2 Copyright ....................................................................................... ....................................................... .......................................... .......... 3 Foreword ............................................................. ............................. ................................................................ ..................................... ..... 4 Lesson-1 ............................................................... ............................... ................................................................ ..................................... ..... 7 Lesson-2 ............................................................... ............................... ................................................................ ................................... ... 11 Lesson-3 ............................................................... ............................... ................................................................ ................................... ... 13 Lesson-4 ............................................................... ............................... ................................................................ ................................... ... 16 Lesson-5 ............................................................... ............................... ................................................................ ................................... ... 20 Lesson-6 ............................................................... ............................... ................................................................ ................................... ... 22 Lesson-7 ............................................................... ............................... ................................................................ ................................... ... 27 Lesson-8 ............................................................... ............................... ................................................................ ................................... ... 28 Lesson-9 ............................................................... ............................... ................................................................ ................................... ... 31 Lesson-10 ............................................................. ............................. ................................................................ ................................... ... 33 Lesson-11 ............................................................. ............................. ................................................................ ................................... ... 34 Lesson-12 ............................................................. ............................. ................................................................ ................................... ... 36 Lesson-13 ............................................................. ............................. ................................................................ ................................... ... 39 Lesson-14 ............................................................. ............................. ................................................................ ................................... ... 44 Lesson-15 ............................................................. ............................. ................................................................ ................................... ... 45 Lesson-16 ............................................................. ............................. ................................................................ ................................... ... 52 Lesson-17 ............................................................. ............................. ................................................................ ................................... ... 56 Lesson-18 ............................................................. ............................. ................................................................ ................................... ... 58 Lesson-19 ............................................................. ............................. ................................................................ ................................... ... 61 Lesson-20 ............................................................. ............................. ................................................................ ................................... ... 67
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Copyright I have compiled this document from the thoughts and ideas scattered all over the Internet. Document is free of any copyrights and can be disseminated without prior permission, provided the integrity of the writing is not altered. I have used some images in this document and I have no knowledge about their copyright. If someone finds that I have violated any copyright please inform me. Having said that I would request to the possible holder of any such copyright that kindly allow me to use the stuff because this booklet is not for commercial purpose and is being presented price-free for the benefit of those who are searching hard to enlighten their minds with a greater Truth. Ladla Sarkar April, 2014.
[email protected] ladlasarkar.wordpress.com
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Foreword The physical sciences have come a long way in the past decades and technological progress has been astounding. New technologies have provided much-improved material standards and financial security in many parts of the world. However, calamities such as global warming, environmental pollution, terrorism, armed conflict and the exploitation and suppression of millions of people constitute such severe problems that if they are not corrected soon, our civilization and our planet are headed toward catastrophe. On the psychological and social level, humanity's greed and selfishness have led to huge economic differences between countries and between the inhabitants of any given country. The gap between rich and poor becomes wider and wider. Some people are incredibly rich, while millions, for example in Africa, starve to death or live an absolutely minimal existence. The ego is to be held responsible for most of these calamities. The basic ego patterns, we recall, are resistance, control, power, greed, defense and attack. These are the qualities of the present state of the human mind, which will eventually lead us all to disaster unless a radical change of consciousness takes place. Václav Havel, former president of Czechoslovakia, had already warned the world in 1990, when addressing the US Congress: "Without a global revolution in the sphere of human consciousness, nothing will change for the better in the sphere of our being as humans, and the catastrophe toward which this world is headed - be it ecological, social, demographic or a general breakdown of civilization - will be unavoidable."
5 The biggest obstacle facing the emergence of a new consciousness and a new world is the human ego, with its destructive feelings and insatiable greed. It is unfortunate that modern civilization gives its full support to many human egoistic activities, more or less accepting the motto 'Every man for himself.' I believe that this attitude is founded on the belief system that life is basically meaningless, without purpose, and that you have to try to get the most out of it for yourself, even at the cost of others. This, of course, is not true. Life is not accidental, and we must realize that everybody on this planet is united and has a common destiny. Fortunately, I believe that many people are beginning to see the dire consequences of the ego's many selfish activities. On the financial-political level we have a world financial and economic crisis threatening our present materialistic lifestyle. The Earth is beginning to choke on its own garbage, creating global pollution, and excess energy expenditure is creating global warming and climate problems. How can spiritual science deal with the puzzle of God and the problem of creation? Recently an interesting book was published: The God Theory by astrophysicist Bernard Haisch. Haisch argues that there is an eternal all-encompassing omnipresent Consciousness that is God, to whom we are all connected via our individual consciousness. God's Consciousness is based on all living beings in the universe, thus we are all (plants, animals and humans) carriers of it and our experiences are also God's experiences. 'The point of a created universe is to experience it. Haisch, also believes that Consciousness is primary to the physical world: 'It is my contention, and the crux of the God Theory, that ideas created by a spiritual Consciousness are the cause and basis of the physical world.' This is another way of saying that the universe is the body of God. According to Haisch,
6 there is nothing in modern science that contradicts the 'God Theory'. The only difference between the God Theory and modern science is that Consciousness pre exists. The basic problem modern science has in understanding creation is the deep-rooted belief that something can evolve out of nothing. Haisch: 'Creation of something out of nothing is impossible and God is all there is.' But is it possible to say anything about how the universe was created - how it all started? According to Haisch, originally the unmanifest God existed as an all-pervading Consciousness. But in order to know (experience) himself He had to split himself up into a part that saw and another part that was seen. At this point, the One became the many and they were all manifestations of God's Consciousness.
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Lesson-1 Methods for a Scientific Study of Consciousness: Neuroscience (How consciousness relates to the brain) Cognitive Science (Computer Models and Artificial Intelligence) Philosophy (The easy and the hard problems) Physics (Quantum theory) Most neuro scientists support Reductive Materialism which holds that consciousness is an Epiphenomenon of brain processes. The theory asserts that at a sufficiently high level of brain organization, consciousness emerges. This so called Emergence Theory has its own flaws. Cognitive Science is a relatively new and very popular discipline closely associated with computer science. Cognitive scientists work with computer models, robots, Artificial Intelligence, voice recognition and Neural Networks to mention a few areas. Is it possible to construct a robot/computer with a consciousness? This is a hot issue among cognitive scientists who firmly believe that one day they will be able to construct a robot simulating a human being so closely that you may be fooled (This is also called the 'Turing Test'). This may be so, but is it possible to construct a robot with feelings? A happy robot or a sad robot? This is hardly conceivable.
The 'Easy' and the 'Hard' Problem of Consciousness The philosophers discuss the 'easy problem' and the 'hard problem' of brain and consciousness. A great number of brain functions such as perception, language, learning and memory can all be explained in terms of natural brain science. However, the so
8 called 'hard problem' of consciousness proposed by Australian philosopher David Chalmers goes like this: "How can we explain that a physical system, no matter how complex and well organized it is, can cause an experience (qualia)? Why do these (brain) processes not go on 'in the dark' without any subjective quality? This is the phenomenon which makes consciousness a real mystery." The Quantum Theory of Consciousness Quantum mechanics (or quantum theory) is a physical science dealing with the behaviour of matter and waves on the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. Below are some of the basic principles of quantum theory:
Sir Roger Penrose's theory A hot theory of quantum mechanics and consciousness was proposed by the British physicist/ mathematician Sir Roger Penrose in his bestseller book 'The Emperor's New Mind' from1989. Penrose does not believe that computers/ robots will
9 ever get a consciousness similar to humans. Man made computers will never have feelings feeling s and never be able to be creative. The below figure shows some of Penrose's assumptions and statements:
Quantum mechanics is based on statistical predictions At a deep level in the physical body's microcosmos, matter exists as a mixture of particles and waves. A wave packet sometimes behaves as a particle and sometimes as a wave depending on the observer and/or the measurement. There is always an uncertainty associated with these quanta. The reactions of matter are always alway s predictable, since they are ar e determined determine d by physical phy sical laws. However, the behaviour of a single atom is highly unpredictable. Practically applied quantum physics is mostly about prediction of the behaviour of matter under certain conditions. Here quantum physics has proved pro ved very useful and effective. effecti ve. A little lump of matter consists of millions of atoms, and that is why the
10 researchers can predict the behaviour of matter. However, if they look at the individual atoms and electrons, uncertainty arises. Now it is impossible to predict the behaviour of a single atom - it seems to depend on the researcher's intention and method of measurement. Thus the predictions of quantum mechanics are statistical predictions which can only be made on large numbers of objects (millions of molecules or atoms). Quantum mechanics and the etheric body: The Indian mystic Osho said, when the quantum physicists, with their new methods, went from the world of matter to the subatomic world, they went - without knowing it - from the physical to the etheric plane. According to Osho, if you go deep in the physical body to the microcosmic level there is a more subtle electrical body called the etheric body. The etheric body is sort of a blue print of the physical body. In the etheric body, also called the emotional body, feelings, sensations and thoughts exist as waves while they exist as particles in the physical body. At a certain level of attention, the waves and wave packets at the etheric level collapse into particles at the physical level. This is of course a quantum mechanical process. During fear, the etheric body shrinks and during love it expands. All our energy and vitality comes from the etheric body. If it is always contracted, as is the case in many stressed people, you cut yourself off from your source and from life, and sickness and death will ensue. The physical world is real only at a certain level of consciousness When we look at the causal world, it is rigidly bound by cause and effect. But when we reach a higher dimension of consciousness we find that the rigid walls of matter melt. Space
11 and time lose their rigidity, and there is a mingling of the past, the present, and the future. Looking at the whole thing from this point of view, what we think about the universe - the laws, the effect and cause - is a product of our own consciousness. In our dimension of consciousness, the world is not illusory. It is real. But in the next higher state of consciousness it loses its solidity.”
Lesson-2 Triune Brain US brain researcher Paul MacLean has developed a captivating model of brain structure and evolution which he calls the Triune Brain.
The Triune Brain
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We actually have three brains, one on top of the other, each corresponding to a separate major evolutionary step. The oldest brain, the reptilian brain, which we share with fish and reptiles, is comprised of the spinal cord, the brainstem and the midbrain, including the hypothalamus. This is the location of the neural mechanisms involved in basic needs associated with reproduction
13 and self preservation: heart regulation, blood circulation, respiration, food intake, sexual and rage behaviors. A much later structure in brain development is the limbic system, which we share with mammals. This is comprised of the amygdala, the hippocampus and the septum. It is involved in complex emotions and memory functions and is the primary seat of feelings. Finally, surmounting the rest of the brain, there is the neo-cortex, which is clearly the most recent evolutionary brain structure. It has been estimated that it consists of some 100 billion neurons (brain cells). However, a Danish professor, Bente Pakkenberg, has calculated the number to be around 20 billion, with men having around 4 billion more than women. With the growth of this massive neo cortex, a variety of cognitive functions developed, providing us with the ability to think, analyse and plan for the future. According to psychologist Arthur Janov, these three interconnected brains - brainstem, limbic system and neo-cortex are the seats of what he calls the 'survival mind', the 'feeling mind' and the 'thinking mind' respectively. Thus, we have three different levels of consciousness based on specific brain structures that evolved over eons of time.
Lesson-3 Brain Waves The brain and its billions of cells operate on electricity. The brain is electrically active day and night throughout life. When large groups of neurons in the brain are coordinated or coherent (working in synchrony), small electrical potentials build up to form so-called brain waves. The electrical signals can be
14 measured by electrodes placed on the scalp using conductive paste. After amplification, they are fed to a computer and displayed on the screen. This method of brainwave measurement is called electroencephalography (EEG). The more neurons that are working in synchrony, the higher the voltage or amplitude of the electrical oscillations measured in microvolts. The faster the neurons work together, the higher the frequency of the oscillations measured as cycles per second or Hertz. These two parameters, amplitude and frequency, are the primary characteristics of brain waves. Brain waves may be divided into five different categories according to their frequency: The slowest waves, called delta waves, are dominant during coma and deep sleep. The next slowest, theta waves, are associated with drives, emotions, trance states and dreaming. In the middle of the frequency band are the alpha waves. They are the prime indicators of conscious attention and represent represent a sort of ‘gate’ between the outer and inner world and between the conscious and the unconscious. Beta waves are fast waves indicating an aroused, mentally active and concentrated state. Finally, we have the fastest waves, called gamma waves. They reflect intense focus and alertness. As we shall see later, they are also found in some higher states of consciousness. Both delta and theta waves reflect unconscious states, whereas alpha, beta and gamma waves indicate conscious states.
15 Five Types of Brain Waves
Brain Waves, Frequencies and Functions A basic principle of the EEG is that the more active or aroused the brain, the higher the brainwave frequency. On the other hand, during states of drowsiness and sleep, slow brain waves prevail. Also, the EEG frequency reflects the direction of attention. When attention is directed towards the inner, mental world, slow theta and alpha wave frequencies prevail, and when attention is
16 focused on the outer world, fast frequencies in the beta and gamma range tend to dominate.
Lesson-4 Brainwave Frequencies and Levels of Consciousness Brainwave frequency reflects levels of consciousness associated with different brain structures and brain functions. While the older, deep structures of the brain are associated with slow brain waves (delta and theta), the more recent structures on top of the brain (neo-cortex) are associated with faster brainwave frequencies (alpha, beta and gamma). As a general rule, the brainwave frequency reflects the maturity of the brain structure. The faster the frequency, the more mature (and the more active) the brain. Brain Structure and Levels of Consciousness Reflected by Brainwave Frequency:
17 In a newborn baby, only the reptilian part of the brain is fully developed, providing the baby with the basic physiological functions necessary for survival. At this age, slow delta waves are the most characteristic rhythms of the brain. These reflect the survival and reproductive functions of the deep brain structures and are the signatures of instinct and survival. The limbic system matures in the young child, and up to the age of six, slow theta waves predominate. They are indicative of limbic system functioning and their appearance in the EEG is closely associated with emotional activity. Thus theta waves reflect activity at the brain's emotional (limbic) level and are the signature of feelings. As the neo-cortex matures in the child, the theta rhythms are gradually replaced by the faster alpha and beta waves, reflecting the development of the neo-cortex and the 'thinking mind'. By the age of six or seven, most children have well-established alpha rhythms, at least in the rear part of the brain. Since the frontal lobes mature later than the rest of the neo-cortex, theta waves often prevail in the frontal regions until the age of 12 to 14, at which time the slightly faster alpha waves become dominant. This frequency increase in the frontal lobes correlates with the child's ability to cope with and control emotions.
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Brainwave Frequencies Reflect Brain Functions and Levels of Consciousness There are three basic levels of consciousness, each associated with its own specific brain structure: Deep sleep, dream sleep and the waking state. Sleep and dream sleep are unconscious states, and are the most basic altered states of consciousness we know. It is interesting to see what happens in the brain when we go to sleep at night. If we have been watching TV, it will probably have stimulated our brain to generate fast beta waves. When going to bed afterwards, we lie down, close our eyes and relax. In that state of awake mental relaxation, our brain will normally produce alpha waves, the signature of the brain's idle state. Next, we become drowsy and lose contact with the environment. Now the alpha waves drop down and theta waves tend to appear. In this state (the hypnagogic state), unconscious or subconscious material is likely to surface in the form of mental imagery, fantasies and dreamlike pictures. In my own research I have found that the more emotional conflicts a person has, the more theta waves appear in this state. Then eventually we fall into deep
19 sleep, where the brain produces slow delta waves. This is a state of deep unconsciousness. During the process of falling asleep it looks as though the brain descends through the different stages of evolution. At first the neo-cortex (human brain) falls asleep and the alpha activity disappears. Next, the limbic system (mammalian brain) falls asleep and the brainwave activity becomes even slower. Finally, only the delta waves of the deep brain structures (the reptilian brain) are active, supporting the vital functions of the body. Thus during the night we regress down through the levels of consciousness and experience their associated realities. This seems to be a necessary restorative and healing process for the body and the mind. We experience the same process in reverse when waking up. From deep sleep, the limbic system wakes up and we start dreaming. This is of course an unconscious state. Nevertheless it will cause an activation of the EEG (especially in the right hemisphere), which may look as if we are awake. During the dream state, theta waves often prevail, reflecting emotional activity in the limbic system of the mammalian brain. Eventually the whole neo-cortex will wake up and start producing alpha or beta waves. It seems very likely that if we ignore our emotional problems while awake, they will haunt us in our dreams. Such problems are usually associated with the limbic system, which is active during dreaming. In the dream state the neo-cortex seems to be more or less asleep and therefore cannot repress emotions, which may then appear in our dreams. The moral is that the more you deny your emotional problems, the more likely they are to emerge in your dreams and disturb your sleep.
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Lesson-5 Meditation and Brain Waves Fifty years ago Bagchi and Wenger found increased EEG alpha activity in the brain during meditation (Bagchi and Wenger 1957) and since then many studies have confirmed that finding. It has also been established that if you meditate very deeply, the brain starts producing slow theta waves, signifying access to subconscious, emotional and dreamy states. About the same time as Bagchi and Wenger published their study, two Frenchmen, Das and Gastaut, published the results of a study where they had found increased alpha waves during meditation substituted by fast beta and gamma waves, up to 40 Hz, during what they called ecstasy (Das and Gastaut 1955). This study was the first to point out the occurrence of 40 Hz gamma waves during meditation, even though the significance of these waves was not quite understood. More recently US professor Richard Davidson and his group at the University of Wisconsin studied a group of Tibetan monks during meditation. Tibet's Dalai Lama sent eight of his most accomplished meditators to Davidson's laboratory for the study. Using quantitative EEG, Davidson's most important finding was a strong increase of gamma activity in the frontal cortex during meditation. Classical meditation as it is practiced in the Hindu tradition in India takes place with closed eyes and with the attention directed inwards towards the body, for example focusing on the breath or on a mantra. This is designed to calm the thinking mind. During this form of meditation most studies have found increased alpha activity, especially in the posterior part of the brain. In the Buddhist Zen tradition, meditation is often done with open or half-open eyes. Instead of focusing on the body, the meditator
21 practices what is sometimes called objectless meditation, where they concentrate on love, compassion or thankfulness. This was the kind of meditation Richard Davidson was studying when he found strongly increased gamma activity in the brain. During deep meditation more and more neurons in the brain are recruited and work in synchrony at a slower and slower pace, building up the amplitudes (voltage) of alpha and theta waves. I suggest this is an attempt by the brain to confront, contain and eventually integrate unresolved emotional stress and conflict in the unconscious. During deep meditation it is very important that alpha activity dominates theta activity most of the time. The moment theta waves become stronger than alpha ones, you become unconscious. That is hardly meditation! So, when you meditate, there are at least two pitfalls to avoid. One is that you start thinking, which will suppress alpha activity; the other is that you get drowsy, which will also decrease the alpha waves. If you can maintain a state of relaxation where your mind is calm but still very alert and focused on the inner world, then you are meditating in the right way and your alpha activity will be at a maximum. Apparently meditation shuts down the left hemisphere, so that right-hemisphere activity prevails, and simultaneously hampers the frontal lobes. It looks as if it turns the left hemisphere into a passive observer of what is going on in the right hemisphere and the unconscious. There is hypothesis that the left hemisphere is the seat of the ego. The process seems to be accompanied by a lowering of the brainwave frequency (more alpha/theta waves), especially in the frontal lobes and in the left hemisphere. During this process, dissolution of the ego - also called ego death - will often be experienced. This can be a very scary experience. But if you open
22 your eyes and start talking or doing something, this will activate the left hemisphere and the frontal cortex and immediately pull you (more or less) out of the altered state. In order to understand the power of coherence and synchrony, we shall turn to an old metaphor. If a regiment of soldiers walks at random across a bridge, nothing will usually happen to the bridge. However, if they march in step, there is a risk that the bridge will crash. Such is the power of coherence. Similarly, a laser light, where all the photons are completely aligned and the light is coherent, has such power that it can burn through thick iron plates. Imagine the enormous brain power that would emerge if billions of brain cells were synchronized and totally coherent in the frontal cortex - the brain would behave like a Bose-Einstein condensate, becoming into a 'superconductor' with a focus like a laser beam. When spiritual energy starts arousing in you, the last vestige of past actions is being thrown out and all the negative influences express themselves and are expelled. At this time you may be angry, afraid or full of sexual fantasies and passion. You may also experience lethargy, indolence and depression and. The tendency to procrastinate is very strong and you just want to sleep and sleep. This stage of evolution is known as purgatory. There would be mechanical micromotions in the body and pulsating magnetic fields around the head, as well as electric skin potentials for tracing the movement of energy through the body.
Lesson-6 An analysis of the physical body shows that it is made up of billions of cells, which in turn consist of molecules, atoms and
23 electrons. In the final analysis we see that the physical body is not made up of dense matter but of vibrating electrically charged electrons and other elementary particles. In short, the physical body is made up of electrical vibrations and energy. Individuals have been experiencing awakening state throughout history. In an article co-authored by Charles Tart, 38-year-old Californian resident Allan Smith described a Samadhi-like experience, which he called an experience of 'Cosmic Consciousness', that he had one evening in 1976: "There was no separation between myself and the rest of the universe. In fact, to say that there was a universe, a self, or any 'thing' would be misleading - it would be an equally correct description that there was 'nothing' as to say that there was 'everything'. To say that subject merged with object might be almost adequate as a description of the entrance into Cosmic Consciousness, but during Cosmic Consciousness there was neither 'subject' nor 'object'. All words or discursive thinking had stopped and there was no sense of an 'observer' to comment or to categorize what was 'happening'. In fact, there were no discrete events to 'happen' - just a timeless, unitary state of being… Perhaps the most significant element of Cosmic Consciousness was the absolute knowingness that it involves. This knowingness is a deep understanding that occurs without words. It was certain that the universe was one whole and that it was benign and loving at its ground." (Smith, Tart 1998: 100-101) Osho believes that the state of Samadhi (spiritual absorption) involves an opening up of the bridge between the brain hemispheres and a merging of the left and right hemispheres: "If this bridge is strengthened so much that the two minds disappear as two and become one, then integration, then crystallization, arises. What [the Russian philosopher] George Gurdjieff used to call crystallization of being is nothing but these
24 two minds becoming one, the meeting of the male and the female within." Thus, Osho says, during Samadhi there is a union between the male and the female principle, which is reflected in the merging of the left and right hemispheres. Following this analysis of Samadhi, it seems obvious that it is creation in reverse: the ego is lost, subject and object disappear and there is a feeling of oneness with God. Osho also states that it marks the return to the creator: "Samadhi is a state of super-consciousness, of transcendental consciousness. Consciousness now is only conscious of itself. Consciousness has turned upon itself; the circle is complete. You have come home." Alpha waves reflect the brain's idle function in the awake condition - a conscious state of being without any doing. They represent a gate between the outer and the inner world - and between the conscious and the unconscious. When we relax with closed eyes, most of us produce a certain number of alpha waves. The moment we start doing something - concentrating, thinking, listening, etc. - the alpha waves are blocked or reduced in amplitude (fewer microvolts). Also, if we get drowsy, alpha activity drops. Thus, in order to stay in the high alpha state, we must be relaxed but at the same time very alert and attentive. Alpha waves reflect a calm, open and balanced mind with a free flow of energy in the brain. Alpha activity also reflects conscious access to the body and its feelings, thus indicating good body awareness. Athletes and people in good physical condition tend to have alpha levels well above average. Physical and mental tensions usually block the energy and reduce alpha activity. Permanently blocked alpha activity may lead to various stress symptoms and burnout.
25 In order to produce alpha waves you must control your attention and direct it toward your inner body, ignoring all outside stimuli. When thoughts appear, you should not follow them or start cooperating with them. Ignore them or see them for what they are and let go of them, just as you let go of tension in your body. The most effective way to increase your alpha level is to give up all resistance and surrender to the present situation. However, it is important that this is done with full awareness; if you become drowsy, the alpha waves will drop instantly.
The Brain’s Response to Stress A person with a high alpha level has an efficient brain and goes without effort from one task to another. It is interesting to notice that virtually all children up to the teenage years have lots of alpha waves. Many adults, however, suppress their alpha over the years, mostly due to the accumulation of stress. Gamma waves are actually very fast beta waves, with frequencies up to and around 40 cycles per second. The 40 Hz gamma activity was originally studied by Professor John Jeffrey at the Neuroscience Unit at the University of Birmingham. The scientists there found these frequencies to be associated with higher levels of brain organization, 'binding' information from all the senses together in one whole conscious experience.
26 Since gamma rhythms disappear under general anesthesia, they seem to be associated exclusively with higher mental activity and consciousness. They can be seen all over the brain, but are most prominent in the prefrontal cortex, which is the seat of the executive functions such as the direction of attention and the regulation of emotions. Gamma waves may be seen as the muscles of the brain. Whenever you really need to achieve the utmost, physically or mentally, through intense focus, gamma waves are called for. Gamma waves are associated with will, focus and unity of experience. In a number of subjects it has been found that frontal gamma training is the most effective way to increase a person's ability to focus. Also, we have found indications that this training increases energy levels, willpower and the ability to stay present in the moment. The monks studied by neuroscientist Richard Davidson (Lutz and Davidson 2004) had unusually high levels of gamma in the frontal area, especially when they meditated, but also at rest. It usually takes 10-15 minutes of training before people reach a preliminary maximum of gamma activity. In successfully trained people, we expect to see a steady increase of gamma over perhaps 20-30 minutes. However, the moment the subject starts thinking, they will lose focus and the gamma level will fall abruptly. It is interesting that in the old yoga treatises there are descriptions of how a state of unbroken fixity of attention can be achieved: "The target to be attained is that the observing mind and the object contemplated should fuse into one. This can occur in only two ways: Either the object dissolves into consciousness and only the seer remains intensely conscious of himself, or he loses his own identity and become one with the object on which the mind is fixed."
27 There is a fusion of the observing mind and the observed. This state is sometimes experienced as a light trance; however, the person is very conscious and alert and does respond immediately to questions. The high gamma state is a conscious trance. The word 'trance' only refers to the fact that awareness has been extremely narrowed.
Lesson-7 How spiritual experience is different from altered state of consciousness: When people have mystical experiences involving fantastic visions through the use of meditation, drugs, biofeedback or other mind-altering techniques, they are not in a higher state of consciousness but rather in a lower state confronting the subconscious mind, experiencing a reality akin to dreaming, a state which is likely to be associated with increased righthemisphere activity. Mystical and spiritual experiences are thus principally different subjectively as well as objectively, since they are based on different brain structures. People who use marijuana, psilocybin, mescaline or ayahuasca may experience very entrancing visions but they also experience a loss of intellect and judgement. But in the case of a genuine spiritual experience, 'all normal faculties of mind are enhanced, not blunted' In the higher state of consciousness you can see the real world even more real. You can see the same things magnified, without any visions or strange creatures or projections. You see the same thing expanded, and you see yourself by means of this expansion, one with the creation around you - without the least loss of precision of intellect, or sight, or smell. In a genuine mystical experience, there is clarity, lucidity. In fact, the clarity and
28 lucidity are a hundred times more powerful than in normal consciousness. It is not like a dream or a drug experience. The New Brain, with its more energized frontal lobes, together with an active and better integrated right hemisphere, causes profound changes in perception. As already noted, Andrew Newberg theorizes that when the frontal cortex is activated and the parietal areas somewhat deactivated (as is the case during certain types of meditation), the subject experiences a state of Absolute Unitary Being - a primary reality of oneness with the universe and everything in it. As the New Brain develops, the ego dissolves as the activity shifts from the left to the right hemisphere. This shift causes less preoccupation with time and more focus on the present moment. This is what is called presence. It is hard to conceive that in isolation the left-hemisphere mind can be conscious of itself or that the right-hemisphere mind can be conscious of itself. However, it is quite conceivable that either hemisphere can be conscious of the other (because they are connected via the corpus callosum) and that this is a necessary condition for being self-conscious, self-reflective and present. Thus presence is when each hemisphere is conscious of its counterpart, when there is direct contact and communication between the left and the right sides of the brain.
Lesson-8 Multiplexing and wholeness of the experience: It is interesting that the stream of consciousness consists of successive moments of cognition. According to this philosophy, a single moment of attention is focused on only one of the five physical senses at a time, or on the thinking mind. If the attention switches quickly enough between the senses (multiplexing), all
29 the inputs will appear simultaneous and merge into a coherent experience. This would work similar to a movie where 24 separate frames are shown per second, resulting in the experience of smooth, realistic movements on the screen. Consciousness philosophers have long been wondering how all the inputs from the different senses come together in the brain to form a whole experience. This is called the 'binding problem'. Jill Taylor gives an illustration of the above theories from her righthemisphere perspective: "Time stood still because that clock that would sit and tick in the back of my left brain, that clock that helped me establish linearity between my thoughts, was now silent … Instead of a continuous flow of experience that could be divided into past, present and future, every moment seemed to exist in perfect isolation." Fast 40 Hz gamma brain waves have been associated with the 'binding' of sensory inputs together in the brain to form a whole experience. If we assume, with VanRullen, that the multiplexing (scanning) frequency correlates with the EEG frequency, it is certain that scanning the sensory inputs at 40 cycles per second would bind the inputs together to one whole experience. We know that when the brain operates at slow frequencies (below 8 Hz), such as delta and theta, we are unconscious/asleep, and during conscious states, the brain operates at faster frequencies in the alpha and beta band. As we have seen, there is evidence that in the super-conscious or awakened state the brain operates at very fast gamma wave frequencies, especially in the brain's prefrontal area, where it is assumed the 'binding' process takes place. One hypothesis would be then that sensory information, as well as thoughts and feelings, is 'updated' from various brain areas to the prefrontal cortex at a speed corresponding to the brainwave frequency. The brain of a normal, awake and conscious person usually operates at between 10 and 20 cycles per
30 second. At very fast brainwave frequencies, such as the 40 Hz gamma, the scanning of the sensory inputs will be so fast that it will generate high-resolution perception. That may be why an awakened person experiences the world in HD. This model also accounts for an awakened person's ability to perceive even the smallest details in the environment. As already noted, when the EEG frequency drops below 8 Hz, we are asleep. However, what would happen if it were possible to lower the brainwave frequency below 8 Hz without falling asleep? (This is actually what may happen during an ayahuasca trip when the ego is falling apart.) An Indian master offers an answer: …the senses are coordinating at a particular speed whereby you are feeling that you are seeing, touching as though all these things are going on at the same time. It is this illusion that creates the sense of 'Me' and 'I' [the ego]. If this is slowed down, you all vanish... But you will still be very functional, you will in fact be very efficient. The sense of separateness would completely be gone … It's a simple thing - the senses have to be slowed down a little bit - and behold; you are not there. What is there is only life. You will feel you are one with the universe, completely one. So, in order to maintain focus and perceive unity in experience, the frontal lobes must be running brainwave frequencies above 8 Hz. But in order to perceive unity with cosmos and everything in it, I suggest that they must be running much faster brainwave frequencies in the 40 Hz gamma range. At the same time, the Old Brain (the parietal lobes) must slow down its frequencies, probably below 8 Hz, and also shift its activity toward the right hemisphere. I suggest these are the necessary conditions for an awakened person to experience the oneness state.
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Lesson-9 Stress may in fact act as a facilitator in the birth of the New Brain. Increasing stress levels in people will eventually cause a shift in dominant hemisphere activity to the right side. When this happens, people will be confronted with their unconscious, and the agonizing birth of a New Brain will begin. After a breakdown caused by stress, people usually recover, but often their personal values and sometimes even their personality change. Often they become less materialistic, more sociable, more compassionate and concerned about other people and their wellbeing. I believe that these personality changes are based on underlying neurological changes in the brain that could be due to a shift in brain activity from the left to the right hemisphere. Here again, I see the right brain as a 'default' mechanism, a primary brain to fall back on in times of severe stress and change. Originally, perhaps only a few thousand years ago, the right hemisphere was dominant for most functions and behaviour, as suggested by Julian Jaynes. In other words, in ancient times the right hemisphere was the prime carrier of human consciousness. Since a child's development seems to reflect the development of the human species, it should not come as a surprise that small children (up to around two years) are totally dominated by their right hemisphere. Elkhonon Goldberg (2005) says that the right hemisphere is dominant in the early years, but as the child grows the left hemisphere gradually becomes more dominant. A gradual shift from right to left hemisphere dominance takes place in all young children at around the age of two, coinciding with the development of language functions in the left hemisphere. And I also believe that the same change of hemisphere dominance from the right to left side took place in our ancient predecessors.
32 According to anthropologists, many indigenous people (for example the Hopi Indians of North America and the aboriginal Australians) perceived a different reality from us. They had softer ego boundaries and felt less separate from their tribal companions and from nature. Above all, they saw nature and everything around them as alive; to them there was no such thing as an inanimate object. To sum up the theory in its entirety: in ancient times people were totally dominated by their right brain hemisphere, which was then the primary carrier of their consciousness. At some point, however, certain brain functions (such as language, logic and analysis) lateralized to the left hemisphere. From then on people became more and more dependent on their left, verbal, analytical brain hemisphere. This development probably came about because life circumstances demanded advanced mental abilities such as verbal communication, abstract thinking and the ability to plan ahead of time. During the last few decades of the information age, this tendency has accelerated enormously, to the extent that most people, at least in the Western world, have got completely 'lost' in their left hemisphere, building up their egos (with which they are totally identified) and at the same time losing the connection with who they really are. Long evolutionary voyage from the right to the left hemisphere is coming to a turning point, where a large number of people on the planet will begin to reconnect to their right hemisphere in their search for meaning and for a lost Self. The egotistic left hemisphere has overburdened the body and nervous system so much that many people have reached breaking point. You might call this the 'bankruptcy' of the ego. Following a collapse of the ego due to stress, burnout or some other life-changing incident, many people embark on a quest to find their true, authentic Selves - Selves which were probably lost
33 a long time back in early childhood (as suggested by Arthur Janov in his bestseller The Primal Scream). Since the real Self is not to be found in the external world (left hemisphere), they have to look inward (to the right hemisphere), and that, I believe, is what more and more people are doing today. I think they are trying to recover a repressed and forgotten authentic Self that still resides in their right hemisphere, latent but holding the potential of the peace, joy and excitement they haven't felt since they were small children. Whether they enter therapy, meditate or take mind-expanding substances, I think they are all searching for a lost Self. I believe that following the collapse of the ego, it is time to return to the real Self and to recognize the primacy of the right hemisphere. Of course we still need to use the logical left brain, but it should not be running the show all by itself anymore; it should be a servant, not a master. Now is the time to open up to that huge realm of genuine peace, joy, love and compassion that is latent in all of us in the right hemisphere. This is what must happen if we are to have a new and better world.
Lesson-10 For learning purposes, we may divide consciousness into two broader categories namely Noumenal Consciousness and Phenomenal Consciousness. Noumenal Consciousness is also called as Primordial Consciousness, Unidentified Consciousness, Pure Consciousness, Unity-Consciousness, Infinite Consciousness, Godhead or Divine Consciousness, Universal Consciousness and Subjective Consciousness. This Consciousness is infinite eternal and unchangeable while the Phenomenal Consciousness is relative, evolutionary, susceptible to internal and external conditions and finite in time and space. It evolves
34 itself and can be altered by changing the affecting conditions and even can be disintegrated by death. Phenomenal Consciousness can further be categorized into several sub-categories. In fact all these sub-categories are possible evolutionary stages; by passing through these stages from lower to higher grade Phenomenal consciousness can awaken to its Primordial unaltered state of God-consciousness. Enlightenment is a state in which Phenomenal Consciousness reawakens and starts experiencing and identifying itself again as the Unity-Consciousness. These evolutionary stages set for Phenomenal Consciousness are 1) Elemental Consciousness 2) Plant Consciousness 3) Reptilian Consciousness 4) Mammalian Consciousness 5) Human Consciousness 6) Spiritual Consciousness and finally 7) Unity Consciousness. Unity Consciousness by nature is an "out of the body experience". This exalted state of consciousness is also named as Liberation, Nirvana, Mukti, Moksha, Enlightenment, Self Realization etc.
Lesson-11 Vibrations: In the year 1905, Albert Einstein proved that we can break matter down into smaller components and that, when we do, we move beyond the material realm and into a realm in which everything is energy. This is the Law of Vibration, a law of nature that states that ‘nothing rests; everything moves; everyevery-thing vibrates.’ vibrates.’ The lower the vibration, the slower the vibration; the higher the vibration the faster the vibration. The difference between the manifestations of the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual spir itual result simply from different levels of of vibrating energy or frequencies. So, while the feelings of fear,
35 grief and despair vibrate at a very low frequency, the feelings of love, joy and gratitude vibrate much quicker. The most common unit of measure for frequency is the Hertz, which is one vibrational cycle per second. So a frequency of 460 Hz means that there are 460 cycles of vibration occurring every single second. Dr. Max Planck claims that: "All the physical matters are composed of vibration." At the very leading edge of biophysics today, scientists are recognizing that the molecules in our bodies are actually controlled by these frequencies. In 1974, Dr. Colin W.F. McClare, PhD, an Oxford University Bio-Physicist, discovered that frequencies of vibrating energy are roughly one-hundred times more efficient in relaying information within a biological system than physical signals, such as hormones, neurotransmitters and other growth factors. Although most frequencies exist outside of our normal range of perception, all can be perceived as both colors and sounds. There are seven colors in a rainbow and seven notes in the musical scale. So the color blue is also heard as a s the musical key ke y of D, which vibrates at 587 Hz. But what is most interesting is that, if a frequency is vibrating fast enough, it’s emitted as a color of Light. If we wanted to convert sound to Light, we would simply raise its frequency forty octaves. This results in a vibration in the trillions of cycles per second. So, if a pianist could press a key way above the eighty-eight keys that exist on a piano, that key would produce Light. They could create a chord of Light in the same way they can create a chord of sound. And it would be seen as colors of Light because it would be moving at the speed of Light. [Such a hypothetical key board would be as long as a distance of millions of kilometers]
36 The philosophical and scientific basis for this Law of Vibration can be found in quantum physics and in Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. Energy is related to matter matter and the speed of Light. This is Einstein’s famous E = mc2 equation. When two frequencies are brought together, the lower will always rise to meet the higher. This is the principle of resonance. So, when a piano is tuned, a tuning fork is struck, and then brought close to the piano string that carries that same musical tone. The string then raises its vibration automatically and attunes itself to the same rate at which the fork is vibrating. Using this principal of resonance, we can actually increase the speed at which the molecules in our bodies vibrate, through our thoughts of love, joy joy and gratitude. When atoms slow down, third dimensional matter is created; when they speed up, the higher dimensions of consciousness can be reached. And the higher our consciousness is raised, the closer to Spirit we become.
Lesson-12 The Illusion of Self We think of ourselves as separate beings isolated from the rest of the world, with our skin forming the barrier between inside and outside. This sense of separateness runs deep within the human psyche, guiding our thinking about such fundamental issues as being, life, and (particularly) death. Among Westerners, the notion of isolation extends outward to embrace humanity and exclude the nonhuman world; in this conception, humans exist outside, usually above, nature. The end result of all this externalization is billions of “skin-encapsula “skin-encapsulated ted egos,” each of us consumed by thoughts of furthering our own ends and protecting ourselves from the outside world.
37 But what if we are not separate at all? What if we are fully immersed into the ebb and flow of everything around us? Would such knowledge change how we think and act? Despite its near ubiquity, we can state with confidence that the notion of a separate self is largely illusory. The most obvious challenge to the concept of separateness is our need to consume air, water, and food. At what point did your last breathe, sip, or bite cease to be part of the outside world and become you? The truth is that we constantly exchange matter with the outside world, replacing every atom in our bodies every seven years or so. And your metabolism is intimately intimately linked to Earth’s metabolism. Energized by sunlight, life converts inanimate rock into nutrients, which then pass through plants, plant-eaters, and animal-eaters before being decomposed and returned to the inanimate Earth. Humans fit into this amazing planet-scale metabolic system as major consumers of plants and animals. Isolation from any aspect of this metabolic flow translates to death. If all that isn’t enough to dampen your sense of separateness, how about the fact that the body you identify with consists not of one life form but many? Your mouth alone contains more than 700 distinct kinds of bacteria. Carving out a variety of roles over every square millimeter of tongue, teeth, and gums, many of these microbial partners serve as armed guards, improving health by fighting disease-causing bacteria. Others can cause dental cavities if you don’t brush. Your skin and eyelashes are equally loaded with bacteria (no matter how long you shower) and your gut has a bevy of bacterial sidekicks (on the order of another 500 varieties) that are essential to converting food to useable nutrients. Although this still leaves several bacteria-free regions in a healthy body (e.g., brain, spinal cord, blood stream, etc.), current estimates indicate that, of the 10 trillion cells that compose your physical self, 9 out of 10 are not human cells. This means
38 that your body is home to more life forms than there are people on Earth, or stars in the Milky Way galaxy. If your bias is to count genes instead of cells, the truth of the matter becomes even starker. You house about 30,000 human genes, versus about 100 times as many bacterial genes. In short, depending on how you make the calculation, you are somewhere around 1-10% human, and 90-99% nonhuman. A large-scale, fiveyear research effort called the human microbiome project (HMP) is currently underway. Five main body areas are being targeted in the HMP -- skin, mouth, nasal cavity/lungs, vagina, and gut -but the goal is to identify and characterize all the microbes inhabiting the human body. If you’re immediately inclined to regard these multifarious bacterial hitchhikers as freeloaders, or even parasites, keep in mind that these trillions of microbes are indispensable to your health, helping to regulate not only your physical well being— being—digesting food, processing vitamins, keeping out bad bacteria, etc— etc—but perhaps your mental and emotional vigor as well. And just in case you attempt to cling to some kind of special status for your human cells, it turns out that even they are likely the result of ancient evolutionary mergers with bacteria. Each of your human cells contains a “mitochondrion,” a membranemembraneenclosed “organelle” that is responsible for generating most of the cell’s energy, as well as such activities as cell signaling, signaling, growth, and death. Hundreds of millions of years ago, mitochondria evolved from certain types of bacteria that were engulfed by other bacterial forms. A mutually beneficial relationship developed between the host cells and the newly incorporated bacteria and this successful partnership was passed on to all animal cells, including our own. A similar merger occurred in the evolution of another cell structure called chloroplasts, which are big players in plants and other photosynthesizing life forms. So, if
39 you continually exchange matter with the outside world, if your body is completely renewed every few years, if you are walking colony of trillions of life forms, and if your human cells still incorporate bacterial ancestry, exactly what is this self that you view as separate? You are not an isolated being. You’re an ecosystem, a complex, self-regenerating amalgam of life forms that interact communally to form a larger whole. Metaphorically, to think of your body as a machine, as current bias would hold, is inaccurate at best and destructive at worst. You’re far more akin to a whirlpool, a brief, ever-shifting concentration of energy in a vast river that’s been flowing for billions of years. We’ve only begun to fathom the implications of this profound notion, but it’s one that deserves to be disseminated and discussed widely. Dissolution of our separate selves can help us see the world in new, more accurate, and even sustainable ways.
Lesson-13 Quantum Exploration Science tells us that everything is made of energy. The atoms and molecules of your body, the chair beneath you, and the stars above you are actually made of highly complex arrangements of tiny packets of energy (quanta) with great distances (relatively speaking) between them. But what is energy? Quantum theorists now seriously suspect that energy has no physical origin. The closer we look at the composition of energy, the faster its physical properties disappear. At the sub-atomic level, packets of energy pop in and out of existence, vibrate at certain speeds, spin in peculiar directions, and communicate instantaneously across vast distances. According to Einstein, this
40 is impossible in a three-dimensional space-time universe, so much of what creates our physical world must be taking place beyond the realm of physicality! When you dig down deep enough, energy is affected by the expectations of the observer and Newtonian physics does not apply. Energy can only be described in terms of “wave-forms “wave-forms of information” that contain undetermined potentials (uncertainties), probabilities, and relationships with other waveforms. The wave-forms collapse to become physical energy quantum packets in agreement with other energy packets when an observer expects to perceive an outcome. Energy only becomes physical matter when we step back and look at the big picture. A popular theory with quantum scientists is that our Universe was created by a collision of two or more hyper-dimensional membranes (infinitely large wave-forms of information). The collective implosion of these membranes created our threedimensions and caused the Big Bang of vibrating energy that composes our Universe. The merging of these membranes formed the basis and background “energy fabric” of our reality. Some scientists even suggest that this fabric may be conscious, or that the fabric of our Universe is actually consciousness itself, as consciousness is the only "unified field” that can accommodate the properties and behavior of energy at both non-physical and physical levels. All information and potential, i.e., energy, is born from this all encompassing, ever-present consciousness! From consciousness to energy… Consciousness, the non-physical origin of all, or pure potential, becomes physical energy by embedding vibrational information in wave-forms that collapse into particles when they enter our three-dimensional Universe. (A biological parallel would be to
41 think of vibrational information as Reality DNA.) These particles arrange themselves to become stars, planets, plants, animals, opportunities, and people according to the information embedded in their wave-forms. All energy, and therefore all matter, is consciousness being realized. You are an individuated consciousness who, as a part of God, has self awareness and free will. Your thoughts are vibrations that affect the fabric of the Universe and cause wave-form potentials to become reality. Your ‘dominion’ over this process is orchestrated by the Law of Attraction. All potential for the expression of God Consciousness, the origin of all experience, exists outside of our time-space reality (physicality). Every possible thought, action, result, relationship, interaction, and outcome — infinitely compounded— compounded— exists in God Consciousness as a hyper-dimensional construct until the attention of an individuated consciousness (such as a human) focuses on an outcome and expects it to occur. If his expectation is sufficient and not neutralized by contradictory vibrations (beliefs or thoughts), his focus causes the construct to expand until it enters our physical world and becomes energy. That energy is attracted to the energy of the consciousness that focused on it, and it appears as the expected outcome. Law of Attraction! (The law of attraction states that every positive or negative event that happened with you was attracted by you. Say that a special friend loaned you money when you didn't have any. You attracted that, even without your awareness of using the law. Say that teacher, classmate, client, or co-worker gave you a hard time during the day. You attracted that, too. Again, we are using the law every second of every day. But no law is bigger than God and God can not be restricted by the application of any law. Your wish, liking and disliking can not alter the path of fate. You can wish only for those things that God is willing to give you. And you can not
42 know it beforehand that what God is willing to give you. So, it is advised that always act in good faith but be ready to surrender to that what comes from God). Every thought and action fulfills the potential for a specific expression of consciousness. As consciousness is infinite, every fulfillment of potential creates an infinite number of new possible universes in which different decisions and actions may take place to fulfill the newly created potential. It is mind boggling to think that everything we think and do creates an infinite number of alternate universes where we make other decisions and take different actions. But when I consider that God Consciousness is unlimited by its nature, I find it reassuring to know that I AM so much more than this singular mind in this singular body! How This Applies to You What you want already exists as potential in God Consciousness, where all things are possible. To attract it into your reality, focus on it and expect it to appear. You don’t have to earn it, be worthy of it, or sacrifice anything for it, because you are “it” in essence, you are connected to it by virtue of who you are. Let your heart’s desire come to you by not resisting or restricting restricting it with limiting beliefs. If you block it because you don’t believe you are good enough to have it, then you are not remembering who you really are. If you block it because you don’t think there is enough of it to go around, then you are not remembering who you are and who everyone else really is. If you block it because you think there is only one way to get there, one specific person for you, or one solution to your situation, then your control issues are keeping you from remembering the unlimited resources that are your birthright.
43 If you’ve stuck with me this far you have a better idea of how the Law of Attraction works. Consciously using it to create a better reality is what this booklet is all about. Take on the Practices that appeal to you and go easy until your life begins unfolding according to your own vision. Relax into the process. Success comes from who you are, for what you do flows from there. Trust in God and thus in yourself and take your steps in faith. Despite the way conditions may seem, focus on what you want and give thanks for receiving what you've asked for, especially before you have it. If you are worrying about the way things are now rather than eagerly anticipating the way things are going to be, you are doubting who you are and resisting the very things you deserve to have including health, abundance, peace of mind, and loving relationships. Remember, your role is to desire and trust. It's up to God Consciousness, from which you spring, to turn potential into reality for you, if you allow it! When you remember who you are, you are compelled to make feeling good about yourself your number-one priority. You naturally keep your eye on the goal and let the Law of Attraction work out the details along the way. When your mind and and heart are open you don’t limit your options or create resistance. Good stuff flows to you, through you, and as you! There is no need to panic or fret about anything. There is no virtue in worrying and no benefit in denying yourself. In fact, it will keep you from attracting what you want! Of all the Practices, this is the most powerful and it requires the highest act of courage because whatever is going on in your life, it requires you to turn away from fear and toward the magnificence of who you really are. It’s also the most effective form of prayer.
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Lesson-14 There exists nothing other than vibration. The Body is Symphony of Sound and Vibration. The energy of the heart, right down to our DNA is musical and rhythmic in nature. Energy of consciousness is believed to be the connecting link between God and man. The divine currents are always playing a symphony of ethereal music; however, it does not become audible until we have progressed spiritually enough to hear with the inner ear. Additionally, many mystics, ancient and modern, have reported seeing various colors with the inner eye(s) while in meditation. Light and Sound is also viewed as synonymous with each other in the ancient scriptures. They are Interconnected and part of the Whole within the wave/particle duality. The musician is very close to mysticism, far closer than the philosopher ... because music is meaningful without any words; it is meaningful simply because it rings some bells in your heart ... creates a synchronicity between you and itself. There is an ongoing battle between the positive and negative forces, the dark vs. light. Scientifically speaking, there is no difference, just differences in frequencies and amplitudes. Simply speaking, we are all one. Light and shade, long and short, black and white, can only be experienced in relation to each other; light is not independent of shade, nor black of white. There are no opposites, only relationships. Life starts with the knowledge of diversity, but the awareness of unity is the pinnacle of life. Spirit and Matter are but the two poles of the same thing, the intermediate planes being merely degrees of vibration. They show that One and the Many are the same, the difference being merely a matter of degree of Mental Manifestation.
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Lesson-15 Before the birth of atoms, before protons, neutrons and electrons, there is … the vibrating string of energy. This theory, popularly known as string theory or superstring theory is one of the newest upstarts in science and is now a popular field of study. String theory claims that everything in our universe, from the planets swirling through space to the tiniest subatomic particle, is at its most basic level made up of microscopic strands of energy. This conclusion has important implications for our understanding of why energy, sound and vibration are at the frontier of progress in many fields, including the healing arts. What do scientists mean by “strings” of energy and what do they look like? Through complex mathematical formulas, physicists theorize that these fundamental strings are incredibly tiny, thin and elastic, like a rubber band. To give you an idea of the size of a string, it is estimated to be about 1033 centimeters, which is about a millionth of a billionth of a billionth of a billionth of a centimeter. These strings can take the form of a loop with a closed end or a strand with open ends. They can twist and wiggle. They can merge with each other and they can break apart. If everything is made up of these basic strings, what is it that makes one particle of matter or one object different from another? It’s all in the way the string vibrates, say physicists. Think of it like this: the basic “stuff” from which everything else is made is like a guitar string. Depending on how we pluck a guitar string, we will hear different notes, or frequencies. According to string theory, the vibrating strings that form the fabric of all matter also produce a number of different notes. But in the microscopic world, these “notes” are various subatomic particles. Which notes (or kinds of particles) we get depends on
46 how the string moves and how much energy accompanies the vibration. For example, a string that vibrates one way is what we call an electron with its specific properties of mass and charge. Another string vibrates in a way that is characteristic of a photon, the particle that makes up light. In addition, the four forces of nature (gravity, electromagnetism, and the strong and weak nuclear forces) can also be explained by the particular pattern of a string’s vibration. In other words, if we go to the deepest and most indivisible level of matter, we find patterns of vibration, vibration, and the vibrational pattern is what gives a particle its specific properties. Light is just one part of a larger spectrum of electromagnetic radiation. We now know that light— light—including infrared (not visible to humans), visible and ultraviolet light— light—as well as other waves, such as radio waves and gamma waves, are all created by the same phenomena, the interplay of electricity and magnetism. All matter is composed of vibrating strands of energy, so are we. In this scenario, the body itself is literally a symphony of strings. Our cells, organs and tissues vibrate. Billions upon billions of frequencies interact with each other and resonate within us. Just as importantly, those vibrations constantly interact with what's happening in our environment. In short, in a world where vibration reigns supreme, the sounds and vibrations that fill the world outside outside of us can influence and change the vibrations inside inside of us, affecting our health and well being for better or for worse. The converse would also be true— true—the vibrations emanating from inside of us affect and change what takes place in the environment outside of us. In our modern culture, where for many "seeing is believing", how do we know that what sages and energy practitioners say about the power of sound is true? Is there evidence that vibration and
47 sound can affect matter, interact with our molecules and stimulate healing? And if so, can we measure their effects? In the eighteenth-century, German scientist and musician Ernst Chladni, known as the father of acoustics, took a step toward answering these questions. He demonstrated, in simple, visual experiments that sound affects matter. When he drew a violin bow around the edge of a plate covered with fine sand, the sand formed various geometric patterns, as shown below.
Chladni figures. Pictures of Sound: Making Invisible Vibrations Visible In the 1960s, Dr. Jenny placed sand, fluid and powders on metal plates, which he vibrated with a special frequency generator and a speaker. His experiments produced beautiful and intricate patterns that were unique to each individual vibration (see photographs below). Moreover, these varying patterns remained intact as long as the sound pulsed through the substance. If the sound stopped, the pattern collapsed. For many, these
48 experiments show that sound can indeed alter form, that different frequencies produce different results and that sound actually creates and maintains form.
Left Image: The development of a pattern in sand (step by step). Right Image: Swinging water drops (by Hans Jenny)
Sand patterns as a function of the size of the plate
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Although best known for his stunning cymatic images, Dr. Jenny was also an artist and musician as well as a philosopher, historian and physical scientist. Perhaps most important, he was a serious student of nature’s ways with keen powers of observation. Whether it was the cycle of the seasons, a bird’s feathers, a rain drop, the formation of weather patterns, mountains or ocean waves— waves—or even poetry, the periodic table, music or social systems— systems—Dr. Jenny saw an underlying, unifying theme: wave patterns, produced by vibration.
The vowel A in sand
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Sound structures in the water drop as a function of the wavelength and a function of the extent Our Cells Respond to Sound The implications of Dr. Jenny’s work are vast, especially for the field of healing and vibrational medicine. If sound can change substances, can it alter our interior landscape? Since patterns of vibration are ubiquitous in nature, what role do they play in creating and sustaining the cells of our own bodies? How do the vibrational patterns of a diseased body differ from the patterns the body emanates when it is healthy? And can we turn the unhealthy vibrations into healthy ones? While Dr. Jenny did not focus on the healing possibilities of sound and vibration, his work inspired many whose destiny it was to do just that. Two other researchers who have created visually compelling evidence of the power of sound are Japanese scientist Masaru
51 Emoto and Fabien Maman. Maman, a French composer, acupuncturist and bioenergetician, and Helene Grimal, a biologist, experimented with both healthy and cancer cells to see how they would respond to the voice and to various instruments. Maman reports that among the dramatic effects of sound they captured in their photographs was the progressive destabilization of the structure of cancer cells. Maman says that when he played sounds that progressed up the musical scale, the cancer cells eventually exploded. Japanese scientist Dr. Masaru Masar u Emoto has shown show n the potent effects of sound by photographing water crystals. His work is published in his series of books Messages from Water and was featured in the movie What the Bleep Do We Know!? In his remarkable experiments, he played classical music and folk songs from Japan and other countries through speakers placed next to water samples. He then froze the water to make crystals and compared the crystalline structure of different samples. With each musical piece, the water sample formed different and beautifully geometric crystals. When he played heavy metal music, the water crystal’s basic hexagonal structure broke into pieces. In another experiment, Dr. Emoto taped various words and phrases to jars of water. Afterward, he photographed the crystals formed when these water samples were frozen. Words or phrases such as thank you , love/appreciation and love thyself produced produced a variety of beautiful geometric forms. On the other hand, phrases such as you make me sick or sick or you fool produced fool produced crystals that were disconnected or chaotic. The implications of these simple experiments are profound. Since our bodies are made up of 70 percent water, imagine how the sounds and vibrations that fill our external environment affect our internal environment, our very cells. Imagine how the words
52 we speak— speak—about ourselves and others— others—affect not only our own health but also the health and well-being of those in our lives.
Lesson-16 Science of Awakening Introduction: Recent advances in brain research using brain imaging techniques such as SPECT, fMRI and EEG have indicated that the human brain is already hard wired for enlightenment. It seems that the brain, over millions of years of evolution, has been prepared for the experience of unity with Cosmos or oneness with God.
Andrew Newberg, professor of nuclear medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, is author of the acclaimed book ‘Why God Won’t Go Away’. In an attempt to bridge science and spirit Newberg studied eight Tibetan Buddhist practitioners during meditation using SPECT scan. The images he captured showed that the brain’s prefrontal cortex during deep meditation lit up in
53 a red color indicating an increase in blood flow and neural activity in that area. At the same time, surprisingly, the upper rear part of the brain called the parietal area turned a dark blue shade indicating a sudden drop of brain activity in that area which Newberg calls the Orientation Association Area (OAA). Newberg theorizes that when the meditator withdraws from the outside world, sensory input to the OAA is blocked and the neural activity in that area is shut down. At the same time due to the intense concentration (on a mantra, on God or guru) the prefrontal cortex or the Attention Association Area (AAA) is strongly activated activated and will now assume the role as the brain’s new experiential center. The OAA is the area which gives us the ability to orient ourselves in space and time and which gives our bodies a sense of physical limits and the self a sense of separateness from the rest of the universe. When the OAA is deactivated the physical limits of the body and the sense of separateness disappears. The brain can no longer create a boundary between self and the outside world, or locate itself in physical reality. As a result, Newberg says, the brain has no choice but to perceive that self as endless, interwoven with everyone and everything. This is the state Newberg calls Absolute Unitary Being. We prefer to call it the Oneness State. Newberg’s research suggests that the process of awakening is not only due to psychological change or a change in philosophy and values. No, it is primarily due to a fundamental change in brain function with a shift in brain dominance from the parietal (OAA) to the prefrontal (AAA) area. When the over-activity in the OAA is decreased and the under-activity in the AAA is increased, there is a shift of the brain’s command command center and the individual wakes up to a higher level of consciousness and to a new reality which seems to be even more real than the old one.
54 Richard Davidson. Some of Newberg’s findings findings have been corroborated by neuroscientist Richard Davidson, University of Wisconsin. Davidson collaborated with Tibet’s Dalai Lama who sent eight of his most accomplished meditators to Davidson’s laboratory for a scientific study. Using both EEG and fMRI scans, Davidson studied the monks during deep meditation and found very high activity in the prefrontal cortex - especially on the left side which has to do with feelings of joy, happiness and compassion. The EEG recordings during deep meditation showed extremely powerful Gamma waves in that same area of the brain. Since there were no detailed descriptions of the monks’ levels of spiritual development in the above studies we have no idea whether any of them were in a permanent awakened state. Oneness State and the Brain Awakening depends on a Shift in Brain Function . Professor Andrew Newberg, author of the acclaimed book ‘Why God Won’t Go Away’ has studied Tibetan Buddhist monks scientifically, using brain scans. He found that the brains of these monks were functioning in a completely different way from the brains of ordinary people. When the monks were in deep meditation he found a shift in brain dominance from the rear to the front part of the brain or - as we say - from the old to the new brain. When the frontal area of the brain is activated and supplied with large amounts of high grade energy there is an awakening to a higher state of consciousness, also called the Oneness State. State. This shift in brain dominance, we suggest, is the biological foundation of Enlightenment of Enlightenment or Awakening or Awakening as as we prefer to call it.
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Four levels of Reality You awaken to a higher level of consciousness every morning when you wake up from sleep. Actually you wake up twice, once when you go from deep sleep to dream sleep and again when you wake up to your normal daily consciousness. We suggest that it is possible to wake up even from that state to a higher level of reality. Each of these four levels of reality is associated with a specific brain structure and a specific brain wave frequency. At the lowest level is the Reptilian brain with its survival functions reflected by the slow delta waves. This is a part of the brain which is active during deep sleep at night. When we start dreaming (REM sleep), a higher level in the brain (Limbic System) steps in with all its emotional activity indicated by theta brain waves. Eventually the Neocortex wakes up, the brain now starts producing alpha and beta waves and we wake up to our normal daily consciousness. Now, the point is that we can awaken to an even higher level of reality (the Oneness State) when the frontal area of the brain is activated and starts generating high amplitude synchronous gamma waves.
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Lesson-17 Bentov's Model
Itzak Bentov has developed a physical-physiological model, which may shed some light on the meditation experience. When the heart is pumping blood into the aorta, tiny mechanical vibrations (micromotions) develop in the upper body. If the body is completely immobile and respiration is slow and barely perceptible – as is the case in deep meditation – these micromotions will assume great regularity and oscillate at seven cycles per second (7 Hz). Subsequently standing waves in and above the audio frequency range will develop in the ventricles of the brain. These may cause the high-pitched sounds meditators sometimes hear which may herald the activation of the spiritual energy. Bentov further theorizes that the standing waves in the ventricles will stimulate an electrical loop circuit in the sensory cortex oscillating at 7 Hz – which incidentally is within the EEG theta frequency band. As this oscillating current passes through the
57 sensory cortex in a closed circuit, it will create different bodily sensations starting in the toes and moving up the body to the head. Kindling and brain functions: According to Bentov, the 7 Hz oscillating current in the sensory cortex – set up by sitting immobile in meditation – also passes through the limbic system. Here it stimulates the pleasure canters in amygdala thereby initiating the kindling phenomenon. Animal experiments have shown that electrical stimulations of the amygdala for a few seconds each day for two or three weeks produce convulsions. Amygdala is the part of the brain most amenable to kindling which tends to spread from the midbrain in an orderly sequence to hippocampus, the occipital lobes and finally to the frontal lobes. This travel of energy can be traced by means of EEG measurements, since it is reflected by an increasing amount of alpha waves spreading from the occipital to the frontal cortex. The kindling phenomenon speeds up the electrical loop system, which exists between the thalamus and the cortex. This extra supply of energy from lower centers causes a diffuse activation of the whole cortex reflected by increased synchronization and coherence of brain wave activity within all frequency bands. As the energy flows from the thalamus to the cortex and awakens latent or unused parts of the brain (especially in the frontal lobes) the whole brain begins to pulse as a unit generating coherent, high amplitude brain waves within a broad frequency spectrum. During rest maximum amplitude will be in the alpha band but during intense focus high amplitude beta and gamma waves will prevail, especially in the frontal area.
58 Meditation and modern physics Interestingly this mechanism can be related to modern physics. A ‘condensate’ is a substance whose molecules have a greater greater order and coherence than normal. In a ‘Bose‘Bose-Einstein condensate’ the molecules not only have a high degree of order but they also overlap and the condensate behaves like a unit. Examples of ‘Bose‘Bose-Einstein condensates’ in inorganic matter are superconductors and laser beams. However a scientist by the name Herbert Frohlich showed that by feeding extra energy to the cell walls of living tissue, the cells would line up in the most orderly, condensed way we know – the ‘Bose-Einstein ‘Bose-Einstein condensate’ – and – and the cell walls would start acting as a unit. Apparently, when the brain is supplied with an extra amount of high grade energy (as in meditation) meditation) it becomes a ‘Bose-Einstein ‘Bose-Einstein condensate’. Thus following Kundalini awakening, the brain turns into a super-conductor with a focus like a laser beam.
Lesson-18 The Power of Conscious Thinking: It is important to understand that thoughts are not immaterial phenomena without substance. Thoughts are electromagnetic realities which influence our mind, brain and body. Thoughts are mental food for the psychic structures of man, and we become what we think. Most modern people are stressed and harassed by their racing minds, which chase them around in the daytime and keeps them awake at night. It is therefore important that we learn to stop this racing mind and discipline our thinking. In everyday life most people are preoccupied with an almost constant inner dialog. We are constantly talking to ourselves, continuously assessing the actions and behaviours of ourselves and of others. This inner dialog is most of the time not conscious
59 all though it is the foundation on which we perceive and experience reality. Our inner dialog also affects our feelings which are the body’s reactions to our thoughts. Negative thoughts therefore create negative feelings and hence stress and illness. Our inner voice evaluates, judges, compares and worries. Most people live with such a tormentor in their head draining them of energy. It is an awful burden not to be able to stop thinking but most often we do not even realize this since it is a very common condition. Up to 90 % of most people’s thoughts are meaningless playbacks of old “records”. The philosopher René Descartes is famous for his statement: “Cogito ergo sum” which means “I think, therefore I am”. However, the identification of thoughts with who you are is a fundamental mistake. We are not identical with our thoughts. Thoughts are merely tools for your consciousness which is behind all perception, behaviour and experience. Thinking is a useful tool if it is used well, i.e. used consciously. However most thinking is not rational, not conscious and often it becomes very destructive. For the most part we are not using the thoughts, but the thoughts are using us. When we identify with our thoughts, we let the tools take control over us. To counteract the identification with thoughts and to discipline our thinking we must start to observe, from a higher level, our thoughts and the process of thinking itself. Most of our thoughts are automatic and goes on and on more or less unconsciously. They are just records of old patterns of thinking. Patterns we have followed most of our lives. Though they are programmed in the past they still manage to affect and control the way we are living. It is very difficult to stop compulsive thinking. If you say to yourself ‘I want to stop thinking’, that doesn’t work. You cannot stop a thought with another thought; the order must come from a
60 higher level. Instead you must raise your level of consciousness one step up and imagine that you observe your thoughts and the thinking process from a higher level. Try to be ‘the ‘the silent watcher on the hill’. hill’. The most effective way to raise your level of consciousness, increase your focus and discipline your thinking is sitting quite in meditation. This will train Gamma waves from the prefrontal cortex. Gamma wave activates the frontal cortex and raises consciousness above the thoughts. In this state there is no habitual, unconscious thinking. You can still decide to think but all your thoughts will be conscious. The Gamma state is a highly lucid state in which you have a clear mind with wi th a penetrating penetr ating focus leading to better intuition and creativity. Observing a thought not only makes you aware of the thought but it also makes you conscious of yourself as a witness to the thought. A new dimension of consciousness has stepped in, the habitual, compulsive thoughts have lost their power and will gradually subside. As you learn to go into the high Gamma state, you decide when to think, and in the empty spaces between the thoughts, you will feel an inner peace and calmness. This is not a state of trance - there is no loss of consciousness here. On the contrary you are much more awake, aware and present, than in the state where you identify with your thoughts. In the high Gamma state with no thoughts, you become conscious of your own being, of your own true nature. In exactly that state you will realize that all that really matters such as beauty, freedom, love, creativity, joy and inner peace, is found beyond thoughts.
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Lesson-19 Interview with Erik Hoffmann (Erik Hoffmann PhD is a retired Danish professor who has been researching the human brain and consciousness for more than 30 years. He has a Master's degree in psychology from Copenhagen University and worked there as an assistant professor at the Psychology Department for eight years. He also worked as a visiting professor at Rutgers University in New Jersey for several terms and was a research director at the Primal Center in Los Angeles for two years. Erik is the founder of the Mental Fitness & Research Center in Copenhagen, working with brain wave (neurofeedback) training. He has given talks at international conferences, conducted numerous workshops and published a number of articles in peer reviewed, scientific journals. His book "New Brain, New World" has won much fame.)
Q. What is consciousness? A. Consciousness is the source of everything, including the physical world. It is an inherent quality of the Universe. Consciousness is infinite and omnipresent, and it bestows all life forms with the ability to sense or experience. Q. Where is consciousness located? A. Consciousness is located everywhere; it is outside of physical space/time in which it manifests itself through living organisms. Q. There is a state of consciousness characterized by an effortless, intuitive flow of energy and behaviour. Can you describe this 'Flow-state'? A. I call the Flow-state a 'Conscious Trance'. Its primary characteristics are intense focus and a total absence of resistance to what is. In the flow-state you are not doing the work. It is as if
62 the thinking mind is neutralized and all your actions are directed intuitively by a higher intelligence. I propose that in the flow state the ‘old brain’ (the thinking mind) is subordinated the ‘new brain’ (the frontal cortex) which is very alert and conscious. Since all mind activity is strongly reduced in that state, it may feel like a trance. The flow-state is more akin to the Awakened state than to Altered States. Q. Can consciousness and its content be rationalized, i.e. be described by natural science? A. The causeless consciousness ('God' or 'I am') can never be described or analyzed by natural science. However, all the effects that consciousness has on energy and matter may be described with mathematical precision provided you know all the variables. All conscious processes must take place in some form of matter, though not necessarily in physical matter, and can be accurately described by natural laws. Q. What is the relationship between consciousness and the brain? Is Consciousness a product of brain processes, or can consciousness exist independent of the brain? A. Consciousness exists independent of the brain, which may be seen as a device (a computer) operated by Consciousness. The brain acts like a transformer station, which transforms perceptions, thoughts and feelings into physical space/time possibly via quantum mechanical processes in the brain. Q. Does the brain create physical space/time? Consciousness exists outside of physical space and time. However, the physical brain, in the awake state, keeps consciousness focused in three dimensional space. Through a sequencing process, the brain also transforms reality so that time is experienced as a series of moments. Q. Do animals such as reptiles and mammals have a consciousness? Do bacteria and plants?
63 A. Consciousness pervades all matter and all living creatures including bacteria and plants. Even inorganic matter has an inherent, latent consciousness. Of course humans can be conscious on a much higher level than animals. Humans can even be conscious of the fact that they are conscious. Q. Is consciousness all there is? A. Consciousness is the original source of everything but there is also energy. Life happens when consciousness plays with the energy. This play is the basis of experience and that's what life is all about. In Samadhi there is no experience of energy, there is only consciousness experiencing itself. Q. How did consciousness originate and how would you define it? A. God is consciousness existing in the eternal now. Philosophically one might say that In order to know him/herself God had to split up into two parts, one which was seeing (the Knower) and another one, which was seen (the Known). The Knower is immaterial while the known are combinations of energies manifesting as matter. Q. How does the brain create the reality we experience? A. There is a model called the 'Brain Projector Metaphor' developed by US Professor Elkhonon Goldberg. He says that inner models of reality, usually consisting of old conditionings and belief systems, are projected to the Neocortex determining the reality you experience. Q. Do you have any influence on that process? A. Yes, Modern brain research indicates that inner models of reality are controlled by the frontal lobes and projected to the sensory cortex as your personal reality. Elkhonon Goldberg says that the frontal lobes possess the mechanism which can liberate the organism from the past and project itself into the future. The frontal lobes equip the organism with the ability to create neural
64 models of something that does not yet exist but something which you want to exist. These inner models can then be projected by the frontal lobes into the future where they are going to materialize in the outer, physical world as your reality. Q. Are these inner models of reality influenced by your belief systems? And how does that work? A. Yes, your belief systems determine the reality you experience. When we want to create something, we start out with a thought, an idea or an image of what we want. This idea works as a blue print for the final creation. The blue print attracts and directs the energy, so the goal or creation finally manifests on the physical level. This means that you attract the things and situations you most believe in. Your belief systems and expectations are reflected by the physical world as your personal reality. Thus, the physical world acts as a mirror for your thoughts and expectations. You attract the things and situations you most believe in. If you believe the world is a bad place, that's what you will experience. Negative thinking, uncertainty and anxiety attract the situations and the persons you try to avoid. On the other hand, if your attitude is basically positive, you attract the people and events, which correspond to your positive expectations. That means that if you basically believe that the world is a wonderful place, you will attract wonderful people and events. Q. How is the brain's electrical activity (EEG or brain waves) related to consciousness? A. When the brain operates at slow brain wave frequencies such as delta and theta you are unconscious. During conscious states the brain operates at faster frequencies in the alpha and beta band. There are some indications that in the superconscious or awakened state you have an unusual high amount of very fast gamma waves in the brain’s prefrontal area.
65 According to Buddhist thinking the stream of consciousness consists of successive moments of cognition. A single moment of attention is focused on only one of the five physical senses at a time. I have the hypothesis that attention/consciousness is updated from deep brain structures to the cortex at regular intervals with a speed corresponding to the brain wave frequency. We know from scientific studies that when the EEG frequency is below 8Hz, the person is unconscious. We also know that the higher the EEG frequency, the more alert the person is. An Indian master, suggests that the brain in the conscious state multiplexes (switches between) the sensory inputs with sufficiently high speed to make all the inputs seem simultaneous. This may actually be the solution to the so called 'Binding Problem'. The binding of sensory information in the brain most likely takes place in the prefrontal cortex and is most effective at high brain wave frequencies, where all sensory inputs turn into a very smooth and vivid experience. In the cinema you need 24 frames per second in order to experience smooth, realistic movements. In order to have a coherent (conscious) experience, the EEG frequency of the brain must be above 8Hz. Consider this metaphor: The faster a TV screen is updated the more sharp and real is the image on the screen. This is called High Definition TV. If, for instance, the brain cycles at the 40Hz Gamma frequency, the person will be very alert and present in the moment having very vivid and real experiences. Q. It has been proposed that quantum mechanical processes are at work when the brain operates. Could it be that quantum mechanics is the link between consciousness and the brain? A. At a deep level in the physical body's microcosmos, matter exists as a mixture of particles and waves – so called wave packets. A wave packet sometimes behaves as a particle and sometimes as a wave depending on the observation. There is
66 always an uncertainty associated with these quantums. The reactions of matter are always predictable, since they are determined by physical laws. However, the behaviour of a single atom is highly unpredictable. Practically applied quantum physics is mostly about prediction of the behaviour of matter under certain conditions. Here quantum physics has proved very useful and effective. A little lump of matter consists of millions of atoms, and by applying statistical methods researchers can predict the behaviour of matter. However, if they look at the individual atoms and electrons, uncertainty arises. Now it is impossible to predict the behaviour of a single atom - it seems to depend on the researcher's intention and method of measurement. Thus the predictions of quantum mechanics are statistical predictions which can only be made on large numbers of objects. You can predict how many people will die in Copenhagen next year but you cannot predict who will die. Q. What about the so called subtle bodies are they associated with the physical body’s microcosmos? Yes, the etheric body is in the physical body’s microcosmos, it is sort of a cellular consciousness. The Indian mystic Osho said, when the quantum physicists, with their new methods, went from the world of matter to the subatomic world, they went without knowing it - from the physical to the etheric plane. According to Osho, if you go deep in the physical body to the microcosmic level there is a very subtle, electrical body called the etheric body. The etheric body is the connection to your roots and to your LIFE. Q. Is the physical world real? A. Both yes and no. At our level of consciousness the world looks very solid and real – and it is. However, as in a higher state of consciousness the world loses its solidity. Space and time lose their rigidity, and there is a mingling of the past, the present, and
67 the future. From this perspective the world looks like just a projection of consciousness. In answering the same question, Eckhardt Tolle says diplomatically: ‘The world is a temporary manifestation of the real’.
Lesson-20 Faith and Science: Is the rational approach to understand God a sin or impudence? Is the faith and love for God a sheer absurdity or madness? Is God really unknowable and unthinkable? Answer to all these assumptions is a big NO. First thing we should realize is that life is not a man vs. God or reason vs. faith situation. Life is not a war between opposite poles rather it is ONENESS and interrelated. Second thing we should be clear about is that God is not inaccessible, unknowable and unthinkable. Because such assumptions base only on the notion that Creator and Creation are separate and are confronting each other. Believing in such assumptions would be ridiculous. Because if God is really unknowable, inaccessible and unthinkable then there could be no bond and link between the Creator and creation. In fact such assumptions would reduce God to merely an impossibility and how an impossibility could exist in any manner whatsoever. How an impossibility can be an object of faith? Fact is that when we use scientific approach in spiritual sphere it does not become invalid. Science is not against faith, rather science is knowledge and knowledge always purifies, nourishes and develops the faith in right direction. Knowledge plays as catalyst to the exalted state of enlightenment. We can not divide the life into phenomenon and noumenon. The noumenon is constantly translating itself into phenomenon and All phenomena are reducing and dissolving back into the noumenon. All
68 knowledge is phenomenal but all knowledge is about the noumenon. In short, when we speak on the spiritual matters in terms of atoms, molecules, quantum, radiation, electromagnetism, energy, vibrations, patterns, light and sound then we are not committing any sin against spirituality or the divine, we are not becoming impudent to God. All knowledge written or spoken serves only one purpose and that is the unfoldment of Truth. Truth of life and existence is undeniably One. If it is not One it is not Truth at all. But Truth is immeasurable; it continues to be explored in an infinite manner. This is the awe and majesty of the Truth that it is infinite and mysterious. Truth never changes but our assumptions about it keep changing endlessly. Because our assumptions grow out of our capacity, conditions, available data and many other ifs and buts. It would remain like so forever. Knowledge and Intuition both together travel the path that leads us towards God or Unified Truth.
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