How are Fibonacci numbers expressed in nature

Video explanation

1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144 and on to infinity. Each number is the sum of the previous two. This series of numbers is known as the Fibonacci numbers or the Fibonacci sequence. The ratio between the numbers (1.618034) is frequently called the golden ratio or golden number.
The seed pattern is formed by seeds being ‘fired’ from the centre of the flower head outwards one at a time. The angle that each seed heads off from the centre when measured from the last one is the golden angle

The pattern of seeds in a sunflower is controlled by the golden ratio or golden angle. This is when you divide up 360 degrees into two angles of the golden ratio. The smaller angle is the golden angle which is irrational and measures 137.508 degrees.

It seems as though the seed pattern is extremely sensitive to the angle that the seeds are released. Try it yourself here.

Patterns A and B on the left are what the seed spirals would look like if Nature had used a different irrational number. Pattern C shows the golden ratio at work.

Your brain by the numbers (Infographic)

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18 Amazing facts about the human body (Infographic)

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10 amazing facts about animals

We should never forget how amazing animals are. Here are 10 of the most interesting facts!
Always prepared! Humans aren't the only ones that need to worry about sunburn and nasty tan lines. Hippos too can fall victim to the harsh rays, however, unlike us, hippos produce a thick, red, mucus-like sweat that serves as a sunscreen.

When a mama bear gives birth to two or more cubs, each cub can have a different father? Litters of bear cubs (2 cubs or more), are fraternal rather than identical multiple births. Each ovulation in a female bear produces but one ovum, several copulations are required to stimulate the release of the eggs and fertilize them. Source: http://breiterphoto.com/books

Researchers have found that a dogs tail may reveal how he or she is feeling. Happy dogs wag their tail to the right while dogs that are sad, nervous or anxious wag their tails more to the left, and this subtle clue is something other dogs pick up on as well. Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/pets/10418004/How-your-dogs-wagging-tail-can-reveal-its-emotions.html

Sleep. Eat. Mate. Repeat. Male lions snooze for 20 hours a day, with the rest of their time spent walking around and eating. Since female lions do the majority of hunting, typically the only hunting a male does occurs at night. So it turns out that not only do lions not sleep in the "mighty jungle," "tonight" is also the time they are least likely to be sleeping. Source: http://qi.com/infocloud/lions

Moose can feel flies on their antlers. Those big, impressive antlers of a moose are actually quite sensitive. So much so that they can actually feel a fly landing on them. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moose

All polar bears today share a surprising ancestor: a mama brown bear that lived in Ireland during the last Ice Age, some 20,000 years ago. Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/07/23/138640834/todays-polar-bears-trace-ancestry-to-ireland

Like us, cows are pretty complex creatures! Research has shown that cows show emotion and suffer humiliation when humans laugh at them, so be nice to cows! They also form close friendships with other cows and choose to spend the majority of their time with 2-4 individuals. Also just like us, cows 'moo' in accents specific to their region. Source: http://www.onekind.org/be_inspired/animals_a_z/cattle/

Ear Between Legs A praying mantis, while it has two large eyes, only has a single ear, which is located between its legs on the underside of its belly. Due to the ears positioning, it cannot discriminate direction or frequency of sound, but instead detects sound produced by echolocating bats. This ear makes the praying mantis skilled at evading bats. Source: http://www.softschools.com/facts/animals/praying_mantis_facts/125/

Pigs Can Play Video Games We've known for a long time that pigs are smart, but finally pigs have a video game to prove it. The game Pig Chase is a design of the Playing with Pigs project, which researches the relationship between humans and pigs. This first of its kind game created a new form of human-pig interaction and aims to create the opportunity for consumers and pigs to experience the cognitive abilities of each other. Source: http://www.playingwithpigs.nl

Sharks Go Into a Trance When Flipped on Their Backs Sharks enter tonic immobility, which is a natural state of paralysis or hypnosis, when they're flipped over on their backs and, to a certain degree, when their noses are massaged. Source: http://io9.com/5737269/how-to-hypnotize-a-shark-and-other-tales-of-animal-mind-control

When Compassion Becomes Self-Serving.

“Compassion for others begins with kindness to ourselves.” – Pema Chodron

Very often we become so entrenched in our noble efforts of saving the world, helping others, giving advice, and any other charitable cause you can think of that we forget to extend the same level of love and compassion that we show to others to ourselves.

This is often the case for the empathic, spiritually-driven, and energetically sensitive types. Once a person has taken on the mission of helping to awaken humanity and discovers their inner passion that drives them to make the world a better place they may feel that they don’t have time to worry about their own needs. There is still so much suffering in the world. We can see it everywhere from the nightly news to the lives of our loved ones who have yet to awaken to their true selves and inner magnificence.

For those that feel a true calling to be a way-shower or light bringer, the suffering we sense around us may beg for our attention and draw us away from tending to our own suffering. While this certainly seems to be a noble trait, it can in fact work against us and the mission we are trying to accomplish. Not only can we not offer true compassion and understanding to others if we have not shown it to ourselves first, but if our sense of self begins to become dependent upon other people needing help from us or, we may find that we subconsciously begin to seek out people who will reinforce this part of our ego.

Unfortunately, when we become entirely too attached to ending other people’s suffering that we become dependent on it to establish our identity, compassion and helping other people becomes just another part of the illusory self that must be dropped. So how do we find a happy medium between the two? How do we live out our purpose of making the world a better place while at the same time preventing the love and care that we extend for others from becoming an egoic attachment that we are completely dependent upon to maintain our sense of self?

“Love every aspect of who you are and have been unreservedly. Forgive all that you think of as short-comings. Forgive all that you have accepted as judgments from others. Love yourself so much that it spills over to everyone around you. Then you will notice that one who mirrors that for you. Until that moment thank yourself for not getting entangled with less.” – Shelly Sullivan

In order to establish a healthy balance of being kind to others and offering a helping hand while at the same time respecting ourselves and our own boundaries we must first take a look at how and why compassion becomes an egoic trait in the first place. There are several ways that being a “nice person” can manifest as an ego attachment but they all boil down to one cause: we have not yet fully accepted, embraced and unconditionally loved our own selves. When there is something inside of us that we are unwilling to forgive, accept or love we will begin to seek out people or “causes” that we can get involved in or with that (we believe) will give us the love that we are lacking.

We subconsciously begin to try and fill the void by excessive doing. And for the “nice compassionate person” ego, this manifests as doing for others. Soon we begin to abandon our true self and instead try to become everything to everyone. A vicious cycle begins. We don’t have unconditional love for ourselves so we find people or charities that we can get involved with that will ‘need’ us. The need to be needed gets established.

At this point, instead of compassion being given from an authentic place, it begins being shown from a place of fear. The underlying fear here is, ” I need you to need me. I am afraid that if you don’t need me, you will either leave me or will no longer reinforce my sense of who I am, which is a person who is needed.” This is how energetic ties, and subconscious resentments begin to be formed. Because the help is not being given from a place of sincerity it instead becomes a form of spiritual or psychological manipulation.

We see this many times in the “people-pleaser”, “savior” or “hero” mentality. A complete detachment from the authentic self is established and instead this person becomes focused on getting “love” and validation from other people or causes. If one finds themselves at the point that they have begin to become dependent upon another person’s needing of them in order to feel “whole”, they must first identify the root fear that is causing the issue.

Usually fear of being abandoned, fear of not being good enough, fear of other people being mad at them (fear of what other people think), are the main fears that will manifest as this issue. Once the fear has been pinpointed the only thing left to do is love it. Surrender to it, accept it and love it.

The more we show unconditional love for ourselves and our perceived shortcomings, we will begin to see that fears begin to go away all on their own. At this point we find that we are no longer giving and helping other people with fear as the motivation but instead are doing it from a place of love.

“Love is forgiving, accepting, moving on, embracing and all encompassing. And if you’re not doing that for yourself, you cannot do that with anyone else.” – Steve Maraboli

It is not only important that we take the time to show unconditional love and compassion for our own selves first, it is NECESSARY. We can give to others to the extent that we have given to ourselves.

This means that in order to be the most effective friend, worker, partner, light-bearer or way-shower we absolutely must become completely aware of our own “fears” and tend to them just like we would tend to the needs and fears of another person. Compassion and kindness from a sincere and genuine place not only makes us happier, and more willing to give but also frees the people in our lives from feeling controlled and manipulated, which makes for healthier relationships all around.

Five Steps to Overcome Grief and Return to the Present Moment.

“I can’t be running back and fourth forever between grief and high delight.” ~ J D Salinger

The painful process of grief can manifest itself a thousand times over throughout our day, but is more often than not found in the big changes that weave their way into our lives; the death of a loved one, the loss of a relationship, even the painful realization that a set idea of how our lives might go isn’t going to turn out in quite the way we would’ve liked. You would be lucky to find one person in your life who hasn’t found themselves stuck on one wrung of the grief process at some time or other.

Recognizing and understanding the grief process can help us begin to reflect on where we might need a little jolt in order to get us back on track and in the present where we belong. Those who often find themselves in this similar pattern; becoming sucked in to either the same part of the grief process, or the whole five steps (mentioned below) are also usually those who have low self worth, take responsibility for other’s action and feelings, and those who let other’s abuse their trust time and time again.

Like the orphan archetype in their well of grief, the griever actually has a higher calling and opportunity for deep transformation, both through their capacity to experience the whole spectrum of human emotion, as well as to see it for what it is. An illusion.

Like a film we turn on, become immersed in, experience and radiate a huge range of emotions and reactions to, then turn off again, life is a story we are constantly writing, rewriting and trying to improve. Unfortunately, there is no option to go back and edit, only the willingness of the mind to dissolve past memories and lovingly send them on their way. Grief can be an attachment, a fixture of the ego, something that won’t flush itself out of our systems until we confront that part of ourselves we are attaching so rigidly to. And so we come to the process itself, and all the opportunities for growth it presents:

Denial
As it is with death, so it is with any kind of loss. We deny it has actually happened. Not recognizing and accepting our more ‘negative’ or uncomfortable emotions is alarmingly common in our masculine and pseudo-positive society and lifestyle choices. Pretending everything is OK when its not can only get us so far.

Faking it has its merits, but when it comes to grief it has no place at all. Denial will keep us stuck up to our necks; desperately imprisoned in denial we will unlikely move or advance much further than our own doorsteps if we stubbornly chose to admit to ourselves that something has even happened in the first place.

They continued on and left me behind, we weren’t right for each other, it didn’t work out how I wanted it to… it’s OK. Take a deep breath, embrace yourself, then let the sharp pain of loss consume you.

Anger
How could this happen to me? Why did the universe let it happen? What’s wrong with me? How dare they? The irrational flickers of anger rear their ugly heads when we get to the previous stage of accepting the loss. Anger is the next natural step. It may come in the form of quiet blame, or it may come in the form of soul-shaking outrage and violently dangerous actions. Whatever way it manifests itself, it is normal and again something to accept and embrace rather than fear and suppress.

The dangers of suppressed and swallowed anger massively outweigh the instant, more pure expressions of raw anger. Anger has some integrity when expressed with honesty. And if it is directed at yourself or the universe then it can be done with an awareness that ensures it never returns but is instantly cleared out of the system and gone without a trace.

Martyrdom
Striking bargains, expecting ridiculously high expectations of yourself or others, martyrdom comes in the form of the ego’s explanations for why this has happened. It’s probably one of the most difficult things in the world to just accept that it was one of those things, and the natural order of the world. Death is a part of life.

Even the belief that ‘everything happens for a reason’ can go too far when attached to the ego’s rationale. If I succeed in this then it will make up for what happened, if I prove to this person I’m better than them it’ll make the break up more bearable, if I keep chasing this dead dream then at least I’ll keep face. All rationalizations and martyrdoms are futile and will only make the suffering process harder in the long run. That said, we often have to run in circles for a while in order to see ourselves chasing our own tails. There is a perfect moment for everything and everything is occurring in perfect timing.

Grief can often give the griever feelings of over-importance as well as low self-worth. The truth of it is debatable. While everyone is special, grief can help us achieve in ways others do not, if only for the reason that we have more of a grip on reality and the impermanence of it. Then again to buy into such beliefs can breed narcissism and pride. It all depends on the individual… only we can truly know it for ourselves.

Depression
The essence of grief is the concave, moody blue lull of depression. It hurts, and unlike the intense and often immediate flexes of anger’s fist, depression can be an endurance test: wading through rivers that seem impossible to cross. Surrendering to this incredibly bitter tasting part of the process will be no fun, but again it is essential to give yourself time whilst not attaching to this specific part.

Depression can be a tricky one as it often surfaces when the other stages have been suppressed and can appear to be for no reason. The irony is that we then feel unworthy for feeling depressed all the time, whip up a new well-crafted front and grin and bear it. But the root must be sourced and dug up, and the deeper it’s buried the messier the metaphorical kitchen counter. It has to be done.

Often these ‘roots’ may even be our ‘loss of innocence’ that everyone has to some degree. The moment the child in us saw a true injustice in the world, stamped their foot and declared ‘that’s not fair!’ This can be a potent moment of grief and often needs some attention. What are the sources of discomfort for you?

The denials, the catalysts for anger? Depression will be the outcome and often puzzling to boot. Having uprooted those painful truths we will then need forgiveness and to mother ourselves. If you are stuck in depression, you will need to enforce healthy habits after pulling out the thorn until the swelling goes down. Exercise and healthy eating are still up there with the best of cures.

Acceptance
The final stage, is acceptance. Acceptance rather than complete healing as, unlike a relationship or idea, the loss of a loved one often never entirely heals. Not struggling with our feelings any longer but being able to accept them and for the most part get on with our lives will be the biggest sign we have completed the grief process. Not only that, but that we have gained from it. As the Buddha said, there is suffering. It helps us grow, know ourselves better and become more resilient, compassionate living beings. Grief, above all things, can be a gift.

The Mind and it’s Incessant Need to “Become” Something.

“As long as ego runs your life there are two ways of being unhappy, not getting what you want and getting what you want.” -Eckhart Tolle

How much time do we spend trying or wishing to be something that we are not? Probably a lot more than you realize. In fact, without this belief that there is a goal to be achieved, a state of being that is better than the one we are in now, or an alleged time or place that will bring us more happiness than the present moment will, our ego-mind barely has a leg to stand on. The incessant need to “become” something keeps our ego valid.

Think about it. You wake up in the morning, your mind is telling you are still tired, it wants to become the person who is still laying in bed. You’re taking a shower, you  get hungry, it wants to become the person who is eating something. You’re at work, all you want to do is get off, you are preoccupied with becoming the person who is done with work for the day. You are irritated by a co-worker, you don’t like having such judgmental thoughts so you try to become the person who is not angry. You get the point.

And this is all on a small day to day scale. Let’s not forget about the constant underlying thoughts we have to become richer, skinnier, happier, in love, out of a relationship etc… And let’s say we finally get what we want, or what the ego thinks it wants. Do you think the ego is satisfied? It can’t be. The mere state of being content, means death to our ego, so it can’t stay there for long. We either find another problem within our situation to then obsess about, or we become worried that we’re not worried, which manifests into a worry all on it’s own.

All of this can only lead us to one presumption. The ego cannot truly be at peace… for long that is. Of course it gives us the illusion of being satisfied for short periods of time. Without these small bursts of relief by getting the object of our desire we would have no reward for indulging in our “solving a problem” based thought patterns. So all day long, we convince ourselves there’s a “problem”, being bored, being lonely, being upset, being too happy, etc..

Because we believe there is a problem to be fixed, we then spend time trying to become something else, to reach a state of mind that is different (and what we believe is better) than the one we are at.

We do this by either thinking about the problem more, until we have reached some sort of resolution in our minds, or by distracting ourselves with something else to forget about it for a short while, only to repeat the whole cycle again later. This incessant act of “becoming” stems from one faulty core belief… that “there” is better than “here”. So how do we go about transcending all these alleged “problems” that beg for our attention on a day-to-day basis and come to a point of satisfaction within our own being?

“Look for the answer inside your question.” -Rumi

Anytime there is a problem we can be assured that it is stemming from the illusory world of our mind. Our real self doesn’t have a problem with anything. It isn’t operating off of the belief that there is any place, state of mind or time that is any better than the present moment. It doesn’t judge anger, frustration, sadness, loneliness, or joy as being a good or a bad thing, but simply sees that they just are.

They are merely states of being that come and pass. Since emotions and feelings aren’t seen as good or bad to the authentic self, they don’t need to be ran away from or ran to. When we see that our mind has come up with yet another issue to obsess about we must ask ourselves, “Who is the ‘I’ that is unsatisfied here?” Since our true self is always content it can only be the workings of our mind that is leading us to believe that there is a problem to be solved.

Once we have identified that it is our ego and not our real self that is leading us to believe that we need to become something different (whether that be a different emotion, or achieving a different circumstance) we can then take it down further and ask ourselves what limited belief we are holding about life that is causing our ego to be discontent. We do this by asking ourselves, “Why is (insert situation here) a problem?”

At this point we can identify the limited belief that is the culprit, and the problems begin to solve themselves. They resolve all on their own because we are no longer buying into the belief systems that caused them in the first place. We begin to master the art of observing the mind with all of it’s supposed fears and cravings and wants without believing the story it is telling. Without our belief in them, they become merely thoughts that pass all on their own. Even the emotions and feelings that come up throughout our day are simply experienced and allowed to run their course without the mind fiercely holding on to them to reinforce its sense of self.

“Be uncomfortable. Let fear, insecurities, and your ego run wild in the dark unseen and raw. Let them take you to the depths of hell until they devour themselves entirely and your only option is to watch, accept, and finally love.” – Amy Jalapeno

Your ego will beg for your attention. It will desperately try and make you believe that there are emergencies, there are things to stress about, there are people and things to compare yourself to and judge yourself against. Let it.

Become so completely comfortable and accepting of these supposed problems and issues that they can no longer be considered a problem. When a problem is accepted and loved, what can our minds threaten us with?

In the complete surrender and love of all of the little stories our mind is coming up with everyday the ego begins to become backed into a corner. It has nowhere to turn, and no more stories to feed us that can get us to be worked up. In the complete and utter unconditional love for ourselves and our minds the ego will slowly begin to lose it’s hold on us. In our acceptance of where we are, who we are, and what we are doing in this exact moment we find that there was never really a “problem” at all. “There” was not, nor will it ever be, better than “here.”