Paul ⁽³⁴⁰⁾

So, meditation. What ways and techniques are there? Really, that would yield a list far too long to start here, so let's look at the most common ones and a few you may not know. Everyone has probably heard of yoga. It comes from India and encompasses a large number of meditation techniques. Some are spiritual, some physical, some mental, but they all pursue a common goal to 'attach' or 'join'. The general idea is…

Found on the Goodnewsnetwork: After over 20 years of campaigning, ethical beauty retailer The Body Shop and non-profit organization Cruelty Free International are finally celebrating the end to animal testing for cosmetics in Europe with the anticipated announcement that the import and sale of animal tested cosmetic products and ingredients is to be banned in the EU on March 11, 2013. The proposed ban sends a strong message worldwide in support of cruelty free beauty…

On January 21st the Dutch site "Happy News" reported that the USA produced more wind energy than coal or gas energy. They did not support this with links and sources, but I want to believe them. There's energy everywhere around us. Let's use it. Well done, America, please keep doing it more and more.

via tor.com Recently the Smithsonian Magazine highlighted an interesting tidbit from this Alaska Dispatch article about the recovering bowhead whale population. Since bowheads live for over 200 years, that means the older whales amongst the current population were born before Moby Dick was written! Not only that, but these bowhead whales also avoided being killed by a massively active whaling industry that reduced their numbers to a mere 1000. Spit your last breath at that, Ahab! [News via The Smithsonian, Art via Arctic…

I meditate. Since long. I think I discovered it when I was 13 or 14. It started with a little book by Dr. Gisela Eberlein called "Health through autogenic training" (in Dutch: "Gezond door autogene training".) It worked well for me for a while. After that I ventured into yoga and even a short bout of Zen, but that was too foreign for me. Then I discovered TM. Transcendental Meditation. That was an eye opener.

Just had to repost this picture of an Aztec Dancer. It's brilliant for me. (You can click the image for a full sized version.) (Image found on facebook, if this is your image and you don't want it shown here, or you want to be credited, please let me know.)

Are Some Whales More Valuable Than Others? When nature is the enemy, the world rallies to save the whales from being trapped in ice or stranded on the beach. I am happy that people are so compassionate and so eager to lend their help. I am happy that the media covers the plight of the whales, like the orcas trapped in the ice in Canada or pilot whales stranded on the beach in New Zealand or…

Found on Slashdot: "Is bottled beer nuclear bombproof? The United States government conducted a couple tests in the 1950s to find out—it exploded nuclear bombs with 'packaged commercial beverages' deposited at varying distances from the blast center to see if beer and soda would be safe to drink afterwards. The finding? Yep, surviving bottled and canned drinks can be consumed in the event of a nuclear holocaust, without major health risks." This must be a relief…

Science literacy is a vaccine against the charlatans of the world that would exploit your ignorance.

No, this is not going to be a copy of John Denver's song, but life apparently is quite old (unless you're bible-strong). The Washington Post wrote this: by Devin Powell, Published: December 31 Scientists analyzing Australian rocks have discovered traces of bacteria that lived a record-breaking 3.49 billion years ago, a mere billion years after Earth formed.If the find withstands the scrutiny that inevitably faces claims of fossils this old, it could move scientists one step closer to understanding the…