When they stole 'First Sleep' from us

(Erased Century)

During the three watches of the night till dawn

Again and again in ancient Buddhist texts, including descriptions of the wandering ascetic Siddhartha's own "great awakening" (maha-bodhi), the enlightenment (bodhi) that led him to become the Buddha, "the Awakened One," were the "watches of the night."

These were the natural cycles of sleep (now referred to as polyphasic or biphasic sleep) and waking, which included "first sleep."

 

Emerging from first sleep, one is calm and in a naturally "meditative" state (calm, samatha) conducive to samadhi (mental coherence, superconsciousness). This samma-samadhi (defined in Buddhism as the eight meditative absorptions or jhanas) are crucial to attaining liberating insight (vipassana).

Calm is the very foundation of heart/mind purification (vissudhi-magga, the "path of purification") that insight-practices (described in the two Four Foundations of Mindfulness Discourses) are built on.

The bases for this calm are virtue (sila) and diligent persistence, not loose living and then over-efforting as most of us seem to think is the answer to tackling all things nowadays. Virtue leads naturally to peace of mind leads naturally to insight, not in and of themselves but progressively by consistent practice.

• Watches of the night
• The vigil or "wake (ceremony)" around death refers to this
• The original translations of sati (Buddhist "mindfulness") were "wakefulness," "attentiveness," "watchfulness," "vigilance," "diligence," "assiduousness," non-absentmindedness, non-drowsiness, non-diffusion, non-scattered attention, and one might add "calm persistence" rather than force or struggle, greedy striving or straining.
• Watchkeeping

These "watches" of the night were not an ancient Indian invention that the Buddha-to-be Siddhartha invented. They are our human birthright as Homo sapien sapiens. We are wired this way, and industrialization took it away for capitalism and Christianity's sake.

The British seem to have coined "watch" of the night, but all Americans used to turn in, wake up, do family things together, including eating together, then go back to sleep. This was natural. This was taken for granted. This is the way it had always been since our caveperson days.

Who took it away and why? It's clear that it was capitalist industrialists weaponizing the West's Christian religion.

Gain confidence in minutes, Awaken POV

(Chase Hughes) Confidence fixed in exactly 5:43 minutes

• Chase Hughes sees us Naked: How to get NUDE with us
• Book: The Behavior Ops Manual (Chase Hughes)
• Chase Hughes books on amazon.com

(Chase Hughes, Friday Night Live) Sacred texts, POV AWAKE!

About the author

Author Chase Hughes, writing

I’m Chase Hughes. I’ve spent most of my life studying people — not the cute, Instagram version of “behavior,” the real stuff:

• the fear under the confidence,
• the lies we tell ourselves to get through the day,
• the patterns we don’t even know we’re running.

I’ve worked with the kind of truths that don’t make the sweater-vest TED Talks, the kind that make you sit alone in your car afterward for a few minutes, staring at your hands.

Tongue: A Cognitive Hazard

I used to think the goal was mastery. Control. Influence.

Now I think it’s something quieter:

• seeing clearly,
• without flinching, and
• maybe helping someone else see clearly too, without getting swallowed by noise.

I write books for people who are starting to unzip the costume -- and some who have stripped it off., people who want to understand others, but also want to understand the thing inside themselves that keeps steering their life when they’re not looking.

If you’re here, you’re probably one of those people. Good. We need more of you.

— Chase Hughes

• Tongue: A Cognitive Hazard
• Emily Wickersham: "I feel very confident" (tenor)
• Chase Hughes; Pat Macpherson, Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Samurai clean their minds every day

How to offend Irish friends in Ireland

🇮🇪 What are 7 things sure to OFFEND most Irish people in Ireland? ☘️ (Diane Jennings)

(Diane Jennings) Happy St. Patrick’s Day! If celebrating today, make sure you don’t accidentally offend an Irish person. From the ultimate crime of saying "St. Patty’s Day" (seriously, it's Paddy!) to disrespecting Guinness, tea, and our right to complain, here’s what not to do.

Ever wonder why we side-eye people who mispronounce Irish names like Caoimhe or Dún Laoghaire? Or why ordering a Guinness and drinking it immediately is a massive mistake? This is a survival guide to keeping Irish people on your good side. What’s the worst offense on this list? 🍻 Let me know in the comments! #irishvideo #irishpeople #irishgirl ▶ Patreon:  dianejennings

Holy Ramadan, month of Fasts/Feasts

Beauty bound in a burka? Free in hijab (dreamstime.com)

Hey, don't you mean FASTING? Yes, but David Wood (below) assures us it's actually FEASTING that will be happening all of this Muslim-month, with lots of sleep and deluded back-patting of how "pious" and "holy" we're being in observance of sacred traditions.

The many benefits of fasting

The same happens in Buddhism, where monastics observe a daily "fast" (not eating after noon or before dawn) but may overeat the rest of the time, often developing diabetes, cholesterol problems, and all kinds of diseases of modernity as a consequence. Saudi Arabia has many people suffering from overeating, not starvation, during the Ramadan "fast."

It seems even more ridiculous in Holy Roman Catholicism, at least the American version, where asking good Catholics to "fast" -- abstain from eating dead animals in the form of "meat" -- was just too much to ask. Forty days without dead fish? How is McDonald's supposed to make money? (Are fish animals? We thought they were).

Eat all the seed-bearing plants and fruit in the world, which the good God hath made: Genesis 1:29 quotes the God as saying, "Behold, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit contains seed. They will be yours for food. But that's not good enough. We need to kill animals, or pay people to kill them for us, even during Lent, a 40-day period of abstaining and austerity, abandoning all kinds of bad habits. Does Protestantism advocate fasting? Sort of.

Bhagavan Bhakthi (Hinduism devotion)

Maha Shivratri – celebrated in February/March, the Great Honoring of the Trinity Component God Shiva is a solemn Hindu festival that occurs towards the end of winter, before the spring. It is marked with rituals such as fasting (vrata) and meditation (dhāraṇā and dhyana). The holiday occurs on the last night of the waning moon in the Hindu month of Phalguna or Magha. What do Hindus consider "fasting"? Six important fasts or vrats Hindus should keep and why

• Different types of fasts performed by Hindus (ServDharm)

What is Ramadan? The Islamic Holy Month - Behind the News

• Fast fast (take nothing but air)
• Water fast (just drink lots of water)
• Juice fast (just take fresh juices, but be careful of the natural sugar content separated from its healthy fiber)
• Fast all day (24 hours)
• Fast part of the day (from 12 noon to about 6:00 am)
• Fast all night (like when sleeping, avoiding after dinner snacks)
• Fast part of the night (like during Ramadan, after the giant feast dinner, staying up all night to digest before ruining that digestion with a big breakfast, before the recovery-sleep done all of the rest of the day)
• Food? Give it a rest and clean house, as fasting allows the body to clean itself like a self-cleaning oven, the energy-consuming organs of digestion.
• All forms of fasting are good for the body, if undertaken correctly. It may seem scary because we overeat and are sugar addicts with diabetes, prediabetes, and all sorts of metabolic syndrome conditions, which fasting would eventually clear
• Who's healthier and more alive than someone trapped for a time without food, finding all the senses heightened and fully alert?

Ramazan begins with crescent moon, how official start time can still vary around the world

(WION) Ramazan (aka Ramadan), the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, is one of the holiest periods for Muslims around the world. In 2025, the world's Muslim community anticipates a rare alignment in the moon sighting for the beginning of Ramadan. Watch to know more. #Eid #Ramadan #worldnews

Fasting, the Islamic way: FEASTing

The REAL Ramadan rules we never knew existed

(Acts 17 Polemics) #Ramadan is typically described as a month-long "fast" (period of not eating). Yet, the entire month is filled with "feasting" (periods of eating).

Indeed, binge eating during Ramadan is causing a health crisis in Muslim countries. So why is gluttony and excess portrayed as strict discipline and self-control in Islam?

Is there a spiritual component to Ramadan? Christian critic David Wood explores the issue and uncovers the disturbing truth about Islam's holiest month.

Articles cited:

• "Not so fast: Ramadan sees rise in binge eating and A&E cases": cnn.com/2013/08/07/world...
• "The Economic Impact of Ramadan on the Food Sector": hlb.global/the-economic-i...
• "The puzzle of self-reported weight gain in a month of fasting (Ramadan) among a cohort of Saudi families in Jeddah, Western Saudi Arabia": ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...

How dare you question us, you infidel!

The REAL reason Christian ex-con David Wood is so harsh on Islam

Join the channel to get access to perks: @acts17polemics. Love to attend a Christian apologetics, polemics, and evangelism training event in person or even just streamed online, make sure to get FREE tickets NOW for the Ministry to Muslims event coming to Ohio this August. Tickets can be reserved for those just "interested" but also those able to make it in person "all-access" or "online-only." Please sign up now. ⇨ seekandsharetruth.eventbrite.... ⇦ 🔔 Please help support these additional channels by following: ‪@YourBrotherInChrist‬ ‪@ElleISOElohim‬ ‪@apologeticsroadshow‬ ‪@PhilosophyUnderground‬ 😊Thanks for donations: acts17apologetics https://www.buymeacoffee.com/YBIC, elleisoelohim

⚠️ MUSLIMS BEWARE ⚠️ Ramadan [as celebrated nowadays] defies Islam!

UPCOMING: Muslims vs. the Bible: Can YOU prove it's corrupt? ▶ youtube.com/live/L_LNWKHJX

• WION, Feb. 28, 2025: Behind the News; Acts 17 Polemics) March 22, 2023; Eds., Wisdom Quarterly

Four Establishments of Mindfulness Sutra

Transformation and Healing: Sutra on the Four Establishments of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh (trans.), Amazon.com; Dr. Findlay, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

The teachings contained in The Sutra on the Four Establishments of Mindfulness are fundamental to the practice of meditation and constitute the foundation of all mindfulness (sati, satipatthana) practice.

The discourse has been studied, practiced, and handed down with special care from generation to generation for 2,600 years.

In his commentaries Thich Nhat Hanh guides the reader to an understanding of the fundamental basis of the Buddhist practice and encourages its application in daily life.

It describes the four methods of mindfulness: mindfulness of

1. the body,
2. the feelings,
3. the mind,
4. the object of mind.

I should practice like you practice.

It teaches how to deal with anger and jealousy, to nurture the best qualities in our children, spouse, and friends, and to greet death with compassion and equanimity.

Three versions of the Sutra on the Four Establishments of Mindfulness are presented here, along with Thich Nhat Hanh's insightful commentary and 23 exercises -- or contemplations -- to aid in the practice of mindfulness in daily life.

Thich Nhat Hanh's presentation of the sutra is easy to follow, making it accessible for novice Buddhists as well as more advanced practitioners. It gives us the basics of breathing and how to use our breathing for meditation and contemplation.

With a new introduction by Thich Nhat Hanh. More

Enabling is idiot compassion, not mindfulness

Derek Beres, BigThink.com, 10/30/13; Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Will I ever fall apart? I'm a hippie; I'll be a nun (Pema Chodron as Deirdre Blomfield-Brown).

.

IDIOT COMPASSION AND MINDFULNESS

Compassion is an important concept, and an even more important practice, to integrate into one’s life. Like all big ideas layers undergird its meaning.

One of the most fascinating ideas is what [cult leader and] Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche termed "idiot compassion." His famous student, American Buddhist nun and author Pema Chodron, explains:

"It refers to something we all do a lot of and call "compassion." In some ways it’s what’s called enabling. It’s the general tendency to give people what they want because we can’t bear to see them suffer."

Ani Chodron exposes the danger in this: instead of offering a friend real medicine, bitter though it may be when consumed, we feed them more poison — or, at the very least, we don’t take the poison away from them.

This, she says, is not compassion at all. It’s selfishness, as we’re more concerned with our own feelings than attending to our friend’s actual needs.

Granted, saying uncomfortable things to someone close to us is no easy task. If they are depressive or violent or suicidal, criticism could send them spiraling.

Yet, enabling is not good either. Stepping up and being a teacher in challenging situations requires great tact and care, and it does not always work out how we intended it to.

As I [Derek Beres] have been exploring this concept this week in my yoga classes, I began thinking about the ways we enable ourselves as well. We are extremely good at self-deception, using bad habits as crutches for some future good we imagine is right around the corner.

We trick ourselves with the "one more" syndrome: one more cigarette, one more joint, one more drink, one more email to the ex who refuses our pleas. The issue is really expectation: We fear upsetting our friend, or ourselves, because we don’t want to make things "uncomfortable."

We choose

Pema Chodron's classic masterpiece

short-term avoidance over what we perceive to be longer-term suffering. Since we don’t inherently know what the future state holds, we choose what we think to be the most comfortable path, persisting in our folly without becoming wise.

The hardest part is not imagining the future. Hypothesizing is what brains do, which is why [the understanding of] suffering lies at the heart of Buddhism.

Two things keep us locked in a perpetual state of conflict -- expecting reality to conform to what we want it to be and demanding the future unravels as we hope it would.

When one or both of these projections fail, we blame the situation rather than our expectations. One powerful form of changing these habits of enabling is mindfulness meditation.

As neuroscientist Richard J. Davidson has written, habitual manners of dealing with emotions are the product of both genetics and experience. Some of us are genetically inclined to be more resilient and compassionate than others, but it is our life experiences that define our outlook and how we treat others (and ourselves).

As he writes, "Mindfulness retrains these habits of mind by tapping into the plasticity of the brain’s connections, creating new ones, strengthening some old ones, and weakening others."

In his research Davidson has found that mindfulness practitioners... More

Burmese recycling: don't abuse, reuse (video)

Thida Nathalie, ThaBarWaWEB, L.A./Rangoon; Burma VJ (HBO); Editors, Wisdom Quarterly

Don't Abuse, Reuse

What could be made out of bamboo?

(Episode 3, June 20, 2020) One of the initiatives at the Thabarwa Nature Center in Los Angeles is to collect used goods and other donated items and ship them to Burma (Myanmar) by sea. One shipping container returns, and another is sent. The last one arrived just before the Water Festival.

Then the coronavirus lockdown was announced in Burma. Sayadaw Ottamasara had to stay in Burma indefinitely. But no crisis is too large. He began giving Dharma talks to calm the locals and the foreign volunteers. Then he started a new initiative to come up with a better alms food container.

He begins collecting discarded plastic water bottles to reuse them, as well as to manage waste and keep food separated better. Fifteen of the 17 daily almsround routes are cut off. And group size is restricted to just five.

It's an incredible feat what is accomplished, watching the innovation and speed of the main Thabarwa Center in Thanlyin, Burma, in outer Rangoon (Yangon Division). Sayadaw is at the helm, and 4,000 residents with special needs are fed, protected, and cared for. Unique initiatives develop daily.

Pacifica Free Speech Radio Los Angeles (KPFK.org 90.7 FM) recycles.

How to Quit Sugar and Bad Habits (video)

J. Everett (What I've Learned); Seth Auberon, Crystal Quintero (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

How to quit Sugar and Unhealthy Habits

The key to quitting sugar is understanding the five things in our way: (1) our brain, (2) environment, (3) habits, (4) gut, and (5) friends.

.

Sugar is 8 times more addictive than cocaine.

Diet and health are big given the number of overweight and obese people, the number of people with diabetes and pre-diabetes.

While there is a debate between low carb and high carb (and one should definitely be low carb), the thing that deserves the most attention is quitting sugar. We need to cut out refined sugars (white sugar, commercial brown sugar, corn syrup, beet sugar) and processed foods.

It is a surefire way to improve health and regulate weight. The mindset and approach of understanding how and why bad habits like sugar addiction develop can be applied to breaking all sorts of addictions like smoking, which is also a sugar addiction because tobacco leaves are cured in sugar.

0:00 The "why" is important

1:17 Sugar tells the brain to stay hungry

2:15 Top 10 most obese, lazy, and unhappy states

3:19 Sugar does NOT mean happiness

5:07 How environment affects the brain

6:54 Deconstructing bad programming

7:26 Break bad habits by understanding them

9:03 Nostalgia isn't always good

9:44 How to control cravings with mindfulness

10:38 Sugar and the gut

12:35 Friends

▲Patreon: patreon.com/WILearned
▲Twitter: twitter.com/jeverettlearned
▲IG: instagram.com/jeverett.whativelearned

• How to get healthy (Critical Health News)

Fun FOODS for Fall: Go Vegan (Disney)

Ryan Tempfer (vegoutla.com, 9/19); Crystal Q., CC Liu, Sheldon S. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

10 must-try vegan food trucks in L.A.

Several new food trucks have emerged on the scene in the past nine months, lending the City of Angels even more options for irresistible, junky, vegan comfort food. Let's reinvigorate our love of the classics and discover strong newcomers in this vegan food truck roundup.

• Disneyland and Walt Disney World go vegan (below)

WORD OF MOUTH TRUCK

Delicious vegan fatty (LettuceFeastLA)

Comfort food on wheels — that’s Word of Mouth in a nutshell. Created by young couple Staci Stewart and Chris Chavez in 2017, Word of Mouth has quickly risen to the top of the vegan food game in Los Angeles. They’ve been a must-try at major vegan festivals, such as Eat Drink Vegan and Vegan Playground, as well as a pop-up at other hotspots around the city like Row DTLA and Highland Park. They have a concise menu that features indulgent bites, like deep-fried mac and cheese, along with nostalgic entrees, like they’re spicy chick'n sandwich, which contains a battered and fried cauliflower stake patty, pepper jack cheez, pickled jalapeños, and house-made habanero aioli! It’s fire. Stay up-to-date with their events, schedules, and locations by heading to their website and Instagram. More

Vegan ingredients make better pizzas with vegan cheeses, fresh veggies, faux meats

Disney goes vegan

• 
  Disney's US theme parks to go vegan (CNN) More than 400 vegan dishes will be available in restaurants at Florida's Walt Disney World and California's Disneyland
• Disney World, Disneyland to have 100s of vegan options Vegans are in for a treat the next time they visit Walt Disney World. The park will offer 100s of plant-based dishes
• New plant-based guide from Disney (Vegan Disney World) Disney releases "Plant Based Guide" in Magic Kingdom
• About – Vegan Disney World Vegan Disney World began as a way to help other vegans find out what they can...
• All the vegan food at Disneyland (PETA, updated 2019) Finding vegan food at Disneyland Park is easy, with options...best part of going to Disney parks is walking through the intoxicating
• How to eat vegan at Disney World (Food Network) Traveling to theme parks for vegans, go to disneyworld.disney.com
• 17 Vegan Foods to Eat at California's Disneyland Check out expanded vegan options at Disneyland... Go all out with a Dole whip float…

Jewel Chant (Ratana Sutra)

Editors, Wisdom Quarterly based on Buddhanet.net (abbreviated Pali chant)

Discourse on Great Blessings (Maha-Mangala Sutta)

Check this out, Mr. Pope, ancient relics.

Êvam mê suttam êkam samayam bhagavâ Sâvatthiyam viharati Jêtavanê Anâthapindikassa ârâmê, atha kho aññatarâ dêvatâ abhikkantaya rattiyâ abhikanta vannâ kêvalakappam Jêtavanam bhâsetvâ, yêna bhagavâ tênupasamkami. Upasam kamitvâ bhagavantam abhivâdetvâ êkamantam atthâsi. Êkamantam thitâ kho sâ dêvatâ bhagavantam gâthâya ajjhabhâsi. Bahû dêvâ manussâ ca mangalâni acintayum. Âkankhamânâ sotthânam brûhi mangala muttamam. Asêvanâ ca bâlânam panditânam ca sêvanâ. Pûjâ ca pûjaniyânam êtam mangala muttamam...

This sutra was delivered by the Buddha in the City of Vesali, whose citizens appealed to the Buddha for help because they were afflicted by famine, pestilence, and disturbances from foul spirits.

As a mark of protection for the people of Vesali, the Buddha delivered this sutra to exorcise these spirits as part of getting the pestilence to subside.

Protection

Whatever beings are assembled here, terrestrial or celestial, may they all be happy! Moreover, may they listen attentively listen.

Accordingly, give heed, good beings. Show love to these human beings, who day and night bring offerings. Guard them zealously.

Whatever treasure there is, either here or in worlds beyond, whatever precious jewel in the precious jewel. By this truth may there be happiness!

The tranquil Sage of the Shakyas realized that cessation, passion-free, Deathless (nirvana) supreme. There is nought comparable with to Dharma. In truth, in the Dharma is this precious jewel. By this truth may there be happiness!

That enlightenment praised by the Buddha supreme is described as "concentration without interruption. There is nought like that concentration. In truth, in the Dharma is this precious jewel. By this truth may there be happiness!

Those eight individuals,* praised by the virtuous, constitute four pairs. They, who are worthy of offerings, disciples of the Welcome One -- to these gifts given yield abundant fruit. In truth, in the *[Noble] Sangha is this precious jewel. By this truth may there be happiness!

With steadfast mind, applying themselves thoroughly in the dispensation of the Buddha, exempt (from passion), they have attained to "that which should be attained" and, plunging into the Deathless, they enjoy peace obtained without price. In truth, in the [Noble] Sangha is this precious jewel. By this truth may there be happiness!

Just as a firm post sunk in the earth cannot be shaken by the four winds, even so do I declare him to be a noble person who thoroughly perceives the [Four] Noble Truths. In truth, in the [Noble] Sangha is the precious jewel. By this truth may there be happiness!

Those who comprehend clearly the [Four] Noble Truths, well taught by him of wisdom deep, do not -- however exceeding heedless they may be -- undergo an eighth rebirth. In truth, in the [Noble] Sangha is this precious jewel. By this truth may there be happiness!

For one with the acquisition of insight, three conditions come to nought, namely: self-illusion, doubt [about the Buddha, Dhama, or Sangha], and clinging to (useless) rites and ceremonies [that in themselves are incapable of resulting in enlightenment], should there be any.

From the four states of misery [below the human plane of rebirth], one is absolutely freed and is incapable of committing the six heinous crimes [that would lead to rebirth on those planes]. In truth, in the [Noble] Sangha is this precious jewel. By this truth may there be happiness!

Whatever harmful deeds one does, whether by body, word, or thought, one is incapable of hiding it. For it has been said that such an act (kama) is impossible for one who has seen the Path. In truth, in the [Noble] Sangha is this precious jewel. By this truth may there be happiness!

Like unto the woodland groves with blossoming tree tops in the first heat of the summer season has the sublime doctrine, which leads to nirvana, been taught for the highest good. In truth, in the Buddha is this precious jewel. By this truth may there be happiness.

The unrivalled Enlightened One, the Knower, the Giver, and the Bringer of the Excellent has expounded the excellent Dharma. In truth, in the Buddha is this precious jewel. By this truth may there be happiness!

Their past is extinct, fresh becoming there is not, their minds are not attached to a future rebirth, their craving grows not -- and those wise ones go out even as this lamp. In truth, in the [Noble] Sangha is this precious jewel. By this truth may there be happiness!

We beings here assembled, whether terrestrial or celestial, salute the Accomplished Buddha, honored by devas and humans. May there be happiness!

We beings here assembled, whether terrestrial or celestial, salute the Accomplished Dharma, honored by devas and humans. May there be happiness!

We beings here assembled, whether terrestrial or celestial, salute the Accomplished Sangha, honored by devas and humans. May there be happiness!

Maha Mangala Sutra: Great Blessings Discourse

Editors, Wisdom Quarterly based on Buddhanet.net (abbreviated Pali chant)

Deva: What is life's highest blessing?

Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One (the Buddha) was staying at the monastery of Anathapindika in Jeta's Grove near Savatthi (ancient India).

Now when the night was far spent, a certain deva (angelic deity, "shining one"), whose surpassing splendor illuminated the entire woodland grove, came into the presence of the Blessed One.

Drawing near, the deva saluted him, stood respectfully to one side, and addressed the Blessed One in verse:

Many devas and humans yearning after the good have pondered blessings. Pray, tell me the highest blessing!

To avoid associating with fools, to associate with the wise, to honor those worthy of honor -- this is the highest blessing.

To reside in a suitable location, to have completed meritorious deeds in the past, to establish oneself on the right course -- this is the highest blessing.

Wide learning, skillful handicraft, well trained discipline, pleasant speech -- this is the highest blessing.

Support of father and mother, cherishing spouse and children, harmless occupation -- this is the highest blessing.

Generosity (liberality), good conduct, helping relatives, blameless action -- this is the highest blessing.

To cut and abstain from further harm, foregoing intoxicants, steadfastness in virtue -- this is the highest blessing.

Reverence, humility, contentment, gratitude, opportune listening to the Dharma (truth, teaching, doctrine) -- this is the highest blessing.

Patience, compliance, seeing wanderers (purified ones), uplifting spiritual discussion in season (at the appropriate time) -- this is the highest blessing.

Self control, the supreme life, perception of the (four) ennobling truths, the realization of nirvana -- this is the highest blessing!

• AUDIO: What is "nirvana"? (Bhikkhu Bodhi)

One whose heart/mind does not flutter by contact with worldly things, sorrowless, stainless, secure -- this is the highest blessing.

For those fulfilling these -- everywhere invincible, in every way moving happily -- these are the highest blessings.

Happy? Boost dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin!

Universe Inside You; Ananda, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Increase happiness: boost your endorphin, dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin levels

Loretta Graziano Breuning Ph.D.

Habits of a Happy Brain shows how to retrain our brain to turn on the endogenous chemicals that make us happy.

Each page offers simple activities that help us understand the roles of our "happy chemicals" -- serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin, and endorphins.

We learn how to build new habits by rerouting the electricity in our brains to flow down new pathways, making it even easier to trigger these happy chemicals and increase feelings of satisfaction when we need them most.

Filled with dozens of exercises that help reprogram the brain, Habits of a Happy Brain shows how to live a happier, healthier life!

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The Other F Word: Fatherhood (video)

Altern Attic (Wiki text); Seth Auberon, Pat Macpherson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

"Dad"? What have I done!?!

The Other F Word is an American documentary film directed by independent filmmaker Andrea Blaugrund Nevins.

The film explores the world of maturing punk rock musicians as they transition into parenthood and try to maintain the contrast between their anti-authoritarian lifestyle with the responsibilities of fatherhood, which is the "other F word."

Yay, dads!

In addition to interviewing over 20 musicians from across the spectrum of the punk genre, from Mark Hoppus of wusses Blink 182 to Fat Mike of marginal NOFX, the film also includes other emblematic figures from the subculture such as professional skateboarder Tony Hawk in a chronicle of the struggles and rewards that accompany raising their children. Released in the U.S. by Oscilloscope Laboratories.

PREMISE

So this is the rest of my life, huh?

Primarily rotating around interviews of Pennywise lead singer Jim Lindberg, the documentary switches between musicians as it jumps between their travels on the road doing concert tours and time spent at home with their kids.

In the course of the movie, interviews are interspersed with archived concert footage.

I still rock as hard as I used to.

It shows these punk rockers, from their early years to more recent shows, to depict some of the challenges they face in their roles as parents -- while at the same time maintaining their roles as anti-establishment figures for their punk rock fan following.

Remarking that their adolescence often lacked much in the way of paternal guidance, the interviewees speak of how they are earnestly trying to be the supportive role models for their kids that they themselves never had while growing up.

INTERVIEWS

1. Tony Cadena - The Adolescents (Adz)
2. Art Alexakis - Everclear
3. Rob Chaos - Total Chaos
4. Joe Escalante - The Vandals
5. Josh Freese - session drummer
6. Fat Mike - NOFX
7. Flea - Red Hot Chili Peppers [FEAR]
8. Lars Frederiksen - Rancid
9. Matt Freeman - Rancid
10. Jack Grisham - TSOL
11. Brett Gurewitz - Bad Religion
12. Tony Hawk - pro skater
13. Greg Hetson - Circle Jerks
14. Mark Hoppus - Blink-182
15. Jim Lindberg - Pennywise
16. Mike McDermott - Bouncing Souls 
17. McIlrath - Rise Against
18. Mark Mothersbaugh - Devo
19. Duane Peters - U.S. Bombs
20. Joe Sib - SideOneDummy Records
21. Ron Reyes - Black Flag
22. Rick Thorne - BMX rider

What's in a blood test, huh, Hillary?

• 50th Anniversary Woodstock Festival: Hippie Fest 2016? ...have been to a Hippie Fest in 2008 at the amphitheater which was a blast....A 50th anniversary concert needs to be held, but as I said the bands should be chosen with the original peace... 
• Monterey Pop 50th anniversary concert lineup (SFGate)
• "The Summer of Love" (Wiki explaination) ...a social phenomenon that occurred during the summer of 1967... Although hippies also gathered in many other places in the U.S., Canada...Pink Floyd performed....2017, San Francisco plans to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love...