Or: How to change your mind, with psychedelics and optogenetics.

 

Genevieve introduced the closing keynote for the PSFC Summit today: Karl Deisseroth is the pioneer of the mind-reading and writing tool (optogenetics.org at Stanford) that allows for individual neuron targeting and manipulation, and his new work looks at the effects of mind-altering drugs on brain function in detail.

 

For a sense of the power of his methods: he can take a pair of mice than were just mating happily, and with a flip of a switch, they become violent to each other. He made a mouse walk in an infinite left turn loop when a fiber optic is flipped on in the motor cortex (with no apparent awareness or distress at being controlled this way). Another team selectively turned on subsets of parenting behavior (like bringing wandering young back to the nest or grooming behaviors). They can also probe three different sub-states of anxiety that we only experience as a bundle.

 

How does this work? Before the plant kingdom evolved chlorophyll to harvest energy from sunlight, the more ancient bacteria used rhodopsins in a membrane-bound proton-pump to do the same. The rhodopsins captured a swath of the sun’s spectrum, tilting the algae to the leftover parts of the spectrum not yet absorbed, and this is why plants are green. Karl introduced these bacterial light-triggered elements into neurons of interest using a viral vector to the brain. He can then trigger neuronal firing optically, as the rhodopsin pump supplements the ion channels in the neuron. He can also trigger reporter molecules from the bacterial world to read out brain activity as the brain is functioning.

 

So, for example, he has observed a 3 Hz cycling in the retrosplenial cortex of a mouse brain on ketamine, and he has been able to reproduce the effects with optogenetic stimulation to achieve similar effects. He has also found that the dissociative drugs (ketamine and PCP) allow for reflexes to pain (e.g., heat on paw or puff of air to eyes) to continue normally, while the protective cognitive reactions (licking the paws after heat or squinting in anticipation of the next puff) disappear, a disassociation of mind and body reflexes.

 

He is diving deeper into the brain to investigate how this works, finding that the various subregions of the thalamus are regulated by disassociative drugs by overpowering the voting circuits with a pulsing 3 Hz modulation of the ketamine-enhanced circuits. The other nodes in the thalamus are operating as before, but do not achieve as powerful a consensus. The thalamus regulates where we spend our attention and conscious focus, to avoid doing everything we might be tempted to do simultaneously, and thereby not really doing any of them well.

 

In his latest work, he has found that MDMA operates very differently than Ketamine (work to be published later this year).

 

The implications of this level of understanding are enormous. The questions we can now ask using optogenetics will transform how we understand mental disorders and also call into question some deep philosophical questions surrounding consciousness and free will. It may also unveil the mysteries about how psychedelics operate in the brain, allowing us to optimize the use cases for testing in human clinical trials. Exciting work is going on with psilocybin for alcohol use disorder, extreme OCD and the eating disorders (which are also a disassociation of mind from body).

 

The health benefits of the seaby NAOMI COLEMAN, femail.co.uk

The sea is an excellent source of nutrition. Believe it or not, half of seaweed is made up of carbohydrate and around one third is protein, vitamins and fibre. Even better, seaweed contains only two per cent of fat.Seaweed is a form of marine algae that grows in the upper levels of the ocean. Out of the hundreds of types of seaweed available, there are around ten different kinds that we can actually eat. And, according to naturopath Dr Gillian McKeith, author of Living Food for Health, plants from the sea contain more minerals than any other plant source. This is because they contain a variety of important elements. Typical ingredients are calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, potassium and many trace elements.In fact, one type of seaweed called Wakame contains ten times more calcium than the amount found in milk. There is eight times more iron in Kombu - a type of kelp - than beef.In addition, Dr McKeith claims the protein in seaweed is more easily absorbed by the body than protein found in meat or fish.'This is because protein in meat is a complex structure that the body finds difficult to break down,' she says. 'By comparison seaweed has a simple structure which the body can easily absorb.'Not only this, but the alkaline content of seaweed makes our bodies less acidic. 'Too much acid in our bodies can make us slow and sluggish,' she says. But eating alkaline foods such as seaweed speeds up our metabolic rate and gives us more energy.'Although it is possible to eat too much seaweed because it has a cooling effect on the liver, Dr McKeith recommends eating a small handful of seaweed sprinkled on soups or stews three times a week.Here, we look at the nutritional properties of four different types of seaweedNori for healthy bones and teethThis popular type of seaweed found along the coast of Japan is an excellent source of nutrition. It contains 48 per cent of protein - the equivalent to meat or eggs. It also has the same amount of beta carotene as carrots and twice as much vitamin C as oranges.Nori is a rich source of B vitamins and minerals including calcium - used for building bones and teeth, iron - essential for the formation of red blood cells which carry oxygen around the body, phosphorus - for energy metabolism and iodine - essential for the formation of thyroid hormones, which regulate the body's energy production and promote growth.It is also said that Nori can reduce cholesterol and high blood pressure due to its high levels of essential fatty acids (EFAs). Essential fatty acids are essential to health because they reduce high cholesterol levels, prevent blood clots and help brain and eye development.Dulse for joint painThis reddish purple seaweed found in America and Canada contains eight times the amount of iron as beef - making it the richest source of iron in any food. Its high levels of iron help the body to produce red blood cells and keep our blood healthy Dulse is also rich in B vitamins and the minerals calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and manganese. Manganese is important for relieving arthritis, osteoporosis - a bone-thinning disease - and joint pain because manganese is thought to encourage protein production involved in repairing cartilage and bones.Kombu or kelp for weight loss, thyroid problems and skin problemsA type of kelp that is rich in potassium, calcium, magnesium, B vitamins, iron and iodine - Kombu - is claimed to improve our body's metabolism and immune system. Kelp can also help with obesity linked to thyroid deficiency because it boosts levels of endocrine hormones, increasing metabolic rate, thus helping with weight loss. Kelp is also said to help with skin conditions such as psoriasis and eczema thanks to its anti-fungal properties. Blue-green algae for brain function and preventing hair loss

Although most algae are found in the ocean, edible algae actually grows in lakes. Scientific studies show that this plant vegetable is good for brain function. Researchers have shown how academic results improved when school children took algae daily. Other evidence published in the Journal of Orthomolecular Medical Society, shows that algae can reverse - or even prevent Alzheimer's from developing into the full blown disease. According to Dr McKeith, the body finds algae particularly easy to absorb - thanks to its simple molecular structure. Unlike other foods such as beef, of which where we absorb just 20 per cent, the human body can absorb 90 per cent of algae making it a nutritious source of food.

Algae is also a richer source of beta carotene, vitamin B12 and chlorophyll than any other plant. It is also an excellent source of B vitamins - essential for the production of red blood cells and creating energy. In addition algae is rich in iodine, a mineral that's crucial for hair growth. According to John Mason, president of The Institute of Trichologists in London, one of the main reasons for hair thinning in women is due to the sluggish working of the thyroid gland, which needs iodine to function correctlyRead more www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-102694/The-health-bene...

 

The grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus), also known as the Congo grey parrot, Congo African grey parrot or African grey parrot, is an Old World parrot in the family Psittacidae. The Timneh parrot (Psittacus timneh) once was identified as a subspecies of the grey parrot, but has since been elevated to a full species.

 

Taxonomy

The grey parrot was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. He placed it with all the other parrots in the genus Psittacus and coined the binomial name Psittacus erithacus. Linnaeus erroneously specified the type locality as "Guinea": the locality was later designated as Ghana in West Africa. The genus name is Latin for "parrot". The specific epithet erithacus is Latin and is derived from the Ancient Greek εριθακος (erithakos) for an unknown bird that was said to mimic human sounds, perhaps the black redstart. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.

 

The Timneh parrot was formerly treated as a subspecies of the grey parrot but is now considered to be a separate species based mainly on the results from a genetic and morphological study published in 2007. Although Linnaeus placed all the parrots known to him in the genus Psittacus, only the grey parrot and the Timneh parrot are now assigned to this genus.

 

Description

The grey parrot is a medium-sized, predominantly grey, black-billed parrot. Its typical weight is 400 g (14 oz), with an approximate length of 33 cm (13 in), and a wingspan of 46–52 cm (18–20+1⁄2 in). The grey colour on the head and wings is generally darker than its body. The head and body feathers have slight white edges. The tail feathers are red.

 

Due to selection by parrot breeders, some grey parrots are partly or completely red. Both sexes appear similar. The colouration of juveniles is similar to that of adults, but typically their eyes are dark grey to black, in comparison to the yellow irises around dark pupils of the adult birds, and their undertail coverts are tinged with grey. Adults weigh 418–526 g (14+3⁄4–18+1⁄2 oz).

 

Grey parrots may live for 40–60 years in captivity, although their mean lifespan in the wild appears to be shorter—approximately 23 years. They start breeding at an age of 3–5 years and lay 3-5 eggs per brood.

 

Distribution and habitat

The grey parrot is native to equatorial Africa, including Angola, Cameroon, the Congo, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda. The species is found inside a range from Kenya to the eastern part of the Ivory Coast. Current estimates for the global population are uncertain and range from 630,000 to 13 million birds. Populations are decreasing worldwide. The species seems to favor dense forests, but can also be found at forest edges and in more open vegetation types, such as gallery and savanna forests.

 

A population study published in 2015 found that the species had been "virtually eliminated" from Ghana with numbers declining 90 to 99% since 1992. They were found in only 10 of 42 forested areas, and three roosts that once held 700–1200 birds each, now had only 18 in total. Local people mainly blamed the pet trade and the felling of timber for the decline. Populations are thought to be stable in Cameroon. In the Congo, an estimated 15,000 are taken every year for the pet trade, from the eastern part of the country, although the annual quota is stated to be 5,000.

 

Grey parrots have escaped or been deliberately released into Florida, U.S., but no evidence indicates that the population is breeding naturally.

 

Behaviour and ecology in the wild

Little is known about the behaviour and activities of these birds in the wild. In addition to a lack of research funding, it can be particularly difficult to study these birds in wild situations due to their status as prey animals, which leads them to have rather secretive personalities. It has been shown that wild greys may also imitate a wide variety of sounds they hear, much like their captive relatives. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, two greys sound-recorded while roosting reportedly had a repertoire of over 200 different calls, including nine imitations of other wild bird songs and one of a bat.

 

Feeding

Grey parrots are mainly frugivorous, with most of their diet consisting of fruit, nuts, and seeds, including oil palm fruit. They sometimes also eat flowers and tree bark, as well as insects and snails. In the wild, the grey parrot is partly a ground feeder.

 

Breeding

Grey parrots are monogamous breeders who nest in tree cavities. Each mated pair of parrots needs their own tree for their nest. The hen lays three to five eggs, which she incubates for 30 days while being fed by her mate. The adults defend their nesting sites.

 

Grey parrot chicks require feeding and care from their parents in the nest. The parents take care of them until 4–5 weeks after they are fledged. Young leave the nest at the age of 12 weeks. Little is known about the courtship behaviour of this species in the wild.[9] They weigh 12–14 g (7⁄16–1⁄2 oz) at hatching and 372–526 g (13+1⁄8–18+1⁄2 oz) when they leave their parents.

 

Conservation

Natural predators for this species include palm-nut vultures and several raptors. Monkeys target eggs and the young for food.

 

Humans are by far the largest threat to wild grey populations. Between 1994 and 2003, more than 359,000 grey parrots were traded on the international market. Approximately 21% of the wild population was being harvested every year. Mortality rates are extremely high between the time they are captured and they reach the market, ranging from 60 to 66%. This species also is hunted for its meat and for its body parts, which are used in traditional medicines. As a result of the extensive harvest of wild birds, in addition to habitat loss, this species is believed to be undergoing a rapid decline in the wild and therefore, has been rated as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

 

In October 2016, the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Fauna and Flora (CITES) extended the highest level of protection to grey parrots by listing the species under Appendix 1, which regulates international trade in the species.

 

In 2021, the Kenyan government held a short amnesty, during which grey parrot owners could pay a fee to obtain a permit for their birds and facilitate legal ownership. Following the expiry of this time period, it is now illegal to own this species without a permit.

 

In captivity

The species is common in captivity and regularly kept by humans as a companion parrot, prized for its ability to mimic human speech, which makes it one of the most popular avian pets. An escaped pet in Japan was returned to his owner after repeating the owner's name and address.

 

Grey parrots are notorious for mimicking noises heard in their environment and using them tirelessly. They are highly intelligent birds, needing extensive behavioral and social enrichment as well as extensive attention in captivity or else they may become distressed. Feather plucking is a common symptom seen among such distressed grey parrots, affecting up to 40% of captive individuals. They may also be prone to behavioural problems due to their sensitive nature. Social isolation hastens stress and aging.

 

The grey parrot is a highly social species which relies on a flock-type structure, even when raised in captivity. Because they are so dependent on the other birds within their flock, much of their speech and vocal ability is acquired through interaction with the humans with whom they reside. Both wild and captive parrots have been shown to use contact calls, which allow them to interact with their flock mates and communicate information about their location, detection of predators, availability of food, and safety status. In addition, contact calls are used to form strong social bonds with their flock mates, or in the case of captive greys, with their human housemates. In captivity, they have been shown to display communicative competence, meaning they not only use human language correctly, but also in such a way that is appropriate for the social situation which they are in.

 

Diet

In captivity, they may be fed bird pellets, a variety of fruits such as pear, orange, pomegranate, apple, and banana, and vegetables such as carrot, cooked sweet potato, celery, fresh kale, peas, and green beans. They also need a source of calcium.

 

Disease

Grey parrots in captivity have been observed to be susceptible to fungal infections, bacterial infections, nutritional insufficiency, malignant tumors, psittacine beak and feather disease, tapeworms, and blood-worms. Young grey parrots are more commonly infected by psittacine beak and feather disease than adults. Infected birds show symptoms such as loss of appetite, fluffy feathers, sluggishness, and reduced walking abilities due to brittle bones.

 

Grey parrots are more likely to have rhinitis,[clarification needed] an inflammatory and infectious disease of the nasal cavity. Birds may exhibit signs like wheezing, sneezing, nasal snuffling, and swelling or occlusion of the nares. Treatment options include gentle debridement and nasal irrigation.

 

Intelligence and cognition

Grey parrots are highly intelligent and are considered by many to be one of the most intelligent species of psittacines. Many individuals have been shown to perform at the cognitive level of a four- to six-year-old human child in some tasks. Several studies have been conducted, indicating a suite of higher-level cognitive abilities. Experiments have shown that grey parrots can learn number sequences and can learn to associate human voices with the faces of the humans who create them. It has been reported that grey parrots are capable of using existing known English words to create new labels for objects when the bird does not know the name of the object. For example "banerry" ("banana" + "cherry") for "apple", "banana crackers" for "dried banana chips" or "yummy bread" for "cake".

 

The American scientist Irene Pepperberg's research with Alex the parrot showed his ability to learn more than 100 words, differentiating between objects, colours, materials and shapes. Pepperberg spent several decades working with Alex, and wrote numerous scientific papers on experiments performed, indicating his advanced cognitive abilities. One such study found that Alex had the ability to add numbers as well as having a zero-like concept, similar to that of young children and apes.

 

In addition to their striking cognitive abilities, grey parrots have displayed altruistic behavior and concern for others. Researchers found that while blue-headed macaws were unlikely to share a nut with other members of their own species, grey parrots would actively give their conspecific partner a nut, even if it meant that they would not be able to get one themselves. When the roles were reversed, their partners were overwhelmingly likely to return the favor, foregoing their own nut to their partner's benefits. This indicates not only a display of selflessness but also an act of reciprocity.

 

A 2012 study demonstrated that captive grey parrots have individual musical preferences. When presented with the opportunity to choose between two different pieces of music via a touch screen monitor located in their cage, the two birds in the test consistently chose different songs, to which they then danced and sang along. Some pet grey parrots have also been observed using the music feature of smart speakers (such as Alexa or Amazon Echo) to verbally request playback of specific favored songs.

 

Some research has shown that foot preference can be linked to the number of words a particular parrot may know and use. Researchers found that grey parrots who prefer to use their right foot showed a marked increase in the number of words within their lexicon as compared to parrots who were left-footed. Scientists postulate that parrots may have lateralization of brain function, much like mammals do.

 

In two murder trials, one in 1993 and another in 2017, there was consideration to use the deceased victim's pet grey parrot's "testimony" as evidence due to the pet parrot's witnessing and repeating the victim's last words. In the 1993 murder trial of Gary Joseph Rasp, the defendant was accused of murdering Jane Gill. Public defender Charles Ogulnik wanted to use Jane's pet grey parrot Max as evidence to prove Gary's innocence due to Max repeating Jane's last words "Richard, no, no, no!". In the 2017 murder trial of Glenna Duram, the defendant is accused of murdering her husband Martin Duram. The prosecutor was exploring the possibility of using the couple's pet parrot Bud as evidence when Bud kept repeating Martin's last words "Don't fucking shoot."

 

Mutations

Grey mutations occur naturally in the wild, such as the Blue Ino (albino), the Incomplete Ino, and the Blue varietals. The Blue Ino is all white. The Incomplete Ino has light pigmentation. The Blue has a white tail.

 

Breeders from South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Scandinavia have bred greys intensively since the 1800s. These bred varieties include the Red Pied, F2 Pied, Grizzles, Ino, Incomplete, Parino, Lutino, Cinnamon, and Red Factor. South African bird breeder Von van Antwerpen and New Zealand partner Jaco Bosman selected F2 Pieds and created the first Red Factor Greys. They are rare, may be predominantly red-pigmented, and vary in price depending upon the extent of the red plumage displayed.

 

History

The domestication of grey parrots has a history dating to 2000 B.C., depicting native birds in Egyptian hieroglyphics as pets. They were used for values by the Greeks and the Romans who kept them in birdcages. The grey parrots, due to recent years of illegal trading, have been classified as Endangered in 2016 by the IUCN Red List.

All aging humans will develop some degree of decline in cognitive capacity, usually including the following symptoms:

 

forgetfulness,

decreased ability to maintain focus,

decreased problem solving capacity,

 

If left unchecked, symptoms oftentimes progress into more serious conditions, such as dementia and depression, or even Alzheimer’s disease.

 

Fortunately, proactive lifestyle changes, cognitive training, and nutritional interventions such as phosphatidylserine and glyceryl phosphoryl choline have been shown to decrease the rate of intellectual decay and potentially reverse age-related cognitive decline.

  

(Getting old is a ... ... ... damn I can't remember).

 

www.lifeextension.com/Protocols/Neurological/Age-Related-...

Good nutrition for the brain calls is a diet low in saturated fats and sugars, and high in foods rich in vitamin B. The brain also needs unsaturated fats (particularly omega-3 fatty acids), fruits and vegetables. Vitamins C and E, as well as beta-carotene, to protect brain cells. The brain relies on glucose for energy, so an adequate intake of carbohydrates is essential for optimal brain function.

 

Walnuts aid the brain because of their high concentration of omega-3 fats. The brain's structure is made up of 60 percent fat and for brain cells to function properly, a diet rich in omega-3 fats, including walnuts, flaxseeds, canola oil, flaxseeds, and cold-water fish, is important. According to a 2004 article published by the Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging, fats (especially omega-3 fatty acids), were the first of the dietary factors (nutrients) to show an effect on the brain's structure and function. They also contribute to intellectual performance. Yellowfin tuna is a smart choice because it is rich in both the omega-3 fatty acids and the B vitamin niacin, offering double protection against age-related cognitive decline. Source: LiveStrong.

  

Original photo from Kozzi.

Recreational use is LEGAL in NYS.

 

Marijuana can have many negative effects on your body, including:

Impaired judgment, coordination, and attention

Marijuana can make it difficult to drive or operate machinery.

 

Marijuana can cause an increased heart rate that can last for hours after use.

 

Marijuana can increase the risk of depression, psychosis, and other mental health problems.

 

Smoking marijuana can damage the lungs, increase the risk of respiratory infections, and worsen existing respiratory conditions.

 

Marijuana can cause high blood pressure and other harmful cardiovascular effects.

 

Marijuana can depress the central nervous system, which can have additive effects when combined with other drugs.

Immune system suppression

 

Smoking marijuana can suppress the immune system, which can increase the risk of infections.

 

Marijuana can directly affect brain function, including memory, learning, attention, and decision-making.

 

Other effects of marijuana include:

Nausea and vomiting

Disorientation

Hallucinations

Increased appetite

Dry mouth

Dizziness

Upset stomach

Sleepiness

 

yet, many find MJ helps them sleep, lessens anxiety, helps with pain caused by chronic conditions.

 

Anyway the unique smell of MJ will surround you in many places in Manhattan, that it is difficult to avoid second hand smoke.

 

The problem too is MJ can be laced with

 

Lead or other heavy metals.

Glass.

Fungus and bacteria.

PCP.

Heroin.

Embalming fluid.

Laundry detergent.

LSD.

 

The research goes on.

 

Union Square

ManHatTan

 

Photography’s new conscience

linktr.ee/GlennLosack

glosack.wixsite.com/tbws

 

Have you ever felt like your heart was on fire? Maybe you fell in love, gazed into the eyes of your new baby, or caught the fire of the love of the divine.

 

You would definitely recognize that heart-on-fire feeling if you’ve ever had it before. It’s hard to describe, but it kind of feels like your heart warms your entire body and soul with the heat of an internal flame. Do you know what it’s like to sit in front of a blazing hearth on a cold night? Well, that’s what pure love feels like inside.

 

It’s easy for most of us to understand how we can love another human being—but not always as easy to figure out how to love the unknowable essence of the Creator. The Baha’i teachings say that one of the requirements of being a Baha’i, though, is “becoming enkindled with the fire of the love of God …” – Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 336.

 

What does that mean?

 

The symbol of fire has always stood for life, love and health, for energy, transformation and regeneration, for light and warmth. When we feel passion for something or someone, we feel the fiery heat of an enkindled inner flame. We burn with it, that fire of inner feeling, and it sustains us.

 

To understand it, to comprehend its mystical meanings, I suspect, we need to turn to poetry, to the mystical and to the revelatory:

 

Set your life on fire. Seek those who fan your flames. – Rumi

 

… heaven set the fire that burns in our spirits. – Gibran

 

Cause our souls to be enkindled with the fire of Thy tender affection and give us to drink of the living waters of Thy bounty. – The Bab, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 199.

 

The Word of God hath set the heart of the world afire; how regrettable if ye fail to be enkindled with its flame! – Baha’u’llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah, p. 316.

 

You’ve probably recognized that inner fire in others. Those who have it burn with passion and enthusiasm for life. They have a contagious ardor for what they do; they live and love with great eagerness. Their excitement, because it generates so much heat, can catch everyone around them on fire, too:

 

All creatures that exist are dependent upon the Divine Bounty. Divine Mercy gives life itself. As the light of the sun shines on the whole world, so the Mercy of the infinite God is shed on all creatures. As the sun ripens the fruits of the earth, and gives life and warmth to all living beings, so shines the Sun of Truth on all souls, filling them with the fire of Divine love and understanding. – Abdu’l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 26.

 

Everyone can access that “fire of divine love and understanding.” It’s simple—just turn your face toward the sun. When you do, it will gradually warm you with its rays:

 

Likewise, in the spiritual realm of intelligence and idealism there must be a center of illumination, and that center is the everlasting, ever-shining Sun, the Word of God. Its lights are the lights of reality which have shone upon humanity, illumining the realm of thought and morals, conferring the bounties of the divine world upon man. These lights are the cause of the education of souls and the source of the enlightenment of hearts, sending forth in effulgent radiance the message of the glad tidings of the Kingdom of God. In brief, the moral and ethical world and the world of spiritual regeneration are dependent for their progressive being upon that heavenly Center of illumination. It gives forth the light of religion and bestows the life of the spirit, imbues humanity with archetypal virtues and confers eternal splendors. This Sun of Reality, this Center of effulgences, is the Prophet or Manifestation of God. Just as the phenomenal sun shines upon the material world producing life and growth, likewise, the spiritual or prophetic Sun confers illumination upon the human world of thought and intelligence, and unless it rose upon the horizon of human existence, the kingdom of man would become dark and extinguished. – Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 94.

 

We all owe our lives to that ever-burning fire we call the sun. Without it, nothing could survive. In the same way, we owe our inner lives, the realities of our souls and their attributes and perfections, to that heavenly center of illumination we call God:

 

Every man trained through the teachings of God and illumined by the light of His guidance, who becomes a believer in God and His signs and is enkindled with the fire of the love of God, sacrifices the imperfections of nature for the sake of divine perfections. – Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 452.

 

When you start that fire burning in your heart, when you enkindle your soul with the fire of the love of God, you’re on your way to achieving the greatest possible attainment in the world of humanity.

 

bahaiteachings.org/feeling-get-hearts-fire

 

Heart intelligence is the flow of awareness, understanding and intuition we experience when the mind and emotions are brought into coherent alignment with the heart. It can be activated through self-initiated practice, and the more we pay attention when we sense the heart is speaking to us or guiding us, the greater our ability to access this intelligence and guidance more frequently. Heart intelligence underlies cellular organization and guides and evolves organisms toward increased order, awareness and coherence of their bodies’ systems.

 

Throughout much of recorded history, human beings have understood that intelligence, the ability to learn, understand, reason and apply knowledge to shape their environment, was a function of the brain in the head.

 

There also is ample evidence in the writings and oral traditions societies passed down through the generations that they strongly believed in an intelligent heart.

 

Research into the idea of heart intelligence began accelerating in the second half of the 20th century. During the 1960s and ’70s pioneer physiologists John and Beatrice Lacey conducted research that showed the heart actually communicates with the brain in ways that greatly affect how we perceive and react to the world around us. In 1991, the year the HeartMath Institute was established, pioneer neurocardiologist Dr. J. Andrew Armour introduced the term “heart brain.” He said the heart possessed a complex and intrinsic nervous system that is a brain.

 

Today, more than a half century after the Laceys began their research, we know a great deal more about the heart:

 

The heart sends us emotional and intuitive signals to help govern our lives.

The heart directs and aligns many systems in the body so that they can function in harmony with one another.

The heart is in constant communication with the brain. The heart’s intrinsic brain and nervous system relay information back to the brain in the cranium, creating a two-way communication system between heart and brain.

The heart makes many of its own decisions.

The heart starts beating in the unborn fetus before the brain has been formed, a process scientists call autorhythmic.

Humans form an emotional brain long before a rational one, and a beating heart before either.

The heart has its own independent complex nervous system known as “the brain in the heart.”

Although scientists say it is clear there is still much to learn, future generations may well look back and cite another important discovery as one of the most pivotal of the 20th century. The HeartMath Solution, the book that details the program used by hundreds of thousands of people to access and utilize heart intelligence to improve their lives, discusses this discovery.

 

“Researchers began showing in the 1980s and ’90s that success in life depended more on an individual’s ability to effectively manage emotions than on the intellectual ability of the brain in the head,” says The HeartMath Solution, by HeartMath founder Doc Childre and his associate and longtime HeartMath spokesman Howard Martin.

 

This discovery naturally resulted in people wanting to know how to infuse emotions with intelligence.

 

Scientists at the nonprofit HeartMath Institute , which had been conducting research into heart intelligence and emotions posed the theory that “heart intelligence actually transfers intelligence to the emotions and instills the power of emotional management,” the book explains. “In other words, heart intelligence is really the source of emotional intelligence.

 

“From our research at the HeartMath Institute, we've concluded that intelligence and intuition are heightened when we learn to listen more deeply to our own heart. It’s through learning how to decipher messages we receive from our heart that we gain the keen perception needed to effectively manage our emotions in the midst of life’s challenges. The more we learn to listen to and follow our heart intelligence, the more educated, balanced and coherent our emotions become. Without the guiding influence of the heart we easily fall prey to reactive emotions such as insecurity, anger, fear and blame as well as other energy-draining reactions and behaviors.”

 

Early HeartMath research found that negative emotions threw the nervous system out of balance and when that happened heart rhythms became disordered and appeared jagged on a heart monitor. This placed stress on the physical heart and other organs and threatened serious health problems.

 

“Positive emotions, by contrast, were found to increase order and balance in the nervous system and produce smooth, harmonious heart rhythms,” Childre and Martin wrote. “But these harmonious and coherent rhythms did more than reduce stress: They actually enhanced people’s ability to clearly perceive the world around them.”

 

The heart has been considered the source of emotion, courage and wisdom for centuries. For more than 27 years, the HeartMath Institute Research Center has explored the physiological mechanisms by which the heart and brain communicate and how the activity of the heart influences our perceptions, emotions, intuition and health. Early on in our research we asked, among other questions, why people experience the feeling or sensation of love and other regenerative emotions as well as heartache in the physical area of the heart. In the early 1990s, we were among the first to conduct research that not only looked at how stressful emotions affect the activity in the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and the hormonal and immune systems, but also at the effects of emotions such as appreciation, compassion and care. Over the years, we have conducted many studies that have utilized many different physiological measures such as EEG (brain waves), SCL (skin conductance), ECG (heart), BP (blood pressure) and hormone levels, etc. Consistently, however, it was heart rate variability, or heart rhythms that stood out as the most dynamic and reflective indicator of one’s emotional states and, therefore, current stress and cognitive processes. It became clear that stressful or depleting emotions such as frustration and overwhelm lead to increased disorder in the higher-level brain centers and autonomic nervous system and which are reflected in the heart rhythms and adversely affects the functioning of virtually all bodily systems. This eventually led to a much deeper understanding of the neural and other communication pathways between the heart and brain. We also observed that the heart acted as though it had a mind of its own and could significantly influence the way we perceive and respond in our daily interactions. In essence, it appeared that the heart could affect our awareness, perceptions and intelligence. Numerous studies have since shown that heart coherence is an optimal physiological state associated with increased cognitive function, self-regulatory capacity, emotional stability and resilience.

 

We now have a much deeper scientific understanding of many of our original questions that explains how and why heart activity affects mental clarity, creativity, emotional balance, intuition and personal effectiveness. Our and others’ research indicates the heart is far more than a simple pump. The heart is, in fact, a highly complex information-processing center with its own functional brain, commonly called the heart brain, that communicates with and influences the cranial brain via the nervous system, hormonal system and other pathways. These influences affect brain function and most of the body’s major organs and play an important role in mental and emotional experience and the quality of our lives.

 

In recent years, we have conducted a number of research studies that have explored topics such as the electrophysiology of intuition and the degree to which the heart’s magnetic field, which radiates outside the body, carries information that affects other people and even our pets, and links people together in surprising ways. We also launched the Global Coherence Initiative (GCI), which explores the interconnectivity of humanity with Earth’s magnetic fields.

 

This overview discusses the main findings of our research and the fascinating and important role the heart plays in our personal coherence and the positive changes that occur in health, mental functions, perception, happiness and energy levels as people practice the HeartMath techniques. Practicing the techniques increases heart coherence and one’s ability to self-regulate emotions from a more intuitive, intelligent and balanced inner reference. This also explains how coherence is reflected in our physiology and can be objectively measured.

 

The discussion then expands from physiological coherence to coherence in the context of families, workplaces and communities. Science of the Heart concludes with the perspective that being responsible for and increasing our personal coherence not only improves personal health and happiness, but also feeds into and influences a global field environment. It is postulated that as increasing numbers of people add coherent energy to the global field, it helps strengthen and stabilize mutually beneficial feedback loops between human beings and Earth’s magnetic fields.

 

www.heartmath.org/research/science-of-the-heart/

 

Note what he wrote concerning the machaira sword in Ephesians 6:17, “And take up…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

 

The sword (machaira) that Paul referenced was approximately nineteen inches long and both sides of the blade were razor sharp. This sword was used for cutting and slicing flesh. The tip of the sword was turned upward so that it could rip out the entrails of the enemy. It was extremely lethal. Paul said that we could stand firm against the schemes of the enemy by taking up, among other things, a spiritual sword—the sword of the Spirit. Paul said that the sword of the Spirit is the Word of God. This is the rhema word, which is an inspired utterance from the Lord. It can be defined as a spoken word by a living voice or a divine word spoken through the Holy Spirit.

 

A rhema word is a clearly spoken word in undeniable, unmistakable, and unquestionable language that we hear and understand. Renner wrote, “In the New Testament, the word rhema carries the idea of a quickened word, such as a word of scripture or a ‘word from the Lord’ that the Holy Spirit supernaturally drops into a believer’s mind, thus causing it to supernaturally come alive and impart special power or direction to that believer.” Throughout history, there have been men and women who have made critical decisions or life-changing moves simply because they heard a word from the Lord. God spoke an undeniable, unmistakable, unquestionable word to them and they obeyed it. As a result, through God’s people who were obedient to the spoken Word of God, extraordinary accomplishments have occurred. The sword of the Lord was picked-up by those believers and used to stand firm against the enemy by cutting down the work of darkness.

 

Much of Paul’s ministry was influenced by rhema words being spoken to him. For example: God spoke to Paul at the time of his conversion (Acts 9:4-6), God spoke to Ananias concerning Paul’s life and need of a healing (Acts 9:10-16), the Holy Spirit spoke at the time of Paul’s “commissioning” into public ministry (Acts 13:2), the Holy Spirit warned Paul where he was not to preach (Acts 16:6), God spoke to Paul in preparation for a period of persecution that he would experience in Jerusalem (Acts 21:11), and the Holy Spirit spoke concerning Paul’s ministry in the city of Rome (Acts 23:11).

 

We can conclude that Paul used the sword of the Spirit to advance the kingdom of God. He heard the rhema Word of God and by obeying it, the gospel of Christ was advance against the perils and wiles of the devil. The Holy Spirit desires to speak a rhema word to you, too. He wants to speak to you in undeniable, unmistakable, and unquestionable language that you hear and understand. Have you heard a word from the Lord recently? The challenge becomes living in such a way that we’re able to hear the subtle voice of the Holy Spirit. The Bible says today if we hear His voice we’re not to harden our hearts (Heb. 4:7). I believe the issue is not if God is speaking, but if we’re listening. Recently, I wrote that one of the most significant things that we can do to stand firm against the schemes of the enemy is to “listen” to the voice of the Holy Spirit. Life is in His voice; we don’t live by bread alone, but by every word (rhema) that proceeds out of God’s mouth (Matt. 4:4). If we live by His words, then, could we spiritually die by the absence of hearing them?

 

We must arrange our lives in a posture of intimacy to hear what Jesus is saying to us. Choose to live a “Mary lifestyle” at the feet of Jesus. This is a challenge, no doubt, because we live in a “Martha world” that is worried, bothered and distracted about so many things (see Luke 10:38-42). Intimacy with Jesus is fundamental to hearing, and it’s how we’re equipped to use the sword of the Spirit against the schemes of the enemy. Additionally, some of the greatest spoken words that you will hear occur when you read the written words of God. The Bible says, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Become a student of the Bible so that you can be adequately equipped for every work that the Lord calls you to do. Read, soak, immerse, listen, study, and memorize the written Word of God, and watch how frequently He will speak a living word into your heart.

 

Stand firm, my friends, and use the sword of the Spirit against the schemes of the enemy so that you can advance the kingdom of God.

 

www.fireschoolministries.com/blog/the-sword-of-the-spirit

Janaury 27, 2014

 

"Art has to move you and design does not, unless it's a good design for a bus." - David Hockney

 

-----

 

Today was one of those Monday's where everyone in the office, myself included, seemed to be a bad mood. I guess everyone woke up on the wrong side of the bed and it made for a very long day.

 

Oh well; one day done and four more to go. I still haven't heard back from the people regarding my French training which is supposed to start tomorrow. I asked for morning classes and they've once again scheduled me for afternoon's so I'm debating not even bothering this time around. I hate afternoon classes, my brain functions better in the morning and has this annoying habit of shutting down by 1:30, so really the afternoon classes are a waste for me.

 

Hope everyone has had a good day.

 

SOOC

 

+1 in the comments.

 

Click "L" for a larger view.

 

Do you travel often? Or would you like to travel without taking any means of transport? Then, you have to learn a rare psychokinesis or psychic ability called “Levitation”. Levitation is the psychic ability of the mind to rise from the ground and float on air. The word “levitation” is derived from a latin word “levitas”, which means “lightness”. Levitation, like any other psychic ability, requires a strong will power and focus to achieve it. Whenever we hear about performing levitation, we remember those famous magicians on TV shows who levitate very easily. There are many people and magicians who claim to levitate, but what they do are just tricks. They create an illusion in the eyes of the public and makes them to believe that it is a true levitation. But in fact, these are fake. But, there is no need to worry for you, because levitation do exist in real. Since it can be performed by very rare psychic people in real, people are not aware of its existence. Like any other psychic ability, this too has no scientific explanation and thus doubting the existence of this phenomenon. There are many monks, yogis of India, and many psychics all over the world are able to do it but there is no scientific evidence for these. Many records of course, which are unscientific and unofficial, states that levitation is rare and spontaneous activity, although some can levitate at will. Even in our history, there are some famous people who were able to levitate. Some of them are Daniel Douglas Homes, Buddha, and even Jesus. To train in levitation, you have to clear your mind and connect more spiritually. A normal meditation may take a lot of time to achieve levitation, but Transcendental meditation is more beneficial. Anyhow, one has to start with a normal breathing practice and then move on to advanced levels of meditation. Performing levitation is not a quick process, but it may take years. Mastering the art of levitation requires discipline, patience, will power and concentration. n order to practice levitation, one must follow some routine things in his or her life.

 

Things to remember to learn Levitation:

 

1. Clear your Mind : The first step is to clear your mind. You can do either Transcendental meditation or start with any other meditation technique. Transcendental meditation is a simple and effortless technique to calm your mind, increase creativity and enhances your brain functions. You can even do a Psychic meditation which helps in developing your psychic gifts.

2. Exercise : You can do exercise or better do yoga which stretches your body and helps to relax.

 

3. Get proper Diet : Be aware of your foods taken. Proper hygiene food is necessary to purify your body. Psychic gifts are easily flourished in a purified body. Also a proper rest to be given to your body.

 

4. Trust yourself : Always trust in your ability and trust that levitation can be achieved. Never ever allow doubts in your mind.

 

5. Visualize : Visualize on daily basis that energy is flowing through your body and you are becoming lighter and lighter. Stand or sit and use your visualization techniques to see yourself lifting off the ground. Hold the image for a while and let your body to return to the ground gently. Do this everyday.

 

Achieving to levitate is almost like achieving a spiritual enlightenment. So, people who are spiritually involved can easily perform this phenomenon. It is better to make your journey to enlightenment instead of levitation; in this way, it would be easy for you to levitate may be during meditation.

 

www.psychokinesispowers.com/how-to-levitate-real

Surveillance society: freedom going down the toilet.

 

Let’s use aerosolized nano-particulate matter (Where have I heard this before?) to make controllable nano-swarms of nanobots. Once these bio-penetrable microbots enter the body they will be taken into the vascular system where they can create clots (Where have I heard this before?). These nano-parasites will also cross the blood-brain barrier. And just think: these nanites are pretty much impossible to detect.

 

If you are interested in learning about these kinds of technologies, then watch this lecture by Dr. James Giordano:

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxQXMPJcDUs

 

We will also use inhalables, ingestibles, and injectables (I wonder what could be done with this?) to get these nano-smartbots into your bodies. We will use advanced neuropsychopharmacologics along with nano-particles that are designed to pass into the brain. We will use these nanoid robotics with their various sensors and transmitters to remotely monitor the brain in real-time. We will use these neuro-sensory augmentation nano-devices (programmed closed-loop brain devices) for cognitive augmentation. We will employ nanoparticles, nanowires, carbon nanotubes, and interfaces to augment brain functions and brain circuitry. We will use a multimodal artificial sensory-memory system comprised of sensors that will generate biomimetic visual, auditory, tactile inputs, and flexible carbon nanotube synaptic transistors that will possess synapse-like signals for the processing and modifying of behaviours. We will hack the nervous system, brain and mechanical-electrical communication systems. We will use computational brain-machine interfaces—neuro-net systems/hybrid cyborg systems/biological drone systems—for human-computer interaction. With artificial intelligence, cognitive modelling and neural networks, we will merge DNA systems with quantum computing.

 

Take the 666 biochip tattoo with its sensitive, soft, and flexible application. Take the Beast cellchip for its fast and biocompatible operation. This 3D printed cybernetic tattoo brain-computer interface only requires a minimally invasive procedure. An automated machine will quickly stitch it into your hand or forehead, thus grafting it into your skin. This procedure will only take a few minutes. This parasitic micro/nanotechnology will run off the energy of its biological host, using enzyme-based biofuel cells to power it. With this Beast-technology we will modify humanity, connecting it to a collective transhuman hivemind system (666). When you hear the command you must collectively bow down and worship the Beast. Then you, along with all transhumanity, will be one with the Beast.

 

Don’t lose your love for the truth or you will forsake what’s right. Don’t lose your ability to think independently or you will forsake discernment. If you do, you will fall into the trap of a totalitarian system. Then you will be ruled by a tyrant who will impose strict uniformity. In such a system there will be no free-flow of ideas. Instead, you’ll have to follow the collective: be woke and conform! Indeed, a New World Order authoritarian system is in the making. This system will control you via a techno-commerce data system, which will be linked to you in real time. Its motto will be: go woke or go broke! Like the pagan ritual of Burning Man (Wicker Man), we will burn down man; then out of the ashes he will rise up like a transhuman phoenix—born again in the new age—a new global citizen. Burning Man…Building Back Better…666…merging Man and Machine…Transhumanism. Join the Aquarian Decade…the Great Reset…Agenda 2030…the age of new birth! Follow the rising of the false sun: the false christ, the Beast. Walk in the false light. Follow Lucifer the false light-bringer and his false christ.

 

John 3:19-21 “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.”

 

“An attempt at visualizing the Fourth Dimension: Take a point, stretch it into a line, curl it into a circle, twist it into a sphere, and punch through the sphere.”

~Albert Einstein.

[my hero!]

Carl (or Karl) Wernicke 15 May 1848 – 15 June 1905) was a German physician, anatomist, psychiatrist and neuropathologist. He is known for his influential research into the pathological effects of specific forms of encephalopathy and also the study of receptive aphasia, both of which are commonly associated with Wernicke's name and referred to as Wernicke encephalopathy and Wernicke's aphasia, respectively. His research, along with that of Paul Broca, led to groundbreaking realizations of the localization of brain function, specifically in speech. As such, Wernicke's area (a.k.a. Wernicke's Speech Area) has been named after the scientist.

Which will come first? Green vs. Grey, as they say.

 

Thanks to Ariel Poler for hosting a SF Salon on the subject with Erik Torenberg of Village Global and Silicon Foundry.

 

I think we will build a superhuman AGI before we understand our own brain well enough to radically improve it or upload it to a silicon substrate. The complex creations of iterative algorithms (like evolution and deep learning) are inherently inscrutable. It is easier to push evolution forward than to reverse engineer the products of evolution.

 

We are in the middle of a sea change in how the vanguard of engineering will be done. Building complex systems that exceed human understanding is more like parenting than programming. The locus of learning shifts from end products to the process of their creation. An ever-growing percentage of software will be grown and an ever-growing percentage of compute will run on infrastructure that resembles the brain (massively parallel, fine grained architectures with in-memory compute and a growing focus on the memory and interconnect elements). This is the path to AGI, IMHO.

 

I’ve been working with a neural plasticity company for 14 years now (Posit Science). One of my concerns with uploading is the extreme plasticity of the sensory cortex and the recruitment of neighboring regions in the face of external changes (like phantom limb pain in amputees). Cut and paste of brain state to a foreign substrate may require a deep understanding of the analog domain, where structural topology and functional spike train variation is immense (there are over 300 types of neurons in neocortex that are structurally and electrically different. And each neuron has ~200 ion channels from a pool of 20-40 variations). Furthermore, our mostly 2D silicon substrates lack the interconnect density for a direct map of the synaptic fan-out of the brain. Without a deep understanding of what elements can be ignored or abstracted, a simulation of brain function explodes in combinatorial complexity.

 

Going back a decade, in talks about AI futures, I was fond of advising to “augment early and often.” I worry that people want to believe in extreme augmentation and uploading, not because it is likely, but because it offers a mental model for “humanity” maintaining the mantle of supremacy, perpetually perched at the pinnacle of evolution. The idea that evolution will eventually progress way beyond us is hard to internalize. We seek transcendence, as the antidote for obsolescence.

 

I’ll be brainstorming more about storming the brain this evening at a follow up salon.

 

My 2006 musings on these topics.

psychological / logical psycho.

 

Psychology "study of the mind" is an academic and applied discipline that involves the scientific study of human mental functions and behaviors. In this field, a professional practitioner or researcher is called a psychologist. Psychologists are classified as social or behavioral scientists. Psychologists attempt to understand the role of mental functions in individual and social behavior, while also exploring underlying physiological and neurological processes.

 

Psychologists study such topics as perception, cognition, attention, emotion, motivation, brain functioning (neuropsychology), personality, behavior, and interpersonal relationships. Some, especially depth psychologists, also consider the unconscious mind.a In addition, or in opposition, to employing empirical and deductive methods, clinical psychologists sometimes rely upon symbolic interpretation and other inductive techniques.

 

Psychological knowledge is applied to various spheres of human activity, including the family, education, and employment, as well as to the treatment of mental health problems.

   

I have been quite wobbly since last Friday.

 

My wonderful friends had a baby boy on 9th October. His entry into this world was dramatic for all of the wrong reasons, and he got deprived of oxygen at some point on the way out.

 

He spent the first few days of his life sedated and on a ventilator, having seizures, with his heart, brain and kidneys not working properly. Gradually his heart started working better, so his meds were reduced, and then his kidneys started working so his catheter was removed... and they reduced his sedation to the point where he woke up and fought the ventilator, so they took that off too.

 

The final hurdle was to get an eeg scan to see what sort of brain function he had. They got the results back yesterday.

 

Their beautiful, wonderful, waited-for boy has cerebral palsy, and will have learning difficulties for the rest of his life.

 

I keep crying for my friends, and I can barely look at my own boy without wanting to squeeze the life out of him by holding him so tightly. So many things about their little boy's arrival rang so true with my own experience of having a baby. Minutes separate their outcome with mine. It all seems so horribly unfair, and so cruel that he had made such fantastic progress only to fall at the final hurdle.

 

While I know that people can live fulfilling lives with CP and learning difficulties, it is quite an adjustment to make, from the rosy, easy, perfect future that everyone plans for their unborn baby. It's been so cruelly snatched away.

 

I'm finding it hard to come to terms with their awful luck. It feels so horribly self-indulgent though- if I am feeling this - what on earth must they be going through?

 

If anyone can spare a thought for little baby Dylan, I know his Mum and Dad would appreciate all the vibes they can get.

 

Little baby Dylan, I still can't wait to meet you. xxx

The Psychology of how color relates to the body and mind outlines that a child's brain is stimulated more by the black and white contrast than that of color.

 

Therefore a brightly colored newborn baby's room may need a 'black and white' infusion integrated in the design!

 

☆ Tomitheos Blog ☆

 

View large on black

  

So is it color psychology or eye spectrum discrimination?

 

Sir Isaac Newton demonstrated that light travels in waves, when he shone white light through a triangular prism and the different wavelengths refracted at different angles, enabling him to see the colors of the rainbow (the spectrum).

 

When light strikes any colored object, the object will absorb only the wavelengths that exactly match its own atomic structure and reflect the rest - which is what we see.

 

When light strikes the human eye, the wavelengths do so in different ways ultimately influencing our perceptions, then in the eye's retina they are converted into electrical impulses that pass to the hypothalamus (the part of the brain governing our hormones and our endocrine system).

 

As we interact in our color speckled modern world, although we are unaware of it, our eyes and our bodies are constantly adapting to these wavelengths of light.

  

flickr today

Superfoods are known for their health benefits due to their phytonutrient content—plant compounds that have health-protecting and enhancing qualities. Superfoods are backed by research for their nutritious value, their ability to fight disease and even reverse the aging process! But remember: It is important to eat a balanced diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats and dairy products. Adding superfoods to your diet is a great idea for those seeking to boost optimum health.

 

Making a super smoothie is FASTER than reading this informative recipe! :)

 

Ingredients:

 

- 1/2 cup Fresh Blueberries:

Not just blueberries, but strawberries and other berries as well, according to one recent study, women aged 25 through 42 who ate more than three servings of blueberries and strawberries a week had a 32% lower risk of heart attack compared with those who ate less. The authors of the study attributed the benefit to compounds known as anthocyanins, flavonoids (which are antioxidants) that may decrease blood pressure and dilate blood vessels. Anthocyanins give plants their red and blue colors.

 

1 TBSP of Flaxseed:

Flax seed is best known for its fatty acids and fiber. When talking about omega fatty acids it is better ask what they can’t do then what they can. This seed plays its part in proper cardiovascular and immune system health, brain function, joint function, soft skin, and more. The fiber in flax is also good for many things, but especially effective with eliminating toxins from your body. Add just one tablespoon of ground flaxseed or try whole seeds to your smoothie for a subtle, nutty flavor with more than subtle nutrition.

 

-A Small Handful of Baby Leaf Spinach

Spinach is filled with antioxidants, including vitamin C and beta-carotene, as well as lutein and zeaxanthin — a duo that acts like sunscreen for your eyes and guards against macular degeneration. One cup of fresh spinach leaves also provides almost double the daily requirement for vitamin K, which plays an important role in cardiovascular and bone health.

 

-1/2 Cup of Greek Yogurt or Kefir

All yogurts are excellent sources of calcium, potassium, protein, zinc, and vitamins B6 and B12. What distinguishes Greek yogurt is its thicker, creamier texture because the liquid whey is strained out. Also, it contains probiotic cultures and is lower in lactose and has twice the protein content of regular yogurts. The calcium keeps bones strong to help ward off stress fractures; the protein means quicker muscle recovery.

 

Kefir is an ancient drink that originated in Russia. Similar in taste to yogurt, kefir is made from fermented milk and is slightly sour. Its popularity has soared in recent years because of growing interest in probiotics, which are known to boost the immune system and support good digestive health. Find it in the refrigerated aisle at your local supermarket or health-food store.

 

-1/2 cup Pomegranate juice

Pomegranate is a popular fruit. Pomegranate juice contains high levels of antioxidants -- greater than most other fruit juices, green tea and red wine. These antioxidants include phytonutrients such as polyphenol, tannins and anthocyanins. Daily consumption of pomegranate juice is more potent in improving antioxidant function than other fruit because of its concentrated amount of phenolic compounds,

 

-A Handful of Ice Cubes

 

Directions:

Toss all the ingredients in your blender until smooth. It will take a few minutes for all of those healthy ingredients to blend smoothly. For a thinner smoothie, add more juice :)

   

Of course a person’s “will” is dependent upon what has already influenced him or her, and “good” is relative. Is it really our “will” to run up huge debt while trying to obtain the elusive happiness we are fed by the mass mediaThe changes in brain chemistry, when the right and left brain functions mix in the pituitary gland, they produce by dynamic association a sinusoidal and closed loop on itself, of this set which functions as a machine without fatigue and looks like an engine without limits of efficiency, it is our second level of reflection - the etheric plane floods with light and releases the karmic as if we open our senses.We are conditioned at an early stage that we are often only accepted if we behave as others expect. Especially in our childhood we often heard that we are especially loved when we behave in an adapted way. Fortunately, this is all long gone and we are grown-up people who are allowed to behave in an unadapted wayNewsflash: You shine most beautifully when you radiate your innermost light outwards. Shine like a Diamond! Therefore, make it clear to you today: You are in the world to be a unique edition of yourself - not a second-rate of someone elseIf the only way to be popular is to disguise yourself and modify or even deny your own identity, then make a point here. Your true friends will love you because of who you are, not what you want to be. Time to make new acquaintancesEvery human being’s Pineal Gland or The third eye can be activated to spiritual world frequencies and enables you to have the sense of all knowing, godlike euphoria and oneness all around you. A pineal gland once tuned into to proper frequencies with help of meditation, yoga or various esoteric, occult methods, enables a person to travel into other dimensions, popularly known as astral travel or astral projection or remote viewing.

With more advance practice and ancient methods it is also possible to control the thoughts and actions of people in the physical world. Yes, it is bizarre, but the United States, former Soviet Union governments and various shadow organization have been doing this type of research for ages and have succeed far beyond our imagination.Pineal Gland is represented in Catholicism in Rome; they depict the pineal as a pine cone in art. The ancient societies like the Egyptians and the Romans knew the benefits and exemplified this in their vast symbologies with a symbol of an eyeIt’s mind-blowing the moment WE live in. Not only are all the world’s indigenous and modern cultures connecting into a global society for the first time in our known history, but WE’re doing it in a reality that is so mysterious that our minds are intertwined at the fundamental level. As duality would have it though; there is madness to this magic. The way the masses view the world is a farce. Every single mainstream perspective is either purposely deceptive, or completely misses the point. Even the people in places of influence who we’re meant to trust have either sold out, or are just plain ignorant to the facts. There’s no need to have a heavy heart though; the matrix of control is crashing because the truth-seekers are dealing heavy blows to the false narratives that have for too long shaped the collective mindset of humanity. Inner light is a world where the people of planet Earth act as the single being that they are, with vision, intent and conscious creativity while simultaneously honoring and nurturing the divine individuality of each member from birth through wholesome education and a holistically-oriented social and economic structure.For some, these descriptions are metaphors, but for less these are real and accurate descriptions of the steps to becoming a man of knowledge and the path with heart. Seeing your auric egg was part and parcel of spiritual awakening and my expanded perceptions of reality helped to understand who we are and how we interact with the immensity of the infinite realityIncidentally, this should not be taken to mean that the withdrawal and passivity required for the birth necessarily has to involve ‘rapture’ or ‘ecstasy’. As Bernard McGinn (2001, p. 59) says ‘the dark way to God is given absolute priority’. It is of the very nature of the Divine Word to be hidden in its revelation and revealed in its hiddeness.

Woke up in the middle of a dream. Hazy day at work, struggling to make my brain function. Back and forth about plaza plans. Walking to dinner, admiring leaf profiles. Brown Sugar Thai alone. Walking home, admiring star patterns.

This weapon used on project MKULTRA, or MK-ULTRA, which was the code name for a covert, illegal CIA human experimentation program, run by the CIA's Office of Scientific Intelligence. This official U.S. government program began in the early 1950s, continued at least through the late 1960s, and used U.S. and Canadian citizens as its test subjects.

 

The published evidence indicates that the MK-Ultranator was used to manipulate individual mental states and alter brain functions. The details are too intense to state here.

Lark: “Lemme guess. You want to hunt Chlo down and flirt with her some more.”

 

Hawk: “Hey, I haven’t been flirting with her. I’ve been enjoying her company. Guys and girls can just be friends, you know.”

 

Lark: “Yeah, but you don’t want to ‘just be friends’ with her. I know you, Hawkie. You like her…a lot.”

 

Hawk (defensively): “So what? She’s a likable girl.”

 

Lark: “No arguments here. I think Chloe’s awesome, but she’s taken. You’ve never poached before, so don’t start now.”

 

Hawk: *starts to glare at Lark, but settles for a sigh instead* “I just like talking to her. I swear the flirting is involuntary. I explained it to Reef, and he’s cool with it.”

 

Lark (skeptically): “Really? I just saw him almost dismember a guy on the beach for commenting on the perkiness of Chlo’s, um…assets, but he’s okay with you openly jonesing for her?”

 

Hawk: *shrugs* “He trusts me.”

 

Lark: *tilts head to the side, clearly puzzled*

 

Hawk: “Don’t strain yourself, dummy. It’s a guy thing. You don’t have the necessary parts to understand our ways.”

 

Lark: “And thank God for that! Like I’d want to walk around with all my higher brain function shoved into my pants…but I guess guys have less brain to start with, so maybe it’s not such a tight squeeze for you.”

 

Hawk: *rolls eyes* “Am I done here or what?”

 

Lark: *grabs Hawk’s hand, quietly* “I’m sorry. I know how much you like her.”

 

Hawk: *looks off into the distance and watches a seagull dive to meet the ocean and rise again to the sky* “C’est la vie. I like her. She likes Reef. It’s a regular rom-com up in here...*face darkens* Have I ever mentioned how much I hate rom-coms? The nice guys always end up alone. *looks down to meet Lark’s sympathetic gaze* Look, it’s no big. She’s known him since she was in diapers. I never stood a chance, and I’m okay with that…”

 

Lark: *doubtful look*

 

Hawk (clarifying): “Okay, I’m working on being okay with that.”

 

Lark: *wraps her arms around Hawk’s arm, pressing her head to his shoulder* “One day you’ll meet a girl who’s yours and yours alone, and no other guy will stand a chance against you.”

 

Hawk: *crooked smile* “Thanks for the pep, brat. Rah-rah. Goooo team!”

 

Seafood is popular despite its cost for several reasons:

 

1. Flavor: Seafood offers a unique and diverse range of flavors that many people find irresistible. From the delicate taste of fish to the rich, briny flavor of shellfish, there's something for every palate.

 

2. Health Benefits: Seafood is packed with essential nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals. It's known for being heart-healthy and beneficial for brain function.

 

3. Culinary Versatility: Seafood can be prepared in countless ways—grilled, steamed, fried, or raw. This versatility makes it a favorite in many cuisines around the world.

 

4. Cultural Significance: In many cultures, seafood is a staple and holds significant cultural and traditional value. It's often associated with special occasions and celebrations.

 

5. Freshness and Quality: High-quality seafood is often associated with freshness and premium dining experiences. People are willing to pay more for the assurance of top-notch ingredients.

 

So, while it might be pricey, the combination of taste, health benefits, and culinary versatility makes seafood a beloved choice for many. 🍣🐟

If you look carefully, you can see a map of Greenland, North America, Central America, South America, and the Gulf of Mexico. That's called pareidolia.

 

Pareidolia is the tendency for perception to impose a meaningful interpretation on a nebulous stimulus, usually visual, so that one detects an object, pattern, or meaning where there is none. Pareidolia is a specific but common type of apophenia (the tendency to perceive meaningful connections between unrelated things or ideas).

 

Common examples include perceived images of animals, faces, or objects in cloud formations; seeing faces in inanimate objects; or lunar pareidolia like the Man in the Moon or the Moon rabbit. The concept of pareidolia may extend to include hidden messages in recorded music played in reverse or at higher- or lower-than-normal speeds, and hearing voices (mainly indistinct) or music in random noise, such as that produced by air conditioners or by fans.[3][4] Face pareidolia has also been demonstrated in rhesus macaques.[5]

Etymology

 

The word derives from the Greek words pará (παρά, "beside, alongside, instead [of]") and the noun eídōlon (εἴδωλον, "image, form, shape").[6]

 

Karl Ludwig Kahlbaum introduced the German term Pareidolie in his 1866 paper "Die Sinnesdelierien"[7] ("On Delusion of the Senses"). When Kahlbaum's paper was reviewed the following year (1867) in The Journal of Mental Science, Volume 13, Pareidolie was translated into English as "pareidolia", and noted to be synonymous with the terms "...changing hallucination, partial hallucination, [and] perception of secondary images."[8]

Link to other conditions

 

Pareidolia correlates with age and is frequent among patients with Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies.[9]

Explanations

 

Pareidolia can cause people to interpret random images, or patterns of light and shadow, as faces.[10] A 2009 magnetoencephalography study found that objects perceived as faces evoke an early (165 ms) activation of the fusiform face area at a time and location similar to that evoked by faces, whereas other common objects do not evoke such activation. This activation is similar to a slightly faster time (130 ms) that is seen for images of real faces. The authors suggest that face perception evoked by face-like objects is a relatively early process, and not a late cognitive reinterpretation phenomenon.[11]

 

A functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study in 2011 similarly showed that repeated presentation of novel visual shapes that were interpreted as meaningful led to decreased fMRI responses for real objects. These results indicate that the interpretation of ambiguous stimuli depends upon processes similar to those elicited by known objects.[12]

 

Pareidolia was found to affect brain function and brain waves. In a 2022 study, EEG records show that responses in the frontal and occipitotemporal cortexes begin prior to when one recognizes faces and later, when they are not recognized.[13] By displaying these proactive brain waves, scientists can then have a basis for data rather than relying on self-reported sightings. [clarification needed]

 

These studies help to explain why people generally identify a few lines and a circle as a "face" so quickly and without hesitation. Cognitive processes are activated by the "face-like" object which alerts the observer to both the emotional state and identity of the subject, even before the conscious mind begins to process or even receive the information. A "stick figure face", despite its simplicity, can convey mood information, and be drawn to indicate emotions such as happiness or anger. This robust and subtle capability is hypothesized to be the result of natural selection favoring people most able to quickly identify the mental state, for example, of threatening people, thus providing the individual an opportunity to flee or attack preemptively.[14] This ability, though highly specialized for the processing and recognition of human emotions, also functions to determine the demeanor of wildlife.[15][self-published source?]

Pareidolia and creative thinking

 

Pareidolia plays a significant role in creative cognition, enabling artists and viewers to perceive novel forms and meanings in ambiguous stimuli.[16] Joanne Lee highlights that this phenomenon has been harnessed in artistic practices for centuries (Da Vinci for example).[17] The phenomenon was particularly important to surrealism, where artists like Salvador Dali, influenced by André Breton, embraced pareidolic ambiguity to challenge rationalist perceptions and provoke new ways of seeing.[18]

Examples

Mimetoliths

A more detailed photograph taken in different lighting in 2001 clarifies the "face" to be a natural rock formation.

 

A mimetolithic pattern is a pattern created on rocks that may come to mimic recognizable forms through the random processes of formation, weathering and erosion. A well-known example is the Face on Mars, a rock formation on Mars that resembled a human face in certain satellite photos. Most mimetoliths are much larger than the subjects they resemble, such as a cliff profile that looks like a human face.

 

Picture jaspers exhibit combinations of patterns, such as banding from flow or depositional patterns (from water or wind), or dendritic or color variations, resulting in what appear to be miniature scenes on a cut section, which is then used for jewelry.

 

Chert nodules, concretions, or pebbles may in certain cases be mistakenly identified as skeletal remains, egg fossils, or other antiquities of organic origin by amateur enthusiasts.

 

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Japanese researcher Chonosuke Okamura self-published a series of reports titled Original Report of the Okamura Fossil Laboratory, in which he described tiny inclusions in polished limestone from the Silurian period (425 mya) as being preserved fossil remains of tiny humans, gorillas, dogs, dragons, dinosaurs and other organisms, all of them only millimeters long, leading him to claim, "There have been no changes in the bodies of mankind since the Silurian period... except for a growth in stature from 3.5 mm to 1,700 mm."[19][20] Okamura's research earned him an Ig Nobel Prize (a parody of the Nobel Prize) in biodiversity in 1996.[21][22]

 

Some sources describe various mimetolithic features on Pluto, including a heart-shaped region.[23][24][25]

Clouds

 

Seeing shapes in cloud patterns is another example of this phenomenon. Rogowitz and Voss (1990) showed a relationship between seeing shapes in cloud patterns and fractal dimension.[clarification needed] They varied the fractal dimension of the boundary contour from 1.2 to 1.8, and found that the lower the fractal dimension, the more likely people were to report seeing nameable shapes of animals, faces, and fantasy creatures.[26] From above, pareidolia may be perceived in satellite imagery of tropical cyclones. Notably hurricanes Matthew and Milton gained much attention for resembling a human face or skull when viewed from the side.[27]

Mars canals

Map of Martian "canals" by Percival Lowell

Main article: Martian canals

 

A notable example of pareidolia occurred in 1877, when observers using telescopes to view the surface of Mars thought that they saw faint straight lines, which were then interpreted by some as canals. It was theorized that the canals were possibly created by sentient beings. This created a sensation. In the next few years better photographic techniques and stronger telescopes were developed and applied, which resulted in new images in which the faint lines disappeared, and the canal theory was debunked as an example of pareidolia.[28][29]

Lunar surface

Pareidolias in the moon

 

Many cultures recognize pareidolic images in the disc of the full moon, including the human face known as the Man in the Moon in many Northern Hemisphere cultures[30][31] and the Moon rabbit in East Asian and indigenous American cultures.[32][33] Other cultures see a walking figure carrying a wide burden on their back,[31] including in Germanic tradition,[34] Haida mythology,[35] and Latvian mythology.[36]

Projective tests

 

The Rorschach inkblot test uses pareidolia in an attempt to gain insight into a person's mental state. The Rorschach is a projective test that elicits thoughts or feelings of respondents that are "projected" onto the ambiguous inkblot images.[37] Rorschach inkblots have low-fractal-dimension boundary contours, which may elicit general shape-naming behaviors, serving as vehicles for projected meanings.[26]

Banknotes

 

Owing to the way designs are engraved and printed, occurrences of pareidolia have occasionally been reported in banknotes.

 

One example is the 1954 Canadian Landscape Canadian dollar banknote series, known among collectors as the "Devil's Head" variety of the initial print runs. The obverse of the notes features what appears to be an exaggerated grinning face, formed from patterns in the hair of Queen Elizabeth II. The phenomenon generated enough attention for revised designs to be issued in 1956, which removed the effect.[38]

Literature

 

Renaissance authors have shown a particular interest in pareidolia. In William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, for example, Prince Hamlet points at the sky and "demonstrates" his supposed madness in this exchange with Polonius:[39][40]

 

HAMLET

Do you see yonder cloud that's almost in the shape of a camel?

POLONIUS

By th'Mass and 'tis, like a camel indeed.

HAMLET

Methinks it is a weasel.

POLONIUS

It is backed like a weasel.

HAMLET

Or a whale.

POLONIUS

Very like a whale.

 

Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote a short story called "The Great Stone Face" in which a face seen in the side of a mountain (based on the real-life The Old Man of the Mountain) is revered by a village.[41]

Art

The Jurist by Giuseppe Arcimboldo, 1566. What appears to be his face is a collection of fish and poultry, while his body is a collection of books dressed in a coat.

Salem by Sydney Curnow Vosper (1908), a painting notorious for the belief that the face of the devil was hidden in the main character's shawl

See also: Hidden face

 

Renaissance artists often used pareidolia in paintings and drawings: Andrea Mantegna, Leonardo da Vinci, Giotto, Hans Holbein, Giuseppe Arcimboldo, and many more have shown images—often human faces—that due to pareidolia appear in objects or clouds.[42]

 

In his notebooks, Leonardo da Vinci wrote of pareidolia as a device for painters, writing:

 

If you look at any walls spotted with various stains or with a mixture of different kinds of stones, if you are about to invent some scene you will be able to see in it a resemblance to various different landscapes adorned with mountains, rivers, rocks, trees, plains, wide valleys, and various groups of hills. You will also be able to see divers combats and figures in quick movement, and strange expressions of faces, and outlandish costumes, and an infinite number of things which you can then reduce into separate and well conceived forms.[43]

 

Salem, a 1908 painting by Sydney Curnow Vosper, gained notoriety due to a rumour that it contained a hidden face, that of the devil. This led many commentators to visualize a demonic face depicted in the shawl of the main figure, despite the artist's denial that any faces had deliberately been painted into the shawl.[44][45]

 

Surrealist artists such as Salvador Dalí would intentionally use pareidolia in their works, often in the form of a hidden face.

Architecture

Illusory woman in the Niğde Alaaddin Mosque portal

 

Two 13th-century edifices in Turkey display architectural use of shadows of stone carvings at the entrance. Outright pictures are avoided in Islam but tessellations and calligraphic pictures were allowed, so designed "accidental" silhouettes of carved stone tessellations became a creative escape.

 

Niğde Alaaddin Mosque in Niğde, Turkey (1223), with its "mukarnas" art where the shadows of three-dimensional ornamentation with stone masonry around the entrance form a chiaroscuro drawing of a woman's face with a crown and long hair appearing at a specific time, at some specific days of the year.[46][47][48]

Divriği Great Mosque and Hospital in Sivas, Turkey (1229), shows shadows of the three-dimensional ornaments of both entrances of the mosque part, to cast a giant shadow of a praying man that changes pose as the sun moves, as if to illustrate what the purpose of the building is. Another detail is the difference in the impressions of the clothing of the two shadow-men indicating two different styles, possibly to tell who is to enter through which door.[49]

 

Religion

Further information: Perceptions of religious imagery in natural phenomena

 

There have been many instances of perceptions of religious imagery and themes, especially the faces of religious figures, in ordinary phenomena. Many involve images of Jesus,[37] the Virgin Mary,[50] the word Allah,[51] or other religious phenomena: in September 2007 in Singapore, for example, a callus on a tree resembled a monkey, leading believers to pay homage to the "Monkey god" (either Sun Wukong or Hanuman) in the monkey tree phenomenon.[52]

 

Publicity surrounding sightings of religious figures and other surprising images in ordinary objects has spawned a market for such items on online auctions like eBay. One famous instance was a grilled cheese sandwich with the face of the Virgin Mary.[53]

 

During the September 11 attacks, television viewers supposedly saw the face of Satan in clouds of smoke billowing out of the World Trade Center after it was struck by the airplane.[54] Another example of face recognition pareidolia originated in the fire at Notre Dame Cathedral, when a few observers claimed to see Jesus in the flames.[55]

 

While attempting to validate the imprint of a crucified man on the Shroud of Turin as Jesus, a variety of objects have been described as being visible on the linen. These objects include a number of plant species, a coin with Roman numerals, and multiple insect species.[56] In an experimental setting using a picture of plain linen cloth, participants who had been told that there could possibly be visible words in the cloth, collectively saw 2 religious words. Those told that the cloth was of some religious importance saw 12 religious words, and those who were also told that it was of religious importance, but also given suggestions of possible religious words, saw 37 religious words.[57] The researchers posit that the reason the Shroud has been said to have so many different symbols and objects is because it was already deemed to have the imprint of Jesus prior to the search for symbols and other imprints in the cloth, and therefore it was simply pareidolia at work.[56]

Computer vision

Further information: Hallucination (artificial intelligence)

Given an image of jellyfish swimming, the DeepDream program can be encouraged to "see" dogs.

 

Pareidolia can occur in computer vision,[58] specifically in image recognition programs, in which vague clues can spuriously detect images or features. In the case of an artificial neural network, higher-level features correspond to more recognizable features, and enhancing these features brings out what the computer sees. These examples of pareidolia reflect the training set of images that the network has "seen" previously.

 

Striking visuals can be produced in this way, notably in the DeepDream software, which falsely detects and then exaggerates features such as eyes and faces in any image. The features can be further exaggerated by creating a feedback loop where the output is used as the input for the network. (The adjacent image was created by iterating the loop 50 times.) Additionally, the output can be modified such as slightly zooming in to create an animation of the images perspective flying through the surrealistic imagery.

Auditory

 

In 1971 Konstantīns Raudive wrote Breakthrough, detailing what he believed was the discovery of electronic voice phenomena (EVP). EVP has been described as auditory pareidolia.[37] Allegations of backmasking in popular music, in which a listener claims a message has been recorded backward onto a track meant to be played forward, have also been described as auditory pareidolia.[37][59] In 1995, the psychologist Diana Deutsch invented an algorithm for producing phantom words and phrases with the sounds coming from two stereo loudspeakers, one to the listener's left and the other to his right, producing a phase offset in time between the speakers. After listening for a while, phantom words and phrases suddenly emerge, and these often appear to reflect what is on the listener's mind.[60][61]

Deliberate practical use

Medical education, radiology images

Cross-section of nematode worm Ascaris

 

Medical educators sometimes teach medical students and resident physicians (doctors in training) to use pareidolia and patternicity to learn to recognize human anatomy on radiology imaging studies.

 

Examples include assessing radiographs (X-ray images) of the human vertebral spine. Patrick Foye, M.D., professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Rutgers University, New Jersey Medical School, has written that pareidolia is used to teach medical trainees to assess for spinal fractures and spinal malignancies (cancers).[62] When viewing spinal radiographs, normal bony anatomic structures resemble the face of an owl. (The spinal pedicles resemble an owl's eyes and the spinous process resembles an owl's beak.) But when cancer erodes the bony spinal pedicle, the radiographic appearance changes such that now that eye of the owl seems missing or closed, which is called the "winking owl sign". Another common pattern is a "Scottie dog sign" on a spinal X-ray.[63]

 

In 2021, Foye again published in the medical literature on this topic, in a medical journal article called "Baby Yoda: Pareidolia and Patternicity in Sacral MRI and CT Scans".[64] Here, he introduced a novel way of visualizing the sacrum when viewing MRI magnetic resonance imaging and CT scans (computed tomography scans). He noted that in certain image slices the human sacral anatomy resembles the face of "Baby Yoda" (also called Grogu), a fictional character from the television show The Mandalorian. Sacral openings for exiting nerves (sacral foramina) resemble Baby Yoda's eyes, while the sacral canal resembles Baby Yoda's mouth.[65]

In popular culture

See also: Among Us § Memes and mods

Many Internet memes about the online game Among Us exploit pareidolia, by showing everyday items (in this case, a trashcan) that look similar to characters from the game.

 

In January 2017, an anonymous user placed an eBay auction of a Cheeto that looked like the gorilla Harambe. Bidding began at US$11.99, but the Cheeto was eventually sold for US$99,000.[66]

 

Starting from 2021, an Internet meme emerged around the online game Among Us, where users presented everyday items such as dogs, statues, garbage cans, big toes, and pictures of the Boomerang Nebula that looked like the game's "crewmate" protagonists.[67][68] In May 2021, an eBay user named Tav listed a Chicken McNugget shaped like a crewmate from Among Us for online auction. The Chicken McNugget was sold for US$99,997 to an anonymous buyer.[69]

Related phenomena

 

A shadow person (also known as a shadow figure, shadow being or black mass) is often attributed to pareidolia. It is the perception of a patch of shadow as a living, humanoid figure, particularly as interpreted by believers in the paranormal or supernatural as the presence of a spirit or other entity.[70]

 

Pareidolia is also what some skeptics believe causes people to believe that they have seen ghosts.[71]

See also

 

Clustering illusion – Erroneously seeing patterns in randomness

Conspiracy theory – Attributing events to improbable causes (another example of apophenia)

Eigenface – Set of eigenvectors used in the computer vision problem of human face recognition

Hitler teapot – Kettle perceived to resemble Adolf Hitler

Madonna of the Toast – 2007 book about pareidolia

Mondegreen – Misinterpretation of a spoken phrase

Musical ear syndrome – similar to auditory pareidolia, but with hearing loss

Optical illusion – Visually perceived images that differ from objective reality

Perceptions of religious imagery in natural phenomena

Signal-to-noise ratio – Ratio of the desired signal to the background noise

 

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Vokey, John R.; Read, J. Don (1985). "Subliminal messages: Between the devil and the media". American Psychologist. 40 (11): 1231–9. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.40.11.1231. PMID 4083611. S2CID 15819412.

Deutsch, D. (1995). "Musical Illusions and Paradoxes". Philomel Records.

Deutsch, D. (2003). "Phantom Words and Other Curiosities". Philomel Records.

Foye, P; Abdelshahed, D; Patel, S (July 2014). "Musculoskeletal pareidolia in medical education". The Clinical Teacher. 11 (4): 251–3. doi:10.1111/tct.12143. PMID 24917091. S2CID 206318208.

Hacking, Craig (28 October 2020). "Scottie dog sign (spine)". radiopedia.com. Retrieved 2 November 2021.

Foye, PM; Koger, TJ; Massey, HR (February 2021). "Baby Yoda: Pareidolia and Patternicity in Sacral MRI and CT Scans". PM&R: The Journal of Injury, Function, and Rehabilitation. 13 (2): 217–218. doi:10.1002/pmrj.12496. PMID 32969166. S2CID 221887340.

Foye, Patrick (20 February 2021). "Baby Yoda: Pareidolia and Patternicity in Sacral MRI and CT Scans | Tailbone Doctor". tailbonedoctor.com. Retrieved 21 February 2021.

"Burbank man sells Harambe-shaped Cheeto for nearly $100K on eBay". ABC7. KABC Television LLC. ABC News. 8 February 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2023.

Kennedy, Victoria Phillips (18 April 2021). "Among Us Everywhere: Things That Look Like Among Us Crewmates". Screen Rant. Retrieved 16 August 2023.

Adams, Robert N. (8 February 2022). "The Coldest Spot in Space Looks Like an Among Us Crewmate". TechRaptor. Retrieved 16 August 2023.

Kooser, Amanda (3 June 2021). "McDonald's chicken nugget shaped like Among Us crewmate fetching $100,000 on eBay". CNET. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on 3 February 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.

Ahlquist, Diane (2007). The Complete Idiot's Guide to Life After Death. US: Penguin Group. p. 122. ISBN 978-1-59257-651-7.

 

Carroll, Robert Todd (June 2001). "pareidolia". skepdic.com. Retrieved 19 September 2007.

 

External links

Look up pareidolia in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Pareidolia

at Wikipedia's sister projects

 

Definitions from Wiktionary

Media from Commons

Data from Wikidata

 

Skepdic.com Skeptic's Dictionary definition of pareidolia

A Japanese museum of rocks which look like faces

Article in The New York Times, 13 February 2007, about cognitive science of face recognition

Article in Scientific American, 25 March 2022, "Does This Look like a Face to You?"

 

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This extended "holiday" has given me a boot in the ass I really wasn't expecting to get right now. I've known for a long time that there was a high chance that my son could end up showing signs of mental illness. It runs on both sides of his family. The signs have been there since he first started talking and whenever he felt really bad about anything he told us he wanted to stab himself with a sword. I don't know what parent's blood wouldn't run cold at hearing their two year old say such a thing, but for a person who went through suicidal periods- hearing him say such things felt like being killed myself.

  

For many years people have advised me not to "project" my own issues onto him. Since I've never told him I ever wanted to kill myself I don't think I was projecting myself onto him much. For years people have said "He's so young, just wait and see." Or they've said "Oh, he's just a normal kid, they all say that kind of stuff." But when I ask directly if their kids have talked like him they have always had to admit that theirs hadn't.

  

With Max's food issues people have consistently insisted that he is just playing us for power and that we're letting him step all over us. We've known differently. People are always trying to make it our own fault or suggest that Max is just being a spoiled kid because poor kids wouldn't ever get to choose what they eat and no kid will choose to starve.

  

But as I have been trying to just watch and listen, wait and see, I have seen him develop more and more into a vibrant version of Philip and I. Most parents would be thrilled because isn't that what so many people want? Little "minnie me's"? Which I think is creepy, but who cares what I think, huh? I never looked for my kid to be exactly like me and I have always been hopeful that in many ways he would not be like me because being me has been a 39 year challenge I wouldn't dream of sticking anyone else with.

  

I honestly don't understand how I managed to talk myself into believing that I could have a baby who wouldn't get my mental illness. But, I have agreed not to sit around mourning what I can't change and feeling like a piece of shit for being selfish enough to have a child.

  

So all these years I've been trying not to jump any gun or race to consign my child to a clinical labeling. But there comes a time when a mother knows better than everyone else- besides a professional psychologist. There comes a time when a mother has seen her child suffer for long enough with something he has little control over and isn't aware of. There comes a time when it hurts too much to watch; unable to help enough, unable to ease through every minute.

  

The truth is pretty hideous: I can't do this without professional help anymore. No, that's not quite the truth that I need to put out there into the light... OK. OK.

  

Parenting has driven me to drink. Most seriously. My goal this year is to lose weight, to drink a lot less beer, and to be healthier both physically and psychologically. Which I am unable to do while my child is so challenging to raise.

  

There. It is said. The horrible ugly is said at last. Having him home so much longer than usual has highlighted some things I've been worried about but which are now so blaringly obvious that if I ignore them any longer and anything bad happens to my boy because of it I won't forgive myself later.

  

The truth is that both my husband and my son need psychological help and yet I'm the only one in the family who is medicated. But never medicated enough and the longer they go without therapy or medication the harder I drink, the less I sleep, the fatter I get. I'm not saying I don't make choices here. But I'm saying that all these choices I am making are allowing me to put off complete mental exhaustion. They are giving me some kind of mental calm that otherwise would be decimated by everyone else's panic attacks in this house.

  

I can't force Philip to get help, and anyway, neither of us have medical insurance and won't be able to afford counseling or extra meds until we do. Or until we're making a lot more money than we seem capable of.

  

Max has medical insurance, however, and so it is time to get him professional help. I have been writing this post for two days now and have wrestled with the question of putting it here on my blog. I know so many people who would think putting something so personal about their kid out there for others to read is a violation of their privacy. There is some merit in that. But this is my story too. And if there is only one thing I can teach him in this life I hope to God it will be to never be ashamed of mental illness.

  

I have decided that telling it here is better. If he's angry at me for doing it when he's older then we can fight it out. Parents who keep this kind of stuff private are rarely spared anger anyway because what I've observed about parenting is that you can never do it right. Cardinal rule: you will fuck it all up.

  

How many other parents have asked themselves the same questions I have? How many other parents have had to make choices and decisions for their children that were terrifying and wished to god it was all easier to talk about? I'm not going to hide it. Someone else out there is wishing they didn't have to feel so alone and wishes they could know what other parents are doing in the same circumstances. God knows I wish I could know more parents who have a child like mine so I can know how they survive it. So I could navigate this terrifying path with a little more light.

  

This week I begin the process of finding a proper psychologist to assess Max because I believe he suffers from OCD and generalized anxiety. I am confident that I am not going to find I'm far wrong. I knew what I suffered from before I got an official diagnosis and I also was not wrong when I guessed my own mother's diagnosis which was confirmed several months ago.

  

I have made the following list to submit to Max's doctor:

   

Fiber Texture Sensitive: he won't wear denim or any slightly stiff cotton. He prefers sweat pants or soft sporty fabrics. Is very disturbed by seams in his clothing if he can feel them.

  

Other texture sensitivities: bumps in his socks he will not tolerate. He'll try on four pairs a morning to find a pair without them. If his clothes don't hang right they will drive him crazy. Mostly he's happiest when he's just in his pajamas at home. Things itch him and hurt him and bother him that seem inconsequential to everyone else. Getting him dressed has been a nightmare since he could fight me over it at 18 months old. Hates hats because they hurt his head.

   

Food Texture Sensitive: nothing mushy, EVER. Crisp textures are the best. When anything that's supposed to be crisp goes even slightly stale he won't eat it. Doesn't like wet textures, for example: if you wash slices of peeled apples because they got crumbs on them he won't eat them. Anything that is sticky is usually despised, especially if it gets on his face, hands, or clothes. Won't eat bread that is too dry and dense nor bread that is too white and squishy.

 

Taste Sensitive: This is a constantly evolving and revolving issue which drives me to drink.* He has such an advanced sense of taste that he can tell the difference between three vanilla ice cream brands. He likes things one day (or maybe for three) and then suddenly it tastes bad. Sometimes we go through periods where everything tastes bad. If you slightly over toast anything he can taste it as burnt.

  

More taste sensitivities: he once claimed for almost two weeks that everything tasted like coffee and it was almost impossible to feed him anything. I still don't know how he knows what coffee tastes like but he says his dad gave him a sip once.

 

Foods can't touch: If there is a microscopic crumb on a piece of peeled apple, he won't eat it. If he thinks his food has come in contact with any other food, he won't eat it. Especially if he suspects that it's come in contact with any of our food. He hates sitting next to other people's food, especially if he can smell it. Won't drink water if the outside of the cup is wet. Won't eat food if there is a drop of water on the plate. Won't eat two kinds of food on the same plate or at the same time. Won't sit at a table to eat meals. Ever since he was a toddler the only way we could get him to pay attention enough to his food to eat it was to let him watch movies while he ate it so that he wasn't really paying attention to it at all.

 

Foods can't be irregular: if an apple has a speck of a brown spot on it, he won't eat it. If there are holes in his bread, he won't eat it. If his egg hangs over his toast, he won't eat it. If an egg has a crispy edge he won't eat it and shivers in repulsion. If the egg has holes in it he won't eat it. If anything doesn't look like it's the right color or the texture is off or some piece of the food is ragged he won't touch it. I once got him to eat an irregular piece of cucumber by making him close his eyes and letting me feed it to him.

 

Other red flag issues: Often demands that we wash our hands before touching his food. Although he doesn't seem overly concerned about germs in general, we were sharing a piece of ice cream pie at a restaurant and he requested his own so that he wouldn't have to worry about touching our "spit area". He won't drink water that has sat around for too long. He won't let you reuse a bowl for a snack unless you wash it first.

 

Doesn't like leaving the house: He says he doesn't like going far from the house because it isn't comfortable. He hates going downtown, out to eat, to most people's houses, to school, to take a trip (unless it's to visit his friend Sam in California), or to go to friends' houses. He prefers friends to come here. If we let him he would stay in his pajamas for weeks on end and never set foot outside.

 

Doesn't play well with others: He really freaks out when people mess with his stuff. If they mess up his "set up" of Legos he treats it like a human rights violation and his friends and family don't like that so much. If they don't play exactly as he directs them to play he freaks out and has what appears to be a panic attack. Or gets angry. And yells. He can always tell when his stuff has been messed with. He arranges everything precisely. His favorite activity every morning (when he was ten months old) was to arrange a stack of videos very neatly and precisely. It was fascinating to watch.

 

He is extremely sensitive: It is the easiest thing in the world to hurt his feelings. Try joking with him. He tries to joke with other people but generally can't tell when they are trying to joke with him and takes offense. If people tease him he takes it seriously and thinks everyone hates him and feels like a horrible outcast. His hurt feelings alternate with retaliatory feelings of revenge.

 

Not overly sensitive to others: A great combination of traits, huh? He has almost no self control when it comes to voicing his opinions and feelings which are often very honest and frank and therefore quite upsetting to everyone. He doesn't understand that this is the same thing that others do that hurt his feelings. He doesn't seem to mean to hurt people and feels bad when you call him on it but continues to say whatever is on his mind at all times.

 

Expresses himself violently: With words. If he feels bad about something he's done he expresses it by saying things like "I should just die" or "I don't even deserve to have a family" or "I'm going to kill myself" or if someone has really hurt him he says things like "I hate so-and-so and will never talk to them again..." or worse yet "If so-and-so does that to me again I will kick him in the balls". Very extreme expression. Self harm has been in his vocabulary since he could talk. He used to bite himself frequently.

 

Odd quirks: He doesn't want to throw anything away. He tries to keep all the packaging to the toys he receives, all the instructions, and even the stupid little ads they always include. He won't throw old toys away either, not even if they're broken. He revealed to me one evening that he thought all his things had feelings and would be upset if he threw them away. He also doesn't like it when I clean the house because when it's clean he's uncomfortable. When the living room is tidy he says it's too "empty" and it bothers him.

 

Physical panic: Whenever he experiences physical pain or discomfort he dives quickly into panic mode in which you can hardly help him because he has already decided nothing can help and he won't let you near, but simultaneously he is screaming that he needs help and why don't you do something?! It doesn't matter if it's something really bad (it sometimes is, like the metal in his eye, and sometimes it's not, like a mild bug bite) his reaction is generally pretty severe. Yet I have seen the kid take the most intense falls from his bike and get up without a flinch even while he's bleeding profusely from the knee.

 

The Negative spiraling: One little thing going wrong in his day or his routine can make him see his entire life as a giant black hole of pain and decide that life is impossible and he sees no choice but to give up. Talking him out of his negative state is as exhausting as it is futile. It is strong and it is real to him. He can extrapolate the miserable outcome of any experience into the worst case scenario before you can take your first swig of beer.

 

Afraid of the dark: Lots of kids are afraid of the dark. Mine is very serious about it. Needs full lights on and prefers the hall lights on as well. He suffers bad nightmares often and this doesn't help. We used to turn the lights off after he went to sleep but he would wake up in the dark and be terrified so often that we haven't dared try that for at least a year or longer. He isn't a good sleeper and never has been, although it's become easier and better over time.

 

Random texture aversions: he hates anything sticky on his skin. He has an extreme aversion to getting blood on his fingers which has been quite an inconvenience since he has a terrible problem with gushing bloody noses. He would rather let the blood drip to the floor and wait until we find him tissues than to put pressure on his nose with his own finger which inevitably gets bloody. Which he then panics about. Not too keen to play on grass. Doesn't like to be barefoot outside, ever. He also will not sleep with flannel because it freaks him out.

 

Routines: All kids seem to thrive on routines but our kid holds firm to our routines as though his life depended on everything being the same at all times, every day. He hates going to new places, especially new places to eat. He hates going to new people's houses. He has daily routines that he will go to great lengths to maintain such as- eating his dessert, then pajamas, then brushing his teeth, then snuggle time. God forbid you ask him to brush his teeth before putting his pajamas on.

 

Deep Worry: He thinks very deeply about everything and unfortunately often worries about things as well and can't let go. When we moved he was really worried about our old cat Ozark who had been buried in our old yard last February. He kept thinking about him being alone there without us and feeling sad and abandoned. He thinks about the universe- galaxies and is very concerned about how they were formed and he wants to understand everything so much and it really disturbs him to get ambiguous answers. He's worried about so many things and there just aren't enough answers.

 

Over this vacation his world has shrunk and because of being snowed in and having a negative experience with a friend at the beginning of it he has not wanted to play with any friends (we've strong armed him anyway) and all he wants to do is remain in his pajamas every single day all day, he wants both his parents to never have to work again so they can stay home with him, and he wants us to play with him. He doesn't want to go outside, play with friends, see anyone but us (and his Grandma).

 

I suddenly saw what was happening- his world just became extremely small. It is very hard to be the only companion of a child. I don't want to be playing Legos and Bionicles for the next ten years. He should be playing with other kids and doing parent/kid things with us like baking cookies, reading, going on hikes, or to the park. I asked him why he never wants to go anywhere and he told me that it's because he isn't comfortable anywhere else. If I let him he will be a confirmed agoraphobic by the time he's nine years old.

 

So few parents understand what it's like to have a child like mine, unless they have a child like mine. The pain I feel for what he goes through and how easily he is misunderstood is like having my heart broken every single day. The wedge it puts between me and other parents makes me lonely and then when I get to talk to a parent who is having similar experiences it's like getting the freshest breath of air but I also feel like I want to monopolize them and suck their energy up because I don't have any of my own anymore so sometimes I keep my distance so I don't scare them off and that's lonely too.**

 

So much good is happening right now. So many positive changes have been finally coming through and I want Max to feel them too but instead he's just getting worse and worse. So while I really want to stop drinking a six pack of beer a night so that I can stop being fat and miserable which isn't how my spirit wants to feel- I am going to have to find a way to make my parenting life a hell of a lot less stressful because I can't parent my child right now on less than six beers a night.

 

Don't any of you dare judge me unless you have gone through what I go through every day. Don't anyone dare dish me up platitudes or tell me that going to alcoholics anonymous will give me the strength to live in a house with two untreated mentally ill people because I already know it aint so. I am never drunk and am not exactly ashamed of doing what I've had to do to not kill myself at the end of the day when it's been one long stream of panic attacks from three directions.

 

Every time I think I've spilled my darkest secrets I seem to find there's more. More. And more.

 

I know what my child needs and it isn't vitamin B12 (though, with his diet it's tempting to suspect a vitamin deficiency- we keep him on a steady supply of multi vitamins usually) nor does he need some metaphysical intervention. What he needs is a professional assessment so his options can be sorted through. He needs more support than he can get from his mentally ill parents. He needs therapy and possibly medication. And if I choose to wait until he's older it could be too late.

 

So along with the rest of my life I'm trying to clean up this year this will also need addressing because it is one of the greatest sources of stress in my life and it's not one that a hot bath can make disappear. If I'm going to reach my goals this year then I have to step up to the plate and stop being afraid of saying what needs to be said, of addressing the thing that scares the goddamn crap out of me. I've listened to other people long enough.

 

I've listened to them and I've listened to Max.

 

Max is this huge light of a person who's gifts are pretty incredible. He will never be like other kids or people because he was born to lead his own brigade. But he won't be able to see or use his own gifts unless his brain is allowed to rest. The greatest way that I can show my love to this amazing child of mine is to show him how to help his brain function better, to show him that having a mental illness can be a pain in the ass but most of us people with mental illnesses are people everyone else needs. We are people who see differently and have the power to show others how to see differently too; through many mediums such as art, science, words, and music. Mental illness can uncover what lies beneath the layers of this human sheen.

 

I am scared to get him an official diagnosis but I'm even more scared of what will happen to us all if I don't.

      

*I wasn't kidding. I'm still not kidding.

  

**A couple of blog friends of mine have been so generous as to share with me their own similar challenges with their kids and I have one local friend who knows what I go through because of her own experience with similar issues and I cannot stress enough how much it means to me when someone talks to me who knows what I have gone through and helps me not feel like an asshole or a failure of a parent. You know who you are- you have made me feel so much less alone and the three of you have offered much needed balm to me- THANK YOU!

The Big Day, Around Noon

 

Emma: *walks into Chloe’s room* “Candy?”

 

Candy: *looks up from her tightly clasped hands* “Yeah. I’m here.”

 

Emma: *studies Candy’s drawn expression* “Whit’s wrong? You look all peaky.”

 

Candy: “Uh, just…”

 

Emma: *sits beside Candy, wrapping her arm around her shoulders* “Nervous?”

 

Candy: *nods*

 

Emma: “Aboot the ceremony, I suppose, because I ken ye’re no’ havin’ second thoughts aboot the marriage itself.”

 

Candy: *shakes head* “No.”

 

Emma: “No, I’m right, or no, I’m no’ right?”

 

Candy: “Both.”

 

Emma: “This really isna the time for riddles. Yuri pulled my hair a wee bit tight…*touches her hair tentatively*…and I’m afraid my brain function isna whit it could be at the moment. Clarify, please.”

 

Dolfin - The Early Days Once gin a life time a horse may come into your life as a profound teacher and this horse for me, was an ex bullfighting Spanish stallion, Delfin. Over many years now he has become my very special friend and teacher, revealing to me many deeper aspects of the horse's mind. I have been taught by several great teachers, who have shown me insights into methods of training the horse. However, my greatest teacher is Delfin, who has won the affection of everyone that meets him. They have come to respect and love his infinite wisdom, supreme intelligence and talent. I teach internationally with my stallions, of the power of breath energy awareness as a potent connection with the horse. This potent energy connection IS part of natural herd language and is so often overlooked. So how did this journey begin for me? I bought Delfin back to the UK and he was very high in tension and energy, unable to relax producing passage and piaffe, within his stable. I slowly tried to win his confidence by sitting outside his stable, often just peeling vegetables, reading books , just to while away time. I wanted him to feel secure and calm in his mind. His inquisitive nature began to take over and he would come and peer over the stable door. We put the radio on during the day, in an attempt to calm him. We also began to introduce him to grass. Delfin did not understand freedom or space so it would have been unwise to just turn him out in the field. If you have a human who has suffered imprisonment or a suppressed lifestyle for many years, there would be major problems to overcome for him to gain the confidence to deal with new situations. There is a strange type of security which can be built up from a restricted and confined environment. Each day I led Delfin, as quietly as possible, into a field and I just stood or sat with him. He would snatch violently at the grass, always more curious about his surroundings. It was quite a while before I could take off the rope and leave him alone in the field. Freedom and space were new concepts for Delfin who would always position himself in the field so that he could watch me. Delfin was to become my teacher who would show me the importance of listening and tuning in to my horse, not in a logical or mechanical way but with feeling and emotion. A truly amazing and revealing empathy was to develop between us. We were becoming kindred spirits both searching to learn from each other. Early training I learnt so much from our early days training in England. Delfin was very tense with highly charged, nervous reactions and his trot was almost on the spot and bunched up. The trot did not improve at first, even with walk and trot transitions. This highly charged tension controlled all his movements but he did seem to settle more in the canter. A bull-fighter works in canter for a great deal of the time and it appeared that work in trot was a foreign language for Delfin. The most testing lessons for me have been to maintain Delfin's trust and confidence. He would often test my patience and I would be forced to feel that a strong tap with the whip would be in order to gain his attention. The problem was, that after such a reprimand, Delfin would become extremely agitated and the chance of any relaxed work would totally disappear. This is one of the reasons why Delfin has become my greatest teacher, as whenever I have felt that I had the answers, he would produce another aspect of behaviour for me to work through. If I chose the route of patience and more patience we did reap rewards in our communications. We have to assess the reason for difficult behaviour and if the cause is anxiety or fear then we have to become thoughtful and clever in our thinking, to encourage the horse to be 'on our side'. Frequently I changed exercises or re-evaluated my ideas, to bring about a more positive response from Delfin. Breath Awarenes The Beginning Of My Journey On one particular day, Delfin appeared to be ignoring my usual aids as there were mares galloping around in the next field. He was much more tuned in to their behavior and his whole body was a quivering mass of energy. He felt as if he could launch anywhere. Almost without a thought I took a deep breath inwards, I suppose in exasperation as my communications were having no impact on Delfin! Slowly, I remember breathing quite strongly outwards and I began to feel a more attentive response. The air released, with the outward breath, caused a flow of relaxation and energy through my body. My seat relaxed and my legs became lighter around his rib cage. Delfin responded immediately. I felt a slight lifting and loosening of his back. He began to concentrate and walk forwards more calmly. I leant forward, stroked his neck and took a breath inwards, Delfin came back to halt. I had not planned this and felt it happen as an instinctive response. I was extremely curious about the effect of my breathing on Delfin, and so I began to repeat these exercises over and over again. He would move from halt to walk or walk to trot with every deep breath out and then respond by coming back down the transitions, with my deeper inward breath. I was amazed. He was concentrating much more on my breathing and not so much on the mares and the other external influences. Could these techniques work again? The following day I was eager to repeat these techniques to see if I could gain a similar response. Yes, I was delighted, as the lessons were repeated, remembered and understood. Could they help me to communicate with any other horses, or was this a connection, just between Delfin and myself? He is an extremely sensitive horse and maybe other horses would not pick up such subtle changes in the breathing patterns of the rider. I wanted to explore further, so I used these techniques with my bay stallion, Maestu. He has a totally different outlook on life, being very laid back but quite assertive and dominant in nature. Although Maestu is so very different in his nature from Delfin, he quickly understood and responded to the same breathing patterns. This was a breakthrough in my communications. I had realised the significance of the rider's seat, but I had not thought deeply about the importance of breathing. I now realize that our understanding of breathing is fundamental to control and balance of both our body and seat! The science of breath energy My teacher has been the horse and my learning continues to evolve. When I am teaching we always begin with the horse at liberty and finding a breath energy connection before any tack or ridden work. Techniques of core breathing now instigate the first aid for all basic work and also for more advanced collected work including lateral exercises, pirouettes and passage. I have more recently been studying Groundbreaking Scientific research which gives clarity to the importance of breath-heart-energy within the interaction and communication between humans and horse.

 

To delve more fully, this energy or electromagnetic signals are waves propagated through space or matter by the oscilating electric and magnetic fields generated by an oscilating electrical charge. In the human body, the heart has been proven to be the most powerful source of electromagnetic energy. This is the scientific description given to the power of breath-heart- energy connection. The breath can control the heart rate and this will change the energy surrounding the heart. The fear flight response to stress activates the sympathetic nervous system causing a constriction of blood vessels and a rise in heart rate. This state is known as chaos in heart rhythm which demonstrates disorder, incoherence and confusion.In physics when two or more wave forms are phase- locked together, to form constructive energy, this is known as coherence. Heart coherence enables the emergence of new levels of creativity, co-operation and quality at all levels. When a person is calm we have heart coherence which ensures there is no energy wasted and the body is in harmony.Awareness of heart coherence will enable the rider to influence the horse in a more profound way, creating co-operation, positive flowing energy which enhances a connection. Traditionally riders use arms and legs and a more mechanical approach from the outside so how would subtle energy changes from within, affect the horse? The Institute of Heartmath in California (www.heartmath.org. ) was founded to research the emotional intelligence of the heart which it is believed has everything to do with the way the human brain functions. The heart would appear to be a window to a further domain of human intelligence. Developing our own emotional intelligence involves self awareness – becoming aware of our mood and emotions and how we express our feelings, for instance in a relationship. Without the guiding influence of the heart, we can easily fall prey to reactive emotions such as insecurity, fear, anger and blame as well as any other energy draining reactions and behaviours. (from The HeartMath Solution) These responses can change our energy field and the horse will quickly tune in to these signals, before we are aware of it.Science now has the evidence, from experiments with individuals that emotional distress causes chaos in the rhythm of the heart. The natural steady rhythm becomes distorted through changes in emotion which have a profound effect on the heart.The horse will immediately tune into our emotions and heart rhythm and if it is steady he will feel more calm. If we allow our emotions to create chaos in our heart rhythm, the horse will demonstrate anxiety and fear. His leader is giving him messages to fuel his natural fear and flight instinct! When the rider builds more self awareness mentally, physically and emotionally, these symptoms of heart chaos, giving messages of fear and flight, can be altered, from chaos to calmness.Delfin the equine professor For many years now, Delfin has been willingly teaching the art of connection for riders and trainers around the world. I give clinics with my Iberian stallions and where my words may be helpful, the feeling between the student and stallion can be much deeper. They leave with an experience they will never forget- the beginning of a new journey. With this deeper bond, tuning into breath- energy they can progress with their own horses, in a language which is natural to the equine spirit.I feel so privileged to be part of Delfin's life. He is truly a 'soul friend' and my equine professor who is so generous and wise. When a student works with him, I can interpret what he is saying and in this way assist the student to find a mindful place of connection, from within.The key to my teaching are: Top to Toe' posture awareness Focus on core breathing for breathheart- energy connection and personal empowerment Visualization – to capture the essence of the moment Become the Mirror – for the horse to reflect. When we can give to the horse, patience, love and wisdom together with humility and honesty, we will receive the greatest friendship, trust and courage from the horse. Together, we can build a quiet place for mutual calm where truth from the heart may be nurtured. It is difficult to describe the depth of friendship which the horse can offer, but it has the potential to become both life changing and life enhancing. The way we ride the horse will be a reflection of the whole relationship which will weave a path to oneness and harmony. Secrets of the horse will be given clarity as you go not where the path may lead, but follow in the trail of his hoof prints.

Research shows that relaxation keeps your heart healthier, cuts stress, reduces muscle tension, improves brain function and memory, and helps you avoid depression, anxiety, and obesity. It boosts your immune system and helps alleviate the symptoms of many medical and psychological disorders. Relaxing is important!

Group installation project based upon the idea of thought process and brain function.

Project MKULTRA, or MK-ULTRA, was the code name for a covert, illegal CIA human experimentation program, run by the CIA's Office of Scientific Intelligence. This official U.S. government program began in the early 1950s, continued at least through the late 1960s, and used U.S. and Canadian citizens as its test subjects.

 

The published evidence indicates that Project MKULTRA involved the use of many methodologies to manipulate individual mental states and alter brain functions, including the surreptitious administration of drugs and other chemicals, hypnosis, sensory deprivation, isolation, verbal and sexual abuse, as well as various forms of torture.

 

Project MKULTRA was first brought to wide public attention in 1975 by the U.S. Congress, through investigations by the Church Committee, and by a presidential commission known as the Rockefeller Commission. Investigative efforts were hampered by the fact that CIA Director Richard Helms ordered all MKULTRA files destroyed in 1973; the Church Committee and Rockefeller Commission investigations relied on the sworn testimony of direct participants and on the relatively small number of documents that survived Helms' destruction order.

 

Although the CIA insists that MKULTRA-type experiments have been abandoned, 14-year CIA veteran Victor Marchetti has stated in various interviews that the CIA routinely conducts disinformation campaigns and that CIA mind control research continued. In a 1977 interview, Marchetti specifically called the CIA claim that MKULTRA was abandoned a "cover story.

The gut-brain connection is no joke; it can link anxiety to stomach problems and vice versa. Have you ever had a "gut-wrenching" experience? Do certain situations make you "feel nauseous"? Have you ever felt "butterflies" in your stomach? We use these expressions for a reason. The gastrointestinal tract is sensitive to emotion. Anger, anxiety, sadness, elation — all of these feelings (and others) can trigger symptoms in the gut.

 

The brain has a direct effect on the stomach and intestines. For example, the very thought of eating can release the stomach's juices before food gets there. This connection goes both ways. A troubled intestine can send signals to the brain, just as a troubled brain can send signals to the gut. Therefore, a person's stomach or intestinal distress can be the cause or the product of anxiety, stress, or depression. That's because the brain and the gastrointestinal (GI) system are intimately connected.

 

This is especially true in cases where a person experiences gastrointestinal upset with no obvious physical cause. For such functional GI disorders, it is difficult to try to heal a distressed gut without considering the role of stress and emotion.

 

Gut health and anxiety

 

Given how closely the gut and brain interact, it becomes easier to understand why you might feel nauseated before giving a presentation, or feel intestinal pain during times of stress. That doesn't mean, however, that functional gastrointestinal conditions are imagined or "all in your head." Psychology combines with physical factors to cause pain and other bowel symptoms. Psychosocial factors influence the actual physiology of the gut, as well as symptoms. In other words, stress (or depression or other psychological factors) can affect movement and contractions of the GI tract, make inflammation worse, or perhaps make you more susceptible to infection.

 

In addition, research suggests that some people with functional GI disorders perceive pain more acutely than other people do because their brains are more responsive to pain signals from the GI tract. Stress can make the existing pain seem even worse.

 

Based on these observations, you might expect that at least some patients with functional GI conditions might improve with therapy to reduce stress or treat anxiety or depression. And sure enough, a review of 13 studies showed that patients who tried psychologically based approaches had greater improvement in their digestive symptoms compared with patients who received only conventional medical treatment.

 

Gut-brain connection, anxiety and digestion

 

Are your stomach or intestinal problems — such as heartburn, abdominal cramps, or loose stools — related to stress? Watch for these other common symptoms of stress and discuss them with your doctor. Together you can come up with strategies to help you deal with the stressors in your life, and also ease your digestive discomforts.

 

www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/the-gut-br...

 

Have you ever had a gut feeling or butterflies in your stomach?

 

These sensations emanating from your belly suggest that your brain and gut are connected.

 

What’s more, recent studies show that your brain affects your gut health and your gut may even affect your brain health.

 

The communication system between your gut and brain is called the gut-brain axis.

 

This article explores the gut-brain axis and foods that are beneficial to its health.

How Are the Gut and Brain Connected?

The gut-brain axis is a term for the communication network that connects your gut and brain (1Trusted Source, 2Trusted Source, 3Trusted Source).

 

These two organs are connected both physically and biochemically in a number of different ways.

 

The Vagus Nerve and the Nervous System

 

Neurons are cells found in your brain and central nervous system that tell your body how to behave. There are approximately 100 billion neurons in the human brain (4Trusted Source).

 

Interestingly, your gut contains 500 million neurons, which are connected to your brain through nerves in your nervous system (5Trusted Source).

 

The vagus nerve is one of the biggest nerves connecting your gut and brain. It sends signals in both directions (6Trusted Source, 7Trusted Source).

 

For example, in animal studies, stress inhibits the signals sent through the vagus nerve and also causes gastrointestinal problems (8Trusted Source).

 

Similarly, one study in humans found that people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or Crohn’s disease had reduced vagal tone, indicating a reduced function of the vagus nerve (9Trusted Source).

 

An interesting study in mice found that feeding them a probiotic reduced the amount of stress hormone in their blood. However, when their vagus nerve was cut, the probiotic had no effect (10Trusted Source).

 

This suggests that the vagus nerve is important in the gut-brain axis and its role in stress.

 

Neurotransmitters

 

Your gut and brain are also connected through chemicals called neurotransmitters.

 

Neurotransmitters produced in the brain control feelings and emotions.

 

For example, the neurotransmitter serotonin contributes to feelings of happiness and also helps control your body clock (11Trusted Source).

 

Interestingly, many of these neurotransmitters are also produced by your gut cells and the trillions of microbes living there. A large proportion of serotonin is produced in the gut (12Trusted Source).

 

Your gut microbes also produce a neurotransmitter called gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which helps control feelings of fear and anxiety (13Trusted Source).

 

Studies in laboratory mice have shown that certain probiotics can increase the production of GABA and reduce anxiety and depression-like behavior (14Trusted Source).

 

Gut Microbes Make Other Chemicals That Affect the Brain

 

The trillions of microbes that live in your gut also make other chemicals that affect how your brain works (15Trusted Source).

 

Your gut microbes produce lots of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) such as butyrate, propionate and acetate (16Trusted Source).

 

They make SCFA by digesting fiber. SCFA affect brain function in a number of ways, such as reducing appetite.

 

One study found that consuming propionate can reduce food intake and reduce the activity in the brain related to reward from high-energy food (17Trusted Source).

 

Another SCFA, butyrate, and the microbes that produce it are also important for forming the barrier between the brain and the blood, which is called the blood-brain barrier (18Trusted Source).

 

Gut microbes also metabolize bile acids and amino acids to produce other chemicals that affect the brain (15Trusted Source).

 

Bile acids are chemicals made by the liver that are normally involved in absorbing dietary fats. However, they may also affect the brain.

 

Two studies in mice found that stress and social disorders reduce the production of bile acids by gut bacteria and alter the genes involved in their production (19Trusted Source, 20Trusted Source).

 

Gut Microbes Affect Inflammation

 

Your gut-brain axis is also connected through the immune system.

 

Gut and gut microbes play an important role in your immune system and inflammation by controlling what is passed into the body and what is excreted (21Trusted Source).

 

If your immune system is switched on for too long, it can lead to inflammation, which is associated with a number of brain disorders like depression and Alzheimer’s disease (22Trusted Source).

 

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is an inflammatory toxin made by certain bacteria. It can cause inflammation if too much of it passes from the gut into the blood.

 

This can happen when the gut barrier becomes leaky, which allows bacteria and LPS to cross over into the blood.

 

Inflammation and high LPS in the blood have been associated with a number of brain disorders including severe depression, dementia and schizophrenia (23Trusted Source)

 

SUMMARY

Your gut and brain are connected physically through millions of nerves, most importantly the vagus nerve. The gut and its microbes also control inflammation and make many different compounds that can affect brain health.

 

www.healthline.com/nutrition/gut-brain-connection#section1

 

If you’ve ever “gone with your gut” to make a decision or felt “butterflies in your stomach” when nervous, you’re likely getting signals from an unexpected source: your second brain. Hidden in the walls of the digestive system, this “brain in your gut” is revolutionizing medicine’s understanding of the links between digestion, mood, health and even the way you think.

 

woman with a glass of orange juice

Scientists call this little brain the enteric nervous system (ENS). And it’s not so little. The ENS is two thin layers of more than 100 million nerve cells lining your gastrointestinal tract from esophagus to rectum.

 

What Does Your Gut’s Brain Control?

 

Unlike the big brain in your skull, the ENS can’t balance your checkbook or compose a love note. “Its main role is controlling digestion, from swallowing to the release of enzymes that break down food to the control of blood flow that helps with nutrient absorption to elimination,” explains Jay Pasricha, M.D., director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Neurogastroenterology, whose research on the enteric nervous system has garnered international attention. “The enteric nervous system doesn’t seem capable of thought as we know it, but it communicates back and forth with our big brain—with profound results.”

 

The ENS may trigger big emotional shifts experienced by people coping with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and functional bowel problems such as constipation, diarrhea, bloating, pain and stomach upset. “For decades, researchers and doctors thought that anxiety and depression contributed to these problems. But our studies and others show that it may also be the other way around,” Pasricha says. Researchers are finding evidence that irritation in the gastrointestinal system may send signals to the central nervous system (CNS) that trigger mood changes.

 

“These new findings may explain why a higher-than-normal percentage of people with IBS and functional bowel problems develop depression and anxiety,” Pasricha says. “That’s important, because up to 30 to 40 percent of the population has functional bowel problems at some point.”

 

New Gut Understanding Equals New Treatment Opportunities

 

This new understanding of the ENS-CNS connection helps explain the effectiveness of IBS and bowel-disorder treatments such as antidepressants and mind-body therapies like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and medical hypnotherapy. “Our two brains ‘talk’ to each other, so therapies that help one may help the other,” Pasricha says. “In a way, gastroenterologists (doctors who specialize in digestive conditions) are like counselors looking for ways to soothe the second brain.”

 

Gastroenterologists may prescribe certain antidepressants for IBS, for example—not because they think the problem is all in a patient’s head, but because these medications calm symptoms in some cases by acting on nerve cells in the gut, Pasricha explains. “Psychological interventions like CBT may also help to “improve communications” between the big brain and the brain in our gut,” he says.

 

www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/th...

The grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus), also known as the Congo grey parrot, Congo African grey parrot or African grey parrot, is an Old World parrot in the family Psittacidae. The Timneh parrot (Psittacus timneh) once was identified as a subspecies of the grey parrot, but has since been elevated to a full species.

 

Taxonomy

The grey parrot was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. He placed it with all the other parrots in the genus Psittacus and coined the binomial name Psittacus erithacus. Linnaeus erroneously specified the type locality as "Guinea": the locality was later designated as Ghana in West Africa. The genus name is Latin for "parrot". The specific epithet erithacus is Latin and is derived from the Ancient Greek εριθακος (erithakos) for an unknown bird that was said to mimic human sounds, perhaps the black redstart. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.

 

The Timneh parrot was formerly treated as a subspecies of the grey parrot but is now considered to be a separate species based mainly on the results from a genetic and morphological study published in 2007. Although Linnaeus placed all the parrots known to him in the genus Psittacus, only the grey parrot and the Timneh parrot are now assigned to this genus.

 

Description

The grey parrot is a medium-sized, predominantly grey, black-billed parrot. Its typical weight is 400 g (14 oz), with an approximate length of 33 cm (13 in), and a wingspan of 46–52 cm (18–20+1⁄2 in). The grey colour on the head and wings is generally darker than its body. The head and body feathers have slight white edges. The tail feathers are red.

 

Due to selection by parrot breeders, some grey parrots are partly or completely red. Both sexes appear similar. The colouration of juveniles is similar to that of adults, but typically their eyes are dark grey to black, in comparison to the yellow irises around dark pupils of the adult birds, and their undertail coverts are tinged with grey. Adults weigh 418–526 g (14+3⁄4–18+1⁄2 oz).

 

Grey parrots may live for 40–60 years in captivity, although their mean lifespan in the wild appears to be shorter—approximately 23 years. They start breeding at an age of 3–5 years and lay 3-5 eggs per brood.

 

Distribution and habitat

The grey parrot is native to equatorial Africa, including Angola, Cameroon, the Congo, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda. The species is found inside a range from Kenya to the eastern part of the Ivory Coast. Current estimates for the global population are uncertain and range from 630,000 to 13 million birds. Populations are decreasing worldwide. The species seems to favor dense forests, but can also be found at forest edges and in more open vegetation types, such as gallery and savanna forests.

 

A population study published in 2015 found that the species had been "virtually eliminated" from Ghana with numbers declining 90 to 99% since 1992. They were found in only 10 of 42 forested areas, and three roosts that once held 700–1200 birds each, now had only 18 in total. Local people mainly blamed the pet trade and the felling of timber for the decline. Populations are thought to be stable in Cameroon. In the Congo, an estimated 15,000 are taken every year for the pet trade, from the eastern part of the country, although the annual quota is stated to be 5,000.

 

Grey parrots have escaped or been deliberately released into Florida, U.S., but no evidence indicates that the population is breeding naturally.

 

Behaviour and ecology in the wild

Little is known about the behaviour and activities of these birds in the wild. In addition to a lack of research funding, it can be particularly difficult to study these birds in wild situations due to their status as prey animals, which leads them to have rather secretive personalities. It has been shown that wild greys may also imitate a wide variety of sounds they hear, much like their captive relatives. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, two greys sound-recorded while roosting reportedly had a repertoire of over 200 different calls, including nine imitations of other wild bird songs and one of a bat.

 

Feeding

Grey parrots are mainly frugivorous, with most of their diet consisting of fruit, nuts, and seeds, including oil palm fruit. They sometimes also eat flowers and tree bark, as well as insects and snails. In the wild, the grey parrot is partly a ground feeder.

 

Breeding

Grey parrots are monogamous breeders who nest in tree cavities. Each mated pair of parrots needs their own tree for their nest. The hen lays three to five eggs, which she incubates for 30 days while being fed by her mate. The adults defend their nesting sites.

 

Grey parrot chicks require feeding and care from their parents in the nest. The parents take care of them until 4–5 weeks after they are fledged. Young leave the nest at the age of 12 weeks. Little is known about the courtship behaviour of this species in the wild.[9] They weigh 12–14 g (7⁄16–1⁄2 oz) at hatching and 372–526 g (13+1⁄8–18+1⁄2 oz) when they leave their parents.

 

Conservation

Natural predators for this species include palm-nut vultures and several raptors. Monkeys target eggs and the young for food.

 

Humans are by far the largest threat to wild grey populations. Between 1994 and 2003, more than 359,000 grey parrots were traded on the international market. Approximately 21% of the wild population was being harvested every year. Mortality rates are extremely high between the time they are captured and they reach the market, ranging from 60 to 66%. This species also is hunted for its meat and for its body parts, which are used in traditional medicines. As a result of the extensive harvest of wild birds, in addition to habitat loss, this species is believed to be undergoing a rapid decline in the wild and therefore, has been rated as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

 

In October 2016, the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Fauna and Flora (CITES) extended the highest level of protection to grey parrots by listing the species under Appendix 1, which regulates international trade in the species.

 

In 2021, the Kenyan government held a short amnesty, during which grey parrot owners could pay a fee to obtain a permit for their birds and facilitate legal ownership. Following the expiry of this time period, it is now illegal to own this species without a permit.

 

In captivity

The species is common in captivity and regularly kept by humans as a companion parrot, prized for its ability to mimic human speech, which makes it one of the most popular avian pets. An escaped pet in Japan was returned to his owner after repeating the owner's name and address.

 

Grey parrots are notorious for mimicking noises heard in their environment and using them tirelessly. They are highly intelligent birds, needing extensive behavioral and social enrichment as well as extensive attention in captivity or else they may become distressed. Feather plucking is a common symptom seen among such distressed grey parrots, affecting up to 40% of captive individuals. They may also be prone to behavioural problems due to their sensitive nature. Social isolation hastens stress and aging.

 

The grey parrot is a highly social species which relies on a flock-type structure, even when raised in captivity. Because they are so dependent on the other birds within their flock, much of their speech and vocal ability is acquired through interaction with the humans with whom they reside. Both wild and captive parrots have been shown to use contact calls, which allow them to interact with their flock mates and communicate information about their location, detection of predators, availability of food, and safety status. In addition, contact calls are used to form strong social bonds with their flock mates, or in the case of captive greys, with their human housemates. In captivity, they have been shown to display communicative competence, meaning they not only use human language correctly, but also in such a way that is appropriate for the social situation which they are in.

 

Diet

In captivity, they may be fed bird pellets, a variety of fruits such as pear, orange, pomegranate, apple, and banana, and vegetables such as carrot, cooked sweet potato, celery, fresh kale, peas, and green beans. They also need a source of calcium.

 

Disease

Grey parrots in captivity have been observed to be susceptible to fungal infections, bacterial infections, nutritional insufficiency, malignant tumors, psittacine beak and feather disease, tapeworms, and blood-worms. Young grey parrots are more commonly infected by psittacine beak and feather disease than adults. Infected birds show symptoms such as loss of appetite, fluffy feathers, sluggishness, and reduced walking abilities due to brittle bones.

 

Grey parrots are more likely to have rhinitis,[clarification needed] an inflammatory and infectious disease of the nasal cavity. Birds may exhibit signs like wheezing, sneezing, nasal snuffling, and swelling or occlusion of the nares. Treatment options include gentle debridement and nasal irrigation.

 

Intelligence and cognition

Grey parrots are highly intelligent and are considered by many to be one of the most intelligent species of psittacines. Many individuals have been shown to perform at the cognitive level of a four- to six-year-old human child in some tasks. Several studies have been conducted, indicating a suite of higher-level cognitive abilities. Experiments have shown that grey parrots can learn number sequences and can learn to associate human voices with the faces of the humans who create them. It has been reported that grey parrots are capable of using existing known English words to create new labels for objects when the bird does not know the name of the object. For example "banerry" ("banana" + "cherry") for "apple", "banana crackers" for "dried banana chips" or "yummy bread" for "cake".

 

The American scientist Irene Pepperberg's research with Alex the parrot showed his ability to learn more than 100 words, differentiating between objects, colours, materials and shapes. Pepperberg spent several decades working with Alex, and wrote numerous scientific papers on experiments performed, indicating his advanced cognitive abilities. One such study found that Alex had the ability to add numbers as well as having a zero-like concept, similar to that of young children and apes.

 

In addition to their striking cognitive abilities, grey parrots have displayed altruistic behavior and concern for others. Researchers found that while blue-headed macaws were unlikely to share a nut with other members of their own species, grey parrots would actively give their conspecific partner a nut, even if it meant that they would not be able to get one themselves. When the roles were reversed, their partners were overwhelmingly likely to return the favor, foregoing their own nut to their partner's benefits. This indicates not only a display of selflessness but also an act of reciprocity.

 

A 2012 study demonstrated that captive grey parrots have individual musical preferences. When presented with the opportunity to choose between two different pieces of music via a touch screen monitor located in their cage, the two birds in the test consistently chose different songs, to which they then danced and sang along. Some pet grey parrots have also been observed using the music feature of smart speakers (such as Alexa or Amazon Echo) to verbally request playback of specific favored songs.

 

Some research has shown that foot preference can be linked to the number of words a particular parrot may know and use. Researchers found that grey parrots who prefer to use their right foot showed a marked increase in the number of words within their lexicon as compared to parrots who were left-footed. Scientists postulate that parrots may have lateralization of brain function, much like mammals do.

 

In two murder trials, one in 1993 and another in 2017, there was consideration to use the deceased victim's pet grey parrot's "testimony" as evidence due to the pet parrot's witnessing and repeating the victim's last words. In the 1993 murder trial of Gary Joseph Rasp, the defendant was accused of murdering Jane Gill. Public defender Charles Ogulnik wanted to use Jane's pet grey parrot Max as evidence to prove Gary's innocence due to Max repeating Jane's last words "Richard, no, no, no!". In the 2017 murder trial of Glenna Duram, the defendant is accused of murdering her husband Martin Duram. The prosecutor was exploring the possibility of using the couple's pet parrot Bud as evidence when Bud kept repeating Martin's last words "Don't fucking shoot."

 

Mutations

Grey mutations occur naturally in the wild, such as the Blue Ino (albino), the Incomplete Ino, and the Blue varietals. The Blue Ino is all white. The Incomplete Ino has light pigmentation. The Blue has a white tail.

 

Breeders from South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Scandinavia have bred greys intensively since the 1800s. These bred varieties include the Red Pied, F2 Pied, Grizzles, Ino, Incomplete, Parino, Lutino, Cinnamon, and Red Factor. South African bird breeder Von van Antwerpen and New Zealand partner Jaco Bosman selected F2 Pieds and created the first Red Factor Greys. They are rare, may be predominantly red-pigmented, and vary in price depending upon the extent of the red plumage displayed.

 

History

The domestication of grey parrots has a history dating to 2000 B.C., depicting native birds in Egyptian hieroglyphics as pets. They were used for values by the Greeks and the Romans who kept them in birdcages. The grey parrots, due to recent years of illegal trading, have been classified as Endangered in 2016 by the IUCN Red List.

achtsam - mindful, attentive, social awareness - regardfulness → care

 

innere Einstellung und Bereitschaft, das wahrzunehmen, was einem begegnet

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Achtsamkeit - im englischen sind das Bereiche:

  

1 Achtsamkeit (care), Aufmerksamkeit für die Bedürfnisse und Belange anderer Menschen, Begriff der Care-Ethik.

 

2 Achtsamkeit (mindfulness), Aufmerksamkeit in Zusammenhang mit einem besonderen Wahrnehmungs- und Bewusstseinszustand des Hier und Jetzt im Rahmen von Buddhismus und Psychologie.

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Achtsamkeit hat doch bestimmt buddhistische Wurzeln?

  

Ja. Achtsamkeit ist ein zentrales Prinzip buddhistischer Übungspraxis.

Dem us-amerikanischen Mediziner J. Kabat-Zinn gebührt ein großer Teil des Verdiensts, das Übungsprinzip Achtsamkeit befreit von philosophisch-religiösem Überbau in die Humanwissenschaft eingeführt zu haben.

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Jon Kabat-Zinn ist emeritierter Professor an der University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester. Er unterrichtet Achtsamkeitsmeditation, um Menschen zu helfen, besser mit Stress, Angst und Krankheiten umgehen zu können: das Programm der Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) .

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Research by Kabat-Zinn includes the effect of MBSR on psoriasis, pain, anxiety, brain function, and immune function.

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••• "Wunder-waffe?" - « méditation de la pleine conscience » (mindfulness meditation)

 

MBSR has been adapted for use by the US military to improve combatants' "operational effectiveness," apparently with Kabat-Zinn's approval, which has provoked some controversy among mindfulness practitioners.

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??

Although he has been "trained in Buddhism and espouses its principles," he rejects the label of "Buddhist," preferring to "apply mindfulness within a scientific rather than a religious frame.

• - Vivere momento per momento - Lebe den Moment.

•Mehr Gleichgewicht, Stabilität, Souveränität und Lebensfreude entwickeln und diese auch angesichts schwieriger Situationen oder Lebensumstände behalten.

 

... Muss ich dazu Mönch werden? Nein.

 

Jeder kann diesen existentiellen Modus erlernen und praktizieren.

Meditaiton und Zen als Lebenspraxis auch für die westliche Zivilisation.

...

 

Textauszug:

Gegen das Auftreten beider Pilzarten kann nur Achtsamkeit beim Melken und Fernhalten aller Unreinlichkeit helfen.

 

Die Landfrau, 20.06.1925

eigentlich ist das Achtsamkeit :

the precautionary forethought to avoid harm or risk.

• Freundlich aber bestimmt Grenzen setzen.

The Black Sleep (1956)

 

dai.ly/x14wrtw Full Feature on Daily motion

England, 1872. The night before he is to be hanged for a murder he did not commit, young Dr. Gordon Ramsey is visited in his cell by his old mentor, eminent surgeon Sir Joel Cadmund. Cadmund offers to see that Ramsey gets a proper burial and gives him a sleeping powder to get him through the night, which Ramsey takes, unaware it is really an East Indian drug, "nind andhera" ("the black sleep"), which induces a deathlike state of anesthesia. Pronounced dead in his cell, he is turned over to Cadmund, who promptly revives him and takes him to his home in a remote abbey. Cadmund explains he believes Ramsey is innocent and needs his talents to help him in an project, which he is reluctant to immediately discuss further. In fact, Cadmund's wife lies in a coma from a deep-seated brain tumor, and he is attempting to find a safe surgical route to its site by experimenting on the brains of others, whom Ramsey comes to learn are alive during the process, anesthetized by the "black sleep", and are taken to a hidden recovery room in the abbey from which few emerge, though they still live...

- Written by Rich Wannen

  

Old-fashioned as it is, however, The Black Sleep still gets the job done at least as well as most of the movies to which it hearkens back. Most notably, it crystallized a vague sense I’ve had for some time now that it’s too bad Rathbone got pigeonholed so early on as Sherlock Holmes. He had a commanding elegance about him akin to that later displayed by Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, and which nobody else on the 30’s and 40’s horror scene could match. Lionel Atwill and John Carradine came close on occasion, but Atwill was always a little too foppish and Carradine a little too homespun to play the depraved Old World nobleman with Rathbone’s authority; neither of them would have been up to the challenge of Tower of London’s Richard III, for example. As Joe Cadman, Rathbone simultaneously prefigures the Cushing Frankenstein, and hints at all the brilliant mad movie scientists that might have been if only Rathbone hadn’t been so busy chasing Nazi agents all over the English moors during the years of the second Hollywood horror boom. He might even have injected some unwonted class into a Monogram or PRC production! The rest of the cast doesn’t quite match up to the top-billed star, but most of those who are required to do any actual acting (which is to say, not Tor Johnson, Bela Lugosi, or Lon Chaney Jr.) acquit themselves respectably well. Another thing The Black Sleep does right is to incorporate a bit of defensible real-world science into the mad variety more familiar from movies of its type. Much of the film’s horror stems from the certainty that attempting such delicate neurological investigations with the clumsy and invasive techniques of the late 19th century really would produce monstrous derangement's of brain function, even if these specific symptoms (John Carradine’s character is convinced that he’s Bohemond of Taranto— the hell?) are not always especially plausible. Finally, Udo the Gypsy, who in most horror films of this era would be nothing but a comic relief character, is portrayed in much too sinister a light to become as irritating as one might anticipate. His clowning creates more unease than anything else, for it is plainly but a cover for a complete absence of conscience. All in all, The Black Sleep represents a commendable effort to bring some seriousness of purpose back into the gothic mad scientist movie, which had grown silly enough on its own over the years that it hadn’t really needed Abbott and Costello to poke fun at it.

 

Major depression is one of the most common conditions in the U.S.; therefore, more and more people require depression treatment like antidepressants every day. But, are antidepressants worth it? The many side effects of antidepressants tell us that these drugs are rarely the solution to the problem at hand.

 

Source: www.doctorshealthpress.com/brain-function/depression/depr...

The grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus), also known as the Congo grey parrot, Congo African grey parrot or African grey parrot, is an Old World parrot in the family Psittacidae. The Timneh parrot (Psittacus timneh) once was identified as a subspecies of the grey parrot, but has since been elevated to a full species.

 

Taxonomy

The grey parrot was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. He placed it with all the other parrots in the genus Psittacus and coined the binomial name Psittacus erithacus. Linnaeus erroneously specified the type locality as "Guinea": the locality was later designated as Ghana in West Africa. The genus name is Latin for "parrot". The specific epithet erithacus is Latin and is derived from the Ancient Greek εριθακος (erithakos) for an unknown bird that was said to mimic human sounds, perhaps the black redstart. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.

 

The Timneh parrot was formerly treated as a subspecies of the grey parrot but is now considered to be a separate species based mainly on the results from a genetic and morphological study published in 2007. Although Linnaeus placed all the parrots known to him in the genus Psittacus, only the grey parrot and the Timneh parrot are now assigned to this genus.

 

Description

The grey parrot is a medium-sized, predominantly grey, black-billed parrot. Its typical weight is 400 g (14 oz), with an approximate length of 33 cm (13 in), and a wingspan of 46–52 cm (18–20+1⁄2 in). The grey colour on the head and wings is generally darker than its body. The head and body feathers have slight white edges. The tail feathers are red.

 

Due to selection by parrot breeders, some grey parrots are partly or completely red. Both sexes appear similar. The colouration of juveniles is similar to that of adults, but typically their eyes are dark grey to black, in comparison to the yellow irises around dark pupils of the adult birds, and their undertail coverts are tinged with grey. Adults weigh 418–526 g (14+3⁄4–18+1⁄2 oz).

 

Grey parrots may live for 40–60 years in captivity, although their mean lifespan in the wild appears to be shorter—approximately 23 years. They start breeding at an age of 3–5 years and lay 3-5 eggs per brood.

 

Distribution and habitat

The grey parrot is native to equatorial Africa, including Angola, Cameroon, the Congo, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda. The species is found inside a range from Kenya to the eastern part of the Ivory Coast. Current estimates for the global population are uncertain and range from 630,000 to 13 million birds. Populations are decreasing worldwide. The species seems to favor dense forests, but can also be found at forest edges and in more open vegetation types, such as gallery and savanna forests.

 

A population study published in 2015 found that the species had been "virtually eliminated" from Ghana with numbers declining 90 to 99% since 1992. They were found in only 10 of 42 forested areas, and three roosts that once held 700–1200 birds each, now had only 18 in total. Local people mainly blamed the pet trade and the felling of timber for the decline. Populations are thought to be stable in Cameroon. In the Congo, an estimated 15,000 are taken every year for the pet trade, from the eastern part of the country, although the annual quota is stated to be 5,000.

 

Grey parrots have escaped or been deliberately released into Florida, U.S., but no evidence indicates that the population is breeding naturally.

 

Behaviour and ecology in the wild

Little is known about the behaviour and activities of these birds in the wild. In addition to a lack of research funding, it can be particularly difficult to study these birds in wild situations due to their status as prey animals, which leads them to have rather secretive personalities. It has been shown that wild greys may also imitate a wide variety of sounds they hear, much like their captive relatives. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, two greys sound-recorded while roosting reportedly had a repertoire of over 200 different calls, including nine imitations of other wild bird songs and one of a bat.

 

Feeding

Grey parrots are mainly frugivorous, with most of their diet consisting of fruit, nuts, and seeds, including oil palm fruit. They sometimes also eat flowers and tree bark, as well as insects and snails. In the wild, the grey parrot is partly a ground feeder.

 

Breeding

Grey parrots are monogamous breeders who nest in tree cavities. Each mated pair of parrots needs their own tree for their nest. The hen lays three to five eggs, which she incubates for 30 days while being fed by her mate. The adults defend their nesting sites.

 

Grey parrot chicks require feeding and care from their parents in the nest. The parents take care of them until 4–5 weeks after they are fledged. Young leave the nest at the age of 12 weeks. Little is known about the courtship behaviour of this species in the wild.[9] They weigh 12–14 g (7⁄16–1⁄2 oz) at hatching and 372–526 g (13+1⁄8–18+1⁄2 oz) when they leave their parents.

 

Conservation

Natural predators for this species include palm-nut vultures and several raptors. Monkeys target eggs and the young for food.

 

Humans are by far the largest threat to wild grey populations. Between 1994 and 2003, more than 359,000 grey parrots were traded on the international market. Approximately 21% of the wild population was being harvested every year. Mortality rates are extremely high between the time they are captured and they reach the market, ranging from 60 to 66%. This species also is hunted for its meat and for its body parts, which are used in traditional medicines. As a result of the extensive harvest of wild birds, in addition to habitat loss, this species is believed to be undergoing a rapid decline in the wild and therefore, has been rated as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

 

In October 2016, the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Fauna and Flora (CITES) extended the highest level of protection to grey parrots by listing the species under Appendix 1, which regulates international trade in the species.

 

In 2021, the Kenyan government held a short amnesty, during which grey parrot owners could pay a fee to obtain a permit for their birds and facilitate legal ownership. Following the expiry of this time period, it is now illegal to own this species without a permit.

 

In captivity

The species is common in captivity and regularly kept by humans as a companion parrot, prized for its ability to mimic human speech, which makes it one of the most popular avian pets. An escaped pet in Japan was returned to his owner after repeating the owner's name and address.

 

Grey parrots are notorious for mimicking noises heard in their environment and using them tirelessly. They are highly intelligent birds, needing extensive behavioral and social enrichment as well as extensive attention in captivity or else they may become distressed. Feather plucking is a common symptom seen among such distressed grey parrots, affecting up to 40% of captive individuals. They may also be prone to behavioural problems due to their sensitive nature. Social isolation hastens stress and aging.

 

The grey parrot is a highly social species which relies on a flock-type structure, even when raised in captivity. Because they are so dependent on the other birds within their flock, much of their speech and vocal ability is acquired through interaction with the humans with whom they reside. Both wild and captive parrots have been shown to use contact calls, which allow them to interact with their flock mates and communicate information about their location, detection of predators, availability of food, and safety status. In addition, contact calls are used to form strong social bonds with their flock mates, or in the case of captive greys, with their human housemates. In captivity, they have been shown to display communicative competence, meaning they not only use human language correctly, but also in such a way that is appropriate for the social situation which they are in.

 

Diet

In captivity, they may be fed bird pellets, a variety of fruits such as pear, orange, pomegranate, apple, and banana, and vegetables such as carrot, cooked sweet potato, celery, fresh kale, peas, and green beans. They also need a source of calcium.

 

Disease

Grey parrots in captivity have been observed to be susceptible to fungal infections, bacterial infections, nutritional insufficiency, malignant tumors, psittacine beak and feather disease, tapeworms, and blood-worms. Young grey parrots are more commonly infected by psittacine beak and feather disease than adults. Infected birds show symptoms such as loss of appetite, fluffy feathers, sluggishness, and reduced walking abilities due to brittle bones.

 

Grey parrots are more likely to have rhinitis,[clarification needed] an inflammatory and infectious disease of the nasal cavity. Birds may exhibit signs like wheezing, sneezing, nasal snuffling, and swelling or occlusion of the nares. Treatment options include gentle debridement and nasal irrigation.

 

Intelligence and cognition

Grey parrots are highly intelligent and are considered by many to be one of the most intelligent species of psittacines. Many individuals have been shown to perform at the cognitive level of a four- to six-year-old human child in some tasks. Several studies have been conducted, indicating a suite of higher-level cognitive abilities. Experiments have shown that grey parrots can learn number sequences and can learn to associate human voices with the faces of the humans who create them. It has been reported that grey parrots are capable of using existing known English words to create new labels for objects when the bird does not know the name of the object. For example "banerry" ("banana" + "cherry") for "apple", "banana crackers" for "dried banana chips" or "yummy bread" for "cake".

 

The American scientist Irene Pepperberg's research with Alex the parrot showed his ability to learn more than 100 words, differentiating between objects, colours, materials and shapes. Pepperberg spent several decades working with Alex, and wrote numerous scientific papers on experiments performed, indicating his advanced cognitive abilities. One such study found that Alex had the ability to add numbers as well as having a zero-like concept, similar to that of young children and apes.

 

In addition to their striking cognitive abilities, grey parrots have displayed altruistic behavior and concern for others. Researchers found that while blue-headed macaws were unlikely to share a nut with other members of their own species, grey parrots would actively give their conspecific partner a nut, even if it meant that they would not be able to get one themselves. When the roles were reversed, their partners were overwhelmingly likely to return the favor, foregoing their own nut to their partner's benefits. This indicates not only a display of selflessness but also an act of reciprocity.

 

A 2012 study demonstrated that captive grey parrots have individual musical preferences. When presented with the opportunity to choose between two different pieces of music via a touch screen monitor located in their cage, the two birds in the test consistently chose different songs, to which they then danced and sang along. Some pet grey parrots have also been observed using the music feature of smart speakers (such as Alexa or Amazon Echo) to verbally request playback of specific favored songs.

 

Some research has shown that foot preference can be linked to the number of words a particular parrot may know and use. Researchers found that grey parrots who prefer to use their right foot showed a marked increase in the number of words within their lexicon as compared to parrots who were left-footed. Scientists postulate that parrots may have lateralization of brain function, much like mammals do.

 

In two murder trials, one in 1993 and another in 2017, there was consideration to use the deceased victim's pet grey parrot's "testimony" as evidence due to the pet parrot's witnessing and repeating the victim's last words. In the 1993 murder trial of Gary Joseph Rasp, the defendant was accused of murdering Jane Gill. Public defender Charles Ogulnik wanted to use Jane's pet grey parrot Max as evidence to prove Gary's innocence due to Max repeating Jane's last words "Richard, no, no, no!". In the 2017 murder trial of Glenna Duram, the defendant is accused of murdering her husband Martin Duram. The prosecutor was exploring the possibility of using the couple's pet parrot Bud as evidence when Bud kept repeating Martin's last words "Don't fucking shoot."

 

Mutations

Grey mutations occur naturally in the wild, such as the Blue Ino (albino), the Incomplete Ino, and the Blue varietals. The Blue Ino is all white. The Incomplete Ino has light pigmentation. The Blue has a white tail.

 

Breeders from South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Scandinavia have bred greys intensively since the 1800s. These bred varieties include the Red Pied, F2 Pied, Grizzles, Ino, Incomplete, Parino, Lutino, Cinnamon, and Red Factor. South African bird breeder Von van Antwerpen and New Zealand partner Jaco Bosman selected F2 Pieds and created the first Red Factor Greys. They are rare, may be predominantly red-pigmented, and vary in price depending upon the extent of the red plumage displayed.

 

History

The domestication of grey parrots has a history dating to 2000 B.C., depicting native birds in Egyptian hieroglyphics as pets. They were used for values by the Greeks and the Romans who kept them in birdcages. The grey parrots, due to recent years of illegal trading, have been classified as Endangered in 2016 by the IUCN Red List.

For a moment, let’s supposed there are two basic personality types in photography.

 

The “technical” type are those people who focus their efforts on and enjoy the technical aspects of photography. They can tell you all about camera equipment. Stretching their budgets if they have to, they themselves continually strive for bigger and better stuff. They want to understand the science of light and optics. In digital photography, they are familiar with computers, photo editing programs, and even the arcane world of color spaces. They probably don’t mind being called “geeks” but would like to be seen as professionals. These are the go-to people when you want advice on buying equipment and dealing with computer hardware or software problems. They are logical, analytical, realistic, and practical thinkers. They believe in order, pay attention to details, and like having control over all aspects of their work. As sticklers for rules and procedures, they believe in the right and wrong ways to do photography. For them, authority matters. Other people might find them a bit compulsive and inflexible. Sometimes they might even drive themselves crazy with their own perfectionism. They strive for tack sharp photos, perfect white balance, and no clipping in the shadows or highlights. Realistic images and the control offered by studio photography are attractive to them, as well as the practical challenges and outcomes of event photography. They’re not particularly interested in and maybe even look down on “artsy” photographs. Their photo archive is well-organized, with a comprehensive set of keywords and precisely defined file names.

 

The artistic type are those people who are, in many ways, the exact opposite. They’re not particularly interested in the technical or scientific aspects of photography. They see photography as art, as a vehicle for personal and emotional expression. They think of themselves and want to be seen as artists. They’re more interested in creativity, experimentation, innovation, and play, rather than standards and rules. Indifferent to or even rebellious against authority, they want to be independent, to do their own thing. They like images that are emotional, ambiguous, unusual, idiosyncratic, shocking, or based more on fantasy and imagination that reality. Blurry, strangely colored, and shadow or highlight clipped photos are fine with them, as long as the effect looks cool. In their photography they want to remain open to new experiences, to let go, to be receptive, spontaneous and fluid. Other people might see them as sensitive, moody, unpredictable, introspective, nonverbal, impractical, or disorganized. The artistic types shudder at the thought of doing wedding or commercial photography. Having a well-organized archive of images and a logical system of filenames isn’t on their list of priorities, if they even bother keeping lists.

 

You might know people who fit these descriptions. If they come from different types, it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to get them together. They won’t have a lot in common, even though they’re both into photography. They might not even like each other very much or respect each other’s work.

 

More than likely, you probably know people who are somewhat similar to one of these two types, but not exactly. They might have some of the traits of the technical as well as the artistic type. This might also be true of you. I deliberately portrayed these two kinds of photographers in a rather extreme fashion, as two opposite poles on a continuum of artistic/technical temperaments. We might think of all photographers as falling somewhere on that continuum, some towards the technical pole of the dimension, others more towards the artistic end.

 

We also might think of these two kinds of photographers as “pure” types in the sense that they contain specific but very different clusters of personality traits. These pure types account for only some people. The personalities of most photographers will involve unique clusters of traits that come from both column A and column B. However, as we often find in psychological studies of personality types, certain traits do tend to cluster together.

 

The differences between the technical and artistic photographer can be explained in terms of cerebral lateralization – what the popular press often describes as “left versus right brain.” The left side of the cerebral cortex tends to involve thinking that is more logical, analytical, objective, sequential, detail-oriented, concerned with reality, and focused on language, facts, patterns, and order. The right side involves thinking that is visual, emotional, subjective, intuitive, spatial, holistic, and based on symbols, metaphors, and imagination.

 

Of course, these distinctions are a simplification of the much more complex reality of brain functioning. Some research suggests that many brain activities, especially the more complex ones, are spread out across a variety of areas. And even if there is a clear distinction between some functions of the left and right cerebral cortex, there’s a large nerve pathway between them, the corpus callosum, that intertwines their activities. Given this interconnectedness within the brain, it’s no surprise that we only occasionally see the pure types of technical or artistic photographers, while most of the time people lean in the direction of right or left brain thinking while retaining some of the functions of the opposite side.

 

What’s interesting about photography is how it calls for a robust engagement of both sides of the brain. It draws on a variety of brain processes associated with both technical and artistic thinking. The technical photographer might be more concerned about precision in creating an image, while the artistic photographer will rely more on instinct. However, most photography will require us to draw on the visual thinking of the right brain while also employing the left brain to master the technical aspects of working the camera and processing the image. To produce good photos, technical photographers will need to draw on a right brain appreciation of visual design and composition, whereas artistic photographers will need to tap left brain thinking in order to learn the tools of the trade that help them actualize their artistic visions.

 

* This image and essay are part of a book on Photographic Psychology that I’m writing within Flickr. Another more easy to navigate version of the book is located at this web site

  

*based on poem of same title recited with it's profound words of wisdom by Alfred Gutierrez. /see english transl./ youtu.be/UelP7KzJQw0

p.s. the above is my umpteens time trying to interpret the intellectual side of this brain function; previously always failing. But what the heck; have nothing better to do to-night, so here we go once again; this time from inside out! LOL.

this set is best seen on black.

The 18 minute video of an incredible TED talk just went online:

"Neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor had an opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: One morning, she realized she was having a massive stroke. As it happened -- as she felt her brain functions slip away one by one, speech, movement, understanding -- she studied and remembered every moment."

 

At one point during that perceptual blur, only her arm came into sharp focus, and then drifted into hallucination.

 

Here she is holding a real human brain and about to launch into a humorous, yet poignant exploration of the left brain / right brain dichotomy within us all…

 

This talk epitomizes a “TED Moment”

 

Get this image free on Freerangestock or Stockvault (English) or ImagensLivres.com (Portuguese)

#Benefits of #red #wine

 

Promotes #Longevity

Wine drinkers have a 34 percent lower mortality rate than beer or spirits drinkers

 

Reduces #Heart-Attack Risk

Moderate drinkers suffering from high blood pressure are 30 percent less likely to have a heart attack than nondrinkers.

 

Lowers Risk of Heart #Disease

Red-wine #tannins contain #procyanidins, which protect against heart disease. Wines from Sardinia and southwest #France have more procyanidins than other wines

 

Reduces Risk of Type 2 Diabetes

Moderate #drinkers have 30 percent less risk than nondrinkers of developing type 2 diabetes

 

Lowers Risk of Stroke:

The possibility of suffering a #blood clotrelated stroke drops by about 50 percent in people who consume moderate amounts of #alcohol

 

Cuts Risk of Cataracts

Moderate drinkers are 32 percent less likely to get cataracts than nondrinkers; those who consume wine are 43 percent less likely to develop cataracts than those drinking mainly #beer

 

Cuts Risk of Colon #Cancer

Moderate consumption of wine (especially red) cuts the risk of colon cancer by 45 percent

Slows Brain

 

Decline Brain function

 

declines at a markedly faster rate in nondrinkers than in moderate drinkers

Have you wonder, what’s inside a LEGO minifigure’s head?

 

Let me share with you what I’ve discovered when I split this giant LEGO minifig in the middle. You discover two different worlds:

 

On the left brain: A Scientist’s Lab

This half is all about science and discovery! Two minifig scientists working hard in a lab with microscope, computer, and a big specimen tank. They’re busy studying how LEGO brick and minifig works. This thinking and learning side just like how human’s left brain function.

 

On the right brain: A Kid’s Dream Space

This half is about fun and imagination! A minifig kid is sitting on the floor, happily building with LEGO bricks. He’s dreaming up wild creations and imagining his own LEGO model someday being displayed at LEGO House! This is the minifig’s playful, dreaming side and it relate with human’s right brain.

 

Wait! Seems like the orange “piping” in the minfig head is the corpus callosum, which it form a brigde and allows communication between the left and right brain!

by phil_torres ift.tt/1pY4cBj

~ Charlotte Bronte

  

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I'm kind of bored so i decided to masturbate my creativity.. i need this exercise sometimes to make my brain function well... i sometimes have some memory problems.. so i think this helps..

 

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model: Candy Torres

photo taken and edited by: ©neirien lind g. marcelo

this photo was taken last year..

  

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just taking a break from posting my recent trips..

A flowering plant known for its potential health benefits.

Milk thistle is often used for liver conditions like cirrhosis, hepatitis, and fatty liver disease. Silymarin is thought to protect liver cells from toxins, reduce inflammation, and may even aid in liver cell regeneration. However, research on its effectiveness is mixed and more studies are needed, according to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH).

Diabetes Management: Some research suggests milk thistle may help lower blood sugar levels and improve insulin sensitivity in people with type 2 diabetes.

Other Potential Benefits: Milk thistle is also explored for potential benefits in:

Neuroprotection: Animal studies suggest it may help prevent age-related decline in brain function.

Bone Health: Animal studies indicate it may strengthen bones and protect against bone loss.

Cancer Treatment Support: It's being studied for potentially reducing chemotherapy side effects and enhancing treatment efficacy, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

Acne Control: A small study showed promise for reducing acne lesions.

Increased Breast Milk Production: Some evidence suggests it may boost breast milk production in lactating mothers.

Paul de Vivie - Velocio ! 1853-1930

 

VELOCIO, GRAND SEIGNEUR

by Clifford L. Graves, M.D.

May 1965

 

When a throng of cyclists from all corners of France converged on Saint-Etienne one day last July as they had done for more than forty years, they were paying homage to a man who accomplished great things in a small corner of the world. He was a man who devoted a lifetime to the perfection of the bicycle and the art of riding it, a man who inspired countless others through the strength of his character and the beauty of his writings, a man who even in his old age was capable of prodigious riding feats; in short, a man who might well be called the patron saint of cyclists. That man was Paul de Vivie, better know as Velocio.

 

Paul de Vivie was born in 1853 in the small village of Perne in Southern France. His early years were unremarkable except that he distinguished himself by his love for the classics. If it is the mark of the educated man that he enjoys the exercise of his mind, Paul was exceedingly well educated. He graduated from the lycée, served an apprenticeship in the silk industry, and started his own business before he was thirty. With a beautiful wife and three handsome children, he seemed headed for a life of ease and elegance.

 

The change came gradually. In 1881, when he was twenty-eight, he bought his first bicycle. It was an "ordinary" or high wheel, the safety bicycle still being in the future. The ordinary was a monster. With a precarious balance and an immoderate weight, it was a vehicle only for the strong and intrepid. That was exactly Paul's cup of tea. He began exploring the neighborhood on his newfangled contraption and he taught himself all the tricks of his wobbly perch. One day, on a bet, he rode sixty-six miles in six hours. This trip took him to the mountain resort of Chaise-Dieu. Suddenly he discovered a new world. The vigorous exercise, the fresh air, the beautiful countryside, these things took possession of him. He did not realize it but his life was beginning to take shape.

 

The decade of the 1880s was a momentous one, both for Paul and for the bicycle. For Paul, it was the start of an arduous and lifelong pursuit. For the bicycle, it was the end of a long and painful gestation.

 

This gestation had started in 1816 when the Baron von Drais in Germany discovered that he could balance two wheels in tandem as long as he kept moving. He moved by kicking the ground with his feet, and his vehicle came to be known as the draisine, or hobbyhorse.

 

In 1829 Kirkpatrick Macmillan in Scotland eliminated the necessity for kicking by fitting cranks and treadles to the wheels.

 

In 1863 or 1864 Pierre Michaux in Paris, with the help of his mechanic, Pierre Lallement, improved on the treadles by fitting pedals. This vehicle was a boneshaker, or velocipede.

 

Neither the hobbyhorse nor the boneshaker was a hit because of the bruising weight and the merciless bouncing.

 

In 1870 came the high wheel, and this did make a hit. Although the height of the wheel was a distinct and ceaseless hazard, this very height made it possible to travel farther with each revolution of the pedals. The high wheel caught the public fancy when four riders in 1872 rode the 860 miles in Great Britain from Lands End to John o'Groats in fifteen days. Clubs were formed, inns were opened, and touring started in earnest. The high wheel lasted until 1885 when it was replaced by the safety bicycle, which caused a further surge of excitement. Thus, when Paul de Vivie appeared on the scene in 1881, the bicycle was indeed on the threshold of its golden age.

 

Paul rode his ordinary only a year. Then he bought a Bayliss tricycle, followed by a tandem tricycle and various other early models. These were the days when the bicycle industry was well established in Coventry, while France was lagging. Fired by enthusiasm, Paul started shuttling back and forth. He was searching for a better bicycle, a search that was taking more and more of his time. Clearly, he could not push this search and also run his silk business. He made his decision in 1887 at the age of thirty-four.

 

In that year, he sold his silk business, moved to Saint-Etienne, opened a small shop, and started a magazine, Le Cycliste. Considering that he was invading a completely new field in which he had never had any training, it was a leap in the dark. In this leap, he discovered himself, and one of the things he discovered was that he could write. Words welled up within him as naturally as water tumbles down a cataract--and as gracefully. In his writing he always signed himself Velocio, and that became his name henceforth. It fitted him to perfection.

 

For the first two years, Velocio was content to import bicycles from Coventry. But all the time he was experimenting. For us, who have grown up with the bicycle, the design problems that assailed Velocio seem elementary. To him, they were formidable. The safety bicycle of 1885 left many questions unanswered. The shape of the frame, the kind of transmission, the length of the cranks, the position of the handlebars, the type of tires, and above all the gearing, these were matters that caused endless discussion and experimentation, not only in the shop but on the road.

 

Velocio's first model in 1889 was La Gauloise. It had the familiar diamond frame, a chain transmission, and a single gear of about fifty inches. It was the first bicycle produced in France, but it did not satisfy Velocio. The region around Saint-Etienne is mountainous. Velocio could see the need for variable gears. How to achieve these? In England, all the work was in the direction of epicyclic and planetary gears. Velocio struck out in a totally different direction. He conceived the idea of the derailleur.

 

His first attempt was two concentric chain wheels with a single chain that had to be lifted by hand from one to the other. Now he had two gears. Next, he built two concentric chain wheels on the left side of the bottom bracket. Now he had four gears. In 1901 he came on the four-speed protean gear of the English Whippet. Here, the changes were made by the expansion of a split chain wheel. Partial reverse rotation of the pedals caused cams to open the two halves of the chain wheel and secure them in any one of the four positions by pawls. Velocio took this idea and worked it into his Chemineau, the derailleur as we now know it. This was in 1906. By 1908 four French manufacturers were introducing their own models because Velocio had been too busy to take out a patent.

 

Incredible as it seems today, Velocio actually had to fight for the adoption of his derailleur gear. The cyclists of the period resented this marvelous invention as a stigma of weakness. They stoutly maintained that only a fixed gear could lead to smooth pedaling. Even Henri Desgrange, the originator of the Tour de France, attacked Velocio. To defend himself, Velocio wrote dozens of articles, answered hundreds of letters, cycled thousands of miles (average, 12,000 a year). At his suggestion the Touring Club de France organized a test in 1902. Competitors were to ride a mountainous course of 150 miles with a total climb of 12,000 feet. The champion of the day, Edouard Fischer, on a single-speed was pitched against Marthe Hesse on a Gauloise with a three-speed derailleur. The Gauloise won hands down. The newspapers were ecstatic because "the winner never set foot to the ground over the entire course." Still, Desgrange would not concede. Wrote he in his influential magazine, L'Equipe:

 

"I applaud this test, but I still feel that variable gears are only for people over forty-five. Isn't it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailleur? We are getting soft. Come on, fellows. Let's say that the test was a fine demonstration--for our grandparents! As for me, give me a fixed gear!"

 

Said Velocio with admirable restraint: "No comment."

 

The battle of the derailleur dragged on for a full thirty years. It was not until the 1920s that it was finally won. Velocio himself advocated wide-ratio gears for touring: from 35 to 85. His normal riding gear was 72.

 

In this battle for the derailleur gear, Velocio had a powerful weapon in his magazine, Le Cycliste. By 1900 this publication had grown from a fragile and unpretentious sheet of local circulation to an eloquent and influential journal that was widely read because of its incisive articles and vivid writing. Much of this writing was by Velocio himself, who never tired of describing his fantastic tours in the most colorful language. To read Le Cycliste is to read the history of cycle touring.

 

But Le Cycliste is more than a repository of history. With a passage of the years, Velocio became a philosopher. Having given up the quest for money and fame in the dim days of 1887, he could look at the world with complete equanimity. He read the classics in the original, and he applied their teachings to his own life. Between his articles on cycling, he counseled his readers on diet, on exercise, on hygiene, on physical fitness, on self-discipline, in fact on all the facets of what is commonly called a well-rounded life. His theme was a sound mind in a sound body. In wine-drinking France he spoke out unequivocally for sobriety; and he warned against the hazards of smoking sixty year before a presidential commission in the United States did so. These statements he made only after he had proved the benefits on himself because he was not a man to mouth platitudes. Thus, Le Cycliste became much more than a magazine for cyclists. It became a manifesto of brisk living, the credo of a dedicated man, a profession of faith.

 

Brisk and dedicated are also the words to describe Velocio as a cyclist. By nature, temperament, and physique he was what he called a "veloceman." Something of his enthusiasm can be gleaned from his ride to Chaise-Dieu in 1881, sixty-six miles in six hours on a clumsy high wheel. His serious cycling started in 1886 on a Eureka with solid rubber tires (pneumatics came in 1889). On this bicycle he rode 90 miles from Saint-Etienne to Vichy before noon. In 1889 he made his first 150-miler, a round trip from Saint-Etienne to Charlieu on a British Star weighing fifty-five pounds.

 

But these were only the probings of the beginner. Partly from his tremendous drive and partly from his compelling desire to show what the bicycle was capable of, he began to extend his tours. Sometimes alone, sometimes with a small group of friends, he would ride through the night, through the second day, through the second night, and into the third day without more that an occasional rest to eat or change clothes. Consider these feats:

 

In 1900, when he was forty-seven, he toured the high passes in Switzerland and Italy, 400 miles with a total climb of 18,000 feet, in forty-eight hours.

 

For Easter in 1903, at the age of fifty, he rode from Saint-Etienne to Menton and back in four days: 600 miles on a bicycle weighing sixty-six pounds including baggage.

 

For Christmas 1904 he cycled from Saint-Etienne to Arles and back on a night so cold that icicles formed on his moustache.

 

His "spring cure" in 1910 took him from Saint-Etienne to Nice, a distance of 350 miles, in thirty-two hours. At Nice he joined a group of friends for 250 miles of leisurely touring in three days.

 

The following summer he tackled one of the highest Alpine passes, the Lautaret, in the company of a young friend: 300 miles in thirty-one hours.

 

In 1912 also, when he was fifty-nine, he undertook an experimental ride from Saint-Etienne to Aix-en-Provence. 400 miles in forty-six hours, at the end of which he had to admit that his companion, thirty-five, tolerated the second night on the road better than he. "From now on," he wrote in Le Cycliste, "I will limit myself to stages of forty hours and leave it to the younger generation to prove that the human motor can run for three days and two nights without excessive fatigue."

 

"Every cyclist between twenty and sixty in good health," wrote Velocio with the fervor of a missionary "can ride 130 miles in a day with 600 feet of climbing, provided he eats properly and provided he has the proper bicycle." Proper food, in his opinion, meant no meat. A proper bicycle meant a comfortable bicycle with wide-ratio gears, a fairly long wheelbase, and wide-section tires. A bicycle with close-ratio gears, a short wheelbase, and narrow-section tires will roll better at first, he pointed out, but it will wear its rider down on long-distance attempts. The first consideration is comfort. His diet on tour consisted of fruit, rice, cakes, eggs, and milk.

 

Obviously, Velocio was a very special kind of cycle tourist. Not for him the Sunday ride with stops every half hour. "Cycling in this fashion is undoubtedly enjoyable," he wrote, "but it ruins your rhythm and squanders your energy. To get in your stride, you have to use a certain amount of discipline. My aim is to show that long rides of hundreds of miles with only an occasional stop are no strain on the healthy organism. To prove this point is not only a pleasure, it is a duty for me."

 

Velocio was sometimes criticized for his long-distance riding. It was said that he was hypnotized by speed and mileage and that he could not see anything of the country at that rate. He answered:

 

"These people do not realize that vigorous riding impels the senses. Perception is sharpened, impressions are heightened, blood circulates faster, and the brain functions better. I can still vividly remember the smallest details of tours of many years ago. Hypnotized? It is the traveler in a train of car who is hypnotized."

 

If anyone doubts that Velocio could see anything, let him read short passage from a story of an Alpine crossing:

 

"A shaft of gold pierced the sky and came to rest on a snowy peak, which, moments before, had been caressed by soft moonlight. For an instant, showers of sparks bounced off the pinnacle and tumbled down the mountain in a heavenly cataract. The king of the universe, the magnificent dispenser of light and warmth and life, gave notice of his imminent arrival. But only for an instant. Like a spent meteor, the spectacle dissolved in the sea of darkness that engulfed me in the depths of the gorge. The scintillating reflections, the exploding fireballs--they were gone. Once again, the snow assumed its cold and ghostly face."

 

Could this passage have come from the pen of a cyclist obsessed by the mechanics of cycling? No--Velocio loved his bicycle because it brought him priceless freedom, because it gave him exhilarating exercise, because it opened his mind to the music of the wind, because it imparted a delicious feeling of being alive.

 

"After a long day on my bicycle," he said, "I feel refreshed, cleansed, purified. I feel that I have established contact with my environment and that I am at peace. On days like that I am permeated with a profound gratitude for my bicycle." It was Velocio who coined the term "little queen" for the bicycle, a term that is still in common use in France.

 

And again: "Even if I did not enjoy riding, I would still do it for my peace of mind. What a wonderful tonic to be exposed to bright sunshine, drenching rain, choking dust, dripping fog, frigid air, punishing winds! I will never forget the day I climbed Puy Mary [a 5,000-foot eminence near his home]. There were two of us on a fine day in May. We started in the sunshine and stripped to the waist. Halfway, clouds enveloped us and the temperature tumbled. Gradually it got colder and wetter, but we did not notice it. In fact, it heightened our pleasure. We did not bother to put on our jackets or our capes, and we arrived at the little hotel at the top with rivulets of rain and sweat running down our sides. I tingled from top to bottom." Passages almost exactly like this can be found in the books of John Muir.

 

It was from experiences like these that Velocio formulated the seven commandments for the cyclist:

1. Keep your rests short and infrequent to maintain your rhythm.

2. Eat before you are hungry and drink before you are thirsty.

3. Never ride to the point of exhaustion where you can't eat or sleep.

4. Cover up before you are cold, peel off before you are hot.

5. Don't drink, smoke, or eat meat on tour.

6. Never force the pace, especially during the first hours.

7. Never ride just for the sake of riding.

 

Velocio was not a promoter. His efforts to create a national bicycle touring society like the Cycle Touring Club in England floundered, and he never had an organized bicycle club even in his hometown. What he did have was a constantly growing body of friends and admirers who gathered around the master in his shop, at the rallies, and on his tours. Those who lived nearby formed a loose-knit group known as L'Ecole Stéphanoise, or School of Saint-Etienne. A quorum was always on hand for Velocio's favorite ride to the top of the Col du Grand Bois. It was this ride that eventually grew into Velocio Day.

 

The Col du Grand Bois is a 3,800-foot passage across the Massif du Pilat. The road starts on the outskirts of Saint-Etienne and rises without letup over a distance of eight miles. Velocio used to make this ride as a constitutional before breakfast. In 1922 his friends surprised him by inviting all cyclists in the area to join in the ride in a gesture of reverence. Today, Velocio Day is a unique spectacle, the only one of its kind in the world.

 

This gradual emergence of Velocio as a dominant figure, not only among cyclists but among the people of his age, is one of the most interesting things about the man because he never made a conscious attempt to attract public notice. All he wanted was his bicycle and his friends. He never moved his shop, he never had much money, and he never rested on his laurels. Twice a year, he would have a little notice in Le Cycliste, inviting all and sundry to a rally. These rallies became famous. At first strictly local affairs, they eventually became national institutions and some of them are still observed, such as the Easter gathering in Provence. Velocio himself was not aware of his stature until he was invited to appear in Paris in the Criterium des Vieilles Gloires when he was seventy-six. Then it was obvious that he completely over-shadowed all the others. Thousands gathered around him, just to shake his hand and wish him well.

 

On February 27, 1930, Velocio started his day with a reading from one of the classics, as was his custom. It was a letter from Seneca to Lucilius. "Death follows me and life escapes me. When I go to sleep, I think that I may never awake. When I wake up, I think that I may never go to sleep. When I go out, I think that I may never come back. When I come back, I think that I may never go out again. Always, the interval between life and death is short."

 

Velocio went out. Traffic was heavy, and he decided to walk and lead his bicycle. He crossed the street ahead of the streetcar coming from his left, saw another car coming from his right, stepped back, and was hit by the first. It was a mortal blow. He died clutching his beloved bicycle.

 

Today, thirty-five years later, Velocio lives on, while others, equally dedicated and equally inventive, are forgotten. Why is this?

 

It is because Velocio used his bicycle to demonstrate the great truths. Velocio's influence grew, not because of his exploits on the bicycle, but because he showed how these exploits will shape the character of a man. Velocio was a humanist. His philosophy came from the ancients who considered discipline the cardinal virtue. Discipline is of two kinds: physical and moral. Velocio used the physical discipline of the bicycle to lead him to moral discipline. Through the bicycle he was able to commune with the sun, the rain, the wind. For him, the bicycle was the expression of a personal philosophy. For him, the bicycle was the road to freedom, physical and spiritual. He gave up much, but he found more.

 

Velocio--the cyclists of the world salute you.

Project MKULTRA, or MK-ULTRA, was the code name for a covert, illegal CIA human experimentation program, run by the CIA's Office of Scientific Intelligence. This official U.S. government program began in the early 1950s, continued at least through the late 1960s, and used U.S. and Canadian citizens as its test subjects.

 

The published evidence indicates that Project MKULTRA involved the use of many methodologies to manipulate individual mental states and alter brain functions, including the surreptitious administration of drugs and other chemicals, hypnosis, sensory deprivation, isolation, verbal and sexual abuse, as well as various forms of torture.

 

Project MKULTRA was first brought to wide public attention in 1975 by the U.S. Congress, through investigations by the Church Committee, and by a presidential commission known as the Rockefeller Commission. Investigative efforts were hampered by the fact that CIA Director Richard Helms ordered all MKULTRA files destroyed in 1973; the Church Committee and Rockefeller Commission investigations relied on the sworn testimony of direct participants and on the relatively small number of documents that survived Helms' destruction order.

 

Although the CIA insists that MKULTRA-type experiments have been abandoned, 14-year CIA veteran Victor Marchetti has stated in various interviews that the CIA routinely conducts disinformation campaigns and that CIA mind control research continued. In a 1977 interview, Marchetti specifically called the CIA claim that MKULTRA was abandoned a "cover story.

loss of brain function that occurs with certain diseases. It affects memory, thinking, language, judgment, and behavior.

The grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus), also known as the Congo grey parrot, Congo African grey parrot or African grey parrot, is an Old World parrot in the family Psittacidae. The Timneh parrot (Psittacus timneh) once was identified as a subspecies of the grey parrot, but has since been elevated to a full species.

 

Taxonomy

The grey parrot was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. He placed it with all the other parrots in the genus Psittacus and coined the binomial name Psittacus erithacus. Linnaeus erroneously specified the type locality as "Guinea": the locality was later designated as Ghana in West Africa. The genus name is Latin for "parrot". The specific epithet erithacus is Latin and is derived from the Ancient Greek εριθακος (erithakos) for an unknown bird that was said to mimic human sounds, perhaps the black redstart. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.

 

The Timneh parrot was formerly treated as a subspecies of the grey parrot but is now considered to be a separate species based mainly on the results from a genetic and morphological study published in 2007. Although Linnaeus placed all the parrots known to him in the genus Psittacus, only the grey parrot and the Timneh parrot are now assigned to this genus.

 

Description

The grey parrot is a medium-sized, predominantly grey, black-billed parrot. Its typical weight is 400 g (14 oz), with an approximate length of 33 cm (13 in), and a wingspan of 46–52 cm (18–20+1⁄2 in). The grey colour on the head and wings is generally darker than its body. The head and body feathers have slight white edges. The tail feathers are red.

 

Due to selection by parrot breeders, some grey parrots are partly or completely red. Both sexes appear similar. The colouration of juveniles is similar to that of adults, but typically their eyes are dark grey to black, in comparison to the yellow irises around dark pupils of the adult birds, and their undertail coverts are tinged with grey. Adults weigh 418–526 g (14+3⁄4–18+1⁄2 oz).

 

Grey parrots may live for 40–60 years in captivity, although their mean lifespan in the wild appears to be shorter—approximately 23 years. They start breeding at an age of 3–5 years and lay 3-5 eggs per brood.

 

Distribution and habitat

The grey parrot is native to equatorial Africa, including Angola, Cameroon, the Congo, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda. The species is found inside a range from Kenya to the eastern part of the Ivory Coast. Current estimates for the global population are uncertain and range from 630,000 to 13 million birds. Populations are decreasing worldwide. The species seems to favor dense forests, but can also be found at forest edges and in more open vegetation types, such as gallery and savanna forests.

 

A population study published in 2015 found that the species had been "virtually eliminated" from Ghana with numbers declining 90 to 99% since 1992. They were found in only 10 of 42 forested areas, and three roosts that once held 700–1200 birds each, now had only 18 in total. Local people mainly blamed the pet trade and the felling of timber for the decline. Populations are thought to be stable in Cameroon. In the Congo, an estimated 15,000 are taken every year for the pet trade, from the eastern part of the country, although the annual quota is stated to be 5,000.

 

Grey parrots have escaped or been deliberately released into Florida, U.S., but no evidence indicates that the population is breeding naturally.

 

Behaviour and ecology in the wild

Little is known about the behaviour and activities of these birds in the wild. In addition to a lack of research funding, it can be particularly difficult to study these birds in wild situations due to their status as prey animals, which leads them to have rather secretive personalities. It has been shown that wild greys may also imitate a wide variety of sounds they hear, much like their captive relatives. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, two greys sound-recorded while roosting reportedly had a repertoire of over 200 different calls, including nine imitations of other wild bird songs and one of a bat.

 

Feeding

Grey parrots are mainly frugivorous, with most of their diet consisting of fruit, nuts, and seeds, including oil palm fruit. They sometimes also eat flowers and tree bark, as well as insects and snails. In the wild, the grey parrot is partly a ground feeder.

 

Breeding

Grey parrots are monogamous breeders who nest in tree cavities. Each mated pair of parrots needs their own tree for their nest. The hen lays three to five eggs, which she incubates for 30 days while being fed by her mate. The adults defend their nesting sites.

 

Grey parrot chicks require feeding and care from their parents in the nest. The parents take care of them until 4–5 weeks after they are fledged. Young leave the nest at the age of 12 weeks. Little is known about the courtship behaviour of this species in the wild.[9] They weigh 12–14 g (7⁄16–1⁄2 oz) at hatching and 372–526 g (13+1⁄8–18+1⁄2 oz) when they leave their parents.

 

Conservation

Natural predators for this species include palm-nut vultures and several raptors. Monkeys target eggs and the young for food.

 

Humans are by far the largest threat to wild grey populations. Between 1994 and 2003, more than 359,000 grey parrots were traded on the international market. Approximately 21% of the wild population was being harvested every year. Mortality rates are extremely high between the time they are captured and they reach the market, ranging from 60 to 66%. This species also is hunted for its meat and for its body parts, which are used in traditional medicines. As a result of the extensive harvest of wild birds, in addition to habitat loss, this species is believed to be undergoing a rapid decline in the wild and therefore, has been rated as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

 

In October 2016, the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Fauna and Flora (CITES) extended the highest level of protection to grey parrots by listing the species under Appendix 1, which regulates international trade in the species.

 

In 2021, the Kenyan government held a short amnesty, during which grey parrot owners could pay a fee to obtain a permit for their birds and facilitate legal ownership. Following the expiry of this time period, it is now illegal to own this species without a permit.

 

In captivity

The species is common in captivity and regularly kept by humans as a companion parrot, prized for its ability to mimic human speech, which makes it one of the most popular avian pets. An escaped pet in Japan was returned to his owner after repeating the owner's name and address.

 

Grey parrots are notorious for mimicking noises heard in their environment and using them tirelessly. They are highly intelligent birds, needing extensive behavioral and social enrichment as well as extensive attention in captivity or else they may become distressed. Feather plucking is a common symptom seen among such distressed grey parrots, affecting up to 40% of captive individuals. They may also be prone to behavioural problems due to their sensitive nature. Social isolation hastens stress and aging.

 

The grey parrot is a highly social species which relies on a flock-type structure, even when raised in captivity. Because they are so dependent on the other birds within their flock, much of their speech and vocal ability is acquired through interaction with the humans with whom they reside. Both wild and captive parrots have been shown to use contact calls, which allow them to interact with their flock mates and communicate information about their location, detection of predators, availability of food, and safety status. In addition, contact calls are used to form strong social bonds with their flock mates, or in the case of captive greys, with their human housemates. In captivity, they have been shown to display communicative competence, meaning they not only use human language correctly, but also in such a way that is appropriate for the social situation which they are in.

 

Diet

In captivity, they may be fed bird pellets, a variety of fruits such as pear, orange, pomegranate, apple, and banana, and vegetables such as carrot, cooked sweet potato, celery, fresh kale, peas, and green beans. They also need a source of calcium.

 

Disease

Grey parrots in captivity have been observed to be susceptible to fungal infections, bacterial infections, nutritional insufficiency, malignant tumors, psittacine beak and feather disease, tapeworms, and blood-worms. Young grey parrots are more commonly infected by psittacine beak and feather disease than adults. Infected birds show symptoms such as loss of appetite, fluffy feathers, sluggishness, and reduced walking abilities due to brittle bones.

 

Grey parrots are more likely to have rhinitis,[clarification needed] an inflammatory and infectious disease of the nasal cavity. Birds may exhibit signs like wheezing, sneezing, nasal snuffling, and swelling or occlusion of the nares. Treatment options include gentle debridement and nasal irrigation.

 

Intelligence and cognition

Grey parrots are highly intelligent and are considered by many to be one of the most intelligent species of psittacines. Many individuals have been shown to perform at the cognitive level of a four- to six-year-old human child in some tasks. Several studies have been conducted, indicating a suite of higher-level cognitive abilities. Experiments have shown that grey parrots can learn number sequences and can learn to associate human voices with the faces of the humans who create them. It has been reported that grey parrots are capable of using existing known English words to create new labels for objects when the bird does not know the name of the object. For example "banerry" ("banana" + "cherry") for "apple", "banana crackers" for "dried banana chips" or "yummy bread" for "cake".

 

The American scientist Irene Pepperberg's research with Alex the parrot showed his ability to learn more than 100 words, differentiating between objects, colours, materials and shapes. Pepperberg spent several decades working with Alex, and wrote numerous scientific papers on experiments performed, indicating his advanced cognitive abilities. One such study found that Alex had the ability to add numbers as well as having a zero-like concept, similar to that of young children and apes.

 

In addition to their striking cognitive abilities, grey parrots have displayed altruistic behavior and concern for others. Researchers found that while blue-headed macaws were unlikely to share a nut with other members of their own species, grey parrots would actively give their conspecific partner a nut, even if it meant that they would not be able to get one themselves. When the roles were reversed, their partners were overwhelmingly likely to return the favor, foregoing their own nut to their partner's benefits. This indicates not only a display of selflessness but also an act of reciprocity.

 

A 2012 study demonstrated that captive grey parrots have individual musical preferences. When presented with the opportunity to choose between two different pieces of music via a touch screen monitor located in their cage, the two birds in the test consistently chose different songs, to which they then danced and sang along. Some pet grey parrots have also been observed using the music feature of smart speakers (such as Alexa or Amazon Echo) to verbally request playback of specific favored songs.

 

Some research has shown that foot preference can be linked to the number of words a particular parrot may know and use. Researchers found that grey parrots who prefer to use their right foot showed a marked increase in the number of words within their lexicon as compared to parrots who were left-footed. Scientists postulate that parrots may have lateralization of brain function, much like mammals do.

 

In two murder trials, one in 1993 and another in 2017, there was consideration to use the deceased victim's pet grey parrot's "testimony" as evidence due to the pet parrot's witnessing and repeating the victim's last words. In the 1993 murder trial of Gary Joseph Rasp, the defendant was accused of murdering Jane Gill. Public defender Charles Ogulnik wanted to use Jane's pet grey parrot Max as evidence to prove Gary's innocence due to Max repeating Jane's last words "Richard, no, no, no!". In the 2017 murder trial of Glenna Duram, the defendant is accused of murdering her husband Martin Duram. The prosecutor was exploring the possibility of using the couple's pet parrot Bud as evidence when Bud kept repeating Martin's last words "Don't fucking shoot."

 

Mutations

Grey mutations occur naturally in the wild, such as the Blue Ino (albino), the Incomplete Ino, and the Blue varietals. The Blue Ino is all white. The Incomplete Ino has light pigmentation. The Blue has a white tail.

 

Breeders from South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Scandinavia have bred greys intensively since the 1800s. These bred varieties include the Red Pied, F2 Pied, Grizzles, Ino, Incomplete, Parino, Lutino, Cinnamon, and Red Factor. South African bird breeder Von van Antwerpen and New Zealand partner Jaco Bosman selected F2 Pieds and created the first Red Factor Greys. They are rare, may be predominantly red-pigmented, and vary in price depending upon the extent of the red plumage displayed.

 

History

The domestication of grey parrots has a history dating to 2000 B.C., depicting native birds in Egyptian hieroglyphics as pets. They were used for values by the Greeks and the Romans who kept them in birdcages. The grey parrots, due to recent years of illegal trading, have been classified as Endangered in 2016 by the IUCN Red List.