From busy work lives to overscheduled personal commitmentsand unprecedented hyperconnectivity everywhere in betweentravelers are more harried than ever. Luckily, the new crop of wellness resorts have upped the ante on restorative vacations, pairing the best medical technology with holistic treatments to help you recharge, replenish, and find your balance.

But unlike the retreats of old, luxury is at the forefront, leaving you feeling pampered and ready to get back to the grind. Here are 10 stunningly stylish escapes to help you open up and say ommmmm.

New Yorks summer playground has become synonymous with decadence, but elemental simplicity is key at Shou Sugi Ban House. This wabi-sabiinspired wellness getaway channels the palliative effects of the natural world in healing four-, five-, and seven-day retreats and spaces that could be described as anything but rustic.

Thirteen cabins awash in soothing blonde woods and crisp white linens come with freestanding tubs, Scandi-mod furnishings and cedar slatting make you feel like youve never left the sauna; public spaces follow suit with cozy fireside sectionals and a communal table in the dining room.

Meals are the creative brainchild of Noma co-founder Mads Reflund and feature plant-heavy dishes sourced from local farms. But the real star is the spa, which features an infrared sauna, hydrotherapy plunge pools, and restorative treatments with names like Deep Within and Clear the Path.

Rates begin at $4,650 for three nights. Book Now

If youre escaping New York, a drive on rambling Berkshires country roads past red-barn farmsteads and foliage-fringed vistas is enough to make you breathe more deeply. But one step on Canyon Ranch soil will send your parasympathetic nervous system into overdrive.

The Lenox outpost of the Arizona-based brand offers the gold standard of all-inclusive wellness: a 100,000-square-foot spa with Pilates and yoga studios and indoor and outdoor pools, on-staff physicians and nutritionists to help you achieve optimum health, and targeted programs (think sleep clinics and digital detoxes) to tap into your specific needs.

The pice de rsistance? An 1897 Carrere and Hastingsdesigned mansion where health-forward ingredients sourced from local farms are served overlooking manicured gardens and the propertys great lawn.

Rates begin at $1419 per night. Book Now

In the heart of Sedonas red-rock Boynton Canyon, Mii Amo is one of the worlds most celebrated destination spas. It also resides on a vortex, a metaphysical energy center revered for its healing properties by ancient Native Americans. As the name suggests (it means ones path in the Yuman language), the resort offers three-, four-, and seven-day all-inclusive journeys to help you find your light and recharge your spirit.

Choose chanting rituals, meditative walks through an on-site labyrinth, or chakra-opening massages, and enjoy organic, locally sourced meals made with ingredients from the chefs garden. The propertys 16 adobe-style casitas provide their own therapeutic benefits thanks to beehive fireplaces, heated floors, and private patios.

Rates begin at $2027 per night. Book Now

The town of Calistoga may be nestled in the heart of wine country, but its mineral-rich watersthe result of a geothermal aquifer that sits just below ground levelare the real reason you should visit. The hot springs feed mineral baths all over town, but most luxuriously at Calistoga Ranch, a 157-acre retreat where the cedar-shingled cottages come with outdoor showers and glass wallsthe better to soothe the senses with round-the-clock forest bathing.

If the spas essential-oil massages and outdoor mudbaths arent enough to send you into a trance, perhaps private painting lessons, a perspective-building hot-air balloon ride, or a tour of the on-site vineyard will do the trick.

Rates begin at $3930 per night. Book Now

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Mountain Trek Fitness Retreat & Health Spa

If you prefer a more rigorous approach to self-improvement, the Mountain Trek Fitness Retreat is the wellness escape for you. Here, retreats include tough-love professional instruction (a clinical psychologist and lifestyle coach is available for consultations even before you arrive) and three to four hours of hiking daily through pristine British Columbia wilderness.

One- and two-week programs for just 16 guests encourage overall well-being, bringing hormones into balance, lowering stress levels, detoxifying bodily systems, and improving sleep with sunrise yoga, mindfulness lectures, and a healthy menu thats more gourmet than granola. But its not all work. An on-site spa offers everything from infrared saunas and hydrotherapy pools to massages and soaks in natural hot springs.

Rates begin at $5400 for a week. Book Now

In addition to their contributions in architecture, astronomy, and writing, the Maya created sophisticated systems for healing. Some of those customs form the basis of the wellness program at Chabl, a beach refuge that blends indigenous rituals with the sybaritic luxuries of a modern resort. At the 17,000-square-foot spa, guests may indulge in locally sourced herbal treatments, hydrotherapy pools, and a traditional Temazcal ceremony performed by a local shaman.

The 70 stone-and-wood casitas provide their own opportunities for relaxation with indoor-outdoor showers, private pools, and tech-forward amenities like retractable glass walls. The regional focus continues in two restaurants, where celebrity chef Jorge Vallejos Mexican delicacies (think prickly pear and watermelon salad and octopus tacos) join grilled fresh-caught fish and homemade breads.

Rates begin at $620 per night. Book Now

What better place to engage in some healthy self-reflection than along the pristine waters of Lake Wakatipu in New Zealands remote Southern Alps? The primordial backdrop is the setting for Aro Ha, a sustainable wellness resort that feels a little like boot camp for the spiritually downtrodden.

After waking to the sound of Tibetan chimes in one of the 20 minimalist cabins, guests participate in sunrise yoga sessions and rigorous nature hikes to exercise the mind and body, as well as mindfulness and meditation practices and curated activities like cooking classes and kayaking excursions. Daily massages help ease aches and pains and get blood flowing to aid in detoxifying efforts, as does the garden-grown, Paleo-friendly menu served in the main house.

Rates begin at $4832 for seven nights. Book Now

Located just outside bustling Ubud, COMO Shambala Estate is worlds away in spirit and takes a pampering approach to holistic healthwitness the suites, where canopy beds and thatched roofs meet locally made furnishings and airy open-air pavilions.

Though guests engage with Ayurvedic doctors and specialists in Chinese medicine in formal regimens, the resort also offers fitness classes, rock climbing, hiking, and white-water rafting in the nearby Ayung River for a more adrenaline-pumping approach to spiritual and physical healing. After an intense morning, kick back in the spring-fed pool, then expect to be dazzled with spicy curries and wok-fried seafood (caught earlier that day), served in a stunning 150-year-old house filled with intricate carved wood.

Rates begin at $473 per night. Book Now

The path to enlightenment runs through Vana, a 21-acre ashram nestled into a valley in the Himalayan foothills near the northern Indian city of Rishikesh, also known as the birthplace of yoga. Designed by Spanish architects, the LEED-certified resort is the picture of luxury, with organic linens, private plunge pools, and shower water heated by solar panels, plus expansive windows overlooking endless forests (and a monkey or two).

The wellness regimen is even more thoughtful. A host of Tibetan doctors, nutritionists, and yoga instructors prescribe everything from Ayurvedic remedies, breathing, and meditation classes to daily yoga sessions and soothing spa treatments to help you find balance. There are plenty of secular activities to help guide you as well, including traditional Indian weaving and landscape painting lessons. Best of all, cellphones and laptops are banned in public spaces. Disconnecting never felt so good.

Rates begin at $480 per night. Book Now

Who better to lead you on your spiritual journey than Marina Efraimoglou, a Greek bank chairwoman who traded in finance for Chinese medicine when she was diagnosed with cancer and channeled her recovery efforts into the sybaritic Euphoria Retreat? Designed to reflect the pristine natural surroundings, as well as the medieval ruins of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Mystras, the 45-room resort feels like a series of Zen caves carved into the mountainside, with olive oil-infused mattresses, oak furnishings, steam showers, and marble and gold accents.

The holistic spa specializes in targeted programs that incorporate treatments inspired by the five elements, from detoxifying body wraps to metabolism-boosting activities like rafting, climbing, and hiking. Best of all, the premises feature a Roman-style tepidarium, a Finnish sauna, a Byzantine hammam, and a womb-like thermal pool scored by the sounds of dolphin and whale song.

Rates begin at $325 per night. Book Now

Icelands Blue Lagoon is renowned for its healing properties, so its only natural that the geothermal pools aquamarine waters have become the backdrop for one of the worlds most stylish escapes for soul-searching aesthetes. Seemingly carved into inky black lava fields, The Retreat feels at once futuristic and eternal, rising out of the rock in minimalist forms that feature wood and concrete walls, freestanding tubs, and floor-to-ceiling windows that allow the moss-covered landscape to set the tone.

While the 62-room resort offers group hiking trips and daily yoga classes, no stay would be complete without a visit to the subterranean spa, where you can steam up in a cave, indulge in an in-water massage, or simply hover above the mineral-rich waters in nest-like wrought-iron hanging chairs.

Rates begin at $1,180 per night. Book Now

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The 10 Luxury Wellness Escapes You'll Want to Book for 2020 - TownandCountrymag.com

Despite all the good that came out of the Enlightenment including the recovery of ancient sources of all kinds, and an interest in their historical substance (see my lecture on The Bible and the Reformation in JETS), there was, as Wright notes Enlightenments radical split of cosmology and history are bound to produce false readings.if we think of a closed continuum of Epicurean world-development then anything to do with God must by definition be entirely separate.This is one reason why Bultmann turned eschatology into a metaphor for private spiritual experience. (p. 130).

Wright continues to promote the perspectives of his teacher, G.B. Caird, and his famous book The Language and Imagery of the Bible. He thinks it helps to deal with the imagery and metaphors in apocalyptic literature, and he is quite right about that. The Jewish two ages notion (this age and the age to come) takes a particular twist in the teachings of Jesus and Paul, namely that the age to come has already broken into this age, inaugurated by the death of Jesus, if not by his earlier ministry itself. Wright points to Qumran which also seems to have thought that some eschatological events had already transpired.

The burden of chapter 4 is to critique false views of eschatology and apocalyptic, having already found the imminentist view of Schweizter and others defective (i.e. the end is coming soon to a theater near you), as well as konsequent eschatology which over-emphasized the already aspect of the already-not yet schema of eschatology. His particular target is several false notions: 1) that apocalyptic means what Schweitzer said namely it refers to the near end of the world. No says Wright, apocalyptic is a literary genre (see below), not a particular point of view on the timing of the last things; but also 2) Wright wishes to critique Lou Martyn and his whole approach to apocalyptic that wants to argue for an incursion model (see pp. 133ff.), divine invasion from above. Divine disclosure or victory with no historical antecedents. And Martyn tags this to the death of Jesus, whereas his teacher E. Kasemann links it to the future end things, particularly the victory brought about by the parousia.

Wrights own view, based on Cairds, is that the apocalyptic language has to be decoded, not demythologized, and this involving seeing that apocalyptic is a socio-political critique of empire, where the cosmic battles are actually transpiring (p. 134). My problem with this is not that there is not critique of empire in Revelation, for example, because there is, but that there is also much said about what is going on in the non-material realm as well, in particular in heaven. Apocalyptic cant be reduced to political critique in theological clothing, though it certainly involves such a critique. And while we are at it Rev. 6-19 certainly suggests action in heaven that brings judgments to earth. Apocalyptic is not merely a this worldly critique of historical forces and processes. And if the book is talking about Christ returning, the proper question is where did he go in the meanwhile?? In other words, apocalyptic is also about the heavenly realm.

And then there is Wrights exegesis of Dan. 7 as about the ascension and exaltation of Christ, which simply doesnt work (nor is Mt. 28. 18-20 simply a rerun of Dan. 7.13-14 p. 148). Dan. 7 is about the coming of Gods kingdom on earth to eclipse the previous human kingdoms. In particular its about the Son of Man coming from heaven to judge the world, to fulfill the Yom Yahweh. Where Wrights exegesis of Dan. 7 completely falls apart is when we are told that the nations will worship the Son of Man and he will reign forever. This clearly has not happened yet, and is associated in Revelation 21-22 with the final stages of the new creation. In other words, while there is plenty of political critique of beastly empires in both Daniel and Revelation, in neither case is that all that the apocalyptic language refers to. It also refers to the future breaking into human history of Gods just judgments through the person of the Son of Man. On the other hand, a text like Mk. 9.1 certainly could refer to the Transfiguration being a resurrection of Christ preview if it is not a parousia preview. There are also problems with Wrights take on Rom. 9-11, because there it is made clear that by Israel Paul doesnt mean Jew and Gentile united in Christ, indeed he means Jews temporarily broken off from the people of God while Gentiles are brought into Gods people, but that at the return of Christ all Israel will be saved, by which Paul means a large number of Jews at the return of Christ. In other words, there are some issues with reducing apocalyptic to just socio-political critique in the present.

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Tom Wright's History and Eschatology Part Six - Patheos

Lets start off with some simple facts of life. Water is wet, grass is green and the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) has been even when keeping its modest mission in mind a failure for most of the people who sat through it in their youth.

Most of us raised in the United States remember D.A.R.E., if not for the riveting curriculum, then at least for the cool shirts that are almost exclusively worn ironically.

To provide students with the knowledge and tools they need to resist drugs, alcohol and other high-risk behaviors is D.A.R.E.s mission, according to its website. Developed in the '80s with the Just Say No movement by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), which has a reputation regarding its community outreach, and the Los Angeles Unified School District, D.A.R.E. became nationwide and then grew to international use.

When it comes to the general inefficacy of its program, D.A.R.E. seems to understand why.

When detailing its history, D.A.R.E. is eager to explain where it went wrong. While discussion was encouraged, the prevailing approach in the original curriculum involved the D.A.R.E. Officer teaching each lesson, according to the website. Undoubtedly, thats one of the primary issues concerning a program like D.A.R.E., which relies on visiting instructors whose job is to throw some information your way.

Lectures are the name of the game in college, but when youre in a room full of 13-year-olds, its clear that that approach wont work.

Post-2007, it seems that the program got the message that walking into a room, introducing kids to a whole bunch of drugs theyd never heard of and telling them not to do them wasnt a winning strategy.

This isnt to discount all of the work it has done before 2007, but it ties into the lack of real grappling with D.A.R.E.s mission.

Since its moment of enlightenment, it has been noted that its teaching style became interactive with an emphasis on facilitation, rather than a didactic presentation model. Instead of listening to a lecture, students spend most class time working in small cooperative learning groups, guided by the D.A.R.E. officer as they apply a decision-making model to develop their own unique ways of positively addressing high-risk situations in their lives.

This was, undoubtedly, a step in the right direction, but there are aspects of the D.A.R.E. program that are far from conducive to meeting its long-term goals.

One of the crucial tenets to effective pedagogy is building upon a students prior experiences and learning. The National College for School Leadership (NCSL), a former branch of the United Kingdoms Department of Education, listed taking these past experiences as one of the nine keys to quality teaching.

In the mid-20th century, research into childrens learning and cognitive development was heavily influenced by the work of (Jean) Piaget ... Piagets approach to child development emphasized three elements: the way a child explored her environment, the developmental stages through which children passed in making sense of the environment and the role of adults in assessing a childs readiness to learn, a report from the agency stated.

This ties back to the irony of the progenitors, and current teachers, of D.A.R.E.s message: the police. In many communities around the country, to put it simply, the police arent trusted. A 2017 Gallup poll reported that 57% of Americans have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in the police, which is the historical average.

Regardless of whether you think thats a good number for the police in general, its not the best for people who are required to teach the youth. When a police uniform is enough to turn off a student to what theyll hear, its clear that having a police officer teach D.A.R.E. programs is hustling backward in large swathes of the country.

D.A.R.E. also has an interesting take on the increasing legalization of marijuana. It correctly stated that it is neither safe nor healthy for students and all children under the age of 18 to use marijuana, but with the stated goal of effecting future use, the way it has taught that marijuana is to be avoided in any circumstance is, once again, contradictory at best.

These are far from the only reasons why D.A.R.E. didnt work, but it has substantial issues with the program. Cool t-shirts aside, all you have to do is walk down Easton Avenue any given Saturday night to see that D.A.R.E. didnt always, and probably rarely, met its own marks.

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Dare to criticize D.A.R.E., ineffectively educating our youth - RU Daily Targum

Former actor Bijay J. Anand, best known for playing Kajols ex-boyfriend Rahul in the 1998 hit Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha, is now unrecognisable in his long salt-and-pepper beard, man bun and a pair of sparkly bright eyes. He is now a yoga guru who teaches all around the world and claims that stumbling upon the practice of kundalini yoga in Rishikesh changed his life. t2 recently attended a three-day kundalini yoga workshop by Bijay at the Atmantan Wellness Resort in Pune and came back rejuvenated.

The three-day wellness and healing experience organised by Atmantan Wellness Centre and Anahata Retreats was a near life-changing experience for us. Atmantan, that sits atop a unique crystal hill overlooking the majestic Sahyadri range and the Mulshi Lake in Maharashtra, was our home for three days of the workshop. Located a little over a three-hour-drive away from Mumbai, the Atmantan Wellness Resort in Mulshi is spread over 42 acres.

When we reached, it was raining and the ambience was beautiful and serene. We were handed schedules of the next three days, curated to relieve us of stress, depression and ill health and lead us to renewed vigour and vibrancy like the blossoming of the lotus.

What is kundalini yoga?

I have done yoga before but not kundalini yoga, so I was intrigued to find out more about this new form. Kundalini yoga claims to heal one from the inside as well as outside. The practice uses mantras, kriyas, and mudras that go deep into your subconscious mind and connect you with your suppressed emotions of grief, anger, pain and toxicity. In addition to that, it aims to heal ones chakras and realign them to offer a holistic and rejuvenating experience.

Beginning to heal

Our orientation on the first day began around 4.30pm. On the first day, we were taught about the nature of the Anahata (heart) chakra and its connection with our aura. Im a very anxious and hyperactive person by nature so I must admit that I did face difficulty in concentrating on the first day. But I also felt a sense of calm that was hard to ignore. I finished my dinner by 7pm and was already calmly sleeping by 8.30pm a first ever!

The next day began early at 7am with an hour-long morning sadhana followed by breakfast. Today, we were learning about how to open our heart chakra. We chanted, we meditated and we tried an exercise where we were taught how to get rid of all the toxicity of our lives. I suddenly realised I had tears in my eyes this was something I had never felt before, it was a completely different experience. We broke for lunch and I must mention here that we were only served light, vegetarian food during the three days of the retreat.

Atmantan has a private waterfall inside their property and we hiked till there after lunch. It was our very own Mandakini moment, standing under the cold waterfall and feeling cleansed from the very core. We got back in the evening for the Healing of the Heart session.

Our kundalini yoga teacher

Apart from the regular kriyas and mantras that we practised, what really caught my attention was how Bijay was as a teacher. He was completely zen-like and in control he knew exactly what he was doing. Bijay was certified by the Kundalini Research Institute, Los Angeles, after he learnt kundalini yoga from Rishikesh. The principle philosophy behind Bijays teachings is love and its connection with the fourth chakra in our body the Anahata chakra. He told us all about his life experiences, about enlightenment and how even a few minutes of meditation in our busy, daily lives can heal us to a great extent.

He told us that the first 10 minutes of his exposure to kundalini yoga to cleanse the chakras moved him so deeply that he knew instantly that he had found what he had been searching for his entire life. It greatly affected me and I mentally noted that once I got back to my regular life, Id take up the practice in whatever little capacity I can.

Blossoming of the lotus

The crux of the entire workshop was that we are as beautiful as a lotus and just like a lotus looks beautiful even in muck, we too, can blossom beautifully in this world full of negativity around us. The session on the last day was called the Blossoming of the Lotus. I dont know if it was the serene ambience of the retreat, the mighty mountains, the chants or the power of kundalini yoga itself, but I was a changed person after that weekend my husband could feel the difference once I was back and even asked me why I was being so much quieter than my usual chirpy self.

If youre stressed with your daily routine or feel like you need a breather, contact Atmantan Wellness Resort for their next kundalini yoga retreat.

A chat with kundalini yoga teacher Bijay J. Anand on the sidelines of the workshop:

How did kundalini yoga happen to you after being an actor and then an art dealer?

I got a lot of fame being an actor, signing a lot of autographs, experiencing the whole whirlwind of being mobbed by 300 people at the airport. Then at some point, I got disillusioned with it. I just had enough at the peak of my career... I was offered 20 films after Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha had released. I didnt want to work any more and people thought Ive gone crazy because thats what every actor dreams of, to get that big hit. But some intuition in me made me stop. I gave it all up and pursued art as a career; I became an art dealer and made a lot of money there. Then, apart from fame, I experienced wealth and luckily for me, I used that for travelling. I travelled to more than 60 countries. That taught me a lot, when you go to a new country you lose yourself in everything. You dont know the language, the people... you lose yourself and thats where you find yourself.

Somewhere the seeds of spirituality and enlightenment were sown in all the travelling and experiences that I had. One day, I got done with art as well and gave up everything to pursue spirituality. I devoted all my time in learning vipassana and going for various yoga and spirituality courses. In one of them, I found kundalini yoga and in the first five minutes of starting it in the class, I knew Ive found something Ive been looking for my entire life. I was so excited with that discovery that I signed up for the next teachers training course and after that I realised that its so beautiful that I want to share it with the world for the rest of my life.

How has kundalini yoga changed your life since then?

Our teacher had taught us one thing that I really love When you want to learn something, study it. When you want to master something, teach it. Learning kundalini yoga changed a lot about me my priorities, my energies, the way I deal with people, the whole understanding about auras. But what really helped me was the fact that I teach because as a teacher, you keep working towards improving yourself as a human being. The authenticity and integrity as a teacher lies in being true to your practice in teaching. When Im telling you to be honest and a good human being and if Im not a good human being myself, youd know that Im lying. When you practice that goodness in your life, that shows in your face. Kundalini yoga changed my life, yes, but teaching it and travelling to all these countries and sharing it has made me evolve even more and made me what I am today.

How would you describe the three-day Blossoming of the Lotus retreat that we just attended?

The lotus is a metaphor for you as a human being, as a soul how you are in this world that is totally corrupt, volatile, negative and full of violence. Just like the lotus looks so beautiful in a ugly swamp of dirty water, you can shine, too, as beautifully in this ugly, sad world. This three-day programme that we practised here was designed to make you understand what the Anahata chakra is. The connection of the Anahata chakra with your aura and what you need to do to heal the Anahata chakra... its only when you heal your heart chakra can you blossom like a lotus in this world.

What made you choose Atmantan for this retreat?

Atmantan has these crystals all over the property thats embedded in the bedrock, which is part of the geography of the place. Its because of that theres an energy here thats really healing. The nature and the scenery all around is very beautiful and pure. The hospitality and service we get, the way they look after every need, make it a natural choice. Im looking forward to working with them. The maximum number of events we do from here on will be with Atmantan now.

What would be your message for people who are still on the fence about taking up kundalini yoga?

Start with the first step. You dont dive into the swimming pool without knowing how to swim. You start with a small step and in this case, it is having the desire to heal. Understand that theres a heaven on earth now, not after you die. Have a desire to experience that heaven on earth and know that its possible to experience that heaven. The first step you take for that is by becoming healthy, by eating right, by exercising, by doing yoga. Its a small step but its the first step to enlightenment. When you clean up the body and mind, thats when you clean the environment for a clean and beautiful aura. Thats when you polish that aura and make it shine like a diamond.

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The Telegraph goes on a kundalini yoga retreat in Pune and comes back zen - Telegraph India

Themed "Decoding Life", the first Tencent ME Summit aimed to grasp the light of medical enlightenment by exploring the microscopic world of human body and tracing the tracks of humankind's evolutionary journey. In his congratulatory note for the conference, Pony Ma, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Tencent, said the mission of the Summit is to "encourage more people to care about life and have better self-awareness, promote public health through authoritative popular science and reduce suffering from illness."

In her congratulatory letter for the Summit, Tu Youyou, the first ChineseNobel laureate in physiology or medicine, also said, "Apart from focusing on their own fields of research, medical professionals should also bear the responsibility of popularizing accurate and authoritative medical knowledge among the public. As health and wellness are critical issues to human being, the medical community and enterprises' joint attention to medical science is in line with this development trend."

Xiao Ruiping, Chair Professor and Director of Institute of Molecular of Medicine at Peking University, Associate Editor of NEJM, Managing Editor of NEJM Frontiers in Medicine, said, "Cardiovascular disease, stroke and other chronic diseases have become the biggest health threat in China. Clinical research in China has improved significantly in recent years. We aim to introduce the most advanced international medical research and clinical practice to China, not only for the use of medical experts, but also for the benefit of general public who can access translated medical information through a reliable popular science platform."

Speakers at the conference include:

At the Summit, Zhang Meng shared Tencent's progress in popularizing medical science. "As we know, popularization of medical science and knowledge is a mission Tencent cannot accomplish on our own. We can provide an open platform, condensing the wisdom of experts, and with the power of Internet technology, we can jointly build a bridge of trust between physicians and the public," added Zhang.

Launched in 2017, Tencent Medipedia is designed as an authoritative, professional and practical platform sharing healthcare information. Users are provided with knowledge from prevention, diagnosis, treatment of disease to rehabilitation. Through texts, photos, videos, interactive activities, AI assistant and 3D visualization, Tencent Medipedia brings high-quality original healthcare content from around the globe and localizes it to best suit the Chinese audience. It has a systematic and holistic approach to translate obscure medical knowledge into more reader-friendly information for the general public, enhancing their abilities to take care of their health and reducing their panic when facing diseases.

At the Summit, Tencent also announced the "Young Doctor Short Video Popular Science Competition", encouraging young medical professionals to open the door of medical science with rich Internet communication tools, with a view to bringing high-quality medical knowledge to the public.

Pony emphasized at last, "I hope 'Tech for Good' will become part of Tencent's mission and vision, guiding us to make the best use of technology, avoiding any misuse or inappropriate use of technology, and driving innovations and breakthroughs for the benefits of humanity."

SOURCE Tencent

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Tencent and NEJM Yi Xue Qian Yan Host ME Summit to Promote Medical Science and Healthcare - PRNewswire

USC Dornsifes Kelsey Rubin-Detlev argues that 18th-century Russian ruler Catherine the Great offers an example of how modern leaders could use wit, reason and science to advance a nation. [6 min read]

There are unscrupulous people in Russia. Fortunately, Im one of them, says Catherine the Great, played by Helen Mirren, as she stands above the corpse of a rival to her throne. For those following present day politics, this memorable moment from HBOs new, eponymously named series might feel familiar.

Little else in Catherines historic rule as Russias empress seems to align with the strategies of present-day politicians, however.

Fascinated by Enlightenment ideals of science and reason, and eager to thrust the country into the modern era, Catherine used precise strategy, charm and her considerable networking powers to rule Russia for 34 years and establish the nation as a powerful force in Europe. For those bemoaning a lack of, well, most of these traits in those holding office today, perhaps her onscreen reintroduction to America could serve as a timely reminder of an alternative mode of rule.

Kelsey Rubin-Detlev, assistant professor of Slavic languages and literatures, says, Catherine didnt just interact with public intellectuals: She was a public intellectual herself. She was a playwright, a journalist, a historian, a political theorist and much more. This is what being a great monarch in the Enlightenment was all about: combining ideas with power.

Friends and frenemies

Catherine the Great came to power in 1762 after successfully tossing her husband, Peter III, whom she considered an unbearable spouse and weak ruler, from the throne in a coup.

Her reign was perilous.

She was not Russian, but German, marrying into the Russian imperial family through a political alliance. Although Russia had a history of women rulers (Peter IIIs aunt, Elizabeth, had run the country for two decades), maintaining the respect of her male peers was a constant battle. Various usurpers, including her own son, were vying for the crown.

In response to these challenges, she cultivated a canny ability to network and turn enemies into allies without upsetting the delicate aristocratic ecosystem that kept her in power.

To paraphrase Mirrens Catherine, always keep the awkward ones busy, and then get rid of them if they actually mess it up. For Rubin-Detlev, this was a core strategy for Catherines rule.

Catherine knew better than to avoid or mistreat people whom she didnt like. Instead, she often gave potential enemies a role in her government and treated them with respect. This way, she took away any grounds they might have to complain and made their success inseparable from hers.

Keeping her detractors loyal was just one part of her strategy. Catherine was also extremely savvy in choosing her friends and correspondents, says Rubin-Detlev.

Catherines dramatic arrival on the throne and early pronouncements of her intent to rule according to Enlightenment principles attracted a great deal of attention in Europe, but many, including the leading French philosopher Voltaire, were skeptical about her ability to hold on to power. Catherine managed to overcome his doubts: When he dedicated his Philosophy of History to her a few years after her accession, she wrote a witty note back, sparking a correspondence that went on for 15 years and covered topics like politics, morality and Russias place in the Enlightenment.

The relationship was strategic.

Besides the fact that she genuinely admired his writings, [Catherine] knew that by befriending [Voltaire], she was joining a network of highly influential people, says Rubin-Detlev. She could count on Voltaire not just to publish good things about her in his very popular writings, but also to talk about her with other intellectuals and with people like the duc de Richelieu, an advisor to the king of France.

On Voltaires part, it reflected well in social circles that he was pen pals with the empress of Russia. They never met in person but Voltaire kept a portrait of Catherine in his bedroom.

Catherine II ruled Russia from 1762 until 1796. (Image: Catherine II by Fyodor Rokotov.)

Catherine the clown

Mirren successfully captures Catherines intelligence, but to Rubin-Detlev, the depiction misses Catherines signature sense of humor.

Catherine was not afraid to clown around, she says. The real Catherine learned very early in life that she could get ahead only by being likeable and making people laugh.

Before Catherine came to power, the reigning ruler, Empress Elizabeth, assigned hostile courtiers to Catherines staff to keep tabs on her. Catherine set about keeping them entertained, throwing parties and telling jokes, eventually winning her spies over to her side.

Once on the throne, Catherine hosted intimate dinner parties where guests were expected to lay aside rank and participate with whatever ridiculous games the group invented.

Making herself approachable was a way to form alliances and also a way to learn. By listening to her guests, who felt comfortable in her presence, she could find out information that may have been kept from a more imperious ruler.

She also wrote silly love letters to her partners. In one to her lifelong friend, trusted deputy and possible secret husband, Grigory Potemkin, she writes that she had seen a beautiful man the night before: You might run into him if, when you get up, you turn to the right and look at the wall. She wrote this knowing that a mirror hung to the right of his bed.

Catherine was careful, however, to maintain her position as head of state. Unlike her contemporary Marie Antoinette, who playacted as a common person and built a faux country hamlet in which to stage life as a shepherdess, Catherine knew that becoming too earthy would strip her of necessary mystique (and her head).

Catherine maintained her grip on power, no one could ever forget that she was the empress, says Rubin-Detlev.

Reason, individualism, skepticism, science

Catherine was immensely attracted to the Enlightenment movement of Western Europe, which emphasized reason and individualism above tradition and which saw science as a means to advance society.

The Enlightenment was a big, international conversation about what it is to be human and how we can make our lives better in this world. It was an absolute priority for Catherine that Russia be a part of that conversation, says Rubin-Detlev.

Catherines allegiance with these philosophies is perhaps best embodied in her push to inoculate the Russian population against smallpox.

The disease had ravaged Europe for centuries, badly disfiguring Peter III. Determined to rid her countrymen of the scourge that was killing tens of thousands, in 1767, she summoned Thomas Dimsdale, a British physician, to court. Dimsdale had developed a hotly debated early vaccination method. By dipping a knife into the smallpox pustule of a victim with a mild strain of the disease, the strain could then be transferred to a healthy patient via a small cut on their arm. Patients infected with this milder strain developed immunity, and could fight off more deadly strains in the future.

When Thomas arrived at court, Catherine insisted that she receive the innoculation, despite heavy protest from Dimsdale and the rest of her courtiers, who were concerned should the still experimental treatment fail. After inoculation, she fell ill for a few weeks and then recovered (much to the relief of Dimsdale, who had passports and swift horses at the ready to escape an irate court). The experiment was a success, and by 1800, millions of inoculations were administered to Russian citizens.

Its pretty amazing that, in the 18th century, the best publicity strategy for Catherine was to show everyone that she was planning laws and reforms by thinking about concepts like justice and natural law and by talking to the best European thinkers about Russias needs. Wouldnt it be great if political leaders today could win votes by appealing to reason and research? says Rubin-Detlev.

Modern politicians, take note. The next episode of Catherine the Great airs Nov. 4.

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Modern politicians could learn a thing or two from this Russian empress > News > USC Dornsife - USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and...

I have a piece on the home page on the importance of the American cultural nation, in the context of a discussion of civic nationalism:

It is certainly true that different forms of nationalism can be more or less inclusive and democratic. But no nation has ever been entirely civic in this sense, and its foolish to consider the United States any different.

Our cultural nation was extremely important at the outset, and remains so today. At the time of the Revolution, the colonists were 80 percent British and almost entirely Protestant. As John Jay wrote in theFederalistNo. 2, Providence has been pleased to give this one connected country to one united people a people descended from the same ancestors, speaking the same language, professing the same religion, attached to the same principles of government, very similar in their manners and customs.

The fact is that culture is seeded with ideas. Would America be the same if its people spoke Russian the language of a country that has never effectively supported property rights, the rule of law, or limited government rather than English? Would our political culture as we know it have emerged if practically every home in America a couple of hundred years ago had had a Koran on the nightstand rather than a King James Bible? Of course not.

At the beginning, this was a country not necessarily for Englishmen but by Englishmen, including their notions of liberty, which defined the American experience from the outset. Tocqueville famously wrote that the American was the Englishman left alone. If the eastern seaboard had been settled by Spaniards, you could have left them alone for a very long time and marinated them in all the Enlightenment philosophers, and they still never would have come up with the American founding.

Rich Lowry is the editor of National Review. He can be reached via email: comments.lowry@nationalreview.com.

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Not Necessarily for Englishmen but by Englishmen - National Review

Dear Academy Members,

Last year, the Academy faced widespread criticism after announcing a new Oscar category for outstanding achievement in popular film. The category was quickly tabled, with critics saying the award was a lackluster attempt to boost telecast ratings and appease some studios. But I am hoping that after a year of reflection, Academy members will rally around the idea. Allow me to explain.

Before the 1980s, Main Street and Academy tastes were mostly aligned as nearly all winners of the best picture Oscar were among the top 10 highest-grossing films that year. Preferences began to diverge in the 1980s, as smaller prestige films would find the Oscar spotlight over larger box office spectacles. Since 2010, no best picture Oscar has gone to a top 10 box office hit.

While mainstream moviegoing audiences broadened their tastes to include superhero, fantasy and sci-fi themes, the preferences of Academy members narrowed to sobering, real-life dramas often laced with timely political and social messages. We need to recognize that both types of films are outstanding achievements, each in its own unique way.

Some legendary filmmakers are critical of this art form. While promoting his latest film, Netflix's The Irishman, Martin Scorsese said Marvel movie storylines are not cinema because they do not "convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being." In interviews with French press soon after, Francis Ford Coppola added fuel to the discussion by calling Marvel pictures "despicable" because they do not provide learning, enlightenment or inspiration.

They are wrong. Having conducted more than 1,000 audience studies for major entertainment companies, I know blockbusters achieve success by creating a deep emotional connection across an immense range of audiences. It's not just about special effects, explosions or vast merchandising opportunities. Anyone paying attention appreciated that 2018's Avengers: Infinity War and this year's Avengers: Endgame masterfully wove multiple storylines and characters together into a seamless, suspenseful narrative of empowerment, fear, bravery, love, loss and inspiration. In so doing, Endgame alone made $2.8 billion worldwide that equates to roughly 280 million people eagerly paying $10 each to experience the saga at the theaters. In comparison, Barry Jenkins' Moonlight was one of the narrowest appealing recent best picture winners, drawing about 6.5 million people.

Academy members need to accept that Avengers and Moonlight represent different yet both highly deserving categories of artistry. Unfortunately, when prominent filmmakers voice opposition to this category of artistry, they are undermining the achievements of a vast number of the Academy's talented members, from producers, directors and screenwriters to crafts and production teams. These films also help keep the industry afloat, often allowing studios to take subsequent risks on funding smaller movies that then often find their way to Oscar recognition. Thus, these blockbusters also deserve your respectful recognition.

The Academy recognized the dichotomy of tastes between its members and the general moviegoing audience when it increased the number of best picture contenders from five to as many as 10 nominees in 2010, with hopes that more popular films would be nominated. But the added slots were quickly filled with mostly smaller and mid-sized prestige films. Even when Marvel's $1.3 billion worldwide hit Black Panther was nominated for best picture this year, it lost to Green Book, a film grossing $322 million worldwide a quarter of Black Panther's box office haul.

The fix is simple. The Academy should reconsider an Academy Award for outstanding achievement among blockbusters call it best blockbuster. With that, the Academy would verify the top 10 highest-grossing worldwide box office films and then members would vote for the one that displays the greatest unique achievement. Awards might have gone to Avatar or Wonder Woman. This year, nominations might include Endgame, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Chinese sci-fi hit The Wandering Earth, Joker and the upcoming Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. What a race!

Some are concerned that if a film is nominated for best blockbuster, then Academy members might not include it for best picture. I believe a truly great film would make both lists. The new category might also net a larger audience for the Oscars. This year's viewership on ABC grew to 29.6 million, likely boosted by Black Panther's seven Oscar noms, including best picture.

While some might question that a blockbuster award would be a grab for TV ratings and advertising cash, that ignores the issue of the Academy's cultural relevance. The 33 percent ratings drop of this year's Emmy Awards, partially because of the vast number of nominated shows that few viewers watch, is an ominous message for the 2020 Oscar telecast: Be culturally relevant or die.

I hope many of you agree. If so, reach out to Academy president David Rubin and the board to share your views.

Thank you,

Gene Del VecchioAuthor of Creating BlockbustersFaculty, USC Marshall School of Business

This story first appeared in the Oct. 30 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.

Link:
Why the Oscars Should Revive the Best Blockbuster Idea (Guest Column) - Hollywood Reporter

Maliks work, in many ways, defends the values of Enlightenment of the 18th century

Kenan Malik is an Indian-born British writer, lecturer and broadcaster. He had studied neurobiology and the history of science. As an academic author, his focus is on the philosophy of biology, and contemporary theories of multiculturalism, pluralism and race. These are the subjects he draws on elaborately in his books. Maliks work, in many ways, defends the values of Enlightenment of the 18th century as he seeks to show through his writing that the ethos of Enlightenment has been distorted in recent political and scientific discourses. He writes for many newspapers and magazines including the Observer, the New York Times, the Guardian, the Financial Times and the Independent.

'From Fatwa to Jihad: The Rushdie Affair and its Legacy' (2009)

From Fatwa to Jihadwas released to coincide with the twentieth anniversary of the Fatwa issued against Salman Rushdie. In this book, Malik recounts the events of the Bradford protests, the fatwa, the Indian riots, as well as government and media responses. Apart from this, Malik also focuses on South-Asian British immigrants, and how they shaped the British-Asian identity. He describes the increase in state multiculturalism and its long-term effects, and also analyses the culture of censoring yourself and fearing the media.

'Multiculturalism and its Discontents: Rethinking Diversity After 9/11' (2013)

After 9/11 and the subsequent terrorist attacks that followed in some parts of Europe, a frequently asked question was to what extent the west can tolerate cultural diversity. InMulticulturalism and its Discontents,Malik examines how multiculturalism affects terrorism and social discontents, and analyses the history of the idea of multiculturalism with its political roots and social consequences. He discusses if people can, and should, try to build a society that has common values.

Awards

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Kenan Malik: Philosophy of science and cultural theories - Dhaka Tribune

Although the Founders wrote and spoke with clarity and brilliance, it is evidently easy for us today to misunderstand them. The evidence is all around us.

David Boaz gives us a particularly vivid and therefore useful example of how its done in his book The Libertarian Mind.

Introducing the American cause to the world, Jefferson explained:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness

Lets try to draw out the implications of Americas founding document. Many libertarian scholars have joined Jefferson in making the case for natural rights to life, liberty, and property. (Emphasis mine.)

You saw it happen, didnt you? Jefferson did not declare that we have natural rights to life, liberty, and property. According to the Declaration, we have unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.Boaz has Jefferson making the case for natural rights to life, liberty, and property, but it was John Locke, not Jefferson, who did that. Had Boaz written that many libertarian scholars have joined Locke in making the case for natural rights to life, liberty, and property that claim would have been simply true.

My point is not to pick on Boaz or his valuable book. Because there are so many examples of Americans of all persuasions offering interpretations of the Founders which differ fundamentally from the Founders understanding of themselves, anyone whom I select for this discussion can seem to be unfairly singled out.

Christopher Hitchens offers another example. Although Hitchens was no libertarian, he also made Jefferson sound like Locke. In this passage from his well-received 2005 biography of Jefferson, Hitchens, like Boaz, dropped out unalienable rights and in addition managed to get both property and natural rights in the same sentence as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Watch closely to see how it is done:

And where Locke had spoken of life, liberty, and property as being natural rights, Jefferson famously wrote life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

In fairness to Hitchens and to Boaz, their depiction of Jefferson relying on Locke is standard fare. Open a book or article which discusses the Declaration and there is a good chance you will read that Jefferson put the pursuit of happiness where Locke had placed property. But stating it that way completely misrepresents the logic of what Jefferson did. Making it seem that Lockes list and Jeffersons list are essentially the same, that Jefferson only changed the last item of a list of three, leaves out the most important point. For Locke, property is the overarching concept:

Manhath by nature a power to preserve his propertythat is, his life, liberty and estate.

Glossing over the antecedent of Lockes list creates a false impression. To make that clear, lets put Lockes list and the Declarations list side-by-side:

Manhath by nature a power to preserve his propertythat is, his life, liberty and estate.

Menare endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Lockes triad is appended to property. The Declarations triad is appended to unalienable rights. These are two fundamentally different accounts.

For the American Founders, unalienable rightsnot propertyis the overarching concept. Here is John Adams in the Massachusetts Constitution:

All people are born free and equal, and have certain natural, essential and unalienable rights; among which may be reckoned the right of enjoying and defending their lives and liberties; that of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property; in fine, that of seeking and obtaining their safety and happiness.

According to the Founders, our property rights are among our unalienable rightsand securing our unalienable rights is the very purpose of government:

that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rightsThat to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men.

To provide an account of the Founders ideas which leaves out unalienable rights is to not account for them at all.

Jefferson was not following Lockeand he was also making it perfectly clear that he was not following Locke. Yet Boaz and Hitchens and scholars of every stripe and persuasion who already know going in that the Founders followed Locke always manage to find that the Founders followed Locke.

Of course, if you bring other convictions about the nature of things to your understanding of the Founders, you can manage to find other ways to misunderstand them. Here, for another example, is W.H. Auden in his book The Dyers Hand:

It was then [during the administration of Andrew Jackson] that it first became clear that, despite similarities of form, representative government in America was not to be an imitation of the English parliamentary system, and that, though the vocabulary of the Constitution may be that of the French Enlightenment, its American meaning is quite distinct.

Of course, representative government in America was never an imitation of the English parliamentary system, nor was the Constitution written in the vocabulary of the French Enlightenmentand all that was perfectly clear from Americas beginning. The vocabulary and ideas of the French Enlightenment were a far cry from those of Americas Founders.

Voltaires enlightened despotism and Rousseaus general will came together in a constitutional referendum by means of which the French imposed a new tyranny on themselves by granting Napoleon unlimited political power as their emperor. Americans, operating according to very different ideas and using a very different vocabulary, ratified the Constitution and then elected Washington to an office of limited powers in a government of limited powers.

Auden simply read into the Founders what he knew, the English parliamentary system and the ideas of the French Enlightenment, just as Boaz and Hitchens and others read Locke into the Declaration. Because our forgetting of the ideas of the Founders is widespread and very far advanced today, mistakes of this kind are frequently madeand usually go undetected. There was a time not so long ago when the ideas of the Founders were better remembered and more generally understood. Mistakes like these once would have been unlikely and, if made, quickly recognized.

I quote Auden as a reminder that we can encounter pronouncements about America almost anywhere, even in a book about poetry and literature. If we pay careful attention to these assertions wherever we encounter them, we will often find that they are mistaken, misguided, or misleading.

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How To Misunderstand And Misrepresent The Founders - The Federalist