Day: September 7, 2020

You Must Let the Mind Go Lax


https://dailystoic.com/you-must-let-the-mind-go-lax/

What does it mean to be a stoic?


What does it mean to be a stoic?Being stoic is being calm and almost without any emotion. When you’re stoic, you don’t show what you’re feeling and you also accept whatever is happening. The noun stoic is a person who’s not very emotional. The adjective stoic describes any person, action, or thing that seems emotionless and almost blank.stoicism/ˈstəʊɪsɪz(ə)m/📷Learn to pronouncenoun1.the endurance of pain or hardship without the display of feelings and without complaint.Similar:patience forbearance resignation lack of protest lack of complaint fortitude endurance acceptance of the inevitable philosophicalness impassivity dispassion phlegm imperturbability calmness coolness cool stolidness Dunkirk spirit unflappability longanimity2.an ancient Greek school of philosophy founded at Athens by Zeno of Citium. The school taught that virtue, the highest good, is based on knowledge; the wise live in harmony with the divine Reason (also identified with Fate and Providence) that governs nature and are indifferent to the vicissitudes of fortune and to pleasure and pain. noun1. patientia2. stoica disciplinehttps://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/bhagwat-gita-seneca-pursuit-of-happiness-5896920/#:~:text=The%20wise%20person%20of%20the%20Stoic%2C%20Seneca%20%E2%80%94%20Sapiens%20%E2%80%94%20embodies,which%20bring%20them%20permanent%20happiness.&text=The%20Sthitaprajna%20becomes%20a%20virtuous,virtuous%20in%20preparation%20for%20death.

To make online learning more three-dimensional, let it be bumpy | Psyche Ideas


https://psyche.co/ideas/to-make-online-learning-more-three-dimensional-let-it-be-bumpy?utm_source=Aeon+Newsletter&utm_campaign=0df11e2438-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_09_07_01_09&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_411a82e59d-0df11e2438-70852355

The pursuit of happiness: The Gita and philosopher Seneca provide a roadmap to tranquility | The Indian Express


https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/bhagwat-gita-seneca-pursuit-of-happiness-5896920/#:~:text=The%20wise%20person%20of%20the%20Stoic%2C%20Seneca%20%E2%80%94%20Sapiens%20%E2%80%94%20embodies,which%20bring%20them%20permanent%20happiness.&text=The%20Sthitaprajna%20becomes%20a%20virtuous,virtuous%20in%20preparation%20for%20death.

Perfect soul


The spiritually perfect souls can exhibit supreme excellence in any mode of life which they may be required to adopt for the spiritual upliftment of other souls.

Perfection does not belong to God as God, nor does it belong to man as man; but we get perfection when man becomes God, or when God becomes man.

Thus we have perfection when the finite transcends its limits and realizes its infinity, or when the Infinite gives up its supposed aloofness and becomes man: in both cases, the finite and the Infinite do not stand outside each other.

When there is a happy and a conscious blending of the finite and the Infinite, we have perfection. Then we have the Infinite revealing itself through the finite without getting limited there by; and we have the finite transcending its sense of limitation in the full knowledge of its really being the revelation of the Infinite.

——-AVATAR MEHER BABA

[GEMS FROM THE DISCOURSES OF MEHER BABA By Meher Baba. An Avatar Meher Baba Trust eBook June 2011. Copyright © 1945 by Circle Productions, Inc. (a New York Corporation), Copyright © Adi K. Irani, 1967 Copyright © 2007, Avatar Meher Baba Perpetual Public Charitable Trust, Ahmednagar, India.]

Strategy+Business Newsletter


Ideas that workSeptember 3, 2020Share:    What is an office for now?Remote working may be here to stay, but don’t write off the office just yet.by Linda Rodriguez McRobbie NEW Creating Breakthrough Strategies
(Live Online)Oct 5–12, 2020Learn the Strategic Learning process, a unique 4-step model which has been applied successfully by many global companies and not-for-profit organizations to create and implement winning strategies repeatedly over time. Learn more.advertisement s+b essential readingThe clear Sky strategyJeremy Darroch, the CEO of global television company Sky, believes consistent renewal and reinvention is the key to relevance in the age of streaming.by David Lancefield and Daniel Gross advertisementFeatured articleStretch or safe? The art of setting goals for your teamsThe pandemic has made planning a bigger challenge, and created a difficult balancing act for leaders.by Adam BryantPwC insightsGlobal Entertainment & Media Outlook 2020–2024Pulling the future forward: The entertainment and media industry reconfigures amid recovery. advertisementMost popularBuilding on a culture of belonging: PwC’s first D&I transparency reportWhy sharing results is part of our commitment to diversity.by Timothy F. RyanHow company leaders can promote racial justice in the workplaceEmbrace four principles to turn today’s diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives into sustained progress.by Stephanie J. CrearySustaining productivity in a virtual worldMaintaining productivity levels among remote employees is an enduring challenge. Here are five ways to help people and businesses thrive in the post-pandemic world of work.by Nele Van Buggenhout, Soraya Murat, and Tom de Sousa

Beside the point? Punctuation is dead, long live punctuation | Aeon Essays


Photo by Corbis/Getty

Florence Hazrat

is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in the School of English at the University of Sheffield, working on parentheses in Renaissance romance. Her first book ‘Refrains in Early Modern Literature’ is forthcoming, and she is currently writing a book called ‘Standing on Points: The History and Culture of Punctuation’.Listen here

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Punctuation is dead – or is it? If you’ve ever texted ‘im here’ or ‘its in the car’, you’re in good company. Most of us have, at some point since the dawn of texting, transgressed the boundaries of good grammar, and swallowed one apostrophe or another in the name of speed or convenience. Studies have shown that such textisms as deliberate spelling mistakes, abbreviations and omission of apostrophes don’t deteriorate language skills, but boost them – provided such texting goes hand in hand with ‘proper’ grammar education.

Suppressing the little typographical hook that is the apostrophe might, however, pose graver issues when it occurs in public, such as in ads or pub signs, or even street names. Is it different if the state flaunts language rules? Enter the international Apostrophe Protection Society, with its attempts to call out misuse and spread good practice. But November 2019 saw the announcement of the society’s demise, and owing not only to the highly respectable age of its founder John Richards (96): it would close, the society said, because of the ‘ignorance and laziness present in modern times’. The announcement made global news, sky-rocketing the traffic on the charmingly old-school website some 600 times, which led to its temporary disappearance from the web, and an outcry against the society’s closure. Punctuation habits might be changing, but we still care.

Are prescribed grammar rules necessary, though, or a relic of some fussy conservatism and elitist era? Do we really need apostrophes (or any other mark of punctuation for that matter) or could we get rid of them for the sake of brevity? Is Princes Street rather than Prince’s or even the formidable Princes’ Street really a sign of our careless inattention to detail today? If punctuation can fall away and the words still make sense, why did we need it in the first place? Punctuation, like any other cultural production, has a tumultuous history full of public good and personal interest.

Life coaching is unregulated and growing rapidly. Should it be reined in? | Psyche Ideas



Elias Aboujaoudeis a psychiatrist, researcher and author at Stanford University in California, where he is director of the Stanford OCD Clinic. He has published several peer reviewed studies and four books, including Virtually You: The Dangerous Powers of the e-Personality (2011) and Compulsive Acts: A Psychiatrist’s Tales of Ritual and Obsession (2008).

Edited by Lucy Foulkes

Life coaches – and their close cousins, executive coaches – promise to improve people’s lives and careers, but they’re keen to emphasise that ‘coaching is not therapy’. As a psychiatrist, I’d long wondered how they managed to draw such confident boundaries. Then I saw Ed, a Silicon Valley executive, in my practice, and his story confirmed my doubts.

After graduating from engineering school, Ed rose rapidly through the ranks of his medical device company. As a former lab scientist, he lacked both traditional business training and management experience – but through a combination of hard work, fundraising prowess and good timing, he soon became a senior executive. Before he could appreciate what this meant or adjust to his new responsibilities, he had several dozen direct reports and oversaw a large portfolio of products. This all made him the perfect candidate for his company’s leadership training efforts, and they offered him two hours of executive coaching a week to help improve his game.

Some of the work with Ed’s coach was predictable. She emphasised that good leaders shift from managing things to managing people; she said leaders gain their sense of achievement through inspiring others to do something rather than doing it themselves. But alongside the expected, something surprising was unfolding. As Ed continued meeting with his coach, he began to experience flashbacks to the psychotherapy he had undergone years earlier, when he was struggling to recover from a breakup. Only now he wasn’t seeing an actual therapist.

Increasingly, he found himself debating the roots of his insomnia with his coach: was it worry about an upcoming presentation to the board, or a symptom of an anxiety disorder? When they discussed how he should manage his feuding colleagues, he started talking about his conflict-resolution skills within his marriage. When they debated how his personality meshed with his boss, he brought up clashes with his son.

He grew uncomfortable with how the professional seemed to automatically intertwine itself with the personal, and how the management tips he was being taught, helpful as they were, felt like psychological advice. In a moment of truth, Ed asked his coach what formal psychological training she possessed. When she told him she had no training in psychotherapy, he decided to end the coaching sessions for good.

The International Coaching Federation, founded in the United States in 1995, defines coaching as ‘partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximise their personal and professional potential’. From origins in 19th-century sport and tutoring, the word coach entered the business lexicon in the late 20th century with the term ‘executive coach’, a professional who aimed to optimise leaders’ performance and guide employee development. Around the same time, the word took on a small prefix – life – that hugely expanded its purview. Thus was born the life coach: a professional who, theoretically, could help with anything.

Common topics for leadership coaches are the bread and butter of many a therapy session

It’s easy to become a coach. Aided by low barriers to entering the profession, coaching has grown into an industry of more than 53,000 practitioners worldwide in 2018. In the US alone, its market value exceeds $1 billion. In some respects, this growth is good. It says that as a culture we want to improve ourselves, and we’re willing to seek help. But where does this leave psychotherapists, whose focus can also include improving performance – at work and in all domains of living – and how do we keep the two professions distinct?

Coaching is intended for individuals without mental health problems. It’s also supposed to be more collaborative, brief, focused, future-oriented and informal than psychotherapy. Yet it must be difficult for a coach to come across as anything other than a therapist. Common topics for leadership coaches – performance maximisation, workplace relationships and professional anxiety – are the bread and butter of many a therapy session. The confusion is even greater with coaching outside of the work environment, which can encompass, as the ‘life coach’ moniker makes clear, just about anything.

More importantly, the idea that coaching is meant for clients with no psychiatric illness doesn’t really work in practice, since it carries a serious assumption: that coaches can recognise mental illness when they see it. Given that coaches are not required to undergo psychological training, this is a faulty and potentially dangerous differentiator. Indeed, clients themselves might not be aware that the nature of their problems are rooted in mental health issues, and that a therapist is more appropriate for their needs.

Psychotherapy itself has also changed, further blurring any attempted distinctions with coaching. Since ‘client-centred’ therapy emerged in the 1940s, the nexus of power within the therapy relationship has gradually shifted away from the God-like therapist figure toward a more equal partnership. Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) further dethroned the therapist in favour of manualised, time-limited interventions that target specific issues in a granular fashion rather than explore problems open-endedly as in psychoanalysis. CBT is also more focused on the present and the future, rather than being preoccupied with the past.

Aided by the telemedicine revolution and around-the-clock access to therapy apps, the field of psychotherapy has evolved towards even more flexibility and less formality. There is flexibility around session time and location – ‘Emotions can’t be scheduled’ is the slogan of a popular mobile therapy platform. With some apps, even the therapist is optional. In other words, psychotherapy itself has changed as coaching has emerged. Those who argue that the two fields are separate make comparisons with a form of therapy that is no longer commonly practised.

But there is still a clear distinction: whether in person or online, psychologists and psychiatrists provide therapy in the context of heavily regulated, highly scrutinised professions. Despite coaching organisations calling for it, coaches still have no formal requirements for education, training or licensing, and largely practise in a legal and regulatory vacuum. One can understand, then, why formally trained therapists might have therapy-worthy fears of professional replacement. The situation mirrors gig economy takeovers, such as Uber versus cab drivers: the overthrow of an established profession by a new group allowed to operate under a different set of rules. Only when it comes to therapy, the ‘passengers’ to worry about might be vulnerable patients.

The solution is not to eliminate coaching. A new helping profession is a welcome development – the more help, the better. Instead, steps should be taken to make coaching safer and more responsible for everyone.

One possibility is that mental health professionals could screen potential coaching clients before they embark on coaching. Another is that coaches could complete formal training in mental health diagnostics, so that they could do this screening themselves. If a potential client was found to have high levels of psychological distress or a diagnosable mental disorder, they could be directed towards a therapist. Alternatively, a coach could play an adjunctive role to a mental health professional, who oversees the coaching process and provides targeted mental health treatment in parallel. Regardless of what regulatory elements are considered, there should also be more research into the efficacy and safety of coaching – in line with that of other psychological interventions.

Finally, there should be a conversation about the broader factors that have contributed to the rise of coaching. One possibility relates to the persistence of stigma around psychological treatment: our society is moving in more progressive, help-seeking directions, but still lagging behind in its acceptance of mental illness. People who are concerned about stigma might think that coaching offers a creative workaround – a malleable means of offering therapy under a different guise and a different name. While the motivation might be noble and understandable, the reality is scary. Coaching must be clearly defined and regulated, so that mental health interventions can be offered by the experts trained to deliver them.

GASTRO OBSCURA NEWSLETTER



Life-Saving HindsightOn the outskirts of Botswana’s Okavango Delta region lies the Moremi Game Reserve—a 1,900-square-mile wildlife sanctuary home to leopards, hyenas, and, most importantly, lions. Unsurprisingly, these ambush predators threaten neighboring farmers’ livelihoods by preying on their free-roaming cattle. In response, farmers turned to a surprising method: painting eyes on their cows’ butts.READ MORE
A Genius Noblewoman’s LegacyWritten by Lady Jang Gye-hyang around the year 1670, the oldest cookbook in Korean is titled Eumsik-dimibang, or “Understanding the Taste of Food.” Some historians believe it could be the first cookbook written by a woman in all of East Asia. Born at a time women were barred from higher education, Lady Jang eavesdropped on her father’s classes and pried into his books, then penned the manuscript in her old age.READ MORE
The Culinary Pursuits of PiratesThe name and practice of boucanning meat originates with the Tupi of Brazil. European explorers and conquistadors, impressed by the Tupi’s methods, brought both the technique and terminology to the West Indies. But it was French hunters who really embraced the boucan. Smoking huts and grills were such common sights at their camps that they became known as boucaniers.READ MORE
Kenosha’s Historic Lunch-Car DinerIn 1917, the Jerry Mahoney Diner Company began manufacturing roadside diners. The long and narrow prefabricated buildings were trucked on railroad flatcars to various locations across the United States, and were often confused with actual railroad cars. One such diner arrived in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in 1926, and it’s now the oldest continuously-operating lunch-car diner in the country.READ MORE
Amber of the SeaWhen a sharp squid beak gets lodged in a sperm whale’s intestines, the whale produces a waxy secretion called ambergris (“gray amber”) to protect itself. By the time a clump of weather-beaten, excreted ambergris reaches shore, it may be worth thousands of dollars—a result of its intoxicating aroma. Throughout history, ambergris has been prized in perfumery, but cooks began publishing recipes calling for the substance around 1660.READ MORE
The Other Sloppy JoeTo most individuals a “Sloppy Joe” denotes hot, tomato-y, loose ground beef in a white bun. If this description matches your idea, ordering one from a northern New Jersey deli will leave you confused. It will also leave you with a cold, double- or triple-decker rye bread sandwich stuffed with cold cuts, Swiss cheese, and Russian dressing over coleslaw. Since the 1930s, this is what New Jerseyites have called a Sloppy Joe.READ MORE
Cave of WondersSince 1906, visitors in Teotihuacán, Mexico, have cooled down in this little-known subterranean restaurant that’s 650 feet from the famous archaeological site. The impressive La Gruta is decorated only by its own natural features. Sun pours in through the upper reaches of the cave during daytime, while at night hundreds of candles cast a warm glow about the cool, echoey space.READ MORE

Writing prompts


  • Purple HazeThere is something keeping you from seeing what’s going on around you.
  • Memory LaneA character looks back on the things they’ve done.
  • Magic PotionWho created it and what happens when it’s used?
  • Abandoned BeautyA place that became beautiful because it was abandoned.
  • Car KeysWhere is the car going to take the character

Quotes of the week


English   Translate messageTurn off for: German

Confucius“Only the wisest and stupidest of men never change.”

via Today’s Quote https://ift.tt/34gtxvK September 01, 2020 at 10:57AM
via RSS Feed https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/confucius-quotesIris Murdoch“Between saying and doing, many a pair of shoes is worn out.”

via Today’s Quote https://ift.tt/2lJpoP3 September 02, 2020 at 10:57AM
via RSS Feed https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/iris-murdoch-quotesJohn Burroughs“Leap, and the net will appear.”

via Today’s Quote https://ift.tt/2MT5Sfy September 03, 2020 at 10:57AM
via RSS Feed https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/john-burroughs-quotesR. Buckminster Fuller“I just invent, then wait until man comes around to needing what I’ve invented.”

via Today’s Quote https://ift.tt/2ZEQ5a4 September 04, 2020 at 10:57AM
via RSS Feed https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/r-buckminster-fuller-quotesEllen Glasgow“What happens is not as important as how you react to what happens.”

via Today’s Quote https://ift.tt/2MY2Iqz September 05, 2020 at 10:57AM
via RSS Feed https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/ellen-glasgow-quotesManage

International day of clean air for blue skies 7 th sept.


3. International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies – 7 September

Blue Skies

This day is celebrated to increase interest in the international community about clean air. It aims to emphasize the need to make further efforts to improve air quality, including reducing air pollution, to protect human health.

Content marketing ideas:

  • Listicle idea: X Plants you can grow for cleaner air indoors
  • Infographic idea: X Lung diseases you must be aware of
  • Video idea: How are electric cars better than normal cars?
  • Podcast idea: Are commercial air purifiers viable in the long term?

Brand campaign that worked:

This video from the South China Morning Post shows one unexpectedly welcome outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic in China – the reemergence of blue skies.

It’s time to hear what adolescents think of mindfulness in schools | Psyche Ideas


https://psyche.co/ideas/its-time-to-hear-what-adolescents-think-of-mindfulness-in-schools?utm_source=Aeon+Newsletter&utm_campaign=912889aaf5-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_08_31_06_43&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_411a82e59d-912889aaf5-71641976

Random Facts


  1. Most catfish are normally active at night, however the Peppered Cory Catfish is active more often during the day.
  2. Johnny Cash took only three voice lessons before his teacher advised him to stop taking lessons and to never deviate from his natural voice.
  3. Rabbits can be literally “scared to death” if approached by a predator when they are totally unaware.

Seth godin newsletter


Efficient or productive?

When time gets short (for new parents or startup founders, for example) we naturally focus on getting efficient. We can remove extraneous details and distractions and magically get much faster at getting tasks done.

But being efficient is not the same as being productive.

Productive is the skill of getting the right things done, so that we accomplish what we set out to do in the first place. The work that matters.

Word of the day


WORD OF THE DAY
FainfeynPart of speech: adjectiveOrigin: Old English, pre-12th century
1Pleased or willing under the circumstances.2Compelled by the circumstances; obliged.
 
Examples of Fain in a sentence “I was fain to continue with the online book club.” “He was fain to answer the questions or risk a failing grade.”

Did you know.


Did you know…

… that today is Fight Procrastination Day? Today is a day to get things done, a call to action. To many people, procrastination is a way of life. The more difficult the action or decision, the easier it is to join the league of procrastinators. Today is a day to fight procrastination. Make a decision. Take action. Do it now. Do it today. It may be hard to do, but, you will be glad you did!

~~~

Today’s Inspirational Quote:

“A year from now you may wish you had started today.”

— Karen Lamb

Carrot and Orange Juice Recipe | Allrecipes


https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/228901/carrot-and-orange-juice/?did=557719-20200906&utm_campaign=alrcom-daily-dish_newsletter&utm_source=allrecipes.com&utm_medium=email&utm_content=090620

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/228901/carrot-and-orange-juice/?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social-share-recipe