If thoughts lead to words, words lead to actions, then where do actions lead?

Also, to ask bluntly, where does all that begin? Where do the thoughts come from?

Some call it inspiration or an idea. Thoughts bubble and circulate within the subconscious mind and social circles together share a soup of different thought patterns conceived from individual experience, only then to be selected and directed by each individual to produce words and actions for the collective and/or self.

Those outputs are then recycled into this system further refining in either direction love or fear, or a combination of both in vast and varying aspects. This all being a vast concept that has minimal or maximal effect on just one person as well as scaling levels of social interactions.

Whether it’s the contemplations of the drug induced hippies from the ‘Summer of Love’, cutting edge findings, or the ancient knowledge from rulers, scholars and conquerors. ‘Spirit Science’ has taken a collection of thoughts/writings/words/actions from many recent and old histories and produced an output via the collective media channels that our kindred use for information absorption. We have all engaged in this discussion, some more than others, but all relevant nonetheless, and all immensely important beyond measure. Continue reading →

Scott Campbell, University of Michigan

Being alone has many benefits. It grants freedom in thought and action. It boosts creativity. It offers a terrain for the imagination to roam. Solitude also enriches our connections with others by providing perspective, which enhances intimacy and fosters empathy.

To be sure, solitude is not always experienced positively. At times, and for certain people, it can lead to feelings of loneliness and isolation. In that sense, solitude is a two-sided coin, as is the case with other necessities in life, like food. As with food, we can benefit from being mindful of the quantity and quality of solitude we experience in daily life.

This is true of both deliberate solitude and those moments of being alone that are inadvertently stumbled upon. Both varieties of solitude have the capacity to deliver the benefits mentioned above, but the latter may be heading toward the endangered species list, at least for some folks.

In social psychology, solitude has traditionally been defined and measured as being physically alone, or in some cases not engaging with people who are also physically present. Since that foundation was laid, times have changed, as have the possibilities for “being with” others. Continue reading →

Lauren Collister, University of Pittsburgh

When it comes to texting, the period, full stop, point – whatever you call it – has been getting a lot of attention.

People have begun noticing slight changes to the way our smallest punctuation mark is deployed, from declarations that it’s going out of style to claims that it’s becoming angry.

What they’re actually noticing is written language becoming more flexible, with texting possessing its own set of stylistic norms (sometimes informally called “textspeak” or “textese”).

The period is merely one example of this shift, a change that has opened up new possibilities for communicating with written language. Just as we have different styles of speaking in different situations, so do we have context-dependent styles of writing.

Reading between the periods

Though periods can still signal the end of a sentence in a text message, many users will omit them (especially if the message is only one sentence long). This tendency now subtly influences how we interpret them.

Because text messaging is a conversation that involves a lot of back-and-forth, people add fillers as a way to mimic spoken language. We see this with the increased use of ellipses, which can invite the recipient to continue the conversation. The period is the opposite of that – a definitive stop that signals, as linguistics professor Mark Liberman has explained, “This is final, this is the end of the discussion.”

Continue reading →

Jonathan Wai, Duke University; Brad Bushman, The Ohio State University, and Yakup Cetin, Fatih University

The past few weeks have been full of several unfortunate violent events: the massacre in Orlando, the killing of black men by police officers, the sniper attack in Dallas, the Bastille Day attack in France, the violent coup attempt in Turkey and the shooting in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

While many of us may not have been directly affected by these events, we watched the news as it unfolded on broadcast and social media. Witnessing such violence on media can take a severe toll on us even when our near and dear ones are not directly affected.

Surprisingly, what research is beginning to uncover is that impact on young children – especially young gifted children – can be worse.

Impact of violence on adults and children

A large body of research has demonstrated a link between exposure to violent media and aggression and violent behavior across multiple countries and cultures. A synthesis of this literature found different reactions in adults and children. The short-term impact of watching violence on screen was greater for adults, while the long-term effects were greater for children.

Research specifically related to children has shown that violent media events like the ones we are currently seeing can frighten and worry them. Scholars have discussed how witnessing violence harms children’s mental health. Continue reading →

A new physics documentary was recently released entitled Digital Physics Meets Idealism: The Mental Universe, explaining how the universe is actually a virtual reality simulated in a cosmic mind.

As hard as this may be to believe, recent evidence such as the falsification of realism by physicist Anton Zeilinger in 2007¹ as well as other discoveries in quantum gravity revealing spacetime to emerge from quantum information, suggest physical reality is a Matrix-like simulation. However, a simulation in a mind?

What do virtual realities, quantum gravity, digital physics and cognitive science tell us about the universe? Find out in this fascinating documentary, Digital Physics Meets Idealism: The Mental Universe.

According to Integrated Information Theory, or IIT, the foremost theory in cognitive science, consciousness is integrated information. What this means is that the bits of information in a conscious state can not be dissociated from one another. For example the information describing the round shape of a rose can not be separated from its red color. One can not have redness by itself without the round shape nor the round shape without a color to fill it in.

In consciousness studies there are numerous theories regarding what consciousness really is and no one can agree. What motivated IIT, though, was a realization that despite this widespread disagreement the one thing that is agreed upon by everyone is what the subjective experience we call consciousness is like.

Continue reading →

Sadness can be a difficult emotion to deal with. Different people can have different reactions to sadness.  Some of us don’t acknowledge it, some of us don’t clearly recognize it, and some let sadness become destructive.  It’s a tough journey, but learning to face and manage feelings of sadness in a healthy way can allow us to live a fuller life with more self-assuredness and sense of bravery.

Sadness in itself is a controversial topic. It is often paired as the opposite of happiness, and what exactly is happiness? How do we define it? Happiness too can be a subjective experience.

Sometimes we may be in search of constant feelings of extreme joy and bliss, without a trace of sad feelings. Sometimes we  may choose feelings of sadness without realizing, as it can at times feel more comfortable. As understandable as these points are, these can become unhealthy ways to relate to happiness or sadness, that don’t actually serve us.

That being said, sadness is a part of life. As one of my favourite poets Rumi says, “the wound is the place where the light enters you”.  Today we will be noting how different zodiacs may relate to sadness, and tips for how to deal with sadness in a healthy way.

Aries (March 21st – April 19)

Aries people are known to be courageous, optimistic, confident and passionate. During times of sadness, their fiery natures may make them prone to making impulsive decisions, as well as masking their pain with burning anger.

One way an Aries can serve their greater good while in this state is to ask themselves before making decisions, “will this [decision, action etc] really serve me?”

This can bring their conscious awareness to consider such a question, and make better decisions for themselves. Another way to better tune in to their feelings, is to meditate.

This can allow them to get better in touch with their emotions. If the stillness feels too daunting, perhaps planning an adventure where they can redirect their energy can help.

Taurus (April 20th – May 20th)

Taurus people are known to be dependable, practical, devoted and responsible. When experiencing sadness, they want to be alone. While taurus people are known for being patient, during times of sadness they may find their patience waning. Continue reading →