TED Talks - Beau Lotto: Optical illusions show how we see

This talk was so powerful, especially when I read Beau's detailed explanation here. Here's the piece that I loved to know

For instance, while looking at one of my color illusions (say the multicolored cube) you're aware of one reality: that two tiles look very different, while simultaneously being aware of an opposite reality: that the two tiles are in fact physically the same.

This capacity to be an observer of yourself is phenomenal and possibly unique to humans. Indeed, to literally "see yourself see" is in my view the principal act of consciousness, which has the power to transform one's view of the world and of oneself.

The importance of the above observations stemming from my own work and that of others transcend neuroscience. They show us in an explicit (and I hope engaging) way that our senses are not "fragile," as many would have you believe.

They show us instead that we are not outside observers of nature defined in isolation. We are instead indivisible from nature, defined by the trial and error process of interaction, a process in which we can choose to become active agents (but too often choose not to).

Understanding this point is I believe critical to personal and social well-being, since the typical barrier to a deeper insight into oneself and others is the overriding, but necessarily false impression that what "I" see, what "I" hear and what "I" know is the world as it really is.

But, by "seeing yourself see," in other words by actively exploring how your thoughts, feelings, beliefs and even the colors you see reflect your physical, social and cultural ecology, only then is it possible to understand the source of coherence and conflict within and between individuals.

Put another way, only by accepting my own humanity can I accept the humanity of others. "Seeing myself see" creates the opportunity for this acceptance. Illusions, then, were not the point of my talk, but simply a tool for encouraging this process.

Resolving uncertainty is essential to our survival. Hence our fear of ambiguous situations is palpable -- e.g., the inability to resolve sensory conflict between the eyes and ears can result in nausea (like seasickness). And yet it is only by embracing the unknown within education, science, art and most importantly within our own private lives that we will find new routes to more enlightened ways of seeing and being.

Thus, courage not confidence is at the heart of this process of actively redefining normality, which is the route to compassion and creativity.

TED Talks - SixthSense

Demo of SixthSense - a wearable device with a projector that paves the way for profound interaction with our environment, enables new interactions between the real world and the world of data.

When I looked at the guy whose name and other details were projected on him, I was thinking about interviews. A face-to-face interview will have more meaning then :-)

Melting Himalayan glaciers

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/10/05/himalayas.glacier.conflict/index.html

It's alarming to know that Ganges will become a seasonal river. 25 years is not too long..most of us might live to see this day. Imagine India like Darfur - scary !!!

We can do something about this, it's already too late to reverse the glacier meltdown, but we can atleast stop worsening the current global environmental situation. Consume less(water, electricity and everything else) only to the extent of what is required for our lives, avoid using plastic bags, let us build 'mazhai neer thotti' in our homes, plant trees and above all let us stop thinking just along economic status and realize that there's much more to our lives and this world. It's important to earn money for ourselves and our children and also give a good education to our kids, but we are forgetting what is more important - to leave them with enough land, air and water for the rest of their lives. We are not even talking about our grandchildren. The next generation is going to be impacted.

When we look at the magnanimity of the problem, it's so easy to say that we can't do anything about this and call it as FATE. It takes tremendous courage and will-power to take this situation in each of our hands and do what little we can, to make the situation better. First of all, we should be aware of this happening around us, DENIAL is the biggest sin. Once we acknowledge that this is happening, then we can do what is required to change or fix this. There are a lot of people and organizations who are working to make this better, let's see how we can help them. Atleast we should be able to do the minimal things by looking at our lifestyle and making slight changes that will cause less carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions. Let us spread the awareness first. Read about the latest scientific developments and keep yourself informed.

Society's rules - sky is the limit :(

http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-comedian-mother-in-law,0,2777028.story

Comedian Daughter-in-law sued by mother-in-law for making jokes on her.

Here's something that shocks me more...
http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/personal/08/27/howard.bestbuy.firings/index.html

Best Buy fires its employees after they tried to stop a shoplifter. It hurts more when I understand why Best Buy has such a policy. No company wants to deal with a situation where the armed shoplifter starts shooting other shoppers. Also, there is a possibility that the employee who chased the thief gets hurt and then later demands compensation from the company for getting injured while at work. Now, these are just possibilities and companies don't want to leave such options open. So they just fired two employees who acted on their instincts.
The company does not worry about the items that were stolen because insurance companies will pay for it. Huh...insurance companies - that's a whole different sad story.

So where is our society going? We are controlled by too many things and we only talk freedom. We are not even allowed to take responsibility for what is happening around us. I am atleast happy that there is a law to protect 'Good samaritans' - who try to save someone in a life threatening situation. Otherwise, people may not even come forward to help someone whose life is in danger.

Green Tirupur Movement

Green Tirupur Movement - click here for details

If you know Tirupur you know how badly the environment has deteriorated there(sadly, as in most places of the world). Green Tirupur movement was started by the citizens of Tirupur with Project Green hands(an Isha Foundation initiative). Please click the link above to see how these people have taken a wonderful step to change their environment before this city gets plagued by diseases and famine. It'll be great to see more cities and countries joining the band wagon.

Please share this news with everyone you know, especially children. Children should know about such people-led initiatives so they grow up knowing that people do care about the world. They will also learn to appreciate these efforts and care for the environment as they grow up in a 1.7 billion people country(by 2050, that'll be India's population).

Firefox extension for Verizon minutes used

For people like me who tend to overuse the verizon minutes, here's a very useful firefox extension
http://verizon-minutes-used.blogspot.com/

One thing that I like the most is the 'Projection for the month'

Confusion Unlimited

Just 2 days ago, I had this deep urge to pen down what I was feeling inside. I struggled and kept staring at the blank screen. I came up with something in English and then switched over to Tamil, but just couldn't get it right. Then I was going thru the orkut Isha group and saw this poem. Oh my!! How wonderfully this brought out all that was happening inside me. For me this is not a poem on Sadhguru, it's about all the stupid stuff that goes on within me, hence the title. Now, here's Selva's contribution(sorry, I neither know who he is, nor have his contact details).

Poem on Sadhguru

Here is a poem on my guru who is a mix of red, green and blue:

Jaggi, the only one!

He, the only one, who guides me from one to zero and zero to one,
He, the only one, who is the mix of the moon and the sun,
He makes me realize, that I am in everything,
He makes me realize, that I am a nothing.
Unable to understand the logic of his.
All this being wants to know is bliss, bliss and bliss.
He says" I shall take you from the limited to the unlimited!"
All this brings in me is "Confusion Unlimited!"
In his presence, I am both happy and sad.
To experience a glimpse of god in him, I am very glad.
With him, I feel that I am both in hell and in heaven
I also realize that neither am I in hell nor in heaven.
When will all this confusion go?, that I do not know.
All that I want is to know, to know and to know

What am I missing here?

In the last few months, I've been so busy in life, inspite of the fact that I didn't have a job. Usually, my life is such that weekends are so unplanned, but still those 2 days have always been hectic. Similarly, these past few days when I didn't have a defined 'day schedule', I kept myself so busy with Isha activities, cooking and friends. I can't believe I spent these few months without a television, browsing & blogging, books (that's a great surprise) and friendly calls.
The kind of activities I was involved in are so different from what I've ever done in my life. Procrastination was something that got out of my dictionary. There was no activity that I refused to do and no person that I refused to meet/talk to. I woke up everyday with so much energy and went about taking care of my To Do list. So much to do, but still not a moment was tiring. How can this be?
When some of my friends asked about missing blog updates, I realized that I was feeling so empty within and didn't have anything to blog. I don't remember ever feeling this empty.

Now that I've started working in a corporation again, life seems so different(and there comes the need to blog). It's a struggle to keep myself bubbling with energy throughout the day. What am I missing here?

In the Company of the Enlightened

http://soulofthecities.net/2009/04/the-enlightened/

அன்புள்ள ரம்யா பிறந்தநாள் வாழ்த்துக்கள்

அம்மாவின் அன்பு மாறாமல் இருக்கும்
அப்பாவின் நேசம் பிறழாமல் நிற்கும்
சகோதரிகளின் பாசம் வற்றாமல் நிலைக்கும்
துணைவரின் காதல் சிதறாமல் கிடைக்கும்

கௌதம் தரும் உவப்பும் மின்னலின் சிரிப்பும்
கண்களில் உற்சாகத்தை ஊட்டும்(kaattum)
நல்ல நண்பர்களின் நட்பு நலம்பெற வைக்கும்
உற்ற சுற்றத்தின் உறவு உவகை தரும்

வாழ்த்துக்களின் வலிமை வளமூட்டும்
வாழ்வதின் பொருள் வியப்பூட்டும்
சேவை உள்ளம் கொண்ட உந்தன் மலர்ச்சியே
தேவை எங்கள் அனைவருக்கும்

உந்தன் எண்ணத்தில் உறுதி கொண்டு
உள்ளம் பூரித்திட உயரிய வாழ்வு பெற்று
உன்னத லட்சியத்தினை குறைவின்றி
உலகில் நிச்சயமாய் நிறைவேற்றி

பிறந்த பயனை பிழையின்றி நடத்திட
பிறந்த நாளில் உளமார மனமார
உள்ளன்போடு வாழ்த்துகிறேன்
உன்னை/ வளமுடன் வாழ்க/


அன்புடன் லலிதா(அம்மா)