Prayers, do they help?

Have you ever seen prayers work for a patient? There is a common belief that if you pray for someone, somehow, it helps him/her to recover! Personally, I have never seen one. We hear a lot of stories that someone was told that s/he had a incurable disease and miraculously s/he got better! I think it actually shows we do not know much about diseases. Still we cannot predict the behavior of cancers. The number we usually quote for our patients are population based. For example, end stage breast cancer has a very poor prognosis and 5 year survival is less than 20%. One patient may die in 2 months and another lives more than 5 years! You can easily convince yourself that praying help patients to live longer!
What about storms or earthquakes or flood? Do they help?

Iran

Brilliant shot from Saeed Abbasi

Childish superstition

"Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind."
This quote from Einstein has been very popular and many people are convinced that he was a religious man! I recently saw a documentary on Canadian TV showing he was a member of faith. I think this letter helps to understand his position on belief. Dawkins thinks that Einstein used "God" as a metaphor rather than an independent entity who created the universe.

L'Anse Aux Meadows

20080426_14, originally uploaded by Iman Ghaderi.

Yesterday, I visited L'Anse Aux Meadows. Originally, a french name "L'Anse aux Meduses," meaning "Jellyfish Bay."!
"L'Anse aux Meadows is the only known Norse site in North America outside of Greenland, represents the farthest known extent of European exploration and settlement of the New World before the voyages of Christopher Columbus and John Cabot almost 500 years later, and is the only genuine evidence of pre-Columbian contact between the New and Old Worlds."

I think that Norwegian can claim that they discovered "America". The question is if they knew that they were the first people! The site will be open in June, Tourist season. I heard that they serve you sea foods and they dress in viking custom! maybe some Pinnekjøtt :))

Newfie dialect

Before coming to Newfoundland, I already knew that Newfoundlanders or Newfies are the subject of many jokes in Canada. Is their accent or dialect funny? I do not think so! They definitely have an accent. Sometimes I need to ask a question twice, because I have accent too, or ask them to repeat what they say! I think it is a universal thing that every nation makes fun of a minority and Canadians are not exception! Is it acceptable? of course not!

Fishing point, St Anthony

20080419_99_1, originally uploaded by Iman Ghaderi.

Yesterday I met a local man at the fishing point. Every day, many people drive to this point to watch the ocean and floating icebergs with their binoculars. Here people are very open and friendly. They easily approach you to chat. We nodded to each other. He was looking through his binocular and told me to take a look. There was a huge iceberg in horizon. He talked about the behaviors of icebergs and the time one may see them. Then we talked about St Anthony and its nature. We both agreed that it is fascinating. He went on talking about life and the value of moments and how most people are in rush and do not enjoy their lives. I found him very articulate and wise. I asked him about his profession and education. He introduced himself as an average guy who wished to have a wise mentor when he was young to avoid mistakes he made in his life. I enjoyed talking to this local man. It has been a long time that I did not have such a thought provoking conversation with a person I did not know. I feel that I know these people for a long time!

St Anthony, NL - 1

It is about 10 days that I came to St Anthony. I found it very interesting place. I think its nature, people and the surgical experience I will get from my stay make it unique. Weather is nice and snow is melting. I drove around the coast yesterday. It was a sunny day. I went to see the Viking historical site but unfortunately, it won't be opened until June, tourists season! I took many pictures. Every scenes is spectacular. People are very friendly and they say hello or wave their hands when they see you!
There are a lot of things that I would like to write about. I am hoping to get my Internet connection in my room to be able to write every night!

St Anthony, NL

I am wrting this post at St John's Airport. Thanks to free internet!I can write while waiting for my flight to St Anthony. I have been looking forward to my rural surgery rotation in St Anthony since last year. I am planning to take many pictures from beautiful nature in my spare time. I am not sure if I will have any!

Spring breeze

These days you probably have noticed that I am writing about religion and life. Couple of days ago, I was in Starbucks at Chapters with a friend. We were sipping on our cafe latte, my favorite, and chatting about religion and its effect on life. We were talking about our experience, say a journey from religious kids to secular adults. He had a good point. He was saying that believing in god or religion is not in our nature. If we do not impose it to children, they won't become religious. I agree with him. I noticed most of religious parents are quite concerned about their kids not losing their faith! They have to reinforce it all the time. Preachers threat people that they will burn in hellfire if they do not stick to it They target human beings' fear and weakness due to vulnerability and uncertainty! Life without imposed fear is quite an experience. It is like spring breeze!

Tiny existence in the vast universe!

The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference.

Charles Darwin

I think this is the best way to describe the world. Then, you do not need to look for the mystery behind any disaster. There is no testing or supernatural act nor punishment! People do not get cancer or die in flood because of their sins!It is because of our tiny existence in this vast universe!
By the way what is sin?

Were they all stoned?

I am wondering if other people who claimed to be prophets were high on drug like Moses according to Benny Shanon at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. This part is interesting, He says "As far as Moses on Mount Sinai is concerned, it was either a supernatural cosmic event, which I don't believe, or a legend, which I don't believe either. Or finally, and this is very probable, an event that joined Moses and the people of Israel under the effect of narcotics."

There is a phenomenon that some theologians talk about: religious experience . I became familiar with this concept few years ago when I was interested in mysticism!The problem is that our brain is very powerful and can drive us anywhere we like or wish! you just need to believe it. Moses was on Mount Sinai when God spoke to him, Mohammad was in a cave for meditation where, according to muslims, he received his first revelation from God!and the last claimed prophet , Bahá'u'lláh, had mystical experiences while he was in a dark prison, Síyáh-Chál. He claimed that he received a vision of a Maiden from God!
Do you see any pattern here? depends on your beliefs or not having beliefs, you will have different interpretation.
By the way, you think what would have been the reaction of muslims if someone had publish similar theory about Mohammad!


Read this and this too.

Happy Darwin day!

Hell is hot like hell

Hell is hot like hell! As far as I remember, I have been told that if I "do" this or "do not" do that I would end up in hell! Have you ever thought about the psychological effect of such threat especially when you are very young?
I like this Khayyam's Rubaii ( Khayyam 1048–1131, an Iranian atheist poet, mathematician, philosopher and astronomer)

Oh, threats of Hell and Hopes of Paradise!
One thing at least is certain--This Life flies;
One thing is certain and the rest is Lies;
The Flower that once has blown for ever dies.

To a friend

I do not think there is any first or last race or competition if you live on a daily basis. We never know what comes next so why bother. Things are important if we wish to! Life is not a game to win or lose. Loser or winner, life goes on and we forget. The train of life does not stop. We could be like the driver and just look at horizon and be excited about what is going to be next or to be a passenger who enjoys watching the scenes, even in the desert or like a person at the end of the train who looks at the past!
If one day, you decide to try a different life in this part of the world, do not forget you have a friend who enjoys watching the scenes on the train of life!


Peace
Iman

Dictators!

I think dictators are like cancer. Sometime they stay in power for a long time. Too long that they weaken their people and country.People get use to them. If you remove the dictator(s), you destroy the country too! see Iraq and Afghanistan! Yes, dictatorship is an unresectable malignant disease in a weakened host! Host should be strengthened to get rid of this disease on its own! p

Burma, is there any end?

I have been following news from Burma. It was 2 years ago that I heard the song " unplayed piano". Damine Rice dedicated this piece to Burma,its people and Aung San Suu Kyi. She won the Nobel peace prize in 1991 for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights. In 1990, despite detention of Suu Kyi,National League for Democracy party,NLD, won election with 82% of parliamentary seats. The dictator regime refused to recognise results.
Monks have been protesting against the tyrant government and now people are getting killed. It is sad to see there are many countries in the world are run by dictators who do not care about anything but their power!



Check these out, US campaign for Burma , Burma compaign UK.

Life

I am getting by,
Life goes on,
Time flies,
I do not count the days anymore!
Some days when I go to work very early, it is chilly out there,
It reminds me those old days,15 years ago
You said that "life is a dream". Maybe it is. For many people it becomes a nightmare when they wake up!

Going to a town

I recently discovered Rufus Wainwright. He is very talented and has a beautiful voice. I just got new album, "release the stars" . His low key masterpiece, Going to a town is gorgeous.It is political in nature. He shows his disappointment about intolerance, prejudice and,... in America.

I'm going to a town that has already been burned down
I'm going to a place that has already been disgraced
I'm gonna see some folks who have already been let down
I'm so tired of America
I'm gonna make it up for all of the Sunday times
I'm gonna make it up for all of the nursery rhymes
They never really seem to want to tell the truth
I'm so tired of you, America
Making my own way home
Ain't gonna be alone
I got a life to lead, America
I got a life to lead
Tell me,Do you really think you go to hell for having love?
Tell me, And laugh at thinking everything that you've done is good?
I really need to know
After soaking the body of Jesus Christ in blood
I'm so tired of America
I really need to know I may just never see you again Or might as well
You took advantage of a world that loved you well
I'm going to a town that has already been burned down
I'm so tired of you, America
Making my own way home
Ain't gonna be alone
I got a life to lead, America
I got a life to lead
I got a soul to feed
I got a dream to need
And that's all I need
Making my own way home Ain't gonna be alone
I'm going to a town that has already been burned down

Reason, desire and religion

"What a man believes upon grossly insufficient evidence is an index into his desires -- desires of which he himself is often unconscious. If a man is offered a fact which goes against his instincts, he will scrutinize it closely, and unless the evidence is overwhelming, he will refuse to believe it. If, on the other hand, he is offered something which affords a reason for acting in accordance to his instincts, he will accept it even on the slightest evidence. The origin of myths is explained in this way." Bertrand Russell

Realistic photography!

I got bored with "realistic" photography! standard! do we have the same perception about reality! why do majority of people see things in a same way? is there only one reality or several? maybe it depends on the angle we see things! or we are watching the world from the same spot! I think you can see a scene from different angles!