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தியானப் பாட்டு ( Dhyāna-p-Paṭṭu ), the ‘Meditation Song’ or ‘Song on Meditation’, is a joyful song that Sri Sadhu Om composed for young children to help them learn the practice of meditation on self ( svarūpa-dhyāna ) or ātma-vicāra (self-investigation or self-enquiry), as it is also called. Because of its uplifting and joyful tune and its simple and clear meaning, it is very popular among devotees who like to sing Tamil songs on Sri Ramana and his teachings. Although this song was written for the benefit of children, it explains the practice of ātma-vicāra in such a clear and simple manner that it is useful for any of us who are seriously trying to experience ourself as we really are. Though at first glance the first two verses seem to be describing the practice of dualistic meditation — meditation on God as other than oneself ( anya-bhāva ) — between verses 3 and 9 the attention of the meditator is gradually and gently turned away from the idea that God is anything other than onese

The Claim: We Overeat Because Our Diet is Low in Vitamins and Minerals We know that animals, including humans, seek certain properties of food.  Humans are naturally attracted to food that's high in fat, sugar, starch, and protein, and tend to be less enthusiastic about low-calorie foods that don't have these properties, like vegetables ( 1 ).  Think cookies vs. plain carrots. In certain cases, the human body is able to detect a nutritional need and take steps to correct it.  For example, people who are placed on a calorie-restricted diet become hungry and are motivated to make up for the calorie shortfall ( 2 ,  3 ).  People who are placed on a low-protein diet crave protein and eat more of it after the restriction is lifted ( 4 ).  Humans and many other animals also crave and seek salt, which supplies the essential minerals sodium and chlorine, although today most of us eat much more of it than we need to.  At certain times, we may crave something sweet or acidic, and pregnan

Regular blog readers will recognize these individuals whose life experiences encompassed 'unexplained phenomena.' L ast week, I had intended to present a blog post about the Council of Nicaea (325 AD) but finally decided the information was mostly hypothetical.  There are incomplete and scant surviving records of the event and I noticed that the perspectives of authors include assumptions in their attempts to describe what occurred.  It is known that the first Christian council resulted with the compilation of writings that would become the biblical New Testament. A n English translation of the "The Profession of Faith of the 318 Fathers" may be read online.  This document expresses the opinion of the majority of council members, who elected that Jesus should be decreed to be "the Son of God, the only begotten begotten from the Father."  The perspective of Jesus as "a creature and a work [of God]" was addressed and found "impious" and &q

Yesterday a friend wrote to me quoting verse 579 of Guru Vācaka Kōvai : Because of the non-dual nature of [our] enduring self, [and] because of the fact that excluding self there is no other gati [refuge, means or goal], the upēya [the aim or goal] which [we are to] reach is only self and the upāya [the means or path] is only self. Know them to be non-different. and saying ‘I think only Bhagavan has provided such clarity on the path, as well as the goal that we should aim for’. To this I replied: Yes, I too believe that ‘only Bhagavan has provided such clarity on the path, as well as the goal that we should aim for’. He has provided unsurpassed clarity on the goal we should seek and achieve, on the path by which we should seek and achieve it, and on the reason why seeking and achieving it is more important than anything else that we can do in this life. I believe that the reason why his teachings are so clear and convincing is that they are so simple and so coherent, by which I mea

This week's lucky "winner"... peanut M + M's!!! Read more »

More than 500 years have passed since the birth of the man who has become one of the most controversial historical figures associated with 'paranormal phenomena' (in this case prophecy) — Michel de Nostredeme ('Nostradamus' 1503-1566). S ince writing the previous blog post about Nostradamus two years ago, I've discovered that Peter Lemesurier in his book The Unknown Nostradamu s (2003) provided an English translation of a letter in Latin by Nostradamus to Francois Bérard dated August 27, 1562.  An online Lemesurier translation of this letter may be read at alt.prophecies.Nostradamus .  The book translation includes the following passage. Be advised therefore that for nine nights in succession I have sat from midnight until about four o'clock both with my brow crowned with laurel and wearing the skyblue stone and, as it were on the tripod, have wrung out of that good spirit about your ring.  Therefore, having plucked a swan's quill (for he thrice refused a

Obesity is strongly associated with metabolic alterations and negative health outcomes including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and some types of cancer ( 1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4 ).  Excess body fat is one of the primary causes of preventable health problems and mortality in the United States and many other affluent nations, ranking in importance with cigarette smoking and physical inactivity.  Obesity is thought to contribute to disease via the metabolic disturbances it causes, including excess glucose and lipids in the circulation, dysregulated hormone activity including insulin and leptin, and inflammatory effects.  This immediately raises two questions: Does metabolically healthy obesity exist? If so, are metabolically healthy obese people at an elevated risk of disease and death? Does metabolically healthy obesity exist? Read more »

Above is a page of photos from William Moreira's book. The following excerpts are from "Dr. Fritz" The Phenomenon of the Millennium (2002) by William Moreira.  The book is a case study of trance medium healer Rubens Faria, Jr. in Rio de Janeiro — after going into a trance, Faria is unconscious as his body is borrowed by 'Dr. Fritz.'  Moreira wrote: With "Dr. Fritz," besides the other unexplained phenomena, the one that has science most perplexed is the turpentine, alcohol and iodine mixture that when injected by "Dr. Fritz" instantly becomes blood or whatever is necessary to heal the patient.  Only "Dr. Fritz" can inject it or the person will die of poisoning.  Now, the question is, what makes the difference to the substance being injected?  What is considered impossible by man is happening and the power behind it is showing us that they can do what we cannot as a message. Moreira wrote the case study after being healed at Faria'