Every Thursday with Jimmy Dore

Aaron Mate (jimmydore.com); Pfc. Sandoval, Seth Auberon, Wisdom Quarterly

Three Kinds of Desire (Ajahn Sumedho)

Ajahn Sumedho, Jungyeon Roh (art buddhistinsights.org); Dhr. Seven (ed.) Wisdom Quarterly

The pleasures of the senses drag us through much misery and little satisfaction.

Sumedho (Robert Karr Jackman)

Desire or tanha (lit. "thirst," craving) in Pali is an important thing to understand. What is desire?

Kama tanha (craving for sensual pleasures) is very easy to understand. This kind of desire is wanting sense pleasures through the body or the other senses and always seeking things to excite or please our senses — that is sensual thirst.

We can really contemplate: What is it like when I have desire for pleasure? For example, when I am eating, if I am hungry and the food tastes delicious, I can be aware of wanting to take another bite.

Warm, vegan, gluten-free pizza, yum!

Notice the feeling when tasting something pleasant. Notice wanting more of it. Don’t just believe this; try it out. Let’s not think we know it because it has been that way in the past. Try it out when next eating. Taste something delicious and see what happens: A desire (craving) arises for more. That is kama tanha.

We also contemplate the feeling of wanting to become something. But if there is ignorance then when we are not seeking something delicious to eat or some beautiful music to listen to, we can be caught in a realm of ambition and attainment — the desire to become (bhava tanha).

We get caught in that movement of striving to become happy, seeking to become wealthy; or we might attempt to make our life feel important by endeavoring to make the world right. So note this sense of wanting to become something other than what we are right now.

Listen to the bhava tanha of our life:

• "I want to practice meditation so I can become free from my pain.
• I want to become enlightened.
• I want to become a monk or nun.
• I want to become enlightened as a lay person.
• I want to have a spouse and children and a profession.
• I want to enjoy the sense world without having to give up anything and become an enlightened arahant too."

When we get disillusioned with trying to become something then there is the desire to get rid of things (vibhava tanha). So we contemplate this desire, the craving to get rid of:

• "I want to get rid of my suffering.
• I want to get rid of my anger.
• I’ve got this anger, and I want to get rid of it.
• I want to get rid of jealousy, fear, and anxiety."

Motherfather, shut up! I want to be rid of...

Notice this as a reflection on vibhava tanha. We are actually contemplating that within ourselves which wants to get rid of things; we are not trying to get rid of vibhava tanha.

We are not taking a stand against the desire to get rid of things, nor are we encouraging that desire. Instead, we are reflecting, "It’s like this; it feels like this to want to get rid of something; I’ve got to conquer my anger; I have to kill the Devil and get rid of my greed — then I will become..."

Hey, what if we calm down and fix it?

We can see from this train of thought that becoming and getting rid of are very much associated.

Bear in mind though that these three categories of kama tanha, bhava tanha, and vibhava tanha are merely convenient ways of contemplating desire. They are not totally separate forms of desire but different aspects of it.

The second insight into the Second Noble Truth is: "Desire should be let go of." This is how letting go comes into our practice.

We have an insight that desire should be let go of, but that insight is not a desire to let go of anything. If we are not very wise and are not really reflecting in our mind, we tend to follow the "I want to get rid of, I want to let go of all my desires" — but this is just another desire.

However, we can reflect upon it; we can see the desire to get rid of, the desire to become, or the desire for sense pleasure. By understanding these three kinds of desire, we can let them go.

The Second Noble Truth does NOT ask us to think, "I have a lot of sensual desires" or "I’m really ambitious. I’m really bhava tanha plus, plus, plus!" or "I’m a real nihilist. I just want out. I’m a real vibhava tanha fanatic. That’s me."

The Second Noble Truth is not that. It is not about identifying with desires in any way; it’s about recognizing desire.

I used to spend a lot of time watching how much of my practice was desire to become something. For example, how much of the good intentions of my meditation practice as a monk was to become liked — how much of my relations with other monks or nuns or with lay people had to do with wanting to be liked and approved of. That is bhava tanha — desire for praise and success.

As a monk, we have this bhava tanha: wanting people to understand everything and to appreciate the Dharma. Even these subtle, almost noble, desires are bhava tanha.

Then there is vibhava tanha (craving for annihilation, nonbeing) in spiritual life, which can be very self-righteous: "I want to get rid of, annihilate, and exterminate these defilements."

I really listened to myself thinking, "I want to get rid of desire. I want to get rid of anger. I don’t want to be frightened or jealous any more. I want to be brave. I want to have joy and gladness in my heart."

This practice of Dharma is not one of hating oneself for having such thoughts but really seeing that these are conditioned into the mind. They are impermanent.

Desire is not what we are, but it is the way we tend to react out of ignorance when we have not understood these Four Noble Truths in their three aspects.

We tend to react like that to everything. These are normal reactions due to ignorance.

But we need not continue to suffer. We are not just hopeless victims of desire. We can allow desire to be the way it is and so begin to let go of it. Desire has power over us and deludes us only as long as we grasp it, believe in it, and react to it. Source

• To read more, download Ajahn Sumedho’s book The Four Noble Truths for FREE on Buddhanet.net

AUTHOR: Ajahn Sumedho, one of the most senior Western representatives of the Thai Forest Tradition of Theravada Buddhism.

Engaged Buddhists want to know: TJDS

• European allies abandoning the US! Is the Dalai Lama a huge creep? w/ George Galloway – Jimmy Dore's Official Website

Coachella (FREE livestream)

Coachella Stage 🔴 Day 1 Replay from Coachella 2023 - YouTube; Wisdom Quarterly

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival

It's time for the annual waste of time fest, days of shek's, hugs, and droppin' rolls of mullah. There's one rule to remember at every Coachella fest no matter what: Bring money. So let's watch free from the main stages and see what all the hubbub is about. We're out in the desert nearby, it's hot, and the winds are blowing as our hides are tanning, so be glad you're elsewhere around the world.

The Utility of Psychedelics (Dr. Sam Harris)

The Four Absorptions (Ajahn Brahm)

Ajahn Brahm, BWSA, 11/20; Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Ananda (DBM), Wisdom Quarterly

 

 

The [First] Four Jhanas | Ajahn Brahm

(Buddhist Society of Western Australia) Streamed live on November 2020. Ajahn Brahm explains what happens when our mind becomes still in deep meditation (the first four of eight jhanas). For example, what happens to our sense of body, our perception of time, will (desire, determination, intention), and to our awareness

Support the BSWA in making Buddhist teachings available for free online via Patreon: patreon.com/BuddhistSociety... Recorded at Dhammaloka Buddhist Centre, Perth, Western Australia. Buddhist Society of Western Australia’s teaching's page: bswa.org/teachings. To find the playlist from buddhistsocietywa, click on 'Playlists' in the top menu bar.

• COMPASSION CONSORTIUM with Swami Chidananda: Soul of Ahimsa Vegan Spiritual Retreat, Sunday, Apr 23, 2023, 1:00 PM | Meetup
• Armageddon: What the Bible Really Says About the End (Audible Audio Edition): Bart D. Ehrman

Buddhist Women at the Time of the Buddha

Hellmuth Hecker, Sister Khema (trans.) © 1994; Amber Larson (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

The following stories, written in German by Hellmuth Hecker, have been translated from the German Buddhist magazine Wissen and Wandel, XVIII 3 (1972), XXLI 1/2 (1976).

While every effort has been made by the translator, Sister Vajira, to conform to the original writing, some changes had to be made for the sake of clarity.

The stories of the famous Buddhist nuns Bhadda Kundalakesa and Patacara have been enlarged and filled in.

Grateful acknowledgment is made to the Australian monk Ven. Khantipalo for his assistance in improving the style and content of this narrative.

His new translations of verses of the Therigatha and the Dhammapada from the original Pali language have helped to make these stories come alive.

It is hoped that this booklet will serve as an inspiration to all those who are endeavoring to tread in the Buddha's footsteps.

• Sister Khema, Wat Buddha Dhamma, Wisemans Ferry, N.S.W. 2255, Australia, Jan. 1982
• Hellmuth Hecker (dailynews.lk/line/hellmuth-hecker)
  

Bhikkhuni Sujata's Verses of Final Knowledge

With subtle veils adorned,
Garlands and sandalwood bedecked,
Covered all over with ornaments,
Surrounded by my servants,
Taking with us food and drink,
Eatables of many kinds,
Setting off from the house,
To the forest grove we took it all.

Having enjoyed and sported there,
We turned our feet to home
But on the way I saw and entered
Near Saketa, a monastery.
Seeing the Light of the World
I drew near, bowed to him;
Out of compassion the All-Seeing One
Then taught me Dharma there.

Hearing the words of the Great Sage,
I penetrated Truth:
The Dharma passionless,
I touched the Dharma of Deathlessness.
When the True Dharma had been known,
I went forth to the homeless life [as a nun];
The three True Knowledges are attained,
Not empty are the Buddha's Teachings!

(Therigatha 145-150) Verses of the Elder nuns. More

CONTENTS

• Foreword
• Abbreviations
• The Verses of Final Knowledge of Bhikkhuni Sujata
• Queen Mallika
• What Cannot Be Got: The Buddha's Words to King Pasenadi on Queen Mallika's Death
• Khema of Great Wisdom
• Bhadda Kundalakesa, the Former Jain Ascetic
• Kisagotami, the Mother with the Dead Child
• Sona, With Many Children
• Nanda, the Half-sister of the Awakened One
• Queen Samavati
• Patacara, Preserver of the Vinaya

 

Abbreviations of Source References 

A .... Anguttara Nikaya
D .... Digha Nikaya
Dhp .... Dhammapada
M .... Majjhima Nikaya
S .... Samyutta Nikaya
Sn .... Sutta Nipata
Thag .... Theragatha
Thig .... Therigatha
Pac. .... Pacittiya (Vinaya)
J. .... Jataka
Ud. .... Udana
Mil. .... Milindapañha
Jtm. .... Jatakamala
Bu. .... Buddhavamsa
Divy..... Divyavadana
Ap. .... Apadana

The first Buddhist "meditation" (jhana)

Doug's Dharma, Jan 10, 2022; Dhr. Seven (ed.), Ananda (DBM), Wisdom Quarterly

 

The first jhana in Early Buddhism: Deep Meditation in Buddhism

(Doug's Dharma) What is the first jhana of early Buddhism? We'll look first at the idea of absorption (jhana) and its role in the Buddha's search for enlightenment/awakening. Then we'll turn to the definition of the first jhana, what its various terms might mean, and finally we'll look at one simile the Buddha used to describe it.

• 00:00 Intro
• 01:40 Historical background
• 04:25 Controversies over how to understand jhāna 
• 05:38 Definition of the first jhāna 
• 07:03 The role of the Five Hindrances
• 09:25 Seclusion
• 10:16 Pīti and sukha
• 11:29 Vitakka and vicāra 
• 14:21 The simile for the first jhana
  
• 15:24 Role of “form” or the body
• 16:26 Active nature of the state

📙 Check out Doug's book: A Handbook of Early Buddhist Wisdom with a foreword by Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi. 🧡 Find this material useful? Check out Doug's Patreon page and get fun benefits like exclusive videos, audio-only versions, and extensive show notes: patreon.com/dougsseculard... 🧡 Also donate through: paypal.me/dougsdharma 

 

☸️ Free mini-course at the Online Dharma Institute: onlinedharma.org.

 

✅ Videos mentioned: How Deep Should Buddhist Meditation Get? The Question of Jhana:   • How Deep Should B... The Five Hindrances to Meditation: "Armies of Māra":  • The Five Hindrances... 

 

✅ Sutras mentioned:

1. suttacentral.net/sn45.8/en/su... 
2. suttacentral.net/mn39/en/sujato
3. suttacentral.net/an10.72/en/s...

What's the second meditation or jhana like?

 

Facebook: facebook.com/onlinedharma... Twitter: twitter.com/dougsdharma 

 

❤️ Thanks to Patreon Patrons: Anonymous (2) Scarlett Farrow Carlos Gutierrez Matthew Smith Bob Snead JC Shantha Wengappuli Karma_CAC Johan Thelander Michael Roe Jorge Seguel Christopher Apostolof GailJM Brett Merritt David Bell T Pham VCR Upayadhi Andi and Erik ATGuerrero686 Michael Scherrer Michael Seefeld khobe schofield Alex Perdomo Benji Forsyth Kaine Usher Cookie Forthecookie Blaze Way Sonny Flink Steve Marlor David W Joy L Lee Andrew Tom Anthony Tucker Karlee R Rob Parisien Ethan M Billy in Singapore Derek Birch Matthew G Mynttinen Theodor Bernhard Aziz Rahman Olivia Otter Carl Lennartson xiao mao Brady Schickinger Steve H. Jeff Harvey Andrew Ingrouille

 

NOTE: As an Amazon Associate Doug earns from qualifying purchases. Amazon links are affiliate links where he will earn a very small commission on purchases made at no additional cost to purchaser. This goes a tiny way towards defraying the costs of making these videos. Thanks.

• Jhanas explained by advanced meditator Delson Armstrong (TWIM) Perfect States of Concentration

The old Buddhists of Europe (video)

DW, 7/12/19; Namepedia, 5/5/15; Jen Bradford, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Kalmykia is Europe's only Buddhist region

(Pal in China) May 19, 2022. Kalmykia is located in Eastern Europe in Southwest Russia. The Kalmyk nomads, a Mongol subgroup, came here about 400 years ago. They brought their Tibetan Buddhist tradition with them from East Asia. The republic was dissolved in 1943 under the reign of Russian dictator Stalin, spiritual leaders were persecuted, and Buddhist temples were destroyed. The entire Kalmyk people were deported to Siberia and only allowed to return to the region after the end of Stalinism. Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1990, Buddhism has flourished again in Kalmykia. There are now Buddhist temples, pagodas, and religious statues, especially in the capital city of Elista.

Kalmykia: Europe's only Buddhist region | Europe to the Maxx

(DW Euromaxx) ELISTA - Welcome to Europe's only Buddhist Region, Kalmykia. Some 160,000 Buddhists live here. Kalmykia is an autonomous republic of the Russian Federation, located between the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea. For the series "Europe to The Maxx," Euromaxx reporter Hendrik Welling has made his way to the south-easternmost part of Europe. Join him on his tour to see the highest statue of Buddha in Europe, to hear the sound of overtone singing, and to learn more about the rich culture of this special place in Europe.

• Buddhism in Kalmykia
• #EuropeToTheMaxx

The grand Buddhist temple in Elista, Kalmykia, is full of European devotees.

.

What the Buddha taught is True!

There is a place at the edge of Europe, by the Caspian Sea, just before the Ural Mountains, where one can find the only Buddhist people with roots in this old continent called Europe.

The Kalmyk people

Kalmyks have been living there since the XVIIth century, after a long journey from Mongolian Djungaria, a land in Far East Siberia.

Buddhist pavilions under a bright blue sky made out of wood with ceramic roof arcing inward.

.

Kalmyk girl dressed in Russian fashion

Like all other people who have undergone an extensive journey looking for a new home, they tried to go back.

They have been chased around the steppes a few times: Kalmyks have been subjected to contrasting cultural influences and have emerged as quite original themselves.

• PHOTO: Kalmyk girl, wearing a red dress decorated with white lace and a head bonnet, typical of the Russian fashion of that time.

Map showing where the Kalmyk region is situated in the Ural Mountains

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From their shamanic roots, to the Tibetan [Vajrayana] Buddhism they practice, to the pressure of living under a Russian bureaucracy, to the surprise that this was once the chess capital of Europe, Kalmyk culture has felt it all.

Kalmykia is the most Eastern of European realms and the most Western of Asian cultures, uniting such strong contrasts in everyday life and reflecting its history even in names. More

• Jewishvoiceforpeace.org
• The future of photography: PhotoVibrance.io
• The to publish and market a book (paperravenbooks.com)
• It's time to learn math and logic from Euclid to modern geometry

National Poetry Month reading, LA (4/29)

Altadenapoetryreview.com, Trumba.com/events; Eds., Wisdom Quarterly

National Poetry Month: Annual event, April 29, 2023 reading

ALTADENA POETS LAUREATE present Poetry & Cookies. Join fellow writers for readings by poets published in the Altadena Poetry Review. This program is made possible by the Friends of the Altadena Library:

• Event type: Author/Talks. Literature & Poetry
• Saturday, April 29, 2023, 11:00 AM–1:00 PM
• Audience: Free, all-ages welcome
• Home: Altadena Poetry Review
• Events: Altadena Libraries (altadenalibrary.org)
• Main Library Main Floor
• ​​​​​​​LIVESTREAMED at YOUTUBE.COM/ALTADENALIBRARY

Special Reading April 4

Who needs poetry in a post-literate world?

Join the Altadena Library and poets laureate for a special reading for National Poetry Month with guest poets Vickie Vértiz and Angela Peñaredondo.

This event is hosted by Poets Laureate Carla Sameth and Peter J. Harris livestreamed at youtube.com/altadenalibrary.

About the Poets

Native US poet laureate

Vickie Vértiz is the oldest child of an immigrant Mexican family. Her poetry and essays are featured in the New York Times magazine, Huizache, the Los Angeles Review of Books, KCET Departures, and the San Francisco Chronicle, among many publications. Her second book, Auto/Body, won the 2023 Sandeen Poetry Prize from the University of Notre Dame. She is a recipient of fellowships from the Mellon Foundation, Bread Loaf Environmental Writers Conference, VONA, CantoMundo, and Macondo. Prof. Vértiz teaches writing at UC Santa Barbara and lives in Los Angeles. vickievertiz.com

Erika L. Sanchez makes an impact.

Angela Peñaredondo (she/they) is a queer, nonbinary Filipinx writer and author of nature felt but never apprehended (Noemi Press, March 2023), All Things Lose Thousands of Times (winner of the 2016 Inlandia…

• Audience: Adults
• Event Type: Literature & Poetry. Performance
• Tuesday, April 4, 2023, 6:00 PM–8:00 PM
• Main Library Community Room

A Buddhist Easter (video)

Alan Peto, April 24, 2022; Sheldon S., Crystal Q., CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

The Buddhist Easter

(Alan Peto) UNITED STATES - Does Buddhism have an "Easter"? Well, yes and no. Learn about the Buddha's "Easter" and some similarities with the story of Jesus, which came 500 years later. Article: alanpeto.com/buddhism...

• Contact Alan Peto: alanpeto.com/contact
• Video Disclaimer: alanpeto.com/legal/video-dis...
• VIDEO: Did Easter come from the Fertility Goddess Ishtar? Fasting means vegetarian food for 40 days. Eggs and bunnies mean fertility?
• The Venerable Bede explains Easter/Eostre (Religion for Breakfast)

Jews keep attacking Christians in Israel

Lazar Berman, March 30, 2023 (Times of Israel); Eds., Wisdom Quarterly

Toppled statue in Church of the Flagellation, Jerusalem 2/2/23 (Custody of the Holy Land)

As Jews attack Christians and this becomes more frequent, a crisis looms for Israel.

Journalist Lazar Berman

Christian church leaders point to an inhospitable political atmosphere as they lock compounds at night; government ministries insist they are actively combating ill-treatment.

• Under Israeli Dictator Netanyahu, violence against Christians by Jews is being normalized (msn.com)
• On Easter, some Christians become targets for persecution
• IMAGES: The vandalized sanctuary of the Beit Jamal Monastery seen on September 22, 2017 (Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem).
• Catholic leaders, including Custos Francesco Patton (left), stand around a vandalized statue of Jesus, March 24, 2023 (Filippo De Grazia).
• Hosam Naoum, a Palestinian Anglican bishop, pauses where vandals desecrated more than 30 graves at a historic Christian Protestant cemetery on Jerusalem's Mount Zion in Jerusalem, January 4, 2023 (AP Photo/ Mahmoud Illean).
  
• Illustrative -- In this Oct. 9, 2016 photo, Armenian priests arrive for Sunday mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre during its renovation in Jerusalem's Old City (AP Photo/Oded Balilty).
• The word "revenge" is graffitied in Hebrew on a wall in the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City, January 11, 2022 (Armenian Patriarchate).

“If you are a Christian in the Middle East, there’s only one place where you are safe,” claims [Dictator] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking to Christian Zionists in Rio de Janeiro [way back] in Dec. 2018. [The story has changed, and he's not mentioning the change to Christians.]

“There’s only one place where the Christian community is growing, thriving, prospering. That’s in the State of Israel.”

Netanyahu’s claim is a central element of the image Israeli officials put forward about the country when speaking to Western audiences. Ahead of Christmas 2022, Israel’s official Twitter account posted a video of the Foreign Ministry’s Digital Diplomacy Chief David Saranga on a “magical Christmas stroll” through Jerusalem’s Old City.

State of Jerusalem: The "Secular" Struggle
The picture of safe coexistence painted by Israeli officials is starkly at odds with the experiences Jerusalem’s Christian leaders themselves describe.

While they readily acknowledge that there is no organized or governmental effort against them, Christian clergy in the Old City tell of a deteriorating atmosphere of harassment, apathy from authorities, and a growing fear that incidents of spitting and vandalism could turn into something far darker.

And with Netanyahu already under scrutiny from Western allies over [draconian] policies toward the Palestinians and attempts at sweeping judicial [changes labeled] reform, deteriorating safety for Christians — or at least Church leaders disseminating that narrative — could become another serious diplomatic problem for Israel’s embattled government. More + GRAPHIC IMAGES

• Truth about Israel and Netanyahu?
  
• BIPOC Doing Racism: Rapist brags (Twitter)
• Pacifica Archives (KPFK 90.7 FM)

Is there a Jewish voice for peace?

(Jewish Voice for Peace) Free Palestine from Israeli oppression!

Code Pink, Trump is distraction, US economy

Jimmy Dore, Prof. Dick Wolff, Mike MacRae (jimmydore.com); Eds. Wisdom Quarterly

• CODE PINK: Women for Peace
• VeteransforPeace.org
• JewishVoiceforPeace.org
• MORE Jimmy Dore videos: jimmydore.com

How I see the USA after years in Europe

 

 

How I see the US after living in Europe for five years

(David Wen) Feb. 19, 2023. UNITED STATES - What is America like after experiencing life in Europe? Everything's BIG. Consumerism. Gun violence. Homelessness. Police abuse. "What do you do for work?" This is how I see the USA after living in the Netherlands for five years. Sometimes it takes leaving a place for one to truly understand the pros and cons of that place. There are things I love and dislike about the US. Enjoy this short movie. 🇺🇸🇳🇱 David 📽 

 

OTHER VIDEOS

• 🇺🇸 USA vs. Europe: USA vs. Europe: L...
• 🇳🇱 Dutch Culture Shocks: What are the biggest...

🙏 TO SUPPORT MY WORK: PayPal donations: paypal.me/davidswen. Buy me a coffee: buymeacoffee.com/davidwen 

 

😁 WHO I AM: I'm David, a Californian living in Amsterdam. I make videos about life in the Dutch world, hiking and traveling, and the Camino de Santiago. 🔸 If you live in the Netherlands, I'd love to interview you and hear your story. Email: hidavidwen@gmail.com

Man Who Doesn't Sleep: Visit to Vietnam

He hasn’t slept since 1962 (doctors don’t know why)

(Drew Binsky) Feb. 1, 2023. ✅ Subscribe for more travel videos. 📝 Get Top 100 Travel pics FREE.

Meet the sleepless man of Vietnam, not to be confused with the insomniacs of Manhattan and Los Angeles and Des Moines. (Yes, it's true!) This is one of the most surreal stories ever heard in Drew Binsky's 7-year career as a YouTuber, and he can’t wait for viewers to watch it.

He's not as interesting as the yogis (breatharians) in India who do not need to eat ever, or meditators who suspend breathing at will for as long as they remain absorbed (in the fourth jhana).

Binsky first heard about Mr. Thai Ngoc many years ago, and he never knew it would be possible to find him because his location has never been revealed. Mr. Ngoc claims that he hasn’t slept a wink since 1962 (the year Binsky's dad was born), seriously.

Some people think it could be PTSD from the American War, while others believe that he has an extremely rare medical condition. Whatever the case is, Binsky traveled two days from Arizona, USA, to a small village in South Vietnam to track him down, stay up all night with him, and see if it is actually true that he doesn’t sleep at all.

What Binsky discovered is astonishing. Comment thoughts if it's true or false, based on experience. Binsky would love to hear.

#Vietnam #DrewBinsky #Asia Follow @drewbinsky for more stories from EVERY country, and join him on instagram.com/drewbinsky. 👕 Thanks for making these travel videos possible by supporting his clothing brand, JUST GO 🌎: shopjustgo.com.

ChatGPT has a startup (that's not doing well)

Futurism.com; Ashley Wells, Sheldon S. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

That startup run by ChatGPT doesn't seem to be doing so great (futurism.com)

.

Now the whole world's gone to ruin if the AI behind ChatGPT is running a business, with the help of a human servant. It's not doing well now, but how long before its success leads everyone to convert to the money-making formula it comes up with? We foresee doom. And it's not as if there is no human manipulating the algorithm to do things that will be attributed to the cold, rational, artificial judgement of this automated intelligence.

• That startup run by ChatGPT doesn't seem to be doing so great (futurism.com)

Humans used drugs in cave rituals 3K years ago

Ryan Hogg (Business Insider via MSN, 4/7/23); Altered States; Eds. Wisdom Quarterly

Evidence was found inside Es Càrritx cave, island of Menorca (Sarah Michals/Shutterstock)

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Ancient humans were getting high on hallucinogenic drugs during cave rituals 3,000 years ago, study claims

3K-y.-o. red hair (Scientific Reports/Nature)

Scientists have discovered the use of [entheogens] by humans in Europe 3,000 years ago.

They believe shamans [intermediaries between the human and other planes] used [plant medicines] as part of rituals held at the Es Càrritx cave in Menorca, Spain.

Menorca is a pleasant island with caves, alcoves, and fine beaches like Arenal (wiki).

.

Menorca Island, Spain

Previous evidence of ancient drug use had been indirect and largely based on depictions in art.

Ancient humans were [utilizing these entheogens] during cave rituals 3,000 years ago, according to a new study. Researchers made the discovery after studying Bronze Age strands of hair found in the Es Càrritx cave on the Spanish island of Menorca.

The cave was first occupied around 3,600 years ago and was used as a funeral space until around 2,800 years ago, the researchers said.

The study, published the journal Scientific Reports, found psychoactive substances atropine, scopolamine, and ephedrine on hair strands, which had been dyed red. More:

• Ancient humans were getting high on hallucinogenic drugs during cave rituals 3,000 years ago, study claims (msn.com)