Parkinson’s, depression and the switch that might turn them off
How trauma can affect your body and mind
As I write this, our thoughts are with those in Boston who were affected by the bombings at the 2013 Boston Marathon.
In my 20 years living in the Boston area, I cheered on the runners on many occasions and now, even from far way, these events feel close to home.
Experiencing trauma can have a dramatic effect on our bodies and our minds. And although it’s a different experience to witness a trauma on television, it still can affect us.
When you perceive a threat, the body activates the stress response. The stress response occurs in both your body and brain.
The body’s response to acute stress is a preparation for emergency. Adrenaline and other hormones are released. The body shuts down processes associated with long-term care. When under immediate threat, digestion, reproduction, cell repair and other body tasks related to long-term functioning are unimportant.
The Mystery of Original Sin
egend has it that G. K. Chesterton, asked by a newspaper reporter what was wrong with the world, skipped over all the expected answers. He said nothing about corrupt politicians or ancient rivalries between warring nations, or the greed of the rich and the covetousness of the poor. He left aside street crime and unjust laws and inadequate education. Environmental degradation and population growth overwhelming the earth's carrying capacity were not on his radar. Neither were the structural evils that burgeoned as wickedness became engrained in society and its institutions in ever more complex ways.
What's wrong with the world? As the story goes, Chesterton responded with just two words: “I am.”
His answer is unlikely to be popular with a generation schooled to cultivate self-esteem, to pursue its passions and chase self-fulfillment first and foremost. After all, we say, there are reasons for our failures and foibles. It's not our fault that we didn't win the genetic lottery, or that our parents fell short in their parenting, or that our third-grade teacher made us so ashamed of our arithmetic errors that we gave up pursuing a career in science. Besides, we weren't any worse than our friends, and going along with the gang made life a lot more comfortable. We have lots of excuses for why things go wrong, and—as with any lie worth its salt—most of them contain some truth.
Supreme Court considers validity of cancer gene patents
As I’ve said numerous times, including in yesterday’s roundup, it is Supreme Court season both in Washington, DC and on LexBlog Network as our members have been on a tear when it comes to providing detailed analysis of major decisions. It’s impossible for me to accurately describe, so do go visit LXBN’s Supreme Court section for the full view. In the meantime, here’s two of the most interesting cases covered—ones we’ve been tracking all the way up through the circuit courts—and another trending topic on our network.
- There’s no way around it, Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics is absolutely a landmark case—one that could have a very huge bearing on scientific and healthcare research in our country. At dispute in the case is whether or not companies can patent human genes, and specifically in this case, genes that cause cancer. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case on Monday, and as she’s done with this case at every level, Antoinette Konski provides excellent analysis on the Personalized Medicine Bulletin.
Self-Sabotage When You Can’t Sleep
At one time in my life, this used to bug me. I would look at the clock and think, “oh no, I must get back to sleep or I’ll be so tired in the morning.” And then I’d spend the next hour or two willing myself to go back to sleep: tossing and turning, demanding that I slip back into unconsciousness; huffing and puffing that I wasn’t sleeping. I’d even check the clock every 10 minutes to see if I’d slept.
But the reality was, and still is, the more that I demand something of myself, the less likely I am to achieve that goal — and that really is the principle of living an unhappy life.
Sure I want to go back to sleep. I would even really, really, really, prefer to be sleeping right now, but I’m not. So, instead of lying there, beating myself up for waking when I “absolutely shouldn’t have,” I get up. I grab a drink, get something to eat and power up my laptop.
IITS Affiliated to MESA-GST
International Institute of Theological Studies- IITSÂ was founded in 1990 as an Institute for teaching basic Theology, practical Christianity and Counselling principles is now affiliated to the Middle East South Asia Graduate School of Theology:MESA-GST. This is accredited to IAO, IATA and member of All India Association for Christian Higher Education (AIACHE) in collaboration with Yeshcol Bible College and St.Andrew’s Seminary.
Its Gulf branch was formed to educate ,train and equip Christian leaders employed in the Gulf . Initially it trained around 200 committed persons in UAE , Bahrain and Qatar and thereafter its pioneering work continued under its affiliated School, The School of Ministry operating under Dubai City Church which imparted various programmes of study to an average of 200 persons per year.
Five Ways To Turn Fear Into Fuel
Changing Your Brain By Changing Your Mind
How the Brain Processes Emotion
Collective Consciousness
Introduction
Have you ever experienced a time when the collective enthusiasm of a large event seemed to rise to such a peak that you could almost feel a crackle in the air? Or felt a haunting sense in the air while visiting a place that caused sadness or suffering for thousands of people?
Provocative evidence suggests that there are significant departures from chance expectation in the outputs of random number generators (electronic devices that produce truly random bits, or sequences of zeros and ones) during times of collective upheaval, global crises and major celebrations.
This year, the Institute of Noetic Sciences, along with several collaborators, conducted an exploratory experiment at Black Rock City, the temporary city created each year in the Nevada desert for the festival known as Burning Man. Burning Man is a week-long event that attracts upwards of 50,000 people. It is unique in its concentrated intensity, isolation, and collective intention, culminating with the burning of a large man-shaped effigy at the center of Black Rock City on Saturday night. See this article in the Atlantic magazine to get a feeling for the event, or these pictures in Rolling Stone magazine.
Thousands of Buddhist Monks in Asia Learn Transcendental Meditation
More than 3,000 Buddhist monks in 100 monasteries throughout Southeast Asia have learned the Transcendental Meditation technique, as a result of the work by a revered Japanese Buddhist monk, Reverend Koji Oshima, who is a longtime TM practitioner and certified TM teacher.
According to Rev. Oshima, the Buddhist monks appreciate the simplicity, effortlessness, and profound experience of transcendence, which is gained almost immediately after starting the TM practice. Rev. Oshima adds that transcendence provides the natural basis for the monk’s subsequent prayers and practices.
During Maharishi’s many tours of Asian countries, he often visited monasteries and spoke personally to many Buddhist leaders. One prominent monk in Sri Lanka, who is now the leader, or “Shan Kara,” of one the three streams of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, has been instrumental in encouraging monks throughout the country to take TM instruction from Reverend Oshima.
CYBERCRIME AND CYBERCRIMINALS
Criminological theory is admittedly weak in this area. There are things that are criminally wrong, deliberately wrong, accidentally wrong, wrong for all the right reasons, wrong for all the wrong reasons, and just plain annoying. Legal systems everywhere are busy studying ways of passing new laws dealing with Internet misbehavior, so the arena has become a sort of “test-bed” or “mini-society” where all sorts of moral deconstruction and decoding goes on. This ethereal realm we call CYBERSPACE is intriguing but full of potential dangers. Barney (2000), for one, hopes that it will eventually be used to perfect democracy. Others see it as offering little more than an underground economy and tempting addictions. It is both a blessing and curse. Nobody has any good idea about how to regulate or police it.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Depression
In this age of advanced modern medicine, it is a depressing fact that not all people suffering with a depressive illness respond to antidepressants.
Can Doodling Improve Memory and Concentration?
All sorts of claims have been made for the power of doodling: from it being an entertaining or relaxing activity, right through to it aiding creativity, or even that you can read people's personalities in their doodles.
The idea that doodling provides a window to the soul is probably wrong. It can seem intuitively attractive but it falls into the same category as graphology: it's a pseudoscience (psychologists have found no connection between personality and handwriting).
Although it's probably a waste of time trying to interpret a doodle, could the act of doodling itself still be a beneficial habit for attention and memory in certain circumstances?
Faculty of Law and Philosophy 