Tag: The Bhagavad Gita

Robert Urich, Breath, Win Win, Little List Project, and a Bhagavad Gita Passage

Robert Urich, Breath, Win Win, Little List Project, and a Bhagavad Gita Passage

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on September 17, 2023

Sunday Supplement #123 (September 17th, 2023)

Below is another Sunday Supplement with a quote worth sharing, a book worth reading, a movie worth watching, brainfood worth consuming, and a spiritual passage worth pondering.

Please take something away from these recommendations that enriches your week ahead!

Quote of the Week:

“A healthy outside starts from the inside.”

– Robert Urich

Book of the Week:

Breath – James Nestor

Science journalist James Nestor’s Breath is a historical, scientific, and personal examination of breathing, particularly the differences between nasal and mouth breathing.

Nestor investigated how humans shifted from nasal breathing to mouth breathing and how that shift impacted human health.

One of the explanations argues that the shift to mouth breathing was due to the increased consumption of processed foods, which had led to a rise in snoring, sleep apnea, and allergies.

Nestor wrote Breath after ten years of intense research. The book became an international bestseller, selling over two million copies worldwide.

Breath has surprisingly been one of the most helpful books I’ve read in regard to improving my health. I highly recommend it.

Movie of the Week:

Win Win

Tom McCarthy’s Win Win is about a financially struggling small-town lawyer’s chicanery that comes back to haunt him.

Paul Giamatti plays the struggling lawyer, and his haunting comes in the form of a double-crossed client’s grandson.

The film is surprisingly lighthearted in tone, but it is able to craft a narrative that takes a deeper look into facing the question of what’s important in your life.

For those who don’t know Tom McCarthy by name, he is the writer/director of Spotlight, The Station Agent, The Visitor, and Up.

Win Win is probably a movie that most people haven’t heard about, but it has a special slice-of-life feel that is worth the watch.

Brainfood of the Week:

Healthy Habits: 10 Daily Habits That Changed My Life | Little List Project

The Little List Project YouTube channel is dedicated to providing simple and practical tips for a daily lifestyle.

In this video are ten tips for leading a healthier lifestyle. Ria, whose background is in nutrition and food engineering, explains how these tips help physical, emotional, and mental health.

Ria explains how she implemented these habits gradually over the years. There’s no pressure to do them all every day, and she highlights doing what you can when you’re stressed.

The video goes over habits like meditation, exercise, and healthy eating, but each tip is explained thoroughly, with research offered as supporting evidence.

Many of these types of videos can be over-simplified or obvious, but I thoroughly enjoyed the breakdown from Ria and highly recommend checking the full video.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“For him who is moderate in food and diversion, whose actions are disciplined, who is moderate in sleep and waking, Yoga destroys all sorrow.”

– Bhagavad Gita 6:17

Yoga is often assumed in the West only to be the practice of physical exercise through various poses. While this is an aspect of Yoga, it isn’t the complete picture.

This Bhagavad Gita passage speaks to the larger mental, spiritual, and physical practices or disciplines to control and still the mind.

The breakdown of different practices in this passage is an excellent guide to living a healthy life, both physically and mentally (and spiritually for those interested).

Maintaining a healthy balance in our lives is essential to being able to combat the sorrows we encounter.

Take productive steps in your mental and physical health, and have a blessed week ahead!

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Mark Twain, The Great Gatsby, Shattered Glass, Jim Rohn, and a Bhagavad Gita Passage

Mark Twain, The Great Gatsby, Shattered Glass, Jim Rohn, and a Bhagavad Gita Passage

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on August 13, 2023

Sunday Supplement #118 (August 13th, 2023)

Below is another Sunday Supplement with a quote worth sharing, a book worth reading, a movie worth watching, brainfood worth consuming, and a spiritual passage worth pondering.

Please take something away from these recommendations that enriches your week ahead!

Quote of the Week:

“Keep away from those who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you believe that you too can become great.”

– Mark Twain

Book of the Week:

The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald

F. Scott Fitzgerald is considered one of the greatest American writers, and his novel The Great Gatsby is one of the great classics of American literature.

I read The Great Gatsby in high school and knew even then that I was reading a brilliant novel that stood out across time.

The novel follows the narrator Nick Carraway’s recounting of his interactions with mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and the socialites of Long Island in the 1920s.

Gatsby throws lavish parties in the new-rich town of West Egg, hoping his long-lost love from the fashionable West Egg will one day attend.

The Great Gatsby is one of my favorite novels of all time and, in my opinion, should be a book on everyone’s reading list.

Movie of the Week:

Shattered Glass

Shattered Glass tells the story of a young journalist of The New Republic magazine, who fell from grace when it was discovered he fabricated over half his articles.

Hayden Christensen stars in the leading role of Stephen Glass. He became famous because of the Star Wars prequels, but he shines in some of his lesser-known films like this one.

The supporting cast of Peter Sarsgaard, Chloë Sevigny, Rosario Dawson, Melanie Lynsey, Hank Azaria, and Steve Zahn also put in great performances.

Bill Ray directed and co-wrote the film based on the article written by Buzz Bissinger. The final result is a brilliant little film well worth checking out if you haven’t seen it.

Brainfood of the Week:

The Power of Ambition | Jim Rohn | Let’s Become Successful

This video starts with Jim Rohn discussing how ambition differs from greed and how ambition is an activated desire to achieve.

Rohn goes on to discuss self-interest versus selfishness. Much of our behavior comes from a place of self-interest, but what makes it different from selfishness is that it is not coming at the expense of others.

Let’s Become Successful hosts this video and is a team of motivation enthusiasts who want to provide videos that will help inspire.

I’ve featured Jim Rohn in one other Sunday Supplement and am a fan of his work.

Check out this video and see if you want to explore more of Rohn’s work or other Let’s Become Successful videos.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“Perform your duty equipoised, abandoning all attachment to success or failure. Such equanimity is called yoga.”

– Bhagavad Gita 2:48

This passage from the Bhagavad Gita reminds me to operate from a place of balanced expectations.

Being ambitious and excited about what you are doing/working on is a great source to tap into, but failure shouldn’t derail you, either.

Failure can be a lesson and a motivator to improve and continue. Equally, getting too attached to success can lead to the avoidance of challenging endeavors.

The last part of the passage defines yoga as operating from a place of balance. For those who don’t know, yoga isn’t only a physical exercise; it is also a state of being.

Achieve your dreams, stay balanced, and have a blessed week ahead!

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Marcel Proust, Tigana, The Banshees of Inisherin, Richard Reeves, and a Bhagavad Gita Verse

Marcel Proust, Tigana, The Banshees of Inisherin, Richard Reeves, and a Bhagavad Gita Verse

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on June 25, 2023

Sunday Supplement #111 (June 25th, 2023)

Below is another Sunday Supplement with a quote worth sharing, a book worth reading, a movie worth watching, brainfood worth consuming, and a spiritual passage worth pondering.

Please take something away from these recommendations that enriches your week ahead!

Quote of the Week:

“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”

– Marcel Proust

Book of the Week:

Tigana – Guy Gavriel Kay

Guy Gavriel Kay provides a grand epic of magic, politics, friendship, war, and the power of love and hate in his 600-page fantasy standalone novel.

The book follows the history of a land on a planet orbited by two moons. The story takes place on the Peninsula of the Palm, which like medieval Italy, comprises provinces with a shared culture and language.

Two powerful sorcerers control the land, and one casts a curse over it, which removes the name and history of part of the land from the people’s minds.

Only those born before the curse remember Tigana, and a group of rebels aim to free the land from the grips of the sorcerer.

I’m a huge fantasy genre fan, but I don’t always like to read a series that the genre tends to gear toward. This solo novel offers an excellent and complete story worth checking out.

Movie of the Week:

The Banshees of Inisherin

Martin McDonagh’s The Banshees of Inisherin didn’t do well at the box office but received nine Academy Award nominations.

The film follows two lifelong friends who find themselves at an impasse when one abruptly ends their relationship, with alarming consequences for them both.

Colin Farrell, Brendon Gleeson, Kerry Condon, and Barry Keoghan star in this excellent film that explores the purpose of life, friendship, and critiques the history of Ireland.

The Banshees of Inisherin isn’t a movie you should throw on if you’re looking for a popcorn flick to pass the time.

If you give it a chance, look at the movie’s themes and how they provide us with a story that allows us to reflect on how we live our lives.

Brainfood of the Week:

The Friendship Recession | Richard Reeves | Big Think

Richard Reeves is a British American writer, scholar and Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution.

In this video, he opens with the comment that some studies suggest that being without a close friend, being lonely, is as bad for your health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

Richard Reeves goes on to explain the friendship recession we’re in, the value of friendships, and what we’re losing if we don’t cultivate meaningful friendships.

The video is an intriguing look at how significant a role friendships play in our lives and how one of the hardest things we can admit is that we need a friend.

Big Think is the channel that hosts the video. They are a leading source of expert-driven, actionable, and educational content. Check out their other videos if you liked this one.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“Let a man lift himself by his own Self alone, and not let him lower himself; for, this Self alone is the friend of oneself, and this Self is the enemy of oneself.”

– Bhagavad Gita 6:5

I’ve picked this verse from the Bhagavad Gita in a post about friendship because I believe we are responsible for cultivating our worlds.

This passage highlights how we can be our own best friend or worst enemy. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have friends, but we can be the ones that prevent that from happening.

Friendship is a crucial part of our lives, but it is up to us to cultivate an environment where we allow friendships to flourish.

Sometimes we must work on ourselves first to allow space for those around us to come into our lives.

Be grateful for your friends, nourish those friendships, and have a blessed week ahead!

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Anatole France, Moonwalking with Einstein, Dark City, Sprouts, and a Bhagavad Gita Passage

Anatole France, Moonwalking with Einstein, Dark City, Sprouts, and a Bhagavad Gita Passage

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on May 14, 2023

Sunday Supplement #105 (May 14th, 2023)

Below is another Sunday Supplement with a quote worth sharing, a book worth reading, a movie worth watching, brainfood worth consuming, and a spiritual passage worth pondering.

Please take something away from these recommendations that enriches your week ahead!

Quote of the Week:

“An education isn’t how much you’ve committed to memory or even how much you know. It’s being able to differentiate between what you know and what you don’t.”

– Anatole France

Book of the Week:

Moonwalking with Einstein – Joshua Foer

Joshua Foer’s journey of writing Moonwalking with Einstein started with his curiosity for tangible evidence of who was the smartest person in the world.

His quest led him to the realm of mental athletes and the world of competitive memorization.

Moonwalking with Einstein recounts Foer’s research into these societies, his subsequent initiation, and his quest to compete in the U.S. Memory Championship.

The book breaks down a few of the critical components of memory that have been taught and forgotten throughout history.

Foer’s book is primarily a memoir/non-fiction, but it is entertaining and has excellent insight into the tricks of memory and the world around them.

Movie of the Week:

Dark City

John Murdock wakes up alone in a strange hotel and discovers he’s wanted for a series of murders. The problem is that he doesn’t remember if he committed them.

The film Dark City brilliantly explores the concepts around memory and personal identity and what it means when both are tampered with.

Rufus Sewell, Jennifer Connelly, William Hurt, and Kiefer Sutherland star in the Alex Proyas-directed and co-written movie about memory and identity.

Dark City came out a year before The Matrix and was ultimately overshadowed and forgotten in the wake of the immensely successful Matrix films.

If you enjoy films that explore areas of existentialism, check out this Sci-Fi Noir film that offers a thought-provoking narrative worth checking out.

Brainfood of the Week:

The Memory Palace: Can You Do It? | Sprouts

The Memory Palace is a technique to remember facts, numbers, or other things and has been around since ancient times (known as the Method of Loki).

I’m posting this video as the Brainfood of the Week because it’s a valuable technique to learn.

Joshua Foer discusses it in Moonwalking with Einstein, but I thought I’d include a short video of how the method works for those who don’t want to read the book.

Sprouts is a YouTube channel with over a million subscribers. They feature educational videos about psychology, pedagogy, and child development.

I featured another one of Sprouts’ videos in Sunday Supplement #92. Check it out if you liked this video.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“Anger leads to clouding of judgment, which results in bewilderment of memory. When memory is bewildered, the intellect gets destroyed; and when the intellect is destroyed, one is ruined.”

– Bhagavad Gita 2:63

This passage from the Bhagavad Gita reminds me how important it is not to allow emotions to overtake the reasoning side of the brain.

Emotions are good indicators of how certain things are affecting us. However, getting permanently caught up in our emotions leaves us powerless to change our situation.

The Bhagavad Gita passage focuses on anger and how that emotion can affect our memory and, in turn, our intellect.

Anger can be one of the worst emotions to get lost in. It is often in these times when we make our worst decisions.

Think about how your memories affect your current experiences, decide how you want to move forward, and have a blessed week ahead!

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James Baldwin, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, A Beautiful Mind, The School of Life, and a Bhagavad Gita Verse

James Baldwin, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, A Beautiful Mind, The School of Life, and a Bhagavad Gita Verse

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on March 26, 2023

Sunday Supplement #98 (March 26th, 2023)

Below is another Sunday Supplement with a quote worth sharing, a book worth reading, a movie worth watching, brainfood worth consuming, and a spiritual passage worth pondering.

Please take something away from these recommendations that enriches your week ahead!

Quote of the Week:

“Love takes off masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within.”

– James Baldwin

Book of the Week:

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo – Stieg Larson

Stieg Larson’s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo centers around the disappearances of the scion of one of Sweden’s wealthiest families.

Years later, her aged uncle hires Mikael Blomkvist, an investigative journalist caught up in a libel conviction, to investigate the disappearance.

Blomkvist heads to a fictional small island in Northern Sweden and begins to untangle the mystery. He receives help from a computer hacker with a mysterious past, Lisbeth.

The novel is an exciting read with an intriguing plot and interesting themes. Larson crafted brilliant characters and a fantastic story.

I’ve only read the original trilogy of the Millennium series. Larson died before completing the third novel, and the series has since been continued with a new author.

Movie of the Week:

A Beautiful Mind

Ron Howard’s A Beautiful Mind is a biographical drama about the asocial mathematician John Nash and his battle with schizophrenia.

The film follows Nash’s journey as a mathematician, his work on game theory, and his relationship with his wife, Alicia Larde, as he faces his hallucinations.

A Beautiful Mind won the Oscar for Best Picture at the 2002 Academy Awards. It is currently #143 on IMDBs’ Top Rated Movies list.

In addition to the Best Picture win, Jennifer Connelly won an Oscar for her role as Alicia, Ron Howard won an Oscar for Best Director, and Akiva Goldsman won an Oscar for Best Writing – Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published.

The 2001 film is an excellent film with a fantastic story and is one of Russell Crowe’s best performances as John Nash. Check it out if you haven’t seen it.

Brainfood of the Week:

How To Love | The School of Life

The School of Life’s video starts by describing the puzzling question of why some people are so awful. The often simplistic answer is that there are terrible people.

The video then offers an experiment of looking at others through the eyes of love. It requires stamina and is best attempted at a quieter, less agitated time of day.

We often identify people at their worst moments and can be ingenious in our judgments. The enemy of generosity in this context is the sense that we may be beyond fault ourselves.

The video offers an interesting look at how we can rush to judgment and overlook our capacity to view the world through the eyes of love.

I’ve featured The School of Life in a few previous Sunday Supplements. Their channel consists of content from psychologists, philosophers, and writers devoted to helping people lead calmer and more reliant lives.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“The only way you can conquer me is through Love, and there I am gladly conquered.”

– Bhagavad Gita (Krishna)

The Bhagavad Gita is a 700-verse scripture that dates back to around 500 BCE and is considered one of the holy scriptures for Hinduism.

There are phrases like “kill them with kindness” and “turn the other cheek” to emphasize the futility of answering violence with violence.

This particular verse addresses the God Krishna’s views on the power of love. The Krishna quote shows me the way to overcome all obstacles.

It can be taxing to be aligned with love in all matters, but it is worth striving for. I only find when my heart is full of love that I am truly at peace.

Try your best to approach yourself and others with love, and have a blessed week ahead!

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