Archive for Mind & Body
November 24, 2008 at 10:00 am · Filed under Commentary, Technology & Computing, Mind & Body
In Chinese, it’s called ch’i (or qi). In Japanese, it’s ki. Variously translated using terms like “vital force” and “internal energy,” it is the name for a type of invisible power that circulates through the human body. It can be stimulated through acupuncture or ch’i kung (qigong) exercises, blocked by bad posture, enhanced with a proper diet, and depleted by stress, illness, and negative emotions. You can’t see it, nor is it visible indirectly to the tools of modern medical science, but many people consider it every bit as real as air or blood.
I’ve been aware of this concept for many years, and it’s mentioned at least a few times in every t’ai chi class I take. Although my teacher may talk about ch’i as though it’s tangible, I’ve always thought of it as a metaphorical way of discussing a bundle of abstract concepts—a useful fiction, in other words, just […]
Original post by Joe Kissell
November 7, 2008 at 10:00 am · Filed under Science & Nature, Decay, Mind & Body
We have all heard of people who had their bodies cryogenically preserved after death in the hope that some day, medical science will be able to bring them back to life and cure whatever illness caused their demise. That hope may be overly optimistic, but I can at least respect the logic behind the decision. Unlikely though it may be, I can’t say categorically that such a restoration is beyond the reach of some future science. With that single exception, however, I have never understood the ages-old practice of keeping dead bodies from decaying naturally. It’s not that I’m some soulless pragmatist, but I believe that death is the point at which a body becomes superfluous to its erstwhile owner—keeping it intact thereafter seems superstitious and creepy. Of course, that’s just my opinion. Some of my best friends are superstitious and creepy, and I don’t hold it against them.
Grave Concerns
Each […]
Original post by Joe Kissell
October 22, 2008 at 10:00 am · Filed under Interesting Places, Science & Nature, Mind & Body
Allow me to get this disclaimer out of the way right up front: today’s interesting thing might not exist. But let’s be fair—I am not one to judge something by its ontological status alone. If it does exist, it’s very interesting indeed, and if it doesn’t, the widespread belief in its existence is equally interesting. I am referring to a natural phenomenon supposedly found in several places around Sedona, Arizona: something called an energy vortex.
The town of Sedona, about two hours’ drive north of Phoenix, is situated in an area of rare and stunning natural beauty. Towering rock formations and iron-rich reddish soil give the landscape an otherworldly appearance. This looks like what you imagined as the Old West, and countless films have been shot here. Kids will recognize it as the habitat of Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote. If you’re looking for a scenic vacation spot, Sedona is […]
Original post by Joe Kissell
September 12, 2008 at 10:00 am · Filed under Mind & Body, Sports & Recreation
Most people who have heard of t’ai chi know it as a gentle, flowing set of movements that senior citizens do in the park on Sunday mornings. At first glance, it doesn’t even appear to be a martial art, in that each person is doing the same movements without coming in contact with anyone else, like some sort of slow-motion, silent line dance. The solo form, however, is just one aspect of t’ai chi. This sequence of postures is designed to strengthen the legs, improve posture, balance, and circulation, and teach the basic principles of shifting weight, relaxing, and remaining rooted. For all its benefits, though, this aspect of t’ai chi is just the beginning for serious practitioners. What many t’ai chi enthusiasts find most interesting about the art is a two-person exercise known as push hands (sometimes referred to as “pushing hands,” as it sounds more grammatical in English).
Resistance […]
Original post by Joe Kissell
September 8, 2008 at 10:00 am · Filed under Science & Nature, Mind & Body
Sometimes I make jokes about the exact extent to which some event has affected my mental state. For example, my wife will walk into my office with a plate of freshly baked cookies, and I’ll say, “Wow, I’m now 7% happier!” Of course, the reason it works as a joke is that happiness (or the lack thereof) is not only subjective, it’s multifaceted—I may be ecstatic about the cookies, yet still quite unhappy about my taxes.
Doctor, It Feels Like I’m Treading Water
All joking aside, I wondered whether there might be some way of measuring despair. We can certainly tell if it exists or not, and whether it feels severe. But surely psychiatrists have some sort of semi-objective scale of measurement, I figured. I couldn’t imagine one doctor saying to another, “My 10 a.m. is a Venti, but with some Prozac I’m sure we can get him down to a Tall.” […]
Original post by Joe Kissell
August 25, 2008 at 10:00 am · Filed under Mind & Body, History
Like most guys, I love tools, especially if they’re expensive and so specialized I’ll only use them on rare occasions. Bonus points if they require electricity. My wife, knowing this about me, bought me a groovy little ultrasonic digital laser-guided measuring device as a gift. It even came with a holster. Now I can measure the size of any room (even its area and volume, if I need to) in just seconds. Morgen’s explanation for why she chose this gift was that she was tired of having to hold one end of a tape measure while I dragged the other end across the room. But I think it may have been that she thought I looked extremely goofy using my standard device for making linear measurements: my forearm.
Is That a Ruler in Your Pocket?
At some point years ago, I picked up the seemingly useless piece of information that an ancient […]
Original post by Joe Kissell
August 4, 2008 at 10:00 am · Filed under Mind & Body, Food & Drink
Because of my abiding interests in food, cooking, and unusual stories, I was excited to discover the books of Margaret Visser. Visser achieved literary fame for her books on the culture of eating: Much Depends on Dinner and The Rituals of Dinner. But the first book of hers I read was The Way We Are, a collection of short essays on all sorts of interesting things, from the unexpected origins of words to the stories behind everyday customs and cultural artifacts—each one backed by a solid bibliography. Hmmmm, a series of short essays on interesting things. What a concept! Although I did not deliberately try to emulate Visser’s M.O. on this site, it certainly was an implicit inspiration.
One of Visser’s topics in particular caught my attention: fasting. On a few rare occasions I had fasted for a day at a time, but Visser was talking about extended fasts—those lasting more […]
Original post by Joe Kissell
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