Worth a 1000 words: Philippe Tarbouriech

Tuscan Landscape
by Philippe Tarbouriech

Moment of Zen

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.
– George Bernard Shaw

ABC of Yoga

Lots of yogo information and resources at abc-of-yoga.com. Excellent step-by-step illustrations of asanas, information on the meaning and history of yoga, on yoga diet, and more. Well organized into categories that take you to the information you are seeking quickly.

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Did you Know

that kindergarten (garden for children) was the brain child of a German academic named Friedrich Fröbel. He drew inspiration from nature, and came up with the design for kindergarten back in 1837.

Read more in the article – Studying the Creation of Kindergarten

Moment of Zen

The reason why worry kills more people than work is that more people worry than work.
– Robert Frost

The Mandala Project

The Mandala Project – A great resource for everyone interested in this ancient art form.

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Meditation reshapes the brain

An article on Indystar.com talks about the results of a study which shows how certain areas of the brain show increased thickness in people who meditate regularly.

Even though the study showed only certain areas of the brain to be affected, like the ones that deal with thought and emotion, it kind of got me wondering if there is more to this. If the brain is a muscle and meditation is the weights to strengthen and build that muscle, then can one through meditation strengthen all parts of grey matter? Kind of like building your body using weights, if you only do dumbbell curls, then you will probably see your biceps build, not your hamstrings.

Another thought that occurred was can that strength gained through meditation pass on to your children, ala evolution? If ones ancestors had a tradition of memorizing and reciting the thousands of verses in the Vedas, could that equate to one being born with a stronger memory? An example that comes to mind is from the movie March of the Penguins, how an emperor penguin remembers where to go, and what to do, it’s a memory that they are born with, because it affects their very survival. It raises an interesting question, can a practice of meditation over generations, trigger some innate rule in us, that decides the strengths gained from this practice now qualifies as a necessity for the survival of the species, and hence will be remembered and passed on from generation to generation?

Finally, isn’t is strange that the exercise of meditation works by doing nothing, or are we doing a lot? By reaching a state of no thought, are we actually working the brain to it’s limits? If a thoughtless mind only affects a certain area of the brain, what would it take to do a full brain workout?!

Did you Know

that Americans on average eat 18 acres of pizza a day.

Mind-bending

Spoon boy: Do not try and bend the spoon. That’s impossible. Instead… only try to realize the truth.
Neo: What truth?
Spoon boy: There is no spoon.
Neo: There is no spoon?
Spoon boy: Then you’ll see, that it is not the spoon that bends, it is only yourself.
– from The Matrix

Did you Know

that If you chew gum while chopping onions it stops your eyes from watering.