Consciousness as Medicine
Harvard Finds Meditation Increases Gray Matter in the Brain
"The results suggest that participation in mindfulness based stress reduction is associated with changes in gray matter concentration in brain regions involved in learning and memory processes, emotion regulation, self-referential processing, and perspective taking."
Click here to read the entire study published in 2011 in the journal, "Psychiatry Research."
“This study demonstrates that changes in brain structure may underlie some of these reported improvements and that people are not just feeling better because they are spending time relaxing,” said study senior author Sara Lazar of the Massachusetts General Hospital Psychiatric Neuroimaging Research Program and a Harvard Medical School instructor in psychology
Click here to read an article with interview quotes from Dr. Lazar.
Click here to read an article on the health benefits of silence.
Click here to read the entire study published in 2011 in the journal, "Psychiatry Research."
“This study demonstrates that changes in brain structure may underlie some of these reported improvements and that people are not just feeling better because they are spending time relaxing,” said study senior author Sara Lazar of the Massachusetts General Hospital Psychiatric Neuroimaging Research Program and a Harvard Medical School instructor in psychology
Click here to read an article with interview quotes from Dr. Lazar.
Click here to read an article on the health benefits of silence.
Healing Relationships Saving Wounded Warriors and Their Wolves
Loving relationships can transform our lives both emotionally and physically.
Click here to watch a video on youtube from an organization that pairs traumatized wolves with veteran soldiers.
Click here to watch a video on youtube from an organization that pairs traumatized wolves with veteran soldiers.
Consciously Controlling Your Immune System
In the late 19th century, Dr. Paul Erlich developed biochemical medicine. It was a big advance for European medicine at the time. In the 20th century the science of physics, the forces at the root of chemical existence, far outstripped the biochemical sciences. In the 21st century the cutting edge of research is into the way awareness and will interact to create our experience.
It is almost as if Dr. Tilopa, the developer of the methods discussed in this article, knew more a thousand years ago than Dr. Offit knows today.
"Alas, all things in this world are meaningless. They are but sorrow's seeds. Small teachings lead to acts. One should only follow teachings that are great." Tilopa
"The results of a study conducted with the use of Wim Hof method suggest that a person can learn to consciously control his immune responses.
Wim Hof is a Dutch world record holder who is famous worldwide for his ability to resist cold. For this incredible invulnerability to cold, he was commonly nicknamed “The Iceman."
Scientists led by Matthijs Kox of the Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, studied his method, which is somehow similar to the Tibetan Tummo technique (yoga of inner heat) and involves third-eye meditation, breathing exercises and cold exposure, and used it to train 12 volunteers to fend off inflammation."
Click here to read the article on the Mind Unleashed website.
"Hitherto, both the autonomic nervous system and innate immune system were regarded as systems that cannot be voluntarily influenced. The present study demonstrates that, through practicing techniques learned in a short-term training program, the sympathetic nervous system and immune system can indeed be voluntarily influenced." So state the researchers.
Click here to read the abstract of their study published in May, 2014 in the "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."
It is almost as if Dr. Tilopa, the developer of the methods discussed in this article, knew more a thousand years ago than Dr. Offit knows today.
"Alas, all things in this world are meaningless. They are but sorrow's seeds. Small teachings lead to acts. One should only follow teachings that are great." Tilopa
"The results of a study conducted with the use of Wim Hof method suggest that a person can learn to consciously control his immune responses.
Wim Hof is a Dutch world record holder who is famous worldwide for his ability to resist cold. For this incredible invulnerability to cold, he was commonly nicknamed “The Iceman."
Scientists led by Matthijs Kox of the Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, studied his method, which is somehow similar to the Tibetan Tummo technique (yoga of inner heat) and involves third-eye meditation, breathing exercises and cold exposure, and used it to train 12 volunteers to fend off inflammation."
Click here to read the article on the Mind Unleashed website.
"Hitherto, both the autonomic nervous system and innate immune system were regarded as systems that cannot be voluntarily influenced. The present study demonstrates that, through practicing techniques learned in a short-term training program, the sympathetic nervous system and immune system can indeed be voluntarily influenced." So state the researchers.
Click here to read the abstract of their study published in May, 2014 in the "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."
Complexity theory and panpsychism: Where is consciousness?
Dr. Neil Theise, Liver Pathologist and Stem Cell specialist, explains complexity theory, and how sentience could be a function not only of human brains, but of all life, and indeed, of all existence. Sentience, according to his view, is the very interaction that creates all patterns in the universe, including all matter and space.
Click here to watch the twenty two minute video in which he lays out the basics of the theory.
Click here to watch the twenty two minute video in which he lays out the basics of the theory.
Collective Consciousness Affects Random Computer Sampling
"When human consciousness becomes coherent, the behavior of random systems may change. Random number generators (RNGs) based on quantum tunneling produce completely unpredictable sequences of zeroes and ones. But when a great event synchronizes the feelings of millions of people, our network of RNGs becomes subtly structured. We calculate one in a trillion odds that the effect is due to chance. The evidence suggests an emerging noosphere or the unifying field of consciousness described by sages in all cultures."
Click here to visit the page on the website of Princeton University where this study is ongoing.
Click here to visit the page on the website of Princeton University where this study is ongoing.
Collective Consciousness is Real and Measurable
"In 1954 and 1960 Koenig and his colleagues described the remarkable similarities of spectral power density profiles and patterns between the earth-ionosphere resonance and human brain activity which also share magnitudes for both electric field (mV/m) and magnetic field (pT) components. In 2006 Pobachenko and colleagues reported real time coherence between variations in the Schumann and brain activity spectra within the 6–16 Hz band for a small sample.
Our results confirm the measurements reported by earlier researchers that demonstrated unexpected similarities in the spectral patterns and strengths of electromagnetic fields generated by the human brain and the earth-ionospheric cavity."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4718669/
Our results confirm the measurements reported by earlier researchers that demonstrated unexpected similarities in the spectral patterns and strengths of electromagnetic fields generated by the human brain and the earth-ionospheric cavity."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4718669/
Eating Soil Bacteria Reduces Anxiety, Improves Learning
"Collectively, our results suggest a beneficial effect of naturally delivered, live M. vaccae on anxiety-related behaviors and maze performance, supporting a positive role for ambient microbes in the immunomodulation of animal behavior."
Click here to read the study by researchers at The Sage Colleges, published in June, 2013 in the journal, "Behavioral Processes."
Click here to read the study by researchers at The Sage Colleges, published in June, 2013 in the journal, "Behavioral Processes."
Structure of the connection between the immune system and brain discovered
"In a stunning discovery that overturns decades of textbook teaching, researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have determined that the brain is directly connected to the immune system by vessels previously thought not to exist. That such vessels could have escaped detection when the lymphatic system has been so thoroughly mapped throughout the body is surprising on its own, but the true significance of the discovery lies in the effects it could have on the study and treatment of neurological diseases ranging from autism to Alzheimer’s disease to multiple sclerosis."
This finding supports the long held, clinically successful notion of a connection between the immune system, digestive system and brain that seems obvious in so many with autism.
Click here to read the entire article published in June, 2015 in Neuroscience News.
Click here to read the abstract published in the journal, "Nature" in July, 2015.
This finding supports the long held, clinically successful notion of a connection between the immune system, digestive system and brain that seems obvious in so many with autism.
Click here to read the entire article published in June, 2015 in Neuroscience News.
Click here to read the abstract published in the journal, "Nature" in July, 2015.
Biocognitive Theory
Meet Dr. Mario Martinez, a leader in utilizing systems thinking in the advance of human knowledge of ourselves and ways in which we can live whole and fulfilling lives.
"In biocognitive theory, individuals are seen as an inseparable bioinformational field of mind, body and cultural history in constant search for contextual meaning.
These fields define the known as inclusive and the unknown as exclusive. The fields (cultural perception) are contained within horizons that set off alarms when confronted with unknown or contradictory contexts.
The operative consciousness that is constituted from our cultural history and our biological foundation, determines how we respond to novelty in a contextual coauthoring that ranges from curiosity to panic."
Click here to visit the website of the Biocognitive Institute to learn more.
"In biocognitive theory, individuals are seen as an inseparable bioinformational field of mind, body and cultural history in constant search for contextual meaning.
These fields define the known as inclusive and the unknown as exclusive. The fields (cultural perception) are contained within horizons that set off alarms when confronted with unknown or contradictory contexts.
The operative consciousness that is constituted from our cultural history and our biological foundation, determines how we respond to novelty in a contextual coauthoring that ranges from curiosity to panic."
Click here to visit the website of the Biocognitive Institute to learn more.
Dr. Robert Lanza: The Theory of Biocentrism
"Bottom line is, reality involves your consciousness."
"Space and time are an illusion. Scientists are just beginning to grasp the non linear nature of reality."
"It is not just your consciousness that is the only one. It is our consciousness that is the only one."
"Scientists showed that you can retroactively change what happened in the past."
"Mathematics is just a way to quantify what is happening. It shouldn't be considered as a replacement for it."
"Space and time are not just out there. They are tools of your mind, of animal understanding."
"These comprehensive theories all fail to take into account one critical factor: that we are creating them."
"Science can't understand how consciousness can arise from matter."
"Watching an atom keeps it from changing."
This guy started genetically engineering chickens in his basement as a kid, forty years ago. Jonas Salk and a few others at Harvard discovered him and mentored him. He is often considered the father of cloning, having cloned a number of animals.
Here he introduces the theory he came up with in his early fifties, after thirty years on the front line of science as one of its most respected explorers.
To sum up, biocentrism sees life as the central process of existence, not a byproduct.
The philosophical implications of this theory are staggering. It means that our personal experience is relevant.
Click here to watch Part I of a talk by Dr. Lanza describing biocentrism. The video is nineteen minutes.
Click here to watch Part II. The video is twenty minutes.
Click here to read the wikipedia page of Dr. Lanza, considered by many inside the academy and out to be one of the leading life scientists of the age.
"Space and time are an illusion. Scientists are just beginning to grasp the non linear nature of reality."
"It is not just your consciousness that is the only one. It is our consciousness that is the only one."
"Scientists showed that you can retroactively change what happened in the past."
"Mathematics is just a way to quantify what is happening. It shouldn't be considered as a replacement for it."
"Space and time are not just out there. They are tools of your mind, of animal understanding."
"These comprehensive theories all fail to take into account one critical factor: that we are creating them."
"Science can't understand how consciousness can arise from matter."
"Watching an atom keeps it from changing."
This guy started genetically engineering chickens in his basement as a kid, forty years ago. Jonas Salk and a few others at Harvard discovered him and mentored him. He is often considered the father of cloning, having cloned a number of animals.
Here he introduces the theory he came up with in his early fifties, after thirty years on the front line of science as one of its most respected explorers.
To sum up, biocentrism sees life as the central process of existence, not a byproduct.
The philosophical implications of this theory are staggering. It means that our personal experience is relevant.
Click here to watch Part I of a talk by Dr. Lanza describing biocentrism. The video is nineteen minutes.
Click here to watch Part II. The video is twenty minutes.
Click here to read the wikipedia page of Dr. Lanza, considered by many inside the academy and out to be one of the leading life scientists of the age.
Brilliant Green: the Surprising History and Science of Plant Intelligence
If we consider that intelligence is the exchange of information we immediately recognize that our brain is only one of many systems of intelligence in our own being. We think of it as central but we can live for a time without a functioning brain. We cannot live more than a few minutes without a functioning heart or lungs.
This calls into question the supremacy of the brain and our rational thoughts, if indeed we have any. We often think of ourselves in terms of our tools. In the middle part of the century the dominant metaphor in medicine was the car, one of our most advanced daily tools. Now our dominant metaphor is the computer, and the body system most thought to act in the same way is the brain.
We call this view into question. When we consider all that we know about how the body works we see that the brain is important, but not more important than any other system. We also see that, in fact, neither we nor our brains operate at all like computers.
The study of plant intelligence, adaptation, survival and communication raises many more questions about the supremacy of the brain. It even calls into question the commonly considered five senses. How many senses do we really have?
Of particular interest to the question of collective health is the way plants communicate with each other and their various environmental conditions. What can we learn about our own biology, humanity and community from the study of plants? Will we conserve them long enough to find out?
"For centuries Western philosophy and science largely viewed animals as unthinking automatons, simple slaves to instinct. But research in recent decades has shattered that view. We now know that not only are chimpanzees, dolphins and elephants thinking, feeling and personality-driven beings, but many others are as well. Octopuses can use tools, whales sing, bees can count, crows demonstrate complex reasoning, paper wasps can recognise faces and fish can differentiate types of music. All these examples have one thing in common: they are animals with brains. But plants don’t have a brain. How can they solve problems, act intelligently or respond to stimuli without a brain?"
Click here to read a review of the new book on the science of plant intelligence from "The Guardian Newspaper."
Click here to watch the documentary film from 1979, "The Secret Life of Plants." The soundtrack was laid down by Stevie Wonder.
This calls into question the supremacy of the brain and our rational thoughts, if indeed we have any. We often think of ourselves in terms of our tools. In the middle part of the century the dominant metaphor in medicine was the car, one of our most advanced daily tools. Now our dominant metaphor is the computer, and the body system most thought to act in the same way is the brain.
We call this view into question. When we consider all that we know about how the body works we see that the brain is important, but not more important than any other system. We also see that, in fact, neither we nor our brains operate at all like computers.
The study of plant intelligence, adaptation, survival and communication raises many more questions about the supremacy of the brain. It even calls into question the commonly considered five senses. How many senses do we really have?
Of particular interest to the question of collective health is the way plants communicate with each other and their various environmental conditions. What can we learn about our own biology, humanity and community from the study of plants? Will we conserve them long enough to find out?
"For centuries Western philosophy and science largely viewed animals as unthinking automatons, simple slaves to instinct. But research in recent decades has shattered that view. We now know that not only are chimpanzees, dolphins and elephants thinking, feeling and personality-driven beings, but many others are as well. Octopuses can use tools, whales sing, bees can count, crows demonstrate complex reasoning, paper wasps can recognise faces and fish can differentiate types of music. All these examples have one thing in common: they are animals with brains. But plants don’t have a brain. How can they solve problems, act intelligently or respond to stimuli without a brain?"
Click here to read a review of the new book on the science of plant intelligence from "The Guardian Newspaper."
Click here to watch the documentary film from 1979, "The Secret Life of Plants." The soundtrack was laid down by Stevie Wonder.
Subatomic entaglement
What does the study of physics over the past century plus teach us about the nature of life and consciousness and health?
"The idea that correlation does not imply causation is well known to scientists and statisticians, but now physicists in Canada have shown that it is not always the case in the weird world of quantum mechanics..." and therefore in all macro phenomenon made up of quanta.
Click here to read the paper published in the journal, "Nature: Physics" in March, 2015.
Click here to read an article about the work on the website, "Physics World."
"The idea that correlation does not imply causation is well known to scientists and statisticians, but now physicists in Canada have shown that it is not always the case in the weird world of quantum mechanics..." and therefore in all macro phenomenon made up of quanta.
Click here to read the paper published in the journal, "Nature: Physics" in March, 2015.
Click here to read an article about the work on the website, "Physics World."
Emotional Stress, Trauma and Physical Pain
"Studies have shown that chronic pain might not only be caused by physical injury but also by stress and emotional issues. In particular, people who have experienced trauma and suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are often at a higher risk to develop chronic pain."
Click here to read the entire article, published in "Psychology Today" in April, 2010.
Click here to read the entire article, published in "Psychology Today" in April, 2010.
Scientists Discover it is Possible to Grow New Nerves
"Practices that increase neurogenesis include:
Calorie restriction of 20 to 30 percent
Intermittent fasting (i.e., spacing the time between your meals)
Intake of flavonoids, which are contained in dark chocolate or blueberries
Omega-3 fatty acids, present in fatty fish, like salmon...
learning, sex, and aerobic activity all increase neurogenesis."
Click here to read the article in the "Huffington Post" which discusses these new developments. It includes the video of the TED talk in which neuroscientist Sandrine Thuret explains how humans can indeed generate new brain cells.
Calorie restriction of 20 to 30 percent
Intermittent fasting (i.e., spacing the time between your meals)
Intake of flavonoids, which are contained in dark chocolate or blueberries
Omega-3 fatty acids, present in fatty fish, like salmon...
learning, sex, and aerobic activity all increase neurogenesis."
Click here to read the article in the "Huffington Post" which discusses these new developments. It includes the video of the TED talk in which neuroscientist Sandrine Thuret explains how humans can indeed generate new brain cells.
Emotional and Physical Trauma is Passed Through Generations Via DNA
"Genetic changes stemming from the trauma suffered by Holocaust survivors are capable of being passed on to their children, the clearest sign yet that one person’s life experience can affect subsequent generations.
The conclusion from a research team at New York’s Mount Sinai hospital led by Rachel Yehuda stems from the genetic study of 32 Jewish men and women who had either been interned in a Nazi concentration camp, witnessed or experienced torture or who had had to hide during the second world war.
They also analysed the genes of their children, who are known to have increased likelihood of stress disorders, and compared the results with Jewish families who were living outside of Europe during the war. “The gene changes in the children could only be attributed to Holocaust exposure in the parents,” said Yehuda."
Click here to read the article from August, 2015 in "The Guardian."
Click here to read the abstract of the study published in 2015 in the journal, "Biological Psychiatry."
The conclusion from a research team at New York’s Mount Sinai hospital led by Rachel Yehuda stems from the genetic study of 32 Jewish men and women who had either been interned in a Nazi concentration camp, witnessed or experienced torture or who had had to hide during the second world war.
They also analysed the genes of their children, who are known to have increased likelihood of stress disorders, and compared the results with Jewish families who were living outside of Europe during the war. “The gene changes in the children could only be attributed to Holocaust exposure in the parents,” said Yehuda."
Click here to read the article from August, 2015 in "The Guardian."
Click here to read the abstract of the study published in 2015 in the journal, "Biological Psychiatry."