Ayahuasca JOURNEY

One of Ken Wilber’s chief insights of Integral Philosophy is his model of

Four Quadrants that describe the relationship between inner and outer

worlds, the individual self and the collective. I’ve applied his theory

to gain understanding about how art may help transform or evolve

consciousness.

First, a vision illuminates the artist’s inner world; this correspondsto the upper left quadrant in Wilber’s model, the subjective consciousinterior of an individual. To use the example of the Net of Being,this step would be when I first experienced the image on a mysticalayahuasca journey. Second, the vision or subjective state of the artistis expressed into an individual aesthetic artifact—such as a painting,story, or dance. Related to the Net of Being, “outputting the vision”took several years. Third, the artifact enters the collective systems ofaesthetic reception, the gallery, museums, newspapers, magazines, andwebsites—like when the painting was reproduced by TOOL on theiralbum, on banners at concerts, on T-shirts and other merchandise,and so on. Fourth, the artifact is absorbed into the meme-stream of thecultural psyche by a public interpretation of the meaning of the artwork,potentially transforming the collective interior. Like a tincture added toa body of water alters the entire body, so artworks can color and anchora collective’s understanding of itself, birthing a unique worldview ofcultural meaning for that community. The altered zeitgeist becomesa context for the next phase of visionary aesthetic inspiration, and thegrand round of art continues on its evolutionary path.,...

...Alex and Allyson

                                                 GAIA 

The Psychology of Art and the Evolution of the Conscious Brain (Bradford Books)

How did the human brain evolve so that consciousness of art could develop? In The Psychology of Art and the Evolution of the Conscious Brain, Robert Solso describes how a consciousness that evolved for other purposes perceives and creates art.Drawing on his earlier book Cognition and the Visual Arts and ten years of new findings in cognitive research (as well as new ideas in anthropology and art history), Solso shows that consciousness developed gradually, with distinct components that evolved over time. One of these components is an adaptive consciousness that includes the ability to imagine objects that are not present--an ability that allows us to create (and perceive) visual art.Solso describes the neurological, perceptual, and cognitive sequence that occurs when we view art, and the often inexpressible effect that a work of art has on us. He shows that there are two aspects to viewing art: nativistic perception--the synchronicity of eye and brain that transforms electromagnetic energy into neuro-chemical codes--which is "hard-wired" into the sensory-cognitive system; and directed perception, which incorporates personal history and knowledge--the entire set of our expectations and past experiences. Both forms of perception are part of the appreciation of art, and both are products of the evolution of the conscious brain over hundreds of thousands of years.Solso also investigates the related issues of neurological and artistic perception of the human face, the effects of visual illusions, and the use of perspective. The many works of art used as examples are drawn from a wide range of artistic traditions, from ancient Egypt to Africa and India and the European Renaissance.

The subject’s identity is not the only mystery behind Mona Lisa’s smile, which has been forever linked to the word “enigmatic.” Da Vinci used his self-taught technique of “sfumato” to blend the paint pigments, particularly around the corners of the subject’s eyes and mouth. The technique is thought to have created an illusion of the “enigmatic smile” that disappears pending on the viewer’s vantage point. In the nanoseconds that it takes for the viewer’s eyes to shift from the subject’s eyes to the mouth, the smile seems to vanish.
Read more at http://all-that-is-interesting.com/mona-lisa-smile/2/#Eoij4wr2YFVqqIqR.99

by Robert L. Solso

The subject’s identity is not the only mystery behind Mona Lisa’s smile, which has been forever linked to the word “enigmatic.” Da Vinci used his self-taught technique of “sfumato” to blend the paint pigments, particularly around the corners of the subject’s eyes and mouth. The technique is thought to have created an illusion of the “enigmatic smile” that disappears pending on the viewer’s vantage point. In the nanoseconds that it takes for the viewer’s eyes to shift from the subject’s eyes to the mouth, the smile seems to vanish.
Read more at http://all-that-is-interesting.com/mona-lisa-smile/2/#Eoij4wr2YFVqqIqR.99

What about Scents?

Why do flowers have scents?

Flowers of many plant species produce a scent. This scent is typically a complex mixture of low molecular weight compounds emitted by flowers into the atmosphere and its structure, color and odor are critical factors in attracting pollinators. Although flowers can be identical in their color or shape, there are no two floral scents that are exactly the same because of the large diversity of volatile compounds and their relative abundances and interactions. Thus, scent is a signal that directs pollinators to a particular flower whose nectar and/or pollen is the reward. Volatiles emitted from flowers function as both long- and short-distance attractants and play a prominent role in the localization and selection of flowers by insects, especially moth-pollinated flowers, which are detected and visited at night. Species pollinated by bees and flies have sweet scents, whereas those pollinated by beetles have strong musty, spicy, or fruity odors.

To date, little is known about how insects respond to individual components found within floral scents, but it is clear that they are capable of distinguishing among complex scent mixtures. In addition to attracting insects to flowers and guiding them to food resources within the flower, floral volatiles are essential in allowing insects to discriminate among plant species and even among individual flowers of a single species. For example, closely related plant species that rely on different types of insects for pollination produce different odors, reflecting the olfactory sensitivities or preferences of the pollinators. By providing species-specific signals, flower fragrances facilitate an insect's ability to learn particular food sources, thereby increasing its foraging efficiency. At the same time, successful pollen transfer (and thus, sexual reproduction) is ensured, which is beneficial to plants.

Plants tend to have their scent output at maximal levels only when the flowers are ready for pollination and when its potential pollinators are active as well. Plants that maximize their output during the day are primarily pollinated by bees or butterflies, whereas those that release their fragrance mostly at night are pollinated by moth and bats. During flower development, newly opened and young flowers, which are not ready to function as pollen donors, produce fewer odors and are less attractive to pollinators than are older flowers. Once a flower has been sufficiently pollinated, quantitative and/or qualitative changes to the floral bouquets lead to a lower attractiveness of these flowers and help to direct pollinators to unpollinated flowers instead, thereby maximizing the reproductive success of the plant.

Natalia Dudareva, an associate professor in the department of horticulture and landscape architecture at Purdue University, explains in Scientific American

HYDRATE

To use it well doesn’t mean to use it more, just in the right way!
Start with one single determined thought to make a positive change and then follow it through into action.

Taking just a minute, quietly, remember original goodness, the original identity.
Going deeper inside to that sacred point of self-awareness, re-link happens with self.
Remember! This spiritual recognition empowers  with dignity and assurance.
Rediscover esteem, uniqueness, purpose.
Now,... from this point of reference, interact within social and material reality with empathy and enthusiasm.

Actress and Inventor!!

Hedy Lamarr: Movie star who paved way for Wi-Fi

Lamarr was born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler in 1914 in Vienna, the only child of Gertrud "Trude" Kiesler  and Emil Kiesler . Her mother was a pianist and father a banker.
The woman many critics and fans alike regard as the most beautiful ever to appear in films.
Her most significant technological contribution was her co-invention, together with with composer George Antheil, of an early technique for spread spectrum communications and frequency hopping, which paved the way for today's wireless communications.


It was Hedy's idea for a secret communications system - specifically one that could guide a torpedo using a technology called "frequency hopping" - so that signal couldn't be intercepted.

 She and George Antheil were honoured with special awards for their "trail-blazing development of a technology that has become a key component of wireless data systems.