Clipmarks | mugofcoffee's happiness collection

Brain reacts to fairness as it does to money and chocolate

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 21:42:29 GMT

clipped by: Mohir

The human brain responds to being treated fairly the same way it responds to winning money and eating chocolate, UCLA scientists report. Being treated fairly turns on the brain's reward circuitry.

"We may be hard-wired to treat fairness as a reward," said study co-author Matthew D. Lieberman, UCLA associate professor of psychology and a founder of social cognitive neuroscience.

"Receiving a fair offer activates the same brain circuitry as when we eat craved food, win money or see a beautiful face," said Golnaz Tabibnia, a postdoctoral scholar at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA and lead author of the study, which appears in the April issue of the journal Psychological Science.

"Fairness is activating the same part of the brain that responds to food in rats," she said. This is consistent with the notion that being treated fairly satisfies a basic need, she added.

Tags: brain, fairness

Writing is a healing process & a special blessing from God!

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:59:56 GMT

clipped by: mugofcoffee
clipper's remarks: for the rest of the article, a visit to the site is advised.
by Lalitha V Raman.

Clip Source: www.writinghood.com

Writing is a healing process; long buried experiences, witnessed scenes, controlled emotions, contained fury, unbelievable coincidences, the mysteries and the myths of life, the abundant happiness, admiration for the people and for the places, the pure joy of the life and living…

Writing is a gift from the God: some people are gifted with speech and some are gifted with making handicrafts. Some others are gifted with cooking, gardening and disciplined home making tasks. Some people are gifted with multi-tasking wonderfully well and some others are gifted with abundance of everything. The special people in the world are gifted with writing!

Writing displays the love and the emotions from your heart. It also displays your long accumulated experiences, the witnessed details, the courage against the fear and the prejudices, the “no matter what” persistent attitudes and the “one step at a time” reasoning…the writing is the window to your heart!

There is magic in reading books...

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 04:33:26 GMT

clipped by: mugofcoffee
clipper's remarks: THE PLEASURE OF READING BOOKS...MY,MY...

Clip Source: www.bookstove.com

the torrential rain crafting the musical melody that perfects one's mood for the reading at hand, the dark night blanketing the sky and the surroundings…rainy nights enchant the reader into reading well into the wee hours of the morning!

The winter is exclusively made for the reading! The cozy comfort of the happily crackling fire place, the complete and unconditional peace of the cold dark night, the heavy woolens draped around the body making one to snuggle well against the harsh chill, the silence, sharp and melancholy, uninterrupted and overpowering silence… no other footprints are louder than those of the footprints of the characters of your book, the footsteps roaming around the room, standing close to you, making

you to feel whether it is you or them within the book and out of it!

Tags: books, reading, interesting.

Love you child ...pic

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 01:29:49 GMT

clipped by: mugofcoffee

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Seized by Alzheimer’s, Then Love

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 08:18:40 GMT

clipped by: mugofcoffee
clipper's remarks: Heart-warming story...

Clip Source: well.blogs.nytimes.com

Institutionalized patients, including those with Alzheimer’s, sometimes find new romance. (Marko Georgiev/The New York Times)

Sometimes Alzheimer’s disease means losing a loved one twice.

As the disease ravages the brain and erases memory, patients who have been married for years, even most of their lives, may stop recognizing their spouses. And sometimes, in a phenomenon rarely discussed, husbands and wives find they must watch helplessly as patients fall in love with someone entirely new.

The romantic lives of Alzheimer’s patients made headlines this week with news that the 77-year-old husband of retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, John Jay O’Connor III, has found companionship with a woman in the nursing home in which he lives. The two patients reportedly spend time together and hold hands, even in the presence of Justice O’Connor.

Let them have a friend, if it buys them a day of happiness

Quotes from the Alchemist, authored by Paulo Coelho

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 05:09:46 GMT

clipped by: mugofcoffee
clipper's remarks: amazing book from an amazing master of inspirational words!
by lalitha v.raman, Mar 23, 2008

Clip Source: www.bookstove.com

“When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it!”

“…When we love, we always strive to become better than we are.”

“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.”

“Every search begins with the beginner's luck. And every search ends with the victor's being severely tested.”

“The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon.”

“…When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better, too.”

“Your eyes show the strength of your soul.”

“…There was a language in the world which everyone understood…it was the language of enthusiasm, of things accomplished with love and purpose, and as part of a search for something believed in and desired.”

“There is a force that wants you to realize your destiny; it whets your appetite with a taste of success”.

“It's the simple things in life that are the most extra-ordinary.”

WHY DID I EVER MET YOU?

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 04:36:36 GMT

clipped by: mugofcoffee
clipper's remarks: JUST READ THE ENTIRE POETRY...MOST WONDERFUL!

Clip Source: www.authspot.com

You were just you, an ordinary person, just like I was just I, an ordinary person

You were running around within your own circle, created by you for you, your family and for your friends, much like I was running within my own circle all thro my life…

It was as though we had been destined to meet and become good friends…

The trust I had had on you was something the most spectacular to me!

It was amazing as though there was nothing I couldn't share with you.

I went running to you like a school girl with all my daily happenings!

You were accommodating, understanding and were always there to listen to my stories…

When I had heard your voice, it was as though I had felt the peace and calm descending on me simultaneously!

You had such a wonderful voice, soothing, teasing and being very nice to listen to…

On your part, you had shared with me your daily life and living…the hurts, an occasional insult and the ups and downs of your day to day happenings…

Why did I ever meet you?

Courage is not the absence of the fear...

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 04:47:10 GMT

clipped by: mugofcoffee
clipper's remarks: Courage is taking a bold step forward despite all your fears...

Clip Source: www.authspot.com

The sudden sound emanating from a bird which couldn't sleep, or the sudden twist of a twig which falls on your path, that is making you to stop in silence for a moment… All you can hear is the irregular beating of your heart, with less rhythm and more fear… The thump of the shoes coming from a nearby place, making you to hesitate, stop and listen to and pouring oil into your already disturbed imagination of all sorts of unwanted shapes and sizes… You are strongly tempted to turn around and run back towards your home! The fear of the unknown

The fear of the unknown becomes the prominent feature of your midnight walk alone! You continue to walk on, with the unknown fear and with the discomfort in your heart… With such persistence arrives the confidence of just one step more at a time… Somehow, you walk on, despite the sounds, the misgivings, the fear factor and the darkness all around you! Courage is not the absence of fear; courage is taking a step forward despite all your fears

Breastfeeding promotes the maternal bond

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 18:12:05 GMT

clipped by: mugofcoffee

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Breastfeeding trust hormone clue

Scientists have for the first time shown how a "trust" hormone is released in the brains of breastfeeding mothers.

It is further proof that breastfeeding promotes the maternal bond through a biochemical process.

The team at Warwick University said the hormone oxytocin was known to be released during breastfeeding but the mechanism in the brain was unclear.

Oxytocin also produces contractions during labour and causes milk to be "let down" from the mammary glands.

The hormone is produced in the hypothalamus - the part of the brain that controls body temperature, thirst, hunger, anger and tiredness.

It has been shown to promote feelings of trust and confidence and to reduce fear.

The study, published in the journal PLoS Computational Biology, found that in response to a baby suckling, specialised neurons in the mothers' brain start to release the hormone from the nerve endings.

Addicted to reading as though to drinks & drugs...

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 15:52:23 GMT

clipped by: mugofcoffee

Clip Source: www.bookstove.com

The summer is the season of the pulsation of lights and of shining! The sharp rays of the Sun dazzle every little object it touches on! The raising mercury does not deter a serious reader from the absorption of his book! The summer months are for festivity and for bliss! The summer months are made for walking in and out of the numerous bookshops, both old and new, holding of multiple of bags, trying to collect the different kinds of books for reading now and for later too!

Only a lover of books can understand the meaning of being alive in the rainy season…the light chill creeping through the windows and the parapet, the steaming cup of coffee within the reach of your hands, sitting slantingly on the bed with fluffy pillows cushioning your head, a light bed sheet carelessly wrapped around your knees, the torrential rain crafting the musical melody that perfects one's mood for the reading at hand, the dark night blanketing the sky and the surroundings

silky touch of the new book covers,

...then, why to die & leave this place???

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 15:32:33 GMT

clipped by: mugofcoffee

Clip Source: www.authspot.com

I could smell the freshness of the surroundings, the leaves, the land, the birds, the flowers and that of the water… is this heaven? If this is heaven, they why to die and leave this place?

It was sort of mesmerizing, like the opening song in the Opera! It was sort of creative, like the Mona Lisa of Leo Nardo Da Vinci! It was sort of spectacular, like the crackers in the sky on your independence day and was a sort of ecstatic, like being with some one you love so much!

It was as though I could see him very clearly in all his minute details, the velvety feathers, his little and light weight, maroon colored body; his constant wavering mood of roaming around, floating away, fluctuating, oscillating, talking to himself and talking to his surroundings…I had smiled to myself! It had finally dawned on me that I had captured the picture of the bird with all his minute details, in my heart of hearts!

I had finally captured the moments!

Wanted to Capture the Moments…

by lalitha v.raman, Apr 1, 2008

In those moments of utter happiness, I ...

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 16:15:20 GMT

clipped by: mugofcoffee

Clip Source: www.authspot.com

You are my priority and I had set aside what I was doing and had started listening to your voice… It was enough for me that you came calling me back and in those moments of utter happiness, words had failed me completely!

It means that your voice had brought a smile on my face because you had brought with you so many wonderful memories of our sharing of the life and of living!

It means that I can talk whatever I want with you and I don't need to be alert and watching my words as I do with the others!

It means that there is a comfort zone around us and I feel safe and secure around your voice

It means that I love even the gaps of silence, when we stop talking in between…

It means that I love you so much that your being at the other end is more than enough for me than my wanting to talk to you in anyway!

Welcome back to my orbit, my dear!

God...I had blurted out! Is that really you?

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 19:38:50 GMT

clipped by: mugofcoffee
clipper's remarks: a visit to the site for the reading of the whole story is strongly advised!

Clip Source: www.socyberty.com

“God…” I had blurted out!

“Is that really you?”

The voice had smiled: “of course, this is really me! I perfectly understand your confusion, disbelief, the theory of the practical joke and all such things you have been thinking since morning, but this is really me!”

How many times I must have asked Him, “Why did you do this to me God?”

He had never answered me as to,” Why Not?”

But then, I had realized that down the line all my whys had ended up into wonderful solutions, though at the point of time of my having gone through the why factor, it was looking as though God was plotting all against me!

Clip Source: www.socyberty.com

“Do you love me, God?”

“Of course, my dear, of course, it goes without saying!”

At that point of time, the door bell had started ringing incessantly and God had asked me to answer the door, before we continue our conversation.

Sure, there was money and comforts in our life and we had a nice home, but even after five years of our marriage, we had no children to share all the luxuries with.

Sweet smells foster sweet dreams

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 22:18:05 GMT

clipped by: mugofcoffee
clipper's remarks: Mm...

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Smells may influence the emotion of the dream

Sleep with flowers in your bedroom if you want sweet dreams, work suggests.

When the smell of roses had been wafted under the noses of slumbering volunteers they reported experiencing pleasant emotions in their dreams.

An odour of rotten eggs had the opposite effect on the 15 sleeping women, the German scientists found.

Smell is the only sense that doesn't 'sleep'

Professor Tim Jacob, an expert in smell and taste at Cardiff University

It is possible that exposure to smells might help make their dreams more pleasant, believe Professor Boris Stuck and his team from the University Hospital Mannheim.

They waited until their subjects had entered the REM phase of sleep, the stage at which most dreams occur, and then exposed them to a high dose of smelly air for 10 seconds before waking them up one minute later.

The volunteers were then quizzed about the content of their dreams and asked how it made them feel.

10 Most Inspiring Inspirational ...Change Your Outlook in Life

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 14:44:44 GMT

clipped by: mugofcoffee
clipper's remarks: visit to the web page is a must, as I could not clip more of this...

Clip Source: www.socyberty.com

By the end of the day, we don't live in our work place: we return home to our family.

The rush outs, the meetings, the preparations and the presentations…all these we do for the simple fact that we can earn a decent income, live a comfortable life and can provide a comfortable living for our family.

No one and nothing is worth loosing our time and energy, in anyway!

Then again, it is not that easy to let go off all our negative emotions which we had learned and had accumulated all through our lives: such emotions, though injurious to our health, tend to become a vital part of our personality and of our life pattern! We obviously cannot throw them away and start living like Buddha or Mahatma Gandhi! If changes can be brought into our life that easier, then we won't be having our inspirational gurus and heroes to learn from and follow through!

importance of persistence, patience and of the secret of not quitting, when you are so close to achieving your target in life!