"Your life is a dream. It’s a dream of reality. When I woke up one morning, I got poetically epiphanized: To us, our dreams at night feel 'oh-so-real' when inside them but they are what they are – dreams against the backdrop of daily reality. Our daily reality is like nightly dreams against the backdrop of the larger reality. This is something we all know deep down to be true. This purposeful computational process is centered around one objective, one guiding principle only, one 'raison d’être' – to produce a meaningful experience in the context of 'embodied' mind." -Excerpt from The Syntellect Hypothesis: Five Paradigms of the Mind's Evolution by Alex Vikoulov, available now on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Syntellect-Hypothesis-Paradigms-Minds-Evolution/dp/1733426140 #SyntellectHypothesis #FiveParadigms #MindsEvolution #CyberneticSingularity #LucidDream #EmbodiedMind #consciousness #evolution #mind https://www.instagram.com/p/B8XvU4WhQvA/?igshid=10zwsryz758ij

"The brain has a backup system": Why people missing much of their brain can miraculously recover | Salon

“The brain has a backup system”: Why people missing much of their brain can miraculously recover | Salon

“Embodied Mind” author Thomas Verny on consciousness and the brain’s amazing “backup system” (image credit: Brain with eyeglasses (Getty Images/Jolygon) Source: Why people who are missing much of their brain can completely recover This article is on Thomas R. Verny’s book “The Embodied Mind: Understanding the Mysteries of Cellular Memory, Consciousness, and Our Bodies.” The implications I…

View On WordPress

Today was the foundation anniversary of the family temple. I’ve refrained from taking pictures during ceremonies because I didn’t want to turn ceremonies into spectacles but something today though wanted to share the experience and when I checked in the Gods of the temple seemed ok with it. It felt like they acknowledged I belong here. I asked if they were sure and at that moment Ebee looked over to me and told me to grab her camera and take some pictures. Ceremonies here are part spiritual alchemy, part family or village get together and my Bali family sure made me feel like part of the family. Ebu, the grandma had me sit with her and everyone was trying to get me to eat more. The Monku (priest) remembered me from other ceremonies and made the joke that the family should adopt me. I felt incredibly at home, not only with my Bali family but in the temple with the Gods. The spiritual energy was palpable. Ceremonies like today happen every six months for each of the family temples. When combined with other ceremonies the Balinese are constantly brought back into contact with family, friends, and the village as well as with the Gods. Loved ones, community, and the Mystery become the foundation of life and are constantly supported by each other. Imagine a world where our faith unites us and brings us together rather than separates us or fractures our communities? May this be the world we create! #community #baliculture #hinduism #embodiedmindfulness #mindfulmoments #sacredmoment #enchantinglife #culture #newvisions #ageofaquarius #ageofaquarius♒ #depressionrelief #selfcare #selfdevelopmenttools #personalgrowth #prayerispowerful #shadesofawakening #pathsoftransformation #ameaningfullife #livingalchemy #beyondsurviving #lifemagic #lifeunfiltered #Bali #BaliAdventure #Wanderlust #dharma_travel #lifeinbali #expat #balihealing (at Ubud, Bali, Indonesia) https://www.instagram.com/p/B6-JpPzhIR4/?igshid=15l3tc2d1tyxy

#cptsd #complexptsd #complextrauma #developmentaltrauma #childhoodtrauma #trauma #ptsd #childhoodptsd #cptsdrecovery #Repost @embodiedmindfulness ・・・ ⁣ What exactly is trauma? Trauma is not an event, it’s what happens in the brain and body as a result of an event. Here’s a definition from Peter Levine, the founder of Somatic Experiencing. ⁣ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣ "Trauma is a highly activated incomplete biological response to threat, frozen in time. For example, when we prepare to fight or to flee, muscles throughout our entire body are tensed together in specific patterns of high-energy readiness. When we are unable to complete these appropriate actions, we fail to discharge the tremendous energy generated by our survival preparations. This energy becomes fixed (as a snapshot) in specific patterns of neuromuscular readiness or collapse (i.e., mobilization or immobilization). The person then remains in a state of acute and then chronic arousal and dysfunction in the central nervous system. Traumatized people are not suffering from a disease in the normal sense of the word—they have become stuck in a hyper-aroused or “shutdown” (dissociated) state. It is difficult if not impossible to function normally under these circumstances."⁣ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣ Keep in mind that this definition focuses on the nervous system and is not a complete definition of how trauma can impact cognitions, core beliefs, and interpersonal behaviors.⁣ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣ This quote is from an article Peter wrote with Crane-Godreau in 2015 entitled "Somatic Experiencing: using interoception and proprioception as core elements of trauma therapy", which I recommend for therapists who work with traumatized clients, and for clients who are interested in digging into the neuroscience and theory behind Somatic Experiencing. https://www.instagram.com/p/B0rHxAqgeac/?igshid=2euynocxwb5u

Today was the foundation anniversary of the family temple. I’ve refrained from taking pictures during ceremonies because I didn’t want to turn ceremonies into spectacles but something today though wanted to share the experience and when I checked in the Gods of the temple seemed ok with it. It felt like they acknowledged I belong here. I asked if they were sure and at that moment Ebee looked over to me and told me to grab her camera and take some pictures. Ceremonies here are part spiritual alchemy, part family or village get together and my Bali family sure made me feel like part of the family. Ebu, the grandma had me sit with her and everyone was trying to get me to eat more. The Monku (priest) remembered me from other ceremonies and made the joke that the family should adopt me. I felt incredibly at home, not only with my Bali family but in the temple with the Gods. The spiritual energy was palpable. Ceremonies like today happen every six months for each of the family temples. When combined with other ceremonies the Balinese are constantly brought back into contact with family, friends, and the village as well as with the Gods. Loved ones, community, and the Mystery become the foundation of life and are constantly supported by each other. Imagine a world where our faith unites us and brings us together rather than separates us or fractures our communities? May this be the world we create! #community #baliculture #hinduism #embodiedmindfulness #mindfulmoments #sacredmoment #enchantinglife #culture #newvisions #ageofaquarius #ageofaquarius♒ #depressionrelief #selfcare #selfdevelopmenttools #personalgrowth #prayerispowerful #shadesofawakening #pathsoftransformation #ameaningfullife #livingalchemy #beyondsurviving #lifemagic #lifeunfiltered #Bali #BaliAdventure #Wanderlust #dharma_travel #lifeinbali #expat #balihealing (at Ubud, Bali, Indonesia) https://www.instagram.com/p/B6-I_uxBGyV/?igshid=29wh3pvrceu3

It’s the holiday season. Many are grieving lost ones. Many are grieving those still here but no longer around. Some are grieving themselves, lost from the familiar; from the traditions, people, and dreams they had before. Whether we think about it, sob for it or try to ignore it, the body knows what’s happening. There’s a reason there are so many holidays in the darkest part of the year. It’s in the experience of wholeness; grief and closeness that we touch what is essential. Let yourself grieve. Let yourself laugh. If you know someone who could use connection bring them in. Celebrate the true meaning of the season, the brightening of the night as we gather together and share our warmth. The fullness of it all, these specks in amber. #poem: stilled moments caught. the sun-kissed me this morning as flowers fell from the trees. a week ago she was skin laced bone & breath, now she is dirt-stained, lungs emptied. my sister said "i don't cry when they die anymore" i knew what she meant. i sob for life. flecks in amber #poetry #instapoetry #poems #poet #poetryisnotdead #poetsofig #spilledink #poetrycommunity #embodiedmindfulness #mindfulmoments #sacredmoment #enchantinglife #lifeissacred #pathsoftransformation #pathsoflife #windsofchange #ameaningfullife #liveyourstory #livingalchemy #livingstory #beyondsurviving #lifemagic #innertruth #innerworld #innerworldsouterworlds #personalmythology #herosjourney #returningtonaturesrhythm #lifeunfiltered https://www.instagram.com/p/B6LAnwbBbaE/?igshid=ymjhk9ofi8c1

I’ve had a lot of difficulty as an adult around the concepts of rest and play. I know I need it but it’s hard to make space and time for it. In particular when I block off some time for rest I feel bored, lethargic, and directionless. I’ve had counselors try to work with me on it being ok to watch movies and play video games and yes that is great if it works for you (and it does for me sometimes) but most of the time I feel bored, drained, and jaded by these activities. This last Monday I was experiencing this when I asked myself “what would you really like to do?” And the answer came “work on my poetry.” So that’s what I did for hours and I loved it and it felt fulfilling. I’ve also been participating in the #vss365 challenge on Twitter where one writes a very short story or poem from a prompt every day. It’s been incredibly fun. The poem here is the result of today’s prompt of “curry.” It gets the creative juices flowing and feels fulfilling. Rest and play are incredibly important but what that looks like may not be the same thing for you as for others. I know I’ve spent a lot of time trying to rest in ways that didn’t work for me because others said it was what you do. Find the ways of being that fulfill you. That leave you feeling better rested, delighted, enjoying your self. Find these ways and do them no matter what others are doing. I’ll be dropping my Twitter handle down below. If you have a space where you practice a hobby or share some part of your rest and play please share it here! #play #dream #create #poetry #instapoetry #creativewriting #poems #poet #poetryisnotdead #poetsofig #spilledink #embodiedmindfulness #enchantinglife #pathsoftransformation #windsofchange #ameaningfullife #livingalchemy #livingstory #beyondsurviving #lifemagic #personalmythology #lifeunfiltered https://www.instagram.com/p/B57wwhSBDSr/?igshid=rz44qhh3q83m

Loving these days of Saraswati celebration. Saraswati is the goddess of learning, music, art, inspiration, and insight. She started off in the Vedas as a river goddess with her name meaning one who possesses waters. As rivers are often sacred and purifying she took on the qualities of purification. In time she began to represent all that flows such as the rhythm of music and true inspiration. What’s interesting with this is that she keeps her properties of purification so that education, inspiration, and the arts are seen as ways of purifying the mind and soul. This feels quite different from the way we treat education in the West where knowledge is associated with power. Currently the humanities are getting cut back as people ask “what’s the point of an education if it doesn’t provide a paid skill. Few would consider an education that touches on self care, mental health, or spiritual expression. Meanwhile our society and culture is crumbling. What if we focused our education around that which enlightens, beautifies, clarifies and purifies the mind? What if this was the inspiration of our art and music? What if it was the goal of all mental practice and the source of our inspiration? A river of inspiration that blesses and cleanses. Washing away the delusions of the mind, our bias, our projections, our obsessions, the lies we tell ourselves, our delusions regarding the world. This mindset isn’t foreign to the Western world. It informed Greek as well as that of the renaissance and other regions of the ancient world from the Americas to Africa China and Japan. Perhaps in our search for knowledge we’ve forgotten the point of education and with it the wisdom that empowers us to stay in relation to each other and the world. #saraswati #hinduism #education #society #poetry #embodiedmindfulness #enchantinglife #culture #newvisions #ageofaquarius #ageofaquarius♒ #depressionrelief #anxiety #anxietyfree #selfcare #selfdevelopmenttools #personalgrowth #prayerispowerful #pathsoftransformation #windsofchange #ameaningfullife #lifemagic #lifeunfiltered #Bali #BaliAdventure #Wanderlust #dharma_travel #lifeinbali #expat #balihealing (at Ubud, Bali, Indonesia) https://www.instagram.com/p/B5yjMvCBpjk/?igshid=3aqfdax66ms0