Down, but not out.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight contender, Colby Covington, could be sidelined for up to six months or longer after suffering a broken jaw against Kamaru Usman in the UFC 245 pay-per-view (PPV) main event last weekend in Las Vegas.

But failing to back up months of pre-fight trash talk has not deterred Chaos from believing hes still the best in the world, which is why his coach, Dan Lambert, expects Covington to make his Octagon return at some point in 2020 as confident as ever.

He came back to Florida to go see an oral surgeon here to figure out what he wanted to do, Lambert told MMA Fighting. He wants to get right back in. He wants to get right back into training. He wants to get back into training as soon as hes ready health-wise. He wants to get back and prove that hes the best. Hes 1,000 percent positive, 1,000 percent motivated. Hes ready to go. He didnt lose one piece of confidence in himself.

Sorry, Rosie.

Depending on his timeline for return, Covington (15-2) could be paired off against one of many bitter rivals in the form of ex-welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, who like Chaos, came up short against Usman earlier this year in Las Vegas.

Its also not unreasonable to think hes not far off from a championship rematch, based on his Fight of the Night performance against Usman, though Covington may have to take a number behind fellow contenders Jorge Masvidal and Leon Edwards.

You can hate the guy, you can want to see him get merked but after putting on a performance like that and going to war the way he went to war and knowing he broke his jaw early in the fight, how can you not have respect for that? Lambert said.

Ask Rocky.

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Coach: Motivated Colby Covington planning UFC comeback to prove hes the best - MMA Mania

It's finally happened: CBS and Viacom are now one company again. ViacomCBS (VIAC) (VIACA) will be more powerful as one entity than as two separate media concerns. That's because Hollywood currently favors scale of content and platform in the streaming era. It's also because Viacom has been coming off several years of fundamental underperformance with its theatrical slates, subpar management and challenging cable environments (i.e.: think consumers ditching linear for broadband-driven subscription services).

With CBS now attached, the company can arguably look ahead now to the future. CEO Robert Bakish is tasked with getting the stock into growth-mode. With Disney (DIS) and Netflix (NFLX) the dominant players in streaming, Bakish's challenge will be to develop great content as well as design (or sell to) the best platforms to deliver that content. This will require acquisitions as well as careful re-investment of incoming cash flows. I believe this is a stock that is a long-term buy, but because it is basically a new idea post the re-merger, I will call it by necessity a speculative consideration.

One of the prime reasons why the stock is of interest is because one might naturally assume that this new era in the company's history represents what is essentially an inflection point. Such a transitional period could mean that the management team is now incentivized to aggressively pursue new avenues of growth.

And this will mean that new ideas will be incubated and executed. There will be failures, of course, but I doubt shareholders will revisit the doldrums inflicted upon them during the Philippe Dauman regime.

At a recent conference, Bakish talked about his vision for the company. The word synergy has made a comeback of sorts for the CEO; in fact, his comments remind me of another time in media, when linear ruled the roost and repurposing content via cable channels was a popular method of amortizing investment costs.

His comments also come with the context of the stock being cheap, in his mind. As the article points out, the stock is indeed trading in the mid single-digit P/E range. Bakish certainly wants to make a big splash, and he may have an easy time of it propelling the stock to a higher premium, at least initially. That's because he will be looking to make an impression quickly.

Being incentivized means, in part, searching for ways to maximize the financial position of the company. I like two things that were mentioned: asset monetization and a stock buyback.

Of the two, asset monetization is the more highly valued, in my opinion. Deadline reported on the move Bakish made regarding the company headquarters, and while such a real estate transaction is a valid approach, I'm hoping to see other kinds of sales that will target assets linked to previous investments. For instance, Simon & Schuster might make for a reasonable sell idea. Awesomeness TV isn't necessarily a core concern at the moment and also could be considered (I do like this asset for certain reasons, but perhaps ViacomCBS would find too much overlap with it). I foresee a full review of the portfolio with an eye toward selling some significant parts. I also would see potential for some creative selling. As an example, the Indiana Jones library could be sold off in full to Disney (DIS). The company might also search for other parts of its library that could be let go.

A stock buyback also would make the shares attractive as it would show management's confidence in the future, but it could of course come with risks. The company should concentrate on producing content and promoting its platforms first and foremost. Nevertheless, returning value to shareholders is a perennial goal for most companies, and given the aforementioned P/E ratio, it arguably isn't a bad time to take back some of the float.

The company will undoubtedly look to make some purchases. Although Bakish seems reticent to discuss any strategy regarding this part of the thesis, I still believe that Lions Gate Entertainment (LGF.A) (LGF.B) remains essentially on the table. Purchasing that studio would scale up ViacomCBS's library content quickly.

The company also is examining investing in the Miramax library. I'd prefer a total purchase as opposed to an equity stake, but the point here is that Bakish clearly wants access to as much branded content as possible. Depending on the dynamic of the rights held within this library - and you can bet they are complicated and ambiguous at points - ViacomCBS can create reboots and prequels and sequels to all kinds of stories and characters. This will in turn help to drive other parts of the newly-merged conglomerate.

If the company can scale up a bit, then it also might make itself attractive to a potential bigger media concern in the future. That also must be taken into account when considering an investment in this new stock. Some ideas of potential purchases in my mind are some of the smaller studios/libraries such as A24 and comic-book entity Archie Comics. Hasbro (HAS) of course has already purchased eOne, but these concepts represent the type of smaller-scale buys that could interest management down the road.

ViacomCBS has several linear and non-linear platforms that deliver content.

Showtime is a well-known cable channel that is also trying its hand at the OTT paradigm. The service has over 27 million subscribers. Content such as Homeland and Ray Donovan have played well with viewers. The hope is for the OTT version to continue to expand, as well as total subscriptions overall. With all the different services out there, this will be tough, especially given CBS's All Access product existing as a potential cannibalizing factor. Access is a total direct-to-consumer play that is powered by the Star Trek and Twilight Zone brands. According to this Variety article, the OTT version of Showtime, combined with Access, counts 8 million subscribers. That's a small number, but it also implies a growth opportunity.

The company also owns Pluto TV. This is an ad-supported service that has a plethora of dedicated channels (e.g., a channel that shows only Doctor Who episodes, as well as channels that show only certain reality shows, etc.). The asset was purchased for $340 million by Viacom about a year ago. Bakish said at the aforementioned conference event that the service is worth much more today based on viewing levels and active-subscriber counts (and, one would presume, additions to the lineup). The linked article mentioned 20 million active viewers in a given month. This also represents a growth opportunity, as well as an opportunity to create another subscription-based offering. And just as Disney is bundling its streaming services, ViacomCBS could indeed grow the OTT business via bundling strategies.

The company also owns MTV Networks, which is driven by MTV and Nickelodeon, and the Paramount Network. Obviously linear is under siege to some extent, and Wall Street prefers hearing about non-linear stories, but this part of the conglomerate nevertheless can help to drive value long-term. The cable nets aren't going away, and content pipelines that start on MTV can end up on Access or Pluto, and vice versa. In addition, I hope management sees fit to try day-and-dating some Paramount movie projects with its streaming components (that would even include Showtime), or near day/dating them (i.e, bring a new movie release to Access/et cetera perhaps in less than a month's time while still keeping it in theaters).

As I've stated, the stock seems to be inexpensive. Looking at many metric indicators in the SA quote system, such as P/E, P/sales, enterprise value metrics, et cetera, the shares come away attractive. However, overall, SA gives the stock an average rating because of cash-flow concerns (which is important to consider).

The company declared a dividend recently of $0.24 per share according to SA. Right now, that would put the yield at over 2%. That won't place the stock on the radar of income investors, but for a media concern, that isn't too bad.

Right now, I think it is difficult to consider the company on a total quantitative basis since we haven't gotten any quarterly reports yet since the merger. Obviously we're going on past history and analyst predictions, which is fair enough.

However, I'm leaning toward the qualitative side of this story. Viacom and CBS will prosper together as a cohesive unit; I am bullish on the synergy scenario as laid out by Bakish. The CEO should have something to prove, so like I've argued, his future legacy is linked to how well he manages the company for shareholder value.

ViacomCBS obviously is not a disruptive IPO, but this is a new beginning. Put this stock on a watch list at the very least; buying it on a somewhat speculative basis (given that we haven't seen quarterly data yet) with a long-term frame of mind is also something to consider.

Disclosure: I am/we are long DIS, LGF.A, LGF.B. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

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ViacomCBS Is A Buy Based On Content, Valuation And Motivated Management - Seeking Alpha

If you were to start a professional basketball team based out of Los Angeles 60 years ago, the first combination of colors youd choose probably wouldnt be purple and gold. Its also safe to assume that Lakers would have been near the bottom of the list of potential team names despite how easily Los Angeles Lakers rolls off the tongue.

But somehow, the Lakers have made it work for the last 60 years thanks to the rich history thats associated with the teams name, colors and iconic logo, which has pretty much been the same since 1961. That history includes 11 championships not including the five they won as the Minneapolis Lakers 26 Basketball Hall of Famers and 11 retired numbers.

Admittedly, the Lakers havent lived up to their name in recent years, but the allure of the organization is still seemingly as strong as ever, as it landed them LeBron James in 2018. Now, the pressure is on James to deliver the Lakers a championship just like the greats before him did, and in the most recent episode of his HBO series The Shop, James said he feels the weight of those expectations on his shoulders every time he puts on his uniform.

James isnt the first person to share his feelings on the experience of putting on a Lakers jersey this season. After the Lakers win over the Washington Wizards last month, Howard said that he feels the same sense of pride James talked about when he suits up in his purple and gold armor.

Every time we step on the court, every time we put on that jersey, we feel like the Men in Black. The scene in the movie when he says are you ready to put on the last suit youll ever put on? Thats how we all feel every time we put on this uniform. Like this is it. This is what we play for, Howard said.

Sure, it may sound a little cliche, but general consensus among players is that putting on a Lakers jersey is different than putting on almost any other jersey in the NBA. As a matter of fact, the only teams that could probably offer a similar experience are the Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls.

The hope is that feeling has a lasting effect on Anthony Davis, and that its something free agents still desire. If the last two years are a sign of anything, the Lakers are in a good spot.

For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts. You can follow this author on Twitter at @RadRivas.

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LeBron James says legends of Lakers past motivate him while wearing uniform - Silver Screen and Roll

Sheela Biernstiel who is popularly known as Ma Anand Sheela is a former spokeswoman of the Rajneesh Movement and an Indian born American-Swiss convicted criminal.

Ma Anand Sheela came into the limelight again after Netflix series Wild, Wild Country aired and she grabbed eyeballs for her witty comments and one-liners.

As per reports, Ma Sheela Anand came across as an influential and imposing stateswoman but the 70-year-old is full of warmth in one meets her in person.

She got involved in a lot of controversies in the 80s when she was a personal secretary for Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and later pleaded guilty to attempted murder and assault for the role she played in the 1984 Rajneeshee Bioterror Attack, however, several filmmakers from the film industry are now approaching her to bring her story to life on reel.

In a recent interview, Ma Anand Sheela spilled the beans about the time Priyanka Chopra had announced starring in a biopic based on her, she had sent Priyanka a legal notice not allowing her to do so. She said that she denied the Quantico actress permission to star in the biopic as she had not chosen her for the same.

Ma Sheela further revealed that she did not hear from Priyanka's team post her legal notice but that she never took it to heart.

When she was asked who she would prefer to play her in the biopic, Ma Sheela said that she wished Alia Bhatt played her as she looked more like Alia when she was young and sees a spunk in the Raazi actress that she had in her early days.

She further added that spunk is very important and natural, not artificial and made up and that Alia has that necessary spunk to play her on-screen.

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'I looked like her when I was young': Ma Anand Sheela prefers Alia Bhatt over Priyanka Chopra for her biopic - DNA India

AlphaGo is an artificial intelligence (AI) agent that is specialized to play Go, a Chinese strategy board game, against human competitors. AlphaGo is a Google DeepMind project.

The ability to create a learning algorithm that can beat a human player at strategic games is a measure of AI development. AlphaGo is designed as a self-teaching AI and plays against itself to master the complex strategic game of Go. There have been versions of AlphaGo that beat human players but new versions are still being created.

Go is a Chinese board game similar to chesswith two players, one using black pieces and one white, placing a piece each turn. Pieces are placed on a grid that varies in size according to the level of play up to 19x19 placement points. The goal is to capture more territory (empty spaces) or enemy pieces by surrounding them with your pieces. Only positions that are horizontal and vertical relative to the players need to be covered to capture; it's not required that they all be diagonals. Either pieces or territory can be captured individually or in groups.

Chess may be a more famous board game with white and black pieces but Go has a googol more possible moves. The number of possible positions makes a traditional brute force approach, as was used with IBMs' Big Blue in chess, impossible with current computers. That difference in complexity of the problem required a new approach.

AlphaGo is based off a Monte Carlo algorithm tree search based looking at a list of possible moves from its machine-learned repertoire. Algorithms and learning differ among the various versions of AlphaGo. AlphaGo Master, the version that beat the world champion Go player Ke Jie, uses supervised learning. AlphaGo Zero, the unsupervised learning version of AlphaGo, learns by playing against itself. First, the AI plays randomly, then with increasing sophistication. Its increased sophistication is such that it consistently beats the Master version that dominates human players.

Watch SciShow cover AlphaGo in the video below:

See the article here:

What is AlphaGo? - Definition from WhatIs.com

A new exhibition draws on a massive collection of rare texts and early printed works to trace the dharma throughout the ages.

Buddhism has one of the richest textual traditions of any world religion. While many Buddhist teachings implore us to look beyond our language and concepts, the written word and awakening have been closely connected since the earliest days of the dharma.The British Library recently opened a major new exhibitionsimply called Buddhismthat explores this important relationship between textuality and spirituality with a collection that spans around 20 countries and 2,000 years.

We have designed the exhibit with everyone in mind, said lead curator Jana Igunma. We wanted to display the diversity of Buddhist art and, at the same time, show the strong continuity of the life of the Buddha and his teachings in scripture. Accompanying the librarys largest-ever display of Buddhist treasures will be a series of meditation classes and lectures on Buddhist art history, music, dance, ethics, the contributions of women, calligraphy, and more. The events program will conclude with a two-day international conference on translation, transmission, and the preservation of Buddhist texts and practices from February 78, 2020. Buddhism runs through February 23.

The exhibition begins by recounting the life of the Buddha and his past lives through scripture, sculpture, scroll paintings, and votive objects. From his enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree and first sermon at Deer Park to his passing away (mahaparinirvana) and the distribution of his relics, viewers will gain a fuller picture of how the Buddhas long career was artistically represented and understood within and outside the Buddhist world. We see the Buddhas miraculous birth at Lumbini Grove in a woodblock print from Eastern Tibet, his encounter with the four sights (Siddhartha Gautamas first inspiration to end suffering: an elderly man, a sick man, a deceased man, and an ascetic) in a hand-painted Chinese book, his renunciation of royal privilege and family life in a 7.6-meter-long Burmese accordion-style codex, and his temptation by the demon Mara is depicted in vivid colors in a Nepalese translation of the Lalitavistara Sutra.

Nearby is a 15th-century copy of the book Barlaam and Josaphat, a Christian romance inspired by the life of the Buddha, opened to a page with an engraving of Josaphat, the Christianized Prince Siddhartha (whose name is derived from the Sanskrit word for bodhisattva), giving up his worldly life. Printed in Germany around 1470, this story was the Middle Ages equivalent of a bestseller, and it saw many translations, including Arabic, Georgian, Hebrew, Slavic, and Ethiopic versions.

European encounters with Buddhism are not the main focus, but there are traces of British patronage and power throughout the exhibition. This is intentional, and part of a wider effort of British institutions to confront their colonial histories and explore alternative ways of exhibiting Asian objects, many of which were stolen or otherwise procured during the countrys imperial expansion.

A contemporary Thai-style thangka painting, for example, depicts traditional scenes from the Vessantara Jataka, one of the Buddhas birth tales in which he perfected generosity. Occupying the typical place for donors on the composition are William Shakespeare and English officialsa playful and somewhat satirical nod to the British Library, which commissioned the piece in 2019.

For many, the stories in these illuminated scriptures may raise the question of whether the Buddha was a historical or purely mythical figure. While interesting, this question is not the best way to approach the exhibit or the tradition itself, explained Vishvapani Blomfield, an author and Triratna Buddhist meditation teacher, during his inaugural lecture at the library on October 25. Instead, he argued, viewers should use their imagination to enter the mental world that these texts evoke and describe, so we can come closer to seeing them in their full context.

Some of the more remarkable texts invite us to stretch our imagination back to the early centuries CE. A collection of 2,000-year-old birch bark scroll fragments contain texts from the Tripitaka (the three baskets comprising the Theravada Buddhist canon) and are among the oldest surviving Buddhist manuscripts in the world. It was discovered inside a clay water vessel in the historical region of Gandhara (located in modern-day Pakistan and Afghanistan), which was a vibrant center of cultural exchange on the Silk Road that enabled Buddhism to spread from India to East Asia. Other fragments from the Buddhist canon in the exhibit date back to the 5th century. Written in Pyu script and hammered onto gold sheets, extracts from the Vinaya Pitaka, excavated in Burma in the late 1890s, spell out rules of discipline for Theravadan monastics.

The Hyakumant Dharani or One Million Pagoda Dharani, dating 764-770 CE. Courtesy British Library Board Illustrated palm leaf Pancharaksha, from 12th-century Nepal. Courtesy British Library Board

Another emphasis in the collection is how the spread of Buddhist ideas and value systems across Asia impacted the development of new writing and printing techniques. The Hyakumanto Dharani, or One Million Pagoda Dharani [a chant or incantation] commissioned in the late 760s under Japanese Empress Shotoku, is one of the oldest existing examples of printing in Japan (and in the world). Likewise, the illustrated palm leaf Pancharaksha, a ritual text on the Five Protectors from 12th-century Nepal, testifies to the printing technologies being developed in the medieval period. There is even a station where you can touch some of the materials commonly used in manuscript production, such as palm leaves, mulberry paper, and silk. Made from paper, wood, cloth, mother of pearl, ivory, or gold, the 120 illuminated texts are exceptionally varied, but the care put into each work binds them.

Other works, like the Jataka Tales from Southeast Asia, are filled with folk wisdom and lessons about virtuous qualities. The collection also contains rare copies of the Lotus Sutra found in caves near Dunhuang, China, and various translations of the Diamond Sutra from China, Tibet, and Koreakey Mahayana sutras that convey cornerstone philosophical tenets, including Buddhist teachings on non-attachment and emptiness.

Despite the exhibitions heavy focus on text, Buddhism is not all about doctrine. It has flourished over the millennia through the living practices of its devotees, and the final section of the gallery contextualizes this idea. Copying the words of the Buddha was and still is considered a highly meritorious act. Memorizing, chanting, and listening to the recitation of sutras remains a significant part of ritual life for monastic and lay communities worldwide. The library further encourages an experiential understanding of the displayed works through an accompanying soundscape, an ambient blend of birdsong, flowing water, and gongs.

Just before leaving, viewers will pass three short films by Hong Kong-based visual artist Stanley Wong that bring to life a popular passage from the Heart Sutra, one of the many sutras found in a body of literature known as the Prajnaparamita, or Perfection of Wisdom. With a calligraphy brush and wet ink, the artist paints the words form is emptiness, emptiness is form in large Chinese characters on paved ground. Once etched, the inscription quickly fades away.

The same principle can be applied to the words of the Buddha. Scripture from antiquity to the present may be preserved in libraries and museums, but, as the Buddhism exhibition makes clear through its collection, the enduring resonance of the Buddhas teachings comes from the way they are rewritten into peoples lives in each and every era.

Buddhism is on display at the British Library through February 23, 2020. Tickets for the exhibition and events program can be purchased here: http://www.bl.uk

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The Buddhas Words Open Up Ancient Worlds at the British Library - Tricycle

As is the case with all religions, practitioners of Buddhism sometimes suffer from addiction to drugs and alcohol. If this happens, experts agree that the best way to achieve and maintain long-term sobriety is to attend a treatment program where patients receive professional help and support. Luckily, there are many Buddhist drug and alcohol rehab options available, along with many other non-Buddhist programs that offer quality care and dedicated support to Buddhists seeking recovery.

Buddhism is a religion that promotes themes such as karma, reincarnation, compassion, and non-attachment.

Buddhism contain several principles that can help condition someone to abstain or reduce dependency on harmful chemicals. Like the 12 Steps, Buddhisms spiritual concepts can help teach someone about deeper values and accountability. In understanding how cravings and attachment work in a Buddhist context, individuals can apply these principles to substance use disorders and consider this in addition to detox and medications in treatment. Two collections of doctrines used to reduce suffering include the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path.

The term dukkha represents suffering that is inevitable in humankind. To exist is to suffer, and it cannot be avoided.

We cause our suffering by craving and failing to be accountable. Oftentimes, we can blame others before taking accountability for our shortcomings and cravings. The Buddha believes the root of suffering is purely mental and clinging to things that hurt us.

Ending cravings starts with letting go of the things we are attached to. This can include unhealthy or healthy relationshipsand unhealthy substances, modes of thoughts, or habits. We can change our beliefs and the way we react to external events. Understanding that life is temporary can encourage us to release things which cause suffering.

One way to escape suffering and gain enlightenment is through the Eightfold Path. This is a set of principles which encourage a Buddhist lifestyle that can produce peace, balance, and self-control. The Eightfold Path, sometimes called The Noble Eightfold Path is as follows:

Attachment can manifest in trauma, self-destructive habits, or negative lifestyle practices. Buddhist non-attachment encourages peace of mind and self-preservation. Factoring the idea of non-attachment in alcohol or drugs with the awareness that meditation can bring peace is a powerful step in attaining positive change. Buddhism also mirrors spiritual themes in 12-Step programs such as embracing a higher power and taking control of ones life. Life can range from relationships, to the relationship with ones self and ones habits. For example, Step 1 of the 12 Steps admits to powerlessness. Understanding one is powerless can signal the suffering those battling withdrawals and cravings for harmful substances experience.

Taking inventory of ones thoughts, words and actions bear a similarity to mindfulness. This is the act of practicing self-awareness and observing thoughts, usually in a meditative state, and allowing them to pass without attachment or judgement. Once individuals seeking recovery in treatment facilities gain exposure to such ideas, undergo traditional treatment methods, and meditate, true change can begin.

Fighting addiction brings several discouraging and difficult symptoms; shame, guilt, and a loss of control are a few common side effects. Thankfully, there are facilities available to assist you in overcoming substance abuse problems with themes of meditation, mindfulness, and faith-based 12-Step programs. Take charge of your future, and contact a dedicated treatment professional today.

Visit link:
Buddhist Drug and Alcohol Rehab - Addiction Center

Relax.

Buddhism is a religion that has been practiced for more than 2,500 years starting in northeast India, with over 450 million followers worldwide.

Buddhism is the act of people studying how to be patient and find complete zen. It focuses on the follower's spiritual development while showing true intuition in life.

Followers practice Buddhism through meditation to find their inner zen. Finding one's zen means being fully attentive to the world around you while maintaining a complete state of calm. This is the crux of zen meditation and the art of mindfulness.

Meditation is when an individual is focusing on a singular thought or idea and removing distractions of the mind.

RELATED: The Meditation You NEED To Be Doing Regularly, Based On Your Zodiac Sign

Some meditations are guided by an outsider. Some people enter a meditative state by focusing on their breathing. Doing meditation helps people be calmer and emotionally stable.

Many people use meditation to help with anxiety, stress, improve mental health, be more self-aware, helps be more of a kind person, and research has shown it can help lower blood pressure.

Zen is feeling relaxed and is very mindful of decisions because they think in a very calm manner, which is why Buddhists practice zen it via meditation.

There are many ways to meditate such as, concentration meditation, which is when the individual focuses on a single thought while repeating a certain phrase and staring at the flame of your candle.

RELATED: 5 Of The Best Meditation Apps For Instant Stress Relief (That You Can Keep In Your Back Pocket)

Mindful meditation is my personal favorite, as it is perfect for someone like me who has a wandering mind.

Mindful meditation allows the practitioner to be fully present. The practice of mindful meditation helps quiet thoughts in order to become fully zen.

RELATED: What Happened When I Tried Guided Meditation For Anxiety In A Room Full Of Strangers

Here are a couple of meditations to help you out and calm your soul!

Breathe and focus on one thought.

During the loving-kindness meditation, you are putting positive energy towards another person and you focus on other people, this helps one feel at ease and let go of our unhappiness.

Zen meditation is the most known form of meditation because you are sitting upright and just breathing.

A sound bath uses sounds like gongs, instruments, and bowls to put someone in a calm state.

You don't have to be Buddhist to do yoga. Many people do yoga in order to be in a serene state.

A guided meditation can be any audio recording letting your mind focus on a certain story, putting you in a peaceful mindset.

RELATED: Stop Stressing Out & Do These 31 Things To Find Instant Relaxation Instead!

Danielle Vickers is a writer who covers astrology, pop culture and relationship topics.

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What Is Buddhism & 6 Meditations To Find Your Zen - YourTango

In the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan, traditional Buddhist culture has helped shape government policies on the environment and the search for human happiness. Should we all follow suit?

Its my fathers house, but I look after it while hes away. Hes been gone a long time now.

As she spoke, Mrs Chozams hands were awhirl with cotton threads and the slowly growing kira (traditional wraparound clothing of Bhutanese women) that she was weaving on a traditional loom. Pausing from her work, she waved a hand vaguely towards to the north: Hes meditating in one of the caves about four hours walk further up that mountain.

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In the direction she pointed, the mountain slope rose sharply upwards from the river valley. A few stone houses with brightly painted wooden window frames clung to the lower parts of the hillside. Yellowing heads of maize drying in the weak sun hung from roof beams and around each house were a couple of small, roughly terraced fields. Up above the last house though, nature reasserted herself. Forests of rhododendrons the size of oak trees and covered in fiery red and purple flowers mixed with straight-backed conifers. All were festooned in Spanish moss like a million tangled fishermens beards. All the way up the valley there was nothing but trees until, eventually, they died away among the empty scree slopes below distant snow peaks. It seemed like a pristine Himalayan environment. Mrs Chozam glanced pensively towards the mountains. He wont come back home now until he dies.

The Phobjikha Valley in central Bhutan. Rare black-necked cranes overwinter on the valley floor and local people hold a festival to celebrate their arrival each year

DEEP THOUGHTS

Landlocked and sandwiched between India and China, the tiny (its about the same size as Switzerland) Himalayan Buddhist Kingdom of Bhutan treads a fine balance both politically and socially. Until the 1950s, the country was sealed to the outside world and was one of the least developed countries on Earth. At the time the average life expectancy was just 33 years old, there were only two doctors in the entire country and the GNP per person was a mere $51. There was no electricity. No telephones. No postal service. No roads. No cars. Things have changed since then.

It shouldnt have been at all surprising to hear that Mrs Chozams father was going to remain meditating in a remote cave until his death. Long periods of solitary meditation are common in Bhutan. Id already met a number of people whod recently emerged from meditation. But these werent casual, an-hour-or-so-before-breakfast meditators. Almost all of them commit to spending a solid three years, three months, three weeks and three days (3,333 being an auspicious number here) confined to a cave on a forested mountain slope. During this period they can have no contact whatsoever with the outside world.

A few days earlier Id met a monk whod recently re-emerged after just such a period of meditation. The thing that shocked me the most when I returned to the monastery were the telephones, he said. Yes people had them before I went to the caves, but now all the younger monks do is stare at their phones and play games on them!

But why do it? And how do the families of those left behind feel when people go off to meditate? Mrs Chozam answered that for me: My father is now 62. He went off to the caves for three years, came back for a few months and then went back to the caves. Hes been gone nine years now. Of course I felt sad when he went. We all did. Its like youre mourning the death of someone. But at the same time we are all proud. He is not meditating for himself. He is meditating for the happiness and peace of all sentient beings. People who go off to meditate do it for the good of all the people and all creatures on Earth. Its a thing of great pride for a family when someone devotes part of their life to this. One day I too will go and meditate, but not yet. Someone has to make dinner for the children!

A young monk of the Nyingma (Red Hat) tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. This is the predominate school of Buddhism in Bhutan

NATURAL HAPPINESS

When the country first creaked open its doors, peeked out at the rest of the world and contemplated how to catch up, it looked to its own culture and strong Buddhist faith for answers. The result was an emphasis not on GDP (though thats increased hugely, as has life expectancy and almost all other barometers of development), but on the health and happiness of the country and all the creatures that live within its diminutive borders. It was like the entire government was following the path set by Mrs Chozams father. The government called it Gross National Happiness (GNH), striking a balance, it says, between material and mental well-being.

There are four official pillars to GNH:

Sustainable and Equitable Socio-Economic Development Good Governance Preservation and Promotion of Culture Environmental Conservation

While most governments around the world protect the environment because it provides us with the essentials of life water, food and energy the official policy of Bhutans GNH is to protect the environment, according to the Centre for Gross National Happiness, because the environment is believed to contribute to aesthetic and other stimulus that can be directly healing to people who enjoy vivid colours and light, untainted breeze and silence in natures sound.

In many ways Bhutans environmental ethos evolved from the Buddhist concept of a sacred landscape. Buddhists believe that the forests, rivers and mountains should be left as nature intended. Such is this sense of the sacrosanct environment that Bhutans highest mountains remain unclimbed. Nor will they ever be summited. Mountaineering (but not trekking) has been illegal in Bhutan since 2003 for the express reason of preserving the sanctity of the summits where the gods reside.

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Young monks peer through a window at Punakha dzong, one of the most important religious centres in Bhutan

That concept of a sacred landscape means that in Bhutan a tree is more than just a tree. Its a symbol of long life, compassion and beauty. Needless to say, the Bhutanese love trees. In 2015, the country managed to plant 50,000 new trees in just one hour (breaking the world record in the process) and when the young, and much adored, king and queens first baby was born in 2016, the country celebrated by planting tens of thousands of trees.

But more importantly, because of the GNH policy and Buddhisms non-harm to all living beings attitude, this is a place that values its forests. By law, at least 60 per cent of the country must retain its natural forest cover for future generations, but right now an impressive 71 per cent of the country is forested (and its not like the remaining 29 per cent is urban or agricultural land. Large parts of upland Bhutan are above the tree line and are pristine alpine wilderness).

In terms of environmental protection Bhutan is way ahead of most Asian nations most nations of the world in fact. In 1999, long before it became fashionable, Bhutan became one of the first countries to partially (and now totally) ban plastic bags; its aiming to have 100 per cent organic farming in the coming few years, and, most impressively, its the planets only carbon negative country (although as development and the demand for cars increases this will become harder to maintain and so Bhutan is aiming to remain at the very least carbon neutral).

By 2030 the country also aims to be totally waste neutral. Almost half (47.3 per cent) of Bhutans surface area is classified (and thus protected) as national parks and sanctuaries. This makes it the fourth best protected country in the world. These parks are efficiently maintained and there are stiff laws in place for poaching or logging in such zones.

In May 2019, a UN report stated that one million animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction and that nature across the world is declining at speeds never previously seen. The reasons? Our need for ever more food and energy. The report went on to state that these trends could be halted but that it would take a transformative change in every aspect of how humanity interacts with the natural world. One of the ways the report suggested that things could change is for the world to move away from the limited paradigm of economic growth, i.e. to stop using GDP as a key measure of economic wealth and instead move to a system that measures the quality of human life and our long-term effects on the environment. That sounds a lot like Bhutans Gross National Happiness scale.

Masked dancers at one of Bhutans tsechus. These religious festivals are renowned for the elaborate costumes and masked dances

CRANE DANCE

A week or two after my meeting with Mrs Chozam I was walking across the hills that ring the glorious Phobjikha Valley in central Bhutan. At the crest of one hill colourful bundles of prayer flags fluttered in the breeze. My guide pointed into a cluster of trees on the opposite hillside. There are mediation caves among those trees, he informed me.

Just then a distinct, raspy squawk echoed across the skies above us. A flock of black-necked cranes circled once, twice and then a third time before landing in the marshes below the large Gangtey Monastery. My guide smiled. The cranes are back, he said with a degree of pleasure. Every autumn they come from Tibet. They always circle the monastery three times. Theyre doing a Kora (religious circumambulation). The people here will be happy. Theyll hold a festival in a few weeks time to welcome the cranes back to the valley.

In a 2016 TED Talk, the then prime minister of Bhutan, Tshering Tobhay, ended with a challenge to the global community: I invite you to help me, to carry this dream beyond our borders to all those who care about our planets future. After all, were here to dream together, to work together, to fight climate change together, to protect our planet together. Because the reality is we are in it together.

Meditating for the benefit of all life on Earth, protecting the natural world just for the inherent pleasure it can bring to us, and holding festivals to welcome migrating birds. As the cranes settled down to feed I couldnt help but think that this little-known nation has much to teach the world.

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The Gross National Happiness of Bhutan - Geographical

Sen. Cory Booker is down in the 2020 polls and yet has long seemed poised for a breakout moment. He is more qualified than some frontrunners, quite popular among Democratic activists, and the last black candidate with a decent shot after Sen. Kamala Harriss withdrawal. Hes an acceptable choice to many people across the partys big ideological divide.

Hes also been somewhat difficult to peg on the ideological spectrum. Slates Jordan Weissman, who plans to vote for either Sens. Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders, recently called him the best moderate in the field. But is calling him a moderate right? Its true that Booker has a record of centrism on some economic issues, particularly relating to education and finance, but he also co-sponsored the Green New Deal resolution. Hes the most progressive candidate in the field on criminal justice, and a vegan who recently proposed legislation aimed at shuttering factory farms.

I decided to call up Booker and find out what he really believes. But instead of talking about policy specifics, I engaged Booker on his big-picture view of the world. Does he think liberal democracy is under threat in America? What does he make of the rise of socialism on the American left? Are critics right that Democrats are focusing on identity politics too much? How does his veganism fit into his broader worldview?

Booker described a vision centered on the political value of justice, drawing on both Jesse Jacksons 1988 presidential run and Obamas 2008 victory as models. Booker emphasized what he terms the intersectionality of all life: the idea that humans of all backgrounds, as well as non-human animals, are bound up in webs of mutual interdependence.

We share a common destiny, Booker says. You cannot have one sector of our country held down without the whole country being lowered as a result.

What follows is a transcript of our conversation, which ranges from problems of short-termism in American capitalism to W.E.B. DuBoiss psychological wage to philosopher Peter Singers theory of the expanding moral circle. Its been edited for length and clarity.

I want to start with a question thats been bothering me for a while: Can we talk about the GOP as a party thats committed to core basic values like democracy, individual rights, and the rule of law?

I have been very confused by the modern Republican Party, especially now in the time of Donald Trump, where a lot of the values that they speak to seem to be being butchered by the policies that are coming out, and even the rhetoric now thats coming out. It is very difficult for me to even think of the Republican Party as having any kind of governing philosophy that is informing policy and decisions, when in the time of Trump, it just seems to be more transactional and corrupted by the interests of large concentrations of wealth.

The problem is that this kind of thing tends toward some kind of autocratization, right? Look at a country like Hungary, where you have institutionalized corruption as a means of propping up a ruling elite. How should we think about similar threats to American democracy?

I have deep, deep concerns about the shifting toward oligarchic power, especially after decisions like Citizens United that are allowing even more exertion of power and corruption within our political system. We see that these corrupting forces are already having a pretty significant effect on our democracy.

The powerful corporate interests now are actually undermining the very ideals of capitalism and entrepreneurship. New business starts are going down in our country; short-termism within our [economy] is allowing forces of greed to even undermine the interests of capital allocation.

We have now seen an economy where someone who is being born now has less of a chance to make it. Ninety percent of baby boomers did better economically than their parents. Now its down to 50-50 for a millennial.

So can you see why a lot of people in my generation are starting to become more sympathetic to socialism?

Gosh, I know that and we could discuss the word socialism if you want.

As a guy that lives in a black and brown community, the framing from my culture and my community is just one of justice.

From my perspective, one of the biggest economic instruments of suppression in our country has been the criminal justice system that Michelle Alexander rightfully calls the new Jim Crow. Blacks are stunningly disempowered in the electoral system. And voting rights and criminal justice issues, all of these things are also wound into economic rights. Villanova researchers did a study about America having 20 percent less poverty [had mass incarceration not occurred].

These are justice issues [more] than the issues that often are bandied about by political elites.

These are issues of economic justice, of environmental injustice, of criminal injustice, of equal access to health care, to education, disparate treatment in everything from school discipline to hiring practices in this country.

This justice framing is really interesting to me, especially as a counterpoint to language like socialism. It seems to sidestep or play into depending on who youre talking to a style of politics thats been derisively referred to as identity politics by critics on both the left and the right.

What do you make of the discourse surrounding identity politics and its role in the current Democratic coalition?

My talking about justice is not in any way a politics of identity. Its a politics of trying to create again this understanding that were all in this together that you cannot have a nation thats [divided] along racial lines and think that you are going to have a nation of strength economically, morally, and competitively on a global context. Were a nation that does best when we tear down walls of division or inequity and build larger coalitions.

The Democratic Party is a party that does best when it revives what Jesse Jackson called the Rainbow Coalition, what many people now call the Obama Coalition.

So you reject the argument that focusing on and highlighting the marginalization of minority groups is divisive in any way? Because a lot of the critics say, Well, you cant have the shared politics of national unity that youre describing so long as you continue to talk about specific groups through the lens of their particular, non-universal experiences.

Well, I think that the capacity of our country to understand that addressing injustice and inequity in certain racial groups is a national cause. I just think we underestimate that, and our history speaks to a different understanding. You had the abolitionist movement based upon this ideal that the dignity and humanity of black Americans who were slaves cannot be denied without it somehow affecting the humanity of white Americans. You had incredible sacrifices by Quakers who were willing to put their very lives at risk to help build coalitions with black slaves and escaped slaves to build the Underground Railroad.

Were not defined by the wretchedness and bigotry and hate that weve seen in every chapter of our politics. We are always defined, I think, by the willingness and ability of our country to create coalitions to overcome that. I think that you do not make this a better America when you try to sweep injustices, whether they be racial or religious injustices or gender-based injustice, under the rug. I think you actually weaken America when you dont speak to that truth.

I think a lot about W.E.B. Du Boiss concept of the psychological wage of whiteness. You know, the theory that people derive psychological satisfaction and benefits from being members of the dominant group. How do you deal with that as a problem out there among the electorate? Or do you think thats the wrong way to think about things?

I think its just too simplistic of a description of our society as a whole. It seals people within permanent boxes of judgment, as opposed to understanding that we are all people in evolution.

You and I, right now, are two men having this conversation. [One could] say the totality of our being is binary, either we are sexist or we are not. Thats opposed to recognizing that you and I must wrestle with the sexism that is within the larger society consistently, or we are contributing to it, or complacent in the face of it.

People are not binary. People are all always in development, always in struggle. We are a nation always struggling to manifest the best of our ideals.

[House representative and civil rights icon] John Lewis once told me the story of a man who actually beat him up during the civil rights movement coming to his office with his child and asking him for forgiveness. Lewis told me that he did so, and how important it is to extend to people forgiveness in a recognition of their humanity and their ability when they are willing to own up to their injustice, their ability to grow and how, in many ways, his humanity and that mans humanity were interwoven and interdependent.

This is why I caution the Democratic Party, who wants to put every Trump voter in some kind of binary box and cast a condemnation upon them, as opposed to recognizing not just their dignity and humanity, but how our well-being as a country is interdependent, and how we need each other. As we descend as a culture into deeper and deeper tribalism, where we hate each other just because we vote differently, that in itself could be our demise unless we start finding ways to reignite in our culture those ideals of grace and forgiveness and truth telling. That is ultimately the pathway for our salvation.

When you talk about that, I actually think of a concept developed by one of your constituents, the Princeton philosopher Peter Singer and his idea of the expanding moral circle, that over the course of time we can open and broaden our minds through moral improvement as not just individuals, but as a collective, to giving status and standing to different groups.

Now, youre a vegan. Do you think, as Singer does, that the next frontier in our fight for equality is the moral status of animals and improving them on a social level?

Your animal question is so ... God, I would love to do a whole [interview] on this.

I dont think people understand how destructive corporate multinational animal agriculture is to our environment. Its the main reason for rainforest destruction and the poisoning of our water systems. The way we are doing it is so divorced from our heritage of animal agriculture in this country.

Its not just these massive CAFOs [concentrated animal feeding operations, a.k.a. factory farms] and the treatment of animals, which would shock the [conscience] of anybody in our country. But its also our own survival as a species being deeply compromised by the way that animal agriculture has now evolved into corporate culture, affecting everything from fast fashion all the way to the corporate monopolies that are driving down relative wages in this country.

I believe that our food systems can be made more robust, that farmers can be the pathway out of climate crisis that theres so many ways to do this right that can elevate human well-being with a consciousness toward our treatment of animals and our treatment of the environment as a whole.

There are two issues here that are sort of connected because theyre about the moral frontiers of our politics. One is about the way that we treat each other and the way that hostile partisanship has taken hold over our minds, and the other about how we can expand our circle of moral concern to nonhuman animals.

What can we do concretely as a polity to deal with these kinds of issues of moral status and consideration for each other and other beings? Is it just a rhetorical thing? From our leaders, I mean, not just civic organizations. Or are there policies that can change the very way that we think about our moral world?

Its not either-or, its all of the above. Ive seen this on multiple occasions: The more we know, the better we do.

[Think of] the concept of bycatch in the world of fishing, these massive nets picking, killing, and casting back into the sea 50 percent of what they pick up. The CAFOs right now in places like Duplin County [in North Carolina], which are causing out-of-control respiratory diseases and cancers in low-income communities. I mean, the more we know, the more these practices are exposed, the better we will do. So yeah, leaders that can help to expand understanding are often the leaders that help better motivate change.

I just think that all of the things that you talked about really keep speaking towards not just the intersectionality of humans, but the intersectionality of every aspect of our planet. If we are going to sustain ourselves as a species and this is both our economic prosperity as well as our very lives and existence we have to start having policies that are far more conscious to that intersectionality of life itself.

More here:
Cory Booker on socialism, identity politics, and animal rights - Vox.com