All posts by Mike Zonta
Rupert Spira says we’re not really human beings
“In prayer or meditation, we sink more and more deeply into being. That is, our being or self extricates itself from experience and sinks more and more deeply into itself. Being without form – transparent, silent, empty – our being shares none of the limitations or qualities that characterise our human experience. Therefore, at the deepest level, we are not really human beings; we are simply being, clothed in human experience.“
–Rupert Spira
Rupert Spira (born March 13, 1960) is an English spiritual teacher, philosopher and author of the Direct Path based in Oxford, UK. Wikipedia
(newsletter@rupertspira.com)
The ultimate guide to rationality, with Harvard’s Steven Pinker
Big Think • Mar 22, 2023 • The Big Think InterviewHarvard professor Steven Pinker explains how to develop a rational mind in 80 minutes. Subscribe to Big Think on YouTube ► / @bigthink Up next, Linguistics as a window to understanding the brain ► • Steven Pinker: Li… Steven Pinker, a renowned Canadian cognitive psychologist and author, speaks to Big Think in this wide-ranging conversation on topics such as human progress, the tragedy of the commons, Bayesian reasoning, and strategies to curb our most destructive instincts, with the ultimate goal of improving the world for everyone. Central to Pinker’s argument is the promotion of rationality. His 2023 book, Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters, delves into the enigmatic nature of human progress, examining how we have achieved so many impressive scientific breakthroughs while concurrently succumbing to widespread irrationality, like fake news and conspiracy theories. Pinker maintains that humans are not innately irrational; instead, our thought processes are better adapted to low-tech environments. So, how can we cultivate greater rationality in today’s complex world? Pinker believes that one key lies in improving education. By teaching children critical thinking skills, we can better equip them to identify biases, emotional reasoning, and cognitive distortions. A more effective educational approach might emphasize probability theory, the elements of persuasive rhetoric, and developing empathy by understanding the perspectives of those with differing viewpoints. By fostering these skills, we can nurture a more rational and informed society capable of addressing the challenges of our modern era. 0:00 Meet Steven Pinker 0:25 Why does rationality matter? 3:44 How can we measure human progress? 10:17 Is your view of progress optimistic? 12:12 Are we a rational or an irrational species? 18:29 What are the current threats to rationality and progress? 23:41 Why do new technologies tend to increase irrational thinking? 26:05 How do institutions both enable and hinder progress? 29:57 How does cancel culture stifle rationality? 32:14 What are “tragedies of the commons” and how can they impede progress? 35:58 Do “tragedies of the commons” contribute to political polarization? 37:23 How can narrative thinking skew our perception of the world? 39:51 What are cognitive illusions and do they explain irrationality? 44:49 What is Bayesian reasoning? 50:34 What’s a situation where people tend to neglect Bayesian reasoning? 55:53 Why is Bayesian reasoning indispensable for scientists and AI researchers? 56:42 How useful is Bayesian logic for everyday reasoning? 59:25 Why is it so hard to get people to use Bayesian reasoning? 1:00:29 When can a focus on Bayesian reasoning become problematic? 1:04:20 Why do some journalists and scientists forego Bayesian reasoning? 1:08:22 Is the media responsible for our inability to employ Bayesian reasoning? 1:10:08 Can you simplify Bayes’ theorem for us? 1:10:59 Can we become more rational? 1:17:03 Do we have what it takes to be collectively more rational?
The power of thought – One of the greatest riddles of science
DW Documentary • Apr 9, 2023 • Whether you like it or not, thoughts are constantly racing through your mind. Even when you’re trying not to think about anything. And although people have been researching thoughts for over 5,000 years, it’s still not clear how a thought arises — or what exactly a thought is. How thoughts arise is still one of the greatest mysteries of science. But it has been clear for millennia that they have an enormous influence on human health. Now, as researchers like neuroscientist Ulrike Bingel of Essen University Hospital use imaging techniques to illustrate things like the placebo effect, interest in human thought power has exploded. Thoughts have an effect on the body. For psychologist Ellen Langer, they are the most powerful medicine. In numerous experiments, she proved that thoughts can influence blood sugar levels, help you lose weight and even measurably rejuvenate you. However, thoughts are difficult to control: The majority are unconscious and shaped by old thought patterns. In the past few years, neurotechnologies have begun to play a role: Brazilian physician and neuroscientist Miguel Nicolelis was the first to interface the brain with a computer, helping a rat move things outside its body. Meanwhile, even airplanes can be controlled using similar techniques. However, thoughts can also be manipulated via neurotechnology. Who will ensure that our thoughts remain free?
THE EMPATHY CIRCLE GAME
The Empathy Circle Game is engaging and enriching for people of any age and walk of life. Everyone benefits from being heard. Play it at parties, in classrooms, or with your family. The only thing you need to play is a willingness to listen and value what others are expressing.
The Empathy Circle Game is a free download and includes a printable game board and instructions for 13 mini games. It has a flexible format that can be altered to suit your needs.
Download The Empathy Circle Game
WHY A GAME TO TEACH EMPATHY?
Growing up, the games we played were “winner takes all.” There was one winner and everyone else was a “loser.” In The Empathy Circle Game, everyone wins or no one wins! Through exercises that foster communication, listening, and memory skills, the game is designed to develop abilities that help us overcome many challenges we face today—problems that can’t be solved through conflict or domination, but by finding common goals and working together. While having fun, players will develop a sharper memory, more insight, and become better communicators.
To everyone who tries to listen and understand, you are an essential part of the healing of our world. Humanity faces an uphill climb. There’s no time to lose, so start playing!
This game is currently in beta release. If you have questions or feedback, please email William Filler at empathycirclegame@yahoo.com
MORE ABOUT THE CULTURE OF EMPATHY
William Filler, the developer of The Empathy Circle Game, has been working with Edwin Rutsch and others to help build a culture of empathy since 2017. Edwin developed the Empathy Circle practice, based on Carl Rogers’ Reflective Listening.
Most of us are conditioned to respond to others, asserting their own ideas. In an Empathy Circle, we reflect what the other person has said in order to understand them. Empathy Circle practitioners go to political rallies, both Right and Left, to listen to everyone, and attempt to get both sides to listen to each other.
We have also developed an online training that we’ve conducted since 2020 (empathycircle.com). During the height of the pandemic, the first trainees were medical workers in Brooklyn, NY, who were dealing with overwhelming sickness and death. They reported that even five minutes of reflective listening as they changed shifts had a profound positive effect on the rest of their day. Since then, we have trained over 500 people from all over the world and have made over 500 new friends.
Instead of finding intractable differences between people from different cultures, we found that we all share a common humanity. Empathy doesn’t mean that everyone agrees on everything, but, through reflective listening, we find that we share many of the same core values, such as love of family and community. The Empathy Circle practice seeks to create a foundation of trust on which to build inventive solutions to the problems we face today.
Tarot Card for April 14: The Two of Swords
The Two of Swords
The Lord of Peace is a friendly Sword, which comes as something of a relief when we have spent so much time dealing with his more belligerent cousins. However it must be noted that the card often comes up to indicate that a conflict has been resolved or a breach healed, so there will have been trouble earlier on.
It indicates that a painful and difficult situation is being reconciled. Friendships are rebuilt, old wounds are healed. However in this context it is very important to look carefully at the cards which follow it, for there is often a feeling that a relationship will never be quite the same again as it was before the conflict or quarrel. If the Four of Swords comes up nearby, this is a clear indication that one should remain cautious and thoughtful, not giving too much in the way of trust, for some time. If the Moon was up in the reading, we would be forced to consider the possibility that all is not as it seems.
At an inner level, the Two of Swords really comes into its own, for it marks the period of tranquillity and calmness that can arise when we have finally made difficult decisions, and acted upon them. Often it will come up to show that, now we have got to grips with our confusion, we can rest and recover.
The card will also come up to show that we have let go of old fears or anxieties that were holding us back. It’s a still card indicating a time to rest and recuperate.
(via angelpaths.com and Alan Blackman)
Book: “Transgender Warriors: Making History from Joan of Arc to Dennis Rodman”
Transgender Warriors : Making History from Joan of Arc to Dennis Rodman
Leslie Feinberg
With a New Afterword by the Author
In this fascinating, personal journey through history, Leslie Feinberg uncovers persuasive evidence that there have always been people who crossed the cultural boundaries of gender. Transgender Warriors is an eye-opening jaunt through the history of gender expression and a powerful testament to the rebellious spirit.
(Goodreads.com)
Huang-Po: There is no self and no other
Free Will Astrology: Week of April 13, 2023
APRIL 11, 2023 AT 7:00 AM BY ROB BREZSNY (newcity.com)
Photo: Alex Wong
ARIES (March 21-April 19): I hope that in the coming weeks, you will keep your mind bubbling with zesty mysteries. I hope you’ll exult in the thrill of riddles that are beyond your current power to solve. If you cultivate an appreciation of uncanny uncertainties, life will soon begin bringing you uncanny certainties. Do you understand the connection between open-hearted curiosity and fertile rewards? Don’t merely tolerate the enigmas you are immersed in—love them!
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): An old sadness is ripening into practical wisdom. A confusing loss is about to yield a clear revelation you can use to improve your life. In mysterious ways, a broken heart you suffered in the past may become a wild card that inspires you to deepen and expand your love. Wow and hallelujah, Taurus! I’m amazed at the turnarounds that are in the works for you. Sometime in the coming weeks, what wounded you once upon a time will lead to a vibrant healing. Wonderful surprise!
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): What is the true and proper symbol for your sign, Gemini? Twins standing shoulder to shoulder as they gaze out on the world with curiosity? Or two lovers embracing each other with mischievous adoration in their eyes? Both scenarios can accurately represent your energy, depending on your mood and the phase you’re in. In the coming weeks, I advise you to draw on the potency of both. You will be wise to coordinate the different sides of your personality in pursuit of a goal that interests them all. And you will also place yourself in harmonious alignment with cosmic rhythms as you harness your passionate urge to merge in a good cause.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Some scientists speculate that more people suffer from allergies than ever before because civilization has over-sanitized the world. The fetish for scouring away germs and dirt means that our immune systems don’t get enough practice in fending off interlopers. In a sense, they are “bored” because they have too little to do. That’s why they fight stuff that’s not a threat, like tree pollens and animal dander. Hence, we develop allergies to harmless substances. I hope you will apply this lesson as a metaphor in the coming weeks, fellow Cancerian. Be sure the psychological component of your immune system isn’t warding off the wrong people and things. It’s healthy for you to be protective, but not hyper-over-protective in ways that shut out useful influences.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): One night in 1989, Leo evolutionary biologist Margie Profet went to sleep and had a dream that revealed to her new information about the nature of menstruation. The dream scene was a cartoon of a woman’s reproductive system. It showed little triangles being carried away by the shed menstrual blood. Eureka! As Profet lay in bed in the dark, she intuited a theory that no scientist had ever guessed: that the sloughed-off uterine lining had the key function of eliminating pathogens, represented by the triangles. In subsequent years, she did research to test her idea, supported by studies with electron microscopes. Now her theory is regarded as fact. I predict that many of you Leos will soon receive comparable benefits. Practical guidance will be available in your dreams and twilight awareness and altered states. Pay close attention!
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): You don’t know what is invisible to you. The truths that are out of your reach may as well be hiding. The secret agendas you are not aware of are indeed secret. That’s the not-so-good news, Virgo. The excellent news is that you now have the power to uncover the rest of the story, at least some of it. You will be able to penetrate below the surface and find buried riches. You will dig up missing information whose absence has prevented you from understanding what has been transpiring. There may be a surprise or two ahead, but they will ultimately be agents of healing.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Visionary philosopher Buckminster Fuller referred to pollution as a potential resource we have not yet figured out how to harvest. A company called Algae Systems does exactly that. It uses wastewater to grow algae that scrub carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and yield carbon-negative biofuels. Can we invoke this approach as a metaphor that’s useful to you? Let’s dream up examples. Suppose you’re a creative artist. You could be inspired by your difficult emotions to compose a great song, story, painting or dance. Or if you’re a lover who is in pain, you could harness your suffering to free yourself of a bad old habit or ensure that an unpleasant history doesn’t repeat itself. Your homework, Libra, is to figure out how to take advantage of a “pollutant” or two in your world.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Soon you will graduate from your bumpy lessons and enter a smoother, silkier phase. You will find refuge from the naysayers as you create a liberated new power spot for yourself. In anticipation of this welcome transition, I offer this motivational exhortation from poet Gwendolyn Brooks: “Say to them, say to the down-keepers, the sun-slappers, the self-soilers, the harmony-hushers, ‘Even if you are not ready for day, it cannot always be night.’” I believe you are finished with your worthwhile but ponderous struggles, Scorpio. Get ready for an excursion toward luminous grace.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): I periodically seek the counsel of a Sagittarian psychic. She’s half-feral and sometimes speaks in riddles. She tells me she occasionally converses by phone with a person she calls “the ex-Prime Minister of Narnia.” I confided in her that lately it has been a challenge for me to keep up with you Sagittarians because you have been expanding beyond the reach of my concepts. She gave me a pronouncement that felt vaguely helpful, though it was also a bit over my head: “The Archer may be quite luxuriously curious and furiously hilarious; studiously lascivious and victoriously delirious; salubriously industrious but never lugubriously laborious.” Here’s how I interpret that: Right now, pretty much anything is possible if you embrace unpredictability.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): “I’m not insane,” says Capricorn actor Jared Leto. “I’m voluntarily indifferent to conventional rationality.” That attitude might serve you well in the coming weeks. You could wield it to break open opportunities that were previously closed due to excess caution. I suspect you’re beginning a fun phase of self-discovery when you will learn a lot about yourself. As you do, I hope you will experiment with being at least somewhat indifferent to conventional rationality. Be willing to be surprised. Be receptive to changing your mind about yourself.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): People of all genders feel urges to embellish their native beauty with cosmetic enhancements. I myself haven’t done so, but I cheer on those who use their flesh for artistic experiments. At the same time, I am also a big fan of us loving ourselves exactly as we are. And I’m hoping that in the coming weeks, you will emphasize the latter over the former. I urge you to indulge in an intense period of maximum self-appreciation. Tell yourself daily how gorgeous and brilliant you are. Tell others, too! Cultivate a glowing pride in the gifts you offer the world. If anyone complains, tell them you’re doing the homework your astrologer gave you.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): I encourage you to amplify the message you have been trying to deliver. If there has been any shyness or timidity in your demeanor, purge it. If you have been less than forthright in speaking the whole truth and nothing but the truth, boost your clarity and frankness. Is there anything you could do to help your audience be more receptive? Any tenderness you could express to stimulate their willingness and ability to see you truly?
Homework: What’s your favorite lie or deception? Newsletter.FreeWillAstrology.com
The Intelligence of the Heart with Julian Gresser
New Thinking Allo Apr 12, 2023 Julian Gresser, MA, JD, has been an adviser to many companies and governments and has had an international law practice in Tokyo, Japan. He is also a practitioner of Zen Buddhism and qigong. He is the author of Environmental Law in Japan (1971), Partners in Prosperity: Strategic Industries for the U.S. and Japan (1985) Piloting Through Chaos (1995), Explorer’s Mind (2013), and Laughing Heart: A Field Guide to Exuberant Vitality for All Ages (2017). He is currently chairman of Alliances for Discovery and Big Heart Technologies. Here he presents a view of the human heart as a subtle energy field and a core human capability, responsible for guiding the brain and establishing ethical balance. He also emphasizes the role of the heart in human vitality and perception. He proposes that many hitherto unsolved problems can be approached with new vigor and imagination when seen through the lens of the heart. He offers some simple exercises for opening the heart and quieting the mind. Edited subtitles for this video are available in Russian, Portuguese, Italian, German, French, and Spanish. New Thinking Allowed host, Jeffrey Mishlove, PhD, is author of The Roots of Consciousness, Psi Development Systems, and The PK Man. Between 1986 and 2002 he hosted and co-produced the original Thinking Allowed public television series. He is the recipient of the only doctoral diploma in “parapsychology” ever awarded by an accredited university (University of California, Berkeley, 1980). He is also the Grand Prize winner of the 2021 Bigelow Institute essay competition regarding the best evidence for survival of human consciousness after permanent bodily death. (Recorded on March 4, 2018)