Why we love music

Whether you’re listening to the driving beat of a Daft Punk song or the opening chords of a mellow Jack Johnson track, both have an effect on your brain that is not seen in any other animal. When you listen to music, a part of your brain called the Nucleus Accumbens activates. This triggers the release of the ‘pleasure chemical’ dopamine, that lives in a group of neurons in your brain called the Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA) This pathway in the brain is called the Reward System and Dopamine is strongly associated with it. Dopamine is the same chemical that gets released when you eat your favorite food or when you get a new follower on Twitter, causing you to want more, more, more. This is why Dopamine is also responsible for the saying: ‘Two cheeseburgers equals one orgasm.’ – PBS The amount of dopamine that gets released and the feelings of pleasure we get from it are also largely dependent on the element of surprise. For instance, when you stumble upon a new song that you love, more dopamine is released and you get even more excited than if you were to listen to one of your favorite songs that you’ve heard multiple times. Source: Text by Mikael Cho. thenextweb.com Image: www.huffingtonpost.com

Let it shine

Who determines what is “normal”? Is there a “normal police”? Perhaps the “normal police” are those in society who think you are different because you do things outside of the accustomed “order” (like go to high school, attend college, develop a career, get married, have kids, and live happily ever after). If you do things differently, chances are you feel out of place. The problem begins when you constantly compare yourself to others, and try to make decisions based on someone else’s way of thinking. In a constant state of comparison, how can you practice self-love? You will always feel unworthy and unhappy. So, be patient and compassionate with yourself, love your current journey, and be present. Then you’ll begin to experience some peace.

5 tips to love yourself: 1. Your life is yours. You have authority over it and can make the ultimate decision of how you live it. 2. Limit Social Media. Not everything that other people write about themselves is true. 3. Mindfulness. Be in the present and accept your emotions. 4. Be Unique. Don’t worry about what someone is going to say or how they are going to look at you. 5. Practice Radical Self-Love. The key is to begin to chisel away at those feelings of unworthiness. Source: thebodyisnotanapology.com Image: imgkid.com

Praying with your whole body

When faced with life’s complex problems, a contemplative practice of prayer and meditation can help you discover how to be in the world, and find the right approach to whatever situation you are in. Each of us tends to approach our spiritual life in a different way, and to use a different part of our nervous system when praying. Regardless of the method you use, this information may help you.

Mental approach. If you pray with your head, that can help you analyze your situation objectively. It can also help you with non-attachment, giving you distance and perspective from the things in your life that trigger your emotions and instincts. To meditate with awareness in the head, start with the breath. Turn your attention to your breath and become quiet. Sit erect with the chin slightly tucked. Feel the spaciousness of the breath. Imagine you are watching yourself from above (witness consciousness). Imagine your life is a movie. Then, watch the movie. As you observe your thoughts, gradually your mind will become quiet and still as well.

Heart approach. Praying with your heart builds meaning in your life, and strengthen the bonds of love and family. When you pray with your heart, it reaffirms the unique affection you have for God/ Spirit/Life, a particular person, or place. Whereas the mind is universal, the heart is uniquely attached to the people present in your life. The heart lies at the center of your being, and integrates the insights of your mind with the context of your life. To pray with your heart, turn the attention of your heart towards God/Spirit/Life. Take a moment to experience His/Her love and mercy for you. Then, take a moment to adore Him/Her in return. As you experience His/Her mercy and awaken your adoration of Him/Her, you will experience many emotions that well up in your chest. Offer these emotions tenderly as a sign of your humility before God/Spirit/ Life. You will learn how to love more deeply.

Gut approach. If you pray with your gut, you will awaken your ability to nurture yourself and others. Just as a plant needs to be watered, the people around you need your care, attention, and protection. You also need to nurture yourself. The gut helps you, your family, and community feel secure and nurtured. To pray with your gut, contemplate generosity for your loved ones, your community, and yourself. How can you be a more charitable person?

Praying with your whole body. As you deepen your contemplative practice, you come to realize that you must pray with your whole being. When you do this, you recognize the vastness of the world around you. You realize you have only your faith and God/Spirit/Life’s grace to navigate your way and your world. Instead of trying to solve life’s problems on your own, you learn to listen and to trust something greater than yourself. Then this awareness becomes a source of peace in your life. Source: www.joyfulbelly.com Image: robyngrahamphotography.com

Offshore wind farm

Deepwater Wind broke ground on the country’s first offshore wind project, which will be built at Block Island, Rhode Island. The five turbines will produce 30 megawatts of power, enough to provide electricity to all the homes and businesses on the island as well as send power to the mainland through an undersea cable. The project, which will be operative next year, is expected to create 300 construction jobs. “The Block Island Wind Farm is our Apollo 11 moment. I am going to remember this day, and tell my kids and grandkids that I was there when the first US offshore wind farm was built —that when we had a choice between bequeathing them a future powered by polluting fossil fuels that lead to extreme storms, heat waves and drought, we chose to power their future from the wind and the sun and smart technologies” said Emily Norton, director of the Massachusetts chapter of the Sierra Club.

The Sierra Club was one of a number of groups that lobbied for the project, including the National Audubon Society, National Wildlife Federation and labor unions, when it was first proposed in 2009. They helped mitigate concerns that construction could disrupt whales and other marine life and that the turbines could be a threat to seabirds.

The project is small compared to the offshore wind farms that are abundant in northern Europe, but clean energy advocates hope the construction of the Rhode Island farm will create some momentum. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has opened nearly 750,000 acres of ocean to offshore wind development, designating it as a wind management area, with the potential to create up to 9,000 megawatts of electricity enough to power 700,000 homes by 2030. “We are proud to celebrate breaking ground on the nation’s first offshore wind farm in Rhode Island as it brings local, clean power to all Block Island residents and 300 new jobs to the community,” said Bruce Nilles, senior campaign director of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign.

“However, this celebration is about something bigger: it highlights the nation’s transition beyond dirty, outdated fossil fuels to affordable clean energy. This is a shining example of how American ingenuity can take us forward and position us as leaders in the global clean energy economy. Today on Block Island, we again prove that America can be a leader in creating a clean energy reality that ensures every person can breathe clean air, enjoy clean water and live in a world free from the threat of climate disruption.”

Read the labels

Sometimes when you think you’re helping, you may actually be harming. You may be hurting the environment and don’t know it. By the way, are you purchasing “eco-friendly” products? You might think you’re doing the right thing by choosing eco-friendly personal care and cleaning products, but if they’ve got any of these ingredients —polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate or polymethyl methacrylate— well then, “you’re cleaning up with plastic and being duped into contributing to plastic pollution in the environment,” as the Story of Stuff put it.

What we’re talking about are plastic microbeads, which are really small particles found in body washes, hand soaps, toothpaste, lip gloss, nail polish and cosmetics designed to be washed down the drain. Unfortunately billions of these tiny plastic particles make their way into our environment everyday, and they end up littering our rivers, lakes and oceans, and affecting fish and other living beings. The result is terrible for our environment and the animals living in it because a single microbead can be up to a million times more toxic than the water around it.

What can you do about microbead pollution? The Story of Stuff Project is leading a coalition of over 100 groups to get these tiny plastic beads out of commerce. You can find out more here: storyofstuff.org

Inclusive playground

The Magical Bridge Playground has everything a kid could want from a playscape. There are giant slides, a jungle gym, musical instruments, swings and a custom playhouse. Everything is cheery and colorful. But what makes this playground truly magical is its inclusiveness. Every single detail is designed to accommodate children, and parents, of all abilities. The playground, which celebrated its opening day in Palo Alto, California, on April 2015, was dreamed up by Olenka Villarreal about six years ago. Her daughter, Ava, was born with developmental, physical and cognitive limitations and was using swinging as therapy. However, Ava had difficulty comfortably navigating the playgrounds in her community. “In ... Palo Alto, we have 34 playgrounds, and not a single one could accommodate my daughter,” Villarreal said. “A message needed to be made that everyone was welcome.” So she took action and raised $4 million to build The Magical Bridge Playground. “It’s time to plan public parks to include each ability and disability and only then will real magic happen for everyone” Villarreal says.

Shoes that grow

Sometimes, the simplest invention can change millions of lives. That’s the goal of The Shoe That Grows, a sandal created by inventor Kenton Lee that can adjust its size, allowing children in impoverished nations to grow up without having to go barefoot. The shoes, which come in catch-all Small and Large sizes, can grow five sizes and last at least five years. According to The Shoe That Grows, “There are over 300 million children who do not have shoes.

And countless more with shoes that do not fit.” Children without shoes are susceptible to injuries and parasites that infect humans through our feet. The problem with ordinary shoe donations is that they are soon outgrown, which is exactly the problem that these new shoes would fix.

While you can buy yourself a pair, the site theshoethatgrows. org emphasizes packages that allow buyers to send shoes in bulk to the countries that need