Science of the Spirit

There's a monkey in your mind, and his name is Trevor

philhellenes
Youtube
Thu, 15 Jul 2010 16:38 UTC

4 billion years of evolution is not easily overcome, but human history is littered with examples of individuals who said, "No", to their inner ape, their instincts. It can be done. The trick is to SEE it first. Then you can resist.

If you want to punch someone in the face for knocking your beer over, thy name be Trevor. If you want to punch someone because you're bored, you may as well wear a monkey suit. If you believe all the priest says and don't wanna think for yourself, it's not a coincidence that Trevor feels the same. If your heart is broken and you want your abusive ex-boyfriend or abusive ex-girlfriend back, that's Trevor messing with you.

He'll do anything, torture you if necessary, to get you to multiply (doesn't feel like that's what's going on, but Trevor's clever like that). The first step to easing a problem is admitting there IS a problem. And it's name is often "Trevor".

A comment that sums up what I was trying to say in just a few words.

"The more I learn, the more I think and reason, the weaker Trevor becomes. You can't kill Trevor, but you can become your own master."

¬ macnutz

Why psychopathic film villains are rarely realistic - and why it matters

Susan Perry
MinnPost
Fri, 17 Jan 2014 08:07 UTC

Many of film's most memorable villains, from Tony Camonte in Scarface (1932) to Norman Bates in Psycho (1960) to Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men (2007), have been portrayed as psychopaths.

But just how clinically realistic are those portrayals?

Not very - with a handful of exceptions, according to a paper published recently in the Journal of Forensic Sciences.

This finding is of interest to more than just film buffs. Other research has shown that films exert a strong influence on people's perceptions of mental illness.

And those perceptions are often wrong. A study published earlier this year found that almost half of respondents to two surveys taken last January believed that people with a serious mental illness are more dangerous than members of the general population. In reality, however, less than 5 percent of individuals with a serious mental illness become violent. They are much more likely, in fact, to be the victim of a violent crime.

Psychopaths in power: The Parasite on the Human Super-organism

Niall Bradley
Sott.net
Sat, 18 Jan 2014 07:27 UTC

I was reading another devastating commentary by American author Chris Hedges on the overbearing tyranny of the State, and it got me to thinking about this popular notion of "rising up against" oppressors. Hedges' analysis is on target, but I feel that his conclusion that we must "tear it down" in order to escape it is lacking something important.

To 'rise up against our oppressors', to 'take back the country', and to 'overthrow the ruling class' assumes that they are 'up there' to begin with. Yes, in many ways they are. Through their domination of industry, government, media, education and so on, they invariably influence - control even - just about everything material in our world; they possess most of the wealth, work in high-rise buildings, live in elevated suburbs and generally look down from their rarefied vantage point on the masses slumming it out below.

But when it comes to the important things - moral character, worldly experience, creative abilities, and basic intelligence - what do they really possess? Few, if any of these things. In fact, I think we can make the case that, psychologically-speaking, they are actually pretty far 'down there' on the scale of haves and have-nots.

Ok, so they certainly set no moral example to follow. Well, what then do we need the State for? Standard political theory teaches that the State is the final arbiter of contracts between people, without which there would be lawless chaos. Left unto themselves, claimed schizoids like Thomas Hobbes, life for humans would be "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short." I'm not so sure. In fact, I'm beginning to think it's the other way around: life is brutish for most because of the State.

Scientists Call For Open, Informed Study of Psi Effects and Consciousness

Daily Grail
Mon, 13 Jan 2014 06:18 UTC

Is there safety in numbers when it comes to science? Some 90 scientists and academics have co-signed a letter, written by Etzel Cardeña of Lund University and published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, that calls for more mainstream support of open and honest investigation of parapsychological topics, and related mysteries of human consciousness.

The science behind reincarnation - The research of Dr Jim Tucker

Greg
Daily Grail
Wed, 15 Jan 2014 07:10 UTC

It's been almost seven years since the death of Dr. Ian Stevenson, well-known for his extensive and detailed research into apparent cases of reincarnation. Stevenson was very much the 'public face' of this research strand, but one of his proteges at the University of Virginia, Dr. Jim Tucker, has also spent many years investigating the same topic, and has recently released a new book on his own research titled Return to Life: Extraordinary Cases of Children Who Remember Past Lives. Tucker was recently on NPR discussing his work, for those interested in taking a listen [transcript below]:

As might be expected, Tucker's seven-minute appearance on NPR has engendered a comments thread with more than 230 entries, with no shortage of bickering between people horrified that NPR would cover such an 'unscientific' topic and others defending the discussion - reminiscent of last year's blow-up after the University of Virginia's own magazine printed a piece on his reincarnation research.

Comment: For more information see Psychiatrist investigates children's claims of past lives

Comedians may be psychotic sez Oxford Psychology Prof

Denis Campbell
The Guardian
Wed, 15 Jan 2014 00:00 UTC

Comedians are able to make people laugh because they often display characteristics usually found in people with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, research published on Thursday claims.

Their talent to amuse people lies in having unusual personalities and displaying what researchers say are high levels of psychotic characteristics, according to findings which appear to support the widely held belief of a link between madness and creativity.

The results are based on a study of how 523 comedians from the UK, USA and Australia described their own personalities and beliefs when they filled in a questionnaire measuring psychotic traits in people who are not troubled by mental illness.

"The creative elements needed to produce humour are strikingly similar to those characterising the cognitive style of people with psychosis - both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder," said Professor Gordon Claridge from Oxford University's department of experimental psychology. He is also one of the three co-authors of the findings, which are published in the British Journal of Psychiatry.

Finding pleasure in productive activities the key to boosting self-control

University of Toronto
Tue, 14 Jan 2014 15:58 UTC

After a long, tiring day many of us simply give in to the urge to grab a favourite unhealthy snack and avoid tackling obligatory tasks. But we don't have to.

A new study from the University of Toronto Scarborough shows that while people have a harder time controlling themselves when tired, it doesn't mean they've exhausted all of their willpower. The key to boosting self-control is finding pleasure in the necessary activities of life.

"When people are fatigued they experience a change in motivational priorities such that they are less willing to work for the things they feel obliged to do and more willing to work for things they like to do," says Michael Inzlicht, professor in the Department of Psychology at UTSC and affiliate faculty at U of T's School of Public Policy and Governance.

Meditation transforms roughest San Francisco schools

David L. Kirp
San Francisco Chronicle
Wed, 15 Jan 2014 14:29 UTC

© Lea Suzuki, The Chronicle
Barry Zito, David Lynch, Russell Brand meditate with students during Quiet Time at Burton High.

At first glance, Quiet Time - a stress reduction strategy used in several San Francisco middle and high schools, as well as in scattered schools around the Bay Area - looks like something out of the om-chanting 1960s. Twice daily, a gong sounds in the classroom and rowdy adolescents, who normally can't sit still for 10 seconds, shut their eyes and try to clear their minds. I've spent lots of time in urban schools and have never seen anything like it.

This practice - meditation rebranded - deserves serious attention from parents and policymakers. An impressive array of studies shows that integrating meditation into a school's daily routine can markedly improve the lives of students. If San Francisco schools Superintendent Richard Carranza has his way, Quiet Time could well spread citywide.

What's happening at Visitacion Valley Middle School, which in 2007 became the first public school nationwide to adopt the program, shows why the superintendent is so enthusiastic. In this neighborhood, gunfire is as common as birdsong - nine shootings have been recorded in the past month - and most students know someone who's been shot or did the shooting. Murders are so frequent that the school employs a full-time grief counselor.

Comment: Learn more about the numerous benefits of stress reduction and meditation. Visit the Éiriú Eolas Stress Control, Healing and Rejuvenation Program here, learn breathing and meditation techniques that will help you to:

Relax from the stresses of everyday life
Gently work your way through past emotional and psychological trauma
Release repressed emotions and mental blockages
Rejuvenate and Detoxify your body and mind

Éiriú Eolas removes the barriers that stand between you and True Peace, Happiness, and ultimately a successful, fulfilling life.

Study finds less gray matter in brain not the blame for dyslexia

April Flowers
RedOrbit
Wed, 15 Jan 2014 14:04 UTC

Research has found a link between reading disabilities and less gray matter in the brain for people with dyslexia. However, new evidence from Georgetown University Medical Center's Center for the Study of Learning suggests that this is a consequence of poorer reading experiences and not the root cause of the disorder.

Prior to this research, scientists assumed that the difference in the amount of gray matter might, in part, explain why dyslexic children have difficulties correctly and fluently mapping the sounds in words to their written counterparts during reading. The new findings, published in The Journal of Neuroscience, have turned this assumption of causality on its head.

The researchers compared two control groups with a group of dyslexic children. One of the control groups was an age-matched group included in most previous studies, while the other was a group of younger children who were matched at the same reading level as the children with dyslexia.

"This kind of approach allows us to control for both age as well as reading experience," explains neuroscientist Guinevere Eden, DPhil, a professor of pediatrics at GUMC. "If the differences in brain anatomy in dyslexia were seen in comparison with both control groups, it would have suggested that reduced gray matter reflects an underlying cause of the reading deficit. But that's not what we observed."

Behind the Headlines: Predators Among Us - Interview With Dr. Anna Salter

Sott Editors
Sott.net
Sun, 08 Dec 2013 19:00 UTC

In December 2013, we spoke with Dr. Anna Salter on SOTT Talk Radio. Dr. Salter is a licensed clinical psychologist who received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and Public Practice from Harvard University. She is the author of the best-selling book, Predators: Pedophiles, Rapists, and Other Sex Offenders, Who They Are, How They Operate, and How We Can Protect Ourselves and Our Children, provides expert testimony in high-profile criminal trials in the US, and has given talks internationally.

Dr. Salter's invaluable contribution towards exposing and understanding the predators in our midst comes from her tremendous courage in both treating the victims of violent sex crimes, and also from studying the offenders, interviewing them and compiling the videotaped interviews along with her commentary and analysis.

What motivates sexual abusers? Why are so few caught? Lifting the lid on an unspoken, unacknowledged reality that sees countless thousands of sex crimes take place in towns and cities everywhere, Dr. Salter shows that sexual predators use sophisticated deception techniques and rely on misconceptions surrounding them to evade discovery.

Arguing that even the most knowledgeable among us can be fooled, listen as Dr. Salter dispels the myths about sexual predators and gives us the tools to protect our families and ourselves. As Dr. Salter put it: "Knowing how they think and act and operate is the only protection we have."

Running Time: 02:04:00

Download: MP3

And there you have it.... Confirmation of a different sort. Demanding a new baptism to a whole different, but much warmer, afterlife and God.

DeliciousTears

Ignominy plain & evident. Typed with one hand & 1 finger thereof. Ignominy plain and simple obvious. I’ve been indignant for a long time...

Buffalo_Ken

Grandad Adam and Grandma Eve's friendly nieghbours.

Awordinyourear

"One might think that Americans...would be better equipped with suspicion." Obviously some are, or they wouldn't be getting fired.

ReRan

It is high time for a large Solar mass ejection or flare that will cripple information systems world wide.

Baybars

Science of the Spirit

There's a monkey in your mind, and his name is Trevor

Why psychopathic film villains are rarely realistic - and why it matters

Psychopaths in power: The Parasite on the Human Super-organism

Scientists Call For Open, Informed Study of Psi Effects and Consciousness

The science behind reincarnation - The research of Dr Jim Tucker

Comedians may be psychotic sez Oxford Psychology Prof

Finding pleasure in productive activities the key to boosting self-control

Meditation transforms roughest San Francisco schools

Study finds less gray matter in brain not the blame for dyslexia

Behind the Headlines: Predators Among Us - Interview With Dr. Anna Salter

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