Power of Ten: Placemaking of Third Places

On first sight, the term “Third Places” sounds self-deprecating (“not even in second place”?). On the contrary, actually “Third Places” are the “Great Good Places”, if you only could spend a minute or two to really understand the term: Third Places are “social condensers”.

"Social condensers" -- the place where citizens of a community or neighbourhood meet to develop friendships, discuss issues, and interact with others -- have always been an important way in which the community developed and retained cohesion and a sense of identity.

Ray Oldenburg (1989), in "The Great Good Place", calls these locations "third places." The first being the home and the second being work. These third places are crucial to a community for a number of reasons, according to Oldenburg. They are distinctive informal gathering places, they make people feel at home, they nourish relationships and a diversity of human contact, they help create a sense of place and community, they invoke a sense of civic pride, they provide numerous opportunities for serendipity, they promote companionship, they allow people to relax and unwind after a long day at work, they are socially binding, they encourage sociability instead of isolation, and they make life more colorful.

Project for Public Spaces (PPS) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people create and sustain public spaces that build stronger communities. Founded in 1975, PPS embraces the insights of Williams (Holy) Whyte, a pioneer in understanding the way people use public spaces. Today, PPS has become an internationally recognized center for best-practices, information, and resources about Placemaking.

PPS listed its Power of Ten (Cities need 10+ destinations,Destinations need 10+ places, Places need 10+ Activities or Thing To Do) for successful establishment / management of public places / Third Places or Placemaking.

Co-working facilities (Third Places) in their various forms (including the evolution or scaling up) are of course considered public places, just like many other commercial enterprises established for these purposes. Owners / Managers / Operators of Third Places should certainly follow this rule of the Power of Ten. I certainly wished I came across this rule much earlier on in my career.

From Cell-Biology to Self-Biology

I stayed awake for the webinar “Biology of Belief” that took place this morning from 2.00 am to 3.30am Malaysian local time. The webinar was presented by Dr. Bruce Lipton. The effort was well worth it. If you had missed the presentation, you could download the PDF file from his web-site at a later date.

The “Central Dogma” of modern orthodox biology is that life is controlled by genes (DNA) or the “Primacy of DNA”. However, Dr. Lipton argued for the “Primacy of the Environment” through Epigenetics --- the study of the molecular mechanisms by which the environment controls gene activity.

Environmental influences, including nutrition, stress, and emotions, can modify genes, without changing their basic blueprint, and these modifications can be passed on to future generations. DNA makes up only half the content of chromosomes; the other half consists of regulatory proteins, which are turning out to play as crucial a role in heredity as DNA.

Dr. Lipton rejects the orthodox idea that the nucleus is the cell’s brain. If their nuclei and genes are removed, cells can survive for up to two months or more. They continue to exhibit complex, coordinated, life-sustaining behaviours, but eventually die – not because they have lost their brain but because they have lost their reproductive capabilities and are unable to replace failed proteins or replicate themselves. In other words, the nucleus is the cell’s gonad.

Confusing the gonad with the brain is an understandable error because science has always been and still is a patriarchal endeavor. Males have often been accused of thinking with their gonads, so it’s not entirely surprising that science has inadvertently confused the nucleus with the cell’s brain! (Male chauvinism beware!)

Dr. Lipton proposes that the true brain controlling cellular life is the membrane – the ‘magical mem-brain’, as he calls it.

Instead of the cell’s operations being controlled by DNA blueprints stored in the nucleus, as conventional biology would have us believe, Dr. Lipton proposes that this is done by integral membrane proteins (IMPs) – which include receptor (awareness) and effector (action) proteins. The membrane’s effector proteins, operating in response to molecular and radiant-energy signals which its receptors pick up from the environment, control the ‘reading’ of genes so that worn-out proteins can be replaced or new proteins created.

The cell’s operations are therefore primarily moulded by its interaction with the environment, not by its genetic code. Genes cannot preprogram a cell or an organism’s life, because cell survival depends on the ability to dynamically adjust to an ever-changing environment.

Most interestingly and importantly, “the environment” includes our own perception of things (i.e. our thoughts) or self-awareness. The well-known placebo effect dramatically demonstrates the healing power of the mind: ‘fake’ drugs often prove just as effective as genuine chemical cocktails, provided patients believe they are receiving the ‘real thing’.

The opposite of the placebo effect is the nocebo effect. Negative thinking – including the hope-deflating messages that physicians sometimes convey to their patients – can damage health.

Of course, we have the famous NLP (Neuro-Linguistic-Programming) stuffs that assert that perception and self-awareness determines reality. You are what you think or “I think, therefore I am”.

So, it is really Mind over Matter or Cell-Biology to Self-Biology or Solopreneur in our entrepreneurial language.

Surthrival .... thriving through all circumstances

This is my 100th post in this blog. Cheers!

This also marked the day the King-of-Pop, Michael Jackson, passed away in America on 25th June 2009, just one day after I created on 24th June 2009 my new blog called Bumisohology.

In the spirit of Bumisohology (interconnectedness, survival, thrive and fate ... SURTHRIVAL ... thriving through all circumstances), I like to dedicate this blog to his memory.

Indeed, in the spirit of Bumisohology!

Bumi-Soho-Logy to provide Fresh Perspective to Malaysian & Global Politics

A new blog (aptly called Bumi-Soho-Logy)has been created to provide new and fresh (w)holistic perspective (local, global, cosmic or universal) to Malaysian and global politics.

“Bumi”=soil or local in Malay, rendering a local perspective, “SOHO”=Solar Heliospheric Observatory, rendering a global perspective, “Logy”=Logos or Spirit, rendering a cosmic or universal perspective. This is also equivalent to Earth / Heaven / Man (地，天，人) of Confucianism / Taoism.

As a starter, there is even an interesting poll / survey that viewers can participate, and view the results for yourself:

From Hung-over to Meeting in just seconds (上一秒宿醉，下一秒开会)

Property developer Shimao Group is promoting Gongsan Plaza, a new development between Workers' Stadium and Sanlitun in Beijing, with a series of “amusing” eye-catching ads (particularly so if you are conversant in Chinese).

The whole campaign plays up the development's central location, telling harried white-collars that working long hours doesn't mean they can't enjoy a healthy nightlife.

Of course, such “convenience” could also be realized by those working in SOHO (although this is not to be encouraged) or joining the Co-working / Co-housing concept, which is one of the original design features of SOHOMINIUM.

Fortunately (or unfortunately), there are people who actually lead such a life-style to take advantage of the conveniences offered by property developers.

Free Webinar: Biology of Belief (Mind Over Genes)

For those who believe in the Law of Attraction, you might want to attend a FREE Webinar on The Biology of Belief: Mind Over Genes

Presented by: Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. and Introduction by Rollin McCraty, Ph.D.
Date: Saturday, June 27, 2009
Time: 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. (PST, USA)

(Malaysian local time: Sunday, June 28, 2009 at 2.00am – 3.00am)

In the face of global crises in health, home and heart, advances in science are creating a genuine revolution in thought and understanding, one so radical that it can change the world. New discoveries in cell biology, epigenetics and physics demonstrate that we are not victims of our genes but instead have unlimited capacity to live a life overflowing with peace, happiness and love.

Cell biologist and bestselling author, Bruce H. Lipton will take you on a fast-paced journey from the microcosm of the cell to the macrocosm of the mind. This informative and self-empowering presentation on the mechanics of the mind-body interaction reveals how our "learned" perceptions control behavior, regulate gene expression and even contribute to the rewriting of our genetic code.

This presentation will inspire your spirit, engage your mind and challenge your creativity, as you comprehend the enormous potential for applying this information in your life.

Space is limited, so reserve your FREE Webinar seat now at: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/698855386

The FREE Webinar is organized by the Institute of HeartMath through its Global Coherence Initiative program.

Interpretation of Middle Kingdom in reference to China

With reference to the recently concluded visit to Malaysia by Singaporean Minister Mentor Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, our former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir, gave an interesting interpretation of the phrase Middle Kingdom --- a popular term in reference to China or things Chinese, both ancient and modern. He gave the distinct impression that “Middle” was equivalent to “Centre”, thus having the implied meaning of centripetal or centrifugal force or simply being dominant centre (中心).

Historically and (perhaps more importantly), philosophically speaking, the word “Middle” actually refers to “Harmony” or “Not Lacking or In Excess” or “Balance” or “Middle-Path” (中庸).

This is well and amply illustrated by the concept / philosophy of Ying-Yang in the famous Book of Change (Yi-jing), Tao-Te-Jing (Taoism), Confucianism (Middle-Path Way) and Chinese Medicine (Balance of Hot-Cold). In fact, the very essence of the “Chinese-ness” is this very “Middle-ness”.

Unfortunately, this correct interpretation of “Middle” is not well understood even by many Chinese mainlanders when asked what “Chinese Medicine” is. It is not “Medicine practiced by the Chinese”. Rather, it is “Medicine of the Balance of Ying-Yang or Harmony or Medicine of the Middle-Path or Balance”.

The world will suddenly / certainly be a better and safer place to live if everyone (certainly including China / Chinese) interpreted “Middle” as “Harmony” (中庸) rather than “Centre” (中心).

This is also the spirit of the SOHO Technology 3.0 approach.