David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell

“David and Goliath” by Malcolm Gladwell Why Underdogs Actually Do Win..the Art of Battling Giants

Malcolm Gladwell  Author of “David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants” Review by Dharmamitra Jeff Stefani   and GoodReads

[book:David and Goliath|18393609][author:Malcolm Gladwell|1439][bookcover:David and Goliath|18393609][authorimage:Malcolm Gladwell|1439]

This Official review in the queue….

Deeply enjoyed this work, but anything less from Malcolm Gladwell would surprise a significant section of the population. As “Pinky” says in “The Wall:” “I have amazing powers of observation.” Gladwell’s intelligence and talent for written communication is overtly obvious. However, his ability to strip the message and meaning to clearly, and concisely convey complex concepts, is what Einstein called “True Genius.” In referring to the way one conceptualizes and assimilates an observation, from which one develops a Theory, or Hypothesis, Einstein commented that “anyone” can take a theory and expound upon with greater complexity. But, if one can make a complex theory simpler yet effective, that this is “True Genius!”

Malcolm observes his surroundings, and observes what are so eloquently presented and demonstrates in a Social Commentary so gently and skillfully, that the reader enjoys having their “Personal Views” turned up-side-down, which are often deeply unconscious, false assumptions. Which Malcolm sends ‘flying into the air’ with the effortless-effort of an old Aikido Master. (To which the reader doesn’t recognize what’s occurring until one’s unconscious assumption is observes as it flies through the air, onto its head. one aspect is how Gladwell presents his answer with a Socratic Irony, the likes of which has never been seen. I find it best to explain Socratic irony by example of the last famous Socratic Ironist, Detective Columbo, whom by Gladwell Standard would be confessing to his own murder investigations.

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Journals of No-One, Nowhere…After Enlightenment process: Integration, Assimilation: On Earth, but not Of Earth.

Joseph Campbell: “The Hero With A Thousand Faces” The Universal Phenomena of Elemental Similarity in Myths from all over the World. The story of the Buddha. More recently has been the epic Life Story and journey of Dharmamitra Jeff Stefani. All the excitement, and adventure, a long spiritual journey, the past-ff, the “Returning Home”. and the most intense 18 months of Awakening Integration and Assimilation,  In this world, but not of this world

Yes, yes, yes, and absolutely yes! I hear you, I feel you, I know where you’re coming from. 😊💚

All is perfect, always. the book is in progress, the connection are here, there, and everywhere. I don’t know if, when, or where the Dharma will, or will not move me. but it does not matter where I am, Detroit is as perfect and the same as anywhere. (If i had my novel completed, I’d send it to you, the story is great, a true mythic tale, with all the sweet, savory, sour, salty and no shortage of spicy heat. have you read Joseph Campbell‘s “A Hero With A Thousand Faces“? It’s about the Universal Hero’s Myth, and like the collective unconsciousness, the same form of Archetypal Myths have existed in all cultures, long before any contact was made between them. One of those “things” that is simply an Absolute Truth, transcending space and time,

That’s exactly what it is, with radical extremes, an epic 30+ year year “battle” and hedonism, nihilism, drugs, sex, rock and roll, with all the extreme highs and lows, a journey through the world of Conditioned, to the World of unconditioned, Transcendental Awakening, then the whole process of integrating and assimilating Reality, with reality, and the process of bringing the discovery back to benefit others.

it’s a trip! Spending my adult life, over 20 years seeking the unattainable. Lots of funny shenanigans, and paradox of all paradoxes. The process of integrating and assimilating has been much more that the previous 28 years, within 18 months. It’s been about 2 years of life after dying, the energy, clear, radiant mind…that is/was not any caffeine or sugar, nor a though or feeling in anyway, other than complete absorption, focused, integrated. This is, now, ‘civilization outside of Earth. The difference is just an illusion, like “smoke and mirrors….”

I’m no more in Detroit, on Earth than I am “me.” Ultimately there is no self or other, no ting or place. Empty, No-one, Nothing. but, that’s an experience. Words can be helpful, and they hinder. I can’t not be authentic, and everything is, and always has been, perfectly in place. That’s not a belief, a paradigm, perspective, or perception, it’s actually quite the opposite. I am all me… and the paradox of being all me, all time, everywhere, is that there is no “Me” and nowhere. It’s ineffable, and another paradox 9being conformable with with the paradoxes and embracing the Truth is integrating and assimilating. Which also involved “purification of a whole lot of karma-vipāka. the paradox is now I am beyond happy, beyond healthy, and it doesn’t ebb and flow, there is no energy caught up in conflicting thought feeling ,wants, desires, conscious or subconscious. I am a million-fold better, more, whole, full ,authentic, free, spontaneous, tireless, effortless-effort, with Love and Wisdom that’s unlike anything I ever conceived of, i am a billion-fold More, whole, full, authentically “me” now…the best paradox of all, being infinitely more, better, “me” and accomplish more in a day than i would in a year (without sugar or caffeine 😉) it’s beyond words…and it’s the best paradox/irony of all…the authentic “me” is :Nothing” no-one, Empty! The best possible me is no-me. So, if that is confusing, then forget about it. I am more Wuving than ever imagined, and more wuvable, A diamond with innumerable facets, shining one truth with infinite expressions, the same diamond, just infinitely faceted, (I thought multifaceted was “deep”…but that’s all an “I” can do, inherently limited by certain parameters.)

And that’s just it , none of it is paradoxical. there is not Enlightened person ,only Enlightened activity. I was not Enlightened, and no one ever has been or will be. The moment of Awakening is the death of “self”. Empty and Nothing are not nihilistic. being Empty of a “self” is to be one with everything. To truly ‘know thyself” is to Nothing, to truly what “I” am is to see that “I” am not, never was, nor will be.

I can can explain what it is, exactly and how it works, how the illusory perception of “self” and :other” is done..It’s fascinating! It’s just 5 converging factors (the 5 Skandhas), all in constant fluctuation, which arise from conditions, and there are 5 types of causes (the 5 Niyamas), 5 types, but innumerable factors. It is truly an “optical illusion”…and to understand, you have to experience, but there’s some value in the information. (Should to ever awake from the dream, without some foundation ,it’s rather “startling” to put it lightly. But it does happen, i had heard of it, but ti made no sense, really. I saw it happen to someone, and there’s a “name” for it…that i just learned, from a Psychiatrist. That’s a trip! But       that’s neither here, not there.

As for connecting with people, etc. I totally agrees. And although I don’t question the value of the work put into it, and who or what it might impact ,and when. And that’s fine. But, the intimate connection is the best communication. (This is hardly a conversation…if you know what I mean?

And ,cultivating, opening, that’s how the magic is shared. So, perhaps we can chat together, sometime. I’m easy to get ahold of, and communicate everyday with some great people… and the Dharma Page is still growing, and yet, I stopped that stuff…the general Blogging and Posting to ‘everyone and no one’ (the lower-case everyone and no one, that’s relative, duality, mundane, etc., totally different words with initial capitals; so that empty and Empty couldn’t be more different in the reality to which they point/label. There are now almost exactly 10,000, all together ,but it doesn’t mean anything, most are just “there” (or not “Here” is more accurate.) I have all the people to connect with, in total intimacy, vulnerability, truly Unconditional Love…because it may happen at this conditioned level, but it radiates out into the Unconditioned, that which is cannot be seen with these eyes…what remains when the self dies/passes away, is beyond words. but Wisdom and infinite, Universal, Unconditional Love is a way of saying it. The “problem” with that is that these are concepts that everyone has some attachment to…which is an example of words can be more of a hinderance than a help. Anyhow, i am out of here, to another Realm… (it is very literally a Real of a different universe…(the Dharmakaya) funny you should mention such things.) 😘💕💞💓💗🌀🌍💚😊🙏

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Enlightened Science: Technology & Meditation

Cover of The Science of Enlightenment

The US Department of Defense is pushing for the development of cheap, wearable systems that can detect the brain waves of people and display the data on smartphones or tablets. His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama, Enlightened American Buddhist Meditation Master Teacher & Author, (Ordained in 1970, in the Shingon Buddhist Tradition, of Japan) Shinzen Young is also a Scientist, Mathematician, Shinzen proposes such a device for Meditative Biofeedback, in his book: “The Science of Enlightenment” and elaborates the potential how and why such a device could, and why it should be designed, built, made affordable, portable, and accessible to be utilized to streamline the Enlightenment process (Not in anyway inconsistent with the Buddha’s Dharma, but applying available technology to how and where it can optimize (not a ‘magical shortcut,’) benefitting performance, assisted with advanced technology, for the most Noble of All Intentions, & the Wisdom to apply it effectively!

 

Biofeedback is nice for “pre-test anxiety” ,and other issues….but this is application and allocation is lacking Real Insight. The implications of Enlightened implementation and design of technology…If there ever was a more realistic and wise approach to addressing any and all “problems”…this is a Transcendental Solution. The paradox is that the deluded minds are not even aware of the levels and nuances of corrections possible, nor the actual issues to addressing. The real issue is the False View that the Egalitarian Ideal we fight so hard to “prove and uphold” is based on a “delusion.” (Technically it is delusion, although there is no judgment of “pathology,” it’s the technical phenomenon of an illusory perception of separateness, dualism. This is all duality, Insight is experiencing directly the non-dual Reality (Emptiness, Śūnyatā, constant fluctuation of factors that give the the impression on an independent self, which is No-Self, anātman, anātta, at essence.)

 

We have equal potential, but, we are all nowhere close to equal actualization of this potential. Pride and attachment to what is “right” is hindering the greater potential for freedom, equality and socio-political evolution. Do I suggest a “Dictatorship, based on one Enlightened Leader? Actually, yes, I do…in theory, but theory and practice are far from reality, furthermore, to put into practice and maintain, I don’t see how it could happen while maintaining “Separation of Church and State,” which is a necessity. Please do not misunderstand, I proactively support, promote and  Equal Rights for All Sentient Beings, I simply know that this would not even be an issue, if the there were an Enlightened Monarchy…Okay ,so my Wikipedia research to recall the traditional Autocracy, Monarchy, Oligarchy, Dictatorship, Totalitarianism, etc. Well, the US is considered by many critics, and understandably so, a “Corporate Oligarchy” or an “Economic and/or Media Oligarchy”! Furthermore (this shows how little I know of political science) Enlightened Absolutism (a term used throughout Europe  particular Leaders, and Russian Tsar: “Catherine The Great.” Then occurred the evolution into the Age of Enlightenment, which The Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Voltaire, the American War for Independence, The U.S. Constitution, The Bill of Rights are considered to have been highly influential in this time…. Go figure! (Well, I don’t anyone would argue that the current State of the Union is remotely similar to Jeffersonian Idealism, or John Adams’ passion for Liberty, Justice, and the Pursuit of Enlightenment! (I Highly Recommend the Biography “John Adams” written by the popular historian David McCullough. It won a 2002 Pulitzer Prize, and the HBO Mini-Series of the same name, based on the novel, with an amazing amount of Historical depth and detail, and equally as well produced, and acted: starring the great Paul Giamatti. A true FIVE*****STAR film.) Then I read about: Meritocracy is a political philosophy that holds power should be vested in individuals according to merit. Advancement in such a system is based on intellectual talent measured through examination and/or demonstrated achievement in the field where it is implemented. (Sounds very much like the concept I described, but in practicality, it could only be effective built upon a foundation that holds several dramatically significant suppositions. (And, reading how “Osho” tried to instigate such a system is quite frightening of a realization! That’s a whole new story, too.) I learned a lot through this process. I hope any reader will examine their own egalitarian views, or whatever view one may hold that is detrimental, conscious, or not. “My views” are/were both conscious, but with unconscious implications that I now must assimilate and integrate. Try it…it’s AWESOME! Breathe into the Truth, and feel the “mantra:”… “I DON’T KNOW. (just a matter of fact, no identity attached. It’s quite liberating. 😊💚🙏

   On that note, I adamantly and proactively promote gender, ethnic, racial, religious, and caste/class equality, and All Living-Rights. (Let me take this moment to ask you to research the fact that there is no Federally mandated nor protection for Equal Rights for Woman (I would prefer this were Not an issue, Living Rights covers gender, race, religion, animals, etc… but this particular issue of equality is relevant at this time. some States have adapted, but did not pass with necessary votes…It was close, but still, three States need to support the Constitutional Amendment Support the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). See: ERA Education Project, about the Documentary Film, for video updates and the current press for the new Constitutional Legislation.”Right-Effort” which is dependent upon the most conducive conditions to attain Enlightenment, Nirvana, Nibbana, Satori, Technology. Shinzen Young is uniquely qualified to hypothesize such a design, having developed an extremely high degree of Enlightenment, and also advanced Science understanding (Not an engineer, but a highly Enlightened Scientist. Shinzen understands the conditions, techniques, and intensive practice of meditation for many years to Awaken Bodhi, as well as a sense of how such an application, if used properly, could potentially reduce the chronologic length of time dramatically. (much time is spent honing meditative abilities, and EEG is just one element of technology currently only available at tremendous cost, similar to fMRI machines, making it totally impractical.)

Currently several Universities and Hospitals use such technology, and the Science Professionals are actual mediators, but nowhere near the same understanding of the requirements to go beyond Meditative significance as methods of traditional Allopathic Treatment, and Wellness. This is more of an approach to educate and immerse the practices to Transcendental Insight, and the Supra-Mundane-

The Next iPhone App for Meditation?
The US Department of Defense is pushing for the development of cheap, wearable systems that can detect the brain waves of people and display the data on smartphones or tablets. His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama, & Enlightened American Buddhist Teacher, Meditation Master & Author, (Ordained in 1970, in the Shingon Buddhist Tradition, of Japan) Shinzen Young is also a Scientist, & Mathematician, most of all, Shinzen Proposes such a device for Meditative Biofeedback, (with other technology applied for same purpose) in his book: “The Science of Enlightenment” and proposes; how & why, such a device could & should be designed, built, be affordable, portable, & accessible, for a “Greater Purpose” & utilized to streamline the Enlightenment process…. (Not in anyway inconsistent with the Buddha’s Dharma, simply applying available technology to how and where it can optimize (not a ‘magical shortcut,’) benefitting performance, assisted with advanced technology, for the most Noble of All Intentions, & the Wisdom to apply it effectively! ~Dharmamitra Jeff Stefani, Scientist & Supra-Mundane Insight & Skillful Means.

Wisdom, and the True Intention of Buddhist Meditation is not to treat anxiety and Hypertension, nor prevent Alzheimer’s, from a true Buddha-Dharma perspective, all of these efforts to “advance medical therapies, to add comfort and treat Allopathic Pathology is quite analogous to “rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic!”

 This is a matter of dramatic, and actually quite drastic re-prioritizing relevant capabilities. This will not be understood from the modern, western medical and academic paradigm, the need for Enlightened Researchers, or at least the guidance and direction requires the one managing efforts have this type of Insight. (It may require a new generation of Highly Spiritually Evolved Scientist (For example, if one understands the education system of Tibetans Buddhist, and the total immersion in Dharma & Meditation, from the age of 6, 8, 10 years old, year-round, residential conditions are highly conducive to producing Insight…if this approach was blended with what many other children begin to establish a career as the “brightest ,young minds at MIT or Cal Tech, and if one could train our children in both…THIS is the level of commitment ideally needed, and breadth and depth of training which has hitherto been, literally, unheard of, but the type of education and training that, from the perspective of one with Insight, could not be of greater importance. And could be the chance to truly use Enlightened Technology, designed, produced, and organized in a manner that could significantly alter the course of the World, and which may be the ONLY Wise use of bright, young minds, with the propensity for Spiritual Evolution.

Our Egalitarian Views, so coveted as our “advanced society” is a False-View. (We all have the same potential, but by no means are we are equal in the actualization, there of. These coveted, grossly delusional (illusory perception) views may be the downfall of the entire Human species, and the rest of the Earth with it.😟

Shinzen references the state of the World, and that perhaps if everyone who seeks Enlightenment were to commit to practice with full earnestness, this often takes 40, 50 years, and the International Affairs calls into question, the State of International Crisis, and the notion that 50 years may pose impractical, due to the state of political, violent aggression, and environmental crises, compassion, of one aspect of One acting for the sake of Empty Reality, and knowing that THIS ls “attainable”… if utilized…the Tipping Point/Critical Mass could be reached so much more efficiently, with so much less, unnecessary suffering.

Meditation Biofeedback device that’s effective and affordable is brilliant, with profound, potential implications (originally hypothesized by His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama and Shinzen Young (Shinzen Young  discusses potential of this *general kind* of, effective & available to the general population, EEGs & fMRI-type go results, facilitating a Biofeedback device for greatly increased efficacy in Meditative/Spiritual Awakening practices. *Also noting that there is “magic bullet” or anything inconstant with Pratityasamutpada,  Paticcasamuppada (The Law of “Dependent-Origination” the Causality, “Conditioned-Coproduction” or “Dependent-Origination.”) Simply put; it’s not too good to be true, or something from nothing, just optimized effort and feedback, only improving efficacy dramatically…Ethics, Meditation & Wisdom aren’t “bypassed or shortcut” only efficiency & effectiveness…although these impacts could reduce linear timeframe incredibly…%10 to %1 of linear time are purely speculative, although not unreasonable, according to Shinzen Young’s hypothesis, which he adamantly & clearly states is not simply speculative…but feasible!

My own life experience in Meditation, Insight, passionate life-long fascination, education and continuing education in Neuroscience; Neurophysiology , Neuropsychology  & Neuroplasticity  which has been a lifelong fascination, double-majoring in Medical Physiology and Psychology was, at the time, a stepping-tone to medical school, and Neurology…but opted for “Buddhist Seminary” instead of medical school. Shinzen Young is a “little different” (that’s an understatement) He did not do well, and failed math, but entered a Shingon Buddhist Monastery, in Japan. I find  Shinzen’s book a true “breakthrough” in Buddhist, Meditation, Buddhist Meditation, and as an expression of the Awakened Mind, with wonderful piercing Vajra Wisdom (Diamond..or Lightening, but here it means Diamond, radiant, clear, extremely multifaceted) and SOLID, Hard, Science Methodology: “The Science Of Enlightenment ”  to be penetrating, perceptive, profoundly inspiring and extensively, far-reaching, and  brilliantly assimilated treatise on Supra-Mundane Wisdom of the Enlightened Mind, cohesive, and eloquently expounded upon with the foundation of  Advanced Scientific logic and thoroughness!

(Example: My dad and brother are both attorneys, and one sentiment I have heard repeatedly is one that I relate to myself, only with an education in one of the Hard Sciences in counterpart. They have often said that Law School does not really teach one: “how  to be an Attorney” but; “how to Think like an Attorney.” After a “Pre-Med degree, and all the chemistry and physics and mathematics, and the Biology, foundations, plus my emphasis, is a *lot* of serious science courses…and I just recalled how my professor for a full-year of Statistics and then Probability Mathematics, summed it up well. He said: ‘If you walk away from this course and forget everything, and can’t tell a “median” from an “average”, that does not really matter. What I want you know is when you read a “Statistic” in the News, or anyplace, you understand what it is saying.”   I can honestly say that it had a profound impact on how I process “statistics” as often cited in “popular society” i.e. ‘This New model has a %145 more horsepower!’ The number doesn’t even register before I am looking for the asterisk* to see “..More than WHAT?” “*an engine %145 the size of the new one.” Or whatever absurd vagueness is passed-ft as statistically significant. A science Degree is the same, you forget specifics of The Krebs Cycle, (What is the net-gain of ATP-molecules per cycle?) but you will never think about the “Scientific method” the same, or “Causal and Correlational” or “proven,” etc.like someone without the years of ‘reformatting’ one’s logic to The Scientific Method. (I worked as a Paralegal for years, and Medical Physiologist, and I do give one awesome massage…but that’s not really gained from learning Anatomy and Physiology, that’s a ‘gift’ of some somatic intuition, or intuitive healing. The tears of writing Legally Binding Contracts has helped Socratic Logic, but Not-So-Much an eloquent style of writing! )😉

If anyone (considering  the Experts in Mind-Body Studies, Mindfulness-Based Medical and Scientific Research, MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction) made hugely mainstream through the work, research, teachings and writings of Dr Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD Molecular Biology, and many others, in many ways: Dr Siegel, MD Neuropsychiatrist, or the Neuropsychologists leading these fields, i.e. Drs Hanson, Goleman, (PhD) etc.) is in a position to have the Scientific Knowledge,  Shinzen is not Neurophysiologist, but has some advanced degree, and deep understanding of and Physics, but the real significant factor is the Awakened Mind, or Bodhi, which with a general foundation in Mathematics (It’s ALL Mathematics, after all 😉 but seriously, it is..when it comes to communicating effective abstract logic, reason and modeling formulas, is the foundation for all advanced “hard Science“) and Physics, with a keen interest, at least, in Neuroplasticity and related Meditation and Neurosciences,  and the direct experience of Knowing how and where the “general destination” lays. (I don’t know if he’s = samyaksambodhi, if not, clearly in the upper echelons of Bodhi-ness. I only “have” (experience of…) enough of Transcendental  Insight  (Wisdom) and Neuroscience (Knowledge) to know that of anyone I am aware of, Shinzen Young is the most qualified to make such a reasonable, “educated” & Insightful, broad-ranged, hypothetical assessment. (Not “speculation”…a generalized hypothesis, founded with Direct Knowing of Awakened Mind,   and advanced Science understanding.

The point is that if Dr.Kabat-Zinn knows 100 times more about he Neuroscience, and is a skilled meditator, with extraordinary (literal, beyond or above “ordinary”) wisdom, that magnification, or efficacy of knowing 1/100 (all these numbers are arbitrary, but the formulation being an exponential/logarithmic expression is founded in Experiential Insight, or Wisdom,and is an “educated guesses”…quite different from speculation, which is a guess without any real foundation in facts.) the Neuroscience specifics, is not even close to equal in holistic, integrated, assimilated understanding by he Awakened Mind. which not a gross exaggeration to say that knowledge of science increases relatively linearly (not exactly, but for all intents and purposes of this consideration, the Wisdom element increases mental capacity exponentially, so if Shinzen’s Insight is  degree is 11-fold greater, and neuroscience is 1/100, the wisdom aspect is far more appropriate to describe as 1 x 10^100 (Which is = 1 with 100 Zeros… One Googol) times the depth and breadth of piercing ,radiant, wisdom. (This is not speculation, either, it’s very vague hypothesis, based on experience…although the arbitrary 100 is, well, arbitrary. If I formulated an educated (Transcendental Wisdom and learned/innate Knowledge), knowledge with wisdom would “guesstimate” some exponential Fibonacci NumberFibonacci Sequence, or Number, but exponentially calculated, or applied, none-the-less.

~Dharmamitra Jeff Stefani, Scientist & Supra-Mundane Insight with Skillful Means.

[“The Science of Enlightenment” by Shinzen Young, Enlightened Buddhist Teacher, with profound Meditation experience, Transcendental Insight, Wisdom, experience, Knowledge and Advanced Science and Mathematical Training, penetrates to the essence of What and How the Scientific Method applies to the Buddhadharma and Meditative Insight.]  😊💚🌍🌀🙏

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Change the way you look at things, and things you look at change: Gratitude