This is an interesting way to look at imagination today. Check out this little game/interactive imagination exerciser.
http://www.imaginationcubed.com/
18 Best Baby Shower Pins
7 years ago
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
"God Spot"
From the Huffington Post: this news article I thought was interesting.
Scientists discover the brain's 'God spot'... and show that faith helps human survival
Scientists searching for a 'God spot' in the brain have found three areas that control religious belief.
A study of 40 participants, including Christians, Muslims, Jews and Buddhists, showed the same areas lit up when they were asked to ponder religious and moral problems.
MRI scans revealed the regions that were activated are those used every day to interpret the feelings and intentions of other people.
'That suggests that religion is not a special case of a belief system, but evolved along with other belief and social cognitive abilities,' said Jordan Grafman, a cognitive neuroscientist at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in Bethesda, Maryland.
Scientists, philosophers and theologians continue to argue about whether religious belief is a biological or a sociological phenomenon.
Some evolutionary theorists believe a belief in a religious power may have helped our ancestors to survive great hardship compared to those with no such convictions.
Others argue that it arises from the structure of the highly adaptable brain itself.
In the latest study, published in the journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Professor Grafman and his colleagues asked three types of question, while performing brain scans.
First, volunteers were asked to think about statements about whether God intervenes in the world, such as 'God's will guide my acts'.
This activated the lateral frontal lobe regions of the brain, used by humans to empathise with eachother.
Then they were asked to dwell on God's emotional state. When it came to statements such as 'God is wrathful', the areas that lit up were the medial temporal and frontal gyri, which helps us to judge emotions of others.
Finally the participants were asked to contemplate abstract statements such as 'a resurrection will occur'. This time they tapped into the right inferior temporal gyrus, which we use to understand metaphorical meaning.
In all three cases the neural activity in the subjects’ brains corresponded to brain networks known to have nonreligious functions.
'There is nothing unique about religious belief in these brain structures,' Professor Grafman said.
'Religion doesn't have a 'God spot' as such, instead it's embedded in a whole range of other belief systems in the brain that we use every day.'
The networks activated by religious beliefs overlap with those that mediate political beliefs and moral beliefs, he said.
Dr Andrew Newberg, director of the Centre for Spirituality and the Mind at the University of Pennsylvania, told the New York Times that Dr Grafman’s findings were in line with other research that has so far failed to find any specific structure in the brain that is dedicated to religious belief.
'Religion has so many different aspects that it would be very unlikely to find one spot in the brain where religion and God reside,' Dr Newberg said.
But he was doubtful that brain scans like those taken by Dr Grafman could capture all of what religion is.
'There may be other elements that science is not capable of measuring,' Dr Newberg said.
Future research could look at whether human brains respond in a similar way for different religions, given that this study focused only on Western Christian beliefs.
'The more interesting studies will wind up comparing different belief systems with similar dimensions to see if they also activate the same brain areas,' Dr Grafman said.
'If they do, we can better define why those brain areas evolved in humans.'
Scientists discover the brain's 'God spot'... and show that faith helps human survival
Scientists searching for a 'God spot' in the brain have found three areas that control religious belief.
A study of 40 participants, including Christians, Muslims, Jews and Buddhists, showed the same areas lit up when they were asked to ponder religious and moral problems.
MRI scans revealed the regions that were activated are those used every day to interpret the feelings and intentions of other people.
'That suggests that religion is not a special case of a belief system, but evolved along with other belief and social cognitive abilities,' said Jordan Grafman, a cognitive neuroscientist at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in Bethesda, Maryland.
Scientists, philosophers and theologians continue to argue about whether religious belief is a biological or a sociological phenomenon.
Some evolutionary theorists believe a belief in a religious power may have helped our ancestors to survive great hardship compared to those with no such convictions.
Others argue that it arises from the structure of the highly adaptable brain itself.
In the latest study, published in the journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Professor Grafman and his colleagues asked three types of question, while performing brain scans.
First, volunteers were asked to think about statements about whether God intervenes in the world, such as 'God's will guide my acts'.
This activated the lateral frontal lobe regions of the brain, used by humans to empathise with eachother.
Then they were asked to dwell on God's emotional state. When it came to statements such as 'God is wrathful', the areas that lit up were the medial temporal and frontal gyri, which helps us to judge emotions of others.
Finally the participants were asked to contemplate abstract statements such as 'a resurrection will occur'. This time they tapped into the right inferior temporal gyrus, which we use to understand metaphorical meaning.
In all three cases the neural activity in the subjects’ brains corresponded to brain networks known to have nonreligious functions.
'There is nothing unique about religious belief in these brain structures,' Professor Grafman said.
'Religion doesn't have a 'God spot' as such, instead it's embedded in a whole range of other belief systems in the brain that we use every day.'
The networks activated by religious beliefs overlap with those that mediate political beliefs and moral beliefs, he said.
Dr Andrew Newberg, director of the Centre for Spirituality and the Mind at the University of Pennsylvania, told the New York Times that Dr Grafman’s findings were in line with other research that has so far failed to find any specific structure in the brain that is dedicated to religious belief.
'Religion has so many different aspects that it would be very unlikely to find one spot in the brain where religion and God reside,' Dr Newberg said.
But he was doubtful that brain scans like those taken by Dr Grafman could capture all of what religion is.
'There may be other elements that science is not capable of measuring,' Dr Newberg said.
Future research could look at whether human brains respond in a similar way for different religions, given that this study focused only on Western Christian beliefs.
'The more interesting studies will wind up comparing different belief systems with similar dimensions to see if they also activate the same brain areas,' Dr Grafman said.
'If they do, we can better define why those brain areas evolved in humans.'
30
Giordano Bruno was obsessed with the number 30. I thought I'd check into what 30 means today.
• Used (as –30–) to indicate the end of a wire story.
• The number of days in the months April, June, September and November (and in unusual circumstances February - see February 30)
• The total number of major and minor keys in Western tonal music, including enharmonic equivalents
• The minimum age for United States Senate candidates
• In years of marriage, the pearl wedding anniversary
• The duration in years of the Thirty Years' War - 1618 to 1648.
• The code for international direct dial phone calls to Greece
• The house number of 30 St Mary Axe (The Gherkin)
• The designation of Interstate 30, a freeway that runs from Texas to Arkansas
• The designation of U.S. Route 30, a highway that runs from Oregon to New Jersey
• Various other routes have been numbered "30"; for example, New York State Route 30 which runs from the Pennsylvania border to the Canadian border
• The designation of E30, the European route from Cork to Samara
• The number of tracks on The Beatles' eponymous album, usually known as The White Album
• A stage in young adulthood
• Part of the name of:
o 30 Odd Foot of Grunts, the band fronted by actor Russell Crowe
o The movie title 13 Going on 30, starring Jennifer Garner
o The title of the Food Network show 30 Minute Meals
• The uniform number of Maury Wills when he played for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
• Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Matthew 26:15.
• The number of the French department Gard
• Slang for pornography due to its representation as Roman numeral XXX.
• Used (as –30–) to indicate the end of a wire story.
• The number of days in the months April, June, September and November (and in unusual circumstances February - see February 30)
• The total number of major and minor keys in Western tonal music, including enharmonic equivalents
• The minimum age for United States Senate candidates
• In years of marriage, the pearl wedding anniversary
• The duration in years of the Thirty Years' War - 1618 to 1648.
• The code for international direct dial phone calls to Greece
• The house number of 30 St Mary Axe (The Gherkin)
• The designation of Interstate 30, a freeway that runs from Texas to Arkansas
• The designation of U.S. Route 30, a highway that runs from Oregon to New Jersey
• Various other routes have been numbered "30"; for example, New York State Route 30 which runs from the Pennsylvania border to the Canadian border
• The designation of E30, the European route from Cork to Samara
• The number of tracks on The Beatles' eponymous album, usually known as The White Album
• A stage in young adulthood
• Part of the name of:
o 30 Odd Foot of Grunts, the band fronted by actor Russell Crowe
o The movie title 13 Going on 30, starring Jennifer Garner
o The title of the Food Network show 30 Minute Meals
• The uniform number of Maury Wills when he played for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
• Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Matthew 26:15.
• The number of the French department Gard
• Slang for pornography due to its representation as Roman numeral XXX.
Hebrew vowels
Judaism 101: "www.jewfaq.org" - I can't make this stuff up.
"Like most early Semitic alphabetic writing systems, the alefbet has no vowels. People who are fluent in the language do not need vowels to read Hebrew, and most things written in Hebrew in Israel are written without vowels.
However, as Hebrew literacy declined, particularly after the Romans expelled the Jews from Israel, the rabbis recognized the need for aids to pronunciation, so they developed a system of dots and dashes called nikkud (points). These dots and dashes are written above, below or inside the letter, in ways that do not alter the spacing of the line. Text containing these markings is referred to as "pointed" text.
Most nikkud are used to indicate vowels. The table at right illustrates the vowel points, along with their pronunciations. Pronunciations are approximate; I have heard quite a bit of variation in vowel pronunciation.
Vowel points are shown in blue. The letter Alef, shown in red, is used to illustrate the position of the points relative to the consonants. The letters shown in purple are technically consonants and would appear in unpointed texts, but they function as vowels in this context."
"Like most early Semitic alphabetic writing systems, the alefbet has no vowels. People who are fluent in the language do not need vowels to read Hebrew, and most things written in Hebrew in Israel are written without vowels.
However, as Hebrew literacy declined, particularly after the Romans expelled the Jews from Israel, the rabbis recognized the need for aids to pronunciation, so they developed a system of dots and dashes called nikkud (points). These dots and dashes are written above, below or inside the letter, in ways that do not alter the spacing of the line. Text containing these markings is referred to as "pointed" text.
Most nikkud are used to indicate vowels. The table at right illustrates the vowel points, along with their pronunciations. Pronunciations are approximate; I have heard quite a bit of variation in vowel pronunciation.
Vowel points are shown in blue. The letter Alef, shown in red, is used to illustrate the position of the points relative to the consonants. The letters shown in purple are technically consonants and would appear in unpointed texts, but they function as vowels in this context."
Spiritus Mundi
There is a Spiritus Mundi discussion group on Yahoo. You can find anything online today.
The Spiritus Mundi discussion group focuses on the astrology and the astrological magic of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, particularly the astrological talismans of Cornelius Agrippa, Picatrix and De Imaginibus
Spiritus Mundi is the Latin name for the Spirit of the World or quintessence, the fifth element that is a key link in the Great Chain of Being.
Knowledge of the Spiritus Mundi is essential for mastery of medieval and Renaissance talismanic magic which unites traditional ceremonial magic and elections in the creation of astrological talismans and amulets.
Postings focus on actual astrological charts and talismans rather than theoretical discussions. Information on electing times for talismans and instructions for talisman construction and ritual are encouraged as are citations to sources published before 1700.
No use of modern astrology, e.g. Pluto, Uranus, Neptune, asteroids, etc. is permitted. All posts must use traditional Western (pre-1700) astrological technique. In the interest of encouragement and support, no criticism of posted elections is permitted, except that members may offer an alternative election.
Members of Spiritus Mundi receive advance notice of the Current Astrological Chart. With selected Current Astrological Charts members can request free traditional images which they can use to make their own talismans.
The Spiritus Mundi discussion group focuses on the astrology and the astrological magic of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, particularly the astrological talismans of Cornelius Agrippa, Picatrix and De Imaginibus
Spiritus Mundi is the Latin name for the Spirit of the World or quintessence, the fifth element that is a key link in the Great Chain of Being.
Knowledge of the Spiritus Mundi is essential for mastery of medieval and Renaissance talismanic magic which unites traditional ceremonial magic and elections in the creation of astrological talismans and amulets.
Postings focus on actual astrological charts and talismans rather than theoretical discussions. Information on electing times for talismans and instructions for talisman construction and ritual are encouraged as are citations to sources published before 1700.
No use of modern astrology, e.g. Pluto, Uranus, Neptune, asteroids, etc. is permitted. All posts must use traditional Western (pre-1700) astrological technique. In the interest of encouragement and support, no criticism of posted elections is permitted, except that members may offer an alternative election.
Members of Spiritus Mundi receive advance notice of the Current Astrological Chart. With selected Current Astrological Charts members can request free traditional images which they can use to make their own talismans.
Cabala
Wikipedia's definition of Cabala:
Kabbalah (Hebrew: קַבָּלָה, lit. "receiving") is a discipline and school of thought discussing the mystical aspect of Judaism. It is a set of esoteric teachings that is meant to explain the relationship between an infinite, eternal and essentially unknowable Creator with the finite and mortal universe of His creation. In solving this paradox, Kabbalah seeks to define the nature of the universe and the human being, the nature and purpose of existence, and various other ontological questions. It also presents methods to aid understanding of these concepts and to thereby attain spiritual realization. Kabbalah originally developed entirely within the milieu of Jewish thought and constantly uses classical Jewish sources to explain, demonstrate, or prove its esoteric teachings. These teachings are thus held by kabbalists to define the inner meaning of both the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) and traditional Rabbinic literature, as well as to explain the significance of Jewish religious observances.
Kabbalah (Hebrew: קַבָּלָה, lit. "receiving") is a discipline and school of thought discussing the mystical aspect of Judaism. It is a set of esoteric teachings that is meant to explain the relationship between an infinite, eternal and essentially unknowable Creator with the finite and mortal universe of His creation. In solving this paradox, Kabbalah seeks to define the nature of the universe and the human being, the nature and purpose of existence, and various other ontological questions. It also presents methods to aid understanding of these concepts and to thereby attain spiritual realization. Kabbalah originally developed entirely within the milieu of Jewish thought and constantly uses classical Jewish sources to explain, demonstrate, or prove its esoteric teachings. These teachings are thus held by kabbalists to define the inner meaning of both the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) and traditional Rabbinic literature, as well as to explain the significance of Jewish religious observances.
Quotes on memory
“Memory is a way of holding on to the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose.”
“We all have our time machines. Some take us back, they're called memories. Some take us forward, they're called dreams.”
“God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December.”
“A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory”
“It's surprising how much of memory is built around things unnoticed at the time”
“We all have our time machines. Some take us back, they're called memories. Some take us forward, they're called dreams.”
“God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December.”
“A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory”
“It's surprising how much of memory is built around things unnoticed at the time”
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