Merry Christmas Augustinians!

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Listen to Our Hearts...

A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag's side door! He slammed on the brakes and drove the Jag back to the spot where the brick had been thrown. The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car, shouting, "What was that all about and who are you?Just what the heck are you doing?That's a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money.Why did you do it?"

The young boy was apologetic. "Please mister ... please, I'm sorry... I didn't know what else to do," he pleaded."I threw the brick because no one else would stop..."With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car."It's my brother," he said."He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up."

Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive, "Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me."Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out his fancy handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him everything was going to be okay.

"Thank you and may God bless you," the grateful child told the stranger.Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the little boy push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home. It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar. The damage was very noticeable, but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door. He kept the dent there to remind him of this message: Don't go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!

God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts. Sometimes when we don't have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at us. It's our choice: Listen to the whisper ... or wait for the brick

http://misyononline.com/misyonforum/

Perfect Memory

Can you get a photographic memory?

People born with true eidetic (photographic) memory are rare. Some autistic people have skills that lead them to develop a photographic memory, says Dr Pamela Heaton of Goldsmiths' College.

A study of London cab drivers found that their brains changed over time in order to retain their encyclopaedic knowledge of the city's streets. There are no exercises that will improve your memory overall, says psychologist Dr Marie Poirier of City University London, but if you put in the time, you can stimulate parts of it.

''For example, get a friend to show you objects on a tray for three minutes, then cover them. Try to recall what they all were.''

http://www.readersdigest.com

Prayer Needed!

Dear friends,

Let us pray for our fellow Augustinians who will be taking the Nursing Board Examination this coming November 29, 2008.

Let us include them in our prayers.

Sharpen Your Brain With a Good Lie Down

Ever been caught short on a creative idea? Can't think of that niggling last answer in your crossword puzzle or even what to cook for dinner?

Here's a hint: put your feet up and lie down - being a couch potato is great for boosting our brain and our creativity. So says Dr Darren Lipnicki from the school of psychology at the Australian National University, who conducted research on how neurotransmitters are released.

He tested 20 people, who were asked to solve 32 five-letter anagrams, such as "osien" and "nodru" while standing and lying down. His findings? We are smarter and more creative lying down than standing up.

It seems less of the neurotransmitter noradrenaline is released to the brain when you're horizontal, so your creative thinking isn't as impaired.

http://www.readersdigest.com.ph

Psychology Through the Years

PLATO(437-347)

According to Plato, God creates the world out of materia (raw material, matter) and shapes it according to his “plan” or “blueprint” -- ideas or the ideal. If the world is not perfect, it is not because of God or the ideals, but because the raw materials were not perfect. I think you can see why the early Christian church made Plato an honorary Christian, even though he died three and a half centuries before Christ!

Plato applies the same dichotomy to human beings: There’s the body, which is material, mortal, and “moved” . Then there’s the soul, which is ideal, immortal, and “unmoved”

The soul includes reason, of course, as well as self-awareness and moral sense. Plato says the soul will always choose to do good, if it recognizes what is good. This is a similar conception of good and bad as the Buddhists have: Rather than bad being sin, it is considered a matter of ignorance. So, someone who does something bad requires education, not punishment.

The soul is drawn to the good, the ideal, and so is drawn to God. We gradually move closer and closer to God through reincarnation as well as in our individual lives. Our ethical goal in life is resemblance to God, to come closer to the pure world of ideas and ideal, to liberate ourselves from matter, time, and space, and to become more real in this deeper sense. Our goal is, in other words, self-realization.

(http://webspace.ship.edu/psych/)

PSYCHOLOGIST OF THE MONTH

THALES of Miletus

Surprised? Isn't he the father of Philosophy?

Yes he is! Most of us have read that Psychology was derived from Philosophy but read what follows and we might be thinking otherwise!

Greek philosophy didn’t begin in Greece (as we know it); It began on the western coast of what is now Turkey, an area known then as Ionia. In Ionia’s richest city, Miletus, was a man of Phoenician descent called Thales (624-546). He studied in Egypt and other parts of the near east, and learned geometry and astronomy.

His answer to the great question of what the universe is made of was water. Inasmuch as water is a simple molecule, found in gaseous, liquid, and solid forms, and found just about everywhere, especially life, this is hardly a bad answer! It makes Thales not only the nominal first philosopher, but the first materialist as well. Since ultimate nature was known in Greek as physis, he could also be considered the first physicist (or, as the Greeks would say, physiologist).

We should note, however, that he also believed that the whole universe of material things is alive, and that animals, plants, and even metals have souls -- an idea called panpsychism.

http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/greeks.html

Monthly Features!

Watch out for our monthly features on this web page!

We are also soliciting ideas, suggestions and comments. Just e-mail us and we will take necessary actions! We will be very glad for your support and cooperation!

CSA-B Guidance Office Now On-line!

In the desire to reach out and to help the students of this institution, the guidance office decided to go on-line! Students will have more access to the guidance services and at the same time learn more on using technology as a medium of communication and information dissemination. Please send your e-mails to csab.guidance@gmail.com for inquiries. It is always a pleasure to serve!