tagged w/ Incense
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Religious leaders have contended for millennia that burning incense is good for the soul. Now, biologists have learned that it is good for our brains too. An international team of scientists, including researchers from Johns Hopkins University and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, describe how burning frankincense (resin from the Boswellia plant) activates poorly understood ion channels in the brain to alleviate anxiety or depression.Religious leaders have contended for millennia that burning incense is good for the... more
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eva2
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added this
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1 year ago
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I doubt that words can do justice to the unbridled fulfillment a man receives when standing next to a bacon lamp birthed from his own brilliance.
Flickr user kmkelley617's bacon lamp is real and it's (mostly) edible. The shade is made out of 99% handwoven bacon which was then baked as a mold in the oven, probably so kmkelley617 wouldn't find himself violently ill should he get mouthy in the middle of a spontaneous-yet-inevitable man-on-lamp lovemaking session.
The only room we see for improvement is to replace that lightbulb with something of a higher wattage so the lamp becomes a dual bacon idol/bacon cooker, rather than solely the former.
http://gizmodo.com/5400340/bacon-lampI doubt that words can do justice to the unbridled fulfillment a man receives when... more
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Burning incense may create a sweet scent, but regularly inhaling the smoke could put people at risk of cancers of the respiratory tract, researchers reported Monday.
In a study of more than 61,000 ethnic Chinese living in Singapore who were followed for up to 12 years, the investigators found a link between heavy incense use and various respiratory cancers.
The findings are published in the medical journal Cancer.Burning incense may create a sweet scent, but regularly inhaling the smoke could put... more
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Burning joss sticks fills the air with cancer-causing toxins that are every bit as deadly as traffic fumes and cigarette smoke, according to a study in Thailand.
Dr Manoon Leechawengwong, who has just completed a two-year study of temple workers tasked with clearing the smouldering sticks, found the cocktail of chemicals in the smoke put them at risk of leukaemia, lung, blood and bladder cancers.
“One joss stick creates the same amount of cancer-causing chemicals at one cigarette,” said Dr Manoon, who led the research. “I knew there would be some carcinogens, but I was surprised by the levels.”
Joss sticks are a type of incense used in worship in many Asian countries. In Buddhism they are believed to aid spiritual communication and serve as an offering.
Dr Manoon’s study was conducted among 40 workers in three temples at Ayutthaya, Chachoengsao and Samut Prakan, sites chosen deliberately far from Bangkok’s traffic pollution. The findings were compared with another 25 people living in a joss-stick free environment.
Temple workers were exposed to high levels of benzene, also known as petroleum ether, related to leukaemia; butadiene involved in blood cancer; and benzo[a]pyrene that can cause lung, bladder and skin cancers.
The level of benzene in the temple workers was four times higher than normal, butadiene was 260 times higher, and benzo[a]pyrene - the most dangerous carcinogen - 63 times greater.
Analysis of the temple workers blood and urine samples discovered damage to their DNA, with a correspondingly lower capacity of their bodies to repair that damage.
“We know from our study that there’s DNA damage,” said Dr Manoon. “But what we don’t know is if they will develop cancer. Certainly they have a greater risk. It’s like smoking. Not all smokers get cancer, it’s about 20% .”
Should incense sticks carry a health warning just like cigarettes? Has your valiant attempt to quit smoking been thwarted by the ill effects of your hippy joss stick habit?
Burning joss sticks fills the air with cancer-causing toxins that are every bit as... more
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Researchers from Johns Hopkins University and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem have studied an isolate in frankincense, a resin derived from Boswellia serrata, and determined it has antidepressant properties. Though it has been amongst many other natural psychotropics used in religious ceremony, it has never before been studied for its psychoactive effects.
Read the whole story @ Reality Sandwich: http://www.realitysandwich.com/depressed_light_incenseResearchers from Johns Hopkins University and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem have... more
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heatX
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3 years ago
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"Religious leaders have contended for millennia that burning incense is good for the soul. Now, biologists have learned that it is good for our brains too. In a new study appearing online in The FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org), an international team of scientists, including researchers from Johns Hopkins University and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, describe how burning frankincense (resin from the Boswellia plant) activates poorly understood ion channels in the brain to alleviate anxiety or depression. This suggests that an entirely new class of depression and anxiety drugs might be right under our noses ...""Religious leaders have contended for millennia that burning incense is good for... more
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3 years ago
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During 2008 a solar fountain will flow - and wild flowers will bloom - in a native plants garden that has replaced the lawn at the Lutheran Campus Ministry "Lothlorien" house for students at Northern Michigan University in Marquette.
An interfaith "Blessing of the Garden" ceremony included chanting, incense and other religious traditions from several faith communities.
Earth Keeper Initiative volunteer media advisor Greg Peterson has the story.
The producers thank Lutheran Campus Ministry student leader Sarah Swanson, NMU sophomore from Rapid River, MI for her videography and photography talents that helped make this video possible
(Marquette, Michigan) - In the spring of 2008 a solar fountain will flow and flowers will bloom in a northern Michigan native plants garden nurtured by university students that was blessed by a Buddhist head priest and a Lutheran pastor
A "Blessing of the Garden" ceremony was held in October 2007 at Lothlorien - the Northern Michigan University Lutheran Campus Ministry house near Lake Superior.
A heavy rain poured the entire day almost causing the ceremony to be moved inside, but the sun came out for 20 minutes and the rain resumed just as the blessing and a tour were completed.
Performing the blessing was Rev. Jon Magnuson, director of Lutheran Campus Ministry (LCM) at Northern Michigan University (NMU) in Marquette, MI; and Rev. Tesshin Paul Lehmberg, head priest of Lake Superior Zendo, a Zen Buddhist temple.
The Lothlorien lawn has been turned into a native plants garden that includes rocks from three of the Great Lakes.
The LCM house name, Lothlorien, comes from the Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien.
The garden includes Michigan plants and others from the Boreal border regions of the northern United States including Black Eye Susan, aster, dogbane, bluestem, and Sensitive fern.
Prayers, incense, bells, and chants were part of the ceremony that included a tour of the garden by NMU Student Michael Joko Rotter, a member of Lake Superior Zendo.
"Lothlorien is a magical kingdom part of what Tolkien called Middle-earth - where time passes differently," said Rev. Jon Magnuson, a Lutheran pastor, who founded the NMU EarthKeeper Student Team. Many of the campus ministry students belong to the interfaith NMU EK Student Team.
"Our natural native plants landscaping - our Lothlorien garden - is a sign of a new way of living with the world," Magnuson said. "It honors the indigenous and native plants of our region."
"Lothlorien came into being first as a song," Rev. Magnuson said. "The garden will be a haven for birds and other small creatures."
"The fountain represents the water of Lake Superior and the waters of our baptism," Magnuson said.
The Central Upper Peninsula Chapter of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans donated $1,600.
"Students are involved - and we like to support things that young people are going to be enthusiastically involved in like this native plants garden," said Judy Quirk, president of the Thrivent central U.P. chapter.
A fountain in the garden is going to be converted to solar power in the spring of 2008 and the sun will charge a battery allowing the water to flow in cloudy weather.
"We hope this will inspire people to learn the benefits that native plants have, such as requiring a third less water, and no pesticides or fertilizers," said Rotter.
Rotter said the "garden represents the hope of the future."
Cedar Tree Institute:
http://www.cedartreeinstitute.org
Lake Superior Interfaith Communication Network:
http://www.lakesuperiorinterfaith.com
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans:
http://www.thrivent.comDuring 2008 a solar fountain will flow - and wild flowers will bloom - in a native... more
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