Seeking Small Acts of Kindness

  To do good, which, as we all know, is universal, is in the heart of being human. Yet we find it difficult to do even small acts of kindness like lending an ear to a distressed friend, greeting the gardener at the park, offering coffee to a subordinate, or paying attention to the needs of a family member whose presence we take for granted. Simply because we naturally live in our ego, self-occupied with primarily satisfying our own pleasure and achievement needs in professional, social and familial contexts. We are programmed to see ourselves in the center of the

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Traversing the Jungle in Search of the Truth

To live among today’s society and to influence others instead of being influenced by them  —now that’s a feat ! – Ostad Elahi In his pioneering book Public Opinion, Walter Lippmann (1889-1974) examines our susceptibility to outside manipulation, and tendency for self-deception. Our minds or mental spaces are lured by the media and the social influences of our milieu, which define our choices, snatch our attention and shift our values. Content management, artificial intelligence, and neuroscience all intervene with how we perceive, think, and make decisions; they blur our comprehension of the truth and ultimately influence who we really are.

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Desiderata

    Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,  and remember what peace there may be in silence.  As far as possible, without surrender,  be on good terms with all persons.  Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others,  even to the dull and the ignorant;  they too have their story.  Avoid loud and aggressive persons;  they are vexatious to the spirit.  If you compare yourself with others,  you may become vain or bitter,  for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.  Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.  Keep interested in your

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Saint Francis d’Assisi and Reviving Old Values

  The patron saint of ecology, Francis d’Assisi’s love of nature, and new ways of living together set forth by the eminent neuropsychiatrist Boris Cyrulnik Living in times of an unstoppable disease pervading the earth, it has become imperative to peruse our fragile relation with nature, and  to collectively revive our old values  says the eminent neuropsychiatrist Boris Cyrulnik : Crises are very common in the human condition. We have already known many epidemics which have forced cultural revolutions… With each epidemic, or natural disaster, there has been a cultural change. After the trauma, we are forced to discover new

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Leonarda da Vinci on Light and Marvels of the Eye

  Where the spirit does not work with the hand, there is no art.  The exceptional artist and polymath, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), driven by his rigorous quest for knowing the  human body, spirit, and its place in the universe, dedicated his life to display his findings through art. His gift for art  along with his profound knowledge in anatomy, botany, mathematics, engineering and physics are reflected in the corpus of his work.  He always carried a notebook in which he drew his sharp observations with precision and artistic mastery. His scientific findings and aesthetic conceptions are preserved in nearly

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