Mind-Brain Problem

"A century and a half after Charles Darwin published his theory of evolution, some still doubt its ability to explain the emergence of human beings and other forms of life.

These days, some Darwin skeptics are focusing on the human brain. They say a higher power must be involved; otherwise, how could a bunch of cells produce such complicated mental processes as consciousness or subjective experiences? How could something like free will be the result of evolution?

While Darwin skeptics have homed in on this mind-brain problem, most brain scientists say there's plenty of evidence that mental actions such as consciousness have evolved along with the brain."

After reading and hearing the previous excerpt from an NPR piece, (more completely provided in the link below), our Reflections discussion went in a variety of directions as we discussed the origins of our own being and the way people approach the topic.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100867217

Who needs religion?

Last Wednesday's Reflections revolved around the idea of religion: how do we define it, where does it come from, and would the world be better off without it? Many of us like to consider ourselves spiritual but not religious, but what does that mean? Part way through the discussion we watched a quick clip of one person's answer to the question of why religion is often seen as a source of violence and conflict in the world.

You can be that servant.

Drum Major Instinct

Finding Gratitude

"An aspect of Thanksgiving I’ve always had trouble with is the part about giving thanks. I’m not against gratitude, but things to be grateful for just don’t naturally spring to mind."

This was the opening quote of a NY Times article that we read for our final Reflections of the Fall semester. It's not always easy to be grateful, but, as we discussed, it's a skill worth developing. We have to work at it throughout our lives, learning how to perceive each circumstance and situation in life through a certain lens that enables us to experience a greater joy and satisfaction that we might have otherwise missed out on with the wrong outlook.

For the full article, click on the link below:

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/24/gratitude-the-hard-way/?scp=1&sq=gratitude&st=cse

Equality

“Deep down, beneath all our insecurities, beneath all our hopes for and beliefs in equality, each of us believes we're better than anyone else. Because it's our beliefs that are right, our doubts that are allowable ones, our fears which are legitimate” - Audrey Beth Stein

Do you believe the above statement? What's your take on the meaning of equality? It's in our constitution, but do we see it applied in the practical situations of our daily social and economic lives? Do we demonstrate in our own lives the principle of equality towards others? Is it a practical way to live, considering all of our obvious differences? On what level are we actually equal? These were a few of the intriguing questions tossed around during our most recent Reflections, as we ventured to find the thread that ties all of us together as living beings.


“The demand for equal rights in every vocation of life is just and fair; but, after all, the most vital right is the right to love and be loved.” -Emma Goldmas

Death and Dying

Depending on how you look at it, death can be a somber topic that puts everyone in an unpleasant mood, or it can be an opportunity to ponder the mysterious gift of life. A few interesting questions asked at our last Reflections were "Does life continue after the time of death?", "How can the thought of death increase the quality of our life?", and "Am I living a life that I find meaningful and satisfying?" Below are a few quotes that we looked at during our discussion.

“The fear of death follows from the fear of life.
A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
-Mark Twain


“... almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.”
- Steve Jobs


“Today my soul spoke to my temporary self and said, ‘death removes everything that is false; death reveals to us our true friends; death exposes our true priorities; death brings forth wisdom; death educates us on our fears and weaknesses; but, most importantly, death reminds us that these material bodies and material universes are not our homes….”
-B.T. Swami – “Die Before Dying”

Depression

What is depression? What's the difference between being depressed and just having a bad day, or a couple bad days, or a bad year? Some interesting ideas thrown out at our last Relfections discussion was that depression results from a deep feeling of being disconnected from your surroundings, your peers, and ultimately yourself. Having a deep sense of purpose and an active spiritual practice of meditation can help prevent bouts of depression, and maybe even bring positive happiness and fulfillment into your life, beyond just making ends meet and somehow getting by.

Bart sells his soul

For our evening Reflections this week, we took our cue from America's favorite family, The Simpsons. When Bart decided to sell his soul to his friend Millhouse, a spiral of philosophical and spiritual questions arise as, suddenly, he begins to receive attitude from his pets, becomes unable to laugh or appreciate humor, and even gets rejected by the automatic opening doors at the Kwiki-Mart. Obsessed to retrieve his soul, Bart finds himself praying to a God he was never quite sure existed and eventually, by the grace of his sister Lisa, is able to repurchase his soul from the local comic-book store owner (to whom Millhouse traded Bart's soul for a collection of Alf pogs). Humorous and thought-provoking, we were left to wonder and discuss "what is the soul?" "Does it even matter?" Regardless of belief, we could all agree that there is definitely a deeper aspect to our existence as individuals. To seek out, understand, and experience that deeper aspect can be our greatest source of happiness and fulfillment in life, whatever cultural or religious background a person may be from. As C.S. Lewis put it, "You don't have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body."

The Monsters are due on Maple Street

After watching a classic Twilight Zone episode about what happens to the residents of quaint and quiet Maple Street, we discussed for our weekly Reflections the nature of our inner selves and what comes out in times of fear, pressure, and anxiety. The monsters lurking within can be quite scary to confront and perhaps our own greatest enemy. Who are the Monsters on Maple Street? Well, we are......

The Giving Tree

Last week we had a read through Shel Silverstein's classic book the Giving Tree. Some of the topics of discussion were the balance (or often times imbalance) of giving and receiving in relationships, the needs we enter into relationships with, and the importance of spending more time on understanding our own selves a bit better. Who am I and what are my needs, and what am I looking for in my relationships with others? The more in touch we are with ourselves and the stronger spiritual foundation we have in our own lives can help us enter relationships with a stronger sense of stability, maturity, and understanding.

Standing before an assembly of students in Athens, Solon, one of the seven great Greek wise men, held up an apple. It was rotten and decayed. He questioned them, "how can we regenerate and make new this apple?" Unable to provide an answer, the students remained silent. "You can not revive a rotten apple." At that time, Solon cut the apple in half and removed the seeds. Holding the seeds he remarked, "this is how the apple can be regenerated. By proper care and use of it's seeds, a new apple can be made." Who are the seeds of society? They are indeed the youth, and the spiritual values, morals, and ethics that the students of today hold in their lives, qualify them to regenerate society and make a better tomorrow as they move to become the future leaders, managers, and parents of the future. What are the values that you hold dear in your life? What are the values you feel pressured to keep by society? Where do we get are values? These questions and others were discussed in our Wednesday night Reflections.

Missing the point.

Internal happiness doesn't always follow external, material success. We have a certain conception of what will bring us happiness in life, whether it's money, prestige, position, achievement, etc., but the case of Amanda Beard shines light on the deeper side of the issue. An excerpt of a recent New York Times article is below. Her picture, left, is from the 1996 Olympic Games, where she was 14 years old.

[Beard twice broke the world record in the 200-meter breaststroke and won that event at the 2004 Summer Games in Athens. She made four Olympic teams and the cover of Playboy. Yet during that period, Beard said, “I was never really, really happy.”

Throughout her teens and well into her 20s, Beard presented an image to the world that was as airbrushed as her photographs in magazines. Her toothy smile and surfer girl insouciance hid deep emotional pain. In a series of interviews over the past year, she revealed for the first time her struggles with anger, depression and self-injury.

“I’d go to swim practice, put my face in the water, and I didn’t have to talk to anybody,” Beard said. “Swimming was like my escape, but it was also like this huge prison because I felt like I had to swim up to people’s standards.”

“I just kind of put a smile on my face and just pretended a lot of the time,” Beard said, adding, “I always felt like I didn’t want to be a role model because if people knew the real me or the things I was doing or going through, there’s no way they’d want their kid to be like me.”

Beard said: “I’d go back to this whole self-hating thing, where I had this record player repeating to me, ‘You’re stupid, you’re ugly, you’re fat, you’re nobody.’ You’re in so much emotional pain, and you don’t know how to express it.” ]

What are we actually looking for in life? Where does that internal peace, fulfillment and satisfaction come from? As we progress materially, we also must progress and cultivate values internally, or spiritually. Otherwise, we may up with everything we always wanted, but nothing we were really looking for.

For the complete article, visit http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/01/sports/01swimmer.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&sq=amanda%20beard&st=cse&adxnnl=1&scp=2&adxnnlx=1284908462-fWUnkoS0FhFeyoKrimPn6w.