tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60066221377528075592024-03-13T10:21:00.351-07:00Neuroscience and PsiSheila Joshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789487768317341942noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6006622137752807559.post-10717965292323897412013-07-28T08:28:00.000-07:002013-07-28T08:28:39.412-07:00Omega-3: Part II: Psi-facilitative effects<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]-->In the sampling of ancient cultural traditions in Part I of
this essay, it could it be seen that, for hundreds and thousands of years,
people have associated Omega-3-rich fish with desirable life factors like physical
health, mental health, happiness, prosperity, fertility, and luck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It also emerged that people have linked fish
with mystical, occult, or esoteric knowledge or abilities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is implicit throughout the traditions in
that fish are associated with magical transformations and spiritual faith, but
it is made explicit in the case of story of the astrological sign Pisces, the
Capricorn’s tail, and the Quranic story of the revivified fish representing
mystical knowledge.
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It is also striking how often the ancient narratives involve
two fish or the meeting of two things to become one fish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This can be seen in the Taoist Yin Yang
symbol, Buddhism, the creation myth from Mali, West Africa, the Greek myth, the
vesica pisces being the result of two circles, the Pisces astrological symbol,
the Mesoamerican Maya creation myth, and the Quranic story of two types of
knowledge meeting via the fish.</div>
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There are many kinds of dualities into which we humans
divide our world, but the prevailing duality captured by these stories is
matter v. spirit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fish in the
stories represent the transformation of one into the other.</div>
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If these ancient cultural narratives were accurately tapping
into the neurological and psychological benefits of Omega-3-rich fish, is it
possible that they were also tapping into the psi-facilitative benefits of
Omega-3 in fish?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this essay, we will
explore the hypothesis that Omega-3 is psi-facilitative, and speculate about
some possible biophysics models of how this might work.</div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">Overall plan for this essay</span></b></div>
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First of all, what would psi facilitation look like?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Possibly it would vary a lot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For some people it might just look like Flow
– greater comfort and success in the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>For some people it might look like a moderate increase in intuition,
synchronicity, the occasional precognitive dream.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And for some it might look like a leap in
clairvoyance or communication with transpersonal beings.</div>
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Now, what evidence do we have that Omega-3 consumption
correlates with greater psi?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not much
yet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have only been able to find one
striking piece of research involving brainwaves – we will look that that
first.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, we’ll speculate about how
Omega-3 or algae might be psi-friendly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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This has been a confusing essay to organize, so I’m
including the outline at the beginning as a map of the territory to help orient
you.</div>
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I.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Brainwaves</div>
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II.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The cell
membrane:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bruce Lipton</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>a.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Omega-3 mechanisms of action</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>b.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Omega-3 and cell membrane flexibility</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>c.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bruce Lipton on the cell membrane</div>
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III.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Entanglement:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dean Radin</div>
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a.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Dean Radin on quantum coherence and entanglement in living systems</div>
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b.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Quantum coherence and entanglement in algae and bacteria</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>c.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Molecular vibration of Omega-3</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>d.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Crawford et al. on quantum effects in DHA</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>e.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Omega-3 facilitates quantum coherence and
entanglement</div>
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IV.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Microtubules:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stuart Hameroff</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>a.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stuart Hameroff on microtubules</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>b.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Omega-3 and microtubules</div>
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V.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Morphic
fields:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rupert Sheldrake</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>a.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The natural history of algae</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>b.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why does algae produce Omega-3?</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>i.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Human brains also produce Omega-3 during
growth and stress</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>c.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The natural history of Omega-3 (especially
DHA)</div>
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d.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Rupert Sheldrake on morphic fields</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>i.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How morphic resonance makes psi possible</div>
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e.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Omega-3, the human brain, evolution, morphic resonance, and psi</div>
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Directions for further exploration</div>
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My personal experience with Omega-3 and psi</div>
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Caveat Vorator</div>
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<b><span style="color: navy;">I.</span></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>=================<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b><span style="color: navy;">Brainwaves</span></b></div>
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In a 2005 paper, researchers at the University of Siena
studied the effects of 35 days of supplementation by 2.8 g Omega-3 on healthy
subjects’ cognition, attention, memory, mood, and reaction time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The period of Omega-3 supplementation
improved the subjects’ performance in every way, but for our purposes here, the
really interesting result was that every EEG recording in every condition
showed a shift to less beta and more alpha and theta brainwave
frequencies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“An EEG frequency shift
towards the theta and alpha band were recorded in all the tests after Omega-3”
(Fontani et al., 2005, p. 691).</div>
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<span style="color: navy;">“The frequency distribution showed
a shift towards low frequencies in all recordings after Omega-3 supplementation
(Table 3); this effect was absent in the tests performed by the P [placebo]
group. In particular, after Omega-3 the percentage of the beta-2 band decreased
significantly in all the tests and in the relaxation period. Its reduction was
accompanied by a concomitant increase of the theta and alpha bands (Table 3)”
(Fontani et al., p. 696).</span></div>
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There is some research evidence and anecdotal evidence that
slower brainwaves like alpha and theta (and also even slower delta and the
faster gamma) may be correlated with greater psi.</div>
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Neuroscientist and psychic researcher Michael Persinger, PhD
has done extensive research on the influence of electromagnetic and geomagnetic
influences on the brain and psi (Wiki).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He has looked at alpha, theta, and delta waves, and found various
correlations of interest with the creation of consciousness in general, altered
states including transcendence, experiencing an immaterial presence,
entrainment between two brains at a distance, and other psi or spiritual
phenomena (Persinger, 1984; Persinger, 1999; Persinger et al., 2003; Richards
et al., 2002).</div>
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Sociologist and energy healer<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bill Bengston, Ph.D., working with Luke
Hendricks, and Jay Gunkelman showed that when Bengston put his hands on someone
who wanted healing, Bengston’s EEG showed a brainwave frequency of about 7.81
Hz, which is the borderline between alpha and theta.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Furthermore, after awhile, the recipient’s
EEG showed an entrained brainwave (Bengston & Fraser, 2010, pp. 175-7).</div>
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Luke Hendricks recognized that this was the frequency of the
Schumann resonance, “a long electromagnetic wave, discovered by Winfried Otto
Schumann, that continuously circles our planet between its surface and the
ionosphere (Bengston & Fraser, 2010, p. 176).</div>
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Biologist and biophysicist James Oschman, Ph.D. has written
about the Schumann resonance and energy healing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He cites experiments in which Robert C. Beck
--</div>
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<span style="color: navy;">"used EEG recordings to study
brain wave activity in ‘healers’ from all over the world: psychics, shamans,
faith healers, a Hawaiian kahuna, practitioners of wicca, etc." and found
that "all these healers produced similar brain wave patterns when they
were … performing a healing… register[ing] brain wave activity averaging about
7.8-8.0 cycles/second… Beck performed additional studies on some of the
subjects and found that during healing moments their brain waves became phase
and frequency synchronized with the earth’s geoelectric micropulsations – the
Schumann resonance” (Oschmann in Schutz, 2010,
bioenergyandcancer.blogspot.com).</span></div>
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Neurofeedback clinician and researcher Anna Wise concluded,
based on decades of work with neurofeedback, that alpha brainwaves were
associated with visualization and relaxed awareness, and theta brainwaves were
associated with the personal unconscious, intuition, and spiritual
insight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although she thought psi was
most commonly associated with delta waves, she thought alpha and theta were
essential for making psi conscious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Otherwise it would remain unconscious (Wise, 1995/2004).</div>
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The Monroe Institute has done extensive research using
binaural beat brainwave entrainment to cultivate various states.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of their research links hemispherically
synchronized alpha and theta with what they call Focus 10 – a state of acute
consciousness, almost no experience of body, visions, and intuition (Sadigh,
nd, monroeinstitute.org; Sadigh, 1990, monroeinstitute.org; Aardema, 2006,
monroeinstitute.org).</div>
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Other Monroe Institute research has linked alpha-suppression
in the presence of synchronized theta, delta, and gamma with a transcendent
state that surpasses the personal mind and enters universal awareness (Atwater,
1993, monroeinstitute.org).</div>
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So, it looks like Omega-3 may somehow increase the brain’s
tendency to alpha and theta waves (after only 35 days of 2.8 g!), which in turn
seems to correlate with psi.</div>
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<b><span style="color: navy;">II.</span></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>=================<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b><span style="color: navy;">The cell
membrane:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bruce Lipton</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">Omega-3 mechanisms of action</span></b></div>
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As we saw in the previous essay, Omega-3 fatty acids are
phenomenally helpful for neurological and psychological problems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, they are also used throughout the
body, and are helpful for inflammatory disease, injury repair, immune function,
cancer tumors, cardiovascular disease, liver, intestines, skin, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Omega-3 is used in every single cell in your
body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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In this essay, we will take a two-pronged approach, focusing
some of the time on how Omega-3 in the neurological system might facilitate
psi, and part of the time on how Omega-3 in all the cells of the body might
facilitate psi.</div>
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Omega-3 operates via many, many mechanisms of action, and it
seems like we may not even have discovered all of them yet.</div>
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In the neurological system, Omega-3 and its by-products can
be messenger molecules, and influence cell migration, cell death,
synaptogenesis, and cholinergic, serotoninergic and catecholaminergic synaptic
transmission (Fontani et al., pp. 691-2).</div>
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In discussing the findings of a study showing the efficacy
of Omega-3 injected post stroke, the study’s first author Richard Deckelbaum,
MD of Columbia University listed some of the many mechanisms of Omega-3 --</div>
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<span style="color: navy;">The effects of the omega-3 fatty
acids include increasing the production of natural neuroprotectants in the
brain, reducing inflammation and cell death, and activating genes that may
protect brain cells. Omega-3 fatty acids also markedly reduce the release of
harmful oxidants into the brain after stroke. "In most clinical trials in
the past, the compounds tested affected only one pathway. Omega-3 fatty acids,
in contrast, are very bioactive molecules that target multiple mechanisms
involved in brain death after stroke”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>(<a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130220184723.htm">http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130220184723.htm</a>).</div>
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One of Omega-3’s important mechanisms of action is to build
and repair myelin (Tremblay, 2011; <a href="http://neuroscienceandpsi.blogspot.com/2013/02/bill-gray-and-myelin-sheathed-neuron-as.html">http://neuroscienceandpsi.blogspot.com/2013/02/bill-gray-and-myelin-sheathed-neuron-as.html</a>).</div>
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In this essay, we are going to focus on one of Omega-3’s
most important mechanisms of action, which is that it increases cell membrane
flexibility – in the neurological system and in every other cell of the body.</div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">Omega-3 and cell membrane
flexibility</span></b></div>
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In the cultural history of fish in Part I, fish often
symbolized mutability or transformation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Interestingly, the Omega-3 found in fish makes the the entire body, and
every cell membrane more fluid, flexible, and mutable.</div>
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This is specifically true of the neurological system, where
Omega-3 improves neurological functioning by making cell membranes more
flexible and efficient.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In optimal
balance with Omega-6, Omega-3’s</div>
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<span style="color: navy;">“…preserve membrane fluidity by
decreasing the level of cholesterol which hardens membranes [1], and…are
required for normal membrane structure and function and for normal signal
transduction processes [8]. Besides influencing membrane fluidity, they can
modify the activity of membrane bound enzymes, the number and affinity of
receptors, the function of ion channels, the production and activity of
neurotransmitters and signal transduction” (Fontani et al., 2005, p. 692).</span></div>
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More on Omega-3 and cell membranes in the brain --</div>
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<span style="color: navy;">“The brain is a fatty organ - it's
60% fat by dry weight, and the essential fatty acids are what make part of its
structure, making up 20% of the nerve cells' membranes. The synapses, or
junctions where nerve cells connect with other nerve cells, contain even higher
concentrations of essential fatty acids - being made of about 60% of the
omega-3 fatty acid DHA.</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">Communication between the nerve
cells depends on neurotransmitters, such as serotonin and dopamine, docking
with receptors in the nerve cell membrane.</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">Omega-3 DHA is very long and highly
flexible. When it is incorporated into the nerve cell membrane it helps make
the membrane itself elastic and fluid so that signals pass through it
efficiently. But if the wrong fatty acids are incorporated into the membrane,
the neurotransmitters can't dock properly” (Lawrence, 2006).</span></div>
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Omega-3 also improves functioning in the rest of the body by
increasing cell membrane flexibility.</div>
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<span style="color: navy;">“Fats in the form of a bilipid
layer is an important structure in the cell membrane and acts as the flexible
gateway. It also forms the multitudinous array of receptors that perform the
metabolic function of life….</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">Fats are tiny molecules. Imagine
100 quintillion (100 x 18 zeroes) of them in a single drop of oil. They are
much smaller than proteins, thus contributing to their mystery.</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">Fats are solid and oils are liquid.
Fatty acids, the basic unit, are shaped like a caterpillar…</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">"Lipid" is a technical
term for essential fats. Phospholipids, recently branded as "PhD" in
milk formula advertisements, are lipids bonded to a phosphate group, forming an
important part of the cell membrane….</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">The cell is the most basic building
block of the human body, and all metabolic activities depend on the proper
functioning of its membranes. Healthy ageing is never complete without
consideration of membrane chemistry.</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">The bilipid layer is one of the
most elegant structures in the universe, with the hydrophilic (water-loving)
heads of the fatty acid facing out, and the hydrophobic (water-hating) tails facing
each other, sandwiched between. It is the polarity between the heads that allow
protein transport in and out of the cell….</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">“Omega-3 fatty acids are able to
oscillate more by virtue of their structural characteristics. Their flexible
character provides fluidity to the cell and effectively balances the rigid
structural fats, such as the saturated fats and cholesterol.</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">It is this rich mixture of
super-unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids with their high-energy vibration that
enable cell signaling and modulate the function of the membrane-bound
proteins”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Liaw, nd).</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">Bruce Lipton on the cell
membrane</span></b></div>
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How might greater cell membrane flexibility and efficiency
be psi-facilitative?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The short answer is
that a better cell membrane is even more in touch with the environment – and by
this I mean more than just the material environment.</div>
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In his paradigm-shifting book “The Biology of Belief,” cell
biologist Bruce Lipton, Ph.D. subverts the prevalent belief that genes control
destiny with the analysis that it is the interaction between the environment
and the cell membrane that has the most to say about destiny.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He underscores that the “environment”
consists not just of material influences, but energetic, and consciousness influences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He defends beautifully the proposition that
the cell membrane, and not the nucleus, is the brain of the cell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, he makes the case that the source of
self and consciousness is actually outside the cell (Lipton, 2005).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The cell membrane is speckled with receptor and effector
proteins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some receptors respond to
physical signals from the environment, some to vibrational energy fields
(Lipton, 2005, p. 83).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Because the phospholipid molecules of the cell membrane line
up so precisely, Lipton realized that the cell membrane had the properties of a
liquid crystal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since it conducts some
things while keeping others out, it functions as a semiconductor using gates
and channels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This makes it the
structural and functional equivalent of a silicon chip.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just as with a silicon chip, the real source
of activating information and intelligence is outside (Lipton, 2005, pp. 90-2).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Energy signals from the environment are far more efficient
at affecting the cell and the body than signals in the form of physical
molecules.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Specific frequencies and patterns
of electromagnetic radiation<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>regulate”
and alter cells (Lipton, 2005, p. 111).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is a class of receptor proteins on the cell membrane
called self-receptors, which are related to the function of the immune
system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are what make your cells
recognize what is you and not you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For
example, they’re what make organ transplant difficult.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But Lipton stresses that it is not these self-receptors per
se that make your identity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are
merely like antennae that recognize anything that is “you” in their
environment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In other words, the source
of self is in the environment outside your cells.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lipton believes that there is information in
the environment that is you, your self, and that this information exists
continuously and coherently, and is downloaded by your cells while you are
using this body (Lipton, 2005, pp. 189-92).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Note that it is not only neurons that carry / receive
identity, but all cells.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Molecular
biologist Candace Pert, Ph.D. discovered that information-processing
neuroreceptors are found not only on neurons but on most, if not all, of the
cells of the body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Her elegant
experiments established that the ‘mind’ was not focused in the head, but was
distributed via signal molecules to the whole body” (Lipton, 2005, p. 132).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, Omega-3 improves the cell membrane by making it more
flexible, efficient, and better able to receive molecular signals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The pliability of Omega-3 molecules also
makes them more sensitive to energetic signals, and possibly to still unknown
quantum or psi effects.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If self or
consciousness is located outside the body, then Omega-3 makes cell membranes
more effective at receiving more information about one’s own consciousness and
possibly the collective or universal consciousness as well.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just to make it even more interesting, Lipton explains that
evolutionary progress involved expansion of the cell membrane surface so that
it could pack in more interactive proteins (Lipton, 2005, p. 87 &
197).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It turns out that Omega-3 causes
cell membrane expansion (Kidd, 2005; Darios & Davletov, 2006; Chytrova et
al., 2010).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, this is yet another
mechanism by which Omega-3 increases adaptive contact with the
environment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Improved structure means
improved function.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: navy;">III.</span></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>=================<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b><span style="color: navy;">Entanglement:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dean Radin</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: purple;">Dean Radin on quantum
coherence and entanglement in living systems</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We alluded to quantum effects just now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let’s expand on that angle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How might greater cell membrane flexibility
be psi-facilitative?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The short answer is
that it increases quantum coherence or quantum entanglement by virtue of being
more mutable.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In his second book, “Entangled Minds,” educational
psychologist, electrical engineer, and psychic researcher Dean Radin, Ph.D. has
a very useful chapter that reviews the history of theories of psi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is still a lot we don’t know about how
psi works, but quantum physics shows some promise of contributing to the
answer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The most recent theories of how psi works tend to include
the physics concepts of quantum coherence and quantum entanglement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The term quantum coherence is used in two ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First, it can refer to the idea that, until
something is observed, it exists as a set of probabilities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the microscopic level, this means that,
until a particle is observed, it is really in all its possible states at once,
like a cloud instead of a billiard ball.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>At the macroscopic level, this means that, until a system is observed,
it is really in all possible states at once.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>An example of this would be Schrödinger’s cat (Wiki, nonlocal.com).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The other way that the term quantum coherence is used is to
describe “….circumstances when large numbers of particles can collectively
cooperate in a single quantum state...”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>An example of this is the laser (quote is from Roger Penrose,
nonlocal.com)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Quantum entanglement is when particles (or larger objects or
systems) become related in such a way that even when they are separated,
observation of one will cause the other to behave in the same way instantly,
with no apparent connection (Wiki).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As you can see, these are related and overlapping
terms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The main ideas are that nature is
more probabilistic and indeterminate than it is concrete, and that two or more
particles can work together in a way that cannot be explained from the
Newtonian, materialist paradigm we’re all most familiar with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They can communicate instantly over distance
with no apparent connection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As
geneticist Mae-Wan Ho, Ph.D. wrote:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>"A quantum coherent state thus maximizes both global cohesion and
also local freedom!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nature presents us with
a deep riddle that compels us to accommodate seemingly polar opposites..."
(Ho, 2008).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, as Dean Radin wrote,
psi may be the psychological experience of these quantum relationships (Radin,
2010).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Right off the bat, you can see how Omega-3 makes the cell
membrane more able to take advantage of these quantum properties.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Omega-3 molecules are more flexible, pliable
and sensitive, and they make the cell membrane more more flexible and available
for indeterminacy and resonant cooperation with the environment.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: purple;">Quantum coherence and
entanglement in algae and bacteria</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In a nice irony or synchronicity, quantum coherence has been
demonstrated in algae, which is the primary source of Omega-3.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 2010, researchers in Canada, using
low-power laser pulses as a source of light, showed that light-absorbing
molecules in algae that are part of the process of photosynthesis cooperate
with each other despite having no classical means of communication with each
other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The researchers point out that
this makes for more efficient light-harvesting in marine algae (Collini et al.,
2010; Radin, 2010).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As one of the researchers in the 2010 Canadian algae study
said:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“[This] suggests that algae knew
about quantum mechanics nearly two billion years before humans”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Menon, 2013).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A couple of studies with marine bacteria revealed even more
amazing things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 2007, American
researchers, using actual bacteria, and laser pulses to simulate sunlight,
showed that, as part of the photosynthetic process of converting light into
stored energy, there are particles (excitons) that exist in many potential
positions at once.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This allows the
excitons to explore many different pathways simultaneously, and choose the most
efficient one (Engel et al., 2007; Cofield, 2013).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then, just this year, an international group of researchers,
using a simulation based on data from a previous study with actual bacteria
(Wendling et al., 2000), showed that something is helping these particles to
stay in a quantum coherent state for a very long time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That something is the protein molecules
involved in the photosynthesis (Chin et al., 2013; Cofield, 2013).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What this means is that something as big and
“warm and wet” as an organic molecule is helping maintain a state where
particles are not acting as billiard balls, but as clouds of probability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The study suggests that molecular vibrations
do not destroy the coherence – as previously thought – but rather perpetuate
and even regenerate coherence” (Cofield, 2013).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Finally, a team of American researchers has just used a
simulation to show that both “noise” (random fluctuation) from incoherent,
natural light, and noise from molecular vibration induced quantum
coherence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This demonstrated that
coherent, laser light was not necessary to induce quantum effects (Dorfman et
al., 2013).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, contrary to expectations, noisy, incoherent light and
molecular vibration can actually facilitate quantum coherence and entanglement
in living systems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Omega-3 fatty acid
molecules increase vibration in the cell membrane. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let’s take a moment to look at molecular
vibration and Omega-3.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: purple;">Molecular vibration of Omega-3</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(Note these last four studies are talking about instances of
quantum coherence that are occurring inside the cell, but they are suggestive
of the possibility of greater quantum coherence between the outer cell membrane
and the environment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, Omega-3 is
a component of membranes within the cell too, around the nucleus and the
mitochondria (also involved in energy production) (omegascience.org, 2013; phototroph.blogspot.com,
2008; Kane, nd).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Algae have
membrane-bound organelles, bacteria do not.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Omega-3 fatty acid molecules are longer and have more double
bonds than Omega-6 fatty acids. This means they are more pliable and vibrate
more.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For example, the Omega-3 Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) has --</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-- 22 carbons, 6 double bonds between carbon atoms</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-- the acid (-COOH) end is the alpha (beginning)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-- the methyl (CH3) end is the omega (end)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-- a final double carbon bond in the n-3 position, counting
from the methyl (CH3) end</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-- and is a polyunsaturated fat (Wiki).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.mentalhelp.net/images/root/DHA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="194" src="http://www.mentalhelp.net/images/root/DHA.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.mentalhelp.net/images/root/DHA.jpg"><br /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Omega-6 Linoleic Acid (LA) has --</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-- 18 carbons, 2 double bonds between carbon atoms</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-- a final double carbon bond in the n-6 position, counting
from the methyl end</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-- and is an unsaturated fat (Wiki).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.raw-milk-facts.com/images/Linoleic_Acid.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251" src="http://www.raw-milk-facts.com/images/Linoleic_Acid.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.raw-milk-facts.com/images/Linoleic_Acid.gif"><br /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The more double bonds (carbon-carbon, C-C) a molecule has,
the more curved it is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This shape
prevents molecules from being tightly packed, and this contributes to their
fluidity, flexibility and mutability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>For example, they will have a lower melting point (Wiki).
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Unsaturated fats are in constant motion; the double-bond
makes the molecule vibrate (Kane, nd, p. 10).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The closer the final double-bond is to the end, as it is in the Omega-3
fatty acids, the more the molecule vibrates (Kane, nd, p. 13).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The DHA molecule has been shown to take over
100 alternate configurations; it is constantly changing (Bradbury, 2011, pp.
536-7).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
CARS microscopy uses photons to measure vibrational
signatures of molecules (Wiki).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>CARS
microscopy of a glycerol tripalmitate crystal “composed of saturated fatty
acids typically found in mammalian lipids” showed one vibrational frequency of
its CH2 methylene group but no vibration of its C-C carbon double bond.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, this crystal was surrounded by
Omega-3 oil extracted from fish, and the Omega-3 showed </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“a resonant signal not only at the
general lipid vibration but also at the C-C vibration because of the presence
of PUFAs [polyunsaturated fatty acids].<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This allows visual separation of lipids at a microscopic level with
respect to their degree of saturation, and possibly also dynamic changes
thereof” (Salzer, 2012, 10.8.2, pp. 321-2, see the image in the link in the
bibliographic entry for Salzer).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This shows that there is a difference between the vibration
of saturated fat and Omega-3, with Omega-3 having vibration at more than one
location on the molecule.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: purple;">Crawford et al. on quantum
effects in DHA</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Psychiatrist and mental health researcher Michael A.
Crawford, M.D. and colleagues have proposed that DHA has had a paradigm-shifting
role in evolution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This will be
discussed below in the section on morphic fields.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have also proposed that this is due to
the fact that the molecular structure of DHA is uniquely qualified to promote
quantum effects.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Pi electron bonds are bonds between two adjacent atoms with
a particular shape of electron orbit (chem.ucla.edu).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The unique structure of DHA, with its double
bond so near the end and its greater vibration, could make the pi electron
bonds in the double bonds behave in a way that makes quantum coherence
possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The authors propose that this
would be comparable to Hameroff and Penrose’s theory of quantum coherence in
microtubules (which will be discussed below in the section on Hameroff) or gap
junctions (connections between the cytoplasm of two cells) (Crawford et al.,
2013, p. 3).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Electron tunneling occurs when an electron is acting like a
wave or probability cloud and can tunnel through a barrier or across a
gap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>According to Crawford and
colleagues, the unique molecular structure of DHA makes coherent communication
probable along the length of the molecule and between adjacent molecules,
possibly via electron tunneling (Crawford et al.2008, p. 65, 67-8; Crawford et
al., 2013, p. 4).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: purple;">Omega-3 facilitates quantum
coherence and entanglement</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, the hypothesis is that –</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1) psi is facilitated by quantum coherence and entanglement;
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2) quantum coherence and entanglement have been shown in
single-celled organisms, where it was facilitated by incoherent, natural light,
and molecular vibration; and </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
3) Omega-3 increases molecular vibration in the cell
membrane (which, by the way, Lipton says is constantly deriving signals from
the environment), so</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
4) greater molecular vibration caused by Omega-3 in the cell
membrane and / or the structure of DHA may increase opportunities for quantum
coherence and entanglement with the environment, which increases psi.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Radin predicted these quantum effects in living systems, and
research as borne him out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has also
predicted that this quantum bio-physics will turn out to be the basis of the
psychological experience of psi (Radin, 2005, pp. 14, 16;
deanradin.blogspot.com/2010/02).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Radin
tends to write in terms of neurons and the brain, and Omega-3 is a major
component of the brain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, as mentioned
above, Lipton and Pert consider the mind to be received by or to reside in all
the cells of the body.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Whether we look at the effects of Omega-3 on neurons or
other cells, on the cell membrane, or other parts of the cell, the main idea of
this hypothesis is that Omega-3 increases flexibility and vibration, which
makes the system more available for quantum coherence and entanglement, which
facilitates psi.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As we saw above, a certain amount of vibration and signal
noise may facilitate quantum effects in photosynthesis in algae and
bacteria.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It may be that Omega-3
molecules foster a kind of Goldilocks Zone where there is just the right amount
of flexibility, vibration, and noise in the system.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This jibes with psychologist William Braud, Ph.D.’s theory
that lability, the ready capacity for change, “the ease with which a system can
move from one state to another, the amount of ‘free variability’ in the system”
increases the capacity for psi effects (Braud in Sheldrake, 2003, p. 272).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In regard to the noise, there is also a construct called
stochastic resonance which may be relevant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A weak signal can be boosted by adding white noise, which contains in
its mix frequencies that can resonate with the original weak signal and amplify
it (Wiki).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This shows again how a
certain amount of “noise” can be enlisted to facilitate signal, or, in our
case, entanglement.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: navy;">IV.</span></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>=================<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b><span style="color: navy;">Microtubules:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stuart Hameroff</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: purple;">Stuart Hameroff on
microtubules</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is another theory about how quantum effects and consciousness
happen in cells, which may explain how Omega-3 could facilitate psi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is anesthesiologist and consciousness
researcher Stuart Hameroff, M.D.’s theory about microtubules.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hameroff focused on the microtubules in
neurons, but let us just keep in mind, a la Lipton and Pert, that microtubules
exist in all the cells of the body, and may be implicated in consciousness
received by or residing in the whole body.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Microtubules are tubes that form the cytoskeleton or
scaffolding of every cell, and they serve many functions (Wiki).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hameroff got interested in the possible link
between microtubules and consciousness early in his career when he learned that
“anesthetics caused microtubules to disassemble” (Hameroff, nd,
quantumconsciousness.org).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Building on the work of Roger Penrose, Hameroff proposes
that microtubules have the right conditions to permit quantum entanglement of
electrons within them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He proposes that
entangled electrons in the microtubules of one neuron could link with entangled
electrons in the microtubules of other neurons, connecting large areas of the
brain (Wiki).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He theorizes that this quantum coherence is the substrate of
consciousness, that there is a proto-consciousness that is a fundamental
property of reality which we can access and which can influence us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Furthermore, “[u]nder normal circumstances
consciousness occurs in the fundamental level of spacetime geometry confined in
the brain. But when the metabolism driving quantum coherence (in microtubules)
is lost, the quantum information leaks out to the spacetime geometry in the
universe at large”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Hameroff in Taylor, 2005).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This makes psi phenomena like NDEs,OBEs, and
continued consciousness after death possible.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: purple;">Omega-3 and microtubules</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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How does Omega-3 come in to this?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Omega-3 has many mechanisms of action and
there are at least two ways it may contribute to the quantum coherence in
microtubules that leads to consciousness and psi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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For one thing, Omega-3 increases doublecortin, which is a
microtubule-associated protein associated with neurogenesis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Omega-3 supplementation increased hippocampal
doublecortin in old rats suggesting a positive effect on neurogenesis (Dyall et
al., 2010; Dyall, 2011).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Doublecortin
stabilizes microtubules, binds them to the cytoskeleton, and causes bundling
(Wiki).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Doublecortin makes sure
microtubles have the optimum 13 protofilaments, instead of too few or too many
(Bechstedt & Brouhard, 2012; Wiki).</div>
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So, it’s possible that Omega-3, via Doublecortin or other
means, improves microtubule functioning in such as way as to facilitate quantum
coherence, consciousness, and psi.</div>
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Another possible mechanism by which Omega-3 might influence
microtubule functioning has to do with the presence of fatty acids and lipids
in the cytoplasm (Wiki).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>According to
Hameroff and Penrose, the cytoplasm around the microtubules may alternate
between a type of gel and the normal liquid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When it is in the gel form, it may shield the microtubules from
environmental noise and permit quantum effects.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Hameroff and his collaborators believe this gel state occurs when the
protein actin polymerizes or forms chains (Hagan, Hameroff & Tuszynski,
2002).</div>
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There are many different derivatives of fatty acids that
that are present in the cytoplasm and that might stimulate actin polymerization.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Low-density lipoproteins (LDL), which carry
forms of fatty acids and phospholipids, stimulate actin polymerization (Miller
et al., 2003).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lysophosphatidic acid, a
phospholipid derivative, stimulates actin polymerization (Fukushima et al.,
2002).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A short-chain fatty acid was
shown to trigger actin polymerization (Karlsson et al., 2012).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, it’s possible that Omega-3 may be a
precursor to molecules that stimulate actin polymerization, thus facilitating
quantum effects in microtubules.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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And, according to Hameroff, something that facilitates
quantum effects in microtubules, would therefore facilitate consciousness and
psi.</div>
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<b><span style="color: navy;">V.</span></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>=================<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b><span style="color: navy;">Morphic
fields:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rupert Sheldrake</span></b></div>
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We’re going to look at just one more way that Omega-3 might
facilitate psi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This model will utilize
Rupert Sheldrake, Ph.D.’s theory of morphic fields and propose that consuming a
molecule that is produced by a very ancient life form that is at the base of the
evolutionary ladder and the food chain connects us better with all the morphic
fields of life on this planet and the morphic field of the planet itself.</div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">The natural history of algae</span></b></div>
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Although fish are the primary source of the two forms of
Omega-3 that are most useful for us, EPA and DHA are not actually produced by
fish, but rather by marine or freshwater microalgae that the fish eat either
directly or indirectly through the food chain.</div>
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There are over 320,000 species of algae ranging from
unicellular organisms to giant kelps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They are autotrophic or self-feeding, creating organic compounds from
simple inputs like sun and carbon dioxide (Wiki).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They live in every ecosystem and account for
over half of the primary production at the base of food chains (Harwood & Guschina,
2009).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Several carbohydrate compounds
derived from algae are commonly used in processed foods, so 70% of items in the
average American family’s shopping cart contain algae ingredients (Edwards,
2010).</div>
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Algae are eukaryotes, meaning they have a cell nucleus,
membrane-bound organelles, mitochondria, and microtubules.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eukaryotes are the second oldest life form on
the planet, with a fossil record going back 2.1 billion years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Only the prokaryotes have been around longer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Prokaryotes are mostly single-celled
organisms, whose nucleus has no membrane, such as bacteria, and they go back
over four billion years (diffen.com; boundless.com)</div>
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No prokaryotes produce Omega-3
(google.com/patents/WO1989000606A1?cl=en).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Land plants, some of which produce the less useful Omega-3 fatty acid ALA, have been around
for about 475 million years (Wiki).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/77/Geologic_Clock_with_events_and_periods.svg/500px-Geologic_Clock_with_events_and_periods.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/77/Geologic_Clock_with_events_and_periods.svg/500px-Geologic_Clock_with_events_and_periods.svg.png" /></a></div>
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“Microalgae contain lipids and fatty acids as membrane
components, storage products, metabolites and sources of energy” (FAO,
1997).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Algae cytoplasm and cell
membranes have to be fluid at cold temperatures, so their lipids are very
fluid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Omega-3 contributes to making
lipids more buoyant in algae, and making low-density lipoprotein (LDL) more
buoyant and less atherogenic in us (Edwards, 2010; von Schacky, 2006;Wiki).</div>
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Several strains of algae are composed of up to 70% to 85%
lipids (fatty acids and their derivatives) (FAO, 1997; Ratledge, 2004).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Botryococcus braunii is 86% lipids, Chlorella
ellipsoidea is 84% lipids (Edwards, 2010).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Under certain conditions, Botryococcus reaches 90% lipids (FAO, 1997).</div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">Why does algae produce
Omega-3?</span></b></div>
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Two words:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>stress and
growth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Algae produce Omega-3 in order
to promote adaptation and survival in changing conditions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Omega-3 production can even be enhanced to
extraordinary proportions by stressing algae with unfavorable conditions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Omega-3 accumulation is also linked to certain
stages of growth, such as cell division, or in some strains, the early stages
of growth (Adarme-Vegal et al., 2012; FAO, 1997).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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According to a very useful and fascinating paper by
Adarme-Vegal et al. (2012) on algal production of Omega-3 --</div>
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<span style="color: navy;">“Microalgae produce a variety of
compounds to help in the adaptation and survival of different environmental
conditions. Many marine microalgal strains have oil contents of between 10–50%,
(w/w) and produce a high percentage of total lipids (up to 30–70% of dry
weight) [1]. The accumulation of fatty acids is closely linked to microalgal
growth stages, functioning as an energy stockpile during unfavourable
conditions or cell division. Omega-3 is accumulated due to its high energy
content, as well as the good flow properties crucial for cellular functions.
[73,74]”</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">“An increase in microalgal lipid
content can be induced by a sudden change of growth conditions. The
accumulation of starch and/or lipids reserves is considered a survival
mechanism in response to growth-limiting stresses [17], such as UV radiation
[79], temperature [80] and shock or nutrient deprivation [81,82], as long as
light conditions are present that still allow efficient photosynthesis.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">“Omega-3 fatty acid biosynthesis
can be stimulated by a number of environmental stresses, such as low
temperature, change of salinity or UV radiation….. An increase in PUFAs is
expected as these fatty acids have good flow properties and would be
predominately used in the cell membrane to maintain fluidity during low
temperatures….Some of the increased PUFAs are used to repair membrane damage
but as PUFAs contain many double bonds, these also act as an antioxidant by
scavenging free radicals” (Adarme-Vegal et al., 2012).</span></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="color: purple;">Human brains also produce Omega-3 during growth and stress</span></b></div>
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Omega-3 serves many different functions throughout the human
body, and has many different mechanisms of action, but it is kind of amazing to
note that, like algae, human brains also produce Omega-3 during growth and
stress.</div>
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During the restoration of blood flow after a blockage in rat
brains and in oxidative stress-challenged human retinal cells, endogenous DHA
is promptly released and converted into neuroprotectin D1 which serves many
neuroprotective functions, including regeneration and preservation of
neurons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“During any threat to cell or
local tissue homeostasis” Omega-6 and Omega-3 are released for needed
pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory effects (Bradbury, 2011, 537-8).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People tested within 48 hours of a traumatic
brain injury showed a significant increase in various fatty acids, including
DHA (an Omega-3), in the cerebral spinal fluid, compared to controls (Pilitis
et al., 2003).</div>
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In other words, there is an endogenous, automatic
self-protective mechanism that involves Omega-3 which is triggered by the onset
of brain injury (Bazan, 2005; Bazan et al., 2005; Bazan, 2006; Bazan et al.,
2011).</div>
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In terms of growth, the Omega-3 DHA is both produced and
utilized at significantly higher levels during the periods of greatest brain or
vision development.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During the third
trimester, when neural growth is greatest, the blood and brain of the human
fetus show a significant increase in arachidonic acid (an Omega-6) and
DHA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A total of 600 g of fatty acids is
transferred from mother to fetus during full-term gestation. (Uauy &
Dangour, 2006, p. S26)</div>
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In general, neonate development correlates significantly
with DHA consumption (Uauy & Dangour, 2006, pp. S24-28).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, DHA supplementation led to better
visual evoked potential acuity than controls *only* during periods of rapid
changes in development of acuity – the first 20 weeks and after 35 weeks -- not
during the plateau period around 6 months (Uauy & Dangour, 2006, p. S27).</div>
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Perhaps most interesting, there is an enzyme present in
neonates that rapidly declines with age, that facilitates conversion of ALA (the simplest
Omega-3) to DHA (the most important Omega-3 for many brain functions).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Animal studies suggest that this enzyme is at
its peak in the brain during the period of most rapid brain growth, that is 4-5
days after birth (Bradbury, 2011, p. 534; Cook, 1991).</div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">The natural history of Omega-3
(especially DHA)</span></b></div>
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It turns out that it is not a coincidence that the DHA
molecule serves similar purposes in algae and human brains.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This molecule has been around for a long
time, and has been highly conserved by evolution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is, it maintained the same form and
functions in many different species.</div>
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Psychiatrist and mental health researcher Michael A.
Crawford, MD and colleagues have a very interesting theory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>About 542 million years ago, there was an
evolutionary uptick that produced a large number of species.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is called the Cambrian explosion and
there are a number of theories about why it happened (Wiki).</div>
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The first photosynthesis occurred in prokaryotes (eg
bacteria) about 3.5 billion years ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This required existing oxygen from carbon dioxide and water, but it
produced the first free oxygen -- O<sub>2 </sub><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>-- in the atmosphere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Free atmospheric oxygen has increased slowly
over time, but there have been bursts of increased oxygenation, one of which
may have occurred at the time of the Cambrian explosion (Blankenship, 2010;
Wiki).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Some theorists propose that the increased availability of
oxygen made more complex biology possible, allowing structural design elements
such as collagen (protein) or exoskeletons that gave creatures better defenses
and larger size (Wiki).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Crawford et al.
have theorized that the greater availability of oxygen permitted the more
abundant production of long-chain Omega-3 fatty acids that use a lot of oxygen,
especially DHA (Crawford & Broadhurst, 2012; Crawford et al., 2013, p. 2).</div>
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They believe that it was DHA that made cell membrane
structure capable of sustaining greater intracellular complexity, and thus cell
specialization, and thus, new, more complex species.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In other words, lipids “played a major, as
yet unrecognised, role as determinants in evolution.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They emphasize how conserved this molecule
is, and hypothesize that it has had a great role in evolution, by pointing to
--</div>
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“…the remarkable conservation of DHA in signaling systems
over 600–500 million years. That is despite wide ranging changes in the genetic
code and the great evolutionary changes, DHA has been rigorously conserved. It
is as though DHA has been instructing the genes to do its bidding rather than
the conventional view which is the other way round” (Crawford et al., 2008,
p.71).</div>
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Furthermore, they propose that the brain first evolved from
the rich source of DHA in the marine food web during the time of the Cambrian
explosion (Crawford et al., 2008, p. 58).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>DHA<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“provided the core for the
development of the photoreceptor, and</div>
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conversion of photons into electricity stimulated the
evolution of the nervous system and brain” (Crawford et al. 2013). “DHA was the
only molecule so selectively used over 600 million years of evolution in the
photoreceptor and synaptic junction: locations where there is the most intense
oxygen utilization, a threat to such a highly, unsaturated molecule” (Crawford
et al., 2008, pp. 68-9)</div>
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Then, about 50 million years ago there was another turning
point in human evolution, with the addition of seafood to the diet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bone assays show that around that time there
is a statistically significant rise in the the consumption of freshwater or
marine protein between Neanderthals and early modern humans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Proto-humans evolved around water, and their
increased consumption of DHA coincides with the rapid expansion of the cerebral
cortex, and richer, more creative cultural artifacts (Bradbury, 2011, p. 530;
Crawford & Broadhurst, 2012).</div>
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We are still dependent on the marine food web.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Humans produce DHA very inefficiently, yet it
composes a huge portion of our brains and we have very large brains
proportionate to our size for land mammals. Therefore we are extremely dependent
on “preformed” DHA from our food (Crawford et al., 2013, p. 2).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Crawford et al. point to the correlation
between the declining consumption of Omega-3 and the increasing incidence of
non-communicable diseases, especially brain disorders, and warn that DHA
continues to play a crucial role in our continuing evolution (Crawford &
Broadhurst, 2012).</div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">Rupert Sheldrake on morphic
fields</span></b></div>
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So, we’ve established the fundamental importance of algae
and Omega-3, particularly DHA, to our evolution and continued existence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ve shown how intimately connected we are
with these organisms and molecules.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now,
let us finish by examining how biologist Rupert Sheldrake’s theory of morphic
fields might take this intimate connection and show how it could facilitate
psi.</div>
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Sheldrake’s theory of morphic resonance proposes that
everything in the world comes into its form due to the influence of a field
that has been created by its predecessors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This applies to atoms, cells, organs, plants, animals, human cultures,
crystals – anything formed in the world. </div>
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“Morphic fields are shaped by morphic resonance from all
similar past systems, and thus contain a cumulative collective memory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Morphic resonance depends on similarity and
is not attenuated by distance in space and time. Morphic fields are local,
within and around the systems they organise, but morphic resonance is
non-local” (Sheldrake, 2012, p. 100).</div>
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This theory is rooted in the work of early 20th century
biologists who came before Sheldrake, but he added the idea that “the structure
of these fields is not determined by either transcendent Ideas or timeless
mathematical formulae, but rather results from the actual forms of previous
similar organisms” (Sheldrake, 1988, p. 108).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>For example, every growing crystal of copper sulfate resonates with
previous crystals of copper sulfate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Every oak sapling is shaped by the collective field created by previous
oaks (Sheldrake, 2012, p. 99).</div>
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The morphic resonance theory also supplements the gene
theory in crucial ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Genes, alone,
cannot predict how an embryo will develop, nor can they predict what form a
protein will take (Sheldrake, 2012, pp. 142-5).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Also, genes, alone, cannot account for evolution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are unexplained gaps and leaps in the
evolutionary record.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>According to
Sheldrake, the morphic fields of species evolve, as well as their genes
(Sheldrake, 1999, p. 316).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many
theorists have observed an apparent self-organizing capability in nature (Wiki
– self-organization).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps the
Cambrian explosion was due, in part, to the emergence of a new set of morphic
fields.</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="color: purple;">How morphic resonance makes psi possible</span></b></div>
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Sheldrake’s theory makes psi possible by noticing that
systems in general are drawn to goals, and human experience in particular is
driven by where we put our attention and intention, even if that is beyond the
reach of our senses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Morphic fields
“work by imposing patterns or structures on otherwise random or indeterminate
processes in the systems under their control.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Second, they contain attractors, which draw systems under their
influence toward future goals” (Sheldrake, 2003, p.278).</div>
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Morphic fields --</div>
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<span style="color: navy;">“….include the behavioral fields
that underlie the behavior and instincts of animals….These fields interact with
nervous systems and brains by imposing pattern and order on otherwise
indeterminate or chaotic processes within them…</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">Morphic fields also underlie our
perceptions, thoughts, and other mental processes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The morphic fields of mental activities are
called mental fields.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Through mental
fields, the extended mind reaches out into the environment through attention
and intention, and connects with other members of social groups.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These fields help explain telepathy, the
sense of being stared at, clairvoyance, and psychokinesis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They may also help in the understanding of
premonitions and precognitions through intentions projecting into the future”
(Sheldrake, 2003, p. 279).</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">Omega-3, the human brain,
evolution, morphic resonance, and psi</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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So, the hypothesis is that –</div>
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<br /></div>
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-- algae and Omega-3 are ancient organic forms on this
planet,</div>
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<br /></div>
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-- and they are intrinsic and foundational to so much on the
planet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even petroleum and natural gas
originate “from algae in ancient oceans” (FAO, 1997)!</div>
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-- We humans must have preformed Omega-3 DHA to be fully who
we’re supposed to be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We become
vulnerable to disease and emotional and cognitive impairment without it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We still need to consume algae / Omega-3 now.</div>
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<br /></div>
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-- The human brain is composed of and run by Omega-3.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The organ that makes us most human, and is
most central to our evolution is based on Omega-3 (Crawford & Broadhurst,
2012).</div>
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-- Algae and Omega-3 molecules have morphic fields.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sheldrake presumes that microorganisms and
molecules have morphic fields (Sheldrake, 1999, p. 308; Sheldrake, 2003, p.
278).</div>
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-- There are nested morphic fields – a morphic field for
your neurons, brain, family, culture, species, kingdom, organic life, the
planet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not only does ontogeny or
morphogenesis recapitulate phylogeny, but the ongoing functioning of our bodies
from the molecular level up recapitulates, to some extent, the mechanisms of
our evolutionary relatives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Cf. the
Granick hypothesis which states that the way photosynthesis works now
recapitulates the evolution of photosynthesis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This theory probably doesn’t capture everything, but has merit and is
fascinating (Blankenship, 2010; flipper.diff.org).)</div>
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-- Morphic fields serve evolution; they are adaptive
(Sheldrake, 1988/1995, p. 283; Sheldrake, 1999, p. 316).</div>
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-- The morphic field of the human brain / mind allows for
psi through intention and attention (Sheldrake, 1999, p. 316; Sheldrake, 2003,
p. 279).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Psi is adaptive; it facilitates
pursuing our goals.</div>
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-- Consuming algae / Omega-3 brings our brains to full
functioning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This may work at both the
physical molecular level and at the level of morphic resonance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This connects us physically and through
morphic resonance to an ancient, foundational organism and molecule that are
pervasive on our planet, and that we are highly dependent on,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and which are part of many morphic fields.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This may make more of the morphic fields of
this planet more accessible.</div>
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-- There are morphic fields that are bad for us (radioactive
elements, fascism) and morphic fields that are good for us (forests,
Omega-3).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Being exposed to healthful
morphic fields is adaptive and should increase psi because psi is adaptive.</div>
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--Among many other functions, Omega-3 is produced by algae
and humans in order to adapt to stress and to grow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This underscores the resonance between algae
and us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stress and growth are conditions
that call upon intention and attention even more strongly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Per Sheldrake, intention and attention
undergird psi through morphic resonance.</div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">Directions for further
exploration</span></b></div>
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There are so many more potential links between Omega-3 and
psi, but this essay is getting unwieldy, so let us just mention some of the
possibilities for further inquiry:</div>
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<b><span style="color: navy;">Photon emission.</span></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Explore the possible connections among
Michael Persinger’s work on photon emission from the brain, the cell membrane
in particular, bioluminescence in living organisms, including krill and
dinoflagellates, both of which produce Omega-3 (Hu & Wu, 2011; Lonetree
& Miller, 2011-13; Viva Labs, nd; Volk, 2012;).</div>
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<b><span style="color: navy;">Psychedelics.</span></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Compare the effects of high-dose Omega-3 to
psychedelics and other mind-altering substances that people use to facilitate
psi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Could this be a slower-acting, but
ultimately healthier, more sustainable, more integrated path to psi?</div>
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<b><span style="color: navy;">Nationality.</span></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can we link national fish consumption with
national psychicness?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>According to FAO
statistics for 1995, of 38 countries, Iceland, Japan, Malaysia, Norway, and
Finland had the highest fish consumption, in that order, with Iceland being the
highest (Hibbeln et al., 2006).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However,
cross-national surveys on psychic experience yield mixed results (Haraldsson,
E., 1985; Haraldsson, 2011).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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The eminent Icelandic psychic researcher Erlendur
Haraldsson, Ph.D. points out that Italy and the US actually score higher in an
international survey of psychic experience in Europe and the US, with Iceland
third.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, it might be possible to say
that Iceland
is *among* the most psychic nations (Haraldsson, personal communication, 11
July 2013).</div>
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Unfortunately, the Inuits’ traditional diet, which was off
the charts for Omega-3 consumption, is no more.</div>
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There may be too many variables at the national level for
Omega-3 consumption via fish to unequivocally predict psychic experience, but
it would be nice to look into it further.</div>
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<b><span style="color: navy;">Field effects and frequencies.</span></b>
In this essay, we’ve looked briefly at brainwaves and morphic fields.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What other field effects and frequencies
might the Omega-3 molecules, algae, and the human brain (and heart and enteric
brain) have and how might they interrelate?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Does Omega-3 facilitate synchronization of brainwaves globally or
between particular areas of the brain?</div>
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According to the Cemi field theory of biologist Johnjoe
McFadden, Ph.D. and neurophysiologist Susan Pockett, Ph.D., neuronal activity
both causes an EM field and is affected by that EM field and others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The more synchronous the firing of neurons,
the bigger the influence of the EM field.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They propose that the EM field is the seat of consciousness
(machineslikeus.com, 2011; Wiki).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What
effect does Omega-3 have on this EM field?</div>
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The discussion of Omega-3’s psi-facilitative effects
definitely must be extended to include the heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The heart generates the largest
electromagnetic field of the body, and can be measured several feet away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Its electrical field is 60 times greater in
amplitude and 5000 times greater in strength than the brain’s electrical field
(Holle, 2012; Heartmath, 2012).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
perhaps the mostly widely accepted and researched aspect of Omega-3 is how it
benefits the cardiovascular system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For
example, a meta-analysis of 15 studies showed that Omega-3 supplementation may
favorably influence the variability of frequency in heart beat and enhance
vagal tone (which calms the heart) (Xin et al., 2013).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How might Omega-3 facilitate psi via its
effects on the heart?</div>
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It also would be interesting to explore the implications of
the fact that specific sound or light frequencies will either kill specific
strains of algae or promote their growth, thus determining Omega-3 production (Hutchinson, nd.; Park
& Lee, 2000; sofchem.fr).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What might
this reveal about the frequencies that impact Omega-3 molecules in the brain
and how that impacts psi?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We know cell
phones, power stations, geomagnetism, God helmets, and the acoustics of ancient
temples affect the brain and / or psi.</div>
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<b><span style="color: navy;">Reality shift.</span></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It may be that changing your brain literally
changes external reality around you, not just your experience of or
relationship to reality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This may work
via some sort of field effect or through morphic resonance or the holographic
nature of the mind / brain and universe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Therefore, changing the brain with Omega-3 supplementation might change
reality around you.</div>
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<b><span style="color: navy;">Teilhard de Chardin.</span></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Synchronistically, the philosopher, priest,
and polymath Teilhard de Chardin coined the term “the Omega point…to describe a
maximum level of complexity and consciousness towards which he believed the
universe was evolving” (Wiki).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His
concept has some interesting features in common with the role of the Omega-3
molecules.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both undergird evolution; permit
great organismic complexity; and unite creation (Wiki).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It might be fruitful to explore the
synchronicity further.</div>
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<b><span style="color: navy;">EEG omega complexity.</span></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In another synchronicity, “omega” is the term
used for brain electrical complexity or spatial de-synchronizaton or
dissimilarity (Dauwels et al., 2010).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When an EEG shows that signals in an area of the brain are the same, the
omega complexity is low.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When an EEG
shows that signals in an area of the brain are dissimilar, the omega complexity
is high.</div>
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For example, one study showed that omega complexity in
healthy subjects is higher in the right hemisphere waking and lower when asleep
(Szelenberger et al., 1996).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another
study showed that women who had strong belief in the paranormal had more
hemispheric symmetry of omega complexity during an eyes-closed period than
non-believers (Pizzagalli et al., 2000).</div>
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It’s not necessarily the case that high synchronization is
good and high complexity is bad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For
example, one study found lower omega complexity globally and in the right
hemisphere in people with sleep apnea, which the researchers attributed to
chronic hypoxia (Toth et al., 2009).</div>
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Surprisingly, one study looked at practitioners of five
different meditation traditions -- Tibetan Buddhist, Qigong, Shaja Yoga, Ananda
Marga Yoga, and Zen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In all five
traditions, omega complexity was higher during meditation than during task free
resting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This means that meditation led
to a brain functional state that was characterized by an increase of
independent brain processes (Faber et al., 2011).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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It would be interesting to explore whether there is any
correlation between Omega-3 consumption and increased or decreased omega
complexity globally or in particular brain areas, and also to look at
particular brainwave frequencies.</div>
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<b><span style="color: navy;">Health challenges of mediums</span></b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Historically, some psychics and mediums have
had a lot of physical health problems or weight gain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Might their psi faculties be depleting or
stressing their physical systems, causing endocrine or metabolic imbalance, and
might supplementation with Omega-3 mitigate these adverse consequences of psi?</div>
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<b><span style="color: navy;">Kundalini.</span></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kundalini awakenings range from the fairly
easy to the extremely difficult.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rapid
neurological re-wiring may be part of what transpires in a Kundalini awakening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kundalini is a natural evolutionary potential
that is supposed to be self-directing and self-healing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the last few decades, the extremely skewed
dietary Omega-6:Omega-3 ratio worldwide is contributing to the global burden of
disease.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The skewed ratio also may be
making it harder for Kundalini to be as self-healing as it was historically.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Might supplementation with Omega-3 mitigate
the adverse consequences of this dietary imbalance and restore the body’s
innate ability to integrate Kundalini?</div>
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<b><span style="color: navy;">Neurological injury & psi
opening.</span></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finally, there is
substantial anecdotal evidence linking neurological injury and psychic
opening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The brain automatically
produces fatty acids, including the Omega-3 DHA, after stroke or head
injury.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is this endogenous production of
Omega-3 part of the link between brain damage and psychic opening?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Neurological injury does not always lead to
greater psi, and is clearly sometimes too disabling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Might Omega-3 supplementation move the
neurological damage / change from the chaos zone to the Goldilocks Zone,
permitting not only rehabilitation of conventional faculties but expansion of
psi faculties?</div>
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Ancient peoples around the world recognized the link between
Omega-3-rich fish and physical health, mental health, happiness, prosperity,
fertility, and luck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They also linked
fish with mystical, occult, or esoteric knowledge or abilities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the ancient teaching stories, fish often
represent the transformation of matter into spirit.</div>
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Many traditions would say that fish and algae and the
Omega-3 molecules each have a spirit which we can call upon to help us in our
healing and growth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Omega-3 is an
“ancient nutrient,” (Bradbury, 2011, p. 546) which both takes us back to our
foundation and makes possible our evolution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It makes us more whole, more who we are supposed to be, and it does this
by converting our very cells from ice-like rigidity to water- or even
steam-like fluidity and interpermeability with the Universe.</div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">My personal experience with
Omega-3 and psi</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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I have updosed on Omega-3 four times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first time, around late 2005 or early
2006, I went from zero to 1800 mg EPA / DHA in order to address neurological
damage from a prescription medication.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
don’t remember what effect this had on me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The fourth, most recent time, is too recent to say what the effect is.</div>
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The second time was from September 2009 to January 2010,
when I slowly updosed from 1800 mg to 4,600 mg.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I saw a huge increase in synchronicities, and a smaller increase in
precognitions, and the two most impressive clairvoyant dreams I’ve ever had – one
informing me that a healer I had previously consulted had died, which turned
out to have just happened three weeks prior, and one referring me to a specific
article with author and topic which, as far as I know, was not
cryptomnesia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although I was still very
sick with neurological damage, I started having sporadic experiences of Flow,
of things falling into place very easily and magically.</div>
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The third time was from November 2012 to February 2013, when
I slowly updosed from 4,600 mg to 9,000 mg.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I had a stunning increase in psi – jaw-dropping synchronicities,
precognitive dreams, and my first experiences of guidance in the form of short
phrases said in a kind of neutral voice in my head (my own voice but not my own
thought) and giving me ideas that were really unfamiliar to me.</div>
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It’s also worth mentioning that during my extremely
challenging taper off the toxic medication in 2004 and half of 2005, I often
awoke in Fish Pose or Matsyasana which is supposed to have many health benefits
that overlap with those of fish oil.</div>
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Of course, I am “an N of 1” and there are significant
confounds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am starting with a brain
damaged by a prescription medication, and there is ample anecdotal evidence
that neurological damage can initiate a psi opening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, my hypothesis is that neurological
damage sometimes creates a psi opening that is too chaotic to use, and that
some kind of help is needed to channel or organize the psi impressions.</div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">Caveat Vorator</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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I am concerned about how people might use this
information.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Note that this is highly
speculative, and I do not actually have much experience yet with high dose
Omega-3.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In other words, I don’t know
what I’m talking about!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>:)</div>
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<br /></div>
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Omega-3 is a pretty safe substance, but it is not safe for
every kind of health problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please do
lots of your own research and consult with people you respect before you decide
to try it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I especially recommend the
information on this website –</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.brainhealtheducation.org/">http://www.brainhealtheducation.org/</a></div>
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<br /></div>
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Note that Omega-3 is not the same thing as fish oil.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fish oil contains Omega-3.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For some reason, fish oil bottles list the mg
of fish oil, which is a useless number.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Ignore that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The amount of
Omega-3 in a fish oil capsule is the sum of the EPA and DHA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, you have to check what “suggested serving”
that’s for – 1, 2 or 3 pills -- to determine how much is in one pill.</div>
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<br /></div>
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If you are going to try it, it is probably smartest to take
one capsule of about 500 mg EPA + DHA, and wait two weeks to see how you react
to it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If all goes well, stay at that sane
pace, and go up by one capsule every two weeks, always assessing the impact on
you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Be sensible and take good care of
yourself.</div>
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If you or anyone you know has taken high-dose Omega-3 (9,000
mg / day EPA + DHA or more), please contact me.</div>
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=================</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">Sources:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Aardema, F.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2006).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Focus 10 - Mind Awake
Body Asleep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.monroeinstitute.org/research/focus-10-mind-awake-body-asleep">http://www.monroeinstitute.org/research/focus-10-mind-awake-body-asleep</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Adarme-Vega1, T.C., Lim, D.K.Y., Timmins, M., Vernen, F., Li, Y., &
Schenk, P.M.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(2012).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Microalgal biofactories: a promising approach
towards sustainable omega-3 fatty acid production.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Microbial Cell Factories, 11: 96. <a href="http://www.microbialcellfactories.com/content/11/1/96#B15">http://www.microbialcellfactories.com/content/11/1/96#B15</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22830315">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22830315</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Atwater,
F.H.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(1993).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From a Dissociative to a Transcendent State: An
EEG Definition of the Hemi-Sync® Process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>http://www.monroeinstitute.org/research/cat/eeg/from-a-dissociative-to-a-transcendent-state-an-eeg-definition-of-the-hemi-s</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bechstedt, S. & Brouhard, G.J.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(2012).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Doublecortin recognizes the 13-protofilament microtubule cooperatively
and tracks microtubule ends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Developmental Cell, 23:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>181-92.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bengston, B. & Fraser, S.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(2010).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The energy cure:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unraveling the
mustery of Hands-on healing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Boulder:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sounds True, Inc.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Blankenship, R.E.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2010).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Early evolution of
photosynthesis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Plant Physiology,
154:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>434-8.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.plantphysiol.org/content/154/2/434.full">http://www.plantphysiol.org/content/154/2/434.full</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bradbury, J.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2011).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Docosahexaenoic Acid
(DHA):<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An ancient nutrient for the
modern human brain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nutrients, 3:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>529-54.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><a href="http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/3/5/529/pdf">http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/3/5/529/pdf</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Chin, A.W., Prior, J., Rosenbach, R., Caycedo-Soler, F.,
Huelga, S.F., & Plenio, M.B.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2013).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The role of
non-equilibrium vibrational structures in electronic coherence and recoherence
in pigment–protein complexes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nature
Physics, 9:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>113-118.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.nature.com/nphys/journal/v9/n2/abs/nphys2515.html">http://www.nature.com/nphys/journal/v9/n2/abs/nphys2515.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Entrainment Process: Myth or Reality?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.monroeinstitute.org/research/cat/brain-mapping/hemi-sync-and-the-brain-entrainment-process-myth-or-reality">http://www.monroeinstitute.org/research/cat/brain-mapping/hemi-sync-and-the-brain-entrainment-process-myth-or-reality</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Salzer, R.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2012).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Biomedical imaging:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Principles and applications.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hoboken,
NJ:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>John Wiley & Sons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=4lw6KOEbTMoC&pg=SA9-PA36&lpg=SA9-PA36&dq=%22omega-3%22+vibration&source=bl&ots=wZrbge2eSl&sig=BaB_I4WJCLoCC2-PiRnF5jlEdgk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=W73FUcPVMsHwiwK_14DABw&ved=0CEQQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=%22omega-3%22%20vibration&f=false">http://books.google.com/books?id=4lw6KOEbTMoC&pg=SA9-PA36&lpg=SA9-PA36&dq=%22omega-3%22+vibration&source=bl&ots=wZrbge2eSl&sig=BaB_I4WJCLoCC2-PiRnF5jlEdgk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=W73FUcPVMsHwiwK_14DABw&ved=0CEQQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=%22omega-3%22%20vibration&f=false</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sheldrake, R.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(1988 /
1995).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The presence of the past:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Morphic resonance and the habits of
nature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rochester, VT:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Park
Street Press.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sheldrake, R.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(1999).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dogs that know when their
owners are coming home:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And other
unexplained powers of animals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>New York:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Three Rivers Press.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sheldrake, R.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2003).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The sense of being stared
at:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And other aspects of the extended
mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>New York:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Crown Publishers.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Taylor, G.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2005).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The quantum mind of
Stuart Hameroff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>http://dailygrail.com/Interviews/2005/1/Quantum-Mind-Stuart-Hameroff</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tremblay, L.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(2011).
Do Omega 3 fatty acids play a role in myelin production?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.livestrong.com/article/474358-do-omega-3-fatty-acids-play-a-role-in-myelin-production/">http://www.livestrong.com/article/474358-do-omega-3-fatty-acids-play-a-role-in-myelin-production/</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Uauy, R. & Dangour, A.D. (2006).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nutrition in Brain Development and Aging:
Role of Essential Fatty Acids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nutrition
Reviews, 64:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>S24-S33.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.omegapure.com/media/document/research/0510103057_nutrition-in-brain-development--ag.pdf">http://www.omegapure.com/media/document/research/0510103057_nutrition-in-brain-development--ag.pdf</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
von Schacky, C.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2006).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A review of Omega-3 ethyl
esters for cardiovascular prevention and treatment of increased blood
triglyceride levels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>vascular Health
Risk Management, 2:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>251-62.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1993981/">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1993981/</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wendling, M., Pullerits, T., Przyjalgowski, M.A., Vulto,
S.I.E., Aartsma, T.J., van Grondelle, R., & van Amerongen, H.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(2000).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Electron-vibrational coupling in the Fenna-Matthews-Olson complex of Prosthecochloris
aestuarri determined by temperature-dependent absorption and fluorescence
line-narrowing measurements.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Journal of
Physical Chemistry, 104:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>5825-31).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.nat.vu.nl/en/Images/00-06_tcm69-86217.pdf">http://www.nat.vu.nl/en/Images/00-06_tcm69-86217.pdf</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wise, A.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(1995/2004).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The high-performance
mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>New York:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Penguin.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Persinger">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Persinger</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_helmet">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_helmet</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130220184723.htm">http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130220184723.htm</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.nonlocal.com/hbar/">http://www.nonlocal.com/hbar/</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://nonlocal.com/hbar/coherence.html">http://nonlocal.com/hbar/coherence.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copenhagen_interpretation">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copenhagen_interpretation</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_entanglement">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_entanglement</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mitochondria.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2008).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://phototroph.blogspot.com/2006/12/mitochondria.html">http://phototroph.blogspot.com/2006/12/mitochondria.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omega-3_fatty_acid">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omega-3_fatty_acid</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omega-6_fatty_acid">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omega-6_fatty_acid</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatty_acid">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatty_acid</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecular_vibration">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecular_vibration</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coherent_anti-Stokes_Raman_spectroscopy">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coherent_anti-Stokes_Raman_spectroscopy</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.chem.ucla.edu/harding/IGOC/P/pi_bond.html">http://www.chem.ucla.edu/harding/IGOC/P/pi_bond.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://kitchenscience.sci-toys.com/fats">http://kitchenscience.sci-toys.com/fats</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microtubule">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microtubule</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stochastic_resonance">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stochastic_resonance</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orchestrated_objective_reduction">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orchestrated_objective_reduction</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doublecortin">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doublecortin</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytoplasm">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytoplasm</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytoplasmic_inclusion">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytoplasmic_inclusion</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytosol">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytosol</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algae">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algae</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autotrophic">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autotrophic</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.diffen.com/difference/Eukaryotic_Cell_vs_Prokaryotic_Cell">http://www.diffen.com/difference/Eukaryotic_Cell_vs_Prokaryotic_Cell</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Geologic_Clock_with_events_and_periods.svg">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Geologic_Clock_with_events_and_periods.svg</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.boundless.com/microbiology/microbial-evolution-and-phylogeny/eukaryotic-microbial-diversity/algae-evolved-by-engulfing-phototrophs/">https://www.boundless.com/microbiology/microbial-evolution-and-phylogeny/eukaryotic-microbial-diversity/algae-evolved-by-engulfing-phototrophs/</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.google.com/patents/WO1989000606A1?cl=en">http://www.google.com/patents/WO1989000606A1?cl=en</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algaculture">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algaculture</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambrian_explosion">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambrian_explosion</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geological_history_of_oxygen">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geological_history_of_oxygen</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-organization">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-organization</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://flipper.diff.org/app/pathways/info/3461">http://flipper.diff.org/app/pathways/info/3461</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
=======</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Photon emission</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hu, H. & Wu, M.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2011).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Important photon emission
results reported by Michael Persinger’s group.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research, 2:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1555-6.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.jcer.com/index.php/jcj/article/view/192/209">http://www.jcer.com/index.php/jcj/article/view/192/209</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lonetree, B. & Miller, I.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(2011-13).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Sedona effect:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Earth
frequency, geomagnetic & brainwave resonance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://sedonanomalies.weebly.com/">http://sedonanomalies.weebly.com/</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Volk, S.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(2012).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Top ten developments in Fringe-ology:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Could the field of psi research have found its breakthrough?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://stevevolk.com/archives/tag/michael-persinger">http://stevevolk.com/archives/tag/michael-persinger</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Viva Labs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(nd).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bioluminescence in krill and other deep sea
creatures for kids!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://krilloil.com/research/bioluminescence-in-krill-and-other-deep-sea-creatures-for-kids.php">http://krilloil.com/research/bioluminescence-in-krill-and-other-deep-sea-creatures-for-kids.php</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
=======</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Psychicness by national fish consumption</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hibbeln JR, Nieminen LR, Blasbalg TL, Riggs JA, & Lands
WE.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(2006).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Healthy intakes of n-3 and n-6 fatty acids:
estimations considering worldwide diversity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 83:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1483S-1493S.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/83/6/S1483.full</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/83/6/S1483/T2.expansion.html</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
=======</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Iceland</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Haraldsson, E. (1985). Representative national surveys of
psychic phenomena: Iceland, Great Britain, Sweden,
USA and Gallups multinational survey. Journal of the
Society for Psychical Research, 53, 145-158.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
https://notendur.hi.is/erlendur/english/NSP.pdf</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Haraldsson, E.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2011).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Psychic experiences a
third of a century apart:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two
representative surveys in Iceland
with an international comparison.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Journal of the Society of Psychical Research, 75:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>76-90/</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
McLuhan, R.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2013).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ghosts in Iceland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://monkeywah.typepad.com/paranormalia/2013/06/ghosts-in-iceland.html">http://monkeywah.typepad.com/paranormalia/2013/06/ghosts-in-iceland.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
=======</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Teilhard de Chardin</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omega_Point">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omega_Point</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
=======</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Omega complexity in EEG</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dauwels J, Vialatte F, Musha T, & Cichocki A. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(2010).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A comparative study of synchrony measures for the early diagnosis of
Alzheimer's disease based on EEG.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Neuroimage, 49:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>668-93.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19573607">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19573607</a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.dauwels.com/files/NeuroImage2009.pdf">http://www.dauwels.com/files/NeuroImage2009.pdf</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Faber, P.L., Lehmann, D., Milz, P., Tei, S., & Kochi, K.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(2011).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Dimensionality of multichannel EEG (Omega Complexity) during meditation
in five traditions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>European Psychiatry,
26:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>944.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0924933811726499">http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0924933811726499</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Pizzagalli D, Lehmann D, Gianotti L, Koenig T, Tanaka H,
Wackermann J, & Brugger P.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2000).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Brain electric correlates
of strong belief in paranormal phenomena: intracerebral EEG source and regional
Omega complexity analyses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Psychiatry
Research, 22:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>139-54.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11120441">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11120441</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Szelenberger W, Wackermann J, Skalski M, Drojewski J, &
Niemcewicz S.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(1996).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Interhemispheric differences of sleep EEG
complexity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Acta Neurobiologiae
Experimentalis (Warsaw),
56, 955-9.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9033131</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Toth M, Faludi B, Wackermann J, Czopf J, & Kondakor
I.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(2009).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Characteristic changes in brain electrical
activity due to chronic hypoxia in patients with obstructive sleep apnea
syndrome (OSAS): a combined EEG study using LORETA and omega complexity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Brain Topography, 22:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>185-90.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19711180</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
=======</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Field effects and frequencies</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Heartmath.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2012).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The energetic heart is
unfolding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.heartmath.org/free-services/articles-of-the-heart/energetic-heart-is-unfolding.html">http://www.heartmath.org/free-services/articles-of-the-heart/energetic-heart-is-unfolding.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Holle, K.A.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2012).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A new empirical
understanding of the heart as the seat of emotion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.examiner.com/article/a-new-empirical-understanding-of-the-heart-as-the-seat-of-emotion">http://www.examiner.com/article/a-new-empirical-understanding-of-the-heart-as-the-seat-of-emotion</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hutchinson, G.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(nd).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Technical white paper on
why the Sonic Solutions ultrasonic products do not harm life forms other than
algae.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>South Santee Aquaculture,
Inc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://algaecontrol.us/resonance-frequencies.pdf">http://algaecontrol.us/resonance-frequencies.pdf</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Park, K.H. & Lee, C.G.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2000).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Optimization of algal photobioreactors
using flashing lights.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Biotechnology and
Bioprocess Engineering, 5:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>186-90).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.bbe.or.kr/storage/journal/bbe/5_3/6819/articlefile/article.pdf">http://www.bbe.or.kr/storage/journal/bbe/5_3/6819/articlefile/article.pdf</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
sofchem.fr.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(nd).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ultrasonic antifouling
technologies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.sofchem.fr/antialgues_fluid_impact.htm">http://www.sofchem.fr/antialgues_fluid_impact.htm</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Xin, W, Wei, W, & Li, XY.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(2013).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Short-term effects of fish-oil supplementation on heart rate variability
in humans: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,
97:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>926-35.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23515005">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23515005</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Is the brain's em field the source of human
consciousness?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(2011).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://machineslikeus.com/news/brains-em-field-source-human-consciousness">http://machineslikeus.com/news/brains-em-field-source-human-consciousness</a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_theories_of_consciousness#Cemi_theory">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_theories_of_consciousness#Cemi_theory</a></div>
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=======</div>
Sheila Joshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789487768317341942noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6006622137752807559.post-86422863091282695322013-06-11T17:00:00.002-07:002013-06-11T17:00:22.115-07:00Omega-3: Part I: Neuroprotective and psychoactive effects<div class="MsoNormal">
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<b><span style="color: purple;">What is Omega-3?</span></b>
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Omega-3 is a class of fatty acids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fatty acids are the building blocks of fat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are at least four Omega-3 fatty acids
– EPA, DHA, DPA, and ALA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Omega-3 is
“essential,” meaning we need it to survive, but we have to get it from our
food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can’t manufacture it in our
bodies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(We do convert some forms of
Omega-3 to other forms.)</div>
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EPA and DHA are the most bio-available for us, and they are
produced in certain kinds of algae.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>DPA
also comes from algae, but less is known about it as yet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>ALA is manufactured by land plants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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At this time, the best and most common source for us of EPA
and DHA is the fish who eat the algae.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Fish oil capsules are currently booming in the marketplace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Algae oil capsules are up and coming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Omega-3 is the bricks and mortar of the entire nervous
system as well as serving many vital functions in other body systems, including
the cardiovascular system, liver, and skin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is anti-inflammatory – inflammation being the basis of most
disease.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has anti-cancer
properties.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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It seems to have many different mechanisms of action, the
most talked about being that it makes cell walls more flexible, which improves
their functioning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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New research is coming out every day about Omega-3’s health
benefits and mechanisms of action.</div>
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Why is Omega-3 currently the subject of such intensive
research?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why is it flooding the
marketplace, not only as a capsule supplement but as a selling point for
natural and processed foods?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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There is some evidence that we are in a nearly global
dietary crisis of grossly imbalanced Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Omega-6 is another class of essential fatty
acids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need Omega-6, and it has
various functions, including being necessary to trigger an immune response,
including necessary inflammation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>However, research suggests that humans evolved on a diet that had a 1:1
ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today,
around the globe, the Omega-6:Omega-3 ratio measures 5:1 to 50:1, usually worst
in the industrialized countries (Simopoulos, 2002b; Simopoulos & Cleland,
2003).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is little doubt that this
dietary ratio is contributing to the global burden of disease.</div>
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The three countries that have the highest consumption of
fish and thus Omega-3 are Malaysia, Japan, and Iceland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The U.S. falls in the lower half of 38
countries studied.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The average American
would have to supplement with 3,667 mg Omega-3 per day just to equal the
dietary intake of the average Japanese (see chart <a href="http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/83/6/S1483/T2.expansion.html">http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/83/6/S1483/T2.expansion.html</a>,
Hibbeln et al., 2006b).</div>
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In this essay, we are going to focus on the neuroprotective
and psychoactive properties of Omega-3.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We will sample some of the recent research evidence, and then survey the
historical evidence that humans have intuitively recognized the health
properties of Omega-3-containing fish.</div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">A sampling of the research on
Omega-3’s neuroprotective and psychoactive effects</span></b></div>
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There are hundreds of research studies and anecdotal reports
about how Omega-3 may prevent or heal neurological and psychological
problems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here is just a very small
sampling.</div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">Neuroprotective
and neuroreparative effects</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">Dementia and Alzheimer’s</span></b></div>
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New research is rapidly emerging about the apparent benefit
of high Omega-3 intake for preventing or repairing dementia, Alzheimer’s, and
cognitive decline in the elderly.</div>
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A comprehensive review of the literature conducted by Loef
and Walach at the Viadrina European University in Frankfurt, and published in
January 2013, found that, in both animal and human studies, there was a link
between the dietary Omega-6 / Omega-3 ratio, cognitive decline, and incidence
of dementia (Loef & Walach, 2013).</div>
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In another recent paper, Dacks, Shineman, and Fillet at the
Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation in New York point out that epidemiology
indicates a higher risk of cognitive decline in people in the lower quartile of
Omega-3 intake or blood levels (Dacks et al., 2013).</div>
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A 2012 meta-analysis of human studies measuring Omega-3
blood levels, conducted by Lin, Chiu, Huang, and Su at the Kaohsiung Chang Gung
Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung,
Taiwan, found that overall Omega-3 level, EPA level, and DHA level were
significantly lower in people with dementia, while only the EPA level was
significantly lower in people with predementia syndrome (Lin et al., 2012).</div>
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In a study published February 2013, Fiala et al. at the
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA identified key genes and signalizing
networks that might explain how vitamin D and Omega-3 enhance the immune
system’s ability to clear the brain of amyloid-beta plaques, which are a
hallmark of Alzheimer’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The supplements
helped macrophages in vitro to expunge amyloid-beta (5 Feb 2013 UCLA press
release).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This immune function is yet
another mechanism by which Omega-3 may help the brain, in addition to making
neuron walls more flexible and building myelin.</div>
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Another recently published study by Lee et al. out of the
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and
Universiti Sains Malaysia compared elderly people with mild cognitive
impairment to healthy elderly people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The results suggested a correlation between low Omega-3 blood level,
high level of oxidative stress, and mild cognitive impairment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>High Omega-3 level correlated with better
attention, short term memory, and recall (Lee et al., 2013).</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="color: purple;">Multiple
Sclerosis</span></b></div>
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There have been studies that observed that some cultural
groups, such as Greenland Inuits and Japanese, have a diet high in Omega-3, and
have a very low incidence of multiple sclerosis, which is a disease that
involves loss of the myelin sheath around neurons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The studies focused on the anti-inflammatory benefits of Omega-3,
but it is acknowledged that Omega-3 works via many different mechanisms
(Kromann & Green, 1980; Simopoulos, 2002a).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s worth noting that one of the functions of Omega-3 is to
build and repair myelin (Tremblay, 2011).</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="color: purple;">Stroke</span></b></div>
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There is some research that suggests that Omega-3 may be
effective in reducing the risk of stroke in humans, and there is also some
preliminary research with animals suggesting that it might turn out to be
helpful in recovery from stroke.</div>
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Here are a couple of studies about prevention –</div>
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In a study of 79,839 women followed for 14 years, eating
fish two or more times a week was associated with a reduced risk of lacunar
infarction (occlusion of a deep brain artery), and women in the highest
quintile of omega-3 fatty acid intake had a reduced risk of total stroke
compared with women in the lowest quintile (Iso et al., 2001;
http://www.medicine.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/booth/hliving/fishstro.html).</div>
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A study of Japanese who had had a stroke and had high
cholesterol found that taking Omega-3 with a statin drug reduced the risk of
recurrent stroke 20% better than did a statin alone (Tanaka et al., 2008;
Uzoma, K. 2011).</div>
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And here are several animal studies suggesting the
reparative effect of Omega-3 after stroke –</div>
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Mice were subjected to hypoxic-ischemic brain injury.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the ones who were then injected with
Omega-3 within a few hours after the stroke, the area of dead brain tissue was
reduced by 50% (Williams et al., 2013).</div>
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<span style="color: navy;">The effects of the omega-3 fatty
acids include increasing the production of natural neuroprotectants in the
brain, reducing inflammation and cell death, and activating genes that may
protect brain cells. Omega-3 fatty acids also markedly reduce the release of
harmful oxidants into the brain after stroke. "In most clinical trials in
the past, the compounds tested affected only one pathway. Omega-3 fatty acids,
in contrast, are very bioactive molecules that target multiple mechanisms
involved in brain death after stroke," [study co-author] Dr. Deckelbaum
said</span> (<a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130220184723.htm">http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130220184723.htm</a>).</div>
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In another study, mice were given either an Omega-3 enriched
diet, an Omega-3 impoverished diet, or a control diet for three months.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were then subjected to middle cerebral
artery occlusion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Omega-3 fed mice
did better on many markers, with a 25% overall reduction of brain damage (Lalancette-Hébert
et al., 2011; <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110825102250.htm">http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110825102250.htm</a>).</div>
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One more study subjected rats to an induced acute ischemic
stroke.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Omega-3 was then administered
some time after the incident.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When
Omega-3 was administered three hours after the stroke, the result was 40% less
destroyed tissue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the Omega-3 was
administered four hours post-incident, there was 66% less damage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At five hours post-incident, there was 59%
less damage (Belayev et al., 2011; Uzoma, 2011).</div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">Traumatic Brain Injury and coma</span></b></div>
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An area where the neuroreparative effects of Omega-3 are
being avidly explored right now is traumatic brain injury (TBI) of any type,
including that resulting in coma.</div>
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There have been two well-documented, recent cases of people
suffering from massive traumatic brain damage and in a coma, who recovered
after receiving mega-dose Omega-3.</div>
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In the first case, in 2006, Randal McCloy, had been injured
and trapped in a mining accident and was in a coma.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His neurosurgeon Julian Bailes, M.D. administered 20 grams per
day of “Omega-3 fish oil….The damage to McCloy's brain was profound, according
to Bailes. Not only did it experience massive cell death, the protective sheath
around McCloy's nerve cells had been stripped during the hours of exposure to
toxic gases. That sheath, called myelin, allows brain cells to communicate with
one another….Less than three weeks after the mine disaster, McCloy was emerging
from his coma. Three months after that, he was walking and speaking” (Smith,
2012).</div>
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Something similar happened in the case of Bobby Ghassemi,
who was injured in a car accident in 2010.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>His doctor Michael Lewis, M.D. convinced the family that there was no
hope of spontaneous recovery and to give mega-dose Omega-3 a try based on
McCloy’s dramatic recovery.</div>
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Here’s what happened –</div>
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<span style="color: navy;">Two weeks after beginning the
regimen, Ghassemi was emerging from his coma.</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">"We saw hand movements on the
left side," Peter Ghassemi said. "Around the fifth or sixth week,
there was some movement, and then his hands started moving more, the leg was
moving more."</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">Soon after that, Bobby began to
show signs of recognizing his family and his dog and of discerning things like
colors and numbers. Slowly, his brain was recovering, and his family ardently
believes that the high-dose fish oil is the reason why.</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">"His brain was still
recovering, but with (omega-3), it recovered much faster and in a shorter
amount of time," Peter Ghassemi said. "His brain was damaged, and
this was food for the brain."</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">Three months after his accident,
Bobby Ghassemi was well enough to attend his high school graduation (Smith,
2012).</span></div>
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Now, cutting-edge research is going on into the question of
whether Omega-3 supplementation can be used *preventively* to beef up people’s
resilience to potential future head injuries in war and sports.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The need is urgent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The harmfulness of repeated concussions in
sports is becoming more and more apparent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And TBI is the signature injury of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As of Fall 2012, almost a quarter of a million
servicemembers had sustained TBIs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A
handful of vanguard researchers are urging the US Department of Defense to
start thinking of Omega-3 both as treatment and prophylaxis for TBI (Lewis
& Bailes, 2011; Barringer & Conkright, 2012).</div>
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In one animal study, rats were given either no Omega-3, a
small amount, a medium amount, or a large amount for 30 days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then they were subjected to impact
acceleration brain trauma.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, they
were measured on a maze test, then sacrificed and studied anatomically and cellularly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was some benefit at the lower two
doses, but the rats who had received the highest dose of Omega-3 did better on
every measure of brain damage than rats who had received no Omega-3 prophylaxis
(Mills et al., 2011).</div>
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Finally, there is another reason to expect that Omega-3
supplementation would be neuroprotective and neuro-reparative for any kind of
neurological problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are studies
that suggest that the body produces its own Omega-3 in response to brain
injury.</div>
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During the restoration of blood flow after blockage in rat
brains and in oxidative stress-challenged human retinal cells, endogenous DHA
(an Omega-3) is promptly released and converted into neuroprotectin D1 which
serves many, many neuroprotective functions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In other words, there is an endogenous, automatic self-protective
mechanism that involves Omega-3 which is triggered by the onset of brain injury
(Bazan, 2005; Bazan et al., 2005; Bazan, 2006; Bazan et al., 2011).</div>
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Now let us do a brief sampling of the psychoactive properties
of Omega-3.</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="color: purple;">Psychoactive effects</span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="color: purple;">Homicide</span></b></div>
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One cross-national study of 36 countries found that –</div>
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<span style="color: navy;">“Cross-national ecological data
indicate that there is an inverse relationship between seafood consumption, a
surrogate of omega-3 intake, and rates of death by homicide (r 0.63, p
<0.0006, n 36 countries) (Hibbeln, 2001)” (Hibbeln et al., 2006a).</span></div>
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Omega-6 opposes Omega-3 and increases inflammation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of the Omega-6’s is linoleic acid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another study of five Western countries
found that –</div>
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<span style="color: navy;">“In addition, greater linoleic acid
consumption, estimated from economic disappearance data, has been found to have
a direct relationship with homicide rates across five countries (r 0.93, p
<1 10^40) between 1960 and 1999 (Hibbeln, Nieminen, & Lands, 2004.)” (Hibbeln
et al., 2006a).</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">Suicide</span></b></div>
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In a retrospective study of 800 US military personnel who
committed suicide compared with 800 matched servicemember control subjects, low
Omega-3 level was correlated with a 62% higher risk of suicide.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each standard deviation lower of Omega-3
carried a 14% higher risk of suicide (Lewis et al., 2011).</div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">Depression</span></b></div>
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A meta-analysis of 10 studies showed that Omega-3 had
significant antidepressant efficacy (Lin & Su, 2007).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And another meta-analysis of 15 studies
showed that a particular Omega-3 – EPA – when higher than DHA, was correlated
with the best antidepressant effect (Sublette et al., 2011).</div>
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In another study, medically healthy adults who did not rise
to the level of being diagnosable with a psychiatric disorder showed that a
higher Omega-6:Omega-3 ratio correlated with greater depressive symptomology
and neuroticism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In other words, high
Omega-6 and low Omega-3 correlated with more psychological distress even in a
sub-clinical population (Conklin et al., 2007).</div>
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The Inuit or Eskimos of Greenland may have had the highest
known daily Omega-3 consumption, at least in the past.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pioneering research was done by Hugh
Sinclair of the UK and Hans Olaf Bang and Jørn Dyerberg of Denmark in the
1940’s through 1970’s. They traveled by dog sled across the tundra in a race to
collect Inuit blood samples and record their diet before outside influences
changed their traditional lifestyle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They were trying to understand why the Inuit had a mysteriously low
level of cardiovascular disease despite a diet full of blubber.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At least one reason turned out to be that
they ate approximately 14 g / day of Omega-3 (British Journal of Cardiology,
2004).</div>
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<br /></div>
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Sadly, the Inuit lifestyle has been changed by outside
influences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An analysis of survey results
taken in 2004 from 746 Inuit adults showed that those who scored higher on a
test of mood disorders had, on average, lower Omega-3 and higher Omega-6.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Furthermore, psychological distress was
inversely correlated with Omega-3 level (Lucas et al., 2010).</div>
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<br /></div>
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Omega-3 has also been found to be effective for post-partum
depression.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pregnant women donate a lot
of Omega-3 to their fetuses, which is very important for fetal neurological
development.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the women don’t get
enough dietary Omega-3, they become depleted, and more vulnerable to
post-partum depression.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One 23-country
study compared rates of post-partum depression, levels of Omega-3 in mothers’
milk, and seafood consumption.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
study found a correlation between higher level of the Omega-3 DHA, greater
seafood consumption, and lower prevalence of post-partum depression (Hibbeln,
2002).</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="color: purple;">Bipolar
disorder</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In a now famous study at McClean Hospital, Harvard Medical
School, people with Bipolar Disorder were given 9.6 grams of Omega-3 per day
for four months.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Analysis showed “that
the omega3 fatty acid patient group had a significantly longer period of
remission than the placebo group (P = .002; Mantel-Cox). In addition, for
nearly every other outcome measure, the omega3 fatty acid group performed better
than the placebo group” (Stoll et al., 1999).</div>
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<br /></div>
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A cross-national study which compared 8 – 14 countries
(depending on which diagnosis was looked at) found a robust correlation between
greater seafood consumption and lower incidence of Bipolar I, Bipolar II, and
Bipolar Spectrum Disorder (Noaghiul & Hibbeln, 2003).</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="color: purple;">Psychosis</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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In a recent study, adolescents and young adults deemed to be
at ultra high risk for having a first psychotic episode were given 1.2 g
Omega-3 for 12 weeks, and then monitored for 40 weeks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the group which had received placebo, 11
of 40 had a psychotic episode.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the
Omega-3 group, 2 of 41 had a psychotic episode.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was a statistically significant difference.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Omega-3 was also correlated with lower
symptomology and better functioning (Amminger et al., 2010; Amminger &
McGorryl, 2012).</div>
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<br /></div>
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Another study showed that, compared to control subjects,
people having a first episode of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, and
who had not been exposed to antipsychotic medication, had significantly lower
Omega-3 blood levels (Reddy at al., 2004).</div>
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<br /></div>
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This concludes our cursory demonstration of how effective
Omega-3 is – either in supplement form or directly from eating fish – for many
neurological and psychological problems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Now we are going to survey the cultural history of fish in
order to show that, for thousands of years, humans have associated fish – the
primary dietary source of Omega-3 – with desirable qualities.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">Cultural history of fish</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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In a fascinating article entitled, “Cultural symbolism of
fish and the psychotropic properties of omega-3 fatty acids,” Biologist L.C.
Reis and psychiatrist and lipid biochemist Joseph Hibbeln (whose
epidemiological work on Omega-3 has been quoted liberally above) make the case
that throughout history cultures around the world show signs of having
recognized the desirable psychoactive and physically healing properties of
fish.</div>
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Here is an abbreviated version of their compelling
hypothesis, directly from their article –</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“…due to its abundance of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, fish is
food with the psychotropic properties of reducing depression and aggression”
(Reis & Hibbeln, 2006, p. 228).</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">“Because seafood is a uniquely rich
source of these psychoactive molecules, we posit that, over the course of human
history, symbols of fish and seafood have become associated with the emotional
states induced by long-chain omega-3s” (Reis & Hibbeln, 2006, p. 228).</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“Jung posited that an entire
culture can collectively understand the meaning of a symbol and that
individuals inherit symbol-meaning pairs from their cultures . We posit that
the mental states of calmness and peace have become linked to symbols of fish
and seafood through conscious and unconscious associative pairing” (Reis &
Hibbeln, 2006, p. 228).</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“If omega-3 fatty acids found in
fish have significant psychotropic properties then it would seem reasonable
that a multitude of people across time would have created these associations
prior to modern neuroscience” (Reis & Hibbeln, 2006, p. 229).</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“Thus, we propose that the
antidepressive, anxiolytic and calming, psychotropic properties of long-chain
omega-3s, have been linked symbols of fish in cultural paradigms including:
food purity, physical health, mental well-being and cultural identity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This manuscript tests this proposition by
examining if fish consumption or symbols of fish are consistently associated
with healing mental illness, purifying physical</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">illness, or as core symbols of
cultural or religious identity among the world’s major medical and religious
traditions” (Reis & Hibbeln, 2006 p. 229).</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now, we will look primarily at spiritual traditions, and
some healing traditions, from around the world that demonstrate how
overwhelmingly fish has come to symbolize deeply meaningful and positively
slanted themes.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<b><span style="color: purple;">Taoism</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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The Taoist yin-yang symbol, the taijitu, can be traced to
around 1000 CE and represents the interplay of opposites which is essential to
nature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is also called the fish
symbol, or double fish symbol, and looks like two fish wrapped around each
other, complete with eyes (Reis & Hibbeln, 2006, p. 230, Bolwell, nd,
Wiki).</div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.topillustrations.com/_upload/portfolio/12998399582654307.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.topillustrations.com/_upload/portfolio/12998399582654307.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Krista Vuori, topillustrations.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="color: purple;">Traditional Chinese Medicine and Feng Shui</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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In Traditional Chinese Medicine, whose roots go back to at
least 3000 BCE: “When a person becomes too aggressive or agitated by an excess
of yang energy, seafood, which carries abundant yin energy, is prescribed”
(H.C. Lu in Reis & Hibbeln, 2006, p. 230).</div>
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<br /></div>
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Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese system that combines
astronomy and landscape features to determine the most propitious time to do
things and the most propitious way to build things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Its roots go back at least to 4000 BCE (Wiki).</div>
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<br /></div>
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In Feng Shui, fish are associated with prosperity,
abundance, success, good fortune, love, fidelity, and fertility.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Arowana fish is used in Chinese iconography to symbolize
prosperity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has physical features
reminiscent of a dragon, and is a very expensive, highly valued fish
(anamikas.hubpages.com).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.colourbox.com/preview/2557568-191576-brass-arowana-used-as-a-feng-shui-item-to-enhance-wealth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="http://www.colourbox.com/preview/2557568-191576-brass-arowana-used-as-a-feng-shui-item-to-enhance-wealth.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="color: purple;">Shinto</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Shinto is the indigenous spiritual practice of Japan, first
recorded in the 8<sup>th</sup> c. CE (Wiki).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>According to Reis and Hibbeln --</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“Ebisu is a Shinto deity that
brings joy, luck, and prosperity. He is thought to have come from the sea, and
he carries a large fish, a sea bream, under his arm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Paintings and sculptures depict him exuding happiness and
joviality. He carries with him happiness, luck, prosperity, and symbolically
linked with his beneficence, a fish” (Reis & Hibbeln, 2006, p. 234).</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<b><span style="color: purple;">Hinduism
</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Reis and Hibbeln write –</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“There are at least two important
fish deities in the Hindu pantheon, and both are associated with peace and
benevolence. The first is Matsya. There are ten</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">incarnations of the Lord Vishnu,
the first of which is Matsya, a fish. Matsya is humanity’s savior, as he saved
Manu, the first human, from a great flood. The second,</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">Ganga, is the goddess of the
Ganges, and she rides a vehicle, the makara, that is half crocodile and half
fish” (Reis & Hibbeln, 2006, p. 234).</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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There are also several religious and social ceremonies that
involve eating fish as symbolic of social harmony (Reis & Hibbeln, 2006, p.
234).</div>
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<br /></div>
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Yoga positions, used for physical, mental, and spiritual
development, have roots going back to at least the 3<sup>rd</sup> millenium BCE
(Wiki).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of the positions is called
Fish Pose or Matsyasana, named after Matsya.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.yogajournal.com/media/originals/fish_248.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.yogajournal.com/media/originals/fish_248.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.yogajournal.com/media/originals/fish_248.jpg"><br /></a>Matsyasana is the destroyer of all diseases (Wilkinson,
2009).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Just as Matsya rebalanced earth
and ocean, so practicing Fish Pose can be a way of reestablishing your focus
and giving you resiliency when you feel gravity laden” (Lee, 2010).
</div>
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<br /></div>
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In addition to the obvious benefits of this position to
spine, neck, chest, and stomach, it is said to relieve stress and irritation,
regulate emotion, lighten mood, and lift and stimulate the heart chakra
(cnyhealingarts.com; Lee, 2010; yoga108.org).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It increases circulation, aids breathing, digestion and
metabolism, boosts the immune system, supports the thyroid, and tones the
nervous system, the pelvic organs and the nerves connected with sexual
functions. It also helps prevent and repair reproductive system disorders.
(Lee, 2010; yoga108.org; Wilkinson, 2009).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Interestingly, these are all health benefits of Omega-3.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<b><span style="color: purple;">Buddhism</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Reis & Hibbeln –</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“….[F]ish are designated as one of
the eight auspicious symbols of Buddha. Of the eight auspicious symbols, the
only one that represents a physical aspect of the Buddha is a symbol of two
golden fish, which represent his eyes with which he gazes at the world with
compassion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is interesting to note
that DHA is selectively concentrated in the retina, and DHA deficiency is
associated with poor visual acuity” (Reis & Hibbeln, 2006, p. 234).</span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://0.tqn.com/d/buddhism/1/0/b/1/-/-/fish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://0.tqn.com/d/buddhism/1/0/b/1/-/-/fish.jpg" width="185" /></a></div>
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The set of eight auspicious symbols is called the
Ashtamangala, and is shared by Buddhism with other south Asian religions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The two fish also represent “the state of
fearless suspension in a harmless ocean of samsara,” and as buddha-eyes they symbolize
“the auspiciousness of all sentient beings in a state of fearlessness without
danger of drowning in the Samsaric Ocean of Suffering, and migrating from place
to place and teaching to teaching freely and spontaneously just as fish swim
freely without fear through water” (Wiki).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The two fish symbolize the sacred Ganges and Yamuna rivers of India
(ancient-symbols.com, Wiki).</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="color: purple;">West African</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is a creation myth in Mali in West Africa in which
Mangala, the creator, tries several times unsuccessfully to bring forth things
from within himself and to plant seeds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In some versions, he only becomes successful when the seeds transform
into twin fish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fish are symbols of
fertility and creation in the culture, and Mangala is the name of an expensive,
desirable fish in West Africa (epsb.com, whats-your-sign.com,
dickinsg.intrasun.tcnj.edu, bu.edu, Wiki).</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="color: purple;">Ancient Mediterranean</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Reis and Hibbeln -- </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“Ancient Babylonians, Assyrians,
Phoenicians, and Philistines all worshiped the half-fish, half-man god referred
to in the Bible as Dagon. The root of his biblical name is dag, the Hebrew word
for fish, but he was also called Oannes, Ea, and other names. In all of these
traditions, Dagon is depicted as a half-fish god, and his priests are often
shown wearing huge fish as hats and robes. This ancient tradition of fish
reverence may have influenced the development of fish symbolism and rituals of
fish consumption in Judaism and Christianity” (Reis & Hibbeln, 2006, p.
234).</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In Greek mythology, Aphrodite and Eros must escape from
Typhon, and, depending on the version, they either transform themselves into a
pair of fish or are rescued by a pair of fish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In this case, fish are said to be symbolic of transformation and
generative powers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Aphrodite is also
accompanied by Ikhthyokentauroi – sea centaurs with fish tails -- when she is
born from the sea (mythindex.com, whats-your-sign.com, theoi.com).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Aphrodite is not the only goddess associated with fish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are several goddesses with an
association to fish, fertility, sexuality, and – interestingly – some of them
also to Fridays.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Roman goddess
Venus is an example, as is the Scandinavian goddess Freya.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(More on Fridays and fish in Christianity
below).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Other goddesses associated with
fish were the Syrian goddess Atargatis, and the goddess of Ephesus (who went by
various names) (albatrus.org, glbet-el.org, cracked.com, Wiki).</div>
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“Delphus” is an ancient Greek word for “womb.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a homophone for “delphis”, the word for
dolphin, and they are probably etymologically connected
(constellationsofwords.com).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Note that fish is considered an “aphrodisiac,” and thus
pertains to Aphrodite (britannica.com).</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="color: purple;">Vesica piscis</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The vesica piscis (Latin for fish’s bladder) is a pointed
oval shape that can be found all over the ancient world, not just the
Mediterranean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is the shape formed
by two overlapping circles of the same size, where the center of each circle
lies on the perimeter of the other (Wiki).</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bd/Vesica_Piscis.svg/220px-Vesica_Piscis.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bd/Vesica_Piscis.svg/220px-Vesica_Piscis.svg.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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</div>
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The ancient Greek mathematician and mystic Pythagoras (born
580 BCE) used the vesica piscis as the source shape from which all other shapes
could be created (jwilson.coe.uga.edu).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The vesica piscis has been used horizontally to symbolize
Christianity and is called the sign of the fish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vertically, it has been used by Christianity to symbolize, among
other things, the passage between heaven and earth (philomuse.com,
sandplay.org).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Several authors claim that prior to Christianity, the shape
represented a vulva, and was associated with many goddesses (Walker, 1983, p.
134; Biedermann, 1994; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk%3AVesica_piscis)</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A possible transitional figure between the pre-Christian
symbolism of the vesica piscis and the Christian symbolism is the sheela na
gig.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These are architectural figures of
squatting women with exaggeratedly open vulvas, often a pointed oval shape that
mirrors the vesica piscis.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d1/SheelaWiki.jpg/220px-SheelaWiki.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d1/SheelaWiki.jpg/220px-SheelaWiki.jpg" width="148" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d1/SheelaWiki.jpg/220px-SheelaWiki.jpg"><br /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Although the sheela na gig term has been reserved for
figures found in Europe, these figures are probably part of a continuum of
similar figures found all over the world and throughout history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Note that there is a yoga position, used for
birthing, called the Kali asana, named for the Hindu goddess, which mirrors the
position of these European sheela na gigs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>These figures have probably held various meanings over time, including
messages pro and con sexuality, fertility, and warding off evil (Wiki).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The oldest known sheela na gig is found at Göbekli Tepe, a
temple complex in Turkey that is 11,000 years old (Wiki; Ruyle, 2009;
cambriapress.com).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is still
controversy about the earliest dating and meaning of the figures in Western
Europe, but it is agreed that, although many of the figures are found on
Christian churches, they were originally from different, older structures
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Sheela_na_gig).</div>
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Let us look at just one more ancient cultural artifact that
links goddesses, female genitals, fish, and beneficent qualities – the Yoni
mudra.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yoni is the Sanskrit word for
vagina, womb, source, home, and divine passage, among other things, and there
are stone-carved yonis at ancient archeological sites.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The yoni is symbolic of Shakti and Devi,
goddesses<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>who represent the the female
aspect of the divine (Wiki).</div>
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Mudras are ancient hand gestures with specific meanings, the
use of which promote different healing effects in the body (Wiki).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Yoni mudra mirrors the vesica piscis
form.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s effect is to detach the
practitioner from the external world, to calm and relax, and to return one to
the quasi-uterine environment of the divine mother (Wiki; 100megsfree.com;
suite101.com; yogawiz.com).</div>
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<a href="http://www.100megsfree.com/yoga/mudras/yonimudra.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.100megsfree.com/yoga/mudras/yonimudra.jpg" width="149" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="color: purple;">Astrology</span></b></div>
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In astrology, the millenias-old, worldwide traditions of
analysing correspondences between astronomical and earthly events, the
influence of the Pisces constellation shows us more associations between fish
and beneficial qualities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The symbol
for Pisces is two fish connected by a band, stylized as two half-circles with a
band.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://waktattoos.com/large/Koi+Fish_tattoo_361.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://waktattoos.com/large/Koi+Fish_tattoo_361.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">jackiethepirate on deviantart, http://waktattoos.com </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="color: navy;">"Pisces" is the Latin
word for "Fish." It is one of the earliest zodiac signs on record,
with the two fish appearing as far back as c. 2300 BCE on an Egyptian coffin
lid….</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">“According to British astrologer
Alan Leo, the Pisces, along with Scorpio and Cancer, compose the triplicity for
water signs, also known as "mutable signs." The mutability is key to
the ever-changing element of water, found in several different forms, much like
the transformative aspects…found in Christ and Piscean nature. Additionally,
these three are considered to be the most fruitful signs, who serve a fertilizing
function in nature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He also groups
Pisces under the "negative pole;" naturally adept to the astral and
psychic worlds. This is [symbolized] in the sign for Pisces, which is composed
of two half-circles and a band, signifying the dual nature of man in both the
physical world and the unseen realm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>According to 20th century astrologer Robert Hand, the fish facing
upwards away from the ecliptic is swimming towards the heavens, or is seeking
spiritual illumination. The other fish swims along the ecliptic, concerning
itself with material matters.</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">The last sign of the Zodiac, the
Pisces symbol has been said to be a representation of the difficulty in
extracting the good from that which appears bad. The moral of the symbol for
Pisces is said to be that "the severe season has passed; though your
flocks, as yet, do not yield their store, the ocean and rivers are open to you,
their inhabitants are placed within your power." It is generally
considered a feminine sign….The body parts associated with Pisces are the
feet….astrologists also associate various diseases of the body with the zodiac,
and Pisces' diseases are those of the feet
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pisces_%28astrology%29).</span></div>
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The other astrological sign that involves fish is Capricorn,
which is represented as a goat with a fish’s tail.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This sign is supposed to cross the pragmatic, ambitious, material
aspects of the goat with the intuitive and occult wisdom and knowledge of the
depths of the fish (Houlding, 2003; Wade, 2009).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The sign is associated with Ea (mentioned above), an ancient
Mediterranean god (a version of Enki), whose symbols were the goat and fish
(Wiki; Wade, 2009).</div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">Judaism
</span></b></div>
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In Judaism, fish has been a symbol for righteousness and
protection from the evil eye.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their
being covered by water is part of what protected them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Reis and Hibbeln write –</div>
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<span style="color: navy;">“Fish is protected from the evil
eye, which conceptually divides it from evil.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The omega-3 fatty acids in fish may physiologically protect people from
states of being and behaviors that are conceptualized as evil, such as
impulsivity, hostility and aggression.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Using fish as a symbol for protection from evil could have partially
originated from the associative pairing of fish consumption and a decrease in
such behaviors (Reis & Hibbeln, 2006, p. 233).</span></div>
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Also, from Reis & Hibbeln –</div>
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<span style="color: navy;">“’From no orthodox table is fish
absent at one or more of the Sabbath meals, however difficult it may be to
procure.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This may be a precursor to
the Christian tradition of eating fish on Fridays. In the Talmud, many folk
remedies involve fish, and its professed effects associate it with peacefulness
and calm, alongside general health and well-being” (jewishencyclopedia.com in
Reis & Hibbeln, 2006, p. 232).</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">Christianity</span></b></div>
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Reis & Hibbeln –</div>
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<span style="color: navy;">“Christianity unambiguously regards
fish as a sacred food that Christians should eat to maintain their faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The sacredness of fish in Christianity is
repeatedly shown by its association with Jesus and His miracles in the New
Testament. The symbol of the fish is a representation of Jesus and Christianity
that predates the crucifix, and for centuries it was more common than the
crucifix. The use of the fish symbol began earlier than the second century AD,
at which time Clement of Alexandria declared it to be an identifier of Christians.
Saint Augustine (AD 354–430) exalted the fish symbol in his writings and
instructed all Christians to regard it as a sacred symbol of Christ. Augustine
justified the choice of fish as Christ’s symbol by explaining that the Greek
word for fish, ΙΧΘΥΣ, is an acrostic for the Greek ‘‘Jesus Christ the Son of
God the Savior.’’ </span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">The equation of fish with Jesus is
not only iconographic. In the New Testament, there are numerous passages in
which Jesus is in close contact with fish, and He and His disciples are called
‘fishers of men’ (Mark 1)” (Reis & Hibbeln, 2006, p. 231).</span></div>
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Jesus famously multiplies loaves and fishes to feed a
multitude.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He uses fishing analogies a
lot in his teachings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He helps his
disciples to catch 153 fish in one try.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And, at another point, he tells a disciple to go catch one fish, which
turns out to have a coin in its mouth, which is exactly what they need to pay
admittance to the temple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fish
symbol is believed to have been used by early Christians to communicate among
themselves secretly (Wiki).</div>
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Christians were supposed to eat only fish on Fridays, a
custom observed by Catholics until Vatican II in the 1960s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a fun NPR piece entitled “Lust, Lies And
Empire: The Fishy Tale Behind Eating Fish On Friday,” Maria Godoy writes --</div>
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<span style="color: navy;">“Let's start with a quick lesson in
theology: According to Christian teaching, Jesus died on a Friday, and his
death redeemed a sinful world. People have written of fasting on Friday to
commemorate this sacrifice as early as the first century.</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">Technically, it's the flesh of
warmblooded animals that's off limits — an animal "that, in a sense,
sacrificed its life for us, if you will," explains Michael Foley, an
associate professor at Baylor University and author of Why Do Catholics Eat
Fish On Friday?</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">Fish are coldblooded, so they're
considered fair game. "If you were inclined to eat a reptile on
Friday," Foley tells The Salt, "you could do that, too."</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">Alas, Christendom never really
developed a hankering for snake. But fish — well, they'd been associated with
sacred holidays even in pre-Christian times” (Godoy, 2012).</span></div>
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Now, just because it’s so interesting, here’s a sidebar on
the political and economic factors that also propelled this custom down through
the centuries.</div>
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In a fascinating re-interpretation of the Medieval European
discovery of the Americas, Anthropologist Brian Fagan shows us that, once
again, there is nothing new under the sun – there was over-fishing and climate
change in the Middle Ages.</div>
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<span style="color: navy;">“It was fish, not spices, that led
to the discovery of North America," speculates anthropologist Fagan. From
1495 to 1525, he tells us, the monks at Westminster Abbey consumed almost
11,000 kilograms of fish per year. The sheer enormity of this piscine cuisine
offers a snapshot of the exalted place fish held in the life of religious
communities. Fagan…regales readers with a….tale of Christianity's role in the
development of fishing and fisheries as commercial ventures. By the fourth
century, fish had become the center of Christian fast days and holy feasts.
Early forms of aquaculture were developed to meet the demand, but eventually,
as Fagan points out, Europe's rapidly growing Catholic population and its
demand for fish on Fridays and fast days led, as early as the Middle Ages, to a
North Atlantic fishing industry providing herring and cod and developing
salting and smoking to preserve the fish for the transatlantic trip. But the
onset of the Little Ice Age forced fishermen further south, and eventually they
followed cod down to their winter waters off the coast of Maine” (Publisher’s
Weekly review, Amazon, Fagan, 2006). </span></div>
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And Godoy expands on the political and economic machinations
of fish on Fridays.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Henry VIII
broke with the Pope in Rome around 1532, eating fish came to be seen as
“popish” and out of favor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fishing
industry suffered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When his young son
Edward VI and his advisors took over in 1547, they found it politically and
economically expedient to reinstate the Friday fish requirement by force of law
(Godoy, 2012).</div>
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According to Reis and Hibbeln –</div>
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<span style="color: navy;">“From the years 1242 to 1966, there
were approximately 140 days of Abstinence</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">every year on which Catholics were
required to abstain from meat other than fish. These included Wednesdays,
Fridays, Lent, Ember days (the beginning of each season), Christmas and
Pentecost vigils, All Saints’ Day, and Assumption” (Reis & Hibbeln, 2006,
p. 232).</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">Islam</span></b></div>
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According to Reis and Hibbeln, “Through the Prophet
Muhammad, Allah specifically declared fish of all kinds Halal, or clean and
acceptable to eat” (Reis & Hibbeln, 2006, p. 232).</div>
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The Moorish government of Málaga struck coins with fish on
them in 1017 CE, and the reason for these fish has been debated by
scholars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a wonderful paper entitled
“The Quranic symbol of fish on Hammudid coins:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>al Khidr and the holy geography of the Straits of Gibraltar,” the
Andalusian linguistic scholars Salvador Peña Martín and Miguel Vega Martín cite
a passage from the Quran about the meeting between Moses and the mystical
Islamic prophet al Khidr.</div>
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Moses was instructed by God to search for al Khidr, who
would teach him secret knowledge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Moses
asked how he would meet al Khidr, and God answered, “put a fish in a basket,
and where you lose it, everything will happen” (Peña & Vega, 2006, p. 274).</div>
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Moses and his companion Joshua travel, forget about the
salted fish they carry, later remember it, find al Khidr who brings the fish
back to life, and al Khidr instructs Moses on “the unknown” (Peña & Vega,
2006, pp. 273-5).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The crucial moment
takes place at the meeting of two seas, which has been interpreted as being the
Straits of Gibraltar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And the meeting
between the two prophets symbolizes the meeting of Moses’ religious law,
science, and the material world with al Khidr’s gnosis (mystical insight) and
philosophical idealism (Peña & Vega, 2006, pp. 273-5).</div>
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The fish is interpreted as signifying this meeting of two
systems of thought, as well as spiritual leadership.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The authors propose that the rulers of Málaga coined the fish to
invoke these meanings (Peña & Vega, 2006, pp. 277).</div>
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Religion professor Irfan Omar, PhD expands on this Quranic
episode.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fish symbolizes
knowledge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is salted and forgotten
by Moses and his companion, and even disappears for awhile on their quest to
find a servant of Allah from whom Moses will learn secret, divine
knowledge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During this phase, the dead
fish represents only exoteric knowledge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But, once they meet the prophet al Khidr, the fish is brought back to
life by the addition of esoteric knowledge (Omar, 1993).</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="color: purple;">Maori</span></b></div>
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The Maori of New Zealand are descended from Polynesians who
arrived in New Zealand around 1250 CE (Wiki).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Fish and seafood have been traditionally of central importance, and the
Maori have had many ecologically sound practices for the maintenance of their
fisheries (genuinemaoricuisine.com).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
an interesting departure from the widespread use of the fish as symbol, the
Maori focused on the fish hook.</div>
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The Maori fish hook or hei matau has a unique shape which is
reminiscent both of a jawbone and a bay on the North Island of New
Zealand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These correspondences feature
in a Maori creation myth in which the mythological figure Maui is born
premature, but nurtured by the sea, and becomes a consummate fisherman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He uses his enchanted fish hook to snare not
only vast quantities of fish, but also new land, and the sun (Wiki,
maori.info).</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www3.tattootribes.com/multimedia/88/hei-matau.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="167" src="http://www3.tattootribes.com/multimedia/88/hei-matau.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">tattootribes.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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This fish hook is a very popular amulet and tattoo that has
come to symbolize good luck, prosperity, abundance, fertility, good health,
power, authority, respect for the sea, sea life, and the god of the sea, and
safety on the sea (Wiki, maori.info, squiddoo.com)</div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">Maya</span></b></div>
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In the Mesoamerican Maya culture, the K’iche’ Maya creation
myth tells the story of Hero Twins who are faced with many extreme challenges,
and eventually killed by the gods of the underworld.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their bones are ground up and thrown in the water, where they are
reconstituted as two fish or fish-men.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They then defeat the gods of the underworld, including the lords of
death (Grofe, 2009; Wiki; chapala.com).</div>
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“Following their resurrection as fish-men…the Hero Twins
develop a special talent for being able to bring themselves and others back to
life, and to raise buildings that have been burned down” (Grofe, 2009,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>p. 56).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Finally, they ascend to the sky, where they become the sun and moon.</div>
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In this story and other myths from the same culture, fish
symbolize sacrificial death and mystical rebirth, fertility, resurrection and
transformation (Grofe, 2009; Wiki; chapala.com).</div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">Conclusion
of Part I</span></b></div>
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This concludes the survey of the cultural history of
fish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is not an exhaustive
review.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, if you would like
to learn more about ancient Norse and Celtic beliefs in the wisdom-giving
properties of salmon, here is a nice essay I discovered late in my research
that has that and more –</div>
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Symbolic meaning of fish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2012).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://newsonhistory.blogspot.com/2009/10/symbolic-meaning-of-fish.html">http://newsonhistory.blogspot.com/2009/10/symbolic-meaning-of-fish.html</a></div>
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In the present essay we sampled some of the research
evidence that suggests that Omega-3 protects and repairs neurological and
psychological problems, and we surveyed some ancient cultural narratives to
back up Reis and Hibbeln’s contention that throughout history and around the
world people have intuited the connection between fish consumption and mental
and physical health.</div>
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They conclude –</div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: navy;">“….the gods represented by fish are peaceful gods….We
believe there is substantial evidence that the psychoactive properties of fish
caused people around the world to independently identify fish as a food that
calms aggression, reduces distressful emotions and promotes peacefulness in
conscious and unconscious associations…We may be only catching up with the
ancients in the promotion of fish consumption as a public health tool…” (Reis
& Hibbeln, 2006, p. 234)</span></div>
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In Part 2, we will talk about another possible benefit of Omega-3.</div>
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==============</div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">Sources:</span></b></div>
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Amminger GP, Schäfer MR, Papageorgiou K, Klier CM, Cotton
SM, Harrigan SM, Mackinnon A, McGorry PD, & Berger GE.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(2010).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Long-chain omega-3 fatty acids for indicated prevention of psychotic
disorders: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Archives of General Psychiatry, 67:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>146-154.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20124114">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20124114</a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Amminger, G.P. & McGorryl, P.D.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(2012).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Update on Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Early-Stage Psychotic
Disorders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Neuropsychopharmacology
Reviews, 37:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>309–310.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.nature.com/npp/journal/v37/n1/full/npp2011187a.html#bib6">http://www.nature.com/npp/journal/v37/n1/full/npp2011187a.html#bib6</a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Barringer N, Conkright W.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2012).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Omega-3 Fatty Acid
Ingestion as a TBI Prophylactic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
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</span>Cleland, L.G. (Eds.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2003).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Omega-6/Omega-3
Essential Fatty Acid Ratio: The Scientific Evidence (World Review of Nutrition
and Dietetics).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Basel:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>S. Karger, Publishers.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Smith, S.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2012).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fish oil helped save our
son.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/19/health/fish-oil-brain-injuries/index.html</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Stoll, A.L., Severus, W.E., Freeman, M.P., Rueter, S.,
Zboyan, H.A., Diamond, E., Cress, K.K., & Marangell, L.B.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(1999).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Omega 3 fatty acids in bipolar disorder: a preliminary double-blind,
placebo-controlled trial.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Archives of
General Psychiatry,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>56 (5):<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>407-12.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10232294">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10232294</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sublette ME, Ellis SP, Geant AL, & Mann JJ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(2011).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Meta-analysis of the effects of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) in clinical
trials in depression.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Journal of
Clinical Psychiatry, 72:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1577-84.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21939614</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tanaka K, Ishikawa Y, Yokoyama M, Origasa H, Matsuzaki M,
Saito Y, Matsuzawa Y, Sasaki J, Oikawa S, Hishida H, Itakura H, Kita T,
Kitabatake A, Nakaya N, Sakata T, Shimada K, Shirato K; JELIS Investigators,
Japan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(2008).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Reduction in the recurrence of stroke by
eicosapentaenoic acid for hypercholesterolemic patients: subanalysis of the
JELIS trial.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stroke, 39:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2052-8.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18451347</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tremblay, L.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(2011).
Do Omega 3 fatty acids play a role in myelin production?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.livestrong.com/article/474358-do-omega-3-fatty-acids-play-a-role-in-myelin-production/">http://www.livestrong.com/article/474358-do-omega-3-fatty-acids-play-a-role-in-myelin-production/</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Uzoma, K.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2011).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Omega-3 stroke
prevention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.livestrong.com/article/426339-omega-3-stroke-prevention/">http://www.livestrong.com/article/426339-omega-3-stroke-prevention/</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wade, P.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2009).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Capricorn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>http://www.astrologywizard.com/capricorn.htm</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Walker, B.G.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(1983).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Woman’s Encyclopedia
of Myths and Secrets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>San Francisco:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Harper One.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wilkinson, F.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2009).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Health benefits of the
yoga fish pose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://suite101.com/article/health-benefits-of-the-yoga-fish-pose-a128524">http://suite101.com/article/health-benefits-of-the-yoga-fish-pose-a128524</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Williams JJ, Mayurasakorn K, Vannucci SJ, Mastropietro C,
Bazan NG, Ten VS, Deckelbaum RJ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2013).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>N-3 fatty acid rich
triglyceride emulsions are neuroprotective after cerebral hypoxic-ischemic
injury in neonatal mice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>PLOS One,
8(2):e56233.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23437099">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23437099</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.medicine.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/booth/hliving/fishstro.html">http://www.medicine.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/booth/hliving/fishstro.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130220184723.htm">http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130220184723.htm</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110825102250.htm">http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110825102250.htm</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin_and_yang">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin_and_yang</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taijitu">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taijitu</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feng_shui">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feng_shui</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://anamikas.hubpages.com/hub/Arowana-Flowerhorn-Dragon-Carp-Gold-Fish-Feng-Shui-Good-Luck-Prosperity">http://anamikas.hubpages.com/hub/Arowana-Flowerhorn-Dragon-Carp-Gold-Fish-Feng-Shui-Good-Luck-Prosperity</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinto">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinto</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.cnyhealingarts.com/2011/08/05/the-health-benefits-of-matsyasana-fish-pose/">http://www.cnyhealingarts.com/2011/08/05/the-health-benefits-of-matsyasana-fish-pose/</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://yoga108.org/pages/show/99-matsyasana-the-fish-yoga-posture">http://yoga108.org/pages/show/99-matsyasana-the-fish-yoga-posture</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.ancient-symbols.com/buddhist-symbols.html">http://www.ancient-symbols.com/buddhist-symbols.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashtamangala">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashtamangala</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.whats-your-sign.com/symbolic-meanings-of-fish.html">http://www.whats-your-sign.com/symbolic-meanings-of-fish.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.epsb.com/">http://www.epsb.com</a>
(handout about Mangala creation myth)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://dickinsg.intrasun.tcnj.edu/diaspora/beckymyth.html">http://dickinsg.intrasun.tcnj.edu/diaspora/beckymyth.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.bu.edu/agni/fiction/africa/nwosu.html">http://www.bu.edu/agni/fiction/africa/nwosu.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mand%C3%A9_creation_myth">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mand%C3%A9_creation_myth</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.mythindex.com/greek-mythology/A/Aphrodite.html">http://www.mythindex.com/greek-mythology/A/Aphrodite.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.whats-your-sign.com/symbolic-meanings-of-fish.html">http://www.whats-your-sign.com/symbolic-meanings-of-fish.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.theoi.com/Ther/Ikhthyes.html">http://www.theoi.com/Ther/Ikhthyes.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ichthys">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ichthys</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.cracked.com/article_19909_6-famous-symbols-that-dont-mean-what-you-think.html">http://www.cracked.com/article_19909_6-famous-symbols-that-dont-mean-what-you-think.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atargatis">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atargatis</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.albatrus.org/english/religions/pagan/origin_fish_symbol.htm">http://www.albatrus.org/english/religions/pagan/origin_fish_symbol.htm</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.glbet-el.org/textesfrancais/Fish.htm">http://www.glbet-el.org/textesfrancais/Fish.htm</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://jwilson.coe.uga.edu/EMAT6680Fa06/Hobgood/Pythagoras.html">http://jwilson.coe.uga.edu/EMAT6680Fa06/Hobgood/Pythagoras.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.constellationsofwords.com/Constellations/Delphinus.html">http://www.constellationsofwords.com/Constellations/Delphinus.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.philomuse.com/jsk/vp_archive/lab/vp.htm">http://www.philomuse.com/jsk/vp_archive/lab/vp.htm</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.sandplay.org/symbols/mandorla.htm">http://www.sandplay.org/symbols/mandorla.htm</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vesica_piscis">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vesica_piscis</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk%3AVesica_piscis">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk%3AVesica_piscis</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/29568/aphrodisiac">http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/29568/aphrodisiac</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6bekli_Tepe">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6bekli_Tepe</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheela_na_gig">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheela_na_gig</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Female display figure from Gobekli Tepe --</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.cambriapress.com/elpreader.cfm?bookid=9781604976748&page=10">http://www.cambriapress.com/elpreader.cfm?bookid=9781604976748&page=10</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Sheela_na_gig">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Sheela_na_gig</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoni">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoni</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mudra">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mudra</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.100megsfree.com/yoga/mudras/yonimudra.html">http://www.100megsfree.com/yoga/mudras/yonimudra.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://suite101.com/article/the-yoni-mudra-meditation-technique-a403361">http://suite101.com/article/the-yoni-mudra-meditation-technique-a403361</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.yogawiz.com/yoga-mudra/yoni-mudra.html">http://www.yogawiz.com/yoga-mudra/yoni-mudra.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pisces_%28astrology%29">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pisces_%28astrology%29</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enki#Portrayal">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enki#Portrayal</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fish-Friday-Feasting-Fasting-Discovery/dp/B000MR8TH2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1367542368&sr=8-1&keywords=fish+on+friday">http://www.amazon.com/Fish-Friday-Feasting-Fasting-Discovery/dp/B000MR8TH2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1367542368&sr=8-1&keywords=fish+on+friday</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C4%81ori_people">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C4%81ori_people</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.genuinemaoricuisine.com/Folders/foodhistory.html">http://www.genuinemaoricuisine.com/Folders/foodhistory.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hei_matau">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hei_matau</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.maori.info/maori_history.htm">http://www.maori.info/maori_history.htm</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.squidoo.com/maori-symbols">http://www.squidoo.com/maori-symbols</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popol_Vuh">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popol_Vuh</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%27iche%27_people">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%27iche%27_people</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_Hero_Twins">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_Hero_Twins</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.chapala.com/chapala/magnifecentmexico/herotwins/herotwins.html">http://www.chapala.com/chapala/magnifecentmexico/herotwins/herotwins.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Symbolic meaning of fish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2012).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://newsonhistory.blogspot.com/2009/10/symbolic-meaning-of-fish.html">http://newsonhistory.blogspot.com/2009/10/symbolic-meaning-of-fish.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Sheila Joshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789487768317341942noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6006622137752807559.post-65252255639739031902013-04-05T07:11:00.001-07:002013-04-05T07:11:45.376-07:00Dementia & Psi<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<br />
"There is no death, only a change of worlds."
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
-- Chief Seattle*</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: purple;">What is dementia?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dementia is a neurological deterioration from a normal level
of functioning to a temporary, fixed, or progressive loss of cognitive,
emotional, and physical functioning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Memory, attention, language, and problem-solving may be affected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The person can become disoriented, not
knowing the time, the place, who they are, or who others are.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If dementia is severe or progresses in severity, the person
may neglect to care for themselves, and may become disinhibited, restless,
highly frightened or rageful, violent or self-endangering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There may be anomalous visions and hearing,
and ideas of persecution.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With certain forms of dementia, there may be movement impairments,
including perseverative movements, and balance problems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Physical functions such as swallowing may be
affected (Wiki).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The three most common forms of dementia are Alzheimer’s,
vascular dementia, and Lewy body dementia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There is a lot of debate about the causes of all these dementias, but
Alzheimer’s and Lewy body seem to involve a build up of proteins in neurons,
and vascular dementia involves insufficient blood supply to the brain.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dementia can be caused by head trauma or medications.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Medication-induced dementia can be reversed
by removing the offending drugs.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: purple;">Dementia and psi</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dementia is a challenging syndrome for the individual
affected and for the caregivers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
nature of daily life changes dramatically and often for a long time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a lot of information available on
how to understand and respond to the situation at the physical and
psychological level.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This essay will
briefly speculate about how to think of dementia from a psi perspective.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some of the symptoms of dementia are easy to interpret from
a psi perspective.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With other symptoms,
it’s more of a stretch, but we will see what we can do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are also some experiences which occur
during dementia which cannot be considered symptoms in any way and are
obviously psi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We will also touch on
psi in the caregiver.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The guiding questions of this exploration are:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Might people with dementia be living with a
foot in two worlds?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What is the purpose
and meaning of psi in this situation?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Might there be a developmental purpose to the syndrome?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In other words, are they developing in some
advantageous way, despite the very real hardships on them and their
caregivers?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What is the evolutionary
purpose of dementia?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: purple;">Seeing helpful deceased human
relatives, spirit guides, and angels</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perhaps the easiest dementia symptom to reinterpret from
pathology to veridical psi is when people see beings who are helpful, whether
they are familiar or unfamiliar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
seems very plausible that, instead of imagining things, they are making greater
contact with non-physical beings than they were able to before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The purpose of the contacts revolves around
reassurance, preparation for crossing over, psychospiritual development, and
finishing unfinished business.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here is one man who seemed to get a lot of comfort –</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">"My father had emphysema and
dementia (at least according to the doctors). He was born in South Dakota, USA.
He died four years ago on May 18th. One evening he was sitting on his couch
reading, and glanced down his hallway. He saw his grandmother in the hallway,
she turned, smiled and waved at him and continued on. He used to wake up in the
morning thinking our dog (from childhood days, gone over 30 years) was lying
beside him, asleep. And he would wake up petting the dog. And then he said he
woke up in the middle of the night, and my [pre-deceased] mother was sleeping
beside him. He asked her if it was time for him to leave with her, and she told
him -- not yet, but she would be with him until the end. For the last month of
his life, he said he woke up in the morning with mom at his side, and believed
she had snuck out to make him his favorite breakfast” (Planet Waves reader,
planetwavesweekly.com).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And here is a woman who spent a long time talking with
unseen people --</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“We are going on year four of my
Mother giving my Grandmother full time 24/hour care in her home. Grandma
refuses to have any tests done, but the Doctors suspect bladder or kidney
cancer given the symptoms. There has been a decline in her mental capacity in
recent months, but still no diagnosis of anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mom has a small team of "ladies" that she calls upon to
help with Grandma when/if Mom wants to get out and do things. In all reality
Grandma should be in a nursing home and hopefully it will happen before the end
of the year, if something else doesn't happen instead.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">For about a year now Grandma has
been "seeing" a woman that she calls Maria. She will have regular
conversations with Maria and will make references to her. As in, "Betty,
Maria is standing behind you, say hello" -- Mom (and her team) have
humored Grandma and call Maria her "Guardian Angel".</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">The other night Mom was sleeping on
the couch and got up to go to the bathroom and heard Grandma carrying on a full
conversation. She was alert and her words concise, but she didn't hear enough
to get the gist of the conversation. When Mom asked her who she was talking to,
Grandma said "those two ladies over there. Can't you see those two ladies
in the corner" A few of the ladies are starting to get spooked by it, but
they won't abandon Mom, Thank God” (Charlotte, twopeasinabucket.com,
9/27/2011).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: purple;">Seeing or hearing unhelpful
humans</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s harder to understand what might be the psi element of
people with dementia seeing or hearing humans who they experience as unhelpful,
mean, tricksterish, or threatening.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sometimes, it seems like the problem lies in misinterpretation
based on fear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps the spirit
person is trying to be helpful, but the person seeing the vision is too scared
to realize that.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">"My mom is a very active
80-year-old who still works full time in an office environment. As a matter of
fact, she just received a promotion. She's had a few disturbing nights. She
dreams that a tall woman, in a long dress, is standing at the foot of her bed
talking to her and trying to wake her up. Mom says that she wakes up and the
woman is still standing right there. My mother lives alone. She said the first
three or four times this happened she screamed. That's around the time she told
me about it. There have been other times, in these past few years, when she'd
wake up and see my deceased father sitting on his side of the bed. She doesn't
seem bothered when she sees my dad, but the woman at the foot of the bed scares
her, even though she's not doing anything menacing" (Planet Waves reader, planetwavesweekly.com)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here’s another anecdote where it seems possible that there
were veridical visitors whose intention was helpful but it was misinterpreted –</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“My MIL swore that someone broke
into their house. They lived out in the country and she said she woke up and
there was a man and woman sitting on the couch in the back room. She said she
told them to get the he!! out. She sounded perfectly believable but she was
later diagnosed with Alzheimer's”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(juswannascrap, twopeasinabucket.com, 9/27/2011).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is not uncommon for people with dementia to be afraid of
dying or not want to die.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This also
could make them misinterpret spirit beings whose intent is helpful.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“My dad cannot speak clearly while
awake, but when sleeping he is very clear, speaking with invisible entities. On
more than five occasions, he has gotten into arguments with those entities,
yelling at them saying, "No, I won't go with you. I won't go with you. Go
away." And other statements in that regard. Once he even mentioned that he
did not want to go to the light! A friend who helps me with my dad has
witnessed these actions as well. It is difficult to know if he is just rambling
the way Alzheimer's patients do or if he really is talking to family, but many
times he is convinced of their reality and goes looking for these people in the
shower, closets, wherever. He gets pretty upset when he can't find them. Is it
a symptom of the dementia or is he really in communication with the other side?
We have had activity in the house on a few occasions like a portable radio
turning itself on, TV turning itself on, and other electrical equipment. I feel
this is my family letting me know they are around and doing what they can for
me, as I am patiently waiting for his passing over naturally - but my dad is
extremely stubborn and strong for an 87 year old” (Paul M, <a href="http://paranormal.about.com/library/blstory_april01_05.htm"><span style="color: navy;">http://paranormal.about.com/library/blstory_april01_05.htm</span></a>,
April 2001).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Another possibility is that there are more human spirits
than we realize going about their business all around us all the time, and the
neurological change of dementia is one of the ways that one can become aware of
this parade.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, fear and lack of preparation
– on the part of the person with dementia or the caregiver – can cause a
distorted interpretation of vague new perceptions.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here is one anecdote that might be explained as a distorted
perception of unfamiliar spirits –</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“The same thing happened to an
elderly neighbor. He told us about the 2 women who came to his house and night
and cleaned. Then there was the man who came in and hid his things. We finally
called his son in another state. He got here just in time to find he had had a
stroke and was laying on the kitchen floor. He took him home and put him in a
nursing home. The doctor said dementia. He died soon after” (dynalady,
twopeasinabucket.com, 9/27/2011).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Another woman with Lewy body dementia believed neighbors
were playing the organ at 3 am, Al Qaeda was chanting nearby, bin Laden was
there, and men were hiding in the bushes (Fagan, personal communication, 18 Mar
13).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In my experience of recovery from neurological damage,
intense fear can be incredibly distorting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It can take something real and magnify it so much that it becomes
distorted, just as when you turn the volume up too high on a sound system and
it distorts the signal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some people
with dementia may be perceiving veridical spirits but then inflating and
distorting the danger, the meaning, and the relevance to themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Medications or withdrawal from medications can also cause
both psi openings and distorted emotions and cognitions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Intentionally psychoactive meds such as
anti-psychotics, as well as unintentionally psychoactive meds such as antibiotics
may be the culprits in darkening a person with dementia’s experience of psi.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lastly, we have to include the possibility that there are a
few mean or tricksterish spirits out there harassing people with dementia,
although it’s really too early to conclude that this is definitely the case –</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“My husband woke up with such a
twisted hateful look on his face as he accused me of squeezing his toes and no
matter what I said about being a good distance away from him carried on such a
tirade I just ran into the kitchen. He had woken screaming in terror the other
night shouting out that he was in agony because someone was squeezing his toes.
I lay beside him but he still said there was a man at the foot of the bed. How
can I with all honesty dispute what he sees when I have had first hand
experience of strange things?” (lilypad, forum.alzheimers.org.uk, 1 Mar 2013).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: purple;">Seeing non-human beings (most
often small humanoid)</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perhaps the hardest dementia symptom to re-interpret as
veridical psi is the sighting of non-human, non-angelic beings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are often humanoid and
miniaturized.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This can occur in Lewy
body dementia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is also
characteristic of Charles Bonnet Syndrome.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Charles Bonnet Syndrome is a visual condition which is
technically not dementia, but which can occur in elderly people, and has
elements in common with dementia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is
characterized by extremely realistic, complex visions of people, animals,
architecture, objects, and geometric patterns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The conventional view is that these are imaginary visions created by
optic pathology.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Interestingly, the
syndrome is usually temporary, and experients are often notably cognitively
intact (Mendelson, 2009, pp. 57-8, Wiki)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One of the unique characteristics of this syndrome is that
the people seen are usually miniature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Apparently, they are often in costumes (Mendelson, 2009, p. 58).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some neurologists hypothesize that the visions are caused by
the mind compensating for insufficient optical information, similar to how
people create visions in sensory deprivation tanks (Mendelson, 2009, p. 58).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But, then, are people unilaterally creating the visions they
see in sensory deprivation tanks?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Another possibility is that people are really seeing
miniature humanoids who exist somewhere in the universe, and that some
neurological change is making it possible to tune into these beings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is reminiscent of the elven people that
are sometimes encountered under the influence of various psychedelic
substances.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Psychiatrist Rick Strassman did historic research on
injected DMT in the 1990s, and, despite his own initial shock and misgivings,
became convinced that some of his subjects were meeting veridical non-human
beings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was a lot of consistency
among subjects’ reports about a limited number of types of beings – insectoid,
reptilian, elvin, automaton, and clown (Strassman, 2001, pp. 185 – 219).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The famous psychedelic expert Terence
McKenna had reported meeting similar beings when smoking DMT in the 1970s --</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“There are these things, which I
call "self transforming machine elves"….I name them 'Tykes' because
tyke is a word that means to me a small child, ... and when you burst into the
DMT space this is the Aeon - it's a child, and it's at play with colored balls,
and I am in eternity, apparently, in the presence of this thing” (Wiki).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
DMT is produced endogenously by the pineal gland in the
brain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is also produced by plants,
and a synthetic form is available.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Strassman speculated that the amount of DMT in your system determined
what reality you are tuned into.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With
insufficient DMT, you may not be tuned into any reality much at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With the normal amount, you will be tuned
into conventional reality. And with more, you may be tuned into channels of
reality we don’t usually have access to (Strassman, 2001, pp. 310-328).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This leads us to consider the possibility that people with
Charles Bonnet Syndrome, and with dementia-related visions, may be 1) tuning
into another channel of reality, and 2) DMT may be involved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The pineal gland, where DMT is produced, is an endocrine
gland in the middle of the brain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is
connected to the visual system; it produces or utilizes several endogenous
substances that alter consciousness and may be psi-conducive; and it has
traditionally been considered the seat of the soul.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Biologist J.V. Wallach has articulated a fascinating theory
about endogenous hallucinogens that may serve to explain how visions of little
people could be veridical.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the words of radical psychiatric survivor
d_vyne_madnesss:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“[The] 'reality' we take to be
'normal' and 'objective' may in fact be rather a controlled psychedelic
experience!…</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“Wallach proposes that…waking
consciousness can be thought of as a controlled psychedelic experience. When
the control of these normal systems of perception becomes loosened and their
behavior no longer correlates with the external world, then altered states
arise. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“Translated, what this suggests is
that consciousness, the waking state we take as a 'given' and that feeds us
information about the physical world, is itself a kind of hallucination that is
fed to us in a controlled way by the pineal gland. Changing the dosage and
timing results in a completely different experience (the aliens, the tunnel of
light), raising the question of, which experience is real?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(d_vyne_madness, 2009).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In dementia and Charles Bonnet Syndrome there may be
“damage” or changes to the pineal gland that change what channels of reality
the person can perceive.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the following anecdote, we might be seeing a combination
of a veridical perception of a small being misinterpreted through the lens of
unfamiliarity and fear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is also
worth noting that this percipient was undoubtedly on high doses of powerful
antibiotics, which also could have both facilitated and distorted access to
other parts of reality.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“When DH's grandmother was having
serious health problems, I believe bladder/kidney issues, and pancreas issues,
she got delirious. She told us Raggedy Ann climbed out of her TV in the
hospital room every night and spent the night praying for Grandma on the end of
her bed. She climbed back into the TV every morning.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">It was just from the raging
infections in her body….</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">Grandma was quite rational when she
told us about Raggedy Ann. She's a life-long pastor's wife, so the fact that
the doll was praying for her was a totally rational thing for her to say.”
(angela1422, twopeasinabucket.com, 9/27/2011).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: purple;">Telepathy / clairvoyance</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Joen Fagan, PhD is a psychologist with a great deal of
experience in working with people with dementia and their caregivers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is currently working on a book with Jean
Harsch, MSW, which proposes that “it is possible that there are spiritual
dimensions to dementia and that being sensitive to these may help a little”
with the incredibly difficult task of caring for someone with dementia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The book will look at three aspects of
spirituality and dementia:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1) the value
of cultivating the classical religious values of love, forgiveness, empathy,
gratitude, honesty, etc. towards oneself as caregiver as well as towards the
person with dementia; 2) the cultivation and noticing of how literature,
meditation, prayer, encounters with others can pull us toward beauty, mystery,
and transcendence; and 3) opening up more dialogue about the anomalous
experiences that often occur during care of a person with dementia, such as
ESP, NDEs, and terminal lucidity. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In a phone interview, Fagan reported an instance of
clairvoyance involving his partner Irma that had occurred when she had had Lewy
body dementia for seven years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At that
point, she was bedridden, prone to hallucinations and delusions, and only
somewhat able to talk coherently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fagan
was in another room from Irma, with a connecting hallway in between, about 28
feet away, with his back to her, but just visible to her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was writing a check to one of their
certified nursing assistants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were
not speaking.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As he handed the check to the assistant, Irma called out
clearly, “That check is wrong!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fagan
and the assistant were stunned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s
worth noting that Irma had hated anything to do with numbers her whole life and
had never been the check-writer in the family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Fagan re-did his math, and found that he had, indeed, calculated the
payment wrong!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here is an instance of telepathy –</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“I've also run across two reports
of unusual psychic ability in Alzheimer's patients. One friend told me that
while she was taking care of an elderly woman with Alzheimer's, she got really
impatient and angry with her (not uncommon for caregivers) and thought
murderous thoughts. The old lady turned to her and said "You're not going
to kill me!" Needless to say, my friend was more careful after that”
(Greenbriar, planetwavesweekly.com).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And one more instance of telepathy –</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">"I took care of my mother,
with Alzheimer's, until she died a few years ago. One of the hard aspects of
doing this was that I had to keep my mind as BLANK as possible while in her
surroundings, or else she would pick up on my thoughts and keep 'nagging' me
all day. If I would only think something like 'I need to make a dentist
appointment today', she would keep reminding me all day long ('Have you called
the dentist yet?' many, many. many times over and over...)” (Planet waves
reader, planetwavesweekly.com).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Note that all three examples involve hypervigilance on the
part of the person with dementia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
wonder if we could change the valence of the psi if we were working more
proactively with it, educating and reassuring people with dementia and their
caregivers about the normality and value of psi.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: purple;">Terminal lucidity</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Terminal lucidity is when people with dementia or other
serious psychological or neurological problems, who have been severely
cognitively and emotionally impaired for many years, become lucid, rational,
oriented to time, place, person, and situation, emotionally or spiritually
sophisticated, or demonstrate psi in their final minutes, hours, or days.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
According to biologist Michael Nahm, Ph.D., instances of
terminal lucidity have been documented since ancient Greece, including cases
where autopsy showed severe neurological damage that would make the lucidity
virtually impossible within a materialist paradigm (Nahm, 2009, p. 90-95).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nahm makes the interesting point that terminal lucidity
looks much the same in 1) mentally healthy people, 2) mentally unhealthy people
without significant brain damage, and 3) mentally unhealthy people with
significant brain damage of vastly different types (Nahm, 2009, p. 100).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Joen Fagan reported an instance of terminal lucidity where a
man with Lewy body dementia, who had not talked for a long time, one day said
clearly to his wife, “Do you still need me?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Instinctively, she said yes, but she thought about it further, and then
reassured him that, in fact, she and their children were all fine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She told him, “When you need to go, you can
go.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He died four days later.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fagan also reported an instance of close-to-terminal
lucidity involving his partner Irma with Lewy body dementia and their
daughter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This occurred a couple of
months after Irma had stopped talking and about two months before her
death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a very unexpected
breakthrough in communication for them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Their daughter tells the story --</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">It is fairly early in the morning
and Irma is not yet out of bed in the nursing home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I slip in to see her on my way out of town and have pulled up a
chair bedside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I might have said a few
things which she did not respond to prior to saying this, I don't
remember.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think I was either holding
her hand or touching her arm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was
searching her face and she was making pretty good eye contact and her eyes were
not "cloudy" that morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
was fairly early on in the nursing home period- maybe a month in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">I said: "Irma, I am so
sorry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was not supposed to turn out
like this."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">She focused and sort of
straightened up, pushing her head and face forward to the extent she could and
very clearly, deliberately and fiercely said: "Not at all."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: purple;">The inadvisability of
psychoactive prescription meds</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In reading some of the online discussion forums for
caregivers of dementia, I was surprised to see that there were a lot of
comments about how psych meds are offered or even pushed on people with
dementia, yet often these meds make people worse, and that the caregivers had
found it preferable to learn to live with the symptoms or manage them in other
ways.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This anecdote is an illuminating cautionary tale --</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“The story I have to relate is of
my father, who is still living but with a long time case of Alzheimer's. My
father has had the dementia for over 12 years now. He would have died many
years ago, I believe, except for the action I took of removing him from the
medications that the doctors had prescribed for him. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">When I began caring for him seven
years ago, they prescribed Prozac, Buspar and halioperiodal (Haldol) to help
control him. For two years he was on these meds and progressively grew worse,
to the point of loss of balance, loss of speech, incontinence, the whole nine
yards. About 1996, I became aware of the uselessness of these drugs and removed
him from those meds and quit taking him to the doctors. Needless to say, he
improved dramatically, regained his balance, diet, continence, speech and
strength. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">At the end of 1997 I had a triple
bypass (due to the stress of caregiving - another story altogether) and I had
to put him in a nursing home for a month while I recuperated from the surgery.
They put him back on those same drugs and he returned to his previous state of
falling, no comprehensive speech, etc. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">It took me three months to remove
him from those meds once Medicare quit overseeing him. Again he returned back
to a state of somewhat normalcy - given the fact that he is a complete
blithering idiot with Alzheimer's. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">In the last three years, he has had
a dramatic decrease in all areas and is now at the stage naturally where he was
when on the meds” (Paul M, paranormal.about.com, April 2001).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: purple;">Omega-3</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s possible that Omega-3 supplementation may help with
dementia, and that mega-dose Omega-3 may help a lot.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A comprehensive review of the literature conducted by Loef
and Walach at the Viadrina European University in Frankfurt, and published in
January 2013, found that, in both animal and human studies, there was a link
between the dietary Omega-6 / Omega-3 ratio, cognitive decline, and incidence
of dementia (Loef & Walach, 2013).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In another recent paper, Dacks, Shineman, and Fillet at the
Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation in New York point out that epidemiology
indicates a higher risk of cognitive decline in people in the lower quartile of
Omega-3 intake or blood levels (Dacks et al., 2013).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A 2012 meta-analysis of human studies measuring Omega-3
blood levels, conducted by Lin, Chiu, Huang, and Su at the Kaohsiung Chang Gung
Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung,
Taiwan, found that overall Omega-3 level, EPA level, and DHA level were
significantly lower in people with dementia, while only the EPA level was
significantly lower in people with predementia syndrome (Lin et al., 2012).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In a study published February 2013, Fiala et al. at the
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA identified key genes and signalizing
networks that might explain how vitamin D and Omega-3 enhance the immune
system’s ability to clear the brain of amyloid-beta plaques, which are a
hallmark of Alzheimer’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
supplements helped macrophages in vitro to expunge amyloid-beta (5 Feb 2013
UCLA press release).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This immune
function is yet another mechanism by which Omega-3 may help the brain, in
addition to making neuron walls more flexible and building myelin. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are people experimenting formally and informally right
now with high-dose Omega-3 (9,000 mg / day and higher) for traumatic brain
injury, coma, severe psychological problems, and neurological damage from
prescription medications.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would like
to see research done on high-dose Omega-3 for dementia.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: purple;">Psi in the caregiver</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
People with dementia range in their presentation from fairly
calm and collaborative to highly agitated and endangering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It takes a lot of tolerance and skill to be
a caregiver to someone with dementia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If the caregiver had a personal relationship with the person before the
dementia appeared, then the caregiver has to go through an extensive process of
adjusting to the progressive changes in their loved one, and this can be very
grueling.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sometimes, caregivers witness symptoms in the person with
dementia that might be psi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They may
miss the psi aspect, or perceive it and be threatened by it, or perceive it and
be comforted by it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here is an anecdote of a professional caregiver who
perceives the psi experience of the person with dementia and has her own
corroborating psi experience --</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“You can see the person is focused
in another dimension, it's as if they are looking through the walls. Sometimes
they will speak and at other times I see them nodding their heads in response
to conversations I can't here. I can at times feel the presence of others in
the room but they tend to reveal themselves to the individual more than to me.
Fragrances and energy signatures are very clear though” (Cinnamon Moon,
spiritlodge.yuku.com, 23 Jun 05).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And here is an anecdote of a family member caregiver who
reports on her father having psi during dementia, as well as having her own psi
experience --</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“And the last day of his life he
said mom [predeceased first wife] had run out to get things ready, but he would
like us to chat with his old army buddies while she was gone. My sister and I
swear we saw about ten men dressed in Second World War uniforms around our dad.
Some very young, and some very old, very indistinct -- like a dream as you are waking
up. Then he died that night. And strangely enough, his second wife buried him
in a military cemetery, not in the local cemetery" (Planet Waves reader,
planetwavesweekly.com).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: purple;">The psychospiritual purposes
of dementia</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dementia can be a torturous experience for the person
experiencing it and for the caregivers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Is it possible that expanding our understanding and utilization of psi
or spiritual experiences during dementia might make the journey any easier?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In reviewing anecdotes, several possible psychospiritual
purposes of this neurological ailment emerge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They seem to fall generally under two headings for the person with
dementia – preparing to cross from this life to the next stage of existence,
and psychospiritual development or healing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>For the caregiver, there may also be significant psychospiritual
development.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We will also look
specifically at the purpose of terminal lucidity.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="color: purple;">Preparing to cross</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Preparing to cross may involve working on fear of crossing,
loosening ties to this world, or finishing unfinished business.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="color: purple;">Fear
of crossing</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some people are afraid or unwilling to die or cross into the
next stage of their existence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of
the psychospiritual purposes of dementia may be to provide a liminal period
during which the person may be helped both here and on the other side to make
peace with the idea of crossing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>See
the section on “seeing and hearing unhelpful humans” above for a couple of
anecdotes of frightening hallucinations that might be interpreted as attempts
by spirit beings to help someone with their fear of crossing.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="color: purple;">Loosening
ties to this world</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dementia loosens ties with certain parts of the self,
relationships, and reality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Painful as
this is for everyone involved, it may serve the developmental purpose of
preparing to re-locate to a new stage of life.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here is an anecdote from a Native American Medicine Woman
that illustrates the view that people with dementia are sometimes making brief
forays to the next world in preparation for moving there permanently --</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“My training with dementia is along
these lines, that the spirit of the individual is focused in the spirit realm
and gradually spends more time there than here in the mundane. It is honored as
such and at times they come back to the physical reality with their stories to
share. I've just always accepted it as such and honored their *trance state*
without disruption to it....or as little as possible in caring for their
physical needs. I keep that part very simple, Mari-la. If they become rational
(if that's the proper way to put it) I'll talk with them about their spiritual
experiences, they seem (in most cases) eager to share them, talking about
friends and relatives that they were with who had crossed over long before
them. It's lovely really. I know it upsets the family but it's nothing to fear”
(Cinnamon Moon, spiritlodge.yuku.com, 23 Jun 05).</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="color: purple;">Finishing
unfinished business</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There seem to be at least three ways that dementia may serve
as a platform for taking care of unfinished business.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One is to take care of unfinished business from earlier in
life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An example of this will be given
below in the section “A very useful overall model.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another is to take care of unfinished business in current
relationships.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As mentioned above in
the “terminal lucidity” section, the person may even ask explicitly if they
have done everything they have to do before they cross.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The third is to contribute to taking care of
the unfinished business of ancestors in the lineage.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="color: purple;">Current
relationships</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here is an example of someone with dementia needing help
from a caregiver to finish unfinished business in one relationship, and to get
reassurance about some other matters -- </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“Well - as I knew this man for
about 25 years, I knew that there was one thing I knew from that things still
had to be cleared between certain people and him. I phoned the person and
exlained the situation. She said that things are clear for them. I asked her to
tell this so that the other person (the man) gets it (some need to hear it) -
so that he can let go this struggle... As the man could no longer communicate
at the phone I asked her to talk to the wife of the man to tell her what she
felt to tell and to tell it to the man, then. She did this.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">I also knew that the man felt that
he had to take care of his wife and his son (adult people). He wanted to know
that they are taken care of. When I sat with him I told him that he had
prepared all he could to allow his wife and his son a life in Beauty - that
both are taken care of (as this was the truth), that he had gifted his son with
wisdom and support. That both in my eyes are prepared to live in Beauty - as he
had supported them all his life the best way... </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">He had sat like sleeping before.
When I told this he became "awake" - he tried to speak - he looked into
my eyes - and energy was in his body... I thanked him also for all I was
allowed to learn form him. Much energy was felt around him, but he could not
speak - but he was "there" for a short time as I saw his eyes... I
left with the feeling that important things were spoken out and released, that
he felt calm, that he felt and had got the feedback that his life had had a
sense and that he had done good for the family he left behind... </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">About two days later the man
died... (I will try to share what to offer to tell people when they no longer
"are there" to help them possibly to go easier, to let go, to go in
peace... As many can not let go because of fear that family, loved ones are not
taken care of, they also need to get a clear feedback sometimes that their life
had had a sense, too...)” (Mari-la, spiritlodge.yuku.com, 25 Jun 05).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="color: purple;">Lineage
trauma</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s possible that some people with dementia are
participating in helping to heal trauma or unfinished business in their
lineage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both parapsychology and Family
Systems Theory in psychology have astonishing examples of how people
unwittingly repeat or seem to respond to events that happened to ancestors of
which they have no apparent knowledge.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
French Resistance member, Fulbright scholar, psychologist,
and psychoanalyst<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anne Ancelin
Schützenberger wrote a complex and ground-breaking book “The ancestor
syndrome:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Transgenerational
psychotherapy and the hidden links in the family tree,” in which she combines
psychodynamic theories with psi theories to provide an additional lens for
understanding distress that cannot be accounted for using the individual’s own
life experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She gives numerous case studies of people whose distressing
symptoms did not respond to conventional psychodynamic interpretations but
cleared up when research was done on their ancestors, and an interpretation was
made based on the ancestor’s trauma – often something which had not been common
knowledge.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In this context, it’s thought-provoking to consider how
often people with dementia seem to see and talk to their ancestors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If they are, in fact, participating in some
healing work for their lineage, one of the ramifications of this is that it
might explain why even people who have done a lot of psychospiritual work on
themselves still develop the neurological problem of dementia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They may be being called to address
unresolved issues from ancestor’s lives.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="color: purple;">Development</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Despite the losses and hardships of dementia, there may be
some gains in terms of psychospiritual healing and development.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The person with dementia may paradoxically
develop a certain mindfulness and trust, may develop less developed parts of
the self, and may advance to new levels of awareness.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="color: purple;">Developing
mindfulness and trust</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here is one caregiver demonstrating quite a stunning
perspective on how dementia can sometimes – in a safe and loving environment –
contain elements of states of consciousness than many of us strive for --</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“My sisters and I often discussed
my mother's dementia and her ending up having that disease which would dictate
her final journey here on earth. We noted that my mother had learned that which
many advocate that we should do and that is to live in the present moment. Her
deteriorating skills meant that she no longer considered the future and her
memory problems stopped her living like most of us do, by reference to the
past. For her, every day was new. Every day was as though she was experiencing
things for the first time. Occasionally she would remember someone else's name
but on the whole she lived in the moment and even then sometimes in a world
that was beyond our reach….There are other lessons too. How about trust. Being
so vulnerable that your whole existence is dependent upon you putting your
trust in others to care for you and keep you safe. Can you contemplate you
abandoning all your protections and laying yourself open to whatever may
be.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(FifiMo, forum.alzheimer.org.uk,
24 Feb 2013).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="color: purple;">Developing
less developed parts of the self</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And here is another caregiver speculating that some of the
changes brought on by dementia might be serving a developmental purpose,
pushing the person to develop the less developed sides of themselves --</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“Sometimes the experience changes -
the coin flips over - and the person who has always been "in charge"
of their life, the one who has sacrificed and worked hard and given so much to
others, becomes the one who is now helpless, the one to whom sacrifices are
made, for whom others take their turn in working hard and being the giver….</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">You see, these archetypes can flip
over and the other side is expressed as an alternative way for the Oneness to
'be' as an expression of that archetype.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">Often we don't let our archetypes
fully express in all their richness, because we get locked into our
patterns/roles/duties, perhaps because we are compelled to do so by other
people's patterns and scripts. But the Universal One chooses the moment to free
us from something and use us to express something else” (Owly,
forum.alzheimers.or.uk, 24 Feb 2013).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="color: purple;">Advancing
to new levels of awareness</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is also some suggestion, both from wisdom traditions,
and from comments made by people with dementia, that they are advancing to new
levels of awareness at the same time that conventional levels of awareness are
faltering.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In a deeply researched paper prepared for a Stanford course,
ethnogeriatric nursing specialist Levanne R. Hendrix, PhD reviewed the beliefs
about dementia of some Native American tribes.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“Although dementia is relatively
rare in American Indian elderly, it is anticipated that as Indians’ life
expectancy increases, so will the incidence of dementia. Explanatory models
vary from tribe to tribe, and individual to individual” (Hendrix, 2000).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For example, among the Cherokee –</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“….Dementia is a part of the
Creator’s plan for that person’s ultimate learning and may not require
intervention or help-seeking (“naturalization” of cognitive impairment and
dementing behavior, with greater “tolerance” for a wide range of behavior than
white communities) (Cherokee)” (Hendrix, 2000).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The following anecdote brings up really fascinating
possibilities for looking at dementia as a systemic transformation, along the
lines of a Kundalini awakening or shamanic initiatory illness, that is
re-wiring the person for an entirely new way of being --</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“I wonder if my mum's dementia is
to do with kundalini rising as it was accompanied by an activation of Uranus
(planet of crown chakra) in her birthchart by the planet Pluto which makes
things very intense. She told me, excitedly, that she was seeing fleeting,
fascinating symbols rushing into and out of her mind. A rush of energy into the
mind and brain that, in its intensity, wiped out many of her neurons and memory
patterns. She feels no sense of responsibility any more….She is now very happy
not to be responsible….” ((Owly, forum.alzheimers.or.uk, 24 Feb 2013).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="color: purple;">Development of the caregiver</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Taking care of a person with dementia can be grueling work
physically and emotionally.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The strange
behaviors of someone with dementia can be threatening to anyone, but if the
caregiver is a loved one, the changes and losses can be extremely depressing,
anxiety-provoking, and angering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many
caregivers go through a descent experience that challenges their fundamental
worldview.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is a unique hardship to suffer as a caregiver when you
are caring for someone you love who may, at times, be in agony.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How do you dare to give any thought to your
own suffering when theirs is so much greater?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Yet the caregiver’s journey through dementia is important, not only
because they too deserve care like any human being, but because there is a
field effect of the dementia that affects anyone who is near it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The caregiver is part of the developmental
project.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The field effect of the dementia changes the environment
around the person with dementia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There
is an otherworldly quality which can evoke a sort of dream state in the
caregiver.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The physical and emotional
work of the caregiver can also be exhausting and contribute to being in an
altered state.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Caregivers may witness
psi or have their own psi experiences for the first time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This may trigger a paradigm shift.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If there is a psychospiritual developmental purpose to
dementia for the person who has it, then there is also a psychospiritual
developmental purpose for the caregiver.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The situation may be comparable to what ethnopsychologist Holger
Kalweit, PhD observed in his studies of indigenous shamans around the
world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has written that there is a
field effect of the person going through a severe shamanic initiatory
illness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The people around the initiate
will also tend to experience their own illnesses and disruptions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The transformative ordeal involves a wide
circle of people (Kalweit, 1984).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ideally, the caregiver arrives at state of finding their own
great meaning, healing and growth in the experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some people come to feel that caring for someone with dementia is
the most meaningful thing they have ever done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Some family caregivers come to feel emotionally closer than ever to
their loved one with dementia even when the old means of communication are not
there.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In reporting some Native American perspectives on dementia,
Hendrix wrote –</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“….Dementia is a condition in which
the person’s spirit has already crossed over into the next world, but the body
remains behind as it prepares to leave. The caregiver’s job is to take care of
the body until it is ready to leave, and this is sacred work. The person is
communicating in the spirit world, which is why language and behavior appear to
us as if overhearing one side of a telephone conversation. In some Indian
communities this is a mark of elevated spiritual status for the family
(Oklahoma Choctaw)” (Hendrix, 2000).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<b><span style="color: purple;">The
purpose of terminal lucidity </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What does terminal lucidity tell us about dementia?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It provides an eye-opening demonstration
that the person with dementia continues to exist, either as they normally were,
or even with more advanced development.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It shows that explicit communication may be possible even at the very
end.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This communication may range from
the simple but heartfelt to the more complex and astonishing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Terminal lucidity (as well as the instances
of telepathy and clairvoyance above) also implies that a person with even
advanced dementia may be understanding a caregiver’s communication at least
some of the time, comparable to how we now view coma.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As Medicine Woman Cinnamon Moon says --</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“….I do believe their spirit hears
us and understands. The awareness is linking to the collective at that time and
we're a part of that too. Whether it's dementia, altzheimer's, or coma,
speaking with their Higher Self is always possible IMHO. Even modern medicine
encourages visitors to speak with these patients. Think about the accounts of
near-death-experiences people have while out under anesthesia in surgery or
from accidents where they recount the details of events and who was present,
who said what. Those examples are quite profuse in recorded case files too. So
yes, by all means, I believe the spirit hears and responds as it needs to”
(Cinnamon Moon, spiritlodge.yuku.com, 24 Jun 05).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In some cases, the purpose of terminal lucidity may be to
allow the person with dementia to serve as a kind of prophet or inspiring
visionary, comparable to the function served by some people who share their own
astonishing NDEs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In his paper on
terminal lucidity, Michael Nahm gives several examples from the historical
record of people with long-lasting, severe psychological and neurological
conditions who, in their final hours or days, became lucid and highly spiritual
in their discourse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just the miracle of
their lucidity is paradigm-shifting for the people around them. But, sometimes,
they also have a lot to impart about life in this world and the next (Nahm,
2009, pp. 90-7).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<b><span style="color: purple;">A
very useful overall model</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here is a wonderful overview of what dementia is all about
from Mari-la, member of a Native American discussion forum –</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“when I was allowed to work with a
wonderful old man who has Alzheimer over several years (he dropped his robe
last year), I was allowed to journey to where he was "when he was not
there". This is what I got:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">_______ The room/time continuum
melts away for them (often).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">_______ If life and the learning
areas are like football fields, then they are sometimes also drawn back to
"that" football field where they still have things to do, where
things are to be with. (May be the youth, war times, work...)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">_______ They may switch between
football fields very fast - and this confuses the others around, as they think
the person now is totally going "crazy". No, as room/time continuum
melts away for them (they walk in other dimensions), they can walk between the
football fields - but not often voluntarily, but where they are called to. This
way some people with alzheimer may look again and again for their money, some
ask again and again for their passport, some cry for their shoes, some are in
their work and each thing around is "connected" for them with their
work...</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">_______ Then there are times where
sterotype movements may occur - this was shown as not being on the playground
of a football field, but that the body comforts itself (like with autistic
people) to calm down, to release physical stress that touches the body, to give
itself a rhthym in a world where the person has lost the daily rhythm... These
stereotype movements (like putting together the same cloth over hours - folding
it, unfolding it, folding it, unfolding it...) gives a calm and smoothing
sensation to the body where the spirit has lost much connection to... Like with
autistic people I do not feel to "interrupt" their movement, but to
see which kind of comfort is needed - and to offer it, may be (if allowed)
touching the arm softly and carressing it)...</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">_______ They forget to take care of
their body - this way the others have to be patient and to help them eat,
drink... As the life energy flows back to the middle of the life center
(preparatiopn for death) over a longer time (what I got), not forcing them to
eat, but softly encouraging them, softly helping them... I saw people becoming
harsh and loud: "Eat! You have to eat!" - but they can not, as
according to the process of dying the life energy moves to the center - it is
one of the first steps of preparation to death. (I hope to share more about the
steps of the dying process itself, how the energy leaves the body in which
steps, too... It may help a lot to understand what happens - whether it is in
seconds or over years...).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">_______ Yes, they get what we say -
not in our words, but beyond words - in the dimensions where there is
understanding without words. One person with alzheimer - the life energy still
had floated very much to the center - eating was no longer possible in a good
way, drinking not - the body followed the natural way of the dying process in
refusing food and drinking (...also with harsh reactions, as the natural dying
process was taking place and eating and drinking would hurt on a certain level,
then. It is not easy to get "the" moment, when refusing food and
drinking is one of the sacred and powerful steps of the dying process in its
natural way. It is not to be misunderstood not to feed them and to give them to
drink - but to see when the dying process sets in with more power...)”
(Mari-la, spiritlodge.yuju.com, 25 Jun 05).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: purple;">Evolutionary purpose</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dementia is often a descent experience for the individual
and for the caregiver.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A descent is a
kind of human experience that many have but many do not have.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It always involve a dismantling of the self
and prolonged suffering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It leads to
the creation of something new, to the attainment of new gifts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not only does the individual evolve to a new
version of themselves, but they bring something new and important to the
community.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What would be the evolutionary purpose of dementia for the
community, for the species?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dementia alters
consciousness by altering the brain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Although it damages familiar landmarks of consciousness, it may make
possible other attainments of consciousness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are many phenomena that suggest that shutting down
some brain functions may pave the way for new insights and abilities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Examples include:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>terminal lucidity as discussed above, comas that lead to OBEs or
NDEs, brain scans that show that people under anesthesia have increased brain
activity and are responding to visual cues (see 5 Dec 11 post); psychotherapy
that uses psychedelics to heal; and traumatic brain injury that leads to the
psychic opening of professional psychics and mediums.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It may be that people with dementia have more of certain
kinds of consciousness, and are, therefore, not only able to do advantageous
work on their own growth and healing, but may be able to promote the
community’s growth and healing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In many cases of dementia, there seems to be increased
communication with other parts of reality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Maybe this is beneficial for the community as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, the recounting of inspiring or
informative encounters with other beings can trigger big life changes in people
who hear of them.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In some cases of dementia, the person seems briefly or
sporadically to attain a prophet-like condition during which they may shed even
more light on the nature of human existence.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If they are contributing to healing any trauma in their
lineage, that would certainly benefit other family members and descendants.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There may be other evolutionary purposes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although we can generalize, each instance of
dementia is a unique developmental path for that individual and the caregivers,
which has the potential to create something brand new.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Could we possibly ease the experience of having dementia or
caring for it if we tried to look for the psychospiritual purposes, and work
more proactively with any psi that might occur?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Believing in, valuing, and explaining people’s psi experiences
can have a mighty impact on their mental stability, sense of meaning, and
ability to function.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Training and
education in this aspect of dementia care could make a difference for everyone
involved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We could start by collecting
insights about dementia and psi from around the world and ancient times, and
then build on that.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
===============</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you have a psi anecdote about a person with dementia or
their caregiver, please comment below or email me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, please contact me if you know of anyone who has tried
high-dose Omega-3 for dementia.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
===============</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
*Thanks to Cinnamon Moon, Forum Founder,
spiritlodge.yuku.com, for the epigraph.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
===============</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: purple;">Sources:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dack, P.A., Shineman, D.W., & Fillit, H.M.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(2013).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Current evidence for the clinical use of long-chain polyunsaturated N-3
Fatty acids to prevent age-related cognitive decline and Alzheimer's
disease.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Journal of Nutrition, Health,
and Aging, 17, 240-51.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23459977">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23459977</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
d_vyne_madness. (2009). Is 'ordinary' reality a
controlled psychedelic experience?<span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://theicarusproject.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=17326">http://theicarusproject.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=17326</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fagan, J.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(18 Mar
13, personal communication).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fiala et al. (2013).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Vitamin D, omega-3 may help clear amyloid plaques found in
Alzheimer's.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>5 Feb 2013 UCLA press
release.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-02/uoc--vdo020513.php">http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-02/uoc--vdo020513.php</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hendrix, L.R.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2000).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Health and health care
of American Indian and Alaska native elders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Stanford Geriatric Education Center.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><a href="http://www.stanford.edu/group/ethnoger/americanindian.html">http://www.stanford.edu/group/ethnoger/americanindian.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mendelson, S.D.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2009).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beyond Alzheimer’s:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How to avoid the modern epidemic of
dementia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lanham, Maryland:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>M. Evans & Company.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kalweit, H.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(1984/
1988).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dreamtime and inner space:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The world of the shaman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Boston:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Shambala Publications, Inc.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lin, P.Y., Chiu, C.C., Huang, S.Y., & Su, K.P.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A meta-analytic review of polyunsaturated
fatty acid compositions in dementia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 73, 1245-54.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22938939</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Loef, M. & Walach, H.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2013).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The omega-6/omega-3 ratio
and dementia or cognitive decline: a systematic review on human studies and
biological evidence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Journal of
Nutrition in Gerontology and Geriatrics, 32, 1-23.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23451843</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nahm, M. & Greyson, B. (2009). Terminal lucidity
in patients with chronic schizophrenia and dementia: A survey of the
literature. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 197, 942-944.<span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nahm, M. (2009). Terminal lucidity in people
with mental illness and other mental disability: An overview and implications
for possible explanatory models. Journal of Near-Death Studies, 28,
87-106.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Schützenberger, A.A.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(1998 / 2007).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The ancestor
syndrome:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Transgenerational
psychotherapy and the hidden links in the family tree.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>New York:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Routledge.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Strassman, R. (2001). DMT: The spirit
molecule. Rochester, VT: Park Street Press.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wallach, J.V. (2009). Endogenous hallucinogens
as ligands of the trace amine receptors: A possible role in sensory
perception. Medical Hypotheses, 72, 91-94.<span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:VSKPt5g-JE4J:www.erowid.org/references/refs_view.php?A%3DShowDocPartFrame%26ID%3D7404%26DocPartID%3D6553+wallach+endogenous+hallucinogens&hl=en&gl=us">http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:VSKPt5g-JE4J:www.erowid.org/references/refs_view.php?A%3DShowDocPartFrame%26ID%3D7404%26DocPartID%3D6553+wallach+</a>endogenous+hallucinogens&hl=en&gl=us
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Bonnet_syndrome">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Bonnet_syndrome</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terence_McKenna">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terence_McKenna</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dementia">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dementia</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alzheimer%27s_disease">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alzheimer%27s_disease</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-infarct_dementia">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-infarct_dementia</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dementia_with_Lewy_bodies">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dementia_with_Lewy_bodies</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://paranormal.about.com/library/blstory_april01_05.htm">http://paranormal.about.com/library/blstory_april01_05.htm</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.planetwavesweekly.com/parallel/articles/alzheimer.html">http://www.planetwavesweekly.com/parallel/articles/alzheimer.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://forum.alzheimers.org.uk/showthread.php?54434-Spiritual-Aspects-of-Dementia">http://forum.alzheimers.org.uk/showthread.php?54434-Spiritual-Aspects-of-Dementia</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/mb.asp?cmd=display&thread_id=3121166">http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/mb.asp?cmd=display&thread_id=3121166</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://spiritlodge.yuku.com/topic/1274/Dementia-a-Native-American-approach#.UTanNTczw4c">http://spiritlodge.yuku.com/topic/1274/Dementia-a-Native-American-approach#.UTanNTczw4c</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Sheila Joshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789487768317341942noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6006622137752807559.post-1146723541909304942013-02-27T17:08:00.000-08:002013-02-27T17:08:33.669-08:0020th c. healer Bill Gray and the enteric brain as phase monitor (Part 1)<div class="MsoNormal">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</xml><![endif]--><b><span style="color: purple;">Who was Bill Gray?</span></b>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bill Gray was an extremely effective energy healer, who was
born in 1895 in Minnesota, and died possibly in 1979 in California.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His full name was William E. Gray, and Ruth
Montgomery wrote the only biography of him, “Born to heal,” in 1973, in which
she calls him Mr. A in order to protect him from being swamped by
supplicants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He, himself, wrote a short
book in 1947, “Know your magnetic field,” in which he shared his understanding
of human illness and what he did for it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There is very little more information available about his life.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bill Gray was so effective, that the States of Nevada and
California (and possibly Arizona and Utah) granted him licenses to practice
medicine, even though his schooling had ended at fourth grade, and he had
difficulty reading.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the 1940s, the
California Medical Association persuaded the State to prosecute him for fraud.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The sensational trial in Vallejo pushed
World War II off the front pages of the area’s newspapers, until he was
resoundingly acquitted, with multitudes of his ex-patients pestering his
attorneys with their urgent desire to testify on his behalf.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Note:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Quotes below
from Bill Gray’s 1947 book refer to him in the third person, because the book
was dictated by him to an unnamed nurse, who assisted him by chaperoning and
explaining things to patients.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the
book, she also adds a few of her own observations and clarifications to his
often vague explanations.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: purple;">He was unusually successful at
using energy healing for neurological problems</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bill Gray was in a class by himself because of his
phenomenal ability to work with all illnesses, but he was also in a class by
himself because he could work easily with neurological problems, and this
appears to be the category of ailment for which energy healing has been least
effective.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Indeed, Montgomery’s biography starts with one neurological
healing after another.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Among the
neurological (and severe psychological) cures documented in the two books are:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-- a neurological cancer (RM, p. 19)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-- cerebral palsy (RM, p. 28, p. 216, BG, whole chapter with
multiple cases)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-- neurological damage from surgery anesthetic (RM, p. 32)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-- spinal menengitis (RM, p. 138)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-- polio (RM, p. 140)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-- TBI causing double vision (TM, p. 146)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-- psychosis, severe mental illness (RM, p. 159, p. 160)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-- Down’s syndrome (p. 202)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-- senility (RM, p. 213)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-- stroke (BG, a whole chapter with multiple cases)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-- vision (BG, p. 75 -- a middle-aged or older man who went
for treatment for stroke, got that, but also found his vision getting better,
so that he had to get rid of his reading glasses; p. 90 -- a middle-aged woman
went for help for severe arthritis, got that, but also found she had to throw
away her eye glasses)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Very few energy healers appear to be able to affect
neurological problems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The few that
can, have to work much longer to achieve it than they do for other
ailments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bill Gray was as efficacious
and speedy with neurological issues as he was with everything else.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: purple;">Bill Gray’s understanding of
neurological conditions</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Not much is known about his understanding of the causes or
meanings of neurological conditions as a category.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All we have are a couple of comments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He reported that, starting in childhood, he received instructions
and explanations from a source that he vaguely called the Powers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When asked by a doctor who studied with him
for many years to explain M.S. and related neurological diseases, he
replied:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“’As it comes over the air to
me, these ailments are caused from prolonged seething and jealousy’”
(Montgomery, 1973, p. 149).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The only other generalization he makes about neurological /
psychological conditions is:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“There is
a very definite sound, a peculiar cluck, in the heart when there is tension [in
a nerve] from the brain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every case of
insanity or mental condition that has come to me has that funny cluck sound in
the heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When that is released the
mind seems to be cleared” (Gray, 1947, p. 43).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: purple;">Difference between human energy
and mechanical EM</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Although he said very little about the causes and meanings
of neurological ailments as a category, his whole approach to healing was
centered on the nervous system, which is unusual for energy healers.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
His main technique was to give a person’s own energy
frequencies to them, to replenish their supply, and re-open supply lines along
the nerves of the nervous system. He didn’t so much fix any particular problem,
although he sometimes did that, he more focused on supply of energy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, first let’s look at what he meant by
energy, and then we’ll look at his view of the nervous system.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s not entirely clear what Bill Gray meant by energy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the one hand, he says many times that
what he calls “human life ray energy” is not the same thing as
mechanically-generated electromagnetism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>On the other hand, he uses electrical language all the time to describe
what is going on in the body, and, of course, we know the nervous system does
use electrical impulses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s also confusing because a lot of people who experienced
Bill’s touch felt an electric charge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>For example, in the early 1970s, when the renowned energy healer Rosalyn
Bruyere (see <a href="http://neuroscienceandpsi.blogspot.com/2012/06/interview-with-rosalyn-bruyere.html">http://neuroscienceandpsi.blogspot.com/2012/06/interview-with-rosalyn-bruyere.html</a>)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>was starting her studies, and Bill was in
his final illness, he mentored her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“While Bruyere did healings on him, he instructed her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At one point, she says, he put his hand on
her abdomen as she was working on him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>‘I felt like I had been plugged into a 220-volt socket,’ she says.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, he had her try to do the same thing”
(Goldner, 1999, p. 116).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Five years after his death, she came to believe that he had
endowed her with new abilities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Bill
passed sound waves on to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
electrical current sensation in my hands came from him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Prior to that time, I was ‘allowing’
energy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I learned to ‘push’ energy”
(Goldner, 1999, p. 116)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here are some of Bill Gray’s explanations about his use of
energy:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“In every paralyzed case he worked
on, the energy is partially shut off from the magnetic field [in the abdomen,
more explanation of this below] and there is a greater shutoff from a specified
relay distributing center<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He first
sends a charge to the magnetic field [in the abdomen] increasing its energy,
thus enabling it to distribute the energy to all parts of the body, and then
generates the energy to the specified dormant nerves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He must open the circuits of the afflicted nerves by increasing
the volume or intensity of the energy and putting through a heavy dose to wake
up those nerves that haven’t been working properly” (Gray, 1947, p. 53).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“This generated energy is not the
same as mechanically generated electrical current” (Montgomery, 1973, p. 53).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“The human energy current is
similar to any electrical current and frequency.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It acts only on the human body and vice versa.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The body is not geared to take mechanically
generated electrical currents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
nerves will not retain them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They act
only as shock” (Gray, 1947, p.54).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“’The body is the most
sophisticated of all impulse relay machinery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It combines the systems similar to the automatic telephone, the
computers, and other electronic devices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>However, the body functions on human ray energy instead of the standard
electrical energy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To my knowledge,
standard electricity shocks the body and is not retained by it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The body will retain only human ray.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Man hasn’t scratched the surface of this
subject yet’” (Montgomery, 1973, pp. 156-7).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, it’s still not clear whether Bill Gray was transmitting
electromagnetic energy solely, or EM in addition to something else, or not
transmitting EM at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People’s
nervous systems may have been reacting to whatever he was doing with an
electric-like feeling, and certainly the nervous system uses electrical
impulses, but that doesn’t mean he was transmitting EM or only EM.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Elmer Green, PhD, physicist, psychologist, biofeedback
pioneer, co-founder of the International Society for the Study of Subtle
Energies and Energy Medicine, has said in an interview:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“….whatever the energy is that does the
healing, one of its correlates is electrical phenomena. I am not saying that
electricity is the cause of the healing. If that were the case you could do it
with a battery” (DiCarlo, <a href="http://www.healthy.net/scr/interview.aspx?Id=199">http://www.healthy.net/scr/interview.aspx?Id=199</a>)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It seems possible that Bill Gray was a product of his times,
and was using the metaphors of electricity and machinery because that
technology was developing in exciting ways during his lifetime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, he was a machinist in his youth,
and this clearly influenced his way of conceptualizing the human body and healing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our theories about how psi functions have changed over the
last 150 years as our natural science theories and technologies have
changed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our understanding of psi and
“energy healing” is certainly influenced by and possibly limited by our time in
history.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For example, Bill Gray doesn’t talk at all about a field
effect – whether electromagnetic or morphic or quantum or whatever – and it now
seems really likely that the body uses field effects generated by the nervous
system and the heart, or by the chakras, or by other possible sources.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Although he refers to the “magnetic field”
in the lower abdomen, he never talks about a field effect, but rather thinks of
it as the major relay station for distributing energy along circuits.)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He also doesn’t talk about the role of consciousness or
divine plan or pre-birth contracts in the role of illness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He did espouse astrology insofar as he
believed the time of birth to determine what your unique frequency combination
was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was unabashedly a mechanic of
the body as machine, used that language a lot, and thought of himself as a
mechanic who was simply used by “the Powers” to provide a supply of people’s
own signature energy.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: purple;">Bill Gray’s focus on the lower
abdomen</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perhaps the most intriguing and unique aspect of Bill Gray’s
healing model was his focus on the lower abdomen as the location of what he
called “the magnetic field,” which was the crux of *all* his treatments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Note that he entitled his book “Know your
magnetic field.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He believed that the
magnetic field in the lower abdomen was the center of the nervous system.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
According to him:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“In the lower abdomen, the pelvis,
is an intricate system forming the magnetic field, the grouping together of the
main trunk nerves and their branches and relay systems extending throughout the
entire body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The lungs draw the energy
in but the magnetic field must draw the energy from the lungs in order to
radiate it through the body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are no
stronger than our magnetic field” (Gray, 1947, p. 16).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
According to Ruth Montgomery:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“The strange talent with which Mr.
A [Bill Gray] was born is the power to rebuild the nervous system, relieve the
pressures and tensions, and correct ailments by energizing the magnetic
field.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He accomplishes this by placing
his fingers over nerves and nerve relay centers, automatically generating the
energy complimentary to that of the patient.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As a generator he has the knack of increasing the intensity of the
energy to make corrections….” (Montgomery, 1973, p. 53).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bill Gray called the intricate system of nerves in the lower
abdomen “the master brain,” (Gray, 1947, p. 48) and believed it was primary to
the brain in the head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He repeatedly
calls the head brain “subsidiary” or “minor” in his 1947 book!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bill Gray:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“The life force is of electric
energy; consequently, the body must be mechanically constructed to conduct,
transmit and be activated by the human energy current.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thought control, thought direction and
discrimination are energy impulses supplied from the magnetic field to the
subsidiary brain within the skull, thereby causing impulse reaction through the
nerves and their relay centers, affecting the movements at will of all parts of
the human structure” (Gray, 1947, p. 64).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Even in the case of stroke, he believed that “….the troubles
all start in the magnetic field.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
tension builds up in the pelvis….” (Gray, 1947, p. 70).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At least one energy healer who has had some success with
neurological problems focused his attention on the head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another has said it is necessary to focus on
all seven chakras.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bill Gray is unique
in my experience for focuing on the abdomen so much in neurological cases,
although, in any given case, he may also direct energy to any part of the body
where he perceives a weak link in energy supply, including the head.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In a related sidebar, many, many of his patients
spontaneously commented that, as a side effect of his treatment, they felt like
they are breathing all the way down into their pelvis for the first time in
their lives (Gray, 1947).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Also, in an ironic and curious twist of life narrative, he spent
his whole life working with sick people by focusing on their lower abdomens,
and he, himself, may have died from abdominal cancer (Goldner, 1999, p. 116),
although I have not been able to confirm this from a second source.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: purple;">Enteric Nervous System</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bill Gray anticipated by several decades the recent
recognition that there is an extremely important and independent nervous system
in the gut which we now call the enteric nervous system or enteric brain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although there was a little bit of 19<sup>th</sup>
c. research suggesting that the gut could function independently of the head
brain, it wasn’t until the 1990s that neurogastroenerology really took off.
(Gershon, 1999, pp. 2-5)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The enteric nervous system is said to consist of neurons
“within the walls of the esophagus, stomach, small and large intestines,
pancreas, gallbladder and biliary tree…the muscle of the gut wall…,” and
related mucosal membranes, blood supply, and tissues
(http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Enteric_nervous_system).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Note that the inclusion of the biliary tree means the liver
is at least sort of included.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although
I have found no explicit mention of the mouth, I don’t see how the system could
start in the esophagus and not include the mouth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a point of interest, we do know that teeth contain serotonin
receptors (Riksen et al., 2010).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The enteric nervous system consists of 100 millon neurons,
which is one thousandth the number of neurons in the head brain (Wiki).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It can operate independently of the brain
and spinal cord, although, of course, they can also communicate with each other
(Wiki; Pasricha, 2011; Brown, 2011).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The enteric brain is astonishingly independent of the head
brain and spinal cord (Pasricha, 2011).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“The enteric nervous system has
been described as a "second brain". There are several reasons for
this. The enteric nervous system can operate autonomously. It normally
communicates with the central nervous system (CNS) [ie brain and spinal cord]
through the parasympathetic (e.g., via the vagus nerve) and sympathetic (e.g.,
via the prevertebral ganglia) nervous systems. However, vertebrate studies show
that when the vagus nerve is severed, the enteric nervous system continues to
function” (Wiki).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“In vertebrates the enteric nervous
system includes efferent [going away] neurons, afferent [coming in] neurons,
and interneurons, all of which make the enteric nervous system capable of
carrying reflexes and acting as an integrating center in the absence of CNS
input” (Wiki).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At least part of the reason for the enteric brain’s independence
is that this is an efficient way to manage an extremely complex part of the
body.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">"Rather than Mother Nature's
trying to pack 100 million neurons someplace in the brain or spinal cord and
then sending long connections to the GI tract, the circuitry is right next to
the systems that require control," said Jackie D. Wood, professor of
physiology, cell biology and internal medicine at Ohio State” (Brown, 2011).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emeran Mayer, MD, Director, Center for Neurovisceral
Sciences & Women's Health, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, makes
the interesting point that the gut is designed to *not* pass along informaton
about pain when the individual can’t do anything about it, for example, in the
case of a chronic parasitic infection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In other words, a lot of the neurological information being transmitted
in the gut remains unconscious, as opposed to neurological information in the
rest of the body (eg pain, heat) which becomes conscious so that behavior will
be affected (Mayer, nd).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Michael Gershon, MD, Chairman of the Department of Anatomy
and Cell Biology at New York–Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical
Center, has played a central role in raising the flag about about the
neurological nature of the gut.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When he
first suggested a few decades ago “that the gut might use some of the same
neurotransmitters as the brain, his theory was widely ridiculed,” but his ideas
have been borne out (Brown, 2011).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In fact, “90% of the body’s serotonin lies in the gut, not
in your head,” according to Pankaj Pasricha, MD, Chair of Stanford University
Medical Center’s Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, as does half of
the body’s dopamine (Pasricha, 2011).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“The enteric nervous system also
makes use of more than 30 neurotransmitters, most of which are identical to the
ones found in CNS, such as acetylcholine, dopamine, and serotonin. More than
90% of the body's serotonin lies in the gut, as well as about 50% of the body's
dopamine…” (Wiki).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The head brain and the gut brain share a common source.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They develop out of the same part of the
human embryo (Blackwell, nd; Wiki – gastrulation, neural crest).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And Gershon discovered that the same genes
involved in synapse formation between neurons in the head brain are involved in
the formation of synapses in the enteric brain (Hadhazy, 2010).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, “neural stem cells have been found in
the gut.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These theorectically have the
capacity to develop into all kinds of neurons, not just those in the gut”
(Pasricha, 2011).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="color: purple;">Studying problems to understand the relationship between
gut and head</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Researchers are looking at gut-related illnesses and brain-
or mind-related illnesses in order to glean new information about how these two
semi-independent neurological centers affect each other, and, of course, how we
can use that information to create new solutions.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We all know intuitively that the gut influences the head and
the head influences the gut.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mayer and
Barry Blackwell, MD at the University of Wisconsin Medical School have both
written about the idea that some people are “gut responders.” People experience
anxiety differently physically.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some
experience their emotional distress in their gut more than other people do
(Mayer, nd; Blackwell, nd).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This can
lead to persistent physical conditions.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Blackwell:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“The gut shares many of the same
kinds of nerve endings and chemical transmitters as the brain to which it
remains linked through a large nucleus (the locus ceruleus).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This collection of nerve cells is partly
responsible for controlling anxiety and fear, which explains why these emotions
can sometimes be associated with bowel function” (Blackwell, nd).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
According to Pasricha, women seem to be more vulnerable to
GI problems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He speculates that this
may be due to hormonal differences, or differences in how the nervous system
develops, or it could be an artifact of women allowing themselves to seek more
health care (Pasricha, 2011).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There seems to be a lot more for us to learn about how the
gut brain and the head brain can influence each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Scientific American” writer Adam Hadhazy
reports that:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Cutting-edge research is
currently investigating how the second brain mediates the body's immune
response; after all, at least 70 percent of our immune system is aimed at the
gut to expel and kill foreign invaders” (Hadhazy, 2010).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And Pasricha says that, in the case of
Parkinson’s, there are similar changes to the gut neurons as there are to the
head neurons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He speculates that it may
turn out to be possible to treat the gut in order to help the head (Pasricha,
2011).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Conversely, we can use the head to help the gut.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Robert Stern, Professor of Psychology at
Penn State University did a study that suggested that “biofeedback helped
people consciously increase and enhance their gastrointestinal activity. They
used the brains in their heads, in other words, to help the brains in their
guts, proving that at least some of the time two brains really are better than
one” (Brown, 2011).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="color: purple;">Serotonin and the gut</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In an informative 2011 New York Times article, Journalism
professor Harriet Brown interviews several active neurogastroenterology
researchers, and, among other things, elaborates on the role of serotonin in
the gut.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“The digestive process begins when
a specialized cell, an enterochromaffin, squirts serotonin into the wall of the
gut, which has at least seven types of serotonin receptors. The receptors, in
turn, communicate with nerve cells to start digestive enzymes flowing or to
start things moving through the intestines.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">Serotonin also acts as a
go-between, keeping the brain in the skull up to date with what is happening in
the brain below. Such communication is mostly one way, with 90 percent
traveling from the gut to the head”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(Brown, 2011)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Brown explains what happens next:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“In a healthy person, after
serotonin is released into the gut and initiates an intestinal reflex, it is
whisked out of the bowel by a molecule known as the serotonin transporter, or
SERT, found in the cells that line the gut wall.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">People with irritable bowel
syndrome do not have enough SERT, so they wind up with too much serotonin
floating around, causing diarrhea.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">The excess serotonin then
overwhelms the receptors in the gut, shutting them down and causing
constipation” (Brown, 2011).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, “….it turns out that irritable bowel syndrome, like depression,
is at least in part a function of changes in the serotonin system. In this
case, it is too much serotonin rather than too little.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This must be at least one of the reasons why
antidepressants (which increase serotonin availability) “cause gastric distress
in up to a quarter of the people who take them” (Brown, 2011).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Further disturbing evidence of how antidepressants may harm
the gut can be found in a recent study done at the University of Groningen, in
the Netherlands, which suggested that children who had been exposed in utero to
antidepressants suffered the teratogenic effect of needing significantly more
antidiarrhoeal and laxative medication (Nijenhuis et al., 2012).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Another mechanism being studied is the link between stress,
inflammation, and hyperactivity of the gut.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
During stress, intestinal walls become more permeable, and
bacteria can leak out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This causes the
head brain to activate mast cells which “release histamines and other
inflammatory agents, mobilizing the enteric nervous system to expel the
perceived intruders, and causing diarrhea” (Brown, 2011).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Chronic mast cell production leads to inflammation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>According to Gary Mawe, Professor of Anatomy
and Neurobiology at the University of Vermont, “inflammation makes the sensory
neurons in the gut fire more often, causing a kind of sensory
hyperactivity.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He adds, "I have a
theory that some chronic disorders may be caused by something like attention
deficit disorder in the gut” (Brown, 2011).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: purple;">Phase Monitor</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And now back to Bill Gray.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>For some reason, he spoke more about energy from the environment
entering the body through the air coming into the lungs than through the food
entering the GI tract, although he did say it was important for food energy to
not be “distorted” (Montgomery, 1973, p. 212).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
However, it is also very interesting to note that he had to
be excruciatingly organic in the food he ate, or he else would throw up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He said that, prior to WWII, he traveled the
country eating out everywhere, but starting then food began to be so loaded
with preservatives, chemicals, and hormones, that he could no longer tolerate
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He would throw up immediately.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If he were, say, a guest of well-intentioned
people who thought they were serving him organic food, and he threw up, it was
always discovered that the source of the food was not as impeccable as his
hosts had thought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had to go to
considerable lengths to acquire, stock up on, and then travel with his own food
(Montgomery, 1973, pp. 201-211).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And, as we have seen, he placed primary importance on the
centralized network of neurons in the lower abdomen in his approach to healing
everything, including disorders of the head brain.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While I was working on this essay, the term “phase monitor”
came into my head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I Googled it, and,
even after reading about it, I still don’t remember having learned about it
before, nor do I understand it very well yet, so I don’t know how it came to
me.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A phase monitor is somewhat similar to a circuit
breaker.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A phase monitor is a device
that monitors voltage fluctuations that could cause damage to equipment if they
got out of hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is particularly for
use in electrical systems that use three conductors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is called a three-phase system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Thanks to my car mechanic Dave for his help in understanding the
term!)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Most of the world’s power grids use a three-phase
system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This method of moving
electricity was independently invented by Nikola Tesla, Galileo Ferraris, and
Mikhail Dolivo-Dobrovolsky in the late 1880s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Electricity moves in waves, so there is a fluctuation in how it
arrives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In order to make electric
power more continuous, they send it over three different wires, and each is out
of step with the others by a third of a cycle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So, first the electricity on one wire reaches the peak of its wave, then
the electricity on the second wire reaches the peak of its wave, and then the
electricity on the third wire reaches the peak of its wave.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, thus, you have virtually continuous
electrical energy arriving at your house (Wiki).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, a phase monitor tells you if the voltage gets too high
or low, and also if the three wires get out of phase, meaning they’re not
peaking at the right moment or in the right sequence.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now, here’s the interesting thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bill Gray’s speciality was discerning the particular “energy”
signature of each individual and simply supplying them with more of their own
particular blend of energy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Specifically, he said that each person’s energy pattern is created by
the interaction of three waves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These
three waves establish the nature of that person’s “magnetic field” in their
abdomen (Montgomery, 1973, p. 50).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
likened each person’s combination of frequencies to the uniqueness of a
fingerprint (Gray, 1947, p. 53).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">When Bill Gray was asked what the
energy was that he used and that recipients felt, he said, “It is life
ray-human energy on individual wavelengths.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>To my knowledge there are thirty-six different frequencies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each individual operates on three waves at
different frequencies making numerous combinations of magnetic field control”
(Gray, 1947, p. 14).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Note the similarity between the industrial phase monitor and
Bill Gray’s conceptualization of the human abdomen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both regulate a three-wave energy system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The difference seems to be that with
electricity delivered to your house, the three waves of energy are supposed to
have the same voltage and frequency and are supposed to be in phase
(synchronized), whereas with the “energy” delivered to your abdomen, it sounds
like the three waves of energy usually have different frequencies, and we don’t
know yet if they need to be in phase.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Might the enteric brain serve as a sort of phase monitor for
the whole body, but most importantly the head brain?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Might it serve a regulatory and protective role?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bill Gray certainly believed that the “magnetic field” in
the lower abdomen was the “master brain” that regulated everything, including
the head brain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He believed that
problems – including in the head brain – occurred when the magnetic field was
not getting fed an adequate supply of its particular energy blend, and then
sending it on throughout the body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And, neurogastroenterologists today are also discovering how
much the enteric brain does besides digest food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They, too, are looking at how problems – including in the head
brain – may originate in or be significantly contributed to by problems in the
gut.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here is an example, according to Bill Gray, of how the
enteric brain can get overwhelmed and thus lose the ability to regulate and
protect the head brain --</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“A stroke has its origin in the
magnetic field [abdomen].<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One or more
of the main feeders is put into spasm from a variety of causes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This spasm continues without relief to the
point where the nerve or nerves cannot take it any longer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One violent seizure occurs and the nerves
are paralyzed.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">The spasm in the pelvis, the
magnetic field, creates a terrific nerve tension, causing pressure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The nerves can stand only so much
pressure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When they reach capacity they
will short out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The electric nerve
lines from the magnetic field to the subsidiary brain [head] are overloaded
from the pressure and the weakest spot on those lines is the subsidiary brain
nerves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the pressure becomes too
great, a fuse blows out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just as an
ordinary light fuse severs the lead by melting, so the brain accident
occurs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fuse in the brain tissue
ruptures and severs the nerve line, disrupting the circuit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A degree of paralysis is the result” (Gray,
1947, p. 69).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, we might say that stroke is one type of neurological
problem that can occur when the enteric brain becomes overwhelmed in its role
as phase monitor to the head brain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Note that he says the weakest spot in the network is in the head brain
nerves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This supports the idea that the
gut brain might serve a protective function.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And here is a more recently learned physiological fact that
is suggestive of how the enteric brain may regulate the head brain --</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">Serotonin also acts as a
go-between, keeping the brain in the skull up to date with what is happening in
the brain below. Such communication is mostly one way, with 90 percent
traveling from the gut to the head”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(Brown, 2011)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Let’s look at another type of neurological problem that can
occur, and speculate about what Bill Gray might have said about it if it had
existed in his lifetime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: purple;">Dysautonomia in SSRI
antidepressant withdrawal</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
SSRI antidepressants increase the availability of serotonin
in the head and in the gut, and, as we’ve already learned, they “cause gastric
distress in up to a quarter of the people who take them” (Brown, 2011).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The effect on serotonin has a cascading
effect on other neurotransmitters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
whole body changes in response to the medication.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When you remove the medication, the whole body has to adjust
again, and some people go through a long period of physiological chaos in
trying to re-equilibrate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is
dysautonomia or dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Historically, the functions of the gut have
been included in the list of what the autonomic nervous system does. However,
as mentioned above, the mounting evidence for the gut’s independence from the
brain and spinal chord is also leading some people to think it’s fruitful to
think of the enteric nervous system as significantly independent of the
autonomic nervous system as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Of course, none of these systems are totally independent,
and they all influence each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But,
we are trying to understand why one of the most phenomenal energy healers of
all time focused so intently on the lower abdomen, and trying to see what more
we can deduce from that.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, what might Bill Gray have said about dysautonomia caused
by modern day antidepressants?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And does
the metaphor of the phase monitor help?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Remember the phase monitor tells you not only if there is too much
energy or too little, but whether the three conductors are in phase, that is,
synchronized with each other.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: purple;">Bill Gray on “energy spasms”</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well, interestingly, Bill Gray did talk about energy
“spasms” in the human body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mostly, he
talked about supplying a quantity of energy, but several times he also referred
to quieting an energy spasm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was not
refering to a physical muscular or visceral spasm, but rather to spasms of
energy passing through nerves.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In diagnosing a patient, he would listen at the chest,
and:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“As he listens, the vibrations
have revealed to him the body tensions and the location of nerve centers which
are in spasm” (Montgomery, 1973, p. 14).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At one point, discussing how others with strong energy could
be trained to do some of what he does, he says –</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“This is the individual best fitted
to heal others, and who could be taught to direct the energy through his or her
hands, feeding nerves and releasing spasms, but only to those having energy
frequencies complementary to each oher.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Otherwise, an energy short may result” (Montgomery, 1973, p. 15).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Again, discussing how stroke originates in the abdominal
magnetic field –</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“But he emphasizes that it could be
avoided by previously releasing the spasm that has built up in the magnetic
field, through feeding human energy current to the proper area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He makes it sound as simple as repairing an
electric line…”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Montgomery, 1973, pp.
16-17).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In explaining what human “energy” is, and what it is that he
provides –</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“This generated energy is not the
same as mechanically generated electrical current.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He says that the body is not geared to accept the latter, which
the nerves will not retain and which acts as a shock to them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To rebuild nerves, to relax spasms and feed
the required energy fuel, the energies of the generator [a person] must match
or synchronize with those of the patient” (Montgomery, 1973, p. 53).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In a case of a woman with a chronic, mystery stomach
ailment, Bill Gray specifically said that “nerve spasming” was preventing her
from drawing in sufficient energy to her system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is him speaking to Montgomery –</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“With the spasm and tension
released she could breathe deeply, bring a full supply of her own energy wave
into her magnetic field, and send this energy to her entire nervous system,
which relieved all pain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Simple, isn’t
it?” (Montgomery, 1973, p. 59).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I wish I could ask him for clarification, but it sounds like
he saw the cause of illness as being not only due to insufficient quantity of
“energy” (overall, and localized in the body), but also due to spasms in
energy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Problems can come from energy
not flowing smoothly, not synchronized – perhaps not in phase.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Remember, we are not talking about visceral spams in the
gut.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(It is beginning to look – thanks
to both Bill Gray and modern neurogastroenterology – like the enteric brain is
about far, far more than digestion.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
are talking about the behavior of a still undefined “energy” that may be
related to EM, but not necessarily. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: purple;">Stormy weather</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It might be good to clarify that we are looking at a
different level of causality from the biochemical mechanisms of the body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For example, we’re pretty sure that serotonin receptor sites
on neurons get downregulated by prolonged antidepressant use, and that, when
you stop taking the antidepressant, this is part of the problem – you now have
fewer serotonin receptors than you did before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And, this is part of what causes physiological dysregulation such as
dysautonomia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a physical,
mechanical level of causal explanation.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But the focus of this essay is a level where some animating
force operates that humans have talked about for millenia, but that we are
still struggling to understand now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Bill Gray called it “energy” and spoke of “frequencies.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had been a machinist in his early life,
and talked proudly of being a mechanic in his healing work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some people refer to “subtle energies.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I lean toward thinking of this force as
“consciousness,” and it’s very thought-provoking to translate Bill Gray’s claim
of there being 36 frequencies into 36 types of consciousness!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Furthermore, there is a lot of thought that body, mind, and
spirit operate using field effects.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A
field effect refers to some force influencing objects within a certain range
without touching them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We know the head
brain and heart produce EM fields that can affect other people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We suspect that the field of consciousness
extends beyond the brain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And some
people say the body could only operate as fast as it does and in such
synchronization if there was a field effect at work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(See Rupert Sheldrake, Heartmath Institute, Deepak Chopra, Gregg
Braden.)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, although we could explain an antidepressant-dysregulated
nervous system at the mechanical biochemical level, in this essay we are
looking at it at the level of “energy” and field effect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At that level, the dysregulation seen in dysautonomia from
antidepressants might be thought of as an energy storm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A phase monitor’s purpose is to detect
energy out of phase or unsynchronized.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So, we could speculate that when the enteric brain is damaged by
antidepressants, it becomes less able to protect the head brain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You get the kind of nerve energy spasms that
Bill Gray talks about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And the result,
in this case, is a kind of energy storm in the entire nervous system.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Interestingly, there is a medical term called an autonomic
storm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“An autonomic storm is the
massive increase in sympathetic nervous activity that might simply be called a
hyper-stress response due to an insult to the brain or brainstem”
(http://sabinaparadi.org/Autonomic_Storms.html).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One type of autonomic storm is caused by serotonin
syndrome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Serotonin syndrome is caused
by excess serotonergic activity brought on by overdose or interaction of
serotonergic drugs (Wiki).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are other kinds of storms that can happen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A cytokine storm is an excessive immune
reaction (<a href="http://antidepressantwithdrawal.info/forum/showthread.php?1002-Cytokine-storm-Paxil-flu-detox-flu-healing-crisis">http://antidepressantwithdrawal.info/forum/showthread.php?1002-Cytokine-storm-Paxil-flu-detox-flu-healing-crisis</a>).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An adrenergic storm is an sudden and
dramatic increase in the production of adrenal chemicals (Wiki).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
All of the above storms are life-threatening, and I am not
in any way suggesting that the dysautonomia caused by antidepressant withdrawal
is life-threatening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rather, it is a
milder version of the more extreme storms.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
All of these storms are correlated with gut problems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Traditionally, the causality has been seen
as the storms impacting the gut, but perhaps the enteric brain creates the
conditions for the storms more than we have realized.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Clearly, a blunt force injury to the head is the culprit when
that preceeds an autonomic storm, but still perhaps we have not focused enough
on the enteric brain’s potential to heal the insult.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(Epilepsy and abdominal epilepsy are also types of storms
that can occur.)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Apparently, there can also be sleep storms or REM
storms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These terms don’t appear to be
used very much any more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rapid eye
movement periods during sleep seem to involve a burst of neurological activity,
and sometimes the REM can be particularly intense and has been called a storm (<a href="http://www.sabinaparadi.org/Autonomic_Storms.html">http://www.sabinaparadi.org/Autonomic_Storms.html</a>;
Becker, 1982).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Interestingly, the gut seems to exhibit something akin to
REM –</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“During sleep, the head’s brain
produces 90-minute cycles of slow wave sleep, followed by periods of rapid eye
movement (REM) where dreams occur. During the night, when it is empty, the
gut’s brain produces 90-minute slow wave muscle contractions, followed by short
bursts of rapid muscle movement. These two brains are linked even in sleep.
Individuals with bowel problems have been shown to also have abnormal REM
sleep” (<a href="http://www.pointofreturn.com/gut_health.html"><span style="color: navy;">http://www.pointofreturn.com/gut_health.html</span></a>).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, it looks like there may be a spectrum of stormy weather
in the body, ranging from the normal, short storms that we cycle through all
day, to the disabling, but not permanent,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>storm of antidepressant-induced dysautonomia, to the life-threatening
autonomic and cytokine storms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can
see how there would be a role for a phase monitor to keep energy flowing
smoothly and in a coordinated way, and to avoid “energy spasms.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Storms are always an attempt at
re-regulation. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bill Gray believed that literal, environmental, atmospheric
weather storms had an impact on the human energy system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is not entirely clear whether he is
refering to EM energy in electrical storms, or his “human ray energy” or both
--</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“In my opinion,” he replied, “as it
is explained to me over the air it is simply the result of atmospheric life
energy storms….This sets up a turbulence in the human energy patterns which I
call energy storms, and when the human condensing system is not strong enough
to protect the magnetic field from the jolt of the distorted energy, the field
goes into spasm….Also, atmospheric human wave storms can disturb the human
energy patterns, resulting in backaches and other minor physical problems, when
the body’s energy is only moderately depleted and not completely optimal”
(Montgomery, 1973, p. 148).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: purple;">Healing the head brain via the
gut brain</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, to speculate, if the enteric brain operates like a phase
monitor for the whole body, but especially the head brain, and if
antidepressants cause damage to the enteric brain, and if energy becomes out of
phase in the enteric brain (magnetic field in lower abdomen), and if this
contributes to the perpetuation of post-antidepressant dysautonomia, then maybe
we haven’t been focusing enough on the gut to heal antidepressant damage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What can we do about that since we are not
Bill Gray?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The important thing to keep in mind is that we are
suspecting that the gut may do a lot more than just digest food; it may be
doing a lot at the energic level.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But,
we might be able to help it function energetically by helping it heal
neurologically and viscerally.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In Part
2 of this essay, we will focus on the neurological angle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here, we will briefly discuss the visceral
angle.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Virtually everyone who takes antidepressants for awhile and
then discontinues them develops some kind of problem of the GI tract –
heartburn, GERD, difficulty swallowing, hemorrhoids, IBS, diarrhea,
constipation, gas, new food allergies and sensitivities, chronic nausea,
depression or anxiety after eating, autonomic dysregulation after eating, etc.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Many of us experiment on ourselves with a myriad of
conventional and alternative treatments, but I, for one, have thought of the
goal as being primarily to ease discomfort, and secondly to improve absorption
of nutrients.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What if it is even more
important than that to improve the functioning of one’s gut in antidepressant
recovery?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I had thought that
improving the functioning of my viscera might be a way in to healing the
enteric brain and thus the head brain, I would have put a lot more effort into
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remember how seriously Bill Gray
took his own digestive health!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
People find a variety of gentle treatments helpful, depending
on their particular circumstances – probiotics, ginger, peppermint, apple cider
vinegar, aloe vera juice, lemon, baking soda, bitters, digestive enzymes,
fiber, eating smaller meals more frequently, removing poorly tolerated foods
even if they gave you no trouble your whole life until now!, acupuncture,
exercise, etc.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In addition to getting the whole GI tract to function as
well as possible, one avenue worth further exploration for repairing the
enteric brain is detox.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remember, we
read earlier that:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Cutting-edge
research is currently investigating how the second brain mediates the body's
immune response; after all, at least 70 percent of our immune system is aimed
at the gut to expel and kill foreign invaders” (Hadhazy, 2010).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As I’ve trawled the world of chronic illness, it appears
that many roads lead to detox, even when that is not the main intention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many things have a detoxifying effect --
switching to a vegetarian or raw food diet, antioxidant supplements, digestive
enzymes, grounding / earthing, any kind of body work, acupuncture, exercise,
etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And this is not even mentioning
the many methods – ranging from gentle to extreme – that people use to detox
intentionally.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Detox may have another
benefit beyond cleansing the body and improving digestion – it may improve the
enteric brain’s ability to function as Bill Gray said it did at the energetic
level.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: purple;">What evolution has to tell us
about the enteric brain</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In trying to make the case that the enteric brain is far
more important than has been realized, let us conclude by looking at what
evolution has to tell us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We will focus
on two points – the enteric brain is evolutionarily older and more essential
than the head brain, and there are beginning to be indications that the enteric
brain does far more than digestion.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
An enteric brain has been found in primitive life forms to
whom we are phylogenetically related --</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“The enteric brain is ancient in
evolutionary terms and probably antedates the CNS.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has been discovered in a sea cucumber….It was believed that
the nervous system of echinoderms consisted of only a ring of nervous tissue
but recent research shows that echinoderms have a sophisticated enteric nervous
system….[And another creature called the sea squirt] reabsorbs its central brain
when it transitions from larval<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to
adult form.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the same time it
develops its visceral ganglion, the term for a primitive enteric brain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The metamorphosis is a sensible adaptation
to a change in lifestyle, analogous to trading in scuba equipment for skis
after moving from Barbados to Colorado. The larval sea squirt is motile and
needs a CNS to direct motion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
primary activity of the adult sessile form is eating. Recent genomic work on
the sea squirt, Ciona Intestinalis, may reveal more detail of the evolution of
the enteric nervous system” (<a href="http://www.biology-online.org/articles/enteric_nervous_system.html"><span style="color: navy;">http://www.biology-online.org/articles/enteric_nervous_system.html</span></a>).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And for ontogenetic reasons, too, the enteric brain has been
more valuable being independent from the head brain than being subsumed by it
--</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“In evolutionary terms, it makes
sense that the body has two brains, said Dr. David Wingate, a professor of
gastrointestinal science at the University of London and a consultant at Royal
London Hospital. "The first nervous systems were in tubular animals that
stuck to rocks and waited for food to pass by," according to Dr.
Wingate…."As life evolved, animals needed a more complex brain for finding
food and sex and so developed a central nervous system. But the gut's nervous
system was too important to put inside the newborn head with long connections
going down to the body," says Wingate. Offspring need to eat and digest
food at birth. Therefore, nature seems to have preserved the enteric nervous
system as an independent circuit inside higher animals. It is only loosely
connected to the central nervous system and can mostly function alone, without
instructions from topside” (King, nd).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lastly, there is some indication that the enteric brain has
life-preserving functions that go beyond digestion.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here, UCLA professor Emeran Mayer again remarks that the
enteric brain predates the head brain, and then goes on to propose that the
mechanisms of approach and avoidance may have originated in the enteric brain,
and then been incorporated into the head brain and spinal cord.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finally, he makes the provocative suggestion
that parts of the brain and spine may be thought of as “encephalized” portions
of the enteric brain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In other words,
parts of the head brain are outposts of the gut brain.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“From an evolutionary standpoint,
it is clear that the enteric nervous system (ENS) is not uniquely human or even
mammalian: homologues of an ENS are found throughout the animal kingdom, including
in insects, snails and marine polyps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It has been suggested that the ganglia that form the primitive brains of
helminths, and eventually the brains of higher mammals, were derived from the
more primitive but homologous enteric nerve circuits. Thus, neural circuitries
and transmitter systems that have evolved to assure optimal responses (approach
and withdrawal responses) to the challenges presented by our internal — for
example, luminal [intestinal cavities] — environment may have been incorporated
into the CNS during evolution. Developmentally, the ENS arises from precursor
cells that migrate from the neural crest along the vagus to settle and
differentiate in the gut. Based on its close bidirectional connections with
limbic and autonomic regions of the brain, the ENS can be viewed as a
peripheral extension of the limbic system into the gut, where it is exposed
closely to our complex internal environment, including powerful mechanical,
chemical and microbial influences. Alternatively, parts of the CNS (in
particular, pontine, autonomic and limbic circuits) can be viewed as an
encephalized portion of the ENS”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(Mayer, 2011).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s easy to underestimate the enteric brain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It *does* do digestion, and it’s easy to
think that’s what it’s all about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
evolutionary studies and neurogastroenterology are suggesting that it has a
more important role than we have realized in assessing and responding to the
environment, processing emotion, and influencing the head brain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Note that it may well be possible to have
problems in the enteric brain without it showing up as GI symptoms.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What if there is even more to discover about the importance
of the enteric brain?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What if, in
losing track of Bill Gray and his theory about the “magnetic field” in the
lower abdomen we have lost track of a rich approach to healing?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What if the enteric brain – simpler (with
fewer neurons) but far more ancient than the head brain -- is, indeed, the
lynchpin of our health?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As Mayer says, “The system is way too complicated to have
evolved only to make sure things move out of your colon" (Brown, 2011).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: purple;">Second Chakra:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Swadhisthana”</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You may have noticed by now that we are talking about a part
of the body that corresponds to the location of the second chakra.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The origins of the chakra system are lost in
prehistory and seem to be found all over the world
(http://home.comcast.net/~chakra_system/chakra.html).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Sanskrit name for the second chakra is “Swadhisthana,”
which means “one’s own abode” (Wiki).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A
quick Google suggests that this chakra is associated with –</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-- emotions</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-- pleasure, sensuality, passion</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-- gut instinct</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-- creativity</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-- water</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-- orange</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-- sweet taste</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-- accesses enteric nervous system</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-- relationship attachments and antipathies – shaped by the
family of origin (Ramsden, 2013)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-- over-attachment to the past and to addictions</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-- self-worth, self-criticism, guilt, worthiness (Groberg,
2012).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You can see how some of these qualities jibe with things
Bill Gray and neurogastroenterologists have said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Maybe some of the remaining qualities are clues to what we
will discover about the enteric brain in the future!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
========</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Note:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you have
any other information about Bill Gray, I would really appreciate it if you would contact me!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
========</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: purple;">Sources:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Becker, P.T. & Thoman, E.B.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Intense rapid eye movements during active sleep: an index of
neurobehavioral instability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Developmental Psychobiology, 15 (3):<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>203-10.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Blackwell, B.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(nd).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are you a gut
responder?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hints on coping with an
irritable bowel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>International Foundation
for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><a href="http://www.iffgd.org/store/viewproduct/108">http://www.iffgd.org/store/viewproduct/108</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Brown, H.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2011).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The other brain also
deals with many woes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>New York Times,
11 Oct 11.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/23/health/23gut.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
DiCarlo, R.E.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(nd).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The copper wall
experiment.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.healthy.net/scr/interview.aspx?Id=199">http://www.healthy.net/scr/interview.aspx?Id=199</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gershon, M.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(1999.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The second brain:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a groundbreaking new understanding of
nervous disorders of the stomach and intestine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>New York:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>HarperPerennial.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Goldner, D.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(1999).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Infinite grace:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Where the worlds of science and spiritual
healing meet. Charlottesville, VA:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Hampton Roads Publishing Company.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gray, W.E.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(1947/2011).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Know your magnetic
field.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>CreateSpace Independent
Publishing Platform.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://new-birth.net/booklet/know_your_magnetic_field_william_gray.pdf">http://new-birth.net/booklet/know_your_magnetic_field_william_gray.pdf</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Groberg, J.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2012).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Five signs your second
chakra is weak.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>http://www.finerminds.com/personal-growth/5-signs-your-second-chakra-is-weak/</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hadhazy, A.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2010).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Think Twice: How the
Gut's "Second Brain" Influences Mood and Well-Being.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Scientific American, 12 Feb 10.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=gut-second-brain</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
King, R.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(nd).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The enteric nervous system:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The brain in the gut.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.psyking.net/id36.htm">http://www.psyking.net/id36.htm</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mayer, E.A.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2011).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gut feelings: the
emerging biology of gut–brain communication.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 12:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>453-466.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>http://www.nature.com/nrn/journal/v12/n8/box/nrn3071_BX1.html </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mayer, E.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(nd).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Visceral sensations and brain-gut mechanisms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>International Foundation for Functional
Gastrointestinal Disorders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>http://www.iffgd.org/store/viewproduct/127</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Montgomery, R.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(1973).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Born to heal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>New York:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Fawcett Crest.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nijenhuis, C.M., ter Horst, P.G., van Rein, N., Wilffert,
B., & de Jong-van den Berg LT.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2012).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Disturbed development of
the enteric nervous system after in utero exposure of selective serotonin
re-uptake inhibitors and tricyclic antidepressants. Part 2: Testing the
hypotheses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>British Journal of Clinical
Pharmacology, 73 (1):<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>126-34.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21848990">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21848990</a>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Pasricha, P.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2011).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Video on the enteric
nervous system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stanford University
Medical Center.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXx4WTVU34Y">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXx4WTVU34Y</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ramsden, D.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2013).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The second chakra.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.blog.deanramsden.com/the-second-chakra/">http://www.blog.deanramsden.com/the-second-chakra/</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Riksen EA, Stunes AK, Kalvik A, Gustafsson BI, Snead ML,
Syversen U, Lyngstadaas SP, & Reseland JE.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2010).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Serotonin and fluoxetine
receptors are expressed in enamel organs and LS8 cells and modulate gene
expression in LS8 cells.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>European
Journal of Oral Science, 118:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>566-73. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21083617</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://encycl.opentopia.com/term/List_of_famous_people_in_alternative_medicine">http://encycl.opentopia.com/term/List_of_famous_people_in_alternative_medicine</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Enteric_nervous_system">http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Enteric_nervous_system</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enteric_nervous_system">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enteric_nervous_system</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastrulation">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastrulation</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neural_crest">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neural_crest</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-phase">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-phase</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-phase_electric_power">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-phase_electric_power</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.macromatic.com/products/phase-monitor-relays.php">http://www.macromatic.com/products/phase-monitor-relays.php</a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://www.abb.us/product/us/9AAC132574.aspx">http://www.abb.us/product/us/9AAC132574.aspx</a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://sabinaparadi.org/Autonomic_Storms.html">http://sabinaparadi.org/Autonomic_Storms.html</a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serotonin_syndrome">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serotonin_syndrome</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://antidepressantwithdrawal.info/forum/showthread.php?1002-Cytokine-storm-Paxil-flu-detox-flu-healing-crisis">http://antidepressantwithdrawal.info/forum/showthread.php?1002-Cytokine-storm-Paxil-flu-detox-flu-healing-crisis</a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrenergic_storm">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrenergic_storm</a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.pointofreturn.com/gut_health.html">http://www.pointofreturn.com/gut_health.html</a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.biology-online.org/articles/enteric_nervous_system.html">http://www.biology-online.org/articles/enteric_nervous_system.html</a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swadhisthana">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swadhisthana</a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://home.comcast.net/~chakra_system/chakra.html">http://home.comcast.net/~chakra_system/chakra.html</a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
Sheila Joshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789487768317341942noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6006622137752807559.post-72505687085813853752013-02-24T18:04:00.000-08:002013-02-24T18:04:39.558-08:00Bill Gray and the myelin-sheathed neuron as field effect transistor: Why mega-dose Omega-3 may repair antidepressant damage (Part 2)<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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In Part 1, we looked at what 20<sup>th</sup> c. energy
healer Bill Gray had to say about healing in general, and neurological healing
in particular.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We compared his view of
the lower abdomen as the master brain that produced a magnetic field with
today’s thinking about the enteric brain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We used the phase monitor as a metaphor for the gut.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finally, we speculated about how aiding the
gut viscerally might be an avenue to improving its functioning at the energetic
level.
</div>
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<br /></div>
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In Part 2, we are going to use the field effect transistor
as a metaphor for the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>myelin-sheathed
neuron and speculate about how supporting myelin may be an avenue to healing
damage from antidepressants.</div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">Bill Gray on nerve
transmission</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Just to remind you, although Bill Gray focused on supplying
energy to the magnetic field in the abdomen, he also worked on smoothing out
energy spasms and re-connecting broken connections in nerves throughout the
body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The goal was for energy to be
supplied smoothly everywhere along the nervous system.</div>
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If you’re not Bill Gray, how do you MacGyver a repair to
neurons that are not transmitting signal as they should?</div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">Field effect transistors</span></b></div>
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A transistor is a device that conducts electrical
current.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Think of it as a rod with
current coming in one end and going out the other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The field effect transistor (FET) was invented in 1926, but not
really used until 1947.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Think of it as
a T-shape, with a second rod bumping into the first rod at a right angle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Current coming along the second rod toward
the intersection of the two rods can create a field that blocks current in the
first bar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is how you control the
current (Wiki, encyclopedia.kids.net.au, see very helpful Youtube by engineer
Doug Peters in Sources).</div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://antidepressantwithdrawal.info/im/im347.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://antidepressantwithdrawal.info/im/im347.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">FET, Source:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLLcRRBph90 </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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In 1959, the metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect
transistor --<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>MOSFET – was
invented.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It works basically the same
way, but instead of having something like a second rod interfering with the
first rod, it uses a substance (usually silicon dioxide) wrapped around the
first rod in order to create a field that allows or blocks the current.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the transistor that is in computers
and everywhere in your life now (Wiki).</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.azonano.com/images/news/NewsImage_17124.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.azonano.com/images/news/NewsImage_17124.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">MOSFET, Source:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>http://www.azonano.com/ </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The important thing to take from this crude description is
that you have a current going along a channel, and then you have something else
serving as a “gate.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Furthermore, the
gate cannot open the channel further; it cannot amplify the current.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All it can do is close the channel partly or
all the way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It can increase resistance
to the current.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In doing that, it
reduces the capacitance or capacity of the channel.</div>
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Lastly, this gate works by creating a field effect, a kind
of neutral zone, where there can be no charge.</div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">A new perspective on
antidepressant-induced dysautonomia</span></b></div>
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Many people who stop taking antidepressants – even if they
taper off slowly – are left with clear signs of neurological
destabilization.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The symptoms may be
caused by dysautonomia or dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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The subjective experience is that too much is happening too
fast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, people often handle it by
trying to reduce stimulation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They stay
in their homes, and wear sunglasses and earplugs all day indoors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Think of this as trying to reduce the
current coming into a transistor at one end of that first rod.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re trying to control the input, so
there’s less output – less sensory overload, less anxiety, etc.</div>
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This helps to some extent, but not enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What if we have been focusing on the wrong
part of the transistor – the input – instead of on the gate?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After all, if you think about it, there
really has not been an increase in input – we are still living in peacetime,
conventional neighborhoods.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It *feels*
like we’re living in a war zone, but we’re not.</div>
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What would it look like to enhance the gate function instead
of vainly trying to limit input from what is already a normal level of
surrounding stimulation?</div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">Neurons and myelin sheaths</span></b></div>
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A neuron has a lot in common with a transistor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It conducts an electrical current from one
end to the other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A myelin sheath is a
fatty casing that wraps around neurons and works in a way that is, at the
least, metaphorically like a MOSFET, and at the most, very much like a
MOSFET.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://drugline.org/img/term/myelinization-9996_0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="161" src="http://drugline.org/img/term/myelinization-9996_0.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Myelin around neuron, Source:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>multiple-sclerosis-research.blogspot.com/ </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Myelin speeds signal transmission on a neuron, but it does
this by causing resistance to the current.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The myelin sheath segments create resistance, and decrease
capacitance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On an unmyelinated stretch
of neuron, the signal proceeds by exchanging charged ions across the membrane
(this is called the action potential).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But in a segment of neuron that is encased in a myelin sheath, the ions
are kept within the membrane (Wiki).</div>
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<span style="color: navy;">“As for how myelin reduces capacitance,
one first has to understand a bit about how a neuron cell membrane is
constructed and the structure of the myelin sheath. In the neuron cell
membrane, capacitance occurs because of the hydrophobic center of the plasma
membrane, which is an insulator, and the hydrophilic surfaces (both
extracellular and intracellular) that are good conductors.</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">Myelin, like neurons, also is
composed of cells with cell membranes constructed by a lipid bilayer with a
hydrophobic center and hydrophilic surfaces (this is common to all cells).
Myelin wraps around neurons MANY times. Each turn of myelin around the neuron
works like another capacitor connected in SERIES. This is the key concept. If
you have capacitors in series, the total capacitance remains constant while the
capacitance of each cell membrane is reduced by a factor proportional to the
number of capacitors (wraps of cell membrane). So, if there were 25 wraps of
myelin around a section of neuron, the capacitance in that location would be
1/25th of the capacitance in an area that did not have myelin.</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">The reason that myelin speeds the
action potential is that an action potential is NOT generated along the areas
covered by the myelin sheath. The membrane depolarization, divided among all
those layers of myelin, isn't adequate to reach the threshold potential
required to produce an action potential. So, a full action potential only
occurs at the nodes of Ranvier, which are the gaps between the myelinated
sheaths” (“Moonbear,” staff, physicsforums.com, 2008, <a href="http://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=258168"><span style="color: navy;">http://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=258168</span></a>).</span></div>
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Now, what I don’t know is whether the myelin sheath works
metaphorically like a MOSFET – both increase resistance and decrease capacitance
– or whether it has even more in common with a MOSFET.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The MOSFET uses a field effect to intercede
with the current.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So far, I have not
found any mention of the myelin sheath working via field effect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, given the developing thinking about how
the brain and body operate using field effects, I wonder if it is just a matter
of time before we discover that myelin does create a field effect, and
therefore serves as a kind of gate.</div>
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<br /></div>
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So, if the lower abdomen / magnetic field / enteric brain
might work as a phase monitor, then the myelin sheath segments on a neuron may
work like a transistor, a MOSFET.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
is the kind of metaphor Bill Gray might have used to explain what was needed to
relieve “nerve energy spasms.”</div>
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Of course, the nervous system is infinitely complex, with
many different things going on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There
are a lot of mechanisms that serve as “gates” in the system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Inhibition” and “antagonism” are basic to
the binary-ish functioning of the nervous system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, just take this myelin-as-MOSFET as a metaphor that gives us a
constructive direction to explore.</div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">Antidepressants and myelin</span></b></div>
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There are two questions that concern us – How is myelin
affected by taking antidepressants?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
how is myelin affected by stopping an antidepressant after taking one for
awhile?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There appears to be little
research done on the first question and none done on the second question.</div>
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If you search PubMed, the biomedical journal database, for
“antidepressant myelin,” you find 156 articles since the database began, and
only 83 published in the last 26 years since Prozac came on the market.</div>
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If you search for “antidepressant serotonin,” you find
29,509 articles total, and 23,313 since Prozac.</div>
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But there are some indications that antidepressants have an
effect on myelin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here are just a few
hints that there might be something important going on --</div>
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*<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Antidepressants
may cause abnormalities in myelin, <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3565193/">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3565193/</a></div>
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*<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perinatal
antidepressant exposure may change myelin sheath formation,</div>
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<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22025710">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22025710</a></div>
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<br /></div>
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*<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Antidepressants in
vitro may activate the system that produces cholesterol and fatty acids that go
into making myelin, <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16324787">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16324787</a></div>
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<br /></div>
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*<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Antidepressants
may cause myelin growth and cell death of white blood cells in vitro,</div>
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<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20654293">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20654293</a></div>
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<br /></div>
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*<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Antidepressants
may cause changes in myelin in rat brain, </div>
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<a href="http://www.researchgate.net/publication/6778258_Thyroid_hormones_in_the_rat_amygdala_as_common_targets_for_antidepressant_drugs_mood_stabilizers_and_sleep_deprivation">http://www.researchgate.net/publication/6778258_Thyroid_hormones_in_the_rat_amygdala_as_common_targets_for_antidepressant_drugs_mood_stabilizers_and_sleep_deprivation</a></div>
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In a 2011 study done by University of Mississippi Medical
Center and the University of California, San Francisco, rats were given an SSRI
antidepressant during the period that was the equivalent of being a human third
trimester fetus or infant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
researchers observed behaviors that were suggestive of neurological problems
and analgous to human autism spectrum disorder (ASD) behavior.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Among their findings --</div>
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<span style="color: navy;">Another brain abnormality common in
ASD is a thinner corpus callosum, particularly in the forward third of the
structure. Like a massive nerve-fiber bridge, the corpus callosum connects the
brain’s two halves and transmits electrical signals between them. It also plays
a key part in higher intellectual function, said Ian Paul, UMMC professor of
psychiatry and human behavior.</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">“This nerve fiber tract was
disrupted in the same way in these rats’ brains,” he said.</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">Many callosal axons in the treated
rats had abnormal or missing myelin sheathing, a coating necessary for proper
neuroconductivity.</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">“Without that myelin wrapping the
signal slows or doesn’t get through at all. The abnormalities in these rats
would suggest the left and right sides of their brains are not communicating
properly,” said Paul, a senior co-author on the paper (O’Brien, 2011).</span></div>
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So, it is reasonable to speculate that antidepressants have
an adverse effect on myelin.</div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">Omega-3 (fish oil) and myelin</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Omega-3 fatty acids are polyunsaturated essential fatty
acids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The human body doesn’t produce
them, and needs to get them from food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There are three – EPA and DHA, which originate in algae, but market
forces have determined that we get them from the fish who eat the algae – and
ALA, which comes from seeds (Wiki).</div>
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Omega-3 has many, many functions in the human body, and it
has more than one mechanism of action.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It also has many, many functions in the nervous system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of its functions is to build and repair
myelin (Tremblay, 2011).</div>
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There have been studies that suggested that some cultural
groups, such as Greenland Inuits and Japanese, have a diet high in Omega-3, and
have a very low incidence of multiple sclerosis, which is a disease that
involves loss of myelin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The studies
focused on the anti-inflammatory benefits of Omega-3, but it is interesing to
consider Omega-3’s pro-myelin function in light of multiple sclerosis’ loss of
myelin. <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7457208?dopt=Abstract">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7457208?dopt=Abstract</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.jacn.org/content/21/6/495.full">http://www.jacn.org/content/21/6/495.full</a></div>
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There have also been several clinical studies that show
significant benefits from mega-dose Omega-3 for severe psychological
problems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, in a McClean
Hospital, Harvard Medical School study, people with bipolar disorder were given 9.6 grams
of Omega-3 per day for four months.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Analysis showed “that the omega3 fatty acid patient group had a
significantly longer period of remission than the placebo group (P = .002;
Mantel-Cox). In addition, for nearly every other outcome measure, the omega3
fatty acid group performed better than the placebo group” (Stoll et al., 1999)</div>
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There have also been two recent cases of people suffering
from massive traumatic brain damage and in a coma, who recovered after
receiving mega-dose Omega-3.</div>
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In the first case of Randal McCloy, who was injured and
trapped in a mining accident in 2006, his neurosurgeon Julian Bailes, M.D.
administered 20 grams per day of “Omega-3 fish oil.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is unclear if this was 20 g of Omega-3 or 20 grams of fish oil
which would mean less Omega-3.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
terms “Omega-3” and “fish oil” are often used interchangeably.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, Omega-3 fatty acids, are, in fact, a
component of fish oil.</div>
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<span style="color: navy;">“The damage to McCloy's brain was
profound, according to Bailes. Not only did it experience massive cell death,
the protective sheath around McCloy's nerve cells had been stripped during the
hours of exposure to toxic gases. That sheath, called myelin, allows brain
cells to communicate with one another.</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">Bailes consulted with a fish oil
expert and eventually decided that administering 20 grams a day of omega-3 fish
oil through a feeding tube might repair the myelin sheath” (Smith, 2012).</span></div>
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The results –</div>
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<span style="color: navy;">“Less than three weeks after the
mine disaster, McCloy was emerging from his coma. Three months after that, he was
walking and speaking” (Smith, 2012).</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Something similar happened in the case of Bobby Ghassemi,
who was injured in a car accident in 2010, when Michael Lewis MD convinced the
family that there was no hope of spontaneous recovery and to give mega-dose Omega-3
a try based on McCloy’s dramatic recovery.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Here’s what happened –</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">Two weeks after beginning the
regimen, Ghassemi was emerging from his coma.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">"We saw hand movements on the
left side," Peter Ghassemi said. "Around the fifth or sixth week,
there was some movement, and then his hands started moving more, the leg was
moving more."</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">Soon after that, Bobby began to
show signs of recognizing his family and his dog and of discerning things like
colors and numbers. Slowly, his brain was recovering, and his family ardently
believes that the high-dose fish oil is the reason why.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">"His brain was still
recovering, but with (omega-3), it recovered much faster and in a shorter
amount of time," Peter Ghassemi said. "His brain was damaged, and
this was food for the brain."</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">Three months after his accident,
Bobby Ghassemi was well enough to attend his high school graduation (Smith,
2012).</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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So, it is reasonable to speculate that high-dose Omega-3 may
be beneficial for myelin health, and may contribute in that way to healing from
neurological and psychological problems.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">Call for research</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Research is proceeding on the use of Omega-3 for many
different neurological and psychological problems, but very little research is
being done on antidepressant-induced neurological damage in general, and no
research is being done on the effect of high-dose Omega-3 on antidepressant
damage.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have been immersed in the online antidepressant withdrawal
support forums since 2005, and many people are taking Omega-3, but they take it
at a low to moderate dose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As far as I
know, no one has tried taking Omega-3 anywhere near the 9,000 mg dose that has
been used in some clinical neuro / psych studies.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Why is this?!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
===============</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thanks to Stan for the screenshot of the field effect
transistor!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
===============</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: purple;">Sources:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
O’Brien, J.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2011).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Antidepressant linked to
developmental brain abnormalities in rodents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><a href="http://www.ucsf.edu/news/2011/10/10827/antidepressant-linked-developmental-brain-abnormalities-rodents">http://www.ucsf.edu/news/2011/10/10827/antidepressant-linked-developmental-brain-abnormalities-rodents</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Peter, D.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2011).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Field effect
transistors, Part 1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLLcRRBph90">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLLcRRBph90</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Smith, S.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(2012).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fish oil helped save our son.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/19/health/fish-oil-brain-injuries/index.html">http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/19/health/fish-oil-brain-injuries/index.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Stoll, A.L., Severus, W.E., Freeman, M.P., Rueter, S., Zboyan,
H.A., Diamond, E., Cress, K.K., & Marangell, L.B.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(1999).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Omega 3 fatty
acids in bipolar disorder: a preliminary double-blind, placebo-controlled
trial.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Archives of General
Psychiatry,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>56 (5):<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>407-12.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10232294">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10232294</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tremblay, L.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(2011).
Do Omega 3 fatty acids play a role in myelin production?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>http://www.livestrong.com/article/474358-do-omega-3-fatty-acids-play-a-role-in-myelin-production/</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field-effect_transistor">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field-effect_transistor</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://encyclopedia.kids.net.au/page/fi/Field-effect_transistor">http://encyclopedia.kids.net.au/page/fi/Field-effect_transistor</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MOSFET">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MOSFET</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=258168">http://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=258168</a>).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omega-3_fatty_acid#Plant_sources">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omega-3_fatty_acid#Plant_sources</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Docosahexaenoic_acid">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Docosahexaenoic_acid</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha-Linolenic_acid">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha-Linolenic_acid</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3565193/">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3565193/</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22025710">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22025710</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16324787">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16324787</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20654293">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20654293</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.researchgate.net/publication/6778258_Thyroid_hormones_in_the_rat_amygdala_as_common_targets_for_antidepressant_drugs_mood_stabilizers_and_sleep_deprivation">http://www.researchgate.net/publication/6778258_Thyroid_hormones_in_the_rat_amygdala_as_common_targets_for_antidepressant_drugs_mood_stabilizers_and_sleep_deprivation</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7457208?dopt=Abstract">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7457208?dopt=Abstract</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.jacn.org/content/21/6/495.full">http://www.jacn.org/content/21/6/495.full</a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Sheila Joshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789487768317341942noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6006622137752807559.post-91895883147244268882013-01-09T17:18:00.000-08:002013-01-09T17:18:35.387-08:00The Descent Experience and the Tertium Non Datur: Managing the tension and the time of waiting<div class="MsoNormal">
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</xml><![endif]-->by Barbara Croner & Sheila Joshi
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<b><span style="color: purple;">The Descent Experience</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since the beginning of time, humanity has described a
particular kind of experience that many people have had, but many have not had.
It involves terrible suffering. It lasts a very long time. During much of it,
there is no help or relief that can be had. Eventually, it draws to an end,
culminating in a return to life, often with additional gifts.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It has been called The Descent Experience, and the oldest
known recorded version of a descent myth was written by the Sumerians on clay
tablets in the third millennium BCE.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
this version, the goddess Inanna (also known as Ishtar) has to visit the
Underworld. There, she is destroyed physically and psychologically in the most
gruesome way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s bad, no one will
help; it goes on for awhile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finally,
Enki, the god of wisdom, comes to her rescue in an artful way, deals are made,
she is reconstituted, and returns to the world.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Maybe 1000 years later, the ancient Greeks wrote their own
descent myth about Persephone, who is abducted, raped, and held captive by
Hades, king of the Underworld. It’s bad, no one will help; it goes on awhile.
Finally, her mother Demeter pressures her father Zeus into negotiating her
release. Deals are made, she has to spend part of every year in the Underworld,
but is allowed to return to the world.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: purple;">C.G. Jung – The Red Book</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In 2009, the heirs of Carl Jung allowed his account of his
descent experience to be published for the first time. Over the course of many
years, from about 1914 to 1930, Jung wrote and drew about his own frightening
falling apart, during which he confronted the darkness in himself and in the
world (including WWI). He wrote and drew in order to save himself. It was bad,
there was no help. It went on a long time. Eventually, he found help from
beings he encountered in his mind who may have been parts of himself,
archetypes, and/or spirits of the dead.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Years later, he said that his most important ideas, the ones
he worked on for the rest of his life, and that we remember him for, all came
out of this period.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">The Tertium Non Datur</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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In 1916, still early in his descent experience, Jung wrote a
paper entitled “The Transcendent Function,” which contained the seeds of some
of the most foundational ideas of his life’s work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He introduced the term “transcendent function” to describe a
fundamental pattern in human psychology.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We are continually confronted with internal conflicts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Initially, he referred to the conflict
between the conscious ego and the unconscious, but over the decades this
concept has been applied to all kinds of psychological conflicts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jung believed that these conflicts reflected
not only influences from our childhoods, but also a teleological pull toward
our wholeness (camilogallardo.com).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When faced with irreconcilable conflict between two needs,
the human psyche is designed to create a transcendent third option that never
existed before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This creative dynamic,
repeated throughout life, leads to ever greater individuation and
wholeness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The transcendent function is
this process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The product of the
transcendent function is called the tertium non datur.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jung borrowed this term -- tertium non datur -- from the
field of logic in philosophy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is the
Latin translation of a concept attributed to Aristotle, that translates as “the
third is not given” (wiki, everything2.com).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It refers to situations where there is no logical third option to
conflicting propositions, such as “Socrates is mortal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Socrates is not mortal.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is no middle ground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(You may already be imagining how there
could be a middle ground!)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In this first 1916 essay, Jung appears to use the term
“tertium non datur” in its original sense as meaning that there is no logical
third solution to an irreconcilable conflict, while<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the transcendent function creates something that transcends logic
(Jung, Collected Works, Vol. 8, p. 90).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>However, over the decades the usage of the phrase “tertium non datur” in
Jungian circles flipped over to refer, itself, to the magical, third way
solution that the transcendent function creates, and that’s how we will be
using it here.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">Waiting:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tension and Time</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are many ills that flesh is heir to, but not all
hardships are descent experiences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A
descent experience is characterized by a long, long time of waiting while in
great tension.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During it, it may seem
like none of the usual remedies work, or that sorrows come not single spies,
but in battalions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Job had a descent
experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nelson Mandela did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many chronic illnesses are descent
experiences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Neurological damage
usually causes a descent experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Spiritual emergencies are usually a descent experience.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We humans naturally want to be able to *do* something about
our suffering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We Americans *expect* to
be able to do something about it – and pronto.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This long time of tension is, itself, a shocking experience, independent
of whatever other suffering each unique descent experience entails.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How could nothing work?!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why is there not more help?!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What am I doing wrong?!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How on Earth could this still be
happening?!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t believe this is
still happening…..</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are some human experiences that, no matter what you
do, require waiting through a long time in great tension.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Why?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Because something is created by this process that would not
be created any other way at this time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Theoretically, there is always room for improvement and for doing things
more easily in the future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We believe
everything in evolving – humans, the Tao / God / mind of the Universe, the laws
of physics, the collective unconscious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But, at this given point in time, for this individual, and for her / his
role in the Universe, this awful, long time of great tension is what will
create what is needed.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: purple;">Irreconcilable conflict</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We humans are complex beings, riddled with conflicting
tendencies, conflicting needs. We rarely have one feeling at a time; we have
several, some in direct opposition to each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We don’t just have a conscious or unconscious mind; we have
both.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And so often, we have a desire,
but it is opposed or inaccessible in some way.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We humans also experience the universe around us as riddled
by conflicting tendencies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe this
is just an artifact of our sensory limitations, or our bilateral symmetry, or
our being an anisogamous species that requires two sexes to reproduce.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe it’s an inherent dynamic of the
universe.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As early as 1700 – 1100 BCE, the ancient Indians wrote a
religious text called the Rig Veda, which talks about a fundamental cosmic
dialectic between the opposing elements of purusha (consciousness, masculine,
active) and prakriti (matter, the physical, nature, feminine, passive) (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialectic">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialectic</a>,
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rig_Veda">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rig_Veda</a>,
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samkhya">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samkhya</a>,
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purusha">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purusha</a>,
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prakriti">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prakriti</a>).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Around the 6<sup>th</sup> – 4<sup>th</sup> c BCE, the
ancient Chinese wrote a philosophical text called the Tao Te Ching, which talks
about a fundamental cosmic dialectic between the opposing forces of yin (dark,
feminine, cold, wet) and yang (light, masculine, heat, dry) (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daode_jing">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daode_jing</a>,
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin-yang">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin-yang</a>).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Roughly around this same time -- during the intriguing Axial
Age when humanity seemed to take a leap in its thinking, spontaneously, across
the globe -- the Book of Genesis was also produced.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is the first book of the Hebrew and Christian Bibles, and it
also talked about a fundamental cosmic dialectic between opposing forces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first several lines are all about God
taking a void and inventing a world by creating contrast:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>separating heaven from earth, light from
darkness, water from dry land, male and female (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axial_Age">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axial_Age</a>,
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Genesis">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Genesis</a>).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Those are some of the earliest records we have of this line
of human thought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, we’re going to
skip ahead to the Western thinker whose name has become synonymous with the
dialectic of opposites.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Georg Wilhelm
Friedrich Hegel (1770 – 1831) was a German philosopher who left a legacy of
ideas that continues to be influential today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In recent decades, the classic rendition of Hegel’s model of
thesis-antithesis-synthesis has undergone some reinterpretation, with some
scholars emphasizing that what he really said was
abstract-negative-concrete.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Either way,
he was definitely trying to say something useful about the progression toward greater
knowledge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It inevitably involves
contradiction, and we should be creative about how we handle those
contradictions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, the universe,
itself evolves creatively through the relationship between the contradictions.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hegel scholars also have different views as to whether Hegel
proposed to resolve the tension of opposites through synthesis, unification,
assimilation, or transcendence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One
term Hegel used was the German word Aufhebung, which he apparently used for its
“contradictory implications of both preserving and changing, and eventually
advancement.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He also talked about the
universe as resolving “being” and “non-being” into “becoming” (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_Wilhelm_Friedrich_Hegel">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_Wilhelm_Friedrich_Hegel</a>,
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialectic">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialectic</a>,
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aufheben">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aufheben</a>).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A generation or two later, Carl Jung created a brilliant
model of the psyche that placed heavy emphasis on the existence and
interrelatedness of opposites in mental life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He believed there was no mental energy unless there was a tension of
opposites (Dotson, 1996a, 1996b).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some
of the opposites he wrote about include:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>conscious / unconscious, masculine / feminine, Shadow / persona, animal
/ spiritual, extraversion / introversion, thinking / feeling, sensing /
intuiting, causality / teleology (Spencer, nd).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jung developed the constructs of the transcendent function
and tertium non datur to understand how the essential conflicts progress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Jungian analyst and lexicographer Daryl
Sharp writes:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“Jung's major contribution to the
psychology of conflict was his belief that it had a purpose in terms of the
self-regulation of the psyche. If the tension between the opposites can be held
in consciousness, then something will happen internally to resolve the
conflict. The solution, essentially irrational and unforeseeable, generally
appears as a new attitude toward oneself and the outer situation, together with
a sense of peace; energy previously locked up in indecision is released and the
progression of libido becomes possible” (Sharp, 1991).</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The transcendent function is Jung’s name for this process,
and the tertium non datur is the result of the process.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">Using the idea of the tertium
non datur to cope with a descent experience</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A descent experience is profoundly unpleasant, sometimes
agonizing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By definition, there are no
easy answers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, it may be possible
to get some relief and reassurance from viewing it as a highly productive
seedbed for innovative transformation of yourself that would not be likely to
occur any other way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jung gave us a
useful roadmap that can make sense of the chaos of a descent experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It shows how thinking in terms of the
transcendent function and tertium non datur, and even looking for them more
actively, can help us navigate this dark fastness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We will now explore why the passage of so much time is
unavoidable; why tension (often in the form of pain and fear) is unavoidable;
the unpredictability of the tertium non datur; some specific implications about
neurological damage and psi; some thoughts on the relationship between the
tertium non datur and the Tao; and, finally, what comes after the arrival of
the tertium non datur.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">Time (often a very long time)
is unavoidable</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One of the excruciating characteristics of a descent
experience is the unbelievable amount of time it takes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet, we ruefully submit that this is the
very purpose of a descent experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The descent experience forces one to wait – none of the usual coping
strategies seem to work, and there doesn’t seem to be any way to get away from
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If things are going along in a more
conventional manner, we have a strong tendency to keep busy and stay
distracted, and therefore certain things don't develop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, when there is great tension over a long
time, we are forced to think differently than if things are easy and flowing.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The passage of time is required in order to generate a
really new and different creative solution – a tertium non datur – that
transcends the stuck points in one’s life-to-date.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whatever one’s personal conflicts are about – self-expression v.
loyalty, boldness v. comfort, etc. – holding the forces of opposites for an
extended period of time is what brings about evolution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Something brand new is created, something
beyond a compromise or settling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jung
wrote:</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">“When there is full parity of the
opposites, attested by the ego's absolute participation in both, this necessarily
leads to a suspension of the will, for the will can no longer operate when
every motive has an equally strong countermotive. Since life cannot tolerate a
standstill, a damming up of vital energy results, and this would lead to an
insupportable condition did not the tension of opposites produce a new, uniting
function that transcends them. This function arises quite naturally from the
regression of libido caused by the blockage” (Jung, “Definitions,” CW6, par.
824, in Sharp, 1991).<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A tertium non datur only emerges when time goes by, tension
builds, and energy is dammed up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Something has to accumulate; there is no shortcut.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Think of all the things that require time:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>many chemical reactions, including cooking
our food, or aging wine and cheese.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Diamonds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You have to wait for sap to flow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Think of how seeds first go down into the
dark, unseen, grow roots, and only then sprout into the sunlight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some bamboo will take three years in the ground before any
visible growth appears, and then sprout and grow up to four feet in 24 hours
(Hancock, p. 181; <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lostempires/china/miracle2.html">http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lostempires/china/miracle2.html</a>;
http://www.lewisbamboo.com/habits.html)</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Even the boiling of water takes time!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Andrew Holecek, a Tibetan Buddhist and
faculty member at Naropa University compared benefiting from a spiritual
practice to waiting for a pot to boil –</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">Science speaks about phase
transformations, or punctuated equilibrium. A common example is the manner in
which water comes to a boil. Put a pot of water on the stove, turn on the heat,
and wait. Depending on the intensity of the heat and the temperature and volume
of the water, it will boil slowly or quickly, but either way there is a period
when nothing seems to be happening. All the energy is going into the water with
no obvious result. The phase transformation from water into steam takes time.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">Similarly, when we engage in
spiritual practice, we have placed ourselves on the stove and turned on the
heat. If our practice is halfhearted, then it takes time for that low
temperature to transform us. If we practice wholeheartedly, the higher
temperature brings us more rapidly to a boil. Either way there is a period when
nothing seems to be happening. Lots of energy is going into our practice, but
nothing is cooking.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">As long-term practitioners reflect
over years of practice, they discover they are starting to get warm. The
changes come slowly because the water that is being heated is so cold, and the
heart of our practice is usually tepid. But sooner or later we come to a boil.
After years of practice we “suddenly” transform from an uptight, aloof person
into an open, loving one; from a confused sentient being into an awakened one.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">Lasting spiritual changes arise
from simply being present, again and again. Religion means to link (ligio) back
(re). Linking back on the spiritual path takes place every time we return to
our breath, our body, our mantra, or the present moment. With each return we are
taking a small step toward enlightenment because being fully present is a
fundamental expression of enlightenment (Holocek, 2009).</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A descent experience has much in common with any deep
spiritual practice, but it is usually more painful and less rewarding for
awhile.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are many things that can’t be sped up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Time cannot necessarily be replaced by
greater intensity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can’t force a
caterpillar to become a butterfly faster.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It takes time to get to know who another person really is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You have to wait to see the pattern of their
approach to various situations over time.</div>
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<br /></div>
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It is very hard for us to wait in modern Western societies,
perhaps hardest of all in the US.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There
is tremendous cultural pressure to do more and to do it faster.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s something wrong with you if you’re
not doing a lot, and doing it at the speed of a quantum computer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Descent experiences have always been hard,
as the Sumerians told us in the third millennium BCE, but never before have they
been so counter to the zeitgeist.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Leave it to the Italians to help us with this problem!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is an Italian musical term, Tempo
giusto, that instructs the musician to play the piece at the right tempo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some interpret this as a strict adherence to
the metre, but some interpret it as an invitation for the musician to use
personal intuition “to figure out the tempo that the notes in the score imply.
In this sense tempo giusto….can only be [found] on a case-by-case basis by
examining the overall character of a composition. It is a speed the musician
intuits from the structure and nature of the piece itself” (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempo_giusto">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempo_giusto</a>).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Canadian journalist Carl Honoré (2004) has seized upon
this infrequently used musical term and borrowed it for his book and mission,
In Praise of Slowness: Challenging the Cult of Speed, which are about helping
us hectic modern people to re-find a more natural and human tempo for
living.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Painful and coercive as the
descent experience is, one of its purposes is to bring us to the tempo giusto.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There in an irony having to do with the descent experience
and time which we wish to mention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>During a descent experience, some people find that they are growing,
learning, and changing incredibly fast, and yet their overall quality of life –
which may involve illness, poverty, imprisonment, war -- remains absolutely
stuck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The lack of synchronization
between personal effort and internal development on the one hand and external
lived reality on the other can be crazy-making and depressing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It will probably be very different from how
your life was before the descent experience, when there was much more of a
correlation between effort and results.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is perhaps cold comfort, but still it is true that our
experience of time is just one aspect of the whole truth about time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The physicists, parapsychologists, and psi /
spiritual experiencers tell us that there is no time, or all time exists now,
or the arrow of time can go backwards, or time really can change its pace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, frankly, one of the hallmarks of a
descent experience is that, whatever the heck is happening with time, you’re in
a bad neighborhood of it.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the Fall of 2010, Jack Kornfield, Ph.D., psychologist and
Buddhist monk, spoke at one of The Red Book Dialogues in San Francisco. In
discussing Jung’s descent, and descent experiences in general, he said your
worst fears are the gateway to your enlightenment. You must face them, you must
suffer, yet you must not get lost in the experience either. You stay present to
your fears, you wait, you listen. It can take a long time. If you can trust the
desert, at some point, it rains. Then, you find out what your gift, your
contribution to the world is, "some new extraordinary wholeness appears
and that's who you really are."</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, time will eventually be your friend again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let us now take up the issue of this fear
that Kornfield mentions.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">Tension (often in the form of
pain and fear) is unavoidable</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ah….pain and fear….these are the very worst aspects of a
descent experience, but keep reading because we hope to give you some thoughts
to help you with them.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As a disclaimer at the beginning, we wish to say that we
believe the human trajectory is toward growth with less suffering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There has been a slow shift over the course
of human history away from shame, guilt, submission to authority, caste and
class assignment, and the general belief that we must and should suffer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is also an explosion of knowledge and
information-sharing going on, in every subject, including psi and communication
with Spirit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Aquarian age will be
an advance over the Piscean age in terms of the mitigation of human suffering.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
However, at this point in our development as a species, some
of us still are going to go through harrowing descent experiences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And to a lesser extent, some tension will
probably always be a part of human development.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="color: purple;">Tension inevitable to psychological development</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Throughout his writings, Jung repeatedly refers to tension
as an inevitable part of psychological life and development.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He thought of the conflict of opposites and
the resolution of that conflict as an ongoing aspect of normal
development.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He called the resolution
of that conflict the transcendent function, because he believed it had to
transcend logic and reason to be a fully satisfactory resolution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Jungian lexicographer Daryl Sharp
writes:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The transcendent function is
essentially an aspect of the self-regulation of the psyche” (Sharp, 1991). </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="color: purple;">Tension particularly present in pursuing central life
mission</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If tension is an inevitable part of psychological life, it
is even more present whenever you are working on something that is more central
to your purpose in life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
psychologist and dream specialist Gillian Holloway writes in two excellent blog
posts about the relationship between our truest destiny and our deepest
fears.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She has found in her practice that when people pursue their
most compelling mission, they are often beset by their own personal worst
fears, almost as if this were by design.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She doesn’t claim to know why this is, but she encourages us not to back
off from our mission, and assures us that the fears are not a sign that we
should give up (Holloway, <a href="http://www.flashofspirit.com/blog/2012/09/why-life-purpose-is-so-tricky/">http://www.flashofspirit.com/blog/2012/09/why-life-purpose-is-so-tricky/</a>).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Holloway also has observed that developmental steps that
increase one’s power or one’s voice tend to be fraught with obstacles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again, she adjures us not to take this as a
sign that we are on the wrong track.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">Goals associated with power
are<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>fraught with challenges the like of
which you may never see elsewhere….If your goal will give you more power, even
if you are not doing it for the power,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>expect
the process to be filled with weird hazards….These problems are not a sign you
should quit. Keep at it and don’t let the flying debris hit you in the head.
Consider this an initiation or ordeal.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And --</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">Goals related to your voice are
highly challenging. There is nothing more taboo than your authentic voice. It
freaks out the people close to you, and it ticks off the “experts” who should
be helping you.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And –</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">Be aware of “difficulty at the
beginning.” There is a Zen principle about “difficulty at the beginning.” Very
loosely, this translates into finding out that your idea was dumb, not
possible, not practical, won’t pay, or is not open to people who are not
already doing it. This is like a weather pattern that smacks down new ideas.
Just realize this is the way of it, not the truth of it. Be rather stubborn
about the “no’s” you encounter at the beginning, because they can refine your
plan, but should not nullify your intention.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">Be aware of “dragons at the gate.”
When you move toward something that has been a dream of yours, a passionate
hope, or something you’ve worked toward for a long time, monsters will jump out
at you from every side, saying you lack the right credentials, “it takes a lot
of money,” or it simply can’t be done! The closer you get to the finish line of
your heart’s desire, the more dragons will threaten you. This just means you’re
getting there. Offer the dragons a breath mint and press on!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">If you have fears about a project
or goal, those fears will be out-pictured in your life. Working on something
connected to private fears will magically attract nay-sayers, critics, or
technical experts who will pick at you or flatly tell you why it can’t be done.
Those critics and experts are not signs that you should give up. Instead, they are
your fears being “presented” so that you can chose to keep at it. Go ahead and
put your thumb to your nose and wiggle the fingers of your hand at them. Then
do the next step. This can actually get to be fun. The more something means to
you, the more it relates to your voice, your spirit, your purpose, the more
fears may be woven around it, and thus, the more silly critics may jump out of
the woodwork and say “boo.” Don’t let them scare you. They are part of the
game. Give them your raspberry salute and plunge ahead!</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">Be willing to let go of the form,
but not the essence. The person you loved may flee the scene, but don’t give up
on love. The job you thought you wanted may be snatched from underneath you,
but that doesn’t mean you won’t be a success. The house you made an offer on
may get sold to another, but you still can and will find the perfect home.
Separate from the forms when they leave or don’t work out, but deepen your
connection to the essence. You haven’t been told “no,” you are simply letting the
“not quite right” forms fall away.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><a href="http://www.flashofspirit.com/blog/2012/08/are-those-obstacles-a-message/">http://www.flashofspirit.com/blog/2012/08/are-those-obstacles-a-message/</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
These observations of Holloway’s are based on 25 years of
helping clients and students.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is
saying that there is some sort of role for difficulties, for tension, in the
unfolding of central life purpose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Tension in the form of fear and pain seems to be an inevitable part of
the process.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<b><span style="color: purple;">Tension
in the midlife developmental passage</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A descent experience can happen at any stage of life, but it
is most likely to happen in midlife.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Jung contributed greatly to the understanding of individuation, which is
the process of differentiation from others, of developing one’s unique
personality (Sharp, 1991).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although it
is a lifelong project, Jung gave a lot of attention to the big leap of
individuation that happens in midlife, which is sometimes very disruptive and
distressing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In an excellent article on the midlife crisis, which
incorporates Jungian and astrological concepts, astrologer Candy Hillenbrand
writes that the task of midlife is to shift from an identification with ego and
persona more towards an identification with one’s Self.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For our purposes, the Jungian construct of
the capital-S Self may be thought of as the greater self that encompasses ego
and soul or higher self.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The midlife task also entails incorporating whatever
polarities one has not focused on in the first half of life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, feminine qualities must be
augmented by masculine qualities, and vice versa; creative qualities are to be
augmented by analytic ones; introversion by extroversion; etc.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The purpose of this shift to the greater Self and to
encompassing one’s heretofore less developed capacities is to make it possible
to achieve what you really want to do with this life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As you can see, moving toward the less developed polarities in
your personality will intensify that tension of opposites that calls upon the
transcendent function to produce its tertium non datur.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can also see the tension inherent in
shifting from ego and persona to greater Self because it involves breaking more
than ever with familial and cultural expectations.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Reconciling newly clamoring opposites within yourself and
breaking old loyalties often leads to turmoil.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As Hillenbrand writes:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“…the
process involved can be a long and arduous one, and along the path we are
likely to encounter all the 'demons' of the past, our deepest fears and
insecurities, and in the chaos that can ensue, we may be forced to endure long
nights of pain, grief and sadness….” (Hillenbrand, 1997/8).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Although the midlife passage inevitably involves some
tension, not all midlife passages are descent experiences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, again, not all descent experiences
happen at midlife.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, many descent
experiences do happen around midlife and involve a spiritual awakening.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<b><span style="color: purple;">Tension
in the descent experience:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>crucifixion</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In this section, we have discussed the inevitability of
tension in everyday psychological development; in nearing one’s central life
purpose; and in the midlife developmental passage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, it is still true that tension reaches even more
epic proportions in a descent experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In fact, crucifixion is an apt metaphor for the descent experience, and
this archetype is explored beautifully in an exceptional online book
(2000-2003) by Ann K. Elliott, the progressive, environmentalist, Jungian,
Christian scholar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The book is
entitled:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Christian mysteries as
the soul's seven-stage journey to higher ground:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Imaged through the pivotal events in the life of Christ according
to Jungian psychology, Teilhard de Chardin's evolutionary vision & Sri
Aurobindo's Vedic ordering of consciousness.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jung believed that in sorting out the dark and light within
our natures, and finding our own mature, individuated path, we would all have a
psychological / spiritual experience tantamount to crucifixion:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“We all have to be ‘crucified with
Christ,’…suspended in a moral suffering equivalent to veritable crucifixion”
(Jung, CW12, 1944/1968).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Elliott agrees that finding one’s own center, and daring to
separate from the rules and beliefs of others, can be as agonizing as a
crucifixion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Shifting from a stronger
identification with your ego to a stronger identification with your Self
necessitates breaks with family and culture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The cruciform archetype captures this tension between ego and Self, and
also the tension between our physical and transpersonal nature.</div>
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Elliott writes about the developmental inevitability of
agony:</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">Normally it takes some kind of
conflict or pressure to give rise to a new degree of consciousness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ordinarily this comes about as one
“agonizes” or is extremely anxious about something, or concerning which one
suffers relentlessly recurring anxiety attacks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The agony of the struggle becomes the crucible in which the new
measure of consciousness is separated out and contained.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It becomes the empty, hollowed-out place
into which God, light, consciousness can enter (Elliott, 2000-3).</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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And the cross as symbol of the psyche:</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">[C]arrying our own cross is a
symbol for carrying our own psyche, hence for individuation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Individuation requires us to carry the
burden of our personalities and our lives consciously and courageously (Sanford
in Elliott, 2000-3).</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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What it means to embrace the cross:</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">Psychologically understood, to
embrace the cross is to live from the center in obedience to the inner voice of
Self and in full acceptance of who one is called to be and what one is called
to do (Elliott, 2000-3).</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Individuation and the cross:</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">The discovery of “one’s own
particular pattern of wholeness” is what Jung intends by individuation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a spiritual sense, embracing the cross is
a matter of accepting one’s unique and infinite worth in the eyes of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a psychological sense the task is to
discover one’s innermost creative center and live life from there--not striving
to be more or settling for less (Elliott, 2000-3).</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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The tension between the ego and the Self:</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">As the work of transformation
progresses, the ego’s role as the center of consciousness is threatened by the
Self’s higher authority as the center of the total psyche.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the tension between ego and Self mounts a
soul crisis develops which Jung above describes as “a moral suffering
equivalent to veritable crucifixion.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Just as surely as the Incarnation led to the Crucifixion, so in everyone
the tensions inherent between “spirit” and “flesh” become the vertical and
horizontal bars of the cross upon which human nature hangs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the process of the second or spiritual
re-birth, the ego must endure the subjective, emotional pain of its own
crucifixion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Psychologically defined,
crucifixion is the death of the ego’s will to rule; while resurrection is the
maturation of the transcendent Self whose will is in accordance with the divine
will.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As crucifixion is the price
exacted from the ego and its self-will, so rebirth is the promise of the Self’s
new transcendent identity (Elliott, 2000-3).</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Jung and Elliott also had some interesting things to say
about the two thieves who were crucified alongside Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One thief denies any responsibility for his
own fate and scorns Jesus, while the other thief takes responsibility for his
fate and acknowledges Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is not
entirely clear to us whether Jung thought of the two thieves as symbolizing the
light and dark in our nature, or whether he thought of them as symbolizing the
ego and the Self, or whether he had both meanings in mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Either way, he avers that they symbolize an
“agonizing suspension between irreconcilable opposites” which, as we now know,
he believed would require the transcendent function to resolve and a tertium
non datur in order to resolve it (Jung, 1951 / 1959, CW 9, para 79).</div>
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<br /></div>
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Elliott casts the two thieves as the conflict between the
ego and the Self with Jesus trying to reconcile the two within himself
(Elliott, 2000-2003).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Note that the ego
is never left behind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It must always
exist and be strong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It creates the
holding environment for the transcendent function and we need it for
everything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jung stressed that
development works better when the conflicts are made conscious and held by the
ego:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“At this stage it is no longer the
unconscious that takes the lead, but the ego” (Jung, CW8, par. 181 in Sharp,
1991).<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b><span style="color: purple;">The purposes of extreme tension</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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In a simple way, tension is a signal that something needs
attention, solution, help, healing, empathy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You would not notice or work on that something if it weren't in
tension.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But tension is much more than
that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is especially fundamental to
creation – the creation of any kind of psychological existence, and the
creation of real greatness within us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It seems that there must be some kind of opposition or meeting between
two forces for new things to emerge.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Consider the hologram as a metaphor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A hologram is made by taking a coherent
light beam, splitting it, reflecting half onto an object and then holographic
film, and the other half directly onto the holographic film.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The split beam comes back together and
creates a 3D image.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps the pure
consciousness we are born with has to be split or differentiated in order to
again meet itself, know itself, give us new perspectives, evolve and
create.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We start as pure light, become
differentiated, but may lose parts of ourselves along the way, and then have to
bring all the parts back together to make a magical 3D version of ourselves.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jung wrote:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“There
is no consciousness without discrimination of opposites” (Jung, 1951 / 1959,
Psychological Aspects of the Mother Archetype, CW 9i, par. 178 in Sharp 1991).</div>
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<br /></div>
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Furthermore, Jung believed that when you have intolerable,
irreconcilable conflicts, that's when something really exceptional is
created.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The greater the tension
between the pairs of opposites, the greater will be the energy that comes from
them” (Jung, On Psychic Energy, CW 8, par. 49).</div>
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<br /></div>
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The struggle makes something different be born than would
have been born if there had not been a conflict between irreconcilable
differences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Jungian
psychotherapist and actor Camilo Gallardo writes that the transcendent function
“unites the opposites for a new attitude to emerge or it can be seen more
archetypally as our relationship or interaction with the unknown or other”
(camilogallardo.com).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And Jungian
lexicographer Daryl Sharp adds:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“This
process requires an ego that can maintain its standpoint in face of the
counterposition of the unconscious. Both are of equal value. The confrontation
between the two generates a tension charged with energy and creates a living,
third essence” (Sharp, 1991).<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</div>
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The tension is a unique experience – it creates a
spirituality and a life force of its own during the waiting process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, in the middle of that process, it can
feel like nothing is happening despite great effort, and that you are completely
thwarted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a paradox – a
descent experience creates deep learning experiences about the self, self-love,
passions, life-force, life. Yet, during all that learning, you can still be in
outer darkness for a very long time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You may think, “What am I doing wrong?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Why the hell haven't I found the light?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Have I been abandoned?”</div>
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<br /></div>
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In conclusion, what we have been broadly calling tension,
but which often comes down to real fear, is a necessary part of the alchemical
process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is essential to the
chemical reaction of irreconcilable differences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s terrible, but it's there for a purpose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fear and time are essential to the
transmutation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Once you have done everything wholesome you can think of to
be safe, healthy, and happy, you must sit with the remaining tension or fear,
maybe for a long time, and not short-circuit the process, despite the immense
temptation to do so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Holding the
tension between opposites requires patience and a strong ego, otherwise a
decision will be made out of desperation. Then the opposites will be
constellated even more strongly and the conflict will continue with renewed
force” (Sharp, 1991).</div>
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<br /></div>
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But, if you withstand the tension, a tertium non datur will
emerge, “forcing the energy of the opposites into a common channel. The
standstill is overcome and life can flow on with renewed power towards new
goals” (Jung, CW 8, par. 827 in Sharp, 1991).</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">The tertium non datur is
unpredictable, irrational, and transcendent</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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And now for the good news.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Certainly, the most enjoyable part of this arduous experience is that
the solution to the impasse turns out to be something better than we could ever
have expected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remember we discussed
earlier that Jung named it the “transcendent function” because it transcends
logic, and the historical roots of the term “tertium non datur” speak
explicitly to the fact that there is no logical, expectable resolution to a
given conflict.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Not only does the tertium non datur transcend logic, it
transcends familiar reality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have
only touched lightly on psi, spirituality, and transpersonal psychology in this
essay, but let us just mention in passing that Jung thought of the Self as a
transpersonal phenomenon, something akin to a soul or higher self.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(He, himself, had a very elaborate near
death experience, during which he learned a lot about other parts of
reality.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, his use of the term
“transcendent function” also referred to his belief that the solution to
irreconcilable psychological conflicts entailed something beyond personal
psychology and physical reality.</div>
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As psychologist Jeffrey Miller writes in his book on the
transcendent function:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Though we
normally think of the transcendent function as a personal, intrapsychic
phenomenon, it is much more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since
psyche is transpersonal, so are the presence and effects of the transcendent
function” (Miller, 2004, p. 128).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The tertium non datur is unpredictable and unexpected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As far as we can see consciously, our
conflict is irreconcilable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is no
solution that we can imagine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, one
of the wonderful hallmarks of the tertium non datur is its unexpectedness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the spiritual novelist Bill Douglas puts
it, when his characters must urgently interpret too little information, they
had to allow “their minds to fall away from logic and toward deeper patterns,
more elegant and complex than linear thought was capable of processing"
(Douglas,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2011, p. 318).</div>
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<br /></div>
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Jung wrote:</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">As a rule it occurs when the
analysis has constellated the opposites so powerfully that a union or synthesis
of the personality becomes an imperative necessity. . . . [This situation]
requires a real solution and necessitates a third thing in which the opposites
can unite. Here the logic of the intellect usually fails, for in a logical
antithesis there is no third. The “solvent” can only be of an irrational
nature. In nature the resolution of opposites is always an energic process…”
(Jung, The Conjunction, CW 14, par. 705, in Sharp, 1991).</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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We have both been in descent experiences for the last few
years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While we think it’s essential to
work consistently at maintaining our lives, and learning, and trying to be more
conscious, we have come to recognize that the events -- both external and
intrapsychic -- that seem to be the stepping stones out of the descent are most
likely to come from out of the blue and could not have been anticipated despite
our keen efforts to do so!</div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">Some thoughts on neurological
damage and psi</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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One example of a descent experience and irreconcilable
conflict with which we are very familiar is that of neurological damage and
psi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a pandemic of
neurological damage and disorder going on due to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars;
the creation of new, powerful prescription medications in every category that
have neuro-toxic side effects; and the increasing environmental toxic
load.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We believe that this surge in
neurological vulnerability is being enlisted by Gaia and the Tao as an
opportunity to jump start a widespread reconnection with our innate psi.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Psi, the ability to know and affect things across time and
space beyond the reach of our senses and body, has been pushed into the
collective and individual unconscious for millennia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, it takes great effort for most people to re-integrate it
into their conscious experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet,
it is our normal birthright, and to live without it is to live artificially
constrained.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, some people think we
cannot afford to be artificially constrained if we are to salvage life on
Earth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Biologist Lyall Watson:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“As man uses up the resources of the world,
he is going to have to rely more and more on his own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many of these are at the moment concealed in the occult – a word
that simply means ‘secret knowledge’ and is a very good description of
something we have known all along but have been hiding from ourselves” (Watson,
1973, p. xi).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And psychiatrist
Stanislav Grof:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“A radical inner
transformation and rise to a new level of consciousness might be the only real
hope we have in the current global crisis brought on by the dominance of the
Western mechanistic paradigm” (Grof in Peirce, 2009, p. xx).</div>
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<br /></div>
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Neurological damage often creates a descent experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A descent caused by neurological damage may
be thought of a particular type of distressing spiritually transformative
experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As was mentioned earlier in
Ann Elliott’s discussion of the crucifixion archetype, tension between our
physical nature and our spiritual nature / consciousness is a classic
developmental duel, but in the case of neurological damage, that tension has
reached catastrophic proportions.</div>
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<br /></div>
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In the field of parapsychology, neurological incidents have
long been anecdotally linked to psi openings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We are still in the preliminary stage of understanding why this is.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One way to look at the relationship between neurological
damage and psi is that they are in irreconcilable conflict with each other, and
require the transcendent function to arrive at a tertium non datur.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Being very psychic,” or, more accurately,
“being very conscious of psi and integrating it into your life to a highly
developed degree” seems to be on the opposite end of the spectrum of human
health and prowess from having “brain damage.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yet we assume that both are present at the same time in
cases of neurological damage, since we subscribe to James Carpenter’s First
Sight model and believe that psi is an inherent, foundational way that we
interact with reality all the time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
just tends to be unconscious and unrefined in most of us.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So you have a person who is experiencing the profound
physical, cognitive, and emotional dislocation of neurological damage and
recovery, who is also automatically equipped to draw information from any place
and any time and to affect matters beyond physical reach, but they either don’t
know this at all, or are only beginning to suspect it, or believe it, but still
can’t make it operate very well.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
How do you move through this ironic paradox, this thwarting
impasse?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You “work your steps,” as they
say in the recovery community, with exercise, study, healing practices,
etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is all helpful and
expediting, but the tension must still be borne for some time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At long last, a tertium non datur will arise
that never could have been anticipated.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Laura Bruno, the TBI survivor and medical intuitive is a
good example of this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After a car
accident, she had debilitating neurological damage, and mostly had to sit or
lie and do nothing for the first year or so of recovery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Among other symptoms, she had pernicious
migraines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At some point, she started
having sudden, unsought, accurate intuitions about the medical conditions of
others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She found that the migraines
would grow worse if she kept the intuitions to herself, and the migraines would
abate if she told the intuition to the intended recipient.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She went on to heal fully, and change career
paths from English Lit academic to medical intuitive – something which never
would have crossed her mind before the neurological accident (<a href="http://neuroscienceandpsi.blogspot.com/2012/04/laura-bruno-tbi-survivor-medical.html">http://neuroscienceandpsi.blogspot.com/2012/04/laura-bruno-tbi-survivor-medical.html</a>).</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">Some thoughts on the Tao and
the tertium non datur</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In this essay, we have focused on a particular kind of human
experience, but Jung did state that the transcendent function and its resulting
tertium non datur are integral to all psychological development all throughout
life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The magical quality of the
tertium non datur just becomes even more evident when the human condition is
more severe.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Likewise, the transcendent function and resulting tertium
non datur are characteristic of how the Tao works.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But when the tertium non datur has a particularly impressive
quality, you get the sense that you are seeing the workings of the Tao more
clearly than usual.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We humans are still groping to understand whether the Tao or
God or the mind of the universe exists, how it works, and how best to work with
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, there have been many different
streams of thought that suggest that there is intelligence, plan, and order,
and that we do best when we try to discern that and align ourselves with it.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We are talking about creation here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You find yourself at an impasse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You´ve tried everything you can think
of.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You desperately need a solution,
yet you have none.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You have
nothing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is out of the nothingness
that the tertium non datur eventually emerges, as if something were created in
the zero point field of infinite, unformed, untapped potential.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Unexpected, elegant solutions from out of the blue are the
hallmark of how the Tao works.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Tao
seems to be particularly associated with tertium non daturs -- taking
irreconcilable conflicts and co-creating with you a third, brand new way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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David Sunfellow, the Founder of NewHeavenNewEarth, wrote:</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">Finally, while classic
enlightenment experiences lead one to believe that there is nothing new under
the sun — that the Ground of Being is all there really is and It is eternal and
unchanging — I’ve also come to believe that brand new experiences, on all
levels, are actually unfolding as we (and the created universe) evolve. While
this is plainly obvious on the physical level, I think it is also true on the
spiritual level (Sunfellow, 2011,
http://nhne-pulse.org/the-purpose-of-life-jesus-ndes/).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In order to create something really new for you, and perhaps
new for others as well, you have to be open to the unknown.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You have to hold the tension (aka fear) and
the time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With age and experience you
get better at this, and better at keeping a lookout for the tertium non datur.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One of the reasons the tertium non datur is so enigmatic and
hard to anticipate is that it reconciles parts of the self that are more
conscious with parts that are less conscious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The less conscious parts include the greater Self or soul and the Shadow
or parts of ourselves we feel uncomfortable with (which can be both “negative”
and “positive”).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With age and
experience, we also get better at knowing and holding these different parts of
ourselves.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Indeed, this is the quintessential human struggle – the
struggle to be who we’re really supposed to be, and not just who we might have
thought we were.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And key to finding /
making deeper meaning in our lives is being able to go through all the
paradoxes, contradictions, and conflicts of our inner and outer worlds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The tertium non datur specializes in
navigating paradox.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Furthermore, by going through a lot of encounters with the
tertium non datur, you become more of a co-creator with the universe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You learn better how to dance with the Tao,
when to lead and when to follow, when to try hard and when to surrender.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You even come to expect the unexpected.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: purple;">The **Ascent** Experience and
the Spiral </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Descent experiences come to an end.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you are in one as you read this, they
really do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have read countless
stories of descent experiences, and the similarities are so striking,
regardless of the cause.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People often
report a period of “ascent” when things have started to change for the better,
but are still hard, followed by arrival at a new stage of their lives where
they are astounded to encounter an unprecedented peace and ease.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Katabasis is the ancient Greek word for a descent, and
anabasis is the ascent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The oldest
myths of descent always lead to an ascent to a new life.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ann K. Elliott, the Jungian Christian scholar, writes about
the ascension that follows crucifixion and descent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She notes that in the Bible, in Jungian theory, and in her own
dreams, spirals and spinning movement appear as symbols of ascension (Elliott,
2000-3).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jungian Analyst Martha Blake also notes that many different
ancient traditions speak of a primal spiral creative force, and furthermore
characterize it as feminine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Interestingly, she writes that the ancient Greek natural philosopher
Anaxagoras hypothesized that order was brought out of original chaos by a
rotational force and by the interaction of opposites (Blake, <a href="http://www.marthablake.com/tornado.html">http://www.marthablake.com/tornado.html</a>).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can see how this jibes with the
transcendent function and the tertium non datur.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Blake goes on to cite Jungian Analyst Neil Russack as having
written that:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Spirals may signify
equilibrium in a state of disequilibrium, the stability of being contained in
the womb of change, growth that retains ultimate shape, and thus permanence
despite its asymmetry.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And Blake
quotes Jung:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The spiral in psychology
means that when you make a spiral you always come over the same point where you
have been before, but never really the same, it is above or below, inside,
outside, so it means growth.”</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Spiraling, rotating movement is apparent at all levels of
the physical universe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(See section on
“spin” here
http://neuroscienceandpsi.blogspot.com/2012/06/interview-with-rosalyn-bruyere.html).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In a seminar given in the 1930s, while discussing a dream,
Jung explains:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">Dr. Jung:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, and moreover, the very symbol of unfolding and the beginning
of development follows the law of the spiral:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>a plant grows in a spiral, and the buds or the beginnings of leaves are
arranged in a spiral.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is, as Dr.
Barker points out, the functioning of opposites, the reconciliation of
opposites.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The man who discovered the
mathematical law of the spiral [Jacob Bernoulli] is buried in my native town,
Basel, and on his tombstone a spiral is carved with this very significant and
beautiful inscription:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“eadem mutata resergo,”
which means, literally translated:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in
an identical way, changed, I lift myself up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is a circular movement with a slight lift which produces the spiral.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">Dr. Baynes:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is it the reconciliation of the idea of
change and the idea of sameness?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">Dr. Jung:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Exactly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The spiral moves
away from the original place to another, yet it always returns to the same
place, but just a fraction above; always moving away and always coming to the
same.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sameness, non-sameness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So the spiral is really a very apt symbol to
express development.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You see, this
vision says:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>if you surrender to the
terror of the blood, you will discover that it leads to development; instead of
leading down into hell, it leads upwards (Jung, Douglas, & Foote, 1997, p.
243).</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.nps.gov/chcu//images/20080516115629.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.nps.gov/chcu//images/20080516115629.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spiral petroglyph -- Chaco Canyon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: purple;">The Fourth Protocol</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Finally, after a period of ascension, we arrive a new stage
of life, a new level of stable identity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>After tolerating irreconcilable conflict, and after achieving the
transcendent third, we arrive at a state of integration and stability.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jung observed this progression, and used an alchemical
metaphor to capture it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The “Axiom of
Maria” is an alchemical principle attributed to an early woman alchemist
that:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"One becomes two, two
becomes three, and out of the third comes the one as the fourth."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jungian Analyst Lara Newton writes that this
precept “speaks of the alchemical procedures which unite and separate,
procedures that are to be performed again and again to the same substance
(using the sun, using divine water, using sulphur or mercury) — each time the
procedure is followed brings us closer to the state of perfection that all
alchemists seek” (Newton, 2012).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
According to the Jungian Analyst and lexicographer Daryl
Sharp:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy;">Jung used the axiom of Maria as a
metaphor for the whole process of individuation. One is the original state of
unconscious wholeness; two signifies the conflict between opposites; three
points to a potential resolution; the third is the transcendent function; and
the one as the fourth is a transformed state of consciousness, relatively whole
and at peace” (Sharp, 1991).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As an illustration of this model, Jung had a fascinating
critique of the Christian trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He saw it as being incomplete until it
incorporated the feminine and chthonic principles as well, and thus became a
quaternity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not surprisingly, he
believed that true psychological health required the acceptance of the
underworld, Shadow, evil, or Satan in all of us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, as for the importance of the feminine (and masculine) for
everyone, he actually wrote a letter of congratulation to Pope Pius XII in 1950
when the Catholic Church officially proclaimed that the Blessed Virgin Mary had
been assumed bodily into heaven, thus adding the feminine principle to the
Trinity (Brabazon, 2002;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jungian_interpretation_of_religion).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mary may have been taken up into heaven, but for us the
fourth, the quaternity, speaks to reaching a little bit of heaven here on Earth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It stands for the archetypal human
experience of arrival at a longed-for destination of wholeness and peace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a reminder that this is possible and
that it happens and that other humans have described it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you are not in such a place now, if you
never have been, it is hard to believe this is not pie in the sky.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Certainly, one does not ever stop growing,
learning, evolving, maturing, so life does not become static and unchanging at
some point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But there is a enormous
variety of human experience, and one of the things that is possible is to feel
“arrived,” and this is what descent experiences are designed *for*.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
=================</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: purple;">Sources:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Brabazon, M.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2002).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Carl Jung and the
trinitarian self.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Quodlibet Journal, v.
4, n. 2-3.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>http://www.quodlibet.net/articles/brabazon-jung.shtml</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dotson, M.L. (1996a).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Jung and Heraclitus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>http://members.core.com/~ascensus/docs/jung2.html</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dotson, M.L.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(1996b).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jung and alchemy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>http://members.core.com/~ascensus/docs/jung3.html</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Douglas, B.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2001).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Conspiracy of
spirits:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wall Street vs. the 99%.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Illumination Corporation Publishing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Elliott, A.K.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2000-2003).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Christian
mysteries as the soul's seven-stage journey to higher ground:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Imaged through the pivotal events in the
life of Christ according to<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jungian
psychology, Teilhard de Chardin's evolutionary vision & Sri Aurobindo's
Vedic ordering of consciousness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Online
book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cited here:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The crucifixion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://murraycreek.net/higher/chapter4.htm">http://murraycreek.net/higher/chapter4.htm</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The ascension.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>http://murraycreek.net/higher/chapter7.htm</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gallardo, C.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(nd).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The mechanics of the
transcendent function.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>http://www.camilogallardo.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=23&Itemid=26</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hancock, M.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2011).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The medium next
door:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Adventures of a real-life ghost
whisperer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Deerfield Beach, Florida:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Health Communications, Inc.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hillenbrand, C.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(1997 & 1998).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The quest for
soul at midlife.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Federation of
Australian Astrologers Journal, 28.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>http://www.aplaceinspace.net/Pages/CandyMidlife.html</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Holloway, G.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(5 Aug
2012).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Obstacles:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Message or challenge?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>http://www.flashofspirit.com/blog/2012/08/are-those-obstacles-a-message/</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Holloway, G. (19 Sep 2012).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Why life purpose is so tricky?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.flashofspirit.com/blog/2012/09/why-life-purpose-is-so-tricky/">http://www.flashofspirit.com/blog/2012/09/why-life-purpose-is-so-tricky/</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Holocek, A.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2009).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The power and the
pain:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Transforming spiritual hardship
into joy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ithaca:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Snow Lion Press. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Excerpted from the Autumn 2010 issue of Light of Consciousness by
Utne Reader
http://www.utne.com/mind-body/Cultivating-Spiritual-Life-Practice-Repetition.aspx)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Honoré, C.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2004).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In Praise of Slowness:
Challenging the Cult of Speed. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Available on DVD, too, from Sounds True.)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jung, C.G.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(1951 /
1959)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Aion:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Researches into the phenomenology of the Self.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Collected Works Vol 9, 2<sup>nd</sup>
ed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>London:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Routledge.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jung, C.G.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(1944 /
1968).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Psychology and alchemy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Collected Works Vol. 12, 2<sup>nd</sup>
ed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>London:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Routledge.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jung, C.G., Douglas, C., & Foote, M.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(1997).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Visions:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Notes on the seminar
given given in 1930-1934, Vol. 1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Princeton:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Princeton University
Press.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Miller, J.C.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2004).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Transcendent
Function: Jung's Model of Psychological Growth Through Dialogue With the
Unconscious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Albany, NY:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>SUNY Press.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Newton, L.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2012).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My first blog post –
thoughts on the Axiom of Maria.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>http://www.laranewton.com/my-first-blog-post/</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Peirce, P.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2009).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Frequency:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The power of personal vibration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>New York:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Simon & Schuster.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sharp, D. (1991).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Jung lexicon:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A primer of terms
and concepts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.psychceu.com/jung/sharplexicon.html">http://www.psychceu.com/jung/sharplexicon.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Spencer, W.B.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(nd).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Carl Jung.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://castle.eiu.edu/psych/spencer/Jung.html">http://castle.eiu.edu/psych/spencer/Jung.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sunfellow, D.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2011).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The purpose of life,
Jesus, and NDEs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>http://nhne-pulse.org/the-purpose-of-life-jesus-ndes/</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Watson, L.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(1973).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Supernature:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A natural history of the supernatural.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Aylesbury, UK:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Coronet Books.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_excluded_middle">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_excluded_middle</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://everything2.com/title/Tertium+non+datur">http://everything2.com/title/Tertium+non+datur</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialectic">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialectic</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rig_Veda">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rig_Veda</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samkhya">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samkhya</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purusha">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purusha</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prakriti">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prakriti</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daode_jing">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daode_jing</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin-yang">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin-yang</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axial_Age">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axial_Age</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Genesis">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Genesis</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_Wilhelm_Friedrich_Hegel">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_Wilhelm_Friedrich_Hegel</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aufheben">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aufheben</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://laraowen.com/articles/astrology-as-a-tertium-non-datur/">http://laraowen.com/articles/astrology-as-a-tertium-non-datur/</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lostempires/china/miracle2.html">http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lostempires/china/miracle2.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.lewisbamboo.com/habits.html">http://www.lewisbamboo.com/habits.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempo_giusto">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempo_giusto</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
=================</div>
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</div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Barbara Croner, M.F.T. is a psychotherapist in
San Francisco, and a co-founder of the <a href="http://antidepressantwithdrawal.info/" target="_blank">International Antidepressant Withdrawal Project</a>.</span></i> </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></i><br /></div>
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Sheila Joshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789487768317341942noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6006622137752807559.post-52393369691036143862012-10-06T07:38:00.000-07:002012-10-06T07:44:02.757-07:00Sheldrake’s morphic fields, other field effect theories, the vast number of people on antidepressants, and why recovery from SSRI’s may be taking longer than before<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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What does the Morphic Resonance theory of Rupert Sheldrake
have to say about why people are taking longer to heal from psychotropic drug
damage, and what can be done to accelerate healing?</div>
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I tapered off of SSRI antidepressants from the end of 2003
to the middle of 2005.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I couldn’t go
any faster that that because I had severe muscle contractions every time I went
down in dose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought that, after my
last dose, I could look forward to slowly recovering from the grueling taper,
and, indeed, I felt better for about a month.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Then, I started to have physical, cognitive, and emotional symptoms I
had *never* had before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It seemed like
it must have to do with the medications, but how was that possible?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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I Googled and discovered that there were people who had a
post-taper syndrome after discontinuing antidepressants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had all the symptoms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 2005, the post-taper syndrome was lasting
people somewhere from a few months to two years, with 1.5 years being the
median.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I joined an excellent support
forum <a href="http://www.paxilprogress.org/forums/">http://www.paxilprogress.org/forums/</a>
and decided I would steadily heal and be completely back to normal in 1.5
years.</div>
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It is now over seven years since my last dose, and I am
still very ill.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I became progressively
worse for the first 1.5 years, then got better, then got worse again, then have
slowly – excruciatingly slowly, and still with setbacks – improved since the
beginning of 2009.</div>
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In the meantime, I have watched as more and more people on
the various online support forums take longer and longer to recover.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why is this?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We don’t know, because no research is being done on this
question, even though the number of people taking this class of medication is
skyrocketing all over the world.</div>
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There are many possible reasons for the lengthening duration
of the recovery process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example,
people have now been on meds in this class for longer (Prozac was introduced in
1987, Paxil in 1992); people are now more likely to have taken more than one
psychotropic drug; the overall environmental toxic load has increased; the
specific toxic load of these drugs and their breakdown products in the
environment has increased.</div>
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Is it possible that Rupert Sheldrake’s theory of morphic
resonance might shed some light on why people are taking longer to recover from
the same toxic exposure?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, if so,
can the theory also give us some ideas about how to aid recovery?</div>
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<b><span style="color: #333399;">The theory of morphic
resonance</span></b></div>
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Rupert Sheldrake, Ph.D. is a biologist and author of many
books, including the most recent<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The
Science delusion:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Freeing the spirit of
enquiry” and the 1988 classic “Presence of the past:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Morphic resonance and the habits of nature.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His theory of morphic resonance proposes
that everything in the world comes into its form due to the influence of a
field that has been created by its predecessors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This applies to atoms, cells, organs, plants, animals, human
cultures, crystals – anything formed in the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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“Morphic fields are shaped by morphic resonance from all
similar past systems, and thus contain a cumulative collective memory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Morphic resonance depends on similarity and
is not attenuated by distance in space and time. Morphic fields are local,
within and around the systems they organise, but morphic resonance is
non-local” (Sheldrake, 2012, p. 100).</div>
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This theory is rooted in the work of early 20<sup>th</sup>
century biologists who came before Sheldrake, but he added the idea that “the
structure of these fields is not determined by either transcendent Ideas or
timeless mathematical formulae, but rather results from the actual forms of
previous similar organisms” (Sheldrake, 1988, p. 108).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, every growing crystal of
copper sulfate resonates with previous crystals of copper sulfate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every oak sapling is shaped by the
collective field created by previous oaks (Sheldrake, 2012, p. 99).</div>
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The morphic resonance theory also supplements the gene
theory in crucial ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Genes, alone,
cannot predict how an embryo will develop, nor can they predict what form a
protein will take (Sheldrake, 2012, pp. 142-5).</div>
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One of the fascinating aspects of this theory is that it may
explain some mysteries such as why human IQ scores are going up over time, and
why, when rats learn a new trick in one lab, rats become able to learn that
same trick faster at a lab in another country, even if there has been no
contact nor genetic inheritance between the two groups.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is some research evidence to suggest
that when one member of a species learns something s/he contributes that
learning to the collective memory or morphic field of the species, making it
easier for future members of that species to learn the same thing, or even for
some members to just know the new information without having to learn it
(Sheldrake, 2012, pp. 207-9).</div>
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If we look only at this aspect of the theory, it would seem
that people should be recovering from SSRIs faster.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There may be a subset of the population for whom this is true,
but in the three online support forum communities I’m familiar with, this does
not seem to be the trend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What else can
we borrow from the morphic resonance theory to account for this?</div>
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<b><span style="color: #333399;">What Sheldrake has said about
repairing physical damage, particularly neurological damage</span></b></div>
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We know that the human body in general and the nervous
system in particular have a substantial ability to heal and regenerate
themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>SSRI antidepressants cause
pervasive, subtle, neuro-endocrinological damage, but, due to neuroplasticity,
people do heal once the offending toxin is removed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>New neurons, receptors, and synapses are made, and neurochemical
levels are adjusted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People who go
through SSRI exposure and recovery find they first lose and then regain
physical, cognitive, and emotional functioning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of this return to original condition might be accounted for
by morphic resonance.</div>
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According to Sheldrake, individuals self-resonate to their
own past patterns of form and function.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“All organisms are dynamic structures that are continuously recreating
themselves under the influence of their own past states” (Sheldrake,1988, pp.
132-3).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is essential to an
individual’s continuity and memory, and goes some way toward explaining how we
perpetuate both illness and identity, despite the fact that almost every cell
in our body is continuously replaced.</div>
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Living beings at all stages of development, from embryonic
to adult, have a great capacity to re-direct their development toward the
original target, despite environmental interference.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The main reason that developmental biologists proposed the idea
of morphogenetic fields in the first place was because organisms can retain
their wholeness and recover their form even if parts of them are damaged or
removed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The field in some sense
contains the form or pattern of the entire morphic unit, and it attracts the
developing or regenerating system towards it” (Sheldrake, 1988, p. 317).</div>
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This capacity to regain one’s sense of self and many
functions can be seen in many cases of neurological damage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“After damage to parts of the brain, these
[morphic] fields may be capable of organizing the nerve cells in other regions
to carry out the same functions as before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The ability of learned habits to survive substantial brain damage may be
due to the self-organizing properties of the fields – properties which are
expressed in the realm of morphogenesis in regeneration and embryonic
regulation” (Sheldrake, 1988, p.168).</div>
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These aspects of the morphic resonance theory account for
the fact that people do heal from SSRI-induced neuro-endocrinological damage,
but do not, at first blush, seem to account for why recovery from the same
toxin might be taking people longer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Let us now bring to bear other aspects of the morphic resonance theory
to generate several hypotheses for this puzzling phenomenon.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #333399;">Hypotheses</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333399;">I.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The need to wait a generation or more</span></b></div>
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Perhaps the simplest hypothesis is that we have to wait for
a generation or two to pass before we see the benefits of inherited
learning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Prozac was introduced in
1987, and the other drugs in this class came after that, and the really large
numbers of people taking the drugs didn’t start until the mid-90’s, so we are
still only in the first generation.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #333399;">II.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s something different about neurological damage</span></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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The second set of hypotheses is grouped around the main idea
that there is something different about neurological damage / recovery, or
something different about this particular form of neuro damage / recovery.</div>
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The nervous system is far more complex in design than any
other part of the body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it can
learn and change far more than any other part of the body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Neurological healing is still the least
understood healing process.</div>
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The brain is very dynamic, responsive,and changeable
(Sheldrake, 1988, pp.166-7).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It may be
that this responsiveness to changing conditions depends on what appears to be an
element of randomness, with ongoing fluctuations in electrical potential across
the cortex (Sheldrake, 1988, p. 120,
wikipedia.org/wiki/Neural_oscillation).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Is the nervous system more stochastic than other biological systems?</div>
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Interestingly, Sheldrake proposes that morphic fields are
similarly probabilistic and not deterministic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They do not absolutely control the development of forms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are a composite of previous similar
forms, and they provide a guiding template for new forms, but there is still
individual variation (Sheldrake, 1988, pp. 119-20).</div>
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Furthermore, the particular form of neurological injury we
are looking at, caused by SSRIs, seems to entail dysautonomia or dysregulation
of the autonomic nervous system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(I
wonder if most neurological injury and many chronic illnesses have an element
of dysautonomia.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dysautonomia makes
the nervous system even more sensitive, reactive, and possible stochastic.</div>
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Therefore, the nature of the nervous system, morphic fields,
and dysautonomia may conspire to make it harder for recovering individuals to
self-resonate to the morphic field of their nervous system as it was before
they were exposed to the medications.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Sheldrake notes the intriguing relationship between brain
damage and morphic fields when he points to the mysterious way that injured
people can often regain lost abilities despite permanent damage to certain
parts of the brain. Essentially, a new part of the brain becomes able to tune
into the old morphic field.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This would
be an example of self-resonance via regeneration (Sheldrake, 1988, p.
218).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, this re-acquisition of
lost abilities does not always happen, and we don’t yet know why it sometimes
does and sometimes doesn’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the case
of SSRI-induced neurological damage, full recovery is very likely, although dysautonomia
may make it take a long time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
question is why self-resonance seems to be taking even longer to achieve than
before.</div>
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Dysautonomia existed long before SSRIs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is there something about SSRI-induced
dysautonomia that’s different?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is there
something about SSRI-induced dysautonomia that is changing over time?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For one thing, contrary to the old
generalizations about brain damage recovery, with this syndrome, functioning
does not come back rapidly in the first six months and then cease improving after
a couple of years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the contrary, the
regaining of functioning may not even start for a couple of years, and then
appears to go on indefinitely after that.</div>
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Other questions in this group would be:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are people healing from non-neurological
diseases faster over time?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are people
healing from other forms of neurological disorder faster over time?</div>
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<b><span style="color: #333399;">III.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s something different about these
toxins<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b></div>
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The third set of hypotheses groups around the main idea that
there is something different about this particular class of toxin.</div>
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The SSRIs – Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, etc. – and the SNRIs –
Effexor, Cymbalta, etc. – are new human-made molecules.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now that they exist, there is a morphic
field for each of them, and perhaps an over-arching morphic field for these
closely-related, similarly-acting molecules.</div>
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According to Sheldrake:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“The appearance of a new kind of field involves a creative jump or
synthesis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A new morphic attractor [the
form that is the goal of that field] comes into being, and with it a new
pattern of relationships and connections.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Consider a new molecule, for example, or a new kind of instinct or a new
theory” (Sheldrake, 1988, p. 321). </div>
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Is there something about the morphic fields of these new
molecules – perhaps especially those of Effexor and Paxil which are notoriously
hard to withdraw from – that is more indomitable?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does such putative dominance have to do with them being
artificial forms that did not arise slowly on this planet?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is it something about their chemical
structure?</div>
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Anecdotally, many people in recovery from SSRIs seem to have
the experience of trying some kind of therapy to help with the
neuro-endocrinological symptoms, and often it will work well initially, but
only briefly, and then it stops having any impact.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It *feels* as though the field of the medications overwhelms any
other therapy’s field.</div>
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Are some morphic fields more compelling than others?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Something Sheldrake wrote about top down v.
bottom up creation of new fields may pertain here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not sure if I’m understanding correctly, but I think he is
saying that some new fields emerge in the more Darwinian evolutionary way
of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“ever more complex forms at higher
levels of organization” (bottom up), while others emerge more rapidly, often in
response to human activity, when a higher-order morphic field produces “within
itself a new lower-level field” (top down).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Sheldrake believes that these two processes are interactive (Sheldrake,
1988, pp. 180, 321-2).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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There may be something more compelling about a human-created
substance and morphic field, or about these potent chemical compounds / morphic
fields in particular, but, again, these theories don’t account for why recovery
from these agents appears to be taking more time than it did when the
medications and their morphic fields were first created a few years ago.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #333399;">IV.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s something about the size of the morphic field of people
on SSRIs</span></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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The fourth set of hypotheses is grouped around the main idea
that the vast size of the population currently taking this class of medication
is causing an effect on ex-users.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #333399;">a.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The morphic field of people on the drugs has more and more
members.</span></b></div>
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The number of people taking these medications is
increasing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is one thing that has
definitely changed since the medications were introduced.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a morphic field being created by
people who are *on* these drugs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
morphic field may be getting stronger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It may be influencing the people who have been on the medications, are
now off them, but still might self-resonate to their own past state of being on
the meds.</div>
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Are people in recovery resonating too much to their recent
past state under the influence of the drug, and not enough to their more
distant past state-of-being prior to exposure to the drug?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Interestingly, many people in recovery
report the experience of two selves fighting for supremacy within them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I, myself, had never felt this before in 40
years of life, but have felt is many times during recovery from the
antidepressants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It feels like there is
a self that is normal and familiar struggling with a self that is riddled with
alien withdrawal symptoms.</div>
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The colossal number of humans taking these drugs could be
generating a morphic field of the human-brain-while-on-these-drugs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or, you could say that the morphic field of
the human species has been altered because so many members are taking these
drugs.</div>
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Sheldrake has written that abnormality can begin to dominate
a morphic field.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“If fruit flies
develop abnormally under abnormal conditions, then the more the abnormality
occurs, the more likely it will be to happen again under the same conditions,
through cumulative morphic resonance” (Sheldrake, 2012, p. 180).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, he is talking here about
intergenerational morphogenetic fields, but it raises the possibility of something
similar happening over time within a generation.</div>
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Could the morphic field of people on the drugs be entraining
ex-users to itself?</div>
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<b><span style="color: #333399;">b.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Maharishi Effect</span></b></div>
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Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was a spiritual leader who developed
and popularized a mantra-based form of meditation called Transcendental
Meditation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He originally predicted
that if 1% of a population practiced this meditation method, it would have a
measurable, positive impact on the whole population.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Later, he developed an augmented training program, and it was
predicted that only the square root of 1 % of a population would need to
practice this method in order to show a benefit to the whole population.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There have been numerous studies around the
world that suggest that even such a small percentage of a local population,
practicing the meditation method, has had a statistically significant effect on
quality-of-life measures such as crime rate and car accidents (Wiki).</div>
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What percentage of the population is now taking
antidepressants?</div>
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In Oct 2011, the C.D.C. reported that from 1998 to 2008,
U.S. antidepressant prescriptions rose 400 %, and more than 1 in 10 Americans
over age 12 were taking an antidepressant (healthland.time.com).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is not a typo – yes, 400 %.</div>
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In 2010, there were 3.5 million antidepressant prescriptions
written in Wales, where antidepressant use had risen 71 % over the previous
eight years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 2010, there were 4.3
million prescriptions in Scotland, an increase of 43 % over the previous eight
years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, in 2009, there were 39.1
million prescriptions in England, an increase of 61% over the previous eight
years (the population of England was 52.5 million then)
(mentalhealthy.co.uk).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 2011, 46.7
million antidepressant prescriptions were written in England, a 9.1 % increase
over 2010 (ic.nhs.uk).</div>
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Worldwide sales of antidepressants reached $20.3 billion in
2008 (bloomberg.com).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 2007, the Eli
Lilly website stated that Prozac had been prescribed for more than 54 million
people in 90 countries" (thedailybeast.com, fasebj.org).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The world population in 2007 was about 6,625,000
(prb.org).</div>
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You can see that the numbers are big and increasing
rapidly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s easier to get numbers of
prescriptions than numbers of actual people taking the drugs, but in 2008, the
U.S. government found that roughly 10% of Americans over age 12 were taking an
antidepressant (healthland.time.com), and in September 2011, the government of
Scotland estimated that 11.3% of Scots over age 15 were taking an
antidepressant (bbc.co.uk).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
According to the Maharishi Effect theory, you only need the
square root of 1% of a population to be meditating in a certain way to have an
influence on the whole population.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What
happens to the whole population when 10% are taking the same type of powerful
medication?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does that 10% have an even
stronger influence on people who have previously ingested the same medication,
even though they are now off it?</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">c.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Rensselaer study</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A 2011 study at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute used
computational models to discover the tipping point at which a minority belief
is adopted by the majority of a population.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Despite experimenting with several different social network models, they
repeatedly found that the magic number was approximately 10%.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once 10% of a population holds an unshakable
belief, that belief will spread rapidly through the rest of the population
(phys.org, thanks to nhne-pulse.org for the find).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While the Maharishi Effect suggests that the square root of
1% can have some sort of influence on a population, the Rensselaer study
suggests that 10% can have a very direct, almost imprinting effect on a
population (personal communication, Chris Bache, 12 Aug 11).</div>
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<br /></div>
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It’s also worth noting that, not only are 10 % of Americans
consuming antidepressants, but more than 10 % of Americans are convinced of the
safety and efficacy of antidepressants, and of the validity of the serotonin
model of depression despite compelling evidence to the contrary. (Sheldrake,
2012, pp. 271-2; wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomy_of_an_Epidemic).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, there may be morphic resonance not only
from the direct biochemical and epigenetic effects of the drugs, but from the
beliefs about them.</div>
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People in recovery from this class of drugs are often
hypersensitive to reinstatement of any of these meds, even at extremely low
doses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Re-exposure to the drugs causes
an exacerbation of the neuro-endocrinological damage symptoms, including
dyautonomic chaos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Might these people
be similarly hypersensitive to the morphic field of an enormous number of
people on this class of drugs?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For some
reason, it is phenomenally hard for us to restabilize and become as robust and
resilient as many of us were before we took the meds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, for some reason, it is getting harder, not easier.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #333399;">d.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The placebo effect is increasing </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Before we sink too far into the slough of despond over this
situation, let us look at another trend which might counterbalance the
above-mentioned pathogenic morphic fields.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The placebo effect appears to be getting stronger over time.</div>
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<br /></div>
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In an excellent 2009 article for wired.com, journalist Steve
Silberman reported on Big Pharma’s scramble to cope with the recent, mystifying
increase in placebo effect, particularly in relation to psychotropic
medication, and how this is undermining their ability to turn a profit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wrote Silberman, “Two comprehensive analyses
of antidepressant trials have uncovered a dramatic increase in placebo response
since the 1980s. One estimated that the so-called effect size (a measure of
statistical significance) in placebo groups had nearly doubled over that time”
(Silberman, wired.com, 2009).</div>
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<br /></div>
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Silberman reviewed a couple of factors that may be
contributing to the global rise of the placebo effect:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>since 1997, Americans have been bombarded by direct-to-consumer medication
advertising, which has practically brainwashed us to believe in meds; and 2) in
new drug trials conducted in developing or low infrastructure countries,
participants are responding as much to the lavish care they get in the drug
trial as they are to the med itself (Silberman, wired.com, 2009).</div>
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However, no one thinks we fully understand this new
phenomenon yet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, as of Spring
2009, the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health in the U.S. has
begun a massive data-gathering effort called the Placebo Response Drug Trials
Survey, reviewing decades of trial studies. It is funded by "Merck, Lilly,
Pfizer, AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi-Aventis, Johnson & Johnson,
and other major firms....In typically secretive industry fashion, the existence
of the project itself is being kept under wraps. FNIH staffers are willing to
talk about it only anonymously, concerned about offending the companies paying
for it" (Silberman, wired.com, 2009).</div>
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What if the worldwide, but especially American, increase in
placebo response is due to a change in a morphic field?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We know the placebo response is due, at
least some of the time, to expectations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If you expect a treatment to work -- and the expectation might be
conscious or unconscious -- it is more likely to work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Having said that, we don’t actually know how
the mechanism of expectation works.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For
all we know, the expectation of healing may be what links you to the correct
morphic field for your healing.</div>
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And, it’s not at all clear that expectation is the only
mechanism driving the placebo response, nor accounting for the recent rise in
the placebo response.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What if the
placebo response is increasing because the placebo morphic field is increasing
in potency?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And might the increasing
potency of an hypothesized placebo morphic field be partly a response to the
threat posed by the increasingly potent new pathogenic fields such as the
human-body-on-antidepressants?</div>
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According to Sheldrake, morphic fields are always changing,
they are inherently creative, and, as with evolution in general, they are
adaptive and purposeful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As such, they
could be said to be ultimately biased toward viability, vigor, and élan
vital!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Earlier, we touched on the
possible role of morphic fields in repairing physical damage in general and
neurological damage in particular.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What
we’re emphasizing now is how creative and innovative morphic fields may be.</div>
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There are many examples of this, in both biological and
non-biological systems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sheldrake gives
the example of how a newt embryo that has been damaged can still create the
needed organs from alternative cells (Sheldrake, 1988, pp. 317-8).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And he gives a couple of astonishing
examples of how new human-made chemical compounds have spontaneously changed
over the decades.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They may change the
point at which they liquify, or they may start crystalizing in a new form that
has very different properties.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And this
happens in a way that humans can’t predict or control (Sheldrake, 2012,
pp.101-3).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Could such a spontaneous
change have occurred to any of the antidepressant molecules?)</div>
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<br /></div>
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Sheldrake proposes that these examples demonstrate that
fields are historical and evolutionary – always changing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And the way they’re changing is creative and
adaptive:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Morphic fields appear to
have an inherent creativity, which is recognizable precisely because the new pathways
of development or behaviour often seem so adaptive and purposeful” (Sheldrake,
1988, p. 319).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Often, as in the case of
the newt embryo, it’s clear that the creativity is directed at repair:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“In all processes of regulation and
regeneration, the developmental process adjusts in such a way that a more or
less normal structure of activity is regained by a more or less new route.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In other words, there is an element of
novelty or creativity in the developmental process” (Sheldrake, 1988, p. 317).</div>
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<br /></div>
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So, maybe the placebo field is increasing in strength as a
creative route to regenerating human health, in response to the many new
threats to our health.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remember that
“....habits acquired by some animals can facilitate the acquisition of the same
habits by other, similar animals, even in the absence of any known means of
connection or communication” (Sheldrake, 1988, p. 181).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The placebo effect may have been around
forever, but humans may be learning to use it even more to their
advantage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333399;">Harnessing and enhancing the
morphic field of the placebo effect</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Just as mass marketing probably has contributed to the
placebo response in the US, so might other mass movements contribute
further.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is mounting evidence
that groups of humans can combine their consciousness to create a field
effect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Maharishi Effect and the
Rensselaer study were mentioned earlier.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In “The intention experiment:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>using your thoughts to change your life and the world,” researcher and
science writer Lynne McTaggart has collated fascinating information about many
different existing projects that suggest the power of group intention
(McTaggart, 2007).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has also
conducted several international group intention experiments on her own website
with very promising results (theintentionexperiment.com).</div>
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<br /></div>
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Can a field effect created by human consciousness affect a
morphic field?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And how does the placebo
response create a morphic field anyway?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The hypothesized morphic field of the placebo response is, itself, a
field that is intimately related to human consciousness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More precisely, it could be called
the-morphic-field-of-the human-brain-while-on-placebo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, as long as we’re being highly
speculative anyway, there is no obstacle in our theory to humans modifying this
field, especially by intentional effort, especially in groups.</div>
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<br /></div>
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In 1962, the FDA began requiring that new drugs be compared
to placebo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This helped determine drug
safety and efficacy, but had the side effect of casting placebo as the
enemy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The fact that even dummy
capsules can kick-start the body's recovery engine became a problem for drug
developers to overcome, rather than a phenomenon that could guide doctors
toward a better understanding of the healing process and how to drive it most
effectively" Silberman, wired.com, 2009).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What a missed opportunity!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>How can we make the placebo response *more* robust and reliable?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The obvious course of action is to study
more how placebo works, what enhances it, what interferes with it, and more
about the history of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We will hope
to get some publicly available information from the Foundation for the National
Institutes of Health’s Placebo Response Drug Trials Survey.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Another intriguing avenue would be a McTaggart- /
Maharishi-style group intention experiment focused directly on increasing the
efficacy of all placebo phenomena and/or expectations of healing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To some extent, this process is probably in
effect already – there are many different groups of people who pray ongoingly
for the safety, health, and happiness of all beings. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And their efforts may be why we humans haven’t, for instance,
blown ourselves up completely yet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But,
it would be fun to focus specifically on boosting placebo phenomena, and then
watch drug trials go even further awry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Instead of a headline about a 400 % increase in antidepressant
prescriptions, let us envision a headline about a 400 % increase in placebo
response!</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333399;">Harnessing group intention in
other ways</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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As long as we’re daydreaming about group intention
experiments, there are a few other trials it would be great to see:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
1)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>an experiment focusing group intention on healing all humans in recovery
from antidepressants; </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
2)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>an experiment focusing group intention on healing all members of the
three major English-language online antidepressant withdrawal support groups –
paxilprogress.org, survivingantidepressants.org, and
antidepressantwithdrawal.info.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
would make it easier to measure outcome.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
3)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>an experiment focusing group intention on the highest good for all
humans currently taking antidepressants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>After a suitable waiting period, we could see what happens to the
statistics for prescriptions, adverse incident reports, suicides, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The nice thing about this experimental focus
is that, according to some of our speculations above,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>benefiting the user group might benefit the ex-user group as
well.</div>
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<br /></div>
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It is thought-provoking to consider what the Maharishi
Effect and Renssalaer research has to say about how many people might be needed
to have a measurable impact on any of these groups.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The current population of the U.S. is about 312,000,000.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One percent of that is 3,120,000
people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The square root of 1 % is 1766
people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The current population of the
world is about 7 billion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One percent
of that is 70,000,000.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The square root
of 1 % is 8,367 people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This would be
hard to organize, but conceivable with the new Internet-driven research methods
being used by people like McTaggart and Sheldrake.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Anecdotally, I have read umpteen stories of people in dire
health straits whose families organize huge prayer chains with amazing
results.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For a long time, I have wished
we could get large groups of people to pray for people suffering terribly in
recovery from antidepressants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Over the
years, I have seen a few people make a stab at this, but barely. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This course of action has great potential.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #333399;">Toward the tipping point on
the battlefield of fields</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Human biology and consciousness in relation to SSRI
antidepressants are evolving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are
several trends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One trend is the
skyrocketing increase of people taking antidepressants and / or “spellbound” by
the belief in their safety and efficacy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This includes true believers who aren’t even taking a medication.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(The term “spellbound” was coined by the
whistleblowing psychiatrist Peter Breggin, M.D. to describe the obliviousness
of people on psychotropic medications to how impaired the drugs are making them
(Breggin, 2008; breggin.com.).)</div>
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<br /></div>
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Another trend is the more slowly growing awareness of the
harmfulness of the antidepressants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This includes people who are on the meds or trying to get off them, who
have become aware that there is a serious downside to the meds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It also includes people who are paying
attention to the how drugs affect people they know, or paying attention to the
news reports of things like medication-propelled violence and pharmaceuticals
in the water supply.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Internet is an historically unprecedented aid to raising
consciousness, to collaboration among people, and to the creation and
modification of fields.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This can cut
both ways, and there are, unfortunately, ways that the Internet serves to
reinforce people being enamoured of their medications.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It can also promote a nocebo effect when
people who have been made sick by their antidepressant come together and
unintentionally create an expectation of continuing to be sick.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, mostly, on the Internet, I have
observed the breathtaking human resolve to heal and to help others heal.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We might say that there is a struggle going on right now
between opposing fields.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a
struggle in the classic mold – a clash of the Titans; a Zoroastrian battle
between good and evil; a Darwinian competition for survival of the
fittest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People may be taking longer to
recover from the neuro-endocrinological damage of SSRIs because, right now, the
morphic field of the human-brain-while-on-these-meds is growing stronger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, the countervailing forces are gathering
strength.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We must continue until we get
to the tipping point where what is currently esoteric knowledge about the
dangers of antidepressants becomes “rapidly and dramatically more common”
(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tipping_point_(sociology)).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Religion professor Chris Bache, Ph.D. has studied human
group fields.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is the author of
several books including “The living classroom:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Teaching and collective consciousness,” and has been influenced by
Sheldrake and Alfred North Whitehead, among others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He believes there can be a battlefield of fields, and has
suggestions about how to win fields and influence them.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
According to Bache, group fields accumulate power over
time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can treat the field like a
being -- relate to it, analyze it, nourish it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The individual helps the group develop -- any work you do on your own consciousness
spreads through the field automatically.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>His advice about how to dilute or weaken undesirable fields is:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don't feed them by resisting them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead, create something that makes it
impossible for the undesirable thing to exist (IONS workshop, San Francisco,
July 2011).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It might be important to acknowledge the battlefield of
fields between antidepressant harm v. healing, but to also look beyond it to
the bigger picture of what is being created by the tension between the
two.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We now know that evolution is as
much about cooperation as it is about competition, and both contribute to
creativity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It may turn out that this
era of pandemic neuropathology becomes the springboard to an evolutionary
leap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Previously, this blog has looked
at the tantalizing links between neurological damage and psi openings.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Whether we look at neuro-endocrine harm from antidepressants
as an ill or as a descent experience with a silver lining, healing and the
relief of suffering must still be our goals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Among our strategies, we could be learning how to maximize the placebo
effect and use group intention to strengthen the preferred fields.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">Coda (To help kickstart your
own placebo effect)</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I think most of us can never get too much reassurance, so I
just wanted to remind anyone going through recovery from psychotropic
medication or other brain injury that, in the last decade, the positive news
about the brain just keeps on coming. We used to think you formed no new
neurons after young adulthood. Wrong. We used to think no new healing occurred
1-2 years post brain injury. Wrong. We used to think if you had two short
alleles of a certain gene for depression, you were doomed to depression. Wrong.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On the contrary, it turns out that the brain is amazingly
flexible and responsive to doing anything good for it. And all the things that
we already knew were good for us turn out to be even MORE good for us than we
realized – for example, there is an spate of new research showing how exercise
rewires the brain. We are continually presented with the opportunity to rewire
ourselves to be who we really want to be. And, ironically, it can be the
unwanted experience of neurological injury that makes you really grasp how much
power you have, even now, to influence your own neurological system.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">===========</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thanks to Barbara Croner, MFT, for her conceptual contributions
to this essay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And thanks to Luc for
the antidepressant usage statistics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And thanks to Stan for always promoting this blog!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">Sources:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bache, C.M.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2008).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The living
classroom:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Teaching and collective
consciousness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Albany:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>SUNY.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Breggin, P. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(2008).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Medication
madness:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The role of psychiatric drugs
in cases of violence, suicide, and murder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>New York:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>St. Martin’s Press.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
McTaggart, L.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2007).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The intention
experiment:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>using your thoughts to
change your life and the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>New
York:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Simon & Schuster.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sheldrake, R.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(1988
/ 1995).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The presence of the past:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>morphic resonance and the habits of
nature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rochester, VT:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Inner Traditions International.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sheldrake, R.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2012).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The science
delusion:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Freeing the spirit of
enquiry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>London:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hodder & Stoughton Ltd.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TM-Sidhi_program">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TM-Sidhi_program</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://phys.org/news/2011-07-minority-scientists-ideas.html">http://phys.org/news/2011-07-minority-scientists-ideas.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://nhne-pulse.org/scientists-discover-tipping-point-for-the-spread-of-ideas/">http://nhne-pulse.org/scientists-discover-tipping-point-for-the-spread-of-ideas/</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomy_of_an_Epidemic">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomy_of_an_Epidemic</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neural_oscillation">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neural_oscillation</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://theintentionexperiment.com/">http://theintentionexperiment.com/</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.breggin.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=187">http://www.breggin.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=187</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tipping_point_%28sociology%29">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tipping_point_%28sociology%29</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">Antidepressant statistics:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://healthland.time.com/2011/10/20/what-does-a-400-increase-in-antidepressant-prescribing-really-mean/">http://healthland.time.com/2011/10/20/what-does-a-400-increase-in-antidepressant-prescribing-really-mean/</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db76.pdf">http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db76.pdf</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2008/10/05/did-antidepressants-cause-the-mortgage-crisis.html">http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2008/10/05/did-antidepressants-cause-the-mortgage-crisis.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.fasebj.org/content/21/13/3404.full">http://www.fasebj.org/content/21/13/3404.full</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.mentalhealthy.co.uk/news/681-wales-tops-the-uk-in-prescribing-antidepressants.html">http://www.mentalhealthy.co.uk/news/681-wales-tops-the-uk-in-prescribing-antidepressants.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.ic.nhs.uk/news-and-events/news/antidepressant-prescriptions-account-for-largest-annual-rise-in-items-dispensed-in-the-community">http://www.ic.nhs.uk/news-and-events/news/antidepressant-prescriptions-account-for-largest-annual-rise-in-items-dispensed-in-the-community</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.prb.org/pdf07/07WPDS_Eng.pdf">http://www.prb.org/pdf07/07WPDS_Eng.pdf</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://nhne-pulse.org/scientists-discover-tipping-point-for-the-spread-of-ideas/">http://nhne-pulse.org/scientists-discover-tipping-point-for-the-spread-of-ideas/</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-15075667">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-15075667</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a.W9T38Tmwi4">http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a.W9T38Tmwi4</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.wired.com/medtech/drugs/magazine/17-09/ff_placebo_effect?currentPage=all">http://www.wired.com/medtech/drugs/magazine/17-09/ff_placebo_effect?currentPage=all</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Sheila Joshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789487768317341942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6006622137752807559.post-57264638932641366592012-09-03T16:23:00.000-07:002012-09-03T16:23:02.621-07:00What one NDE has to say about iatrogenic medication<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Amy C. was a 30-year-old California woman suffering since
she was 17 from worsening chronic pain that may have been fibromyalgia<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(thanks to nhne-pulse.org for the
find).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 2010, she reported on the
NDERF site that she had had an NDE a couple of years prior.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her NDE is of particular relevance to this
blog because it was triggered by a lethal medication reaction, and reveals one
instance of how the issue of iatrogenic medication is being framed on “the
other side.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After 13 years of illness, Amy had reached the point where
she could only sleep 15 minutes at a time due to pain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her doctor then experimented with a new
medication to help her sleep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His
intentions were good, but, as is too often the case, he minimized the
seriousness of the adverse effects she immediately showed.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #333399;">“My doctor had an idea for a
medication that wasn't typically used for sleep, but might have the side-effect
of numbing me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I noticed that whenever
I took it, even in the tiniest amounts, my nose would swell and my breathing
became too shallow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was scary and
uncomfortable, but the relief from pain came, so the temptation to take it was
great.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I informed the doctor that I
believed I was having an allergic reaction to the medication and he chuckled
and said that my body simply needed to "get used to the med" and that
the amount I was taking was so low, it couldn't possibly do anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked me to take three whole pills.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had been taking one half of a half.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One night, after a week of agonizing pain
and no sleep, I considered the doctor's prescription of three whole pills and
decided to take them all and trust him. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #333399;">I went to bed after taking all
three and within minutes felt myself begin to go numb.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then the inside of my nasal passages swelled
up and I couldn't breathe at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
couldn't even open my mouth I was struggling to get air, but could not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My entire body felt like it was
mummified.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I couldn't call out for
help, and it only took a couple of minutes before, the struggle was over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #333399;">There was a strong suction
coming from the top of my head (like a vacuum) and an absolute sense of
relief.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was no longer a need to
breathe, and no feeling of being drugged on a medication.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had no sense of my own body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I've forgotten much of this next part, but
it seems I travelled very quickly.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The next thing she remembers is being pulled through a
portal into a waiting room with many other people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She knew that they had probably just died, and that they had all
died from not taking better care of themselves in some way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, there were some boys who had
died from drunk driving, and a woman who had overly tanned herself in pursuit
of beauty who had died from skin cancer.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After an interval, a teacher appeared who explained to her
that everyone in this gathering had died by some form of indirect suicide, and
that they hadn’t learned vital lessons while embodied.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>None of them had intentionally killed
themselves, but all had shown a flagrant disregard for their own safety.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They had taken unhealthy risks with their
lives in a way that was described by Amy as self-obsessed and prideful.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She then left that area and moved on through a long,
detailed NDE with her own guide.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
had a life review, an interplanetary tour, and learned a lot about how things
work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Among other things, she was shown
that Earth crops are poisoned and impure (the implication was pesticides and
GMO) and we are all adjured to return to pure, unadulterated food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is much more to Amy C.’s NDE than I
will focus on here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a
particularly uplifting and complex one, very much worth reading in toto (see
Sources below).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Her guide told her she was in between life and death, “as if
in a coma,” and after all these<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>experiences, he persuaded her to return to her body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She found herself back in her bedroom
standing out-of-body next to her body, and felt panic at not being able to
enter her body or wake it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With her
guide’s help, she managed to make a noise to wake her husband.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #333399;">“My husband heard this and woke
up and asked, "Amy?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What is
it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What's the matter?"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I couldn't answer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I tried to scream or cry out to him, but could not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He leaned over and I saw him shake me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I felt through his hands a level of electricity
move through me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I was unable to
connect or move.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He got up and turned a
light on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My eyes were still shut, but
I witnessed the look on his face. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #333399;">He suddenly went very pale and
his mouth dropped open.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beads of sweat
formed instantly around his hair line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He was perspiring heavily.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I'd
never seen such a frightened look on his face before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He grabbed me and yanked my body upward toward him, trying to
hold me up, shouting, "AMY!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>AMY,
AMY!!!"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again and again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was trying to check my pulse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My head dropped back and he pulled my
eyelids open.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was nearly screaming
my name.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As he continued to shake my
body (he later described as being so heavy, it was shocking... and I was very
small/petite at the time.) I felt more and more electricity moving all around
my body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, I felt something like a
POP, and I was back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I sucked in a
long, deep breath and just hung there, limply, breathing in and out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unable to speak. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #333399;">After a few minutes, my husband
was asking, "What should I do?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Should I call 911?"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I answered
firmly, "No.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I'm fine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don't call anyone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I just need to sit down for a minute."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He helped me to the other room where I sat
on the couch and tried to tell him what had happened.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After her NDE, Amy’s health recovered dramatically, and she
shifted to a vegetarian, organic diet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She also left the religion she had been raised in; became less
politically conservative; more interested in her spiritual and psychological
development, and in deeper relationships with others; and less interested in
material things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She said that, prior
to the NDE, she “had lived in fear and distrust and panic for 30 consecutive
years.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Afterwards, she slowly and
successfully integrated the peace, security and trust she had experienced
during the NDE into her embodied life.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Amy continued to have visions after the NDE, saw light
around everything, and had other psi experiences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She synchronistically met the mother of one of the women she had
seen in the afterlife waiting room, and was confirmed to have veridical information
about the deceased woman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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From her post-NDE meditations and communications with her
guide she learned --</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #333399;">“…I had been pulled into the
specific portal with others who had brought themselves to their own demise,
because I had for so many years been taking strong medications for my health
problems that were slowly killing me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And that I had seen myself as a helpless victim for so long….I gave up
all of the labels that doctors had given me for my health problems, and let go
of my ‘story’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of what I thought I
was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I worked toward humility and
opened myself up to learning and growth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I took full responsibility for my own suffering and blamed no one and no
thing.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This NDE account is unusual in that it gives us some
information about how iatrogenic medication is being seen in the part of the
universe we inhabit when not embodied.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I have some familiarity with NDE accounts and after death communications
(ADCs), and I have not come across a lot of information like this.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is not the only path that an NDE from a medication
reaction can take.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are several
other drug reaction NDEs listed below in the Sources, and none of them has this
“portal for indirect suicide” element in common with Amy C.’s, nor do they have
much to say about iatrogenic medications.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I know of one other reference – an ADC from a young man
named Erik Medhus, who killed himself with a gun in 2009, and said, through a
professional channeler in 2010, that the drugs he took --<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lamictal and Abilify -- will be removed from
the market because they’re harmful to children and teens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was not taking the meds at the time of
death, and he denied they had anything to do with his suicide (<a href="http://www.channelingerik.com/teen-shit/">http://www.channelingerik.com/teen-shit/</a>).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(But, based on my experience, I have to
wonder whether he was unwittingly in withdrawal from them, and does not yet
realize that the neurological disruption caused by stopping these meds may,
indeed, have contributed to his state of mind.)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Amy C. had a severe adverse reaction to a prescribed
medication. This occurs much more frequently than is currently recognized by
mainstream Western medicine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And less
severe adverse reactions are even more common.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As an aside, consumers and physicians often refer to these
crises as an “allergic reaction,” which is almost cute-sounding and
misleading.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It implies that the person
taking the medication is unusual, and has something wrong with them in how they
react to honest, hard-working medication.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In fact, adverse reactions and serious side effects are very, very
common.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And the fault lies with the
medications, which are increasingly potent and shamefully under-tested.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the U.S., TV advertisements for
medications in all categories are larded with warnings and disclaimers, in an
attempt to protect the manufacturers from liability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This shows that the manufacturers know that many risks exist and
that they’re common.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The message that Amy C. got from her NDE was that she was
“taking strong medications” that were “slowly killing” her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was also encouraged to give up the
labels her doctors had put on her health; to take responsibility and empower
herself; and to abjure unnatural food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She was asked to look at some of her previous choices as a form of
indirect suicide, and then asked to take much better care of her safety and
well-being from here on out.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This message and the channeled one from Eric Medhus validate
what a growing number of consumers and health professionals are coming to
believe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am keen to see what other
information we get on this topic from the other side in the coming years, and
how it will shape the discourse about medication here on Earth.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
These two communications also bring up bigger questions
about how new developments on Earth are metabolized on the other side, and how
and when other beings or aspects of universal consciousness intervene with
unwholesome happenings on Earth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
possibilities for transpersonal partnership are very intriguing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sources:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://nhne-pulse.org/amy-cs-near-death-experience/">http://nhne-pulse.org/amy-cs-near-death-experience/</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.nderf.org/NDERF/amy_c_nde_4720.htm">http://www.nderf.org/NDERF/amy_c_nde_4720.htm</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.channelingerik.com/teen-shit/">http://www.channelingerik.com/teen-shit/</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Other NDEs from medication reactions –</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.nderf.org/NDERF/NDE_Experiences/cate_nde.htm">http://www.nderf.org/NDERF/NDE_Experiences/cate_nde.htm</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.nderf.org/NDERF/NDE_Experiences/levi_j_nde.htm">http://www.nderf.org/NDERF/NDE_Experiences/levi_j_nde.htm</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.nderf.org/NDERF/NDE_Experiences/aussie_q%27s_nde.htm">http://www.nderf.org/NDERF/NDE_Experiences/aussie_q%27s_nde.htm</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://aleroy.com/board91.htm">http://aleroy.com/board91.htm</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.allaboutchristian.com/spirituality/index.html">http://www.allaboutchristian.com/spirituality/index.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Christopher Reeve (second NDE due to meds) –</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.thefreelibrary.com/CHRISTOPHER+REEVE+FLYING+HIGH+-+BUT+NOT+AS+A+PILOT.-a083875739">http://www.thefreelibrary.com/CHRISTOPHER+REEVE+FLYING+HIGH+-+BUT+NOT+AS+A+PILOT.-a083875739</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Sheila Joshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789487768317341942noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6006622137752807559.post-34782959730370404702012-08-11T15:37:00.000-07:002012-08-11T15:37:23.235-07:00James Carpenter’s First Sight model and neurological damage-induced psi openings
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">What is the First Sight
model?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Clinical psychologist and parapsychologist James Carpenter,
Ph.D. has recently published his magnum opus “First sight:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>ESP and parapsychology in everyday
life.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It may very well turn out to be
the turning point in a profound paradigm shift that moves psi from its
reputation as anomalous, skittish in the lab, and rare to normal, robust, and
ubiquitous.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is an incredibly impressive, rigorous, scholarly piece
of work that integrates a lifetime’s encyclopedic familiarity with
parapsychology, clinical psychology, and general psychology.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The name for the model is a play on the colloquial term
“second sight” historically used to describe inherited psychic ability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Carpenter’s theory turns the colloquial
assumptions on their head and proposes that psi is not an ability, it is not
inherited, and it is going on all the time unconsciously without any sensory
input.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead, we are continually
existing and transacting in an extended, nonlocal universe in a way that
extends beyond our physical boundaries, so it is “first sight” (Carpenter,
2012, pp. 8, 13, 18).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Carpenter’s model proposes that psi is analogous to
subliminal perception.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Subliminal
perception has been very well substantiated by experimental psychology and by
clinical observation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have an
unconscious level of functioning that goes on all the time, integrates sensory
data, handles automatic activities, and feeds information to our conscious
level based on what is most salient to us at the time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Carpenter’s innovation is to say that psi
behaves analogously.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is unconscious,
going on all the time, integrates non-sensory data, contributes to the handling
of automatic activities, and also feeds information to our conscious
level.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the case of PK, it manifests
as unconsciously-driven behavior.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As a normal, ongoing, unconscious way of being in the world,
psi undergirds all psychological functioning for all people all the time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Therefore, it is not an ability or gift or
character trait that only some possess, nor is it anomalous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is aggregating into our other normal,
unconscious processes constantly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For
Carpenter, what’s unusual about it is that we sometimes consciously see the
effects of it, such as when we have an experience of ESP or PK.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of the time, it operates unconsciously,
shaping our choices and way of being in the world.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
People who appear to be more psychic can more accurately be
said to have more “control over the expression of psi and some skill in
understanding and using these expressions” (Carpenter, 2012, p. 315).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These people tend to be interested in psi
and in subliminal processes in general, and to cultivate them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They tend to be less anxious, more
adventurous, believe more is possible, tolerate ambiguity, and have very
aligned, unconflicted healthy entitlement to being efficacious in the world.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are many more corollaries to his theory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These are just the highlights.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">Extending the model to
neuro-damage-induced, abrupt psi openings, where psi is initially camouflaged</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
How might we extend this model to understand what happens
when neurological damage triggers a discontinuous increase in psi?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Specifically, we will focus on people who
have a neurological incident, followed by indications of an abrupt psi opening,
but who take awhile to learn how to interpret the phenomena they are
experiencing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This experience of the
psi being initially camouflaged as something else is much more common than the
instances of neurological incident leading immediately to a huge increase in
accessible, clear-as-day psi, such as in the case of Peter Hurkos. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some people have been using psi extensively since
childhood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some people have relatively
gentle and satisfying psi openings in adulthood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today, we are going to focus on psi openings that originate in a
form of neurological trauma, are unprepared for, and are highly distressing and
confusing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this type of situation,
it’s often not clear what’s psi, what’s a symptom of trauma or healing, or how
to interpret either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, much
potential psi gets overlooked because of the general chaos.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This extension of the First Sight model will also be
relevant for other abrupt, yet camouflaged, psi openings stemming from other
causes such as NDEs, other spiritually transformative experiences, illnesses
and trauma.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Carpenter refers briefly to the connection between brain
damage and psi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He suggests that it is
the prolonged disorientation, confusion, cognitive uncertainty and possibly
passive acceptance of brain damage that may facilitate the bringing to
consciousness of the normally unconscious, ongoing psi interface between the
individual and the universe (Carpenter, 2012, p. 71).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We are going to expand on this; look closely at the
relationship of fear to psi; follow his example of using analogies from other
fields of psychology to look at the question of unconscious v conscious psi;
and propose a strategy to facilitate neurological healing and psychic development.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">Fear, psi, and abrupt
openings</span></b><span style="color: #333399;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fear is such a big part of this kind of experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So let’s start with what Carpenter’s First
Sight model has to say about fear and psi, and then add a few other
observations specific to neurological damage from psychotropic medication and
distressing psi openings.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">i.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Carpenter’s collation</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Carpenter has collated dozens of research studies that have
bearing on the relationship between anxiety and psi, and he generates several
over-arching observations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We will
focus on three main points here – 1) anxiety can be a feature of any one of
three constituents of a situation, 2) anxiety tends to interfere with psi, and
3) anxiety may explain psi-missing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In trying to understand the role of anxiety in experiencing
psi, it is useful to consider three ways that anxiety can enter into any given
situation – the person may be fearful, the thing being perceived may be
fearsome, and/or the context, itself, may be stressful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of these factors will influence the
person’s ability to process psi (Carpenter, 2012, p. 189).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Anxiety tends to decrease conscious psi, but increase
unconscious psi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fear affects the
mind’s unconscious use of extrasensory information the same way it affects
unconscious usage of subliminal, sensory information. Although unconscious
attention orients rapidly to threat, “anxiety reliably hampers the effort to
bring preconscious information quickly, completely, and accurately to conscious
awareness” (Carpenter, 2012, p. 241).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And, to combine these first two points, Carpenter
states:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Anxiety must be low enough to
be manageable, whether the anxiety is about psi itself, the information
involved, other aspects of the situation at the moment, or some more general
state” in order for psi to be a useful resource (Carpenter, 2012, p.316).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lastly, anxiety may explain psi missing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Psi missing is when a person misses the
target more than could be accounted for by chance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In other words, something non-random is going on; they are
demonstrating an unconscious, negative use of psi to *not* hit the target.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Carpenter attributes this to two things – in
an anxious state, our focus of attention narrows to managing our anxiety.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are less open to the infinite array of
information out there. And, also if the material is seen as fearsome, it is
likely to be perceived unconsciously, but avoided consciously (Carpenter, 2012,
p. 66).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He refines this generalization later in greater detail,
taking into account the existence of different defensive styles (Carpenter,
2012, pp.229-241).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One observation
particularly relevant to our topic is cited from the work of De Graaf and
Houtkooper (2004).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They found that
people with more trauma history demonstrated *displaced* psi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In other words, they avoid the assigned
target (psi miss), but they accurately fixate on a nearby target – say the one
in the previous or following test (Carpenter, 2012, pp. 229-230).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a fascinating glimpse of the
unconscious, suggesting a combination of hypervigilance and avoidance.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">ii.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Neurological damage from psychotropic medication</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One type of neurological incident that occurs is the
withdrawal and recovery from psychotropic medications.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chronic, intense fear is a common symptom of
this syndrome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The nervous system has
been altered by exposure to the medications, and it is deeply unbalanced for a
long time until neurogenesis finally re-creates equilibrium.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, in a simple way, the anxiety is a
symptom of neurological damage.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In addition, this sometimes very long-lasting recovery
syndrome can be seen as a toxin-induced Kundalini rising.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As such, the process of healing the damage
may also re-activate very early developmental stages in order to heal any
psychological or physical harm in the individual’s past.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like Grof’s holotropic breathwork, it may
even go back to perinatal experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So, in this way, the anxiety may be a symptom of deep working through or
Kundalini clearing blockages.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Also, those of us who have stumbled into this syndrome are
going through a shockingly unexpected, severe, chronic illness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is anxiety-provoking, and we will each
deal with it in our characteristic, pre-existing personality / defensive
style.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, in this way, anxiety is a reaction
to a current stressor.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
However, in addition to all these real sources of anxiety,
the pervasive anxiety may also a reaction to a psi opening which has been
triggered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The evidence for this is
that many people report an uptick in psi experiences and report the overall
sense of being relentlessly in the kind of altered state that is
psi-conducive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, this putative
psi opening is a chaotic, elusive one.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One of the ways that Carpenter’s observations about First
Sight theory and fear may illuminate this situation is that there may be a big
increase in unconscious psi, but only a small increase in conscious psi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One other person in recovery who I know of
and I have shown unusually high waking delta on an EEG, which the neurofeedback
and meditation expert Anna Wise has interpreted as a primal tracking beacon and
a major component of intuition.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Though usually thought of as the brainwaves of deep sleep,
in a waking state delta waves are often referred to as the orienting
response….On the very deepest level, they are our beacon that senses danger and
safety.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They serve as our automatic
tracking device, our scanning function….This very primal, almost animalistic
response can be fine-tuned to sense emotions, needs, and attitudes in other
people.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I like to call delta a kind of radar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As such, these brainwaves are a major component
of our intuition and empathy….These very slow, low-frequency brainwaves are
also present during most experiences of psychic phenomena and ESP” (Wise, 2004,
p. 198).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This jibes nicely with Carpenter in a couple of ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like Carpenter, Wise also posits an ongoing,
unconscious level of psi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And the fact
that two of us with this neurological syndrome are having so much waking delta,
but only sporadic psi experiences, and plenty of anxiety fits suggestively with
the general rule that anxiety may increase unconscious psi, but decrease
conscious psi.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Let us now apply to this particular neurological syndrome /
psi opening Carpenter’s organizing idea that the potential source of anxiety in
any situation is either in the person, in the stimulus, or in the context.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>There is anxiety in the person.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this neurological syndrome, autonomic
arousal goes through the roof, cortisol levels are constantly high, with
adrenal overactivity, depopulation of serotonin and dopamine receptors, and a
generally dysregulated and over-reactive neuroendocrinological system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Several studies by parapsychologist Dean
Radin and others suggest that presentiment or anticipatory physiological
arousal is strongest when the stimulus is more aversive and when the person is
especially vulnerable to a stress response (Carpenter, 2012, pp. 200-202).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is an open question as to how much of the
autonomic arousal of this syndrome is a symptom of brain damage and how much is
a symptom of unfamiliar psi.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>There is anxiety in the context.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is not an intentional psi opening, and
it comes at a time of illness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To the
extent that there is new, conscious psi, it may be anxiety-provoking because of
its implications.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a momentous
paradigm shift to discover that we are more connected all the time than we
thought, and that we have more ability and power than we thought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The conscious psi that people seem to be
experiencing is sporadic and inchoate, yet there are some indications of
unconscious psi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Psi missing might be
part of the explanation for what is going on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Carpenter found considerable support for the theory that anxiety can
lead to psi missing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Furthermore, the particular form of psi missing that De
Graaf and Houtkooper (2004) found, where people displace psi and avoid the
target but accurately fixate on a nearby target (Carpenter, 2012, pp. 229-230)
may explain, in part, the common symptom in psych med neuro recovery of OCD or
obsessive rumination.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, these
symptoms may be thought of as purely signs of neurological damage, or as
psychological attempts to cope with neurological damage, but it may be that
they are also driven by an unconscious need to psi miss.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>There may be anxiety in the stimulus.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It seems likely that there is some bias in
what we unconsciously target during this syndrome / opening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are many factors conspiring to cause
this – this was not a voluntary, planned developmental step; we are unprepared;
there is bona fide neurological damage; Kundalini may be exacerbating old hurts
as it repairs the system; and the morphic field or energy pattern of these
medications may predispose one to pick up on a darker part of the collective
unconscious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Anecdotally, several
alternative healers and psychics have said that they can’t tolerate or
interpret the energy of someone on Paxil (Paroxetine)and that is very
abrasive).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One piece of evidence for this is that people in recovery
from antidepressants often report spontaneous, hypnagogic, closed eye visuals
of faces that are very sharply focused and specific.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is something they do not recall experiencing before
withdrawal from the medication.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
early recovery, the faces tend to be emotionally darker – angry, startled, even
grotesque.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Often, as recovery
progresses, people report a shift to faces that are curious, friendly, smiling.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is certainly possible that these visions are solely the
product of psychoneurological distress, however, it is noteworthy that they are
more sharply focused than other mental images or dreams that we experienced
before exposure to drugs and after.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Another possibility is that we are spontaneously connecting with other
people, who could be drawn from somewhere in the contemporary world, or the
past, the future, etc.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Carpenter cited one study that might support the theory that
we are initially skewed in the direction of picking up more threatening
material from the infinite options out there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Gray et al. (2009) showed that subliminal presentations of
frightening material induced a heightened tendency to quickly perceive angry
rather than neutral faces (but only for people who were high in vulnerability
to anxiety)” (Carpenter, 2012, p. 208).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Are we spontaneously tuning in to the collective unconscious
like parapsychologist Roger Nelson’s REGs dotted around the world in the Global
Consciousness Project, but due to the toxin- and damage-driven nature of the
psi opening, we home in on whatever threatening material out there jibes with
our own psychoneurological profile?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Many people also report hearing music in early
recovery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These are people who have
never heard music before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, again,
there can be a skew to the ominous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
heard very threatening, specific, minor chord symphonic music for several months
in 2004, after an episode of moderate serotonin syndrome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Recovery from medication-induced
neurological damage is very much like a bad LSD trip – initially acute, then
attenuating -- where the doors of perception may be more open but you’re either
picking up only on the negative half of reality or you’re negatively
misinterpreting everything.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
How can we help people who are going through a neurological
damage-induced, abrupt psi opening, where there is a lot of fear, and the psi
is coming to consciousness in a sporadic, confused, and skewed way?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One approach would be to help people to make
the spontaneously occurring psi more conscious, and to interpret it more
accurately.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let us look at the issue of
unconscious v. conscious psi.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">Unconscious v. conscious psi
and “the return of the repressed”</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Carpenter proposes in the First Sight model that psi is a
continuous, unconscious engagement with the world beyond our senses that
informs our every thought, feeling, and behavior.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He uses the concepts of subliminal perception, unconscious
process, and defense mechanisms from perceptual, cognitive, and clinical
psychology (including phenomenological, existential, and psychoanalytic
orientations) to explain unconscious psi.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m going to extend his First Sight Model to address the
experience of neurological damage-induced psi openings by using psychoanalytic
psychology.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In order to do this, I’m
going to extend the model’s correct emphasis on continuous, unconscious psi to
encompass conscious psi as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
think that people going through this kind of distressing, chaotic psi opening
are experiencing “the return of the repressed’, and would benefit from help to
make their psi more conscious.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Carpenter has developed a brilliant model, which makes
excellent sense to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, I would
extend it in just this one way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Unconsciousness and consciousness are polarities on a continuum, with
infinite gradations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Psi is continuous
and unconscious, but it also can be sometimes conscious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And we need to make it more conscious for
people who are being buffeted unconsciously by it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For Carpenter, it is a major tenet of his model that psi can
be only unconscious (Carpenter, 2012, pp. 76, 89), therefore let me take a
moment to defend my belief that psi can be conscious as well.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Carpenter focuses on situations where it seems very
legitimate to say that people are only noticing the clues left by unconscious
psi, such as when they interpret fragments of their own free association and
espy an instance of clairvoyance, or when they notice ex post facto that a
dream held a vague precognitive reference to something that happened in the day
after the dream.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, this does not
cover the full range of psi experiences that people have.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
People have macro-psi experiences ranging from intentional
energy healing that yields immediate, tangible results through “crisis
apparitions” where the vivid image of a person in mortal danger appears to a
distant loved one at the exact moment of the crisis to cases like that of
Eileen Garrett and the zeppelin accident where she had multiple precognitive
visions and synchronicities.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The accomplished British medium Eileen Garrett saw a
distinct and vivid image of a zeppelin over peacetime London in 1926, 1928, and
1929.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each time she saw it, it was in
progressively worse condition due to fire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was also a design that had not been made public yet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once the new design and the plan for a
flight to India were publicly announced, she began to meet people who were
scheduled to be on that flight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She did
pass on a warning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The flight did end
in flames and 48 deaths.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Later, she learned
that another medium had also passed along a message from a recently deceased
military man who tried to warn his friend, the navigator of the flight (pp
210-13).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just as Carpenter has so aptly used analogies from other
fields of psychology to illuminate unconscious psi, so can we use analogies
from psychoanalytic psychology to show that psi exists on a consciousness
gradient.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just as sensory perceptions
and memories can be repressed or return from the repressed or be sort of
repressed, so it is with psi.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sometimes, the unconscious comes barreling through to
consciousness like a freight train.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A
classic example would be the spontaneous recall of childhood sexual abuse that
had been forgotten for several decades.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There can be also the spontaneous recall of something wonderful that has
been forgotten for several decades.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Contrariwise, things that have been consciously experienced can be
repressed.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A lovely example of someone experiencing conscious psi and
then repressing it and then unrepressing it can be found in psychoanalyst
Elizabeth Lloyd Mayer’s account of having a paradigm-cracking experience with a
dowser, and only then unrepressing the memory that she, herself, had once found
an intentionally-hidden wristwatch in a closet by non-sensory means.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had completely forgotten that she had
done that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because of this incident of
spontaneous recall, she proposed that many of us forget a lot of psi phenomena
because to remember it would rupture our whole worldview (Mayer, 2007, pp.
58-59).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Freud created the construct “the return of the repressed,”
and explained that wishes, fears, memories, and thoughts that a person cannot
accept are repressed into the unconscious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Yet, they never go away, and they continuously seek to reveal
themselves, because they are important to the health of the individual.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are inconvenient truths.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes, they emerge in partial,
disguised, distorted forms that allow for some expression or relief of
unconscious pressure, while still safeguarding the person from the consequences
of full awareness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These forms are
sometimes uncomfortable psychological and physical symptoms, which can drive a
person to seek help.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The psychoanalytic
therapist provides support for the process of making the unconscious conscious,
and the symptoms become unnecessary. (<a href="http://www.answers.com/topic/return-of-the-repressed">http://www.answers.com/topic/return-of-the-repressed</a>).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, here we have psychoanalytic descriptions of how the
conscious can become unconscious and vice versa.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The earliest psychoanalytic theorists thought in terms of a more
clear-cut topographical map of the psyche with an unconscious, preconscious,
and conscious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Later analytic thinkers
have proposed a less black-and-white view.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the essay “Knowing and not knowing:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A clinical example,” the 20<sup>th</sup> c.
psychoanalyst D.W. Winnicott presented a short anecdote that illustrated the
paradoxical phenomenon of unrepressing something, knowing that one has
unrepressed heretofore forgotten information, yet also feeling that somehow one
has known it all along (Winnicott, 1989, pp. 24-25).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Contemporary psychology professor Matthew Erdelyi sees
unconscious and conscious knowing as polarities, not categories.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Erdelyi (2001, 2006) further believes that the claim that repression
is unconscious and suppression is conscious is based on an outmoded and
erroneous conception of mentality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Rather than proposing a categorical distinction between consciousness
and unconscious, he refers rather to an “unconscious-conscious continuum”
(Erdelyi, 2006, p. 513), comparing the distinction between conscious and
unconscious with the arbitrary “child-adult”distinction: ‘It does seem clear
that our popular distinctions—conscious-unconscious, explicit-implicit,
supraliminal-subliminal—are polar rather than categorical. They are
more-or-less . . .’ (Erdelyi, 2004, p. 88)” (Boag, 2010, p. 169).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Psychologists in other fields have also contributed to the
view of consciousness as a gradient.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Social cognition psychologist Alain Morin and developmental psychologist
Philippe Rochat have written about self-awareness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Morin (2006) compared and integrated several recent models that
are predicated on there being various levels of consciousness, and Rochat presented
a very interesting model suggesting that adult self-awareness is a “dynamic
flux between basic levels of consciousness that develop chronologically early
in life” (Rochat, 2003, p. 717).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The First Sight model makes a vitally important contribution
to our understanding by proposing that unconscious psi is operating absolutely
all the time, and that it is a substrate of all human experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This fits quite nicely with all the other
processes that psychoanalytic theory claims are operating unconsciously all the
time, but which can, under the right conditions, be brought to
consciousness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, just as
psychoanalytic theory assumes that part of the reason things are kept
unconscious is that they are threatening in some way, so we will assume that
part of the reason psi is kept unconscious is that it is threatening in some
way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(It is also true that part of the
reason things are kept unconscious is that they are being held as procedural
knowledge and that it would be inefficient to be conscious of all things at all
times.)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In fact, it is axiomatic that psi is threatening to many
people at this time in history, and it can easily be imagined how more people
with more efficacious psi would threaten various political, economic, and
social protected interests.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Over the
last year, it has come to my attention repeatedly that famous financiers and
politicians have consulted assiduously with some medium, astrologer, or
clairvoyant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet, for centuries the
dominant message in most of the world’s cultures has been that such things are
hogwash or evil.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What would happen if
the vast majority of people were to become more personally effective with their
psi?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Personal, familial and societal pressures have encouraged
the repression of psi, keeping it unconscious and small.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Carpenter says, we are all psychic all
the time, but mostly at a level that acceptable to our families and
cultures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In other words, what we call
normal, non-psychic behavior is, in fact, informed by psi, but the influence of
psi is mostly hidden and unconscious and the behavior that manifests is at a
level of efficacy that is acceptable in the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More efficacy than that – ESP and PK -- is taboo.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When someone has a neurological incident and psi starts to
leak through more, it can be thought of as the return of the repressed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some kind of pressure – from the personal
unconscious, from the collective unconscious, from Gaia, from the Tao – has
demanded that the individual repair the normative, but unnatural repression of
psi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps pressure has been mounting
for some time out of sight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is a chaotic opening – in fact, a spiritual
emergency.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Psi is still so taboo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The paradigm shift from not believing in it
to believing in it is so big.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
ramifications of greater personal knowledge, power, and connectedness are so
huge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Very few people can roll with the
punches as they are introduced abruptly to a whole new relationship with
reality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is often tremendous
fear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People may also feel guilt and
shame about having so much more potential.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And, for all the exciting aspects of it, it is still terribly
inconvenient.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A big psi opening
requires that you change your life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So,
there is an opening to psi and, for many reasons, a lot of resistance or
blockage to psi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tempest ensues.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We are also completely unprepared for and untrained in how
to integrate psi into our lives, so there is much misinterpretation of what’s
coming up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You could say, in general,
that in the First Sight model, psi is camouflaged as “normal perception and
behavior” most of the time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Only once
in awhile does it shed its protective coloring and stand out like a white crow
in a flock of black crows.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By
extension, you could say that when neurological incident triggers a sudden
increase in psi, and there is chaos, the psi is camouflaged as various psychological
and physical symptoms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The predominant
one is fear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, as Carpenter’s review
of the literature shows, anxiety interferes with psi.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">What can we do to help?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If we extend our psychoanalytic analogy, we might say a good
therapeutic relationship, abreaction, working through, and insight would be
indicated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, these elements may
be either contraindicated or not enough in a full-on spiritual emergency….That
is, unless you can be in a 1940s Menninger’s Clinic type set-up where you are
housed, fed, secure, and have no responsibilities….The fact is that in the early
part of recovery from the neurological damage caused by many psychotropic
medications, the dysautonomia is so severe, that people cannot use these
techniques.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Indeed, early recovery is a very primal struggle just to
survive – to be able to tolerate eating, to be able to sleep, to weather the
storm of physical and psychological symptoms such as akathisia, where
relentless inner vibration and agitation make you want to crawl out of your skin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For many people in this phase, the idea that
they might be having a psychic opening, and that they might get some relief
from re-interpreting some of their symptoms in this way, would be abhorrent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each individual has to cobble together the
best approach for them in this nearly impossible situation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, for others, this idea is a hopeful
pinprick of light in the darkness.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For these people, we need more systematic guidelines for how
to slowly, gently facilitate the return of the repressed psi on their own, when
a therapeutic relationship is not available or tolerable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With some guidelines, these people who have
become dismantled can slowly begin to put themselves back together in a new
way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Teasing out the psi from the
neuro-psycho-spiritual chaos should lead to symptom reduction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Indeed, the ethnologist and psychologist Holger Kalweit
(1988, 1992) has interviewed countless shamans from many different cultures,
and found a common thread which is relevant for us here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The shamanic initiatory illness – a chaotic,
miserable concatenation of physical and psychological symptoms that the culture
has no treatment for – can go on for years, and often abates only when the
sufferer agrees to shamanize.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Shamanizing can take different forms – prophecy, healing, clairvoyance,
etc. – but only when the person embraces their latent, greater psi potential do
they emerge from the debilitating illness.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are examples of contemporary Americans who illustrate
this pattern.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Laura Alden Kamm
(personal communication 2005, 2006) had a massive cerebral infection and
surgery, and later a neurological shaking syndrome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She found she could get relief from the non-stop shaking when she
used her newly emerging ability to see inside the human body at every level
from the molecular to the gross anatomical.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Laura Bruno (2008) sustained traumatic brain injury from a car accident,
and began having terrible migraines, the first of which lasted many months
non-stop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She found she could get
relief from the migraines when she communicated to the intended recipient
medical intuition that came to her through claircognizance.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">Facilitating the return of
the (transpersonal) repressed</span></b><span style="color: #333399;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Psychoanalytic theory is about the return of the repressed
personal unconscious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It could be said
that we are now talking about the return of the repressed transpersonal
unconscious, which is starting to leak through more, wants to be known, but
which needs help for that to happen, due to pathogenic beliefs and the
traumatic nature of what spurred the opening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Our hypothesis is that facilitating the bringing to consciousness of psi
– our non-sensory connection to the whole – will bring relief from suffering
and ultimately lead to greater happiness.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The psychoanalyst and clinical parapsychologist Djohar Si
Ahmed has observed that non-ordinary states of consciousness – which can be
triggered by trauma or by certain therapies – create the opportunity for needed
transpersonal material to emerge to consciousness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The individual unwittingly will “<i>recall to the surface</i>…the
exact material that the psyche most vitally needs to promote a process of
change, development and healing” (Si Ahmed, 2012, pp. 69-70).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Jungian analyst Marie-Louise von Franz wrote that the
Self (the Jungian construct meaning the individual’s whole psyche – ego,
unconscious, and conscious) is at the center of the field of the collective
unconscious (von Franz, 1980, p. 64).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s an intriguing paradox that Jungians sometimes also say that the collective
unconscious is at the center of the Self!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(Gad, 2000, jung.org)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Von Franz
went on to say that, according to Jung, the Self “is in an eternal process of
constant rejuvenation” that has a certain rhythm that dominates “the field of
the collective unconscious”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(von Franz,
1988, pp. 65-66).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Especially relevant, for our purposes, is von Franz’s belief
that one could use well-crafted, classical divination techniques to bring
useful information to consciousness.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“…[O]ne could say that divination techniques are attempts,
by a chance throw of numbers, to find out what is the rhythm of the Self at a
particular moment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jung sometimes
describes what we do when we consult the I Ching oracle by saying that it is
like looking at the world situation watch to find the moment one is in, while
the oracle would give the inner and outer world situation by which to govern
one’s actions” (von Franz, 1988, p. 66).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
These observations by Si Ahmed and von Franz complement
Carpenter’s premise that all conscious experience and behavior are derived from
an ongoing, unconscious process of information-gathering and assessment that
includes psi (Carpenter, 2012, p. 18).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>These observations jibe even more with what Carpenter says later in his
book about how people who are more psychic seem to get that way.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Carpenter coins the term “inadvertency” to capture the way
unconscious psi perceptions (he more precisely calls these “prehensions” since
they are not conscious perceptions) are often inadvertently alluded to by
spontaneous psychological events such as in image, mood, slip of the tongue or
impulsive act.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Only through careful
observation and with enough data can we discern that such an inadvertency is
the telltale sign that we are being influenced by unconscious psi perceptions
(Carpenter, 2012, pp. 48, 52-55).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
According to Carpenter, people who are more psychic are more
receptive to these inadvertencies, and more skilled and interested in exploring
them (Carpenter, 2012, pp. 317, 319-320).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He is focusing on those persons who show some <i>control</i> over the
expression of psi and some <i>skill</i> in understanding and using these
expressions (Carpenter, 2012, p. 316).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
However, the case being made here is that people having a
neurological damage-induced psi opening are in a chaotic, crisis condition
caused, in part, by pressure for normal unconscious psi to become more
integrated into conscious awareness, as it probably should have been all
along.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The thesis is that some of our
symptoms are misinterpreted psi or are caused by overly repressed psi, and that
if we could make the chaotically intruding, mostly camouflaged, psi more
conscious, symptoms would be reduced.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are many methods for increasing effective access to
psi, including formal divination techniques, brainwave entrainment, meditation,
psychotherapy, psychic development circles, classes, and exercises.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of these have great value, but in the
case of some neurological incidents, including the early phase of recovery from
psychotropic medication damage, most people simply cannot tolerate them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The drug-induced dysautonomia is so severe
that even the most gentle therapies – such as guided relaxation and
visualization -- are over-stimulating!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What’s left is giving people a tool they can use themselves,
alone, at home, at their own pace, under their control, and that responds to
what is already going on. What’s being proposed is a kind of divination of
daily life, which can be started slowly and sporadically, and can be developed,
if found useful, into a whole new way of walking through life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This means approaching daily life with an
eye out for things like synchronicities, and paying close attention to thing
like spontaneous precognitions, and putting more focused effort into
interpreting them.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The ultimate goal would be for one to integrate information
from these sources more automatically, and to graduate to more advanced
psi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This scrupulous interpretation of
subtle evidence of psi is not the end point; it is the gateway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a class I once took with parapsychologist
Loyd Auerbach, he paraphrased the renowned psychic Alex Tanous as saying
“Everyone is psychic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You just have to
notice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once you notice, you notice
more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, it snowballs.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Many people already live their lives this way, using daily
life as one big divination.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But many
people do not, or only do it spottily.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If neurological incidents are partly about the return of the repressed,
natural psi, and if psi can be made much more conscious, then this approach
might be a crucial element of the recovery process.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At this point, I’m not sure whether the symptoms of
neurological damage contain specific unconscious psi meaning, or if it’s more
that they are a general sign that psi is being over-repressed and needs to come
out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The latter seems to have been the
case with Laura Alden Kamm and Laura Bruno, mentioned above, who both became
medical intuitives after brain trauma.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Their neurological symptoms simply abated when they “shamanized”; the
symptoms did not seem to be related to the specific content of the psi that was
expressed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Conceivably, it is the
general release of repressed psi that causes the general reduction in painful
symptoms.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The kind of phenomena one might pay closer attention to
includes synchronicities (ranging from the minor to the major), precognitive
elements in dreams (including precognitions about “unimportant” things),
occasional spontaneous hypnagogic visions (closed eye visuals), lucid dream
visitations from deceased loved ones (including asking “why now?,” as well as
paying closer attention to any messages and symbolism), mistakes or minor
accidents, and treating the whole day as one coherent message.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Much of the time, we note these things fleetingly, say
“that’s cool,” or “that’s weird,” and then forget them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A little practice with paying more attention
to them reveals that they are meatier than they appear at first glance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We will briefly discuss a more substantial
approach to synchronicities and to mistakes.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">i.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Synchronicity</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The “A Course in Miracles” teacher Robert Perry (2009) has
done a remarkable job of creating an extremely helpful, thought-provoking model
of how to scrupulously analyze your own synchronicities and more fully extract
the guidance in them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This guidance can
easily remain latent or camouflaged unless you have the mind-set and take the
trouble to look at the synchronicities more closely.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In his book, “Signs:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A new approach to coincidence, synchronicity, guidance, life purpose,
and God’s plan, “ Perry focuses on super-synchronicities, which he calls
Conjunctions of Meaningfully Parallel Events (CMPEs).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His criteria for these super-synchronicities is that the two
events occur very close in time (within 12 hours, preferably less), and occur
independently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When you look at them
more closely, you must be able to identify many parallel features in the two
incidents (preferably about eight).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Some of these parallels will be likely, some unlikely, and some more
general. When, you string together the list of parallels, it will form a
narrative (Perry, 2009, pp. 8-10, http://www.semeionpress.com/signs/model.php).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The first incident is called the Subject Situation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It will be something in your life that is
“current, uncertain, unresolved, or at least needing confirmation” (Perry,
2009, p.58).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The second incident is
called the Symbolic Situation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although
it will have a lot of parallels to the first situation, it will also contain
new information that illuminates the first situation.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is often a lot of information in the synchronicity,
not just one idea, although there is always a main idea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two independent raters, trained in this
model, should be able to come up with the same main message from the
synchronicity, and many of the subsidiary messages as well.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perry has observed that these super-synchonicities often
occur in a series over time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In other words
a new pair of synchronous incidents might occur a year later (sometimes on the
very same date) that supports and elaborates on the first pair of
incidents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, although each
super-synchronicity is about a specific, current situation in your life, they
usually contain more general comments about your life as a whole (Perry, 2009,
p. 102).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perry et al. (2011) recently published a pilot study of his
model in <i>Psychiatric Annals</i>, which reported very encouraging, measurable
results.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Having strict criteria helps enormously to avoid the
potential errors of inflating very small synchronicities or of misinterpreting
synchronicities in the direction of our hopes or fears.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Following Perry’s rules is great training.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, you can branch out and more loosely and
tentatively apply this way of thinking to lesser synchronicities, and to other
psi events in your life.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">ii.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Glitches</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As you go about your day, errors, mistakes, and glitches can
be another way that unconscious psi comes into view.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In keeping with our theme of borrowing from and expanding on
psychoanalytic ideas, analyzing errors to make psi more conscious can be seen
as an extension of the psychoanalytic use of slips of the tongue or parapraxes
as a way to reveal the personal unconscious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Also, you might think of mistakes as a kind of negative synchronicity.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The phenomenally innovative and accomplished electronic
music composer Kim Cascone (2000) has written about the glitch genre of
electronic music, which emerged in the 1990s and continues to evolve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Over time, composers shifted from ruing the
glitches or errors produced by electronic and digital equipment to becoming
interested in them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Composers began to
utilize the spontaneously occurring sounds of technical error.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eventually, they started to create glitches
on purpose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can see how this would
lead one to re-think what constitutes “failure and detritus” (Cascone, 2000,
http://subsol.c3.hu/subsol_2/contributors3/casconetext.html).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
More recently, Cascone (2011) has written a wonderful essay
called “Errormancy: Glitch as divination” for an exhibition entitled T0P0L0G1ES
by the Art of Failure collective.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
explains that, in addition to using glitches as a valuable part of your
artistic lexicon, you can also use them for divination.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Digital glitches are not only a modern
version of the age-old tradition of aleatoricism, or the use of chance, in
creative endeavors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are also
non-random, meaningful breakthroughs of information from another part of reality.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just like earlier divination tools, electronic and digital
equipment can act “like a receiver,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
carrying bits of wisdom from an a-temporal, non-spatial,
non-manifest reality.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The glitch
“parasitically uses a system as a conduit for the delivery of unexpected
wisdom…”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The equipment does not produce
these messages on its own; it is a medium through which information
arrives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The glitch “can form a brief
rupture in the space-time</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
continuum, shuffling the psychic space of the observer,
allowing the artist to establish</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
a direct link with the supernal realm” (Cascone, 2011).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Furthermore, like Perry, Cascone has observed that you can
get a more elaborated message by following a series of glitches over time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Glitches can serve as accidental data points…encrypted
hieroglyphics. Each successive glitch helps to further define the previous one
by steadily sharpening a blurred focus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A cluster of glitches can form an outline, define an area, trace a route
through uncharted space. This space is an n-dimensional ‘potential space’ and
glitches can be used to navigate this space, seeking unexpected patterns,
chance juxtapositions, and unveiling subliminal content” (Cascone, 2011).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He makes the excellent point that the digital artist can
easily be swamped by file upon file raw material and revisions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is true for the rest of us as
well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Navigating this space with
glitches can help one discover an essence, a grain hidden in the data – much
like a divining rod is used to seek out pockets of water underground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Working with glitches can forge a path
through this terrain, outline an approach, formulate an oblique strategy”
(Cascone, 2011).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cascone has made a poetic appeal for the use of errormancy
in digital music, but the principle is the same for daily life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Glitches, errors, mistakes, parapraxes of
all kinds can be used as another way to make psi more conscious.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">iii.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Daily life as divination</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This discussion of synchronicities and glitches demonstrates
how to begin to access unconscious psi, but these guidelines can be abstracted
and applied to other elements of one’s daily life – including both events that
seem anomalous, and those that simply call your attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They can also be used to look for overall
patterns in a day or an epoch.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Anomalous events include, but are not limited to, precognitive
elements in dreams, occasional spontaneous hypnagogic visions (closed eye
visuals), lucid dreams, including visitations from deceased loved ones, or
minor synchronicities, such as seeing the same uncommon word in three different
places in an hour.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Events that simply
call your attention could be anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Examples might be a song coming into your head, an image in a magazine
fascinating you, or any dream content.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The day, itself, can be treated as unit of meaning that has
camouflaged psi within it, as can an epoch of your life, such as the recovery
period from neurological damage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
way of thinking is analogous to the psychoanalytic approach of treating one
whole therapy session as a single communication, sort of as if it were one
dream..</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In his chapter on people who have psi more integrated into
their lives, Carpenter also mentions the idea of applying a divinatory approach
more broadly –</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“One particular technique apparently used by several
relatively psychic persons I have known might be called ‘serial divination’, by
which I mean a process of imagining associations to some inadvertency (say a
bit of dream content), and following that by treating those associations as
material to question by further imagining associations to those, and so on, all
the while avoiding jumping to some conclusion that seems too ‘logical’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, finally, one reaches a sense of
unanticipated rightness” (Carpenter, 2012, p. 320).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The main idea of daily life as divination is that there is
more to be gleaned from looking in a systematic way at the small instances of
psi that are breaking through in a chaotic psi opening, and that practicing
this systematic attention will make psi progressively more conscious, and that
this will lead to symptom reduction and a blossoming of one’s overall
development.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is a very analytic approach, and it will be absolute
anathema to some people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are many
other ways to make psi more conscious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This avenue is proposed because it potentially more manageable to people
in the deep distress of recent neurological damage, specifically dysautonomia,
who cannot tolerate many of the more interpersonal or intensive approaches to
psi development.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This method is closely
tied to what is actually happening in the individual’s day, and can be explored
alone, and as slowly as needed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is
also clearly meant for people for whom psi is coming to consciousness in a
camouflaged way, as opposed to those more rare individuals who suddenly find
themselves with a great deal of unambiguous psi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have different challenges.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Carpenter’s proposal of the ubiquity of unconscious psi is a
crucial contribution to improving our understanding of what is happening in a
neurological damage-induced psi opening, and to our brainstorming what to do to
help it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s like being born with two perfectly good arms, but you
grow up in a culture that says you have no left arm, and if you ever use your
left arm as a kid, your family frowns, so you stop using your left arm, and you
go through the bulk of your life using only your right arm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You forget you even have a left arm; it
atrophies, and you’re even in denial about it being there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then one day you get hit by a bolt from the blue in the form
of some extreme experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your life
is turned upside down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’re sick as a
dog.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The nerves in your let arm start
twitching.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Circulation there
increases.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It may hurt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You sort of remember you have a left
arm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You start flexing it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s discoordinated from lack of use.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Slowly, you integrate your left arm into your life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now you’re whole….and now you can do
handstands, which you could never do before.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">Sources:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Boag, S. (2010).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Repression, suppression, and conscious awareness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Psychoanalytic Psychology, 27, 164-181.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>http://mq.academia.edu/SimonBoag/Papers/1587533/Repression_suppression_and_conscious_awareness</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bruno, L.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2008).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I only had a brain
injury.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Xlibris Corporation.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Carpenter, J.C.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2012).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First sight:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>ESP and parapsychology in everyday
life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lanham, Maryland:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cascone, K.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2000).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The aesthetics of
failure:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Post-digital” tendencies in
contemporary computer music.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Computer
Music Journal, 24, 12-18.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>http://subsol.c3.hu/subsol_2/contributors3/casconetext.html</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cascone, K.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2011).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Errormancy: Glitch as
divination.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From an exhibition entitled
T0P0L0G1ES by the Art of Failure collective, July 2011.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://theendofbeing.com/2012/04/19/errormancy-glitch-as-divination-a-new-essay-by-kim-cascone/">http://theendofbeing.com/2012/04/19/errormancy-glitch-as-divination-a-new-essay-by-kim-cascone/</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gad, I.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(2000).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jung’s model of the psyche.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>http://www.jung.org/jungs%20model%20of%20the%20psyche_gad.html</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Garrett, E.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(1968).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many voices:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The autobiography of a medium.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>New York:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>G.P. Putnam’s Sons.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kalweit, H.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(1988).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dreamtime and inner
space:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The world of the shaman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Boston:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Shambhala.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kalweit, H.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(1992).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Shamans, healers, and
medicine men.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Boston:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Shambhala.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kamm, L.A.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2006).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Intuitive wellness:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Using your body’s inner wisdom to heal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>New York:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Atria Books.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mayer, E.L.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2007).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Extraordinary
knowing:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Science, skepticism, and the
inexplicable powers of the human mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>New York:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bantam Books.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Morin, A. (2006). Levels of consciousness and
self-awareness: A comparison and integration of various neurocognitive views.
Consciousness and Cognition, 15, 358-371.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>http://www.societyofrobots.com/robottheory/self-awareness_review.pdf</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perry, R.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2009).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Signs:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A new approach to coincidence,
synchronicity, guidance, life purpose, and God’s plan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sedona, Arizona:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Semeion Press.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.semeionpress.com/signs/index.php">http://www.semeionpress.com/signs/index.php</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perry, R., Landon, M.K., Greyson, B., Whitfield, C.,
Whitfield, B.H., Perry, N.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(2011).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An initial study of extreme, measurable
forms of synchronicity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Psychiatric
Annals, 41, 577-583.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>http://www.healio.com/psychiatry/journals/PsycAnn/%7B9A16E2E0-8731-4D30-97A1-A473CBBCE7EF%7D/An-Initial-Study-of-Extreme-Measurable-Forms-of-Synchronicity</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rochat, P.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2003).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Five levels of
self-awareness as they unfold early in life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Consciousness and Cognition, 12, 717-31.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.psychology.emory.edu/cognition/rochat/Rochat5levels.pdf">http://www.psychology.emory.edu/cognition/rochat/Rochat5levels.pdf</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Si Ahmed, D. (2012). Psychotherapeutic
approaches to Major Paranormal Experiences (MPE). In Kramer, W.H., Bauer,
E., & Hövelmann, G. (Eds.) Perspectives of clinical
parapsychology: An introductory reader, Bunnik, The Netherlands:
Stichting Het Johan Borgman Fonds.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
von Franz, M.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(1980).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On divination and
synchronicity:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The psychology of
meaningful chance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Toronto:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Inner City Books.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Winnicott, D.W.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(nd
/ 1989).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Knowing and not knowing:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A clinical example.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In Winnicott, C., Sheperd, R., & Davis,
M.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Eds.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Psychoanalytic explorations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Cambridge, MA:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Harvard
University Press.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wise, A.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(2004).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The high-performance
mind:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mastering brainwaves for insight,
healing, and creativity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>New York:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jeremy P. Tarcher / Penguin.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camouflage">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camouflage</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self_in_Jungian_psychology">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self_in_Jungian_psychology</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.answers.com/topic/return-of-the-repressed">http://www.answers.com/topic/return-of-the-repressed</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Sheila Joshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789487768317341942noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6006622137752807559.post-88799291249533128042012-06-25T11:40:00.000-07:002012-06-25T11:51:14.038-07:00Interview with Rosalyn Bruyere: Neurological problems and energy healing<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
The autobiographies of healers and time spent in a
neurological damage / recovery community have given me the impression that it
is harder to do effective energy healing on neurological problems than on any
other kind of ailment. I recently asked
the well-established healer Rosalyn Bruyere for her thoughts on this.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For the purposes of this essay, the term “energy healing”
will be used broadly to include an array of healing methods that may use
electromagnetic energy, other energy, consciousness, information, or some other
mechanism as yet unidentified.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rev. Rosalyn Bruyere is the author of “Wheels of light: Chakras, auras, and the healing energy of the
body.” This is the most systematic and
precise explanation of chakras and auras I have ever read. She is an electrical engineer, healer,
clairvoyant, and ordained minister, who was trained by healers from a variety
of traditions and cultures. She has
been an active healer and teacher for several decades.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In an August 2011 interview with blogger and energy healer
Adele Wang, Rev. Bruyere said that many healers have difficulty with
neurological problems, and that she, herself, had been on a trajectory toward
ever greater skill with neurological issues:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I think it’s really important for healers to think in terms
of what you like doing, and what you are compelled to do. So, I happen to like
cancer patients – I always have. I’ve always had some trouble with some
neurological diseases. But, I was also trained by 80 year old people in my
youth, who always said that healing didn’t do much for neurological disease.
Over the years, I’ve worked more and more with neurological disease and brain
disorders, and I now understand why healers didn’t traditionally do well with
them. It’s because their own nervous system energy is allowed to dissipate
because they don’t maintain their own coordination. And I’ve learned through a
lot of physical training myself, how to maintain my high energy level, that I’m
better able to treat some neurological diseases than other healers. Because I
trained for it.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Last week, Rev. Bruyere graciously agreed to a phone
interview with me to further explore the challenges of energy healing for
neurological problems. Her responses
have been paraphrased, with her permission.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">* * * * *</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">What has made it possible for
you to have increasing success with healing neurological problems?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
First of all, Bruyere has always had an easy time working with
the neuropathy caused by chemo drugs.
The difference between this neurological damage and other neurological
problems is that with chemo-induced neuropathy “there is no obstruction, just
dirt.” In other words, it is a less
entrenched energy pattern. Also, there
has not been time for bad adaptations to accumulate.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bruyere said that she has discovered the value of
continuously improving her own nervous system.
She lifts weights – but, particularly in a way that challenges the
nervous system, rather than purely for building strength. In other words, she emphasizes improving
coordination, balance, and cross-hemisphere collaboration. She is also taking up tap dancing for the
same reasons.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She also attributes her increasing skill to some spiritual
developments that were private. I
mention this for reasons of scientific method – in studying this puzzle, it is
important to remember that this may be a variable in a healer’s development.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Furthermore, she had a big insight at one point that made a
difference in her work. She realized we
had been using the wrong metaphor in thinking of the nervous system as
electrical wiring. When electricity
propagates along a copper wire, it travels through the wire, or inside it. Free electrons move from one copper atom to
the next. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But, with the nervous system, she says the signal travels on
the outside of the nerve. This is the
“Action Potential.”
Electrically-charged sodium and potassium ions trade places across the
neuron membrane, and propagate an electrical impulse along the membrane. She said “it’s like a wire, but inside
out. The signal travels outside the
nerve, not inside.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
According to Bruyere, this means the energy of a
neurological problem is “coming at you” and you have to “get behind it.” With most ailments, a healer needs to “push”
energy into the body. But, with the
energy of a neuro ailment, the healer needs to get behind the source of the
energy and “come back at yourself.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Another exception to the general rule of pushing energy into
an ailing body is the case of pain and inflammation. There, you want to “pull” energy out in order to relieve the
symptoms. Still, this pulling is
different from getting behind an energy and regulating it as you move with it
back toward yourself.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">Dysautonomia (dysregulation
of the autonomic nervous system):</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For example, with a systemic neurological problem like
dysautonomia from discontinuing SSRIs – where there are no lesions or gross
tissue damage – she would go to the brain and re-regulate it. She would do this by creating a kind of
“tidal flow,” similar to what is done with craniosacral therapy, creating a
constant, breathing, in-and-out kind of rhythm. She blends her rhythm with that of the client, but hers is the
“alpha aura” or guiding frequency.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In my case (dysautonomia from SSRIs), what she would do is go
to the top of the brain stem, see what the frequency is there, and try to
re-regulate it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She is familiar with dysautonomia. She has had it more than once.
Once it was secondary to a concussion, and it lasted for months. And, another time it was when she had been
putting out and taking in too much energy, doing healings. She had healer burnout. She needed help from other professionals to
re-regulate herself.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">What, if anything, is
different in your internal experience when working with neurological injury /
disorder vs. non-neurological ailments?</span></b><span style="color: #333399;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bruyere said that there is a tactile difference. She experiences neuro healing as more
electrical within her. There is more
buzzing, more charge. Her hands vibrate
more. She also experiences heightened
senses – sight, taste, etc. In other
words, *her* nervous system is more stimulated.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">What makes neurological
problems less responsive to energy healing than other ailments?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bruyere said that the nervous system is very paradoxical,
more so than any other system in the body.
“It holds parts together that could in no way communicate without it.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">What does she recommend to
healers for working with neuro problems?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Healing neuro problems requires more refined, subtle
understanding of the energies you are reading from the client. It requires the ability to do more than one
thing as a healer. It requires more enlightenment, more work on yourself, more
self-development.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She said that, in order to work with neuro problems, healers
need to become more refined themselves, use less energy, become sensitive to
the original energy rhythms of the client and strengthen them. More precision is required. Whereas a broader range of frequencies will
be at least somewhat healing for other ailments, healers have to hit the right
frequency more precisely and not waver from it when they are dealing with neuro
ailments.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">There are many different
causes and forms of neurological disorder, but is there a chakra or energy
dynamic they tend to have in common?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Whereas with non-neuro ailments, you might focus on just
some of the chakras, neurological problems require you to focus on all the
chakras. You’re working on the brain
and the entire length of the spine.
“This is the ultimate place where you have to say OK, the whole
enchilada. You *really* have to be
holistic.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">To generalize, is there a
frequency range that tends to work better for neurological problems (analogous
to how she writes that raising the frequency in the area of the body that has
the cancer slows cancer cell division)?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The ancient Asians and Egyptians agreed that what the
nervous system needs to heal is the frequency of golden light. Also, it needs energy that spins, which is
“the way energy travels.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">You write in your book that
rheumatoid arthritis requires healing in phases. The first phase should use blue and green frequencies to counter
inflammation, and the second phase should use red frequencies to regenerate
tissue. Do you see neurological
problems as requiring a similar phased approach?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
No.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">You have said that genetic
diseases also don’t respond well to energy healing (p. 203). What, if anything, do genetic diseases and
neuro disorders have in common?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nothing. They are
different things.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">Are neurological problems
less amenable to distant healing than other ailments?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She prefers to work in person, but does do distant healing
as well, and thinks neurological problems can be addressed by distant healing
just as well as they can in person.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">What can people with
neurological problems do to help themselves?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Most people are not taking good physical care of their
nervous system. She recommends getting
plenty of protein in a form that’s digestible for you. In other words, amino acids. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She also recommends challenging your coordination through
sport or dance; focusing on bilateral symmetry; and making your muscles
stronger in general, because they report to the nervous system more if they are
stronger. She recommends developing
your speed.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In general, she suggests doing things differently from how
you usually do them. This creates new
neural paths.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">Observations about working
with Kundalini risings.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A Kundalini rising is about the unification of the upper
three chakras with the lower three. If
it’s a dramatic enough rising, people will start reacting very differently to
you. You’ll be emitting more energy
than ever, and people will be drawn to you.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You can’t make any generalizations about working with people
with difficulties with Kundalini rising.
They are all different. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Often people get stuck at the third chakra due to
intellectualization.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">* * * * *</span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">Some thoughts after the interview</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">Doing things differently to
stimulate neuroplasticity</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bruyere’s recommendations jibed with what a
neuropsychologist said to me several years ago – people seem to recover faster
from neuro damage if they study / practice things that are different from what
they usually do. He mentioned a man who
had taken up knitting, the Thai language, and the bagpipe.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">Gold</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The ancient insight that Bruyere mentioned about the value
of the gold light frequency for neuro healing is thought-provoking.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gold is the third best metal electrical conductor after
silver and copper. It has the advantage
of being the least prone to corrosion.
This makes it more consistent and predictable over time, and minimizes
signal change. Gold is preferred for the
transmission of low current signals. It
conducts heat well and is very malleable.
Because it’s a good conductor, you can use a very thin amount of it,
which is helpful in small spaces. For
all these reasons, it is used in the electronics and aeronautics
industries. (kleinplating.com, avrev.com,
thenakedscientists.com/forum)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A thin layer of gold is used in astronauts’ space suits to
protect them from radiation and to reflect the heat of the sun. It’s used in aeronautic circuitry for the
above reasons, and to reflect radiation which increases as the atmosphere gets
thinner and then disappears away from the Earth (mgsrefining.com).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The gleam of gold is produced by the jump of an electron
from one orbital to another, and by the contraction of some orbitals towards
others, which causes the absorption of blue light. That leaves the remaining frequencies, which combine to look
golden (fourmilab.ch, scienceforums.com).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The reason for the contraction of some orbitals is that gold
is a heavy element ( a lot of protons in the nucleus), which causes great
velocity of the electrons, which means the effective mass of the electron
significantly exceeds its rest mass.
The speed of the electrons is so great – 58% of the speed of light --
that “relativistic effects” (special relativity) are operating that do not
operate in the lighter elements (wikipedia.org/wiki/Relativistic_quantum_chemistry,
chem1.com).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s provocative to find out that gold, itself, is so
effective for transmitting signals (especially low current ones in small
spaces), when the nervous system is fundamentally about transmitting signals,
and when Bruyere says there is more than one ancient tradition that recommends
the golden light frequency for neurological healing. Likewise, it’s provocative to find out that gold color / light/
frequency has something to do with an unusual property of a precious element,
when the nervous system is, according to Bruyere, unusual in its properties.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">Spin</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
According to the radical physics scholar Nassim Haramein,
the universe is driven, at all levels, by spin / angular momentum / torque /
rotation / twisting. He says this
movement is fundamental to the structure and nature of spacetime (“The power of
spin” video). The exact nature of the
movement varies somewhat, but electrons through planets through galaxies all
have some variant of angular momentum.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the interview, Bruyere said that spin on the healing
energy was mentioned as important for neuro problems in some of the ancient
traditions she has studied. In her
book, Bruyere doesn’t mention the importance of spin for any type of ailment
per se. However, she does talk about
spin a lot in terms of how the chakras work.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Each chakra spins and produces its own electromagnetic
field. The fields of the different
chakras combine to generate the aura or overall electromagnetic field of the
individual (Bruyere, p. 61). The color of
each chakra is determined by the frequency of the energy created by the
spinning (p. 63).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
According to Bruyere, the healthy chakra spins clockwise
(when you’re facing the person) north of the equator. The healthy chakra spins counterclockwise south of the equator
(p. 73). She says both men and women
have a 28-day regenerative cycle, during one phase of which, every other chakra
is supposed to spin backwards, and that’s healthy (pp. 75 – 76). </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In her book, there is a drawing of the various dysfunctional
shapes and directions chakras can take (p. 74). It seems oddly reminiscent of the different functional shapes
that atomic orbitals can take (Wiki).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To speculate, there may be a way for healers to use
spin. It might improve efficacy with
all types of ailments, but be crucial for having an impact on neurological
ailments.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">Precision</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This brings us to one of the overall impressions that
emerged from the interview, which is that greater precision is required for
healing neurological problems.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If we take James Carpenter’s First Sight model as a starting
point, and add in what Bruyere is saying, we might hypothesize that daily,
regular functioning is dependent on basic psi; energy healing requires advanced
psi; and neurological energy healing requires even more advanced psi.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
According to Bruyere, the healer must also have more precise
coordination and focus in her / his own nervous system, and maintain this while
doing neuro healing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">Neurological injury /
disorder and psi</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The main thesis of this blog is that some of the symptoms of
neurological damage and recovery are actually misinterpretations of an abrupt
psychic opening that was triggered by the neurological damage.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This kind of psychic opening is very discontinuous with the
person’s previous way of being, and there is little or no preparation for
it. So, the individual is
psychologically and neurologically not equipped to interpret accurately what is
happening, and falls back on early training and primitive, emergency responding
to make sense of the new access to more information.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the interview, Bruyere commented that, in my case of
SSRI-withdrawal-induced dysautonomia, she would go to the top of the brain stem
and try to regulate the frequency there.
Clearly, this makes sense in that the brain stem is heavily involved in
autonomic regulation. But, it’s
additionally interesting in that this is also the location of the pineal
gland. It may be that the pineal gland
is strongly implicated in both neurological dysregulation and psychic opening.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In her book, Bruyere points out that when higher frequencies
of energy move through us, we become less engaged in the physical, material
self, and more involved with subtler aspects of self. Also, it is through the higher frequencies that we operate in the
esoteric world (p. 65). You can see how
an abrupt shift to higher frequencies than those to which you are accustomed
might increase psi, but might also make you feel less physical, less grounded,
more airy, more vibratory – and you can see how this would be
anxiety-provoking.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m inclined to see all physical and mental illness as an
attempt to correct being off track. In
this sense, they are all Kundalini risings or shamanic initiatory
illnesses. But, maybe neurological
problems represent a specific sub-type of Kundalini rising / shamanic
initiatory illness.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m also inclined to see psychic development as a universal
potential available to everybody, but, anecdotally, one does hear more often of
a link between neuro damage and psi opening, as opposed to say, cancer and psi
opening. Also, there are clearer
parallels between Kundalini / shamanic illness and neurological disorder than
there are between K. / shamanic and non-neuro ailments. Kundalini and neuro are both very
electrical, and involve the spine. K.
often has neuropathy and sensory disturbances.
Shamanic illnesses are infamous for having disordered cognition and
emotion.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Why on Earth would energy healing work less well on an
ailment which might be particularly connected to psi???<br />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">Who are you?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">--- There is more than one
self or self-part</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perhaps part of the answer lies in the fact that
neurological problems may be more inextricably linked with self than other
ailments are. People tend to experience
cancer as an alien invader. Even with
auto-immune disorders, I have not heard the people in those communities focus
so much on the illness as, say, an attack by the self on itself. But, being on the inside of a neurological
injury or disorder is supremely confusing.
In this ailment community, we spend countless hours debating among
ourselves what’s “us” and what’s “not us.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Neurological injuries and illnesses tend to take your
pre-existing psychological dynamics and then exaggerate them. They also seem to temporarily undo years of
psychotherapy or other psychological healing and maturation work, and return
you to your early psychology. Yet,
there are also emotions that are common in all neurological ailments – such as
rage and anxiety -- and these are truly not stemming only from your psychological
history.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In short, in a neurological ailment, you can have thoughts,
perceptions, or feelings that might be 10% psychological and 90% neurological;
90% psychological and 10% neurological; and everything in between. And you never quite know which it is at any
given moment!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the interview, Bruyere said that the nervous system is
very paradoxical, more so than any other system in the body. “It holds parts together that could in no
way communicate without it.” This is an
intriguing statement and it may apply to the physical level – say, helping
different organs coordinate – and to the psychological level – the case of
multiple personality may be the most extreme end of a spectrum which we all
are on – and to the spiritual level – there may be many parts of the self –
reincarnations, the personal conscious, the personal unconscious, the
collective unconscious, the infinite self, etc.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is very common both in neurological disorders and in
Kundalini to feel that there are two selves – the more familiar self; and a
newer, wilder, apparently dysfunctional, and certainly suffering self.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">--- Need for stability</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Even granted that consciousness exists throughout the body,
in a field around the body, and non-locally, the neurological system is still the
central seat of the self while we’re here on Earth. So, the nervous system has good reason to resist change; its
stability is important for a stable sense of self. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">--- Complexity</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Neurological injuries and illnesses can be among the slowest
to heal in the modern, Western medical paradigm as well. One of the reasons is that the nervous
system is vastly more complex than any other part of the body. There are more “moving parts” to fix.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The brain has about 100 billion neurons. A typical neuron has 1,000 to 10,000
synaptic connections to other neurons.
That’s an average of 100 trillion synapses (10 ^ 14) (Wiki). By comparison, we each have more synapses
than there are stars in our galaxy, or galaxies in the observable universe
(decodethemind.wordpress.com).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Repairing a broken bone is much simpler.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">Dysautonomia and energy
healing</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here is another possible answer to why energy healing (psi)
may be less effective on neurological problems even though psi and neuro seem
to be particularly connected. Maybe
it’s *because* they’re so connected.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bruyere said two things that may provide some clues to the
relationship between energy healing and neurological problems. She said that doing too much healing in
general caused her to have dysautonomia.
And, she said that when she’s doing neurological healing in particular
it stimulates her own nervous system in a way that working on non-neuro
ailments does not (electrical charge, hands vibrating, hyperesthesia).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are many different forms of neurological problem. Not all involve dysautonomia by any means,
but dysautonomia is a far more common component of many neurological conditions
than has been realized. It is
dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system and can express itself in
many different ways – heartbeat and blood pressure irregularities, vertigo,
anxiety, derealization, visual disturbances, hyperesthesia, neuropathy,
seizure, migraine, and more. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Usually, we think of dysautonomia as being caused by some
sort of neurological incident – toxic exposure, virus, blunt force, tumor,
etc. But, Bruyere, herself, gives us an
example of someone who developed the syndrome from “overuse” of psi. If someone with established psi ability can
somehow overuse their psi and develop dysautonomia, then maybe a psi neophyte’s
abrupt psychic opening could cause them to develop dysautonomia.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perhaps there is a bi-directional relationship between the
nervous system and psi – too much psi causes neurological problems, and
neurological problems open a person to too much psi.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">Some disassembly required</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This leads us back to Bruyere’s observation that, with
neurological problems in general, it is important for the healer not to just
add energy – even well-intentioned – into the system, but rather to be
respectful of the energy pattern that is going on and try to smooth it out.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Let us, for the sake of argument, accept the following
propositions: 1) that all physical and
mental illness is an attempt to correct being off track, 2) that neurological
problems are more inextricably linked with self than other ailments are, and 3)
that psi undergirds who we really are, with more advanced psi being even more
who we really are.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If these premises are true, then what we may be looking at
in the case of the resistance of neurological problems to energy (psi) healing
is 1) an attempt – driven by the personal unconscious and / or the Tao and /
other forces – to become *much* more truly one’s self. But, 2) the existing self is afraid of being
remodeled. And, 3) healing is experienced
as interfering with the nascent self.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is a titanic struggle for an adult to go through a
profound reconfiguring of the self.
There will be resistance, terror, and rage. The existing self-structure has to be dismantled. Both because of the dismantlement itself,
and because of the inevitable resistance to it, there will be chaos. Initially, the newly emerging self will seem
wild and dysfunctional, and probably is in some ways, but maybe not as much as it
appears. A psi opening will be part of
becoming more of who one is supposed to be, but it will initially be very
threatening.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The juxtaposition between a highly stable, complex
psychophysiological edifice and a cosmic shove to change in a big way =
"Fasten your seat belts. It's going to be a bumpy [dark] night [of the
soul]."</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In a book on the Brahmanic roots of Buddhist meditation, the
Buddhism scholar Alexander Wynne wrote something that might jibe with this
thesis. He said that ancient Indian
meditation theory included a complex developmental model that instructed
practitioners to slowly dismantle their identifications with aspects of
physical and mental self, and approach stepwise the original state of the
cosmos. They reversed cosmogony.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Wynne wrote: “Thus
it seems that the most basic presupposition of the early Brahmanic passages on
meditation is that the creation of the world must be reversed, through a series
of meditative states, by the yogin who seeks the realization of the self”
(Wynne, p. 36).</div>
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Now, in the case of neurological problems, the individual is
not consciously, voluntarily, or slowly working toward transformation. Instead, accident or injury seems to
initiate a rather heartless, it’s-for-your-own-good transformation. So, understandably, an individual is going
to be more afraid and resistant.</div>
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On top of that, such an individual may also intuitively
resist healing if it is or might be an imposition -- even well-intentioned --
of the healer’s self on the ailing person’s nascent, wild, emerging, confused
self. The nascent self may be currently
chaotic and not usable, but there is something important there to be
protected. This may be part of what
makes neurological problems a greater challenge for energy healers. It’s analogous to the way that many
psychotherapists can help many people, but fewer psychotherapists are able to
help the more chaotic, deeply shaken people – including people in spiritual
emergency -- who require greater precision.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #333399;">A Summoning</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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We may be seeing more and more neurological damage, and
we're going to have to stretch to develop healing methods for it. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Traumatic brain injury is the signature injury of the Iraq
and Afghanistan wars, and people are surviving it more; powerful, new drugs in
many categories have neuro-toxic side effects; the increasing toxic load of the
planet is contributing to developmental disorders in children and Parkinson’s
in younger and younger people; the population is aging; etc. An epidemic may be emerging.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Furthermore, Gaia or the Tao or the collective unconscious
may be enlisting these neurological injuries in the service of more rapid
evolution to solve our pressing planetary crisis.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Hopefully, energy healers, alternative health practitioners,
and parapsychologists will take up the challenge of better understanding and
healing neurological disorder and injury. </div>
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<br /></div>
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It may be possible to use insights from neurological
recovery to help people open up psychically, and it may be possible to use
insights from psi development to help people heal neurologically.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333399;">Sources:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bruyere, R. (1994). Wheels of light: Chakras, auras, and the healing energy of the body. New York:
Simon & Schuster.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.rosalynlbruyere.org/">http://www.rosalynlbruyere.org/</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Davidson, S. Interview with Rosalyn Bruyere. <a href="http://www.saradavidson.com/articleA7.html">http://www.saradavidson.com/articleA7.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Haramein, N.
(2011). The power of spin. The Resonance Project.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tu62gxrZm0g&feature=channel&list=UL">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tu62gxrZm0g&feature=channel&list=UL</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wang, A.
(2011). Interview with Rosalyn
Bruyere. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://blog.safehavenhealing.net/2011/08/adele-inteviews-rosalyn-bruyere-part-1.html">http://blog.safehavenhealing.net/2011/08/adele-inteviews-rosalyn-bruyere-part-1.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wynne, A.
(2007). The origin of Buddhist
meditation. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_current">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_current</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solenoid">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solenoid</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.kleinplating.com/gold.html">http://www.kleinplating.com/gold.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.avrev.com/forum/cables/1849-gold-connectors-bad-idea-make-connections-worse.html">http://www.avrev.com/forum/cables/1849-gold-connectors-bad-idea-make-connections-worse.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/index.php?topic=3160.0">http://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/index.php?topic=3160.0</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.mgsrefining.com/blog/post/2011/01/25/Industrial-Gold-Aerospace.aspx">http://www.mgsrefining.com/blog/post/2011/01/25/Industrial-Gold-Aerospace.aspx</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.fourmilab.ch/documents/golden_glow/">http://www.fourmilab.ch/documents/golden_glow/</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://scienceforums.com/topic/16606-the-color-of-gold-and-relativity/">http://scienceforums.com/topic/16606-the-color-of-gold-and-relativity/</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_orbital">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_orbital</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relativistic_quantum_chemistry#Color_of_gold_and_cesium">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relativistic_quantum_chemistry#Color_of_gold_and_cesium</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.chem1.com/acad/webtut/atomic/qprimer/#Q26">http://www.chem1.com/acad/webtut/atomic/qprimer/#Q26</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuron">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuron</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/facts.html">http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/facts.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://decodethemind.wordpress.com/2010/09/10/more-brain-connections-than-stars-in-the-universe-no-not-even-close/">http://decodethemind.wordpress.com/2010/09/10/more-brain-connections-than-stars-in-the-universe-no-not-even-close/</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>Sheila Joshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789487768317341942noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6006622137752807559.post-27742578259221675622012-05-28T10:27:00.000-07:002012-05-28T10:27:03.371-07:00Maltese archeological site seems designed to shift brainwaves<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Archeologists are beginning to think that certain ancient
sites were designed to conduct and manipulate sound in order to shift people’s
brainwaves and, thus, their consciousness (popular-archeology.com; thanks to
Institute of Noetic Sciences newsletter for the find).</div>
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One fascinating example is the 6,000-year-old Hal Saflieni
Hypogeum, the only prehistoric underground temple in the world, which is found
on Malta.<span> </span>This World Heritage site was
discovered “by accident” in 1902.<span> </span>Only
80 people a day are allowed entry.<span> </span>It
consists of three subterranean levels.<span>
</span>Some rooms are naturally-occurring caves that have been extended.<span> </span>Some of the chambers have curved walls.</div>
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<a href="http://gozonews.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/hypogeuma.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://gozonews.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/hypogeuma.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The temple was “created through the removal of an estimated
2,000 tons of stone carved out with stone hammers and antler picks. Low voices
within its walls create eerie, reverberating echoes, and a sound made or words
spoken in certain places can be clearly heard throughout all of its three
levels”<span> </span>(popular-archeology.com).</div>
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Malta temple expert Linda Eneix of the Old Temples Study Foundation
reported that EEGs were done on volunteers listening to different sound
frequencies while in the Hypogeum.<span>
</span>"The findings indicated that at 110 Hz the patterns of activity
over the prefrontal cortex abruptly shifted, resulting in a relative deactivation
of the language center and a temporary shifting from left to right-sided
dominance related to emotional processing and creativity. This shifting did not
occur at 90 Hz or 130 Hz......In addition to stimulating their more creative
sides, it appears that an atmosphere of resonant sound in the frequency of 110
or 111 Hz would have been “switching on” an area of the brain that
bio-behavioral scientists believe relates to mood, empathy and social behavior”
(popular-archeology.com).</div>
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<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Photo_Ellis_Hal_Salflieni.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Photo_Ellis_Hal_Salflieni.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Similar observations have been made at archeological sites
in Ireland, Turkey, and Peru.</div>
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Sound scientist Prof. Daniel Talma of the University of
Malta explains: “At certain frequencies you have standing waves that emphasize
each and other waves that de-emphasize each other. The idea that it was used
thousands of years ago to create a certain trance – that’s what fascinates me”
(thearrowsoftruth.com).</div>
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The Mediterranean Institute of Ancient Civilizations is
conducting further research in archeoacoustics at the site (<a href="http://www.ancientmed.org/projects.htm">http://www.ancientmed.org/projects.htm</a>).</div>
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In 1996, Prof. Robert Jahn of the Princeton Engineering
Anomalies Research Lab and colleagues studied six ancient UK sites, and found
that “each sustained a strong resonance at a frequency between 95 and 120 Hz,
despite major differences in chamber shapes and sizes….Since the resonance
frequencies are well within the adult male voice range, one may speculate that
some forms of human chanting, enhanced by the cavity resonance, were invoked
for ritual purposes” (Jahn et al., 1996).</div>
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I found the curved walls in the Hal Saflieni photos a little
unsettling, but I am currently hypersensitive from neuro damage.<span> </span>But, get a flashlight and look at your
tonsils and the back of your throat.<span> </span>It
bears an uncanny resemblance to this architecture, which may have been
intuitively or analytically shaped to maximize the shaping and projection of
sound.</div>
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During the research for this essay, Google had a Doodle in
honor of the Moog synthesizer, and mentioned subtractive synthesis.<span> </span>The idea of subtractive synthesis is that a
sound that is rich in harmonics can be shaped into a more specific sound by
changing the shape of the “filter” (eg the human mouth and throat, or a
proscenium), which subtracts some of the harmonics (Wiki).</div>
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The evidence that prehistoric temple builders were
intentionally trying to control sound is further supported by Jahn et al.’s
observation that:<span> </span>“The resonant modal
patterns all featured strong antinodes [the point of maximum amplitude of a
sound wave] at the outer walls, with appropriately configured nodes [the point
of minimum amplitude of a sound wave] and antinodes interspersed toward the
central source. In some cases, interior and exterior rock drawings resembled
these acoustical patterns” (Jahn et al., 1996)</div>
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In the 1980s, psychologist Howard Gardner argued that the
prevailing IQ tests were only capturing a certain style of intelligence, and
were missing many different types of intelligence that exist.<span> </span>He proposed that there were several,
relatively independent types of intelligence.<span>
</span>Three of the types he proposed may be particularly relevant to the
acoustic discoveries at Hal Saflieni – intrapersonal intelligence,
interpersonal intelligence, and musical intelligence.</div>
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Intrapersonal intelligence is the capacity to access one’s
own feeling life, to discriminate among feelings, label them, utilize them in a
symbolic way, and make meaning of them (Gardner, p. 239).</div>
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Interpersonal intelligence refers to the ability to observe
and make distinctions about the moods, temperaments, motivations, and
intentions of others (Gardner, p. 239).</div>
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Musical intelligence he defines as the ability to
discriminate pitch, rhythm, and timbre, as well as skill at recognizing what
constitutes a well-structured phrase or section of music (Gardner, pp. 104-105,
107-108)</div>
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One of the ways that Gardner defended his model was to
collect evidence that there appeared to be faculties that could be destroyed or
spared in isolation when there was brain injury.<span> </span>In other words, these faculties seemed relatively autonomous
(Gardner, p. 63).<span> </span>Since the early
1980s, we have developed our understanding of brain function (less modular,
more neural networks), and consciousness (not only in the head or body), but
there is still some usefulness to these insights based on localization.</div>
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Here’s the interesting thing that may pertain to Hal
Saflieni – The study of brain injuries suggested that intrapersonal,
interpersonal, and musical intelligence are all strongly localized in the right
hemisphere and in the frontal lobes (Gardner, pp. 118, 260-267).<span> </span></div>
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As Ms. Eneix noted above, the acoustics at Hal Saflieni
appear to shift prefrontal cortical activity, deemphasizing language centers,
shifting hemispheric dominance to the right, and activating areas associated
with emotional processing, creativity, mood, empathy, and social behavior
(popular-archeology.com).</div>
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So, sound could have been used at Hal Saflieni to increase
people’s emotional and social intelligence, as well as to increase their
ability to utilize the sound itself.<span>
</span>All these competencies would benefit from a right hemisphere, frontal
shift.</div>
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Furthermore, repeated, ongoing exposure to this effect would
go beyond shifting your state for a moment.<span>
</span>It would re-wire you to be a certain way via neuroplasticity.<span> </span>A comparable effect to what we are
hypothesizing for the congregants at Hal Saflieni has been observed in various
recent studies of people who have had a prayer or meditation practice of many
years duration.<span> </span>Some studies suggest
that, during prayer or meditation, experienced practitioners’ parietal lobes go
dark – this lobe processes sensory information – and their frontal lobes light
up – signifying focused attention…and perhaps signifying the activation of the
personal and musical strengths mentioned above.<span> </span>Other studies suggest that long-term practice sculpts the brain
and creates systematic, enduring changes (Hagerty, NPR, 20 May 09).</div>
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<span style="color: #333399;">“The church was packed to such
an extent that the organ did not sound quite so grand as it did when the
sanctuary was empty.<span> </span>People, after all,
absorb a great deal of sound.”</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #333399;"> -- Graham Landrum, The Famous
DAR Murder Mystery, p. 102</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thanks to Barbara Croner, MFT, for her contributions to this
essay.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #333399;">Sources:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gardner, H.<span>
</span>(1985).<span> </span>Frames of mind:<span> </span>The theory of multiple intelligences.<span> </span>Basic Books.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hagerty, B.B.<span>
</span>(2009).<span> </span>Prayer may reshape your
brain….and your reality.<span> </span>All Things
Considered, NPR, 20 May 09. <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104310443">http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104310443</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jahn, R., Devereux, P., & Ibison, M.<span> </span>(1996).<span>
</span>Acoustical resonances of assorted ancient structures.<span> </span>J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 99, 649-658.<span> </span><a href="http://asadl.org/jasa/resource/1/jasman/v99/i2/p649_s1?isAuthorized=no">http://asadl.org/jasa/resource/1/jasman/v99/i2/p649_s1?isAuthorized=no</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Landrum, G.<span>
</span>(1992).<span> </span>The famous DAR murder
mystery.<span> </span>NY:<span> </span>St. Martin’s Press.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://popular-archaeology.com/issue/march-2012/article/ancient-builders-created-monumental-structures-that-altered-sound-and-mind-say-researchers">http://popular-archaeology.com/issue/march-2012/article/ancient-builders-created-monumental-structures-that-altered-sound-and-mind-say-researchers</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypogeum_of_%C4%A6al-Saflieni">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypogeum_of_%C4%A6al-Saflieni</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://thearrowsoftruth.com/tag/hal-saflieni-hypogeum/">http://thearrowsoftruth.com/tag/hal-saflieni-hypogeum/</a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.ancientmed.org/projects.htm">http://www.ancientmed.org/projects.htm</a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subtractive_synthesis">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subtractive_synthesis</a></div>
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<br /></div>Sheila Joshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789487768317341942noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6006622137752807559.post-34751025519692255452012-05-20T16:31:00.000-07:002012-05-20T16:44:44.506-07:00Elephants demonstrate extra-sensory connection with their human champion<b><span style="color: #333399;">This is re-posted from Rob
Kerby, Senior Editor, beliefnet.com -- </span></b>
<br />
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Author and legendary conservationist Lawrence Anthony died
March 2. His family tells of a solemn procession of Elephants that defies human
explanation.</div>
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For 12 hours, two herds of wild South African elephants
slowly made their way through the Zululand bush until they reached the house of
late author Lawrence Anthony, the conservationist who saved their lives.</div>
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The formerly violent, rogue elephants, destined to be shot a
few years ago as pests, were rescued and rehabilitated by Anthony, who had
grown up in the bush and was known as the “Elephant Whisperer.”</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
For two days the herds loitered at Anthony’s rural compound
on the vast Thula Thula game reserve in the South African KwaZulu – to say
good-bye to the man they loved. But how did they know he had died? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Photo of the elephants, posted by the family --</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150653709309548&set=a.10150100786474548.285957.106135859547&type=1&theater">https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150653709309548&set=a.10150100786474548.285957.106135859547&type=1&theater</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Known for his unique ability to calm traumatized elephants,
Anthony had become a legend. He is the author of three books, Babylon Ark,
detailing his efforts to rescue the animals at Baghdad Zoo during the Iraqi
war, the forthcoming The Last Rhinos, and his bestselling The Elephant
Whisperer.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are two elephant herds at Thula Thula. According to
his son Dylan, both arrived at the Anthony family compound shortly after
Anthony’s death.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“They had not visited the house for a year and a half and it
must have taken them about 12 hours to make the journey,” Dylan is quoted in
various local news accounts. “The first herd arrived on Sunday and the second
herd, a day later. They all hung around for about two days before making their
way back into the bush.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Elephants have long been known to mourn their dead. In
India, baby elephants often are raised with a boy who will be their lifelong
“mahout.” The pair develop legendary bonds – and it is not uncommon for one to
waste away without a will to live after the death of the other.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But these are wild elephants in the 21st century, not some
Rudyard Kipling novel.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The first herd to arrive at Thula Thula several years ago
were violent. They hated humans. Anthony found himself fighting a desperate
battle for their survival and their trust, which he detailed in The Elephant
Whisperer:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It was 4:45 a.m. and I was standing in front of Nana, an
enraged wild elephant, pleading with her in desperation. Both our lives
depended on it. The only thing separating us was an 8,000-volt electric fence
that she was preparing to flatten and make her escape.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Nana, the matriarch of her herd, tensed her enormous frame
and flared her ears.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“’Don’t do it, Nana,’ I said, as calmly as I could. She
stood there, motionless but tense. The rest of the herd froze.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“’This is your home now,’ I continued. ‘Please don’t do it,
girl.’</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I felt her eyes boring into me.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“’They’ll kill you all if you break out. This is your home
now. You have no need to run any more.’</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Suddenly, the absurdity of the situation struck me,”
Anthony writes. “Here I was in pitch darkness, talking to a wild female
elephant with a baby, the most dangerous possible combination, as if we were
having a friendly chat. But I meant every word. ‘You will all die if you go.
Stay here. I will be here with you and it’s a good place.’</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She took another step forward. I could see her tense up
again, preparing to snap the electric wire and be out, the rest of the herd
smashing after her in a flash.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I was in their path, and would only have seconds to scramble
out of their way and climb the nearest tree. I wondered if I would be fast
enough to avoid being trampled. Possibly not.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Then something happened between Nana and me, some tiny
spark of recognition, flaring for the briefest of moments. Then it was gone.
Nana turned and melted into the bush. The rest of the herd followed. I couldn’t
explain what had happened between us, but it gave me the first glimmer of hope
since the elephants had first thundered into my life.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It had all started several weeks earlier with a phone call
from an elephant welfare organization. Would Anthony be interested in adopting
a problem herd of wild elephants? They lived on a game reserve 600 miles away
and were “troublesome,” recalled Anthony.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“They had a tendency to break out of reserves
and the owners wanted to get rid of them fast. If we didn’t take them, they
would be shot.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The woman explained, ‘The matriarch is an amazing escape artist
and has worked out how to break through electric fences. She just twists the
wire around her tusks until it snaps, or takes the pain and smashes
through.’</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“’Why me?’ I asked.“’I’ve heard you have a way with animals. You’re
right for them. Or maybe they’re right for you.’</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
”What followed was
heart-breaking. One of the females and her baby were shot and killed in the
round-up, trying to evade capture.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“When they arrived, they were thumping the inside of the
trailer like a gigantic drum. We sedated them with a pole-sized syringe, and
once they had calmed down, the door slid open and the matriarch emerged,
followed by her baby bull, three females and an 11-year-old bull.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Last off was the 15-year-old son of the dead mother. “He
stared at us,” writes Anthony, “flared his ears and with a trumpet of rage,
charged, pulling up just short of the fence in front of us.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“His mother and baby sister had been shot before his eyes,
and here he was, just a teenager, defending his herd. David, my head ranger,
named him Mnumzane, which in Zulu means ‘Sir.’ We christened the matriarch
Nana, and the second female-in-command, the most feisty, Frankie, after my
wife.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We had erected a giant enclosure within the reserve to keep
them safe until they became calm enough to move out into the reserve proper.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Nana gathered her clan, loped up to the fence and stretched
out her trunk, touching the electric wires. The 8,000-volt charge sent a jolt
shuddering through her bulk. She backed off. Then, with her family in tow, she
strode the entire perimeter of the enclosure, pointing her trunk at the wire to
check for vibrations from the electric current.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“As I went to bed that night, I noticed the elephants lining
up along the fence, facing out towards their former home. It looked ominous. I
was woken several hours later by one of the reserve’s rangers, shouting, ‘The
elephants have gone! They’ve broken out!’ The two adult elephants had worked as
a team to fell a tree, smashing it onto the electric fence and then charging
out of the enclosure.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I scrambled together a search party and we raced to the
border of the game reserve, but we were too late. The fence was down and the
animals had broken out.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“They had somehow found the generator that powered the
electric fence around the reserve. After trampling it like a tin can, they had
pulled the concrete-embedded fence posts out of the ground like matchsticks,
and headed north.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The reserve staff chased them – but had competition.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We met a group of locals carrying large caliber rifles, who
claimed the elephants were ‘fair game’ now. On our radios we heard the wildlife
authorities were issuing elephant rifles to staff. It was now a simple race
against time.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Anthony managed to get the herd back onto Thula Thula
property, but problems had just begun:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Their bid for freedom had, if anything, increased their
resentment at being kept in captivity. Nana watched my every move, hostility
seeping from every pore, her family behind her. There was no doubt that sooner
or later they were going to make another break for freedom.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Then, in a flash, came the answer. I would live with the
herd. To save their lives, I would stay with them, feed them, talk to them.
But, most importantly, be with them day and night. We all had to get to know
each other.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It worked, as the book describes in detail, notes the London
Daily Mail newspaper.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Anthony was later offered another troubled elephant – one
that was all alone because the rest of her herd had been shot or sold, and
which feared humans. He had to start the process all over again.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And as his reputation spread, more “troublesome” elephants
were brought to Thula Thula.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, how after Anthony’s death, did the reserve’s elephants —
grazing miles away in distant parts of the park — know?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“A good man died suddenly,” says Rabbi Leila Gal Berner,
Ph.D., “and from miles and miles away, two herds of elephants, sensing that
they had lost a beloved human friend, moved in a solemn, almost ‘funereal’
procession to make a call on the bereaved family at the deceased man’s home.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“If there ever were a time, when we can truly sense the
wondrous ‘interconnectedness of all beings,’ it is when we reflect on the
elephants of Thula Thula. A man’s heart’s stops, and hundreds of elephants’
hearts are grieving. This man’s oh-so-abundantly loving heart offered healing
to these elephants, and now, they came to pay loving homage to their friend.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.beliefnet.com/Inspiration/Home-Page-News-and-Views/Wild-Elephants-Mourn-Death-of-famed-Elephant-Whisperer.aspx">http://www.beliefnet.com/Inspiration/Home-Page-News-and-Views/Wild-Elephants-Mourn-Death-of-famed-Elephant-Whisperer.aspx</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">From South African news
report posted on Youtube in Mar 09 –</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Over the years, the initially mistrustful matriarch Nana has
put her body between Anthony and charging stranger elephants, many times.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And in the interview, Anthony reports that, whenever he goes
away on a trip, the day he returns, the elephants are found standing at his
house! (@ 6:00)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/F4nvQbfQAUg?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">From his 8 Mar 12 obituary in
The Telegraph –</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
….In 2003, as Anthony watched television footage of the
bombardment of Baghdad, he recalled reading that the city had the largest zoo
in the Middle East: “I couldn’t stand the thought of the animals dying in their
cages. I contacted the Americans and the British and said, 'You have any
contingency plans?’ Nobody was interested.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Within days he was on the Kuwait-Iraq border, in a hired car
packed with veterinary supplies. The Americans refused to let him cross, but
Kuwaiti border guards allowed him through and, with two Kuwaiti zoo workers,
Anthony joined the tanks and convoys heading to Baghdad.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When he arrived at his destination, in the ruins of the
city’s once majestic al-Zawra park, he found a “horror story”. Met by a tearful
Husham Hussan, the zoo’s deputy director, Anthony was initially tempted to give
up….</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Within weeks American and even Iraqi soldiers were putting
down their weapons and mucking in: “We had Republican Guard soldiers working
with American troops in the zoo two weeks after they were killing each other on
the battlefield,” Anthony recalled. Local mullahs instructed their followers
that Anthony and his team should be left unmolested…..</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1595939063">http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/9131585/Lawrence-Anthony.html </a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">Additional sources --</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/kwazulu-natal/wildlife-guru-dies-wild-elephants-visit-site-1.1251681">http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/kwazulu-natal/wildlife-guru-dies-wild-elephants-visit-site-1.1251681</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://mathisencorollary.blogspot.com/2012/05/moving-report-of-elephants-mourning.html">http://mathisencorollary.blogspot.com/2012/05/moving-report-of-elephants-mourning.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>Sheila Joshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789487768317341942noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6006622137752807559.post-54056522852175401152012-05-14T16:19:00.000-07:002012-05-14T16:30:55.658-07:00Chip Coffey: Growing up psychic<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Psychic and medium Chip Coffey has just published his book
“Growing up psychic: My story of not
just surviving but thriving – and how others like me can, too.” In it, he cogently sets forth a kind and
intelligent way of helping children who are having psychic openings – usually
distressing ones. Chip Coffey is so
relaxing, I wish I could be a psychic kid, so he could be my mentor.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He has also been the heart of the A&E TV series “Psychic
Kids: Children of the Paranormal.” I think this show is just fantastic. I cry every episode. The kids and their parents go from being
terrified and miserable to feeling deeply relieved and good about themselves.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Really, Mr. Coffey is doing an incredible service, filling a
unique niche. He’s educating children
and parents about how to live a grounded, normal, happy, humanistic life with
psychic abilities. Societally, these
abilities are currently teetering on the brink between being seen as evil,
deluded, or deformed v. being seen as beneficent, evolved, and desirable.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I so admire his courage in taking up this mission. Especially as a man. Our society is becoming more open to psi,
but he is still very much in the vanguard. Our society is also becoming more
aware of child abuse, which is a great thing, but it’s going through a phase of
being knee-jerk mistrustful of men around children. So, it’s very brave of him to be a psychic man who mentors
children who are having difficulties with psi.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He says he has some training and experience in psychology
and counseling, and it shows. I had
wondered how he came to be so therapeutic with the kids on the TV series. He has rock solid common sense, a superb set
of values about what all children need, a nice sense of humor, and he’s very
natural and humble.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One of the purposes of this blog is to defuse the conflation
of psi and fear. This book contributes
to that project. In the vast majority
of childhood and teenage psi openings that Mr. Coffey encounters, the kids feel
terrified, but there is, in fact, nothing to be afraid of. Many times, they are being contacted by
deceased humans who simply want to get a message through. On one occasion, the presence that the child
was scared of was actually a spirit guide.
There is the rare instance of a more aggressive being contacting a kid,
but, even then, it does wonders simply to support the child's development of a
healthy entitlement to self-respect, personal power, and boundaries.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just for fun, here are a couple of the more unusual
anecdotes from the book –</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One mother reported that she was driving with her nearly
non-verbal 11-month-old son in Alabama, when he suddenly started crying, and
shouted, “Bad men on the plane!
Buildings going to fall! Many
people hurt! Help them!” </div>
<br />
She was so shaken by hearing complete sentences from her 11-month-old
that she pulled the car over. The boy was still upset, so she turned
the car radio on to find some soothing music. As you’ve probably
guessed by now, what she then heard on the radio was the breaking news
of the attack on the World Trade Center. The date was 11 September
2001.<br />
<br />
This boy has since been diagnosed as autistic. His mother says that he
has precognitive, clairvoyant, empathic, and telepathic abilities.
Many people in her family history have had psychic abilities. (pp.
12-13)<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Another anecdote –</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A 12-year-old boy was riding his bike, and was seriously
injured when hit by a car. He drifted
in and out of consciousness for a bit, then, from his perspective, everything
went blank, and he found himself out of body looking down on his body. Then, he felt himself traveling fast through
a white fog and tunnel.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Up ahead, he saw shadowy figures, and eventually drew close
enough to see his grandmother. He felt
confused because he knew she had died a year earlier, but he was very happy to
see her. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She smiled, shook her head, and said, “Kylie, you really
have to be more careful from now on when you’re riding that bike.” She wrapped her arms around him, and hugged
him close.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Suddenly, he felt a huge pain in his chest, and found
himself in the back of an ambulance.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He recovered well, and told his parents about his
experience. It turns out that that the
chest pain he had felt coincided with being defibrillated by the
paramedics. And his mother was stunned
to hear of her deceased mother hugging her son, because, when she was finally
allowed to see her injured son in the ER, she had leaned over to give him a
kiss, and had smelled her mother’s perfume on him!</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the decade since his NDE, Kylie describes himself as having
occasional precognition and clairsentience. (pp. 85-87)</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>Sheila Joshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789487768317341942noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6006622137752807559.post-67785536788377950092012-04-30T10:48:00.000-07:002012-04-30T10:48:11.844-07:00The neurological relationship between fear and psi: A look at how the pineal gland and adrenal glands interact<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">I.<span> </span>Are fear and psi closer neurologically than we realize?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In this blog, we have been trying to understand why
neurological injury sometimes leads to a psychic opening; why people sometimes
have frightening psychic openings or spiritually transformative experiences; and
whether people are sometimes misinterpreting psi, usually in a fearful way.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Could it be that fear and psi are related to each other
neurologically, and that’s part of why there is often confusion?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Two disclaimers – </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
First of all, psi and fear are everywhere in the
neuroendocrine system – not to mention being non-local as well! --<span> </span>but, today we’ll look at just one possible
element of the complex set-up – the relationship between the pineal gland and
the adrenal glands.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Secondly, as some have said throughout the history of
parapsychology, including most recently James Carpenter with his First Sight
model, psi is probably best understood as a basic aspect of how we know and act
on the world, and it’s operating all the time.<span>
</span>But, today, we’ll look mostly at the role of psi as a survival skill,
something that makes you more viable.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">II.<span> </span>The pineal gland – </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">i.<span> </span>General info about the pineal</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The pineal gland is an endocrine gland the size of a grain
of rice in the middle of the brain.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In grad school in psychology in the ‘80s, the 788-page
neurophysiology textbook we used had two paragraphs on the pineal gland.<span> </span>Total!<span>
</span>And they were just about Descartes saying it was the seat of the
soul.<span> </span>Melatonin does not appear in the
index.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now, the pineal is conventionally recognized as a master
gland because it regulates other endocrine glands via melatonin.<span> </span>And frontier science is even more interested
in the pineal because of its relation to various endogenous chemicals that
might be involved in psi and expanded states of consciousness.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">ii.<span> </span>Pineal’s psi connection</span></b><span style="color: #333399;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The pineal gland has a long history of being associated with
psi.<span> </span>For one thing, it is located
approximately behind the Third Eye (sixth chakra, Ajna).<span> </span>It is light-sensitive – both via the retinas
and directly (Elias, 2005).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“A parietal eye…or third-eye…is….present in some animal
species [non-mammals]. The eye may be photoreceptive and is usually associated
with the pineal gland, regulating circadian rhythmicity and hormone production
for thermoregulation.” (Wiki)<span> </span>But, all
species have elements of a third eye and it's connected to the pineal
gland.<span> </span>(Brainard, 1996)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In many non-mammalian vertebrates, pinealocytes (the main
cells of the pineal gland) have a strong resemblance to the photoreceptor cells
of the eye. Some evolutionary biologists believe that the vertebrate pineal
cells share a common evolutionary ancestor with retinal cells. (Wiki)</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The pineal also produces, uses, or is hypothesized to
produce several endogenous substances that alter consciousness and may be
psi-conducive.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
DMT – psychedelic, a key ingredient in Ayahuasca</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
5-MeO-DMT – psychedelic</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
pinoline -- chemically almost identical to key ingredients
in Ayahuasca (Roney-Dougal, 2000)</div>
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bufotenine – shows similar effects to DMT</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
melatonin – circadian rhythms, sleep induction, dreaming,
inversely related to onset of puberty</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
serotonin – does a million things, including affect
perception.<span> </span>Interestingly, it is
related to a lot of these endogenous psychedelics and increased by them.<span> </span>The serotonin system is also acted on by
exogenous psychedelics like LSD.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">III.<span> </span>A brief word about the adrenals</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The adrenal glands sit atop the kidneys in the middle of
your back, and they do a lot of things, but, for our purposes today, they help
the body handle stress by shutting down some functions and ramping up others,
making the body more prepared for “fight or flight.”<span> </span>Fear is, in part, a function of adrenal activity.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The adrenals produce many substances, including –</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
adrenaline (aka epinephrine)</div>
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noradrenaline (aka norepinephrine) (both adrenaline and
noradrenaline are also produced elsewhere in the body)</div>
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glucocorticoids (including cortisol)</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">IV.<span> </span>Fear is a survival signal that motivates greater psi</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As Gavin de Becker says in his book “The Gift of Fear,” he
developed the excellent intuition that has made him one of the premier security
consultants on the planet because he had to in order to survive the violence in
his childhood.<span> </span>Survivors of child abuse
often seem to develop great intuition, the ability for voluntary OBEs, and
other psi capacities.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, here we see an example of how fear may act as a survival
signal that motivates the development of psi.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Interestingly, it turns out there is a pineal – adrenal
connection.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">i.<span> </span>Effect of the pineal on the adrenals</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The English parapsychologist, Serena Roney-Dougal, Ph.D. has
done ground-breaking work on the pineal gland, integrating neuroscience and
psi.<span> </span>The pineal has been shown to have
many influences on the adrenals (Elias, 2005), including an anti-stress
function (Roney-Dougal, 2000).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For one thing, the pineal produces melatonin which regulates
circadian and seasonal rhythms (Roney-Dougal, 2000).<span> </span>Melatonin has an influence on the adrenals (Elias, 2005).<span> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Also, pinoline is produced by the pineal.<span> </span>It is chemically nearly identical to active
ingredients in Ayahuasca, implicated in dreaming, and thus, implicated in
affecting our state of consciousness.<span>
</span>“Pinoline has its highest concentrations in the pineal and has been
reported to fluctuate in phase with melatonin….Pinoline has also been shown to
behave like a hormone (Airaksinen et al 1984) and specific binding sites for
pinoline exist in the adrenals as well as the pineal and the brain”<span> </span>(Roney-Dougal, 2000)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">ii.<span> </span>Effect of the adrenals / other adrenergic sources on the pineal</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The main activation of the pineal is definitely via
adrenergic systems (Roney-Dougal, 2000), but there is some debate about how
directly the adrenals influence the pineal.<span>
</span>Adrenergic systems means sources of adrenaline and noradrenaline, but
these two substances are produced both by the adrenal glands and in the nervous
system.<span> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The U.S. psychiatrist Rick Strassman, MD did historic
research on DMT in the 1990s.<span> </span>In his
2001 book on his research, “DMT:<span> </span>The
spirit molecule,” he reports that only adrenaline and noradrenaline produced in
the brain near the pineal, are able to reach the pineal (Strassman, 2001, pp.
63-64).<span> </span>However, I have to wonder if
this is the whole story, and whether the adrenals might have a direct
influence, or whether they have an indirect influence, such as, say,
stimulating the central nervous system to innervate the pineal.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jordanian neurosurgeon Munir A. Elias, MD has written a
wonderfully clear summary of the current state of knowledge (not including
psi!) about the pineal, and he says information on the pineal is expanding
rapidly in recent years, and there is still much to clarify.<span> </span>“From the little structure that seemed to do
nothing except give rise to difficult tumors, the pineal has emerged as a
central organ in human physiology. Consistent with the evolving holistic picture
of the organism, the pineal defies understanding if conceptually relegated to
one system or function”<span> </span>(Elias, 2005).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Regarding the relationship between the pineal and the
adrenals in particular, “the contradictory nature of the results obtained so
far make it difficult to draw any definitive conclusions about the
pineal-adrenal axis” (Seijan et al., 2008).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There appears to be some research suggestive of direct
adrenal influence on the pineal.<span>
</span>Glucocorticoids are substances produced by the adrenals, and there are
glucocorticoid receptors in the trout pineal (Benyassi et al., 2001).<span> </span>And, research has also suggested that
glucocorticoids modulate pineal activity to relieve stress in goats (Seijan et
al., 2008).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But, for sure, we know that adrenergic systems (CNS
adrenaline and noradrenaline) do influence the pineal directly.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In a moment, we’ll look more at the possibility that direct
adrenal influence on the pineals is made more likely by neuroendocrinological
damage caused by, say, antidepressants.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">V</span></b><span style="color: #333399;">.<span> </span><b>We
misinterpret psi<span> </span>because it feels like
fear and uses similar neuroendocrine pathways to fear</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So maybe we’re neurologically designed to respond to fear
with greater psi.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Concomitantly, because psi and fear may be closely linked
neurologically, we might be more easily confused by psi, and misinterpret it as
anxiety signals, because it *feels* similar, and uses similar
neuro-endocrinological pathways.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just as excitement and anxiety share some psychoneurological
features, and can be confused one for the other, so it may be with psi and fear.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Another disclaimer – there are many psychological reasons
why people fear psi.<span> </span>Today, we’re just
looking at one possible neuroendocrinological pathway.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now, if the psi opening is gradual and the fear is moderate,
this can all be sorted out.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But, what happens if the psi opening is big and abrupt, or
the fear is great?<span> </span>Physical or
psychological trauma – illness, accidents, abuse – can cause abrupt psi
openings and / or a lot of fear.<span> </span>What
might be happening neurologically in this case?</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333399;">VI.<span> </span>Trauma (psychological or physical) causes dysfunction</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">i.<span> </span>Cyclicality</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The pineal is a photo-neuroendocrine transducer.<span> </span>Environmental energy – in the form of light,
other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, and geomagnetism -- influence the
pineal to produce its substances, which then have widespread influences
throughout the body (Elias, 2005, Roney-Dougal, 2000).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Regular, smooth cyclicality in response to zeitgebers
(time-givers, environmental cues) is crucial to optimal health.<span> </span>Food is a zeitgeber for another system in
the body.<span> </span>Light and EM are the cues for
the pineal, retinas, and associated parts of the brain (Roney-Dougal, 2000).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are all sorts of cycles in the body.<span> </span>Cycles are how we live in the body, and in
time and space.<span> </span>Every heart beat is a
cycle.<span> </span>There is the Basic Rest Activity
Cycle, which lasts 90 minutes, and repeatedly alternates between higher
activity and greater rest 24 hours a day.<span>
</span>And there are circadian, lunar, seasonal, and lifespan (eg puberty)
rhythms.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is ample evidence that when smooth cyclicality of
pineal functioning gets disrupted in any way, it leads to some kind of disorder
(Couto-Moraes et al., 2009; Elias, 2005; Groenendijk, 2001; Roney-Dougal,
2000).<span> </span>“…[I]njury disconnects the
organism from environmental cycling, while recovery restores the light/dark
information to the whole organism” (Couto-Moraes et al., 2009).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cyclicality can be disrupted by physical or psychological
trauma.<span> </span>That trauma can be acute or
cumulative.<span> </span>Cyclicality can also be
disrupted by the common psychoneurological damage created by lifelong
repressive socialization.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
These traumas or repressive socialization, and the
disruption to the pineal they cause, can lead to an inflexibility of
consciousness that is either too shut down or too stuck on one setting.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">ii.<span> </span>Calcification</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To further demonstrate that smooth, cyclical, flexible
functioning of the pineal appears to be what is desirable, let us also consider
the evidence that calcification of the pineal causes disorders.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One study suggested that the normal pineal grows from birth
to age 2, with no apparent growth from age 2 – 20.<span> </span>There was also progressive calcification to age 30; then the
calcification stops progressing (Sumida et al., 1996).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A summary of one collection of research studies on pineal
calcification paints a picture.<span> </span>The
research suggests calcification may be associated with melatonin deficiency,
circadian timing irregularity, insomnia, gradual onset schizophrenia, tardive
dyskinesia, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, stroke, and other disorders.<span> </span>It may be made worse by fluoride, and living
in an industrialized society.<span> </span>In
gerbils, the pineal may form calcium concretions in response to stress.<span> </span>(greenmedinfo.com)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Several studies suggest that pineal calcification correlates
with signs and symptoms of schizophrenia (<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8063514?dopt=Abstract">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8063514?dopt=Abstract</a>,
<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1342008?dopt=Abstract">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1342008?dopt=Abstract</a>,
<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1979971?dopt=Abstract">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1979971?dopt=Abstract</a>),
but they raised a serious question for me.<span>
</span>The studies were done on people with schizophrenia in institutions, and
the odds are very high that these people were taking toxic psychiatric
medications, or in withdrawal from them.<span>
</span>So, at this point, it is an open question how much of pineal
calcification is due to schizophrenia and how much is due to toxic drugs.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The fact remains that there is evidence to suggest that
calcification of the pineal may be one of the mechanisms that interferes with
cyclicality and flexibility.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As just one example of how physical trauma can affect the
pineal and the adrenals, psi and fear, let us look briefly at the specific case
of antidepressant medication.<span>
</span>Cyclicality is definitely affected; calcification is hypothesized.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">iii.<span> </span>SSRI Antidepressants</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor antidepressants are
supposed to work by forcing more serotonin to stay available in the neuronal
synapses.<span> </span>However, the human body won’t
be pushed around this way, and immediately starts to compensate by removing
serotonin receptors.<span> </span>Ha! Take
that!<span> </span>Meanwhile, a cascade of myriad
neuroendocrinological effects follow from this chemical manipulation (which
often goes on for years), causing neuronal pruning, damage, and death in some
areas, promoting neurogenesis in others, overwhelming the liver’s capacity, turning
up and down endocrine glands, etc., etc.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">1.<span> </span>Effects of taking antidepressants</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Charly Groenendijk, a Dutch antidepressant survivor and
remarkable researcher, has written an excellent article on antidepressants and
the pineal (Groenendijk, 2001).<span> </span>He
points out how SSRI antidepressants interfere with natural bodily cycles.<span> </span>The medication, which is always taken daily
and ongoingly, forces serotonin to be continuously available, and to ignore
natural biorhythyms.<span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Groenendijk also makes a good case for antidepressants
causing pineal calcification, based on research linking calcification, tardive
dyskinesia, serotonin, melatonin, dopamine, and anti-psychotic medication
(Groenendijk, 2001).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The pineal is the richest site of serotonin in the brain
(Groenendijk, 2001).<span> </span>“The concentration
of serotonin in the pineal is 250 times greater than that in any other region
of the brain” (Elias, 2005).<span> </span>There is
some research to suggest that antidepressants do increase pineal functioning
(Brown et al., 1996).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Serotonergic drugs also have a direct impact on the
adrenals.<span> </span>There are serotonergic cells
in the adrenals (Delarue et al., 1998).<span>
</span>There is widespread clinical anecdotal evidence for some sort of adrenal
fatigue that becomes more pronounced the longer the drugs are taken
(Groenendijk, 2001).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Serotonin itself is involved in so many functions that it’s
mind-boggling.<span> </span>One of them is
perception.<span> </span>Also, both melatonin and
pinoline are made from serotonin.<span> </span>What
happens to consciousness and perception when production of these substances
that are related to dreaming and non-waking reality is tampered with?<span> </span>(Groenendijk, 2001)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
During prolonged use, people become insidiously disconnected
from their feelings, apathetic, sleep and dreaming are affected, consciousness
is dulled.<span> </span>Generally speaking, I
suspect that psi development become stalled or suppressed.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">2.<span> </span>Effects of withdrawing from antidepressants</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now, hard as these drugs are on the body, withdrawal from
them is even harder.<span> </span>The body has
become dependent on regular doses of the drugs, and many semi-permanent
neuroendocrinological changes have been made.<span>
</span>When you remove the drug, there is rebound and chaos, until the body
slowly makes changes yet again, and reestablishes a new homeostasis.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The pineal processes huge amounts of serotonin.<span> </span>The adrenals become depleted.<span> </span>Serotonin and chemically related endogenous
substances are interfered with by the drugs.<span>
</span>What happens to consciousness, perception, fear, and psi when you take
the drugs for a significant length of time and then stop?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Many people have a severe, prolonged reaction to stopping
these drugs, even if they taper off them extremely slowly.<span> </span>They often experience neuroendocrinological
chaos, including symptoms of adrenal hyperactivity and astronomical
anxiety.<span> </span>The subjective experience has
often been compared to a protracted LSD trip – a bad one -- initially intense,
and then progressively diluted.<span>
</span>Depersonalization / derealization are common, sleep and dreaming are
affected, perception and consciousness are very distorted.<span> </span>Some people experience an abrupt psi opening
early in the removal of the drugs, followed by a chaos of indistinguishable
fear and psi, followed by slowly emerging psi capacities.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As a sidebar, I’m not sure what to make of this, but it may
be evidence that exposure to and withdrawal from psychoactive medications has
an impact on cyclicality as it relates to fear.<span> </span>I know three people, including myself, who have withdrawn from
these medications and who now become anxious or agitated at a particular time
of day, every day, predictably – 10:30 am for me, 2 pm and 6 pm for the other
two.<span> </span>It’s easier to see that this is
probably related to something like a diurnal cortisol cycle (adrenals).<span> </span>But might it also be tied to a pineal cycle
(via melatonin for example) and be a time of heightened psi?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">VII.<span> </span>How it works when it’s working well or even
better than well</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Up to this point, we’ve explored the possible
neuroendocrinological connection between fear and psi, including the possible
nature of the relationship between the pineal and the adrenals.<span> </span>We’ve considered that it may be
evolutionarily adaptive for fear to trigger psi, and that this provides a
pathway that could also be ripe for misinterpretation, where psi would trigger
fear.<span> </span>We’ve speculated that smooth
cyclicality and non-calcification are important for pineal health. And we’ve
looked at SSRI antidepressants as just one example of how physical or
psychological trauma could damage the system and impair our relationship with
our own psi.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
How is it supposed to work when it’s all systems go?<span> </span>And can we go beyond fear and using psi to
survive to using psi to thrive?<span> </span>Does
the survival version of psi give us insight into the thriving version of psi?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">i.<span> </span>A gateroom of one’s own</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Biologist J.V. Wallach has articulated a fascinating theory
about endogenous hallucinogens that may help us.<span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the words of radical psychiatric survivor
d_vyne_madnesss:<span> </span>“[The] 'reality' we
take to be 'normal' and 'objective' may in fact be rather a controlled
psychedelic experience!…</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Wallach proposes that…waking consciousness can be thought
of as a controlled psychedelic experience. When the control of these normal
systems of perception becomes loosened and their behavior no longer correlates
with the external world, then altered states arise.<span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Translated, what this suggests is that consciousness, the
waking state we take as a 'given' and that feeds us information about the
physical world, is itself a kind of hallucination that is fed to us in a
controlled way by the pineal gland. Changing the dosage and timing results in a
completely different experience (the aliens, the tunnel of light), raising the
question of, which experience is real?”<span>
</span>(d_vyne_madness, 2009).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And in Wallach’s own words:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Researchers have been puzzled over the role of the
endogenous hallucinogens for over 50 years. The endogenous hallucinogens have
been hypothesized as playing roles in phenomena such as dreaming, near death
experiences, psychosis and more recently even UFO abduction experiences. All of
these experiences represent altered states of consciousness (ASC). These ASC
are conditional on the existence of a standard waking state. Endogenous
hallucinogens may be involved in the above ASC as well as others, however I propose
that it is the role these chemicals play in ordinary sensory perception that
allows them to precipitate in the ASC as well.<span>
</span>Dreaming, psychosis and out of body experiences arise when the release
of endogenous hallucinogens is not correlated with external events. In this
theory waking reality is created in a similar way to altered states except that
the normal state correlates with events in the “physical” world. Thus waking
reality can be thought of as a tightly regulated psychedelic experience and
altered states arise when this regulation is loosened in some fashion”<span> </span>(Wallach, 2009).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Note how this parallels Carpenter’s First Sight model in its
implication that psi processes may underlie all of psychological experience,
not just the anomalous events.<span> </span>Then,
the pineal (and undoubtedly it is a lot more complicated than this) dials the
type of consciousness / reality that is called for at any given moment.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you’ll forgive me a moment of Sci Fi geekiness here, this
reminds me of the Stargate movie and TV series.<span> </span>The pineal is analogous to the “Gate Room,” where the Stargate
can be dialed to access different wormholes.<span>
</span>Most of the time, the wormholes lead to different, faraway places.<span> </span>Occasionally, they lead to different times
or different timelines.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Likewise, the pineal may dial different internal states
*and* different external realities.<span> </span>In
his dramatic DMT research, Strassman started from the position that his
subjects were accessing different internal states while on DMT, but eventually
became convinced that they were actually accessing different external
realities.<span> </span>As one of his subjects
commented, “…there is infinite variation on reality.<span> </span>There is the real possibility of adjacent dimensions” (Strassman,
2001, p. 195).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Strassman speculates that DMT may be produced all the time.
He suggests that not enough DMT and you'll feel life has no meaning; just the
right amount and you'll be tuned into normal reality as we are used to it; more
DMT and you will tune into aspects of reality we don't have access to as often
(Strassman, 2001).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The body is designed to produce psychedelics and access
other realities.<span> </span>This capacity can
become distorted, damaged, *and* activated by physical or psychological
trauma.<span> </span>When it is stimulated by
trauma, you might get a psi opening that is partially distorted, as in the case
of psychosis.<span> </span>Or you might get a psi
opening that is limited to a focus on danger.<span>
</span>For example, abuse survivors sometimes have an advanced ability to
detect danger, but it’s harder for them to detect fun.<span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The problem with big, disjunctive psi openings is that the
individual has to catch up psychoneurologically.<span> </span>Until one does, you get the confusion between psi and fear that
we’ve been talking about above.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">ii.<span> </span>Maturation of the pineal</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ideally, the pineal is supposed to mature slowly.<span> </span>This allows for psychoneurological growth,
adjustment, working through of new understandings, new identities, and new
capacities.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Psychologist and Kundalini scholar Stuart Sovatsky, Ph.D.
proposes that there are, in fact, many different puberties that an individual
can go through.<span> </span>This fits nicely with
the general idea that a Kundalini awakening is a developmental leap.<span> </span>We know that the pineal, via melatonin, is
implicated in puberty.<span> </span>Sovatsky goes
further and believes that the pineal, itself, matures over the entire lifespan,
and that the more mature the pineal (and the more efficacious its productions
of various substances), the more consistent the state of awakened consciousness
(Sovatsky, 1998).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The master shaman exhibits a smooth, cyclical, integrated
dialing among different realities.<span> </span>This
mature, evolved person is able to operate successfully in the workaday world
*and* navigate expanded states of consciousness on a regular basis.<span> </span>(Roney-Dougal, 2000).<span> </span>This person is adaptable, flexible, and
thriving with psi.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">iii.<span> </span>All systems go</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What, if anything, does the present theory of survival psi
and confusion of fear with psi tell us that is helpful in moving toward
thriving with psi?<span> </span>After all, to this
point in our evolution, it seems that fear of psi, blocks to psi, being
overwhelmed by psi are all more common than smooth maturation of psi.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are some people who seem to come into this world with
their psi capacities starting active and staying active.<span> </span>But, it is still appears to be more common
for people to get off the track of natural psi maturation, and to shut down any
development of their capacities beyond that which is considered normal by
society.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
However, the natural developmental thrust is always there
waiting.<span> </span>The individual wants to
develop, and probably the universe and the collective consciousness need the
individual to develop.<span> </span>So, many things
can be enlisted to re-activate the dormant development.<span> </span>Ideally, love and empathy can do the
job.<span> </span>But, so can trauma.<span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To paraphrase Dr. Johnson, the threat of death focuses the
mind wonderfully.<span> </span>And, in this case, a
threat to survival may reveal the heretofore hidden path to thriving with
psi.<span> </span>A trauma may activate the
hypothesized fear – psi pathway in the body, initially to master the
trauma.<span> </span>But, having been activated,
this pathway may now be more available for further use and development.<span> </span>We can move even further into our
birthright, refining our innate psychic potential – not only for survival, but
for joy.<span> </span>We can facilitate the
maturation of the fear – psi pathway into something that is also an excitement
– psi pathway.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
=========</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thanks to Tom Ruffles for pointing me to Serena
Roney-Dougal’s work on the pineal.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #333399;">Sources:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Benyassi, A., Schwartz, C., Ducouret, B., & Falcón
J.<span> </span>(2001).<span> </span>Glucocorticoid receptors and serotonin N-acetyltransferase
activity in the fish pineal organ.<span>
</span>Neuroreport, 12, 889-92.<span> </span><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11303753">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11303753</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Brainard, G.C.<span>
</span>(1996).<span> </span>Light and
melatonin:<span> </span>Exploring the healing
potential of the human pineal gland.<span>
</span>The Center for Frontier Sciences Lecture Series.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Brown, G.M., Singer, W., & Joffe, R.<span> </span>(1996).<span>
</span>Lack of association between thyroid and pineal responses to
antidepressant treatment.<span> </span>Depression,
4, 73-76.<span> </span><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9160644">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9160644</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Couto-Moraes, R., Palermo-Neto, J., & Markus, R.P.<span> </span>(2009).<span>
</span>The immune-pineal axis: stress as a modulator of pineal gland
function.<span> </span>Ann N Y Acad
Sci.,1153,193-202.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19236342">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19236342</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Delarue, C., Contesse, V., Lefebvre, H., Lenglet, S.,
Grumolato, L., Kuhn, J.M., & Vaudry, H.<span>
</span>(1998).<span> </span>Pharmacological profile
of serotonergic receptors in the adrenal gland.<span> </span>Endocr Res., 24, 687-94.<span> </span><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9888560">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9888560</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
d_vyne_madness.<span>
</span>(2009).<span> </span>Is 'ordinary' reality a
controlled psychedelic experience?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://theicarusproject.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=17326">http://theicarusproject.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=17326</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Elias, M.A.<span> </span>(ca.
2005).<span> </span>Physiology of the pineal gland.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.neuroradiology.ws/pinealomasphysiology.htm">http://www.neuroradiology.ws/pinealomasphysiology.htm</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Groenendijk, C.<span>
</span>(2001).<span> </span>Serotonin and the pineal
gland.<span> </span><a href="http://www.antidepressantsfacts.com/pinealstory.htm">http://www.antidepressantsfacts.com/pinealstory.htm</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hanna, J.<span>
</span>(2001).<span> </span>DMT and the pineal:<span> </span>Fact or fiction?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Strassman, R.<span>
</span>Addendum, <a href="http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/dmt/dmt_article2.shtml">http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/dmt/dmt_article2.shtml</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Korf, H.W., Schomerus, C., & Stehle, J.H.<span> </span>(1998).<span>
</span>The pineal organ, its hormone melatonin, and the photoneuroendocrine
system.<span> </span>Berlin:<span> </span>Springer.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Roney-Dougal, S.<span>
</span>(ca. 2000). Walking between the worlds:<span>
</span>Links between psi, psychedelics, shamanism and psychosis, an overview of
the literature.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.psi-researchcentre.co.uk/article_1.html">http://www.psi-researchcentre.co.uk/article_1.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Seijan, V., Srivastava, R.S., & Varshney, V.P.<span> </span>(2008).<span>
</span>Pineal-adrenal relationship: modulating effects of glucocorticoids on
pineal function to ameliorate thermal-stress in goats.<span> </span>Asian – Australasian Journal of Animal
Sciences, July 2008.<span> </span><a href="http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_6917/is_7_21/ai_n29466627/?tag=content;col1">http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_6917/is_7_21/ai_n29466627/?tag=content;col1</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sovatsky, S.<span>
</span>(1998).<span> </span>Words from the
soul:<span> </span>Time, East / West spirituality,
and psychotherapeutic narrative.<span>
</span>Albany:<span> </span>SUNY Press.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Strassman, R.<span>
</span>(2001).<span> </span>DMT:<span> </span>The spirit molecule.<span> </span>Rochester, VT:<span> </span>Park Street Press.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sumida, M., Barkovich, A.J., & Newton, T.H.<span> </span>(1996).<span>
</span>Development of the pineal gland:<span>
</span>Measurement with MR.<span> </span>AJNR, 17,
233-236.<span> </span><a href="http://www.ajnr.org/content/17/2/233.full.pdf">http://www.ajnr.org/content/17/2/233.full.pdf</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wallach, J.V.<span>
</span>(2009).<span> </span>Endogenous hallucinogens
as ligands of the trace amine receptors: A possible role in sensory
perception.<span> </span>Medical Hypotheses, 72,
91-94.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:VSKPt5g-JE4J:www.erowid.org/references/refs_view.php?A%3DShowDocPartFrame%26ID%3D7404%26DocPartID%3D6553+wallach+endogenous+hallucinogens&hl=en&gl=us">http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:VSKPt5g-JE4J:www.erowid.org/references/refs_view.php?A%3DShowDocPartFrame%26ID%3D7404%26DocPartID%3D6553+wallach+</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
endogenous+hallucinogens&hl=en&gl=us </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/ciencia/ciencia_brain11.htm">http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/ciencia/ciencia_brain11.htm</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.greenmedinfo.com/disease/pineal-gland-calcification">http://www.greenmedinfo.com/disease/pineal-gland-calcification</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parietal_eye">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parietal_eye</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>Sheila Joshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789487768317341942noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6006622137752807559.post-14507069621886224852012-04-04T16:36:00.000-07:002012-04-04T17:12:15.099-07:00Laura Bruno – TBI survivor & medical intuitiveLaura Bruno was an empathic and sensitive child, who didn’t feel
encouraged to view these traits as something positive to be developed.
Despite a secret yearning for a spiritual career, she got a Master’s in
English and went to work in a corporate sales setting. There, she used
prayer to request guidance, and had uncanny success at sales.<br />
<br />
She was accepted at a doctoral program in English, with full
fellowships, and was due to begin it in three months, when she had a
serious car accident in May 1998 at the age of 24. She had a traumatic
brain injury (TBI) that completely stopped her life. She had to give
up her fellowship. She couldn’t read for more than five minutes
without getting a migraine. She was speaking incoherently at times
without even realizing it. She had to lie on the couch with an ice
pack non-stop for months. She was not given much hope for help by
conventional medicine. She turned to alternative healing and a
spiritual approach. It took her six years to recover.<br />
<br />
During her neurological recovery, she experienced a dramatic opening of
her psychic abilities. She started having sudden, unsought, accurate
intuitions about the medical conditions of others. What would happen
is that she would get migraines that were particularly intense, even
for her. And they would intensify progressively, until she “agreed” to
relay the information to the person with the medical condition, at
which time the migraines would abate. Interviewer Kristin Suratt
points out that accepting that one is a medical intuitive is a scary
proposition, because “suddenly you have to really trust your
intuition.” Bruno adds that, at first, she received medical intuitions
only about life-and-death situations. This made the stakes high in a
couple of ways -- interfering in the life of someone vs.risking their
death; the risk of turning your own life into a non-stop, dramatic,
exhausting rescue mission.<br />
<br />
On the contrary, when she finally accepted and revealed her ability,
she also developed much more control over turning it on and off, or
what she calls “Stand by,” where it wasn’t taking over her life any
more and she wasn’t suddenly getting hits that she had to urgently find
and communicate with people. Instead, she made a way to be available
(starting a business, a website), and found people were contacting her
earlier in their illnesses so preventive work was possible.<br />
<br />
(This is a classic example of a shamanic call. You can see many
examples in Holger Kalweit’s “Dreamtime and Inner Space” of people
minding their own business, then struck down by a mystery illness, then
getting the message that they were supposed to be shamans, then
resisting that message, then discovering that they got relief from
their symptoms only when they submitted and agreed to “shamanize,” be
that working with herbs, prophecying, healing, etc. You can also see
the same pattern vividly in the case of Laura Alden Kamm, another
medical intuitive who shook for three years during her *second* bout of
neurological problems, and discovered she would stop shaking only while
she worked as an intuitive.)<br />
<br />
One day, out of the blue, Laura Bruno’s holistic vision and brain
injury specialist offered to give his practice to her when he retired.
She had no idea why he was saying this.<br />
<br />
“He explained that he and his assistant had noticed ‘the next three
patients after’ me ‘always made amazing progress.’ ‘Great,” I said,
‘What’s that got to do with me?’ He answered, ‘For weeks we’ve
purposely mixed things up and no matter which three patients follow
you, they always make amazing progress. You leave an energy residue in
the room that lasts at least three hours’” (mind-energy interview).
(This creation of a temporary, localized field effect has been observed
by other parapsychology researchers.)<br />
<br />
Bruno studied Reiki, and used it to wean herself completely off
pharmaceutical migraine pills. She is a Master Reiki teacher and
healer. She encourages “people in chronic physical or
emotional pain to take at least a Reiki Level 1 class because it
empowers them to treat themselves instead of relying on someone else
for relief and support. Changes in students’ lives are very
interesting—sometimes dietary shifts, career switches and enhanced
intuition” (mind-energy interview).<br />
<br />
As a medical intuitive, she tunes into a person’s energy field and
intended life path to find the root cause of their symptoms. “Our
bodies never betray us—instead they attempt to speak to us when we’ve
ignored our soul’s messages in every other form” (mind-energy
interview).<br />
<br />
She’s also an animal communicator and here’s her interesting
description of the process: “It’s primarily a telepathic process.
First, I ask the animal’s permission to engage in conversation. I’ve
had animals ask me to “check back later,” but none has ever told me
“no.” I enter a meditative state and tune into the animal’s soul and
Essence. The process feels like letting down all the walls of
separation, so that I just “melt” into whatever or whomever wants to
communicate. I then upload and download visions, phrases, feelings,
memories—whatever wants to reveal itself—similar to searching the
internet with multiple browsers open. If an owner asks specific
questions, it’s like running a search on Google and retrieving answers
in order of relevance. Done telepathically, this happens
quickly—especially since most animals use images rather than words to
communicate” (mind-energy interview).<br />
<br />
She says cats are often more highly conscious animals who tend to want
to communicate at a more complex level! :) Some animals ask for ways
they can enhance their human’s progress.<br />
<br />
Asked what message she would give based on all her experience, she said
the same thing Anita Moorjani brought back from her NDE: “You are
loved and you are Love.”<br />
<br />
From talking with many brain injury survivors, Bruno has come to the
conclusion that there is a “brain injury profile.” She thinks people
who end up getting a brain injury are often very advanced in a lot of
areas of their lives, but not well-integrated. She says the injury
initiates a journey of integration – you’ve got all the parts, but
they’re not working together.<br />
<br />
She proposes that part of the purpose of these experiences is to change
something that needed to change in the person’s life. Regarding both
the complexities of brain injury and other “mystery illnesses,” she
says,“People that have something that no one can figure out, then
usually it’s not about figuring it out. It’s usually about the
process” (Surratt kzyx interview).<br />
<br />
Bruno also addresses the fear that comes with any neuro-damage-induced
psychic opening: “When a stroke, brain injury or other neurological
condition suddenly opens pathways you never knew existed, you might
feel tempted to “turn things off.” Indeed, many people contact me
because they don’t know how to handle the onslaught of psychic
awareness. ‘How do I tune stuff out?’ they ask. ‘I don’t wanna know
these things!’” (LB blog, 29 Dec 08).<br />
<br />
She counsels that trying to shut it down or ignore it will actually
increase your fear, basically because you will still be vaguely aware
of the information flow, but now you are even less conscious of it or
able to work with it. It’s comparable to walking into a new
environment with your eyes closed.<br />
<br />
Instead, she recommends grounding and centering, especially on the
heart chakra, using meditation or chanting. Try to have fun, ask for
synchronicities, ask for guidance, and if necessary ask for
clarification of the guidance.<br />
<br />
“Consider that the words “scared” and “sacred” contain all the same
components, just slightly rearranged. We do not need to remove things
in order to make them holy. We need only shift perspective” (LB blog,
29 Dec 08).<br />
<br />
<br />
Sources:<br />
<br />
Dec 2007 interview by Jacob --<br />
http://www.mind-energy.net/archives/258-Interview-with-Laura-Bruno.html<br />
<br />
May 2009 interview by Kristin Suratt --<br />
http://files.welikeitraw.com/audio/laura-bruno-kzyx.mp3<br />
<br />
http://laurabruno.wordpress.com/2008/12/29/concussions-brain-injury-and-spirituality/<br />
<br />
http://www.ifionlyhadabraininjury.com/<br />
<br />
<br />
For more, see <a href="http://antidepressantwithdrawal.info/forum/showthread.php?303-Laura-Bruno-book-%E2%80%93-%E2%80%9CIf-I-only-had-a-brain-injury%E2%80%9D" target="_blank">Laura Bruno on IAWP</a><br />
<br />
<br />Sheila Joshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789487768317341942noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6006622137752807559.post-56279344501359509232012-03-29T07:17:00.000-07:002012-03-29T07:17:20.368-07:00Medium Jodi Livon on intuition v. fearJodi Livon is a Minnesota medium who has had strong mediumistic
abilities since early childhood. However, she was raised in a family
that had no framework for these phenomena, so she was quite scared of
her experiences until her paternal grandmother died when Livon was about
22. Her grandmother had been her primary parent, and they had a very
trusting relationship, so when her grandmother started to communicate
with her after death, Livon felt both safe enough and motivated enough
to begin to fully embrace and develop her mediumistic abilities.
<br />
<br />In her book, “The Happy Medium,” Livon gives some autobiographical
information, some examples of interesting sessions with clients, and a
lot of hard-won wisdom about managing being psychic and/or mediumistic.
She has clearly had some challenges early in life, and she has clearly
done a lot of work on herself. She has fabulous boundaries. I wish I had
such good boundaries! She’s very compassionate about people’s
differences and flaws. And she has a lot of good advice about being
self-compassionate, grounding yourself, and being yourself.
<br />
<br />Her tips about how to tune into your intuition emphasize getting to know
yourself in a psychologically robust way, rather than the usual exercises.
<br />
<br />The following passage seems particularly good for those of us who are
having a lot of trouble discriminating fearful imaginings from
intuition, due to neurological damage or overwhelming psychic opening.
<br />
<br />“Of course, when listening to that inner voice, be certain it is the
voice of intuitive knowledge versus fear. First, ask a question that you
know the answer to. Is the voice truthful? Are you feeling respected? If
not, you are dealing with fear. Tell it to go away. Intuitive responses
feel familiar. Unless there is truly immediate danger, the sensation
should be one of calm certainty sent with respectful words and a loving
quality. The voice of intuition is steady. The voice of fear is not” (
p. 154).
<br />
<br />Now, this way of discriminating intuition from fear probably works more
easily for people who are slowly and voluntarily working on opening up
their psychic abilities. It’s a little trickier for people who are
having a spontaneous, overwhelming psychic opening, and even more
complicated if there is neurological damage confusing the issue.
<br />
<br />The problem is that fear can be so, so convincing. This is true with
anxiety in general, but it’s amplified when you’re having psychic
experiences you weren’t prepared for or a neuro-damage-induced psychic
opening.
<br />
<br />Another problem is that you can’t tell fear to go away very effectively
when you are in uncharted territory for you, such as having unsolicited
psychic experiences, or when you are dealing with neurologically-driven
fear. The forces you’re encountering are unfamiliar or unyielding. At
these times, forget trying to be accurately intuitive; just being
moderately rational is hard enough. Still, I think even we can benefit
from Livon’s tip.
<br />
<br />At one level, we can look at fearful imaginings as the blockade to psi,
or as the antithesis of psi. But, an additional way of looking at the
fear that erupts after a distressing psychic opening is that the fear is
a misinterpretation of the newly available psi. This may be especially
common with distressing psychic openings.
<br />
<br />How can we use what Livon wrote in this passage to illuminate this
misinterpretation that’s going on? We can ask her questions, and then
add one more:
<br />
<br />Can you look at the situation you’re afraid of, and imagine that there
is actually something particularly positive in it? Your fear may be a
red herring, a misinterpretation at one level that masks what is, in
fact, a particularly positive thing about the situation at another
level. It may be that this is a consistent way that we misinterpret
overwhelming psychic openings. The information we’re getting is so new
in both quantity and content, that it just triggers a reflexive fear
reaction.
<br />
<br />In a simple way, you can see this dynamic illustrated by Livon in the
sense that she was very psychically open from childhood, but not helped
to be prepared for it, so she was afraid. Granted, she has had to learn
boundaries and interpretive skills to manage the flood of information, but still
there really was nothing to be afraid of ever. And this is what she,
herself, now says.
<br />
<br />Sheila Joshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789487768317341942noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6006622137752807559.post-57087642305653393502012-03-21T17:22:00.000-07:002012-03-22T11:38:26.160-07:00Henry Corbin’s Mundus Imaginalis, Sufism, neurological damage, psychic opening, and imagination gone awryby Barbara Croner & Sheila Joshi<br />
<br />
<b>A new map of new territory</b><br />
<br />
This weekend we attended a lecture by San Francisco Jungian analyst
Richard Stein, MD, who introduced us to a way of thinking about reality
that helped illuminate some of the problems that come with a psychic
opening that is brought about by neurological damage or is otherwise
distressing.<br />
<br />
Dr. Stein introduced us to the work of Henry Corbin (1903 – 1978), who
was a professor of Islamic Studies at the Sorbonne, a Christian
theologian, and an expert on 12th and 13th c. Sufism and Persian
mysticism.<br />
<br />
Corbin coined the term “Mundus Imaginalis” to explain to Westerners the
Sufi account of a territory that exists between the physical, sensory
world and the spirit world (which Plato saw as consisting of ideal
forms, but which some conceptualize as formless). This intermediate
world has its own consistent topography, but is also constantly
influenced and shaped by the physical and the spiritual worlds. <br />
<br />
The Mundus Imaginalis is something like the Christian heaven; it’s the
part of reality where archetypes exist; it is peopled by beings,
including angels.<br />
<br />
We embodied humans both perceive this Mundus Imaginalis and we create
in it. It’s where synchronicities and creative leaps happen, where
grace reaches us. It’s where the experiences we call psychic happen,
as well as dreams (Rossi, p. 4).<br />
<br />
It’s a tricky term because Corbin seems to have had in mind a very real
part of reality, but at least one of the ways it is accessed and
influenced by us is via our imagination. Yet, in some ways, the Mundus
Imaginalis is more real than the physical, sensory world we call real.<br />
<br />
Corbin also used the term “active imagination,” which he may have got
from Jung, or may have developed simultaneously. It is a method of
perception and exploration that is supposed to straddle the physical
world and the Mundus Imaginalis, allowing interplay between them (Voss,
p. 5).<br />
<br />
British psychoanalyst D.W. Winnicott’s concepts of “potential space”
and “transitional phenomena” seem related. Transitional phenomena are
objects or artistic products or ideas that may be found or created by
someone, which are both concretely real, yet also have innate or
endowed magic – like a baby’s favorite blanket.<br />
<br />
Potential space is Winnicott’s conceptualization of a state or field
where transitional phenomena are found and / or created. An example of
being in potential space would be the composer who writes a piece of
music, yet might also feel it was communicated to her by a Muse.<br />
<br />
The use of transitional phenomena (like a comforting blanket or
favorite piece of music) can also prop up the potential space, making
further play, creativity, and discovery even more likely.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Getting lost and scared in the new territory</b><br />
<br />
Now, what happens if you have a psychic opening that is brought about
by neurological damage or is otherwise abrupt, distressing, and
discontinuous with your previous weltanschauung?<br />
<br />
Theoretically, you now have suddenly increased access to the Mundus
Imaginalis. This is supposed to be a desirable thing, expanding your
capacity for creativity, grace, and mystical fun. But, nooooooooo. We
seem to experience it as frightening and overwhelming. And we imagine
the worst.<br />
<br />
In fact, it seems like most people going through an abrupt psychic
opening (including those of us in recovery from psych med neuro
damage) have too much imagination. And it all has a relentlessly
negative bias. To varying degrees, and with varying focuses, we all
seem to start creating / finding bêtes noires. <br />
<br />
Richard Stein said that when you first encounter a repressed aspect of
yourself or your culture, it almost always comes up first as dark --
almost as if it were angry or vengeful for awhile for having been
neglected by you for so long.<br />
<br />
Psychologist Kaye Rossi, Ph.D. made the very interesting claim that
“hitting bottom” --when someone’s life falls apart due to addiction
such that they finally become able to stop being as addicted -- occurs
in the Mundus Imaginalis (p. 29). <br />
<br />
According to one of the working hypotheses of this blog, distressing
psychic openings happen for reasons analogous to hitting bottom (see 29
Feb 12 post).<br />
<br />
Rossi said that, when hitting bottom, the addicted person unwittingly
co-creates with other intelligences in the Mundus Imaginalis some kind
of synchronicity or wake up call that makes it possible and necessary
to start letting go of the addiction (pp. 216-223).<br />
<br />
Clearly, it is better to be admitted to this level of awareness than
not, even if admittance is initially frightening and requires painful
purification and evolution. But, for some of us, it is, at first, a
perilous hero’s journey, fraught with terrors. Like Orpheus, you have
to be careful where you look.<br />
<br />
English Religious Studies Lecturer Angela Voss, Ph.D. wrote that if
active imagination “is solely directed downwards toward matter it can
only produce images which are ‘fantastic, imaginary, unreal or even
absurd’ whose attraction is surface-deep and which flutter on the walls
of the cave in which men are fettered. The task of human beings then
is to purify and liberate the soul so that it may begin to pick up, as
it were, the traces of divine meaning behind the appearances of things”
(Voss, p. 5).<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Finding and / or creating a wonderful home in the new territory</b>
<br />
<br />
In other words, if we keep going, and purify ourselves neurologically,
psychologically, and spiritually, we become more proficient in the
Mundus Imaginalis. Then, having a lot of imagination starts to become
a gift.<br />
<br />
According to the 12th c Sufi mystic Ibn Arabi, it is our spiritual
aspiration, or “himma” that facilitates the presence of the
sought-after through the very act of desiring it. Corbin says himma
can concretely create that which it seeks (Voss, p. 9).<br />
<br />
“The himma of a mystic can create changes in the world through an
intensity of imagination that resonates on the plane of archetypal
Ideas; he is thus himself a divine creator who establishes the patterns
from which material forms derive. What we call a miracle is the result
of such a capacity to bring spiritual power to bear on matter and cut
through the literal dimension of cause and effect” (Voss, p. 9).<br />
<br />
Seth, the famous being channeled by medium Jane Roberts said something
strikingly similar: “Imagination and emotions are the most
concentrated forms of energy that you possess as physical creatures.
Any strong emotion carries within it far more energy than, say, that
required to send a rocket to the moon. Emotions, instead of propelling
a physical rocket, for example, send thoughts from this interior
reality through the barrier between nonphysical and physical into the
objective world — no small feat, and one that is constantly repeated”
(Seth, The Nature of Personal Reality, p. 95).<br />
<br />
So, although at one point in the process we seem to have “too much”
imagination, and it plagues us, the solution may lie in having even
more imagination. As we develop our relationship with the Mundus
Imaginalis, our imagination begins to come from a deeper part of
ourselves, so that what is found or created is more truly great for us,
more individual, more apposite, than anything we could have imagined
for ourselves before we tumbled into the opening.<br />
<br />
<br />
Sources:<br />
<br />
Rossi, Kaye. (2004). Synchronicity and hitting bottom: A Jungian
perspective on the return of the return of the feminine through
addiction and recovery. Pacifica Graduate Institute dissertation.<br />
<br />
Stein, Richard. (2012). The work of Henry Corbin: Reflections on
Persian Sufism and Jung’s psychology. Lecture, 17 March 2012, The C.G.
Jung Institute, San Francisco.<br />
<br />
Voss, Angela. (2007). Becoming an angel: The Mundus imaginalis of
Henry Corbin and the Platonic path of self-knowledge.<br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Barbara Croner, M.F.T. is a psychotherapist in
San Francisco, and a co-founder of the <a href="http://antidepressantwithdrawal.info/" target="_blank">International Antidepressant Withdrawal Project</a>.</span></i><br />
<br />Sheila Joshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789487768317341942noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6006622137752807559.post-20500867901398759842012-03-12T08:35:00.000-07:002012-03-12T08:35:42.543-07:0030 stranded dolphins saved in Arraial do Cabo, Brazil<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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At the bottom of this post is an absolutely stunning video,
filmed 5 Mar 12 by Gerd Traue.<span> </span>Thirty
dolphins beached themselves -- coming into the beach at full throttle! -- in
Brazil, where nearby humans rapidly figured out what to do.<span> </span>All the dolphins were saved.<span> </span>The video is a bit disturbing to watch, but
at the same time incredibly moving, and it has a happy ending.</div>
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<br /></div>
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“The happy ending is all the more welcome for the fact that
it's unusual: in February, hundreds of dead bottlenose dolphins washed ashore
on the northern coast of Peru, for reasons that remain a mystery. Meanwhile almost
200 dolphins have stranded themselves on the shores of Cape Cod in the past
month; at least 125 have died, despite efforts to save them” (Jessica Phelan,
GlobalPost / CNN, 10 Mar 12).</div>
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<br /></div>
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“From New England to Peru, an unprecedented number of
dolphins have been beaching themselves in recent weeks, and experts are
grappling to understand why” Jennifer Viegas, news.discovery.com, 16 Feb 12).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is much debate but no consensus about what’s going
on.<span> </span>One commenter on
goodnewsnetwork.org suggested the strongest solar storm in 8 years, which
occurred on 5 March, might have impacted the dolphin’s sonar.<span> </span>Other theories include climate change and
pole shift (magnetic change) – it is 2012, after all!<span> </span>Capt. David Williams of http://deafwhale.com/ says that military
sonar, underwater sonar mapping, and underwater earthquakes can all cause
“barosinusitis (barotrauma in their massive head sinuses)” which is brought
about by “rapid and excessive changes in the surrounding (ambient) water
pressure.” </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Even if one or more of these materialist theories is true,
maybe we can also consider other teleological explanations for the phenomenon.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Dolphins are traditionally seen as psychic, closely bonded
with humanity, profoundly wise and intelligent, and having some special mission
that affects us all.<span> </span>There are many
anecdotes of dolphins rescuing humans, healing humans, assisting human births.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The AquaThought Foundation<span>
</span>http://www.aquathought.com/<span> </span>“is
a privately funded research organization dedicated to the exploration of
human-dolphin interaction. Since 1989, AquaThought has studied the neurological
impact of close contact with dolphins on human subjects and the related
therapeutic phenomena.” </div>
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<br /></div>
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“According to their research, the human subject's dominate
[dominant?] brain frequency drops significantly after dolphin interaction. Also
observable is a period of hemispheric synchronization (the brainwaves emitted
from both the left and right hemispheres of the brain are in phase and of
similar frequency). Also, in many instances the background EEG became more
evenly distributed within the spectrum. It is believed that this phenomenon may
have some sort of therapeutic effect on an individual’s emotional, or physical
health” (Rebecca Sato & Josh Hill, dailygalaxy.com, 12 Jun 09).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Given the myriad contemporary and historical anecdotes of
dolphins appearing out of the blue to rescue humans from gross bodily harm, and
given our newfound understanding of the subtle healing effects they also have
on us, maybe this recent spate of beachings is just a more dramatic attempt by
dolphins to connect with and help us.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Maybe these animals are putting themselves at risk for
us.<span> </span>Maybe it benefits us, Gaia, and
possibly them so much for us to be in close contact with them, to touch and
help them, that they are pushing the envelope.<span>
</span>Perhaps these sometimes painful incidents are just the growing pains of
a project to increase dolphin – human collaboration.<span> </span>This parallels the way that psi sometimes erupts distressingly in
us humans, but it is really just the growing pains of a project to connect us
more with our true selves and the transpersonal level of reality.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It feels like this incident in Brazil was meant to be and
meant to go viral.<span> </span>(As of this posting,
the video has been seen 2.5 million times on Youtube.)<span> </span>I swear it felt like it was having a
profound impact on me as I watched it.<span>
</span>And it has stirred many of the humans who’ve watched it.<span> </span>Note how the whole incident has that
choreographed feeling that life sometimes gets when you feel that something
cosmic is working through you.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/ekmMD8oYtJ0?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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And now for some comic relief –</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Best comment – jal on CNN site --<span> </span>“See, sun bathers can serve a porpoise.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Second best comment – blakeourso on Youtube:<span> </span>“See why you're not supposed to text and
drive?”</div>
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<br /></div>
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Thanks to goodnewsnetwork.org for the find.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>Sheila Joshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789487768317341942noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6006622137752807559.post-65999012628858233542012-03-06T17:32:00.000-08:002012-03-06T17:32:07.107-08:00Distressing psi is really misinterpreted insight, vitality, and developmental thrust<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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I just finished reading “Perspectives of clinical
parapsychology:<span> </span>An introductory
reader,” Kramer, Bauer, and Hövelmann, editors, and I was very struck by how
there are a handful of outpatient clinics in Europe and Argentina where people
having distressing psychic or spiritual experiences can get help from
professionals who are trained in both clinical psychology and
parapsychology.<span> </span>As far as I know, there
is no such clinic in the U.S., even though it’s a huge country which does have
a few parapsychology research centers.<span>
</span>This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the art of
counseling people who are having distressing psi experiences.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The other thing that really jumped out at me is that
distressing, usually spontaneous, psi experiences can very often be transmuted
into quantum leaps of personal development for the experiencer.<span> </span>This illuminating fact was evident
throughout the book, but it was particularly obvious from the clinical
vignettes in the Eberhard Bauer et al. article (Freiburg, Germany), and from
the theory in the Niko Kohls article (Munich).</div>
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<br /></div>
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In fact, I would go further and say that the data presented
led me to think that the spontaneous psi experiences were distressing because
they were being somewhat misinterpreted by the experiencers, and because they
contained a developmental thrust that was very much wanted but which was also
taboo.<span> </span>To me, these spontaneous
experiences really seemed like shoves from the Tao / infinite self / personal
unconscious / spirit guides – or some combination of them all!</div>
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Kohls writes:<span>
</span>“…distress and suffering have been defined by dominant mainstream
conceptualizations as negative phenomena that only consist of physical and
psychological components.<span> </span>By way of
contrast, the concept of spiritual emergency assumes that spiritual distress,
although it may bother and harm an individual at least for a certain period of
time, may actually lead to greater fulfillment and personal improvement in the
long run, if dealt with properly” (p. 139).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bauer et al. tell of the case of a woman who had distressing
precognitive dreams about her daughter’s giving birth to her granddaughter, and
then further anomalous experiences having to do with her granddaughter.<span> </span>While the precognitive dreams turned out to
have an element of truth, they were also distorted in a negative direction, as
were her other anomalous experiences.<span>
</span>“The phenomena happened during a period when [she] made substantial
advances in both her personal and professional life.”<span> </span>It also became obvious to her that her development required
separating more from her family (pp. 159 – 160).</div>
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<br /></div>
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In another case, a woman began hearing inexplicable noises and feeling
the bed shake in the new apartment she moved into after moving out of
the apartment she shared with her partner. She had guilt, fear, and
aggression about wanting space and autonomy for herself, especially
since she also had a needy mother and sister. With clinical
parapsychological counseling, she “perceived a clear interrelation
between the phenomena and her own psychological dynamics. The
[phenomena] had attained a positive, signaling function: they warned
her when she disregarded her feelings and needs, they called on her to
have a close eye on herself” (p. 162).<br />
<br />
Interestingly, this woman also had a history of psychotic process,
which was not active, but which she feared reactivating. Based on her
creative use of the anomalous noises, the next time she had threatening
psychotic material start to emerge, she deliberately engaged it
(contrary to the advice of her conventional therapist) and “within a
period of just three weeks during which the client maintained good
control…[she used painting to transform] the ‘threatening powers’ into
a ‘positive vital force’. As a consequence she separated from her
partner and completed her psychotherapy” (pp. 161- 2).<br />
<br />
In yet another case, a man began having distressing anomalous
experiences, including a spontaneous vision of a broken traffic light
with all the wires hanging out. When he investigated, he found that
the traffic light did not have wires hanging out, however it was
partially broken, and the pedestrian light remained stuck on red.
During a single clinical parapsychological session, he had many
insights about how this particular vision also symbolized a core
conflict throughout his life. Starting with an authoritarian
upbringing, he had repeatedly tried to move forward, and yet been
repeatedly blocked in his life. He had never been given the green
light, and he desperately wanted it. After this immensely fruitful
intervention, he pursued further therapy and, a couple of months later,
wrote to report that “he had started to fundamentally change his life.
He had taken all the risky steps he hadn’t even dared thinking about
before. He had separated from his wife, sold the house, and was
looking forward to take up his studies for which he had been accepted
in the meantime” (pp. 166-7). </div>
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How wonderful and fascinating and terribly important to
discern that these spontaneous, distressing psi experiences were keys to rapid,
big developmental steps.<span> </span>They could so
easily have been misinterpreted, instead, as either uselessly delusional or as
unhealthy psi.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was pleasantly struck by the steady psychodynamic
interpretation of these psi phenomena in addition to the holding of them as
bona fide psi.<span> </span>The psychodynamic piece
seems often to be missing in current, popular U.S. accounts of psychic
openings.<span> </span>Maybe this is because
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is so dominant here right now, and psychodynamic,
depth psychology is beleaguered.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Speaking of which, I was dismayed to see American cultural
imperialism up to its old tricks in the widespread use of the American
Psychiatric Association’s DSM all over the world.<span> </span>I have to admit it is a useful, standardized nosology, but it has
so much economic and social oppression built into it, it’s not even funny.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Anyway, the broadly psychodynamic approach (inc humanistic,
existential, etc.) to psi experiences apparent in this book is so smart.<span> </span>If we use the First Sight model -- that
everything we’re doing is already psi -- then things we *call* psychic are just
further extensions of our natural capacities.<span>
</span>And, why haven’t we been using these extended capacities before
now?<span> </span>Psychodynamic explanations for
this kind of developmental stall make so much sense.</div>
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The idea that distressing psychic / spiritual experiences
might be driven by some kind of need to take the next step in one’s development
parallels the strand in the history of psychology / psychiatry that has seen
psychosis in a similar light.<span> </span>John Weir
Perry at the Diabasis center, R.D. Laing, C.G. Jung, Kazimierz Dąbrowski, the
Anti-psychiatry movement in the 1960s, the Spiritual Emergency Network in the
1980s, etc. have avowed that psychosis is a crisis accompanied by much
distortion, yes, but it is also an opportunity for radical healing if it is
also interpreted as a source of truth and vitality.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Why do these developmental thrusts appear in such negative
guise, for example, as distressing psi or as psychosis?<span> </span>One important reason, that Kohls mentions in
his essay, is that they involve change in self boundaries or ego (p. 140).<span> </span>And, unfortunately, we tend to fear this and
fight it tooth and nail, even if it’s for our eventual greater happiness.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Another important reason why these developmental urges
initially appear to be bad things is that they are usually inconvenient to
others and to the powers that be.<span>
</span>That’s why they get framed as purely pathological by the DSM!</div>
<br />
We’re already psychic all the time. It’s a basic feature of how we do
everything we consider normal – walking, reading, understanding the
spoken word, etc. But, we are supposed to be so much more psychic, so
much healthier physically and psychologically, so much more powerful,
and so much more happy. That’s our natural state.<br />
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Instead, family and society unwittingly or wittingly have
trained us to be small versions of ourselves.<span>
</span>The true self does its best to emerge, but it’s a confusing, conflicted,
frightening process, that, by definition, goes against the status quo.<span> </span>Maybe the title of this post should be
“Civilization and its Discontents” (“Das Unbehagen in der Kultur”)…..</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The psychic / spiritual / transpersonal level of reality is
trying to help us.<span> </span>These clinical
parapsychologists are trying to heed that help.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sources:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bauer, E., Belz, M., Fach, W., Fangmeier, R., Schupp-Ihle,
C., & Wiedemer, A.<span> </span>(2012).<span> </span>Counseling at the IGPP – An overview.<span> </span>In Kramer, W.H., Bauer, E., & Hövelmann,
G.<span> </span>(Eds.)<span> </span>Perspectives of clinical parapsychology:<span> </span>An introductory reader, Bunnik, The
Netherlands:<span> </span>Stichting Het Johan
Borgman Fonds.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Kohls, N.B. (2012). Are spiritual and transpersonal aspects important
for clinical parapsychology? In Kramer, W.H., Bauer, E., &
Hövelmann, G. (Eds.) Perspectives of clinical parapsychology: An
introductory reader, Bunnik, The Netherlands: Stichting Het Johan
Borgman Fonds. </div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"></span>Sheila Joshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789487768317341942noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6006622137752807559.post-25135401489717493962012-02-29T18:54:00.000-08:002012-02-29T18:54:17.221-08:00Why do some people have dark spiritual / psychic openings? Hypoth #2 – farther from the bull’s eye / destiny (some Taoism)<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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People who have the more distressing path may be further off
track from where God / the Tao / the collective unconscious needs them to be
for the good of themselves and the whole.<span>
</span>The bigger gap between where they are supposed to be and where they are,
and the concomitant shove to fix things, cause distress.<span> </span>There also may be more neurological
re-wiring required, which is disruptive.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Disclaimer – I really don’t mean this as a criticism.<span> </span>I know first hand that you can be on a very
reasonable track through life, yet the Tao apparently thinks it’s not where
you’re supposed to be.</div>
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<br /></div>
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In fact, I recently learned something that fits with this
from a wonderful lecture by Nancy Evans Bush on commonalities between NDEs and
biblical visions <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tb2eab4N6bA">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tb2eab4N6bA</a>.<span> </span>She says that she prefers “The Unvarnished
New Testament,” a fresh 1991 translation of the original Greek by Andy Gaus
that strips away some of the later Christianizing interpretation, and hews
closer to the earlier, colloquial Greek.<span>
</span>For example, whereas the King James Bible translates “hamartia” as
“sin,” this new translation renders it as “mistake” or “doing wrong.”<span> </span>The word is a term from archery, and
literally means “missing the mark.”<span> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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The implications here are big.<span> </span>First, that you’re not a bad person, but just an off-target
person.<span> </span>Second, that there *is* a
target!</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span></span>As Nancy Evans Bush
says humorously, it’s the difference between “Oh you miserable, Godforsaken
wretch” and “Hey, you missed your mark….”</div>
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And as George Witterschein writes in the introduction to The
Unvarnished New Testament:<span> </span>“The very
word itself implies a much more optimistic view of human volition than “sin”
does.<span> </span>With hamartia we are talking
about something essentially correct in human nature, a part of us that wants to
do what is good and right, but misses the bull’s eye.<span> </span>Our goal is the right one, but somehow we miss it” (p. 13).</div>
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<br /></div>
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So, the second implication of this lovely ancient Greek is
that there *is* a target, and Somebody or Something wants to help you get on
it.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One exposition of this idea comes from Taoism, which is an
ancient Chinese philosophy with roots in prehistoric nature religions.<span> </span>It proposes that there is a natural,
harmonious way for the universe to be -- the Tao -- and that we can align ourselves
with this nature of things through “wu wei” or effortless action,<span> </span>and that this results in harmony and power for
us, too.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The Tao Te Ching, a collection of Taoist sayings that dates
to at least the 6<sup>th</sup> c. BCE, if not earlier, says this --</div>
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“…It is natural too</div>
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That whoever follows the way of life feels alive,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That whoever uses it properly feels well used,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Whereas he who loses the way of life feels lost,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That whoever keeps to the way of life</div>
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Feels at home,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Whoever uses it properly</div>
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Feels welcome,</div>
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Whereas he who uses it improperly</div>
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Feels improperly used…”</div>
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(Witter Bynner translation, 1944 / 1980, p. 39)</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Not only is it in *your* interests to be aligned with the
Tao, but it is in the interests of the *Tao* for you to be aligned with
it.<span> </span>As Judith Schutz, a Toronto
Bioenergy Therapist <a href="http://bioenergyandcancer.blogspot.com/">http://bioenergyandcancer.blogspot.com/</a>
once said to me:<span> </span>“….every action that
is not wu wei has consequences and further fragments the Tao” (personal
communication, 12 Sep 11).<span> </span>This
fragmentation then needs to be repaired.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, here we have the idea from early Biblical manuscripts
and from ancient Taoism that there is a proper target or track for our
lives.<span> </span>This idea occurs in many other
traditions as well.<span> </span>For example, Buddha
said:<span> </span>"Your work is to discover
your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it.”<span> </span>And the same idea has been urged by modern
visionaries.</div>
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<br /></div>
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In “The Power of Myth,” Bill Moyers asks Joseph
Campbell:<span> </span>“Do you ever have the sense
of.…being helped by hidden hands?”<span> </span>And
Campbell answers:</div>
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<br /></div>
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“All the time. It is miraculous. I even have a superstition
that has grown on me as a result of invisible hands coming all the time —
namely, that if you do follow your bliss you put yourself on a kind of track
that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought
to be living is the one you are living. When you can see that, you begin to
meet people who are in your field of bliss, and they open doors to you. I say,
follow your bliss and don't be afraid, and doors will open where you didn't
know they were going to be.” (p. 150).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And Gregg Braden writes:<span>
</span>“Can we recognize that the greatest threats to our familiar way of life
are really nature’s “nudge” toward a new way of being?” ( Fractal Time, p.
203).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At the IAWP <a href="http://antidepressantwithdrawal.info/">http://antidepressantwithdrawal.info/</a>,
we believe that many things are needed to help a person recover fully from
psych meds and psych med withdrawal, but perhaps the most powerful thing is to
discover and pursue your true passions.<span>
</span>One implication of this is that the health and spiritual crisis may have
been created in the first place, in part, by not been on target *enough* for
your *truest* passions.</div>
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Now, let’s tie hypothesis # 1 (24 Feb 12 post) and hypothesis
# 2 together.<span> </span>Hypothesis # 1 was that
some people may have the darker spiritual path because there is an unobvious
sector of basic mistrust or nihilism in them which, despite their perhaps
leading a reasonable life, is called up to be healed so that they can lead an
even truer life.<span> </span>Hypothesis # 2 is that
some people may have the darker spiritual path because they are further off
track from where they are supposed to be in the divine order of things (even if
leading a reasonable life) and they are being shoved a greater distance to get
back on target.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Some people are obviously in a lot of distress, or very
injured early in life, or making un-self-loving choices.<span> </span>It seems logical that a spiritual opening
for them might need to cover a greater distance and so might be difficult.<span> </span>As someone once said to me:<span> </span>“Trauma….the gift that keeps on
giving.”<span> </span>At this point in our
development as a species, the process of healing from trauma is still somewhat
traumatic itself.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But, even people who are leading reasonably healthy,
self-loving lives might still be off their *truest* mark because of this
putative unhealed unobvious basic mistrust.<span>
</span>Let’s say the Tao / God calls on you to get more aligned with It and/or
your true self and /or your destiny.<span> </span>If
making that correction involved confronting this basic mistrust, it could cause
a lot of fear and turmoil.<span> </span>If you had
been leading a fairly stable life or had already done a lot of work on yourself, this
fear and turmoil could be a big surprise.</div>
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The existence of an unconscious basic mistrust may bump your
elbow so you’re still hitting the target but not the bull’s eye.<span> </span>The Tao comes along and pushes your arm into
correct archery form (ouch).<span> </span>Now, you
start hitting the bull’s eye *and* your form has been corrected.<span> </span>In other words, you have discovered your
truest destiny *and* you have healed the basic mistrust.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(At the beginning of this post, we also mentioned that a
bigger gap between where you are and where you’re supposed to be could lead to
a bigger remodeling job neurologically.<span>
</span>But this is enough for one post, so we’ll discuss the neurological
aspect more later.)</div>Sheila Joshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789487768317341942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6006622137752807559.post-28654540872490909952012-02-24T19:02:00.000-08:002012-02-24T19:02:50.755-08:00Why do some people have dark spiritual / psychic openings? (ex: distressing NDEs) Hypoth #1 – unconscious mistrust<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span></span>Neurological incident, illness, accident, Kundalini in
general, but especially some Kundalini, the shamanic path in general, NDEs in
general, but especially distressing NDEs, alien abductions, hauntings,
etc.<span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Why do some people have a very, very dark night of the soul
on the way to an evolutionary leap whereas others have a still challenging, but
much more pleasant, promptly rewarding journey?<span> </span>I mean it just blows my mind some of the autobiographies out
there right now of people who just *ping* started to have a psychic opening out
of the blue with, yeah, some fear, but holy moly, not that much, and lots of
fun and rewards right away.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In this post, we’ll look at distressing NDEs as one example
of the darker spiritual path, offer one hypothesis for why some people have the
darker path, and bring in psychologists Erik Erikson and Bonnie Greenwell for
support.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Pluralism disclaimer – Probably, darker spiritual openings
happen for many reasons, but I can’t help looking for a pattern.<span> </span>Maybe there are one or two factors that are
*more* correlated with the darker path.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nancy Evans Bush is past president of the International
Association for Near Death Studies, and is now semi-retired after some thirty
years of research on NDEs.<span> </span>She has
specialized in gaining recognition and understanding for distressing NDEs,
having had one herself in early adulthood, with no help at that time for
processing it.<span> </span>She maintains a
fascinating blog at dancingpastthedark.com, and is also preparing a book on
distressing NDEs.</div>
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Ms. Bush recently posted an extremely useful summary of what
we know so far about NDEs.<span> </span>She reports
that approximately one in five NDEs are distressing, but there is both stigma
about reporting a distressing NDE and fear of hearing about them, so the
incidence might be higher.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now, just the fact of having an NDE at all means a more
distressing spiritual opening is happening in that the individual had to get
very sick / injured and nearly die!<span> </span>And
even pleasant NDEs can cause much disruption and suffering after the fact, as
survivors integrate the learnings and go through big developmental leaps.<span> </span>Having said that, there is still a
significant difference between the impact of pleasant NDEs and distressing
NDEs.<span> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Based on a lifetime of study, Ms. Bush reports that NDEs –
both pleasant and distressing – occur to people in all the obvious demographic
groups you might think of, including all levels of education, all levels of
religiosity, and all expectations about the afterlife.<span> </span>Furthermore, “There is no evidence that
character, religious activity, or moral status determines the type of NDE a
person will have. Saints have reported dreadful visionary experiences.
Criminals have reported glorious NDEs. Some individuals have experienced both”
(her blog, 19 Feb 12 post).</div>
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“Pleasant NDEs tend to convey powerful messages that are
common to all human experience, across religious and philosophical systems: a
mandate to love, to have compassion, to keep learning,<span> </span>and to be of service to others. Distressing
NDEs have less focused messages but follow the ancient shamanic pattern of
suffering/death/ resurrection, read as an invitation to profound
self-examination, disarrangement of core beliefs, and rebuilding into a new way
of understanding. (The new way commonly moves toward some aspect of the elements
described by positive NDEs: love, compassion, learning, service)” (19 Feb 12
post).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are some parallels between the variety of NDEs and the
variety of Neuro-Kundalini experiences in recovery from psych meds.<span> </span>Some people have short recoveries, some
super-long, some people have big spiritual openings, some have more subtle
spiritual shifts.<span> </span>After seven years of
reading hundreds of people’s accounts, I can’t see any definite demographic,
personality, or psych history predictors (nor do medication factors definitely
predict outcome).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One hypothesis is that people who have more distressing
spiritual openings may have a very particular quality of *unconscious* anxiety
from early life that has not been resolved.<span>
</span>General level of conscious anxiety does *not* seem to correlate with
having a more difficult spiritual experience.<span>
</span>Nor does conscious depression or guilt.<span>
</span>Perhaps the key factor is unconscious mistrust of the parents / God /
the universe.<span> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Erik Erikson, the famous 20<sup>th</sup> century
psychologist, built a brilliant model of developmental stages.<span> </span>Each stage is characterized by the physical
and psychological challenges that human life tends to present at around that
age.<span> </span>If the characteristic issues of a
particular stage are not resolved very well, there will be repercussions when
those issues come up again later in life. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The first stage of his model is for the birth to 18-month
period and is called “Trust v. Basic Mistrust.” During this stage, we learn to
tolerate the inherent physical discomforts of life because, ideally, there is
so much consistency and predictability in our relationships with our
caregivers.<span> </span>Teething happens during
this stage, and, again, we learn to tolerate feeling a bit rejected by caregivers
who don’t want to be bitten because there is still so much external continuity
in the behavior of our caregivers.<span> </span>This
tolerance on their part also gives rise to trust in ourselves – in our capacity
to cope with our urges and to be trustworthy towards others (Childhood and
Society, pp. 119-220).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Erikson makes a rather surprising point that, as infants, we
can endure and recover from quite a bit of parental error, except for one
thing.<span> </span>Although trustworthy parenting
is desirable, the real key to creating a trusting human is to have parents who
believe life is meaningful.<span> </span>Erikson
specifies the importance of meaning within a societal or cultural context (pp.
221-2).<span> </span>I would extrapolate and
speculate that it would still be OK if a parent were significantly out of step
with her / his society, as long as s/he had a strong existential, teleological
conviction about the meaning of life.</div>
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Bonnie Greenwell, Ph.D. is a psychotherapist and teacher
with vast experience in Kundalini.<span> </span>She
is the author of “Energies of transformation:<span>
</span>A guide to the Kundalini process.”<span>
</span>Based on her study of many people going through Kundalini, she wrote:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“….I have found that the reaction of fear is especially
acute in people with a history of repressed physical or sexual abuse, who find
the awakening Kundalini energy has awakened childhood memories.<span> </span>Many experiences of transcendent states are
quite similar to dissociative states occuring during childhood abuse so that
the entire complex is reactivated.<span> </span>Such
people are forced prematurely into the need to do their “recovery” work, a
problem that is amplified by the disruption of their normal energy and
emotional states.<span> </span>In addition, the
patterning of feeling physical safety in the world, which should be the
birthright of every human, is often inadequate due to abuse and neglect.<span> </span>People who integrate this process
[Kundalini] easily often have a life-long, possibly cellular, sense of safety
and well-being in the world, that can be transferred into a willingness to
accept and explore this new experience” (p. 272).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I want to emphasize that I *do not* believe that everyone
who has a difficult spiritual opening has an abuse history.<span> </span>Greenwell is not saying that, either.<span> </span>Notice, rather, where her observation
overlaps with Erikson’s theory.<span> </span>The
odds are that parents who are abusive are a subset of parents who lack a strong
sense of the meaningfulness of life.<span> </span>In
fact, I think it’s safe to say that abuse survivors who were lucky enough to
have some caregiver who gave them a sense of conviction about the
meaningfulness of life recover more easily than abuse survivors who did not
have that crucial, mitigating help.</div>
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<br /></div>
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If there is a particular quality of unconscious mistrust in
the person who has a darker spiritual opening, and if it is rooted specifically
in an early caregiver’s own mistrust or nihilism about the meaningfulnes of
life, then we are talking about something very specific.<span> </span>We are not saying that having an anxious
parent or being an anxious person correlates with a darker spiritual
opening.<span> </span>We are not saying that lack of
religious faith or belief in an afterlife in the caregiver or experient is
predictive.<span> </span>The caregiver and the
experient may even have had quite a lot of sense of meaning and valuing of life
prior to any dark spiritual opening.<span>
</span>The experient may have been very high functioning, spiritual, religious,
humanistic, self-respecting.<span> </span>We’re not
necessarily talking about a broad stroke character trait.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Indeed, this putative, particular sector of the self that
carries this nihilism or mistrust may have been very unobvious in the person’s
life *until* the darker spiritual opening.<span>
</span>Unobvious, but crucial.<span> </span>Because
I have learned the hard way that you can be having a fairly well-balanced,
healthy, growing life and *still* be knocked upside the head by the Tao and
shoved to recognize whole swathes of life and reality that you hadn’t been
integrating yet.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In other words, it may be the main purpose of the darker
spiritual opening to tap that untapped nihilistic, mistrustful sector of the
self and push for an even deeper evolution of the individual than had been
required for leading a reasonably good life.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, this has been a psychoanalytic / psychodynamic (and
existential) hypothesis.<span> </span>In the next
post, we’ll discuss a more transpersonal (and still existential) hypothesis.</div>Sheila Joshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789487768317341942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6006622137752807559.post-81188263796095706482012-02-20T19:53:00.000-08:002012-02-20T19:53:00.041-08:00Neuro-Kundalini v. Non-neuro-Kundalini<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Kundalini awakening seems to be a spiritual, psychological,
and neurological phenomenon, which includes neuro-endocrinological
re-design.<span> </span>However, there may be an
important difference between Kundalini awakenings that are triggered by
neurological incidents, such as traumatic brain injury, and K. awakenings that
arise spontaneously or are triggered by non-neurological events such as 12
years of yoga.<span> </span>Of course, while we’re
in the body, *everything* is a neurological event, but, you understand, I am
saying some K. is precipitated by more significant neurological discontinuity.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This blog is particularly focused on the kind of
neurological injury / disorder that includes the element of dysautonomia –
dysregulation or instability of the autonomic nervous system.<span> </span>Some neurological problems don’t seem to
involve dysautonomia, but many do.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dysautonomia can present with an infinite array of symptoms,
but the main idea of it is that the myriad homeostatic mechanisms that we rely
on every second of the day don’t do their usual smooth and prompt job of
re-regulating us in response to the myriad changes in the external and internal
environment that happen every second of every day.<span> </span>Everything becomes overstimulating – the refrigerator motor
kicking in, the sun, remembering you have to do the laundry – resulting in
extreme anxiety, physical hyperarousal, cognitive confusion, severe inability
to sleep, etc.<span> </span>The normal autonomic
response is grossly magnified and grotesquely prolonged.<span> </span>Bigger stressors can take days and weeks to
calm down from.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dysautonomia has something in common with PTSD, except that the
hyperarousal is not specific to cues related to a trauma; it’s more
ubiquitous. </div>
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What are the similarities between Kundalini awakening as a
result of significant neurological trauma, especially dysautonomia<span> </span>-- we’ll call this “Neuro-Kundalini” – and
Kundalini awakening that is spontaneous or the result of any other precipitant
ranging from the gentle (years of yoga) to the harsh (non-neurological
accident) – we’ll call this “Non-neuro Kundalini”?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Similarities –</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1)<span> </span>All K. involves
neurological re-wiring, so there usually will be some neurological signs and
symptoms along the way.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2)<span> </span>All K. involves
psychological working through, even when there has been a clear neurological
insult.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
3)<span> </span>All K. presumably
involves a nod from Cosmic Consciousness<span>
</span>/ the Tao saying now is the time and this is what you are supposed to be
doing in order to become more fully yourself and contribute in the unique way
that the world needs from you.<span> </span>This is
true, even if the precipitating event is a neurological incident.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What are the differences between Neuro-Kundalini and
Non-neuro-Kundalini?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Differences --</div>
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<br /></div>
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1)<span> </span>Autonomic
instability makes it extremely difficult to learn, metabolize, or work through
anything.<span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2)<span> </span>Any therapy that
is the slightest bit stimulating or activating will trigger autonomic
instability *without* this leading to working through or metabolization of the
therapy.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
3)<span> </span>The ratio of
light to dark is extremely skewed to the dark.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Let me explain these differences more.<span> </span>I am a psychoanalytically-oriented
psychologist who has been in two personal therapies and continues to try to
learn more about myself on my own.<span> </span>I
have experienced psychotherapy facilitating profound change in myself and in my
clients.<span> </span>Because of both my training
and my personal therapy, I developed a good memory.<span> </span>I was a good learner.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since I emerged from prescription antidepressant use with
brain damage, I watch myself and my fellow survivors be astonishingly unable to
metabolize or work through any external event or internal insight.<span> </span>We stay stuck on any distressing event ad
infinitum. Insight is almost useless.<span>
</span>We have to repeat the most inane self-soothing comments over and over,
day after day, for years, with little apparent learning.<span> </span>My long term and short term memory are now
poor – although they are slowly improving.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Most therapies – psychotherapy, acupuncture, energy healing,
massage, yoga – are somewhat stimulating as part of the process of promoting
change.<span> </span>But if you are neurologically
precluded from digesting any stimulation, then all these therapies become less
useful, and sometimes downright harmful.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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At this point in time, we have no good therapies for
dysautonomia.<span> </span>Although it has
similarities to PTSD,<span> </span>PTSD responds to
good psychotherapy much of the time. Neuro damage only partially does – mostly
in the sense of gaining a holding environment from it or learning things that
will be useful later when the neuro damage is more healed.<span> </span>Although we have therapies for some of the
cognitive and physical symptoms of neurological damage – we can re-teach a person
to use a fork, and speak, and use mnemonic devices -- we have no good therapies
for dysautonomia or for the affective symptoms of neuro damage.<span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Concomitantly, we have no good therapies for
Neuro-Kundalini.<span> </span>Although
Non-neuro-Kundalini will respond to a wide range of therapies, Neuro-Kundalini
will not respond well, even with holding from a skillful, experienced, well-intentioned
professional.<span> </span>The autonomic nervous
system is hyper-reactive to anything, and does not re-achieve homeostasis for a
long time.<span> </span>The good news is that the
neurological damage slowly heals on its own, and the individual becomes more
available for more therapies.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The other major difference between Non-neuro-Kundalini and
Neuro-Kundalini is the ratio of light to dark.<span>
</span>Non-neuro-Kundalini awakenings have a range, but they usually include
some experiences of ecstasy and bliss mixed in with the fear and
overwhelm.<span> </span>Neuro-Kundalini awakenings also
occur along a spectrum, but tend to not to have any experiences of ecstasy and
bliss.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Also, with Non-neuro-K, you are more likely to get episodes
of normalcy to relieve the outre, bizarre, surrealness.<span> </span>However, with Neuro-K, you are unlikely to
get any breaks from the surreal state.<span>
</span>It is like an attenuated, many-years-long LSD trip.<span> </span>Non-neuro-K may tend to show improvement
sooner than Neuro-K.<span> </span>The psychological
impact of almost never getting a chance to feel normal and grounded for a
minute is vast.<span> </span>During the first few
years of my recovery, I had the experience of feeling normal for a few hours,
and then not feeling that way again for another year, then having another few
hours of normalcy, then not feeling that way again for another year.<span> </span>How do you grasp something as odd as that?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is currently an epidemic of people going through
Neuro-Kundalini from neurological damage (the wars, psych meds, chemo drugs,
better survivability from accidents and neurological disorders – see 15 Dec 11
post).<span> </span>We’ve talked before in this blog
about neurological damage as just one of the many paths to a psychic / spiritual
opening.<span> </span>Neurological-damage-triggered
openings are among the most difficult, but they are certainly not the only
difficult ones.<span> </span>And then some openings
are a lot more pleasant.<span> </span>And then some
openings start difficult, but turn dramatically pleasant.<span> </span>It’s a worthy question in its own right to
explore *why* some people’s spiritual openings are so much darker than
others.<span> </span>In the next post, we’ll look at
what we can learn from what Nancy Evans Bush has to say about distressing NDEs.</div>Sheila Joshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789487768317341942noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6006622137752807559.post-80395103880419438352012-02-17T17:12:00.000-08:002012-02-17T17:32:55.241-08:00Djohar Si Ahmed – a psychoanalytic approach to psychic openings<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
A recently published collection of essays is a *very*
thought-provoking contribution to the really frontier profession of “clinical
parapsychology.” “Perspectives of
clinical parapsychology: An
introductory reader,” Kramer, Bauer, and Hövelmann, editors, contains 13
articles by professionals with experience in both conventional mental health
and parapsychology, as well as a *126-page* bibliography on the clinical aspects of exceptional human
experiences!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Today, I am going to focus on the article by Djohar Si
Ahmed, Ph.D. on “Psychotherapeutic Approaches to Major Paranormal Experiences
(MPE).” Dr. Si Ahmed is a psychoanalyst
in Paris, where she co-founded the Institut des Champs Limites de la Psyché,
and is Secrétaire Générale of the Institut Métapsychique International.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One of the purposes of this blog is to discover better means
of helping people who are going through a neurological injury cum psychic
opening. In her work with people who
are experiencing distress that has a psychic element, Si Ahmed uses a
combination of psychoanalytically-informed technique and theory, Eriksonian
hypnotherapy, Grof Holotropic breathwork, “Telepathy Training Groups,” and
education about psi.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In this article, Si Ahmed focuses on people who are
distressed by the psychic experience they’re having, and who don’t know how to
manage or understand it. Si Ahmed does
a masterful job of holding the fact that distressing psychic experiences often
contain both genuine psi *and* personal, unresolved psychological
material. She sensibly believes that it
is essential to identify and heal the psychodynamic issues in order to liberate
the individual’s ability to utilize psi in a secure-feeling, life-enhancing
way.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She says that sudden openings of psi faculties “mobilize all
levels of the being: archaic,
physiological, psychological, affective, cognitive, and spiritual ones” (p.
66). People “suddenly find themselves
exposed to an event that goes beyond what seems thinkable or tolerable, an
event that shakes their world view and its boundaries, with all the
corresponding suffering and distress” (p. 67).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Part of what makes sudden psychic openings so overwhelming
is that they often emerge from a period of crisis, during which the primitive,
psychotic level which is in all of us is more stirred up. Also, major paranormal experiences challenge
the established status of imaginary v. real, inner v. external. So, some of the
foundations of one’s sense of self and reality become confused and have to be
re-negotiated. Another way of thinking
about it is that the psychic experience represents an eruption of archetypal
material into one’s psyche.
“Consequently the consciousness is completely swamped by the contents of
the collective unconscious” (p. 67).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Si Ahmed points out that non-ordinary states of
consciousness help us free ourselves from “the habitual constraints of body,
space, and time. The subject’s
unconscious takes advantage of these transient states to *recall to the
surface* …the exact material that the psyche most vitally needs to promote a
process of change, development and healing” (p. 69). </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Furthermore, she refers to Ehrenwald (1978) in pointing out
that the life crises that may trigger a psychic opening, and the crisis caused
by the psychic opening itself must necessarily re-awaken whatever trauma there
is in the prenatal and perinatal relationship with the mother (and other
caregivers), because that’s where the first telepathic link was ever formed
(p.70). And, for many of us, that’s
where our psi is kind of developmentally arrested…..until, boom, we have a
psychic opening in adulthood….</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is really a superb article that validated and deepened
my belief in the value of a psychoanalytic / psychodynamic approach to bringing
psi into your life. There are a few
people who have been raised in a family that normalizes psi, and have had psi
integrated into their lives throughout their development. But, at this time in history, most of us
have imbibed very negative or invalidating messages about psi from our cultures
and/or families, and have experienced a significant developmental gap between
our innate, very early childhood psi and taking psi on again at some point
later in life. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is a set up. It
is nearly impossible, under these conditions, not to misattribute to psi the
very early experiences of one’s environment and important caregivers, with a
negative bias. Even if you
intentionally choose to develop your psi, but especially if it is thrust upon
you by circumstances in adulthood, your experience of psi will be
developmentally out of step with the rest of your life. Kind of like how, if you are not an artist,
and you take a drawing class, you start at about the age 10 level of skill,
because that was the last time you worked on drawing!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On top of this developmental lag, we have the negative
messages about psi throughout our lives,
so we are more likely to transfer or project onto this ambiguous new experience
that which was problematic in our early lives. On top of this, we have the
likelihood that someone takes up psi in adulthood in order to solve a problem,
so there is yet another reason for this new phenomenon to become entangled in
our minds with unresolved difficulties.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Finally, psychic ability makes you more truly yourself, more
powerful, and, at this time in history, more at odds with just about any
national culture. Therefore, it is a
revolutionary, anti-establishment force.
Therefore, there will be resistance to it, both from without, and from
within.<br />
<br />
<br />
Source:<br />
<br />
Si Ahmed, D. (2012). Psychotherapeutic approaches to Major Paranormal
Experiences (MPE). In Kramer, W.H., Bauer, E., & Hövelmann, G.
(Eds.) Perspectives of clinical parapsychology: An introductory
reader, Bunnik, The Netherlands: Stichting Het Johan Borgman Fonds.</div>Sheila Joshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789487768317341942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6006622137752807559.post-6375103691901698112012-02-10T19:04:00.000-08:002012-02-10T19:13:57.413-08:00Anita Moorjani NDE<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Anita Moorjani is an unusually generous-spirited, modest
person who had a four-year struggle with cancer from 2002-2006. On 2 Feb 2006, she slipped into a coma and
crossed over to the other realm. She
returned the next day with profound insight into the nature of reality and the
cause of her cancer, and was transformed, by her own report, from a fearful,
guilty person into a joyous, self-compassionate one. Her utterly demolished body recovered at miraculous speed.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Her cancer cannot be narrowly defined as a neurological
incident – it was a full body Lymphoma – but there were neurological elements,
including the eventual development of a lemon-sized tumor at the base of the
skull, and a fluid-filled brain at the start of her coma.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She doesn’t mention a lot of psi-related effects of her NDE,
but then again she’s very modest and actually mentions feeling uncomfortable
talking about such things. But she does
say that many people have told her they feel an energy change when they’re
around her now, and she sees that her own new state of deep well-being has a
field effect on the people she is close to.
She also reports increasing sychronicities.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She says when life has its ups and downs she can re-center
herself on what she felt during her NDE, and often finds that external
obstacles then fall away.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Moorjani mostly focuses on how her great fear contributed to
the development of her cancer, but she also makes brief mention of her belief
that her inherent great power’s natural need to express itself became cancer
because there was no better outlet for it (p.70). “The cancer is just my own unexpressed power and energy! It turned inward *against* my body, rather
than outward. (p. 165)” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I believe that *my* cancer was related to my self-identity,
and it feels as though it was my body’s way of telling me that my soul was
grieving for the loss of its own worth – of its identity. (p. 180)”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I do suggest, however, not viewing illness or symptoms as
“something to be gotten rid of,” like an enemy. This is a fear-based reaction.
For me, the appearance of these symptoms is my body’s way of trying to
heal me. (p. 181)”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This jibes with the general hypothesis of this blog that any
neurological disorder can be thought of as a misinterpretation of, reaction to,
or blockage of a psychic opening.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
According to the First Sight model, psi is already
universally present in how we perceive and interact with life. But, most people live at a level of psychic
functioning that is culturally-acceptable and is labeled non-psychic. However, we are here on Earth to be fully
our true selves, which includes being more efficacious than most of us let
ourselves be, which would look more “psychic.”
If you block this inherent power, it will come out in distorted
ways. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Also, developmental thrust may lead to bursts of the true
self trying to express itself, and that might be called a “psychic
opening.” Then, if you don’t have the
information and cultural support to recognize what’s going on, you can
misinterpret the signs as disease.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, there are several slightly different, but related and
overlapping ways of looking at this.
But the main idea, supported by Moorjani’s NDE learnings, is that
illness is a sign of the true self and “psychic” capacity being misinterpreted,
reacted to, or blocked.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Source: Moorjani,
A. (2012). Dying to be me: My
journey from cancer to near death to true healing. Hay House.</div>
</div>Sheila Joshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789487768317341942noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6006622137752807559.post-29503599706540313472012-02-03T18:01:00.000-08:002012-02-03T18:01:55.682-08:00Lucid dreaming – fantasy, reality, or blend?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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The narrow definition of lucid dreaming is having a dream
wherein you know you are asleep and dreaming.<span>
</span>But, there may be a spectrum of related phenomena.<span> </span>For example, there is also the situation
where you think you’re awake, but you’re actually asleep, and you discover this
only when you really wake up.<span> </span>Then,
there are sleep time OBEs and visitations from non-physical beings.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This raises the question of whether these experiences are
reality or fantasy.<span> </span>My best
understanding at this point is that there are sleep time experiences that are
somewhat veridical, ie external, shared reality; and some that are purely
fantasy, ie a psychological product of your own imagination.<span> </span>In fact, they may always be a blend.<span> </span>It seems like all psi experiences, no matter
how veridical – remote viewing, NDEs, OBEs, clairvoyance, etc. – are
experienced via your own psychological repertoire, so they all have some
element of idiosyncratic interpretation mixed in.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Still, I want to emphasize that there is a lot of evidence
for real, veridical, evidential visitations, OBEs, and other types of experiences
that happen while we are asleep-ish.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Apparently, it has been theorized that there are different
sub-types of REM sleep, and that lucid dreaming occurs during a particular
type.<span> </span>There is still disagreement about
what defines this particular type of REM sleep.<span> </span>It might be increased alpha; increased parietal beta; increased
frontal and fronto-lateral gamma, or something else.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The neural substrate also may be different depending on
whether the lucid dreaming is spontaneous or induced.</div>
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In some very small studies, spontaneous lucid dreams have
shown increased parieto-occipital beta and “global increase in theta phase –
gamma amplitude coupling”<span> </span>(Huh?<span> </span>I think this means that the theta waves
modulated the gamma waves, and that they’re showing a tendency to occur
together.<span> </span>In other words,
synchronization occurred.)<span> </span>This may be a
sign of increased visual attention and executive memory processing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In other small studies, induced lucid dreaming has shown
increased frontal gamma or increased right parieto-temporal gamma.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mota-Rolim et al. (2010) propose that the different EEG
readings in different lucid dreams may mean that there are different ways to
enter a lucid dream.<span> </span>Pluralism strikes
again!<span> </span>I like this!<span> </span>But they’re approaching the question from a
purely biological point of view, with no interest in the possibility of
consciousness existing outside the brain or in psi.<span> </span>I wonder if the different EEG readings might also mean something
about the veridicality of the experience.<span>
</span>IOW, are you accessing your memories and creating your own internal
video game, or are you accessing your memories *and* an external, veridical
information source?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hobson (2009) thinks that lucid dreaming may be a state that
is an amalgam of the waking and the dreaming states – “Lucid dreaming is
characterized by more 40 Hz power [gamma] than non-lucid dreaming, especially
in frontal regions.<span> </span>Since it is 40 Hz
power that has been correlated with waking consciousness in previous studies,
it can be suggested that enough 40 Hz power has been added to the non-lucid
dreaming brain to support the increase in subjective awareness that permits
lucidity but not enough to cause full awakening (p. 42).”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Again, Hobson appears not to be interested in psi or the
possibility of consciousness existing outside the brain.<span> </span>He and many others think it’s possible that
gamma is the signature of consciousness being created within the brain.<span> </span>In other words, the presence of gamma in
several different locations in the brain at the same time is what creates the
experience of consciousness.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
However, I am going to speculatively interpret his findings
in light of the evidence that gamma waves also correlate with psi in general,
and even more so with conscious psi.<span>
</span>Don (2010) reviews several studies that suggest that, although alpha and
theta may be related to psi, gamma is an even stronger predictor.<span> </span>Don also noticed an interesting possible
field effect related to the presence of gamma.<span>
</span>Brazilian psychic surgeons and UFO abductees unwittingly made random
event generators non-random near themselves, while they were in altered states
that showed a lot of gamma.<span> </span>This field
effect might be what made it possible for the surgeons to cut into someone with
a rusty saw without much bloodshed or trauma!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s interesting that gamma has been linked with general
consciousness in the non-parapsychological community and with psi in the
parapsychological community.<span> </span>This hints
again at the possibility that consciousness *is* psi, along the lines of
Carpenter’s First Sight model (see 6 Jan 12 blog post).<span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, to summarize the main hypotheses of this post -- </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Different EEG profiles may correlate with the degree of
veridicality of a lucid dream, ranging from pure fantasy to highly evidential,
with a full spectrum in between.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Gamma brainwaves may create a field effect outside the body,
and this may be a clue to how lucid dreamers can access veridical,
transpersonal aspects of reality such as deceased loved ones.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sources (thanks to Gerd Hövelmann) –</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Don, N.S.<span> </span>(2010).<span> </span>Electrical activity in the brain and the
extraordinary mind.<span> </span>In “Mysterious
minds:<span> </span>The neurobiology of psychics,
mediums, and other extraordinary people,” Krippner, S. & Friedman, H.L.,
eds.<span> </span>Praeger.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hobson, J.A. (2009).<span>
</span>The neurobiology of consciousness:<span>
</span>Lucid draming wakes up.<span>
</span>International Journal of Dream Research, 2, (2), 41-44.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mota-Rolim, S.A., Erlacher, D., Tort, A.B.L., Araujo, J.F.,
& Ribeiro, S.<span> </span>(2010).<span> </span>Different kinds of subjective experience
during lucid dreaming may have different neural substrates.<span> </span>International Journal of Dream Research, 3,
(1), 33-36.</div>Sheila Joshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789487768317341942noreply@blogger.com0