Homeostasis of Happiness

Henry Miller

2023-05-04T22:50:00.002-07:00

“To move forward clinging to the past is like dragging a ball and chain. The prisoner is not the one who has committed a crime, but the one who clings to his crime and lives it over and over. We are all guilty of crime, the great crime of not living life to the full. But we are all potentially free. We can stop thinking of what we have failed to do and do whatever lies within our power."

~ Henry Miller

Knife Buyer's Guide

2019-10-17T02:18:00.002-07:00

Knife Buyer's Guide

Author: David Mead
Whether you’re hunting, camping, butchering or just going about your everyday business, the right knife makes life much easier. But which knife is the right one? Simply typing in the word “knife” into an Internet search and hitting enter pulls up an overwhelming amount of options. Heck, even narrowing it down and typing something as specific as “skinning knife” leaves you with seemingly countless choices. But don’t worry – this buyer’s guide will help you whittle down the choices so you can pick the exact knife you need.

Knives by Application

•Boning – Should have a thin blade 5" to 6½" in length. You’ll want a fairly stiff blade for boning out big game, while a flexible blade is preferred for turkeys or upland birds.
•Skinning – Generally short with a deep drop, limiting the area of impact. Ideal for working in tight areas when caping an animal.
•Slicing – Have a narrow, thin blade, usually 8" to 12" in overall length and are effective when cutting ultrathin slices of meat. The more flexible the blade, the easier cutting thin slices is. Specialty slicers have a curved or scimitar-style tip to assist in tight spots, like between the wing and breast of birds.
•Everyday-Carry (EDC) – Should be small and light. However, if your knife is excessively small, some of the tasks you run into throughout the day may be too much for it to handle. A knife with a 3" blade is often a good balance between compactness and functionality, but this may not be perfect for everyone. Consider what you do most on a daily basis when deciding which EDC to purchase.
•Tactical – Designed for self-defense, but many can double as EDC knives. They are typically dark in color to aid in concealment. Easy-to-conceal folding-blade tactical knives generally have assisted opening for fast access. Deep-pocket clips that mount close to the end of the handle are often used so little knife is visible when it’s clipped to a pocket. Fixed-blade knives are harder to conceal and carry, but they’re stronger and provide instant access.
•Replaceable-blade – With these knives, you’ll never have to sharpen a blade again. The blades are dispensable and replacements are relatively inexpensive, so when one blade becomes dull, you simply change it out for one that’s razor sharp. These are used for many applications, from skinning to slicing.
•Fixed vs. folding blade – Fixed-blade knives are stronger, while folding blades are more compact and thus easier to carry.

Blade Materials

Blades are made of a wide variety of materials, and each has its own advantages. There is upside and downside to every material. Here is a breakdown of the most common materials you’ll encounter when shopping for the ideal blade.

•Crucible – Developed by Crucible Steel for the cutlery industry and known as the pinnacle of knife-making metals. It’s tempered for hardness, making it excellent at holding an edge. Also, it’s extremely corrosion-resistant, ensuring it will last for years, but fairly hard to sharpen.
•High-carbon steel – Also called cutlery steel. Holds an excellent edge and is easy to sharpen. A higher carbon content means increased blade hardness. The downsides to high-carbon steel are that it’s somewhat brittle, has a tendency to rust and reacts to both acids and alkalis, causing it to discolor. The discoloration doesn’t affect its performance.
•Stainless steel – Excellent if you want a blade that doesn’t discolor, but this alloy is a real chore to sharpen once it loses its edge. However, the extreme hardness does help the blade hold its original edge longer.
•Titanium – Good for all-purpose knives. Lightweight, durable and retains sharpness longer than steel. Relatively easy to sharpen. Titanium-coated knives or knives with titanium edges don’t have the same quality as those made purely of titanium or titanium alloys. Since sharpening removes metal, titanium-coated blades have a shorter life span.
•Ceramic – Lightweight, hard, dense space-age material that is stronger than steel, but far more brittle. Ceramic blades hold an edge significantly longer than steel and can be manufactured into much thinner blades, which makes cutting considerably easier. They are best used for slicing and should never be used for chopping due to their brittleness. Unlike steel, their hardness makes them impervious to chemical reactions with either acidic or alkaline foods. Diamond hones are used for sharpening and repairing chips.

Construction
A blade’s hardness is determined by using a Rockwell machine that forces a small penetrator into the metal’s surface. The depth of penetration is correlated to an A, B or C scale reading called the Rockwell hardness scale. A higher number is assigned to harder steel that allows less penetration. Blade steels are measured on the "C" scale (Rc) and range from Rc 55-60. In comparison, a diamond will range in the 80s on the Rockwell "C".

Stainless steel bears a number of industry designations, generally with a number such as 154 or 420, followed by alpha characters like CM or HC. The numerical value indicates the amount of each element used, and the letters reveal the alloys that were used. 154CM is a high-carbon, high-alloy stainless steel made with 1.05% carbon, 0.5% manganese, 0.4% - 0.55% Molybdenum and 14.0% chromium. Therefore, the 154 indicates 1% carbon, 0.5% manganese and 0.4% molybdenum. The CM indicates chromium. This grade of steel is widely used by top specialty-knife makers. The chart below compares the most common blade materials in terms of hardness, corrosion resistance and edge quality.

•Forged – Typically high quality and recommended for most applications. A prominent bolster between handle and blade will usually identify a forged knife, although a few are made without a bolster. They are usually heavier, better balanced and easier to keep sharp. Also, with care, they can last for generations.
•Stamped – Cut or stamped out of flat metal stock. They don’t undergo the numerous steps associated with forging and are thus lighter in weight and usually not as well balanced. Since the metal is not as dense as a forged knife, stamped knives won’t hold their edge as well.
•Sintering – An innovative process that results in all the durability, flexibility and light weight of titanium, plus the incredible edge retention of ceramic materials. Unlike ceramic blades, sintered titanium knives can be resharpened with standard sharpening stones. Some forged knives have parts that are manufactured separately and sintered together to form a knife of good quality at a lower cost than forged knives.

Blade Types

•Spear point – Symmetrical geometry on its point and down the blade give it two identical edges.
•Trailing point – Cut upward, higher than the spine of the blade. Excellent for skinning and caping.
•Sheepsfoot – Has a blunt, rounded tip and straight cutting edge. The lack of a traditional point reduces the chances of accidental punctures. Great for cutting around inflatable watercraft, livestock and during emergencies.
•Drop point – Largely popular. Common and especially useful in EDC knives. It has a lowered point that provides control and adds tip strength.
•Clip point – Similar to the drop point. An excellent all-around knife. It has a lowered tip with a long belly area that punctures well and is great for slicing.
•Tanto point –Specializes in piercing. It has a thick point that absorbs impact well.
•Gut hook – Used for skinning and field dressing. The hook is used to split the skin, unzipping the animal.
•Saw blade – Has a toothed edge that cuts when force is applied and a back-and-forth cutting motion is employed. Used to cut

through hard material such as bone or wood.
•Saw blade – Curved tip reduces possibility of punctures when working in tight areas. Good all-purpose blade.

Edges

•Plain – A sharpened edge with no serrations or teeth – sometimes referred to as a smooth edge. Excellent for slicing, control, and accuracy. Produces clean cuts.
•Serrated – A more aggressive, saw-like cutting edge. Although they produce unrefined cuts, serrated blades retain their ability to cut long after straight blades have lost their edge.

Blade Grinds

•Hollow – Produces an extremely thin edge that is excellent for slicing. Many hunting knives use this grind.
•Chisel – Only ground on one side. This creates an extremely sharp knife. However, it isn’t symmetrical, forcing the knife to curve when slicing, thus making accuracy difficult.
•Sabre – Leaves a fairly thick edge that is ultrastrong, making it excellent for chopping.
•Flat –Excellent at slicing yet strong enough to chop. Ideal for kitchen cutlery.
•Convex – Essentially the opposite of a hollow grind. This leaves a lot of steel behind the edge, making it extremely strong – excellent for jobs that require a lot of force.

Blade Finishes

There seems to be countless blade finishes on the market, all with unique names. The purposes for blade finishes range from purely cosmetic to rust resistance to friction reduction. Below are the most popular coatings. Many finishes fit into one of these categories even though they may have a different, brand-specific name.

•Black electroplating – A nonreflective coating bonded to steel using an electrostatic process. It reduces the steel’s reflectivity.
•Teflon® – Slick and cuts better because of reduced friction.
•Satin – Has a medium luster. Shows fine buffing lines with two directional finishes that better display the bevels of a blade. Used for cosmetic purposes.
•Black-coated – Gives the blade a dark matte finish. This helps with concealment. Also ups a knife’s corrosion resistance.

Lock and Joint Mechanisms

•Lockback – Similar to a fixed-blade knife, though still not as rigid. When opened, this blade locks into position, giving it more strength and stability.
•Slip joint – Blade doesn’t lock. Rather, it’s held in place by a spring device that allows the blade to fold when a certain amount of pressure is applied.
•Frame and liner locks – Can be opened easily with one hand. Most often used on folding tactical knives.

Handle Materials

•Wood – Offers an excellent grip but requires regular care. Keep it out of water and rub occasionally with mineral oil.
•Plastic – May become somewhat brittle in time and can be slippery in the hand. Plastic-impregnated wood has properties similar to wood but requires less care and lasts longer.
•Synthetics (G10, Kraton, Micrarta, polymide, etc.) – Provide phenomenal grip and comfort, plus they last longer than natural materials.
•Metal – Fairly indestructible when used for handle material. Can be slippery or firm – many knives have a patterned metal grip, which provides a solid grasp in all conditions.

Meditating Dog

2019-04-03T10:14:00.003-07:00

Dog Meditating

Alexander Shulgin was a pioneer in Psychedelic Medicine

2019-04-02T23:46:00.001-07:00

Sasha Shulgin was the grandfather of this track of investigation in America:

Advances in Psychedelic Medicine: State-of-the-Art Therapeutic Applications

edited by Michael J. Winkelman, Ben Sessa MD

More than a decade ago, the U.S. government lifted its ban on all testing of psychedelic substances. Winkelman and Sessa now provide updated scientific research and applications of these substances, now moving into approved categories of medicine. The text is an up-to-date assessment of the latest advances in the field of psychedelic medicine, covering the use of LSD, psilocybin, MDMA, ayahuasca, and other substances to augment psychotherapies for a range of disorders. It discusses medical and psychiatric concerns, clinical efficacy and safety, ethical considerations, and neuroscience findings regarding the psychedelic compounds.

Topics covered include an overview of psychiatric applications of psychedelics; treatments for addictions and depressive disorders; effects of psychedelics on inflammation and neuroplasticity; evidence for clinical applications of DMT, ayahuasca, and cannabidiol; psychedelic treatment of sociopathic disorders; microdosing psychedelics; training psychedelic therapists; and community-based harm reduction approaches to managing psychedelic crises.

Mazatec Mushroom Usage: Notes on Approach, Setting and Species for Curious Psilonauts

Sam Gandy

“There is a world beyond ours, a world that is far away, nearby and invisible. And there is where God lives, where the dead live, the spirits and the saints, a world where everything has already happened and everything is known. This world talks. It has a language of its own. I report what it says. The sacred mushroom takes me by the hand and brings me to the world where everything is known. It is they, the sacred mushrooms, that speak in a way I can understand. I ask them and they answer me. When I return from the trip that I have taken with them, I tell what they have told me and what they have shown me.” – Maria Sabina

http://realitysandwich.com/323749/mazatec-mushroom-usage-notes-on-approach-setting-and-species-for-curious-psilonauts/

The approach used in modern therapeutic psilocybin sessions can be summarised as “trust, surrender, let go”. Expanding on this, Dr William Richards (senior Johns Hopkins psychedelic researcher at Johns Hopkins) offers the following insight:

“The same force that takes you deep within will, of its own impetus, return you safely to the everyday world,” the manual offers at one point. Guides are instructed to remind subjects that they’ll never be left alone and not to worry about their bodies while journeying, since they will be monitored. If you feel like you’re “dying, melting, dissolving, exploding, going crazy etc.—go ahead, embrace it: Climb staircases, open doors, explore paths, fly over landscapes.” And if you confront anything frightening, “look the monster in the eye and move towards it. . . . Dig in your heels; ask, ‘What are you doing in my mind?’ Or, ‘What can I learn from you?’ Look for the darkest corner in the basement, and shine your light there.”1

This approach has been successfully applied in therapeutic psilocybin sessions at Johns Hopkins, N.Y.U. and Imperial College London and other institutions exploring the therapeutic potential of psilocybin, and appears to buffer against the adverse reactions sometimes associated with recreational use of psilocybin. The recommended setting is a comfortable room with subdued lighting, with the participant lying down wearing eyeshades on a bed or sofa, listening to playlist of carefully selected, predominantly instrumental music (avoiding human vocals) playing through headphones, ensuring comfort and encouraging the experiencer to focus inwards. The lyrical narrative of human vocals is avoided as they tend to be emotive and powerfully influence people’s experiences in certain ways. This approach has its merits and the results of some of the modern studies speak for themselves.2,3,4,5,6 However, this is a stark divergence from the approach employed by Mazatec curanderos, or shamans.

Several indigenous groups in Mexico are known to practice the ceremonial use of Psilocybe mushrooms, or what they refer to as los Santos Niños (“the Little Saints”) or nti si tho (“the little ones who spring forth”): the Nahuatls in the states of Mexico, Morelos and Puebla; the Matlazincs in the state of Mexico; the Totonacs in the state of Veracruz; and the Mazatecs, Mixes, Zapotecs and Chatins in the state of Oaxaca.7 Of these, the epicentre of usage in Mexico can be considered among the Mazatec, who are considered to possess the greatest knowledge of mushroom lore. They employ mushrooms for problem solving, physical, psychological and spiritual healing, and seeking lost or stolen objects.

Ancient tradition calls for fasting prior to ingesting mushrooms, with the exception of fruit and water if necessary. Alcohol and other drugs are avoided before and after the ceremony, or velada. One is recommend to bathe prior to the experience and wear clean white or brightly coloured clothing, while black is avoided. Powdered San Pedro (Nicotiana rustica) tobacco may be used alongside the mushrooms, applied topically to the wrists and forearms by the shaman as a tonic for the body. The tobacco is believed to have magical and remedial qualities, and is also used as an offering on the altar. Sexual abstinence is usually recommended for several days before and after a ceremony, and pork tends to be avoided during this time.

Communion with the mushroom is to be approached with humility and respect, but not fear. One should remain calm and be prepared for mental turbulence that can accompany entry into the bemushroomed realms. It is good to remain silent and speak as little as possible, at least in the beginning phase of the mushroom velada. Excessive talking can detract from the focus and energy of the experience, so conversations are reserved for later. Only the mushroom imbibers should be present, and overall, the fewer the better, as too many people may taint the atmosphere.

A single species of Psilocybe is employed in a given ceremony, and mixing of different species is avoided. Mushrooms are cleansed in copal smoke prior to ingestion, and are consumed fresh, in pairs on an empty stomach. People are encouraged to take their time to chew the mushrooms thoroughly, which allows one’s system to adjust to the experience. Unsweetened cacao is often consumed alongside the mushrooms, this being a custom practiced by the Aztec as part of their mushroom ceremonies, and according to some it greatly intensifies the visionary aspect of the mushroom. Following consumption of the mushrooms, candles are blown out, and total darkness descends. Mazatec shamans may chant and perform bodywork on participants during the velada with their hands.

Natalia blessing mushrooms in copal smoke. Credit: Christopher Casuse

Unlike the clinical therapeutic approach, the shaman ingests psilocybin alongside their patients. At the present time, patients are only permitted 1-3 psilocybin sessions in a research study context, whereas in the traditional Mazatec context, people have the option of repeated and regular sessions. The Mazatec often consume mushrooms in family groups, which is rare outside the traditional context of the velada.

The Mazatec velada setting is usually in the shaman’s home, in a room with an altar. Sessions take place during the night, often in darkness, or sometimes with candle light. This is to minimise distractions and focus the mind. A velada may begin in pitch darkness, to ensure that visions are bright and clear (an approach that well-known psilonaut Terrence McKenna also recommended), with candles lit at a later time. The presence of candles is important…beeswax candles are favoured by the Mazatec. Candle flames serve as a neutral and absorbing focal point for a tried and tested means of anchoring awareness in the present. Candle flames have been employed in this context by many cultures and traditions, such as in yogic Trataka meditation, Buddhist Kasina meditation and in Jewish ceremonies going back many centuries. The night is recognized as the time most conducive to visionary insights and deep inner work. Despite regional, cultural and linguistic differences between various indigenous groups, this setting and timing is a shared common element.

In the context of a Mazatec mushroom velada, the focal point of the setting is a traditional altar, comprising a table adorned with images of religious figures, local cultural deities, candles, flowers and saints. The syncretic nature of the post-Colombian Mazatec tradition made it easy for them to assimilate Christian imagery into their rituals following the Spanish invasion and the spread of Catholicism that accompanied it. Psilonauts are encouraged to focus on the candles and images, with sustained attention and avoiding “falling” into the trance, maintaining their intention on invoking the sacred. The typical Western approach, where people close their eyes and allow the music to guide them, has been described by Mazatec elder shaman Natalia Martinez as a “lazy approach”, which does not allow the full potential of the mushroom to manifest.

Of course, some Westerners may not be comfortable with pictures of religious figures, but an altar can be tailored to one’s personal resonance. For example, those with a more pantheistic perspective maybe prefer natural objects, such as shells, crystals, pine cones, flowers or feathers.

Mazatec style altar.

For those training with her, Natalia offers a full dinner plate of derrumbe (“landslide”) mushrooms (P. caerulescens) and encourages experiencers to maintain awareness throughout the experience. This is deemed an invaluable exercise in training one’s perception, in order that one can navigate their experience with a clear and centred mind, and allow one to work with what the mushroom presents to an undistracted mind. This is considered an essential part of the training for those who wish to provide mushroom veladas themselves. One sits erect on a small stool before the altar, maintaining awareness and open-eyed focus on the candles and images on the altar while remaining present. The altar acts as an anchor, providing a powerful means for orientating the experience and navigating challenging content when necessary. Natalia has been doing this work up to three times a week, for the past 40 years, and has amazing energy for an 87 year old woman.

Consuming mushrooms in the Mazatec setting can result in powerful experiences and openings, and this approach may yield a very distinct set of experiences from that of the Western therapeutic approach. Consumed regularly and consistently, weekly in some cases, the practice results in a set of progressive and deepening experiences, with each building upon the previous. Working with mushrooms in this way is considered by some to constitute a form of theurgy. In the US, taking mushrooms in this traditional manner means it may qualify as a sacred plant tradition, which would be protected under the Religious Freedom Act.

The Mazatec and other indigenous Psilocybe using groups tend to take the view that different species of mushroom have different qualities or their own ‘signature’. Some are revered more than others or used for specific purposes. This view is shared by ethnobotanist Kathleen Harrison, who has worked extensively with the Mazatec and various Psilocybe species, and is commonly echoed by experienced growers and psilonauts. In the context of indigenous mushroom usage, the more potent species tend to be revered more highly. There are 53 known species of Psilocybe mushrooms in Mexico, with around a third of these used ceremonially. Only a handful of species are frequently employed in veladas. Of these, the most important and commonly used species are P. caerulescens, P. mexicana, P. cubensis, P. zapotecorum and P. hoogshagenii.7 In the Aztec language Nahuatl the umbrella term teotlaquilnanácatl (“divine mushroom that describes or paints”) is applied across species.

The Mazatec hold P. caerulescens, known as the landslide or derrumbemushroom, in particularly high regard. This species is thought to have likely been used by the Aztecs in their rituals, as documented by 16th century Spanish chronicler Bernardino de Sahagún, and referred to as teonanácatl (“flesh of the gods”). It was this species through which R. Gordon Wasson and Tim Leary had their seminal introductions to psilocybin. It is revered for its potency and its fuerza or force, the mushrooms produce a strong, physically medicinal effect, sometimes experienced as deep waves of warmth and energy in the body.

P. zapotecorum is another highly regarded and potent species, another derrumbe mushroom, known as badao zoo (“drunken mushroom”) by the Zapotec Indians. It is held on par with P. caerulescens by the Mazatec, but is a species held in particularly high esteem by the Zapotecs, from which its name is derived, and it appears to have a long history of usage among them.

P. mexicana, known as pajaritos (“little bird”) is another highly revered species used by a number of Mexican indigenous groups, it being the mushroom from which the great chemist Albert Hofmann first extracted and identified psilocybin and psilocin. It was also the most cherished species of the Mazatec shaman Maria Sabina, responsible for introducing psilocybin mushrooms to the Western world. The Mazatec say of this species ‘que suave’ (‘how smooth’). The Zapotec give this mushroom to their children as they view it as the friendliest and most forgiving. It is known by many different names among the various indigenous Mexican groups that use it, referred to as nize (“little bird”) by the Mazatec.

Another species of note is P. hoogshagenii, which is employed shamanically by the Mixe and Zapotec, and it is known by a variety of different names. In Spanish, it is referred to as los niños or los Chamaquitos (“the little boys”) as pajaritos de monte (“little birds of the woods”) by the Mazatec, and atka:t (“judge”) by the Mixe, who deem it a very wise mushroom, sought after by shamans faced with an important philosophical decision. It is interesting to note that this species (in particular P. hoogshagenii var. convexa) is highly revered by psilonauts that have grown it. It is slow to fruit, but is said to be as easy (if not easier) to cultivate than the more widely known P. cubensis. It was originally assigned the species name ‘semperviva’ which translates as ‘undying’, due to its highly resilient and tenacious nature and its ability to produce many flushes of highly potent mushrooms over many months.

P. cubensis, the San Isidro mushroom was made famous by the McKenna brothers. It has a pan-tropical distribution, growing throughout tropical and subtropical zones of the world, having spread alongside cattle farming as it grows on bovine dung. It is easily cultivated and fruits abundantly, and as a result has been cultivated worldwide. In Mexico, P. cubensis is used widely by a number of different indigenous groups, and is a dependable ally, fruiting abundantly and possessing a long growing season. It is known as di-shi-tjo-le-ra-ja (“divine mushroom of manure”) by the Mazatec. It is certainly not one of the more revered species however, and among Mexican Psilocybe-using groups is widely considered to occupy the lowest rung of the ladder of shamanic mushroom preference. Perhaps this is due to its non-native status (having being brought in with Spanish cattle), its habit of growing on dung, or its lower potency or different experiential qualities compared to other species.

San Isidro is the patron saint of the fields, farming and labour (this mushroom thriving in farmland), and some Mazatec will consume this mushroom prior to building a house or tilling a new field, or prior to embarking on some important work to give them clarity and luck. However, not all shamans will work with P. cubensis, including Maria Sabina, who never worked with it in her veladas.8However, Mestizo charlatan shamans have been known to use P. cubensis in ceremonies as a means of generating income from tourists. In 1988, Terrence McKenna had an experience with P. cubensis that was so harrowing that he swore off heroic mushroom doses altogether.9 Psilonauts with extensive experience of the different species almost universally hold the view that those revered by shamans surpass P. cubensis in experiential qualities. This species with its universal accessibility, has been profoundly important, extending its mycelial tendrils into the brains of so many members of our species, but there is more to the Psilocybe mushroom world than it alone.

The Mazatec have over 500+ years of experience of working with mushrooms and far deeper knowledge of their phenomenology and application in healing than Westerners, who are comparative newcomers to the mushroom. There is much to be learned from the Mazatec shamans, and the loss of their knowledge would be a tragedy. Due to the advent of modern medicine however, the increasing domination of Western civilisation in Mazatecan lands, and the subsequent erosion of their cultural traditions, very few of the younger generation of Mazatec are interested in pursuing healing work using mushrooms. The traditional Mazatecan shamanic approach to working with the mushroom may soon become extinct, so we ought to prioritise the preservation and transmission of their knowledge.

References
Pollan, M. (2015, February 9th) The Trip Treatment. Retrieved from https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/02/09/trip-treatment
Carhart-Harris, R.L., Bolstridge, M., Day, C.M.J., Rucker J., Watts, R., Erritzoe, D.E., Kaelen, M., Giribaldi, B., Bloomfield, M., Pilling, S., Rickard, J.A., Forbes, B., Feilding, A., Taylor, D., Curran, H.V., Nutt, D.J. (2018) Psilocybin with psychological support for treatment-resistant depression: six month follow-up. Psychopharmacology, 235(2): 399-408.
Griffiths, R.R., Johnson, M.W., Carducci, M.A., Umbricht, A., Richards, W.A., Richards, B.D., Cosimano, M.P., Klinedinst, M. A. (2016). Psilocybin produces substantial and sustained decreases in depression and anxiety in patients with life-threatening cancer: A randomized doubleblind trial. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 30(12): 1181–1197.
Griffiths, R.R., Johnson, M.W., Richards, W.A., Richards, B. ., Jesse, R., MacLean, K.A., Barrett, F.S., Cosimano, M.P., Klinedinst, M. A. (2017). Psilocybin-occasioned mystical-type experience in combination with meditation and other spiritual practices produces enduring positive changes in psychological functioning and in trait measures of prosocial attitudes and behaviours. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 32(1): 49-69.
Griffiths, R. R., Richards, W. A., McCann, U., & Jesse, R. (2006). Psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences having substantial and sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance. Psychopharmacology, 187(3): 268–283.
Ross, S., Bossis, A., Guss, J., Agin-Liebes, G., Malone, T., Cohen, B., Mennenga, S.E., Belser, A., Kalliontzi, K., Babb, J., Su, Z., Corby, P., Schmidt, B.L. (2016) Rapid and sustained symptom reduction following psilocybin treatment for anxiety and depression in patients with life-threatening cancer: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 30(12): 1165–1180.
Guzmán, G. (2008) Hallucinogenic Mushrooms in Mexico: An Overview. Economic Botany, 62(3): 404-412.
Schultes, R.E., Hofmann, A., Rätsch, C. (2001) Plants of the Gods: Their Sacred, Healing, and Hallucinogenic Powers. Rochester, Vermont, USA: Healing Arts Press.
McKenna, D. (2012) The Brotherhood of the Screaming Abyss. Clearwater, Minnesota, USA: North Star Press of St. Cloud.

AUTHOR

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PhD ecologist and writer, with a passion for nature and psychedelics.

Source:

http://realitysandwich.com/323749/mazatec-mushroom-usage-notes-on-approach-setting-and-species-for-curious-psilonauts/

Be Happy

2016-11-23T18:55:00.004-08:00

Uploaded on Jul 1, 2011

Is happiness a skill? Modern neuroscientific research and the wisdom of ancient contemplative traditions converge in suggesting that happiness is the product of skills that can be enhanced through training and such training exemplifies how transforming the mind can change the brain.

Kent Berridge, Richie Davidson, and Daniel Gilbert speak at the Aspen Ideas Festival

Music
- "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" by Dick Hyman (iTunes • eMusic)
Category
- Science & Technology
License
- Standard YouTube License

Link: https://youtu.be/MDTi2_PHiiM

Leonard Cohen: Hallelujah

2016-11-23T11:48:00.000-08:00

Leonard Cohen Dominique Issermann

Leonard Cohen: Darkness and Praise

By LEON WIESELTIER
NOV. 14, 2016

The email from the boy began: “Did anything inspire you to create Hallelujah?"

Later that same winter day the reply arrived:
“I wanted to stand with those who clearly see God’s holy broken world for what it is, and still find the courage or the heart to praise it. You don’t always get what you want. You’re not always up for the challenge. But in this case — it was given to me. For which I am deeply grateful.”

The question came from the author's son, who was preparing to present the hymn to his fifth-grade class. The boy required a clarification about its meaning. The answer came from the author of the song, Leonard Cohen.

Cohen lived in a weather of wisdom, which he created by seeking it rather than by finding it. He swam in beauty, because in its transience he aspired to discern a glimpse of eternity.
There was always a trace of philosophy in his sensuality.
He managed to combine a sense of absurdity with a sense of significance, a genuine feat.
He was a friend of melancholy but an enemy of gloom, and a renegade enamored of tradition.

Leonard was, above all, in his music and in his poems and in his tone of life, the lyrical advocate of the finite and the flawed.

Leonard sang always as a sinner. He refused to describe sin as a failure or a disqualification. Sin was a condition of life.

“Even though it all went wrong/ I’ll stand before the Lord of song/ With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah!”

The singer’s faults do not expel him from the divine presence. Instead they confer a mortal integrity upon his exclamation of praise.

He is the inadequate man, the lowly man, the hurt man who has given hurt, insisting modestly but stubbornly upon his right to a sacred exaltation.

“There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.”

He once told an interviewer that those words were the closest he came to a credo.

The teaching could not be more plain: fix the crack, lose the light.

Here is a passage on frivolity by a great rabbi in Prague at the end of the 16th century:

“Man was born for toil, since his perfection is always being actualized but is never actual,”
he observed in an essay on frivolity.
“And insofar as he attains perfection, something is missing in him. In such a being,
perfection is a shortcoming and a lack.”

Leonard Cohen was the poet laureate of the lack, the psalmist of the privation, who made imperfection gorgeous.

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/14/opinion/my-friend-leonard-cohen-darkness-and-praise.html?ribbon-ad-idx=3&src=trending

Living with a sense of purpose in life

2016-11-22T04:48:00.001-08:00

Conclusion:

A sense of purpose in life also gives you this considerable advantage:

"People with a sense of purpose in life have a lower risk of death and cardiovascular disease."

The conclusions come from over 136,000 people who took part in 10 different studies.

Participants in the studies were mostly from the US and Japan.

The US studies asked people:

how useful they felt to others,
about their sense of purpose, and
the meaning they got out of life.

The Japanese studies asked people about ‘ikigai’ or whether their life was worth living.
The participants, whose average age was 67, were tracked for around 7 years.

During that time almost 20,000 died.
But, amongst those with a strong sense of purpose or high ‘ikigai’, the risk of death was one-fifth lower.

Despite the link between sense of purpose and health being so intuitive, scientists are not sure of the mechanism.

Sense of purpose is likely to improve health by strengthening the body against stress.

It is also likely to be linked to healthier behaviours.

Dr. Alan Rozanski, one of the study’s authors, said:

“Of note, having a strong sense of life purpose has long been postulated to be an important dimension of life, providing people with a sense of vitality motivation and resilience.

Nevertheless, the medical implications of living with a high or low sense of life purpose have only recently caught the attention of investigators.

The current findings are important because they may open up new potential interventions for helping people to promote their health and sense of well-being.”

This research on links between sense of purpose in life and longevity is getting stronger all the time:

“A 2009 study of 1,238 elderly people found that those with a sense of purpose lived longer.

A 2010 study of 900 older adults found that those with a greater sense of purpose were much less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease.

Survey data often links a sense of purpose in life with increased happiness.

No matter what your age, then, it’s worth thinking about what gives your life meaning.”

Read More:

Find out what kinds of things people say give their lives meaning.

Here’s an exercise for increasing meaningfulness

And a study finding that feeling you belong increases the sense of meaning.

The study was published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine (Cohen et al., 2015).

A sense of purpose in life
Link: http://www.spring.org.uk/2015/12/here-is-why-a-sense-of-purpose-in-life-is-important-for-health

Mindful Awareness

2016-04-27T13:53:00.000-07:00

UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center

Mindfulness is making the news these days. It has been depicted in the media primarily as a tool to hone attention, to cultivate sensory awareness, and to keep us in the present moment.

Developing these tools takes effort and determination, but why is it we can sometimes be mindful without really even trying? Perhaps we were naturally mindful at points in life before we ever learned what mindfulness was. Maybe we feel naturally connected, present, and at ease in nature. Or we become mindful while talking authentically with a friend, or in the midst of music, art, or athletic activity.

Mindfulness is not only a meditation technique, but also a state of being. This state is available to anyone; it is a natural human capacity. Mindfulness practice, as a tool, is tremendously helpful to cultivate this awareness, and the state can arise at any moment. Mindfulness is also connected to a set of powerful outcomes: happiness, emotional regulation, compassion, altruism, and kindness.

We encourage you to attend an array of offerings to cultivate the moment-to-moment awareness, which is the foundation of our practice.

Link: http://marc.ucla.edu/

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy can help prevent recurrence of depression.

2016-04-27T13:24:00.001-07:00

UniofOxford

Review finds mindfulness-based cognitive therapy can help prevent recurrence of depression. http://po.st/CJGK4f

Positive Psychology News

2016-01-15T01:14:00.005-08:00

The Positive Psychology Of Job Interviewing

Forbes

The powerful idea behind positive psychology is that we can accomplish our aims most effectively by exercising and building on our strengths, not just by shoring up our vulnerabilities. Reducing boredom on the job won't create a fulfilling career ...

How to have a happier new year in four easy steps

Irish Times

Tal Ben-Shahar is a best-selling author, academic and entrepreneur in the field of positive psychology. In 2006, his course on positive psychology became the most popular class at Harvard University. Since then he has cofounded Potentialife, a year ...

Utah Filmmaker Creates App to Gamify Positive Psychology

Newswire

(Newswire.net -- January 4, 2016) -- Recent research in positive psychology shows happiness is more than a mood or a feeling—it's a skill. A new app called Feed Your Happy, launching today, helps people practice techniques to reprogram negative ...

Delta High School's Free Holiday Store an exercise in Positive Psychology

Santa Maria Sun

Delta High School's Free Holiday Store, stocked with clothing, opened for two

Self Improvement

2016-01-15T01:10:00.000-08:00

Foundation planning self-improvement workshop

Victorville Daily Press

The Today's Woman Foundation is hosting a transformational workshop from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at Sun View Plaza, 13010 Hesperia Road in Victorville. The event will be facilitated by Cindy M. Bostick, a certified transformative coach and “Best Year ...

How Age and Gender Affect Self-Improvement

Harvard Business Review

We examined roughly 7,000 self-assessments, and focused on a group of questions that measured a “proving” versus “improving” orientation. For instance, we asked people what happened the last time they were given negative feedback – did they challenge ...

ISU MBB: Bengals turn focus to self-improvement against mistake-free Hornets

Idaho State Journal

Specifically, Idaho State is focused on improving an offense that's sixth in the conference in scoring at 73.5 points per game and 11th in field goal percentage (41.5). Sac State doesn't have any glaring weaknesses like North Dakota did, and the ...

Lessons from a lifetime of self-improvement

The Globe and Mail

Don't tell me about self-improvement. I've been improving myself for decades. I have dieted, exercised, made to-do lists and then lost them. I have striven to be more efficient and productive, waste less time, watch more TED talks, tidy my desk, write ...

Living with a sense of purpose in life

2016-01-15T00:32:00.001-08:00

Conclusion:

A sense of purpose in life also gives you this considerable advantage:

"People with a sense of purpose in life have a lower risk of death and cardiovascular disease."

The conclusions come from over 136,000 people who took part in 10 different studies.

Participants in the studies were mostly from the US and Japan.

The US studies asked people:

how useful they felt to others,
about their sense of purpose, and
the meaning they got out of life.

The Japanese studies asked people about ‘ikigai’ or whether their life was worth living.
The participants, whose average age was 67, were tracked for around 7 years.

During that time almost 20,000 died.

But, amongst those with a strong sense of purpose or high ‘ikigai’, the risk of death was one-fifth lower.

Despite the link between sense of purpose and health being so intuitive, scientists are not sure of the mechanism.

Sense of purpose is likely to improve health by strengthening the body against stress.

It is also likely to be linked to healthier behaviours.

Dr. Alan Rozanski, one of the study’s authors, said:

“Of note, having a strong sense of life purpose has long been postulated to be an important dimension of life, providing people with a sense of vitality motivation and resilience.

Nevertheless, the medical implications of living with a high or low sense of life purpose have only recently caught the attention of investigators.

The current findings are important because they may open up new potential interventions for helping people to promote their health and sense of well-being.”

This research on links between sense of purpose in life and longevity is getting stronger all the time:

“A 2009 study of 1,238 elderly people found that those with a sense of purpose lived longer.

A 2010 study of 900 older adults found that those with a greater sense of purpose were much less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease.

Survey data often links a sense of purpose in life with increased happiness.

No matter what your age, then, it’s worth thinking about what gives your life meaning.”

Read More:

Find out what kinds of things people say give their lives meaning.

Here’s an exercise for increasing meaningfulness

And a study finding that feeling you belong increases the sense of meaning.

The study was published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine (Cohen et al., 2015).

A sense of purpose in life
Link: http://www.spring.org.uk/2015/12/here-is-why-a-sense-of-purpose-in-life-is-important-for-health

The Science and Practice of Happiness Across the Lifespan

2015-10-01T00:32:00.001-07:00

Uploaded on Jul 1, 2011

Kent Berridge, Richie Davidson, and Daniel Gilbert speak at the Aspen Ideas Festival

Music
- "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" by Dick Hyman (iTunes • eMusic)
Category
- Science & Technology
License
- Standard YouTube License

Link: https://youtu.be/MDTi2_PHiiM

Earl Nightingale provides inspiration

2015-10-01T00:14:00.001-07:00

This is a transcript...

The Strangest Secret

Transcribed from The Strangest Secret audio program by Earl Nightingale

Some years ago, the late Nobel prize-winning Dr. Albert Schweitzer was asked by a reporter, “Doctor, what’s wrong with men today?” The great doctor was silent a moment, and then he said, “Men simply don’t think!”

It’s about this that I want to talk with you. We live today in a golden age. This is an era that humanity has looked forward to, dreamed of, and worked toward for thousands of years. We live in the richest era that ever existed on the face of the earth … a land of abundant opportunity for everyone.

However, if you take 100 individuals who start even at the age of 25, do you have any idea what will happen to those men and women by the time they’re 65? These 100 people believe they’re going to be successful. They are eager toward life, there is a certain sparkle in their eye, an erectness to their carriage, and life seems like a pretty interesting adventure to them.

But by the time they’re 65, only one will be rich, four will be financially independent, five will still be working, and 54 will be broke and depending on others for life’s necessities.

Only five out of 100 make the grade! Why do so many fail? What has happened to the sparkle that was there when they were 25? What has become of the dreams, the hopes, the plans … and why is there such a large disparity between what these people intended to do and what they actually accomplished?

THE DEFINITION OF SUCCESS

First, we have to define success and here is the best definition I’ve ever been able to find:

“Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal.”

A success is the school teacher who is teaching because that’s what he or she wants to do. A success is the entrepreneur who start his own company because that was his dream and that’s what he wanted to do. A success is the salesperson who wants to become the best salesperson in his or her company and sets forth on the pursuit of that goal.

A success is anyone who is realizing a worthy predetermined ideal, because that’s what he or she decided to do … deliberately. But only one out of 20 does that! The rest are “failures.”

Rollo May, the distinguished psychiatrist, wrote a wonderful book called Man’s Search for Himself, and in this book he says: “The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice … it is conformity.” And there you have the reason for so many failures. Conformity and people acting like everyone else, without knowing why or where they are going.

We learn to read by the time we’re seven. We learn to make a living by the time we’re 30. Often by that time we’re not only making a living, we’re supporting a family. And yet by the time we’re 65, we haven’t learned how to become financially independent in the richest land that has ever been known. Why? We conform! Most of us are acting like the wrong percentage group and the 95 who don’t succeed.

GOALS

Have you ever wondered why so many people work so hard and honestly without ever achieving anything in particular, and why others don’t seem to work hard, yet seem to get everything? They seem to have the “magic touch.” You’ve heard people say, “Everything he touches turns to gold.” Have you ever noticed that a person who becomes successful tends to continue to become more successful? And, on the other hand, have you noticed how someone who’s a failure tends to continue to fail?

The difference is goals.

People with goals succeed because they know where they’re going. It’s that simple.

Failures, on the other hand, believe that their lives are shaped by circumstances … by things that happen to them … by exterior forces.
Think of a ship with the complete voyage mapped out and planned. The captain and crew know exactly where the ship is going and how long it will take and it has a definite goal. And 9,999 times out of 10,000, it will get there.

Now let’s take another ship and just like the first and only let’s not put a crew on it, or a captain at the helm. Let’s give it no aiming point, no goal, and no destination. We just start the engines and let it go. I think you’ll agree that if it gets out of the harbor at all, it will either sink or wind up on some deserted beach and a derelict. It can’t go anyplace because it has no destination and no guidance.

It’s the same with a human being. However, the human race is fixed, not to prevent the strong from winning, but to prevent the weak from losing. Society today can be likened to a convoy in time of war. The entire society is slowed down to protect its weakest link, just as the naval convoy has to go at the speed that will permit its slowest vessel to remain in formation.

That’s why it’s so easy to make a living today. It takes no particular brains or talent to make a living and support a family today. We have a plateau of so-called “security.” So, to succeed, all we must do is decide how high above this plateau we want to aim.

Throughout history, the great wise men and teachers, philosophers, and prophets have disagreed with one another on many different things. It is only on this one point that they are in complete and unanimous agreement and the key to success and the key to failure is this:

WE BECOME WHAT WE THINK ABOUT

This is The Strangest Secret! Now, why do I say it’s strange, and why do I call it a secret? Actually, it isn’t a secret at all. It was first promulgated by some of the earliest wise men, and it appears again and again throughout the Bible. But very few people have learned it or understand it. That’s why it’s strange, and why for some equally strange reason it virtually remains a secret.

Marcus Aurelius, the great Roman Emperor, said: “A man’s life is what his thoughts make of it.”

Disraeli said this: “Everything comes if a man will only wait … a human being with a settled purpose must accomplish it, and nothing can resist a will that will stake even existence for its fulfillment.”

William James said: “We need only in cold blood act as if the thing in question were real, and it will become infallibly real by growing into such a connection with our life that it will become real. It will become so knit with habit and emotion that our interests in it will be those which characterize belief.”

He continues, ” … only you must, then, really wish these things, and wish them exclusively, and not wish at the same time a hundred other incompatible things just as strongly.”

My old friend Dr. Norman Vincent Peale put it this way: “If you think in negative terms, you will get negative results. If you think in positive terms, you will achieve positive results.”

George Bernard Shaw said: “People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can’t find them, make them.”

Well, it’s pretty apparent, isn’t it? We become what we think about.

A person who is thinking about a concrete and worthwhile goal is going to reach it, because that’s what he’s thinking about.

Conversely, the person who has no goal, who doesn’t know where he’s going, and whose thoughts must therefore be thoughts of confusion, anxiety, fear, and worry will thereby create a life of frustration, fear, anxiety and worry. And if he thinks about nothing … he becomes nothing.

AS YE SOW, SO SHALL YE REAP

The human mind is much like a farmer’s land. The land gives the farmer a choice. He may plant in that land whatever he chooses. The land doesn’t care what is planted. It’s up to the farmer to make the decision.

The mind, like the land, will return what you plant, but it doesn’t care what you plant. If the farmer plants too seeds and one a seed of corn, the other nightshade, a deadly poison, waters and takes care of the land, what will happen?

Remember, the land doesn’t care. It will return poison in just as wonderful abundance as it will corn. So up come the two plants and one corn, one poison as it’s written in the Bible, “As ye sow, so shall ye reap.”

The human mind is far more fertile, far more incredible and mysterious than the land, but it works the same way. It doesn’t care what we plant … success … or failure. A concrete, worthwhile goal … or confusion, misunderstanding, fear, anxiety, and so on. But what we plant it must return to us.

The problem is that our mind comes as standard equipment at birth. It’s free. And things that are given to us for nothing, we place little value on. Things that we pay money for, we value.

The paradox is that exactly the reverse is true.

Everything that’s really worthwhile in life came to us free and our minds, our souls, our bodies, our hopes, our dreams, our ambitions, our intelligence, our love of family and children and friends and country. All these priceless possessions are free.

But the things that cost us money are actually very cheap and can be replaced at any time. A good man can be completely wiped out and make another fortune. He can do that several times. Even if our home burns down, we can rebuild it. But the things we got for nothing, we can never replace.

Our mind can do any kind of job we assign to it, but generally speaking, we use it for little jobs instead of big ones.

So decide now. What is it you want? Plant your goal in your mind. It’s the most important decision you’ll ever make in your entire life.

Do you want to excel at your particular job? Do you want to go places in your company … in your community? Do you want to get rich?

All you have got to do is plant that seed in your mind, care for it, work steadily toward your goal, and it will become a reality.

It not only will, there’s no way that it cannot. You see, that’s a law and like the laws of Sir Isaac Newton, the laws of gravity. If you get on top of a building and jump off, you’ll always go down and you’ll never go up.

And it’s the same with all the other laws of nature. They always work. They’re inflexible.

Think about your goal in a relaxed, positive way.

Picture yourself in your mind’s eye as having already achieved this goal.

See yourself doing the things you will be doing when you have reached your goal.

Every one of us is the sum total of our own thoughts.

We are where we are because that’s exactly where we really want or feel we deserve to be and whether we’ll admit that or not.

Each of us must live off the fruit of our thoughts in the future, because what you think today and tomorrow and next month and next year and will mold your life and determine your future. You’re guided by your mind.

I remember one time I was driving through e a s t e r n Arizona and I saw one of those giant earth-moving machines roaring along the road with what looked like 30 tons of dirt in it and a tremendous, incredible machine and and there was a little man perched way up on top with the wheel in his hands, guiding it.

As I drove along I was struck by the similarity of that machine to the human mind.

Just suppose you’re sitting at the controls of such a vast source of energy.

Are you going to sit back and fold your arms and let it run itself into a ditch?

Or are you going to keep both hands firmly on the wheel and control and direct this power to a specific, worthwhile purpose?

It’s up to you. You’re in the driver’s seat.

You see, the very law that gives us success is a double-edged sword.

We must control our thinking.

The same rule that can lead people to lives of success, wealth, happiness, and all the things they ever dreamed of and that very same law can lead them into the gutter.

It’s all in how they use it … for good or for bad.

That is The Strangest Secret!

Do what the experts since the dawn of recorded history have told us to do:
pay the price, by becoming the person you want to become.

It’s not nearly as difficult as living unsuccessfully.

The moment you decide on a goal to work toward, you’re immediately a successful person and you are then in that rare group of people who know where they’re going.

Out of every hundred people, you belong to the top five.

Don’t concern yourself too much with how you are going to achieve your goal.

Leave that completely to a power greater than yourself.

All you have to do is know where you’re going. The answers will come to you of their own accord, and at the right time.

Start today. You have nothing to lose and but you have your whole life to win.

30-DAY ACTION IDEAS FOR PUTTING THE STRANGEST SECRET TO WORK FOR YOU:

For the next 30-days follow each of these steps every day until you have achieved your goal.

1. Write on a card what it is you want more that anything else. It may be more money. Perhaps you’d like to double your income or make a specific amount of money. It may be a beautiful home. It may be success at your job. It may be a particular position in life. It could be a more harmonious family.

Write down on your card specifically what it is you want. Make sure it’s a single goal and clearly defined. You needn’t show it to anyone, but carry it with you so that you can look at it several times a day.

Think about it in a cheerful, relaxed, positive way each morning when you get up, and immediately you have something to work for and something to get out of bed for, something to live for.

Look at it every chance you get during the day and just before going to bed at night.

As you look at it, remember that you must become what you think about, and since you’re thinking about your goal, you realize that soon it will be yours. In fact, it’s really yours the moment you write it down and begin to think about it.

2. Stop thinking about what it is you fear.

Each time a fearful or negative thought comes into your mind, replace it with a mental picture of your positive and worthwhile goal.

And there will come a time when you’ll feel like giving up. It’s easier for a human being to think negatively than positively. That’s why only five percent are successful! You must begin now to place yourself in that group.

“Act as though it were impossible to fail,” as Dorothea Brande said. No matter what your goal, if you’ve kept your goal before you every day, you’ll wonder and marvel at this new life you’ve found.

3. Your success will always be measured by the quality and quantity of service you render.

Most people will tell you that they want to make money, without understanding this law. The only people who make money work in a mint. The rest of us must earn money. This is what causes those who keep looking for something for nothing, or a free ride, to fail in life.

Success is not the result of making money; earning money is the result of success and and success is in direct proportion to our service.

Most people have this law backwards. It’s like the man who stands in front of the stove and says to it: “Give me heat and then I’ll add the wood.”

How many men and women do you know, or do you suppose there are today, who take the same attitude toward life? There are millions.

We’ve got to put the fuel in before we can expect heat.

Likewise, we’ve got to be of service first before we can expect money.

Don’t concern yourself with the money. Be of service … build … work … dream … create! Do this and you’ll find there is no limit to the prosperity and abundance that will come to you.

Don’t start your test until you’ve made up your mind to stick with it. If you should fail during your first 30 days and by that I mean suddenly find yourself overwhelmed by negative thoughts and simply start over again from that point and go 30 more days.

Gradually, your new habit will form, until you find yourself one of that wonderful minority to whom virtually nothing is impossible.

Above all … don’t worry! Worry brings fear, and fear is crippling.

The only thing that can cause you to worry during your test is trying to do it all yourself.

Know that all you have to do is hold your goal before you; everything else will take care of itself.

Take this 30-day test, then repeat it … then repeat it again. Each time it will become more a part of you until you’ll wonder how you could have ever have lived any other way.

Live this new way and the floodgates of abundance will open and pour over you more riches than you may have dreamed existed. Money? Yes, lots of it.

But what’s more important, you’ll have peace … you’ll be in that wonderful minority who lead calm, cheerful, successful lives.

Learn more about Earl Nightingale and his many timeless books and audio programs.
The Strangest Secret

The Strangest Secret Article by: Earl Nightingale

See more at:

http://www.nightingale.com/articles/the-strangest-secret/#sthash.UAajeEpR.dpuf

Learn more about Earl Nightingale and his many timeless books and audio programs.

The Strangest Secret - Advantedge Article By Earl Nightingale

LINK: http://www.nightingale.com/ae_article~i~22~article~strangestsecret.aspx

The Strangest Secret Earl Nightingale Conant 1950's Origional FULL 31:35 Min.
31:35 - 4 years ago
Earl Nightingale Conant The Strangest Secret 1956 1950's

Success Quotes

2014-03-14T00:02:00.001-07:00

The universe is change; life is what thinking makes of it.
– Marcus Aurelius

We cannot change the past, but we can reshape the future. Young people have the opportunity to create a happier, better future. - Dalai Lama

It takes more than just a good looking body. You’ve got to have the heart and soul to go with it. – Epictetus

When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.
– Sherlock Holmes

The universe is change; life is what thinking makes of it.
– Marcus Aurelius

Two things define you: your patience when you have nothing and your attitude when you have everything. - anon.

"Formula for success: Rise early, work hard, strike oil."
John Paul Getty

"Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get."
Dale Carnegie

"Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."
Thomas Edison

"Men are born to succeed, not fail."
Henry David Thoreau

" The odds of hitting your target go up dramatically when you aim at it."
anon.

"There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living."
Nelson Mandela

"One secret of success in life is for a man to be
ready for his opportunity when it comes."
Benjamin Disraeli

Four things for success: work and pray, think and believe.
Norman Vincent Peale


Most of the successful people I've known are the ones who do more listening than talking. Bernard M. Baruch

Making a success of the job at hand is the best step toward the kind you want. Bernard M. Baruch

If one advances confidently in the direction of his dream, and endeavors to live the life which he had imagines, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.
Henry David Thoreau

Don't confuse fame with success. Madonna is one; Helen Keller is the other. Erma Bombeck

Flaming enthusiasm, backed up by horse sense and persistence, is the quality that most frequently makes for success. Dale Carnegie

Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value. Albert Einstein

The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people. Theodore Roosevelt

The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work. Mark Twain

I do not like to repeat successes, I like to go on to other things.
Walt Disney

Success depends upon previous preparation,
and without such preparation there is sure to be failure.
Confucius

The man of virtue makes the difficulty to be overcome his first business,
and success only a subsequent consideration.
Confucius

As a general rule the most successful man in life is
the man who has the best information.
Benjamin Disraeli

The secret of success is constancy to purpose.
Benjamin Disraeli

Through perseverance many people win success out of what
seemed destined to be certain failure.
Benjamin Disraeli

"One fails forward toward success."
Charles F. Kettering

"No one can possibly achieve any real and lasting success or 'get rich' in business by being a conformist."
J. P. Getty



I have learned, that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.
Henry David Thoreau



“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.” -Albert Einstein

“It is not that we have a short space of time, but that we waste much of it. Life is long enough, and it has been given in sufficiently generous measure to allow the accomplishment of the very greatest things if the whole of it is well invested. But when it is squandered in luxury and carelessness, when it is devoted to no good end, forced at last by the ultimate necessity we perceive that it has passed away before we were aware that it was passing. So it is—the life we receive is not short, but we make it so, nor do we have any lack of it, but are wasteful of it. Just as great and princely wealth is scattered in a moment when it comes into the hands of a bad owner, while wealth however limited, if it is entrusted to a good guardian, increases by use, so life is amply long for the one who orders it properly.”
-Seneca, On the Shortness of Life

(Source of the quote above)

“Again and again I therefore admonish my students in Europe and America: Don't aim at success -- the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side effect of one's personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one's surrender to a person other than oneself. Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it. I want you to listen to what your conscience commands you to do and go on to carry it out to the best of your knowledge. Then you will live to see that in the long-run -- in the long-run, I say! -- success will follow you precisely because you had forgotten to think about it.”

-Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning

finding Meaning

2014-01-20T01:38:00.004-08:00

“Ever more people today have the means to live, but no meaning to live for.” – Viktor E. Frankl

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi on flow | Video on TED.com

2014-01-20T01:33:00.000-08:00

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi has contributed pioneering work to our understanding of happiness, creativity, human fulfillment and the notion of "flow" -- a state of heightened focus and immersion in activities such as art, play and work.

Why you should listen to him:

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi says creativity is a central source of meaning in our lives. A leading researcher in positive psychology, he has devoted his life to studying what makes people truly happy: "When we are involved in [creativity], we feel that we are living more fully than during the rest of life." He is the architect of the notion of "flow" -- the creative moment when a person is completely involved in an activity for its own sake.

Csikszentmihalyi teaches psychology and management at Claremont Graduate University, focusing on human strengths such as optimism, motivation and responsibility. He's the director the the Quality of Life Research Center there. He has written numerous books and papers about the search for joy and fulfillment.

"A man obsessed by happiness."

Richard Flaste, New York Times Read more about Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi on the TED Blog »

Quotes by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

“You know that what you need to do is possible to do, even though difficult, and sense of time disappears. You forget yourself. You feel part of something larger.” — on experiencing ‘flow’ Watch this talk »

More TEDQuotes…

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi on the Web

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi on flow | Video on TED.com

Link: http://www.ted.com/talks/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi_on_flow.html

Zorba the Greek

2014-01-20T00:07:00.000-08:00

“Every man has his folly, but the greatest folly of all, in my view, is not to have one.”
― Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek

“Let your youth have free reign, it won't come again, so be bold and no repenting.”
― Nikos Kazantzakis

“You have your brush, you have your colors, you paint the paradise, then in you go.”
― Nikos Kazantzakis

“For I realize today that it is a mortal sin to violate the great laws of nature. We should not hurry, we should not be impatient, but we should confidently obey the eternal rhythm.”
― Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek

“When everything goes wrong, what a joy to test your soul and see if it has endurance and courage! An invisible and all-powerful enemy—some call him God, others the Devil, seem to rush upon us to destroy us; but we are not destroyed.”
― Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek

“Life is trouble. Only death is not. To be alive is to undo your belt and *look* for trouble.”
― Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek

“You can knock on a deaf man's door forever.”
― Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek

“This is true happiness: to have no ambition and to work like a horse as if you had every ambition. To live far from men, not to need them and yet to love them. To have the stars above, the land to your left and the sea to your right and to realize of a sudden that in your heart, life has accomplished its final miracle: it has become a fairy tale.”
― Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek

“God changes his appearance every second. Blessed is the man who can recognize him in all his disguises.”
― Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek

“Free yourself from one passion to be dominated by another and nobler one. But is not that, too, a form of slavery? To sacrifice oneself to an idea, to a race, to God? Or does it mean that the higher the model the longer the longer the tether of our slavery?”
― Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek

“Once more there sounded within me the terrible warning that there is only one life for all men, that there is only one life for all men, that there is no other and that all that can be enjoyed must be enjoyed here. In eternity no other chance will be given to us.”
― Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek

“All those who actually live the mysteries of life haven't the time to write, and all those who have the time don't live them! D'you see?”
― Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek

“the highest point a man can attain is not Knowledge, or Virtue, or Goodness, or Victory, but something even greater, more heroic and more despairing: Sacred Awe!”
― Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek

“Look, one day I had gone to a little village. An old grandfather of ninety was busy planting an almond tree. ‘What, grandfather!’ I exclaimed. ‘Planting an almond tree?’ And he, bent as he was, turned around and said: ‘My son, I carry on as if I should never die.’ I replied: ‘And I carry on as if I was going to die any minute.’
Which of us was right, boss?”
― Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek

“I was happy, I knew that. While experiencing happiness, we have difficulty in being conscious of it. Only when the happiness is past and we look back on it do we suddenly realize - sometimes with astonishment - how happy we had been.”
― Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek

“When shall I at last retire into solitude alone, without companions, without joy and without sorrow, with only the sacred certainty that all is a dream? When, in my rags—without desires—shall I retire contented into the mountains? When, seeing that my body is merely sickness and crime, age and death, shall I—free, fearless, and blissful—retire to the forest? When? When, oh when?”
― Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek

“Throughout my life my greatest benefactors have been my travels and my dreams. Very few men, living or dead, have helped me in my struggles.”
― Nikos Kazantzakis

“Beauty is merciless. You do not look at it, it looks at you and does not forgive.”
― Nikos Kazantzakis

“Ideal teachers are those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross, then having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create bridges of their own.”
― Nikos Kazantzakis

“Freedom was my first great desire. The second, which remains hidden within me to this day, tormenting me, was the desire for sanctity. Hero together with saint: such is mankind's supreme model.”
― Nikos Kazantzakis, Report to Greco

“Discipline is the highest of all virtues. Only so may strength and desire be counterbalanced and the endeavors of man bear fruit.”
― Nikos Kazantzakis, The Rock Garden

“My entire soul is a cry, and all my work is a commentary on that cry.”
― Nikos Kazantzakis

“What a strange machine man is! You fill him with bread, wine, fish, and radishes, and out comes sighs, laughter, and dreams.”
― Nikos Kazantzakis

“How simple and frugal a thing is happiness: a glass of wine, a roast chestnut, a wretched little brazier, the sound of the sea. . . . All that is required to feel that here and now is happiness, is a simple, frugal heart.”
― Nikos Kazantzakis

“The canary began to sing again. The sun had struck it, and its throat and tiny breast had filled with song. Francis gazed at it for a long time, not speaking, his mouth hanging half opened, his eyes dimmed with tears.
"The canary is like man's soul," he whispered finally. "It sees bars round it, but instead if despairing, it sings. It sings, and wait and see, Brother Leo: one day its song shall break the bars.”
― Nikos Kazantzakis, Saint Francis

Rick Hanson - - Hardwiring Happiness

2014-01-08T00:20:00.000-08:00

Rick Hanson, Ph.D., is a neuropsychologist and New York Times best-selling author.

- Hardwiring Happiness,

- Buddha’s Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom, and

- Just One Thing: Developing a Buddha Brain One Simple Practice at a Time.

and Mother Nurture.

Founder of the Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom and an Affiliate of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, he’s been an invited speaker at Oxford, Stanford, and Harvard, and taught in meditation centers worldwide.

An authority on self-directed neuroplasticity, Dr. Hanson’s work has been featured on the BBC, NPR, FoxBusiness, Consumer Reports Health, U.S. News and World Report, and O Magazine.

He edits the Wise Brain Bulletin, and his weekly e-newsletter – Just One Thing – has over 90,000 subscribers, and

- also appears on Huffington Post, Psychology Today, and other major websites.

He has several audio programs with Sounds True, and his first book was Mother Nurture: A Mother’s Guide to Health in Body, Mind, and Intimate Relationships.

A summa cum laude graduate of UCLA, Dr. Hanson is a trustee of Saybrook University. He also served on the board of Spirit Rock Meditation Center for nine years, and was President of the Board of FamilyWorks, a community agency.

He began meditating in 1974, trained in several traditions, and leads a weekly meditation gathering in San Rafael, CA.

For more information about Rick, please go to www.RickHanson.net

Bringing back a Wandering Attention - William James

2014-01-07T17:26:00.000-08:00

William James was interested in mindfulness and attention:

“The faculty of voluntarily bringing back a wandering attention, over and over again, is the very root of judgment, character, and will. No one is compos sui [master of himself] if he have it not. An education which should improve this faculty would be the education par excellence.”

William James, Psychology: Briefer Course, p. 424 (Harper Torchbooks, 1961)

Practice Patience for Patience is the beginning of Mindfulness

2012-09-17T05:26:00.001-07:00

Patience is the companion of wisdom.
-- Saint Augustine (354 AD - 430 AD)

There art two cardinal sins from which all others spring: Impatience and Laziness.
-- Franz Kafka (1883 - 1924)

If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been owing more to patient attention, than to any other talent.
- Isaac Newton (1642 - 1727)

Patience serves as a protection against wrongs as clothes do against cold. For if you put on more clothes as the cold increases, it will have no power to hurt you. So in like manner you must grow in patience when you meet with great wrongs, and they will then be powerless to vex your mind.

-- Leonardo da Vinci (1452 - 1519)

Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections but instantly set about remedying them - every day begin the task anew.
-- Saint Francis de Sales (1567 - 1622)

Patience is the best remedy for every trouble.
- Titus Maccius Plautus (254 BC - 184 BC), Rudens
Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake.
- Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885)

A high hope for a low heaven: God grant us patience!
- William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), Love's Labour's Lost, Act I, sc. 1



A very little thief of occasion will rob you of a great deal of patience
-William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), Coriolanus, Act II, sc. 1



Had it pleas'd heaven to try me with affliction... I should have found in some place of my soul a drop of patience.
- William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), Othello, Act IV, sc. 2


How poor are they that have not patience! What wound did ever heal but by degrees?
- William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), Othello, Act II, sc. 3


How poor are they who have not patience! What wound did ever heal but by degrees.
- William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)


I do oppose my patience to his fury, and am arm'd to suffer with a quietness of spirit, the very tyranny and rage of his.
- William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), The Merchant of Venice, Act IV, sc. 1






Patience is sottish, and impatience does become a dog that's mad
- William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), Antony and Cleopatra, Act IV, sc. 15


Though patience be a tired mare, yet she will plod.
- William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), Henry V, Act II, sc. 1


Upon the heat and flame of thy distemper sprinkle cool patience.
- William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), Hamlet, Act III, sc. 4

Patience, my lord. Why, 'tis the soul of peace.
Of all the virtues 'tis near'st kin to heaven.
It makes men look like gods; the best of men
That e'er wore earth about him was a sufferer,
A soft, meek, patient, humble, tranquil spirit,
The first true gentleman that ever breath'd.
- Thomas Dekker and Thomas Middleton
The Honest Whore Part One, act V scene II


Patience is the ballast of the soul, that will keep it from rolling and tumbling in the greatest storms: and he, that will venture out without this to make him sail even and steady will certainly make shipwreck, and drown himself; first, in the cares and sorrows of this world; and, then, in perdition. - Ezekiel Hopkins, Death disarmed of it Sting Of Patience under Afflictions.


Patience is the guardian of faith, the preserver of peace, the cherisher of love, the teacher of humility; Patience governs the flesh, strengthens the spirit, sweetens the temper, stifles anger, extinguishes envy, subdues pride; she bridles the tongue, refrains the hand, tramples upon temptations, endures persecutions, consummates martyrdom; Patience produces unity in the church, loyalty in the State, harmony in families and societies; she comforts the poor and moderates the rich; she makes us humble in prosperity, cheerful in adversity, unmoved by calumny and reproach; she teaches us to forgive those who have injured us, and to be the first in asking forgiveness of those whom we have injured; she delights the faithful, and invites the unbelieving; she adorns the woman, and approves the man; is loved in a child, praised in a young man, admired in an old man; she is beautiful in either sex and every age. - Bishop Horne, Discourses on Several Subjects and Occasions Patience Portrayed

Perfer et obdura; dolor hic tibi proderit olim.
Have patience and endure; this unhappiness will one day be beneficial.
- Ovid, Amorum (16 BC), III. 11. 7.

Durate, et vosmet rebus servate secundis.
Persevere and preserve yourselves for better circumstances.
Virgil, Æneid (29-19 BC), I. 207.

Superanda omnis fortuna ferendo est.
Every misfortune is to be subdued by patience.Virgil, Æneid (29-19 BC), V. 710.

Patience and diligence, like faith, remove mountains.
- William Penn, Some Fruits of Solitude In Reflections And Maxims (1682) no. 234.

Font plus que force ni que rage.
By time and toil we sever
What strength and rage could never.
Jean de La Fontaine, Fables, II. 11.

Rule by patience, Laughing Water!
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Song of Hiawatha (1855), Part X. Hiawatha's Wooing.

Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, A Psalm of Life, Stanza 9.

All things come round to him who will but wait.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Tales of a Wayside Inn, The Student's Tale, Part I.

Endurance is the crowning quality,
And patience all the passion of great hearts.
James Russell Lowell, Columbus, line 241.

Sua quisque exempla debet æquo animo pati.
Every one ought to bear patiently the results of his own conduct.
Phaedrus, Fables, I. 26. 12.

La patience est amère, mais son fruit est doux.
Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

Nihil tam acerbum est in quo non æquus animus solatium inveniat.
There is nothing so disagreeable, that a patient mind can not find some solace for it.
Seneca, De Animi Tranquilitate, X.

Furor fit læsa sæpius patientia.
Patience, when too often outraged, is converted into madness.
-- Syrus, Maxims. 289.

La patience est l'art d'espérer.
Patience is the art of hoping.
-- Luc de Clapiers, Marquis de Vauvenargues, Réflexions, CCLI.

It is not necessary for all men to be great in action. The greatest and sublimest power is often simple patience.
- Horace Bushnell, p. 443.

Teach me to feel that Thou art always nigh;
Teach me the struggles of the soul to bear;
To check the rising doubt, the rebel sigh;
Teach me the patience of unanswered prayer.
- George Croly, p. 444.

Patience! why, it is the soul of peace; of all the virtues it is nearest kin to heaven; it makes men look like gods. The best of men that ever wore earth about Him was a Sufferer,— a soft, meek, patient, humble, tranquil spirit; the first true gentleman that ever breathed.
- Thomas Decker, p. 443.

Patience is enduring love; experience is perfecting love; and hope is exulting love.
- Alexander Dickson, p. 442.

It is easy finding reasons why other folks should be patient.
- George Eliot, p. 443.

Patience is the ballast of the soul that will keep it from rolling and tumbling in the greatest storms.
- Bishop Hopkins, p. 442.

Dispose thyself to patience rather than to comfort, and to the bearing of the cross rather than to gladness.
- Thomas à Kempis, p. 442.

The holier one is, the more forbearing and loving he is; the more tender and patient and anxious to help others in every way. Think how forbearing and loving Christ is when we do wrong; and there we are to be like Him.
- Arthur Henry Kenney, p. 444.

Therefore, let us be patient, patient; and let God our Father teach His own lesson, His own way. Let us try to learn it well and quickly; but do not let us fancy that He will ring the school-bell, and send us to play before our lesson is learnt.
- Charles Kingsley, p. 443.

Be patient, my friends; time rolls rapidly away; our longing has its end. The hour will strike, who knows how soon?— when the maternal lap of everlasting Love shall be opened to us, and the full peace of God breathe around us from the palmy summits of Eden.
- Friedrich Wilhelm Krummacher, p. 613.

When I am about my work, sometimes called unexpectedly and suddenly from one thing to another, I whisper in my heart, " Lord, help me to be patient, help me to remember, and help me to be faithful. Lord, enable me to do all for Christ's sake, and to go forward, leaning on the bosom of His infinite grace."
-- Mary Lyon, p. 444.

We are waiting, Master, waiting,
Wayworn, pressed with toils and strife;
Waiting, hoping, watching, praying,
Till we reach the gates of life.
-- Ray Palmer, p. 613.

Not without design does God write the music of our lives. Be it ours to learn the time, and not be discouraged at the rests. If we say sadly to ourselves, "There is no music in a rest," let us not forget " there is the making of music in it." The making of music is often a slow and painful process in this life. How patiently God works to teach us! How long He waits for us to learn the lesson!
- John Ruskin, p. 443.

Show yourself a Christian by suffering without murmuring. In patience possess your soul — they lose nothing who gain Christ.
- Samuel Rutherford, p. 444.

The disciples of a patient Saviour should be patient themselves.
- Charles Spurgeon, p. 442.

How poor are they that have not patience!
What wound did ever heal but by degrees?
-- William Shakespeare, Othello (c. 1603), Act II, scene 3, line 376.

Had it pleas'd heaven
To try me with affliction * * *
I should have found in some place of my soul
A drop of patience.
-- William Shakespeare, Othello (c. 1603), Act IV, scene 2, line 47.

Like Patience gazing on kings' graves, and smiling
Extremity out of act.
- William Shakespeare, Pericles, Prince of Tyre (c. 1607-08), Act V, scene 1, line 139.

She sat like patience on a monument
Smiling at grief.
- William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night (c. 1601-02), Act II, scene 4, line 117.

He that will have a cake out of the wheat must tarry the grinding.
- William Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida Act I, scene i.

Patience is the art of hoping.
- Marquis De Vauvenargues, Reflections and Maxims (1746) no. 251.

Durate, et vosmet rebus servate secundis.
Persevere and preserve yourselves for better circumstances.
-- Virgil, Æneid (29-19 BC), I. 207.

Superanda omnis fortuna ferendo est.
Every misfortune is to be subdued by patience.
-- Virgil, Æneid (29-19 BC), V. 710.

With strength and patience all his grievous loads are borne,
And from the world's rose-bed he only asks a thorn.
- William R. Alger, Oriental Poetry, Mussud's Praise of the Camel.

I worked with patience which means almost power.
-- Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Aurora Leigh (1856), Book III, line 205.

And I must bear
What is ordained with patience, being aware
Necessity doth front the universe
With an invincible gesture.
-- Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Prometheus Bound.

But there are times when patience proves at fault.
- Robert Browning, Paracelsus, scene 3.

There is however a limit, at which forbearance ceases to be a virtue.
- Edmund Burke, Observations on a Late Publication on the Present State of the Nation.

Thus with hir fader for a certeyn space
Dwelleth this flour of wyfly pacience,
That neither by hir wordes ne hir face
Biforn the folk, ne eek in her absence,
Ne shewed she that hir was doon offence.
- Geoffrey Chaucer, The Clerkes Tale, V, line 13,254.

Patience is sorrow's salve.
- Charles Churchill, Prophecy of Famine, line 363.

Patience is a necessary ingredient of genius.
- Benjamin Disraeli, Contarini Fleming, Part IV, Chapter V.

But the waiting time, my brothers,
Is the hardest time of all.
- Sarah Doudney, Psalms of Life, The Hardest Time of All.

The worst speak something good; if all want sense,
God takes a text, and preacheth patience.
- George Herbert, The Church Porch, Stanza 72.

Durum! sed levius fit patientia
Quicquid corrigere est nefas.
It is hard! But what can not be removed, becomes lighter through patience.
- Horace, Carmina, I. 24. 19.

For patience, sov'reign o'er transmuted ill.
- Samuel Johnson, The Vanity of Human Wishes, line 352.

Source: http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Patience

You are the master of your fate and you create your own happiness.

2012-09-15T20:53:00.001-07:00

If I am not for myself, then who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, then what am I? And if not now, when?
- Hillel the Elder, 1st Century B.C.

It's never the events that happen to us that make us disturbed, but our view of them.
Epictetus, 1st Century A.D.

Happiness and misery depend as much on temperament as on fortune.
- Francois de la Rochefoucauld, 17th Century

Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.
- Abe Lincoln

Happiness does not depend on outward things, but on the way we see them.
- Leo Tolstoy

To be in Hell is to drift; to be in Heaven is to steer.
- Geo. B. Shaw

.................

It is not that someone else is preventing you from living happily;
You yourself do not know what you want. Rather than admit this,
you pretend that someone is keeping you from excercising your liberty.
Who is this? It is yourself.
- Thomas Merton, 1961

.................................

I am responsible for the achievement of my desires.
I am responsible for my choices and actions...
I am responsible for my personal happiness.
- Dr. Nathaniel Branden

.....................................

"I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have."

- Thomas Jefferson

..................................

If you think you're free, there's no escape possible.
- Ram Dass

...............................

Happiness is something you can work at. It's a matter of identifying the things you do that get in the way of happiness, and figuring out what positive activities you can do everyday to augment it.

- David Lykken, U of Minnesota

.....................................

Depressed people are caught in a feedback loop in which distorted thoughts cause negative feelings, which then distort feelings further.

You can break the cycle by changing the thoughts.

A big part of cognitive therapy is training clients to catch the thoughts and distortions and then find alternative and more accurate ways of thinking.

Over many weeks,the client's thoughts become more realistic. The feedback loop is broken and the client's anxiety or depression abates.

- Jonathan Haidt, Psychologist and Happiness Researcher

.............................................

Define Success to properly set your compass on your single definite purpose

2012-08-10T18:16:00.001-07:00

I found one day in school a boy of medium size ill-treating a smaller boy. I expostulated, but he replied: The bigs hit me, so I hit the babies; that's fair. In these words he epitomized the history of the human race.
- Bertrand Russell

“All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure. ”
― Mark Twain

"In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins
- not by strength but by perseverance."
- H. Jackson Brown

“Don't mistake activity with achievement.”
― John Wooden

“Supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

“Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”
― Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich

“Don't aim at success. The more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side effect of one's personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one's surrender to a person other than oneself. Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it. I want you to listen to what your conscience commands you to do and go on to carry it out to the best of your knowledge. Then you will live to see that in the long-run—in the long-run, I say!—success will follow you precisely because you had forgotten to think about it”

― Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning

“I want to do it because I want to do it. Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others.”
― Amelia Earhart

“Over the years, I have come to realize that the greatest trap in our life is not success, popularity, or power, but self-rejection. Success, popularity, and power can indeed present a great temptation, but their seductive quality often comes from the way they are part of the much larger temptation to self-rejection. When we have come to believe in the voices that call us worthless and unlovable, then success, popularity, and power are easily perceived as attractive solutions. The real trap, however, is self-rejection. As soon as someone accuses me or criticizes me, as soon as I am rejected, left alone, or abandoned, I find myself thinking, "Well, that proves once again that I am a nobody." ... [My dark side says,] I am no good... I deserve to be pushed aside, forgotten, rejected, and abandoned. Self-rejection is the greatest enemy of the spiritual life because it contradicts the sacred voice that calls us the "Beloved." Being the Beloved constitutes the core truth of our existence.”

― Henri J.M. Nouwen

Robbie Burns: To A Mouse

2012-06-25T23:56:00.001-07:00



TO A MOUSE
ON TURNING HER UP IN HER NEST WITH THE PLOUGH, NOVEMBER, 1785

by: Robert Burns (1759-1796)

I

EE, sleekit, cowrin, tim'rous beastie,
Oh, what a panic's in thy breastie!
Thou need na start awa sae hasty,
Wi' bickering brattle!
I was be laith to rin an' chase thee,
Wi' murd'ring pattle!

II

I'm truly sorry man's dominion
Has broken Nature's social union,
An' justifies that ill opinion
Which makes thee startle
At me, thy poor, earth-born companion
An' fellow-mortal!

III

I doubt na, whyles, but thou may thieve;
What then? poor beastie, thou maun live!
A daimen-icker in a thrave
'S a sma' request;
I'll get a blessin wi' the lave,
And never miss't!

IV

Thy wee-bit housie, too, in ruin!
Its silly wa's the win's are strewin!
An' naething, now, to big a new ane,
O' foggage green!
An' bleak December's winds ensuin,
Baith snell an' keen!

V

Thou saw the fields laid bare an' waste,
An' weary winter comin fast,
An' cozie here, beneath the blast,
Thou thought to dwell,
Till crash! the cruel coulter past
Out thro' thy cell.

VI

That wee bit heap o' leaves an stibble,
Has cost thee mony a weary nibble!
Now thou's turn'd out, for a' thy trouble,
But house or hald,
To thole the winter's sleety dribble,
An' cranreuch cauld!

VII

But, Mousie, thou art no thy lane,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft a-gley,
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promis'd joy!

VIII

Still thou art blest, compared wi' me!
The present only toucheth thee:
But och! I backward cast my e'e,
On prospects drear!
An' forward, tho' I cannot see,
I guess an' fear!

"To a Mouse" is reprinted from English Poems. Ed. Edward Chauncey Baldwin & Harry G. Paul. New York: American Book Company, 1908.

Source:
http://www.poetry-archive.com/b/to_a_mouse.html

Robert Burns by Alexander Nasmyth
(By permission of the National Galleries of Scotland)

Dancing away the lunch break in Stockholm

2012-04-04T15:02:00.000-07:00

Homeostasis of Happiness

Henry Miller

Knife Buyer's Guide

Knife Buyer's Guide

Meditating Dog

Alexander Shulgin was a pioneer in Psychedelic Medicine

Be Happy

Music

Category

License

Leonard Cohen: Hallelujah

Leonard Cohen: Darkness and Praise

Living with a sense of purpose in life

Mindful Awareness

UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center

Mindfulness is making the news these days. It has been depicted in the media primarily as a tool to hone attention, to cultivate sensory awareness, and to keep us in the present moment.

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy can help prevent recurrence of depression.

Positive Psychology News

Self Improvement

Living with a sense of purpose in life

The Science and Practice of Happiness Across the Lifespan

Music

Category

License

Earl Nightingale provides inspiration

The Strangest Secret

Success Quotes

finding Meaning

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi on flow | Video on TED.com

Why you should listen to him:

Quotes by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi on the Web

Zorba the Greek

Rick Hanson - - Hardwiring Happiness

Bringing back a Wandering Attention - William James

Practice Patience for Patience is the beginning of Mindfulness

You are the master of your fate and you create your own happiness.

Define Success to properly set your compass on your single definite purpose

Robbie Burns: To A Mouse

Dancing away the lunch break in Stockholm