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July 2007
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If It Feels Good to Be Good, It Might Be Only Natural
The e-mail came from the next room.
"You gotta see this!" Jorge Moll had written.
Moll and Jordan Grafman, neuroscientists at
the National Institutes of Health, had been
scanning the brains of volunteers as they
were asked to think about a scenario
involving either donating a sum of money to
charity or keeping it for themselves.
As Grafman read the e-mail, Moll came
bursting in. The scientists stared at each
other. Grafman was thinking, "Whoa -- wait a
minute!"
The results were showing that when the
volunteers placed the interests of others
before their own, the generosity activated a
primitive part of the brain that usually
lights up in response to food or sex.
Altruism, the experiment suggested, was not a
superior moral faculty that suppresses basic
selfish urges but rather was basic to the
brain, hard-wired and pleasurable.
Their 2006 finding that unselfishness can
feel good lends scientific support to the
admonitions of spiritual leaders such as
Saint Francis of Assisi, who said, "For it is
in giving that we receive." But it is also a
dramatic example of the way neuroscience has
begun to elbow its way into discussions about
morality and has opened up a new window on
what it means to be good.
Read more at WashingtonPost.com
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Spirits in the Sky
(Cloud image by Adrian Beckett)
At The Cloud Appreciation Society they love
clouds, they're not ashamed to say it and they've
had enough of people moaning about wanting
more sunny skies.
The World Famous Cloud Photo
GalleryEnjoy their website which hosts:
- Cloud of the Month
- Photos of Clouds that Look Like Things
- Cloud Chat (talk about clouds)
- Cloud Verse (cloud-inspired poetry)
- Cloud Art (paintings of clouds)
Visit the Cloud Appreciation Society
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$25m reward to save the Earth
Sir Richard Branson today offered a $25m
(£12.8m) prize for scientists who find a way
to help save the planet from the effects of
climate change.
Flanked by the former US vice-president Al
Gore and other environmentalists, the boss of
Virgin Atlantic airlines called for
scientists to come up with a way to extract
greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
Describing the prize as the largest ever
offered, Sir Richard compared it to the
competition to devise a method of accurately
estimating longitude. He denied that being
the head of an airline prevented him from
being concerned about climate change.
Read more from Guardian Limited
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Songs for Retreats
Earth Chants - Earth Songs
A collection of 18 songs that will have you
singing every day...to affirm your life, to
move you past obstacles, to inspire your
Soul, to be closer to Mother Earth. Even if
you are not someone who considers yourself
musical or a "singer", you will benefit from
these mini songs and chants. Sing these with
your kids, your partner; in the car, while
walking, upon rising. These songs are
designed to sing at retreats, with groups of
women and couples and other gatherings of the
heart.
EARTH CHANTS EARTH SONGS CD
Songs on the Earth Chants CD include:
1.
Metta
2.
Earth My Body
3.
I Am Rooted
4.
Woman Am I
5.
The River is Flowing
6.
Chant for the Earth*
7.
One of These Days
8.
Keep it Simple
9.
Every Little Cell
10.
Step Into the Flow
11.
Hold Me Mother Earth
12.
May the Circle Be Open
13.
Fireside
14.
Simple Gifts
15.
Acceleration Syndrome
16.
Peace Like A River
17.
I'm Going On
18.
Peace Will Come
See Songs
for Retreats
for more information. CDs are $20 and include
the price of postage!
Find out more from Mountain Coaching
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Sedona-Grand Canyon Yoga & Hiking Retreat
Sedona. AZ
8 days (7 nights) of luxurious time-share
accommodations at the Sedona Springs Resort
Deluxe apartments with kitchen facilities,
pools, hot tubs, and spa with fitness machines
Elegant lodging in the heart of Sedona with
views & a variety of restaurants in walking
distance
More details
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Spiritual Healing & Weight Loss Retreats
Durham, NC
Focusing on coaching you in overcoming
limitations. Techniques used are in speech,
the written word, meditations and laying on
of hands. The week of healing includes house
exploration - a Victorian property, guided
tours of the Medieval towns and the Cotswolds...
More details
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La Casa De Maria
Santa Barbara, CA
La Casa de Maria is a beloved sanctuary of
peace in Santa Barbara, California, 90 miles
north of Los Angeles. The grounds abound in a
rustic setting of natural beauty amid a
native oak grove nestled at the foot of the
Santa Ynez Mountains overlooking the Pacific
Ocean.
More details
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Wood Valley Retreat Center
Pahala, HI
Wood Valley Temple and Retreat Center is
located in Ka'u on the slopes of Mauna Loa on
the Island of Hawaii. It is a non-sectarian
Buddhist retreat center open to groups and
individuals. It was founded by Nechung
Rinpoche in 1973 and dedicated by HH the
Dalai Lama in 1980.
More details
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Sacred Windows to the Divine: Icon Writing Retreat/ W orkshop
La Crosse, WI
Directed by Master Iconographer Philip
ZimmermanThe icon of Extreme Humility, Jesus
after the scourging and crowning, will be
painted during the July workshop. Icons will
be written from start to finish, guided in a
step-by-step gradual process by Phil
Zimmerman, ending with a completed icon,
varnished and ready to display.
More details
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Light Institute Intensive with Chris Griscom:
Oahu, HI
This intimate Intensive on the island of Oahu
will provide an especially powerful
opportunity to reinvent your relationships!
Explore the essence of relationship and
dissolve old patterns, whether you are
working on the relationship to yourself, your
family, colleagues or lovers.
More details
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Mind/Body/Spirit
Ithaca, NY
October is the season of change as upstate
New York gifts us with the brilliant colors
of the Fall foliage. Likewise, it is a
beautiful time to embrace change in your own
personal growth and life experiencing. Join
us for a five day journey to understand and
heal the Mind/Body/Spirit Connection.
More Details
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Back to Nature & Your Own True Nature
Costa Rica
Have you ever gone on vacation and then
returned home to find that all the enjoyment
and relaxation quickly went down the drain,
and you're just as stressed out as before?
Instead, imagine a one-week retreat with the
power to make your entire day-to-day life at
home more peaceful, happy, and healthy. This
program emphasizes YOUR REAL LIFE and how to
bring these practices home in a way that's
feasible and effective.
More Details
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BOOK REVIEW |
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Perfect Love, Imperfect Relationships:
Healing the Wound of the Heart
by John Welwood
Trumpeter Books, Boston, MA, 2006. $19.95
First comes attraction, then wooing, followed
by making love and maybe even marriage, but
with each successive stage your longing
remains unsatisfied. So you try having kids
or try to change your partner and you land in
couples therapy or Tantric sex workshops
hoping to find a way to quench your longing,
your never quite satiated desire for the
perfect love in which you feel completely and
consistently satisfied in just the right way.
Rather than focusing on how to be more
loving, Perfect Love, Imperfect Relationships
teaches that nothing needs to be fixed in
either yourself or your beloved, instead you
only need to recognize what it is you truly
desire and remove your blocks to receiving
it. "Desire focused on a person can never be
totally satisfied. This is because the one we
love stirs our passion for something that
lies beyond this finite person." Taking the
psycho spiritual approach John Welwood,
psychotherapist and teacher, examines the
nature and origin of desire itself and the
ways we cut ourselves off from the very love
we are seeking. Where his previous books
focused on the challenges of relationships as
opportunities for personal transformation and
spiritual awakening, Perfect Love, Imperfect
Relationships, reveals the root source of all
relational problems: our wounded relationship
to love itself. With gentle exercises,
examples from his clients, and wisdom from
the Buddhist and Hindu traditions Welwood
expertly guides you into the gentle arms of
"the living presence of absolute love" found
within your own heart.
Reveiwed by Alec Franklor
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RetreatFinder.com
phone:
1-800-889-6906
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