“Spiritual Egotism is a travesty of the principles

of spirituality, and goes against basic spiritual values such as kindness, acceptance and altruism.

In part two of the article, I’ll discuss some current examples of spiritual egotism and how the practice of Ruthless Compassion is the antidote to this.”

From the excellent article, Spiritual Egotism, Part 1: The Dark Side of New Age Philosophy by Marcia Sirota MD, 2009
Click here to read and go

to her site.

A study shows that depressed people may be 42 percent more likely to develop diabetes.

And the stronger

the sad symptoms,

the greater the odds.

Read article.

Niebuhr w as

a blunt critic of morally complacent Christians.

He thought the church was full of idealists who believed that progress was inevitable and

that love alone would ultimately conquer injustice, some Niebuhr scholars say.

“He said there was a difference between being a ‘fool for Christ’ and a plain damn fool,” says Richard Crouter, author of the upcoming book “Reinhold Niebuhr: On Politics, Religion and Christian Faith.”

Excellent article.

As humans we are capable of great good, as well as terrible evil.

Most people just ramble along, being neither awful nor saintly much of the time.

In many ways this is a much more dangerous state than the others.

We never come alive, our souls wither, and may even die, when all we choose (and yes we CHOOSE) is mediocrity.

“The phenomenon is a not-so-surprising aspect of a uniquely human trait.

The ability to subjectively travel through time, called chronesthesia, sets us apart from other animals, the researchers say.

And now their results suggest our perceptions of time are tightly coupled with space. . . .”

Read article.

Fascinating. Raises all sorts of questions.

I wonder if the ability to travel subjectively through time really is a uniquely human trait.

So many notions held as gospel in the past about our superiority to other animals have been laid to rest upon closer study.

I wouldn’t doubt that this doctrine will also be found false in the future.

We humans just aren’t that different, from what I’ve seen.

The young woman who sings, wrote the song, and accompanies herself on

the ukulele.

Watch You Tube.

“Bees c an le

arn to recognize human faces, or at least face-like p

atterns,

a new study suggests.

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

The results suggest that, even with their tiny brains, insects can handle image analysis.”

Read article.

Fascinating.

It’s called a reovirus (short for Respiratory Enteric Orphan virus), and it’s a type which most people pick up by age 12 through inhalation or contact that causes few

or no health problems.

But when the virus enters cancer cells, it kills

them.

Read the article.

Exciting news.

From Real Age:

Phenolic compounds are antioxidants that have a reputation for quelling inflammatory processes that can open the door to diseases like cancer and heart

disease. Peanuts are already packed with a wide variety of antioxidants.

And with the exception of vitamin E, the capacity of peanut antioxidants increased dramatically in a study when the nuts were roasted at about 330 degrees Fahrenheit for 21 minutes.

(Here’s another culinary trick that powers up your peanuts.)

Read article.

“We are in a transformative moment in history, when the acceptance of

the status quo counts as cataclysmic failure.

A very smart man once said, ‘Telling the American people what we think they want to hear instead of telling the American people what they need to hear just won’t do.’ That man was Barack Obama, and that attitude is one reason he got elected.”

From the Newsweek article “Follow the Leader” by Anna Quindlen

I spent many winter days home with bronchitis.

My d ad w

as a heavy smoker.

The following article is important, and shocking.

Click to read.

“We’ve identified a new risk for tobacco smoke,” said Lara Gundel, an environmental physical chemist at California’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, who is one of the study’s authors. “That risk is that third-hand smoke residues can get more dangerous over time.”