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Steve Jobs is a tech mogul and entrepreneur who is best known for being one of the co-founders of Apple Inc, formerly Apple Computers.

Born in San Francisco on February 24, 1955, Steve grew up in Mountain View, California. He was an electronics whiz as a child, and was friends with engineers who lived nearby. He went to Homestead High, where hed meet Steve Wozniak through a classmate. He and the other Steve worked at HP over the summer, becoming friends. He then went to Reed College for a year before dropping out and working at Atari. Then, he began a fascinating spiritual journey that practically deserves its own article.

In 1974, he travelled to India with a schoolmate from Reed to visit the Hindu guru Neem Karoli Baba, only to find that hed died the previous year. Nevertheless, Steve remained for seven months, and when he returned to the US, he was a changed man. He began experimenting with LSD and other drugs, adopted Zen Buddhism, and even became part of the All One Farm, a hippie commune.

This journey would seem to suggest a very different career path for Steve, but he would eventually return to Atari where he reunited with Wozniak. In 1976, the two founded Apple Computer, and in 1977 they introduced the Apple II, changing the world of personal computers forever.

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Steve and Apple would go on to develop and release the Macintosh in 1984, which the company designed based on the legendary Xerox Palo Alto Research Centers mouse and keyboard interface. Steve himself went onstage on January 24 during Apples annual shareholders' meeting to reveal and demo the Macintosh in one of his most iconic appearances.

Steve left Apple in 1985 after being forced out of power by Apple CEO John Sculley. Between then and 1997, he went mostly under the radar, founding a company called NeXT and becoming the top financier and CEO of Pixar.

In 1997, Steve returned to Apple, now a floundering business deeply in debt and ready to go bankrupt, this time as CEO. His tenure between 1997 and 2011 transformed Apple into one of the most valuable companies in the world, with a combination of innovation and powerful marketing that led to industry-defining products like the iMac, iPod, iPhone, and Mac OS.

On October 5, 2011, Steve ended his long battle with cancer and passed away surrounded by family. He was 56 years of age. He left behind his widow, Laurene Powell Jobs, and their three children, Reed, Erin, and Eve. He also has a fourth daughter, Lisa Brennan-Jobs, whom he had with Chrisann Brennan, his high school sweetheart.

Steve died from pancreatic cancer, specifically a rare form known as neuroendocrine tumour or islet cell carcinoma, which represents about 1-2% of significant pancreatic tumours. Pancreatic cancer typically has a very low five-year survival rate and poor options for treatment, but Steves form of cancer is actually highly treatable.

With many cancers, the earlier treatment begins, the better the chances of survival. However, after Steves tumours were discovered in 2003, he delayed surgery and medical treatment for nine months while he explored alternative treatments such as acupuncture, a vegan diet, herbs, and cleansing juices. Steve later told his biographer that he regretted the decision to delay medical treatment. By the time he finally had surgery in 2004, the cancer had spread to his liver.

In 2009, Steve underwent a liver transplant and reportedly improved after the surgery. Unfortunately, the cancer relapsed, with him looking progressively paler and more gaunt leading to this last photo of him in public at WWDC 2011.

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Eventually he would pass away due to complications from the relapse.

Some cancer experts believe that Steve would still be alive today had he not delayed treatment.

After Steves death, The New York Times published a eulogy delivered by Mona Simpson, Steves sister. In her eulogy, Mona described Steve Jobs last words on his deathbed as, OH WOW. OH WOW. OH WOW.

Four years later, in 2015, an essay that purported to be Steve Jobs last speech began circulating. It was billed as a warning that non-stop pursuit of wealth will only turn a person into a twisted being, just like [him].

Snopes reported that the essay has not been published by any official sources close to Jobs, and has never been verified to actually have been written by Steve. The essay itself hardly matches Steves own manner of speech or writing, and it has mutated over the years with several additions or changes as it spread.

Steve was a controversial figure. Famously difficult to work with and generally considered to be a jerk, he wasnt exactly the kind of person youd want to be friends with, and may even be an example of Never meet your heroes for Apple fans. But theres no denying the impact hes had on the tech world, and for that we honour his contributions to society, eight years after his death.

RELATED: Leaked images show Apple's new smartphone BEFORE launch!

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Steve Jobs Death: How He Died & His Last Words - New Idea

Japanese Zen Buddhist artist and the influence of China

Lee Jay Walker

Modern Tokyo Times

The Japanese artist, Sami, is known for an array of areas linked to high culture in the land of the rising sun. Hence, he is strongly linked to Japanese aesthetics and the power of high culture that impacted greatly on the ruling elites. Therefore, throughout his life, he focused on the finer things in life and connected this strongly with Zen Buddhism.

Sami (1472-1525) belongs to the world of the Ashikaga Shogunate and the power processes that utilized Japanese aesthetics. Indeed, his rich family history in relation to Nami and Geiami meant that high culture was second nature for Sami.

Along with the importance of Zen Buddhism and Japanese aesthetics, Sami also was inspired by the art of the Southern School emanating from the Middle Kingdom (China). This meant that Sami wasnt afraid to go against the grain because this art form from China was disregarded by many Japanese artists of his day.

Sami, known for Japanese aesthetics, focused on an array of areas related to Japanese high culture. Hence, the areas of art, flower arranging, landscape gardening, poetry, the tea ceremony, and other notable areas related to high culture, were all part of his aesthetics spirit. This was naturally enhanced by the philosophy of Zen Buddhism to Sami and how he viewed the art of the Southern School emanating from the Middle Kingdom.

In the realm of Japanese landscape gardening, Sami designed the distinguished Ryoan Temple and Daisei-in gardens. Of course, the influence of Zen Buddhism and philosophy related to this faith naturally flowed during his esteemed designs.

Overall, this notable artist was inspired greatly by Mu-chI Fa-chang from the Middle Kingdom and in the realm of ideas, Zen Buddhism. Therefore, given his family background and his love of Japanese aesthetics this notable Japanese artist continues to be cherished by individuals who adore high culture.

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Japanese Zen Buddhist artist and the influence of China - Modern Tokyo Times

RIPPING off local growers at a farmgate stall by more than half their profits is 'a new low' says local grower Christy Shelper.

The Big Swing Organics Farm co owner was forced to shut her road-side avocado stall at Goonengerry after her and husband DJ discovered the level of immense dishonesty at the honesty box.

"The honesty on our farmgate stall leaves a lot to be desired, about 50 per cent in fact, she said.

"The dishonesty always exists, but we've always has about an 85 percent rate of honesty which was good and manageable for us, but over the last three weeks it was consistently low we had to shut it.

While Christy said she understood the high cost of living in the area, the couple had their own bills to pay and a family to feed as well.

"It would be a different amount loss every day, she said.

"It was unpredictable, some days we'd lose $60 a day, sometimes more sometimes less, but it all adds up.

"We really want to have that stall down there - we want to make organic food available and affordable to the community, but we we can't afford to be giving away food, not at that consistency.

Left feeling "helpless in the situation, Christy said they felt conflicted because they loved providing the community with affordable organics but they were also letting so many customers down shutting the stall but

"But at the same time you cant be feeding the people who are just taking advantage, so we feel really conflicted about it, she said.

"I'm surprised we didn't received more IOU notes in our box, but I've spoken with other stall holders in this area and they point out how you know if it's tourists or locals.

"You don't know.

The couple once had a camera on the stall, but it proved to be pointless when trying to monitor avo sales.

"But we caught a little old lady taking a $9 pumpkin without paying - so it's people from all walks of life doing it, there's no way to tell unless we are doing to sit there and spy all day long - obviously no one has the time to do that.

"Three weeks ago you could buy a really small overripe organic avo for $4 at Woolies and we were selling similar sized ones between 50c and $1 - and customers were getting awesome prices and quality straight from the farmer to you.

"We'll think about starting it up again next season.

"If anyone wants to keep eating our delicious avos, send us a message we'd be happy to sell you some of these certified organic beauties that have just been picked and polished for $9kg.

"Also, keep watching our Facebook page to see when and where we might do our next cheeky pop up stall.

Read more from the original source:

Avocado growers ripped off by dishonesty at roadside stall - Northern Star

The government hopes to get Parliament nod on two long-pending Bills on pesticide management and seeds in the next session, Minister of State for Agriculture Parshottam Rupala said on Thursday.

The Pesticide Management Bill that will replace the Insecticides Act, 1968 seeks to regulate the pesticide sector by fixing prices and setting up of a regulatory authority.

Whereas the Seeds Bill, which will replace the Seeds Act 1966, seeks to regulate the production, distribution and sale of seeds. The Bill was put on hold in 2015 after it drew flak on enabling provision for genetically modified crops.

"We are working on two important Bills -- the Pesticide Management Bill and the Seeds Bill. They are pending for long. We are pursuing them very seriously. I hope they will be passed in the next session of Parliament," Rupala said at an event organised by industry body Assocham.

The government is concerned about sale of spurious seeds and pesticides. These Bills aim to address this issue as well, he added. Rupala said the domestic seeds industry has a huge export potential. On organic produce, the minister said the demand for organic food is rising fast in the world and India is the only country that has the potential to meet that demand.

"I am sure India is the only country which has the ability to meet the growing world demand for organic produce. Other countries cannot because they do not have suitable agro-climatic conditions," he added.

He said there is a need to create awareness among farmers about the rising demand of organic produce so that they produce accordingly. Normally, winter session of Parliament is held during November-December.

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Parliament nod on pesticide and seed bills likely next session: MoS Agriculture - Economic Times

Demi Moore went to a meditation retreat with her 'Corporate Animals' co-stars to bond before filming.

The 56-year-old actress plays an arrogant CEO in the new movie and since Demi joined the project late after another actress dropped out, she did everything she could to bond with her new castmates.

Dan Bakkedahl told Variety: "She was incredible. Really. She couldn't have been more personable and friendly. "We all had lunch together and dinner together. We went to a meditation retreat, like all sorts of just crazy team building stuff. She's a real team player. So there was team-building out like in real life. She was like, 'Hey, we're all in here together. Let's get to know each other and appreciate one another.'

"When we got back...we all went to her house for lunch one day. There was no occasion. It was just 'Come to my house and let's have lunch.' It was great."

And Demi admitted she was surprised that her co-stars were so open to her team-building ideas, including meeting Hindu spiritual leader Amma.

She said: "I think that was the most surprising experience stepping in. I didn't know everybody. Another actress was originally going to do this and got ill and then I stepped in. So, I was really behind the curve. And the fact that everyone jumped in and was game with the first event, which was actually going in and meeting Amma, the hugging saint, was awesome.

"Everybody came. I thought for sure somebody would go, 'ah no', but everybody came. It was awesome, and we really chose to spend all of our time off together. We're still on a text thread that we all connect on."

Originally posted here:

Demi Moore's meditation retreat bond with co-stars - Rheaheraldnews

Summer is reaching its end, and youre probably catching your breath after weekends of dashing to the beach, concerts and festivals. This weekend, conclude the season by taking a trip inward.

Murray Hidary is ending a nationwide tour of SilentHikes with a free meditative experience at Los Liones Trail this Saturday from 5 to 7 p.m. Hidary will guide hikers up the trail while they wear wireless headphones playing his MindTravel piano recordings. At the summit, Hidary will perform on a real piano as participants continue meditating silently.

SilentHikes provide an opportunity for people to work through their emotions and forge deep connections with others, Hidary said.

Something really wonderful happens when you look around and you see hundreds of people having this personal alone experience and sharing that together, he said. This beautiful balance of the individual and the collective comes into play.

Hidary, a former web developer who studied classical music composition at New York University, created MindTravel six years ago when he started playing improvisational compositions to groups of a few dozen people in his New York City apartment.

Since then, he has brought MindTravels meditative experiences to thousands of people in concert halls and parks, on hikes and beaches, and at landmarks and museums. One of his most regular venues is

Santa Monica State Beach, where he first brought MindTravel outdoors.Hidary, a Santa Monica resident, chose to conclude his yearlong, 21-city SilentHikes tour on his favorite hike in Los Angeles.

Los Liones has such dramatic views of the ocean and a beautifully diverse landscape, he said. It provides enough of a challenge for a physical and emotional and spiritual experience all combined.Hidary describes his contemporary classical music, which is inspired by minimalist composers like Philip Glass and Steve Reich, as the soundtrack to the human story and soul.

Its really about expressing through music the journey and the ups and downs of life, he said. I also look at the patterns in nature and reflect that in the music.

In addition to playing his music for participants, Hidary will also perform improvised spoken word and poetry inspired by the landscape through a microphone connected to their wireless headphones.After he finishes performing on the piano at the summit, he will bring the participants into a circle to share a word, phrase or sentence about what they are feeling and want to create in their lives.I do this at the end of each experience, and the usual sentiment people share is one of belonging and deep connection, he said.

Hidary said participants often share personal stories of how the experience helped them work through life transitions, such as divorce or loss of a loved one. He became a licensed grief counselor to better connect with those participants, he said.

They find some kind of solace and connection within the music, he said. Music is such a wonderful language for processing grief and pain its the language of feelings and emotions, especially profound feelings we dont have words for.

Hidary will also host a MindTravel experience at Santa Monica State Beach on Oct. 6 and perform with Santa Monica Colleges symphony orchestra at the El Rey Theatre on Nov. 2.

For more details, visit http://www.mindtravel.com/experiences.madeleine@smdp.com

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Music for meditation - Santa Monica Daily Press

I was waking up too many mornings feeling lethargic and anxious, so after listening to a million wellness podcasts, I decided that it was time to try meditation again. I say again because I tried it a few years ago. I used Headspace, a meditation app, but the mistake I made was that I would do it first thing in the morning, as in before I even brushed my teeth. I would stay in my bed, which more often than not meant that I was falling asleep mid meditation. So, in order to actually feel like I was getting something out of my meditation practice, I knew I needed to change up a few things. I created a little meditation corner in my living room, and it's how I was able to truly commit to my practice.

What's in my corner, you ask? A little floor pillow, so I can sit comfortably but not in my bed, is a must. I also change my clothes because not being in pajamas shifts my mindset. I love aromatherapy, and that's been integral in keeping me calm and focused. Plus, I've gotten a couple of books that help keep me encouraged. Meditation is a practice I'm really committing to, and I can already feel more centered and calm when I wake up, because I have my 20 minutes to look forward to. If you're trying to meditate for the first time, set up a little dedicated space for it, and thank me later.

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Here's How I Set Up a Meditation Corner in My Studio Apartment - POPSUGAR

Early in his book, Biography of Silence, Pablo dOrs notes some of the many experiences he cultivated in his life as a young adult travelling, reading voraciously and having numerous romances. Like many of my contemporaries, I was convinced that the more experiences I had and the more intense and stunning they were, the sooner and better I would become a complete person.

But he concludes that the quantity and intensity of those experiences only serve to bewilder a person and leave them estranged from themselves. Better to stop having stunning experiences and devote oneself to simply living ones life.

I wondered about that. I have long been cool to the bucket list mentality toting up all the experiences one desires to have and setting out to check off as many of those items as possible.

For one thing, it is too contrived and self-centred. It is an extension of the consumer mentality, only now we consume experiences rather than things. For another, bucket lists usually involve substantial air travel which pours evermore greenhouse gases into an already over-carbonized atmosphere.

However, I dont think insularity is a great accomplishment either.

If humanity is to live in peace in a globalized world, we need to understand other cultures and meet people with experiences much different than our own. Such encounters must be much deeper than wallowing on a beach in Bora Bora while the locals bring you food and drink.

I also thought of how my trips to Bolivia, France and Spain had enriched my own life.

Walking the Camino de Santiago four years ago was an experience which seemed to open a mysterious new dimension in my heart, something I am still living and discerning.

But dOrs, now a priest and well-known writer in Spain as well as a member of the Pontifical Council for Culture, is asking more of us than to explore the question of insularity versus the cosmopolitan lifestyle. Rather, he wants our experience of the ordinary to be more than ordinary, to be transformative.

He describes his own efforts to meditate and how, through meditating, one can live more fully in the here-and-now. We normally live scattered that is to say, outside of ourselves. Meditation concentrates us, brings us back home and teaches us to live together with our own being.

Enter into silence, stop dreaming of yourself and see the many distractions which attack your silence. Let them go, if you can.

Yes, it is demanding. You may be beset by physical pain, uncomfortable memories, boredom, mental restlessness and a desire to do anything but sit and meditate.

DOrs says it was his personal tenacity which kept him faithful to the practice. Tenacity and the call of the silence itself. Once undertaken, the practice of meditation takes hold of a person and keeps drawing them back to the silence.

Some maintain that meditation is the key to world peace, an extravagant claim. That if each person allows themselves to be formed by silence, they will come to know themselves and to develop empathy and compassion for others.

Maybe there is something to this. Western society is spiritually asleep; we need to wake up. When more people adhere to spiritual disciplines, perhaps the alarm bells will ring so loudly that they cannot be ignored.

I do not know whether dOrs buys that notion. But he is clear in maintaining that the fruits of meditation will be seen not during the time of meditation, only in ones life afterwards. One may begin to encounter God more and more in ordinary life, not so much during meditation itself.

Meditation is not a form of self-absorbed navel-gazing, although admittedly, it can become that. But arent we most self-absorbed when we daydream about ourselves and our pie-in-the-sky desires and ambitions? Arent we most self-absorbed when we are bathing in some new, stunning experience? Our thoughts and ideas distance us from ourselves, leading us out of the moment into a fantasy world.

Meditation, whether Christian, Buddhist or whatever, begins with putting our thoughts to the side. The more we do that, the more open we will become to the love of God and the suffering of others.

Meditation and contemplation then are challenges to the contemporary world and its project of turning human beings into human doings. Anything human, let alone divine, starts by withdrawing from the perpetual steeplechase after nothing and becoming rooted in the silence.

(Argan is program co-ordinator at Star of the North Retreat Centre in St. Albert, Alta.)

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Glen Argan: Meditation 'brings us back home' - The Catholic Register

September 18, 2019

DALLAS The following new books have been added to the shelves of the Back Mountain Memorial Library, 96 Huntsville Road, for the month of September 2018.

EXPRESS

The Iceman by P.T. Deutermann

The Spymaster: A Thriller by Brad Thor

Walking Shadows by Faye Kellerman

Texas Free by Janet Dailey

Leverage in Death by J.D. Robb

In His Fathers Footsteps by Danielle Steel

The Forbidden Door by Dean Koontz

Juror #3 by James Patterson

Shadow Tyrants by Clive Cussler

Safe and Sound by Fern Michaels

The Perfect Couple by Elin Hilderbrand

Overkill by Ted Bell

FICTION

The Iceman by P.T. Deutermann

The Spymaster: A Thriller by Brad Thor

Walking Shadows by Faye Kellerman

Texas Free by Janet Dailey

Leverage in Death by J.D. Robb

In His Fathers Footsteps by Danielle Steel

The Forbidden Door by Dean Koontz

Juror #3 by James Patterson

Shadow Tyrants by Clive Cussler

Safe and Sound by Fern Michaels

Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter

Echoes in the Walls by V.C. Andrews

Not That I Could Tell by Jessica Strawser

The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker

The 49th Mystic by Ted Dekker

The Golden State by Lydia Kiesling

NONFICTION

Fodors Bermuda

Climate Change by James Collins

Liars, Leakers, and Liberals by Jeanine Pirro

Calypso by David Sedaris

My iPhone for Seniors by Brad Miser

iPhone: The Missing Manual by David Pogue

Macbook for Dummies by Mark L. Chambers

Georgia OKeeffe: visions of Hawaii

American Firefighter by Paul Mobley

Roadtrip America 25 Scenic Side Trips in Arizona and New Mexico

Fodors Essential Scotland

Fodors Vienna and the Best of Austria

Eyewitness Travel Poland

Eyewitness Travel Great Britain

The Total Inventors Manual by Seam Michael Ragan

BIOGRAPHY

My Lost Brothers by Brendan McDonough

LARGE PRINT

FICTION

The Librarian and the Spy by Susan Mann

Beauty and the Clockwork Beast by Nancy Campbell Allen

Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson

Would-be Wilderness Wife by Regina Scott

Texas Free by Janet Dailey

Leverage in Death by J.D. Robb

Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier

Feared by Lisa Scottoline

Shadow Tyrants by Clive Cussler

BOOKS ON CD

Ghosted by Rosie Walsh

Vox by Christina Dalcher

Give Me Your Hand by Megan Abbott

The House at Saltwater Point by Colleen Coble

More:

Introduction to Zen meditation set for Oct. 1 at Mercy Center in Dallas - The Dallas Post

I always say that I'm going to meditate more. Not just sit there cross-legged hum-whispering "om" under my breath, but being still and calm no matter how loud my mind races. What I've learned from trying to meditate daily in the past is that I'm not particularly good at shutting off my thoughts and zoning in on my breathing in a quiet room. But, as Casey Urban, a yoga teacher of 10 years, said in a previous interview, that takes time and a lot of it. "People wake up early to meditate and they get frustrated when they can't quite focus on the breath the whole time," she said. "But it takes years and years and years to build a strong, steady practice."

I need moments of pause that aren't overcome by jarring silence. That's why Wave, a newly-launched guided meditation experience that lets you rest against a pillow and not only tune into beats of your choice, but feel the music as it plays, seemed like a great idea to test out. Studies claim that meditation in general can reduce anxiety, stress, and pain. It can also lower blood pressure and aid in better sleep. These proven benefits have always been in the back of my mind, and the fact that Wave includes music and an actual pillow made me all the more excited to give it a try. Ahead, check out everything you need to know about Wave and my thoughts on using it.

Originally posted here:

How Music and a Special Pillow Turned Guided Meditation Into Something I Actually Enjoy - POPSUGAR