Archive for the ‘Inspirational’ Category

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Atheism 2.0 vs. Militant Atheism

Tuesday, January 17th, 2012

I just watched Alain de Botton’s presentation of what he calls Atheism 2.0. You can find the video here (http://www.ted.com/talks/alain_de_botton_atheism_2_0.html?awesm=on.ted.com_deBotton). Alain suggests that atheists should not only tolerate religion, but even adopt certain aspects of it, in order to satisfy their needs for connection, ritual and transcendence.

His vision is that of harmoniously disagreeing with the doctrine of religion, but not so much with what religion is trying to achieve. Quote: “One could have so called ‘spiritual moments’ without belief in spirit.”

This reminded me of another TED video, one I saw a few years ago, of Richard Dawkins arguing for a Militant stance towards Atheism. You can find that video here (http://www.ted.com/talks/richard_dawkins_on_militant_atheism.html). His presentation is much funnier that Alain’s, the jokes being mostly disrespectful of relegion, e.g. “We’re all atheists about most of the gods humanity has ever believed in, some of us just go one god further”. With Militant Atheism Richard basically encourages atheists to stop being polite and come out and say so.

I see arguments for both approaches. I love the idea of learning from religion, and using its methods, without supporting the doctrine. At the same time, I also think atheists should not always politely disagree, but when appropriate confront the religious dogma.

Either way, the lesson from these two great presentations is I think for religion to open up [to criticism], and atheism to lighten up [with criticism].

What do you think?

Atheism

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Learning vs. Wisdom

Sunday, October 24th, 2010

In the 4th video of Alain de Botton’s series Philosophy – A Guide to Happiness; he presents Michel de Montaigne, a French philosopher who singled out three main reasons for feeling bad about oneself – sexual inadequecy, failure to live up to social norms, and intellectual inferiority. Montaigne also offers practical solutions for overcoming those.

What struck me most in that video is something that I’ve heard and read before, namely that research shows that highly educated people are not “happier” than people who have not “learned” as much. Outward signals of intelligence are often different from reality. In my view, current educational systems simply do not contribute to us being wiser and happier. Montaigne was keen on an intelligence in the form of wisdom. And for that, he believed, not any kind of formal education was needed. According to him the secret lays humility, modesty, and an acceptance of one’s own intellectual limitations.

To explain the title of this blog post; why learning “VS” wisdom? Because what we are mostly taught in high-schools and universities does serve a purpose, but not the purpose of being wise and living happily. Alain asks the question why not teach kids and young adults stuff like: How to live well with other people? How to confront one’s anxiety? Ho to deal with death? Or even how to end a relationship? All aspects of life that we are SURE to face.

Alain argues that educational systems today make some people feel stupid when they’re not, and makes other people feel clever when they they’re really not. He also argues that exams, the way we are tested in educational systems, unjustly stresses learning factual information more that wisdom; and presents a few open questions that a student would have to answer on a wisdom-exam:

1. What should one do when anxious?
2. What is a good parent?
3. How can one tell if one is in love or infatuated?
4. Should one worry what other people think?

There is nothing more miserable and more proud than man :) …

Check out Alain’s videos HERE. And in case you’ve read this whole blogpost, I’d appreciate it if you’d pick a question from the above 4 and answer it as a comment below..

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George Carlin – Philosophy for Old Age

Sunday, September 19th, 2010

I found out about George Carlin only from the news of his death, back in 2008. After having seen a number of his stand-up comedy video’s I’ve been a big fan ever since. To me, he has the most amazing way of presenting his philosophy. Check out a nice video below, and a few lines of Geroge Carlin’s advice on how to live life. The latter was sent to me by a friend in one of those powerpoint presentations being emailed around…

1. Throw out nonessential numbers.
This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay ‘them’.

2. Keep only cheerful friends.
The grouches pull you down.

3. Keep learning.
Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever… Never let the brain idle. ‘An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.’ And the devil’s name is Alzheimer’s.

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud.
Laugh until you gasp for breath.

6. The tears happen.
Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love ,
whether it’s family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.

8.Cherish your health:
If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don’t take guilt trips.
Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people that you love them, at every opportunity.

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Role of Positive Psychology in the future..

Sunday, May 16th, 2010

I’m very excited awaiting the start of an online Positive Psychology course at the University of Pennsylvania. The 3-month course is rooted in the work of Dr. Martin Seligman, world-renowned founder of Positive Psychology and Professor of Psychology. The goal of the course is to enhance work and home life of the participants by focusing on positive emotions, strengths-based character, and positive communication.

And as always in life I think, when one focuses on something or awaits something, they tend to notice so much more of that same thing. Through a freind I came across a number of short documentaries of Alain de Botton, a happiness philosopher. You can watch these Guide to Happiness documenataries here.

Why Positive Psychology? Well, personally I think in the long term, it could be the solution to pretty much all the misery currently present in the world.. Just imagine incorporating Positive Psychology in education, or teaching kids and young adults how to be happy…!?

Take a look at this article, mentioning how the Dalai Lama invited a Positive Psychology scientist for a discussion. These are some of the quotes from the article:
“We’re really intrigued with his research that shows students can learn how to relax so they can focus more on learning.”
“Davidson’s center plans to begin training local fifth-grade teachers next fall to cultivate skills like patience and relaxation among their students.”

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Want more willpower and physical endurance?

Wednesday, April 21st, 2010

I came across this article from Harvard University that suggests moral actions may increase our capacity for willpower and physical endurance.

Basically the article suggests that we can enhance our self-control and become less sensitive to discomfort, simply by performing good deeds, i.e. by helping others.. They call this effect moral transformation, and have done interesting experiments. Check it out here.

Nice line from the article: “Gandhi or Mother Teresa may not have been born with extraordinary self-control, but perhaps came to possess it through trying to help others.”

And a really interesting one: “perhaps the best way to resist the donuts at work is to donate your change in the morning to a worthy cause.”

So, if you want more willpower and physical endurance, why not try this – help others!

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Does a sense of control imrove life and increase life span?

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010

I haven’t been posting much on my FreshNewsBlog lately. Spent most of my time on www.slimtennis.nl instead..

Anyway, this great article reminded me that I like sharing stuff that strikes an interest with me, and this article certainly did. How a Lack of Control Leads to Superstition, A Skeptic’s review of the study “Lacking Control Increases Illusory Pattern Perception”, By Michael Shermer.

In summary, what the article implies, based on scientific study, is that people often tend to identify coherent and meaningful interrelationships among a set of random or unrelated stimuli (such as the tendency to perceive false correlations, see imaginary figures, form superstitious rituals, and embrace conspiracy beliefs) when they have a feeling of lacking control over the matter. In other words, when individuals are unable to gain a sense of control objectively, they will try to gain it perceptually.

I wonder how big this effect is when it comes to religion :) !?

Anyway, this is the most interesting part of the article. One study indicated the following:
In a New England nursing home in which the residents were given plants, but only some had the opportunity to water them. Those residents who were in charge of watering the plants lived longer and healthier lives than the others, even those given plants watered by the staff. The sense of control had the apparent effect on physical health and well-being.

Does this mean what I think it means? We tend to live longer and happier when we have a sense of being in control over certain aspects in our surroundings!?

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Scientific Stand-Up Comedy

Thursday, September 17th, 2009

TED. I hadn’t watched any videos on TED for a while. Even thought I was on the way to kick the addiction, but for some reason I figured I’d watch one. The one turned into a couple, and here I am writing another blog about TED. I already mentioned the abundance of knowledge, positivity, and inspiration that can be found on TED in one of my previous blogs.

Here I just wanted to point you to a great 10 minute video that gets into subjects from physics to philosophy, but is still more Stand-Up Comedy than anything else. I loved it! Especially the Why We Are Here jokes in the end, I thought were great. I said it a few times on occasion, and this video reminded me again, that I like to take everything seriously except life itself ;) ..

Enjoy!

John Lloyd inventories the invisible

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Why discipline yourself?

Tuesday, June 9th, 2009

As Tony Robbins presents in Unleash The Power Within, we all have 6 basic human needs: certainty/comfort, variety, significance, connection/love, growth, and contribution. The way we satisfy those needs however, I think varies from person to person.

A few months ago I read the book Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman, which I can recommend to anyone. What stuck with me after reading this book is that EQ is not so much being emotional yourself and/or sensitive to other people’s emotions, but being able to understand, use, and manage your own and other people’s emotions, something that takes quite a lot of discipline. Daniel Goleman argues EQ to be a bigger determinant of success than IQ.

Managing one’s emotions is a big part in the below video, which is great :) , so please read on… Basically, there are 2 main ways in which one can satisfy their needs, immediately or at a later date. This is called immediate or delayed gratification.

There are many resources available on this topic, but I really urge you to take 5 minutes to watch Joachim de Posada’s video about an experiment on delayed gratification – and how it can predict future success. It includes a priceless video of kids trying their hardest not to eat a marshmallow.

Enjoy, let me know what you think of it. Leave a comment below.

Warm regards,
Ajdin

P.S. Perfect addition to this blog:
Peter Bregman – How to Teach Yourself Restraint

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Assess your Personality

Wednesday, May 6th, 2009

Recently, through a discussion with some colleagues, I was reminded how much value I got from an MBTI personality assessment some time back. That also set me out on a course of further personal development.

I’d like to introduce you to a stream of personality theories of Jung, Myers Briggs, and most of all Katherine Benziger. I strongly recommend Dr Benziger’s book Thriving in Mind: The Art & Science of Using Your Whole Brain, which is available on AbeBooks here >>. The book will enable you to perform a basic personality assessment that will give you a really good look into your own personality.

You can also read an introductory extract of Katherine’s BTSA (Benziger Thinking Styles Assessment) on www.businessballs.com.

If you’d like to download some personality tests, you can do that here >>. If you also know some theories or resources on the net that offer short online personality assessments, please let me know. Do also leave a comment, I’d love to know about your own experiences and ideas about personal development.

Regards,
Ajdin

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TED Abundance

Tuesday, April 7th, 2009

Why I believe everyone should be member of the TED newsletter…

TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design; but it might as well also stand for CREATIVITY, POSITIVE IDEAS, VIRTUOSITY, INGENIOUSITY, and most of all ABUNDANCE.

TED started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives. Held annually in Long Beach, The TED Conference is still the heart of TED. More than a thousand people now attend and the content has expanded to include science, business, the arts and the global issues facing our world. Part of the conference is dedicated to The TED Prize. It is awarded annually to three exceptional individuals who each receive $100,000 and, much more important, the granting of “One Wish to Change the World”. After several months of preparation, they unveil their wish at an award ceremony held during the TED Conference. These wishes have led to collaborative initiatives with far-reaching impact.

Although the choice is so hard with the abundant presentations that TED offers, my favorite TED talk is by Ken Robinson on How Schools Kill Creativity. Watch it Here >>.

Just to present two other examples that could perhaps give a glimpse of the ABUNDANCE of TED:

  • Watch Nicholas Negroponte in Colombia as he delivers laptops to schoolkids in a territory once controlled by guerrillas. Watch this talk >>. Just listen to the first sentance in his talk and then decide whether to watch further…
  • Or sit back and watch in awe, Eric Lewis, an astonishingly talented crossover jazz pianist, as he sets fire to the keys with his shattering rendition of Evanescence’s chart-topper “Going Under.” Watch it here >>.

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