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Everything humans see is a simplification.

24 Feb

Everything humans see is a simplification.

A human sees the world in 3 dimensions. That is a simplification. Humans are fundamentally limited, generalizing creatures living on autopilot. Categorization is the brain’s tool to organize nearly everything we encounter in our daily lives. Grouping information into categories simplifies our complex world and helps us to react quickly and effectively to new experiences. Categorization and classification allow humans to organize things, objects, and ideas that exist around them and simplify their understanding of the world. Categorization is like your brain’s very own personal assistant, grouping similar things together so you can find what you need, when you need it.

Our brain categorizes continuously: not only chairs during childhood, but any information at any given age. What advantage does that give us? Pieter Goltstein says: “Our brain is trying to find a way to simplify and organize our world. Without categorization, we would not be able to interact with our environment as efficiently as we do.” In other words: We would have to learn for every new chair we encounter that we can sit on it. Categorizing sensory input is therefore essential for us, but the underlying processes in the brain are largely unknown.

Social categorization is a fundamental human cognitive process because it allows for the quick simplification of complex social information. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology have now shown that also mice categorize surprisingly well. The researchers identified neurons encoding learned categories and thereby demonstrated how abstract information is represented at the neuronal level.

While categorization is a natural and necessary mechanism to cope with the complexity of our world, it perilously inhibits our ability to address the most pressing and tangible problems of our time. The psychological force at play here is a need to categorize — to fit things into neatly defined, clearly labeled boxes. In times of increasing complexity, such categorization can be extremely useful, creating order in a world that is fundamentally messy and establishing structures so that we can better organize, analyze, and manage it. Yet also, extremely limiting in understanding the natural deeper complexity of life.

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Complex Interrelationship Between our Minds and Bodies.

30 Dec
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The Reality of Life is Oneness

27 Dec
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Equanimity

11 Feb

Touch and Mental and Physical Well-Being

29 Dec

Touch strengthens your immune system, improves sleep, reduces stress, and ramps up the body’s production of its natural painkillers.

The connection between touch and mental and physical well-being is extremely potent, according to research. Touch stimulates the vagus nerve, which has branches running through your entire body. “The nerve’s primary role is to slow the nervous system,” says Tiffany Field, Ph.D.. “As a result, your heart rate goes down, your blood pressure drops, and your stress-hormone levels fall.”

These effects have a huge impact on your health, studies have found. In Field’s research on adults with illnesses like AIDS and cancer, massage therapy was shown to boost participants’ natural killer cells, which attack bacterial, viral, and cancer cells. Because of the calming effect of touch, massages can improve sleep patterns, allowing you to spend more time in the restorative deep stages of sleep. Other research shows that touch makes the body stronger and more resistant to pain, and it increases your levels of oxytocin, which is the hormone responsible for those warm, fuzzy feelings that come with being around those you love.

Buddha’s Teachings- The Angry Man

5 Nov

The Angry Man

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Humanity

8 Oct
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Impermanence – Suffering

7 Oct

All are interacting continuously

17 Sep

ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS IN THE HUMAN BODY

The human body, and every living organism on this planet, is an electrical body made up of charged particles, it is also subject to the laws of electromagnetism. The body’s bio-electromagnetic fields are very low in intensity (amplitude/power) but can be measured using devices like MEG (magnetoencephalography) and MCG (Magnetocardiography).

The human body generates electricity that flows through it. The human body also has its own magnetic fields. The human heart produces an electric current that runs through the body and to every cell. This electric current in the body generates an electromagnetic field.

Every function of the human body relies on some type of signal transmission – from the immune system to the regeneration of cells, waste removal, healing, nerve function, immune function, to circulation and everything in between. And it all starts on the cellular level. Every cell innately knows its purpose and function and how to do it.

In order for the body to function at all, these signal transmissions must be clear and strong enough so the message gets to where it needs to go and can be understood by the receiving end. If there is any kind of interference in that electrical circuitry the message won’t make it or isn’t strong enough or too strong to affect the intended cellular reaction.

CELLS GENERATE ENERGY

Most of the body’s electromagnetic activity occurs in the cell membrane. One function of the cell membrane is to open and close channels (membrane pumps) through which ions (electrolytes) move in and out of the cell delivering nutrients and removing waste.

Cell matter of every cell in every living body, including animals and plants, is comprised of charged particles and that means that the electric and magnetic fields in the environment influence the movement of chemicals in the body and they influence the interactions and exchanges of these chemical elements and molecules.

Posted by Dr. Evelin Valdez

Not all happiness is created equal

17 Sep

Human bodies recognize at the molecular level that not all happiness is created equal, responding in ways that can help or hinder physical health, according to new research led by Barbara L. Fredrickson.

“Philosophers have long distinguished two basic forms of well-being: a ‘hedonic’ form representing an individual’s sense pleasurable experiences, and a deeper ‘eudaimonic,’ form that results from striving toward meaning and a noble purpose beyond simple self-gratification,” wrote Fredrickson and her colleagues. Both give us a sense of happiness, but each is experienced very differently in the body’s cells.

Eudaimonic well-being was associated with a significant decrease in the stress-related CTRA gene expression profile. In contrast, hedonic well-being was associated with a significant increase in the CTRA profile. Their genomics-based analyses, the authors reported, reveal the hidden costs of purely hedonic well-being.”At the cellular level, our bodies appear to respond better to a different kind of well-being, one based on a sense of connectedness and purpose.”

Also, ‘Kindfulness’ impacts brain circuits, boosting empathy, compassion, and joy. It also increases vagal tone, which is known to counter stress, reduce inflammation, and even play a protective role in cancer progression.

So kindness is much more than the things that we say or do. These are its social aspects. Kindness is the intention of how we use our minds, in what and who we focus upon. The feelings induced go inward, affecting our mental and physical health.

These findings and others suggest that kindness increases mood, physical health and generosity.

National Academy of Sciences