Sunday, December 30, 2012
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Who's in Control - You or Your Brain?
When you have a thought such as "I am going to raise my arm," you can either raise your arm or not raise you arm. You can have the thought but you don't have to raise your arm if you don't want to. Try it. In one case, you raise your arm and in the other case you don't raise your arm. The thought is not what raises the arm.
In order for the arm to be raised there must be an impulse generated in the brain that sends an electrical charge to the target muscle. It takes approximately 0.5 seconds from the time the impulse is generated in the brain to when the arm is raised. The impulse in the brain is not the thought. Somehow the impulse is generated by something other than the thought.
If the thought doesn't cause the arm to be raised what does? In researching all of the available data available to me it seems that nobody, and I mean nobody, knows. Does the "spark" that causes the arm to be raised come from somewhere in the brain that hasn't been discovered? Does it come from the unconscious mind? Does it come from outside the brain?
To me there seems to be an underlying unity in that everything is connected with everything else. I agree that the brain's activity and the raising of the arm seem to be two separate events when looked at from the explicate level of observation. But deep down there is no difference. The composition of everything is the same and it all flows together as one total unit. There is no them and us.
Whatever the case it certainly seems that you are not hostage to your brain. You are not your brain. You are greater and beyond the brain and its activities. Basically, no one is in control.
In order for the arm to be raised there must be an impulse generated in the brain that sends an electrical charge to the target muscle. It takes approximately 0.5 seconds from the time the impulse is generated in the brain to when the arm is raised. The impulse in the brain is not the thought. Somehow the impulse is generated by something other than the thought.
If the thought doesn't cause the arm to be raised what does? In researching all of the available data available to me it seems that nobody, and I mean nobody, knows. Does the "spark" that causes the arm to be raised come from somewhere in the brain that hasn't been discovered? Does it come from the unconscious mind? Does it come from outside the brain?
To me there seems to be an underlying unity in that everything is connected with everything else. I agree that the brain's activity and the raising of the arm seem to be two separate events when looked at from the explicate level of observation. But deep down there is no difference. The composition of everything is the same and it all flows together as one total unit. There is no them and us.
Whatever the case it certainly seems that you are not hostage to your brain. You are not your brain. You are greater and beyond the brain and its activities. Basically, no one is in control.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Antenna to the Cosmos
There are around 100 billion neurons in your brain. Some of those neurons are short (0.1 mm) while others are long (10 mm). The average neuron is about 5 mm long. So, 100 billion times 5 mm equals 500,000,000,000 mm, or 500,000,000 meters, or 500,000 kilometers (km).
One km = 0.62 miles. So, If you were to lay those neurons end to end you can see that you have about 310,000 miles worth of nerve cells (neurons) in your brain. That is long enough to go around the world 13 times or reach to the moon and 1/3 of the way back.
That makes for a very long antenna. And it is all wrapped up in a neat package inside your skull. Your brain is a marvelous organ. It is responsible for thinking, interpreting senses, and running the body. But it can also transmit and send signals to and from the cosmos (the mind field). Don't underestimate the power of your mind. Through meditation you can learn to extend your consciousness beyond the mind-body machine and into the cosmic mind-field.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
You are Not the Body
Cells are constantly coming and going. From one cell, the body you call you becomes billions of cells. Your body is not the same it was five years ago. However, you maintain the same identity of "you", the perception that you are the same body from year to year.
Watch this video and you will see what I mean. http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=E8nJhG1xE5o
Watch this video and you will see what I mean. http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=E8nJhG1xE5o
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Life and Death
The fret over death is a universal worry. It crosses all boundaries, sects, religions, races, and beliefs. The fear of death is probably the number one underlying reason for all other fears. The fear of loneliness, nothingness, and helplessness, all, more or less, stem from the fear of death itself.
But what is death? For the pragmatist death is basically the cessation of all bodily functions. When heart and breathing stop and there are no brain waves, the individual is usually said to be dead. What happens after that is fodder for much debate. But let's not be pragmatic. Let's delve deeper into the question of death by looking at the other side of the coin.
What better way to look at death than to look at life? When a flower blooms it is saying, "Look, I am over here. Don't I smell and look nice?" And when its egg is fertilized by a male flower's pollen grain, a seed is produced. Basically you might say that the life of the flower is over. It has lost its bodily function and has wasted away.
The seed falls to the ground and stays dormant until the right conditions present themselves. Stems, leaves, and roots begin to sprout. The seed is no longer a seed, its life is over. A young plant slowly grows into a mature plant producing flowers. Botanists call this process the life cycle of the plant.
Where is your physical body in the cycle of life? Just because the body stops functioning doesn't mean that you are dead. You, the true you, sprouts into something new and different. There is no end to the cycle. Don't worry and don't fret. Life is not over just because the body wastes away.
But what is death? For the pragmatist death is basically the cessation of all bodily functions. When heart and breathing stop and there are no brain waves, the individual is usually said to be dead. What happens after that is fodder for much debate. But let's not be pragmatic. Let's delve deeper into the question of death by looking at the other side of the coin.
What better way to look at death than to look at life? When a flower blooms it is saying, "Look, I am over here. Don't I smell and look nice?" And when its egg is fertilized by a male flower's pollen grain, a seed is produced. Basically you might say that the life of the flower is over. It has lost its bodily function and has wasted away.
The seed falls to the ground and stays dormant until the right conditions present themselves. Stems, leaves, and roots begin to sprout. The seed is no longer a seed, its life is over. A young plant slowly grows into a mature plant producing flowers. Botanists call this process the life cycle of the plant.
Where is your physical body in the cycle of life? Just because the body stops functioning doesn't mean that you are dead. You, the true you, sprouts into something new and different. There is no end to the cycle. Don't worry and don't fret. Life is not over just because the body wastes away.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Are Mind and Brain the Same Thing?
The brain is an organ inside your skull. It weighs about 4lbs. and is the size of two fists. The brain is a marvelous thing and is certainly responsible for consciousness, thinking, and running the body.
The mind is not as easy to describe or explain as the brain because it is not a tangible entity. The mind cannot be weighed, measured, or dissected. Many neuroscientists, doctors, psychologists, and lay people say that the brain and the mind are the same thing while others say they are not.
People who say they are not the same point out the fact that there have been people declared brain dead with flat electroencephalograms (EEG's) who have come back alive and described in detail what was going on in the hospital room while their body was lying there. If the brain is not functioning how in the world could the "dead person" know what was going on if there isn't a larger component to consciousness?
There is even more evidence to suggest that the mind extends beyond the brain. Have you ever been thinking of something and someone near you mentions the subject you were thinking about? I know I have. My wife and I do it all the time. Sometimes you don't even have to be close to the person. It can happen over long distances.
Some say that the mind is within the cosmos and the brain is an antenna wound tightly inside a compact skull. The brain communicates with the cosmos and the cosmos in turn with the brain. This may be how prayers work.
I lean toward the idea that the mind and the brain are not the same thing. I believe that the mind extends beyond the physical brain and encompasses everything. I believe the brain is simply a small component of the total "mind field."
The mind is not as easy to describe or explain as the brain because it is not a tangible entity. The mind cannot be weighed, measured, or dissected. Many neuroscientists, doctors, psychologists, and lay people say that the brain and the mind are the same thing while others say they are not.
People who say they are not the same point out the fact that there have been people declared brain dead with flat electroencephalograms (EEG's) who have come back alive and described in detail what was going on in the hospital room while their body was lying there. If the brain is not functioning how in the world could the "dead person" know what was going on if there isn't a larger component to consciousness?
There is even more evidence to suggest that the mind extends beyond the brain. Have you ever been thinking of something and someone near you mentions the subject you were thinking about? I know I have. My wife and I do it all the time. Sometimes you don't even have to be close to the person. It can happen over long distances.
Some say that the mind is within the cosmos and the brain is an antenna wound tightly inside a compact skull. The brain communicates with the cosmos and the cosmos in turn with the brain. This may be how prayers work.
I lean toward the idea that the mind and the brain are not the same thing. I believe that the mind extends beyond the physical brain and encompasses everything. I believe the brain is simply a small component of the total "mind field."
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