Eye on Faith

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Perseverance: Neuronal network

Anterior Cingulate Cortex (highlighted)

What makes one person persevere in the face of all odds, whereas another might have quit long before?

Julianne Chiaet of Scientific American reports that the "will to persevere can be triggered by electrical stimulation." Of what? Of "a particular neuronal

network" that links an area of the frontal brain (anterior midcingulate cortex) which is "involved in processing executive functions" to many other parts of the brain…

In other words, perseverance is not just rooted in one brain region, but is a coordinated effort of different brain components. This was indicated by neurologist Josef Parvizi, along with other researchers from the Stanford School of Medicine.

Parvizi and his team are hoping that their findings can help pave the way towards neurological therapies that

can strengthen the will to persevere. Depressed people, for example, might benefit greatly from such therapies.

Resources

http://news.yahoo.com/persevere-triggered-electric-stimulation-190800750.html

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Christians claim Mandela as their own

(Mandela in 1937)

Although pretty much everyone these days wants to be associated with Nelson Mandela, his religious affiliations are not talked about nearly as much as his political ones.

However, on the day of Mandela's death, The Gospel Herald Society published an article by Joshua Cheung titled "Nelson Mandela Legacy:

Religion and Christian Faith, the Bedrock of His Extraordinary Life."

Cheung wrote that Mandela "has been a Methodist Christian and has consistently proclaimed his commitment to Christ as his Lord throughout his adult life." He further explained that Mandela's social justice achievements are rooted in the "Christian principles of justice, forgiveness and reconciliation."

Mandela's 1994 speech at the Zionist Christian Church Easter conference reflects the inspiration he drew from the life of Christ. During this speech, Mandela emphasized the following about Jesus: Who without arms, Without soldiers, Without police and covert special forces, Without hit squads or bands of vigilantes, Overcame the mightiest state during his time…

Resources

http://www.gospelherald.com/articles/49834/20131205/nelson-mandela-dead-at-95-christian-faith-the-bedrock-of-his-extraordinary-life.htm

Friday, December 6, 2013

Joyce Kilmer: But only God

(Kilmer in 1908)

When Alfred Joyce Kilmer famously wrote "But only God can make a tree," he wasn't just trying to sound poetic. Kilmer believed these words with all of his Catholic heart and soul.

Christianity loomed large in Kilmer's life from the get-go. Born into an

Episcopalian family that worshipped at Christ Church in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Kilmer was named after two of the priests there.

Later in life, Kilmer converted to Roman Catholicism. John Covell of

Catholic Men's Quarterly compares Kilmer's conversion to that of Cardinal John Henry Newman. Newman had first been what Kilmer
had almost become – an Episcopalian priest.

Much of Kilmer's writing became infused with his Catholic faith. He
once said: The Catholic Faith is such a thing that I'd rather write moderately well about it than magnificently well about anything else.

For Kilmer, Catholicism went way beyond theology. Although he did believe in what he called "the Catholic position," he mostly yearned for something greater than intellectual principles.

He yearned for Faith with a capital "F." Faith in the God who not only created trees, but also created poets to glorify them…

Resources

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1812293/posts

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joyce_Kilmer

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Nonhuman rights for chimps

Chimpanzee (Photo by Thomas Lersch)

The Declaration of Independence, that widely-hailed champion of individual rights, has one fatal flaw: It only pertains to humans.

If it were to also read, "When in the course of animal events," that could be a horse of a different color. This very matter is currently being explored by a U.S. animal rights group that has filed a lawsuit calling for the "legal personhood" of chimpanzees.

According to Bernard Vaughan and Daniel Weissner of Reuters, the Nonhuman Rights Project requested that a New York State court declare a chimp named Tommy (who is caged at a used trailer lot in Central New York) to be "a cognitively complex autonomous legal person with the fundamental legal right not to be imprisoned."

This same lawsuit lobbies for the rights of three other "imprisoned" New York chimps: one at a private property in Niagara Falls, and two within research facilities at SUNY Stony Brook on Long Island.

Chimps have long been known to be intelligent and social animals. James B. Harrod takes this a step further by theorizing that chimps also exhibit religious-type behaviors.

In light of these qualities, perhaps it is long past time to treat chimps as fellow travelers rather than as slaves.

Resources

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/12/03/21742085-new-york-lawsuit-seeks-legal-personhood-for-chimpanzee

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Quoth the balsam, 'Evermore'

Pine Needles (Photo by Hardyplants)

No matter what else it is, 'tis also the season for evergreen blessings.

In her December 3, 2013 Wise Woman Herbal Ezine, Susun Weed points out that evergreens are in the spotlight now that the bright-colored deciduous leaves have fallen. She speaks of the evergreens' vitamin-C rich needles, their refreshing fragrance, their medicinal berries, and their overall "green blessings."

Wikipedia defines "evergreen" as "a plant that has leaves in all four seasons, always green." Evergreens are not just limited to the familiar "Christmas tree" type conifers. They also include varieties such as live oak, eucalyptus, holly and cycads.

Weed mentions a variety of ways to invite evergreens into your life. You can either "burn cedar to attract healing energies," or harvest and eat (one or two per day) its berries. You can steep balsam needles in apple cider vinegar to liven up salads, and spruce needles in olive oil to calm down aching joints. And how about

freshening household air by boiling some pine needles in water?

Resources

http://wisewomanmentor.com/wise-woman-ezine?mode=PostView&bmi=1450963

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evergreen

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Jay Z: Four better or worse

Four Classical Elements (PD)

Lady Luck can be quite fickle. Therefore, lucky numbers can be for better or worse. However, in Jay Z's case, the number four is definitely a winner.

So much so that he and his wife Beyonce named their daughter Blue Ivy – Blue after Jay Z's favorite color, and Ivy after the Roman numeral IV, which denotes the number 4…

Four has been very prominent in the couple's life. Kukil Bora of the International Business Times reports that their daughter's date of birth, 1/7/2012, numerologically equals 4. Beyonce named one of her albums "Four." Both Jay Z and Beyonce were born on the fourth of the month (he on December 4^th, and she on September 4^th). They were married on April 4, 2008.

According to Sandra Weaver, the number four is associated with the archetypal feminine qualities of receptivity, warmth and passivity. It represents such universal things as the four directions and the four elements. She states that numerological "fours" are "stable, rigid, sure-footed, determined to reach their goals in a straight line."

Resources

http://www.2012-spiritual-growth-prophecies.com/numerology-meanings.html

http://www.ibtimes.com/beyonces-baby-girl-named-ivy-blue-carter-where-does-name-come-392554

Monday, December 2, 2013

Callas but not callous

Callas in 1958 (Public Domain)

Beneath that seemingly callous exterior of diva Maria Callas lay an intensely religious fervor.

According to Renzo Allegri of the Messenger of Saint Anthony, Callas had "an almost fanatical attitude to religion." She believed that all of life's blessings, including everyday ones such as good weather, were personally bestowed upon her by a very intimate God. This belief was reflected within her letters, which contained numerous references to what the Lord had done for her.

Allegri writes that Callas would pray "very frequently." Before

performing, she would visit a church and "remain genuflected for long periods – like a lifeless statue." At Milan's Duomo, she would kneel in prayer before the Madonna's statue for more than half an hour at a time.

Although she was married to a Roman Catholic, Callas remained

steadfastly Greek Orthodox. In a letter to husband Giovanni Battista Meneghini, Callas wrote: You see, I feel more at home in my Church than in yours… This may be because I was born into this Church, or perhaps because I perceive the Greek Orthodox faith and warmer and merrier.

Resources

http://www.messengersaintanthony.com/messaggero/pagina_articolo.asp?IDX=390IDRX=110