New research in the sciences is discovering what bookworms and underemployed liberal arts majors have known for ages: reading is very, very good for you.

A growing body of research in the sciences is discovering what bookworms, 9th-grade English teachers and underemployed liberal arts majors have known for ages: reading is really, really good for you. Besides making you an empathetic, sexy, cultured and all around more interesting human being, reading apparently provides definite benefits to your mental health, sharpening the mind as it ages.

A study released in Neurology found that reading and similar activities reduced the rate of cognitive decline in dementia patients. Researchers examined the brains of 294 patients post-mortem and found a slower rate of decline in patients who reported more early-life and late-life cognitive activity, such as reading, writing and playing games.

“The study showed that mentally active patients — ones who read and wrote regularly — declined at a significantly slower rate than those who had an average amount of activity,” notes NPR’s Annalisa Quinn.

Other studies have found that the more immediate benefits of reading include an increased tolerance for uncertainty. Psychologists at the University of Toronto, for example, had participants read either a short story or a non-fiction article, then tested their tolerance for uncertainty. Participants who read the short stories were less likely to need cognitive closure, “a need to reach a quick conclusion in decision-making and an aversion to ambiguity and confusion.” The fiction readers, especially those who claimed to be avid readers, were better able to think creatively and not get tied down to one specific idea.

English scholar Natalie Phillips and Stanford neurobiologists and radiologists teamed up in a rare but beautiful interdisciplinary union to find out if reading has any benefits beyond being a good way to pass the time. Participants read a chapter of Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park—first in a leisurely fashion, then analytically—while an fMRI machine scanned their brain functions. The team found that close reading and pleasure reading increased blood flow to different areas of the brain. The brain’s reaction to close reading implied that “paying attention to literary texts requires the coordination of multiple complex cognitive functions.” In other words, close reading, which results in a lot of rambling undergraduate theses, also exercises underworked regions of the brain.

With all that in mind, go forth and read freely. Your future self, your current self and everyone who has to deal with you on a regular basis will be glad you did.

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.

Arit John is a former politics writer for The Wire.

Source: https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/07/more-evidence-reading-good-you/313575/

 

With respect.

 

 

I’m a whopping 27 years old (in cat years, I am more). And while I can’t compare to the wisdom of sages or Tibetan monks, I’ve learned a fair share of lessons in my relatively short time on earth. One of the first foresights I came to understand is that, ultimately, we all endure the same hardships: death, betrayal, divorce, heartache, illness, financial struggles — these are the woes we inevitably awaken to. Next, I learned that I learn best by observing others: I telescope in on their desires and fears, their regrets and mistakes. And while I’ve made plenty of mistakes myself, I’ve also refrained from certain critical errors by remembering the consequences I’ve seen others pay. Sometimes we can know just as much about the battle by watching from a distance as we can by marching into it.

These lessons aren’t part of any class curriculum. They are taught between the lines — picked up through pain and need and faulty action. They are unwavering truths of life we often forget but more often dismiss. Bear in mind these 12 lessons to understand your trials, defeat your challenges and navigate through your circumstances with complete awareness:

Never take what isn’t yours. When you take what doesn’t belong to you, it will be taken right back from you — perhaps at a later time or by different means. But what isn’t yours won’t remain for good. Find people and create things you can truly call your own.

Never compare yourself to anyone. When you compare yourself to another, you dull down your inherent beauty. Be happy for others; let them live their dreams and wish them well. Even if they’re on a similar path as you, competition doesn’t need to be a factor. Focus only on your own success. The more you harbor envy, animosity, bitterness or frustration against someone for their achievements, the more you stifle your own personal progress. The moment you realize that you are as unique as your thumbprint is the moment you can begin to utilize your inbred talents towards your total benefit.

Timing is everything. Be patient. Look towards the process, not the result. Check in with yourself: Are things slowly but surely moving in the right direction? Know when to act and when to stand still. Stay alert for signs and take opportunities as they are given; if you keep an open mind, you will be shown what to do and when to do it. Timing is everything, and everything in time.

Keep your karma clean. Your karma is not some maleficent force that boomerangs your bad deeds upon you. Your karma is the memory of your soul, of everything good and bad and in-between you’ve ever thought and done. When you pile up bad karma, you trap yourself in unwanted cycles of behavior. Keeping your karma clean means not causing harm to anyone whether they’ve caused it to you or not. Be aware of your actions and the impact they have upon others. Act in good faith, always, and you will always be the victor.

Cherish your loved ones. To cherish is not just to love, it is to treasure. You can love someone from a distance, but when you cherish a person you make every effort to be close to them. Care for those around you while you still can. Life has this curious way of causing our dear ones to dwindle in number over time. Embrace the people who are in your life before you are left with the memory of who they were.

Take care of yourself. My dear father smoked himself into an early grave and to a certain extent, I see the tendency to self-destruct in everyone I know. It might be chronic stress, a bad habit of drinking, or lack of exercise, but we all succumb to a vice that causes us more harm than good. Work to extend your life instead of shorten it. Immerse yourself in simple pleasures. Laugh more often. Give your burdens back to the universe; you were not meant to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. Because if you don’t take care of yourself, who will?

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Accept what you can’t change. The Serenity Prayer reads, “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.” When you tolerate things as they are, and acknowledge that they will modify and mend and begin and end according to the will of the universe, then you will feel true serenity. Your mind and soul are at peace when acceptance is their mediator. Allow situations to unfold in their own natural course. Regardless of whether you do or do not try to influence people and events, everything still comes full circle in the end.

Find your vocation. We are each designated a unique purpose and endowed with the skills needed to carry out our mission. Mine is to write, and perhaps yours is to sing or dance or discover or construct. Whatever your purpose, it is your soulful duty to honor it. A vocation is a calling, and when you act on your calling, no job remains a “job.” It becomes a pleasure to work because you are engaged from the seat of your soul, fulfilling your spirit’s song and verse. If you know your mission but can’t fully immerse in it (maybe it’s not financially rewarding), try to practice it as often as possible. You can do volunteer work, have a part time job or take it up as a hobby — whatever it takes to partake in your predestined quest.

Don’t take anything personally. People will offend us and, at times, downright outrage us. Of the partner who betrayed us, we’ll wonder: Was I not good enough? Of the best friend who stabbed us in the back, we’ll think: How could they do that to me? But personalizing matters only causes unnecessary self-blame. Remember that when someone treats you badly they are fueled by their own unresolved issues and inner problems.

Control your emotions. Our emotions set us apart from animals; we feel our way through this world. And while emotions are the most beautiful element of our being, certain sentiments can be detrimental to our health. Never speak out of anger of act from desperation. Decisions made under extreme emotions are bound to work against us. When we master our emotions, we can decipher what’s really in our best interests.

Evolve. The first law of the universe is change. The natural order of our world has taught us that the species that does not evolve dies out. We, too, must change or face stagnancy. As much as we like to blanket ourselves in comfort, we must force ourselves to grow consistently. Alter one aspect of your life with which you’re dissatisfied. Give yourself a realistic time frame and stick to it. After you’ve made the change, reflect on it: Didn’t it empower you? Now, what else would you like to improve? Aim to make new advancements, one at a time.

Everything eventually finds peace. Life comes in surges of joy and misery, and the bittersweet truth is that neither lasts forever. But when you’re going through a rough patch, it sure does seem like eternity! And the happier moments appear fleeting. Rest assured that everything eventually finds peace. The sooner you confront your challenges with courage and without fear, the sooner the tranquil order of all things is restored.

We may learn these lessons through individual experience or by watching others pass through them. What’s important is that we understand these wisdoms so as to elevate ourselves above our hardships and not bear the same burdens twice. What has life taught you so far?

To learning our lessons,

Alexandra Harra.

SOURCES: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/12-lessons-life-will-teach-you-the-hard-way_b_5703086

 

With respect.

 

What you give is what you get. Some might believe it; some say it’s the biggest lie. Eventually, every bit of action, good or bad, returns
like a boomerang. If you do good, good will come to you. If you do bad, bad will slap you in the face, sooner or later.

People cheat on their loved ones, they steal money to satisfy their greed and they kill people to gain power. They don’t understand that We Are All Connected With Energy and we share that energy with the earth. People destroy the earth and itch they head when we’re hit by natural disasters and global warming. It’s like s*itting in your own yard …

However, I try to change things, starting with me and with this website. I’ve learned that every change starts in each and every individual, and I will try to spread my wisdom as much as I can.

These 9 life lessons I have learned by karma changed my life for good. Let’s see if they do the same for you.

1. “How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours.” ― Wayne W. Dyer

I’ve met a thousands of pissed, greedy and nervous ba*tards all around. Believe me, if I have treated them the same way they did treat me, I would of have gone to jail by now. I firmly believe this is the way you feel too.

Try to be nice, polite, and gallant. Put aside all your emotions when you meet or get in contact with another person. If you are mad or anxious, count to 10 and reconnect with your present. Treat people from your point of view; let their karma punish them later. You just be a true lady/gentleman.

2. “Even if things don’t unfold the way you expected, don’t be disheartened or give up. One who continues to advance will win in the end.” – Daisaku Ikeda

Struggle is the winner, especially through Harsh Times. We have to fight back the bad times to win the good. It’s been said that some days we are the bug, and some days we are the windshield. When we are the bug it’s time to fight, to struggle through that time.

Have a picture of how things are going to be when you succeed. Imagine it every day, and find your spark of motivation even if you’re going through hell. The more you fight back during worst of times the closer you will get to fulfil the “finish line picture.”

3. “When you see a good person, think of becoming like her/him. When you see someone not so good, reflect on your own weak points.”― Confucius

We have extraordinary examples to follow and yet we chose to be tricksters. Choose and select your character, just as we did in games. Choose the hero, the one that never lose.

Maybe you still haven’t decided what you want to become, but you surely know that you don’t want to end up as a loser. Suck up all the good traits and reflect on your weak points. Become a man of value.

4. “It is impossible to build one’s own happiness on the unhappiness of others. This perspective is at the heart of Buddhist teachings.”― Daisaku Ikeda

If we exult on other people’s tragedy, we will always be miserable. I’ve noticed that in my country and even my close friends, fed up their soul when they see me unhappy. As in #1, I’ve decided that I won’t treat them as they treat me. I will leave their karma do it for them.

I am happy alone in my room, in the crowd of people and I find every source of happiness during the hardest struggles in my life. In my perfect image I see a happy man in the near future and I won’t satisfy until I feel that picture.

Grab every opportunity to be happy and stay there. Make sure it’s not someone else’s tragedy.

5. “Is Fate getting what you deserve, or deserving what you get?”― Jodi Picoult, Vanishing Acts

This is really triggering question. I think that we all create our fate and we deserve what we get. I believe that we all create our next step and if we are strong enough to walk through hell, life will blossom. It will give us 100 times more than we deserve.

Create your own fate, don’t rely on bingo situations. There is no such a thing as “luck” connected to success and happiness.

6. “Like gravity, karma is so basic we often don’t even notice it.”― Sakyong Mipham

Are you stuck on thinking that you are pulled down every second of your life, or that you inhale and exhale? I don’t doubt that you even think of it, ever.

When we succeed and find our Lifelong Happiness we know that we worked our as* off to gain that, and people from aside might say that you got “lucky”. The truth is, you won’t bother once you’re up there, but to get there, believe with ALL YOUR WELL-BEING that karma will give you everything if you serve it well.

Do until you reach your imaginary picture and enjoy every second of your boomerang of positivity.

7. “A great human revolution in just a single individual will help achieve a change in the destiny of a nation and, further, can even enable a change in the destiny of all humankind.” ― Daisaku Ikeda, The Human Revolution

As I mentioned in my article that we should have a Code Of Living, we should strive for that uniqueness, like the one that started singing in the mudflats.

As did Steve Jobs made enormous change in the human history by inventing one of the most intelligent pieces of technology “The Apple Computers”, as did Buddha invented the Buddhism and changed the lives of millions for better, we can all start and be that individual to begin a revolution. We are all able to change the destiny of all humankind; it just matters how bad we want it.

8. “Someday people will ask me what is the key to my success … and I will simply say, “Good Karma.”
― K. Crumley

As Crumley states it, we all succeed by “Good Karma.” It means that we shed blood and sweet to gain that. The more we give, the more we take.

And it really is like that. Success is karma. To receive money we have to give money. To gain happiness we have to share happiness. Nothing comes for free these days, especially not success.

9. “Do not overlook tiny good actions, thinking they are of no benefit; even tiny drops of water in the end will fill a huge vessel.
Do not overlook negative actions merely because they are small; however small a spark may be, it can burn down a haystack as big as a mountain.” ― Gautama Buddha

Bit by bit, piece by piece, brick by brick, whole cities and empires were built. One action over another will create indefinite nirvana.

The ones that don’t know this as a fact will never know how to reach the top of the mountain. It’s not said by accident that we all have to “climb the mountain” to succeed. As Theodore Roosevelt said “Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty… I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.”

SOURCES: https://simplecapacity.com/2014/06/9-life-lessons-learned-karma/

With respect.

 

 

With respect.

 

With respect.

 

With respect.