Is AI making us stupider? Maybe, according to one of the world’s biggest AI companies

Bloom's Taxonomy
Truth is the basis of the Universe, proclaims Vedanta, and the Upanishads. Can Artificial Intelligence critically assess its own work and present truth? Will we lose critical thinking skills if we rely on AI and CHAT-GPT as 300 million users do each week? Buddhi, the intellect, is nearest to the Atma and derives 80% of its illumination from the Atma itself. From where do users of AI obtain truth and exercise the intellect? These are deep questions raised in this article.

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This Valentine’s Day, try loving-kindness meditation

Cupid

As Valentine’s Day approaches, stores overflowing with cards, chocolates and expensive gifts serve as a reminder of its relentless commercialization. Images of the mythical Roman god Cupid, with his bow and arrow, are often used to convey that love can happen in an instant.

When the holiday first originated in 14th-century Europe, it wasn’t solely about romantic love − it celebrated the freedom to choose or reject love and marked the arrival of spring.

This Valentine’s Day, Jeremy David Engels, a mindfulness scholar at Penn State, encourages people to explore different ways of experiencing love. Loving-kindness, or “metta” – a form of love practiced by many Buddhists worldwide – expects nothing in return.

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Choking during sex: many young people mistakenly believe it can be done safely

Sexual Choking: some reflections
Around 50% of Australian young people have engaged in choking, or strangulation, during sex. This practice involves one person putting pressure on the neck of another, restricting breathing or blood flow (or both). Strangulation during sex carries a variety of risks. These range from effects such as bruising and vomiting to brain injury and death. Although rare, strangulation is the leading cause of death in consensual BDSM play.

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Cosmic Destiny

 Cosmic DestinyMost of us take a while to find ourselves and our destiny. A few of us start life with a strong sense of noble purpose: great benefactors like Martin Luther King or Nelson Mandela. There are others we might consider saints: the great artists Michelangelo and Rembrandt. Others might include Fra Angelico, and the great composer Johann Sebastian Bach. What is this thing, cosmic consciousness, cosmic destiny?

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The words of the master Persian poets carry a mystical power – and can create serious transformation

HafezPoets – particularly those of Persian history – are thought to create epiphanies in their verse – where the reader has an experience beyond the everyday. Ethics, aesthetics and philosophy are all intertwined in the poetry of Hafez and his words help us to rediscover long-lost truths.

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Embrace the journey and try new things – how to harness the ancient wisdom of Daoism’s Zhuangzi

Zhuangi compositeIt takes courage to navigate our way when confronted with the unfamiliar. Whether it’s at a gathering of unfamiliar faces, or tackling a new project, or moving into a new neighbourhood. We can’t predict how people will respond to us, and often can’t confidently rely on our existing knowledge and skill sets. The Zhuangzi, a Daoist text from 4th century BCE China, was written at a time when life was precarious. It encourages readers to embrace change.
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UNEP – A global foresight report on planetary health and human wellbeing

A global foresight report on planetary health and human wellbeing


To help navigate current and future uncertainty and disruptive change, while effectively delivering on its mandate, the United Nations Environment Program – UNEP – has been implementing an institutionalized approach to strategic foresight and horizon scanning with the view to developing an anticipatory and future-oriented culture – to ensure planetary health and human wellbeing.

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The Camino, a Catholic pilgrimage, increasingly draws the spiritual but not religious

Way of St. James sign in Avila, SpainIn 2023, nearly half a million people walked the Camino de Santiago in Spain. About 40 percent of those walked for purely religious reasons, according to statistics released by the pilgrims’ office. While it’s traditionally a Catholic pilgrimage, ending at the shrine of the apostle James in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, secular pilgrims today embark on the Camino for all kinds of motivations beyond religion: health, grief, transition, cultural exploration, history and adventure.
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