Anya

“After three of four years of schooling, the nucleus basalis, which forms sharp memories in the brain, falls into disuse and decays. This is the part of the brain that makes learning so effortless for small children, and it is always activated in undomesticated humans. But neuroplasticity research has shown that damage to the nucleus basalis can be reversed by reintroducing activities involving highly focused attention, which results in massive increases in production of acetylcholine and dopamine. Using new skills under conditions of intense focus rewires billions of neural connections and reactivates the nucleus basalis. Loss of function in this part of the brain is not a natural stage of development--we are supposed to retain and even increase it throughout our lives. Until very recently in human history, we did.”
― Tyson Yunkaporta, Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World

“You can't maintain a culture that is based on retarding the development of half the population, particularly the half that is responsible for creating life.”
― Tyson Yunkaporta, Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World

“For some, the blackness or darkness of the Madonna remains unresolved. Some claim that the Madonna is black because she survived fires that destroyed all but her; others say that she was darkened by candle smoke. I say that she is dark because she has entered so many lives on fire, because she's absorbed so much suffering. Some conclude that the Madonna is black for no reason, that her darkness means nothing. Others say she is a symbol, an archetype, psyche's shadow. I say that the Black Madonna is all these things and that she is a black woman, a woman of color, a brown woman, a red woman, and more. She is not white. She is more, she includes all colors. She is dark because we come in so many colors, hues, and shades, and no one, no one is to be left out.”
― China Galland, Longing for Darkness: Tara and the Black Madonna

“If people are laughing, they are learning. True learning is a joy because it is an act of creation.”
― Tyson Yunkaporta, Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World