American regulators are yet to approve the vaccine, despite the UK pushing ahead with mass rollout.
Safety data on Pfizer jab released by US
Reply
Category Archives: Mind Building
Your Relationship With Pleasure
What is your relationship with pleasure like?
Do you experience and enjoy pleasure when you’re in the mood for it?
Do you have an addictive relationship with it?
Do you have an on-again, off-again relationship with it?
Does your relationship with pleasure feel healthy, supportive, and fun?
Is your relationship with pleasure simple or complex?
Here’s one of more interesting questions to ask yourself:
Do you trust pleasure?
And here’s another meaningful question:
What kind of relationship would you like to have with pleasure?
Pleasure is just pleasure. In its simplest form, it is pure enjoyment. There is nothing else wrapped into it – no distraction, no addiction, no escapism, no guilt, no shame, no fear, no negative consequences.
This past summer I loved eating delicious peaches – so sweet, juicy, and flavorful. I’d often buy 2-3 boxes at a time because I would eat so many of them. Even when I ate five of them in a day, there were no negative consequences that I could discern. They were simply delicious, and I enjoyed the energy they gave me too. This is a a very uncomplicated form of pleasure, and it’s easy to have a healthy relationship with it.
Last month my wife and I did a 30-day challenge of kissing each other for at least one minute each day. It hardly took any time, it was among the easiest “challenges” ever, and it was pure pleasure for us both. It was a nice daily reminder to kiss just because we enjoy it. It feels good to share tender kisses, playful kisses, and passionate kisses alike. Just one minute of kissing is very emotionally satisfying.
But of course there are other forms of pleasure that can become problematic because they’re wrapped up with some negative qualities like addiction or abuse. Choosing a healthy and pleasurable experience isn’t the same as choosing an unhealthy one.
We can project a lot of neediness onto pleasure. We can want it to play a bigger role for us, such as saving us from our problems or providing a substitute for real human relationships. But projecting such neediness onto pleasure isn’t likely to lead to a healthy relationship with pleasure.
Some people wrap so much angst into various forms of pleasure that they try to fix this by swearing off pleasure altogether. They try to get control over it through abstinence. It isn’t necessary to go this far though, just as it isn’t necessary to swear off all human relationships just because you’ve endured some rough ones. It’s not the pleasure that’s the problem. It’s the neediness and projection you bring to it. Pleasure is fine. It’s your relationship with pleasure that needs some improvement.
Consider instead that you can change your relationship with pleasure by relating to it in a much purer and simpler way. Pleasure isn’t an escape. It isn’t a solution. It isn’t an achievement. It isn’t a source of fear, shame, or guilt.
Pleasure is simply a gift. You open it. You receive it. You enjoy it. You appreciate it. And that’s it.
Don’t make it complicated.
Pleasure is fearless, guiltless, and shameless. If you feel fear, shame, or guilt, it isn’t the pleasure itself that made you feel that way. Enjoyment is just enjoyment.
In 2016 when Rachelle and I spent 30 days in a row going to Disneyland, it was a monthlong deep dive into fun. I found the experience transformational in ways I didn’t expect. I like that Disneyland’s ethos gave us permission to engage with fun in such an immersive way for 10-16 hours per day. That experience was beneficial on multiple levels – good for our relationship, nice to spend so much time outdoors, great for incubating business ideas, 10-12 miles of daily walking, and it led to the launch of Conscious Growth Club about six months later. I was hesitant to do it, but it was one of the best deep dives ever.
You can healthfully engage with many simple forms of pleasure, such as by enjoying a juicy peach or a delightful kiss with a willing (and uninfected!) partner. You don’t have to descend into a complex and perilous relationship with pleasure.
When you engage with different forms of pleasure, pay attention to the relationship. Is it still clean, pure, and simple? Are you still engaging to experience pleasure? Or have made the relationship complicated? Do you feel addicted or compelled to engage? Are some negative consequences occurring such as guilt about wasting time, damage to your health, or feeling ashamed that you violated your values?
If you notice that your relationship with some form of pleasure has grown complicated in undesirable ways, you can transition out of that relationship and reinvest in other forms of pleasure that are simpler and purer.
If you clean up this relationship with pleasure, you can sustainably experience a wide variety of healthy forms of pleasure, which can enrich your life tremendously without dragging you down.
Here’s a good way to frame this from a spiritual perspective:
I invite and intend a lifelong relationship with pleasure that is pure, clean, and healthy – and free of any fear, shame, or guilt.
When you do feel fear, shame, or guilt, trace it back to its source. Figure out where those feelings are coming from. Notice that they aren’t coming from the pleasure itself. They’re coming from somewhere else, like the meaning you’re attaching to the experience or the negative side effects of the particular form of pleasure that you’ve chosen. So then you have an invitation to clean up this relationship. Cleanse it. Elevate it. Purify it.
Let your relationship with pleasure be a clean, pure, and healthy gift.
‘Mix-and-match’ coronavirus vaccines to be tested
Trials are being planned in the UK to see if combining Covid vaccines might give the best protection.
Why some people may become seriously ill from meningococcal bacteria
Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have come one step closer toward understanding why some people become seriously ill or die from a common bacterium that leaves most people unharmed. In a study published in The Lancet Microbe, the researchers linked RNA mutations within the bacterium Neisseria meningitidis to invasive meningococcal disease, marking the first time a non-coding RNA in a bacterium has been linked to disease progression.
The researchers have also designed and validated a PCR test that can detect these mutations.
“We found that non-coding RNA mutations within the bacterium N. meningitidis are almost twice as likely to be associated with serious meningococcal disease, an uncommon but serious infection that can lead to death,” says Edmund Loh, corresponding author and assistant professor at the Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology at Karolinska Institutet. “This is also the first time a non-coding RNA in a bacterium has been associated with the development of a disease in humans.”
N. meningitidis is a bacterium that is often found in the nose of 10 to 15 percent of the human population. In general, the bacteria do not cause any disease. However, when it does, people can become very ill rapidly and die within a few hours if left untreated.
The research work began in 2017 after a strain of the N. meningitidis bacterium was isolated from a Swedish teenager who succumbed to meningococcal meningitis. When compared with another strain of the same bacterium isolated from an asymptomatic individual, the researchers discovered mutation in a regulatory non-coding RNA molecule, known as RNA thermosensor, or RNAT, within the strain from the deceased teenager.
This finding prompted the researchers to embark on a quest to collect and investigate more than 7,000 RNAT configurations of N. meningitidis from around Europe. In total, the researchers discovered five new variants of RNATs that could be linked to illness, that is they were more likely to appear in individuals who had become ill from the bacterium.
These variants shared a common trait in that they produced more and bigger capsules that insulated the bacterium and thus helped it evade the body’s immune system.
“This is the first time we have been able to associate an RNAT’s effect on meningitis disease progression,” says the paper’s first author Jens Karlsson, PhD student at the same department. “This supports further research into this and other non-coding RNAs’ potential involvement in the development of bacterial diseases.”
As part of the study, the researchers also developed a quick PCR test that is capable of distinguishing these RNAT mutations.
“In the future, this PCR test may be coupled with a simple nose swab at a clinic, and in doing so, facilitate a speedy identification of these mutations, and subsequent treatment,” Edmund Loh concludes.
The study was funded by the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research, the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation and the Swedish Research Council.
Facts about RNAs:
- RNAs (ribonucleic acids) are molecules that perform a range of functions within the cells. There are many kinds of RNAs, for example RNAs that carry protein-coding messages from DNA and RNAs that regulate the expression of different genes.
- Non-coding RNAs are molecules that are not translated into proteins. There are believed to be thousands of them in the human genome, many whose functions are not yet understood. Some have been linked to the development of diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer’s.
- Non-coding RNAs in bacteria help regulate several physiological processes. For example, the Nobel prize winning CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing tool partly originated from the discovery of the non-coding RNA molecule, tracrRNA, which helps disarm viruses by cleaving their DNA.
- In this study, the researchers link the non-coding RNA molecule, RNA thermosensor, or RNAT, in the bacterium Neisseria meningitidis to the progression of invasive meningococcal disease. It is the first time a non-coding RNA molecule in a bacterium has been linked to the progression of a disease in humans.
Story Source:
Materials provided by Karolinska Institutet. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Global trends in nature’s contributions to people
In a new study published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a research team co-led by the University of Minnesota, examined the risks to human well-being and prosperity stemming from ongoing environmental degradation.
“There are many ways that nature provides benefits to people — from the production of material goods to non-material benefits, and the benefits of natural ecology that regulate environmental conditions,” said Kate Brauman, lead author and a lead scientist at the U of M Institute on the Environment (IonE). “We are in a much better position to identify the problems in the way we are managing nature, and that gives us a path forward to manage it better.”
The study looked at a variety of peer-reviewed papers addressing wide-ranging elements of trends in nature and associated impacts on people. The study found that: global declines in most of nature’s contributions to people over the past 50 years, such as natural regulations of water pollutants; negative impacts on people’s well-being are already occurring, including reductions in crop yields from declining pollinator populations and soil productivity and increased exposure to flooding and storms as coastal ecosystems are degraded; and understanding and tracking nature’s contributions to people provides critical feedback that can improve our ability to manage earth systems effectively, equitably and sustainably.
“This paper highlights the value of nature’s contributions to our well-being,” said co-author Steve Polasky, an IonE fellow and a professor in the College of Biological Sciences. “By making these values more visible, we hope that actions are taken to protect nature, so that nature can continue to provide benefits for future generations.”
The work of this study builds from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Global Assessment.
Story Source:
Materials provided by University of Minnesota. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Deep rooted: Mother’s empathy linked to ‘epigenetic’ changes to the oxytocin gene
Our ability to feel and understand the emotions of others, or “empathy,” is at the core of our prosocial behaviors such as cooperation and caregiving. Scientists have recognized two types of empathy: cognitive and affective. Cognitive empathy involves understanding another person’s emotions on an intellectual level, taking into consideration someone’s situation and how they would react (for example, “putting yourself in someone else’s shoes”). Affective empathy, on the other hand, is a kind of emotional contagion, where you feel someone’s emotion instinctively after observing their expression or other mood indicators. Both these types strongly predict how parents behave with their children and can subsequently influence child psychological development. Therefore, understanding how empathy is shaped can help us to decipher parental behavior.
When it comes to biological mechanisms of empathy, scientists are particularly interested in oxytocin, the so-called “love hormone.” High oxytocin levels predict sensitive parenting, but it isn’t clear how the oxytocin-related gene might generate variation in empathy and parental behavior. One possible explanation is epigenetic changes to the gene — a way of altering gene function without changing the actual DNA sequence. Specifically, “DNA methylation” — the addition of a chemical group called the “methyl” group at specific locations — in the oxytocin gene (called OXT) has been associated with personality traits and brain structure in humans. This raises a question: can methylation of OXT influence empathy in mothers? A team of scientists at University of Fukui in Japan, led by Prof. Akemi Tomoda, decided to find out, in a study published in Psychoneuroendocrinology.
Specifically, the scientists wanted to investigate how methylation of OXT, brain structure, and empathy are related in mothers. For this, they measured OXT methylation through analyses of saliva samples from 57 Japanese mothers who were caring for at least one young child. Moreover, they used an MRI technique called “voxel-based morphometry” to examine the size of brain regions related to OXT methylation, aiming to identify any connections between brain morphology and DNA methylation. This is part of an exciting new field called “imaging epigenetics” that seeks to explain behavior through linking epigenetic changes with brain structures and/or functions. Finally, they used a well-established psychology questionnaire to determine the levels of cognitive and affective empathy they have.
The findings showed that OXT methylation was positively correlated with a mother’s “personal distress,” relating to harsh parenting. Additionally, OXT methylation was negatively correlated with the volume of gray matter in the right inferior temporal gyrus. In other words, high methylation of the oxytocin gene lowered brain volume in the inferior temporal gyrus while increasing personal distress. “This is the first study to find a correlation between DNA methylation of the oxytocin gene with empathy, and the first to link that methylation with both empathy and variation in brain structure,” Prof. Tomoda commented. “So, we’ve gained very important insight into the relationship between this gene and the phenotype — or the physical manifestation of gene expression.”
The researchers also used statistical analyses to find out whether DNA methylation affected changes to brain structure, or vice versa. But they did not find a significant effect of gray matter volume of the inferior temporal gyrus on OXT methylation and empathy. This means that brain structure did not appear to mediate the relationship between epigenetic changes to the OXT gene and empathy.
These findings shed light on the complex processes involved in maternal empathy, which could have a real contribution in understanding psychological development in children. As Prof. Tomoda explains, “Our study really helps to clarify the link between oxytocin gene methylation and parental empathy, as well as the effects on empathy-related parts of the brain. This understanding augments efforts to better understand maltreated children and contributes to their healthy development.”
Story Source:
Materials provided by University of Fukui. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Public health grant cuts ‘worst in poorest areas’
The poorest parts of England have seen the biggest cuts to councils’ public health budgets, a new study suggests.
Covid: Military could be used to transport Covid vaccine
Military personnel could transport doses of virus vaccine to ensure supplies, a minister says.
The Spiritual Purpose of a Relationship
Each relationship that you’ve had, whether short-term or long-term, can be interpreted through the lens of spiritual purpose.
Why are you and your partner in each other’s lives? What are you here to do for each other spiritually?
I’d learned of this concept during my 20s but just in a very limited way. The idea was that we’re all spiritual teachers for each other. A relationship is supposedly a spiritual growth experience.
I think that framing held me back because it doesn’t fully encompass what’s possible.
My first marriage to Erin did seem to have that purpose of being co-teachers to each other. In the early years of our 15-year relationship, Erin and I often noted that I was teaching her courage while she was teaching me compassion. We both learned a lot from each other, sometimes by example and something through direct help and advice.
That relationship was challenging at times, but it was also loving, supportive, and patient. We shared a long journey together, which eventually came to an end. When I look back upon that relationship, it feels like it fulfilled its purpose for us both. One friend said to me afterwards, “You completed your marriage.” That’s still how it feels today, now that more than 11 years have passed since we separated.
But is that the only possible purpose of a long-term relationship? Must we always be in a relationship where the main purpose is spiritual teaching?
Not at all. The spiritual purpose of a relationship can be a lot more flexible than that. It doesn’t have to go in a co-teaching direction.
My current (almost 11-year) relationship with Rachelle isn’t about co-teaching. While we can play those roles for each other if we want, this isn’t a big part of our relationship and never really was.
Last night we had a short discussion about the spiritual purpose of our relationship. Neither of us look upon each other as spiritual teachers. The way we actually see each other is more like spiritual gifts.
Rachelle said she feels like her role is to be my reward, and that’s how I see her as well. I enjoy and appreciate her so much that it feels very natural to just revel in that space of appreciation and enjoyment when we’re together.
She feels much the same about me – that I’m her reward. We aren’t co-teachers for each other. It’s more accurate to say that we’re co-playmates, co-lovers, life companions, and best friends.
Spending time with Rachelle is like watching my favorite movie, The Princess Bride. Even when it’s familiar, it’s still fun and enjoyable, and I always find something to appreciate in it.
I feel like the main role I play for Rachelle spiritually is to fully and deeply appreciate her as she is. I feel delighted to be in her presence each day, and I love that I see and appreciate so much beauty and wonder in her that other people might miss. I feel like she needs to be fully appreciated and that my role for her spiritually is basically to gush appreciation at her each day. I especially love to make her laugh and smile.
We fit together like puzzle pieces. What she offers in a relationship is what I naturally appreciate and enjoy, and vice versa.
Being spiritual teachers to each other doesn’t really describe us. But I can say that we do help each other to spiritually grow. This doesn’t have to do with challenging each other though. As much as we both love a good challenge, we’re both already very good at challenging ourselves in a variety of ways. So we don’t particularly need to push each other. When one of us suggests a new challenge, we’ll sometimes agree to do it together when it makes sense, and otherwise we won’t.
I’m doing a one-year blogging challenge this year. Rachelle just passed 440 days in a row of closing all of her Apple Watch rings, so she has 60 more days to reach her goal of 500. Last month we both did NaNoWriMo and successfully completed that challenge. This month she’s doing a 30-day decluttering challenge along with some other CGC members. I’m preparing for a one-year experience of eating all raw in 2021, so I’m spending some time each day re-familiarizing myself with raw meals and practicing various raw recipes. I’d also like an easier December since I’ll be working on a new deep dive course early next year, which can be an intense experience.
If we weren’t in a relationship together, Rachelle and I would still be working on our personal growth as individuals. So we don’t need the relationship to play that role for us. We share this part of our life together, but it doesn’t seem to connect with the purpose of our relationship.
In terms of spiritual growth, our relationship feels like the universe said to each of us, “You’re doing great. How about a nice reward that you’ll surely enjoy and appreciate? Here you go! Have fun!”
This is a very different framing to place upon a relationship instead of being co-teachers for each other. It’s especially different from the lens that says you should be in a relationship with someone who antagonizes you because it will help you grow.
Rachelle and I are already good at identifying and diving into new growth experiences. Neither of us really wants or needs to push each other to grow more than we’re already doing. We can simply trust that we’re both going to keep learning and growing no matter what, and there’s ample evidence to prove that to each other.
It feels to me that maybe these aspects are connected, like the reason I get to be in a relationship with a “reward” at this stage of life is that I’ve locked in a consistent and perpetual flow of growth experiences without feeling overwhelmed. I’ve figured out a flow that works for me, and Rachelle has found a flow that works for her.
We both spend a lot of time helping and serving others too, so that may be part of this as well.
I’m not sure about this aspect of the framing though. It could just be the ex-Catholic in me that feels that every reward must first be earned. It would be interesting to know if other people are in relationships that feel like spiritual rewards that they didn’t have to spiritually earn first.
What Rachelle and I love doing for each other is to be each others playmates and to share love, appreciation, affection, friendship, and encouragement.
We’re also co-adventurers. We love traveling together. We love having shared experiences. Our favorite type of “challenge” to do together would be to share in some new kind of adventure together. We’ve always had a good time exploring new cities together. We’ve been to dozens of different cities throughout our relationship, which began as a cross-border relationship where switching countries was necessary just to see each other.
Even under COVID conditions where we’re spending way more time at home than in a typical year, I never feel bored with her. As much time as we’ve already spent together, I still crave more. I love spending each day with her. Somehow this continues to feel fresh and new, even when the setting and circumstances are familiar. She’s a source of beauty that I enjoy each day without feeling like the enjoyment and appreciation could ever run out.
This relationship feels like it’s exactly what we both want and need. It’s wonderful to spend each day with a partner who feels like a gift and a reward. It’s fascinating to be in a relationship with a woman who sees me in the same light.
This kind of framing is relaxing and restorative. Neither of us feels like we must “work” on the relationship to fix problems or to improve it. We actually succeed in our relationship mainly by being, not by doing. Simply being present makes our relationship fulfill its purpose. Just cuddling each other on the couch feels very purposeful.
Remember that feeling you have when you buy a new piece of tech like the latest smart phone, and for a while you feel extra special because you have the latest and greatest? But then a year later, a new version comes out… and then another new version a year after that. And now you’re behind the times and wondering if you should upgrade. But what if you could have that new-tech feeling every day, so you felt that extra appreciation above the baseline, and it never went back down again? That’s similar to how my relationship with Rachelle feels each day.
Almost 11 years ago, a significant increase in appreciation, gratitude, and enjoyment came into my life, and it never went back down again. Those aspects of my life have remained elevated this whole time.
But what I find most interesting is that I never developed a tolerance for it. It’s like having coffee where every cup is as stimulating as the first one, and your body never adapts to higher caffeine levels and brings you back down again. So the same dosage remains very stimulating, and you don’t need to keep increasing the dosage to get the same effect.
Each day with Rachelle feels like it exists above my baseline. But somehow my old baseline hasn’t raised itself up to match my current day-to-day experiences. That seems very odd to me. Why hasn’t the baseline come up? Why doesn’t each day with her just feel okay and normal now? Why do I still experience delight and appreciation with her after all this time together? Why does she still seem like a gift?
I don’t know, but I do like it.
Before I experienced this relationship, I didn’t think it was possible for a real human relationship to have the spiritual purpose of being co-gifts, co-rewards, and co-playmates for each other. That seems too easy and too good to be true. I wondered if we must be in some realm of co-denial about all the real spiritual work and tough love we must surely engage in sooner or later. It took a while to get aligned with the co-reward idea.
Why share this? One reason is to let you know that a healthy and happy relationship doesn’t have to involve working on your partner or on the relationship to improve it. For some that may sound like heresy. While people can enter a relationship to directly help each other grow and improve, that doesn’t have to be the case. You could also be in a relationship with someone whose beingness you enjoy and appreciate.
I think the more challenging aspect is when you flip this around and ask: For which person could I be a gift that they’ll appreciate and enjoy each day, just by being myself as I am right now?
That’s another special aspect of my relationship with Rachelle that I don’t notice as often, but it is nice to acknowledge when I see it. I like looking at her and thinking, “I’m good for her. She’s lucky to have me in her life.” I can understand why she appreciates and enjoys me. I can see the value I add to her life. And this feeling is very much mutual. She can readily see how good she is for me too and how much value she adds to my life. It’s nice that neither of us have to wonder about that or question it. It’s plain as day to us both that we’re good for each other and that we enhance each other’s lives by being together.
You can attract a relationship that’s a lot of work, but you have other options too. What do you feel ready to experience spiritually at this time in your life? Do you want a co-working type of relationship? Do you want fun and adventure? Do you want grace, ease, and lightness? Do you want lust and passion?
If you’re in a current relationship now, is it still aligned with a spiritual purpose that feels aligned with who you are today? Is it what you want to experience at this stage of your life? Or do you feel called to explore and experience a new relationship with a different spiritual purpose?
Pay attention to that purpose alignment. If your relationship has lost its connection to such a purpose, consider that it’s also your purpose to fulfill a meaningful role for someone else – to be their teacher, their reward, and so on.
Andhra Pradesh: ‘Mystery’ illness puts hundreds in hospital
More than 200 people are in hospital in Andhra Pradesh state because of an unidentified illness.
