Strive Heath and Fitness was featured in the Bergen Record. Click here for the Article!

It's time to make the time to improve your health and overall well-being. At Strive Health & Fitness in Saddle Brook, NJ you will do just that. Here at Strive, we offer a first-rate fitness experience for people of all ages and walks of life. We are a community-oriented, family-friendly gym that combines a variety of fitness methods with specific nutritional and therapeutic programs in an effort to maximize your body's full potential, and meet all your personal fitness goals.

Our clean and spacious, 30,000 sq ft facility offers amenities matched by no other gym in the area. From our brand new, top of the line cardio and weight training equipment, to studios for yoga, pilates, cycling and other fun classes, mat room, luxury lockers, saunas and health bar, you will not find a better gym for your buck. So join today, and reap the benefits of a $70/month gym for just $29.99!

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There is an old sufi fable. In a very ancient family there was some musical organ, but people had completely forgotten how to play it. Generations came and people even forgot that it was a musical organ. It was gathering dust. It was a very big organ and it was taking up much space. One []

A king was seriously thinking of turning the whole country moral. Nobody should be allowed to say anything untrue. Untruths should be banned. The wise men were all agreed; in fact, because these wise people were his servants they were even going further than him, exaggerating. One wise man suggested that of course this was []

There was a mystic, Hassein, who had a very beautiful son a very very intelligent and talented boy. Everybody loved the boy, but one day he suddenly died. He was just twenty and almost the whole town was in love with the boy. Hassein looked at the corpse and never cried. Not even a []

Chuang Tzu talks about a draftsman of the name Chui, who could draw more perfect circles freehand than with a compass. Really, the compass is needed because you are afraid. If you are not afraid you yourself can draw a perfect circle without any help. In nature circles exist everywhere, everything moves on a circular []

Let me tell you a Zen anecdote about a burglar who entered the house of a Zen master to rob him. The master not only made no move to stop him, but aided him in his search, suggesting things he might take. The burglar, wondering what kind of man this was who would help himself []

ONCE SOME HUNTERS went deep into a dark forest and found a hut in which a hermit was praying before a wooden cross. His face shone with happiness. Good afternoon, Brother. May God give us a good afternoon. You look very happy. I am always happy. You are happy living in this lonely hut doing []

Two persons were travelling in the night. One had a lamp, another had no lamp, but while they were both walking together both paths were lit. The path of the one who had no lamp was also lit, and he was very happy. He never bothered about any lamp what was the need? But []

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Osho Stories | Stories told by Osho, my Beloved master

Yes, but not exactly. If it is rental property, that has been "placed in service", mortgage interest is deducted on schedule E with other rental expenses.

Otherwise, mortgage interest on unproductive investment property is only deductible to the extent of other investment income but isnot subject to the 2% of AGI rule. Itcan be capitalized. (http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/tax-deductions-vacant-lands.html)

Thecarrying costs (e.g. insurance & utilities) of investment property aredeductible as investment expenses, but are subject to being a misc. itemizeddeduction also subject to the 2% of AGI threshold. Real estate (property)taxmay be deducted on schedule A, under taxes,without regardto the 2% rule.Alternatively, taxpayers can elect to capitalize(add it to your costbasis) the carrying costs of unimproved and nonproductive real property,real property under development or construction and personal property beforeits installation or use (Regs. Sec. 1.266-1(b)(1)).The election ismade with the tax return by its due date, including extension, by attaching astatement. You cannot wait until you sell the property, but must make thatelection each year. Attach the statement to thereturn and write Filedpursuant to section 301.9100-2 on the statement.

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If you are looking for authentic, traditional and professional yoga classes and courses or you are ready to take your practice and training to a more meaningful and deeper level, Yogi Haris Ashram invites you to take their yoga teacher certification courses, classes, satsangs and retreats in Miramar, FL and surrounding areas.

Yogi Haris Ashram is a trusted and world renowned yoga ashram in Miramar, FL, dedicated to bring spiritual growth and ancient experience into the modern life of people of today through authentic Hatha Yoga classes, Yoga teacher certification courses, satsangs and retreats.

Serving yoga students and teachers worldwide, Yogi Haris Ashram takes pride to provide a fantastic opportunity to awaken or deepen your yoga practice, meet new friends, and to be a part of the ever growing yoga community in the Fort Lauderdale and Miami areas.

Through our yoga teacher certification courses, yoga classes, Satsangs, and retreats, you will experience and find long lasting peace, happiness and satisfaction, and the ability to teach others about the wonderful benefits of yoga.

Since inception, Yogi Haris Ashram has served and trained thousands of yoga teachers and individuals in South Florida and around the world. Our ashram in Miramar, FL is a unique, serene and pleasing environment, which provides a peaceful and nurturing atmosphere to support your learning and healing experience.

Whether youre a yoga teacher who wants to deepen your practice, someone who wants to learn and teach yoga, or someone who wants to immerse themselves in a yogic lifestyle, our yoga teacher certification courses, yoga classes, satsangs, and retreats are the journeys to take.

Feel free to browse through our website or contact us to learn more about Yogi Haris Ashram and our yoga training classes. Learn why Yogi Haris Ashram is one of the most visited and recommended yoga ashrams of many yoga teachers and students in South Florida. Meet Shri Yogi Hari and experience Sampoorna Yoga at his beautiful Florida ashram today.

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"Motivation" is a song performed by American recording artist Kelly Rowland, from her third studio album Here I Am (2011). The song was written by Jim Jonsin, Rico Love, Daniel Morris and Lil Wayne, with Jonsin producing the song and Lil Wayne having featured vocals. The R&B slow-jam serves as the lead single from Here I Am and was released from April 8, 2011. Upon release, "Motivation" received favorable reviews from critics generally praising the sexiness of the song. Official remixes were produced for the song, including an dubstep-inspired electronic mix by Diplo and a rap remix by Busta Rhymes, Trey Songz and Fabolous.

In the United States, the song has peaked at number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart where it stayed seven weeks in a row, and number seventeen on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Rowland's second US top 20 hit (fourth top 30 overall) and her second highest performing single to date as a solo artist, behind "Dilemma". It was certified double platinum by the RIAA in May 2013.

An accompanying music video was directed by Sarah Chatfield, the director behind Rowland's previous video "Forever and a Day" (2010). It follows a number of sultry scenes where Rowland dances seductively amongst partially dressed dancers in a dimly-lit warehouse, with the entire video tinged in blue light. Rowland performed the song for the first time with Trey Songz at the 2011 BET Awards."Motivation" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 54th Grammy Awards.

Here I Am was originally scheduled for release in 2010, but was pushed back numerous times. Initially the dance-influenced "Commander" served as the album's lead single for international territories while two separate singles were serviced in the United States. "Rose Colored Glasses" for the pop format and "Grown Woman" for the urban format.[1][2] Rowland decided in September 2010 to re-enter the recording studios to work on new material for the album.[3] This, coupled with creative issues such as naming the album, led to multiple pushbacks. "Motivation" was announced as the title for the album's new lead single during New York Fashion Week.[4] It debuted online via Rap-Up magazine's website on March 2, 2011.[5]

Speaking of how the record came about, Rowland said "Motivation came about when I was in the studio with [producers] Jim Jonsin and Rico Love, and we kind of were just vibing. I told Rico I wanted something really sexy ... and he came up with 'Motivation' along with Jim. It turned into this amazing record... I played ['Motivation' for Lil Wayne] and he got on it, and it was just as simple as that."[6] Along with the single announcement, Rap-Up said fans could expect the video and a remix produced by Diplo to premiere in April 2011.[5] However, the electronic remix, produced by Diplo, premiered via Rap-Up on March 8, 2011.[7]

A 23-second sample of "Motivation", backed by slow R&B beats. The lyrics of the song, described as "racy" sees Rowland asking her partner to move his hands over her body.

"Motivation" is a R&B slow jam song written by Richard Butler (Rico Love), Jim Jonsin, Dwayne Carter and Danny Morris.[5][8][9] The racy lyrics center around Rowland asking her man to use his hands all over her body, and are accompanied by a "synth-saturated beat" produced by Jonsin.[5] In terms of instruments, "Motivation" uses sparse keyboard notes, programmed beats and pulsing synths in the chorus.[10] Wayne adds a rap verse complementing Rowland's seductive suggestions, using the kitchen and a car as metaphors for sex.[5][10] According to Scott Shetler from AOL Music, Rowland uses the lyrics to promise "to be her lover's motivation."[10] Rowland called the record a mixture between dance and mash-up.[4] When asked by MTV what Rowland thought of the song, she said,"It has that personality and characteristic to it that I don't think anybody can deny. That's why when Wayne dropped that insane verse on there ... I was like, 'You really brought that up even more.' He went into the studio and just did it. I don't think it takes much for Wayne to think. He just does it. He's so admirable."[6]

Ryan Brockington, from the New York Post, was amongst the first to review "Motivation." In his review, he said "The single is a big leap from the dance club synth pop that Kelly has been releasing the past year and it seems like she might be trying to shimmy her way back into the hip-hop world by teaming up with the Midas touch vocals of Lil Wayne."[11] Both Rap-Up and AOL Music's Scott Shetler called the song "sexy."[5][10] Becky Bain from Idolator disliked the song for not being memorable. The short review was summed up with the closing phrase, "shes going to need another hit to help promote her album when it finally is ready to drop."[8] Wesley Case from The Baltimore Sun complemented the song's sexy quality. "If this isn't the year's hands-down sexiest song thus far, it has to be in the discussion. Rowland, whose sultry voice could get a priest hot, weaving in and out of the minimal beat, and setting the table for Lil Wayne's stuttering, after-hours guest-verse. Stack the pieces together and it's an understated knockout that gets sexier with each spin."[12] Billboard ranked it number five on their "Critics' Picks: 20 Best Songs of 2011"[13]

"Motivation" was nominated for two awards at the 2011 Soul Train Music Awards including Best Dance Performance and Song of the Year.It won the award for Song of the Year and was also nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 54th Grammy Awards, which was held on February 12, 2012.

Despite not being released for digital download until April 13, 2011, "Motivation" made its US chart debuted on April 2, debuting at number fifty-five on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[14][15] In the weeks following it continued to rise thanks to urban airplay, eventually reaching number one in its tenth week on the chart, chart dated May 23, 2011.[16] "Motivation" is Rowland's first solo number one as lead artist on a US Billboard composite chart (one combining airplay and sales), although she previously peaked at number one with Nelly on his 2002 single "Dilemma."[17] It stayed at the top spot of the chart for six more weeks. In the same week that "Motivation" hit number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, Lil Wayne, who is featured on the single, had a total of twelve songs on the chart.[17]

Following its release, "Motivation" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number fifty-five, Rowland's highest Hot 100 debut as a solo artist.[18] It reached number seventeen, Rowland's highest Hot 100 peak as a solo artist, and best chart position since "Dilemma" (by Nelly featuring Kelly Rowland 2002), which reached number one.[17] Additionally, it is the first single from Rowland to chart on the Hot 100 since her 2009 feature on David Guetta's "When Love Takes Over", which reached number seventy-six.[17] The previous two lead singles, "Grown Woman" (2010) and "Rose Colored Glasses" (2010), from Here I Am, failed to enter the Hot 100, though the latter peaked at number fifty-one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The producer of "Motivation", Jim Jonsin, said he was proud and confident of the song's success. "Im really happy that things are going well for her on this record. A real concern for us was to get that smash for her... Shes a friend of ours as well, so to see her win is huge."[19]

The music video for "Motivation" was directed by Sarah Chatfield, at the end of March 2011.[20] Frank Gatson served as the video's chroegrapher.[6] Speaking during Roberto Cavalli's fashion show, Rowland said she was on the look out for "womanly, sexy designs" for a "feminine sexy video."[4] She elaborated on the development of the video during an interview when MTV News' Jocelyn Vena. She told Vena, "We came up with the energy, and with Frank [Gatson] and I don't know how he sees something, but he got it... I'm so thankful I have a great team that's thinking 10 steps ahead of me. With Sarah she understood; she got the concept. It was great the way everything came together."[6] The video made its world premiere on BET's 106 & Park on April 4, 2011.[21]

The video opens in a blue hue lit warehouse, with Rowland standing in the passageway before it cuts to her walking through the building checking out the ladies and men mingling. Rowland can then be seen in a purple swim suit & coat,doing various sexual choreographed routines with her many half dressed male backup dancers. The clip then shows Lil wayne in his own scene rapping his verse to the song. He can then be seen leaning against a wall and standing on a bed with the lights flashing while Rowland is simultaneously being entertained by a male dancer as she sits upon a chair. The video then continues with the crowd entwining with each other; full make out sections between females and their male counterparts, as well as partially dressed males feeling on each other's bodies, while the females also interact with each other. After more dancing from Rowland and her dancers, the video then ends with Rowland singing her final lines, surrounded by the sexually charged crowd. Jocelyn Vena of MTV commented that the video "plays to the song's sexy themes."[6]

"Motivation" has been remixed several times, mainly by Rowland's fellow R&B contemporaries who have each put their own angle on the song. The first remix, the song's official remix, was helmed by Alternative electronic music producer, Diplo. It replaces some of the song's original instruments with electronic ones, as well as adding "rapid hi-hats"[7] Diplo also modifies Rowland's vocals, by "chopping and reconfiguring" them "over the dubstep-inspired instrumental."[7] A So So Def remix of the song features female American rapper Da Brat. The unofficial remix, features a new introduction from Da Brat, and was released online to Rap-Up.[19] R&B singers The-Dream and Jeremih also made remixes of the song, adding their own verses and "male perspective" to compliment Rowland and Lil Wayne's verses.Tyga also released a remix for his Mixtape "Well Done 2" entitled "Pussy Talkin'.[22] In May 2011, R. Kelly joined the list of singers to create their own remix for "Motivation". In his version, R. Kelly adds additional verses and references his own songs such as "Pregnant".[23] R. Kelly's remix of the song was praised by Rowland. Using her official Twitter account, Rowland said, "R. Kelly Motivation Remix is CRAAAZZZZZY!!!"[24] R&B singer Mario also added his vocals to a remix of the song.[25] On June 6, 2011, a second official remix for the song was uploaded. It replaces Lil Wayne with new verses from rappers Busta Rhymes, Trey Songz and Fabolous.[26] Rhymes has a rapid-fire "bedroom"-themed verse, while Songz sings in his falsetto and Fabolous' verse is cut short by the re-introduction of Rowland's vocals.[27] A third officially produced remix, the "Rebel Rock Remix," features on the deluxe edition of Here I Am.[28]

On June 26, 2011, Rowland took to the stage of the 2011 BET Awards to perform "Motivation" for the first time.[29] Hollywood News reported that according to social networking site Twitter, Rowland's performance of the song was the most anticipated of the evening.[30] Appearing in the middle of Trey Songz performance of "Love Faces," Rowland ascended on stage where she was joined on stage by several shirtless male dancers.[31] The performance was met with a positive reception from industry critics and fellow music entertainers, most of whom noted it as a highlight of the ceremony. Ed Masley from The Arizona Republic said that Rowland's performance was "the night's most soulful vocal [performance]."[31] Roger Catlin from TV critic website Courant.com also lauded Rowland with praising, stating that Rowland offered "a live performance with Trey Songz trumping that of her more famous "sister" from Destiny's Child, Beyonc."[32] The Los Angeles Times' Gerrick D. Kennedy praised Rowland's sex appeal, noting that her "steamy performance sent tongues wagging" and was widely anticipated thanks to the serial delays with her album Here I Am (2011).[33] Finally, MTV Rob Markman pointed out that following her performance "#kelly" began trending on Twitter. Additionally Markman said "[Rowland] received one of the loudest ovations of the night."[34]

Recording[37]

Personnel[37]

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Motivation (Kelly Rowland song) - Wikipedia

One of The Guardians Books to Buy in 2018

"The world is getting better, even if it doesnt always feel that way. Im glad we have brilliant thinkers like Steven Pinker to help us see the big picture. Enlightenment Now is not only the best book Pinkers ever written. Its my new favorite book of all time.Bill Gates

A terrific book[Pinker] recounts the progress across a broad array of metrics, from health to wars, the environment to happiness, equal rights to quality of life. Nicholas Kristof,The New York Times

Elegantly [argues] that in various ways humanity has every reason to be optimistic over life in the twenty-first century. A defense of progress that will provoke deep thinking and thoughtful discourse among his many fans.BooklistPinker defends progressive ideals against contemporary critics, pundits, cantankerous philosophers, and populist politicians to demonstrate how far humanity has come since the EnlightenmentIn an era of increasingly dystopian rhetoric, Pinkers sober, lucid, and meticulously researched vision of human progress is heartening and important.Publishers Weekly[An] impeccably written text full of interesting tidbits from neuroscience and other disciplinesThe author examines the many ways in which Enlightenment ideals have given us lives that our forebears would envy even if gloominess and pessimism are the order of the day. Kirkus Review

Praise for The Better Angels of Our Nature:

If I could give each of you a graduation present, it would be thisthe most inspiring book I've ever read."Bill Gates (May, 2017)

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Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism ...

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE TO HOST A BACK TO SCHOOL CAMPAIGN WITH LEARNERS IN VILJOENSKROON IN THE FREE STATE

The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development will host a Back To School Campaign with learners at Rehauhetswe Secondary School in Viljoenskroon in the Free State on 15 February 2018. The campaign seeks to encourage learners at the beginning of the academic year to invest their time and effort in their studies for them to yield positive results at the end of the year.

Despite facing a number of challenges the Rehauhetswe Secondary School managed to produce a 100% pass rate for the 2017 school year.

The event forms part of the bigger programme of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development of creating awareness to learners about their Constitutional rights and responsibilities. During the event, the Department will also hand over educational and promotional material to the learners who will be participating in the dialogue.

Members of the media are invited as follows:

Date: 15 February 2018Venue: Rehauhetswe Secondary School, 2658 J.S. Section, Rammulotsi Township, Viljoenskroon, Free StateTime: 10:00

Issued by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development

For media confirmations please contact: Mr Junior Kotu on 079 192 9194 / JKotu@justice.gov.za.

Enquiries:

Stephans MahlanguSpokesperson for the Department of Justice and Correctional Services079 878 7587Mediaenquiries@justice.gov.za

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The terms meditation and mindfulness are tossed around quite a bit these days, highlighted in studies touting their health benefits, or yoga studios declaring new ways for you to find inner peace in your busy life. The terms are often used interchangeably, and sometimes, in their simplified forms, refer to the same general thing the idea of calming your frenzied mind.

The differences between mindfulness and meditation have beendebated and interpreted in thousands of ways, and the debate likely will continue. Theyre two sides of the same coin they complement each other, and they very often overlap. At the same time, each has its own specific definition and purpose.

Much like yoga, the history of meditation and mindfulness is ancient and spiritual, originating in religion. Meditation predates even ancient times, having its origins in prehistoric religions that involved rhythmic chants, or mantras. But the earliest records of meditation can be found in the Vedas, the oldest texts of Hinduism, dating from 1700-1100 BCE. Later on, different forms of meditation began developing in Buddhism and Taoism, mainly in India and China.

Ancient meditation focused on spiritual growth and transcending emotions to live in a calm present state. After being introduced to the West in the 20th century, meditation was realigned to match the goals of a modern, secular society and it was soon used as a way to reduce stress and improve healthy living, similar to the Western worlds version of yoga.

This painting from the 1800s, "Man Meditating in a Garden Setting," depicts a man practicing traditional meditation. Wikimedia / PD-US

Though its often a fine line, heres the main difference between the two:Meditation is a large umbrella term that encompasses the practice of reaching ultimate consciousness and concentration, to acknowledge the mind and, in a way, self-regulate it. It can involve a lot of techniques or practices to reach this heightened level of consciousness including compassion, love, patience, and of course, mindfulness. So mindfulness is a type of meditation, alongside tantra, yoga, sexuality, silence, breathing, and emptiness.

Mindfulness is the act of focusing on being in the present, such as focusing completely on drinking a hot cup of tea, taking in its scent, warmth, and taste and removing overpowering emotions from the mind.

Mindfulness is a form of meditation, Lodro Rinzler, a meditation author and teacher, as well as founder of MNDFL, told Medical Daily. There are many forms of meditation, including contemplation and visualization, but mindfulness is the type where you bring your full mind to an object. Being mindful of your breath, for example, is a common form of mindfulness during meditation. Following your breath improves your awareness of being in the present. This is called mindfulness meditation, known as shamatha among Buddhists.

Rinzler adds that eating could be another way to practice mindfulness: You can be mindful of your food, truly tasting it, and when you drift off into all sorts of thoughts, returning to tasting your food that is an act of mindfulness.

The practice of meditation predates the idea of mindfulness, Rinzler explains. Mindfulness is often aligned with the time of the Buddha, in which the Buddha discovered that focusing entirely on his breath would allow him to see reality and reach meditation more quickly.

Thich Nhat Hanh (third from the right, wearing a scarf) arrives in Vietnam. Wikimedia

In the modern age, Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk who is well-known for his teachings on mindfulness, introduced The Five Mindfulness Trainings to the world. One of Hanhs students, Jon Kabat-Zinn, would become famous for popularizing mindfulness as a stress reduction and health-based approach in the U.S. In 1979, Kabat-Zinn, Professor of Medicine Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, started the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society to treat chronically ill patients. This jumpstarted the notion and trend of employing mindfulness as a way to live a healthier life.

Whether you want to learn all about the different techniques of meditation or if you simply want to learn how to be more mindful in your daily life to reduce stress, theres plenty of evidence to support that harnessing your mind to be in the present can improve your mental and physical health.

One recent study found that people who practice mindfulness had healthier glucose levels, suggesting that improved focus and self-control could help fight obesity and unhealthy eating habits. Mindfulness meditation was also linked to improved sleep quality among older adults who would normally be using pills. It has been associated with improved focus, reduced dependency on opioid drugs, and lowered anxiety and depression levels. But perhaps whats most remarkable is that research has actually shown that mindfulness and positive thinking had a beneficial effect on the DNA of breast cancer patients, suggesting that the effects of mindfulness meditation on the body may be far more extensive than we know.

Embarking on the journey of meditation can be difficult but if you want to start out with baby steps, take ten minutes out of each day to remain mindful when drinking tea, taking a break during work, or focusing on your breath before sleep. Theres quite a bit of power in the simple act of focusing your mind.

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meditation - Medical Daily

If science and technology are left totally free, mankind can achieve an enhanced, transhuman future, rid of all pain and even free of death except by choice. At least that was the view of some 150 scientists, philosophers and engineers at the recent TransVision 2004 conference at the University of Toronto. The conference did not target only the U.S. Christian right for opposing such things as stem cell research. It challenged every faith community that believes a human being is more than just one more biological product. The weekend of Aug. 7 was organized by the World Transhumanist Association. In 2005 its conference will be in Caracas, Venezuela, where this small band of transhumanists will continue to challenge all larger faith communities to review what they have to say about a brave new world that would carry us far beyond the engineered manipulations that seemed so distant when Aldous Huxley wrote in 1932 about creating babies in test tubes.

The six-year-old W.T.A. has nearly 3,000 members, two-thirds of them in the United States. Most are male engineers, philosophers and research scientists. Co-sponsors of the Toronto conference included a number of similar organizations that exist mainly as stylish Web sites mounted by small groups with names like Betterhumans, Extrophy Institute and Immortality Institute.

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For Nick Bostrom, co-founder of W.T.A. and an Oxford University philosopher, transhumanism is a new paradigm for thinking about humankinds future that rejects the assumption that human nature cannot be changed. Transhumanists, who include computer scientists, neuroscientists, nanotechnologists and researchers working at the forefront of technological development, believe that we can and should try to overcome all our biological limitations by means of reason, science and technology. They seek complete freedom to use new technology to augment intelligence, increase human strength and beauty, bring about sustainable mood enhancements, prolong life greatly and make it possible to leave the earth and explore and inhabit space.

David Pearce, who joined Bostrom in founding the W.T.A., predicted in an article published in 1977, The Hedonistic Imperative, that with genetic engineering and nanotechnology our post-human successors will rewrite the vertebrate genome, redesign the global ecosystem, and abolish suffering throughout the living world.

Perhaps because the transhumanist message is disseminated mostly over the Internet, and perhaps also because of the W.T.A.s call for total freedom in scientific exploration and technical engineering, many of the nonmember participants in the Toronto weekend were university students preparing for high-tech careers. The conference made the faith views of the transhumanists easily accessible to these students.

The Toronto conference had just ended when it was announced on Aug. 11 that a Newcastle University team had been given a license in Britain to clone human embryos for therapeutic research purposes. The following weekend, Lux Research, a consulting company that studies nanotechnology, reported that corporations, governments, universities and others will spend an estimated $8.6 billion (U.S.) on such research and development in 2004, more than double the estimated $3-billion level of 2003. (Nanotechnology is used to build products out of components whose size is less than 100 nanometers, usually designer molecules. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter; the word is derived from the Greek root nano, which means dwarf.) The vision of the late physicist Richard Feynman, who proposed in 1959 that molecular manufacturing processes would make possible digital control of the structure of matter, is now becoming a reality in laboratories.

Because foreseeable innovations might enhance human life beyond all present constraints of disease or aging, there should be no limits whatever on new technologies, according to the self-styled transhumanists, who describe themselves mainly as avowed atheists with a libertarian bent.

The Toronto conference was their latest collective effort to win public support for their viewpoint. They talked about the creation of entities with greater than present-day human intelligence. One session looked at quantum miracles and immortality, another at a kinematic cellular automata approach to building self-replicating nanomachines. One of the few women W.T.A. members talked about posthuman prototypes debating their own design.

There was some questioning and debate amid their optimistic reports. There was both scornful criticism and tentative support of the U.S. presidents Council on Bioethics and its cautionary stance. Questions arising directly from religion fared less well. Christian resistance to some new techniques was characterized at one point as a Luddite dragging in of Trojan horses.

Yet, as a sign of some openness for dialogue, the Toronto conference began with a day described as a conversation between religion and transhumanism. This was a sequel to a similar workshop in July on a post-human-future, organized by the Ian Ramsey Centre, part of the theology faculty at the University of Oxford. In Toronto, however, many religious families were not represented, and those who did present some Buddhist and Christian reflections were also paid-up transhumanist members.

Tihamer Toth-Fejel, a research engineer with General Dynamics, identified himself as a Catholic. He noted without comment from any other conference participant that transhumanism is somewhat a product of secular humanism, which blindly rejects God, dehumanizes us into animals, claims that no objective statements can be made about morality (except the one just made), and ignores that we are intrinsically valuable because we are made in the image and likeness of God.

In The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly (summer 2004), Toth-Fejel wrote that nanotechnology is only a tool and can be used for good or evil; the problem is that some significant opportunities made possible by precise molecular manipulationespecially within our own bodiesmay seem good but will actually be harmful to our humanity as persons. Enhancements that degrade our humanity are not good for us, because they contradict who we are as persons and, therefore, should be prohibited and discouraged. Our difficulty is in recognizing which enhancements are degrading us, discovering how this degradation occurs and, finally, finding the strength to resist the alluring promises they make.

Other questions about the limits of transhumanism arose during a presentation of work being done by the McLuhan Program in Culture and Technology at the University of Toronto. Steve Mann, a pioneer in developing wearable computers to aid vision, stressed that his main interest was not to enhance human functions but to explore how technology mediates between people and the world around them. Robert Logan recalled Marshall McLuhans law that each technical medium enhances some human function but also causes obsolescence, replicates and reverses into its opposite. As an example, computers enhance information handling, replace typewriters, replicate libraries and bring on information overload. The ambiguity of new technologies can be seen in the recent report by Britains Environment Agency that Prozac, widely used as an antidepressant, is building up in the countrys river systems and groundwater used for drinking supplies.

There are many questions to discuss, therefore, with W.T.A. members. The views expressed by James Hughes, W.T.A.s executive director, suggest the difficulties involved in joining them in a dialogue that engages their own faith. Hughes, now a Buddhist, says that new medical technology should be governed only by the principles of liberal democracy: equality, liberty and solidarity. People have the right to control their own bodies, he contends, and efforts by government to control such things as euthanasia or gene manipulation are throwbacks to the authoritarianism of the church and totalitarian states...to dogma and fear.

For Hughes, the human embryo is not a person. It is a biological product, so we must think we can use it for good ends. Engineering genes is like using any other technology, and the precautionary principleDont do anything until you understand the long-term consequencesis Luddite. We are a society that learns. Physical safety is the only ground he would accept for limiting technology. He is sure, he said in a public debate in Toronto last year, that in about 400 years there will be people with green skin and four eyes who are devout Roman Catholics.

Hughes and others do not think of their transhumanism as a religion, but they maintain their faith in their worldview with religious zeal. For Catholics, therefore, dialogue with them could amount to the kind of interfaith dialogue that Pope John Paul II discussed in Article 68 of Pastores Gregis, his summary of the 2001 synod on the mission of bishops. Such dialogue, the pope said, belongs to the new evangelization, especially in these times when people belonging to different religions are increasingly living together in the same areas, in the same cities and their daily workplaces.

Therefore, one challenge of the new evangelization, especially for Catholic lay scientists and engineers, is to enter interfaith dialogue with transhumanists and like-minded people, perhaps especially over the Internet, searching for those seeds of the Word which lie hidden among them, rejecting nothing that is true and holy in what they have to say.

The second challenge is to clarify what to bring to this dialogue. Catholic scientists and engineers, the Second Vatican Council taught, are among those whose first and special vocation is to seek the kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs, like nanotechnology, and directing these developments according to Gods will. Is it Gods will that everything that can be done should be done?

Near the end of Brave New World, Aldous Huxley put todays transhumanist argument in the mouth of Mustapha Mond, the authoritative state representative. Industrial civilization, Mond says, is only possible when theres no self-denial. Self-indulgence up to the very limits imposed by hygiene and economics. Otherwise the wheels stop turning. The challenge, then, is to develop counterarguments in favor of a human civilization with self-denial, with limits, with constraints. For that, there is an inescapable first question: What does it really mean to be human?

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Transhumanism | America Magazine

Motivation is defined as the process that initiates, guides, and maintains goal-oriented behaviors. Motivation is what causes you to act, whether it is getting a glass of water to reduce thirst or reading a book to gain knowledge.

Motivation involves the biological, emotional, social, and cognitive forces that activate behavior. In everyday usage, the term motivation is frequently used to describe why a person does something.

For example, you might say that a student is so motivated to get into a clinical psychology program that she spends every night studying.

"The term motivation refers to factors that activate, direct, and sustain goal-directed behavior... Motives are the 'whys' of behaviorthe needs or wants that drive behavior and explain what we do. We don't actually observe a motive; rather, we infer that one exists based on the behavior we observe."(Nevid, 2013)

What exactly lies behind the motivations for why we act? Psychologists have proposed different theories of motivation, including drive theory, instinct theory, and humanistic theory. The reality is that there are many different forces that guide and direct our motivations.

Anyone who has ever had a goal (like wanting to lose 20 pounds or run a marathon) probably immediately realizes that simply having the desire to accomplish something is not enough.

Achieving such a goal requires the ability to persist through obstacles and endurance to keep going in spite of difficulties.

There are three major components to motivation: activation, persistence, and intensity.

What are the things that actually motivate us to act? Psychologists have proposed different theories to explain motivation:

Different types of motivation are frequently described as being either extrinsic or intrinsic. Extrinsic motivations are those that arise from outside of the individual and often involve rewards such as trophies, money, social recognition, or praise. Intrinsic motivations are those that arise from within the individual, such as doing a complicated crossword puzzle purely for the personal gratification of solving a problem.

Understanding motivation is important in many areas of life, from parenting to the workplace. You may want to set the best goals and establish the right reward systems to motivate others as well as toincrease your own motivation. Knowledge of motivating factors and manipulating them is used in marketing and other aspects of industrial psychology. It's an area where there are many myths and everyone can benefit from knowing what works and what doesn't.

Source:

Nevid JS. Psychology: Concepts and Applications. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning; 2013.

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Motivation: Psychological Factors That Guide Behavior