortions are NOT the result of rape or incest. They are a choice, which should have been made long before a pregnancy occurred. Once a human is formed, choice ends. Buck up and accept responsibility or choose adoption – the positive Karma!

But I know there is a God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the True and Living God, and his son Jehovah. We are reaping a terrible judgment down on our nation. You can call it Karma, you can call it the Law of Attraction, you can call it pro-choice, but the cruel, bloody murder will affect us all. Period. God is not happy, the universe is not happy, the energy is not happy, and Karma and judgment will have their day.

For the mother who regrets her abortion, there is hope. Give it to Jesus and repent. He will forgive. He will heal your heart. Turn to him and sin no more. For the young girls who were forced against their will, you are not condemned. Virtue can only be given, not taken. You did not lose your virtue.
Tuesday, 08 Sep 2015

http://thegodfreymethod.com

Ten-O'clock Scholar - what is your learning style

      Are you more left-brained or more right-brained? Are you more auditory or visual? How about your children? Check this out:

     Auditory-sequential learners:

     The left brain-hemisphere is sequential, analytical, and time-oriented. Imagine my shock to learn that many girls and women are using more of the left side of their brain. So much for the myth of being ‘illogical’. No wonder we like to analyze relationships with our girlfriends!

      Auditory-sequential males would likely focus on the left side of their brain most of the time. But A-S females may have the added benefit of networking with their right side often. Hence, decorating the house with crafts and such. No, I am not saying one gender is better than the other, just diverse in processing. Problem-solving abilities are equal in men and women, though solutions may be approached differently. I saw this in the corporate world often.

      Even auditory-sequential learners can benefit from hands-on learning. As discussed in Vol. 7 of my It's Not Rocket Surgery!, when I worked as a chemist on solid rocket motors (SRM), I volunteered every year to run several Expanding Your Horizons (EYH) workshops for middle school girls. To get them excited about math and science, my team taught the girls to make their own lotion with lab equipment. It was always one of the most popular workshops.

     

     There is nothing better for girls than to be mentored in math and science by successful women scientists and engineers. Plus I loved to show them my family picture with 15 children so they could see that they don’t have to give up motherhood to use their brains, or vice versa. Mrs. Barton, my algebra teacher and mother of four, mentored me, and I want to pass her good example on.

      

     Visual-spatial learners:

                 The right brain-hemisphere perceives the whole, synthesizes, and apprehends movement in space. More males tend to be visual-spatial learners. According to Linda Kreger Silverman, Ph.D., visual-spatial research has been “validated on 750 fourth, fifth and sixth graders.  In this research, one-third [33%] of the school population emerged as strongly visual-spatial. An additional 30% showed a slight preference for the visual-spatial learning style.  Only 23% were strongly auditory-sequential.  This suggests that a substantial percentage of the school population would learn better using visual-spatial methods. [With The Godfrey Method phonics!] 

[It also shows that about 53% of children learn fine from auditory-sequential learning. In fact, whole-language has caused many more problems than it has solved, if any.]

                “Visual-spatial learners are individuals who think in pictures rather than in words.  They have a different brain organization than auditory-sequential learners.  They learn better visually than auditorally.  They learn all-at-once, and when the light bulb goes on, the learning is permanent.  They do not learn from repetition and drill.  They are whole-part learners who need to see the big picture first before they learn the details. They are non-sequential, which means that they do not learn in the step-by-step manner in which most teachers teach. They arrive at correct solutions without taking steps, so ‘show your work’ may be impossible for them. 

                “They may have difficulty with easy tasks, but show amazing ability with difficult, complex tasks.  They are systems thinkers who can orchestrate large amounts of information from different domains, but they often miss the details.  They tend to be organizationally impaired and unconscious about time. 

                “They are often gifted creatively, technologically, mathematically or emotionally. You can tell you have one of these children by the endless amount of time they spend doing advanced puzzles, constructing with Legos, etc., completing mazes, counting everything, playing Tetris on the computer, playing chess, building with any materials at hand, designing scientific experiments, programming your computer, or taking everything in the house apart to see how it operates.  They also are very creative, dramatic, artistic and musical.

                “I’d like to share with you how the visual-spatial learner idea originated. Around 1980, I began to notice that some highly gifted children took the top off the IQ test with their phenomenal abilities to solve items presented to them visually or items requiring excellent abilities to visualize.  These children were also adept at spatial tasks, such as orientation problems.  Soon I discovered that not only were the highest scorers outperforming others on the visual-spatial tasks, but so were the lowest scorers. 

                “The main difference between the two groups was that highly gifted children also excelled at the auditory-sequential items, whereas children who were brighter than their IQ scores had marked auditory and sequential weaknesses.  It was from these clinical observations and my attempt to understand both the strengths and weaknesses that the concept of the ‘visual-spatial learner’ was born.”

                Most public school classrooms are very one-sided, catering to the auditory-sequential learners. Both types of learning are necessary for well-rounded children. Children only have two brain hemispheres, and we are doing an excellent job teaching one of them (left).  Visual-spatial children need a much different curriculum and probably even a different learning environment. When parents and teachers become more aware of how to teach the other (right) hemisphere, we will have happier students, learning more effectively. 

http://thegodfreymethod.com

TRIBUTE TO ARCHIE CAMPBELL It was funny then and its still funny but wha...

Rindercella by Archie Campbell on Hee Haw

Once upon a time in a corn funtry, there lived a geautiful
burl, and her

name was Rindercella. Now, Rindercella lived with her mugly
other and her

two sad blisters. Also, in this same corn funtry, there was
a very prandsome

hince. Now this prandsome hince was gonna have a bancy fall,
and he invited

the people for riles amound. Especially the pitch reople!

Now Rindercella's mugly other and her two sad blisters, they
went out to

buy some drancy fesses, you know, to wear to this bancy
fall, but Rindercella

couldn't go, because all she had to wear was some old rirty
dags. So finally

the night of the bancy fall arrived, and Rindercella couldn't
go, so she

just cat down and shried. She was kitten there shryin', when
all at once

there appeared before her, her gary mudfather! And he
touched her with

his wagic mand. And there appeared before her a cage boach
and hix white

sources, you know, to take her to the bancy fall. But he
said, now, Rindercella,

you be sure and be home before nid might or I'll purn you
into a tumpkin!

So when Rindercella arrived at the bancy fall, this
prandsome hince met

her at the door because he'd been watching all this time
behind a widden

hindow. And Rindercella and the prandsome hince nanced all
dight. And

they lell in fuv!

And all at once the midclock struck night and Rindercella
staced down the

rairs, and just as she reached the bottom, she slopped her
dripper! So

the next day the prandsome hince went all over this corn
funtry, looking

for the geautiful burl who had slopped her dripper.

Finally he came to Rindercella's house. Well, he tried it on
her mugly

other and it fidn't dit. He tried it on her two sigly usters
and it fidn't

dit. Then he tried it on Rindercella and it FID dit! It was
exactly the

sight rise. So they got married and lived heavily after
hampers.

Now the storal of the mory is this: if you go to a bancy
fall and you wanna

have a prandsome hince lall in fuv with you, don't forget to
slop your dripper!

http://the godfreymethod.com

The Ten O'Clock Scholar - different learning styles

Keep your child from falling behind in school (public, private, or home). Take the simple quiz!

               Did you know that there are different learning styles? We’ve all heard of left-brained (sequential) and right-brained (spatial) learning. And we’ve all heard of auditory (hearing) or visual (seeing) learning. But there are a couple of more recent categories that link them together with more definition. Have you ever heard of auditory-sequential versus visual-spatial learning? (Highly gifted children often have both). Children, even gifted children, with visual-spatial learning may be misdiagnosed with learning disabilities. And what about late-bloomers?

                For example – as I discussed in a previous article – one of my sons skated through elementary school with no problems, other than his mouth (gifted children often think their opinion must be heard). But in middle school, with multiple teachers and classrooms constantly changing, as well as more challenging subjects, he started to struggle. His problems increased in junior high, when he was diagnosed with both ADHD and depression. (I contend that makes him bipolar, but the psychiatrist says not.) He received very high scores on the ACT test without ever cracking a study guide, then failed 5 classes that trimester. Five. Go figure.

                I now realize that my son is a visual-spatial learner. Most classrooms, lessons, and homework are geared towards audio-sequential learners. What’s the difference? According to Dr. Linda Kreger Silverman, “Visual-spatial learners are individuals who think in pictures rather than in words.  They have a different brain organization than auditory-sequential learners.  They learn better visually than audibly.  They learn all-at-once, and when the light bulb goes on, the learning is permanent.  They do not learn as well from repetition and drill.  They are whole-part learners who need to see the big picture first before they learn the details. They are non-sequential, which means that they do not learn in the step-by-step manner in which most teachers teach. They arrive at correct solutions without taking steps, so ‘show your work’ may be impossible for them.”

                Take this quiz. What kind of learner are you?

AUDITORY-SEQUENTIAL	VISUAL-SPATIAL
Thinks primarily in words	Thinks primarily in pictures
Has auditory strengths	Has visual strengths
Relates well to time	Relates well to space
Is a step-by-step learner	Is a whole-part learner
Learns by trial and error	Learns concepts all at once
Progresses sequentially from easy to difficult material	Learns complex concepts easily; struggles with easy skills
Is an analytical thinker	Is a good synthesizer
Attends will to details	Sees the big picture; may miss details
Follows oral directions well	Reads maps well
Does well at arithmetic	Is better at math reasoning than computation
Learns phonics easily	Learns whole words easily**
Can sound-out spelling words	Must visualize words to spell them
Can write quickly and neatly	Prefers keyboarding to writing
Is well-organized	Creates unique methods of organization
Can show steps of work easily	Arrives at correct solutions intuitively
Excels at rote memorization	Learns best by seeing relationships
Has good auditory short-term memory	Has good visual long-term memory
May need some repetition to reinforce learning	Learns concepts permanently; is turned off by drill and repetition
Learns well from instruction	Develops own methods of problem-solving**
Learns in spite of emotional reactions	Is very sensitive to teachers’ attitudes
Is comfortable with one right answer	Generates unusual solutions to problems
Develops fairly evenly	Develops quite asynchronously
Usually maintains high grades	May have very uneven grades
Enjoys algebra and chemistry	Enjoys geometry and physics
Learns languages in class	Masters other languages through immersion
Is academically talented or gifted	Is creatively, mechanically, emotionally, or technologically talented
Is an early bloomer	Is a late bloomer
This information is available in several publications including, Upside-Down Brilliance: The Visual-Spatial Learner, by Dr. Linda Kreger Silverman, DeLeon Publishing (Denver, 2002). http://www.gifteddevelopment.com

**Here is where The Godfrey Method disagrees with Dr. Silverman. Even visual-spatial learners need phonics. More boys tend to be in the V-S category, yet they more often develop induced-dyslexia from whole-word (sight) reading methods than girls do. This is a proven scientific fact.

                Even V-S learners need to start with TGM’s unique picture-letters and system. TGM has children begin making words immediately with the first few sounds they learn, as in A Pretty Girl Was Alpha Bette and Chapters 1, 2, & 3 of this series. As they learn each new letter sound, children also sound out new words using all known letters so far. This gives your child a feeling of success in reading even before learning all 26 primary letter sounds, and gives visual-spatial learners the “bigger picture” while easily learning the details! Perhaps after having a good foundation in letter sounds, they readily leap to remembering whole words by sight, but without that underlying support, many flounder. (More to come in another article.)

• Child-led discovery does not work well in the preschool and elementary years. 
• Children shouldn’t have to ‘re-invent the wheel’ every generation. 
• Even visual-spatial learners do better with guidance from an adult. 
• Too often we are enamored by theories that don’t work well in practice. 
• And remember, ‘common sense’ is not that common. 
• Data over dogma, reason over rhetoric.

http://thegodfreymethod.com

Star light star bright - the gifted teenager

          The Gifted Teenager!

        Gifted children see the world differently because of their complex thought processes, as well as their emotional intensity. Gifted people are “too” everything: too sensitive, too intense, too driven, too honest, too idealistic, too moral, too perfectionist, too much for other people!

Friends and family often ask them,

-        “Why do you make everything so complicated?”

-        “Why do you take everything so seriously?”

-        “Why is everything so important to you?”

Even if they try to fit in their entire lives, they may still feel like misfits.

        More often than not, gifted children can feel alone and misunderstood. They have more grown-up tastes in music, clothing, books, and food. These differences can cause other children to shun and even verbally or physically abuse them. There are resources to help overcome this, as given in my previous blog.

        The ennui and depression of gifted teenagers – why talk about a dark subject in relation to giftedness? The number one demographic of suicide is 17-year-old males with high Intelligence Quotients (IQ). Being forewarned is being fore-armed, and parents of gifted teens need awareness, hope, and help to deal with this subject.

        Some gifted people actually think themselves out of existence. They ponder the purpose of life more deeply than most and can reach a sort of hopelessness about it. Teen years are a very self-absorbed time, yet even bright teens can lack the ability to predict cause and effect or consequences properly. Science has shown that the chemistry of the human brain, especially in the frontal lobe, changes after about age 18. Therefore, even smart teens can err in their ideas of the future.

        Teens feel their emotions very intensely, and being gifted can magnify this. They don’t realize that a lost love or university choice is not the end of the world. They can’t project the future properly.

        One of the best medicines against this deep angst is to help our teens serve others. I tell my son to use his brain to do good in this world and make it a better place. The mental, emotional, physical, social, and spiritual health of children is important, and learning to volunteer in a greater cause is important in developing a well-rounded person.

        For example, in Missouri, a great place to get teens involved in service is the annual Festival of Sharing at the MO State Fair Grounds in Sedalia on every the 3rd Saturday every October. http://www.umocm.com/festival.htm. Many groups get together and pack food, hygiene kits, and school kits to be distributed to several MO agencies that aid people in a crisis.

        The ennui and depression of gifted teens is an important subject so that parents and educators can be aware of this problem and help teens see other possibilities and solutions to their problems. Sometimes gifted teens are depressed because they can’t find other teens like them. They are so smart that no one gets their jokes or humor. They think on a deeper level than the materialism focused on by other teens. Often they get along with adults better than their peers who don’t understand them. They can be depressed because they’re lonely.

        My 3rd son understood the world from a more adult point of view, so all the adults in his environ loved him. But his social skills with kids his own age weren’t as good. He was never able to talk on as shallow a level as was required to hang with the other boys and be cool. Luckily, he hung on until time helped him grow up. In high school and later as an adult, he found more people who thought like he did and could discuss something a little more interesting than the latest stuff they bought or the latest sports team. He also found girls who could talk about something deeper than who did their nails and where they bought those cute shoes – ugh!

        A great place to find socialization for teens is from the MENSA society. They will find others who get their jokes and think like they do. In the Kansas City area it is called the Mid-America MENSA group at http://www.mamensa.org. Children are always welcome at all MAMENSA activities. Plus there is a national special interest group (SIG) for teens, and a Brightkids email resource for other ages. For more information, contact the Gifted Children Coordinator at giftedchildcoord@mamensa.org.

        Sometimes gifted teens are depressed from a sort of arrogance about themselves compared to others around them. They know they can out-think their peers and many adults, and have impatience with others. (Studies show that intelligent people can make the worst bosses when they won’t listen to any other point of view.) Along with this arrogance can come a hopelessness about the state of the world and a reason for being.

        The interesting thing about teen depression is that it is interspersed with moments of fun joviality, masking the true underlying feelings. Teens can go to a party and have a great time, then come home and feel the depression creep back in. Parents and Educators need to be aware that a depressed teen has moments of looking like a happy teen. All the symptoms of depression need to be viewed together to see a pattern of depression.

        With one woman’s son, depression was manifest as anger. He would rage at the simplest annoyances. He was angry that the world wasn’t his idea of perfect. When he started verbally spiraling downward into more and more negative self-talk, she realized her son needed professional help. He was headed for suicide. Her intervention probably saved his life.

        Parents of gifted teens should make sure that they know what resources are out there to help them when they can’t talk to mom or dad. One of the best places to find hotlines and help is at teen central. Go to http://www.teencentral.net/Help/teenhelp.php?st=MO. Or you can go to the home page and search any state. For Missouri, the website lists at least 6 different hotlines and agencies for teen help. There are places teens can call in a crisis to talk. There are resources for parents, too.

        Another is the 24-hour Crisis Hotline for abuse at http://www.mocsa.org. Or call (816) 531-0233 on the MO side, and call (913) 642-0233 on the KS side. Or the Teen Connection Helpline is at (913) 281-2299.

        And a great resource for boys and girls is the Boys Town, which can be reached 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. They have a free crisis hotline. Go to http://www.BoysTown.org for more information.

        One way to help gifted teens out of depression or to avoid depression is to teach them gratitude. When we can be thankful for the gifts in our lives, large and small, we are happier. This helps to keep the arrogance at bay, too, so that we can enjoy other people.

        Remember that being gifted is just that – a gift. We didn’t personally do anything to get a great memory and logic, it was given to us. We have nothing to be arrogant about because our giftedness isn’t a personal accomplishment, just a gift. We can be proud of our achievements without being smug (thinking we’re better than others).

        Gratitude for the little things in life helps us and our gifted teens see the good and focus on the positive. It helps us understand what’s truly important and what isn’t. Gratitude can be developed and we can learn that the glass is more than “half-full” in our lives.

        Creativity can alleviate ennui and the blues. Encourage teens to be creative. A wonderful website for budding inventors and scientists in Boing Boing found at http://www.boingboing.net with lots of techno gadgets and ideas. They also publish a magazine called MAKE. On their website, MAKE magazine was giving away free PDFs of the projects they demoed on The Martha Stewart Show on 15 July 2009. Go check out what they currently may be offering!

        Exercise and physical activity can boost endorphins and serotonins in the brain. Go for a natural high! Shut off the video games and get your teen active.

        I also strongly suggest keeping teens free from porn. Porn can be addicting and depressing. I’ve seen a porn addiction lead to suicidal tendencies many times. Studies show that a twelve-year-old only needs two weeks to become addicted to porn. Help your teen stay away from such a soul-crushing addiction. It will affect his (or her) relationships for life. (Remember, anecdotal exceptions-to-the-rule are not the rule.) Why risk it?

        Note: if your teen needs medical help for depression, get it. You can’t change your brain chemistry by out-thinking it, just like you can’t think your pancreas into making more insulin.

        Now about gifted girls when they reach the teenage years: Why do gifted girls play dumb with their peers?

        I agree whole-heartedly with the recent study (June 1, 2009) at the University of Wisconsin- Madison- that definitely culture, not biology, accounts for the differences in math performance among men and women. Professors Mertz and Hyde say the data just do not support the stereotype. http://www.cardinal.wisc.edu/article/23150.

        In fact in elementary school, girls are usually ahead of boys in math. It isn’t until middle school that girls start falling behind. And why, on average, do they fall behind?

        Early teen years are when girls begin to realize the patriarchal order that exists in most societies. They begin to see that they are quickly approaching womanhood and what that means in relation to men. They quickly understand that boys have sensitive egos about being ‘bested’ by girls. So they often downplay their intelligence and physical abilities to win the attention of the boys. This is the time that many gifted girls go into hiding, so to speak.

        My 5^th daughter, the one who was in the Spectrum class for gifted kids, was ashamed of being smart in middle school, where there was no gifted class. To fit in with the other girls around her, she would refuse to show them her report card each trimester. She never let on that she was getting straight-A’s. This made me sad, and I did my best to help her see that it was okay to be smart. Luckily, she outgrew this tendency and did very well in college. I am so proud of her! And now she has the opportunity to help her gifted daughter live her fullest expression of talent.

        A woman I know, Joyce, hosted a Japanese businessman’s visit at work, who brought his wife on the trip to the U.S. with him. It was obvious that the wife spoke better English than he did, but she held her tongue in his presence and only spoke to Joyce when they were alone. Many cultures subtly- or not so subtly- discourage a female from embarrassing a male in front of others. She has to hide her talents to be accepted. In the name of “respect”, the often better person has to play dumb. Isn’t that sad?

        One woman, Lee says, “Lucky for me, my 8th grade algebra teacher was a woman, Mrs. Barton, who was also a mother of 4 children. She became my role model. She taught math so well, so understandably, and juggled motherhood, too. From that moment on, I excelled in math, going all the way through calculus in high school.

        “Doing well in math spilled over into doing well in physics and chemistry, too. College was the obvious next step. I realized that I didn’t have to give up using my brain to be a mother or give up motherhood to use my brain. Because of Mrs. Barton, I have always excelled at math and science and motherhood.

        “And I was the older sister of several boys, so I was used to out-performing males. I had a bit of an ego myself. In fact, I liked to prove that I was smarter and better than most of the males around me. I figured a guy could like me and my intelligence, or I didn’t need him.”

        Girls today have more social freedom to choose a professional career than the previous generations did when they were young. However, most of the magazines for girls and women still focus on hair, nails, clothes, and being sexy. So the messages that other women editors in society give to girls, still focus on traditional feminine interests.

        This makes it harder for science-and-engineering women to get their message heard. The narrow focus to be attractive is stronger than to be intelligent, even in these modern times. Society needs to blend the two. A smart woman can be attractive, and she usually attracts a better caliber of men. The Exploring Your Horizons (EYH) group has been doing a marvelous job of having women professionals mentor young teen girls in math and science. Kudos to EYH!

        In this way, it is the social messages that girls get at puberty, not necessarily the hormones or capabilities, which draw them away from mathematics in the adolescent years.

                To tell you the truth, the misguided idea of “needing a boyfriend” to fit in is everywhere. It has a lot to do with what the magazines and other media, even Disney and Nickelodeon shows, push at our girls.

                The "dating" ideas in teen magazines often rival the porn mags. It takes away their childhood much too young. Many models are young teens and pre-teens dolled up to look older and sexier. What kind of message is that? It seems that some companies will do anything to make a buck.

                Those magazines and shows that focus on all the other interests and abilities of girls- instead of being sexy- should be applauded and supported by all of us, especially parents. One group that promotes decent media “because our children are watching” is the Parents Television Council(PTC) at http://www.parentstv.org. Their newsletter gives regular critiques about movies and shows that help us make informed family decisions on media for our kids.

                Another problem is mothers who promote the objectifying of their daughters. Pride and vanity are very immature needs. It's sad when they come from mother to daughter. The mothers are trying to live through their daughters.

                In the 1970s feminism used to mean, not wanting to be a sex object, as well as wanting equal opportunities. Now it seems to mean, put everything out there for the whole world to see. This is not progress (though I'm sure the makers of spring break videos and others are enjoying the show). What happened to the original feminist ideas of self-respect and not being used? How can our daughters be seen as equals in the workplace when they are so willing to be mere decorations? This is not empowerment.

                Girls use their bodies to get attention at younger and younger ages. But that's just it - they are being used. They dress like Britney Spears and Madonna for school, which is unfair to the male students and teachers. It takes the girls' focus away from developing their minds and talents the way they should. They need to become women of substance who contribute to society, not just eye candy, which is fleeting.

                All of the conflicting messages create great confusion for our girls. Teenagers and pre-teens don't have the ability to fully understand cause-and-effect. Science has shown that brain chemistry actually changes after age 18, giving their frontal lobe more ability to project the long-term effects of their choices. So while our children are adolescents, it is up to us adults to help them see the half-truths out there for what they are. Adults have a responsibility to help girls feel their self-worth for something beyond looks and boyfriends.

                Taking away girls' childhoods is also taking away their future possibilities in adulthood. Keeping themselves free from bad choices now will keep their adulthoods open and free to be their best selves.Parents need to give their girls the tools to combat peer pressure. They need to teach them things they can say to their friends to get out of an uncomfortable situation. They need to take time to show them how. They need to help them have the inner strength to be true to themselves, even if it means losing those friends.

                Just because society has changed doesn't mean that the natural consequences have changed. Adults need to make sure that our girls know what those consequences are. There are deep emotional costs to promiscuity, not just physical like disease or pregnancy. We need to help steer them toward choices that keep their self-esteem and dignity in the long run, so that they don't change the whole course of their future before they're even old enough to understand what that future is.

                And moms need to quit living vicariously through their daughters to be sexy and popular. The short-term reward is not worth the long-term cost. Sometimes parents just have to say “NO” to certain media and clothes. Sometimes they just have to do what's best. Their girls will understand later; when they have daughters.

                When I was a chemist in aerospace in northern Utah, my company, Alliant Techsystems (Thiokol), sponsored the EYH program. Several women engineers and I volunteered our time to run hands-on workshops for girls in fun math and science applications. For 4 years I was a workshop leader for “Lotion Commotion,” which let the girls make their own lotion with chemistry. They chose their own scents for their lotions, as well as creative labels. My workshop was one of the most popular and usually filled up first.

                We also developed a workshop to make purple dinosaur footprints with molds and plastics that the girls made themselves. The dragon, Saphira, from the movie Eragon, was popular at the time. The girls loved it. And they got to make molds of their own hands.

                The last year I was there (2007), I increased the workshops in order to enroll more

girls. I had many wonderful women from work to help me with the workshops, volunteering

their time on a Saturday to mentor girls. We ran 3 workshops, back to back, in each of 4

rooms. We had 18-20 girls in each workshop in each room, showing almost 240 girls the fun

of chemistry and math in one day. I loved it!


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The Godfrey Method: top 5 titles for early reading

All the time people ask me, where do I start? Here you go:

These are the first 5 titles you need to give your children "early reading the right way," to place them on the launch pad of life and watch them soar! This is the best way to prevent dyslexia, too.

Start with A Funny Boy Was Prince River, by Shannah B Godfrey.

Mom and Dad use the fun activities in Home Early Learning Play School (HELPS) to best utilize the phonics learning in the first book.

Mom and Dad will also enjoy the ideas and guidelines in Top Ten Myths of Reading, an absolute must.

Once your children have mastered the phonics, use The Phonics Color Code for beginner word ideas.

And after the phonics sounds and beginner words are mastered, it is time for A Nutty Man Was Uncle Upton, which matches capital letters to lower-case letters. (To understand why you don't teach capital letters first, see Top Ten Myths of Reading.)

Not necessary to begin, but well worth the read for ideas and information, get each volume of the series, It's Not Rocket Surgery! by Shannah B Godfrey. You'll love them!


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