I've been walking around with an open mind for QUITE a while now, and quite honestly, I'm getting nervous.

As my friends know, I'm more of a tinker than a thinker...

and so, when I did start thinkin'... I thought...

What if it dries up?

(I'm not really a traveling mender of metal household utensils. I whittle, but whittle doesn't rhyme with thinker. ;-)

Anyway, I found a website:

How To Exercise an Open Mind

http://wiki.ehow.com/Exercise-an-Open-Mind

"Simply put, all one needs to grow his/her brain is to do unique, random, different, and ridiculous things as often as possible. One hour of increased brain activity via thinking a lot or experiencing new stimuli can make you smarter, more energetic, more creative, and more sociable. Here are some of the endless numbers of activities that can stimulate your brain. The one key ingredient is to have an open mind."

I'm not interested in growing my brain (sounds a bit scary!), I just want to prevent shrinkage while it's open, ya know -- enjoying a little fresh air. ;-)

Where am I going with this you ask? Good question! HA!

Exercise #1 is interesting:

Stimulate your ears differently. Try different music you haven't tried before: Classical, New Age, Zouk, Rap, Mariachi, Country. You don't have to like it at first, but if you keep an open mind, you can still find it interesting. Listen to a radio station you typically don't listen to.

and...

Exercise #15 looks like fun:

Walk backwards through your whole house.

FYI: At the bottom of the webpage, there is a warning!

"Be safe. Know your limits and push them gently."

I guess they're referring to exercise #26 'cause that sounds quite daring!

26:"Try making something new in the kitchen."

I continued searching and found: Related wikiHows

How To Do Nothing... which might be something different ;-) and, after I learn how to rotate my own tires, I'm going to keep an open mind while I try to broaden my musical horizons...

Broaden Your Musical Horizons

http://wiki.ehow.com/Broaden-Your-Musical-Horizons

I found a few good "steps" on that page -- especially this...

"Listen to an album more than once before deciding whether you like it or not." (I can't wait to try that one! ;-)

and this...

"Listen to whole albums. Oftentimes, an artist or group puts out one or two singles that engage popular appeal but are uncharacteristic of their work. And quite commonly, the jewels of music are buried in albums, far away from radio play. So, if a catchy single drew you in, don't be surprised and throw the CD away if the rest of the songs aren't just like it."

and... tips too!

"Be willing to put your money where your mouth is--or at least, where your ears are. For, say, every ten CDs that waste your time and money, you'll find one that changes your life. That's just the way it goes."

Yikes! Another warning!

"People will probably look at you funny as you explore music that spans beyond the kind of music someone like you is "supposed" to listen to. Have fun shattering your stereotype, and put the volume up when someone raises an eyebrow."

So... exercise that open mind and you'll be prepared for something different ;-) but, please, stay out of the sun!

Well, that's that! ;-)