Of Other Spaces: Utopias and Heterotopias M. Foucault

We are in the epoch of simultaneity: we are in the epoch of juxtaposition, the epoch of the near and far, of the
side-by-side, of the dispersed. We are at a moment, I believe, when our experience of the world is less that of a long life
developing through time than that of a network that connects points and intersects with its own skein. One could perhaps
say that certain ideological conflicts animating present-day polemics oppose the pious descendents of time and the determined
inhabitants of space. (...) The heterotopia is capable of juxtaposing in a single real place several spaces, several sites that are
in themselves incompatible. Thus it is that the theater brings onto the rectangle of the stage, one after the other, a whole
series of places that are foreign to one another; thus it is that the cinema is a very odd rectangular room, at the end of which,
on a two-dimensional screen, one sees the projection of a three-dimensional space, but perhaps the oldest example of these
heterotopias that take the form of contradictory sites is the garden.
(...) Heterotopias are most often linked to slices in time—which is to say that they open onto what might be termed, for the
sake of symmetry, heterochronies. The heterotopia begins to function at full capacity when men arrive at a sort of absolute
break with their traditional time.

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mindfulness
the one who sees

the mind is like the ocean. different every time.
the 'color' changes from day to day, from moment to moment
reflecting thoughts and emotions. they come and go.
but like the ocean, the mind itself in its true nature, never changes
it's always clean and clear no matter what is reflecting.

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Clinical research shows Buddhist mindfulness techniques can help alleviate anxiety, stress, and depression.
Psychological "mindfulness" is broadly conceptualized, say Bishop et al. (2004:232), as "a kind of non elaborative,
nonjudgmental, present-centered awareness in which each thought, feeling, or sensation that arises
in the attentional field is acknowledged and accepted as it is".
They propose a two-component operational definition of "mindfulness".
The first component involves the self-regulation of attention so that it is maintained on immediate experience,
thereby allowing for increased recognition of mental events in the present moment.
The second component involves adopting a particular orientation toward one’s experiences in the present moment,
an orientation that is characterized by curiosity, openness, and acceptance. (2004:232)
Recent research supports promising mindfulness-based therapies for a number of medical and psychiatric conditions,
notably chronic pain (McCracken et al. 2007), stress (Grossman et al. 2004), depression
and substance abuse (Melemis 2008:141-157), and recurrent suicidal behavior (Williams et al. 2006).
Bell (2009) gives a brief overview of mindful approaches to therapy, particularly family therapy,
starting with a discussion of mysticism and emphasizing the value of a mindful therapist.

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recognizing our true nature
reminders

gom_ tibetan word for meditation, lyterally means 'becaming familiar with'
meditation practice is really about becoming familiar whith the nature of your onw mind

'it is called true nature because no one created it' _ chandrakirti, entering the middle way

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this is not heresy.
Some people think of prayer as the petitioning of some god or deity who,
out love or other benevolence, answers.
Belief in God is not a requirement.
Research, however, reveals that “prayers” sent out in the form of healing intentions
for the higher good are equally as effective as religious prayers.
This leads us to conclude that the results of prayer are not so much due to God(s)
directly intervening with specific action as it is a means of our accessing
our own godlike abilities, or godliness.
(...)
And in what, exactly, are we to have “faith?”
Are we supposed to have faith in God to move the mountain?
That question is answered elsewhere in scripture.
“When you ask something, believe that you receive it, and it shall be done.
” Jesus instructed us to believe, not in God to do the thing requested, but in the manifestation,
the result. As the Bible later says, “Faith is the belief in things hoped for,
the assurance [affirmation] of things not [yet] seen.”
We have been taught to pray, not because we need God’s blessing, but because we needed a means
by which to focus our faith – our assurance – on that which we wish to manifest.
Hence we arrive at a definition of prayer accessible to Christian, Muslims, Hindus,
shamans, lightworkers, and atheists alike.
Prayer is the act of acknowledging, receiving, and sending Infinite Divine Love
through the participation in Divine Order facilitated by your own free will, or intent.
You can pray anywhere, anytime. Just quiet your mind, open your heart, and feel the Love.
It’s important that we receive.
The more we want to give and serve, the more we need to learn to receive.
Intend Good Things. For yourself and others.
God is All Things, in Every Thing.
No judgment.
Faith and acceptance

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reshaping the brain
re-design-remender-re-shape

(...)
The Dalai Lama, pleased at this opportunity to explore a topic
of high personal interest tohim—the distinction between
conceptual and nonconceptual processes in the mind—continued,
“Would you agree that this would indicate that the first moment is nonconceptual,
purelya visual perception that apprehends the form in question, and
the second is conceptual, which recognizes, ‘Oh, this is that’?
This seems to corroborate Buddhist psychology.”
“Which leads you to decide to push the button,” Francisco said.
“It’s only when I say ‘Oh, I recognize that’ that it leads to the moment of decision,
where you then push the button. So it is a conceptual moment.
The first one is just the pattern being perceived, without the conceptual process.”
at first is a purely visual perception that is nonconceptual and the second moment,
nomatter what its duration might be, is when the conceptual mind apprehends,
‘This is that’? For example, as I look at Alan Wallace here, I immediately recognize his face without having
to figure it out. Grossly speaking, it seems like it’s instantaneous,
but in fact— “In fact it’s at least two hundred milliseconds,” Francisco interjected.
“This is exactly the Buddhist point of view,” the Dalai Lama continued.
“Even though, grossly speaking, it seems to be instantaneous, in reality it’s not instantaneous.
First there’s an impression, and then the labeling—the conceptual recognition—and it’s a sequence.”
“Absolutely,” Francisco agreed. “Typically, under normal conditions you cannot
compress a mental moment to less than a hundred and fifty milliseconds.
Even when it’s something that’s virtually immediate.”
This is, in fact, a key point in Buddhist epistemology.
The first moment of, say, a visual cognition is pure perception
—a raw percept without a label—but shortly thereafter comes a mental cognition,
the murmur of a thought, drawing on memory and enabling one to recognize
and label the visually perceived object for what it is.
Realizing that the first moment of cognition is nonconceptual
and that those thereafter are conceptual offers a gateway, an opportunity for inner liberation,
in the Buddhist model. This insight into the nature of our ongoing construction of
reality represents a necessary step (though not in itself a sufficient
one) toward freeing the mind from the inertia of mental habit.

daniel goleman, the brain's melody

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we are all made of stardust

mathieu ricard, the quantum and the lotus

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in_relation


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THE CHARACTERISTICS THAT DISTINGUISH BASIC EMOTIONS

emotional expressions are crucial to the development and regulation
of interpersonal relationships.

Buddhists, as we said, consider craving to be one of the
primary toxins of the mind. Unlike psychologists, who restrict
the idea of craving to states produced by substances of abuse or
by strongly appetitive opportunities that offer the potential for
abuse (e.g., gambling, sex), Buddhists use the term more generically
to encompass the desire to acquire objects and situations
for oneself. A growing body of neuroscientific literature
has shown that activity of the neurotransmitter dopamine in a
part of the brain called the nucleus accumbens is common to
states of craving, including both pharmacologically induced
addictions and activities such as gambling. Although activation
of this system is highly reinforcing (i.e., it leads to the recurrence
of behaviors associated with the system’s activation), it is
not associated with pleasure in the long run. Of course, what is
not included in this neuroscientific framework is anything akin
to the notion of sukha.
Buddhist contemplative practices are explicitly designed to
counteract craving. It would thus be of great interest empirically
to evaluate how effective these methods may be as interventions
for addictive disorders, which are disorders of craving, and to
determine if the brain systems

paul ekman