Is starvation from poverty still an issue in the age of obesity?

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Tuesday, April 25, 2017

2 faves of recent days...


Calvin Harris & Disciples - How Deep Is Your Love

&

David Guetta Feat. Kelly Rowland - When Love Takes Over

&


Read this article...following...

...a lovely ongoing dance with the friend Mary-Jane...

Thought-leaders-and-the-plutocrats-who-love-them...or 'Sophists' as they were already known as thousands of years ago...

...& subtitled:  "The wealthy have taken 
over intellectual culture, and it’s devastating progressive politics.

...& now I [we] can't reformat it...!!!...

Maybe if 1st I...ahh now it works...except the italic's...now it works...!!

ANYWAY...as I have been trying to say...Sophists...ex-

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_Love_Takes_Over

...oops wrong link[?]...correct one now:

sophist or sophister (GreekσοφιστήςLatinsophistes) was a specific kind of teacher in both Ancient Greece and in the Roman Empire. Many sophists specialized in using the tools of philosophy and rhetoric, though other sophists taught subjects such as music, athletics, and mathematics. In general, they claimed to teach arete ("excellence" or "virtue," applied to various subject areas), predominantly to young statesmen and nobility. There are not many writings from and about the first sophists. The early sophists' practice of charging money for education and providing wisdom only to those who could pay resulted in the condemnations made by Socrates through Plato in his Dialogues, as well as by Xenophon in Memorabiliaand, somewhat controversially, by Aristotle who, being paid to tutor Alexander the Great, could be accused of being a Sophist (although Aristotle did not actually accept payment from Philip, Alexander's father, but requested that, in lieu of payment, Philip reconstruct Aristotle's home town of Stagira, which Philip had destroyed in a previous campaign, terms which Philip accepted).[citation needed] Author of The History and Theory of Rhetoric: An Introduction James A. Herrick wrote, “In De OratoreCicero blames Plato for separating wisdom and eloquence in the philosopher’s famous attack on the Sophists in Gorgias.” [1] The classical tradition of rhetoric and composition refers more to philosophers like Aristotle, Cicero, and Quintilian than to the sophists. Despite these criticisms, however, many sophists flourished in later periods, especially during the era of Roman history known as the Second Sophistic."




Thursday, April 20, 2017

...yet another psyche site...

About Us ERIE is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to the sharing of entheogenic and transpersonal knowledge in a non-hierarchical, community based format, located in the San Francisco Bay Area. We offer a platform for entheogenic research, integration and education. ERIE is not only a hub of integration information for entheogenic and transpersonal experiences, we also host peer integration circles to facilitate meaning-making and community building. We host monthly educational events including symposiums, forums, and conferences on varied topics surrounding entheogenic research and activism. We are dedicated to supporting cognitive liberty by offering a learning environment to support grassroots education and outreach on the topics of integration and entheogenic potentials.

Another another Psychedelic conference...

...in England this time 30/06 - 02/07/17...

Breaking Convention is a multidisciplinary conference on psychedelic consciousness, featuring more than 150 presenters from around the world.

Wish I could go...

http://psychedelicscience.org/

April 19-24, 2017 — Oakland, California

At Psychedelic Science 2017, the international scientific community is coming together at the Oakland Marriott City Center in Oakland, Calif., to explore new research into the benefits and risks of MDMA, LSD, psilocybin, ayahuasca, ketamine, ibogaine, medical marijuana, and more.

Join us for this historic six-day global gathering, featuring three days of conference presentations, three days of workshops, a Sunset Cruise on the San Francisco Bay, the Psychedelic Comedy Banquet, and much more.


April 19-24, 2017 — Oakland, California

At Psychedelic Science 2017, the international scientific community is coming together at the Oakland Marriott City Center in Oakland, Calif., to explore new research into the benefits and risks of MDMA, LSD, psilocybin, ayahuasca, ketamine, ibogaine medical marijuana, and more.

Join us for this historic six-day global gathering, featuring three days of conference presentations, three days of workshops, a Sunset Cruise on the San Francisco Bay, the Psychedelic Comedy Banquet, and much more.


 1April 19-24, 2017 — Oakland, CaliforniaAt Psychedelic Science 2017, the international scientific community is coming together at the Oakland Marriott City Center in Oakland, Calif., to explore new research into the benefits and risks of MDMA, LSD, psilocybin, ayahuasca, ketamine, ibogaine, medical marijuana, and more.

Join us for this historic six-day global gathering, featuring three days of conference presentations, three days of workshops, a Sunset Crui on the San Francisco Bay, the Psychedelic Comedy Banquet, and much more.

9-24, 2017 — Oakland, California

At Psychedelic Science 2017, the international scientific community is coming together at the Oakland Marriott City Center in Oakland, Calif., to explore new research into the benefits and risks of MDMA, LSD, psilocybin, ayahuasca, ketamine, ibogaine, medical marijuana, and more.

Join us for this historic six-day global gathering, featuring three days of conference presentations, three days of workshops, a Sunset Cruise on the San Francisco Bay, the Psychedelic Comedy Banquet, and much more.

Beauty is in eye of the beholder...

"For lack of attention a thousand forms of loveliness elude us every day."
Evelyn Underhill
(1850  - 1941)
English theologian and mystic




Looks interesting...Crazywise Documentary...

What can we learn from those who have turned their psychological crisis into a positive transformative experience?

CRAZYWISE SYNOPSIS

What can we learn from those who have turned their psychological crisis into a positive transformative experience?
During a quarter-century documenting indigenous cultures, human-rights photographer and filmmaker Phil Borges often saw these cultures identify “psychotic” symptoms as an indicator of shamanic potential. He was intrigued by how differently psychosis is defined and treated in the West.
Through interviews with renowned mental health professionals including Gabor Mate, MD, Robert Whitaker, and Roshi Joan Halifax, PhD, Phil explores the growing severity of the mental health crisis in America dominated by biomedical psychiatry. He discovers a growing movement of professionals and psychiatric survivors who demand alternative treatments that focus on recovery, nurturing social connections, and finding meaning.
CRAZYWISE follows two young Americans diagnosed with “mental illness.” Adam, 27, suffers devastating side effects from medications before embracing meditation in hopes of recovery. Ekhaya, 32, survives childhood molestation and several suicide attempts before spiritual training to become a traditional South African healer gives her suffering meaning and brings a deeper purpose to her life.
CRAZYWISE doesn’t aim to over-romanticize indigenous wisdom, or completely condemn Western treatment. Not enery indigenous person who has a crisis becomes a shaman. And many individuals benefit from Western medications.
However, indigenous peoples’ acceptance of non-ordinary states of consciousness, along with rituals and metaphors that form deep connections to nature, to each other, and to ancestors, is something we can learn from.
CRAZYWISE adds a voice to the growing conversation that believes a psychological crisis can be an opportunity for growth and potentially transformational, not a disease with no cure.

Truth...

The words of truth are naturally simple, and justice needs no subtle interpretations, for it has a fitness in itself.
Euripides
(C484 - 406BC)
Greek playwright

Saturday, April 15, 2017

The Myth of "Normal"...

https://www.facebook.com/rikalava12/videos/1529267363765604/

The Mystical Experience...

https://www.facebook.com/jasonlsilva/videos/1836877553243188/?hc_ref=NEWSFEED

THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO MICRODOSING WITH MARIJUANA

...worth both the read & the experience

https://thethirdwave.co/microdosing-marijuana/
It’s a memory that will surely be familiar to many. There I was, a pot-naive teenager, sitting outdoors with a fairly thick joint that had been left with me by a friend. And then, an hour or so later, I was far too stoned than what I wanted to be because, unlike the immediate “hit” of bong-smoking, the effect of the hand-rolled form comes on more gradually. That’s right, I didn’t need to keep toking just because I wasn’t instantaneously wired.
But such occurrences shouldn’t be a cause for embarrassment, regardless of how experienced one was at the time, as it is still an issue in an era wherein the eighth US state legalized recreational cannabis use in November 2016. An idiom has even been coined, “Maureen Dowd-ed,” after the inexperienced columnist whose feverish polishing off of an edible in a transformed into a paranoia-ridden paralysis on the floor of a Denver hotel room.
But contrary to the tedious “stoner” stereotype, cannabis users have continued to approach their drug use with an increasing sophistication, alongside the developments of other psychedelics.




No-thing vs Eachness...

http://realitysandwich.com/321619/is-emptiness-overrated/

     Walking into the empty sanctuary of his synagogue, a rabbi was suddenly possessed by a wave of mystical rapture, and threw himself onto the ground before the Ark proclaiming, “Lord, I’m Nothing!” 
      Seeing the rabbi in such a state, the cantor felt profoundly moved by similar emotions. He too, threw himself down in front of the Ark, proclaiming, “Lord, I’m Nothing!” 
      Then, way in the back of the synagogue, the janitor threw himself to the ground, and he too shouted, “Lord, “I’m Nothing.” 
      Whereupon, the rabbi turned to the cantor and whispered, “Look who thinks he’s Nothing!”  (from realnothings.com)
My friend Daniel W. Pailas posted the following on Facebook a few days ago:
I wrote this after a morning practice:
Remember that the healing breath work and meditation will catalyze the recognition of and connection with the empty awareness from where you are able to witness thinking. In doing this, one is able to much more effectively and consistently be present, with deeper awareness, and an enhanced ability to self reflect and watch oneself with care and compassion.
Over time, with these regular practices, one is able to gradually re-orientate one’s identity to the silent empty awareness itself; an identity that is aware of thinking rather than an identity invented by thinking; helplessly and unconsciously drowning in thinking. This is where and when the arrival of deep abiding inner peace in one’s life manifests. It’s a shattering of the illusion that thinking is who we are. Rather, who we are is the silent empty awareness that is aware of thinking.
I replied to Daniel’s post: 
  Emptiness may be overrated. I agree that a state of mindful, metacognitive self-awareness is a higher level of development as compared to someone who uncritically identifies with their thoughts, but I’m not sure if breath work and meditation and abiding in emptiness are the only ways to get there.  
Using myself as example: I’m usually aware of my thoughts as a language product that I am generating, or that are emerging from different levels of my unconscious as voices.  Instead of emphasizing muting the inner voices, I evaluate the reliability of the various narrators that  speak in my head and have Socratic dialogue with various of the propositions they offer. I’m also aware that thoughts are just one of the products emerging in this inner space—there are also images arising or that I am actively creating—and there are intuitions from various levels—which may begin as  deep, global feelings and hunches that my mind or unconscious will translate into words and images. I’m aware that none of this varied, interesting and evanescent content is “me,” that I am what Jung called “the Self,” the totality of psychic structures and that this varied, ever-changing content is no more me than the usually relevant, ever-changing content on my computer monitor.
 I’m more interested in working actively with my inner contents—-which I find entertaining and creative and out of which I am able to create products I can export to the world—like these comments. Instead of being one more in an endless lineage of proselytizers of the virtues of emptiness, I  find it more fulfilling (emptiness not all that filling or fulfilling) and of benefit to myself and others to be a “content provider,” which seems a more desirable profession than “purveyor of emptiness.” By emphasizing individuation over empty oneness, I have more unique content to provide. In general,  I see more value in engagement with life, the temporary opportunity of human incarnation, rather than being detached and in a state of empty abiding —though I get it that a daily meditation practice can help with mindfulness and focus.
A fellow Jungian, Arnold Mindell, has a theory that a lot of the therapeutic benefit of meditation is not emptiness, but that in trying to achieve emptiness people slow down and notice what is actually going on in their inner space. I think a lot of suffering neurotic people are experiencing what Jung called “psychic entropy,” a state of inner fragmentation characterized by looping negative thoughts. see: Dealing with Psychic Entropy. Most people experience only “passive imagination” —an unstable, often toxic montage of images reflective of their state of psychic entropy, whereas I practice “active imagination” where I edit and direct my imaginal process in ways that I find entertaining and revealing. Western neurotics who are oppressed by psychic entropy are often seduced into what James Hillman calls “going eastern.” They nonsensically think that they need to get rid of their ego and thinking function. This is like someone whose computer is infected with malware thinking that answer is get rid of their computer and all software.
What they may actually need is to develop a stronger, more conscious ego and to get better at thinking and imagination. They also need to learn something about the hierarchy of psychic functions and that their ego and thinking functions are indispensable, but must not be in the ruling position (see section on the hierarchy of psychic functions  in A Guide to the Perplexed Interdimensional Traveler).  The ego and thinking function need to work under the guidance of the Self which can direct them via deep, global intuitions. Most people have an ego-mind alliance in the ruling position, a role these functions are not competent to fill, and that leads to psychic entropy.
I think there are a number of key flaws in emphasis in many eastern modalities especially: a one-sided emphasis on vertical transcendence over horizontal psychological development. One of the consequences of this one-sided emphasis: abusive gurus who have had transcendent experiences and falsely conclude, and persuade others, that they are permanently enlightened while they are blind to their shadow, thereby empowering it to act as a ruking autonomous complex via “crazy wisdom path”  rationalizations, while they commit endless abuses related to power, sex and money.  
Emptiness is also sometimes referred to as “oneness” and there are some eastern influenced and/or New Age folk who will monotonously insist on the oneness of everything no matter what is being discussed, and use this obvious reality as a way of leveling all difference, distinction and discernment. This point of view can be even more limiting than the tunnel vision of the reductive thinker, since at least the reductive thinker is still thinking about and investigating something, no matter how much they miss the infinite, interrelated context of the something.  Some however use oneness and emptiness as a you-can’t-top-this truism that relieves them of the need for thinking, discrimination and discernment.  They will  pull emptiness or oneness out of their hat, like the most tired of magician’s rabbits, believing they have conjured the ultimate profundity that answers any challenge, question or proposition.  More than a century ago,  William James wrote that besides the oneness of things, anyone who glances at the phenomenal world should also be struck by the eachness of things. We see a world of unique individual trees and people, for example, and not an homogenous mass of treeness or undifferentiated pool of humanity.
The one-sided emphasis on emptiness and oneness over content and eachness results in a diminishment of individuation and creates a boring, one-size-fits-all goal for everyone.  
See: Lessons for an Entity Incarnating as a Mammal  andDynamic Paradoxicalism—the anti-ism, ism  for more on why oneness doesn’t trump eachness, but that both are better worked with as what I call a “dynamic paradox.” 
 You can find my analysis of why eastern modalities so often create abusive gurus (with a special focus on Adi Da, Chogyam Trungpa and a few other toxic gurus) here:
  I’ve used myself as an example, but I am not offering a one-size-fits-all formula that assumes that what works for me is suitable for everyone. Tastes vary. I like to prepare, for myself and others, nutritious meals with varied, interesting tastes while the next guy might like to feast on the vacuum of emptiness while sitting alone in their room. 
Abiding in emptiness once in a while can be a restful relief from psychic entropy,  but overall I prefer interesting, entertaining, developmental content, content providing, individuation and engagement with inner and outer life.
Also, on the level of psychological realism, I can’t think of a single time I’ve run into you (Daniel Pailas) where I felt that you were coming from a place of abiding emptiness. Quite the opposite—you always seem to be thoroughly individualized, with a strong ego highly focused on an agenda related to your practical goals and passionate interests. And I think that is a good thing. I like intense, highly individualized people who are passionately devoted to creative pursuits rather than hollow folk who live on a monocultured, eastern diet of emptiness.
If I wanted emptiness, I would buy a ticket for  a slower-than-speed-of-light solitary space sojourn to any star. I don’t recommend this, even for an emptiness enthusiast such as yourself—after the first thousand years or so, I think even you will find the emptiness of space to be overrated.
Note: the above was written as a comment to a friend’s Facebook post and was meant as a humorous provocation aimed at my friend Daniel, who often promotes eastern practices and gurus, rather than as a serious critique of the Buddhist concept of emptiness. Some parts are meant seriously, but I won’t say which ones since all parts emerged from the oneness and the emptiness within. 


Sunday, April 2, 2017

TRUTH...

The infinite is bliss. 
There is no bliss in anything finite. 
Only the Infinite is bliss. 
One must desire to understand the Infinite.
Chandogya Upanishad