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Monday, March 24th, 2014

8 Ancient Beliefs Now Backed By Modern Science

Author:     ALENA HALL
Source:     The Huffington Post
Publication Date:     03/21/2014 8:23 am EDT
 Link: 8 Ancient Beliefs Now Backed By Modern Science
Stephan:   This essay is pretty superficial. Acupuncture for instance dates far earlier that the Chinese. Otzi the ice man a naturally preserved mummy dating to 3,300 BCE -- over 5,000 years ago -- has acupuncture point tattoos to guide his self-administration. And the research that supports the case about the veracity of ancient knowledge is actually much more extensive than suggested here. But I am using it, because it makes the important point that empirically derived healing insights, arising from generations of close observation, can be just as insightful as modern medicine.

The Earth may not be flat nor is it the center of the universe, but that doesn’t mean old-world intellectuals got everything wrong. In fact, in recent years, modern science has validated a number of teachings and beliefs rooted in ancient wisdom that, up until now, had been trusted but unproven empirically.

A full 55 pages of Arianna Huffington’s new book, Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder, are dedicated to these scientific breakthroughs that often confirm the power of ancient psychology and contemplative practices. On an intuitive level, we’ve known for centuries that these lifestyle practices can help us lead happy, healthy and balanced lives. But now, with the support of hard science, we can embrace these pieces of ancient wisdom and start really living them.

Here are eight ancient beliefs and practices that have been confirmed by modern science.

Helping others can make you healthier.
helping others

In their never-ending search for the best way to live, Greek philosophers argued over the relative benefits of hedonic and eudaimonic happiness. Hedonic well-being sees happiness as a factor of increased pleasure and decreased pain, while eudaimonic (“human flourishing”) happiness has more to do with having […]

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