It makes sense that we choose friends based on compatibility. I mean, why would we want to form relationships with people who disagree with everything we say or do?
As you grow, you may absolutely find the importance of creating a circle of friends whose perspectives differ from yours, and in fact, interacting with people with opposing viewpoints can be incredibly beneficial to your overall growth, from you how you interact and respond to others to your actual outlook on life.
The more experiences you have, the more openminded you become. However, having friends who share genuine interests makes life joyous. To share interests and activities with another person — to eat certain foods, play certain sports, listen to certain music, and so on — is a beautiful, communal, and enriching thing. But have you ever considered the science behind why we choose our friends?
According to a recent study, led by Nicholas Christakis, a professor of sociology and medicine at Yale University, and James Fowler, a professor of medical genetics and political science at the University of California, our friends seem to be genetically more similar to us than strangers.
For their findings, which were published in the Journal of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the team of researchers analyzed the genomes of 1,932 people, and compared pairs of friends with pairs of strangers.
The study discovered that, on average, every person had more similar DNA with their friends than with strangers. The researchers suggested that such an outcome points to our tendency to make friends who share similar racial backgrounds.
The study concluded that, on overage, our friends can be compared to our fourth cousins genetically, which means that we share an estimated 1% of our genes with our friends.
And as Christakis explained, “1% does not sound a big deal, but it is for geneticists. It is noteworthy that most people do not even know who their fourth cousins are, but somehow, from the countless possible cases, we choose to make friends with people who are genetically similar to us.”
Christakis and Fowler also created a “friendship score” in order to predict who will befriend whom at nearly the same level of confidence scientists have for predicting a person’s chance of obesity or schizophrenia on the basis of genes.
The team found that, in relation to individual genes, friends are more likely to have similar genes related to the sense of smell, but different genes that control immunity. This led them to conclude that friends are relatively more dissimilar in their genetic protection against various diseases. Such an evolutionary mechanism — having connections to people who are capable of withstanding different pathogens — can serve society in general, since it reduces interpersonal spread of disease. But it is still unclear how we select people to gain this immunological benefit.
The study discovered that genes that were more similar between friends seem to be evolving faster than other genes. According to Christakis, such findings may reveal why human evolution seems to have accelerated over the past 30,000 years.
Christakis also noted that “new research reinforces the notion that humans are ‘transgenic’ beings, not only because of the bacteria that live on/in/around us, but because of the people who surround us. It seems that our capacity depends not only on our genetic composition, but also on the genetic composition of our friends.”
We think of music as art, as entertainment, and as a pastime. It’s personal; it’s communal. Music is one of those things that, for many of us, can ignite innumerable feelings and memories in just one song, or even one verse alone. Throughout history, music was used for medicinal purposes, and research today has demonstrated that therapeutic value.
But now, new research suggests music could even get you high.
Without even knowing the findings, think about how you can relate to this idea. When you’re feeling stressed out, motivated or unmotivated, angry, sad, happy, celebratory, etc., music may be one of your favourite tools for heightening the emotions you’re feeling, or shifting them. According to the new study, this emotional response happens because music activates a chemical reward system in the brain — the same one that makes delicious food, intense exercise, and opioid drugs feel great.
Though the brain’s reward system can cause us to feel amazing, it can also lead us down a rabbit hole of detrimental habits, like overeating, overexercising, and drug addiction. But if we can gain control over this system, we can learn to avoid such behaviors and reap the benefits of the positive aspect of the high.
The study tested how naltrexone, a drug that diminishes the effects of opioids in the brain and is therefore used primarily to treat drug and alcohol addiction, affects musical enjoyment. Conducted by researchers at McGill University, the research required 15 students to pick between two different pieces of music they loved, and that gave them chills, and bring them into the lab.
The subjects were then given either naltrexone or a placebo. After an hour, the students listened to their music of choice, along with two “neutral” songs selected by the scientists. While the music played, the students used a slider to measure their form of pleasure in relation to a specific song.
Sensors also measured electrical activity in their facial muscles. Prior to exiting the lab, the participants also took a survey regarding their reactions. After a week, the subjects were put through the same test, except the naltrexone group received placebos and vice versa.
The results revealed that participants moved their facial muscles less with naltrexone in their system, which suggests that it had reduced their emotional response to what they were hearing. This was found for both positive and negative emotions: the highs felt lower, and the lows felt higher.
The sliders implemented in the study revealed that the subjects’ pleasure lessened when listening to their favourite music as a result of the naltrexone, but this did not have an effect on their feelings about the neutral music.
The research suggests that, much like it does for exercise, food, and drugs, naltrexone seems to prompt a low response to music, which backs up the theory that the same reward system in the brain accounts for our reactions to all of them.
The study authors concluded, “The current experimental finding of reduced response from both the positive and negative valence EMGs (ZYG and COR respectively) reinforces the notion that music is complex and rarely conveys a single emotional valence. Listeners more often report finding music to be bittersweet than purely happy or purely sad, and many listeners report that even sad music brings them pleasure.”
Stanford University researchers have created a new battery that could change the way we look at renewable energy storage forever.
The team used urea, an affordable, natural, and readily-available material present in mammal urine and fertilizers to create a battery that is significantly more efficient than past versions.
Stanford chemistry professor Hongjie Dai and doctoral candidate Michael Angell developed the nonflammable battery, which contains electrodes made from abundant aluminum and graphite.
“So essentially, what you have is a battery made with some of the cheapest and most abundant materials you can find on Earth. And it actually has good performance,” explained Dai. “Who would have thought you could take graphite, aluminum, urea, and actually make a battery that can cycle for a pretty long time?”
Dai’s lab created the first rechargeable aluminum battery in 2015 to astonishing effect: a system that charged in less than a minute, and which lasted thousands of charge-discharge cycles. The lab teamed up with Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) to use the battery to power a motorbike, winning a 2016 R&D 100 Award for their groundbreaking results.
This original version, though impressive, involved an expensive electrolyte. The newest version, on the other hand, implements a urea-based electrolyte and is an estimated 100 times cheaper than the 2015 model. It also has higher efficiency and a charging time of just 45 minutes. Dai noted that the cost difference between the two batteries is “like night and day.”
Dai and Angell’s work marks the first time urea has been used in a battery.
The low-cost battery is even more impressive in a day and age when the demand for renewable technologies continues to grow. Energy storage has proved a massive challenge for solar power and other renewables, with users requiring a reliable way to store power when their systems aren’t generating energy.
This demand provokes the need for cheap and efficient batteries to store the energy for release at night. The batteries currently on the market, such as the lithium-ion or lead acid batteries, are both expensive as well as limited in their lifespans.
Dai and Angell’s battery may be the answer to this storage issue.
“It’s cheap. It’s efficient. Grid storage is the main goal,” Angell noted.
Grid storage, according to Angell, is the most realistic goal thanks to the battery’s low cost, high efficiency, and long cycle life. The Coulombic efficiency, a measurement of how much charge exits the battery per unit of charge that it takes in during charging, proved high for this battery, coming in at 99.7%. Another important attribute is Dai’s urea battery’s low risk factor. Unlike lithium-ion batteries, for instance, this new battery is not flammable.
“I would feel safe if my backup battery in my house is made of urea with little chance of causing fire,” Dai noted.
The team has licensed the battery patents to AB Systems, which Dai founded. And currently, a commercial version of the batter is underway.
The researchers believe this battery could allow for solar energy to be stored in every building and every home. “Maybe it will change everyday life,” admits Dai.
In school, we are taught some basic things that never seem to change, like the fact that one plus one equals two, there are five (or is it six?) vowels in the English language, and there are seven continents on Planet Earth.
But the last of those examples is getting a major makeover thanks to a team of 11 researchers who found that Earth has a concealed continent called “Zealandia” that’s hidden in the Pacific Ocean and attached to New Zealand.
The newly published research concluded that New Zealand and New Caledonia are actually part of a huge 4.9 million sq km (1.89 million square-mile) single slab of continental crust that is unhinged from Australia.
Published by the Geological Society of America, the study discovered that the region is 94% submerged, mostly due to crustal thinning before the supercontinental break-up. For their findings, the team used upgraded satellite-based elevation and gravity map technology.
“The scientific value of classifying Zealandia as a continent is much more than just an extra name on a list,” the scientists explained. “That a continent can be so submerged yet unfragmented makes it a useful and thought-provoking geodynamic end member in exploring the cohesion and breakup of continental crust.”
This kind of reminds me of hearing that Pluto was a planet, and then that Pluto wasn’t a planet, and then… it’s hard to keep up. However, the team says Zealandia should be considered a geological continent, which really just makes me question everything we think we know about geology. But really, how human of us to not have all the answers, right?
The researchers said the continent used to be considered a collection of continental islands and fragments.
“Based on various lines of geological and geophysical evidence, particularly those accumulated in the last two decades, we argue that Zealandia is not a collection of partly submerged continental fragments but is a coherent 4.9 Mkm2 continent,” the study said.
So does this mean their are eight continents? Not exactly. According to geologists, Europe and Asia are one giant continent they refer to as “Eurasia,” which means the new addition of Zealandia brings the number of continents to seven — which is the number we’ve become accustomed to.
Geophysicist Bruce Luyendyk coined the name Zealandia back in 1995 to refer to the two islands and other submerged pieces of crust that once separated from Gondwana. Of the new findings, in which he did not take part, he said, “These people here are A-list earth scientists. I think they have put together a solid collection of evidence that’s really thorough. I don’t see that there’s going to be a lot of pushback, except maybe around the edges.”
The researchers are referring to Zealandia as a “realization” rather than a “discovery,” since New Zealand has been considered a continent by some experts in the field for years.
“This is not a sudden discovery but a gradual realisation; as recently as 10 years ago we would not have had the accumulated data or confidence in interpretation to write this paper,” the study’s authors said. “Zealandia illustrates that the large and the obvious in natural science can be overlooked.”
Can we ever believe what our government tells us about airport security devices?
Apparently not. First they told us those X-ray scanners (that showed way too many naked body parts) were perfectly safe.
Even the manufacturer of the device, Rapidscan, openly admitted the scanners had not been adequately tested. The truth was later revealed that the safety tests turned out to be totally rigged, as reported by Natural News.
With fabricated results, the technology was quickly rushed into every airport worldwide. No one listened to what the scientists in the field of radiation were trying to tell them – it’s not safe.
It wasn’t until the backscatter radiation levels the scanners were putting off began showing an increased incidence of cancer in TSA agents (along with the lawsuits that quickly followed), that the devices were finally yanked. The TSA quickly scrambled for another solution.
Now they also want us to believe that the replacement technology, millimeter wave “digital strip search” scanners, are also “perfectly safe”.
Don’t believe it for a second. The TSA failed to adequately test these devices for health and safety factors as well. Unfortunately, in today’s world, security trumps human safety.
These millimeter wave technologies are designed to bombard innocent travelers with high frequency energy particles known as terahertz photons.
A study conducted by Boian S. Alexandrov et.al. at the Center for Nonlinear Studies at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, revealed that these terahertz waves could “…unzip double-stranded DNA, creating bubbles that could significantly interfere with processes such as gene expression and DNA replication.”
In other words, this study is the smoking gun that raises serious concerns about the impact of terahertz radiation upon fertility, fetal development, and cancer.
Now think about the thousands of people who are subjected to these levels of untested energy particles every day in the name of “National Security”.
The military’s Active Denial weapon uses millimeter wave technology to create an intense burning sensation on the skin’s surface using a 95 GHz (3.2mm wavelength) beam.
But the TSA tells us not to worry about their millimeter waves because:
“Millimeter wave technology bounces harmless electromagnetic waves off the body to create the same generic image for all passengers.”
This is completely inaccurate because the nature of millimeter waves is that our bodies and water are excellent absorbers of these waves. Millimeter waves do penetrate and absorb into our skin.
At the microwave technology center in Malaysia, health subjects were exposed to microwave radiation between 20 — 38 GHz, the range in which the TSA scanners operate.
They found that millimeter waves penetrated the subject’s skin at depths of between 1.05 mm at 20 GHz to 0.78 mm at 38 GHz. This is enough to penetrate below the epidermal layer of the skin.
Millimeter waves have been reported to produce a variety of bioeffects, many of which are quite unexpected from radiation penetrated less than 1 mm into biological tissues.
Of particular concern is the citing of studies that show there is an irreversible water memory effect by millimeter waves operating in the 36GHz frequency, and that the millimeter wave effects on blood plasma vary greatly from one person to the next.
Does this information make you extremely uncomfortable? Well, it should. And it should also make every one of us mad as hell.
Since the day they first rolled out these human violation technologies in 2007, I have always chosen to “opt out”. I would rather endure the intrusive body pat down any day than subject myself to covert DNA alteration.
So what if it takes an additional 5-15 minutes of your time getting to your gate? It’s time to exercise your own personal body health consciousness, since the US government has clearly demonstrated they don’t possess any qualms about not protecting you.
Alternation of DNA can be subtle and deadly down the line. Who would ever make the connection that a TSA scanning machine might have contributed to any negative health effects you eventually experience.
If you are a frequent air traveler, like myself, you should be concerned about your levels of exposure. If you’re a TSA agent, you should find another job.
This past weekend as I was trying to make a flight back to Los Angeles from the Columbia, South Carolina Airport, I did my usual “opt out” thing. The TSA agents from this little backwater airport tried to feed me the propaganda line about “minimal risk.”
I told them I’d read the studies and they needed to be better informed. They looked at me blankly trying to tell me it was just like using a cell phone. Not true.
The millimeter wave scanners the TSA operates put out more than 20 billion times more oscillations per second in smaller terahertz waves, so the cellular effects will be different from cell phones.
I’m sure no one ever told TSA agents this, but they feed the same lies back to the people that they’ve been told, so I tried to be more forgiving.
I’m sure no one had requested an opt out for some time in this South Carolina airport, which is why I got the pat down of all pat downs.
The female agent made sure to give me karate chops straight up to my private parts twice in the back and then another two times in the front. Totally unnecessary. She kneaded my waist in a strange manner, grabbing hold of any loose skin she could find.
I have had hundreds of pat downs over the years, and no one, I mean no one, has ever been as intrusive as this TSA agent.
My first instinct was to tell her how inappropriate she was being, then I remembered how I would most likely be punished for my non-sheep-like behavior and not be allowed to make my flight.
During the procedure she also sniffled and sneezed, spreading her germ warfare all over me through out the entire security grope session.
I think we have all had enough of this undignified treatment in the name of security. It’s already been proven that these scanner devices and intrusive pat downs have not made our world any safer from terrorists.
Airport security testers have snuck through everything from guns to explosives, clearly proving their ineffectiveness. Metal detectors should be sufficient enough.
If everyone opted out of the scanner, the whole program would eventually fall apart. The lines of opt outs would be so long it would bring the air travel industry to a standstill.
It would also send a clear message that unsafe devices are not going to be tolerated. Take the extra time and just do it — opt out. If you love yourself, than you owe it to yourself.
Now I’m already ahead of you on what you’re thinking — that they’ll just suspend all our civil liberties and make it mandatory to go through the scanners whether we want to or not.
Well, I would like to believe that they would be flooded with lawsuits if they did, but there’s an even easier solution. Go to a medical supply store and buy a cheap inexpensive arm sling and put it on before going through TSA.
If you can’t hold both arms up over your head while in their scanner, it renders the results totally unusable. They know this and have to let you opt out for medical reasons. The sheeple are getting smarter. Afterall, life is all about how you handle Plan B.
Dr. Kathy Forti is a clinical psychologist, inventor of the Trinfinity8 technology, and author of the book, Fractals of God.
Recently, Elon Musk had the chance to share his thoughts on universal basic income (UBI) at the World Government Summit in Dubai. At the Summit, Musk had the opportunity to talk about the future, and the challenges the world will face in the next hundred years – including artificial intelligence (AI), automation, and the job displacement expected to come with it.
When asked about the challenges civilization is set to face in the near future, Musk began by noting the threat of artificial intelligences that surpass humanity.
He stated, “deep artificial intelligence, or artificial general intelligence, where you can have artificial intelligence that is much smarter than the smartest human on Earth, this is a dangerous situation.”
He continued by noting the importance of advancing our research into AI with caution: “I think we need to be very careful in how we adopt artificial intelligence and that we make sure that researchers don’t get carried away. Sometimes what will happen is a scientist will get so engrossed in their work that they don’t really realize the ramifications of what they’re doing.”
Musk also relayed concerns that autonomous technology will impact jobs, and he noted that we will likely have intelligent, massive-scale automation for transportation relatively soon—within the next few decades, in fact: “Twenty years is a short period of time to have something like 12-15 percent of the workforce be unemployed,” he said, pointing out the extent of how automation will disrupt car-based transportation specifically.
However, displacement due to automation isn’t just limited to transportation, it will sweep across a number of industries, and Musk argues that the government must introduce a UBI program in order to compensate for this. “I don’t think we’re going to have a choice,” he said. “I think it’s going to be necessary. There will be fewer and fewer jobs that a robot cannot do better.”
With antibiotic resistance on the rise, finding new ways of healing outside of Western medicine has become essential. Now, a berry extract used by indigenous healers in South America for centuries is being considered a breakthrough in the fight against deadly superbugs.
Researchers believe the red berries of the Brazilian peppertree contain a compound capable of disarming the virulence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), which is a dangerous bacterium that has become resistant to the most common forms of antibiotics.
Researchers from Emory University and the University of Iowa claim an extract from the Brazilian peppertree’s berries can halt lesions from occurring in mice infected with MSRA by way of repressing a gene that the bacteria rely on for communication.
Cassandra Quave, an Emory University scientist who studies how indigenous people take advantage of plants for their healing properties, reveals that researchers pulled apart the chemical ingredients of the berries and tested them in mice infected with MRSA. The mice were injected with bacteria with or without the plant extracts, and researchers found that those who didn’t receive the extracts — a mixture of 27 chemicals — developed skin lesions, while those who did receive the extracts did not.
“Traditional healers in the Amazon have used the Brazilian peppertree for hundreds of years to treat infections of the skin and soft tissues,” noted Quave. “We pulled apart the chemical ingredients of the berries and systematically tested them against disease-causing bacteria to uncover a medicinal mechanism of this plant.”
The team noted that the compound doesn’t kill the bacteria, but rather silences the bacterial signaling system called quorum sensing, which allows the bugs to communicate. The gene responsible for the disarming prevents MRSA from excreting the toxins it needs to damage tissues.
“The body’s normal immune system then stands a better chance of healing a wound,” explained Quave.
And while the MRSA’s communication channels were silenced by what is called the quorum quenching process, the extract didn’t seem to harm the mice, their skin tissue, or the healthy bacteria on their skin — unlike antibiotics. In fact, it was reported to simply prevent the bugs from collectively releasing toxins that permit boils and sores.
“It’s stopping communication among the bacteria,” Quave said. “It kind of tricks them into believing they are alone. When they are alone, they behave differently than when they are in a group.”
The researchers hope that additional research will show that the berries are capable of treating bacterial infections in humans, especially because the Brazilian peppertree has been used traditionally to treat infected wounds and ulcers.
The quorum quenching process was previously found by the same group of researchers to disarm MRSA via leaf extracts from the European chestnut tree.
The hope is that such compounds provide an alternative way of fighting harmful bacteria — one that is more delicate than the aggressive path of antibiotics, which can actually cause some bacteria to transform into more virulent and resistant strains.
“In some cases, you need to go in heavily with antibiotics to treat a patient,” Quave explained. “But instead of always setting a bomb off to kill an infection, there are situations where using an anti-virulence method may be just as effective, while also helping to restore balance to the health of a patient.”
While the berries are not a cure for MRSA, the researchers did find just a single dose of the extract had positive effects for up to two weeks on the mice. The team will now begin looking into studying treatments with the compound in correlation with simultaneous antibiotic therapy in future research.
Often thought of as useless hunks of rock or ice floating around space, asteroids also have one giant, scary stigma attached to them: They could completely destroy our planet. But some asteroids are also rich sources of precious minerals, like iron, platinum, or gold.
Two NASA missions are planning to explore mineral-laden asteroids in 2021 and 2023. Part of NASA’s Discovery Program, the missions are considered inexpensive, coming in at $450 million apiece.
The first mission will involve scientists launching a robotic spacecraft named Lucy in October 2021. They hope to reach a Massachusetts-size asteroid, named 16 Psyche, made up completely of nickel and iron. This metallic monolith is considered a minor planet due to its enormous size, which comes in at about 130 miles in diameter. Psyche is located in the Trojan asteroid belt, between Jupiter and Saturn.
“Because the Trojans are remnants of the primordial material that formed the outer planets, they hold vital clues to deciphering the history of the solar system. Lucy, like the human fossil for which it is named, will revolutionize the understanding of our origins,” said the principle investigator of the mission, Harold F. Levison.
Associate administrator at NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington, Thomas Zurbuchen, notes that this kind of asteroid has never been studied before. “This is what Discovery Program missions are all about,” Zurbuchen noted, “boldly going to places we’ve never been to enable groundbreaking science.”
It is estimated that it will take Lucy six years to get there; once it arrives, it will spend 20 months mapping and studying the asteroid.
The other mission, which will launch in October 2023, involves another robotic spacecraft named Psyche, which, after an Earth gravity assist maneuver in 2024, will shoot past Mars in 2025, and reach the asteroid by 2030.
For the mission, scientists from Arizona State University will work with NASA. Lindy Elkins-Tanton, of ASU, who will serve as the principal investigator, said, “16 Psyche is the only known object of its kind in the solar system, and this is the only way humans will ever visit a core.”
This could give us more information about our planet, as well as other terrestrial or rocky planets like Venus, Mars, and Mercury. And such explorations could help us break through into a whole new industry, as Elkins-Tanton believes the value of the asteroid’s iron content to be about $10,000 quadrillion.
Even more exciting is the thought that the value of an asteroid could wipe out global debt, which totals $60 trillion. And enough could be left over to provide every single human on the planet a comfortable living. Elkins-Tanton has proposed bringing an asteroid hunk back and spreading out its value little by little.
Private companies have already begun lining up to mine asteroids, while Congress has passed the Asteroid Act to systemize the practice.
It is thought that almost 10,000 asteroids near Earth have incredible mineral potential, which gives more weight to the thought that our global debt could, in fact, be wiped out. And considering the already high demand for such minerals, especially given the outspreading of smartphones, computers, and other technologies continues, the desire for asteroid mining is even more alluring.
*This is an older article that originates from Collective Evolution, a couple of updates have been made.
Science works best when in harmony with nature. If we put these two together, we can discover great technologies that can only come about when the consciousness of the planet is ready to embrace them. One example is “free energy,” also known as “zero-point energy,” which utilizes the substance that exists all around us and converts it into usable energy. This would give us a limitless source of energy, and would practically wipe out all poverty on the planet. (more on this later in the article)
The properties of space have been postulated by many, from ancient Vedic philosophy, Eastern Mystics, various ancient civilizations throughout human history all the way to Descartes, Einstein, Newton and more. Humans are curious beings, and our quest to discover “what is” will never end.
“And they allowed Apollonius to ask questions; and he asked them of what they thought the cosmos was composed; but they replied; “Of elements.” “Are there then four?” he asked. “Not four,” said Larchas, “but five.” “And how can there be a fifth,” said Apollonius, “alongside of water and air and earth and fire?” “There is the ether,” replied the other, “which we must regard as the stuff of which gods are made; for just as all mortal creatures inhale the wire, so do immortal and divine natures inhale the ether.” “Am I,” said Appollonius, “to regard the universe as a living creature?” “Yes,” said the other. – The Life of Apollonius of Tyana, Philostratus, 220AD (source)
Science now knows that a material universe as the foundation of what we perceive to be our physical material world isn’t quite the case. Today, physicists recognize that physical atoms are actually made up of vortices of energy that are constantly spinning and vibrating. At its smallest observable level, matter is energy, and this energy that exists all around us can be tapped into and possibly used to generate power.
Quantum physics has left many scientists baffled, again, the discovery that our physical material reality isn’t really physical at all can be quite confusing. Scientists began to explore the relationship between energy and the structure of matter at the turn of the 19th century, this is approximately the time when the idea of a Newtonian material universe was dropped from the heart of scientific knowing, and replaced by the fact that matter is nothing but an illusion, that everything in the universe is made out of energy.
“If quantum mechanics hasn’t profoundly shocked you, you haven’t understood it yet. Everything we call real is made of things that cannot be regarded as real.” – Niels Bohr, a Danish Physicist
Again, if you observed the composition of an atom with a microscope, you would see a small, invisible tornado like vortex, with a number of infinitely small energy vortices called quarks and photons. These are what make up the structure of the atom. As you focused in closer and closer on the structure of the atom, you would see nothing, you would observe a physical void. The atom has no physical structure, we have no physical structure, physical things really don’t have any physical structure. Atoms are made out of invisible energy, not tangible matter.
“Despite the unrivalled empirical success of quantum theory, the very suggestion that it may be literally true as a description of nature is still greeted with cynicism, incomprehension and even anger.” (T. Folger, “Quantum Shmantum”; Discover 22:37-43, 2001)
“Get over it, and accept the inarguable conclusion. The universe is immaterial-mental and spiritual.” – R.C. Henry, Professor of physics and Astronomy at Johns Hopkins University. (source)
Tesla and Ancient Vedic Philosophy and the Properties of Space
We’ve seen a very interesting trend (especially within the past decade) of modern-day science catching up to an ancient understanding about the true nature of reality, its make-up, how it functions and how we can work with it to bring about change on our planet. For anybody to label the merging of ‘spirituality’ and science as pseudoscience means they have not properly investigated it. Spiritual concepts of our ancient world are directly intertwined with modern-day science, more so quantum physics, and Nikola Tesla was well aware of this.
“All perceptible matter comes from a primary substance, or tenuity beyond conception, filling all space, the akasha or luminiferous ether, which is acted upon by the life giving Prana or creative force, calling into existence, in never-ending cycles all things and phenomena.”– Nikola Tesla, Man’s Greatest Achievement, 1907 (1)(2)
As you can see, Tesla was aware of ancient concepts and the correlation it had with the science he was working on -using sanskrit worlds like “akasha,” and “prana” to describe the force and matter that exists all around us. These words come from the Upanishads (a collection of Vedic texts)
“The aakaash is not destructible, it is the primordial absolute substratum that creates cosmic matter and hence the properties of aakaash are not found in the material properties that are in a sense relative. The aakaash is the eternally existent, superfluid reality, for which creation and destruction are inapplicable.” – (Idham thadhakshare parame vyoman. Parame vyoman) – Paramahamsa Tewari, Engineer, Physicist and Inventor. (source)
Nikola Tesla had correlations with Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902), who was one of the most famous and influential spiritual leaders of the philosophies of Vedanta (one of the six schools of Hindu philosophy, the term originally referred to the upanishads, a collection of philosophical texts in Hinduism) and Yoga. He was the chief disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and the founder of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission. He is a giant figure in the history of the hindu reform movements.
Vivekananda wrote a later to Tesla in the late 1800’s stating:
“Mr. Tesla thinks he can demonstrate mathematically that force and matter are reducible to potential energy. I am to go and see him next week to get this new mathematical demonstration. In that case the Vedantic cosmology will be placed on the surest of foundations. I am working a good deal now upon the cosmology and eschatology of the Vedanta. I clearly see their perfect union with modern science, and the elucidation of the one will be followed by that of the other.” – Swami Vivekananda (Complete Works, VOL. V, Fifth Edition, 1347, p. 77). (1)
Tesla began using the Sanskrit words after meeting with Swami, and after studying the Eastern view of the true nature of reality, about the mechanisms that drive the material world. Eventually, it led him to the basis for the wireless transmission of electrical power, what is known as the Tesla Coil Transformer. During this year he made the following comments during a speech before the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. (Given before he familiarized himself with the the Vedic sincere of the easter nations of India, Tibet, and Nepal.)
“Ere many generations pass, our machinery will be driven by a power obtainable at any point in the universe. This idea is not novel…We find it in the delightful myth of Antheus, who derives power from the earth; we find it among subtle speculations of one of your splendid mathematicians….Throughout space there is energy. Is this energy static, or kinetic? If static our hopes are in vain; if kinetic – and this we know it is, for certain – then it is a mere question of time when men will succeed in attaching their machinery to the very wheel work of nature.” – Nikola Tesla (source)
The Vedas are a group of writings that consist of hymns, prayers, myths, historical accounting, science and the nature of reality. They date back at least 5000 years, and are not so different from other ancient texts that dive into the same matters from all across the globe. The language used is Sanskrit and its origins are unknown.
“Swami Vivekananda was hopeful that Tesla would be able to show that what we call matter is simply potential energy because that would reconcile the teachings of the Vedas with modern science. The Swami realized that in that case, the Vedantic cosmology (would) be placed on the surest of foundations. Tesla understood the Sanskrit terminology and philosophy and found that it was a good means to describe the physical mechanisms of the universe as seen through his eyes. It would behoove those who would attempt to understand the science behind the inventions of Nikola Tesla to study Sanskrit and Vedic philosophy.” – Toby Grotz, President, Wireless Engineering (source)
Apparently, Tesla was unable to show the identity of energy and matter, this did not come until Albert Einstein published his paper on relativity, which was known in the East for the last 5000 years.
“All the powers in the universe are already ours. It is we who have put our hands before our eyes and cry that it is dark.” – Swami Vivekananda
Tesla’s vision of the wireless transmission of electricity and free energy has been postponed for almost one hundred years now. Which brings us to our next topic.
What We Know Now (Today) About ‘Free Energy’
“These concepts have been proven in hundreds of laboratories throughout the world and yet they have not really seen the light of day. If these technologies were to be set free worldwide, the change would be profound, it would be applicable everywhere. These technologies are absolutely the most important thing that have happened in the history of the world.” – Brian O’leary, Former NASA Astronaut and Princeton Physics Professor. (source)
Here is a video of world renowned Physicist Harold E. Puthoff. An American physicist who earned his Ph.D from Stanford University. I am best familiar with his work through the declassification of the remote viewing program conducted by the CIA and NSA in conjunction with Stanford University. (source 1)(source 2)(source 3). He is the director of the Institute for Advanced Studies at Austin, and has served various government agencies throughout his years.
“These are not just fringe scientists with science fiction ideas. They are mainstream ideas being published in mainstream physics journals and being taken seriously by mainstream military and NASA type funders. I’ve been taken out on aircraft carriers by the Navy and shown what it is we have to replace if we have new energy sources to provide new fuel methods.” – Dr. Harold E. Puthoff
“Back in about 1964 a researcher at the Hughes Laboratory by the name of Robert L. Forward showed that there was a particular effect, called the Casimir Effect, which demonstrated that this energy could be taped.” – Dr. Harold E. Puthoff
This is what Tesla was talking about when he said that man would “attach their machinery to the very wheel work of nature.”
More information about this generator at Tewari.org, who is also aware of the spiritual foundations dealing with this technology. Below is the link to some footage from that film, titled “Out of The Void.”
It’s Time For A Change
Our current methods for extracting energy are destroying Earth. It’s destroying the environment, its people and creates conflict. We are rapidly approaching a time (if not already in that time) where we need to implement systems to eliminate the use of fossil fuels. I hope that this article, and the ones linked within it, show you that this is possible. If you are further interested in this subject, you can check out Michael Faraday, Bruce DePalma, Paramahamsa Tewari and more.
Energy source transitions do not happen over night. It took us 100 years to transfer from wood to coal, and another 100 years to move from coal to oil. But the next energy transition must happen quicker than previous ones, and it must include free energy.
“No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars or sailed an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway from the human spirit.” – Helen Keller
“The day science begins to study non-physical phenomena, it will make more progress in one decade than in all the previous centuries of its existence.” – Nikola Tesla
(2) Hunt, Inez and Draper. Wanetta, W., Lightning In His Hand, The Life Story Of Nikola Tesla, Omni Publications, Hawthorne, CA, 1981.
(2) O’Neal, John, J., Prodigal Genius, The Life Of Nikola Tesla, Ives Washington, Inc., 1944. Anderson, Leland, personal communication. See also Anderson, L.I., and Ratzlaff, J.T., Dr. Nikola Tesla Bibliography, Ragusan Press, 936 Industrial Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94303, 1979.
It has been truly amazing to witness how many things in our world are now changing that were once considered impossible. We have been able to see this to a large degree with marijuana use and research, which is revealing more health benefits and even cures for various ailments every day.
In my lifetime, marijuana use has gone from extremely illegal, to a little bit less illegal, to decriminalized, to the point where now I can literally walk into a cannabis dispensary with a health concern, get a card, and leave with cannabis in my possession — legally.
This is in Canada, mind you, and I know it is not like this all over the world, but even four states in the U.S. have now fully legalized marijuana, and it seems as though all of Canada is heading in that direction, too.
Legalization of marijuana is important for more reasons than you might think. Aside from its obvious benefits to users who suffer from things like pain or anxiety, its legality also makes conducting scientific studies on its potential healing benefits much easier, and that leads to the possibility of it actually being able to help a lot of people who are in need a lot sooner.
So, in less than 26 years, I’ve witnessed all that happen, and still I was shocked when cannabis became legal in Colorado — a good sign that we’re heading in the right direction if ever there was one. It tells us that things really can change, and just because things are the way they are now doesn’t mean they always have to be that way.
The Science Behind It
Scientists have recently begun to do more research into other psychedelic substances and determining any potential health benefits that they might have as well. John Hopkins University and an organization known as MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) have published numerous studies demonstrating the positive outcome for using psychedelics such as cannabis, psilocybin, and MDMA for treatment in mental health issues such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, alcoholism, and more.
It appears that psychedelics are making their way into treatment studies, and for very good reason. Actually, there was a tremendous amount of research being done in the realm of psychedelics in the 1960s, spearheaded by Timothy Leary. These drugs became widespread for a time, but thanks to the War on Drugs in the 1970s, these substances were made illegal — despite their potential — and all of the research stopped.
Fortunately, the tide is turning again, and people are realizing that, not only are these substances non-addictive, when used in a controlled setting in their pure form they can help those in need tap into an observer’s point of view into their lives.
More on this is explained in the video clip below, which is from PBS news. When topics such as this are on the mainstream news, you can be sure things truly are changing in the world. Check it out!
As mentioned in the video, in order to ensure participant safety, these substances should only be taken under the supervision of trained professionals.
“Genetically modified humans” sounds like a term that belongs in Hollywood, but it’s actually a very real possibility, and one that’s being heavily discussed in the scientific community. Contributing to one of the most controversial topics to date, a panel of science experts in the U.S. just examined and gave their support for germline editing. This means that in the future, parents will likely be able to tamper with the genetics of their children pre-birth.
Germinal choice technology refers to reprogenetic technologies that enable parents to alter the genetic constitutions of their children. One of the ways this can be done is through germline editing, which is a fancier term for human genetic engineering. Germline editing alters the genes of a sperm or an egg, but it then changes the future DNA of every single cell in the embryo. This means that the genetic changes made to the embryos will then affect all future generations within that family lineage.
Germline Editing Will Likely Be an Option in the Future
The panels were made up of experts from two of the most prestigious scientific institutions in the U.S., both of which recommended that germline editing be viewed as a serious option in the future and not be prohibited outright (source).
This is a dramatically different stance than the last assessment given in December 2015 by an international summit of scientists, who stated that it would be “irresponsible to proceed” with germline editing given the controversy surrounding the subject and the safety issues involved, all of which have yet to be resolved.
The panels’ discussions can be further analyzed in a report released earlier this week by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine. The panel recommended that germline editing of early embryos, eggs, or sperm should only be permitted to prevent serious disease or disability if there’s significant scientific evidence illustrating that the procedures are safe.
“Human genome editing holds tremendous promise for understanding, treating, or preventing many devastating genetic diseases, and for improving treatment of many other illnesses. . . . However, genome editing to enhance traits or abilities beyond ordinary health raises concerns about whether the benefits can outweigh the risks, and about fairness if available only to some people,” explained Alta Charo, co-chair of the study committee and Sheldon B. Lubar Distinguished Chair and Warren P. Knowles Professor of Law and Bioethics, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
One of the illnesses the panel specifically mentioned that germline editing could be used to prevent is Huntington’s disease, a progressive brain disorder that can result in uncontrollable movement, emotional issues, and loss in cognition, most commonly appearing in a person’s thirties or forties. However, the panel was quick to note that with these alterations could come some very serious side effects.
One of the potential risks includes developing new conditions, diseases, or mutations. If this happened, parents would have no idea until their babies are born and begin to mature.
Perhaps the most obvious risk is the societal implications associated with the genetic engineering of humans. If it’s an expensive process, meaning it will likely only be made available to upper class citizens who can afford it, it could create a “designer class” of babies with preferred qualities and genes.
“These kinds of scenarios used to be science fiction; they used to be seen as far-off hypotheticals… But actually, right now, I think they’re urgent social justice questions,” said biotechnologist Marcy Darnovsky from the Center for Genetics and Society to Rob Stein at NPR.
“[W]e’re going to be creating a world in which the already privileged and affluent can use these high-tech procedures to make children [with] biological advantages,” she continued. “And the scenario that plays out is not a pretty one.”
“Previously, it was easy for people to say, ‘This isn’t possible, so we don’t have to think about it much,’ ” said MIT researcher Richard Hynes, who helped lead the committee, to The New York Times. “Now we can see a path whereby we might be able to do it, so we have to think about how to make sure it’s used only for the right things and not for the wrong things.”
Will Genetic Engineering Mark the Birth of Transhumanism?
Transhumanism is a futuristic ideology which purports that humans will be altered and improved using sophisticated technologies in the future to upgrade our intellectual, physical, and mental capabilities. Many scientists are actually in favour of this, especially as we become more technologically advanced, making this seem more realistic.
Elon Musk supports this movement, in fact, as he believes that human beings will eventually use technology to enhance our inherent natural capabilities.
“Over time we will see a closer merger of biological intelligence and digital intelligence. It is all about the band width of the brain,” Musk said.
“Some high band width interface to the brain will be something which helps achieve symbiosis between human and machine intelligence, which solves a control and usefulness problem,” he continued.
Musk has spoken about this topic on several occasions. For example, last year he explained that we should consider getting brain implants in the future because, without them, we may not be able to compete with artificial intelligence (AI). He also has strong opinions about AI, arguing it could pose a threat to us if we become too dependent on it (source).
I believe that genetically engineering human beings could serve us in a way, but it could also do more harm than good. Germline editing could seriously improve the lives of many if it could prevent certain diseases, but at what cost?
In addition, the fact that a man and a woman can mate and create offspring together that’s made up of a mixture of their genes is truly beautiful. Do we really want to alter something that’s already such an incredible gift in nature?
I don’t think there’s a right or a wrong answer here. However, there are certainly some risks involved with genetically modifying humans. It’s easy to imagine how the elite could use this to further manipulate the general population, or how it could create an even greater divide between high income and low income families. The idea of creating an Aryan or superior race could even be proposed again, which would only further perpetuate the illusions of separatism and hierarchy.
Then again, it could potentially help us further advance our consciousness and awaken our inner capabilities, especially if the technology or alterations have absolutely no health risks (zero radiation/EMF exposure, no increased risk in disease, etc.).
In either case, I believe our time would be better spent further advancing our collective consciousness. If that can be done through AI, then that’s incredible and I’m all for it. However, we must remember that, if we truly dial in and get in touch with ourselves energetically, we have the power to heal ourselves from within. We don’t need to rely on technology to save us and prevent diseases. Yes, technology plays an important role in society, but that doesn’t mean we should let it overshadow our own capabilities as spiritual beings.
Recently I was honored to be Author of the Month on Graham Hancock’s website. I really enjoyed responding to questions on the Message Board in this capacity, and eventually a thread emerged from my own called “When the computer analogy [of the brain or mind] fails.”
The main point of my book, If DNA is Software, Who Wrote the Code?, can be summarized in the need for the deep recognition that it is NOT an analogy. We created computer software in the “image of” Nature, reflecting an innate intelligence that modern science conveniently ignores.
The conceit of modern science and materialism may well be our undoing because we operate under the false assumption that we can “improve” on or control Nature.
The science behind seedless watermelons is amazing, but we’ve lost sight of the fact that the real Miracle is the watermelon.
We see our own ‘intelligence’ as being somehow an improvement on Nature, as though reality is a dumb accident and we somehow got smart.
If we recall that ancient wisdom saw Nature as divinely intelligent and worshipped this intelligence as superior to man’s, we may want to rethink our position. The Egyptians, for example, saw the movement of the wind, growth of crops, flooding of the Nile, and the path of the heavens as living energies — not as “primitive” deities but rather as Living Intelligent Energetic forces to be understood and appreciated and never as forces that could be subjugated to human desires or controlled.
The Greek philosophers who followed the Egyptians created myths specifically addressing this point, where humans who aspired to become such Gods always perished through their own hubris, Achilles heel, or tragic flaw.
At the moment, as Deepak Chopra often describes in his talks, our science has come up against this issue as an insurmountable barrier to continued discovery.
Along the same lines as the premise of this article, the title of Deepak’s latest book, co-authored by physicist and philosopher Menas Kafatos, is You Are the Universe. I would presume that this is also “not an analogy” and that by taking this in deeply, as individuals and hopefully as a culture, we can truly evolve to a different level of thinking and being.
I remain convinced — and describe more fully in my book — that the evolutionary aspects of software and genetic sequencing are inadvertent incidents of biomimicry; namely, our species has used technology to discover an immense intelligence within Nature — as Eckhart Tolle has said — and that this intelligence (via DNA) manages all of our “automatic” human functions.
This intelligence was probably known and used by ancient civilizations for many purposes of which we remain ignorant. One obvious example is homeopathic and Chinese medicine, based on the movement of body energy, and the entire wisdom behind chakras. Unfortunately, the systematic approach of modern science has not been adequately focused on these discoveries and they are seen as ‘woo woo.’
Another clue along these lines is the development of wireless transmission of information and power — providing another clear example of an invisible means of communication of which humans were long unaware.
But as meditation finds its way into classrooms, more and more people will discover these truths for themselves — which is the way of evolution.
In one of my favourite Eckhart Tolle videos, he is asked the purpose of the Ego – if, as he describes, its misunderstanding has led to so much suffering. His answer invokes a higher evolutionary arc beyond the limits of humankind itself, and he sees the egoic capacity of many as a simple problem-solving tool that has been mistaken for our actual purpose and identity.
If we can go beyond the “analogy” of software as thought/language and encoded intelligence and recognize that these energies and forces are at work in Nature and through us regardless of human activity or knowledge — that they are REAL and not metaphors — then we can evolve to capacities that take us, as Eckhart Tolle says, above (or beyond) the limitations of egoic thought.
When we feel emotional, foggy, confused, unmotivated, unfocused, or just out of it, people will often give us the advice to rest, or get a good night’s sleep. We know that sleeping is scientifically proven to make us feel better, but what about how it affects our cognitive functioning?
Scientists have long known that our memories rely on created connections between neurons in our brain, but how sleep specifically aids in the consolidation of that information is still unknown.
However, two new studies from the University of Wisconsin and Johns Hopkins University have provided evidence that suggests sleeping allows us to “prune” our memories and fine-tune the knowledge we’ve gained while awake.
Over the course of four years, the biologists examined thin brain shavings from a handful of mice, some that had slept, others that had been kept awake and entertained with toys, and some that had been kept awake without stimulation. The researchers then measured the size and shape of an estimated 6,920 synapses across hundreds of brain sections. What they found was that the sleeping mice had synapses that were 18 percent smaller than the synapses in the mice that were awake.
The synaptic homeostasis hypothesis was first developed over a decade ago by researchers from the University of Wisconsin, which proposed that sleep gives our brains the ability to cut back the connections we generate between our neurons when we’re awake in order to allow our memories to be clearer.
The idea is that when we experience things, our brains either build or weaken connections called synapses that link our nerve cells. Our developed behaviors and memories are produced by way of these intertwined webs of neurons. The neurons are reliant on the size and strength of the synapse to properly relay messages.
Biologists believe it is sleep that provides the opportunity for the brain to discern what networks need to be downscaled while we’re awake.
Team member Giulio Tononi of the University of Wisconsin’s Centre for Sleep and Consciousness explained back in 2014:
“During wake, learning strengthens the synaptic connections throughout the brain, increasing the need for energy and saturating the brain with new information. Sleep allows the brain to reset, helping integrate, newly learned material with consolidated memories, so the brain can begin anew the next day.”
Biologists from Johns Hopkins University then looked at the question in their own way, tagging proteins on the synapses of living mice using a fluorescent marker. They then looked at the mouse brains as they slept, and found that the markers decreased. Additional analysis discovered a 20 percent drop in the receptor AMPA. The researchers then genetically engineered mice without a type of protein called Homer1A, which is the chemical believed to ignite the removal of receptors in synapses.
The study concluded that the mice slept like their non-engineered cousins, except their synapses held onto their receptors.
To put this knowledge to the test in terms of memory, mice were run through a box with an electrified floor panel, and then treated with a chemical that prevented Homer1A from entering the dendritic spines.
The next day, the mice were run through the same box, but they all froze in fear. When put into a different box, the reduced synapses mice proved brave. However, the mice treated with Homer1A blockers, froze up in the new box.
The researchers concluded that the mice were confused by similarities between the two boxes due to a lack of memory. This ultimately led them to suggest the importance of sleep in relation to various biological functions.
Lucid dreaming is one category of dreams that many people experience. It occurs when the individual is dreaming and during that dream the individual is completely aware that they are dreaming. Some people report a low-level lucidity state where one is aware they are dreaming but not able to alter the content of the dream. Other people have experienced high-level lucidity where one is aware they are dreaming but are also able to alter the dream, and have the freedom to do whatever they desire within the dream.
Dreams are a fascinating phenomenon as they provide us with insights into a world full of experiences we cannot perceive or create in a completely conscious state. Or can we?
Lucid dreaming is a well-documented phenomenon. Researchers continue to explore it as it shows some very significant brain patterns and biological happenings within the body. A fairly recent example is a study conducted in 2009 at the Neurological Laboratory in Frankfurt. Research shows how lucid dreamers produce the fastest brainwave frequencies ever recorded — gamma brainwaves — that operate at 40Hz + (1). This suggests that lucid dreamers are more self-aware, and are more conscious in this state than compared to a normal state of wakefulness. We don’t operate anywhere near that frequency (in regard to brainwaves) when in our normal wakeful state, and we operate at even lower frequencies during other sleep states. Research suggests that the existence of gamma brainwaves indicates a totally conscious experience (4), so the experience of being awake within a dream is a very real phenomenon. This begs the question: which state is actually real? Could what we perceive as being fully aware and awake be the real dream? Or are these just different aspects of reality that we are jumping to and from? Is our ability to create our own reality easier in a state of lucid dreaming because our brain is functioning at a higher frequency? What would we be capable of if we were able to attain that frequency without lucid dreaming? Would we be able to have instant manifestations like we do in our lucid dreams? Gamma brainwaves are involved in higher mental activity and consolidation of information. Operating from this frequency allows our brain to link and process information from multiple parts of the brain (2). We use more of our brain when we are experiencing lucid dreaming than we do when we are fully awake.
Below is a list of brainwaves and the different frequencies at which they operate:
Delta Brainwaves: These are the most pronounced brainwaves in premature babies. They are of a very low frequency and range from 0.5 to 2Hz.
Theta Brainwaves: These are at a higher frequency, typically around 4 to 7 Hz. These brainwaves are characterized by light sleep, rapid eye movement sleep (REM), dreams and hallucinations.
Alpha Brainwaves: Alpha brainwaves are even higher in frequency. Their frequency range is approximately 8-12 Hz. These brainwaves are most prominent during relaxation, contemplation, and a lack of visual stimuli. So when you are not distracted or focused on the external world, but rather, in your own zone of contemplation, relaxation and awareness, your brain vibrates within this frequency range
Gamma Brainwaves: Gamma brainwaves are of the highest frequency. They range from 40 to 100 Hz, the fasted documented brainwave frequencies known to man.
It has been documented that Electroencephalography (EEG) dimensions in humans increase with age and time, and also throughout human evolution. EEG is the recording of electrical activity along the scalp. It measures voltage fluctuations resulting from ionic current flows within the neurons of the brain. This is how they are able to measure the different brainwaves and the different frequencies they dish out (5).
Not long ago, researchers led by Richard Davidson, a neuroscientist at The W.M. Keck Laboratory for Functional Brain Imaging and Behavior teamed up with a number of monks and volunteers. The Dalai Lama even dispatched eight of his most accomplished practitioners to Davidson’s lab to have them hooked up for EEG testing and brain scanning. These monks come from traditions of meditation for an estimated 10,000 to 50,000 hours, over time periods of 15 to 40 years.
The monks were fitted with a net of 256 electrical sensors and asked to meditate for short periods, and Davidson was particularly interested in measuring gamma waves, the highest frequency and most important known electrical brain impulses. The results showed that the electrodes picked up much greater activation of fast moving and usually powerful gamma waves in the monks (3). The movement of the waves through the brain were far better organized and coordinated.
Researchers suggest that the very existence of this synchronized gamma indicates that a consciousness experience is occurring. The gamma wave state is the most sensitive compared to any other state of consciousness measurable. Gamma brainwaves are associated with intelligence, compassion, self control and feelings of natural joy.
So what can we take away from these discoveries? The fact that brain activity during the lucid dreaming experience radiates a gamma frequency is extremely significant. It shows us that our brain is vibrating at a higher frequency, and functioning at a more clear, coherent and higher state of consciousness than it is when we are awake. Although the size of the human brain has remained unchanged for 200,000 years, brainwave frequency and states of consciousness have changed over time (6). Humans seem to increase the brainwave frequency, and operate at different brainwave states as we continue our journey forward. Imagine a race vibrating at the same frequency as one does in a meditative state, constantly illustrating the gamma brainwave state. The presence of gamma brainwaves illustrates that the people who experience high level lucid dreaming are having a totally conscious experience, within the ‘dream world.’
Who is to say that when we are lucid dreaming we are not experiencing an alternate reality that operates at a higher frequency? Maybe higher frequency states allow us to access alternative timelines, other dimensions or aspects of reality. There are many questions that dreaming, and more specifically lucid dreaming, bring to the forefront of our time. Very little is understood about the phenomenon, but what we do understand is that our dreams allow us to create our reality at a specific frequency. As quantum physics continues to elaborate on how consciousness directly shapes our physical/material world, imagine what possibilities exist in a reality resonating in the gamma frequency or higher. The human race’s potential is limitless.
6 Steps to Lucid Dreaming
Other suggested techniques for remembering your dreams and being conscious throughout your dreams include:
1. As mentioned above, throughout the day, remember to look at your hands for about 10 seconds. This will help you notice any changes in your hands in the dream.
2. Before you go to sleep at night say to yourself: “I am going to remember my dream tonight and I am going to dream about ________.” Repeat this over and over again and it will increase your ability to remember your dreams.
3. Ask yourself repeatedly throughout the day, “Am I dreaming?” Then (like the hands method) while you are dreaming you will ask yourself and hopefully become consciously aware that you are dreaming.
4. The good old fashioned “pinch test.” If you are unsure if you are dreaming, give yourself a pinch. If you are dreaming you won’t be able to feel this, so then you will know that you are dreaming.
5. Keep a dream journal. This is very important. Keep a notepad beside your bed and whenever you wake up, whether its 3, 6 or 9 a.m., write down whatever you remember about your dream and if you did become conscious, write down exactly how that happened, and then what happened after that point.
6. Set your alarm clock to wake you up about 5 ½ hours after you have fallen asleep. Studies show that if you are woken up during a dream you are more likely to remember them.
Lucid dreaming does take some practice so be patient. Sometimes the very shock of realizing that you are dreaming within a dream will wake you up, so just keep practicing. It is pretty incredible to be able to control your dreams, and when you learn this technique you can take control of your dreams and use them to your advantage. You can use them to help you try out new ideas and methods before implementing them into your waking life. You can virtually put yourself anywhere you want to be in any circumstance. You can even face some of your greatest fears all while getting a good night’s rest.
Our friends over at Lucid Secrets (www.lucidsecrets.com) have put together a comprehensive system to help master the art of lucid dreaming, including lessons on essential techniques such as astral projection, mind relaxation, meditation, and more. This program will tell you guys everything you need to know about the limitless world of lucid dreaming, and we highly recommend you explore this program.
