Consultant Paediatrician MBBS DCH MD
Sri Lanka 🇱🇰
Joined December 2021
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Dr Ananda Kodituwakku retweeted
Walk For Peace: Walking Peace Into the World ☸️
Right now in the United States, an inspiring pilgrimage is still unfolding: the Walk for Peace - a long-distance journey begun on October 26, 2025, from the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth, Texas, headed toward Washington, D.C.
Led by Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara, monks walk day after day - often more than 20 miles - offering simple "peace sharing" talks at lunch stops and again at night, meeting communities with quiet presence rather than slogans.
And walking with them is the beloved rescue dog Aloka - now a symbol of faithful companionship and hope on this ~2,300-mile path across multiple states (Texas through the Southeast, up toward Virginia and D.C.).
To us, this isn't just a journey of feet. It's a visible prayer: that peace is practiced, not preached. Each step says, "May hatred soften. May hearts remember they belong to one family."
If you've ever felt the world is too loud, this walk is a reminder: compassion can still move across the earth - and people will gather to meet it. 🙏
#Buddhism #Buddha #Buddhist #WalkForPeace #AlokaThePeaceDog #Aloka #Monks #UnitedStates #compassion #Metta #Kindness #KindnessMatters #MindfulLiving #MindfulMovement #Mindfulness #Mindful #meditation #Meditate #Dharma #DharmaTalk #SpiritualJourney #spiritualawakening #spirituality #SaturdayMorning
Dr Ananda Kodituwakku retweeted
Exercise is a brain drug. Here’s the biology behind it
New review in Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience breaks down how exercise boosts brain BDNF, the key molecule for learning and memory.
What matters most:
1. Exercise reliably increases brain BDNF, a driver of neuroplasticity and neurogenesis
2. BDNF supports memory, learning, mood, and stress resilience
3. Blocking BDNF signaling removes many cognitive benefits of exercise
How exercise raises BDNF:
4) Neuronal activity increases calcium signaling and gene expression
5) Increased cerebral blood flow activates endothelial BDNF production
6) Muscle and liver release exerkines like lactate, irisin, IGF-1, and ketones that signal the brain
7) Brain BDNF comes from neurons, blood vessels, and peripheral organs working together
Exercise isn’t just movement, it’s a whole body signal that rewires the brain from the inside out.
Dr Ananda Kodituwakku retweeted
The gut-brain axis integrates 4 primary streams of signals:
🧠 1. Neural Pathway
The vagus nerve and enteric nervous system (ENS) transmit afferent signals from the gut to the brain. Microbial metabolites and host-derived neurotransmitters (e.g., serotonin, dopamine, GABA) influence mood, cognition, and stress responses. Enteroendocrine and enterochromaffin cells release neuroactive compounds in response to microbial cues.
🧬 2. Endocrine Pathway
The gut microbiota modulates HPA axis activity through changes in gut barrier integrity, circulating metabolites, and stress hormones. Cortisol, released from the adrenal cortex, affects both systemic inflammation and brain function. Microbiota-regulated hormones such as GLP-1, CCK, and ghrelin further influence appetite, mood, and behavior.
🦠 3. Immune Pathway
Microbial antigens (PAMPs) and metabolites interact with intestinal immune cells (e.g., Th1, Th17, dendritic cells), influencing systemic and neuroinflammatory tone. Elevated cytokines like TNF-α, IL-1, and IL-6 have been linked to blood-brain barrier disruption, depression, and cognitive impairment.
🔁 4. Metabolic Pathway
The gut microbiota ferments dietary components (e.g., fiber, protein, bile acids) into signaling molecules including:
-SCFAs (butyrate, propionate)
-Secondary bile acids
-Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs)
These metabolites affect energy regulation, neurotransmission, and epigenetic signaling within the CNS and peripheral tissues.
PMID: 37404311
Dr Ananda Kodituwakku retweeted
True greatness does not rise above — it bends low, like water finding its own level. And in that humility, there is strength the world cannot comprehend.
Dr Ananda Kodituwakku retweeted
#Vss365 #AcrosticPoem:achievable #poetry
🅐bandon grasping
🅒hoose stillness
🅗old nothing
🅘nward focus
🅔go loosens
🅥oid opens
🅐wareness widens
🅑reath steadies
🅛ove expands
🅔ffort dissolves
#OurPoetryX #FoxProse #Only8Words #monoku⤵️
Dr Ananda Kodituwakku retweeted
She gave her cub to the rangers 😭😭, mother's love heightest by far ❤
Readers added context they thought people might want to know
This video is AI-generated, not a real lioness giving her cub to rangers. Lionesses fiercely protect cubs from humans, not hand them over. Artifacts include lioness with male genitalia and static background animals.
popsci.com/technology/how…
nypost.com/2025/11/05/sci…
conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.11…
news18.com/viral/lioness-…
Dr Ananda Kodituwakku retweeted
Svākkhāto Bhagavatā Dhammo
Sanditthiko akāliko ehipassiko opanayiko
Paccattaṃ veditabbo viññūhīti ☸️
“Ehipassiko” means ‘come and see yourself’ is extremely imp to understand, it is to walk on the path of Dhamma n experience it yourself.. do not rely just on reading/listening (even to my X or YouTube account) but experience it yourself thru your own awareness.
May you be happy.
#buddhism #buddhisminindia
ABBA News – All Projects In 2025 | From Benny, Björn, Frida, Agnetha
Source: YouTube
Shared via the Google app search.app/?link=https://www…
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Dr Ananda Kodituwakku retweeted
A new blood biomarker for Alzheimer's disease accurately tracks Tau protein aggregate build up in the brain nature.com/articles/s41591-0…
Dr Ananda Kodituwakku retweeted
What is called ‘mind’ is a wondrous power residing in the Self. It causes all thoughts to arise. Apart from thoughts, there is no such thing as mind. Therefore, thought is the nature of the mind. Apart from thoughts, there is no independent entity called the world.
~ Sri Ramana
Observe our emotions without immediate judgement 🙏🪷
Shantideva: The Master of Mindful Compassion ☸️
Today, we remember the Great Buddhist Master Shantideva who started his journey as a humble monk in the bustling monastery of Nalanda. Known initially for his quiet demeanour, some of his peers even doubted his spiritual depth.
But when invited to teach, he significantly changed our understanding of compassion and mindfulness.
Shantideva's masterpiece, the "Bodhicaryavatara" or "The Way of the Bodhisattva," beautifully illustrates how compassion and mindfulness work together. He explained mindfulness using relatable analogies, such as patience acting like a protective armour.
Just as armour safeguards warriors from physical harm, patience shields us from emotional turmoil and impulsive reactions.
One simple yet powerful teaching from Shantideva says:
"If the problem can be solved, why worry? If the problem cannot be solved, worrying will do you no good."
This insight reminds us that mindfulness isn't about escaping life's difficulties but facing them wisely and compassionately.
Today, let's remember the Buddhist Master Shantideva's gentle wisdom by observing our emotions without immediate judgment. Like him, we can transform life's challenges into moments of growth and compassion. 🙏🙏🙏
#Buddhism #Buddha #Buddhist #MindfulLiving #Mindfulness #Mindful #books #BookReview #BooksWorthReading #Peace #Meditation #Meditate #Dhyana #Dharma #SpiritualJourney #SPIRITUAL #compassion #Kindness #Wisdom #Shantideva #InnerGrowth
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