Complete map of mind: Abhidhamma

Unravelling...Mind & Body Through Abhidhamma

It's not Abby DOOM UH, as the lovely AI video narrator misspeaks, but rather Abby DAH MAH.

A guide through the dense analysis of reality

(Buddha's Wisdom) The Theravada Abhidhamma ("Higher Doctrine" or "Dharma in Ultimate Terms") explained | Buddhism's map of every thought (citta, "mind moment")

The Theravāda Abhidhamma tradition, also known as the Abhidhamma Method, refers to a scholastic systematization of Theravāda Buddhism's understanding of the Buddha's "Higher" (abhi-) "Teachings" (Dhamma).

They are the same Teachings, of course, but presented in ultimate rather than conventional terms.

• 

  The Abhidhamma in Practice

  For example, in the sutras (discourses), rebirth might be mentioned and sound like reincarnation -- a person passing away from here and reappearing according to karma (past deeds) on another plane of existence, such as heaven or the animal world. However, the Abhidhamma explains in exacting detail how this happens, how there is no "self" (soul, atta), how an impersonal process of Dependent Origination rolls on in samsara bringing about results (phala, vipaka) in accordance with will actions (intentional deeds), and how all of this is impermanent, unsatisfactory/incapable of fulfilling, and utterly impersonal in spite of it seeming otherwise to the senses.

These teachings are traditionally believed to have been taught by the Buddha, though modern scholars date the texts of this collection, the Abhidhamma Piṭaka, to the 3rd century BCE [2, 3].

The Theravāda school traditionally sees itself as the vibhajja-vāda ("the teaching of analysis"), which reflects the analytical (vibhajjati) dissection method used by the Buddha and Early Buddhists to investigate the nature of the person and other phenomena [4].

Who studies this? - The Burmese

According to Bhikkhu Bodhi, a modern American Theravāda scholar-monk and prodigious translator, the Abhidhamma is "simultaneously a philosophy, a psychology and an ethics, all integrated into the framework of a program for liberation" [5].

There are different textual layers of Abhidhamma literature. The earliest Abhidhamma works are found in the Pali canon. Then there are exegetical commentarial works that were composed in Sri Lanka in the 5th century. There are also later sub-commentarial works composed in later historical periods. More

The Abhidhamma explained | Buddhism's map of every thought

(Buddha's Wisdom) Aug. 23, 2026: 🧠 WHAT HAPPENS IN OUR MINDS BEFORE WE EVEN KNOW IT? The Theravada Abhidhamma is Buddhism’s most detailed analysis of consciousness, karma, perception, and the moment-to-moment workings of the mind.

Let's explore how Theravāda Buddhism breaks experience down into citta, cetasika, bhavaṅga, javana, and the famous 17-moment cognitive process...while also asking a difficult historical question: Did the Buddha actually teach the Abhidhamma in the form we know today? Some say he never taught it at all.

🔍 DISCOVER:

• How the Abhidhamma breaks a single sensory event into a sequence of distinct mental moments
• Why one Buddhist tradition holds that this teaching was given to his biological mother in one of the many heavens, to an assembly of celestial devas from various worlds and planes, with no human present to hear it
• What the Buddha meant when he defined kamma (karma) as "intention" (cetana) and why that definition changes everything downstream of it
• Why javana, the seven “running” moments, plays such an important role in karma and moral action
• Why the Sautrāntikas rejected the [Mahayana] Abhidharma treatises, and what the existence of a second, rival collection tells us about where this material came from
• How a thousand-year-old analysis of repetition and disposition arrived at something we would now call habit

📿 The Abhidhamma is difficult because it refuses to stop at the story we tell ourselve about our choices. It asks what was happening before the story began.

🙏 Enjoy deep, historically-grounded explorations of Buddhism like this one, subscribe to Buddha’s Wisdom. It goes this deep every week. After watching, say in the comments: Where do you catch yourself arriving late to your own mind?

📱 Join community: Instagram: buddhaswizdom. Facebook: buddhaswizdom. X: x.com/BuddhasWizdom. Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/5ndnBU5... TikTok: buddhas.wisdom. ☕ Support the channel: buymeacoffee.com/buddhaswisdom paypal.me/buddhaswisdom

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS:

• 00:00 What Happens Before You Know It?
• 00:55 The Abhidhamma
• 02:23 You Are Always Late
• 04:56 Why Count The Mind?
• 09:57 How A Perception Is Built
• 13:26 Seven Times, Underneath
• 17:49 What Actually Continues
• 22:56 Did The Buddha Teach It?
• 26:49 The Map Has a Direction
• 30:29 Too Small to Remember

#Abhidhamma #Buddhism #palicanon  #Theravada #BuddhistPhilosophy #Kamma #Consciousness #Karma #Meditation #Mindfulness #Buddha #Dharma #Citta

📖 SOURCES AND FURTHER READING:

• (Affiliate Links) Primary texts Abhidhamma Piṭaka, the third collection of the Pāli canon https://amzn.to/4zDLzH2
• Paṭṭhāna, the seventh and largest canonical Abhidhamma book, on the 24 conditional relations https://amzn.to/4c8xuHn
• Kathāvatthu, the canonical record of doctrinal disputes, traditionally associated with Moggaliputta Tissa https://amzn.to/3Ub7mWh
• Nibbedhika Sutta (AN 6.63), where intention is defined as kamma
• Anupada Sutta (MN 111), where Sāriputta takes his meditative states apart factor by factor https://amzn.to/4zRCpXF
• Commentarial and later works Atthasālinī, Buddhaghosa's commentary, which preserves the Tāvatiṃsa (Heaven of the Thirty-Three) account Abhidhammattha Saṅgaha, the compact manual that became the standard first textbook across the Theravāda world

Modern scholarship and reference works:

• Bhikkhu Bodhi, ed. — A Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma https://amzn.to/46mykwI
• Y. Karunadasa — The Theravāda Abhidhamma: Its Inquiry into the Nature of Conditioned Reality https://amzn.to/4y0NpQE
• Y. Karunadasa — The Dhamma Theory: Philosophical Cornerstone of the Abhidhamma
• Nyanatiloka Mahāthera — Guide Through the Abhidhamma Piṭaka https://amzn.to/3SabxB7
• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy — Abhidharma, for the historical development of Theravāda, Sarvāstivāda, and other early Buddhist Abhidharma traditions
• Comparative Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma, the seven-book collection developed on the other side of the Indian subcontinent, and the sarvāsti position the Theravādins reject https://amzn.to/4qyodyo

• Buddha's Wisdom, Aug. 24, 2026; Amber Larson (ed.); Dhr. Seven (Saylay Susila's editor on Unravelling book), Wisdom Quarterly

Is 99% of modern yoga fake 'bhoga'?

I'm ready for yoga! I did the most important thing. I bought this outfit that really shows my...

(Miska Käppi) I studied yoga for 20 years, and 99% was fake

OK, they say never drink before yoga class, but I think a little booze is not bad. Oops!!!

• Bhoja is not bogus; it is "something done for enjoyment," according to B.K.S. Iyengar, says Miska Käppi, as many bhojis calling themselves "yogis" practice nowadays.
• Opposites — Ashtanga Yoga Sanskrit
• Yoga is not a lot of twisting, breathing, or jumping around in a modern studio; it is to "unite," to bring about "union" of the self (atman, "soul") with Brahman (the Ultimate) and/or breath (prana, "holy spirit"), the conventional divine (Brahma, the Creator), Vishnu (the Preserver) usually nowadays in the form of Shiva, the Destroyer

What looks like a repeating gif is actually a remarkable stunt

Yoga postures for balance, strength, and flexibility

Messianic Bikram Choudhury as persecuted Christ figure

• What is "the real thing"? One answer is The Eightfold Path: Ashtanga (Integral Yoga sometime Raja/Royal Yoga), a system of achieving "union" with the divine by the practice of eight limbs of the path: Yamas (external disciplines), Niyamas (internal disciplines), Asanas (physical postures), Pranayama (breath control), Pratyahara (sense withdrawal), Dharama (concentration), Dhyana (meditative absorptions, jhanas), and Samadhi (union, integration, coherence). The whole purpose of Yoga -- at least in ancient times between gurus and chelas (teachers and disciples) -- is MEDITATION. Asanas (lit. "seats") allow one to sit longer, more comfortably, and with stability. That is to say, practicing for the meditative absorptions is to reach of Samadhi. Who can say otherwise?

• Ashtanga (The Eight Limbs of Yoga)

• Miska Käppi; Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Wisdom Quarterly

K-pop dance practice: 'Iconic by Mistake'

(Hybe Labels) LE SSERAFIN x ILLIT x KATSEYE "Iconic by Mistake" K-pop/dance practice

(ipo11y vlogs) Russian Apartments Tour: Life of a Slavic Baddie

Mindfulness: Why being present is hard

(Buddhism Podcast) Why being present is so hard | Buddhist Wisdom

Real life in 'sinful' Buddhist Cambodia

Near Burma, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam

(World Lens) Real life Cambodia : The world's most sinful Buddhist country: The real country most visitors miss | Travel documentary

This former U.S.-ruined Asian colony known as the Khmer Republic was illegally bombed by the U.S. in a massive genocidal campaign during the U.S. War on Vietnam in Operation Menu and Operation Freedom Deal. Neighboring Buddhist Laos was also bombed along with Vietnam as it suffered CIA subterfuge in Laos as The Company (the CIA) destabilized the impoverished the poor post-colonial nation with the Laotian Civil War.

• Angkor Wat: The world's largest temple
• Massive Angkor city-state, Siem Reap
• Wat Athvea ancient neighboring site

Zionist CIA loves secret wars in Asia and world

Why the imperial Americans saw fit to follow on France's colonialism with a genocide during the U.S. War on Vietnam only the U.S. government and CIA know. Three innocent Buddhist countries had to be ethnically cleansed and horrifically abused to make the world safe for American disaster capitalism and the threat of equitable improvements in the name of socialism or the dreaded C-word communism.

• Buddhism in Cambodia

‘Not in my name’: US Jews reject ✡️

‘Not in my name’: The Jewish communities fighting the consensus on Israel

Members of the US’s Jewish community say they reject Israel’s authority over their name amid Bezalel [Ben = son + of Azazel = demon?] Smotrich’s Israel Day parade appearance.

• (The Tren Wire) Israeli ambassador melts down when news anchor brings verified data

NEW YORK CITY, U.S. - MAY 5th: Anti-Israeli Jews gather at a "Stop the Sale of Stolen Palestinian Land" protest against "Great Israel Real Estate" event for Palestinian land sale at the Park East Synagogue in Manhattan on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, in NYC.

The NYPD tightened security on E. 67th and E. 68th Streets and set up a perimeter that extended for blocks around the Park East Synagogue (Selçuk Acar - Anadolu Agency).

Anti-Israeli Jews at a 'Stop the Sale of Stolen Palestinian Land' protest against 'Great Israel Real Estate' [Selçuk Acar/Anadolu Agency]

Longstanding tensions between the US’s progressive Jewish community and the ethnic cleansing Zionist Israeli government came into focus this month, when Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and other far-right Israeli legislators attended the annual Israel Day Parade in New York City.

As Smotrich, who says he is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), joined the pro-Israel procession marching down Fifth Avenue, he was met by a chorus of “shame” and “war criminals” from protesters.

• ‘Right to protest genocide’ denied: Scotland’s Palestine Action supporters
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• ‘They used dogs’: New Al Jazeera film exposes Israel’s use of rape in jails
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Israel Day on Fifth, as the event is known, has been opposed by many in the Jewish community, keen to distance themselves from Israel. With Israel's ongoing genocide in Gaza and some of its architects on parade, the June 2026 event has been particularly controversial this year.

Smotrich remained unfazed by the calls from New York’s progressive Jewish protesters and proceeded to link the community’s destiny to Israel’s, a common mantra of both Israeli and US politicians.

“This is a massive celebration – a profound connection uniting the entire global Jewish community, bringing together Jews in Israel and Jews in the United States. This shared destiny has grown significantly stronger over the past three years,” he said.

• [Why is it so important for criminal Zionists to drive Jews? Zionists engage in terrorism against Ashkenazi Jews worldwide to make them the ultimate victims (even promoting distortions of WW II history concerning the sacrosanct Holocaust) and drive them to become dual-citizen Israelis, being drafted into the IDF and taxed and press to give and give more to biased organizations...why? All is in the name of building up the Zionist ethnostate, no matter how dangerous or illegal, what hasbara/propaganda they have to spread, what crimes against humanity or rape atrocities Zionists routinely commit. Ask Jews Ilan Pappe, Norm Finkelstein, Medea Benjamin, Aaron Mate, Katie Halper, Amy Goodman, Russell Dobular, Keaton Weiss...]

“The State of Israel is the home of the entire Jewish people. The security of Jews worldwide relies on the strength and security of the State of Israel. There is no better place to live than in Israel.” [Such messaging is manipulative, Zionist, and a boon to politicians and arms dealers profiting from genocide.]

New York Mayor Zoran Mamdani fulfilled his election pledge by skipping the parade, a move welcomed by some American Jewish organizations critical of the powerful far-right undercurrent in Israeli politics.

“The Israel Day Parade, which features Israeli politicians who have not only cheered on the genocide of Palestinians, but are part of the government committing that genocide, is not a celebration of Jewish identity or pride. @NYCMayor knows this. We’re grateful he is not attending,” said Israelis for Peace and Jews for Racial & Economic Justice (JFREJ).

Jewish activists in Europe and the US say they are frustrated by politicians such as Smotrich using them and their religion to justify the genocide in Gaza and the occupation of the West Bank.

• UK court jails Palestine Action activists on ‘terrorism’ charges
• Israeli air strikes hit southern Lebanon again as ceasefire talks stall
• Women expose rape as a weapon of war in Sudan
• Houthis launch deadly attacks on Saudi-led coalition forces in Yemen
• Iran tightens Strait of Hormuz control as US Blockade disrupts global shipping

They included groups such as Jewish Voice for Peace in the US and Na’amod in the UK. They say that the oppression of Palestinians is incompatible with the modern democratic values Israel claims to profess and contest the view that Israel, as a[n ethno-] state [without a constitution], should be an established fact.

Against the consensus Emily Hilton, co-founder of Na’amod, says her critical view of Israel was formulated after its 2014 assault on Gaza, specifically the military’s killing of four Palestinian children as they played football on a beach. “I began to question the acceptance of Zionist thought from university onwards,” Hilton told Al Jazeera.

“I’d met liberal Zionists who might question the politics of Israel, but it wasn’t until I went to University College London that I first began to meet Jews and Palestinians critical of Israel and what it meant.”

Hilton went on to join Jewish activist groups in the UK holding traditional Jewish mourning prayers for the Palestinians killed by Israel during the Great March of Return on the Gaza border in 2018.

Later, she joined a vigil after the Hamas-led [retaliation by an occupied, oppressed, civilian population with a legal right to defend itself against its criminal oppressor] on October 7th.

Israel’s subsequent War on [the starving, open-air prison, the largest in the world] Gaza has [genocided far] more than 75,000 Palestinians in Gaza and altered perceptions among some in Jewish communities across the world about their links to the country.

Protesters [and peaceful demonstrators] with Jewish Voice for Peace block traffic during a peaceful demonstration outside the New York office of Jewish U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, calling for an end to the U.S.-Israel War on Iran and opposing U.S. weapons support, Monday, April 13, 2026, in New York (Andres Kudacki/AP Photo).

“More people are coming to realize that we’re right, Israel has lost the moral argument,” Hilton said. “Whatever claim it once had has gone. Now, it's only remaining claim is that it acts on behalf of the mainstream Jewish community, and even that is looking less certain.”

The main political threat to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu’s government, including right-wing former premier Naftali Bennett and opposition leader Yair Lapid, only argue over the degree to which apartheid and genocide should be enacted, Hilton said, and does not offer a better future for Palestinians.

“Claims that they’re acting in my name are, frankly, outrageous. It doesn’t matter whether it is the more polite apartheid advocated by Lapid and Bennett or the violence and destruction advocated by the current government, the problem is the system,” Hilton added.

“We need to imagine a life beyond Zionism; one based on justice and equality. The Israeli state is putting Jewish people in danger by claiming that we are somehow its foot soldiers. We’re not.”

• Simon Speakman Cordall, June 13, 2026. Listen to article (6 mins); Shauna Schwartz, Pfc. Sandoval, Seth Auberon, Sheldon S. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

No self? Buddhism makes no sense until...

(ECHOES OF LOST KNOWLEDGE) Ego is not ready for this video: ego death | Zen Wisdom

(Tao Temple) Buddhism makes no sense until you understand this

Even Zen can see it's not self.

Two things are true. 1. There is no self. In other words, all things are marked by the characteristic of being impersonal ("empty"). 2. Whatever arises arises dependent on causes and conditions, which is known as Dependent Origination.

Only by comprehending both will someone avoid confusion and an apparent paradox. Of course, there are two "truths," the conventional everyday truth (honesty) and the ultimate truth (reality). That there is, ultimately speaking, no ongoing persisting surviving transmigrating self is of the latter variety.

How could that possibly be true if all that we have is ourselves and our experiences, our conscious awareness and this body?

It is completely counterintuitive, but it can be known-and-seen directly, which results in enlightenment (awakening) if penetrated as it really is. Before that, it can be comprehended intellectually.

German Theravada Buddhist scholar-monk Venerable Nyanatiloka (born Anton Walther Florus Gueth) in his Buddhist Dictionary: Manual of Buddhist Terms and Doctrines:

• This is a very advanced teaching for dedicated meditators and monastics, not easily understood by them until they develop direct insight into the Truth. Therefore, how is any ordinary, uninstructed person ever to figure it out? They will not. But anyone can receive intellectual instruction to understand it without being liberated by the Truth. For liberation, practice of direct-seeing and insight (vipassana) into the true nature of existence is necessary:
• Not-self (anatta) is the central doctrine in Buddhism, without understanding which a real knowledge of Buddhism is altogether impossible.

There has to be a self, there just has to be!

Buddhist Dictionary (Ven. Nyanatiloka)

"NOT SELF" (anattā) means "non-ego," "egolessness, "impersonal," "empty." It is the third of the Three Universal Characteristics of Existence (ti-lakkhana).

This uniquely Buddhist anattā doctrine teaches that there is neither within the body or mind -- the bodily or mental phenomena of existence -- nor outside of them can there be found anything that in the ultimate sense could be regarded as a "self" (a real self-existing ego-entity, soul, or any other abiding substance.

This is the pivotal central doctrine of Buddhism, that which without comprehending, no real understanding of Buddhism (i.e., the historical Buddha's Dharma) is possible.

This strange doctrine is the only really specific Buddhist teaching, with which the entire structure of the Buddha Dharma stands or falls.

All other Buddhist doctrines might, more or less, be found in other philosophical systems or religions, but the anattā-doctrine (that ultimately ALL things are impersonal) has been clearly and unreservedly taught only by a buddha, which is why the Buddha was known in his day as the Anattā-vādi or "Teacher that all is Impersonal."

Whoever has not yet penetrated the impersonal nature of all existence, who does not comprehend that in reality there exists only this continually self-consuming process of arising and passing bodily and mental phenomena (called the Five Aggregates CLUNG to as self), and that there is no separate soul, self, or ego-entity within or without this impersonal process, such a person will not be able to understand Buddhism, that is, the teaching of the Four Ennobling Truths (sacca) the fourth of which is the Ennobling Eightfold Path, in the correct light.

One will necessarily assume (wrongly think)

• that it is one's self, soul (atta, atman), ego, or personality that chooses and performs skillful and unskillful karma (intentional actions),
• that experiences suffering, neutral feelings, and happiness as a result (phala, vipaka, the fruition and resultants of previous actions),
• that will be reborn according to that karma (those former deeds),
• that will enter or fail to enter nirvana (nibbāna, the quenching and cooling of the threefold fire of greed, hatred/fear, and delusion),
• that walks or fails to walk the Eightfold Path to awakening.

So it is said in The Path of Purification (Vis.M. XVI)

"Mere suffering exists, no 'sufferer' is to be found;

Deeds are, but no 'doer' of deeds is really there;

Nirvana is, but not any 'person' who 'enters' it;

The Path is but no 'traveler' on it is to be seen."

"Whoever is unclear with regard to conditionally arisen phenomena and fails to comprehend that ALL actions are conditioned through ignorance and so on [through the 12 causal links of Dependent Origination], that person [necessarily assumes] thinks that it is one's soul, self, ego, or personality that understands or fails to understand, that acts or causes to act, that comes to existence at rebirth and passes out of existence at death...that has sense-impressions, feels, desires, becomes attached, continues, and at rebirth reappears or enters a new existence" (Vis.M. XVII. 117).

• [The Three Universal Characteristics of Existence are that all things are radically impermanent, unable to fulfill (ultimately unsatisfactory, disappointing, liable to suffering), and impersonal.]

While in the case of the first two characteristics, it is stated that all "formations" (sabbe sankhārā) are impermanent and subject to suffering, the corresponding text for the third characteristic states that "all things are not-self" (sabbe dhammā anattā, MN 35, Dhp. 279).

This is for emphasizing that the wrong view of assuming, believing, holding that it is an abiding self or substance is neither applicable to any "formation" or conditioned phenomenon, nor to nirvana (the "unconditioned element" (asankhatā dhātu)

The "Discourse on the Characteristic of Not-Self" (Anattā-Lakkhana Sutta) was the second discourse delivered by the historical Buddha after his great awakening, enlightenment (maha-bodhi) to his first five disciples, who after hearing it attained to the same awakening (arhatship).

The contemplation of not-self (anattā-anupassanā) leads to the freedom of the "emptiness liberation" (suññatā-vimokkha).

Here the faculty of wisdom (pañña-indriya) is predominant, and one who attains the path of stream-entry this way is called a "Dharma-devotee" (dhammānusāri).

At the next two stages of enlightenment, one becomes a "vision-attainer" (ditthippatta or "right view reacher"), and at the ultimate stage of "full awakening" (arhatship), one is called "liberated by wisdom" (paññā-vimutti). More

• Tao Temple (video); Ven. Nyanatiloka (Buddhist Dictionary) edited and clarified by Dhr. Seven and Amber Larson, Wisdom Quarterly, summer 2026

Tantric Sacred Sex, Yoga, Vajrayana?

(Buddha's Wisdom) What is TANTRA in Buddhism (Vajrayana)? From myth to method

Jambhala in yab yum position (Tantric sex)

Tantric sex is any of a range of practices in Hindu and later Buddhist Tantra that claim to be able to utilize sexual activity in a sacred ritual or yogic context.

Tantric sex is associated with antinomian elements, such as the consumption of alcohol and the offerings of defiled substances like flesh to deities.

Moreover, sexual fluids may be viewed as "power substances" and used for ritual purposes, either externally or internally [1, 2].

The actual terms used in the classical texts to refer to this practice include "Karma-mudrā" (Tibetan ལས་ཀྱི་ཕྱག་རྒྱ las kyi phyag rgya, "action seal") in Buddhist tantras and "Maithuna" (Devanagari मैथुन, "coupling") in Hindu sources.

In Hindu Tantra, Maithuna is the most important of the five makara (five "tantric substances") and constitutes the main part of the Grand Ritual of Tantra variously known as Panchamakara, Panchatattva, and Tattva Chakra.

In Tibetan Esoteric (Vajrayana) Buddhism, Karmamudrā is often an important part of the completion stage of tantric practice.

While there may be some connection between these practices and the Kāma-Shāstra literature (which include the Kāma Sūtra), the two practice traditions are separate methods with separate goals.

As the British Indologist Geoffrey Samuel notes, while the kāma sāstra literature is about the pursuit of sexual pleasure (kāmā), sexual yoga practices are often aimed towards the quest for final spiritual liberation (moksha) [3]. More Tantric sex

• In 1992, Jane Wrightson passed with an Australian rating of R18 (like the American NC-17), the Australian tantric sex film Sacred Sex, which was appealed unsuccessfully to the Film and Video Board of Review by the Society for the Promotion of Community Standards, who viewed her classification as too liberal.

Tibetan monks chant over troll bridge

(Mantraon) Superstitious Buddhist monks crossing a dangerous bridge: deep Tibetan chant of Om mani padme hum for calm and nervous system reset with help of internet slop

Trolls and a princess (John Bauer)

A bridge troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as "trolls" dwell in isolated areas of mountains, rocks, and caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human beings.

In later Scandinavian folklore, trolls became beings in their own right, where they live far from human habitation, are not Christianized and brought to heel (like Zionist Hillary Clinton might like), and are considered dangerous to human beings.

• TROLLS IN BUDDHISM: A kumbhāṇḍa (Sanskrit) or kumbhaṇḍa (Pāli) is one of a group of dwarfish, trollish, misshapen spirits among the lesser unseen being in Buddhist cosmology and mythology [1, 2]. Kumbhāṇḍa was a dialectal form for "gourd," and due to their large scrotums or stomachs, they got their name from the resemblance. But kumbhāṇḍa may also be interpreted as "pot-egg" since "pot" (kumbha like the world's largest festival, the Kumbha Mela, that pot or jar having spilled the the nectar of the gods, the amrita or ambrosia of immortality, on a few spots in India) and "egg" (aṇḍa). This was a common euphemism for "testicle," the kumbhāṇḍas were imagined as having testicles "as large as pots" [1]. The terms kumbhāṇḍa (dwarf or troll) and yakṣa (Sasquatch, female yakshi or Yeti, ogre) are sometimes used for the same creature. Yakṣa (Pali yakkha) in this case is the more general term, including a variety of lower woodland of for the most part unseen being. More
• Vajrayana Buddhism in Japan, Shingon, and self-mummification: They ate tree bark for 3,000 days then sealed themselves alive

Male and female kumbhandas (trolls)

Depending on the source, their appearance varies greatly; trolls may be ugly and slow-witted or look and behave exactly like human beings, with no particularly grotesque characteristic about them.

In Scandinavian folklore, trolls are sometimes associated with particular landmarks like bridges (sometimes said to have been formed by a troll having been exposed to sunlight).

Trolls are depicted in a variety of media in modern popular culture.

Etymology (word origin)

The Old Norse nouns troll and trǫll are variously defined as "fiend, demon, werewolf, jötunn," like the Middle High German troll, trolle, "fiend."

According to philologist Vladimir Orel, the word is likely borrowed from Old Norse, possibly developed from Proto-Germanic neuter noun *trullan, meaning "to tread, step on" [tromp, stomp, stamp]. The origin of the Proto-Germanic word is unknown [1]. Additionally, the Old Norse verb trylla means "to enchant..." More

A "mass spiritual awakening" - HOW?

(Asangoham) 5 unexplained mass spiritual awakenings: Rupert Sheldrake's morphic resonance?

Morphic resonance

We think individual, but we're collective

Among his early influences, Rupert Sheldrake cites The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962) by Thomas Kuhn. He has said this book led him to view contemporary scientific understanding of life as simply a paradigm, which he called "the mechanistic theory of life."

Reading Kuhn's work, Sheldrake says, focused his mind on how scientific paradigms can change [16]. Sheldrake says that although there are similarities between morphic resonance and Hinduism's akashic records [31], he first conceived of the idea while at Cambridge U, before his travels to India, where he later developed it.

He attributes the origin of his idea to two influences, his studies of the holistic tradition in biology, and French philosopher Henri Bergson's 1896 book Matter and Memory. He says he took Bergson's concept of memories not being materially embedded in the brain and generalized it to morphic resonance, where memories are not only immaterial but also under the influence of the collective memories of similar organisms.

While his colleagues at Cambridge were not receptive to the idea, Sheldrake found the opposite to be true in India.

He recounts his Indian colleagues saying, "There's nothing new in this; it was all known millennia ago to the ancient rishis [seers]." Sheldrake thus characterizes morphic resonance as a convergence between Western and Eastern thought yet found by himself first in Western philosophy [15, 151].

Sheldrake has also noted similarities between morphic resonance and Carl Jung's collective unconscious, with regard to collective memories being shared across individuals and the coalescing of particular behaviors through repetition, which Jung called archetypes [15].

But whereas Jung assumed that archetypal forms were transmitted through physical inheritance, Sheldrake attributes collective memories to morphic resonance and rejects any explanation of them involving what he terms "mechanistic biology."

Lewis Wolpert, one of Sheldrake's critics, has described morphic resonance as an updated Drieschian vitalism [28, 152]. More

Where was Gnostic Jesus in 'lost years'?

(The Gnostic Eye) Why Jesus vanished for 18-20 years - and where he really went

How to influence; win friends (NPR)

(Hannah Alonzo) Catching influencers lying about lifestyles: It's fake | Influencer Insanity Ep. 4

How to win friends: Can an app fix the "friendship recession"?

How to make friends and be an influencer

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I have no idea why people follow me

Amidst what some researchers call a "friendship recession," apps and services have been proliferating to connect Americans. We hear from people who have already tried them or use them regularly to reflect on what about them has worked and hasn't.

TRANSCRIPT

HOST SCOTT SIMON: Many of the old places where friendships formed -- the office, houses of worship, maybe the VFW [Veterans of Foreign Wars, a.k.a. degenerate bars] -- may have become less central to people's lives.

Just react to things with opinions!

It's part of what's been called a friendship recession: Americans spending dramatically less time with friends than they did a decade ago. As Leslie McClurg of member station KQED FM [San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento] reports, a growing number of apps and services are trying to bring people back together.

BYLINE LESLIE MCCLURG: When Jen Hobbs moved to Oakland last summer, she assumed friends would come naturally at the coffee shop or after an exercise class, but six months in...

JEN HOBBS: And on New Year's, I was kind of reflecting on things, and I realized I still don't have any friends.

Talk about fitness on TikTok with a hot bod!

MCCLURG: She made it her resolution to fix that and downloaded every friendship app that she had seen advertised on Instagram. Some are simple, like "Bumble For Friends" (BFF: Bumble For Friends), which works much like the company's dating app.

But instead of swiping for lovers, you're swiping for pals. Others, like Timeleft [or Friend Cult], go further by matching users with like-minded strangers for a meal. [SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING]

UNIDENTIFIED COMMENTATOR: In restaurants across the country [LAUGHTER] total strangers are gathering for conversation and community over shared meals. More

• We’re not a social club, we’re a Friend Cult™ -- a weekly, Oakland-based gathering that makes it easier to see friends. No more text tag, no more calendar Tetris, no more doomscrolling. Just show up and hang out — like it used to be. See friends. Eat food. Feel better. Die happy.
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• Is being a social media influencer hard?
• Social media influencers are mentally unhealthy
• The sad reality of 99% of social media influencers
• Social media influencers: impact on society
• Best social media influencers in 2025 🤯
• Influencers on OnlyFans are losing everything 😭
• Top 10 most famous social media influencers in the world
• Social media vs. reality🤣 #shorts
• How to become a successful influencer 💸
• How much money does a social media influencer make in one month from views across all platforms?
• What vehicles do social influencers really drive?
• Don’t trust everything you see on social media #filters
• Why do social media influencers go to Dubai?
• Future of the creator economy: the rise of expert intellectual influencers
• Ranking every type of influencer (worst to best)

Mr. Beast, what's an "influencer"?

(Blood and Alibis) Deny everything? Ego and influencing can get way out of control. Woe.

How to be an influencer? Get homeschooled by industry parents, sing for brother, get fame.

Mr. Beast is the biggest influencer

An "influencer" has the ability to alter the attitudes, shopping behavior, or shopping decisions of others through knowledge, position, authority, or the because of an audience relationship.

This ability is either inherent to one's personality or is completely constructed by others for some benefit: social, personal, or economical [1].

The term "influencer" is used in media, business, religion, politics, and communication, referring to folks like social media influencers, podcasters, public speakers, religious influencers, writers, and newsletter writers who have dedicated followings [2, 3].

One writer defines influencers as those "who exercise influence over the organization and its potential customers" [4]. Another defines them as someone "who significantly shapes the customer's purchasing decision" [5]. According to another writer, influencers are "well-connected, create an impact, have active minds, and are trendsetters" [6].

What does every American want?

Just because someone has many followers does not necessarily mean that person has much influence over them [7, 8].

In contemporary usage, it means a social media influencer [9, 10, 11] or an online influencer [12, 13, 14] who builds a grassroots online presence through engaging content such as photos, videos, and updates.

This is done by using direct audience interaction to establish authenticity, expertise, and appeal by standing apart from traditional celebrities by growing a platform through social media rather than pre-existing fame [15, 16].

The modern term is commonly a paid role in which a business entity pays for social media influence-for-hire activity to promote products and services, known as influencer marketing [17].

(Stephanie Lange) The rise of "little girl" (baby dress child, lolita look) aesthetic is repulsive

As such, an influencer effectively acts as a modern salesperson or a marketer.  A 1% increase in spending on influencer marketing can lead to a 0.5% increase in audience engagement [18] for a company or corporation.

Types include fashion influencer, travel influencer, virtual influencer, content creators [19, 20, 21], and streamers [22, 23, 24]. More

How to Win Friends and Influence People

How to be an influencer? Keep talking until someone breaks your jaw like Jake? Read a book?

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This classic self-help book written by Dale Carnegie came out in 1936. Worldwide, over 30 million copies have been sold since, making it one of the best-selling books of all time [1, 2].

Dale Carnegie had been conducting business courses in New York since 1912 [3]. In 1934, Leon Shimkin (Simon & Schuster) took one of Carnegie's 14-week courses on human relations and public speaking. He later persuaded Carnegie to let a stenographer take notes from the course to be revised for publication [3].

The initial 5,000 copies of the book sold exceptionally well, going through 17 editions in the first year [3]. In 1981, a revised edition containing updated language and anecdotes was released [4]. The revised edition reduced the number of sections from six to four, eliminating sections on effective business letters and improving marital satisfaction. In 2011, it was Number 19 on Time's List of the 100 Most Influential Nonfiction Books [5]. In 2022, a newly revised edition was published.

Author Dale Carnegie

I know what people want (Carnegie)

Before How to Win Friends and Influence People, the self-help genre had other successes. Authors like Orison Swett Marden and Samuel Smiles had sold well with their self-help titles in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Dale Carnegie began his career teaching night classes at a NY YMCA, later expanding to YMCAs in Philadelphia and Baltimore [6]. He then taught independently at hotels in London, Paris, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, writing small booklets to go along with his courses [7].

When evolution gets us

After one of his 14-week courses, publisher Leon Shimkin of Simon & Schuster approached him [8]. Shimkin urged Carnegie to write a book, but he was not initially persuaded. Shimkin then hired a stenographer to type up one of Carnegie's long lectures and presented that transcript to Carnegie [9], who edited and revised it into its final form [10].

To market the book, Shimkin sent 500 copies to former graduates of the Dale Carnegie Course, with a note that pointed out the utility of the book for refreshing students with the advice they had learned [11]: 141.

Or just work out until you have a hot bod. See?

The 500 mailed copies brought orders for over 5,000 more copies, so Simon & Schuster had to quickly increase the original print order of 1,200 [11]: 142.  Shimkin also ran a full-page ad in the New York Times complete with quotes by Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller on the importance of human relations [12].

Originally published in Nov. 1936, the book reached the New York Times best-seller list by the end of the year and stayed on it for the next two years [11]: 141.

Simon & Schuster continued to advertise the book, relying heavily on testimonials as well as the testable approach the book offered [12]. More

• Lesley McClurg, Weekend Edition Saturday, NPR.org, Culture, July 25, 2026, 4-minute listen; BONEM (BONËM) "One More Time"; Can an app fix the ‘friendship recession’?; Dale Carnegie's classic book; Crystal Q, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly