Seeking Wholeness

Sit down, put your feet on the ground, sit up straight, close your eyes, breath deeply, start to notice your thoughts. Now slowly separate your awareness from your thoughts, in other words take a couple steps back in your mind from your thoughts, notice the thoughts but don’t actually think them, start to listen and watch the thoughts as the arise.

What you are doing is becoming an observer of your thoughts, not participating in them, simply acknowledging them, letting them go along as you remain, a non-critical observer.

It may help if you had a word to repeat (like ‘ohm’, or any mantra) or a spot to concentrate your eyes on (with your eyes closed) to help you keep your observer self separate from your thoughts.

Soon, you may notice all sorts of thoughts, ideas, even images and sounds show up, from somewhere, and if you let them be (without judging or participating in them), fade away.

This practice of observing thoughts is fascinating and amusing. As the observer, I noticed how many of the thoughts I noticed seemed random and unrelated, some of them even seemed foreign to me.

The above is how I typically explain what it’s like to meditate.

Soon after I woke up this morning, right before I left the bed, I had an idea that connected the above experience of meditation with designing artificial intelligence software. The insight I gained from meditating, into how we are observers of seemingly random thoughts, seemed appropriately suited for artificial intelligence computer programs.

Let me clarify, I’m trying to say that artificial intelligence design may benefit (and become actualized) if and when we can mimic what human minds do. In other words, when random ideas are picked from an idea bank or generated in some fashion then presented to an observing software for split-second analysis. By generating or picking up thousands of seemingly random pieces of information, then running them through the examining software (observer) that can discard some ideas and pick others for further consideration, we may be able to give a machine the ability to find inspiration and creativity.

I am posting this idea online, in hopes that someone can pick it up and utilize it, I hope you can find this helpful, assuming that this concept is not already being utilized in AI projects.

My meditation practice allowed me to see how thoughts, almost at random, criss-crossed my mind, and how consciousness or the observer can pick some and discard others, unconsciously processing countless numbers of ideas behind the scene of the logical mind. This is very different than the typical linear and object oriented computer programming, it is also different than fuzzy logic in computer science.

We, humans, make sense and create order out of seeming chaos in our heads, with ease (unconsciously), maybe this is what AI programs have been lacking.

Let me hear your thoughts, leave a comment below. Thanks!!

Added Feb 18, 2010:

I  mentioned traditional linear, object oriented programming and fuzzy logic above. I would like to clarify that fuzzy logic (ie. going with degrees of truth instead of true/false values) can be a valuable part of the AI strategy mentioned above. The observer program would utilize fuzzy logic to evaluate all the random ideas, images, concepts, sounds being presented to it. The source of such ideas, concepts etc being presented can also be another complex program, or multiple ones, I will call the source the ‘Presenter’ program(s); the observing program is what I’ve referred to as ‘Observer’. 

Read more…

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New sunspots just appeared, known as sunspot group 1045. This is an active region that has produced moderate (M-class) solar flares. Here’s a photo of the sun

You can find a LIVE photo of the sun if you scroll down and look in the right side of this website

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Bangalore: Scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) are on the brink of a path-breaking discovery. They may have found signs of life in some form or the other on the Moon.

They believe so because scientific instruments on India’s first unmanned lunar mission, Chandrayaan-1, picked up signatures of organic matter on parts of the Moon’s surface, Surendra Pal, associate director, Isro Satellite Centre (Isac), said at the international radar symposium here on Friday.

Organic matter consists of organic compounds, which consists of carbon — the building block of life.

It indicates the formation of life or decay of a once-living matter.

Pal said the signatures were relayed back to the Bylalu deep space network station near Bangalore by the mass spectrometer on board the Indian payload, the moon impact probe (MIP), on November 14, 2008.

The relay of data happened moments before it crashed near the Moon’s south pole. The MIP was the first experiment of the Chandrayaan-1 mission, which was launched on October 22, 2008.

Pal, however, did not elaborate, but concluded saying “the findings are being analysed and scrutinised for validation by Isro scientists and peer reviewers”.

“It is too early to say anything,” said the director of Isro’s space physics laboratory R Sridharan, who is heading the team of MIP data analysis and study. He, however, did not deny the finding.

DNA later inquired with other senior Chandrayaan-1 mission scientists, who not only confirmed the finding, but gave further details.

“Certain atomic numbers were observed that indicated the presence of carbon components. This indicates the possibility of the presence of organic matter (on the Moon),” a senior scientist told DNA.

Interestingly, similar observations were made by the US’s first manned Moon landing mission, the Apollo-11, in July 1969, which brought lunar soil samples back to Earth. But due to a lack of sophisticated equipment then, the scientists could not confirm the finding.

However, traces of amino acids, which are basic to life, were found in the soil retrieved by the Apollo-11 astronauts.

The Chandrayaan-1 scientists, at present, are analysing the source of origin of the Moon’s organic matter. “It could be comets or meteorites which have deposited the matter on the Moon’s surface; or the instrument that landed on the Moon could have left traces,” a senior space scientist said.

“But the presence of large sheets of ice in the polar regions of the Moon, and the discovery of water molecules there, lend credence to the possibility of organic matter there,” he said.

http://www.dnaindia.com/scitech/report_indian-scientists-detect-signs-of-life-on-moon_1322785

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I keep my eye on our nearest star out of curiosity. You also can follow the sun, find the live picture of the sun in the lower right bar, do it, scroll down now.

Today, I saw new sun spots, 3 of them:

(click image to enlarge)

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I always wondered if within my life time we, humans, would be able to make ‘living’ things. By living I mean ‘life’ in the traditional sense. I am not referring to artificial intelligence (AI), robots, learning computers, virtual living beings, viruses, etc. Interestingly, based on a news article titled ‘Artificial life is only months away‘ it seems we are getting closer.

Is this scary or exciting? Maybe it’s both, it is certainly sci-fi material. We may use this technology to benefit the medical field, or we could create, or engineer, bacteria that is efficient at producing natural gas or other usable fuels. We also, better be careful not to create super killer, out of control, multiplying, toxic-creating species.

This ‘man-made’ life is not entirely made out of scratch. The method being used works by transplanting DNA into bacteria cells, thus rebooting the bacteria cells with this new DNA and transforming the bacteria into a totally new species.

The DNA, or synthetic genome, hold the entire genetic code for the new species, and this synthetic genome is made entirely from scratch by scientists.

Real Life-Creation?

I can’t help but wonder, should we manage to transform bacteria into a different ‘new’ bacteria, even into an entirely new species of bacteria, are we really creating life or merely genetically reprogramming existing life. Does a living organism live by its DNA code alone, or are there other aspects at play?

While we can engineer the DNA out of scratch, it’s pretty much useless until we successfully place it into an already-living bacteria. We are actually reprogramming or rebooting the bacteria cell, that is already alive.

The question left unanswered is, are we able to make the bacteria cell itself out of scratch?  So far the answer is no.

I can’t help but wonder, what makes a bacteria cell alive?

Dr Venter, who has been chasing his goal for a decade, is already working on projects to use synthetic biology to create bacteria that transform coal into cleaner natural gas, and algae that soak up carbon dioxide and turn it into hydrocarbon fuels. Other potential applications include new ways of manufacturing medicines and vaccines.

Artificial life will be created within four months, a controversial scientist has predicted. Craig Venter, who led a private project to sequence the human genome, told The Times that his team had cleared a critical hurdle to creating man-made organisms in a laboratory.

“Assuming we don’t make any errors, I think it should work and we should have the first synthetic species by the end of the year,” he said.

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I had a discussion with a coworker about water, he said that distilled water will suck out minerals out of my body.  I find myself  unsure if the idea that “distilled water leeches minerals from the body” is truth or myth.  A friend of mine who had Fibromyalgia said her doctor thought her condition was due to drinking distilled water.

One has to be cautious here because money is involved, companies selling distillers may have a different story than companies that sell you water filters.. In the midst of product-selling and marketing wars the truth becomes elusive to consumers.

Even doctors that talk about the topic seem to have a monetary connection to a product, so I cannot trust their talking points either.

A CALL TO DOCTORS: IF any doctor is reading this article, please let me know what your professional opinion on distilled water leeching minerals from the body is. Thanks

I went online looking for an answer and found conflicting views, some say distilled water is good others say it depletes your body from minerals.

Here are some of the views I found:

Yes. You an drink safely distilled water. It is good for health. You must know that basically water is taken from tube wells, which is treated and distilled and the good and potable water is separated, which is good for drinking.

You actually should drink mineral water or safe Tap water as it contains calcium, magnesium, sodium and other trace minerals including flouride which are beneficial to your health.

Distilled water will not do any harm but you may need to supplement your diet with the minerals you are loosing (these minerals are added to tap water to ensure we get enough). The health risks are not severe in the short term but i should imagine, over a number of years may lead to illness if you never eat or drink anything which contains them.

Distilled water is not good for our health , as all the minerals are missing in ditilled water, it doen’t have anything accept H2O…..
On the Contrary, minreal water is purify and it has the basic minerals, which are neede by our body

distilled water is ” ordinary ” water put through a process of boiling and steam collection ( distillation ) and gets impurities out and some chemical elements.

It is WATER….It will NOT suck minerals out of your system…Water does not need any assistance to hydrate your body.
If anyone tells you that distilled water is bad for you they are Yanking your chain or just plain being mean and lying to you.

2. I heard that distilled water is leeches minerals from the body, is this true?

It is unsure where this myth came from, but it is not based upon any scientific fact and is literally a lie.  It is presumed that it was a rumour started by an individual or company with vested interests (possibly a manufacturer of an alternative filter or purifier).

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Today, National Geographic had a very interesting article on a mysterious ingredient that seems to be cleaning the Earth’s atmosphere. Here’s some of that article:

Mother Nature has a previously unknown cleaning agent that scrubs away toxic air pollution, scientists have discovered.

What’s more, the existence of the still mysterious substance has shaken up decades-long assumptions about our atmosphere’s self-cleaning process

Many studies have shown that trace gases and pollutants in the lowest level of our atmosphere break down naturally, thanks to molecules called hydroxyl (OH) radicals.

But the breakdown spews out ozone, itself a toxic pollutant and a greenhouse gas. (Get global warming facts.)

Not so in China’s heavily polluted Pearl River Delta, where experts were stumped to find lots of OH radicals but relatively small amounts of resulting ozone

“It was a complete surprise to us [that], after such a long time of scientific research, such a big gap has been found,” said study co-author Franz Rohrer, of the Institute of Chemistry and Dynamics of the Geosphere in Jülich, Germany.

Global Advantage

Highly reactive OH radicals are continually recycled in the atmosphere through reactions with water vapor and nitric oxide, both naturally present in the air.

Part of nature’s self-cleaning mechanism, the reactions break down trace amounts of pollutants, Rohrer said.

Read the rest: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/06/090604-air-pollution-self-clean.html

Read about Ozone here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozone

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This piece of (natural or scientific) art, is actually a photo taken with a conical microscope of a Neuron from chicken embryo after being dyed

Click the image above to see in high res

Thank you wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Neuron_colored.jpg)

Image copyright follows GNU

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Clinical psychologists assess and treat mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders. These range from short-term crises, such as difficulties resulting from adolescent rebellion, to more severe, chronic conditions, such as schizophrenia. Some clinical psychologists treat specific problems exclusively, such as phobias or clinical depression. Others focus on specific populations: youngsters, ethnic minority groups, gays and lesbians, or the elderly.

Counseling psychologists help people to accommodate to change or to make changes in their lifestyle. They might provide vocational and career assessment and guidance or help someone come to terms with the death of a loved one. They help students adjust to college, and people to stop smoking or overeating. They also consult with physicians on physical problems that have underlying psychological causes.

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Many stare at the letters stacked next to a psychologist, counselor, therapist or another mental/social health professional and wonder what these letters really mean.

These letters are abbreviations that indicate professional licenses and certificates that a particular health professional has.

In this article I am listing all the licenses and certificates within the mental health profession (that I am aware of). To find the graduate degrees these professionals need read my previous article “All The Mental Health Degrees”

Here’s the list:

LCSW, ACSW, LCS, LICSW, CSW
These are used by licensed clinical social workers.  A licensed clinical social worker has a graduate academic degree, has completed supervised clinical work experience and has passed a national- or state-certified licensing exam.

This advanced practitioner holds a license that allows him or her to receive health-care insurance reimbursements.

(Source: National Association of Social Workers)

LMFT or MFCC

MFT stands for Marriage and Family Therapist. A licensed marriage and family therapist has a graduate academic degree (a 2- to 3-year master’s degree or a 3- to 5-year doctoral degree) along with clinical work experience. This therapist has passed a state-certified licensing exam.

Most states offer this license. Along with the two- to three-year full-time masters programs with a practicum and internship, LMFTs are required to complete 1,000 to 2,000 hours of individual or family therapy with 100 hours of supervision. This can take one to three years.

(Source: American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists)

LP or NCPsyA

The licensed psychoanalyst has obtained his license from the state department of education (requirements vary from state to state).

Recipients of this license must have a master’s degree or higher, and must complete psychoanalytic study in a program deemed qualified by the state DOE.

An LP must complete a supervised psychoanalysis program and pass a state-certified examination.

(Source: New York State Department of Education)

LPC or LCPC, LPCC, LMHC, DAC, MFCC
These stand for licensed professional counselor, licensed professional clinical counselor or licensed mental health counselor. These licenses are granted to those who have advanced training, a graduate academic degree, clinical work experience and have passed a state-certified licensing examination.

Read more…

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If you are considering attending a school to become a mental health professional (counselor, psychologist, psychiatrist, etc) you probably found that you have many degree options. Psychologists, psychiatrists, psychotherapists, counselor, social workers and others have different degree and licensing options.

If you are considering seeking assistance from a mental health practitioner but feel lost when you see the different degrees and their abbreviations, this article will help you.

This article compiles all the academic degrees that all kinds of mental health professionals need to acquire. In the next article I will discuss all the certificates and licenses used by mental health professionals.

Let’s start:

PhD
PhD stands for a Doctor of philosophy. This academic degree is earned after anywhere from four to seven years of graduate study.

Many psychologists, therapists, counselors and coaches hold a doctorate of philosophy.

A PhD in psychology emphasizes research and teaches theory as well as statistics and data gathering. A lot of the PhD holders work in academic settings, as professors or researchers.

If a PhD graduate who does not work in academic setting usually practices as a Psychologist. Psychologist are fully trained in the assessment and treatment of all behavioral conditions ( i.e. anxiety, depression, anger, etc).

(Source: American Psychological Association)

PsyD

PsyD stands for Doctor of psychology. PsyD focuses on therapy and counseling rather than research.

Read more…

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Are you under the impression that electric vehicles that you could purchase and use right now do not exist? Are you waiting for the major auto makers to produce electric vehicles or to see these electric cars on TV ads? Do you think the Chevy Volt is your only choice and are chocked by the price tag? Do you think that your only choice when it comes to driving an electric car is to make one yourself using a conversion kit?

If you are any of these, I have good news for you.

We live in a world where a few brave minds have took it upon themselves to do what the major auto makers couldn’t (ehm.. I meant, wouldn’t) do, namely to build 100% reliable electric vehicles.

I am not talking about converted vehicles; you know, these regular cars that people convert to electric vehicles, I am also not talking about the do-it-yourself conversion kits.. Noo, real, street worthy, 100% electric cars do exist today and are probably available for sale near you.

Whether you live in the US, in Europe or in Asia, electric car are being produced now and you could purchase one, without paying $40,000 or more.

In my opinion, the newer generations of electric cars is a good match for the current generation of fluid fuel (gas, diesel, ethanol, hybrid) powered cars. The development is fast and furious.

While the best battery technology remains patented and shelved rather than used in street cars, there exists sufficient enough batteries to enable workable EVs. You can read an article I wrote on a recent advancement in battery technology here . Lio-Ion batteries are common choices in today’s EVs; with a variety of powerful electric motors these electric cars have amazing acceleration and reliability. They also cost much less to maintain.

What is even more impressive is that these EVs are finally catching up to liquid fuel vehicles (hybrids, gas, ethanol etc vehicles) when it comes to range.

The reason I am writing this article is to share with you a collection of links to Electric Vechicle companies. The list below contains links to (American, European and Asian) car manufacturers that build neighborhood electric vehicles (NEV), electric highway cars, electric trucks, electric buses, electric 2 wheelers and 3 wheelers, and electric sports cars. These are not prototype cars but are actual usable ones.

If I missed any manufacturer (i.e. a car company) please leave a comment with a link.

• http://en.think.no/
• http://evolution.loremo.com/
• http://www.acpropulsion.com/ebox/
• http://www.aerorider.com/
• http://www.ariana-ev.com/
• http://www.attrd.com/rnd/parade_main.htm
• http://www.blueskydsn.com/
• http://www.byd.com/
• http://www.cityel.de/
• http://www.cleanova.com/
• http://www.commutercars.com/
• http://www.cree.ch/
• http://www.dilixi.com/
• http://www.e-ride.com/
• http://www.ececars.nl/
• http://www.elbilnorge.no/
• http://www.electrovaya.com/
• http://www.flybo.cn/
• http://www.flytheroad.com/
• http://www.futurevehicles.co.uk (Website no longer accessible)
• http://www.getkurrent.com/
• http://www.go-one.de/
• http://www.greenvehicles.com/
• http://www.hec.w4r.nl/
• http://www.hybridtechnologies.com/
• http://www.innovech.net/ Chinese car (Website no longer accessible)
• http://www.itiselectric.com/
• http://www.lightningcarcompany.co.uk/
• http://www.maranello4cycle.com/
• http://www.micro-vett.it/english/doblom1ing.html
• http://www.milesev.com/
• http://www.mindset.ch/
• http://www.mitsubishi-motors.com/special/ev/ Mitsubishi i MiEV
• http://www.myersmotors.com/
• http://www.nicecarcompany.co.uk/
• http://www.obvio.ind.br/obviona/828.htm
• http://www.optimalenergy.co.za/
• http://www.phoenixmotorcars.com/
• http://www.quicc.eu/index.php?pid=10
• http://www.revaindia.com/
• http://www.silenceinc.ca/accueilEN.htm
• http://www.smart.com/
• http://www.smithelectricvehicles.com/
• http://www.sonimileotor.com (Website no longer accessible)
• http://www.sunmotor.us/Company_Products.html
• http://www.teslamotors.com/
• http://www.theaircar.com/
• http://www.think.no/
• http://www.treffpunktzukunft.com/
• http://www.twike.com/
• http://www.universalelectricvehicle.com  the Spyder (Website no longer accessible)
• http://www.vantagevehicle.com/
• http://www.venturifetish.fr/
• http://www.wrightspeed.com/
• http://www.zapworld.com/
• http://www.zenncars.com/

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I was very excited when I read a news article on March, 12 2009 about a new battery technology developed at MIT.  Basically, these new battery cells can charge up very very quickly.

The EV1

This technology enhances Lithium Ion energy storage and speeds up charging to just a few seconds. The news was released in a letter written by Byoungwoo Kang and Gerbrand Ceder of MIT. The letter described their work on enhancing lithium iron phosphate electrodes. The letter was published in Nature.

With li-ion batteries it normally takes hours to fully charge. This new technology means that EVs (Electric Vehicles) that take all night to fully charge can now fully charge in only one hour. Further, cell phones could be charged in a few minutes.

Apparently charging this fast requires high levels of power that could require wiring changes at homes.

I was thinking  WOOHA!  Now we will finally have Electric Vehicles, they can no longer claim that battery technology is not good enough for 100% Electric Vehicles. But, it seems I might be wrong.

Later on, I found that batteries that can fully charge in a few minutes are not really news, they’ve been around for a while and have been used in EVs that are allegedly nearing commercial usage.

left: EV1 and right: Toyota RAV4-EV

A friend of mine that knows much more about Electric Vehicles (and has converted a few EVs) wasn’t so excited by the news when I told him.  He said this was not the first time such good battery technology was developed. He doubts that this technology will ever make it to commercial use. Similar to the other battery technologies, he expects this one to never see the light of day and to be bought out and shelved. Sadly, I tend to agree with his opinion.

MIT claims that Kang and Ceder’s technology has already been licensed by two companies.

I guess, time will be the judge. Will this technology revolutionize everything that uses batteries? How long should we wait for an answer? Say a couple years before the streets are filled with EVs?

I hope so… But  I seriously doubt it.

Shelved "Crushed" EV1 Vehicles

Read more…

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I have been researching clean drinking water; after a number of months of research, I am convinced the only water anyone should drink is distilled water. I am looking at building my own water steam distiller, since I rather not buy one for $100 + My distiller will run on ‘any’ heat source, which may come in handy when camping (or when there is no electricity).. I discuss these here:

Checkout this discussion: Is There Any Good Water To Drink Out There??

Find out how to buy or build a distiller and share your ideas here: Water Distillation at Home

I will soon share my design and resutls.

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Read five (5) news articles on this topic. Here

ScienceDaily (Nov. 19, 2007)

Immune System Can Drive Cancers Into Dormant State

A multinational team of researchers has shown for the first time that the immune system can stop the growth of a cancerous tumor without actually killing it.

Scientists have been working for years to use the immune system to eradicate cancers, a technique known as immunotherapy. The new findings prove an alternate to this approach exists: When the cancer can’t be killed with immune attacks, it may be possible to find ways to use the immune system to contain it. The results also may help explain why some tumors seem to suddenly stop growing and go into a lasting period of dormancy.

This news article reminded me of something I heard Dr. Beck say once. Watch part 1 of a youtube video of Dr. Beck entitled “how to cure cancer & HIV (Dr. Bob Beck)”

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I came across a website today that uses Google maps and allows you to search for all the near by cellular, paging, microwaves and other antennas and towers.

Cell Tower

If you have any concerns about EMF, radio waves, micro waves, wifi, cell phone signals etc, take a look at this site to know what exists right in your back yard. I found 40+ towers and 300+ antennas in my 4 mile radius environment.

I highly recommend this website, it’s very eye opening. The site will show you existing registered and non registered towers along with future towers and other antennas. Not all towers are created equal nor are all types of wireless signals. This website just gives you a broad idea on what’s out there. If nothing else, you can have some fun using the tower and antenna maps, and perhaps try to go and find these towers and antennas once you’ve located them on the Google map.

Read more…

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