Tibetan Dolls and Brain Changes on a New Blog

My dear friends, Kristin Blancke and Franco Pizzi (who organize tours of India, Nepal, Tibet, and Bhutan for Italian, French, and Belgian travelers through their company Viaggi in Asia), have a new blog (in Italian). They’re off to a good start with two fascinating posts:

Brains Can Change

The first speaks of the intriguing field of neuroplasticity. It turns out that brain development does not end with childhood! (This assertion is actually an essential underpinning for Buddhist practice — that through our efforts we can change our own minds. Exciting new research demonstrates that those mind changes actually show up in our brains.) Scientists at the University of Wisconsin have used sophisticated brain scanning equipment (fMRI and EEG) to examine the effects on brain activity of meditation practice and the cultivation of emotional states, such as compassion. Here’s a link to a one-hour Dan Rather report on brain plasticity covering the University of Wisconsin research and others, and including an interview with the Dalai Lama. Two books have been written by participants in the experiment. The Joy of Living: Unlocking the Secret & Science of Happiness by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche is excellent and life-affirming — a joy to read! I have not yet read Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life’s Most Important Skill by Matthieu Ricard but I’m looking forward to doing so soon.

Dolls 4 Tibet

With their second post, Franco and Kristin introduce us to Mona, a German textile artist living in Dharamsala. Motivated by her search for healthy and interesting toys for her own daughter, Mona applied her creative talents to designing endearing cloth dolls. Each doll is dressed in the traditional costume of a Tibetan region and is identified with a name and a story. They’re made of natural fibers and are produced by a small team of Tibetan women working under Mona’s direction. Take a look at the photos and videos here. (If you follow the links to YouTube, click on “watch in high-quality” for smooth viewing. The videos are in English after the first introduction.)