Each of us is physically active, even if only in very small ways, throughout each and every day, and yet we all realize that true physical fitness usually only comes as a result of a conscious, consistent exercise habit. So it is with learning. Our learning never really stops, but once we reach the stage of life where there is no longer a teacher standing in front of us on a regular basis, it usually becomes a much more haphazard affair. I happen to be a fan of random, haphazard learning, but like most devoted lifelong learners, I also appreciate the sense of fulfillment that comes from really focusing and mastering a new topic or skill. Reaching this kind of fulfillment demands that we establish clear learning habits, but we often fail to do so. For thoughts on how to address this problem, I’m turning once again to Leo Babauta for inspiration. Time for another installment of Zen Learning Habits. The Main Problems Where do we tend to fall short in making learning a conscious, regular habit? Here are some of the main pitfalls I know I encounter: 1. No real goals I wrote about the importance of setting learning goals recently in relation to my own struggles with learning to play the guitar. It’s easy to pick up a little bit of new knowledge - a chord here, a scale there - but the path to true accomplishment requires a clear goal and consistent habits in support of that goal. 2. Too many goals Often we set out to do too much. We want to learn a new language, become a black belt in karate, and [fill in one of your own] all at the same time. In the short term, this can feel exciting and fulfilling, but over the long haul, spreading out our focus in this way means we are unlikely to achieve any of our goals. 3. Too difficult In our enthusiasm for learning, we may set goals or try to establish habits that are simply unrealistic. "I will practice for an hour a day," just may not work in your life right now, and trying to force it will lead to frustration and, ultimately, giving up. I think being realistic is one of the main areas where discipline factors into learning. 4. Low motivation Let’s face it: lifelong learning is not all fun and games. There are times when it is important for us to acquire new skills or knowledge that we may not be all that passionate about. Discipline helps, but discipline only takes you so far if you can’t find ways to boost your motivation. The 4 Simple Steps So how do we overcome those problems? Keep it simple. Here are the 4 simple steps to start - or jump start - your learning habit and keep it going. 1. Set one easy, specific, measurable goal. There are several keys to setting your core learning goal: Write it down: If you don’t write it down, it’s not important. I recommend actually putting it on paper and posting it somewhere you will easily come across it several times a day. Alternatively, if you are bit of a techie, have it load up automatically on your computer desktop. Make it easy: Start with something you know is a slam dunk - like practicing an instrument for 5 minutes a day - and build from there. Success breeds success. Be specific: Be crystal clear about what activity are you going to do, at what time of day, and where. Don’t just say "practice" or "read". You have to set a time, a place, and specific activities. Make it an appointment you can’t miss. Set a trigger: It might sound a little Pavlovian, but it’s a good idea to have  a "trigger" for your habit. For example, you might always brush your teeth right after you shower. The shower is the trigger for brushing your teeth, and because of the trigger, you never forget to brush your teeth. Well, what will you do right before your learning habit? Is it right after you wake up? Right after your coffee? Right when you get home? A trigger that you do every single day is important. Make it measurable: By measurable, I mean that you should be able to say, definitely, whether you hit or miss your goal today. Examples: Practice scales for 10 minutes. Read 5 pages. Write 3 paragraphs. Each of those has a number that you can shoot for. Stick to it: Stick to this one goal for at least a month. Two months if you can bear it. Don’t start up a second goal during that 30-day period or you will endanger the success of your first goal. 2. Log it daily It may sound trivial, but keeping a short, simple record of your daily activities can make a tremendous difference. It helps you see your progress; it helps you remember and reflect; and it can help keep you motivated, if motivation is a problem.  Make brief notes right after your daily learning activity. Don’t put it off, and say you’ll do it before you go to bed. As soon as you’re done, log it. No exceptions. And don’t make the log complicated — that will only make you resist doing the log. Just the date, time, and what you did. This simple approach to taking notes is very powerful. 3. Connect with others I’m too much of an introvert to say you have to declare your goals and your progress towards them to the world. Nonetheless, most of us do benefit from adding a social element to our learning, and I think that connecting with others who share our learning interests - whether online or off - is a very important part of a successful learning habit. Connecting with others helps keep us more conscious of our learning goals, holds us more accountable to ourselves, and brings new perspectives and knowledge to our learning activities. Start a blog - and comment on other blogs. Find an online forum. Join a book group. There are any number of ways to connect with others in support of your learning habit. 4. Apply discipline as needed The first three steps will take you a long ways towards developing a consistent, focused learning habit, but more may be needed at times.  As I have noted before, "to master the ability to do anything requires discipline." If you find you are struggling at times, you may want to try out these 7 Small "Mind Shifts" for When You Lack Discipline. Master these four simple steps - which were adapted from 4 Simple Steps to Start the Exercise Habit - and you will be well on your way to achieving your learning goals. Along the way, you may want to check out some of the other Zen Learning Habits posts here on Mission to Learn.  If you like them, I’d be grateful if you would bookmark them with Delicious or another bookmarking site of your choice. Jeff P.S. - If you like what you read here on Mission to Learn, I’d really appreciate it if you would subscribe by RSS feed or by e-mail. Related posts:5 Powerful Reasons to Make Reflection a Daily Learning Habit, and How to Do It7 Small "Mind Shifts" for When You Lack DisciplineWhile My Guitar Gently Weeps - Or the Importance of Setting Learning Goals

Last night I hit "Send" on a new edition of the Learning Monitor e-newsletter. As usual it is chock full of free and low-cost learning sources for lifelong learners. Subscribe and you’ll automatically receive the full issue once you confirm your subscription, but here are a few items from the Learning Smorgasbord to whet your appetite: from Collections & Teach-Learn-Share Sites Free Internet Libraries Free Internet Libraries provides free books, course notes, practice problems, test reviews, career advancement materials, teaching materials, and much more. *** from Science & Math Cephalopodcast - The Ocean Podcast The Ocean Podcast: news from the other 71% of our planet plus topics in science and education. Gelatinous, for the masses. *** from Computers & the Internet Rosie Knows RosieKnows offers free and easy video lessons on how to use hundreds of websites. Facebook, Skype, Pandora, Craigslist, Netflix, Kayak and many more! *** from Business 100+ Places to Get a Free Business Education Online From Online Degree Programs.org - If you have the ambition to learn but lack the funds to make it to b-school, then you should check out the following places to get a business education online without having to pay a penny in tuition. *** from Language & Culture Memorista.com Learn Language Vocabulary with Mnemonics . Simply put, we’ve built a revolutionary system to help you learn foreign vocabulary quickly and easily. We’ve coupled traditional flash card learning with mnemonics, or memory aids, to help you to memorise each item quickly and easily, and we’ve surrounded the whole thing with a system to help your learning progress. *** from Personal Finance Essential Personal Finance E-Books From Get Rich Slowly - A few days ago, I released The Get Rich Slowly Guide to Roth IRAs as a free e-book. Readers who are interested in opening a retirement account can download this short book — which draws from a series of articles I wrote two years ago — and use it as a reference as they work through the process. Though this is my first e-book (it won’t be my last), there are a variety of other great personal-finance e-books available for free download. You can pick up others for just a couple of bucks — or by subscribing to an e-mail newsletter. Here’s a quick overview of some I’ve found lately. *** from Odds & Ends 45 Awesome Free Bag Making Tutorials | frugalandthriving.com.au I’m not much of a sewer, but I’m trying. I made a bag recently and have gone a little bit bag crazy. Making a bag is a great way to learn how to sew. Below is a range of different bag tutorials to try. They vary from beginner level to the more complex, in no particular order. There are quite a few sewing and construction techniques in these tutorials that could be easily combined to create your own custom bag design. (Who knew there were 45 free bag making tutorials to be had?!) That’s just a taste of the delicious learning the Monitor delivers to your inbox. Subscribe today to get a full helping! Jeff Related posts:20 Language Links from the Free Learning Monitor

Immersing yourself in a book or in the literary culture is a great way to get more out of the books you read. There are thousands of sites online created specifically for people who like to read. Many of these sites can be used to find, read, discuss, and share books online. Here is a list of 15 free online resources that any book lover will enjoy: Like what you see here? Even if you are just "stumbling" by, I’d truly appreciate it if you would consider subscribing by RSS feed or by e-mail. - Jeff AddAll - AddAll is a free book search and comparison site. It compares prices on books from more than 20,000 sellers so that book buyers can get the best deal possible when shopping online. aNobii - aNobii is a book community that allows users to comment on books, create "online bookshelves," and mingle with other book lovers. Barnes& Noble - The online presence of Barnes & Noble is more than just a place to buy books. This site also offers book reviews, a forum where readers can connect, regular columns, articles, and much more. Big Universe - This award winning web community is excellent for young book lovers. Big Universe users can read books online, create and publish their own works, recommend books, and much more. BookGlutton - After signing up for a free BookGlutton account, users can find and read books online. Books can be read alone or with a group of people. BookGlutton also allows users to chat with other members while reading a book online. BookMooch - BookMooch is a free online service that allows readers to give away the books they no longer want and get new books in return. BookMooch users can get two books for every one they give away. BooksWellRead - This free online book journal is an excellent way to keep track of what you’ve already read. You can make a private or public list of your books and include comments so that you can remember exactly what you thought about any given book. BooksWellRead also provides a place for you to connect with a community of other readers. DailyReader - DailyReader makes it easy for book lovers to find time to read on a regular basis. This free service sends part of a book to you each day via email so that you can read for a few minutes each day until the book is finished. Goodreads - Goodreads is an enormous social network with nearly 3 million reading members. At Goodreads, you can make a list of the books you have read, write reviews, and get book recommendations from other people. LibraryThing - LibraryThing is a good place to catalog your books online. Catalogs can be accessed from any PC or mobile phone and may be made public or kept private. LibraryThing also allows users to give and get book recommendations. LitLovers - LitLovers is a site for books and book clubs. Offerings include book recommendations, reading guides, discussion topics, free literature courses, and a special section just for kids. Project Gutenberg - Project Gutenberg was the very first site to offer free ebooks online and is still one of the web’s best sources of free books in the public domain. More than 30,000 books are available through the site’s catalog. ReadingGroupGuides - This site provides thousands of reading guides for book clubs and individual readers. The site also offers contests, message boards, a newsletter, a blog, and much more. Shelfari - Shelfari is a social media site for people who love to read. It can be used to build a virtual bookshelf, see what other people are reading, and discuss favorite books online.15 Online Resources for Book Lovers The Book Cover Archive - They say you can’t judge a book by its cover, but that doesn’t make cover art any less fun to look at. The Book Cover Archive displays a collection of thousands of book covers. Visitors can browse covers, leave comments, and suggest covers for the archive. Guest post from education writer Karen Schweitzer. Karen is the About.com Guide to Business School. She also writes about online classes for OnlineClasses.org. Subscribe by RSS feed or by e-mail. And be sure to check out 10 Most Popular Posts of All Time on Mission to Learn - Jeff Related posts:25 Free Online Resources and Web Apps for Lifelong LearnersLearn to Save a Life: 10 Free Online First Aid Resources30 High-Value Tips and Resources for Learning on the Cheap

I do some of my best learning when I am settled in at 35,000 feet. I read. I tap into the large store of iPod learning content I keep on hand. I think (although it may look like I’m sleeping). Sometimes I even manage to find a nugget of wisdom in the airline magazines. Here’s a couple from a recent flight from Raleigh to Baltimore, compliments of the Southwest Airlines Spirit magazine: Be Deliberate Jonathan Safran Foer, author of Everything is Illuminated and Eating Animals, says that his choice to be vegetarian is "one of my ways of being deliberate within my life."  Safran Foer goes on to note that: Eating can be so mechanical, something for which one feels exactly nothing. We eat merely to get full. It’s nice to have a chosen approach to food; eating a certain way - even if it’s arbitrary, although my vegetarianism is the opposite of arbitrariness - brings consciousness to an everyday act that rarely calls for any. We do any number of things unconsciously on a daily basis. I think a great exercise in learning is to approach common, everyday activities in a deliberate, conscious way.  You can’t help but ask why more when you do this - Why do I eat what I eat? Why am I compelled to be at my desk by 9:00 each morning? - and asking why is often the first step in learning. This sort of deliberate, conscious approach to things underlies the under-appreciated learning strategies I wrote about earlier. (Just a nudge to check that one out if you haven’t before.).  Cultivating reflection as a learning habit also helps greatly. What do you think? Have you found value in being more conscious of and deliberate about some of the common activities in your own life? Beware of Marketers in Teachers Clothes Speaking of cultivating consciousness, Christopher McDougall, highlights how we may often be unaware of pitfalls in "education" seemingly intended for our benefit. McDougall is the author of Born to Run, a scathing critique of the running shoe industry. Running shoes, he contends, are a racket - and a potentially harmful one at that. The rate of some running injuries has actually gone up since Nike introduced the modern running shoe in 1972, and confusion about the bewildering range of running shoe choices has multiplied at an even greater rate. The solution? Customer education. The trend in recent years has been for running store "experts" to coach shoppers in the process of finding the perfect shoe. This is a reasonable idea on the surface, but seems less so when you consider that most of the confusion is manufactured by, well, manufacturers.  Nike and others keep pumping out model after model, and if you believe McDougall, none of the models is a particularly good choice. I happen to be a big fan of customer education - I preach it in my job-that-pays-the-bills - but like any educational experience it comes with fundamental pre-conditions: those generating "content" (in this case, running shoes and all the accompanying data) must do so on an ethical basis; the "teacher" must take responsibility for truly understanding the content and its context; and the "learner" must be prepared to question the teacher. (Questioning, after all, is a key practice of the "sophisticated" learner.) Everyone, I’d add, should to come to the table with critical thinking skills in tow. I’ve definitely been through the whole running shoe education scenario myself. I tried on shoes, had someone watch me run in the parking lot, bought the whole thing hook line and sinker and paid probably $20 more than I might have otherwise for the shoes. Maybe I got something of value for that $20, but I wished I’d questioned the experience more at the time. How about you? Have you been pulled in by customer education experiences, good or bad? World Enough and Time A quick note to regular readers - Travel and deadlines for the-job-that-pays-the-bills have seriously cut into the time I have been able to dedicate to Mission to Learn lately. I should be able to get back to doing more in the next week, but in the meantime, I continue to seek out other bloggers and writers who are passionate about lifelong learning and who would be interested in contributing here. If you fall in that camp, please take a look at the submit page and contact me. Jeff P.S. - If you like what you read here on Mission to Learn, I’d really appreciate it if you would subscribe by RSS feed or by e-mail. Related posts:30 High-Value Tips and Resources for Learning on the Cheap

If you are reading this, you are one of roughly 1400 subscribers (Thank you!) or one of the many others who stops each day. I’m really hoping you will take a minute to comment. I’d appreciate it greatly. Comment on what? Well, I’m pondering things like health care reform in the U.S., Afghanistan, BPA, the rise of the BRIC economies, global climate change, H1N1, and on a more local level, what the priorities of the Carrboro board of alderman should be. Truth is, if you were to stop me on the street, I’m not sure how coherently I would be able to talk about these and any number of other current issues. Not that I don’t read, see, and hear a decent amount of information about all of these things. But that’s different from really developing an understanding of them. Or being able to make good decisions about them when necessary. So, I’m out to learn more what you might call working - or better yet, living - knowledge. By this I mean the sort of knowledge we need to cultivate day in and day out simply to live safe, healthy lives and be good citizens of our communities and the world What about you? Where do you go for your information about current issues and events? What, if anything, do you do to move beyond the constant stream of data, opinions, and stories to develop a deeper understanding of what’s going on in the world around you? What’s working, what’s not? Please comment and share your strategies. I’m hoping a good number of readers will be willing chip in and help each other out on this. Jeff P.S. - If you like what you read here on Mission to Learn, I’d really appreciate it if you would subscribe by RSS feed or by e-mail. Related posts:A Sense-full Approach to Learning

Every once in a while its nice to stop and take stock of what’s working and what’s not on the blog. There are many gauges for this, but one that is easy to quantify is which posts have attracted the most views on the site. The following 10 posts have attracted the most "unique page views," according to Google Analytics, from November 15, 2007 to November 16, 2009. While these don’t really paint a complete picture of Mission to Learn, new visitors might find them a good starting point nonetheless, and long-time readers might find it fun to revisit some of them. Here they are in reverse order, Letterman-style: 10. A Definition of Learning I was a good two years into Mission to Learn before I realized it might be valuable to offer a definition of what I mean by learning. Apparently there are a number of people out there looking for such a definition. Look for this one to evolve over time. (1977 unique views) 9. 25 Free Online Resources and Web Apps for Lifelong Learners This is one of the guest posts that has done very well on Mission to Learn. If you write a blog about any aspect of lifelong learning or personal growth, guest posting is one of the best ways to drive some traffic and attract new subscribers. Consider submitting to Mission to Learn, and definitely study posts like this one for tips. (2098 unique views) 8. 15 Ways to Find an Hour a Day of Extra Time…for Focused Learning This is part of the Zen Learning Habits series, a make-shift personal writer’s workshop through which I am attempting to learn from Zen Habits founder Leo Babauta. It’s a testimony to Leo’s great skill as a blogger that a re-worked version of one of his posts can end up being one of the more popular posts on a completely different blog! (2237 unique views) 7. 25 Sites and Tools to Exercise Your Brain "Brain training" is a very hot topic, so it’s no surprise that this one (another guest post) attracted quite a bit of traffic. (3247 unique views) 6. 50 Web Widgets for Your Learning Mix An oldy that is due for an update - and maybe an iPhone-only version. There are lots of clever little tools out there for infusing learning into the nooks and crannies of your life. (5348 unique views) 5. Learning 2.0 for Associations - Free eBook Aside from guest posting on other blogs, offering some form of substantial free content is another great way to build traffic. The Learning 2.0 book is not as in synch with the overall thrust of Mission to Learn as it used to be, but it attracted a great deal of traffic in its day, and continues to do so. (8008 unique views) 4. 15 Free Online Collaboration Tools and Apps I thought this one would be popular, but I was a little surprised by just how popular it has proven to be. Apparently people are very eager to collaborate for free. (7417 unique views) 3. 15 Online Resources for Book Lovers This one got "stumbled" by a power stumbler, and the rest is history. Traffic shot through the roof and you may see it at the top of the list before too long. (15177 unique views) 2. More Than 100 Free Places to Learn Online - and Counting This was the first post on Mission to Learn to generate a traffic surge, and two years later, it is still one of the most popular posts. Just shows you how hungry people are for learning opportunities. (16,959 unique views) 1. 26 Learning Games to Change the World I would have never guessed at the time that I posted this one that it would turn out to be by far the most popular post on the blog. In addition to the significant number of page views, it has also attracted more than 700 bookmarks on Delicious. Learning, games, and social change go together well it seems. (24,298 unique views) So that’s the Top 10 based on unique page views. I welcome your comments on this post or on any of the individual posts above. Unfortunately, after a server disaster at Bluehost (a company to avoid if you expect to ever have any significant blog traffic), I lost a lot of comments, so it is hard for me to gauge popularity based on comments. Jeff P.S. - If you like what you read here on Mission to Learn, I’d really appreciate it if you would subscribe by RSS feed or by e-mail. Related posts:A New Look for Mission to LearnMission to Learn Site Restoration

With so many people looking to pick up new skills in a tough job market, now seems like a good time to offer guidance on where to find valuable training for free. Here’s a post from Karen Schweitzer with 10 places to find computer programming education. Computer programmers are employed by every industry imaginable. If you have been thinking about programming as a career, or if you simply have an interest in this area of technology, you can begin your studies online. There are many different universities and other education resources that provide free courses, lessons, and tutorials for self-learners. Here are 10 free computer programming courses and sites to explore: Intro to Computer Science and Programming - This free online course from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is perfect for students who have little to no programming experience. The course is self-paced and includes video lectures, assignments, and exams with solutions. Introduction to Computers and Programming - Written by a professor at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HCMUT), this free introductory course teaches users the basics of structured programming and object-oriented programming. The course is designed for students with no previous programming knowledge. Computer Science Course - Anyone can participate in this free computer science course from the University of California-Berkeley. The course focuses on both operating systems and programming and is presented through a series of audio and video lectures. Object-Oriented Programming in C++ - Designed for students with basic programming knowledge, this free online course from the University of Southern Queensland introduces students to object-oriented programming through multiple learning modules, lectures, assignments, and an exam. Carlhprogramming Course - Created for everyone-from programming novices to masters-this free programming course is a real-time Reddit course with more than 100 lessons. New lessons are constantly being added and old lessons are archived so that users can study at their own pace. C++ Learning Center - The University of Cambridge’s C++ Learning Center is an excellent starting place for anyone who wants to learn C++ or improve their current skills. The center provides tutorials, answers to frequently asked questions, general reference materials, and much more. The Java Tutorials - Sun offers this series of Java Tutorials for programmers who are interested in using the Java language to create computer applications. The tutorials provide a comprehensive introduction to new programmers and useful tips for more advanced programmers. Programming Tutorials - ProgrammingTutorials.com is a no-frills site with hundreds of great online tutorials, lessons, and how-to’s. More than 300 resources are available in all, covering everything from C++ and JavaScript to XML. Free-Ed.net Programming Courses - Free-Ed.net provides several free computer programming and web programming courses for self-learners. Each course includes an online textbook that is easy to read and understand. Free Tech Books - Free Tech Books links to free tech books all over the web. Budding programmers can find free ebooks covering functional programming, object-oriented programming, concurrent programming, logic programming, and other computer programming topics. Guest post from education writer Karen Schweitzer. Karen is the About.com Guide to Business School. She also writes about online school for OnlineSchool.net. Interested in guest posting on Mission to Learn? Find out more >> Related posts:35+ Free Online Business Education Sites Free, Open Stanford Engineering Courses More than 100 Free Places to Learn Online - and Counting

I’ve noted before that podcasts are among my Top 5 Web Learning Tools, and I also recently highlighted 10 Killer Killer Content Sources for Your iPod Learning Mix, but learning from podcasts is not just about consuming content. In fact, producing content may be an even more effective way to leverage podcasting for learning. To that end, I’ve recently put together a free, brief guide for how to produce and distribute a podcast. By way of background, the guide is meant to provide details about how a colleague and I are producing and distributing the Radio Free Association podcast, a bi-weekly series we do for professionals in the association world. Because it focuses mostly on the specific approaches we use for that podcast - and a few we may use in the future - it does not cover every possible option (that would be overwhelming and probably unproductive anyway). Nonetheless, it offers a concise set of tools and brief explanations that should be of use to pretty much any individual or organization that wants to get into podcasting or expand their current efforts. Topics covered include: Setting up the Web site for the podcast Creating the RSS Feed Recording the podcast Mixing and editing Hosting the audio files Budgeting for a podcast Just follow the link below to download the free PDF. How-to-Podcast-Mini-Guide By the way, I’m pleased to note that Jonathan Mead, founder of the Illuminated Mind blog and author of Reclaim Your Dreams, will be joining me for the next Radio Free Learning podcast here on Mission to Learn this week. I encourage you to check out some of the earlier podcasts, and subscribe to make sure you don’t miss the interview with Jonathan. Happy podcasting, Jeff Related posts:Iluminate Your Mind with Jonathan Mead - Podcast

I’m very pleased to be joined by Jonathan Mead for this round of the Radio Free Learning podcast. Jonathan is an entrepreneur, author of the highly popular eBook Reclaim Your Dreams, and founder of the Illuminated Mind blog. He also writes frequently for Zen Habits, and in general, is a rising star of the self development world. In the podcast, Jonathan and I discuss the path that led him to renounce the conventional world of 9 to 5, launch Illuminated Mind, and go on to reclaim his own dreams. We also touch on the concept of the zero hour work week -  the title of Jonathan’s latest free eBook. As you might expect, "learning" factors heavily into Jonathan’s story and into our discussion. Here’s the MP3 file link (23:45) in case you do not see the audio player below (or, if viewing by e-mail or RSS reader, click through to the original blog post). Subscribe to the Radio Free Learning podcast: Subscribe using RSS Subscribe using iTunes The theme music for the podcast is The Information Age by Anthony Fiumano, available on the Podsafe Music Network Jeff P.S. - If you like the interview with Jonathan, you may also enjoy the Zen Learning Habits series here on Mission to Learn. Related posts:Learn to Podcast - A Mini-Guide Collaborative Learning with Grockit - Podcast About Memory, Part II - Podcast with Fiona McPherson

Guest post by Celisa Steele. "Up to your shoulder inside a cow, you feel the hot heavy squeeze of her, but I’ll never forget my startled delight the first time I withdrew my hand slowly and felt the cow’s muscles contract and release one after another, like a row of people shaking hands with me in a receiving line." A couple of months ago I read Diane Ackerman’s A Natural History of the Senses, which inspired the Nova miniseries Mystery of the Senses and is the source for the quotation above. A Natural History of the Senses is not a new book—it was published in 1990—but Janice Moore Fuller, a writer and teacher, recommended the book at a poetry workshop I attended this summer. Fuller’s point was poets must understand the five senses; they are, finally, the only material we have with which to weave the warp and weft of poetry.  Ackerman herself is a poet, and her skill in grounding description in the vitality of the senses is everywhere apparent in A Natural History of the Senses, which reads not like a typical, thesis-driven work of nonfiction but like so many meandering letters to these loves of her life: smell, touch, taste, hearing, vision. So What? But why do you care if you’re not an inspiring poet like Ackerman or Fuller (or an aspiring one like I am)? Because the senses are, in the end, how we learn anything, the only way we know anything. "When scientists, philosophers, and other commentators speak of the real world," Ackerman writes, "they’re talking about a myth, a convenient fiction. The world is a construct the brain builds based on the sensory information it’s given, and the information is only a small part of all that’s available." Sometimes deprivation heightens our awareness of the senses, and Ackerman uses one acute, well-known case to make this clear: One of the greatest sensuists of all time—not Cleopatra, Marilyn Monroe, Proust of any of the other obvious voluptuaries—was a handicapped woman with several senses gone. Blind, deaf, mute, Helen Keller’s remaining senses were so finely attuned that when she put her hands on the radio to enjoy music, she could tell the difference between the cornets and the strings. She listened to colorful, down-home stories of life surging along the Mississippi from the lips of her friend Mark Twain. She wrote at length about the whelm of life’s aromas, tastes, touches, feelings, which she explored with the voluptuousness of a courtesan." Author, advocate, and activist, Keller exemplifies a mission to learn, arguably better than any other individual. I mention—and more, recommend—A Natural History of the Senses not for the interesting and often bizarre tidbits (the receiving-line metaphor that opens this post, for example, or "In the Elizabethan Age, lovers exchanged ‘love apples’—a woman would keep a peeled apple in her arm pit until it was saturated with her sweat, and then give it to her sweetheart to inhale.") No, as intriguing as those morsels may be, I recommend the book primarily because of the opportunity it offers to become more conscious of the senses and how they shape our knowledge. Without the burden and gift of Keller’s disabilities, we can still learn new and exciting things from the senses we often ignore. Now What? So take some time today to be more conscious of the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches around you. At your desk or in your yard, close your eyes; focus on the smells (an appealingly bitter aroma of coffee or the pungency of decaying leaves) and sounds (the quiet hum of the computer or the disruptive drone of an airplane). Hold some everyday object, like a stapler—discover its cool heft. You get the idea. These are exercises not intended to teach you anything in particular. They’re meant to nurture a keen awareness of the senses, those media that moderate our interaction with the world and construct our ability to learn from it. "It is both our panic and our privilege to be mortal and sense-full," Ackerman writes. "We live on the leash of our senses. Although they enlarge us, they also limit and restrain us, but how beautifully." I’m very happy to present this first guest post by poet Celisa Steele (who also did the excellent editing and design work on Learning 2.0 for Associations). Perhaps it will be the first of many? If you are interested in posting on Mission to Learn, please check out the submission guidelines. - JTC Related posts:Wrestlin’ with making sense of it all. You?