Creator Villa

This week, a number of stunning country-border photos made their rounds on Facebook and other social media. In this article, I’ve aggregated a number of the most thought-provoking/breath-taking ones that I could come across. All these images qualify to be circulated under the Creative Commons License. Feel free to share some of your favorites not included here, and if they are public domain I will update the post accordingly.

Territorial sovereignty is a foundational principle of the current international state system. Many scholars attribute this evolution to the Peace of Westphalia, a treaty signed in 1630 by numerous European powers that ended decades of armed conflict. The treaty provided that countries would respect borders and not interfere in the domestic affairs of their neighbors.

USA & Mexico Border

The USA side is on the left; the Mexican side on the right.

South Korea & North Korea Border

Israel, Syria, Jordan Border

Portugal & Spain Border

Guadiana International Bridge; Spain is on the left; Portugal is on the right.

Germany & France Border

View from Offenburg, Germany, with the French Vosges mountains (Mont Donon) in the background.

Myanmar, Thailand, Laos Border

Sweden & Norway Border

Not sure which side belongs to whom, nor do I think they care.

Bulgaria & Turkey Border

USA & Canada Border

Pakistan & India Border

A view of India from the Pakistani side.

Senegal & Gambia Border

The author did not specify which side belongs to which country, but maybe you can tell by some of the clues in the photo?

Guatemala and Mexico

Per Wikipedia: “Border between Guatemala (left) and Mexico (right), in Lagunas de Montebello National Park, delineated by cleared trees and a white border marker. “

[You can follow me on Twitter @creatorvilla.] Today I want to share the results of a study conducted several decades ago that has forever changed the way we view the relationship between sunlight, testosterone, and athletic performance. In the study, Doctors Abraham Myerson and Rudolph Neustadt exposed men to UV light and measured the excretion of various sex hormones. The study revealed that exposure to UV light triggered huge increases in testosterone levels which did not return to baseline levels for over a week. This increase was dependent on the location of the body and the amount of skin exposed to the UV light. The researchers found that men’s baseline testosterone increased by 120% (more than double!) when the participants’ chest and back were exposed to UV light. However, the biggest increase in testosterone came when the participants’ testicles were exposed to UV light. The latter resulted in a massive 200% increase (triple) in baseline testosterone levels. This study has enormous implications for guys attempting to optimize testosterone levels and for athletes who want to maximize performance naturally and legally. It is a wonder why the sporting and fitness industries haven’t gone mainstream with this knowledge. Then again, there is little money to be made by advising people to get more sunlight. Companies would rather sell you expensive supplements. Athletes who have this knowledge may also wish to maintain a competitive advantage over their rivals.

The main takeaway of the study is that exposure to UV light anywhere on the body drives a huge increase in testosterone levels. I, however, wanted to test out the particulars of the study. Bluntly put, I wanted to see what would happen when I directly exposed the balls to UV light. I did this through an open window during the heat of day when the UV Index was high. I noticed they immediately began to grow upon first exposure. I knew this is the area where the body produces the vast majority of testosterone, so it made sense that local exposure to sunlight would trigger a disproportionate increase. The physical changes I observed coupled with the increases in energy and motivation to work out convinced me not only that the study was accurate, but that it was a major game-changer for the sports and fitness industries.

Exposing one’s nether parts to sunlight is neither practical nor desirable for obvious reasons. This has led some guys aware of the benefits to use UV red light therapy to achieve the same outcome in the privacy of their own home (link). I don’t doubt this works, but since it’s not something I’ve personally experimented with, I won’t say much about it. What I do know is that red light technology can be quiet pricey. However, I did discover a cheap and natural method that arguably worked even better for me than expensive alternatives.

Disclaimer: Don’t try this at home. You should consult your doctor about Vitamin D and testosterone optimization given that they are very powerful hormones and a lot could go wrong.

Vitamin D is known as the sunshine vitamin for good reason. The human body has a Vitamin D receptor in nearly ever cell of the body and is highly evolved to generate Vitamin D upon exposure to the sun. After I first read the study a few years ago, I wondered whether the increase in testosterone was triggered by the local production of Vitamin D directly on the skin in response to the UV light exposure. That in mind, I experimented with different doses of Vitamin D topical applied directly to the balls. Lo and behold, I noticed the same enlarging effect as when I had gotten direct UV light exposure. In this process of trial and error, I came to the conclusion that less is more. When the skin is exposed to UV light, it naturally generates Vitamin D in a uniform fashion. Small exposed areas of skin naturally produce small amounts of Vitamin D, and applying to much Vitamin D to any one region can interfere with its natural synthesis by the body. I found that less than 1,000 IU was enough for me to achieve the desired effect and that higher doses were wholly ineffective. Whenever I apply Vitamin D anywhere directly to my skin I prefer to crack open the Vitamin D softgels rather than purchase a topical product. My method is cheaper and it enables me to control the dosing better than prepared formulations. I would apply about half of a 1000 IU softgel every few days and could notice a major difference within a few hours.

Today I make sure I get adequate sun exposure as part of a healthy lifestyle, but I have not experimented with UV light or Vitamin D in this fashion in years. Currently, I have no reason to maintain peak testosterone levels. However, if I ever found myself training for an athletic competition or was experiencing symptoms of low testosterone, the power of the sun would be my first recourse. Nowadays people are quick to take supplements, inject steroids, or go on testosterone replacement therapy, giving up on their body’s natural ability to produce what they need. Meanwhile, nature offers a cheaper (if not free) solution that is arguably more effective than artificial alternatives.

See my article on the The Most Natural Way To Optimize Vitamin D Levels for more pro tips on harnessing the power of the sun.

Outside, which is where human biology evolved, everything is constantly moving. You would be hard-pressed to find a bird, fish, land animal, or insect not in motion. Grass, plants, and trees sway in the wind. Even light, guided by the sun, moves throughout the day. It is no wonder those of us who lead sedentary lifestyles indoors, far removed from our nature, develop all kinds of chronic conditions, like ADHD, depression, and myopia.

Beliefs influence how people think, act, and feel; they are based on interpretation of lived experience and have everything to do with perspective. Beliefs are typically not “true” or “false;” they are simply more or less resourceful. Many beliefs that were once resourceful continue to exert an effect long after the circumstances that motivated them have evolved. Enter the elephant-and-the-rope illustration.

Some of you are already familiar with this story. When the elephant is a baby, the trainer ties a small rope around its leg and fastens it to a peg to keep it from wandering off. The elephant repeatedly attempts to free itself but fails due its small stature. Once the elephant is grown, it can easily break the rope and gain the freedom of movement that it craves–but it doesn’t even try. By then, the elephant has internalized the belief, deep-seated and uncontested, that the rope is stronger.

It takes courage to try where we’ve failed in the past. But sometimes that is the only way to create new evidence without which the brain is loathe to abandon old beliefs.

Today, I’ve transcribed a short YouTube clip that expands on the elephant-and-the-rope story. (FYI, it’s a text-only video). Reality or fiction, I hope you find it as thought-provoking as I did!

Transcript:

Failure isn’t fatal, but failing to change might be (John Wooden).

One of my friends was passing by the elephants and suddenly stopped. He saw that a huge elephant was held by only a small rope tied to his front leg. It was obvious that the elephant could break away from the rope but he did not. My friend asked the trainer why the elephant just stood there and made no attempt to get away.

The trainer said, “When the elephant was very young and much smaller, I used the same size rope to tie him. As he grew up, he was conditioned to believe he could not break away. He still believes the rope can hold him, so he never tries to break free.”

My friend was amazed. Like the elephant, how many of us go through life hanging on to a belief that we cannot do something simply because we failed at it once before? How many of us are being held back by old, outdated beliefs?

There are two types of people in the world: those who relish spicy food and everybody else. Most people can only relate to one or the other type. If you like spicy food, then how can anyone enjoy plain white rice? And if you don’t like spicy food, then you can’t rationalize the appeal of self-inflicted pain. Isn’t food supposed to make you feel good? As it turns out, science has a lot to say about people who simply can’t get enough heat. If this describes you, one or a combination of the following headings may apply.

Spicy food and I have a close relationship—an obsessive one, in fact. If it’s spicy, I want it. I want to sweat and shake and go half blind from the searing pain . . . which, now that I put it that way, seems really suggestive. But spicy stuff is addictive. That’s a known fact of science.

Maureen Johnson, American Novelist

1. You Are a Thrill-Seeker

A Penn State University study discovered a relationship between thrill-seeking and preference for study foods:

Using Arnett’s Inventory of Sensation Seeking (AISS) test — one that determines one’s level of risk taking behavior — they surveyed the participants first on their preferences to thrill. The questions included things like listening to loud music, watching highly suspenseful movies, public speaking, gambling and standing on the edge of something high and looking down. Their results were compared to their preferences for spicy food. Unsurprisingly, those who scored higher on the AISS test had higher preferences for spicier foods.

Source: Elite Daily

There is something about the pain of spicy food, knowing that it’s not going to kill you, that makes people feel alive and satisfies their thirst for adventure.

2. You Have High Testosterone Levels

This 2015 study found a correlation between male salivary testosterone levels and preferences for spicy food. The latter was measured in terms of the quantity of hot sauce that participants voluntarily consumed with their food.

Participants included 114 males between the ages of 18 and 44 recruited from the community. They were asked to indicate their preferences regarding spicy food and were then asked to season a sample of mashed potatoes with pepper sauce and salt (control substance) prior to evaluating the spiciness of the meal. A positive correlation was observed between endogenous salivary testosterone and the quantity of hot sauce individuals voluntarily and spontaneously consumed with a meal served as part of a laboratory task. In contrast, significant correlations were not observed between testosterone and behavioral preference for salty foods. This study suggests that behavioral preference for spicy food among men is related to endogenous testosterone levels.

Whether or not spicy food increases testosterone levels or men with higher testosterone levels simply have a preference for it is unclear. What is clear is there is a strong association between the two.

3. You Are Highly Sensitive To Reward

According to the experts, sensitivity to reward “refers to the degree to which an individual’s behavior is motivated by reward-relevant stimuli and is believed to be regulated by the behavioral activation system. . .” (source). An example of a reward is the pleasure experienced by eating good food, working out, or the endorphins released after exposure to spicy food. People highly sensitive to reward live by the motto, “No pain, no gain” (e.g. David Goggins), while those less less sensitive to reward make do with neither.

In a 2013 study entitled “Food Quality and Preference,” researchers discovered a positive correlation between sensitivity to reward and spicy food preferences (source). For these individuals, spicy food is worth consuming because it triggers the release of happy hormones comparable to a runner’s high.

For all you spice aficionados reading this post, I’m curious what it is about the chili pepper that whets your appetite. Let me know what the research cited above got right, wrong or neglected to address.

[You can follow me on Twitter @creatorvilla.] The sequence in the title comes from a famous Bedouin proverb. The jBedouin were militarized Arab nomads who inhabited the deserts of Jordan, Syria, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia prior to the development and sedentarization of the early 20th century. The proverb captured how human beings have conducted themselves for the great majority of recorded history. Human beings are tribal, and the basic unit of the tribe is the immediate family. Beyond the immediate family, people form loyalty ties based on kinship. However, there is a problem with this system. First of all, it implies people are always in conflict with others. And second, it implies that every human being will have an enemy in the great majority of people on earth. Indian-American novelist and author of The Sweetness of Tears, Nafisa Haji, captures some of this tension.

There is an old Arab Bedouin saying: I, against my brothers. I and my brothers against my cousins. I my brothers and my cousins against the world. That is jungle law. It is the way of the world when the world is thrown into chaos. It is our job to avert that chaos, to fight against it, to resist the urge to become savage. Because the problem with such law is that if you follow it, you are always fighting against someone.

Nafisa Haji, The Sweetness of Tears

Fortunately, most of us live in ordered societies where our immediate survival is not at stake. We don’t have to walk around with the same level of distrust as the ancients, knowing that the probability of us losing our lives or our livelihood is meager. But the remnants of old ways of evolved thinking die hard. And the seed of distrust is still strong within the human race. This seed manifests as anger, hatred, selfishness, and a desire to harm the person of others even using all non-physical means possible. It is this internally driven chaos that can wreak havoc in even the most ordered external environments.

The way to overcome the law of the jungle isn’t simply to create better government. That will only limit the scope for internal chaos to manifest as outright violence. The way to overcome the law of the jungle is to cultivate an inner love for other people. This is much easier said than done. What reason does anyone have to love others? There are multiple ways of answering this question.

Spirituality—my faith is a powerful anchor in my life. I believe that all people were created in the image of God. This gives me a reason to strive to love everyone, even if I fall short the majority of the time. Spirituality is an anchor for a lot of people. But there are non-spiritual approaches that work toward the same end.

A sense of universal connection—The consciousness that all living things are connected such that the well-being of each of us affects other people. Every instance of an innocent person being victimized by crime is a reminder of this principle. But universal connection works in an opposite manner as well. People who follow good laws, innovate solutions to problems, and show kindness make the world a better place for others. There are myriad philosophical and material goods that we take for granted in the world, like the belief of universal equality and the opportunity to live a much better material life relative to the rest of the world. These were gifted to us by others.

Humanism—a theoretical framework a core belief of which is that human beings are capable of great good when placed in the right environment. Each individual has fundamental value and can learn to behave in a way that maximizes the overall welfare of the species. Humanism works best the more people that are on board—it is a mutual decision to further collective interests and is more specific than a universal sense of connection. Its focus on humanity and optimism about the potential of the human species distinguish it from other approaches.

Karma, sowing and reaping, or the law of reciprocity—These concepts share the idea that how people treat others sooner or later has an effect on their own life. Sometimes the concept has religious overtones, but it can be understood purely through a secular lens. The law of reciprocity holds that people tend to treat others the same way that others treat them. But there is a way of understanding the psychological benefit of showing love independent of whether said love is returned. A Biblical Proverb illustrates my point:

A man who is kind benefits himself, but a cruel man hurts himself

Proverbs 11:17

The Arab proverb cited above is the diagnosis of a problem. A problem at the level of ideas and norms that is responsible for the currently fractured state of human affairs. Surely, there must be a better way of interfacing with the world.

Every morning I wake up to the sound of a parakeet serenading the world from a small tree under my window. I can count on that parakeet being there like I can count on there being 24 hours in a day. The parakeet begins her routine around sunrise and sings throughout the morning and again later in the day. Even if I miss the opening act, I can always catch some part of the performance. I don’t know why that bird is always singing. And, quite frankly, I don’t care. I’m just glad she chooses to perch at a close enough distance where I can listen.

What’s most amazing about that parakeet isn’t her beautiful singing. It’s the fact that she sings regardless of who likes it or doesn’t (so what if my sleep is disturbed?). Every morning she fulfills her purpose. She has her mind made up and has no need to consult anyone: “I’m a parakeet and singing is what I do.”

Why are most of us so unlike that parakeet? If I had a dollar for every minute I spent worrying about what other people might think, I’d be a rich man. I’m not saying we should be more selfish. Most of the time we don’t doubt what we are doing is right. Or at least not wrong. But a people-pleasing spirit won’t let the mind be at ease. It doesn’t care what the right course of action is, its only goal is to avoid the discomfort of not being approved by others.

There’s a trade-off between authenticity and fitting in. The more we are our true selves, the less acceptance we receive from other people. Imagine if you made no effort to accommodate other people’s feelings the rest of your life. You would certainly incur the unfavorable opinions of many. The problem is most of us err on the totally opposite side—we accommodate others far more than we should. Call it people-pleasing—but the truth is it has more to do with anxiety-avoiding than anything else. People-pleasing is the antithesis of authenticity. It promises emotional safety but always leaves the user unsatisfied.

Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think we’re supposed to be and embracing who we are. . . If you trade in your authenticity for safety, you may experience the following: anxiety, depression, eating disorders, addiction, rage, blame, resentment, and inexplicable grief.

Brene Brown, Author of The Gifts of Imperfection

People-pleasing can’t fulfill the fundamental need for belonging that we all have. This is because belonging can only be experienced when the true self is expressed. We simply can’t feel a deep connection with people who don’t know who we really are. As a result, people-pleasing robs us of a positive good in authenticity and offers nothing to compensate.

Fitting in is about assessing a situation and becoming who you need to be accepted. Belonging, on the other hand, doesn’t require us to change who we are; it require us to be who we are. . . Because true belonging only happens when we present our authentic, imperfect selves to the world, our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self-acceptance.

Brene Brown, Author of The Gifts of Imperfection

The parakeet under my window is a beautiful metaphor for authenticity. The next time you hear the sound of the songbird, let it remind you of the freedom that is available to those who have the courage to be who they were created to be.

I want to sing like the birds sing, not worry about who hears or what they think.

Rumi

There are few things in daily life I resent more than trying to fall asleep to the sound of environmental noise. Environmental noise happens when people talk, watch TV, play party music, or snore within earshot of somebody trying to catch some shut-eye. Environmental noise has been scientifically demonstrated to decrease sleep intensity, increase stress hormone secretion, reduce cognitive performance, increase tiredness, and may be a long-term risk factor of high blood pressure and heart disease (link). What’s the best way to combat environmental noise before bed? Noise of a different variety. Enter the sound therapy known as white noise. White noise refers to sound that contains frequencies with equal intensities. In layman’s term, white noise produces an even, consistent sound that is effective at drowning out disruptive noises that interfere with the quality of sleep. People who rely on the sound emitted by their fan or essential oil diffuser to fall asleep at night are utilizing white noise. In my experience, white noise is the easiest and cheapest method (it’s free) to fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer. And its benefits are backed by science.

In this study, broadband sound (a type of white noise) was administered to 18 healthy subjects. Researchers found that sleep onset latency (the time it takes to fall asleep) decreased by 38%, as well as the frequency of arousals from sleep during the night. Participants were also asked to rate their subjective sleep quality and they affirmed having slept better with the white noise. the authors of the study concluded, “These findings suggest that broadband sound administration might be helpful to minimize insomnia symptoms in selected individuals. “

Another study tested the effect of white noise on patients admitted to a coronary care (a hospital unit specializing in the care of patients with heart problems). The researchers discovered that patients for whom white noise was administered got more total sleep and stayed asleep longer than the control group. They concluded, “The use of white noise is recommended as a method for masking environmental noises, improving sleep, and maintaining sleep in the coronary care unit.”

One beautiful thing about white noise therapy is the great variety of options available to the user. iOS and Android applications enable the user to download free and premium white noise tracks while YouTube is a gold mine of white noise publications. Here I present you my two favorite white noise tracks, free to use on this website or download on your phone. The first track emits the sound of a smooth fan, ideal for the majority of people seeking to get a better night’s sleep. The second track is a little deeper and rougher but is equally effective at drowning out environmental noise. It is a personal favorite and I used it to fall asleep for years before switching to the smooth fan.

“Smooth Fan” White Noise Track:

“Deep Sounds” White Noise Track:

Conclusion:

Sometimes before bed I play white noise in the background due to sheer force of habit even in the absence of environmental noise. White noise has helped me sleep faster and deeper wherever I am in the world.

Music is the quickest way to induce feelings of happiness, sadness, anger, or excitement. Today I want to share two of my all-time favorite tracks for promoting healing and well-being. These songs are in the language of the Lakota, a Native American tribe inhabiting North and South Dakota. FYI, there are transcripts and translations you can check out in the comments.