Thursday, June 18, 2015

How Children Benefit from Trekking

Of all the adventures that one can think of for children, I feel that trekking is the most beneficial one. This experience helps children understand their self, better their interpersonal relationships, develop love and care for nature, and thus, make them better than before they started.

While preparing for a trek, a child can objectively learn to leverage their physical strengths and overcome their weaknesses. The fitness and endurance required for trekking gives them the basic lesson of the correlation between the mind and the body: a sound mind thrives in a sound body. A rigorous fitness regimen before the trek equips them for the rigors of trekking. Thus, during the trek, they will face less physical fitness issues and can enjoy the sights and sounds of the trek better.


Out there in the wilderness, with no family or friends around to fuss about or support them, with no distractions, with no mode of communication with the outside world, they soon realize that their self and the group is all they have. This helps them understand and act as one unit instead of disparate units. They understand the importance of sharing and caring for others. They learn to hone their communication skills and see how it helps build a good rapport with their fellow trekkers.

And last but not the least, a trek shows them the beauty of Creation like no movies or books can. This helps strengthen their love for nature and can inspire them to lead to a more sustainable lifestyle. It is very heartening to see children beaming back from treks and convincing their elders to go the green way.

Arjun Majumdar, of Indiahikes, avers that during and after a trek, the positive transformation in a child - from a feeling of insecurity and dependency to one of confidence and self-reliance - is quite palpable. Not to mention the glowing smile that spreads over these young faces - the face of hope and a better tomorrow for all of us. If you have already not planned a trek for your child(ren), plan one now!

For more information, see indiahikes' hiking club.

Monday, June 15, 2015

Freewill - Freedom to Fly High!

Freewill. liberum arbitrium. Does it exist? Or is it a delusion? This is a question that comes to all of us, at some point or the other. My endeavor now is to mull on this and attempt to find answers, as applicable for myself. And see if I am the captain of my ship, or am just an onlooker in my life.

If freewill is a delusion, are we puppets in the hands of destiny - dictated by the star we were born under, by planetary alignments at the time of our birth? Are we not accountable for our thoughts, words, and actions? Do we get no credit for strength of character – developed over time, after intense tribulations and suffering, and retained over the ravages of time? Do we then just dismiss the good or bad in our lives with one emphatic wave called Karma? How do we explain and deal with the dilemma of moral responsibility?

If all events in our life are predestined and if we have no control over them, then why do we need a conscience? Why the itch to judge others, based on their words or actions? Why then have a code of conduct? Why have etiquette, decorum, principles, et al?

Wise men say that only our birth and death are not in our hands. In between, we can steer the course of our lives the way we want to, by acting towards what we want or want to be. We can choose to not take action too, in which case, our lives are steered by the people around us and/or random events.

If we look at Science for help with this question, various studies have postulated some theories but none of these are definite. No matter which study you drawn from - Theology, Biology, Physics, Genetics, Neuroscience, Neurology, or Psychiatry - no study has decreed that we exercise freewill. I find that the only science that is closest to supporting the idea that freewill exists, is Neuroscience. I found the studies and arguments from neuroscientists interesting because I realized that my beliefs and arguments emerge and resonate from these. Interestingly, I found out that in Philospohical terms, my arguments are from a Classic Incompatibilist position than from a Determinist position.

Here is an excerpt from Wiki that I found very interesting. It comes closest to declaring that we are free birds!

It has become possible to study the living brain, and researchers can now watch the brain's decision-making process at work. A seminal experiment in this field was conducted by Benjamin Libet in the 1980s, in which he asked each subject to choose a random moment to flick her wrist while he measured the associated activity in her brain; in particular, the build-up of electrical signal called the readiness potential (after German Bereitschaftspotential). Although it was well known that the readiness potential caused and preceded the physical action, Libet asked whether it could be recorded before the conscious intention to move. To determine when subjects felt the intention to move, he asked them to watch the second hand of a clock. After making a movement, the volunteer reported the time on the clock when they first felt the conscious intention to move; this became known as Libet's W time.
Libet found that the unconscious brain activity of the readiness potential leading up to subjects' movements began approximately half a second before the subject was aware of a conscious intention to move.
These studies of the timing between actions and the conscious decision bear upon the role of the brain in understanding free will. A subject's declaration of intention to move a finger appears after the brain has begun to implement the action, suggesting to some that unconsciously the brain has made the decision before the conscious mental act to do so. Some believe the implication is that free will was not involved in the decision and is an illusion. The first of these experiments reported the brain registered activity related to the move about 0.2 s before movement onset. However, these authors also found that awareness of action was anticipatory to activity in the muscle underlying the movement; the entire process resulting in action involves more steps than just the onset of brain activity. The bearing of these results upon notions of free will appears complex.

This experiment was an attempt to dissect the conscious and unconscious functions of the brain, and how it ensues in substantial action. When we know that every thought, word, and action stems from a neuron, then it is not difficult to concede that we are what our minds make us. Which is to say that we think freely, we talk freely, and we act freely. Which, in turn, makes us free beings. Yes, there is no doubt that the laws that govern the universe apply to us. But that does not mean we are puppets of some external force. The force is within us and waiting to be conditioned, nurtured, channeled, explored, and lived!