Mastering others is power, mastering oneself is true willpower. – Lao Tzu At the time the universe was created, it was debated to whom willpower should be given. None undertook the responsibility. When humankind – the highest of all creatures was created, willpower was granted to him. Thus, the heavy burden that mighty mountains and sturdy animals could not lift was placed on the shoulders of humankind. Ever since then we roam the day with the devil of temptation on one shoulder and the angel of restraint on the other. We might have a sudden craving on the spot, …
Category: Psychology
Goethe’s theory of colors, and how the eye sees and simultaneously creates its own color The great poet and savant Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) passionately explored the phenomenology of light and colors witnessed by the human eye, and collected his findings in Farbenlehre (Theory of Colors). His innovative doctrine of “physiological colors,” though dismissed by some due to lack of empirical data in his epoch, would later lead to wide repercussions in the centuries to come in art, physics and philosophy. He proclaimed that the colors referred to as physiological pertain to the subject, the organ of sight, …
The moments of awe, peak experiences and accomplishing the best version of oneself It is in human nature to aspire higher and “ human life will never be understood unless its highest aspirations are taken into account, ” said Abraham Maslow (1908-1970), renown with his triangle of hierarchical needs. At the peak of this triangle “ transient states of absolute being ” are experienced. It is “ where the farther reaches of human nature are secluded. ” He declared that a thorough understanding of the human being includes both security and belongingness needs as well as growth and transcendence …
Those who compared our lives with a dream were right. We were sleeping awake and waking up asleep. – Montaigne “ The earth is heavy and opaque without dreams,” wrote Anaïs Nin ( 1903-1977) in her diary. Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) described dreams as the “ royal road to the knowledge of our unconscious activities,” in which our primitive self meets the civilized one, and where all memories are collected. The unconscious is the great guide to get to know oneself in entirety. Carl Jung (1875-1961) defined it as an invaluable resource : The unconscious communicating through dreams is at least …
In his international best-seller book Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus , John Gray writes about the united life of Martians and Venusians who happen to find each other on earth. One day long ago the Martians, looking through their telescopes, discovered the Venusians. Just glimpsing the Venusians awakened feelings they had never known…quickly they invented space travel and flew to Venus. The Venusians welcomed the Martians with open arms. They had intuitively known that this day would come. The love between the Martians and Venusians was magical. Delighted in being together, learning and discovering each other, …
Think for yourself and let others enjoy the privilege of doing so too. – Voltaire Tolerance (tolerantia in latin) is defined as the attitude of someone who accepts in others ways of thinking and living different from their own. It is considered a virtue, a moral obligation which involves respect and consideration for the other person. “ Free from bigotry, allowing different races, religions, practices, and opinions to co-exist, it is a pragmatic formula for the functioning of society, ” writes Hans Oberdiek in Tolerance: Forbearance and Acceptance. A century ago, Einstein (1879-1955), said in foresight : “ Laws alone …
“Possession is nine tenths of the law” used to say my honorable teacher at university. The lore is when the natural instinct to possess is in excess, it incites jealousy and impairs the psyche. Years later, I came across this exceptional book, Overcoming Jealousy, the best one I have read on this intricate emotion. It unfolds the various manifestations of jealousy, and renders it tangibly clear with examples drawn from real life. The sources of jealousy, whom we envy, why it is often hidden, its destructive effects and remedies to fight it off are genuinely portrayed. Jealousy Defined A universal …
“When you die, you actually know you are dead because your consciousness continues to exist …” says Sam Parnia, director of the first critical care and resuscitation research lab in the world at New York’s NYU Langone Medical Center. Known with his AWARE research, his lab has been studying hundreds of people who had Near-Death Experience (NDE) – who were clinically dead but were brought back to life by resuscitation after a cardiac arrest. The time lapse in-between actual death and coming back to life varied in each case from a few seconds to more than 20 minutes . …
One of the most read mystical poets, Rumi (1207-1273) recounts in his seminal Mathnawi the story of the temple of King Solomon . When he started the construction of the temple following the divine order, medicinal plants sprouted one after the other in the courtyards of the temple. Endowed with the gift of speaking the language of animals, plants, and other creatures in nature, King Solomon would ask the emerging sprouts : Tell me your name, what you heal, which medicine are you? whom you hurt, and whom you cure Plants would speak up and count their remedies and …
We may all be familiar with the butterflies flying in our stomach when we are head over heels in love. The heart beats faster, the autonomous nervous system signals excitement and increases oxygen to our muscles, the neuroendocrine system is boosted up; being elevated from head to toe, the body feels lighter and on an instant we can take flight. This is how neuroscientists describe the state of “limbic love.” Emotions are activated in the limbic system of the brain and they coordinate our behavior and physiological states even though we are not always consciously aware of them. The …
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