3Oprah Winfrey Talks with Thich Nhat Hanh Excerpt—Powerful. Thich Nhat Hanh speaks about meeting Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the desire to become a monk, solving world problems with compassion, and the power of mindfulness. There has been over four million, four-hundred and ninety views of this enlightening talk since May of 2013. Today, at ninety-three years of age, Thich Nhat Hanh still inspires millions of people throughout the world from all different cultures. “In the ash of suffering, a Phoenix can be born…”
4My Life Without Sugar. Evolutionary biologist Olivia Judson shares her personal experience of removing sugar from her diet. What started as an experiment, ended up being a life-altering lifestyle change where she felt “calmer, happier, more even-keeled.” I am sharing this opinion article because, over the last several months, I have given up refined sugar. While I am not as strict as Olivia, I am avoiding the obvious things, like desserts, candy, sugary drinks. I have even started making my own granola with honey instead of cane sugar. I am also eating a more plant-based diet. I can tell you, there is a notable difference in the feel and shape of my body. I do not feel as bloated or puffy, which is fantastic. If you are thinking about giving up sugar, this article is a good start to your journey.
5Stanford Psychology Expert: This Is the No. 1 Work Skill of the Future—But Most Fail to Realize It. What is it? Focus. The second is attention. In a technology-filled society where emails, social media, and 24/7 newsfeeds overwhelm us, focus and attention are harder to achieve. These two skills, available to all of us, can impact your creativity and ability to flourish. More and more jobs require creative and unique problem-solving, which you are pressed to do if you cannot focus your attention. Key distractors: email, group chats, meetings, your phone, coworkers. The suggestion is to control these instead of them controlling you.
6The Average Worker Spends 51 Percent of Each Workday on These 3 Unnecessary Tasks. This article supports the previous one. Increase your efficiency by cutting out unnecessary emails, meetings, and lengthy commute times. Did you know that useless emails and meetings take up a combined thirty-nine percent of your work time? Here is what you can do about it.
7New Evidence for the Strange Geometry of Thought. Swedish philosopher and cognitive scientist Peter Gärdenfors offers a unique perspective on the geometry of our thoughts—the use of cognitive space. How our brain represents concepts and objects in relation to each other. Why does this matter? It helps us to take old knowledge about things like family and friends to inform us how to act in a new situation. Also, “…humans are able to do things that today’s powerful computers can’t do—like learn language quickly and generalize from particulars with ease…because we, unlike our computers, represent information in geometrical space.” The article is dense, though a worthwhile read if you are interested in brain research and its future impact for us. What Gärdenfors and his colleagues are doing could help solve the causes of diseases like Alzheimer’s as well as uses in artificial intelligence.
Jim B.