A Lesson on Forgiveness The Buddha was sitting under a tree talking to his disciples when a man came and spit on his face. He wiped it off, and he asked the man, “What next? What do you want to say next?” The man was a little puzzled because he himself never expected that when you spit on somebody’s face, he will ask, “What next?” Buddha’s disciples became angry, they reacted. Buddha said, “You keep silent. “If you think on it deeply,” Buddha said, “he has spit on his own mind. The man was even more puzzled! Puzzled, confused, the man returned home. The next morning he was back there. The man looked at Buddha and said, “Forgive me for what I did yesterday.” Buddha said, “Forgive? “And you also are new.
Girolamo Savonarola Girolamo Savonarola (Italian: [savonaˈroːla]; 1452–1498) was an Italian Dominican friar and preacher active in Renaissance Florence, and known for his prophecies of civic glory and calls for Christian renewal. He denounced clerical corruption, despotic rule and the exploitation of the poor. He prophesied the coming of a biblical flood and a new Cyrus from the north who would reform the Church. This seemed confirmed when Charles VIII of France invaded Italy and threatened Florence. While Savonarola intervened with the king, the Florentines expelled the ruling Medici and, at the friar’s urging, established a popular republic. Early years[edit] Savonarola was born on September 21, 1452, in Ferrara. After his grandfather's death in 1468, Savonarola may have attended the public school run by Battista Guarino, son of Guarino da Verona, where he would have received his introduction to the classics as well as to the poetry and writings of Petrarch, father of Renaissance humanism. Friar[edit]
10 Websites To Make You Think | The Online Learning Blog from Study2U Supposedly browsing the internet requires more brain power than watching television. Although judging from some of the websites we’ve come across that assumption is cast into doubt. Here’s some of the sites we like that might get your brain to sit up and listen. Ted A conference that started in 1984 bringing together experts in technology, entertainment and design quickly grew into so much more. The conference itself is invitation only, but the website features all the talks at the conference in high res video format. New Scientist The New Scientist website carries new articles from the magazine as well as the NS archive of over 76,000 pieces. Big Think The Big Think website is a collection of ‘global thought leaders’ who offer their thoughts and analysis on world events and other important developments. Café Scientifque ‘for the price of a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, anyone can come to explore the latest ideas in science and technology’ Breathing Earth Arts & Letters Daily How Stuff Works
A Lamp in the Dark: The Untold History of the Bible | What's going on in the Sigalon Valley 6 Questions That Will Make You Fee Peaceful and Complete “The best place to find a helping hand is at the end of your own arm.” ~Swedish Proverb When I was in my mid-twenties an unhealthy relationship with an unhealthy guy sent me packing off to the corner of New Mexico to find myself. In a new age, self-discovery kind of world—a hubbub of a town filled with people in transition—I was graced to meet many powerful healers, gurus, shamans, and teachers. I became a workshop junkie. I got rolfed, (and got more intense body-work by thick-boned Maoris) and rebirthed with conscious breath work. I went on vision quests in the desert, called leading psychics, mapped my astrological chart, figured out my Enneagram number, dreamed lucidly for nights in an upright chair, and drew down the moon in Wiccan circles. I know. I was a perpetual seeker. Even though my unhealthy relationship was dysfunctional, that man gave me a gift that I wouldn’t discover for years. Whether he meant it or not, he would say: What’s not to love about you? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Twelve Virtues of Rationality by Eliezer Yudkowsky by Eliezer Yudkowsky The first virtue is curiosity. A burning itch to know is higher than a solemn vow to pursue truth. The second virtue is relinquishment. The third virtue is lightness. The fourth virtue is evenness. The fifth virtue is argument. The sixth virtue is empiricism. The seventh virtue is simplicity. The eighth virtue is humility. The ninth virtue is perfectionism. The tenth virtue is precision. The eleventh virtue is scholarship. Before these eleven virtues is a virtue which is nameless. Miyamoto Musashi wrote, in The Book of Five Rings: "The primary thing when you take a sword in your hands is your intention to cut the enemy, whatever the means. Every step of your reasoning must cut through to the correct answer in the same movement. If you fail to achieve a correct answer, it is futile to protest that you acted with propriety. How can you improve your conception of rationality? Do not ask whether it is "the Way" to do this or that.
Lucid Dreaming By lucid dreaming, you can gain complete control over the one place that no one will ever care about: your imagination. Just The Facts Lucid dreaming is a scientifically proven phenomenon. How to Take Control of Your Dreams: So, you've doubled your weight over the past five years, you own a record-shattering collection of greasy pizza boxes and broken aspirations, and you're beginning to consider installing a toilet bowl in the place of your computer chair? In order to even begin to get control over your dreams, there are a few preliminary tasks you must complete. Your fake and imagined rendition of Yvonne won't care how much your cry before, during, and afterward! The Tasks: The first step is mentioned in another Cracked article (5 Ways To Hack Your Brain Into Awesomeness), but here's a quick long and wordy rundown. 1. "What?" Calm down! Important tip: Do not use your dream journal as an excuse to tell co-workers about "that weird/bizarre/scary dream you had last night." 2.
The Brain: A Secret History In a compelling and at times disturbing series, Dr Michael Mosley explores the brutal history of experimental psychology. Mosley embarks on three journeys to understand science's last great frontier - the human mind - as he traces the history of the attempts to understand and manipulate the brain. Experiments on the human mind have led to profound insights into how our brain works - but have also involved great cruelty and posed some terrible ethical dilemmas. Mind Control. To begin, Michael traces the sinister ways this science has been used to try to control our minds. Emotions. Broken Brains. Watch the full documentary now -
Ben Stein’s Flunked: No Intelligence Applied Expelled : No Intelligence Allowed subjected viewers to the fact burning, logic twisting, psychedelic head trip of Intelligent Design propagandists and their conspiracy-theory ravings. This under-appreciated exposé by YouTubes own PrometheusWithLight delves into the seedy underworld of ID and it's noisy, clumsy, paper trail laying transmutation from Creation Science, meticulously dismantling claims of Academic Intolerance. ID propagandists continually whine that Mainstream Science is suppressing evidence of Forethought and Design in nature, and that ID research is being similarly suppressed. The reality? They conduct NO research; They submit NO studies for publication. Hard to suppress the nonexistent. If you hated or even liked Expelled, this is the must see movie. Watch the full documentary now (playlist)
The Brain, and the Law | Thought Files of the Young Broken Reckless Why do people commit crimes? There are a multitude of reasons, but Dr. David Eagleman believes that it really comes down to states of the brain. There have been many cases in which violent murderers or sick pedophiles are found with tumors in their brain — and in the cases where these tumors are removed, the behavior of these criminals ceases to be criminal, and in fact they often revert back to being healthy and happy members of society. Our desire to punish people comes from lacking understanding of their context. Eagleman makes the point that our system of punishment is limited by our ability to understand the complex biology within people’s brains. In the future, instead of punishing these people, we’ll do whatever we can to fix them. The video of Dr. All I aim to be is reasonable.
Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space The earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that in glory and triumph, they can become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on this scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner. How frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatred. As the ancient myth makers knew, we're children equally of the earth and the sky. Which aspects of our nature will prevail is uncertain, particularly when our visions and prospects are bound to one small part of this small planet earth. Watch the full documentary now
Fractals: Hunting the Hidden Dimension Mysteriously beautiful fractals are shaking up the world of mathematics and deepening our understanding of nature. You may not know it, but fractals, like the air you breathe, are all around you. Their irregular, repeating shapes are found in cloud formations and tree limbs, in stalks of broccoli and craggy mountain ranges, even in the rhythm of the human heart. In this film, we takes viewers on a fascinating quest with a group of maverick mathematicians determined to decipher the rules that govern fractal geometry. For centuries, fractal-like irregular shapes were considered beyond the boundaries of mathematical understanding. Now, mathematicians have finally begun mapping this uncharted territory. Their remarkable findings are deepening our understanding of nature and stimulating a new wave of scientific, medical, and artistic innovation stretching from the ecology of the rain forest to fashion design. Watch the full documentary now (playlist - 52 minutes)
How to Trick Your Brain for Happiness | Greater Good - StumbleUpon This month, we feature videos of a Greater Good presentation by Rick Hanson, the best-selling author and trailblazing psychologist. In this excerpt from his talk, Dr. Hanson explains how we can take advantage of the brain’s natural “plasticity”—it’s ability to change shape over time. gobyg There’s this great line by Ani Tenzin Palmo, an English woman who spent 12 years in a cave in Tibet: “We do not know what a thought is, yet we’re thinking them all the time.” It’s true. In recent years, though, we have started to better understand the neural bases of states like happiness, gratitude, resilience, love, compassion, and so forth. Ultimately, what this can mean is that with proper practice, we can increasingly trick our neural machinery to cultivate positive states of mind. But in order to understand how, you need to understand three important facts about the brain. Fact one: As the brain changes, the mind changes, for better or worse. Fact two: As the mind changes, the brain changes. 1. 2. 3.
my mind on books : books on the mind, consciousness, cognitive science…