Interview With Dr. Fred Travis

6 Feb

                                                                                             Sunrise Above Women’s Dome

Contextual Note: 1) This interview was developed around ten questions that occurred to me after reading some of Dr. Travis’s research.  While I had time to prepare my questions, Dr. Travis was only given the questions moments before the interview. 2) This interview was edited for readability; content was kept as accurate as possible.

My name is Andrew Galbreath.  I am a student in the pre-med program at Maharishi University of Management.  During the January block of 2012, I researched the human brain.  I am privileged to have this interview with Dr. Frederick Travis, Dean of the Graduate School, Chair of Maharishi Vedic Science and Director of the Center for Brain, Consciousness and Cognition here at Maharishi University of Management.

AG: My first question is concerned with EEG waves. I have read that certain frequency ranges are associated with different states of consciousness.1  Does the brain simultaneously operate at multiple frequencies, or is only one frequency generated at a time?

FT: The simple answer is multiple frequencies.  For a further understanding of different frequency bands, I can give you the paper on three categories of meditation (focused attention, open monitoring, automatic self-transcending).2    It’s also on my website DrFredTravis.com.  In it, we go into a whole section on where in the brain different frequency bands are generated and what that EEG frequency suggests.  First, it is important to understand; what is the brain?  I see the brain as The Interface.  Almost like a computer interface.  A computer interface takes one type of input, and then changes it to another type of input.  And that’s what the brain is doing.  For example, we have light which is impinging on the retina, and we have pressure waves that are impinging on the ear, and we actually have touch pressure waves on the skin, chemical, taste, smell.  This energy from the outside environment is transformed into brain waves.  These brain waves develop as one neuron sends a signal to another neuron, which then sends a signal to another neuron and so on.  It’s that brain wave activity which encodes the outside world.  That’s how we as the Experiencer, the Doer, the Agent, the Self actually sees the world. So, what the brain waves are is a code, a transformation of the outside world that allows us to see the outside world.  You don’t see a sunset, you don’t see your best friend, you don’t see your wife, you don’t see the food at Annapurna.  What is actually happening is that those visual images are broken up into sequences of action potentials.  It’s almost like Morse code.  But the information isn’t in “long and shorts,” it is instead in frequency of firing.  If you are in the visual cortex seeing the picture of a sunset coming in, there’s just going to be firing rates.  If you are in the auditory cortex and you’re hearing Mozart come in, it’s going to be firing rates.  Indeed, in some people with synesthesia the information from the eye goes both to the auditory and to the visual cortex.  These firing rates allow the synesthetic person to actually see sounds.  They actually see different colors when they hear sounds; and they hear visual objects.  This is what the brain wave is, it’s that interface.

So now let’s go a little bit deeper.  Brain waves are how fast the brain is cycling and depending on which parts are involved determines how you see the world.  For instance, it is during deep sleep that the brain waves are slowest; they go up and down about one time a second.  During deep sleep you’re out to the world, you’re not connected to the outside environment.  Brain metabolic rate is decreased by about twenty percent.  When the brain is in that slow frequency, it’s actually involved in repair work; not so much repair of damage, but more repairs from ongoing use.  Every time a neuron fires it uses an energy molecule and every time different neurons fire together they change their connection.  What sleep does is replenish the energy that’s needed, and it also does housekeeping at the level of the connections between brain cells.

The frequency of the brain is going to be generated from many points at a time.  Some of these you will see and some of these you won’t see.  For instance, in EEG when you put sensors on the scalp, the reason you are able to pick up something under them is because the brain cells are oriented perpendicular to the surface, with hundreds of thousands of neurons lined up side to side.  What’s happening when one neuron talks to another is that it’s changing the concentration of ions, both inside and around the neuron.  If it’s excitatory, what will happen is positive ions will be going into the cell, making the outside partially negative.  In the interstitial fluid around the cell there’s a difference in charge that develops, and starts a movement of particles.  This actually entrains other neurons that are close to it, but only about a millimeter away, it’s not a major thing. This starts to recruit more and more individual neurons, and as they’re beginning to oscillate in the same frequency, we start to pick up EEG signals.  The brain does not have a smooth surface; it is highly folded in upon itself.  Where the brain has folded in, those cells which are perpendicular to the cortical sulcus are lying so that they are lengthwise to the surface of the scalp, so whatever those cells are doing we don’t pick up with EEG.  We actually pick those up with another measure called magnetoencephalography. This is possible since the magnetic signal is perpendicular to the electrical signal.

Now, the whole thing about brain waves, they give us close approximations to what’s happening, specifically in terms of level of alertness.  When your attention is going out through the senses and it’s focusing on one object in the environment, that’s when you see gamma EEG.  Gamma is the fastest EEG frequency at 20 to 50 times per second.  As the attention is more directed inwards and you’re just doing ongoing processing, you see a slower EEG frequency called beta; it goes up and down 16 to 20 times a second.  There’s a frequency between 13 and 16 cycles per second and that’s the marker of stage 2 sleep, called sigma.  A little bit lower and you have alpha which is 8 to 12 cycles per second.  The top part of the alpha frequency, ten to twelve, is associated with brain modules which are online but not being currently used.  For instance, when most people close their eyes, in the visual center you will see alpha EEG but the frequency will be 10 to 12 cycles per second.  Meaning the visual modules are not being used because the eyes are closed.  But the brain wants to keep them awake; you want to keep them primed so as soon as your eye opens a little bit, you can see.  The bottom part of the alpha frequency, 8 to 10 Hertz, is what you see when the attention is turned within but you’re not actively processing.  This is the frequency seen during Transcending.  Theta is next from 4 to 8 Hertz, the top part of theta, 6 to 8 Hertz, is seen during memory task and seen whenever the attention is turned within but now you’re actually processing.  The lower part 4 to 6 Hertz is seen during dreaming.  Below that we have Delta from 0 to 4 Hertz.  The 3 to 4 Hertz Delta can be seen in waking if different brain areas are inhibited very strongly or if there are lesions. The lowest frequency is seen when people are asleep.  Whatever part of the brain is functioning, it is contributing to the ongoing electrical activity, and then that’s all added up to what you finally get on the scale.

AG:  I see.  So the EEG is showing a simultaneous composite of the different waves that are associated with different areas of the brain.

FT: Yes.

AG: Would you clarify something for me.  You said that the EEG which you’re picking up is of multiple cells close together and perpendicular to the scalp.  Does that mean you’re not actually measuring association tracts that would be parallel to the surface?  Are you measuring close connections, as opposed to long axons?

FT: What you’re measuring is the electrical activity in one part of the scalp. We see 95% of the input from other areas in the brain.  Some can be close as you’re saying, and some can be long range.  The association fibers would just be the influence of some far distant part of the brain; 3% are from the other side, through the corpus callosum; 3% are from sub-cortical structures.  On the surface, you’re getting primarily what’s happening in that hemisphere, but it also has contributions from other parts of the brain.

AG: Okay, Thank you.  How are synchronized waves generated?

FT: Well, first I’d like to differentiate coherence waves and synchronous waves.  Coherence is whenever the phase relationship is stable.  The electrical activity from two parts of the brain is stable.  What this means is one part of the brain can either lead or lag the other part of the brain, but as long as that relationship remains stable over time, coherence is said to be high.  Synchronous waves are also coherent.  The difference is synchronous waves actually go up and down together, there’s no leading or lagging. In coherence, the EEG waves are leading and lagging because the two brain areas are involved in the same task even though they’re separated in space. It’s almost like a communication, when you have a discussion, one person talks, one person listens, and then the other person talks, and the other person listens.  There is actually a lag in activity as information is going from one part of the brain to the other.  But as long as they’re involved in the same task that relationship will remain stable.  Synchrony is suggesting that it’s not information travelling horizontally.  Because if information travels horizontally it takes time and you’ll get some phase difference there.

So, how is synchrony created?  There are actually two models of it, one is that sub-cortical areas are simultaneously activating spatially dispersed parts of the brain, and because it’s the same sub-cortical generator, it’s activating both together.  Another is something called “electrical synapses and gap junctions.”  In typical nerve conduction you have a neuron, you have the output fiber called the axon, you have a space called the synapse and then you have another neuron.   The action potential comes to the end of the axon, neurotransmitters go across the space to receptors and it creates a signal in the other neuron.  With gap junctions it’s different.  The gap junctions are usually between two dendrites.   Dendrites are often smooshed on top of each other.  It’s almost like unwashed spaghetti.  The membranes are touching each other.  In addition, there are breaks in the cell membranes that allow any electrical change in one cell to propagate into the next cell.  Almost instantaneously, electrical activity flows through those gap junctions.  The places of the brain where the most gap junctions are found are the places in the brain most central to conscious experience.  Those places are the brainstem, reticular activating system and thalamocortical circuits.  So that’s another thought of how synchronous activity can come up, especially gamma.  Gamma is very fast; it goes up and down 20 to 50 times per second.  It’s sort of a sloppy frequency band since it covers a wide range.  When you open your eyes and look out, just before you’re consciously aware of an object, there’s a burst of gamma over the brain.  What the burst of gamma seems to be doing is binding together spatially separate parts of the brain into a unity of experience.  The gamma is thought to do this by activating downstream, alerting downstream (that means later in processing) all of the neurons, “Okay here comes something, wake up. There’s something there.”   So, how are they synchronized?  It may be from a sub-cortical structure, it may be through this process of electrical synapses and gap junctions.  It’s an exciting area because it’s giving a possible candidate for the binding problem.  How are consciousness and the brain put together?  How is the activity of one tied to the other?

AG: I have read that gamma waves originating from the thalamus appear to be necessary for us to have an integrated conscious experience of reality.3  I am confused when I read that Transcendental Meditation engenders higher alpha and lower gamma during tasks, yet also read that TM creates higher broadband frontal coherence.4  Can you explain this to me?

FT:  Yes, what we have are two aspects here.  One is height of activity, which is higher alpha and lower gamma.  The other is coherence, broadband frontal coherence.  Coherence is independent of amplitude of the wave.  So that’s one understanding.  Let’s go a little bit deeper.  Gamma waves aren’t necessarily produced in the thalamus.  Typically, gamma waves are produced within the cortex and have to do with linking interactions between small brain areas.  Gamma waves are what allow you to see pieces of experience. The thalamus is central to the whole idea of alerting. In the brainstem is your reticular activating system, which is your crude turning on or turning off of arousal.  When that turns on, it goes up through the thalamus, specifically, the intralaminar nuclei.  Laminar are like plywood layers and these nuclei are within fatty layers that separate the major parts of the thalamus.  It’s an extension of the reticular activating system which goes through the thalamus, and then goes up and activates the rest of the brain.  So, those cells are critical.  When the reticular activating system is active, it goes up through the intralaminar nuclei, it goes up to the brain, and you will see gamma.  On that level you could say the thalamus produces gamma.

But what about this higher alpha, and lower gamma.  This was research looking at three groups of people; non-meditators, people practicing TM for seven years, and people practicing TM for twenty four years who reported the experience of Cosmic Consciousness.4  We looked at how their brains were different.  We found that in non-meditators compared to people reporting Cosmic Consciousness, there was a flip in the predominate brain wave.  In non-meditators, it was mainly higher gamma activity and lower alpha, and it was the opposite in the people reporting Cosmic Consciousness.  Gamma is known to be outer referral experience, when the attention is going out, it’s seeing the outside world as if collapsed into a specific experience.  You see the cup, only the cup and nothing else.  When 8 to 10 Hertz alpha activity is seen the attention is turned within and it’s undirected.  It’s seen during TM, but it’s also seen at other times.  Just before expert riflemen pull the trigger, at that moment there’s a flood of 8 to 10 Hertz alpha over their brain.  It is within that state that they pull the trigger. I think what’s happening here is that before they’re acting they’re going into silence.  It is within that silence that they move.  It’s not their individual ego telling them when to let go, it’s just the natural motor system taking over, it’s within this experience of an inner, more self-referral awareness.  I think what we’re seeing with higher alpha and lower gamma is the state where people start to live their lives as they begin to transcend.  They’re less outside in what’s happening, and they’re more self-referral.  The outside world is constantly changing, sometimes going to be good, sometimes going to be bad.  But the reality of their experience is, “I’m stable and even, and so what if I blew a tire on my car, or so what if someone ran into my car, or so what if I dropped my books and they’re all wet.  That’s happening out there, it’s not really affecting me.”  It’s not an affirmative thing you do in your brain; it’s not something you have to remember or anything like that.  It’s just the whole structure of how you perceive now.  What’s coming in is a smaller part of what’s contributing to the whole experience.  So that’s why I think we see higher alpha and lower gamma.

At the same time we find that coherence in all three frequency bands is higher as you grow towards enlightenment.  That is in the alpha band, the beta band, and the gamma band.  Now just to understand this one step further, two Finnish scientists, Palva and Palva,5 looked at a relationship called cross-frequency coherence.  For example, what’s found on the EEG when you’re doing a task is the alpha wave; let’s say it goes up and down ten times a second or once every tenth of a second.  The alpha wave, which is going up and down ten times a second, begins to be lined up with the beta wave, which goes up and down twenty times per second, and it’s lined up with the gamma wave going up 40, 50 times per second.  That means that every time you come to the baseline and you get one alpha wave, you get two beta waves.  They start at the same point, but one will go twice, and the gamma wave will go up like four or five times.  What seems to happen is these different frequency bands get lined up in the process of doing a task; gamma’s getting the pieces, beta’s doing the housekeeping, alpha is expectation and the larger field of wakefulness.  The cross frequency coherence actually gets higher and higher the more complex the task is.  It seems to be a mechanism in the brain to try and put together the different types of procedures that the brain has to do.  What we find in people reporting experiences of enlightenment is the coherence between all three of these becomes higher whatever task you’re doing.  I think it is an integration of inner and outer, of wholeness and point, of self and non-self.  One begins to see how they are part of the larger picture.

AG: Do you think that desynchronized brain states are an essential component of a healthy life?

FT: Desynchronized brain states are okay, as long as they are happening within a synchronized background.  A desynchronized brain state is a piece of the information, a piece of the puzzle coming in.  If we had the same type of brain wave throughout the whole brain you would not differentiate anything.  This is what happens in sleep.  During sleep the whole brain is in delta, with no information going in or out.  In an epileptic seizure, there’s the same frequency over the whole brain at 3 and a ½ cycles per second, again no information is going in or out.  So differentiated brain states are important to help take in differential aspects of the environment.  Remember the brain is the interface.  The frequency in the brain is as if transforming the outside world into a way that we can perceive it.  So the problem isn’t having desynchronized brain states.  The problem is that the desynchronized brain states are not themselves connected.  What we see growing in people reporting enlightenment is that the desynchronized brain states will continue, but they’re in an overall larger brain state of coherence, of synchrony.  This allows the individual parts to be put together into a larger whole.

AG: Alpha waves and activation of the default mode network (the DMN) are both associated with “eyes closed rest”6 as well as with TM.7  Is there much difference between the two activities in this respect?  And if so, what is significant about that difference?

FT: That’s very good. First, it is helpful to understand how the default mode network was found.  It was found in neural imaging data.  Neural imaging data is processed by differencing two images.  You take cerebral metabolic rate or blood flow during an experimental task, and then you subtract from it images taken during a control task.  The reason this subtraction is needed is because all parts of the brain are always active.  If you’ve ever seen two raw images, you’d be very hard pressed to say where the increase of activity was, when reading, or walking, or even during motor activities.  So they take a control task, which is as similar as possible to the experimental task, except for the experimental question, and they subtract it.  What gets left out are the areas of the brain that are more active.  This change in activity is maybe a 3 to 5% difference, it’s very small.  For example, if they want to see what parts of the brain are involved in generating verbs.  They give you a list of words as nouns and you read them.  Then they give you a list of words which are nouns, and you generate verbs.  Then they subtract them.  Notice there’s a lot of things which are common for the control condition.  You’re seeing an object, you’re seeing a word, you’re processing the word, and you’re speaking the sound out.  That’s the same as for the verb, but in addition you’re actually generating, taking the noun and generating a verb from it.  That’s how the DMN is able to be seen.

The control condition that was often used for a task was “eyes closed rest,” or eyes open looking at a fixation point.  Marcus Raquel at Washington University in St. Louisdid the original research on the default mode network.8, 9  He noticed that certain parts of the brain were consistently deactivated during tasks.  So what he asked was, “Is the eyes closed control condition we’re using actually a neutral brain state?” or “Is there some organized systematic brain processing happening when your eyes are closed and you’re not actively doing any task?”  He came up with this idea of a default mode network, in which particular areas of your brain are active when your eyes are closed and you’re not actively dealing with a task.  Even though you’re not dealing with a specific task, you’re always scanning the environment, you’re aware of yourself, how you’re feeling, where you’re going.  And when you focus on a task, those things actually disappear.  When you focus on a task you forget how you’re feeling, you forget the environment and you’re focusing on what you have to do.  After looking at nine different studies, Raquel found that this consistent decrease wasn’t actually a decrease in those areas due to the task.  It was that those areas were more active during the control condition.  By subtracting the control condition from the experimental condition certain areas of the brain came up as a negative value and looked like they were decreased.  With further research the default mode network is found to be in frontal, parietal, mainly midline areas.  It’s in the very center of the brain; they are very old structures which are basically tied with sense of self.  In some of the research they had people generate stories, one story with personal nouns and one with third person nouns.  In generating the story with first person nouns, default mode network became higher.  If you do a projective test, think about yourself in the future, default mode network is higher.  So it seems to be an intrinsic functioning of the brain when you’re not actively doing a task, and it seems very much to do with self-referral rather than object-referral.  So this was the understanding.

In the research that we conducted we looked at default mode network during TM compared to eyes closed.  Eyes closed is the typical state used to elicit default mode network activity.  And then when you give them a task it becomes less.  We thought this might be a way to get at meditation practices.  If your meditation practice involves some cognitive activity, the default mode network would become less.  Because whenever you put your attention on some cognitive task it goes down.  If default mode network actually becomes higher, it suggests that whatever you’re doing during the meditation is somehow enhancing the sense of self, that sense of self which is more than when you’re just sitting there in eyes closed rest.  What we found with TM is just that, the default mode network was higher compared to eyes closed rest.  Since the default mode network is thought to be an intrinsic brain functioning, we suggest TM takes you to an even more fundamental intrinsic level of brain functioning, which is as fundamental to eyes closed rest as eyes closed rest is fundamental to task processing.

 

AG: In the research paper you co-authored, “Patterns of EEG coherence, power, and contingent negative variation characterize the integration of transcendental and waking states,”4 it was reported that preliminary MEG data showed activity in ventral, medial and cingulate cortices during the TM practice.  Do you believe this activity is due to activation of the DMN or something else?

FT: It could be, as the medial, ventral and cingulate gyri are the parts of the brain associated with the DMN.  It is interesting not finding activation in the parietal area, because that’s also part of the DMN.  This idea of TM and DMN is not an established fact.  It’s a working hypothesis; we have some blood flow data in which we found blood flow increase in the front of the brain but not in parietal areas.  So, that did not support this idea of DMN.  We will have to see what future data continues to show.

AG: Also in the paper just mentioned, it was proposed that prefrontal and basal forebrain areas act as a “neural switch” to inhibit thalamocortical activity, and that the Cortico-Basal ganglia-Thalamocortical oscillations maintain this inhibited activity.  Do you believe these actions are prerequisites in order to develop the synchronized alpha patterns exhibited during TM?

FT: Yes.  This is actually another paper, 1999 Consciousness and Cognition.10  We had people sit for ten minutes with eyes closed, followed by a task, and then meditate for ten minutes.  In the other half the subjects meditated for ten minutes, did a task and then sat with eyes closed.  That’s where we came up with this idea of two circuits during TM, one which takes the mind-body to a state of restful alertness, and the other which maintains that state in a non-directed, non-controlled, automatic way.  Basically, the thalamus will keep the cortex awake, and the cortex will send back to the thalamus, “I’m awake.”  This is known to be a generator of alpha activity, that’s fairly well established in neuroscience.  The basal ganglia is between those two structures.  The thalamus is in the core of the brain, the basal ganglia is like earmuffs on the outside of the thalamus, and you have the cortex around it all.  The basal ganglia stretch from the front to the back of the brain.  What researchers think is that the basal ganglia is constantly sampling the activation in the cortex and modulating that activation to be at an optimal level.  This is necessary because all of the output from the frontal cortex is excitatory.  If you think about it, something sends information to the frontal cortex, the frontal cortex sends information back to the same place, and if it’s excitatory it’s going to excite that.  So now the frontal cortex is going to be more excited.  The frontal cortex will excite that part of the brain more and pretty soon the brain will be at such a high level of activation it can’t actually process.  What these basal-ganglia circuits do is sample the activation level of the cortex and modulate it; they can either move it up or slow it down. Five different loops have been identified; they are in the front, the motor cortex, parietal, occipital, and temporal.  These are thought to automatically modulate attention thresholds.  This isn’t TM research; this is just basic neuroscience research.  What Keith Wallace and I suggested was that the way we can maintain the state during TM without effort is to invoke some automatic threshold regulation.  We thought that was what we are learning to do when we learn TM.  The experience which you effortlessly have is that you realize how you can turn the physiology to a low state by shutting off the input coming up from the thalamus, and then just allow that state to self-maintain.  The body will naturally want to maintain that level of restful alertness because it’s enjoyable.  It’s enjoyable for the mind and it’s enjoyable for the body because there’s a physiological mechanism that can do it, that doesn’t involve manipulation, evaluation, trying and so on, on our part.  I think these two circuits are what conduct the process of transcending during TM.

I might make another sideline here.  The 10 to 12 Hertz, the higher band of alpha in the EEG, is correlated with lower metabolic rate.  When you see that alpha, it means the brain is idling.  Cerebral metabolic rate is lower, blood flow is lower.  If you close your eyes blood flow decreases in the back of the brain because you’re not processing, you don’t need as much blood there.  The 8 to 10 Hertz alpha is called paradoxical alpha because it’s associated with increased blood flow.  When you have increased alpha in the front it’s not that the fronto-executive system is idling; it’s actually that the fronto-executive system is more active, attentional systems are more alert.  Both of these are being supported by these thalamo-cortical loops.  Higher alpha is just due to modules which are primed and ready to go but not functioning.  Lower alpha is seen when the attentional system is more awake.  But, it’s not awake to do a specific task; it’s just awake to be aware, alert.

AG: Apneustic breathing and EEG synchronization are both associated with Transcendental Consciousness,4, 7 as well as, a lack of vagal nerve stimulation (VNS).11, 12  Here at MUM it is common to meditate before a meal, hinting that parasympathetic activity is not conducive to meditation. Have you studied the effect or effects of vagal nerve stimulation in TM?

FT: Yes, in terms of comparing the inward and outward strokes of meditation.  The measure of parasympathetic activation and vagal nerve stimulation we looked at was heart rate variability with the breath frequency.  It’s called respiratory sinus arrhythmia.  Your heart actually speeds up and slows down as you breathe.  It shows how intelligent the body is.  When you’re breathing in, the volume of air in the lungs is higher, oxygen is higher, you want to get blood through the pulmonary cavity.  When you’re breathing out, the volume of air in the lungs is lower, oxygen is lower, you don’t want to get as much blood through the pulmonary cavity.  The oxygen exchange would be less efficient.  It would be more efficient when we have a full lung of air and full oxygen.  This is what our body does throughout the 24 hour period, we breathe in, heart rate speeds up, we breathe out and it slows down.  And what governs the speeding up and slowing down of the heart rate is the vagus nerve.  It is generally thought that the larger the parasympathetic influence on the heart, the more adaptable the heart and the body are, and the individual experiences less stress.  So we looked at TM, we compared inward stroke, transcending on the mantra to outward stroke, people lost in thought.  What we found is in the process of transcending, mind on the mantra, parasympathetic activation was higher, and was also higher than during eyes closed rest.  In the outward stroke parasympathetic activation again went down.   It went down, except during these periods of Transcendental Consciousness.

Apneustic breathing, we should explain that.  There’s apnea which is breath stopping, nothing going in and out, and then there’s apneusis.  The difference is, in apnea no breath goes in or out, but in apneusis breath is going in one direction, it’s going in and it’s going in very slowly.  There are different brainstem nuclei that govern regular breathing, what’s happening right now, from apneustic breathing.  Both of these are in the brainstem.  What affects the nuclei that govern breathing now is CO2 concentration.  We breathe in, we breathe out, the body continues to work, metabolize, and create CO2.  The carotid arteries are being sampled, and when CO2 gets to a certain level the breath centers fire, you breathe in, you breathe out.  During experiences of Transcendental Consciousness in these periods of apneustic breathing, what happens is different brainstem nuclei are now governing breathing, the parabrachialis nuclei.  These nuclei are in the same area as the neurons that govern sleeping and dreaming.  When they fire, they fire very slowly causing the diaphragm to slowly expand.  Air starts to come in, it can come in for 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds, the longest I found was 40 seconds.  When you get to an upper level of oxygen, that’s when you breathe out.  So these periods in meditation when the breath is very soft, you don’t have to worry that you’re depriving yourself of O2, or that it’s setting up a hypoxic situation.  It’s just a whole different style of breathing. At the same time the dead air space is vibrating with the beating of the heart.  The whole air inside the lungs is maximally rich in oxygen and you don’t feel as though you’re suffocating, actually the body is getting all of the oxygen it needs.  We see that because after the apneustic breathing there is no compensatory breathing.

Just at the point where you go from waking state breathing to this apneustic breathing, there is a burst in the sympathetic nervous system, you actually see a skin conductance response.  Skin conductance is going down, down, down during the inward stroke of meditation but at these periods where you have the slower breathing, it goes up.  Just as when any time you have a significant experience it goes up.  Even any time you have a stressful experience it goes up.  In our meditation it goes up, and then it goes back down.  What this burst in the sympathetic nervous system is doing, I think, is just part of that transition from mind on the mantra, to pure consciousness.  It’s supporting the liveliness of the experience of the transcendent.   Then after this transition in breathing, the autonomic nervous system becomes completely silent.  This is what the body is doing as we go from mind on the mantra, some content along with pure consciousness, to just pure consciousness.

And in terms of the meal, we do meditate before lunch.  It’s sort of astounding, we get up from meditation, we put our coats on, we go out, and five minutes later, we’re in the midst of Annapurna.  People, and noise, and food, and running around.  Because the whole process of transcending is natural, what it’s doing is building adaptability.  So you come out of meditation and now the mind and body are ready to go into activity.

AG: First, let me just say; the vagus nerve is one of the parasympathetic nerves.  Apneustic breathing is associated with loss of vagal nerve input into the pons and medulla area, I read that in one paper.11  In another paper,12 vagal nerve stimulation was shown to be an effective technique to disrupt the synchrony of the brain.  So, it’s lack of input from the vagus nerve that allows brain synchrony, and which causes apneustic breathing.  The vagus nerve is a major nerve of the parasympathetic nervous system.  So I was thinking that perhaps the meals induced parasympathetic nerve activity which might inhibit transcending.  Now, you also say that there is an increased sympathetic response at the moment of transcendence.  I was just wondering if it might be almost impossible to transcend with concomitant vagal nerve activation.

FT: We do see increased vagal nerve activation in the process of transcending.  We do see a burst as you go from mind on the mantra to the transcendent, and then within the transcendent it’s completely quiet.  So at least to the door of the transcendent, it doesn’t seem to inhibit.  But within the transcendent, at least by the measures that we’re using, it does, parasympathetic activation goes down.  So it really couldn’t contribute to that.  Now this thing about eating and meditating it’s interesting, if I eat I don’t transcend.

AG: Your sleep studies of people reporting “witnessing sleep” was focused on the non-REM stages 3 and 4.13  Is there any evidence indicating EEG synchronized coherence integrated with REM sleep?

FT: We didn’t look at REM and the reason we didn’t is because during REM there is some transitory consciousness, awareness anyway.  We wanted to see this experience of witnessing throughout the whole night.  You see this even in the deepest points of sleep, stage three and four sleep.  So that’s why we looked at stage three and four sleep.  And we looked at it in the first three sleep cycles, because that’s when most of the stage 3 and 4 sleep is.  I would think it would be in dreaming as well because people report the experience of witnessing dreaming.  “And the dream comes, and the dream images come together, and the dream storyline unfolds itself.”  But it’s as though they’re watching it.  It’s not affecting them.  They’re just in the same silence that was there during sleep, it’s there during dreaming.  The experience of witnessing is now there with this increased activity of dreaming.

AG: This question was inspired by research that shows REM sleep having the hallmark of desynchronized sleep.14, 15  It made me think if that’s a hallmark, would it be possible to have a synchronized waveform in REM sleep?  Have you looked at any REM sleep?

FT: Not in people reporting witnessing sleep.  I think it would though.  Because what’s happening in dreaming is the REM-on cells in the brainstem are activating motor, limbic and visual areas.  And that means the frontal and fronto- areas are typically turned off.

AG: You think it would be there then?

FT: I would think that you would have the overall alpha coherence.   We see the alpha coherence during dreaming.

AG: Alpha coherence, more so than synchrony?

FT: Yes the work that we’ve done has been coherence.

AG: What potential do you think the human nervous system allows us?  And what component or integration of the human nervous system do you think allows that potential?

FT: What allows it is feedback loops.  Because the brain isn’t a hardline structure, it’s not like a rock with a crystalline structure.  There are feedback loops that are constantly being created, re-created, and shifted with each new experience, so that’s the second part.  What potential does the human nervous system allow us?  I think what it allows us is to have point and whole together.  You can have one part of the nervous system maintaining one level of synchrony, just like we see the alpha synchrony during TM beginning to be seen during activity in people reporting enlightenment.  We also see the synchrony of gamma and beta needed to do a task in these people.  I think this is the potential of the human nervous system: to live infinity in the midst of finite change, to live immortality in the midst of mortality, to live outside of time and space in the midst of time and space.

AG: Thank you very much Dr. Travis. It was an honor.

FT: My pleasure Andrew.

 

                                                                                                     Stars Through Men’s Dome 

 

 

 

Works Cited

 1)      Juergen Fell, Nikolai Axmacher, Sven Haupt, From alpha to gamma: Electrophysiological correlates of meditation-related states of consciousness, Medical Hypotheses, Volume 75, Issue 2, August 2010, Pages 218-224, ISSN 0306-9877, 10.1016/j.mehy.2010.02.025.

2)      Travis, F. and Shear, J. (2010). Focused attention, open monitoring and automatic self-transcending: Categories to organize meditations from Vedic, Buddhist and Chinese traditions. Consciousness and Cognition, 19:1110-1119.

 

3)      Antti Revonsuo, James Newman, Binding and Consciousness, Consciousness and Cognition, Volume 8, Issue 2, June 1999, Pages 123-127, ISSN 1053-8100, 10.1006/ccog.1999.0393.

 

4)      Fred Travis, Joe Tecce, Alarik Arenander, R.Keith Wallace, Patterns of EEG coherence, power, and contingent negative variation characterize the integration of transcendental and waking states, Biological Psychology, Volume 61, Issue 3, November 2002, Pages 293-319, ISSN 0301-0511, 10.1016/S0301-0511(02)00048-0.

 

5)      Palva S., Palva J. M. (2011). Functional roles of alpha-band phase synchronization in local and large-scale cortical networks. Front. Psychol. 2:204. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00204.

 

6)      Gennady G. Knyazev, Jaroslav Y. Slobodskoj-Plusnin, Andrey V. Bocharov, Liudmila V. Pylkova, The default mode network and EEG alpha oscillations: An independent component analysis, Brain Research, Volume 1402, 21 July 2011, Pages 67-79, ISSN 0006-8993, 10.1016/j.brainres.2011.05.052.

 

7)      Travis, F. States of Consciousness Beyond Waking, Dreaming and Sleeping: Perspectives from Research on Meditation Experiences.  Chapter 10. D. Cvetkovic and I. Cosic (eds.), States of Consciousness, The Frontiers Collection, ISSN 1612-3018, ISBN 978-3-642-18046-0, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-18047-7_10, # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2011

 

8)      Debra Gusnard, Erbil Akbudak, Gordon Shulman, Marcus E. Raichle, Role of medial prefrontal cortex in a default mode of brain function, NeuroImage, Volume 13, Issue 6, Supplement, June 2001, Page 414, ISSN 1053-8119, 10.1016/S1053-8119(01)91757-4.

 

9)      Marcus E. Raichle, Abraham Z. Snyder, A default mode of brain function: A brief history of an evolving idea, NeuroImage, Volume 37, Issue 4, 1 October 2007, Pages 1083-1090, ISSN 1053-8119, 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2007.02.041.

 

 

10)   Travis, F.T. & Wallace R.K. (1999). Autonomic and EEG Patterns during Eyes-Closed Rest and Transcendental Meditation Practice: The Basis for a Neural Model of TM practice. Consciousness and Cognition, 8, 302-318.

 

11)   Walter M.St. John, Richard L. Glasser, King Richard A., Apneustic breathing after vagotomy in cats with chronic pneumotaxic center lesions, Respiration Physiology, Volume 12, Issue 2, June 1971, Pages 239-250, ISSN 0034-5687, 10.1016/0034-5687(71)90056-9.

 

12)   Harinder Jaseja, EEG-desynchronization as the major mechanism of anti-epileptic action of vagal nerve stimulation in patients with intractable seizures: Clinical neurophysiological evidence, Medical Hypotheses, Volume 74, Issue 5, May 2010, Pages 855-856, ISSN 0306-9877, 10.1016/j.mehy.2009.11.031.

 

13)   Mason, L, Alexander, C., Travis, F, Marsh, Orme-Johnson, D.W., Gackenback, J., Mason, D.C., Rainforth, M., & Walton, K.G. (1997). Electrophysiological correlates of higher states of consciousness during sleep in long-term practitioners of the Transcendental Meditation program. Sleep, 20: 102-110.

 

14)   Harinder Jaseja, A brief study of a possible relation of epilepsy association with meditation, Medical Hypotheses, Volume 66, Issue 5, 2006, Pages 1036-1037, ISSN 0306-9877, 10.1016/j.mehy.2005.12.012.

 

15)   M.N Shouse, P.R Farber, R.J Staba, Physiological basis: how NREM sleep components can promote and REM sleep components can suppress seizure discharge propagation, Clinical Neurophysiology, Volume 111, Supplement 2, 1 September 2000, Pages S9-S18, ISSN 1388-2457, 10.1016/S1388-2457(00)00397-7.

 

                                                                                           References

Listed alphabetically by author’s last name

 

1)      Blumenfeld, H. (2010 ). Neuroanatomy through Clinical Cases, Second Edition. Sunderland: Sinauer.

 

2)      David Orme-Johnson, Evidence that the Transcendental Meditation program prevents or decreases diseases of the nervous system and is specifically beneficial for epilepsy, Medical Hypotheses, Volume 67, Issue 2, 2006, Pages 240-246, ISSN 0306-9877, 10.1016/j.mehy.2006.03.034.

 

3)      Ephraim Philip Lansky, Erik K. St. Louis, Transcendental meditation: A double-edged sword in epilepsy?, Epilepsy & Behavior, Volume 9, Issue 3, November 2006, Pages 394-400, ISSN 1525-5050, 10.1016/j.yebeh.2006.04.019.

 

4)      Harinder Jaseja, Meditation may predispose to epilepsy: an insight into the alteration in brain environment induced by meditation, Medical Hypotheses, Volume 64, Issue 3, 2005, Pages 464-467, ISSN 0306-9877, 10.1016/j.mehy.2004.09.012.

 

5)      Harinder Jaseja, Meditation potentially capable of increasing susceptibility to epilepsy – A follow-up hypothesis, Medical Hypotheses, Volume 66, Issue 5, 2006, Pages 925-928, ISSN 0306-9877, 10.1016/j.mehy.2005.11.043.

 

6)      Harinder Jaseja, Meditation and epilepsy: The ongoing debate, Medical Hypotheses, Volume 68, Issue 4, 2007, Pages 916-917, ISSN 0306-9877, 10.1016/j.mehy.2006.08.029.

 

7)      Harinder Jaseja, Can transcendental meditation exercise a miraculous control over long-standing epilepsy?, Medical Hypotheses, Volume 72, Issue 1, January 2009, Page 106, ISSN 0306-9877, 10.1016/j.mehy.2008.08.007.

 

8)      Harinder Jaseja, Meditation: Epileptogenic versus antiepileptic influence, Epilepsy & Behavior, Volume 16, Issue 1, September 2009, Page 187, ISSN 1525-5050, 10.1016/j.yebeh.2009.07.011.

 

9)      Harinder Jaseja, Potential role of self-induced EEG fast oscillations in predisposition to seizures in meditators, Epilepsy & Behavior, Volume 17, Issue 1, January 2010, Pages 124-125, ISSN 1525-5050, 10.1016/j.yebeh.2009.10.022.

 

10)   Harinder Jaseja, EEG fast oscillations and epileptogenesis during meditation: Corroborative empirical evidence, Epilepsy & Behavior, Volume 18, Issues 1–2, May 2010, Page 133, ISSN 1525-5050, 10.1016/j.yebeh.2010.04.003.

 

11)   Mason, L, Alexander, C., Travis, F, Marsh, Orme-Johnson, D.W., Gackenback, J., Mason, D.C., Rainforth, M., & Walton, K.G. (1997). Electrophysiological correlates of higher states of consciousness during sleep in long-term practitioners of the Transcendental Meditation program. Sleep, 20: 102-110.

 

12)   Philip Nicholson, Does meditation predispose to epilepsy? EEG studies of expert meditators self-inducing simple partial seizures, Medical Hypotheses 2006;66 (3):674-6 doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2005.09.023

 

13)   Richard Swinehart, Two cases support the benefits of transcendental meditation in epilepsy, Medical Hypotheses, Volume 70, Issue 5, 2008, Page 1070, ISSN 0306-9877, 10.1016/j.mehy.2007.11.015.

 

14)   Tortora, G. J. (2009). Principles of Anatomy and Physiology twelfth edition. Wiley.

 

15)   Travis, F.T., Arenander, A., DuBois, D. (2004) Psychological and physiological characteristics of a proposed object-referral/self-referral continuum of self-awareness. Consciousness and Cognition, 13/2, 401-420.

 

Photo Credits

Opening photo: Women’s Dome at M.U.M. taken with Samsung camera phone by Andrew Galbreath, enhanced in Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended.

Closing photo: Ceiling of Men’s Dome taken with Samsung camera phone by Andrew Galbreath, with photo taken by Russell Croman (http://www.rc-astro.com/) of Nebula NGC 2170, blended and enhanced in Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended.

 

Hedonism: The Pursuit Of Happiness

9 Jan

By Sascha Kyssa

Hedonism: Greek hēdonē pleasure; akin to Greek hēdys sweet


 It is commonly assumed that hedonism is identical to carnality; a marked sexual focus for the attainment of pleasure. While it can involve sexuality, in its simplest form, hedonism is simply the principled focus on attaining pleasure. What is pleasure? Our collective definition, according to Webster, is that pleasure is a source of delight, joy, or gratification. The great thing about pleasure is that as we grow, our conditions for delight and gratification also mature. It’s as though we are unavoidably hard-wired connoisseurs of joy.
As a young boy I enjoyed playing with Superhero figurines. It brought me deep satisfaction and excited my imagination. As my adolescence progressed, I became increasingly curious and desired to engage my imagination in a peer setting. I soon became interested in video games, jumping around in playgrounds, and taking apart broken computers. As a teenager, I was no longer satisfied with make-believe and fantasy. I needed to ground my experience in physicality through kickboxing, running, romantic relationships, and other forms of experimentation. Unsurprisingly, my teenage years contributed to my greatest understanding of both “disciplined hedonism” and “impulsive hedonism.” Upon reaching some semblance of adulthood, I developed a renewed interest in metaphysics and community development. I also explored and developed a healthier form of sexuality and affection, free of the great deal of  peer-conditioning I received during my late teen years.
As I integrated my experiences, each imbalanced permission slip for joy and contentment lost its potency. At the same time, I also discovered the actions and avenues in my life that brought about a subtle, resounding sense of contentment. A great many of these resounding forms of contentment were in direct conflict with what many of my hometown peers would consider normal or cool. Yet, the more I let go of the imposed ethical lessons of the media, the church, and even my own parents, greater satisfaction came into my life. As I placed my own internal guidance over the chatter of external influences, the more I experienced a tangible, nourishing daily peace.

This article isn’t just about how great it is to let go of the social norm, so as to experience the pleasure of wild abandon, it’s about disciplined hedonism. Strike that –  to be quite honest, it’s about both; one finds true discipline only after experiencing the negative effects of excess. In other words, some of us have to burn our hand in the fire in order to understand the power of the fire.

A certain percentage of readers may consider this a very dangerous “left-hand” approach to life, and in a sense, it is. The search for our highest joy based on internal guidance can be risky, but I believe it is far more dangerous to follow an external set of beliefs at the cost of our own voice. Part of the discipline of hedonism involves the courage to voice your own inner guidance. It can be as simple and centered as a strong “no,” or as terrifying as expressing the depths of your sadness and anger. This path is not about copious amounts of alcohol, drugs, or sex. It is about the courage to live what you know is right. The intuitive road may not always be clear and even, but in the distance, the light of wisdom guides us on.

The hedonistic path is also thick with moralistic stumbling blocks. In the case of what is “right” and what is “wrong,” there are no clear, definitive answers. Like everything else in our lives, outside events are dependent on the emotional charge we assign them. It is our subtle feeling level that decides whether or not an event is in line with our inner voice. French philosopher Michel Onfray said it best, “Hedonism is an introspective attitude to life based on taking pleasure yourself and pleasuring others, without [consciously] harming yourself or anyone else.”(1) This outlook seeks to utilize the full capacity of mind, body, and heart in order to attain the highest experiences of sustainable ecstasy.

In opposition to conventional ascetic ideals, hedonism asks us to discover our own highest ideals and pleasures, and unify them for the sake of our own well-being and personal growth. Attaining this balance, our own pleasure as well as that of the group, becomes the priority of our lives. It requires each one of us to approach our desires from multiple angles. As we express our pleasures with those around us, we are required to consistently re-evaluate ourselves and our models for understanding – political, erotic, ethical – the list goes on. Our collective desire for joy provides a powerful fuel for innovation and progress. When compared to the power of shame or imposed moralism, the desire for bliss provides a clean and universally desired fuel for societal achievement. The individual conscious approach to pleasure holds the capacity to transform society, free of the stress and strain of our conventional systems of stoicism and aestheticism. Although, if those conventional systems bring you that desired pleasure, more power to you.

Opponents of this school of thought claim that to follow hedonism is to resort to relying on our emotional whims for satisfaction. Ayn Rand, modern philosopher and ethical egoist, argues that ethics are put in place to guide us to happiness.(2) This is in direct contrast to Michel Onfray’s ethical hedonism, in which an individual’s values are guided by conscious pleasure rather than rules written in stone. I find the differing schools of thought somewhat humorous, as Ayn Rand is likely following her own sense of self-satisfaction. In this case, ethical egoism.

In the end, we all follow what we believe will bring us closer to pleasure and further away from pain. In some cases, these actions come from a place of suppressing our guilt or shame, represented in  our participation of activities that may not represent our highest calling. As long as we hold onto self-destructive belief patterns, actions that no longer serve us can be perpetuated in the name of avoiding the greater pain of confronting a painful memory or belief. On the other end of the spectrum, an individual may consciously take part in an activity that outwardly seems needlessly painful or “dark.” In reality, this unpleasant experience may free an individual from a parasitic belief pattern. Sometimes the only way past it, is through it. This is where a conscious understanding of disciplined hedonism shines. Through experience, we learn that through embracing our whole being, highs and lows, we are capable of greater enjoyment and fulfillment. A symbolic closet-cleaning allows us to witness our experience of pleasure with newly liberated eyes.

The avoidance of pleasure due to shame or a lack of worthiness is deeply engrained in Western culture. I experience it on a daily basis. A great deal of these shaming beliefs operate quietly, just below the surface, passed down silently from generation to generation. The only real medicine for this sickness is the willingness to look at our beliefs surrounding the idea of pleasure, fulfilment, total ecstasy. As mentioned previously, we are all pleasure-seeking beings. The question is:  Will do it with conscious intent and discipline, or reactionary unconscious-belief? For those willing to take the conscious plunge, enjoy the ride!

 

“Follow your desire as long as you shall live. Fulfill your needs upon earth after the command of your heart. Behold, it is not given to man to take his property with him…”

- Egyptian Poem; 2120 B.C.E.

 

A Message to Women from a Man : “You’re not CRAZY!”

22 Nov

By Writer : Yashar Ali of  The Current Conscience @ www.currentconscience.com

You’re so sensitive. You’re so emotional. You’re defensive. You’re overreacting. Calm down. Relax. Stop freaking out! You’re crazy! I was just joking, don’t you have a sense of humor? You’re so dramatic. Just get over it already!

                                                                                 www.sandiegodivorcespecialist.com

Sound familiar?

If you’re a woman, it probably does.

Do you ever hear any of these comments from your spouse, partner, boss, friends, colleagues, or relatives after you have expressed frustration, sadness, or anger about something they have done or said?

When someone says these things to you, it’s not an example of inconsiderate behavior. When your spouse shows up half an hour late to dinner without calling — that’s inconsiderate behavior. A remark intended to shut you down like, “Calm down, you’re overreacting,” after you just addressed someone else’s bad behavior, is emotional manipulation, pure and simple.

And this is the sort of emotional manipulation that feeds an epidemic in our country, an epidemic that defines women as crazy, irrational, overly sensitive, unhinged. This epidemic helps fuel the idea that women need only the slightest provocation to unleash their (crazy) emotions. It’s patently false and unfair.

I think it’s time to separate inconsiderate behavior from emotional manipulation, and we need to use a word not found in our normal vocabulary.

I want to introduce a helpful term to identify these reactions: gaslighting.

Gaslighting is a term often used by mental health professionals (I am not one) to describe manipulative behavior used to confuse people into thinking their reactions are so far off base that they’re crazy.

The term comes from the 1944 MGM film, Gaslight, starring Ingrid Bergman. Bergman’s husband in the film, played by Charles Boyer, wants to get his hands on her jewelry. He realizes he can accomplish this by having her certified as insane and hauled off to a mental institution. To pull of this task, he intentionally sets the gaslights in their home to flicker off and on, and every time Bergman’s character reacts to it, he tells her she’s just seeing things. In this setting, a gaslighter is someone who presents false information to alter the victim’s perception of him or herself.

Today, when the term is referenced, it’s usually because the perpetrator says things like, “You’re so stupid,” or “No one will ever want you,” to the victim. This is an intentional, pre-meditated form of gaslighting, much like the actions of Charles Boyer’s character in Gaslight, where he strategically plots to confuse Ingrid Bergman’s character into believing herself unhinged.

The form of gaslighting I’m addressing is not always pre-mediated or intentional, which makes it worse, because it means all of us, especially women, have dealt with it at one time or another.

Those who engage in gaslighting create a reaction — whether it’s anger, frustration, sadness — in the person they are dealing with. Then, when that person reacts, the gaslighter makes them feel uncomfortable and insecure by behaving as if their feelings aren’t rational or normal.

My friend Anna (all names changed to protect privacy) is married to a man who feels it necessary to make random and unprompted comments about her weight. Whenever she gets upset or frustrated with his insensitive comments, he responds in the same, defeating way, “You’re so sensitive. I’m just joking.”

My friend Abbie works for a man who finds a way, almost daily, to unnecessarily shoot down her performance and her work product. Comments like, “Can’t you do something right?” or “Why did I hire you?” are regular occurrences for her. Her boss has no problem firing people (he does it regularly), so you wouldn’t know from these comments that Abbie has worked for him for six years. But every time she stands up for herself and says, “It doesn’t help me when you say these things,” she gets the same reaction: “Relax; you’re overreacting.”

Abbie thinks her boss is just being a jerk in these moments, but the truth is, he is making those comments to manipulate her into thinking her reactions are out of whack. And it’s exactly that kind manipulation that has left her feeling guilty about being sensitive, and as a result, she has not left her job.

But gaslighting can be as simple as someone smiling and saying something like, “You’re so sensitive,” to somebody else. Such a comment may seem innocuous enough, but in that moment, the speaker is making a judgment about how someone else should feel.

While dealing with gaslighting isn’t a universal truth for women, we all certainly know plenty of women who encounter it at work, home, or in personal relationships.

And the act of gaslighting does not simply affect women who are not quite sure of themselves. Even vocal, confident, assertive women are vulnerable to gaslighting.

Why?

Because women bare the brunt of our neurosis. It is much easier for us to place our emotional burdens on the shoulders of our wives, our female friends, our girlfriends, our female employees, our female colleagues, than for us to impose them on the shoulders of men.

It’s a whole lot easier to emotionally manipulate someone who has been conditioned by our society to accept it. We continue to burden women because they don’t refuse our burdens as easily. It’s the ultimate cowardice.

Whether gaslighting is conscious or not, it produces the same result: It renders some women emotionally mute.

These women aren’t able to clearly express to their spouses that what is said or done to them is hurtful. They can’t tell their boss that his behavior is disrespectful and prevents them from doing their best work. They can’t tell their parents that, when they are being critical, they are doing more harm than good.

When these women receive any sort of push back to their reactions, they often brush it off by saying, “Forget it, it’s okay.”

That “forget it” isn’t just about dismissing a thought, it is about self-dismissal. It’s heartbreaking.

No wonder some women are unconsciously passive aggressive when expressing anger, sadness, or frustration. For years, they have been subjected to so much gaslighting that they can no longer express themselves in a way that feels authentic to them.

They say, “I’m sorry,” before giving their opinion. In an email or text message, they place a smiley face next to a serious question or concern, thereby reducing the impact of having to express their true feelings.

You know how it looks: “You’re late :) .”

These are the same women who stay in relationships they don’t belong in, who don’t follow their dreams, who withdraw from the kind of life they want to live.

Since I have embarked on this feminist self-exploration in my life and in the lives of the women I know, this concept of women as “crazy” has really emerged as a major issue in society at large and an equally major frustration for the women in my life, in general.

From the way women are portrayed on reality shows, to how we condition boys and girls to see women, we have come to accept the idea that women are unbalanced, irrational individuals, especially in times of anger and frustration.

Just the other day, on a flight from San Francisco to Los Angeles, a flight attendant who had come to recognize me from my many trips asked me what I did for a living. When I told her that I write mainly about women, she immediately laughed and asked, “Oh, about how crazy we are?”

Her gut reaction to my work made me really depressed. While she made her response in jest, her question nonetheless makes visible a pattern of sexist commentary that travels through all facets of society on how men view women, which also greatly impacts how women may view themselves.

As far as I am concerned, the epidemic of gaslighting is part of the struggle against the obstacles of inequality that women constantly face. Acts of gaslighting steal their most powerful tool: their voice. This is something we do to women every day, in many different ways.

I don’t think this idea that women are “crazy,” is based in some sort of massive conspiracy. Rather, I believe it’s connected to the slow and steady drumbeat of women being undermined and dismissed, on a daily basis. And gaslighting is one of many reasons why we are dealing with this public construction of women as “crazy.”

I recognize that I’ve been guilty of gaslighting my women friends in the past (but never my male friends–surprise, surprise). It’s shameful, but I’m glad I realized that I did it on occasion and put a stop to it.

While I take total responsibility for my actions, I do believe that I, along with many men, am a byproduct of our conditioning. It’s about the general insight our conditioning gives us into admitting fault and exposing any emotion.

When we are discouraged in our youth and early adulthood from expressing emotion, it causes many of us to remain steadfast in our refusal to express regret when we see someone in pain from our actions.

When I was writing this piece, I was reminded of one of my favorite Gloria Steinem quotes, “The first problem for all of us, men and women, is not to learn, but to unlearn.”

So for many of us, it’s first about unlearning how to flicker those gaslights and learning how to acknowledge and understand the feelings, opinions, and positions of the women in our lives.

But isn’t the issue of gaslighting ultimately about whether we are conditioned to believe that women’s opinions don’t hold as much weight as ours? That what women have to say, what they feel, isn’t quite as legitimate?

 

This article blessed Conscious Times via The Huffington Post.

Yashar will be soon releasing his first short e-book, entitled : A Message To Women From A Man: You Are Not Crazy — How We Teach Men That Women Are Crazy and How We Convince Women To Ignore Their Instincts. 

Our Ancestral Diet

8 Nov

By: Sascha Kyssa

Initially made famous by Gastroenterologist Walter Voegtlin(1), the Paleo Diet, otherwise known as “healthy eating,” consists of following a similar dietary regime as that of our ancient ancestors – a diet that was the social norm for approximately 2.5 million years. The key argument of the Paleo Diet has to do with evolution. For 2.5 million years, Paleolithic humans subsisted on a diet of fruits, vegetables, meat, seeds, and nuts. Despite the relatively short life span, due mainly to chance infection and injury, our ancient ancestors enjoyed an extremely high quality of health and physical prowess.


It wasn’t until 10,000 years ago, with the advent of modern agriculture and animal husbandry, that anthropologists began to see archaeological evidence of a decline in human health and overall body-mass(2). With the switch to a high-grain diet came an abnormal glycemic load; a distorted dietary fatty acid balance; and a considerable lack of key nutrients.(3) This dietary switch increased the incidents of autoimmune disease, diabetes, depression, cancer, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and numerous other diseases related to inflammation and malnutrition.(3)(4)(5)(6)

“But how can grains cause all these problems? I feel fine!”

You may feel “fine,” it is easy to confuse what is “fine” or “normal” with “common”. While you may have escaped a number of the negative side effects of a high-grain diet, there are most likely a number of side-effects you have become accustomed to. Chronic fatigue, poor mental performance, that “spaced out” feeling – these are all extremely common side effects of a high-grain diet. Not to mention the ticking time bomb of a grain-sourced sugar diet over an extended period of time (see: diabetes).

While grains have allowed us to feed high-density populations, it has come at a high price. Cereal, grains, and legumes naturally contain bio-active and anti-nutrient compounds such as gluten, lectins, and phytates–all of which are linked to serious health problems.(7) For example, gluten, the sticky protein found in grains such as wheat, rye and barley, have been shown to cause a number of negative digestive reactions, including inflammation of the small intestine, yeast-overgrowth (see: Candida), aggravated auto-immune disease, and nutrient malabsorption.(8)(9)(10) Dairy isn’t off the hook either. Casein, the protein found in milk and many dairy products, has been implicated in the development of the pre-diabetic state of low glocuse-tolerance.(7)

“But what about beans?”

Both cereal grains and legumes contain a number of anti-nutrient compounds such as lectins and phytates. These substances have been shown to interfere with the body’s absorption of crucial nutrients.(7)(11)(12) A growing number of scientists agree that these components of the post-agricultural diet promote vitamin, mineral, and micro-nutrient deficiencies and may be the leading cause of many of our current autoimmune-related diseases.(7)(11)(12)

The benefits of the Paleo Diet are obvious; an abundance of available protein, vitamins, minerals, and micro-nutrients (and a considerable lack of anti-nutrients). We have spent 95% (2.5 million years) of our supposed time on this planet evolving to eat a Paleo-era menu. It is only in the last 5% (10,000 years) of our evolution that we switched to grains. To put it simply, we have not evolved to thrive on a high grain diet and the evidence speaks for itself.

Some criticize this type of diet, believing that the inclusion of any meat into the diet will eventually lead to cancer and other health problems. The supposed logic behind this argument comes from the now dismissed China Study. Numerous examinations of The China Study have shown it to be a great example of inaccurate scientific inquiry. Individuals in the study were subjected to numerous lifestyle changes including exercise and other dietary changes besides the avoidance of meat. Using the same logic, I could ask a group of non-smokers to take up smoking, start exercising, and make a number of dietary changes. Chances are, assuming they weren’t smoking 20 packs a day, the over all health scores of the individuals would go up “proving” that smoking was indeed good for your health!(13) Not convinced? Read this beautiful scientific dissection(13) of the China Study by Denise Minger. If any lingering doubts remain after reading her paper, make sure to pour over the accompanying 129 references.

The other side of this debate concerns the ethics of eating meat. This is an incredibly sensitive subject, requiring an entirely seperate article to do it justice. To keep it short, it is possible to follow a similar diet using somewhat natural non-animal key nutrients found in fermented algae supplements. (see: vegetarian DHA)

The argument in favor of this historically tried and tested diet is a strong one. The key is eating fresh, organic, unrefined/unprocessed foods (see: seeds, nuts, fruits, vegetables, meat). Regardless of how you do it, a diet in line with our evolution just makes sense.  In the end it will be decided by the unique physiological and ethical preferences of the individual. This writer gives it two enthusiastic paleolithic thumbs up!

References:

(1) Voegtlin, Walter L. (1975). The stone age diet: Based on in-depth studies of human ecology and the diet of man. Vantage Press

(2) Elton, S. (2008). “Environments, adaptations and evolutionary medicine: Should we be eating a ‘stone age’ diet?”. In O’Higgins, P. & Elton, S..Medicine and Evolution: Current Applications, Future Prospects. London: Taylor and Francis.

(3) Cordain L, Eaton SB, Sebastian A, Mann N, Lindeberg S, Watkins BA, O’Keefe JH, Brand-Miller J (February 1 2005). “Origins and evolution of the Western diet: health implications for the 21st century”. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (American Society for Nutrition) 81 (2): 341–54.

(4) Jönsson T, Olsson S, Ahrén B, Bøg-Hansen TC, Dole A, Lindeberg S (2005). “Agrarian diet and diseases of affluence — Do evolutionary novel dietary lectins cause leptin resistance?”. BMC Endocrine Disorders 5: 10

(5) Wood LE (October 2006). “Obesity, waist–hip ratio and hunter–gatherers”. BJOG: an International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology 113 (10): 1110–16.

(6)  Haag, Marianne; & Dippenaar, Nola (2005). “Dietary fats, fatty acids and insulin resistance: short review of a multifaceted connection”. Medical Science Monitor 11(12): RA359–367

(7) Lindeberg S, Cordain L, Eaton SB (September 2003). “Biological and clinical potential of a Paleolithic diet” (PDF). Journal of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine 13 (3): 149–60.

(8) Klin Lab Diagn. 2004 Nov;(11):11-3. [Circulating immune complexes in the diagnosis of allergic reactions of the immune-complex type. [Article in Russian]

(9) Heading RC, Paterson WD, McClelland DB, Barnetson RS, Murray MS (1976). “Clinical response of dermatitis herpetiformis skin lesions to a gluten-free diet”. Br. J. Dermatol. 94(5): 509–14

(10) Anand BS, Piris J, Truelove SC (1978). “The role of various cereals in coeliac disease”.Q. J. Med. 47 (185): 101–11.

(11) Jönsson T, Olsson S, Ahrén B, Bøg-Hansen TC, Dole A, Lindeberg S (2005). “Agrarian diet and diseases of affluence — Do evolutionary novel dietary lectins cause leptin resistance?”. BMC Endocrine Disorders 5: 10

(12) Cordain, Loren (1999). “Cereal grains: humanity’s double-edged sword” (PDF). World review of nutrition and dietetics 84: 19–73.

(13) Minger, Denise (August 2010). “The China Study: a formal analysis and response” http://rawfoodsos.com/2010/08/06/final-china-study-response-html/

Empathy: Don’t Just Do Something, Stand There!

11 Oct

Written By: Sascha Kyssa

As of 2001, researchers have discovered a scientific basis for the validity of empathy. The results of these studies show us that specific areas of the brain are capable of mirroring the experience of another individual. Loosely termed “mirror neurons,” these specific brain centers are capable of producing our own emotional experience as well as duplicating a perceived emotional experience.(1)(2) Despite the “backseat ride” our emotions are given in our patriarchal society, it would seem that, at our core, we are predisposed towards empathic connection. Author and Psychologist Jeremy Rifkin explains that empathy may be our greatest asset in evolving past our tendencies for domination and war. But what does it mean to be empathic?

Webster’s defines empathy as, “the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another…” At its center, empathy is a shared understanding of what others are experiencing. This empathic understanding is not to be confused with sympathy. Sympathy can involve feeling the emotions of another person, but that is where the similarities end. True empathy requires that we empty ourselves of preconceived notions (judgment) so that our faculties are clear and receptive. In this state our whole being is present, listening. This quality of presence distinguishes empathy from sympathy or other forms of mental understanding.

There is a strong human tendency to provide advice or reassurance in order to cope with a display of emotion. This is especially true for forms of emotion that we deem unpleasant. This “fix-it” attitude usually stems from our unwillingness to face our own dark-side or shadow. The majority of us are raised to believe that negative emotions are to be avoided or dealt with in the same manner as a sickness or disease. This attitude trains us into fixing or reassuring an individual in need of simple empathy. This tendency of ours invalidates the emotional process of the individual attempting to voice their needs. By trying to fix the emotional expression, we are stating that there is something wrong with the individual, undermining the initial need for acceptance and validation. The motivation for communication is frequently fueled by our deep need for acceptance and human connection. By reacting as if the individual is suffering from some kind of emotional sickness, we effectively alienate ourselves from the connection and acceptance that the individual may have been seeking.

Holley Humphrey, professional speaker and educator, explains that most of us have developed a series of habitual behaviors that prevent us from connecting empathically with others. A few examples include: one-upping, educating, shutting down, sympathizing, and interrogating. We’ve all been guilty of at least one of these habitual behaviors at one time or another:

“You think that’s bad? When I was your age…”(one-upping); “You could transmute this negative energy if you just…”(educating); “Cheer up and lets get some ice cream”(shutting down); “Oh you poor thing!”(sympathizing); “When did you first notice the depression?”(interrogating).

Believing we have to cure the situation and make the other person feel better prevents us from being fully present. When we are intellectualizing the situation, figuring out how an individual plugs in to our framework, we are stepping out of the situation, losing our presence. This intellectual process effectively blocks the flow of empathy.

Empathy requires us to face these unpleasant emotions head on, without trying to escape through subtle habitual behaviors. The courage to stay present to the moment provides an individual with the time and space necessary to express and process their emotional need. This does not mean we must sit there like an inanimate statue, rather, we can actively reflect the emotional needs of the individual through paraphrasing. At times, an individual expressing their emotions can be unsure or hesitant of expressing the underlying need. Paraphrasing back what we observe to be the  emotional need of the person can create clarity and assist in releasing the associated stress. For example, Johnny comes home from school with white knuckle fists and his teeth clenched. Johnny’s mother knows Johnny is upset:
“Did you have a hard day at school?” asks Johnny’s mother. Johnny explodes, “my stupid teacher never listens to me!”
“It sounds like you’re terribly frustrated because you would like to feel more connection and respect when you speak to him?”
Johnny visibly relaxes and feels acknowledged for his emotional release. At times it can be as easy as being fully present to the concerns of the individual, and acknowledging their emotional need. We know when the process is complete when a visible tension leaves the interaction, or the individual expressing their emotional need has nothing left to say.

This empathic connection is not possible without first finding the time and space for our own self-empathy. In our externalized “go-go” culture, there is a social habit to focus and fix our external environment before taking the time to build a solid internal foundation. Without first addressing our own need for empathy, it is extremely unlikely we will be able to authentically provide such a gift to another individual. It takes empathy to give empathy. If there is no one around us to provide the necessary human connection, spending some time alone providing self-care for our emotional processes can meet our need for emotional nourishment.

By mustering the courage to be empathic with others, we greatly help ourselves as well. All to often I see individuals worrying about how they are socially perceived or judged. By grounding our dialogue in empathic understanding we are able to discover what people are needing instead of saying. We get to the root of the situation, letting go of what others may or may not be thinking of us. Behind all the words that have intimidated us, are individuals with unmet needs asking us to contribute to their well-being. It takes the presence of empathy to see past the trap of judging our selves or others.

Empathy does not mean we let others scream, yell and violate our healthy boundaries. Through our own wisdom and observation, we know when a situation is no longer appropriate or healthy. Practicing empathy simply gives us the courage to see beyond the superficial blame game and affords us the opportunity to give to people who are in pain.

Finally, empathic connection is more than a series of mirror neurons or behavioral awareness. Peer-reviewed research from the HeartMath Institute shows us that we transmit encoded information approximately three feet outside of our physical body via our heart’s electromagnetic field. This electromagnetic information interacts with the cognitive functions of those in our vicinity to the point where researchers are now finding frequency patterning from our heart’s ECG scan in another individual’s brain EEG scan. Of interest is the fact that our emotional states are directly related to the patterns exhibited by our heart’s electromagnetic field.(3) Our emotional states are literally transmitted through our heart’s electromagnetic field to those in our vicinity, and vice versa.

I leave you with a brief summary through the brilliant words of Chinese Philosopher Chuang-Tzu:

“The hearing that is only in the ears is one thing. The hearing of the understanding is another. But the hearing of the spirit is not limited to any one faculty, to the ear, or to the mind.
Hence it demands the emptiness of all the faculties. And when the faculties are empty, then the whole being listens. There is then a direct grasp of what is right there before you that can never be heard with the ear or understood with the mind.”

Further Reading

Video: John Marshall Roberts – The Global Urgency of Everyday Empathy

The Empathic Civilization: The Race to Global Consciousness in a World in Crisis (Jeremy Rifkin, 2009)

Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life (Marshall Rosenberg, 2003)

The Age of Empathy: Nature’s Lessons for a Kinder Society (Frans de Waal, 2010)

References

1. Gallese V (2001). “The “Shared Manifold” hypothesis: from mirror neurons to empathy”.Journal of Consciousness Studies 8: 33–50.

2. Botvinick M., Jha A.P., Bylsma L.M., Fabian S.A., Solomon P.E., Prkachin K.M. (2005). “Viewing facial expressions of pain engages cortical areas involved in the direct experience of pain”. NeuroImage 25 (1): 312–319.

3. Rollin McCraty, Ph.D. (2004). The Energetic Heart: Bioelectromagnetic Communication Within and Between People. Clinical Applications of Bioelectromagnetic Medicine, New York: Marcel Dekker, 2004: 541-562.

Trance, Transcendence, and the Underworld

23 Jun

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Article by Anonymous Contributer

For centuries, Yogis, Shamans, Mystics, and Religious Devotees have directly experienced a powerful and unique level of consciousness that has commonly been referred to as “the altered state”. Miraculous abilities belonging to these men and women have been attributed to this unique altered state of awareness. Despite similarities in our cultures, the practices and rituals used to achieve this state vary greatly from one tradition to the next. Through scientific analysis, is it possible to uncover a physiological similarity between these diverse practices? What, if any, is the unifying scientific thread between the ancient practices found throughout the world?

There are as many names for this altered state as there are traditions that encompass it. Some refer to it as the Underworld, while others describe it as the Trance state or Transcendence. Thanks to the efforts of western science, the modern human is beginning to form a unified picture of how this mystical state may be accessed without the associated superstition or dogma.

In this article we will examine a number of compelling peer-reviewed research papers, sourced from respected scientific journals, such as the Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine. Incredibly, these articles seem to suggest a common thread between the various methodologies employed for achieving the altered state.

In a fascinating research paper titled, “A Physiological Evaluation of Meditation, Hypnosis, and Relaxation”(1), Subjects were extensively monitored while wide awake, during meditation (Transcendental Meditation and simple word type), during hypnosis (relaxation and task-type), and during regular relaxation. Subjects gave a verbal comparative evaluation of each state. The verbal results clearly marked a preference for the relaxation states (relaxation, relaxation-hypnosis, meditation) compared to the regular alert state. Interestingly, there were no significant differences between the relaxation states except for the measured “muscle activity” in which meditation was superior than the other relaxation states. Overall, there were significant differences between task-hypnosis and relaxation-hypnosis. Interestingly, no significant differences were found between Transcendental Meditation and simple word meditation. For the subjective measures, relaxation-hypnosis and meditation were significantly better than relaxation, yet no significant differences were found between meditation and relaxation-hypnosis. (1)

This initial study may hint at a similar underlying mechanism between structured relaxation techniques, such as hypnosis, and word-type meditation, such as Transcendental Meditation. If this is accurate, there must be some form of physiological evidence to support this hypothesis.

Thanks to research published in the Journal of Personality & Social Psychology(JPSP), researchers have discovered a direct relationship between our ability to relax and the beneficial effects of meditation. For four successive days, ten experienced meditators were asked to relax for five minutes, meditate for twenty minutes, and then relax for five minutes. In contrast, ten other subjects who had no training or experience with meditation were asked to relax for five minutes, rest for twenty minutes, and then relax for five minutes again. Physiological arousal and subjective arousal (cognitive, somatic, relaxation) were measured throughout the experiment. The results of this study indicated that meditation was associated with generally reduced arousal, although, while meditating, meditators did not evidence lower levels of arousal than non-meditators did while resting.(2) The results of this study reveal that an individual’s ability to relax plays an important role in achieving this altered state. But is the altered state only achieved through relaxation? What does this evidence mean for more dynamic forms of altered states such as dance or hypnosis?

In a peer-reviewed study conducted in 1975, researchers uncovered an interesting connection between passive techniques for achieving altered states, such as meditation, and dynamic techniques, such as hypnosis.(3) The study compared electroencephalogram (EEG) readings of subjects engaged in transcendental meditation and a second group engaged in self-hypnosis. Incredibly, the EEG results of the long-term meditators and those experienced with self-hypnosis were strikingly similar. Both groups (TM and self-hypnosis) displayed a significant increase in theta waves, with marked decrease in beta brainwaves. Despite the difference in ideologies, it would seem that there is a common physiological manifestation of achieving the altered state despite the variance in gross technique.

There is still much to discover concerning the nuances of the elusive altered state. Despite the variance in protocol, the unique physiological markers discovered through these opposing techniques is strikingly similar.(4) Perhaps further research of this nature will assist in providing a standardized western clinical practice for achieving the altered state, free of religious ideology or cultural stigma.

References

(1) A physiological and subjective evaluation of meditation, hypnosis, and relaxation. Morse DR, Martin JS, Furst ML, Dubin LL Psychosom Med 1977 Sep-Oct;39(5):304-24

(2)  Effect of Transcendental Meditation versus resting on physiological and subjective arousal. Holmes DS, Solomon S, Cappo BM, Greenberg JL J Pers Soc Psychol 1983 Jun;44(6):1245-52

(3) A controlled study of the EEG during transcendental meditation: comparison with hypnosis. Tebecis AK Folia Psychiatr Neurol Jpn 1975;29(4):305-13

(4)  A comparison of somatic relaxation and EEG activity in classical progressive relaxation and transcendental meditation. Warrenburg S, Pagano RR, Woods M, Hlastala M J Behav Med 1980 Mar;3(1):73-93

Music and Laughter Found To Lower Blood Pressure

30 Mar

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Research by Leora

It’s not uncommon to find ourselves heading for a favorite song on youtube or a hysterical comedy clip when we feel stressed out. But can listening to one’s favorite music or getting enough laughs actually help lower blood pressure?

A study conducted in Japan and presented last week at the American Heart Association says yes indeed. The study found that people who participated in bimonthly group sessions consisting of music or laughter actually lowered their systolic blood pressure by 5-6 points over a span of 3 months. The control group which received neither tunes nor giggles did not experience any decrease in blood pressure.

Ninety men and women between the ages of forty and seventy-four were randomly assigned by researchers at the Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine to receive one hour of music or laughter sessions every other week, and the control group received no therapy at all. Music sessions included listening, singing and stretching to individual’s choice of Japanese pop, classical or jazz, and participants were also encouraged to listen to music at home. Laughter sessions included listening to comedic Japanese storytelling and laughter yoga, which involves group exercises and fake laughter which quickly becomes real.

According to Michael Miller, MD, director of preventative cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, such drops in blood pressure can mean a 5-15% lower risk of death from heart disease or stroke. Dr. Miller, who himself conducted research on the stress busting effects of laughter in the past decade, also stated that while laughing and playing music alone are not enough to treat high blood pressure, using them to aid stress relief can liken one’s chances of going off medication or lowering one’s dosage.

How does a good laugh or a lovely tune actually reduce blood pressure? The lead researcher in the study, Eri Eguchi, believes that pleasant music and humor, by promoting relaxation, may reduce the body’s level of the stress hormone cortisol, which itself can contribute to high blood pressure.
And according to Dr. Miller’s previous research on laughter and music as therapy, both activities were found to actually improve the functioning of the inner lining of blood vessels, causing them to expand by 30%. Interestingly, the opposite effect occurred when watching unsettling movies or listening to unpleasant music. I’m thinking Silence of the Lambs to give an example. Miller also proposes that the nitric oxide released with laugher or music therapy might be the cause of the dilation of blood vessels and lowering of blood pressure.

Some experts claim that more research is still necessary to understand the mechanism for how music and especially laughter causes a decrease in blood pressure. Nevertheless, there is a growing field of music therapy and laughter yoga clubs in the last several decades that truly puts these two therapies on the healing map. Whatever may be your favorite type of music, and whomever is your funniest friend or favorite comedian, next time you feel tense, don’t underestimate their ability to help you unwind.

References:

Huffington Post

Laughter Yoga America

Heart Over Matter

17 Mar

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Research by Sascha Kyssa

“There is no such thing as a miracle which violates natural law. There are only occurrences which violate our limited knowledge of natural law.” – St. Augustine

When I think of the adage ‘Mind over matter’, I immediately envision a gifted psychic capable of bending spoons by sheer force of will. Sounds like science fiction, doesn’t it? It may surprise you to learn that over the past few decades researchers have proven that telekinesis and extra-sensory perception are not only possible, but clinically repeatable. Just as incredible, it is not the brain that is responsible for these feats, but a combination of coherent heart rhythms and positive emotions such as happiness, compassion, and love. (1)(2) Perhaps that old adage needs a re-write.Unfortunately, the scientific community has been infected by a bias towards any phenomena that falls outside of previously understood scientific mechanism. Possibly due to fear of ridicule, the few studies that have proven the existence of psychic phenomena have been largely ignored by the public media. It is the aim of this essay to provide a brief overview of the recent discoveries in the field of psychic research in the hopes of inoculating an out-dated hyper-skeptical paradigm with a dose of childlike curiosity. More importantly, this essay aims to provide evidence that, through the power of uplifting emotions, humankind’s untapped potential can be realized.

In 1993, The United States Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) conducted an experiment to better understand the influence of emotions on non-locally connected systems, such as endogenous biological matter. Researchers scraped white blood cells from the mouths of volunteers and separately monitored the cells in the test tubes and the volunteers with polygraph probes. The donors were isolated from the test tubes and exposed to emotionally stimulating videos. When the volunteers viewed scenes of violence, the polygraph probe detected extreme excitation in the mouth cells of the respective donor, despite the test tubes being in a separate room down the hallway. Repeats of this experiment demonstrated similar results with up to fifty miles difference between donor and cells. While this study failed to uncover an underlying mechanism, researchers were able to prove the effect emotions have on non-local systems.(3)

Over the following years, pioneering research groups, such as the Institute of HeartMath, have released numerous ground-breaking papers not only confirming INSCOM’s findings, but also uncovering the source of this phenomena, a tremendous latent power hiding within the human heart. In a 2003 study titled, “Modulation of DNA Conformation by Heart-Focused Intention”, HeartMath scientists hand-picked a group of ten individuals who were trained in heart-focused coherence building techniques.(1) Participants invoked focused feelings of love and appreciation while intending to cause a sample of test-tube DNA to either wind or unwind. The ten participants were matched with a control of eighteen individuals with no training in HeartMath protocols. The results defy the conventional understanding of what human consciousness is capable of. The group that entrained to a heart coherent state, invoking feelings of love and care while intending to modify the DNA, achieved conformational changes of up to 25% percent. In comparison, the untrained control group showed no significant increase in heart coherence or changes in respective DNA samples.(4)

Based on similar repeats of this study, researchers have found that prolonged positive emotions such as love, compassion, and happiness, are associated with coherent heart rhythm patterns. Using measurement devices such as Electro- and Magnetocardiograms, researchers discovered a direct connection between heart rate rhythms and the electromagnetic field of the human body, demonstrating that physiological patterns can be encoded directly into our heart’s electromagnetic field.(5) This connection is important because the heart exhibits the most powerful electromagnetic field of any organ in the body, five-thousand times greater than that of the brain.(6) Data from the Institute of HeartMath shows that the heart’s electromagnetic field becomes increasingly organized during uplifting emotional heart-coherent states. This mechanism may explain this newly discovered ability to impact endogenous matter.(5)

If the heart can transmit energy to effect the external environment, can energy from the external environment also effect the heart? Thanks to a joint venture by the Institute of HeartMath and the Institute for Whole Social Science, the once laughable idea of extra-sensory perception has been scientifically verified not only to be a reality, but to be a function of the heart, not the brain.(2) The 2004 study pooled researchers from both institutes to uncover a scientific understanding of psychic phenomena, specifically extra-sensory perception or intuition. Intuition, as defined by the researchers, is a process by which information outside the range of conscious awareness is perceived by the psychophysiological systems of the human body. In order to test this process, researchers presented a random series of emotionally calming and emotionally exciting pictures to subjects experiencing two distinct physiological states. The first state was a normal baseline psychophysiological state, a state an individual might experience on his or her way to work in the morning. The second state involved entraining the individual into physiological coherence, during which the heart creates orderly heart rhythms as both branches of the central nervous system begin working in greater harmony with one another. As mentioned earlier, this highly tuned state is achieved through the experience of uplifting emotions and conscious physiological awareness of the area around the heart. As the subjects viewed the various images while in a typical baseline state, their physiological responses were well within expected parameters. But, when the same subjects achieved physiological coherence,  a significantly greater heart rate deceleration occurred prior to future emotional stimuli compared to calm stimuli. The heart, while in a state of coherence, responded to stimuli before it actually occurred and was able to discern the nature of the event.(7) Interestingly, the same study demonstrated that females are more physiologically sensitized to the intuitive heart response than males.(8) While a complete theory of psychic phenomena remains undeveloped, an important psychophysiological mechanism is not only understood, but capable of being trained simply through the experience of joy and love.

But what practical use does this heart technology serve? While the modification of DNA has numerous applications, it doesn’t necessarily serve the daily needs of the average human being. Thankfully, the heart may be capable of a great deal more than minute physiological changes. In a study conducted by Dr. Randolph Byrd, patients undergoing heart surgery were prayed for by groups scattered around the world. Incredibly, the patients who were prayed for did significantly better in their recovery than those who were not. While the research study predates the discovery of the heart’s role in psychic phenomena, it is likely to assume that the emotions invoked during prayer played a key role in the recovery of the test patients.(9)

This revolutionary research continues thanks to programs such as Princeton University’s Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research program (PEAR).(10) For over thirty years, Princeton researchers performed millions of trials studying the effects of human intention.(11) One of PEAR’s most notable studies, conducted by Dr. Robert Jahn, demonstrates that frustration and anger actually shut down our ability to remotely influence our surroundings. It is only through higher degrees of surrender and love that we are able to effectively remote-influence the world around us.(12) Perhaps that is advice we can all take to heart. It is somewhat ironic that it took the cold and sterile methods of science to uncover the power of the heart. Regardless, this paradigm-shift in our understanding of love has come not a moment too soon. Perhaps one day we will place the same value on culturing positive emotions as we do on mathematics and writing.  Perhaps one day, the phrase “love moves mountains” will hold a very literal meaning for humankind.

References:

(1) R. McCraty et al., “Modulation of DNA Conformation by Heart-Focused Intention”; HeartMath Research Center, Institute of HeartMath, Publication No. 03-008. Boulder Creek, CA, 2003.

(2) R. McCraty et al., “Electrophysiological Evidence of Intuition: Part 1. The Surprising Role of the Heart”. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 2004; 10(1): pg 133-143.

(3) J. Motz, “Everyone an Energy Healer: The TREAT V Conference in Santa Fe.” Advances Vol. 9 (1993): pg 95-98.

(4) R. McCraty et al., “Modulation of DNA Conformation by Heart-Focused Intention”; HeartMath Research Center, Institute of HeartMath, Publication No. 03-008. Boulder Creek, CA, 2003: pp. 2.

(5) R. McCraty et. al., “The energetic heart: Bioelectromagnetic interactions within

and between people.” Boulder Creek, CA: HeartMath Research Center, Institute

of HeartMath, Publication No. 02-035, 2002.

(6) J. Clarke, “SQUIDS,” Scientific American (August 1994): pp. 46-53.

(7) R. McCraty et al., “Electrophysiological Evidence of Intuition: Part 1. The Surprising Role of the Heart”. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 2004; 10(1): pp. 133.

(8) R. McCraty et al., “Electrophysiological Evidence of Intuition: Part 1. The Surprising Role of the Heart”. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 2004; 10(1): pp. 139.

(9) R. C. Byrd, “Positive Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer in a Coronary Care Unit Population,” Southern Medical Journal Vol. 81 (1988): pp. 826-829.

(10) Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research. Scientific Study of Consciousness-Related Physical Phenomena. 2010. 8th March 2011  <http://www.princeton.edu/~pear/>

(11) R.G. Jahn and B.J. Dunne, “Science of the Subjective,” Technical Notes, New Jersey: Princeton University, March 1997: pp. 8

(12) R.G. Jahn, “Information, Consciousness, and Health,” Alternative Therapies Vol. 2 (1996): pp. 34.

Eating When Empty

5 Mar

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-Featuring An Interview with Dr. David Lovell Smith on His Dissertation-

Article/Interview by Leora

One morning during his biochemistry class last December, MUM-visiting professor Dr. David Lovell-Smith, MD, PhD stopped lecturing and asked his students to close their eyes, then place their hands on their stomachs.  “How many of you feel hungry?” he asked.  Many students raised their hands.  “What does that feel like?  Describe it to me.” A period of silence ensued.  Some students said they felt a burning sensation in their stomach or chest, others described an empty, churning sensation in their midsection, and still others were uncertain about what hunger really felt like.

This ambiguity about what constitutes hunger and the role hunger plays in regulating eating habits was the main focus in Dr. Lovell-Smith’s PhD thesis at the University of Auckland in 2009 entitled “A Consideration of Homeostatic Regulation of Eating from the Perspective of Maharishi Vedic Science.”

What Dr Lovell-Smith concluded in his research is that although the sensation of hunger may seem at first to be subjective, hunger does have certain objective criteria/parameters, and the more familiar we are with them, the more properly we can regulate our eating habits for optimal health.  Hunger can be characterized by a distinct physical sensation, which Dr. Lovell-Smith refers to as the “Empty Hollow Sensation (EHS).”   As he explains in an article summarizing his research, the “EHS is experienced in the epigastrium (the part of the abdominal wall above the belly button) from which it signals the optimal readiness of the digestive system for food intake.” This means that when we are hungry, we will feel a sense of emptiness and hollowness in our stomach which indicates to us that we are ready to eat.

Dr. David Lovell Smith, MD, PhD

What Dr. Lovell-Smith found, however, in over 25 years as a general medical practitioner in New Zealand, was that many of his patients, not only those who were overweight, were confused about hunger.  He often found that his patients misread hunger, or perceived hunger when it was not actually present, causing many of them to overeat or eat at the wrong times.  If such confusion exists about hunger and thus how to regulate eating, what other factors make us eat? According to Dr. Lovell-Smith, these secondary motivating factors for eating can be both extrinsic as well as intrinsic.  Extrinsic factors include prompts such as social pressure, time pressure, food advertising and food availability. For example, many of us have felt that pressure from family to clean our plate even if it means overeating, or to eat when it’s lunchtime even though we are not yet hungry.  On the other hand, intrinsic factors for improper eating include thirst, indicators of intestinal dysfunction (pain, burning, colic, gripes), and eating to pacify emotional or mental stress.  These secondary eating factors can drive us to eat when we are not actually hungry, thus leading to what Dr. Lovell-Smith refers to as “non-homeostatic,” or imbalanced eating

With so many improper triggers for eating, there must be a simple way to regulate our eating habits.  In his research Dr. Lovell-Smith hypothesized that such a system already exists within us, and that it has a lot to do with enjoying our food as well as recognizing hunger properly.  Eating can naturally be regulated when the pleasure of eating satisfies and thus diminishes/extinguishes the desire to eat.  As we may have experienced, the joy of eating ceases soon after we become full, and food we once found appealing then loses its charm.  Another fundamental principle in his thesis is that eating is actually most enjoyable when we are truly hungry, ie when triggered by the Empty Hollow Sensation (EHS).  Many have experienced that when we are really hungry even bland food tastes delicious.

Lastly, Dr. Lovell-Smith recommends establishing a habit of eating when the EHS is present before most meals and refers to this approach as the EHS Meal Pattern (EHSMP).  This means that we should try to develop the habit of eating only when we truly feel hungry and we feel that empty hollow sensation in our midsection.  Lovell-Smith also states that poorly regulated eating can lead to excessive caloric intake which can cause conditions such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease.  As he experienced great success with his patients who followed the recommended EHSMP, Dr. Lovell-Smith believes that such an approach to eating may not only help people to stay healthy, but may also help to treat some of the most prevalent health problems plaguing Western society today.

We were lucky enough to sit down with Dr. Lovell-Smith and find out more about his research.

Q.  What was the general overview of your research paper?

I was looking at how people regulate their eating (or don’t).  I hypothesized that many people do not regulate their eating well, because they are confused about what hunger really is.

Q:  How did you first get interested in this topic? What motivated you to begin investigating into this particular research topic?

A:  I got interested through Maharishi Ayurveda.  Apparently some time in the early ‘80s Maharishi was talking to some young pundits about hunger and the need to be hungry before mealtimes along with some other general instructions on how to eat (as opposed to what to eat).  He was overheard by a Western doctor who disseminated the idea in the treatment of obesity.  I realized that these were very sensible instructions applicable to everyone, not just the overweight. I first started following the guidelines myself and realized I was waking in the morning feeling much more energetic.  Then I started advising my patients in how to eat. My first patient suffered from rheumatoid arthritis and was about to be started on gold injections. After a few days of eating only when hungry she was able to turn taps on and off in her house – which she had been unable to do.  Within a few weeks she was playing the piano again!

Q:  What were the results of you research?

A: My thesis paper was theoretical – the results were a clear concept of physical hunger and its differentiation from the desire to eat (appetite).  This clear theoretical framework can now give better direction to future empirical studies.

Q:  What implications does your research have for disease prevention?

A: I think there is an exciting connection between digestion and the immune system.  A more efficiently functioning digestive system could have major implications for people suffering from autoimmune disorders.  Although one cannot generalize at this stage, I have had very encouraging preliminary results with patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and Graves’ disease.

Q:  Were there any big surprises you found in doing your research?

A: It was a huge (and delightful) surprise to see the dramatic improvements in some of my patients.  See the case studies for measured improvements in their illnesses. I was also surprised to find that many different medical fields are converging on the same idea.  Pediatricians such as Mario Ciampolini in Italy have realized that infants’ early hunger sensations are not being reinforced by parents, so that children forget what once they knew.  The psychiatrist Hilde Bruch in the 1940s realized that loss of hunger awareness is an important component of anorexia nervosa while the famous physiologist Walter Cannon was well aware that the essential nature of hunger is a physical “pang” – what I have called the EHS (see below).

Q:  What is the difference between appetite and hunger?

A: In my view appetite is the desire to eat and hunger is a cluster of actual physical sensations.  The most important of these I call the Empty Hollow Sensation (EHS).  It is important because it is the body’s way of telling you that it is ready to digest. As Maharishi Ayurveda states, it is not what you eat, it is what you digest. It is also more fun to eat when the EHS is present, so eating according to Maharishi Ayurveda is more blissful!

Q: Do you think that the confusion surrounding hunger is a recent phenomenon, one that has mostly come about within modern, industrialized societies?

A: It’s a very good question. Industrialized societies have made food abundantly available and exciting to the palate so that the desire to eat has become dominant and separated from the hunger sensation, leading to loss of awareness of what hunger really is.

Peter Gabriel’s WITNESS

13 Feb

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Article by Leora

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In addition to being an award-winning musician, Peter Gabriel has always been a globally-minded citizen. Not only has he created a platform for greater interest and distribution of world music via his recording label Real World Studios and the WOMAD Festivals, but Gabriel has been passionate about human rights for decades. WITNESS, his non-profit human rights organization which trains human rights activists in the use of video and online technologies to expose human rights abuses around the world, is a testament to his humanitarian inclinations.

It all began in 1988, when Gabriel traveled with Amnesty International’s Human Rights Tour and brought a Sony Handycam with him to capture the stories he heard on tour. Gabriel was then further inspired to use video to encourage change in 1991 when the brutal beating of Rodney King, Jr by LA police was captured on film and thus ignited the LA Riots. This incident proved the power of video in igniting the world about human rights abuses and inspiring international conversations about racial discrimination and police brutality. The next year, with sponsorship from the Reebok Human Rights Foundation and Human Rights First (then known as the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights), Gabriel launched WITNESS.

The mission statement of WITNESS is to “use video to open the eyes of the world to human rights violations.” The organization empowers people to transform personal stories of abuse into powerful tools for justice, promoting public engagement and policy change. “WITNESS works alongside existing humans rights organizations, offering them another tool to supplement their activities by providing cameras and training on how to film and use the internet to share the footage.”  Since its inception, WITNESS has worked with over 300 organizations, helping to document human rights abuses in over 70 countries. Their efforts have resulted in substantial changes. For example, in 2009 WITNESS documented the grievances of the indigenous people of Kenya known as Endorois. The Endorois were evicted from their ancestral homes in 1973 by the Kenyan government, and the footage captured by WITNESS was used in an historic decision by the African Convention on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) to recommend the full return of their land.  The group’s efforts have also helped to expose, for example, the oppression of ethnic minorities in Burma, as well as to prosecute recruiters of child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In 2009 cameras were also given to the National Council on Aging, which then made a film highlighting the physical and emotional abuses that senior citizens undergo. These efforts helped pass the first law protecting elders from abuse in the US, known as the Elder Justice Act, which was passed in March of 2010. This law was passed as part of recent health reform legislation, and it attempts to prevent elder abuse, neglect and exploitation on a federal level.

Today WITNESS has a staff of 28 and a $5 million budget. For his work in this organization Gabriel received the Man of Peace Award in 2006 by the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates. Below is a promo video showcasing what Witness has done around the world:

REFERENCES:

-http://www.witness.org/index.html

-http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:RQCet4J4_O4J:www.tnonline.com/node/112940+elder+justice+act&cd=4&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=safari&source=www.google.com>

-http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:393fTs2xaJMJ:www.tonic.com/article/help-peter-gabriel-take-a-video-sledgehammer-to-injustice/+peter+gabriel+donates+cameras&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=safari&source=www.google.com>

-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witness_(human_rights_group)

-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_gabriel

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