Scientific perspectives on rebirth

This paper is concerned with the way in which monistic ?aiva ideas about the body relate to religious practices. For the ?aiva monist, the body is both identical with the pure consciousness of ?iva and is a result of the projection of his consciousness as the hierarchical cosmos. This paper examines how these ideas are reflected in ?aiva religious practices focused on the body, which intend to realize the body as divine. In this connection ?aiva visionary yoga and the transformation of emotion and instinct are considered. But perhaps the most striking and controversial use of the body is in the practices of the esoteric ?aiva liturgy, which uses desire as a means of expanding consciousness beyond the limits prescribed by vedic orthodoxy.     

Capturing Situational Information with Smartphones and Mobile Sensing Methods

Smartphones are pervasive companions to many people as they go about their daily lives. In addition, they are equipped with a wide array of sensors making it possible to measure objective information about people and situations, many times, with great fidelity, over long periods of time, in a way that is both unobtrusive and ecologically valid. Therefore, we argue that smartphones and other forms of mobile sensing are ideally suited to measuring situations. In particular, we describe how sensing methods can be used to assess situational cues, characteristics and classes. Copyright © 2015 European Association of Personality Psychology