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Source: VGstockstudio/Shutterstock      “The sexiest part of the body is the eyes. That's what I believe.” —Clive Owen      “I always close my eyes during sex — except for a few glances. So I was surprised to see, for the first time in my life, that the eyes of my new lover were open every time I opened mine.” —A divorced woman Eye contact is vital in romantic communication. However, during sex, which is central in romance, many people close their eyes. Is the look of sex different from the look of love? If vision is not valuable in sex, why do people waste money on fancy mirrors in their bedroom? Why do many people prefer having sex with the light off? And why is blindfold sex so exciting? The value of eye contact in romantic communication      “The look of love is in your eyes . . . The look of love is saying so much more than just words could ever say.” —Dusty Springfield … [Read more...] about Do You Have Sex with Your Eyes Closed?

To understand how the brain constructs consciousness, we need to address its biological operations. Lets keep in mind that biological psychiatry, neurology, and neuroscience in general have preempted a claim on what is biological. They have defined biology as the domain of physical brain structure; brain organization, brain anatomy, and functional brain centers; neurotransmitters; hormones; information learned from studying brain lesions; and activated patterns of neurons that can be seen in brain scans associated with certain localized functions. There is a great deal of knowledge to be appreciated from these approaches. Unfortunately, their orientation has mistaken the parts for the whole. They have ignored the brain’s most important biological manifestation of all: the creation of the play of consciousness. The component parts of brain functioning all work together in concert in the service of the central biological creation of the human genome— the play of … [Read more...] about The Neuroscience of Consciousness and Dreams Part II

Anita was present at almost every one of the 34-sessions of my online course Responding to the Call of Our Times. I have sometimes wondered what this course would have been like without her steady willingness to explore the depths of nonviolence. I was counting on it as a thread tying us together, inviting others into more willingness, inviting me into more daring capacity to excavate, find truth, find love. I thought Anita could not surprise me any longer. Then, two weeks before the end of the course, she surprised all of us. Anita was one of very few people of African descent in the group, and the experience she described was totally related to her background. Some weeks before, her one remaining sister shared with her for the first time that years ago, when she was living in the South, there were a few times when the Ku Klux Klan broke into her house and dragged her out into a field towards a burning cross. Klansmen in robes with burning cross, probably 1958. Source: State … [Read more...] about Nonviolence in the Face of Hatred

“Remember that you have only one soul; that you have only one death to die; that you have only one life. . . . If you do this, there will be many things about which you care nothing.”                                                                                                   St. Teresa of Avila “I am not afraid of dying. I just do not want to be there when it happens.” … [Read more...] about Further Thoughts Regarding the End-Of-Life