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Humans prefer attractive faces over unattractive ones. Our preference for attractive faces exists from early infancy and is robust across age, gender and ethnicity. The quest to define facial beauty either by the size or shape of isolated facial features, for example, eyes or lips or by the spatial relations between facial features dates back to antiquity, when the Ancient Greeks believed beauty was represented by a golden ratio of 1:1.618. Although there is little support for the golden ratio, studies have shown that averaging a group of faces results in a synthetic face more attractive than any of the originals. Furthermore, a sufficiently large increase in the distance between the eyes and mouth of an individual face can make the face appear grotesque. Any individual’s facial attractiveness can be optimized when the spatial relations between facial features approximate those of the average face. However, no evidence to date has confirmed this suggestion.

Two types of alterations can be made to the spatial relations between facial features of any individual face. One may alter the vertical distance between the eyes and the mouth; this alteration results in a change in the ratio of this distance to the face length, which is measured by the distance between the hairline and the chin. The ratio is henceforth referred to as the length ratio. The other alteration is to change the horizontal distance between the pupils; this change alters the ratio between this distance and the face width, which is measured between the inner edges of the ears. This ratio is henceforth referred to as the width ratio.

Using a regression analysis to determine the exact relation between the attractiveness score and length ratio, it is found that facial attractiveness follows a curvilinear function with length ratio. Face with an average length ratio is rated as more attractive than faces with other length ratios. This is further supported by the finding that attractiveness scores for faces without an average length ratio were significantly less than the mean attractiveness score for the faces with an average length ratio.

When an optimally attractive state for an individual face in terms of both length and width ratios is examined, it is found that facial attractiveness follows a curvilinear function with the width ratio. When an individual face’s length ratio is already optimal, the optimal width ratio maximizing its attractiveness is 46. Attractiveness scores for faces without an average width ratio were significantly less than the mean attractiveness score for the faces with an average width ratio. Attractiveness scores for faces without an average length ratio were significantly less than the mean attractiveness score for the faces with an average length ratio indicating preference for an ideal length ratio is independent of the width ratio.

In each individual face, there exists an optimally attractive state in terms of both length and width ratios. When the face’s eye-to-mouth distance is 36 percent of the face length and interocular distance is 46 percent of the face width, the face reaches its optimal attractiveness given its unique facial features. Further, although the absolute level of attractiveness may vary with differences in facial features, the optimal length and width ratios remain constant. These optimal, golden ratios correspond with those of an average face. Critically, this preference for average ratios reflects a true preference for the average and not a regression toward the mean. These results may explain some basic daily observations, such as why some hairstyles can make an unattractive face appear more attractive or vice versa. Changing one’s hairstyle may alter the perceived face length or face width, as well as their related length and width ratios, therefore affecting the perceived attractiveness of the face.

Many experiments on attractiveness involve comparing faces that differ in both facial features and spatial relations, but the presence of features that vary in attractiveness could obscure any effect of variation in feature spatial relation on attractiveness. Also, prior research comparing an average face to individual faces failed to discover the ideal length and width ratios for any individual face because the averaging process tends to not only average the spatial relations between facial features but also smoothes the facial features and skin texture. This smoothing effect could artificially increase the attractiveness of the average face, obscuring the effect of average spatial relations on facial attractiveness.

Identifying the optimal length and width ratios for individual facial beauty have attracted a tremendous amount of pursuit, but yet eluded discovery for centuries. Furthermore, the present findings suggest that although different faces vary greatly in absolute attractiveness, for any particular face, there is an optimal spatial relation between facial features that will reveal its intrinsic beauty.

It should be noted that the optimal spatial relations found can also coexist with preferences for sexually dimorphic features. A woman who has large lips, suggesting a strong mating potential, with average length and width ratios will always be more attractive than a woman with narrow lips and average length and width ratios. It is unknown, however, whether the preference for average length and width ratios is stronger than the desire for a pronounced sexually dimorphic trait. In other words, a woman with large lips and unattractive length and width ratios may or may not be preferred to a woman with narrow lips and ideal length and width ratios. Future research is necessary to assess the nature of this trade-off.

By definition, eye-mouth-eye angle involves both horizontal and vertical components. The preference for an average length ratio is independent of the width ratio. Therefore, it is important to note that despite the similarity between the two measures, they may actually measure two very different aspects of the face. While eye-mouth-eye angle provides information on the spatial relations between internal facial features, it also assesses the relation between the internal features and the external facial contour. Since faces are perceived holistically, it is important to consider the facial elements in the context of the whole face. It is possible for the length and width ratios to vary, while eye-mouth-eye angle stays the same, and vice versa. In the context of the whole face length ratios and width ratios appear independent, but within the localized area of the eyes and mouth, there may be an interaction between length and width.

Why should we find a face with an average length and width ratio attractive? Two existing theories provide explanations at two different levels. At the evolutionary level, it has been suggested that humans prefer to reproduce with other healthy mates. Generations of healthy mate selection may act as an evolutionary averaging process. This process leads to the propagation of healthy individuals with physical characteristics, including faces that approximate the population average. As a result, we are biologically predisposed to find average faces attractive. At the cognitive level, it is well established that after exposure to a series of exemplars from one object category, we form a prototype, that is to say, an average for this category. One robust consequence of prototype formation is that we find the prototype more attractive than any individual category members because the prototype is easier to process. Due to this same cognitive averaging mechanism, the average face is perceived as more attractive than any individual face. It is suggested that while the two theories provide different levels of explanation, they may work together to account for our preferences for the optimal length and width ratios for facial beauty. The evolutionary process predisposes us to find average length and width ratios attractive. The cognitive process prescribes what the average length and width ratios are by averaging the ratios of individual faces we have encountered to date.

Credits: NIH

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Happiness is a slippery concept. Sometimes it seems to us like mythical, wonderful, but probably unobtainable, but happiness is more than obtainable. It is the natural result of building up our well-being and satisfaction with life. The building blocks of well-being constitute positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning and accomplishment. Each of these elements is essential to our well-being and satisfaction with life. Together, they form the solid foundation upon which we can build a happy and flourishing life.

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When someone asks you whether you are satisfied with your life, your answer depends heavily on the mood you are in. When you are feeling positive, you can look back on the past with gladness; look into the future with hope; and enjoy and cherish the present. Positive emotions have an impact that goes far beyond bringing a smile to our faces. Feeling good helps us to perform better at work and study, it boosts our physical health, it strengthens our relationships, and it inspires us to be creative, take chances, and look to the future with optimism and hope. Feeling good is contagious. Seeing smiles makes us want to smile. Hearing laughter makes us feel like laughing and when we share our good feelings with others, they appreciate and enjoy our company. We have all experienced highs and lows in life, but we are doing ourselves harm when we dwell on the lows. If we look back on the past with pain and regret, we will become depressed. If we think of the future and worry about danger and risk, we become anxious and pessimistic. So it is incredibly important to recognize the positive emotions we feel, so that we are able to enjoy the present without worry and regret.

Spending time with friends and family, engaging in hobbies, exercising, getting out in nature, or eating great food makes us feel good. We need to make sure there is always room in our lives for these things. Cultivating positive emotions makes it easier to experience them naturally. Many of us have an automatic tendency to expect the worst, see the downside, and avoid taking risks. If we learn to cultivate positive feelings about life, we begin to hope for the best, see the upside, and learn to take great opportunities when they come along.

We don’t thrive when we are doing nothing. We get bored and feel useless, but when we engage with our life and work, we become absorbed. We gain momentum and focus, and we can enter the state of being known as ‘flow’. Flow is a state of utter, blissful immersion in the present moment. When you are lying in bed, it is often hard to convince yourself to throw off the covers and plant your feet on the ground. You worry about the cold. You feel tired and sluggish. You lie in bed, thinking but not getting anywhere, but when you are running, you don’t question anything. You are flying through space; one foot goes in front of the other, and again, and again, because it must. You are absorbed entirely in the present moment.

Not everyone enjoys running, but perhaps you feel this way when you are playing music, painting, dancing or cooking. If you have a job you love, you probably feel this way at work. We are most likely to fulfill our own unique potential when we are engaged in activities that absorb and inspire us. When we identify our own greatest strengths, we can consciously engage in work and activities that make us feel most confident, productive and valuable. We can also learn skills for cultivating joy and focus on the present. Mindfulness is a valuable skill. Using mindfulness, you can learn to develop clear awareness of the present, both physically and mentally.

Humans are social animals. We have a need for connection, love, physical and emotional contact with others. We enhance our own well-being by building strong networks of relationships around us, with family, friends, coworkers, neighbors and all the other people in our lives. A problem shared is a problem halved. Happiness shared is happiness squared. When we share our joy with those we love, we feel even more joy, and when we love, we become more loveable.

We depend on the people around us to help us maintain balance in our lives. When we are alone, we lose perspective on the world, and we forget that others may be bearing greater burdens than our own, but when we let other people into our lives, we remember to give as well as take. When you belong to a community, you have a network of support around you, and you are part of it.

It is important to build and maintain relationships with the people in your life, but it is equally important to recognize the difference between a healthy relationship and a damaging one. Some relationships are dangerous because they are one-sided or co-dependent. Other relationships struggle because people take each other for granted, don’t make time for each other, or can’t seem to communicate. The key to relationships is balance. It is not enough to surround ourselves with friends; we must also listen and share, make an effort to maintain our connections, and work to make those connections strong.

We are at our best when we dedicate our time to something greater than ourselves. This could be religious faith, community work, family, a political cause, charity, professional or creative goal. People who belong to a community and pursue shared goals are happier than people who don’t. It is also very important to feel that the work we do is consistent with our personal values and beliefs. From day to day, if we believe our work is worthwhile, we feel a general sense of well-being and confidence that we are using our time and our abilities for good.

It might be family, or learning, or our faith we value most in this world. Perhaps, you feel strongly about helping disadvantaged children, or protecting the environment. Once you have identified what matters most to you, find some like-minded people and begin working together for the things you care about. You can find meaning in your professional life as well as your personal one. If you see a deeper mission in the work you do, you are better placed to apply your talents and strengths in the service of this mission.

We have all been taught that winning isn’t everything. We should strive for success, but it’s more important to enjoy the game. However, people need to win sometimes. What use are goals and ambitions if we never reach them? For well-being and happiness, we must look back on our lives with a sense of accomplishment like, ‘I did it, and I did it well’. Creating and working toward goals helps us anticipate and build hope for the future. Past successes make us feel more confident and optimistic about future attempts. There is nothing bad or selfish about being proud of your accomplishments. When you feel good about yourself, you are more likely to share your skills and secrets with others. You will be motivated to work harder and achieve more next time. You inspire people around you to achieve their own goals.

It is important to set tangible goals, and keep them in sight. Identify your ambitions and cultivate the strengths you need in order to reach them. It is a great way to keep focused on your long-term goals and acknowledge the little successes along with the big ones. It is vital to cultivate resilience against failure and setbacks. Success doesn’t always come easy, but if we stay positive and focused, we don’t give up when adversity strikes.

All Credits goes to Martin Seligman.

http://positivepsychologymelbourne.com.au/

http://www.kylietaig.com

Writing is an expression of art, the human creativity, and the wondrousness of life; a perfect unfolding of a life worth living. Let go of the pattern of trying very hard and doing things with exertion because we don’t have to. The cosmos will help us make our desires a reality. All we need to do is to take triggering off action. Action must not be an effort. Take baby steps to get your wants. It’s a common belief that one has to do a lot to make our desires a reality, while inspired action is all that is needed. Inspired action is a sudden urge, feeling in gut, head, or chest that we must do something. The cosmos gives signals on what needs to be done to make our desires a reality. Basically, inspired action feels good and appears as if action occurred through you. When we follow gut feelings, we make things happen; meaning, we make our desires a reality.

Hope

 

Practical living and harmony with three levels of consciousness, simple method for easing emotional pain, and discovering your natural ability to let go of any painful or useless feeling, belief or thought in the moment are ways to fine-tune subliminal thought progressions. It is a different concept of taking action. It feels like we have to give so much just to experience something we desire; which in reality, rightfully ours from the moment we asked for it. Trying really hard to take action will only stress us out every time and if left without any healing, stress will add and finally is evident as disease. Additional nuisance is we lose everything we have worked really hard for, we will feel depressed because it took a lot of time and effort to get to where we are and now we have to do all that again. We need to learn to take note of our inner voice whenever we feel the urge to take inspired action.

Working hard and feeling awful is not the answer to happy life. We have to visualize and affirm mental action. We must give our undivided attention and focus. We have to put everything we have, to make our desires a reality. It’s not just sitting down and waiting, we have to shift energy and direct energy to take inspired action, which feels really good. To begin, it is confusing and we will have black and white thinking. Practice and belief enables one to see shades of gray. We must be trained to feel good while taking action and force ourselves to take action initially. That’s the key word; initially. Forcing action doesn’t have to be forever; since, like any skill when practiced and mastered for a long period of time will grow to be involuntary. To begin anything, it takes some hard work and discipline as we will be practicing a new way of thinking, feeling, and behaving, but the payoff is for the rest of life; the ability to take inspired action whenever we want to. Look for cosmic signals, and just do things when you want to do. Work first on emotions before taking any action. Think about feeling good and disciplined if stuck through task till the end. Think of good you feel when the task is finished. Think of the feelings of achievement that flows through body.

Use willpower to conquer emotions. This gives huge power when we take action, as one has the ability to shift perspective when things get tedious and less gratifying. Having the ability to think of the rewards and the good feelings we get, when we finish a task enables us to be productive. We will achieve more and feel passionate in the process. Isn’t that crucial for life? Willpower fades away quickly, yet you need to stay focused and motivated. Subconscious is the source of all thoughts, emotions, and actions. Before one even consciously thinks about something, the subconscious mind has already thought about it and is making us aware of that thought. Be positive and confident about your abilities. Use hypnosis, subliminal suggestions or whatever resonates with and works for you. It will take consistent practice to become an expert. Allow it to ooze into subconscious and become a permanent part of life. Allow it to be cemented into mind.

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There is quandary to appreciate religion and spirituality from a neuroscience viewpoint. It cannot be explained by analyzing the simplest, most basic mechanisms that are in operation. Spirituality and brain are as connected as speaker and the source of the music coming from speaker. Transmitter or a receiver is not the basis of the frequency stimulus.

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No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created the problem. Most people do not understand it is not levels of intelligence. There is difference between consciousness and intelligence. Most scientific theories describing the fundamental nature of the universe treat the existence of life–of intelligence–as an evolutionary afterthought or “lucky accident;" which somehow occurred by mere chance. Integrated Theory of Intelligence rejects this view as fundamentally lacking. In this effort, intelligence-consciousness is proposed as an intrinsic aspect of existence just as fundamental as the known attributes of matter-energy and space-time, forming with them an interdependent process of ongoing creation that has resulted in our present universe.

Levels of consciousness exist such as personal consciousness, mankind consciousness, amphibious consciousness, spherical consciousness, crystal consciousness, light consciousness and sound consciousness in a frequency spectrum, just as there is a frequency spectrum of radio signals. Perception of reality varies significantly based upon the operational frequency of consciousness utilized at the moment of the experience. The purpose of religion and spirituality is to raise the operational frequency of consciousness by cleansing anchors which inhibit movement to higher frequencies, and to focus on directing our consciousness toward the higher frequency levels.

Many scientists say that the materialistic approach does not work. For me, it appears to be a true statement based upon the limited perception available at the level of operational frequency of consciousness the scientists are utilizing. However, at the higher frequencies of consciousness, attributes of consciousness, such as thoughts, become real physical tangible objects. The “Tower of Babel” concept in Christian scriptures is an excellent analogy to understand the attributes of consciousness. Loosely speaking, the point is that consciousness is unlikely to arise from classical properties of matter. The more we understand the structure and the fabric of the brain, the less we understand how consciousness can occur at all, which are well known and well testable.

By changing the operational frequency level of consciousness to higher levels, and adjusting perception of reality to the attributes of that specific level, thoughts and individual’s stored memories become real physical tangible objects to perception. Memories are stored as holograms, but not in the dendritic web. The neuropsychological research into components and processes of consciousness, conceptual dimensions of “consciousness” are to be distinguished, with an emphasis on consciousness in the sense of awareness, wakefulness, and control of overt behavior. Conscious events interact with memory systems in learning, rehearsal and retrieval. Our tool for this exploration should be flexible cognitive cycle employed and interaction between conscious contents and several of the memory systems, they provide the means for an exceptionally fine-grained analysis of various cognitive tasks. We should apply this tool to the small effect size of subliminal learning compared to supraliminal learning, to process dissociation, to implicit learning, to recognition versus recall, and to the availability heuristic in recall. This model elucidates the role of consciousness in the updating of perceptual memory, transient episodic memory, and procedural memory.

In most cases, memory is hypothesized to interact with conscious events for its normal functioning and derived from an empirically based, but broad and qualitative computational model of human cognition. The previously non-physical thoughts become physical at the higher operational levels of consciousness. We can touch these physical thoughts and stimulate the corresponding physical body that generated or is attached to these thoughts to respond with observable and measurable physical movement. It is a direct cause and effect relationship, able to be performed repeatedly with the same exact response to the same exact stimulus.

It is Important to ask probing questions, but bias can influence the questions we ask and the conclusions we draw; called faulty syllogisms. Observing the physical body movement response indicates who the stored memory involved, how old the subject was when the event occurred, and how the subject formulated a perception-response to the event. By this approach, we can bypass all sensory stimulation, the critical mind and conscious perception. The result is an unbiased stimulated emotional subconscious response that indicates the attributes of the stored memory. The process is repeatable and the same response will always be obtained as long as the stored memory is not reformulated. Utilizing this method allows reading stored memories all the way back to conception.

The method allows reading stored memories of an individual much the way x-rays read bones. They are what they are, not some intuitive psychobabble. We can work with one we know nothing about and avoid intellectual bias. Research is underway to know the attributes of consciousness and the neurobiological connected responses in the physical body. It is relatively easy to detect the exact stored memory in consciousness that is anchored in a manifested physical illness or tension in the body.

If you think about learning more, please visit this website: http://www.thescienceofthesoul.com

Credits:  Lee Lawrence

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Certain emotions are more basic than others, often for very different reasons. Emotions arise as aspects of a person’s personality. Personality disorders include problems with emotions, in addition to problems with thoughts and behavior. According to Arnold, anger, aversion, courage, dejection, desire, despair, fear, hate, hope, love, and sadness are basic emotions.

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Women are more susceptible to depression because of biological differences. The degree to which biological factors impinge on the severe susceptibility of depression in women over men is rather trivial; however it still provides a possible explanation for the occurrence. Hormones and heredity factors are taken into account and provide evidence of truth when comparing depression susceptibility between women and men.

Hormonal regulation largely affects depression in women. Estrogen depletion increases depressive rates and vasomotor instability causes hot flashes. The increase in depression rates can also be attributed to, women feeling less womanly. These thoughts can occur at menopausal stages because women become infertile and feel they have aged and are elderly. In addition, it is true that men tend to value attractiveness and youth in their mates much more than do women. Men prefer youthfulness because it is likely to be associated with higher fertility, reproductive potential, and health. Following the rules of evolution, after a woman becomes infertile she is less desired by men because the purpose in having intercourse is to produce offspring.

Both the facts about hormones as well as the mind-set concerning menopause cause uncertainty as to what exactly produces the depression. The indistinctness remains unsolved because it is virtually impossible to perform an experiment of having women separate their feelings of depression from menopausal states. However, depression may be a precursor rather than a consequence of emotional responses associated with menopause.

To compare hormonal differences between men and women would be unfair. It is certain that women experience many more hormonal changes than do men due to childbirth, premenstrual syndrome, menstruation, contraceptive drugs, postpartum period, and menopause. However, parallel to women, men do have symptoms similar to menopause, but are rather referred to as a "mid-life" crisis or depression. It is almost impossible to explain why women are more susceptible than men to depression when referring to biological differences. Such a specific difference cannot be explained easily as a result of biology, particularly among women because rates of depression did not vary by parity.

Hereditarily speaking, genetic transmission may cause women to be more susceptible to depression. In support of genetic transmission as an explanation for the sex differences, there is reasonable evidence from twin and family studies that genetic factors are operating in the genesis of depression and affective disorders. Two likely rationales will be given to support the hereditary theory and provide evidence that causes women to be more susceptible to depression.

One possible genetic explanation is x-linkage; that is, the position of the relevant locus on the x chromosome. If the gene for depression is located in the x chromosome and the trait is dominant, females, who have two x chromosomes, will be more often affected than males, who have only one x chromosome. However, we must remember that this is just a hypothesis—a tentative explanation, not a concrete fact.

A second possible genetic explanation involves the phenotype, that is to say, the observable physical or biochemical characteristics of an organism, as determined by both genetic makeup and environmental influences of women. This explanation hypothesizes that genetics and environmental influences together may result in the depression of women. An example of this hypothesis would be: If a woman’s parent was depressed, she is more than likely to become depressed herself due to environment and genetic predisposition. Having a family member present who is depressed becomes a chronic environmental strain, which refers to ongoing "background" stressors that tax one’s coping abilities and resources. The sources of chronic strain are myriad; examples include unstable or unsafe housing. Phenotypes affect men as well; however its affects are stronger in women. This occurs because women have a higher tendency of awareness of their surroundings and are typically closely interconnected with their family members.

It is evident that phenotypic traits influence the rate of depression. However, as stated previously, the phenotype theory is just a possible explanation for the susceptibility of depression in women. There can not be definite conclusions, based on theoretical hypotheses.

The noting of widespread gender differences in rates of depression dates back two decades, with women consistently reported as having a twofold lifetime prevalence of depression, and a greater likelihood of seeking help for depression than men. Though this is true, it is still not clearly evident as to why women are more susceptible to depression than men. There are many possibilities to solve this indefinite difference. The possibilities of biological differences, age prevalence, gender stereotypes and identity roles, comorbidity, and recurrence rates are all given. However, none provide concrete evidence to solve such a phenomenon. From the evidence given, we can only conclude that the susceptibility of depression in women is high because of environmental factors. The environmental factors include the gender stereotypes and identity roles. The experiences women go through in life are much different than the experiences that men do. Therefore, the life events for women and men vary across the board; there is no way to possibly detect what exactly causes the large difference in susceptibility of depression.

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