fish can pass experience learning through generations.

  ― Po Bronson, Decoding the World 

“People who had been through a lot reported that they changed their life, or got clarity, when they became conscious of what kind of person a certain job/industry/lifestyle was turning them into.”
― Po Bronson, What Should I Do with My Life?: The True Story of People Who Answered the Ultimate Question

“Why was I bent on encouraging people to change their lives? Because I've watched my generation stop reading books, stop reading the newspaper, stop voting in local elections? Because I've watched money/salary become a proxy for respect, and then a synonym for respect, and then the only kind of respect that counts? Because I have seen us judge books we have not read, politicians we have not heard, musicians we have not listened to, referendums we have not debated, and fellow citizens we have not met? Because I have seen us torn apart by jealousy for what others our age have accomplished, rather than celebrating those accomplishments? Because I have seen us glorify those who make decisions over those who enact decisions, prefer being a consultant to being fully engaged, being an investor to being invested in, being an advisor over being politically involved, being an expert over being partisan, being a news analyst over being a news gatherer--all in fear of the inflexible boredom of commitment?”

― Po Bronson, What Should I Do with My Life?: The True Story of People Who Answered the Ultimate Question

Sanskrit describes five layers of self, or mind: Physical, feeling, perception, intention, and consciousness.

  ― Po Bronson, What Should I Do with My Life?: The True Story of People Who Answered the Ultimate Question 

The Five Aggregates (Skandhas)

Physical (Rupa): The material body and the physical sense organs.
Feeling (Vedana): The raw sensory tone of pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral.
Perception (Samjna): The cognitive act of recognizing, labeling, and identifying objects or concepts.
Intention (Samskara): Volitional mental formations, impulses, drives, and emotional reactions.
Consciousness (Vijnana): The basic, underlying awareness that registers sensory and mental data.

 

 “This variable, how a parent responds to a child’s vocalizations—right in the moment—seems to be the most powerful mechanism pulling a child from babble to fluent speech.”
― Po Bronson, NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children

 “When you act, you learn. That kind of wisdom beats the knowledge you read in a book, every time. To really seek answers, you need to act. To really develop your mind, run more experiments.”
― Po Bronson, Decoding the World

We are all writing the story of our life. We want to know what it’s “about,” what are its themes and which theme is on the rise. We demand of it something deeper, or richer, or more substantive. We want to know where we’re headed― not to spoil our own ending by ruining the surprise, but we want to ensure that when the ending comes, it won’t be shallow. We will not have done something. We will not have squandered our time here.
― Po Bronson

“Bacteria don’t just make yogurt. They can bind carbon to silicon. They can make electricity. They can absorb gamma radiation. They can eat minerals and excrete acids, or eat acids and secrete minerals. They can emit light. They can make superglue. They can eat electrons and breathe out metals. They can align themselves like a compass to Earth’s magnetic field. They can process gold ores into tiny gold nuggets. They can turn sunlight into bioplastic. There’s even a bacteria that eats rock and poops out sand. Nice, coarse, gritty sand.”
― Po Bronson, Decoding the World

“It didn’t matter if you were rich or poor, black or white, healthy or ill. Across every cohort, controlling for all variables, if you had “a sense of purpose” you stayed healthy, and if you didn’t have a sense of purpose, you didn’t stay healthy. It was more powerful for your health than exercising every day. It was more important than smoking or drinking. It was pretty much the strongest determinator of your future health.”

― Po Bronson, Decoding the World 

“Breathing is key to accessing the unconscious neural code that controls us. “As the breath moves, so does the mind” is ancient Indian wisdom. We can add to that, “and the body.”
― Po Bronson, Decoding the World

A path is made by walking on it. Chuang Tzu

“Flow with whatever may happen, and let your mind be free: Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate.” ― Zhuangzi

Education in Action

We've been working to educate our puppy about the joys of nail trimming. We touch her paws whenever we have a relaxed moment. We take out the nail clippers and make them click a few times and give her a piece of kibble. We repeat this every few days. We also touch the clippers to her paws and give her a treat then put them away. 

Now when I take out the clippers both dogs wag their tails knowing they will be rewarded in this activity. 

Yesterday while I was trimming Romeo's nails Lulu came in to investigate. I gave them both treats and praise. Then I snipped Lulu's dew claws and rewarded her after each. I was able to continue snipping nails on one paw rewarding after each nail. This was a great victory! She began to get squirmy so I stopped. I will resume this process when Romeo needs a touch up on his nails. Perhaps then I can sneak in the trimming of Lulu's right paw.

 “Once upon a time, I dreamed I was a butterfly, fluttering hither and thither, to all intents and purposes a butterfly. I was conscious only of my happiness as a butterfly, unaware that I was myself. Soon I awakened, and there I was, veritably myself again. Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly, dreaming I am a man.”
― Zhuangzi, The Butterfly as Companion: Meditations on the First Three Chapters of the Chuang Tzu

Great wisdom is generous; petty wisdom is contentious. Zhuangzi

 “You have only to rest in inaction and things will transform themselves. Smash your form and body, spit out hearing and eyesight, forget you are a thing among other things, and you may join in great unity with the deep and boundless.”

― Zhuangzi, The Complete Works of Chuang Tzu

“The petty thief is imprisoned but the big thief becomes a feudal lord.” ― Zhuangzi, The Complete Works of Chuang Tzu

“Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly.” ― Chuang Tzu

“A frog in a well cannot discuss the ocean, because he is limited by the size of his well. A summer insect cannot discuss ice, because it knows only its own season. A narrow-minded scholar cannot discuss the Tao, because he is constrained by his teachings. Now you have come out of your banks and seen the Great Ocean. You now know your own inferiority, so it is now possible to discuss great principles with you.
井蛙不可以語於海者，拘於虛也；夏蟲不可以語於冰者，篤於時也；曲士不可以語於道者，束於教也。今爾出於崖涘，觀於大海，乃知爾醜，爾將可與語大理矣。”
― Zhuangzi, The Way of Chuang Tzu  

The sound of water says what I think. Chuang Tzu