Such as great read from Sages and Scientists #14 Alumnus, Cat Cora
How Meditation Can Help Anxiety
By Deepak Chopra, MD
Fear is a negative emotion unless you are facing an actual threat and need to fight or flee. The usefulness of fear is minimal in daily life, particularly in the form of anxiety. Stressful events can produce short-term anxiety in almost everyone, which disappears after the event. But for an estimated 6.8 million Americans with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), anxiety is a chronic condition they can’t shut off. All of us know people we accept as “born worriers,” but in reality being in a state of chronic anxiety can severely limit their daily activity.
You probably know already if you worry excessively. Almost nothing is free from worry, in fact, if you have chronic anxiety, even the smallest thing can trigger it. You find yourself with fearful thoughts about finances, family, your health, and what’s happening at work. Some days you’d rather hide under the covers. (more…)
Feeding America San Diego
1 in 7 people in San Diego face hunger. Deepak posted his #Spoontember selfie to raise awareness and we invite you to join!
For every post with @FeedingSanDiego tagged, generous supporters have pledged to donate 8 meals. Let’s make a difference today!
Learn more at: http://feedingamericasd.org
Child Actor releases 7 De Septiembre
Congratulations to our Sages and Scientists Art and Culture Alumnus, Child Actor, and the debut of
their new song, “7 De Septiembre”, dedicated to those seeking peace and freedom.
For Child Actor, “7 De Septiembre”—a cover of the 1991 single by Spanish electro-pop band Mecano—is as personal as anything in their own original discography. Marking the first time that Venezuelan vocalist Natalie Plaza has contributed vocals in her native Spanish to the project, it is a time capsule of longing and nostalgia released at a moment when her home country is in the throes of a prolonged economic and social crisis.
Keeping the tender melodicism and emotive dynamic range of the original intact, the duo seeks the sublime in the song’s startling contrast between sacred, hushed beauty and ‘90s synth-pop catharsis. As reverent as their approach may be, Child Actor’s signature is unmistakable as producer Max Heath sets Plaza’s alternately jubilant and whisper- quiet harmonies against an enigmatic foundation of swooping disembodied vocal samples.
Child Actor says: “This song is dedicated to Natalie’s friends and family in Venezuela and a generation that is being forced to substitute struggle for ambition.”
“7 De Septiembre” follows acclaimed 2014 LP Never Die and arrives as Plaza and Heath are in the midst of recording their next project under the working title Emberland.
And even though the tale came to an end there
something still alive in this love.
And, blow as hard as we may
There are flames that not even the sea (can quench).
September the 7th
is our aniversary,
and we don ́t know whether to kiss each other
on the cheek or the lips
Spanish Translation
Y aunque la historia se acabó
hay algo vivo en ese amor
que aunque empeñados en soplar
hay llamas que ni con el mar.
El siete de septiembre
es nuestro aniversario.
y no sabremos si besamos
en la cara o en los labios
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Sowing Seeds of Gratitude to Cultivate Wellbeing
By Paul J. Mills, Tiffany Barsotti, Meredith A. Pung, Kathleen L. Wilson, Laura Redwine, and Deepak Chopra
Gratitude, along with love, compassion, empathy, joy, forgiveness, and self-knowledge, is a vital attribute of our wellbeing. While there are many definitions of gratitude, at its foundation, gratitude is a healing, life-affirming, and uplifting human experience that shifts us from focusing on the negative to appreciating what is positive in our lives. Gratitude provides us with a more intimate connection to ourselves and the world around us. In the feeling of gratitude, the spiritual is experienced.
For those who are ill, feelings of gratitude and awe may facilitate perceptions and cognitions that go beyond the focus of their illness, and include positive aspects of one’s personal and interpersonal reality in the face of disease. Such beneficial associations with gratitude have accelerated scientific interest in and research on gratitude and wellbeing. The number of publications on gratitude appearing in the biomedical literature in 5-year increments,since 1960-1965 (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/) shows almost no publications until 1996-2000 with about 20 studies. That number doubled from 2001-2005. From 2006-2010 publications jumped to 150, and from 2011 to the present over 275 studies on gratitude have been published.