On Survival instincts

So I had this interesting discussion between my friends the other day.. We were talking about how excited myself and my friend were about visiting the aquarium. The other friend said that he didn't like to see animals or fish confined in artificial spaces that wasn't their natural environment. While we agreed that it sucked to see the animals lose their freedom, we went on to debate about whether the aquariums served any purpose at all. He said that to learn more about the fishes, one could simply see the discovery channel or read a book. The other friend said how aquariums were necessary in some sense, because we are inquisitive by nature, which implies the need to study our surroundings for our the sake of our own survival. His argument went along the lines that evolution says that we do everything to ensure our own survival.. And it was the survival instinct that was driving every action within us.

I disagreed. I questioned, what does survival mean ? Was it just survival of the physical  body? Mental survival ? Survival of particular emotional state ? What is the instinct that is guiding the actions of a solider who is performing the act of sacrifice for the sake of a nation ? Clearly survival of the body isn't the state of mind that is driving his action.  While I agreed that survival mode of thinking was definitely one of the legitimate ways to think, there are alternative modes of thinking which were guiding our action.  My estimate was that it is the survival of an idea, the idea of the nation/duty etc, rather than that of the body which was guiding the action of the soldier, and at the same time could be guiding actions of others as well.

Another argument that seemed to precede this discussion was whether it was best to allow humans to intervene in natures' business, or rather allow nature to do its own thing without human intervention as the conflicting philosophies involved in the aquarium discussion. It seemed that human intervention would be necessary, for the time being for the sake of our own survival. But then things are as it stand, and the answer to this question can only be provided by time. However humans could be aware of the consequences of their actions while intervening in nature, that would question the survival of the very eco-system upon which they themselves depend being part of the nature. And it seemed to be the natural part of evolution of humans, evolving to higher intelligence so that their actions could be guided towards common good. Personally, I felt that given the nature of evolution of the critical mass of the human species, confined spaces such as aquariums which is a necessity now would not become so in the future as our species intelligence expands.

The blog title is called survival though .. Can survival truly be guiding our action ? In this time and age, money is being considered as the necessity to survive within the present socio-economic-political structures in place. And the more money we have, the better our chances of survival is, provided the structures are intact. Maybe having exposed to different ideologies, it seemed that having survival as your primary motivation to live in this world would appear to be seriously limiting. What about love ? Is love not a valid mode of action ? A much much better motivator ? But it definitely is the most vulnerable mode regardless. It is not easy, for it calls for surrender. Surrendering our own ideas to face the truth of what is happening. Painful it maybe, however long lasting it would be. When one is in love, all kinds of survival urges go away. A human would give ones life for one's love. Would give up physical, emotional , mental survival instincts for the sake of love. Ask a mother, a brother, or your children ( at times of course ). Unless the definition of love involves some kind of survival, I fail to see survival as the guiding light for the actions of many in this civilization.

It is at this point that it struck me .. how many have been chasing money as the goal of life for the sake of a better survival. I see survival as a necessity. It is a basic requirement. But why should one limit one's own life to just meet the basic requirements alone ? Why not expand to higher horizons, and engage in higher faculties or even express humanity through one's life rather than just a drive to survive ? Survival as a way of life seems to be primitive, and not fully suited to a species that has evolved to considerable intelligence to intervene in nature and deduce her laws. Love though,  is a game changer. :)

Part of the Love argument was inspired by actions of a doctor who is a social activist and whose love for animals and humanity inspired the hell out of me :) I part these words with his interview :)

Long Live Humanity ! :)

On Naruto

It's been a really long time since I have blogged. So I have decided to blog on something that has been occupying some space in my digital life... the anime series Naruto :)

What is it about ? Its about the adventures of Naruto, the wannabe Hokage ( Ninja Village Leader ) growing up in the Ninja Village : hidden in the leaves. Naruto was sealed with the demon spirit "nine-tailed-fox" as a child making him a host of a tailed beast or a Jinchiruki, and grew up with the villagers shunning him as a cursed child. The ninja academy teacher, Iruka Sensei who would treat Naruto with Ichiraku Ramen ( supposed to be the best in the world), was the only family for him. He does have his crush interests on Sakura, the ninja girl who grows up to be student of the 5th Hokage Tsunade, and teams up with Sasuke Uchiha, the sole survivor of the genius ninja clan of Uchiha.

Naruto's story isn't complete without the story of Sasuke. Being the only one to carry the name of the Uchiha forward, Sasuke's life has been consumed by revenge towards his elder brother Itachi Uchiha who slayed the entire clan except Sasuke. The genuis Sasuke, who is always on top of the class in the Ninja academy has plenty of fans wherever he goes thanks to his looks. Sakura has strong feelings towards Sasuke as well. However, consumed by revenge Sasuke ends up chasing power, and eventually leaves the Hidden leaves village to go after his brother Itachi.

So when Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke are teamed up with super ninja Kakashi as the ninja team 7, the bond between all the three ninjas grow stronger. However different adventures and other encounters made Naruto stronger than Sasuke for a time. Sasuke decides to let go of the loving atmosphere to chase more power, and defects to Orochimaru who is seeking a body to regain his power from the curse of the third Hokage of the hidden leaf village whom he killed. Naruto, who has never had a best friend in his life never gives up on convincing Sasuke to come back to the hidden leaf village... and this story goes on ...

What is extremely interesting about Naruto, and what keeps all the viewers hooked onto to the anime series is his strong character traits, and udehis never-say-die ( I mean literally) attitude. You just wished that he would just give up, but he just won't. No matter how much the injury he has sustained , or even if he is sustaining injury, he just wont ever give up !!! Naruto is no genius like Sasuke, however his pure heart, and simple nature is a delight to be reminded of. Throughout the series he has matured, grown to be understanding and kind to everyone. The kid who wants to be Hokage somedeay makes us never give up on our dreams..

What makes Naruto more interesting is the richness of the different characters that feature ... be it the genuis, cool and the one moving towards hatred - Sasuke, or the one who grew from Hatred towards to finally being the Hokage of the sand Village - Gaara, the genius strategist but the laziest ninja - Shikamaru, the insect ninja - Shino, or the branch family/ head family feud within the Hyuga clan ... the show never ceases to keep us wrapped within the plot.

Naruto Shippuden is still going on .. and the story has matured to a point where Sasuke chose a path of destructing the Hidden leaves village, in which he would he would eventually end up facing Naruto ... Also the question whether Naruto, who is still the only Genin in his friends circle ( the first level Ninja ) inspite of saving his Village on numerous occasions, will ever become the Hokage to change the ninja world of hate and war is also something that everybody is waiting to see .. The show must have been an inspiration to thousands of anime lovers , and continues to play its role in stroking the human spirit within as well :) Hope to see it conclude in the best possible way though :)

from the website www.theintentionexperiment.com

More Than Just Spoonbending

October 23rd, 2009 by Lynne McTaggart · 39 Comments

Perhaps the only downside about all the publicity having to do with the The Lost Symbol is the renewed attack on consciousness research as unworthy of serious discussion.

All of the skeptics and their websites are brimming with renewed fervor, and in the UK, where I live, all the scientists and science writers have dismissed out of hand any ideas about a science behind the power of thought.

In a recent documentary on The Lost Symbol, the slightest mention of noetic science was conspicuously absent.

The view seems to be that while the material about Freemasonry may be based on fact, noetic science is more akin to science fiction — and more properly belongs on a show featuring an illusionist like Derren Brown.

The heart of the difference
This body of science and indeed all the implications about the power of thought go well beyond spoon-bending tricks.

This central idea, that consciousness affects matter, lies at the very heart of an irreconcilable difference between the world view offered by classical physics – the science of the big, visible world – and that of quantum physics – the science of the world’s most diminutive components.

These discoveries offer convincing evidence that all matter in the universe exists in a web of connection and constant influence, which often overrides many of the laws of the universe that we used to believe held ultimate sovereignty.

Information transfers
The significance of these findings extends far beyond a validation of extrasensory power or parapsychology. They threaten to demolish the entire edifice of present-day science.

Frontier research into the nature of human consciousness has upended everything that we have hitherto considered scientific certainty about our world.

For more than 30 years many of the scientists I write about — physicists like Fritz Albert-Popp and Hal Puthoff, psychologists like Gary Schwartz and Dean Radin, biologists like the late Jacques Benveniste — have been amassing unimpeachable evidence in experiments that has stretched credulity.

At least 40 top scientists in academic centres of research around the world have demonstrated that an information transfer constantly carries on between living things, and that thought forms are simply another aspect of transmitted energy.

Hundreds of others have offered plausible theories embracing even the most counter-intuitive effects, such as time-displaced influence, as now consistent with the laws of physics.

Our definition of the physical universe as a collection of isolated objects, our definition of ourselves as just another of those objects, and even our most basic understanding of time and space, will have to be recast.

Using the power of thought
Ideas about the power of thought are no longer the ruminations of a few eccentric individuals. They now underpin many well-accepted disciplines in every reach of life, from orthodox and alternative medicine to competitive sport. Any modern coach of a competitive sport routinely offers training in some form of mental rehearsal, and often it is touted as the decisive element separating the elite sportsperson from the second-division player.

Medical scientists often speak of the ‘placebo effect’ as an annoying impediment to the proof of the efficacy of a chemical agent. It is time that we understood and made full use of the power of the placebo. Repeatedly, the mind has proved to be a far more powerful healer than the greatest of breakthrough drugs.

This knowledge may give us back a sense of individual and collective power, which has been wrested from us, largely by the current worldview espoused by modern science, which portrays an indifferent universe populated by things that are separate and unengaged.

Indeed, an understanding of the power of conscious thought may also bring science closer to religion by offering scientific proof of the intuitive understanding, held by most of us, that to be alive is to be far more than an assemblage of chemicals and electrical signalling.

Medicine, healing, education, even our interaction with our technology, would benefit from a greater comprehension of the mind’s inextricable involvement in its world. If we begin to grasp the remarkable power of human consciousness, we will advance our understanding of ourselves as human beings in all our complexity.

The art of the impossible
Frontier science is the art of inquiring about the impossible. All of our major achievements in history have resulted from asking an outrageous question. What if stones fall from the sky? What if giant metal objects could overcome gravity? What if there is no end of the earth to sail off?

All of the discoveries about the power of thought and remote influence have similarly proceeded from asking a seemingly absurd question: what if our thoughts could affect the things around us?

True science always begins with an unpopular question, even if there is no prospect of an immediate answer – even if the answer threatens to overturn every last one of our cherished beliefs. The scientists engaged in consciousness research must constantly put forward unpopular questions about the nature of the mind and the extent of its reach.

In our group Intention Experiments, we have asked the most impossible question of all: what if a group thought could heal a remote target?

It is a little like asking, what if a thought could heal the world?

It is an outlandish question, but the most important part of scientific investigation is just the simple willingness to ask the question.

Mainstream science — and indeed the press — have grown ever more fundamentalist, dominated by a few highly vocal scientists and science writers who believe that our scientific story has largely been written.

Nevertheless, a small body of resistance carries on in defiance of this restricted view. With every unorthodox question asked, with every unlikely answer, frontier scientists such as those featured in my books remake our world. May they and their ilk light our way.

A walk to remember :)

Noise of Leaves rustling..
the moonlit stars are up in the night sky..
I try to draw your face by connecting the stars..
no.. there isn't enough of them..
the cars whizing past my side,
with the question lingering in the mind...
why can't the stars be there when I need them the most..
your face pops up int he empty ground that I pass by..
with the stars lining up as your ever shining smile..

the red lights afar stop my motion for a moment.
but then the flowers that seem to be blooming in the night
hint at the secret that is hidden in the world..
hidden everywhere I see you..
Is it the desire to be one, with the one that I am not with,
the driving force for the flowers, trees and leaves ?
Is it the pregnant void that is there,
giving one the space to be one with the other that I am not..
the mistress of the night closes my eyes,
the misty veils that cover my eyes..

I touch the tree.. it pulls me back to the moment..
to walk by the bushes, and to smile at the night sky agaiin..
Now another leaf flies past me,
and falls right in front of me..

:)

Beauty

Today I wanted to write about Beauty. Webster defines the word as the following :

1: the quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit : loveliness
2: a beautiful person or thing ; especially : a beautiful woman
3: a particularly graceful, ornamental, or excellent quality
4: a brilliant, extreme, or egregious example or instance

The beauty I would be speaking of, would not touch any of this :) So ride with me on a motorcycle into my own world of beauty...

In the quietude of the evening sunset, with the silent cars leaving their shallow trails of engine roars in the air, one ponders if the winds afar is speaking something to you. In the dimming light, the stars pop out of nowhere; the same stars that steal our sight when we were a child. To find beauty in these stars isn't the hardest thing in the world for a child. For they capture our imagination, and we are left drawing spoons, and imaginary creatures on the canvass of the sky. The joy of creating something out of nothing has always been everything for the creative minded for a long time. There is thus beauty in creation, and discovering.

Expanding upon the aspect of beauty I touched above, lets travel to another area of beauty. The beauty in understanding. When a clamour of twines and twangs doesn't make sense to you, one cannot find beauty even in the most beautiful musical instrument.
But when you begin to connect the patterns of the various musical notes, with duality of the constant rhythm, and variations in pitch constantly adoring the unchanging, even the most unkindful of souls drown in the ecstasy that is music. When the deaf experience the same effect, but in the notes made by actions, they are able to feel the beauty that is present in this aspect of duality expressed in life. This is the beauty that is experienced by one's senses initially, but becomes that of our being with the depth of the experience. Touching the shores of knowledge, where anyone else hasn't touched before also yeilds the sense of serenity, which can possess any person to madness and thus beauty. :)

Beauty essentially lies in the experience. Only when we become one with the experience can anyone really get closer to beauty. However, it is in a person's feeling, the familiar playground for beauty expresses itself more fully. I felt great !! That is one of the phrases we say when we went through a great experience or after accomplishing something that never was. Yet, it is no more than a feeling of elation to take one to the realms beyond the physical.

Perhaps, the feeling we experience when we are with someone, could be the closest thing we have ever experienced to beauty. Each of us have a story to tell about that.
About how even the most quietest of silence with a particular person can evoke the greatest of excitement racing in our hearts. Everybody have experienced this. And will cherish this facet of beauty in their whole life. Sometimes its capable of bringing a smile in our face when we remember those instances. That is truly beautiful. For it is in those rare moments, that we are able to put down all the veils of shadow we cast upon ourselves, and shine in the resplendent light that we truly are. Perhaps it is the most beautiful thing, to realize that we discover ourselves through another person. The world, filled with its heavy traffic noise, is capable of making us forget who we are, and who we were. Yet it is the beauty in the moment, that is truly being expressed, when the moment occupies the other person without any strings attached. :)

Here ends my journey through this beautiful world, under the deep blue sky with a green pine tree ravishing the undercurrent voices of daily life :)

Santhip

A flower.. in the moment

A flower evokes emotions of serenity,peace, joy, and a sense of pristine freshness, in a person who has been living most of his life within four walls, "separating" him from the motherly bounds of nature. Imagine the visual image of a wild flower, growing under the tree dressed in a moss coloured bark, with its smile extending beyond the weeds that give it company, and adding to the music in the air of the jungle, by calling forth the bees in the area towards it. :) Beautiful .. isn't it ?

When a person is awed by its beauty, and when he forgets all the burdens of his mind, enjoying the beauty of the flower in that moment, he becomes one with the nature that gave him birth, by perceiving the oneness that binds us to all nature's creation. Nature has its own way of doing things. The "natural" way.Law of the Jungle. Call it whatever you like. But the fact remains, many amongst us, why myself of course, have been subject to the "law of Survival", in a setting marred by Cement Concrete, and a mirage filled with hopes of a "comfortable life".

The little flower, is capable of making us green with envy. For its free; wild; can be the flower it wants to be, and woo all the bees to have some fun.( Imagine that in a city environment. Wooing all the women you want to have some fun ? Nah... City women cannot be compared to flowers :) Atleast not all of them :P ). Human beings are so greedy, that they would like to revel in the beauty of the flower everyday. The result : potted plants. Complaint's cannot be made. But by the ideals of liberty and freedom, which is cherished by all the human beings on Earth and imbibed in the most fundamental chaotic creation created by nature ( the freedom to be ), I question the potted jail we subject our flowers to stay in.

The flower gets to bloom to its teenage fullness, in a home far away from home, in the balcony of an apartment, or upon a table top beside the window of a 10 storeyed building. Soon it would feel the lacking in the "home" where it gets fed well, and drunk well, and plenty of light to green up its food supply. The lack of freedom in the air. The hum of the Air conditioned replacing the "whisky" humming of the bees. Home sickness arises in the plant. The human being involved with the plant, god willing may he be filled with peace, might then shower love upon the plant, and the plant finds a new home within the concentric wall of the mud pot it is in. The tender touch of compassion upon the petal of the flower, fulfillment of its tiniest role in putting up a smile upon the smallest of individuals, considering the larger scheme of things it had once been a part of, fills the flower with hope, and the sense that it can indeed be what it used to be to the human being. But the truth remains. It is far away from Home.

All of us are filled with beauty beyond measure , like that flower. Yet we get trapped in a pot atop a 5 storeyed apartment window. Nature awaits us to return to her, under that moss green colored tree, to pour some whisky to the honey bees and to bring a smile upon the face of a passerby. Yet, inspite of the paradoxical situation of the flower finding a home away from home, the flower is still in its home, in the hands of human nature.

LONG LIVE HUMANITY !!!


--

Santhip

Randomn

Facebook v/s Orkut

What makes Orkut better than Facebook ?

1. The interface is straight forward than facebook
2. You have relatively easier access into profiles in orkut
3. Fb doesn't really allow you to express yourself in a static format, instead would like to make money off you through all the stupid apps/games
4. You find all the desis in Orkut ( especially ladies ) ;D
5. If you are not outside India, it doesn't really improve anything in Facebook


Add more points if you will.

;)