Science of the SpiritS


Apple Red

How to get rid of old habits and find your true Self

Joe Dispenza
healyourlife
Wed, 09 Sep 2015 09:00 UTC
Unlock the Brain
One of the biggest lies we have come to believe about ourselves and our true nature is that we are nothing more than physical beings defined by a material reality, devoid of dimension and vital energy, and separate from God—which I trust you know by now is within us and all around us. To keep the truth about our real identity from us is not only enslaving, but it asserts that we are finite beings living a linear life that lacks real meaning.

Creating A New Mind

The assertion that there are no realms and no life beyond our physical world and that we have no control over our destiny is not a "truth" that you and I should ever believe in. You are a multidimensional being who creates your reality. Helping you accept this idea as your law and new belief has been my labor in my book. Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself means that you are going to have to lose your mind and create a new one.

Comment: To learn more about Dr. Joe Dispenza's work and how to make real changes to your mind, emotions and life, read Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself: How to Lose Your Mind and Create a New One.



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Brain

Emotional 'hangovers' influence how we attend to and remember future experiences


Science Daily
Mon, 26 Dec 2016 00:00 UTC
brain, emotional hangover
Emotional experiences can induce physiological and internal brain states that persist for long periods of time after the emotional events have ended, a team of New York University scientists has found. This study, which appears in the journal Nature Neuroscience, also shows that this emotional "hangover" influences how we attend to and remember future experiences.

"How we remember events is not just a consequence of the external world we experience, but is also strongly influenced by our internal states -- and these internal states can persist and color future experiences," explains Lila Davachi, an associate professor in NYU's Department of Psychology and Center for Neural Science and senior author of the study.

" 'Emotion' is a state of mind," Davachi continues. "These findings make clear that our cognition is highly influenced by preceding experiences and, specifically, that emotional brain states can persist for long periods of time."
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Heart

Benefits of caring: People who help and support others live longer


Science Daily
Thu, 22 Dec 2016 00:00 UTC
live longer helping others
© aytuncoylum / FotoliaOlder people who help and support others live longer.
Older people who help and support others live longer. These are the findings of a study published in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior, conducted by researchers from the University of Basel, Edith Cowan University, the University of Western Australia, the Humboldt University of Berlin, and the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin.

Older people who help and support others are also doing themselves a favor. An international research team has found that grandparents who care for their grandchildren on average live longer than grandparents who do not. The researchers conducted survival analyses of over 500 people aged between 70 and 103 years, drawing on data from the Berlin Aging Study collected between 1990 and 2009.

Comment:

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Christmas Tree

The art of navigating family during the holidays

Azriel ReShel
Upliftconnect
Fri, 23 Dec 2016 15:21 UTC
family drama
Families come together at Christmas because they love each other, deeply, but along with the packaged gifts, mince pies, knitted jumpers, kindly intentions, and tacky conversations, they lug along their childhood irritations or parental peeves. Those festering wounds that have been repressed for years can suddenly surface most unexpectedly around the festive table, after a few glasses of red.

How is it that family gatherings tend to bring out the worst in people? With all the longing to be together, deep desires for meaningful and quality time, and the joy of being with family, somehow things don't quite go as we hope, or more likely go totally against our plans. The enormous expectations, crazy preparations, excessive pressure, and idea of the perfect Christmas can turn any stable adult into a reckless, exploding Christmas Cracker. It's the time where the inner child runs riot. Everyone tries to give their own children what they didn't get, racing around trying to prove they are an adequate parent and haven't completely screwed up their young tribe. But, quite honestly the whole shebang, while filled with good cheer and never-ending optimism, is often a recipe for disaster.
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Cell Phone

Is your social media making you depressed?

Lauren Steussy
The New York Post
Thu, 22 Dec 2016 12:11 UTC
Media depression
Jason Zook started every morning by scrolling through Twitter, Instagram, Vine, his blog and Facebook. It started to have an effect on the 33-year-old entrepreneur's mental health. The San Diego resident was stressed, distracted and feeling like he could never fulfill the expectations he created in his digital world, where he amassed more than 33,000 followers.

"You start your day looking at yourself compared to other people," he says. "You feel behind, and you have other people's opinions pressed upon you before you have a chance to have your own."

So he went cold turkey, going on a 30-day social-media detox. It was a smart move: A recent study from the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Research on Media, Technology, and Health found that using multiple social-media platforms may put you at increased risk of depression and anxiety.

Comment: See also:

Social media use and depression are clearly linked, says new study

New study finds frequent social media use linked to depression

Depression or anxiety strikes one in three teenage girls

Survey finds adolescents on social media have reduced satisfaction in life

Playground of abuse: Social media cause many kids to self-harm

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Question

What do people talk about before they die?

Kerry Egan
CNN
Tue, 20 Dec 2016 18:50 UTC
holding hands
As a divinity school student, I had just started working as a student chaplain at a cancer hospital when my professor asked me about my work. I was 26 years old and still learning what a chaplain did.

"I talk to the patients," I told him.

"You talk to patients? And tell me, what do people who are sick and dying talk to the student chaplain about?" he asked.

I had never considered the question before. "Well," I responded slowly, "Mostly we talk about their families."

"Do you talk about God?"

"Umm, not usually."

"Or their religion?"

"Not so much."

"The meaning of their lives?"

"Sometimes."

"And prayer? Do you lead them in prayer? Or ritual?"

"Well," I hesitated. "Sometimes. But not usually, not really."

I felt derision creeping into the professor's voice. "So you just visit people and talk about their families?"

"Well, they talk. I mostly listen."

"Huh." He leaned back in his chair.

Comment: See also:

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Brain

9 Stoic principles to help you keep calm in times of chaos

Paul Jun
99u
Tue, 20 Dec 2016 01:37 UTC
Marcus Aurelius
Observing individuals who lead a creative life, we can identify elements of expertise, grit, an understanding, and passion. What's easy to overlook is the inner system within an individual—the set of principles that govern their mind and behavior. When failure ensues or the need to adapt is necessary, how does one respond? What do they tell themselves? In other words, what's their philosophy?

Not only does philosophy teach us how to live well and become better humans, but it can also aid in overcoming life's trials and tribulations. Some schools of thought are for more abstract thinking and debate, whereas others are tools that are immediately practical to our current endeavors.

Comment: See also

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Info

Blunted reward response found in brains of depressed children

D.C. Demetre
Reliawire
Fri, 16 Dec 2016 18:02 UTC
brain test
© Robert Boston/Washington University School of Medicine
Clinically depressed children don't respond to rewards the same way as other children do, a study of brain waves done at Washington University in St. Louis shows.

Previous research from the same group of scientists found that a reduced ability to experience joy is a key sign of clinical depression in young children. The findings in the new study could help explain the biological underpinnings of the earlier discovery.

Senior investigator Joan L. Luby, director of Washington University's Early Emotional Development Program, says
"These findings may show us how the brain processes emotions in young children with depression. The pleasure we derive from rewards—such as toys and gifts—motivates us to succeed and seek more rewards. Dampening the process early in development is a serious concern because it may carry over to how a person will approach rewarding tasks later in life."
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Bulb

A good dose of Stoic philosophy is necessary for coping with troubling times

Ryan Holiday
theguardian.com
Sun, 11 Dec 2016 15:21 UTC
Epictetus
© WordPress.com
Some of us are stressed. Others are overworked, struggling with the new responsibilities of parenthood, or moving from one flawed relationship to another. Whatever it is, whatever you are going through, there is wisdom from the Stoics that can help.

Followers of this ancient and inscrutable philosophy have found themselves at the centre of some of history's most trying ordeals, from the French Revolution to the American Civil War to the prison camps of Vietnam. Bill Clinton reportedly reads Roman Emperor and stoic Marcus Aurelius's Meditations once a year, and one can imagine him handing a copy to Hillary after her heart-wrenching loss in the US presidential election.

Stoicism is a school of philosophy which was founded in Athens in the early 3rd century and then progressed to Rome, where it became a pragmatic way of addressing life's problems. The central message is, we don't control what happens to us; we control how we respond.

Comment: Ancient principles of Stoicism for the modern world:

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Music

Harmony: The neuroscience of singing

Cassandra Sheppard
UpLift
Sun, 11 Dec 2016 21:34 UTC
Singing
© UpLift
Singing Together Brings Heartbeats Into Harmony
The neuroscience of singing shows that when we sing our neurotransmitters connect in new and different ways. It fires up the right temporal lobe of our brain, releasing endorphins that make us smarter, healthier, happier and more creative. When we sing with other people this effect is amplified.
The science is in. Singing is really, really good for you and the most recent research suggests that group singing is the most exhilarating and transformative of all.

The good feelings we get from singing in a group are a kind of evolutionary reward for coming together cooperatively.

The research suggests that creating music together evolved as a tool of social living. Groups and tribes sang and danced together to build loyalty, transmit vital information and ward off enemies.

Science Supports Singing

What has not been understood until recently is that singing in groups triggers the communal release of serotonin and oxytocin, the bonding hormone, and even synchronises our heart beats.

Group singing literally incentivised community over an "each cave dweller for themselves" approach. Those who sang together were strongly bonded and survived.

Comment: See also: Singing together encourages social bonding

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