Tension therapy

Occasionally I watch Bollywood  movies…”Munna Bhai M.B.B.S”  is one of the rarest movies that I have watched more than once… According to the movie “tension” is a bag full of diseases…..and the main source of tensions are emotions…. So, how should one deal with tension? There are two opposing approaches…. Dr. Asthana a medical doctor is believing in Laughter-therapy as an effective means of always available cure…..while Munnah Bhai a gangster (social worker) is believing that caring about others… and expressing them openly especially by hugging is an effective method of confronting tensions…….It is a comedy movie and the writer of movie while trying to favor Munna Bhai’s method actually utilizing Dr. Asthana’s method by making viewers laugh…….

I liked the movie because it has a very powerful message in very light manner…..Most of us are experts in giving tensions….and worst that we give tension with good intentions…..In 1967, Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe developed their “Holmes and Rahe stress scale” based on their research on records of 5000 people…. The scale lists 43 life changing events that creates stress and causes relative illnesses…. When I look to the list I get surprised that most of the events are linked to social relations….. It is why I joke sometimes…saying that unlike Dr. Asthana we are expert of Tension Therapy… we try to fix the problems by giving tension…….

 http://img.docstoccdn.com/thumb/orig/31988651.png (Image source)

 Though we all like laughter-therapy via our instincts… (As it increase oxygen intake, release endorphins….perhaps burn some extra calories) but the fact is laughter makes us hungrier…. It just adds more pounds…. There are traditions of big bites while watching comedy on TV shows, in theatres or in circle of friends…..it is known as comfort eating….. Similarly there is tension eating…when we get stressed we tend to eat a lot and sleep a lot…..

So it is the not the burning extra calories, taking extra oxygen and release of endorphin that are important for health but making others laugh and get pleased brings us close and help us avoid go higher in Holmes and Rahe stress scale….

Is it addiction or a survival factor?

It might have happened several times to you that while…. watching a movie or drama or reading a novel…. Your parents have scorned you of wasting your times and have asked you to study some serious stuffs…. that help you in your career or you learn something out of them…..  Frankly, sometimes when I watch a movie or read some novel type books, I scorn myself for wasted times…… Today, while looking to list of the……. “IntelliQuest- The world’s 100 greatest books”……. I got surprised by list as there were only one “Scientific Book”…The Origin of Species” by Charles Darwin…. Even Origin of Species is more of descriptive and narrative book than a real scientific book… Some Philosophy books like,….. “Meditations – by Rene Descartes”…. “The Critique of Pure Reason –by Immanuel Kant”…..” World as Will and Idea – by Arthur Schopenhauer”…..” -Self-Reliance- and - Nature - both by Ralph Waldo Emerson”……” How We Think – by John Dewey”……” Walden – by Henry David Thoreau”…………” The Social Contract – by Jean-Jacques Rousseau”….. “The Republic – by Plato”…… There are one book on Politics, “The Prince – by Machiavelli” and one on economy, “The Wealth of Nations – by Adam Smith”…………………..

These are the list of the serious books out of 100… Everything else are story books especially books of legendary mythical heroes like those narrated in Iliad and Odyssey by Humor or fictional heroes in most famous novels….. What really struck me is finding the …..”Beowulf”…. It is a 6^th century poetic collection of folk legendary stories of Northwestern Europe where legendary creatures like Dragons are villains… You might have watched the 3D movie of Beowulf….. that has nothing  of scholarly nature…..

You might include ….” Candide – by Voltaire”…. and “The Divine Comedy –by  Dante Alighieri” among serious studies but I am not sure if are really serious studies… ..

Finding story books dominating the list of greatest books ….(It is not necessary that I agree with lists as some of the books that have influenced me are missing among the list and I am sure that I am not alone in this regard)…..I was wondering that…. though we are scorned and sometimes we scorn ourselves on wasting our times by reading stories, listening stories or watching then …..why it is so irresistible…Why the reading stories are so common? … why the popularity of storytelling has not diminished by rapid scientific progress and increasing time crunching….   Is not a common addiction? … It is more probable that Stories have evolved in the course of human evolution as it is the greatest source of learning….. human might have adapted it to increase their survival chances…. I think it is more than addiction…. I don’t know any study for its genetic basis … but the commonalities of stories are indicating so…

If story telling have survival factor… then the list is not biased??

Mullah Nasrudin on what to believe, Science or Arts?

Though there are differences in approaches of, what art is? Almost every artist has his/her own personal definition of art depending on their personality and personal inclinations. However, the definition of art becomes interesting when we see  compared with that of Science. I came across a comparison by Claude Bernard ( 1813-1817)that is more than one and half century old. He says,

“Art is “I”; Science is “we”……………………..

The difference seems like those of monarchy and democracy…. However, knowing the definition is belonging to earlier periods of Science....... (to period of Baby Science; as Bob likes to call the introductory Science material).............., so I like to share few centuries earlier's demonstrative comparison of Science and arts by a famous character of Central Asia,........ “Mullah Nasrudin”;

“A neighbor came to Mullah Nasrudin, asking to borrow his donkey…….. “It is out on loan,” Mullah Nasrudin replied. At that moment donkey brayed loudly from inside the stable…….. “But I can hear it bray, over there.” Said the neighbor……”Whom do you believe, asked Mullah Nasrudin, “Me or a donkey?”…………..”

Science says, “Believe the evidence” and arts say, “Believe me” that is the difference…. What to believe? I would say, “Take the advice of Mullah Nasrudin seriously :)

Procrustes and his bed

Procrustes (means stretcher… was his nickname; his original name was Damastes) was notorious for his strange sense of hospitality. He owned an estate in Corydalus in Attica on the way between Athens and Eleusis, where he abducted travelers, provided them with a generous dinner, and then invited them to spend the night in his special bed. He wanted that his guests fit perfectly in the bed. Those who were taller than the bed, had their legs cut to fit the bed and those who were short for bed were stretched to fit to the bed.

Theseus (one of the fearless hero of Greek mythology; who killed Minotaur) was abducted like other travelers on passing near the Procrustes estate and offered the generous dinner. After dinner, knowing the intention of the Procrustes, Theseus made him lie on the bed, finding him taller than the bed, beheaded him…………………

Procrustes was obsessed with size of his guests and wanted them to fit to his measuring bed (assimilate)… Though this is a legend but the fact is a lot of people still carry the “bed of Procrustes”. It is natural to find variation in every sphere of life. We appreciate diversity in animal and plant world but when it comes to variation among humans, we lose the sense of appreciation to our version of likeness. This legend has a beautiful message (I let you to conclude by yourself)…………………

Can anyone explain the behaviors of Idealist Reptilians?

Based on mainly relying on hind brain, middle brain and fore brain, an informal analogy is used as reptilian man, mammalian man and homo-sapiens man. It is long that I am struggling to understand the behaviors of idealist reptilians. From one side they woo the old generation and  conservative people by making loud noises about human rights, women emancipation, child rights, freedom of expression, democracy and so on. These idealist notions are really impressive and make us dream of better world. Being inspired by the dream of better world, we clinch out fist to show our determination for democracy, beat our chest for emancipation of women, and shout loudly to test our freedom of expression and feel empathetic for suffering of women, children and oppressed men. Seems these new men will create a new world.

On other hand we see, the same men and women escape the pains of having family to provide a safe and supportive environment for coming generation in the name of individualisms. I am wondering that increasing numbers of single mothers are what women emancipation means? Are denying children from love and support of father or mother, what child protection and child rights mean? Are new men systematically killing their emotions and responsibilities to reduce themselves to their reptilian brains? Are the most reasonable and sound people are those, who only rely on their reptilian brain. I am still struggling to understand……….

Proverbial legend No, 2; “A picture paints a thousand words”

Usually the “picture” is taken as a noun. Though as a noun a good picture may tell a lot but it is in the form of verb that picture paints a thousand words………… There is a legendary story of Democritus……….

Democritus was always laughing as he witnessed the human weaknesses by his long travels to Egypt, Ethiopia, Chaldea and India and learned by his experience that human conditions are mostly the results of chance.

When great king of Persia, Darius was deploring the death of the most beloved among his wives, Democritus appeared at his court to console him………. Democritus promised to bring her to life again, if Darius would find in the whole extent of his kingdom three persons to whom nothing disagreeable had ever happened, so that he might engrave their names on the tomb of the deceased queen.

Throughout Asia, not one individual answering this description could be found. From this, the philosopher took occasion to show Darius that he was much in the wrong to abandon himself in grief, since there was not in the whole world a man wholly exempt from misfortune…………………………

Story is taken from “Live of the ancient Philosophers”

Proverbial Legend No, 1 : "The one who loves you also make you weep"…. Argentine Proverb

Tears are thought to be the ink of poets…. to write the legendary stories of friends and lovers… It is amusing to learn that men of reason also do not escape from shedding tears… however, the contexts may be very different from those of poets……….……….Bias of Priene, a small town of Cori was an acute politician and philosopher who lived during the reign of Halyattes King of Lydia……..

Bias was one day obliged to judge in the case of a friend who was found deserving of capital punishment. Before the sentence was pronounced….. he began to weep before the whole senate…..

“Why do you weep, “ said one to him, “since you alone have the power of condemning or acquitting the criminal?”……..

“I weep,” answered Bias, “because nature obliges me to compassionate the unfortunate, and law commands me not to regard the emotions of nature”……………..

…..Bias used to say that he liked much to be an arbitrary between two of his enemies than between two of his friends, because one never failed to fall out with friend who had been found in the wrong; whereas, in case of enemies, a man might make him in whose favor the decision has been pronounced his firend…………….

Story is taken from "Lives of ancient Philosophers" by Francois desalignac.......