Mindfulness in the Bathroom

(Wisdom Quarterly) When and where should someone be mindful? In all places, at all times, which includes the restroom. Graffiti reveals a great deal about the American psyche in the most secretive place we visit daily. But any serious consideration or discussion of it is almost impossible to find.

The Discourse on the Fourfold Setting-up of Mindfulness calls for constant mindfulness and clear comprehension: According to it, "whether you walk, stand, sit, lie down or sleep, whether you stretch or bend your limbs, whether you look round, whether you put on your clothes, whether you talk or keep silent, whether you eat or drink, even when you answer the calls of nature -- in all these and other activities -- you should be fully aware and mindful of the act you perform at that moment."

American anthropology in the restroom (toilet, washroom, lavatory, water closet)

That is to say, live in the moment itself, in the present action, undisturbed by useless thoughts of the past and future. (Note: the Buddha's Discourse on Mindfulness, or Satipatthana Sutra, deals with 14 meditation exercises constituting a complete system.)

• Simple mindfulness exercises (diy-stress-relief.com)

"Know thyself" is the great dictum of the ages. To know, we must look at ourselves. And Americans looking at America the way an anthropologist would is extremely rare.

We will sit fascinated watching aboriginal rites-of-passage involving feats of strength, but seeing a football game dissected with ourselves as the subjects -- we're insulted and turn away. Let's go behind the scenes, into the stalls and private chambers, that we might see ourselves as we really are. Filmed in Austin Texas in the mid 1990s, this documentary questions the origins of bathroom graffiti. What does it mean? When did it start? What is it for? And what can we learn from it? Exploring toilet stalls>>

When the Buddha was asked why his disciples were so radiant, he replied: "They do not repent the past, nor do they brood over the future. They live in the present. Therefore, they are radiant. By brooding over the future and repenting the past, fools dry up like green reeds cut down (in the sun)." More on mindfulness>>

Enlightened Potty Training?

• Potty training as an enlightening experience
• Bathroom Meditation: The Final Yogic Frontier
• Karma Dog Training (Los Angeles)

Science: Memories, Discoveries, Impressions

Scientists Erase Specific Memories in Mice

HealthDay News -- It sounds like science fiction, by scientists say it might one day be possible to erase undesirable memories from the brain, selectively and safely. Using a complex genetic approach, U.S. and Chinese researchers believe they have done just that in mice, but the feat is far from being tested on humans. Study co-author Joe Z. Tsien, co-director of the Brain & Behavior Discovery Institute at the Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, says the "work reveals a molecular mechanism of how [memory deletion] can be done quickly and without doing damage to brain cells." The finding is published in the Oct. 23, 2008 issue of Neuron. More>>

• Discoveries: New Underwater Creatures

"Impression Management"
Patricia Wallace, a psychologist at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth, is an expert on information technology and psychology and said that the phenomenon can be explained, in part, by "impression management." "If you go to a pub and you're sitting by yourself, that says something. Rather than to be thought of as a loner or not desirable as company, you use your virtual connection to look like you're more desirable and involved and actively engaged with others," she said. More>> (See full story on Human "Communifaking")

PHOTOS

US scientists have found a safer method of turning mice skin cells into "induced pluripotent stem cells," in a potential breakthrough in the quest for regenerative therapy. The method reprograms skin cells into iPS cells that are similar to embryonic stem cells without using potentially harmful viruses that often cause tumors in laboratory animals (AFP/HO/File).

Woman pretending to make cell phone call to appear as she is not in an example of what psychology has dubbed "impression management"(electricpig.co.uk)