December 30, 2002

Mom Sorry for not posting lately, and I am not sure when I will post again. You see, my mom is dying.  They don't think she will last 2 weeks, and probably sooner. She is dying from complications due to an evil auto-immune disease called Scleroderma. This is affecting her skin, digestive system, blood and blood vessels, kidneys, heart and lungs. Causing her most grief right now is fluid in her lungs causing her great difficulty in breathing. Please send your prayers and "positive vibes" this way, at this difficult time. Thanks, and my best in the new year to you. 9:50:09 PM    comment []

December 24, 2002

Christmas Stress Tips New Scientist Article Well it is Christmas time so I thought I would share a Christmassy link. This one is about how to make the family get-together go smoother, with tips from a British psychiatrist. If I don't see you tomorrow (I probably wont post), have a very merry Christmas! 9:43:44 AM    comment []

December 23, 2002

Omnispiritualism http://www.dubage.com/Omni/index.htm The internet contains many people's codifications of their belief systems. I am always finding a new set in my travels. This one is quite interesting to read about, as it is well-written and contains many ideas that one can think about. I would think it would be an excellent idea to write down some or most of one's religious beliefs, perhaps in a private journal, at some point in one's life. It would bring great clarity and perhaps illumine areas that were not well thought out. 8:12:13 PM    comment []

December 22, 2002

Bishop John Shelby Spong http://www.liberator.net/articles/LiberatorMark/Spong.html http://www.geocities.com/reuther_2000/spong.html Today's most prominent liberal Christian is John Spong, an Episcopal Bishop. He has written several books attacking various aspects of traditional Christianity, including Biblical literalism, theism and the virgin birth of Christ. Spong suggests now is the time for Christianity to remake itself into something more modern and reasonable. But conservative Christianity seems to be flourishing more than ever, while liberal churches are showing declines in membership. Is Spong out of touch with the times, or is he a vanguard of a movement to come? Time will tell. 10:38:21 AM    comment []

December 21, 2002

Male Irreligiousness EurekAlert article Have you ever noticed that, in general, men are less religious than women? This article gives a possible reason for this. Because more men are impulsive, they are likely less able to concentrate on long-term issues that are inherent in most religions, and thus show less commitment to religion. I think there is something to this, and it would be interesting to compare religiousness rates of ADHD people, a population known to be much more impulsive, with those without attention deficits. Another interesting thing would be to see how impulsive people fare with religions such as Buddhism which promotes meditation, which is perhaps an antidote to impulsivity.... To bring it more personal, to what extent is your own religious depth dependent on your impulsivity level? Are you very religious because you have focus on long-term matters? 8:51:16 PM    comment []

December 20, 2002

The Placebo Effect Observer Article Humphrey Paper Here are a couple of interesting articles on the placebo effect. The Observer article says scientists are trying to harness the power of placebo while the Humphrey paper proposes a revealing economic model of the placebo effect. In short, placebos are quite powerful and are widespread in our lives. Can you think of a situation where you probably benefitted from the placebo effect? 10:22:38 AM    comment []

December 18, 2002

Curiosity University at Buffalo Article This is an interesting study about the effects of curiosity. It shows that curious people develop higher levels of intimacy, even with strangers that those less curious. This is just one of the benefits of having a large amount of curiosity, and I'm sure there's much more. How curious are you?  Curiosity, I think, can be increased and habituated, so if you stand room for improvement in this area (I think we could all be even more curious), then don't worry, just start asking more questions.   4:42:52 PM    comment []

December 17, 2002

Psychology of Entrepreneurs http://www.forbes.com/home/2002/10/18/1018profile.html This article, entitled "The Psychology Of Success", shouldn't be called that (as if entrepreneurship is the definition of success!)  It is more about what entrepreneurs have in common than it is about a general theory of what makes someone successful. But it is interesting nonetheless. It suggests that entrepreneurs have trouble envisioning failure and don't care what others think. Do you share these qualities? If so maybe it is time for you to start a business, if you haven't already. Of course, there are likely several other factors involved before you are motivated or able to go do that... 10:13:16 AM    comment []

December 16, 2002

Mudras http://www.deepleaf.com/yoga/mudra.htm http://www.kundaliniyoga.org/mudras.html Many spiritual traditions incorporate the use of mudras, or hand gestures. (Even Christianity uses the "Praying Hands" mudra.) This is not surprising, as the hands are very sensitive and expressive, and, as it is argued, their positions can affect mental states and bodily conditions. If you do not believe this latter part, perhaps consider the power of symbols can have over the body and mind (maybe via suggestion). These couple of links give some of the major mudras and the deepleaf link gives an interesting introduction to them. 9:14:29 AM    comment []

December 14, 2002

Deoxyribonucleic Hyperdimension http://deoxy.org Magick, drugs, tantra, meditation, shamanism, omega point, psychology, Gaia, anarachy, and many other topics can be found at this very interesting site. I'm not sure what to say except have fun exploring this site!  8:41:33 PM    comment []

December 13, 2002

Eckankar http://www.religioustolerance.org/eck.htm http://www.eckankar.org/ I have found it fascinating that new religious movements (NRMs) are still being born even in our day, as if we haven't quite gotten things right yet. This one, (re)born in 1965, is actually quite high profile and boasts over 50,000 members. While at University, I often perused and collected the religious literature tacked up on the bulletin boards in the hallways, including the Eckankar stuff -- some of it was quite colourful, and always interesting. Of course there is a purported dark side to this NRM, but I'll let the extra-curious reader find that information on the internet by themselves -- as always, I recommend people acquaint themselves with all sides of most issues, taking sources obviously with agendas with a few grains of salt... 10:13:51 PM    comment []

December 12, 2002

Giving EurekAlert Article Tis the season for giving, but this study suggests giving should be year round. It was found that people who help others tend to live longer. There certainly are many benefits to practicing virtues including having a fuller life, if not more lengthy. But should this be the main reason for practicing giving? Many would say giving should be done just for the sake of others. Do you agree? 3:14:16 PM    comment []

December 11, 2002

Breatharianism http://www.rickross.com/reference/breat/breat07.html This is another item from the amazing beliefs file. Breatharians claim to live without or with little food or water long periods of time. Some of them believe they get their nourishment from other sources such as air or even spiritual sources. Jasmuheen, the most prominent breatharian, is featured in this article where it is noted she believes she lives on "light". For those of you who enjoy entertaining way-out hypotheses, why not consider this one, too? 10:17:58 PM    comment []

December 10, 2002

Gossip http://www.ahram.org.eg/weekly/2002/614/pe2.htm Though it is difficult to draw the line between normal conversation and gossip sometimes, this article seems to assume gossip is any talking about someone else, positive or negative. It argues that gossip is good for people and society in general, transmitting social norms and increasing good brain chemicals, among other things. But it does acknowledge the ugly side of gossip, which we are best to avoid. Do you feel bad about mentioning other's misfortunes or mistakes? Perhaps talking about others often does more good than harm... 10:03:54 AM    comment []

December 9, 2002

Neurotheology NJ.com Article Neuroscience may be suggesting that our brains are hardwired for religious experience. Perhaps God has designed us to be able to experience Him, or perhaps evolution has given us a means to deal with existential anxieties. Whatever way you look at it, it now seems undeniable that we are capable of interesting specific states of mind which we call spiritual. Perhaps neuroscience will soon be able to give us methods to enter those states more easily. Would you use such tools or would you stay within the bounds of the methods and belief systems prescribed by your religion? 10:39:17 AM    comment []

December 8, 2002

Possible Benefits of Religion Univ. North Carolina article This recent research shows that religious 12th graders hold more positive views on life and have higher self-esteem, among other good things. While it is unclear whether well-adapted people seek out religion more often, or that religion fosters positive outlooks, this research suggests a relationship exists. I wonder if this kind of research provokes anybody to become more religious, and if so, are they doing it for the wrong reasons? Does the motive for initially adopting a religion matter when the person makes changes for the better because of it? 6:00:58 PM    comment []

December 7, 2002

Gnosticism http://www.gnosis.org/gnintro.htm This is an excellent introduction to Gnosticism. When I was younger, I went around for years hearing about Gnosticism, but never getting around to learning about it - but I eventually did. And what I found was a very colourful and unique set of beliefs that were worth considering sometime during one's spiritual quest. 8:41:08 PM    comment []

December 5, 2002

The Tomb of Jesus? http://www.tombofjesus.com/ This site claims that Jesus is dead and buried in a place called Roza Bal in Kashmir, India. The documentation at the site contains interesting arguments that Christ didn't remain dead at the crucifiction, nor ascended to heaven, but instead travelled eastward to India where he lived out a long 120 year life. If not Christ (as Christians and skeptics think), then what amazing character is buried at Roza Bal? Isn't it at least an amazing story developed through a long tradition? 10:26:14 PM    comment []

December 3, 2002

Trepanation Salon Article Trepanation has been used to relieve madness and to attain peace and bliss. Trepanation (trephination) is the procedure of boring a hole in one's head. Are the people who do this kooks or have they really found a shortcut to enlightenment? How can you tell without getting a hole yourself and seeing what happens? 11:36:58 PM    comment []

December 2, 2002

Genius http://www.hightechbiz.com/pub/genius.htm This is an interesting list of 24 qualities that geniuses share. I do not think this list was developed scientifically, but probably is just one psychologist's guess about genius characteristics. So if you fail to match some of the listed qualities, don't worry, some people might still give you the genius hat to wear. Anyways, it is such an unclear concept that a good definition of genius doesn't exist (IQ>150? Newton never took an IQ test, but we still call him a genius.) "Intelligence" is better, but still has it's share of definitional problems... (via abuddhas memes) 7:25:48 PM    comment []

December 1, 2002

Synaesthesia http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/hearingcolours.shtml Strangely, I am recommending this site, though I haven't listened to the Real Audio, the core of these pages (I don't have RA installed for various reasons) -- so someone listen to them and tell me how good they are :)  Anyway, I'm interested in synaesthesia, partly because I experience music partially by seeing and feeling objects. But the question of whether you experience reality similar to others is a question I've always had. If we could somehow get an idea how others experience, we could be much better empaths and communicators. Don't you think that our ability to communicate and understand others has great room for improvement individually and as a species? 8:55:26 PM    comment []