Science reveals: Reality is NOT Real (video)

Dhr. Seven, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly; Prof. Donald D. Hoffman (UCI), Patt Morrison (AirTalk)

Visitors inspect the work "Spazio ad attivazione cinetica" by Italian artist Marina Apollonio at the Schirn Kunsthalle museum in Frankfurt. The museum shows large-format paintings, objects, and environments by artists fascinated by the physical laws of light and optics who dedicated their work to the study of visual phenomena and principles of perception (Thomas Lohnes/AFP/Getty).

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Reality is nothing like what we think, says UCI neuroscientist

(The Richest) Illusions are real, in a sense. The mind often fills in blanks and really is fooled. There are two kinds of people in the world. One who extrapolates from incomplete information and. (lol)

In the 1999 dystopian sci-fi film “The Matrix,” the character played by Keanu Reeves (Neo) is presented with two pills.

The blue pill will keep things the way they are. The red pill will usher in an entirely different universe. Crips vs. Bloods, Dems vs. Reps, water vs. fire...or there's purple, the blend of the two.

The idea that “reality” is actually nothing like what we perceive it to be is not new, particularly in the realm of film, literature, or conspiracy theory. As science shows, it turns out that trippy notion might really be true.

Instead of some larger evil force trying to pull the wool over our eyes, however, a neuroscientist at UC Irvine (Orange County) who’s studied perception and artificial intelligence says (like the Buddha said long before him) that it is our senses -- touch, smell, taste, and so on -- that are doing the cheating.

AirTalk guest host Patt Morrison speaks with him about his research. Professor of Cognitive Science at University of California, Irvine Donald Hoffman has some startling things to say. AUDIO

(The Richest) 10 mind blowing optical illusions prove that the camera lies, we can't trust our own eyes, and the label (interpretation) we place on incoming information (sense data) changes what we perceive to what we cognize. "Reality" is not real because it is being distorted and brought into being at the point of entry. As the Buddha said, "I declare within this body, with its perception and intellect, is the world" (AN 4.45). We aren't seeing what's out there but the distortions we cling to and take to be real.

• "Self" is the ultimate illusion (maya in the world)

The Case Against Reality 

Amanda Gefter (The Atlantic, April 25, 2016) edited by Wisdom Quarterly

A professor of cognitive science argues that the world is nothing like the one we experience through our senses.

As we go about our daily lives, we tend to assume that our perceptions -- sights, sounds, smells, textures, tastes, thoughts -- are an accurate portrayal of the real world.

When we stop and think about it -- or when we find ourselves fooled by a perceptual illusion -- we realize with a jolt that what we perceive is never the world directly, but rather our brain’s best guess at what that world is like, a kind of internal simulation of an external reality.

Still, we bank on the fact that our simulation is a reasonably decent one. If it weren’t, wouldn’t evolution [or the nearest predator] have weeded us out by now?

The True Reality

Light dawns, and all is clear (Damon Billian).

The true reality might be forever beyond our reach.

[That is, if we fail to meditate, undistort the distortions, and find reality using systematic insight-exercises with mind-purifying-serenity, fourfold mindfulness, vipassana, and the analysis of the dependent origination of all things (with the sole exception of nirvana) which the Buddha made known. Buddhist practice leads out of ignorance and therefore frees us of all suffering].

But surely our senses give us at least an inkling of what true reality is really like? Not so, says Donald D. Hoffman... More

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St. Patty's Day: Most Irish-Americans live where?

Pat Macpherson, Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells, Seth Auberon, Wisdom Quarterly (Wiki edit); UCCI

Irish holiday in Latin America, St. Paddy's Day in Buenos Aires, Argentina (Penelope777).

(UCC Ireland) Why does Wisdom Quarterly: American Buddhist Journal, which is rooted in California, care so much about Ireland and the Irish?

It all started on Danu's green landmass.

The first Westerner to become a Buddhist monk (who was given the name "Ven. Dhammaloka" at ordination) was an Irishman who first came to California!

Traveling to Asia and taking ordination in one of the world's most Buddhist countries, Theravada Burma, took more than the "luck of the Irish," it took the b*llocks of the Irish. We like to think we share his cahones with a Latin twist for extra sass.

Who was this Irish fellow really, this hobo, world traveller, and trailblazing Buddhist who went from Ireland to the East Coast of the U.S. (like "Brooklyn") to California to Asia, a pathfinder now ignored by history? Let's go to Cork and ask UCC's Brian Bocking: Who was he, professor?

West's 1st Buddhist monk: Irish

The free-thinking, enigmatic Dubliner used different aliases, we now know to have been Ven. Dhammaloka, "the Irish Buddhist." He converted to Theravada Buddhism around 1900 and became widely known throughout Asia. In the process, he managed to fall afoul of the British colonial establishment as well as Christian missionaries in Asia.

Thank you, professor. Uncovering U. Dhammaloka's unique story (and his real name) has taken some inspired detective work on the part of Prof. Bocking and his colleagues, and their efforts have paid off.

 

The "Lost Irish Buddhist" emerges after all these years as one of the earliest Western Buddhist monks, pre-dating others who have claimed the title (particularly a British one in early Thailand). Prof. Bocking takes us through an amazing odyssey.

• The Real History of St. Patrick's Day

Bye-bye, Boston. We're going to California

James O'Shea, IrishCentral.com (March 1, 2016 from 2013 data)

Quick, where are the Amer-Irish? (Getty)

Quick, which are the most Irish states percentage-wise in the USA? If you said New York and California you're dead wrong! [But Irish radio broadcaster (KROQ.com)/"Family Guy" voice-comedian Ralph Garman swears it's now California.]

Montana, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island are the most Irish states in the U.S. with over an Irish population of 17 percent.

 

The demographics of the largest ancestry groups in America is based on census data found in the book, Ancestry & Ethnicity in America.

 

Next in terms of Irishness percent of population are New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Ohio, Kentucky, Washington State, Oregon, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, South Dakota, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, West Virginia, and Wyoming with between 15 and 16.9 percent... More

What is the Day of the Festival of Patrick?

Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edit

Padraig stained glass, Saint Benin's Church, Ireland

Saint Patrick's Day (Lá Fhéile Pádraig) is a cultural and religious celebration held on March 17th, the traditional death date of the former slave and propagator of Catholicism Saint Patrick (circa AD 385-461), the foremost patron saint of Ireland.

 

Saint Patrick's Day was made an official Christian feast day in the early 17th century and is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion (especially the Church of Ireland), the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Lutheran Church.

We love Ireland. Let's move to California.

The day is supposed to commemorate St. Paddy and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland, but it really celebrates Irish heritage and culture of the Irish in general. Celebrations involve drinking, parades and festivals, céilithe, and wearing green attire or shamrocks. 

 

Christians also attend church services and Lent restrictions or modified fasting and drinking alcohol like Christians are lifted for the day, which has encouraged and propagated the holiday's tradition of alcohol consumption... More  Happy "Pagan Genocide Day!"http://golosangeles.about.com/od/losangelescalendar/a/StPatricksDay.htm

Parties all over Los Angeles
GoLosAngeles.about.com (calendar)

• Weeklong celebrations: 2016 St. Paddy's Day in L.A. -- including St. Patrick's Day Noontime Celebration at Pershing Square: FREE outdoor lunchtime concert with Bad Haggis, Hollywood U2, and the Cleary Irish Dancers. Food trucks and a garden available. See laparks.org

• When: Thursday, March 17, 2016 
• Festivities begin at 11:00 am, concert at noon. 
• Where: Pershing Square, 532 S. Olive St., LA, CA 90013 
• Parking: paid lots or Metro Red Line to Pershing Square

Most Irish-American towns in U.S. revealed in time for Saint Patrick's Day

Daily Mail Reporter (March 17th, 2013)

Thousands turn out for NYC St. Patrick's Day Parade, the longest running in the country.

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Ever wonder where most Irish-Americans live? The real estate data site Tulia provided a breakdown of the ten most Irish metro areas and neighborhoods in the U.S. using statistics from the Census's American Community Survey.
 

Irish states are smiling: The majority of neighborhoods with high Irish-American populations are in the Northeastern part of the U.S., in both Massachusetts and New York.

Top metro area: Boston, MA ranked #1 with 20% of population made up of Irish-Americans

 

The majority of those neighborhoods are in the Northeastern part of the country, in both Massachusetts and New York.

• 2016 NYC St. Patrick's Day Parade rings in era of inclusion (AP)
• Be careful with that Shamrock Shake!
• Millions of Americans across the country celebrate St. Patrick's Day 

Kiss me!

Boston, Massachusetts, ranked No. 1 with 20% of its population made up of Irish-Americans.

Middlesex County, Massachusetts came second with 16.9 per cent of its population.

WHERE IRISH-AMERICANS DWELL

As listed the top ten metro areas in terms of Irish-American population density are:

1.    Boston, Massachusetts at 20.4%
2.    Middlesex County, Massachusetts at 16.9%
3.    Peabody, Massachusetts at 15.8%
4.    Albany, New York at 15.6%
5.    Syracuse. New York at 15%
6.    Worcester, Massachusetts at 14.8%
7.    Camden, New Jersey at 14.8%
8.    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at 14.2%
9.    Long Island, New York at 13.1%
10.  Wilmington, Delaware at 13%

The greener side of NY: NY also ranks high in Irish-American population density

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In total, 22 million Americans, or 7.2 per cent of the population, say their "primary ancestry" is Irish, according to the Census data, aggregated and blogged by Trulia’s chief economist, Jed Kolko.
 
Another 13.5 million Americans claim at least some Irish ancestry, bringing the total to 35.5 million Americans, or 11.6 per cent of the population, with at least partial Irish ancestry.

Irish-Americans make up at least 5% of the population in most counties across the U.S., and 10% or more in most of New England, New York, New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania and other smaller counties across the country. Miami, at the other extreme, is just 1% Irish. More

Why not visit the Emerald Isle, land of devas and the world's most widespread diaspora?

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• "Brooklyn" (could have been called "Compton" in CA)

Hollywood goes Irish: coming to America

(CV) Six clips from the Irish-American adventure story "Brooklyn" featuring Saoirse Ronan with a sneak peek behind the scenes.

• Irish sayings, proverbs, prayers for St. Patrick's Day
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• VIDEO: 10 Irish songs to get St. Pat's Day party going
• Top 10 facts you never knew about St. Patrick’s Day
• Gerry Adams refused entrance to White House St. Patrick’s Day reception
• Top 10 Irish JOKES: a snippet of of Irish COMEDY

WTF?!!!

• Irish INCEST (very Catholic): Adopted daughter reveals 15-year secret relationship with birth mother
• Meat lover, convicted child molester Subway's Jared Fogle beaten in prison
• The mystery of Celtic and Irish symbols
• Top ten Irish insults - the sharp tongued wit of the Irish
• Rory McIlroy on Donald Trump and the US elections 
• PHOTOS: St. Patrick’s Day traditions that are really NOT at all Irish

Dalai Lama in SoCal: the sand mandala

Matt Hamilton, Francine Orr, Sarah Parvini (latimes.com); CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly

The 14th Dalai Lama, left, with Tibetan monk Ven. Sherab Chopel, the principal artist who created the mandala, view it together during a private event in Irvine. The sand mandala was created to commemorate the Dalai Lama's 80th birthday (Francine Orr/LATimes.com).

Tibetan monks construct another mandala on another occasion (hairyprincess).

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Dalai Lama's anjali mudra

(L.A. Now) Creating a mandala is as painstaking as it is beautiful. Grain by grain, two Tibetan monks meticulously placed colored sand during the last two weeks on the campus of UC Irvine, forming a brightly hued pattern that's said to attract "loving-kindness."

 

This particular mandala depicts the celestial home of Avalokiteshvara, the [Bodhisattva] of compassion. It was created to commemorate the 80th birthday of the 14th Dalai Lama, whom Tibetan Buddhists revere as a living embodiment of Avalokiteshvara [transformed or embodied as the Goddess Kwan Yin].

Speaking with small group during private event blessing mandala (Francine Orr/LA Times).

 
The site at UC Irvine was chosen because it will become the new home of the Center for Living Peace, a nonprofit that sponsored the Dalai Lama's visit this week to Orange County.

 

The monks' diligent work -- from 9:00 am to midnight, for 10 days -- climaxed Tuesday morning, when the Dalai Lama blessed it. He studied the mandala with the principal artist, a Tibetan monk named Ven. Sherab Chopel.

 

In time, the mandala will be destroyed. Monks will sweep the sand and return it to the [Pacific] ocean [to send loving-kindness and blessings in all directions].

Borobudur mandala floorplan for 9th century Buddhist temple, world's largest (David1010)

 

Hevajra mandala, Nepal (Wonderlane)

Unlike so many art forms, it's an exercise in impermanence and the ephemeral. The mandala shows four arms, which organizers said symbolize the qualities required for enlightenment: joy, equanimity, loving-kindness, and compassion.

 

Perhaps there's a fifth quality [such as a sense of humor].

 

During the private gathering, the Dalai Lama paused and without provocation, looked directly at Los Angeles Times photojournalist Francine Orr, saying, "Compassion without wisdom is nothing." More

• COMMENTS: (Anayeli at 11:59 am July 08, 2015) How funny. I just realized he ma[d]e the comment about compassion that lacks wisdom while looking at a LAT employee. LOL! During the private gathering, the Dalai Lama paused and without provocation, looked directly at Los Angeles Times photojournalist Francine Orr, saying, "Compassion...

Times staff writer Sarah Parvini contributed to this report.

Kalachakra Sera mandala, initiation (Kosi Gramatikoff)

• Dalai Lama marks 80th birthday with compassion-themed Anaheim summit

Water Consciousness (video)

Alicia Murphy (aliciamurphymusic.com/water); Dhr. Seven, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly

Information on how to improve our behavior to help protect Earth's water. Highly recommended book. It has a lot to teach (instagram.com/aliciamurphymusic)

(LastWeekTonight with John Oliver, March 2, 2015) America’s crumbling "infrastructure": It’s not a sexy problem, it's a scary one. This is amazing. John Oliver covers the ins and outs of infrastructure. Yes, a million times, yes! I highly recommend watching the entire video. More

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Water is essential to all existence on our planet

And it is part of a complex and extensive human-made system

Sister Se and Alicia Murphy

Growing up in Los Angeles, I never really thought twice about water. It was always there when I wanted it -- bottled, in the sink, in the yard.

I didn’t know the water I drank was traveling thousands of miles to get to me or even that there was a finite amount of it.

It took a journey all the way to Kenya, Africa for me to understand what water scarcity is and how it feels to have a genuine reverence for this life source.

Pure thinking vibrates water well = crystals

I carried my love for water to University of California at Davis to study it, and in June 2013 I graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Hydrology.

I have interned for various conservation agencies and organizations like Delta Stewardship Council, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy, and Tidal Influence.

 

Now I am back in Los Angeles working as a environmental sampling technician, a water awareness advocate, and a musician. More

The writing is on the wall, Alicia: "Water is life" (aliciamurphymusic.com)

 
Thoughts on the Santa Barbara oil spill
Sometimes "bad" and "good" feel really relative [conditional]. But not now, not with this. This is bad, and it will always be bad. I firmly believe that we can develop and implement better forms of energy generation and energy storage. I do not believe that oil will always be Number 1. More

Reverse osmosis can’t reverse our choices

Desalination is often hailed as the savior of the California water crisis. Many people want to know what desalination is all about. Many people think that it is the obvious solution. I think desalination stations warrant a careful discussion because there are so many factors involved that shape their costs and benefits. Here are the… More

The story of bottled water

Bottled water is still as much of an as issue now as it was five years ago. It's unfortunate, but it's true. This video does a good job of identifying the differences and similarities between tap water and bottled water. It also… More

Titles matter
The Los Angeles Times recently posted an op-ed featuring nine water experts’ opinions on ways to save water. The article is titled “Shorter Showers? Nine more ways the State has to change its ways.” More

When the levy breaks and dam bursts, there goes the city. Then the real drought begins.

Dalai Lama's 80th birthday celebration (video)

Barbara Demick (LATimes.com); Wisdom Quarterly

Potala Palace, Lhasa, Tibet, the heart of Tibetan Buddhism, overtaken over by China.

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Dalai Lama's 80th birthday invites celebration and contemplation

To hear the Dalai Lama laugh, his face lighting up in a beatific smile, it is easy to forget the cascade of disasters endured by the Tibetan Buddhist [Vajrayana] movement over the course of his life. VIDEO

• Tibet's Road Ahead on the Dalai Lama's Birthday

Dalai Lama on birthday visit to Southern California (July-7)

Christian terrorist: 7 dead near UCSB (video)

Ashley Wells, Pfc. Sandoval, Wisdom Quarterly; AP, May 24th, 2014, 9:27 am, SCPR.org

Henley Gate at the University of California, Santa Barbara (Ryosuke Yagi/flickr.com)

What is at the root of our Judeo-Christian sexism? Porn, shame, Sharia law? (alarbiya.net)

(ORIGINAL VIDEO, from FurioHerovito, REMOVED. Replaced with "crazy Prozac/Zoloft eyes." 

Christian terrorist [Elliot Rodger?] talks about his planned rampage against humanity and women in particular for not paying enough attention to him as his God intended. Is God's gift to women working for the CIA's Boko Haram American chapter to keep females out of college, or is he just blowing off steam after watching cartoons and playing first-person-shooter video games and eating aspartame, processed foods, sugar, and corn syrup?
 

Christian terrorist kills, injures from car (UCSB)

Investigators are studying YouTube video after family warned police about alarming videos being made by possibly brainwashed Christian terrorist assassin. Was it made to prove all guns need to be remove from citizens? Was he on pharmaceutical antidepressants, too?

 

C'mon, man, we're just cartoons.

A drive-by shooter went on a nighttime rampage near the campus of the University of California at Santa Barbara [home of the biggest parties in Isla Vista, which has become a police state that will only take this tragedy as use it to amp up surveillance, policing, mass arrests, and police brutality in the name of "security"] that left seven people dead, including the attacker, and seven others wounded, authorities said Saturday.

(I'm Shmacked) WARNING: Hedonism, alcohol abuse! DelTopia, the UCSB Southern California party scene in Isla Vista. Pretty and privileged, introducing our future leaders. Woo!

 

Don't shoot! (yogasoup.com)

The gunman got into two gun battles with deputies Friday night in the beachside community of Isla Vista before crashing his black BMW into a parked car, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said.

 

Deputies found him dead with a gunshot wound to the head, but it wasn't immediately clear whether he was killed by gunfire or if he committed suicide, he said.

 

A semi-automatic handgun was recovered from the scene near the University of California, Santa Barbara. Investigators know the gunman's name [Elliot Rodger? as suggested by the title of the video above], but Brown said he couldn't release it pending notification of relatives.

 

"We're analyzing both written and videotaped evidence that suggests that this atrocity was a premeditated mass murder," Brown said.

 

Investigators study video following deadly drive-by shootings

A disturbing YouTube video posted that shows a young man describing plans to shoot women appears to be connected to the attack, police said. Officials would not say whether the person in the video was a suspect in the shooting. [It's probably another guy talking about shooting women.]

 

In the video, posted Friday, the man sits in a black car and looks at the camera, laughing often, and says he is going to take his revenge against humanity.

He describes loneliness and frustration because "girls have never been attracted to me," and says, at age 22, he is still a virgin. The video, which is almost seven minutes long, appears scripted. The identity of the person in the video could not be independently confirmed.

 

The shootings started around 9:30 pm in Isla Vista, a roughly half-square mile community next to UC Santa Barbara's campus and picturesque beachside cliffs. More + Updates

Save Mes Aynak (LA protest)

Wisdom Quarterly; Nazaneen Habib, Brent E. Huffman (Facebook 411408222299991)

As a classical civilizations major at UC Irvine and filmmaker, we are helping organize a protest intended to save Buddhist archeological remains.
 
They are located in an ancient city-size monastic complex about to be destroyed in Afghanistan by China this month. 

 

This peaceful demonstration is scheduled for Saturday, June 15, 2013 from 12:00-4:00 pm in front of the Westwood Federal Building. 

It would be great to have groups of individuals meet up and organize to attend together.

Let us know your thoughts! It would be great to have the support of the local Buddhist community in this. See our Facebook event page.

Science is Sexy (but only on Friday nights)

Wisdom Quarterly; UC Television
UCTV [1/2011] [Science] [Show ID: 19862]
 

Ira Flatow, science journalist and host of NPR's "Science Friday" (which will survive the loss in June of Neal Conan's "Talk of the Nation") discusses why science is sexy. This was his acceptance address for the 2010 Nierenberg Prize from the series "Frontiers of Knowledge."

AUDIO: Renee Montagne discusses cancellation of "Talk of the Nation"