Do you remain the same person?

This is a follow up to the previous blog I wrote about ‘Who are You?’. One vital aspect of the question ‘Who are you?’, is if we remain the same person throughout our whole life. You might think you do, I might think I do, but the reality is that we change as time passess, as we encounter different life experiences, and as we meet new people in our lives, who put their footprints in us. All these factors bring along changes, changes that happen so slowly without our councious realisation of them. Due to this we might not even realise that we are under constant change, which surely makes it difficult to answer ‘Who are you?’.

The great Philosopher John Locke suggested this answer to what a person is: ‘what person stands for...a thinking, intelligent being that has reason and reflection and can consider itself as itself, the same thinking thing in different times and places.’

It has been knows for quite a while that replacement occurs within the human body. For example, our gut lining is replaced every five daysø the skinæs outer layer every two weeks, red blood cells every 120 days, bones every ten years, and muscles between the ribs every 15 years. What only remains the same is the brain, it is as old as we are, unless that changes too due to injury or disease. So our bodies changes, and so does our behaviour and thoughts as life passess, so now try answering the questions that was raised in my previous blog, Who are you?

Who are YOU?

On Saturday I was talking to a group of girls on the subject of Identity and Self Esteem.
The first question we opened up with was; What is identity? and who are you?
This is the question that philosophers and religious leaders have trid addressing for decades. And interestingly enough the question is still relevant, we are still occupied with who we are, and what makes us into who we become.

What I like to do this time, is to get you answering this question before I write an article on this. So Who are you? and What is Identity?

I look forward hearing your views!!!

What is beauty??

Today I was asked to speak for a congragetion. I decided to speak about beauty, which I like to share parts of it with you.

What do you think of as beautiful? What is beauty?
When we go to bookstores and shops we see shelfs covered with magazines with very beautiful people, homes, food and all the great things that the world has got to offer us. The world concentrates mostly on aspects of the beauty that is visible, but much less on things that are not so eyecatching.

This is extracted from the Bible, Second Chorintians chapter 13:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

I remember back to 1996, when I attended a conference in Sweden, an English gentleman said something that has had an affect on me till this day. He was

talking about WISDOM, and kept on telling the participants to read the book of Proverbs. And I did. The more I read the book, which is full of wisdom and life guidance, the more I realise how much more I have missed out on what beauty is.

I too love the beautiful things of the world, dont get me wrong, but I try concentrating and dwelling on the deeper aspects of life, that has got to do with my inner soul, things that make my soul, mind and heart beautiful.

Cogito Ergo Sum? THE MIND- BODY CONNECTION

A healthy mind is something many want. Life is not supposed to hurt- at least, not all of the time. It is meant to be a positive, meaningful experience despite difficulties that come along. Our perceptions, thoughts, and anxieties of these experiences affect our well-being.

The great philosophical distinction between mind and body can be traced to the philosopher, and physiologist, Rene Descartes.
The mind was conceived as pure thought and not related to the body (The dualist view). However, monism, does not distinguish the activities of mind and body, but sees them as a whole working unit. George Berkeley proposed there is no mind/body distinction because what we think of as body is merely the perception of mind.

Research has confirmed the existence of systematic links between psychological factors such as anxiety, stress, depression and hostility, and a wide range of
physical disorders including minor infections, gut disorders, herpes, allergies, asthma, arthritis, coronary heart disease and cancer.


Extracted from my BSc Theses!

Stress - The Immune System and their relations to UNFORGIVENESS!

Data from the expanding area of psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) show that how people feel and how people appraise their living situations can affect their immune systems via white blood cells, which eliminate or incapacitate viruses, cancers, bacteria, and other microbes. So psychological factors do play a vital role in the immune system and general health, and the susceptibility to the common cold. People who feel unable to deal with life’s stresses display an exaggerated immune reaction that may intensify their sneezing, coughing, and other physical symptoms once they’ve contracted a common cold virus. Changing peoples’ perspectives on life and their resultant feelings, through psychological interventions, such as promoting forgiveness, can enhance immune system functioning.

Unforgiveness arouses often hostility, which releases stress hormones (Williams & Williams, 1993). These individuals experience less social support, which puts them at greater risk for both mental and physical problems. Berry & Worthington (2001) have conceptualized unforgiveness as a stress reaction to appraisals of interpersonal stressors that include transgressions, betrayals, offenses, and wrongs. Activity in the brain during unforgiveness is consistent with activity in brain structures involved in stress and other negative emotions. Hormonal patterns – notably glucocorticoid secretion – in unforgiveness is consistent with hormonal patterns from negative emotions associated with stress.

Forgiveness and Health

The belief that forgiveness can improve physical health is found in religious writings and in the recommendations of some health professionals. Forgiveness can facilitate the repair of supportive close relationships and such relationships are known to protect against negative health outcomes. Marital conflict is associated with poorer health and with specific illnesses such as cancer, cardiac disease, and chronic pain (Schmaling & Cher 1997), and hostile behaviors during conflict relate to alterations in immunological (Kiecolt-Glaser et al.,1997), endocrine (Glaser 1994), and cardiovascular functioning.

Unforgiveness, which often occurs as a result of having been hurt, humiliated, angered, or having suffered fear or loss, feelings of guilt, or envy, can have profound affects on the way our body functions. Muscles tighten causing imbalances or pain in neck, back and limbs. Blood flow is decreased. Normal processes of repair and recovery from injury are impaired. Chronic pain may be worsened. Forgiveness is often one of the keys in restoring or maintaining health.

Unforgiveness can be conceptualized as a stress reaction. Forgiveness can be used as an emotion-focused coping strategy to reduce a stressful reaction to a transgression. Direct empirical research suggests that forgiveness is related to health outcomes and to mediating physiological responses to stress, thereby coping strategy. Indirect mechanisms might also affect the forgiveness-health relationship. Namely, forgiveness might affect health by working through social support, relationship quality, and religion.

Nature or Nurture?!

The discussion that has occupied Psychologists and scientist for decades has been; are we a result of our nature (genes and DNA) or our nurture (environment, upbringing).

I am just watching a program about Child Genius. It is astonishing seeing what these genius children are capable of doing. At a young age of 6 they can solve GCSE math, an 11 year old has become the youngest publishing author. These are not average, everyday children. Their lives are a constant round of competitions and contests. But what makes such an exceptional child? Are they born this way or can they really be made?

But what exactly do we mean by 'genius'. Like the theory of relativity, it's one of those concepts that everyone seems familiar with, but few can explain it. How do you identify a genius? Are their brains different? Some people equate genius with a high IQ. But IQ is not always a predictor of high accomplishments in life. Academic achievement is also an unreliable guide. While it's true that Einstein excelled at mathematics, physics and music, the school records of other geniuses are often less impressive.

Exceptional ability may be a key ingredient; you must also throw courage and creativity into the mix. Top that off with a talent for visualising problems from new and original angles, and you may be getting a genius!
What are your thoughts? What is a genius?

Egomania

What is Egomania?
If you associate yourself with 5 or more of these qualities listed below, you are in line with 6 million others on earth to be diagnosed with Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD)

1.A grandiose sense of self-importance – Egomaniacs exaggerate their achievements and talents, and want other people to recognise them as superior.

2.Preoccupation with success and power – They're obsessed with fantasies involving their own brilliance or beauty.

3.Arrogance – Their behaviour is haughty, their attitude conceited and they show rage when frustrated, contradicted, or confronted.

4.Need for excessive admiration – Egomaniacs need attention, they want to be adored or, failing that, feared.

5.A sense of entitlement – They have unreasonable expectations and believe they deserve favourable treatment.

6.Exploitative – Happy to take advantage of others, they use people to get what they want.

7.Lack of empathy – Egomaniacs can't or won't acknowledge other people's feelings.

8.A belief of being unique – They believe that they're special and can only be understood by and associate with people of high status.

9.Feel envy towards others – And believe others feel envious of them.

It's thought there are around six million people across the world with NPD. There could be many more, but it's difficult to diagnose. Most people affected won't present their symptoms to the doctor; they simply don't believe there's anything wrong with them, rather that other people are the cause of any problems.

If you posess all 9, then you might want to seek help, as you might become a danger to others. But if you possess even 5 or more, seek professional help so your behaviour can be closely monitored.

‘Sin City’ in the UK

Las Vegas has got a new rival on the other side of the Atlantic, it is the metropolitan city of Manchester!

Firstly I want to make it clear that I do not like Las Vegas, I was there last year and spent new years eve in the ‘Sin City’, it was just too much of gambling for me!

Manchester council announced today their plan of building a multimillion Casino, using the tax payers money. I don’t know about you, but if I was living in Manchester I would not pay tax so they could build a place for people to go and loose their money and become addicted to gambling. Anyway that was just my thought. Hearing and reading the interviews today they clearly say they are doing this due to the unemployment in the city, so they are creating jobs (very thoughtful indeed!!!).

I mean, who is sitting in the council and making all these silly decisions? There must for sure be some other ways of making jobs for people than building a place were they would loose away their salaries. They will be creating jobs for thousands, and then in a year or two the council will have to deal with thousand others who will need to be treated for gambling addiction. What a brilliant idée!

Gambling creates addiction, and being set free from your addiction is not easy. It is achievable, but not easy! But why would we want to create a nation of gamblers anyway? So people would have more depths? Don’t they have enough of that?

In Iran people have become addicted to drugs, in the UK we make it more glamorous and make people addicted to gambling, how sad. I hope this makes us think, and raise our concern. The more addiction there is in a society, the more will the minority rule over the majority, as the majority not being able to question their governments due to their concerns of money, addiction, drugs, gambling and you name it.

I could go on and on, I just think a massive Casino is just a VERY silly idée. They have apparently put in a water park and some sort of other entertainments in there, so your kids can hang around there while you play away your ££££’s.