5 Benefits of Meditation I Didn't Expect (and How They Can Make You Successful) I’m not a meditation teacher. I’m not even a very enthusiastic meditator. I’ve averaged about 20 minutes once a week for the past couple of years, and any serious meditator will tell you that’s not enough to really benefit you. Except it seems like it is, because I’ve noticed some benefits that I can’t attribute to anything else. I’m sure I’d get far more benefit if I meditated more regularly (I’m experimenting quietly with doing that). But here’s what I’ve gained even from a rather hit-and-miss practice. Well-known benefits of meditation Everyone who knows much about meditation knows that it helps to decrease negative thoughts and increase positive ones. What I didn’t expect were the benefits I’m about to describe. 1. Meditation is, let’s face it, boring. Which is my point. That doesn’t sound like much of a benefit, until you reflect that the ability to do boring stuff is a key element of success. Practice that isn’t very entertaining is the way to become an expert, a success. 2. 3. 4.
100 inspirational quotes to celebrate 100 blog posts « Always Well Within 100 quotes - to inspire, challenge, encourage, remind, enlighten, reassure, soothe, and delight. In celebration of 100 blog posts at Always Well Within! Many thanks to my wonderful readers and subscribers. Please enjoy this feast of wisdom! “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” - Maya Angelou“If you have much, give of your wealth; if you have little, give of your heart.” “It’s a terrible thing to see and have no vision.” - Helen Keller“You will succeed if you persevere; and you will find joy in overcoming obstacles. - Helen Keller“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” - Helen Keller“We could never learn to be brave and patient if there were only joy in the world.” - Helen Keller“We do not write in order to be understood; we write in order to understand.” - C.S. “If you mind is empty, it is always ready for anything; it is open to everything.
10 Simple Postures That Boost Performance — PsyBlog - StumbleUpon Psychological research suggests simple actions can project power, persuade others, increase empathy, boost cognitive performance and more… We tend to think of body language as something that expresses our internal states to the outside world. But it also works the other way around: the position of our body also influences our mind. As the following psychological research shows, how we move can drive both thoughts and feelings and this can boost performance. 1. Pose for power If you want to feel more powerful then adopt a powerful posture. 2. Tensing up your muscles can help increase your willpower. 3. If you’re stuck on a problem which needs persistence then try crossing your arms. 4. If crossing your arms doesn’t work then try lying down. 5. While you’re lying down, why not have a nap? Brooks & Lack (2005) compared 5, 10, 20 and 30 minute naps to find the best length. 6. The way people’s hands cut through the air while they talk is fascinating. 7. 8. 9. 10. Embodied cognition
Fallacy: Special Pleading Description of Special Pleading Special Pleading is a fallacy in which a person applies standards, principles, rules, etc. to others while taking herself (or those she has a special interest in) to be exempt, without providing adequate justification for the exemption. This sort of "reasoning" has the following form: Person A accepts standard(s) S and applies them to others in circumtance(s) C. Person A is in circumstance(s) C. The person committing Special Pleading is claiming that he is exempt from certain principles or standards yet he provides no good reason for his exemption. Barbara accepts that all murderers should be punished for their crimes. This is obviously a blatant case of special pleading. From a philosophic standpoint, the fallacy of Special Pleading is violating a well accepted principle, namely the Principle of Relevant Difference. It should be noted that the Principle of Relevant Difference does allow people to be treated differently. Examples of Special Pleading
The Perfect Massage Learn to give a mind-blowing rubdown. (You can both thank us later). Thursday, September 8, 2011 Nothing says “I’m a keeper” like a well-executed massage. The problem? After a few thumb jabs and some lackluster squeezing, most of us run out of steam. The Set-UpHow do massage therapists manage to go all day without aching hands? Kneading Probably the most quintessential massage technique, you’ll rotate your thumbs and fingers simultaneously in circular movements. Squeezing“The muscles on either side of your shoulders are notorious for carrying stress,” says Burgess, “so you want to give this area some attention.” PercussionEssentially a hand chop, this technique is a good closer after you’ve worked a particular section of the body. CompressionThis is essentially just using the palm of your hand or forearm to lean into a muscle group. Stroking Great for smaller areas such as the back of the neck or arms, stroking is a more superficial technique. Video by Project Dstllry
Mitch Quotes My friend asked me if I wanted a frozen banana, I said "No, but I want a regular banana later, so, Yeah." Mitch Hedberg The depressing thing about tennis is that no matter how good I get, I'll never be as good as a wall. I don't have a girlfriend. But I do know a woman who'd be mad at me for saying that. I got my hair highlighted, because I felt some strands were more important than others. ...and then at the end of the letter I like to write "P.S. - this is what part of the alphabet would look like if Q and R were eliminated. I think pickles are cucumbers that sold out. I use the word totally too much. I wrote my friend a letter with a highlighting pen, but he could not read it, he thought I was trying to show him certain parts of a piece of paper. I think Bigfoot is blurry, that's the problem. My roommate says, "I'm going to take a shower and shave, does anyone need to use the bathroom?" On a traffic light yellow means yield, and green means go. A waffle is like a pancake with a syrup trap.
‘The Necessity of Transcendental Philosophy’ ‘The Necessity of Transcendental Philosophy’ Transcendental philosophy, in the context of the philosophy of mind, is the attempt to account for the conditions of possibility of states of understanding. By ‘states of understanding’ I mean all the ways in which subjects can make sense of things – cognition, perception, emotions, the imagination, and acts and attitudes of valuing. I will outline the questions a transcendental philosophy must address, and argue that any complete theory of the subject or of the mind must answer these questions; therefore, any complete theory of the mind must be, in part, a transcendental theory. I will conclude by drawing out the implications of this claim for the project of naturalizing states of understanding. Introduction A striking feature of the contemporary philosophy of mind is how alien the problems and practices of transcendental philosophy seem to it. (a) No philosophy of mind can be complete without addressing transcendental questions.
Hammack Home This book is an introduction to the standard methods of proving mathematical theorems. It has been approved by the American Institute of Mathematics' Open Textbook Initiative. Also see the Mathematical Association of America Math DL review (of the 1st edition), and the Amazon reviews. The second edition is identical to the first edition, except some mistakes have been corrected, new exercises have been added, and Chapter 13 has been extended. Order a copy from Amazon or Barnes & Noble for $13.75 or download a pdf for free here. Part I: Fundamentals Part II: How to Prove Conditional Statements Part III: More on Proof Part IV: Relations, Functions and Cardinality Thanks to readers around the world who wrote to report mistakes and typos! Instructors: Click here for my page for VCU's MATH 300, a course based on this book. I will always offer the book for free on my web page, and for the lowest possible price through on-demand publishing.
40 Belief-Shaking Remarks From a Ruthless Nonconformist If there’s one thing Friedrich Nietzsche did well, it’s obliterate feel-good beliefs people have about themselves. He has been criticized for being a misanthrope, a subvert, a cynic and a pessimist, but I think these assessments are off the mark. I believe he only wanted human beings to be more honest with themselves. He did have a remarkable gift for aphorism — he once declared, “It is my ambition to say in ten sentences what others say in a whole book.” A hundred years after his death, Nietzsche retains his disturbing talent for turning a person’s worldview upside-down with one jarring remark. Even today his words remain controversial. Here are 40 unsympathetic statements from the man himself. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. More of Nietzsche’s genius here. Have a lot on your mind? Everyday mindfulness has transformed my life, and the lives of many others.
Einstein for Everyone Einstein for Everyone Nullarbor Press 2007revisions 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 Copyright 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 John D. Norton Published by Nullarbor Press, 500 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260 with offices in Liberty Ave., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15222 All Rights Reserved John D. An advanced sequel is planned in this series:Einstein for Almost Everyone 2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1 ePrinted in the United States of America no trees were harmed web*bookTM This book is a continuing work in progress. January 1, 2015. Preface For over a decade I have taught an introductory, undergraduate class, "Einstein for Everyone," at the University of Pittsburgh to anyone interested enough to walk through door. With each new offering of the course, I had the chance to find out what content worked and which of my ever so clever pedagogical inventions were failures. At the same time, my lecture notes have evolved. This text owes a lot to many. i i i