A God gene? Could there be such a thing? A researcher in Maryland thinks ‘yes’. Dr Dean Hamer, Ph.D., has discovered a gene called VMAT2 that comes in two forms. One of those forms may help us to experience transcendent occurrences, like feeling the presence of God. VMAT2 controls feel-good chemicals, like serotonin & dopamine. Dr. Hamer thinks that this same family of chemicals prime us for religious experiences. Dr. Hamer estimates that about 50% of people have the God gene.

I’ve been searching for God, spiritual connectedness, the Truth, the ‘I don’t know what really’, for as long as I can remember. I don’t know why I do & I have no I idea where or when my fascination with the Divine began. I only know that its always seemed to be there. Could it be possible that I am just genetically predisposed to search for God?

If there is a God gene, what could it be for? Genes are all business. There’s no fun or just because when it comes to genes, not really. Each one has a task, a function. They don’t just exist, they all have a required purpose. Dr. Hamer theorizes that just as our instincts for reproduction & food sustain our species, maybe those individuals with the God gene have an advantage in the whole survival of the fittest racked.

Studies have shown that being religious can improve overall health. People who worship in some form have better functioning immune systems & are 40% less likely to have high blood pressure. God it seems is the ultimate destressor. Besides making you healthy, it can also help to keep you on the straight & narrow, which can keep you safer. Faith encourages social & cultural interactions that can help people form bonds. It also induces optimism, which is proven to help people live longer.

Now the research also concludes that there is no specific religion or creed that works best. Mulling over a strand of prayer beads, sitting quietly & reading the Quran, or hunkering down in Lotus, all seem to have the same benefits. If done mindfully. Its the purpose behind the action that seems to carry all the benefits. So if you think you can just haul your sorry ass to church once a week & live longer, you’re shit outta luck.

In fact meditation, one of the most purposeful forms of spirituality has an overload of benefits. And is not restricted to ‘OM’ chanting yoga gurus. I learned about meditation from my great-grandmother, who would, twice a day sit in her rocking chair & completely zone out on her rosary. (Maybe a coincidence, but she also lived to be 98 & was without a doubt sharper & stronger then I’ve ever been). Its actually proven that meditation makes people smarter. Areas of the brain responsible for decision making, planning & other high level activities don’t seem to deteriorate with age in long term mediators. It can also give a person all the pick me ups of a mid-day nap. 40 minutes in Lotus is the equivalent of 4-5 cups of joe. No wonder Buddha is always smiling.

I don’t know why I search for God. If it’s genetic or not. I don’t even know if there is anything to find. I may be completely off course. And there may be nothing behind the curtain except giant dust balls. But if I am wrong, where’s the harm?

I do know that my search has managed to keep me on the straight & narrow. I’m safe & healthy. It has often given me purpose & meaning in times when I was in desperate need of them. It’s offered me direction at more then one fork. I don’t have high blood pressure, even though it runs in my family. I sleep like a log & people say I’m not too dumb. I tend to take life in stride, with some inner believe that it all really does work out in the wash. And until someone proves me wrong, such is life. It won’t be the first time I’ve been wrong. But it may be the first time I wouldn’t mind being wrong. Because in this case its really not the right or wrong of it that matters. But only did it improve my life? Did it effect my character?

Here’s to the good fight & the mindful search.

True religion is real living; living with all one’s soul, with all one’s goodness and righteousness.

-Albert Einstein

Today is Mexico’s National Day of the Artisan. A day to celebrate the social & cultural contributions of its artists & creative thinkers. I like the idea of having a day to appreciate the work & contributions that artists make in our lives. And they do, whether we realize it or not. They often challenge the percieved ’status quo’. Or help to pass on history, traditions & cultural integrity to newer generations.
The names of the worlds great artists have become part of our vocabulary. You don’t have to be an art history major to know who Michelangelo was or that we owe the Sistine chapel to his outrageous talent. Andy Warhol practically defined New York in the 70’s & through into the 80’s. His work helped to erase the distinction between fine art & popular culture. Actually, you can thank Andy for the entire concept of “pop-culture”.

Frida Kahlo, possibly Mexico’s most famous artist, was a woman. In the early 20th century, in a venomously religious country like Mexico, she was a woman, a divorcee, a bi-sexual, a communist & an artist, changing the way women thought & were perceived. A lowly female, influencing the culture of an entire generation, and still influencing people today.

Art is meant to help us unlock the human condition. It can often bring truth & understanding to a world in desperate need of both. It forces us to look at ourselves.., warts & all.

Side note: Today is also the day that the Museum of Modern Art inadvertently hung Matisse’s ‘Le Bateau’ upside down & left it that way for 47 days in 1961. Maybe it looked better that way. Maybe Matisse would have approved. When has any great artist ever been upset by a fresh point of view?

“No longer shall I paint interiors with men reading and women knitting. I will paint living people who breathe and feel and suffer and love.”

-Edvard Munch

Yes it’s so true. I broke down. I’m weak. 7 months without one cup of joe & now 5 cups in the last 2 days. I just needed it O.K!!! I know caffeine is the devil but it keeps me awake & stops me from harming others & I don’t think that’s such a bad thing really. I have come to the conclusion that coffee is just a necessary evil. I’ve made peace with my weakness. 3 cheers Juan Valdez!

This just in: The World Chess Federation has decided to introduce dope testing. Chess + Dope testing !!!Testing for what exactly, Gingo Bilobo? I don’t think there is a steroid out there that enhances brain activity. I’m not a scientist, I’ve run no tests. I do however go to the gym. Therefore I do interact with these neck less buffoons. And as bad as I am at chess, I’d wagger I could take anyone of them. I could kick their ass, at chess, or checkers, or even snakes & ladders.
The WCF is hoping that the testing will help to raise the international standards of the ’sport’ (a term I use loosely) & hopefully help to make chess an Olympic sport in the future.
I’m sorry, no offense to chess players. I know its an extremely difficult game. It takes a lot of mental agility to play chess… & win. I know, I have a nephew who’s been beating me since he was seven. However, that said, if chess ever becomes an Olympic sport, I will boycott the Olympics. I mean really. Table tennis is embarrassing enough.
(Side note, the IOC is also looking to recognise tug of war, yes you heard me, TUG OF WAR. A game you can play with your dog & a chew toy. But at least that’s physical).
The Olympics is not a forum for mental competition. It is a test of physical strength & endurance. Hence, ancient Greece, the gladiators, the Adonis. They weren’t sitting around playing chess, at least not in the arena. Maybe at home in their spare time, on the porch with the neighbour.
Are they trying to make a mockery out of the entire Olympic spirit? Well, at least I’ll still have the winter Olympics, minus curling of course.

Until one is committed there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas & splendid plans:

That the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents & meetings & material assistance. Which no man could have dreamt would have come his way. I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe’s couplets, “Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power & magic in it.”

-W.H Murray

Mountaineer

Today is world AIDS day. 40 million people are living with the disease world wide. There are only 36 million people residing within Canada. More people have AIDS then live in this country. And its not getting any better. AIDS is increasing in every single region of the world. Including Canada. 58,000 people in this country are currently living with the virus. That’s a 16% increase from 2002.

Since the virus was first discovered in 1981, it has claimed the lives of 25 million people. In 2005, 2.8 million people died & 4.1 million were newly infected.

With all of the information, funding & prevention out there it is hard to believe its still winning. But it is. Forget for a moment the images on the evening news. Forget the infection rates of sub Saharan Africa. Which can at times seem so remote & far away. We talk so much about countries like Africa & India. The struggle seems to become a battle “over there”, and we forget that this country, like every other on this planet is in this fight. Another Canadian is infected with HIV every 2 hours. There’s a chance that someone you know is being infected while you read this.

The fight is not just about India or Africa, even though their infection rates are the highest, so too are their populations. Taken in a per capita ratio, we are not so different. We are by no means immune.

The saddest thing is that AIDS & health organizations world wide estimate that millions more are infected & are completely unaware of it. The first step any of us can take toward prevention is to simply get tested.

For more information about AIDS & AIDS research/prevention www.amfar.org and www.joinred.com are great sites, as is www.theglobalfund.org

Educate yourself!

Get tested!

Take your head out of you ass!!

It is bad enough that people are dying of AIDS, but no one should die of ignorance.

-Elizabeth Taylor