SELFLESSNESS NOT SELFISHNESS

Seth Godin has such interesting posts. Have a look at this one:

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2012/02/the-sad-irony-of-selfishness.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2Fsethsmainblog+%28Seth%27s+Blog%29

A POEM BY FERNANDO PESSOA

Here is a poem by one of Fernando Pessoa' s heteronyms, Ricardo Caeiro, translated by Richard Zenith and seen in poetryinternational.com

The gods grant nothing more than life

The gods grant nothing more than life, So let us reject whatever lifts us             To unbreathable heights,             Eternal but flowerless. All that we need to accept is science, And as long as the blood in our veins still pulses             And love does not shrivel,             Let us go on Like panes of glass: transparent to light, Pattered by the sad rain trickling down,             Warmed by the sun,             And reflecting a little.

CHILDREN

I'm not a child expert but I sure enjoyed reading this article by an American mother whose daughters were born in France.
The importance of empathy is certainly something to consider. Are we teaching it (by example) to our children?

http://ideas.time.com/2012/02/10/why-american-kids-are-brats/?iid=op-article-latest

Fernando Pessoa

Today the exhibition about Fernando Pessoa will start at Gulbenkian!!

http://www.gulbenkian.pt/section30artId1546langId1.html

A funny and at the same time informative read...

The 'Hector-novels' of French psychiatrist Francois Lelord are so entertaining and informative! These books are about the character Hector, a young psychiatrist, who travels the world to search for answers on the question: what makes people happy? They are written in such an easy, funny way that it's hard to stop reading!

WORK AS PLAY?

This playful space is part of the headquarters of Lego in Danemark. You can see more at the link below.
One whishes one could work there, isn'it?
On second thoughts, it's quite curious how the work spaces have evolved lately. In the beginning of the 20th century offices had dark wooden decoration, black marble on the floor. What happened in between?
Could it be that we are becoming so infantilized as a society that bosses think we're happier with toys around?
Food for thought.

http://www.dezeen.com/2012/01/31/lego-pmd-by-rosan-bosch-and-rune-fjord/
(via Dezeen)

Positive Psychology

Martin Seligman, founder of the Center for Positive Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, found that the following circumstances attribute to happiness:

1. to live in a prosperous, democratic country
2. to have an extensive social network
3. to be married
4. to be religious
5. to avoid negative emotions

However, the circumstances of earning more money, living in a sunny country, staying healthy and following the best possible education, proved not to have any effect on our level of happiness on the long term, even though most of us believe so...

CONFERENCE IN ENGLISH AT FUNDAÇÃO CHAMALIMAUD

There was a conference on creativity (in English) at Fundação Champalimaud (in the photo) last Monday.
I was amazed to see there was a crowd of young people filling the place.
Although I got there ten minutes before the time I couldn't get in. But I was pleased to see that there was such an interest.
If you want to be informed about the cultural activities of the Fundação go to the site (www.fchampalimaud.org) and subscribe the newsletter. On top of it, the place is amazing and beautifully located on the mouth of the river. I hear they're doing a lot of research on cancer and already providing treatments.

BEACHES

I'm joining Esther and Louise in the love for the sea.
This is a photo I took on a beach in the Azores. Thus the basaltic sand.

NOEMIE GOUDAL

Les amants (Jetée), 2009

For other works of this amazing "creatice" see www.noemiegoudal.com

(via becauseimaddicted.blogspot.com)

Happiness!

Belgian writer and journalist Leo Bormans made an international project about happiness.
In his book, 'The World Book of Happiness', 100 professional researchers in Positive Psychology share their evidence-based knowledge.

European Council President Herman van Rompuy has recently sent this book to all world leaders!

Read more about this inspiring book at:
http://77.241.93.48/webroot/theworldbookofhappiness_EN/blog/wordpress/

Relax...

In psychology, we sometimes use tools like relaxation exercises, breathing exercises etc. When I work with relaxation techniques, I often use someone's 'favorite scene of nature'. Then we can imaginary explore that place with all our senses...
My favorite scene of nature is the beach! What is yours?

Does the size of our social network correlate with brain growth?

It seems so, although more research still has to be done using human subjects.

A research group from the University of Oxford used macaques to study this. They placed them in groups of different sizes during one year.
After this period, parts of the brains (important for recognition of faces, as well as facial and emotional expressions) had increased in the monkeys that had been living in bigger groups. These functions seem to be needed harder to be able to be successful in a bigger social context.

Read more at:

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/334/6056/697.abstract

DID WE FREEZE IN THE 90s?

Do read a most interesting article in Vanity Fair's January issue. The author Kurt Andersen elaborates about the way the appearance world seems to have not changed since the nineties. Except in science and technology of course we've not seen great changes. You wouldn't distinguish a photo from the nineties from a contemporary one if it were not for a mobile someone carries.
Amazing reading. One wonders...

http://www.vanityfair.com/style/2012/01/prisoners-of-style-201201

Where to park our bikes? (part 2)

...and a bike-parking place in Amsterdam

Where to park our bikes? (part 1)

I couldn't withhold you these pictures: a bike-parking place in Lisbon...

We don't only HEAR with our ears....

Hmmm, this is interesting: not only our eyes are sensitive to light, but our ears as well!
They can even help us beat a jetlag!

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-human-brain-is-sensitive-to-light-breakthrough-findings-from-valkee-and-the-university-of-oulu-127506878.html

LET THE BIKES RIDE!

Riding a bycicle seems to be getting into the habits of the Lisboetas and those who live in Linha. At last!
It isn'it yet Amsterdam or Copenhagen or Bologna but we trust those in the townhall can see a little further than their noses. Get someone to go to one of those cities and just copy! Above all don't try to be too smart! It can be done with will and good sense.
In the meantime I leave here a photo I took in Boston a few years ago: the lonely bycicle in the snow.

The effect of listening to our MP3 in public transport

A little bit more in addition to one of the last posts about public transport: it seems like we can bear the vicinity of strangers more easily when listening to happy music through headphones. Positive music makes the borders of our personal space smaller!
Read more about this research, done by psychologists from the University of London, at:

http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0026083

WRITING ON THE NET AND COPYRIGHTS

For anyone who writes on the net, I would advise reading this post by Seth Godin

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2012/01/simple-thoughts-about-fair-use.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2Fsethsmainblog+%28Seth%27s+Blog%29

City and Street Views

I love the pictures of German artist Michael Wolf!
http://photomichaelwolf.com/intro/index.html

His new pics of subway-travellers in Tokyo make me think....
How do we prefer to move around? Which options do we have? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each option? Anyone of us makes different choices.
Walking? Bicycle? Car? Subway? ....?

Dog Phobia: a cognitive behavioral perspective

Most specific phobias (like dog phobia) arise in childhood. Modeling (seeing frightened parents for example) could be one of the causes, as well as conditioning experiences (for example, seeing a person being bitten by a dog) and receiving negative information (stories of friends/family, films, books).

When fear is interfering with daily life it's good to find help. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a well-known and efficient therapy to tackle fear and anxiety. It consists of 2 parts: cognitive therapy and behavioral therapy. This is because in CBT, cognitions as well as behavior are thought to play a crucial role in the way we feel (for example: scared).

Our behavior can change our thoughts and feelings. Besides that, our thoughts can change our feelings and behavior.

People who are afraid of something, tend to avoid the situation or object they fear. In the short term, avoidance helps because you will feel less afraid. But in the long term, this behavior creates persistence or even an increase of the anxiety. Behavioral therapy focuses on changing behavior to overcome fear. Step by step, under professional guidance, you will start exposing yourself to the things you fear. This allows you slowly adapt to situations that you find difficult.

Cognitive therapy is all about the way of thinking. Your thoughts will be examined during treatment. You will learn to think differently about your fear. New, helping thoughts will be created that will help you overcome your fears. For example, people with anxiety disorders often think that the risk of danger is very great. The question is whether this is true? Are these thoughts realistic? What would be a more helpful, realistic thought?

Dog phobia

Our reader Anna asked for an elaboration on dog phobias. From a psychoanaltycal point of view dog phobia as other phobias is a way of expressing anxiety. The person may think along these lines (sub-consciously): if I manage to avoid dogs I won't be so anxious.
And you know what? It sometimes works.
Mind you, the phobia can be manageable up to a certain point. When it upsets your life (eg not visiting a friend because of his dog) it's time to do something about it. Cognitive therapy is quite used in these cases. I'll ask our new collaborator and cognitive therapist Esther Schuller to write about it.
Welcome Esther!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

It's interesting how our minds work and how we like to atribute meanings to calendar and dates. What happened between yesterday and today? Nothing or maybe a lot, it depends on the individual.
Although the international and national situations are worrying, let's face 2012 as the French philosopher Giles Deleuze wrote: "to be ethical is to live up to the circumstances".
Exits 1, enters 2: Happy New Year

HOW NICE A HOME

What a beautiful and not expensive decoration! Sometimes it takes more emotional investment than money. Which is to say: creativity.

Seen in the blog my ideal home
http://www.bloglovin.com/m/1844326/347426062/a/0/aHR0cCUzQSUyRiUyRm15aWRlYWxob21lLnR1bWJsci5jb20lMkZwb3N0JTJGMTQwNTk3MTM4ODQ=

ANOTHER STUNNING PICTURE

(Via Greensavers)

FLYING IN A CLOUD

To fly in a cloud...
The project of a Portuguese architect

http://www.greensavers.pt/2011/10/19/arquitecto-portugues-tiago-barros-podera-ter-criado-o-meio-de-transporte-mais-sustentavel-de-sempre/

SOCIAL NETWORKS: FACEBOOK

Interesting article about the possible impact of the extensive use of Facebook on happiness.
http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/12/facebook_is_making_us_miserabl.html

GARMONIQUE, GREAT PHOTOS

Stunning photos, a great photographer!
It's so nice to find something like this in the net.

http://illusion.scene360.com/art/23918/shadow-of-a-man/#comment-15268

CULTURAL SITE

This wonderful site allows to get language lessons for free (even Chinese), movies, audiobooks.

TOO MUCH PATHOLOGIES?

An article worrying reading:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2011/11/10/the-new-mental-disorders-manual-is-crazy-making/

PORTUGAL GOLF MASTERS 2011

13th to 16th October 2011 European Tour Host: the Victoria Golf Vilamoura, Portugal Prize Money: To be confirmed. The Biggest Golf Tournament in Portugal Considered one of the leading European golf tournaments, the Masters will be held in Portugal for the 5th consecutive year from the 13th to 16th October 2011. The introduction to the Portugal Masters recognizes the quality of the golf facilities and tourism infrastructures that now exists in Portugal, enabling the country to welcome the elite of golf professionals, world-wide coverage by the international press with an expected 35,000 spectators attending the event. The Portugal Masters has been a huge success for the last three years. The event attracts a strong field and some of Europe's finest players are usually playing there. With its presence on the PGA's European Circuit assured until 2011, the Portugal Masters will further enhance Portugal's position as one of the finest golf destinations in the world.

WHAT AN WONDERFUL SHOT!

Perfect island by By&Review (via likecool.com).
Stunning.
I just love islands. I wish I knew where is this.

RESEARCH ON DREAMS

It seems that young people dream more often in colour than older people. Read this and more about dreams at:

3 Fascinating Facts About Dreams - World of Psychology
http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2011/10/09/3-fascinating-facts-about-dreams/

BIKE CONTEST IN OREGON

Bikes are so flexible and adaptive. Not to speak of being non-polluent and good for exercise. I wish Lisbon and "Linha" will be soon bike-friendly.

StudeNt WINNER: UNIVERSITY OF OREGON

http://oregonmanifest.com/2011/09/26/the-constructors-design-challenge-winners/

GOOD IDEA INDEED

http://www.likecool.com/Disaster_Relief_Dirigible--Design--Gear.html

French FIlms

The 12^th edition of the French Cinema Festival in Lisbon begins Thursday and last to the16th of October.

The films will be shown in the Cinema St George and in the Portuguese Cinematheque.

Accompanying the Seventh Art, the Bar Goliardos and the restaurant Intra-Muros (AdLib) offer an accompaniment of the Eighth Art:

Each night will be dedicated to a specific wine region of France – after the film come and enjoy a good glass of wine each night from a different wine region, well-known and lesser well-known but all equally fascinating.

The wines are selected by Goliardos from his traveling through the different regions of France, all by exquisite small producers.

An excellent opportunity to combine two art forms!

There will be wine by the glass and also artisan cheeses from small producers.

Tursday 6^th :

Champagne in the AdLib and Goliardos

Friday 7^th :

Bourgogne, in Goliardos and AdLib

Saturday 8^th :

Languedoc, and in Goliardos AdLib

Sunday 9^th :

Loire in AdLib

Monday 10^th :

Savoie, in AdLib

Tuesday 11^th :

Rhône at AdLib

Wednesday 12^th :

Bordeaux in AdLib

Thursday 13^th :

Jura, in Goliardos and AdLib

Friday 14^th :

Alsace in Goliardos and AdLib

Saturday 15^th :

Sud-Ouest in Goliardos and AdLib

Sunday 16^th :

Roussillon, in AdLib

Hours:

Goliardos: Thursday, Friday and Saturday, from 19:00 to 2:00 a.m.

Bar Intra-Muros, AdLib, Avenida da Liberdade 127, from 17:00 to 1:00

AN INSPIRING MAN IS DEAD

 A tribute designed by Jonathan Mak, a Hong-Kong student.

Steve Jobs was a genius. I once posted here his terrific speech at Stanford University years ago. His views on life (and death) and his enthousiasm are truly inspiring.

RIP Steve Jobs

 

Downhearted

A sweet poem about what the heart wants............

BIKE BY THE DESIGNER RON ARAD

Soft-ride with steel tyres. How beautiful!

http://www.fastcodesign.com/1665045/soft-ride-bike-has-steel-tires-and-you-can-ride-it-now

THE PLANET'S EYES

Amazing video:

http://www.likecool.com/Time_Lapse_of_Night_Sky_Over_ALMA_Observatory_on_Chilean--Video--Gear.html

ALFA-DOG ROBOT

Haaaa! The beast!

http://www.likecool.com/The_video_for_fourlegged_AlphaDog--Video--Gear.html

LANGUAGE(S)

I found this interesting small video about the importance of language.
Language and words are central to the psychoanaltycal psychotherapeutic technique. Freud used to call psychoanalys "the talking cure" and anyone who had an analysis or a psychoanalytical pychotherapy knows what he meant by that.
On the other hand, if language has been a factor of civilization, we must also be cautious with words. As much as they allow us to reach other people, they can also give way to misunderstanding.

http://bigthink.com/ideas/40320

CITIES AND BICYCLES

In 35 years Lisbon went from a quiet peaceful city, even provincial, to a city that likes to see itself as an European capital. It should therefore follow the example of capitals all over Europe and become more citizen-friendly. Bicycles are a privileged means of transportation, both cheap, healthy and eco-friendly. The Lisboetas however seem to be very much attached to their cars and value them over all things. Maybe it's a symptom of our recently acquired "wealth" that turned out to be an illusion, like having two or three mobiles, several plasmas, etc.
Have a look at how other cities have turned bike-friendly.

http://www.virgin-vacations.com/11-most-bike-friendly-cities.aspx

THE DIFFERENT FACES OF ART

Lovely trip by the little boat. Dreamlike. Enjoy.

http://www.likecool.com/Little_Boat--Video--Gear.html

LESSONS ABOUT LIFE

Now that Steve Jobs resigned from the post of Apple's CEO, one more reason to listen attentively to what he has to say on life.
A pancreatic cancer, a liver transplant... This man, who was given for adoption, is a force of nature.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc&feature=youtube_gdata_player

RAY BRADBURY

Ray Bradbury will soon be 91. This is a video from the '70s.

http://www.openculture.com/2011/08/ray_bradbury.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

THIS IS THE PHOTO BY BRASSAÏ

>

EXHIBITION: METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART (NYC)

Night photography since 1896. This is a photo by Brassaï.

Artist

Brassaï (French (born Romania), Brasov 1899–1984 Côte d'Azur)
TitleLe pilier du Métro Corvisart
Title Translation[A Pillar of the Corvisart Metro]
Date1934
Photograph by Brassaï. 

MENTAL HEALTH AND LEADERSHIP

Dr. Nassir Ghaemi, psychiatrist, published a book about the links between leadership capacities and the mental health ("A first rate madness").
His thesis is that in times of crisis it might be possible that an excess of "normality" may hinder the special leadership skills required.
I still didn't read the book but in the meantime we can have a hint by reading his blog:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/mood-swings/201108/first-rate-madness