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The Focus of a Monk

Source https://zenhabits.net/focus-of-a-monk/

By Leo Babauta

As I write this, I’m on a long plane ride — I’ve written many posts on planes and trains, and I find it actually much easier to write this way despite the shakiness of my laptop on these rides.

It’s easy to write on planes and trains because there’s not as much to do. I don’t get the Internet option on planes because it really limits my options. That’s a good thing for focus.

On planes, I can do one of a few things: read, watch a movie, sleep, or write. Those are all good options, but they’re limited. I tend to think about it for a minute, and then choose one to focus on for a while.

At home and at work, however, our options are unlimited. And our brains seem to want to do it all, when we have unlimited options. We tend to jump from one thing to another, endlessly, until the sweet release of sleep takes us from all of our choices.

Monks hav…

Source https://zenhabits.net/focus-of-a-monk/

By Leo Babauta

As I write this, I’m on a long plane ride — I’ve written many posts on planes and trains, and I find it actually much easier to write this way despite the shakiness of my laptop on these rides.

It’s easy to write on planes and trains because there’s not as much to do. I don’t get the Internet option on planes because it really limits my options. That’s a good thing for focus.

On planes, I can do one of a few things: read, watch a movie, sleep, or write. Those are all good options, but they’re limited. I tend to think about it for a minute, and then choose one to focus on for a while.

At home and at work, however, our options are unlimited. And our brains seem to want to do it all, when we have unlimited options. We tend to jump from one thing to another, endlessly, until the sweet release of sleep takes us from all of our choices.

Monks hav…

Endothelial Cellular Senescence Contributes to Loss of Capillary Density

Source https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2024/04/endothelial-cellular-senescence-contributes-to-loss-of-capillary-density/

The consensus of the research community on senescent cells in old tissues is that (a) their presence causes harm, and (b) treatments based on the selective removal of such cells will be beneficial, reversing many aspects of aging and age-related disease. These cells secrete a pro-inflammatory mix of signal molecules that is disruptive to tissue structure and function when maintained over time. Cells become senescent constantly throughout life, only to be destroyed by programmed cell death or by the immune system. With advancing age, newly created senescent cells are cleared ever more slowly, however, and thus the burden of lingering senescent cells grows throughout the body.

As the authors of today’s open access paper note, the presence of senescent <a h…

Source https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2024/04/endothelial-cellular-senescence-contributes-to-loss-of-capillary-density/

The consensus of the research community on senescent cells in old tissues is that (a) their presence causes harm, and (b) treatments based on the selective removal of such cells will be beneficial, reversing many aspects of aging and age-related disease. These cells secrete a pro-inflammatory mix of signal molecules that is disruptive to tissue structure and function when maintained over time. Cells become senescent constantly throughout life, only to be destroyed by programmed cell death or by the immune system. With advancing age, newly created senescent cells are cleared ever more slowly, however, and thus the burden of lingering senescent cells grows throughout the body.

As the authors of today’s open access paper note, the presence of senescent <a h…

Are You Paying Attention to the Beauty of this World?

Source https://tinybuddha.com/blog/are-you-paying-attention-to-the-beauty-of-this-world/

“’I got saved by the beauty of the world,’ she said to me. And the beauty of the world was honored in the devotion of her attention. Nothing less than the beauty of the world has become more present, more redemptive, for more of us in the encounter with her poetry.” ~Krista Tippett, on interviewing poet Mary Oliver

The act of paying attention seems rather simple. Simply being aware of life happening all around us. And yet most of us are what we might call asleep at the wheel. We perform daily tasks and engage ourselves in human interactions without a moment given to the here and now taking place in the present.

Instead of enjoying the scenery while on a drive to finish the day’s errands or…

Source https://tinybuddha.com/blog/are-you-paying-attention-to-the-beauty-of-this-world/

“’I got saved by the beauty of the world,’ she said to me. And the beauty of the world was honored in the devotion of her attention. Nothing less than the beauty of the world has become more present, more redemptive, for more of us in the encounter with her poetry.” ~Krista Tippett, on interviewing poet Mary Oliver

The act of paying attention seems rather simple. Simply being aware of life happening all around us. And yet most of us are what we might call asleep at the wheel. We perform daily tasks and engage ourselves in human interactions without a moment given to the here and now taking place in the present.

Instead of enjoying the scenery while on a drive to finish the day’s errands or…

Plastic: The Hidden Food Additive

Source https://seniorplanet.org/articles-plastics-food-additive/

Reducing plastic use can safeguard your health as well as help the planet.

The post Plastic: The Hidden Food Additive appeared first on Senior Planet from AARP.

Source https://seniorplanet.org/articles-plastics-food-additive/

Reducing plastic use can safeguard your health as well as help the planet.

The post Plastic: The Hidden Food Additive appeared first on Senior Planet from AARP.

Higher Taurine Intake in the Diet Correlates with Some Measures of Strength in Middle Age

Source https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2024/04/higher-taurine-intake-in-the-diet-correlates-with-some-measures-of-strength-in-middle-age/

Taurine is a amino acid mainly found in fish and meat in the diet. It is not an essential amino acid, and can be synthesized in humans. Circulating taurine levels in the bloodstream decline with age by about 50% by middle age for reasons that have yet to be determined. Studies in aged mice and non-human primates have shown modestly improved function and slowed aging following taurine supplementation. Past human studies of taurine supplementation have produced entirely unimpressive outcomes, but given that they predated present aging clocks it may be that the researchers were evaluating the wrong metrics. Taurine may act on the pace of aging through <a…

Source https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2024/04/higher-taurine-intake-in-the-diet-correlates-with-some-measures-of-strength-in-middle-age/

Taurine is a amino acid mainly found in fish and meat in the diet. It is not an essential amino acid, and can be synthesized in humans. Circulating taurine levels in the bloodstream decline with age by about 50% by middle age for reasons that have yet to be determined. Studies in aged mice and non-human primates have shown modestly improved function and slowed aging following taurine supplementation. Past human studies of taurine supplementation have produced entirely unimpressive outcomes, but given that they predated present aging clocks it may be that the researchers were evaluating the wrong metrics. Taurine may act on the pace of aging through <a…

Bacterial Peptides Improve Mitochondrial Function in Intestinal Tissues

Source https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2024/04/bacterial-peptides-improve-mitochondrial-function-in-intestinal-tissues/

Many compounds are now known to have some positive influence on mitochondrial function. The biochemistry is complex and incompletely understood. Even in the well-studied cases, there are hypotheses regarding the mechanism of action, but little certainty. In general, improvement of the quality control mechanism of mitophagy appears to be a necessary factor in the improvement of mitochondrial function in old tissues, but that appears to happen as the result of many different types of intervention. Here, researchers note that a class of bacterial peptides originating from the gut microbiome appear to improve mitochondrial function in intestinal tissue. This may be the basis for yet another type of treatment or supplement to modestly improve mitochondrial function. Those…

Source https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2024/04/bacterial-peptides-improve-mitochondrial-function-in-intestinal-tissues/

Many compounds are now known to have some positive influence on mitochondrial function. The biochemistry is complex and incompletely understood. Even in the well-studied cases, there are hypotheses regarding the mechanism of action, but little certainty. In general, improvement of the quality control mechanism of mitophagy appears to be a necessary factor in the improvement of mitochondrial function in old tissues, but that appears to happen as the result of many different types of intervention. Here, researchers note that a class of bacterial peptides originating from the gut microbiome appear to improve mitochondrial function in intestinal tissue. This may be the basis for yet another type of treatment or supplement to modestly improve mitochondrial function. Those…

A Population Study Correlates Air Pollution with Faster Cognitive Aging

Source https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2024/04/a-population-study-correlates-air-pollution-with-faster-cognitive-aging/

A number of large epidemiological studies provide evidence for long-term exposure to greater levels of air pollution to accelerate the onset and progression of age-related disease. A few of these manage to control for the tendency for wealthier people to avoid living in areas with higher particulate air pollution, and the correlation with worse health remains. Mechanistically, it is thought that particulates provoke greater chronic inflammation via their interaction with lung and other tissues, and this in turn contributes to the cell and…

Source https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2024/04/a-population-study-correlates-air-pollution-with-faster-cognitive-aging/

A number of large epidemiological studies provide evidence for long-term exposure to greater levels of air pollution to accelerate the onset and progression of age-related disease. A few of these manage to control for the tendency for wealthier people to avoid living in areas with higher particulate air pollution, and the correlation with worse health remains. Mechanistically, it is thought that particulates provoke greater chronic inflammation via their interaction with lung and other tissues, and this in turn contributes to the cell and…

Sea Urchins as a Model of Negligible Senescence

Source https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2024/04/sea-urchins-as-a-model-of-negligible-senescence/

Species that exhibit negligible senescence tend to be long-lived, but more interestingly appear to exhibit few to none of the functional declines of degenerative aging until very late in life, quite unlike the situation for most mammals, and particularly for humans. One can argue that the most useful species that exhibit negligible senescence are those with near relative species that age more normally. The closer the relative, the more likely it is that comparing the biochemistry of the two will lead to new knowledge regarding aging. So naked mole rats versus other, less long-lived mole rats, Brandt’s bat versus other shorter-lived small bats, or as in today’s ope…

Source https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2024/04/sea-urchins-as-a-model-of-negligible-senescence/

Species that exhibit negligible senescence tend to be long-lived, but more interestingly appear to exhibit few to none of the functional declines of degenerative aging until very late in life, quite unlike the situation for most mammals, and particularly for humans. One can argue that the most useful species that exhibit negligible senescence are those with near relative species that age more normally. The closer the relative, the more likely it is that comparing the biochemistry of the two will lead to new knowledge regarding aging. So naked mole rats versus other, less long-lived mole rats, Brandt’s bat versus other shorter-lived small bats, or as in today’s ope…

Embracing Equality: How to Stop Putting People on Pedestals

Source https://tinybuddha.com/blog/embracing-equality-how-to-stop-putting-people-on-pedestals/

“The most common ego identifications have to do with possessions, the work you do, social status and recognition, knowledge and education, physical appearance, special abilities, relationships, personal and family history, belief systems, and often also political, nationalistic, racial, religious, and other collective identifications. None of these is you.” ~Eckhart Tolle

Growing up in a patriarchal and hierarchical society, I learned to see certain people as superior to me and therefore placed them on pedestals: teachers, authority figures, managers… This behavior transformed me into a quite reserved, almost submissive version of myself, in contrast to my outspoken feminist persona outside of those circles.

I noticed a s…

Source https://tinybuddha.com/blog/embracing-equality-how-to-stop-putting-people-on-pedestals/

“The most common ego identifications have to do with possessions, the work you do, social status and recognition, knowledge and education, physical appearance, special abilities, relationships, personal and family history, belief systems, and often also political, nationalistic, racial, religious, and other collective identifications. None of these is you.” ~Eckhart Tolle

Growing up in a patriarchal and hierarchical society, I learned to see certain people as superior to me and therefore placed them on pedestals: teachers, authority figures, managers… This behavior transformed me into a quite reserved, almost submissive version of myself, in contrast to my outspoken feminist persona outside of those circles.

I noticed a s…

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