Eldon Taylor's Blog, page 14

Empathy

In this week’s spotlight I wish to discuss empathy. Empathy is defined as the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. Empathy differs from compassion in that empathy refers to the ability to relate to another person’s pain vicariously, as if one has experienced that pain themselves, whereas compassion is the ability to understand and share the emotions and experiences of another person. Emotion and Empathy If you cry at sad scenes in films, tweet and post emotional links and jump to help the less fortunate, you could be genetically predisposed to ‘sensory processing sensitivity’, researchers say. California ...

Communication

In this week’s spotlight I would like to address the subject of communication. It seems that it is more and more difficult to communicate with others today. Often this is due to emotionally charged positions that are all together too easy to affront. It seems that folks often symbolize ideas in ways that lead to further communication issues. That is, all sorts of mental images are wrapped up with certain constructs such as those found in politics. Take for example the word/symbol Republican and for some there is a sometimes hateful resentment that arises while for others a warm fuzzy ...

Thoughts and Things

Our thoughts dart about all the time. They are anchored in some beginning and therefore when we search for where they came from, we inevitably find more thoughts. Almost like a holographic puzzle, our thought stream presents pieces that, although often unrecognizable, nevertheless are rooted in some story, and central to these stories is our self. Our interpretations of others, of all stimuli, our every perception, internal and external, are a representation of a thought linked in a storyboard of thoughts connected to our self-image. Like our beliefs, there is no such thing as a thought that arises without a ...

The Art of Younging

In this week’s spotlight I wish to focus on the idea of aging. Years ago I developed a strategy and technology for younging. I based my work and theories on the work of others who had shown the critical role perception and expectation have on aging. Let me unpack what I learned. Living Long Living long and remaining healthy is something we all want. Ask the teenager if they would like to live to be 100 and the likely answer is an emphatic “No!” Unfortunately that is due to their expectation or attitude toward age and old people. All too ...

The Power of Music

In this week’s spotlight I want to draw your attention to some important and yet generally little known aspects about music. Years ago I became interested in the power of sound. One of my early studies had to do with replicating a finding I discovered having to do with the influence of music on animals. The study I’m referring to showed that cows gave more milk when “they listened to soothing songs like Bridge Over Troubled Water. According to the study, cows find it easy to release oxytocin, which is a hormone that is related to the milking process, when they ...

Rational Thinking

In this week’s spotlight I wish to discuss the value of testimonials. When someone offers an unsolicited testimony with no expectation of reward, what are we to think? Assume a product receives multiple five star reviews, does that mean the product is really as great as the folks reporting claim? If testimonials have any value, how are we to know that the seller is not seeding the testimonials in an effort to inflate the product’s success with customers? Testimonials and Group Thinking In my book, Gotcha! The Subordination of Free Will, I discuss the influence testimonials have upon us—the hows ...

Science and Reason

  This week’s spotlight is all about the death of reason. A new study reported in Science Alert informs us, and I quote, “The issue is that when it comes to facts, people think more like lawyers than scientists, which means they ‘cherry pick’ the facts and studies that back up what they already believe to be true.” 1 Fake News Researchers argue that a lot happened in 2016 including fake news that in aggregate has led to cultural shifts, one of which they say is a new trend referred to as the “anti-enlightenment movement.” Ibid This movement is not ...

Neurotechnology: Consciousness At Risk

In this week’s spotlight I would like to turn your thoughts for a moment to consciousness. When you think of consciousness, what comes to your mind? Do you consider the notion of who you are as part of your consciousness? I mean, if your memories were erased and synthetic memories took their place and your personality changed as a result, how would this impact your consciousness? Identity Now, if consciousness to you is about who you are, then you should know that many of the new neurotechnologies potentially threaten that. Indeed, in the Journal of Life Sciences and Policy, the ...

Spiritual Excuses and Evil

In this week’s spotlight I wish to discuss the idea of evil. I have to admit that it both surprises and disturbs me to know that many supposedly enlightened teachers today insist evil is only an illusion. Indeed, one such prominent teacher informed me that so-called evildoers enter into agreements on the other side to play the role of the likes of Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Idi Amin, and so forth. Evil according to the teachings of these folks is not just a role someone takes on to educate us in some way, it is also only a passive state ...

To Believe or Not?

In this week’s spotlight I would like to take on the issue of evidence. What is good evidence? When can we rely on it? Should we expect evidentiary material to accompany claims and assertions? I mean, what real evidence is there for many spiritual contentions? Doctor Recommended This week I posted a video featuring actual television commercials from the 1950’s for cigarettes. The ads featured physicians endorsing smoking. One ad even showed the Surgeon General approved of smoking. Doctor after doctor endorsed not only smoking but particular brands. Camel cigarettes boasted that general practitioners, surgeons, throat specialists, diagnosticians, neurologists, radiologists, ...