Tuesday, December 09, 2014

Pope Francis: 'I am skeptical' unity will be reached

Pope Francis: 'I am skeptical' unity will be reached: “We’re on this path [to unity],” the Pope said, “but we must wait until the theologians agree among themselves. We’ll never get to that day, I assure you. I am skeptical.”

In context, Pope Francis’ point was that unity is too important to wait for theological agreement. While he meant to highlight the pressing need to work together, the Pope nonetheless provided an unintentionally frank admission that full unity in the truth is unlikely.

A conservative blog for peace: The psychiatrist who chose conscience over enabling government evil, and more

A conservative blog for peace: The psychiatrist who chose conscience over enabling government evil, and more:

When should a psychiatrist refuse to treat a patient? If you were a psychiatrist assigned by the government to make torturers feel better about their lives, what would you do? That's not a rhetorical question. Back in the 1950s, the psychiatrist and philosopher Frantz Fanon was forced to answer that question, in his own life.

Wednesday, December 03, 2014

Science Shows Something Surprising About People Who Love to Write - Mic

Science Shows Something Surprising About People Who Love to Write - Mic:

No matter the quality of your prose, the act of writing itself leads to strong physical and mental health benefits, like long-term improvements in mood, stress levels and depressive symptoms. In a 2005 study on the emotional and physical health benefits of expressive writing, researchers found that just 15 to 20 minutes of writing three to five times over the course of the four-month study was enough to make a difference.

ISIS: What the US Doesn’t Understand by Ahmed Rashid | NYRblog | The New York Review of Books

ISIS: What the US Doesn’t Understand by Ahmed Rashid | NYRblog | The New York Review of Books:

In contrast to al-Qaeda, however, ISIS has not made the US and its allies its main target. Where al-Qaeda directed its anger at the “distant enemy,” the United States, ISIS wants to destroy the near enemy, the Arab regimes, first. This is above all a war within Islam: a conflict of Sunni against Shia, but also a war by Sunni extremists against more moderate Muslims—between those who think the Muslim world should be dominated by a single strand of Wahhabism and its extremist offshoot Salafism and those who support a pluralistic vision of Muslim society. The leaders of ISIS seek to eliminate all Muslim and non-Muslim minorities from the Middle East—not only erasing the old borders and states imposed by Western powers, but changing the entire ethnic, tribal, and religious composition of the region.

An Orthodox view of Pope and Patriarch's Turkish encounter Vatican Radio

An Orthodox view of Pope and Patriarch's Turkish encounter Vatican Radio:



Pope Francis’ visit to Turkey, which concluded on Sunday, came exactly 35 years after the setting up of a joint international commission for theological dialogue between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. The principle purpose of the three day visit was to celebrate the feast of St Andrew together with the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew 1st, spiritual leader of the Orthodox world.

10 Surprising Things That Benefit Our Brain That You Can Do Everyday | The Mind Unleashed

10 Surprising Things That Benefit Our Brain That You Can Do Everyday | The Mind Unleashed:

1. Your brain does creative work better when you’re tired.

Here’s how it breaks down:

If you’re a morning lark, say, you’ll want to favor those morning hours when you’re feeling fresher to get your most demanding, analytic work done. Using your brain to solve problems, answer questions and make decisions is best done when you’re at your peak. For night owls, this is obviously a much later period in the day.

On the other hand, if you’re trying to do creative work, you’ll actually have more luck when you’re more tired and your brain isn’t functioning as efficiently. This sounds crazy, but it actually makes sense when you look at the reasoning behind it. It’s one of the reasons that great ideas often happen in the shower after a long day of work.