Meditation isn’t about becoming a different person, a new person, or even a better person. It’s about training in awareness and getting a healthy sense of perspective. You’re not trying to turn off your thoughts or feelings. You’re learning to observe them without judgment. And eventually, you may start to better understand them as well.

Meditation is one of those practices and traditions that comes with a lot of misconceptions and stigmas attached, built on the back of certain stereotypes that have themselves been built on the back of rumor, myth, and media portrayals. One of the biggest myths out there is that meditation is inherently religious. Meditation is a skill, not a belief system. Some people do use meditation in a religious context, but the application of the skill does not make meditation inherently religious. Another myth is the idea that meditation takes itself too seriously, involving meditators who are sitting cross-legged, arms extended, repeatedly saying “ohhhmmm” out loud. The truth is that while some people choose to sit cross-legged — and maybe they are out in nature or by the beach — many meditators choose to meditate sitting in a chair with hands on their laps. All you are doing is sitting with the mind, becoming aware of your emotions and feelings. Everyone has a mind, and from time to time, everyone struggles with that mind (or its thoughts).

Our entire existence is experienced through our minds, and our perspective on life can dramatically alter once we begin meditating. Being inspired to start meditating is very different from actually doing it, however, and you’ll only feel the benefits of meditation by beginning and maintaining a regular practice. But, where to begin?

First you should take in consideration these:

1. Commit to a regular practice. Be clear about the time you will carve out— 10 or 15 minutes initially — and where you will sit relatively undisturbed (a little bit of background noise is not an issue). It takes discipline and perseverance to make a habit stick, so honoring a routine — same time, same place — will help build your meditation practice. A popular time to meditate is first thing in the morning, though it’s okay to find a time that suits your schedule, be it morning, afternoon, or evening.
2. Wear whatever you like. The most important thing is that you are comfortable and relaxed. If you happen to be wearing a tie, belt, or scarf, you may want to loosen it beforehand and also kick off any uncomfortable, tight-fitting shoes or heels. If you so choose, you could also wear absolutely nothing at all (as long as you’re in the privacy and comfort of your own home).
3. How to sit. You can meditate inside or outside and you can sit on the floor, a cushion, bench, chair, or anything else that works for you. Beginners often find it’s easier to use an upright chair as they’re familiarizing themselves with the practice. Sitting toward the front of the chair will help obtain the correct posture: back straight, neck relaxed, chin slightly tucked in. Rest your hands loosely on your lap or knees.
4. How long you choose to meditate depends on your preferences, life circumstances, and time available. The important thing is that frequency trumps duration. When first starting out, it’s recommended that you begin with a 10-minute session. You can always make the jump to 15 or 20 minutes the more familiar you become with training the mind. If sitting in silence for 10 minutes sounds overwhelming at first, then there’s no harm in beginning with three- or five-minute guided meditations or unguided, its up to you. You might as well give it a shot and see how it feels and then build up as your confidence grows.
5. Be clear on your motivation. The reasons to meditate are broad and subjective as well as different for everybody. But it’s helpful to start with a clear motivation — to know why you are wanting to meditate. If you only have some nebulous idea of why you’re doing it, then the chances are you’ll struggle to stick with the practice. Being clear about what you want to get out of your sessions — whether it’s to feel happier, feel calmer, be more focused, or be less stressed, etc. — will be a big help in creating the right attitude of mind going in as well as helping you maintain the commitment to yourself.

It is important to understand that meditation doesn’t promise to solve your problems, and there’s no guarantee of everlasting happiness. Life, with all its challenges and uncertainty, will still happen. What meditation can do is change how you choose to relate to, react to, and view the circumstances happening around you. It offers a pocket of stillness amid all the outer chaos. With a consistent practice — and with a certain amount of open mindedness and a willingness to investigate — the change it brings about is gradual, subtle, and intangible yet profound. It involves a growing sense of awareness and understanding that can ultimately change the way you feel about both yourself and others.

The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) was founded in Pulaski, Tennessee in 1855-56. It started as a well-intentioned social group of former soldiers that fought with the Confederacy in the United States civil war, taking its name from the Greek word kuklos (meaning “circle”). However, its purpose changed to opposing Republican governments that had been imposed on the South after the war. The KKK also began to preach a doctrine of white supremacy in reaction to the appearance of freed blacks in government and other parts of Southern society.

KKK members dressed themselves in white sheets or robes and wore masks to disguise their identities. They staged silent marches and threatening midnight horseback rides, leading some former slaves to believe that the ghosts of the Confederate dead had risen to reclaim their land. In many areas threats gave way to beatings, whippings, mutilations and lynchings. Black voters, southern white people who joined to the Republican Party (“scalawags”) and northern people who moved to southern states to exploit the local populace (“carpetbaggers”) were all targets of this violence. Such actions were defended by some Klansmen as a means of protecting white womanhood.

KKK activities were especially successful in Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina, where many Republicans were driven from office and blacks discouraged from voting.

The KKK peaked in the 1920s, when its membership exceeded 4,000,000 nationally, and profits rolled in from the sale of its memberships, regalia, costumes, publications, and rituals. A burning cross became the symbol of the new organization, and white-robed Klansmen participated in marches, parades, and nighttime cross burnings all over the country. To the old Klan’s hostility toward blacks the new Klan added bias against Roman Catholics, Jews, foreigners, and organized labour. The KKK enjoyed a last spurt of growth in 1928, when Alfred E. Smith, a Catholic, received the Democratic presidential nomination. The KKK acted secretly against him and discouraged people from not voting for him because he was a Roman Catholic. In this way the Klan drew new members. Also, the KKK had considerable political power in Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina but, a series of sex scandals, internal battles over power and newspaper exposés quickly reduced its influence. Hence, during the Great Depression of the 1930’s the Klan’s membership dropped drastically and the last remnants of the organization temporarily disbanded in 1944. For the next 20 years the Klan was dormant but it had a resurgence in some Southern states during the 1960s as civil-rights workers attempted to force Southern communities’ compliance with the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Since the 1970’s the Klan has been greatly weakened by internal conflicts, court cases, a seemingly endless series of splits and government infiltration. While some factions have preserved an openly racist and militant approach, others have tried to enter the mainstream, cloaking their racism as mere “civil rights for whites.” Today, the Southern Poverty Law Center estimates that there are between 5,000 and 8,000 Klan members, split among dozens of different organizations that use the Klan name.

Essentials oils are a mixture of chemical compounds, which provide a plant’s smell and flavour. Plants that have essential oils are recognized as aromatic plants. The oils are comprised mainly of terpenes, alcohols, and phenols. In countries such as Brazil, the essential oils industry is very big. However, in México, it is a trade of which little is known.

In the Yucatán peninsula there is a diversity of aromatic plants that provide raw material for the extraction of essential oils. One example is the “momo” (Piper auritum Kunth). Momo is an herbaceous plant of the Piperaceas family. It reaches a height of 2 m. Momo is used in traditional medicine to alleviate abdominal pain, constipation, asthma, muscular inflammations, and more. The medicinal properties attributed to momo come from its essential oils.

The Xoloizcuintle is an ancient dog breed belonging to the Aztec culture. The word Xoloizcuntle comes from the náhuatl Xólotl, which means Mexica god of death and Itzcuintli, which means dog. It is calculated that this breed could be 3.000 years old. The breed is associated with Xolotl, a hybrid between a dog and a god that is represented as a man with a dog head. Xolotl protects the underworld. He is also known as the twin of Quetzalcoatl – an Aztec god known as the feathered serpent – and he is the companion of the sun. During sunset Xolotl starts to fight a battle in the underworld against the darkness until the night. On the other hand, Quetzalcoatl is the light and the life of the planet and accompanies the sun until dawn.

Legend says that the god Xolotl made the Xoloizcuntle from a rib of the bone of the life to gave as a gift to man. The god explained to man that they should treat well Xoloizcuintle because the day the owner dies the dog will guide him in the Mictlán, or the underworld. Hence, the Aztecs sacrificed the dog and buried it next to its owner. However, the dog should only accompany the owner if it is black because the legend says that if it has spots on his body, it means it had previously guided another soul. Moreover, Aztec people believed Xoloizcuintle has the ability to protect homes from bad spirits, but, also, that he represents disease and physical deformities.

During European colonization, the breed was in risk of disappearing because the conquerors found it to be an important source of food. Nevertheless, the breed survived because it hid in the mountains of Oaxaca and Guerrero. Later, muralist painters of the Mexican Revolution recovered its image and made it a national symbol.

Today you can find some dogs in the garden of the Dolores Olmedo museum because Diego Rivera, the Mexican painter, gave a couple of Xoloizcuntles as a gift to Dolores Olmedo, who was a collector of dogs. In gratitude she decided to raise and preserve the breed. Since then this breed is in the museum.

 

Microorganisms are present in almost all habitats around the world. Humans provide many suitable habitats for microorganisms: our skin, mouth, stomach, etc. When we think of microorganisms we imagine all the possible diseases that they can cause. However, little is known about the relationship between the host and the guest.

In a plant, relationships with microorganisms can be beneficial. For example, in the root of certain legumes bacteria helps fix nitrogen. In the leaf, bacteria, fungi and yeast help to reduce water loss. Thus, microorganisms in a plant can influence its growth, nutrition and health.