There are 7 billion people in this world, all have minds and opinions and many want to change this world. Do you? If you could change this world and make it everything you want it to be, what would it look like and how would it be different?
Read the following article about the Titanic II, an ocean line modeled on the doomed vessel that sank in 1912, with the loss of some 1,500 lives. Blue Star Line officials promise this new ship will deliver the "authentic Titanic experience," presumably without the sinking. While it will chart the original course, the maiden voyage will be from Dubai to NYC. Watch the ship maker's tour of the new boat and share whether you would sign up to take the Dubai to NYC trip and why.
Read/watch the attached TIme article and respond. Is this a good idea in your opinion? What are the possible consequences?
Read the above article, imagining yourself as the winner. What three things (at least) would you do with your winnings?
Please watch the following 13 minute clip.
2) tell us what defines you. Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson hosts a new TV series called Cosmos: A Space-Time Odyssey. It's an update of the influential 1980 PBS seriesCosmos: A Personal Journey, hosted by Carl Sagan from the above clip. If you are one of those people who don't like thinking about astronomy because it makes them feel small, Tyson suggests looking at it a different way: "Our molecules are traceable to stars that exploded and spread these elements across the galaxy," he explains. If you "see the universe as something you participate in — as this great unfolding of a cosmic story — that, I think should make you feel large, not small. ... Any astrophysicist does not feel small looking up in the universe; we feel large… You will never find people who truly grasp the cosmic perspective ... leading nations into battle. No, that doesn't happen. When you have a cosmic perspective there's this little speck called Earth and you say, 'You're going to what? You're on this side of a line in the sand and you want to kill people for what? Oh, to pull oil out of the ground, what? WHAT?' ... Not enough people in this world, I think, carry a cosmic perspective with them. It could be life-changing" (Fresh Air). PROMPT: What is "the cosmic perspective" both Sagan and Tyson allude to? Does the "Pale Blue Dot" make you feel small or do you hold with the cosmic perspective? Explain. Weapons of Ego Destruction. Tibetan Buddhism includes practices so powerful that they can lead to enlightenment in a single lifetime. Practitioners lift each weapon to symbolically destroy mental obstacles to spiritual progress. Each weapon has a specific purpose. The axe cuts through negative thoughts, the handcuffs control the ego, and the skull club crushes bad habits. The bow and arrow reinforce wisdom and compassion—the positive qualities that motivate all activities aimed at enlightenment. The Tibetan Buddhists have identified negative thoughts, emphasis on ego or self, bad habits, as well as ignorance and lack of compassion as the fundamental impediments to individual spiritual growth. What characteristic or characteristics hold you back in your own spiritual growth? fractal
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Watch the clip and respond. www.julius-horsthuis.com/shorts#/our-fractal-brains/ "Sonja Lyubomirsky, a psychologist at the University of California, Riverside. Lyubomirsky is well known for her thought experiment about what affects our happiness... She proposes that roughly 50 percent of happiness is determined by genes (i.e., totally out of your control), roughly 10 percent is determined by circumstance (i.e., somewhat out of your control), and the final 40 percent is determined by your thoughts, actions, and attitudes (i.e., entirely within your control).
We are inclined to assume that circumstances play the biggest role in our happiness, when research suggests they play the smallest role. (Lyubomirsky is quick to point out that this is only true if your most basic needs are met. If you're a Syrian refugee, or stuck in an abusive relationship,then your circumstances obviously play an outsize role in your well-being.) What's more, we grossly underestimate the extent to which changing our behaviors, rather than our circumstances, can significantly increase our well-being. 'What we believe would make a huge difference in our lives actually, according to scientific research, makes only a small difference, while we overlook the true sources of personal happiness and well-being,' Lyubomirsky writes. So what are the true sources of personal happiness? The best way psychologists have found to determine what makes people happy is to reverse-engineer happiness by studying the habits of people who already identify as happy. There are certain habits that have been shown to be consistent among happy people. Happy people devote time to family and friends. They practice gratitude. They practice optimism. They are physically active. They 'savor life's pleasures and try to live in the present moment,' as Lyubomirsky puts it." - What makes you happy? Is happiness an emotion or a state of being? Do you control how happy you are? 40% of Americans say the Senate should confirm Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination, while 36% say it should not. The split is largely along party lines, with 72% of Republicans in favor and 64% of Democrats opposed. Independents are split, 37% to 37%.
Look up coverage of Brett Kavanuagh's nomination for the Supreme Court. This is a historic nomination theorized to possibly change significant federal legislation in years to come. Determine his stance on an important issue to you and advocate for or against his confirmation. www.cnn.com/2018/07/09/politics/kavanaugh-on-the-issues/index.html |
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