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Transmigration of Souls (termed also Metempsychosis):

September 3, 2014, 3:55 am
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Doctrine Refuted by Saadia.

The passing of souls into successive bodily forms, either human or animal. According to Pythagoras, who probably learned the doctrine in Egypt, the rational mind (ψρήν), after having been freed from the chains of the body, assumes an ethereal vehicle, and passes into the region of the dead, where it remains till it is sent back to this world to inhabit some other body, human or animal. After undergoing successive purgations, and when it is sufficiently purified, it is received among the gods, and returns to the eternal source from which it first proceeded. This doctrine was foreign to Judaism until about the eighth century,when, under the influence of the Mohammedan mystics, it was adopted by the Karaites and other Jewish dissenters. It is first mentioned in Jewish literature by Saadia, who protested against this belief, which at his time was shared by the Yudghanites, or whomsoever he contemptuously designated as "so-called Jews" (; see Schmiedl, "Studien," p. 166; idem, in "Monatsschrift," x. 177; Rapoport, in "Bikkure ha-'Ittim," ix. 23; idem, introduction to Abraham bar Ḥiyya's "Hegyon ha-Nefesh," p. lii.; Jellinek, in "Orient, Lit." 1851, p. 410; Fürst, "Gesch. des Karäert." i. 81). According to Saadia, the reasons given by the adherents of metempsychosis for their belief are partly intellectual and partly Scriptural. The former are as follows: (1) Observation shows that many men possess attributes of animals, as, for instance, the gentleness of a lamb, the rage of a wild beast, the gluttony of a dog, the lightness of a bird, etc. These peculiarities, they assert, prove that their possessors have in part the souls of the respective animals. (2) It would be contrary to the justice of God to inflict pain upon children in punishment for sins committed by their souls in a previous state. The Scriptural reasons are conclusions drawn from certain Biblical verses, such as: "Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath; but with him that standeth here with us this day before the Lord our God, and also with him that is not here with us this day" (Deut. xxix. 14, 15); "Blessed be the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly," etc. (Ps. i. 1). Both sets of reasons are refuted by Saadia, who says that he would not consider it worth while to show the foolishness and the low-mindedness of the believers in metempsychosis, were he not afraid lest they might exercise a pernicious influence upon others ("Emunot we-De'ot," vi.).
Influence of Cabala.
The doctrine counted so few adherents among the Jews that, with the exception of Abraham ibn Daud ("Emunah Ramah," i. 7), no Jewish philosopher until Ḥasdai Crescas even deemed it necessary to refute it. Only with the spread of the Cabala did it begin to take root in Judaism, and then it gained believers even among men who were little inclined toward mysticism. Thus one sees a man like Judah ben Asher (Asheri) discussing the doctrine in a letter to his father, and endeavoring to place it upon a philosophical basis ("Ṭa'am Zeḳenim," vii.). The cabalists eagerly adopted the doctrine on account of the vast field it offered to mystic speculations. Moreover, it was almost a necessary corollary of their psychological system. The absolute condition of the soul is, according to them, its return, after developing all those perfections the germs of which are eternally implanted in it, to the Infinite Source from which it emanated. Another term of life must therefore be vouchsafed to those souls which have not fufilled their destiny here below and have not been sufficiently purified for the state of reunion with the Primordial Cause. Hence if the soul, on its first assumption of a human body and sojourn on earth, fails to acquire that experience for which it descended from heaven, and becomes contaminated by that which is polluting, it must reinhabit a body till it is able to ascend in a purified state through repeated trials. This is the theory of the Zohar, which says: "All souls are subject to transmigration; and men do not know the ways of the Holy One, blessed be He! They do not know that they are brought before the tribunal both before they enter into this world and after they leave it; they are ignorant of the many transmigrations and secret probations which they have to undergo, and of the number of souls and spirits which enter into this world and which do not return to the palace of the Heavenly King. Men do not know how the souls revolve like a stone which is thrown from a sling. But the time is at hand when these mysteries will be disclosed" (Zohar, ii. 99b). Like Origen and other Church Fathers, the cabalists used as their main argument in favor of the doctrine of metempsychosis the justice of God. But for the belief in metempsychosis, they maintained, the question why God often permits the wicked to lead a happy life while many righteous are miserable, would be unanswerable. Then, too, the infliction of pain upon children would be an act of cruelty unless it is imposed in punishment for sin committed by the soul in a previous state.
Opposition to the View.
Although raised by the Cabala to the rank of a dogma, the doctrine of metempsychosis still found great opposition among the leaders of Judaism in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. In his "Iggeret Hitnaẓẓelut," addressed to Solomon ben Adret in defense of philosophy, Jedaiah Bedersi praises the philosophers for having opposed the belief in metempsychosis. Ḥasdai Crescas ("Or Adonai," iv. 7), and after him his pupil Joseph Albo ("'Iḳḳarim," iv. 29), attacked this belief on philosophical grounds, considering it to be a heathen superstition, opposed to the spirit of Judaism. The opposition, however, gradually ceased; and the belief began to be shared even by men who were imbued with Aristotelian philosophy. Thus Isaac Abravanel sees in the commandment of the levirate a proof of the doctrine of metempsychosis, for which he gives the following reasons: (1) God in His mercy willed that another trial should be given to the soul which, having yielded to the sanguine temperament of the body, had committed a capital sin, such as murder, adultery, etc.; (2) it is only just that when a man dies young a chance should be given to his soul to execute in another body the good deeds which it had not time to perform in the first body; (3) the soul of the wicked sometimes passes into another body in order to receive its deserved punishment here below instead of in the other world, where it would be much more severe (commentary on Deut. xxv. 5). These arguments were wittily refuted by the skeptical Leon of Modena in his pamphlet against metempsychosis, entitled "Ben Dawid." He says: "It is not God, but the planets, that determine the temperament of the body; why then subject the soul to the risk of entering into a body with a temperament as bad as, if not worse than, that of the one it has left? Would it not be more in keeping with God's mercy to take into consideration the weakness of the body and to pardonthe soul at once? To send the soul of a man who died young into another body would be to make it run the risk of losing the advantages it had acquired in its former body. Why send the soul of the wicked to another body in order to punish it here below? Was there anything to prevent God from punishing it while it was in its first body?"
The School of Luria.
Upon the doctrine of metempsychosis was based the psychological system of the practical Cabala, inaugurated by the cabalists of the school of Luria. According to them, all the souls destined for the human race were created together with the various organs of Adam. As there are superior and inferior organs, so there are superior and inferior souls, according to the organs with which they are respectively coupled. Thus there are souls of the brain, of the eye, of the head, etc. Each human soul is a spark ("niẓaẓ") from Adam. The first sin of the first man caused confusion among the various classes of souls; so that even the purest soul received an admixture of evil. This state of confusion, which gives a continual impulse toward evil, will cease with the arrival of the Messiah, who will establish the moral system of the world on a new basis. Until that time man's soul, because of its deficiencies, can not return to its source, and has to wander not only through the bodies of men, but even through inanimate things. If a man's good deeds outweigh his evil ones, his soul passes into a human body; otherwise, into that of an animal. Incest causes the soul to pass into the body of an unclean animal; adultery, into that of an ass; pride in a leader of a community, into that of a bee; forgery of amulets, into that of a cat; cruelty toward the poor, into that of a crow; denunciation, into that of a barking cur; causing a Jew to eat unclean flesh, into a leaf of a tree which endures great suffering when shaken by the wind; neglect to wash the hands before meals, into a river.
The main difference between the passing of the soul into a human body and its transmigration into an animal or an inanimate object consists in the fact that in the former case the soul ignores its transmigration, while in the latter it is fully aware of its degradation, and suffers cruelly therefrom. With regard to the transmigration of the soul into a crow Moses Galante, rabbi at Safed, relates that once he accompanied Isaac Luria to 'Ain Zaitun to pray at the tomb of Judah ben Ilai. On approaching the place he noticed on an olive-tree which grew near the tomb a crow which croaked incessantly. "Were you acquainted," asked Luria, "with Shabbethai, the tax-farmer of Safed?""I knew him," answered Galante: "he was a very bad man and displayed great cruelty toward the poor, who were not able to pay the taxes.""This crow," said Luria, "contains his soul" ("Shibḥe ha-Ari," p. 29).
Impregnation of Souls.
A quite new development of the doctrine of metempsychosis was the theory of the impregnation of souls, propounded by the cabalists of the Luria school. According to this theory, a purified soul that has neglected some religious duties on earth must return to the earthly life and unite with the soul of a living man, in order to make good such neglect. Further, the soul of a man freed from sin appears again on earth to support a weak soul unequal to its task. Thus, for instance, the soul of Samuel was supported by those of Moses and Aaron; the soul of Phinehas, by those of Nadab and Abihu. However, this union, which may extend to three souls at one time, can take place only between souls of a homogeneous character, that is, between those which are sparks from the same Adamite organs. As the impregnated soul comes either to make good a neglect or to support a weak soul, it enters into the body only after the man has completed his thirteenth year, when he reaches the age of religious duty and responsibility.
The dispersion of Israel has for its purpose the salvation of man; and the purified souls of Israelites unite with the souls of other races in order to free them from demoniacal influences. Each man, according to the practical Cabala, bears on his forehead a mark by which one may recognize the nature of the soul: to which degree and class it belongs; the relation existing between it and the superior world; the transmigrations it has already accomplished; the means by which it may contribute to the establishment of the new moral system of the world; how it may be freed from demoniacal influences; and to which soul it should be united in order to become purified. He who wishes to ascertain to which of the four worlds his soul belongs must close his eyes and fix his thought on the four letters of the Ineffable Name. If the color he then beholds is a very bright, sparkling white, his soul has proceeded from the world of emanation (); if an ordinary white, from that of creative ideas (); if red, from that of creative formation (); and if green, from that of creative matter ().
Special Instances.
The cabalists of the Luria school pretended to know the origins and transmigrations of all the souls of the human race since Adam; and in their works accounts are given concerning Biblical personages and the great teachers of Judaism. Thus, for instance, the soul of Aaron is said to have been derived from the good part of that of Cain. It entered into the body of the high priest Eli, who, in expiation of the sin committed by Aaron in making the golden calf—a sin punishable with lapidation—broke his neck in falling from his seat. From Eli it transmigrated into the body of Ezra; and it then became purified. The name "Adam" contains the initials of David and Messiah, into whose bodies the soul of the first man successively entered. The name "Laban" contains the initials of Balaam and Nabal, who successively received Laban's soul. Jacob's soul passed into Mordecai; and because the former had sinned in prostrating himself before Esau, Mordecai obstinately refused to prostrate himself before Haman, even at the risk of endangering the safety of the Persian Jews. Interesting is the account given in the "Sefer ha-Gilgulim" of the souls of some contemporaries of Isaac Luria. The soul of Isaac de Lattes is said there to have been a spark from that of a pious man of the olden times (); that of Joseph Vital, one from the soul of Ezra; that of Moses Minz, one from the soulof Seth, the son of Adam. To the soul of Moses Alshech was united that of the amora Samuel ben Naḥmani; hence the former's talent for preaching. Both Moses Cordovero and Elijah de Vidas partook of the soul of Zechariah ben Jehoiada; hence the great friendship that existed between them. Because of some sin his soul had committed in a previous state Moses Vital was unable to acquire a perfect knowledge of the Cabala. The soul of Joseph Delpino entered into a black dog. Ḥayyim Vital possessed, according to Isaac Luria, a soul which had not been soiled by Adam's sin. Luria himself possessed the soul of Moses, which had previously been in the bodies of Simeon ben Yoḥai and Hamnuna Saba.
Generally the souls of men transmigrate into the bodies of men, and those of women into the bodies of women; but there are exceptions. The soul of Judah, the son of Jacob, was in part that of a woman; while Tamar had the soul of a man. Tamar's soul passed into Ruth; and therefore the latter could not bear children until God had imparted to her sparks from a female soul. The transmigration of a man's soul into the body of a woman is considered by some cabalists to be a punishment for the commission of heinous sins, as when a man refuses to give alms or to communicate his wisdom to others.
Gilgul.
The theory of impregnation gave birth to the superstitious belief in "dibbuḳ" or "gilgul," which prevailed, and still prevails, among the Oriental Jews and those of eastern Europe. This belief assumes that there are souls which are condemned to wander for a time in this world, where they are tormented by evil spirits which watch and accompany them everywhere. To escape their tormentors such souls sometimes take refuge in the bodies of living pious men and women, over whom the evil spirits have no power. The person to whom such a soul clings endures great suffering and loses his own individuality; he acts as though he were quite another man, and loses all moral sense. He can be cured only by a miracle-working rabbi ("ba'al shem") who is able to cast out the soul from his body by exorcisms and amulets. The usual exorcism in such cases consisted in the rabbi's reciting, in the presence of ten men (See Minyan), the 91st Psalm, and adjuring the soul in the name of God to leave the body of the afflicted one. In case of refusal on the part of the soul to yield to this simple injunction, the ban and the blowing of the shofar are resorted to. In order that it may cause the least possible amount of damage to the body, the soul is always directed to pass out through the small toe.
The belief that migrant souls seek refuge in the bodies of living persons became more and more deeply rooted; and regular methods for expelling them are given in the cabalistic works of the seventeenth century. This superstition is still widely spread, especially in Ḥasidic circles. Curtiss relates ("Primitive Semitic Religions of To-Day," p. 152) that a few years ago a woman was exorcised in Palestine, and that the spirit when questioned replied that it was the soul of a Jew who had been murdered in Nablus twelve years before. The migrant soul was generally believed to belong to a wicked or murdered person; but it may happen that that of a righteous man is condemned, for a slight offense committed by it, to wander for a while in this world. Such a soul is, however, free from demoniacal influences, and it enters the body of a living person not to avoid evil spirits (who have no power over it), but to atone for the fault it has committed. As soon as this has been accomplished it leaves the body of its own free will. Ḥayyim Vital records that while sojourning at Damascus in 1699 he was called upon to entertain himself with the soul of a pious man which had entered the body of the daughter of Raphael Anaw. The soul informed him that it was exiled from heaven for having slighted the virtue of repentance. For a time it dwelt in a fish, but this fish was caught and sold to Raphael for the Sabbath meal; the soul then entered the body of the daughter of the house. In proclaiming before Vital the great importance of repentance it became free to return to its heavenly abode ("Shibḥe Ḥayyim Wiṭal," ed. Lemberg, p. 11). Narratives of this sort abound in the cabalistic writings of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and many of them are reproduced in the "Nishmat Ḥayyim" of Manasseh ben Israel, who showed himself a firm believer in all kinds of gilgulim and dibbuḳim. He even went so far as to endeavor to demonstrate that references to them are to be found in the Bible. It is noteworthy that most of the cases of exorcism occurred at Safed or in its neighborhood; that is, in localities where mysticism was flourishing. A curious case is cited by Moses Prager in his "Zera'Ḳodesh": it is interesting from the fact that David Oppenheim, the collector of Hebrew books and manuscripts, who was the rabbi of Nikolsburg, Moravia, was one of the signatories of the narrative. See Dibbuḳim.
Bibliography:
  • Azariah da Fano, Gilgule Neshamot, passim;
  • Manasseh ben Israel, Nishmat Ḥayyim, part iii., ch. xiv.; part iv., ch. xx.;
  • Luria, Sefer ha-Gilgulim, passim;
  • Shebaḥe ha-Ari, passim;
  • Israel Saruk, Shibḥe Ḥayyim Wiṭal, passim;
  • Abraham Shalom Ḥai, Sefer Nifla'im Ma'aseka, p. 18;
  • Ginsburg, The Kabbalah, p. 42;
  • Karppe, Etude sur l'Origine du Zohar, pp. 320 et seq., Paris, 1902;
  • P. Rudermann, Uebersicht über die Idee der Seelenwanderung, Warsaw, 1878;
  • S. Rubin, Gilgul Neshamot, Cracow, 1898;
  • Alexander W. M. Menz, Demonic Possession in the New Testament, Edinburgh, 1902;
  • Güdemann, Gesch. i. 202, 205, 216.


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Remembering Iyengar

September 3, 2014, 4:20 am
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I heard recently of the passing of BKS Iyengar who was well known populariser of yoga. I reproduce the Wikipedia account about him as it may be of interest to others. RS Blogger Ref Link http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Multi-Dimensional_Science



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B.K.S. Iyengar
BKS Iyengar.jpg
Iyengar on his 86th birthday in 2004
Born(1918-12-14)14 December 1918
Bellur, Kingdom of Mysore (present-day Karnataka, India)
Died20 August 2014(2014-08-20) (aged 95)
Pune, Maharashtra, India
Cause of death
Renal failure, Heart failure
OccupationYoga teacher, author
Known forIyengar Yoga
Spouse(s)Ramamani
ChildrenGeeta
Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar (14 December 1918 – 20 August 2014), better known as B.K.S. Iyengar, was the founder of the style of yoga known as "Iyengar Yoga" and was considered one of the foremost yoga teachers in the world.[1][2] He has written many books on yoga practice and philosophy including Light on Yoga, Light on Pranayama, and Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Iyengar yoga classes are offered throughout the world. Iyengar was one of the earliest students of Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, who is often referred to as "the father of modern yoga".[3] He has been credited with popularizing yoga firstly in India and then around the world.[4]
Iyengar was awarded the Padma Shri in 1991, the Padma Bhushan in 2002 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2014.[5][6] In 2004, Iyengar was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine.[7][8]


Early years[edit]

B.K.S. Iyengar was born into a poor Sri Vaishnava Iyengar family[9] (a priestly Brahmin caste)[10] at Bellur, Kolar District,[11]Karnataka, India. He was the 11th of 13 children (only 10 of whom survived) of father Sri Krishnamachar, a school teacher, and mother Sheshamma.[10] Iyengar's home village of Bellur, in Karnataka, was in the grip of the influenza pandemic at the time of his birth, leaving him sickly and weak. Throughout his childhood, he struggled with malaria, tuberculosis, typhoid fever, and general malnutrition. "My arms were thin, my legs were spindly, and my stomach protruded in an ungainly manner," he wrote. "My head used to hang down, and I had to lift it with great effort."[12]
When he was five years old, his family moved to Bangalore and within four years his father died of appendicitis.[10]

Education in yoga[edit]

In 1934, his brother-in-law, the yogi Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, asked Iyengar, who would have been 15 years old at the time, to come to Mysore, so as to improve his health through yoga practice.[10] There, Iyengar learned asana practice, which steadily improved his health. Krishnamacharya had Iyengar and other students give yoga demonstration in the Maharaja's court at Mysore, which had a positive influence on Iyengar.[10] Iyengar considers his association with his brother-in-law a turning point in his life[10] saying that over a two-year period "he [Krishnamacharya] only taught me for about ten or fifteen days, but those few days determined what I have become today!"[13]K. Pattabhi Jois has claimed that he, and not Krishnamacharya, was Iyengar's guru.[14] At the age of 18 (1937), Iyengar was sent by Krishnamacharya to Pune to spread the teaching of yoga.[10][15]
Though B.K.S. Iyengar had very high regard for Krishnamacharya,[13] and occasionally turned to him for advice, he had a troubled relationship with his guru during his tutelage.[16] In the beginning, he predicted that the stiff, sickly teenager would not be successful at Yoga. He was neglected and tasked with household chores. Only when Krishnamacharya's favorite pupil at the time, Keshavamurthy left one day, did serious training start.[17] Krishnamacharya began teaching a series of difficult postures, sometimes telling him to not eat until he mastered a certain posture. These experiences would later inform the way he taught his students.[18]

Teaching career[edit]

With the encouragement of Krishnamacharya, Iyengar, aged 18,[9] moved to Pune in 1937 to teach yoga. He spent many hours each day learning and experimenting with various techniques.
He taught yoga to several noted personalities including Jiddu Krishnamurti, Jayaprakash Narayan and Yehudi Menuhin.[19] He taught sirsasana (head stand) to Elisabeth, Queen of Belgium when she was 80.[20]
Among his other devotees were the novelist Aldous Huxley, the actress Annette Bening and the designer Donna Karan, as well as a who’s who of prominent Indian figures, including the cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and the Bollywood siren Kareena Kapoor.[21]

International recognition[edit]

In 1952, Iyengar befriended the violinist Yehudi Menuhin.[22] Menuhin gave him the break that transformed Iyengar from a comparatively obscure Indian yoga teacher into an international guru. Because Iyengar had taught the famous philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti, he was asked to go to Bombay to meet Menuhin, who was known to be interested in yoga. Menuhin said he was very tired and could spare only five minutes. Iyengar told him to adopt a relaxing asana, and he fell asleep. After one hour, Menuhin woke refreshed and spent another two hours with Iyengar. Menuhin came to believe that practising yoga improved his playing, and in 1954 invited Iyengar to Switzerland. At the end of that visit, he presented his yoga teacher with a watch on the back of which was inscribed, "To my best violin teacher, BKS Iyengar". From then on Iyengar visited the west regularly, and schools teaching his system of yoga sprang up all over the world. There are now hundreds of Iyengar yoga centres. [23]
The popularity of yoga in the West has been attributed, by some, in large part to Iyengar.[8] In 1966, Light on Yoga was published. It eventually became an international best-seller and was translated into 17 languages. Light on Yoga was followed by titles on pranayama and various aspects of yoga philosophy. In total, Iyengar authored 14 books.[24]
In 1975, Iyengar opened the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune, in memory of his late wife. He officially retired from teaching in 1984, but continued to be active in the world of Iyengar Yoga, teaching special classes and writing books. Iyengar's daughter, Geeta, and son, Prashant, have gained international acclaim as teachers.[8]
In 2005, Iyengar visited the United States to promote his latest book, Light on Life, and to teach a special workshop at the Yoga Journal conference in Colorado. 3 October 2005 was declared as "B.K.S.Iyengar Day" by San Francisco city's Board of Supervisors.[2] Anthropologist Joseph S. Alter of the University of Pittsburgh stated "He has by far had the most profound impact on the global spread of yoga."[2] In June 2011, he was presented with a commemorative stamp issued in his honour by the Beijing branch of China Post. There are over thirty thousand Iyengar yoga students in 57 cities in China.[25]
The noun "Iyengar" is defined by Oxford Dictionaries as "a type of astanga yoga...", named after B. K. S. Iyengar, its deviser.[26]

Personal practice[edit]

Iyengar reported in interviews[13][16] that, at the age of 90, he continued to practice asanas for 3 hours and pranayamas for an hour daily. Besides this, he mentioned that he found himself performing non-deliberate pranayamas at other times.

Approach to teaching[edit]

Iyengar attracted his students by offering them just what they sought – which tended to be physical stamina and flexibility.[16] He conducted demonstrations and later, when a scooter accident dislocated his spine, began exploring the use of props to help disabled people practice Yoga. He also drew inspiration from Hindu deities such as Yoga Narasimha and stories of yogis using trees to support their asanas.[18]

Recognition by Krishnamacharya[edit]

In an interview to Namarupa, Iyengar said of Krishnamacharya’s endorsement of his teaching style:[13]
"He [Krishnamacharya] never taught me much about teaching, but he saw me teach. In 1961, he came to Pune and was teaching my daughter and son. He taught them for many hours, but unfortunately they could not get what he was trying to show them. When I came up and asked what was wrong, my daughter told me what she did not understand about a posture. So, I explained to her, "You must stretch from this end to that end". And immediately when Krishnamacharya saw this, he gave me a gold medal known as Yoga Shikshaka Chakravarti, which means "Emperor of Yoga Teachers, Teacher of Teachers". He said I must teach like this and not just in private, but in public".

Family[edit]

In 1943, Iyengar married Ramamani, to whom he had been introduced by his brothers. He said: "We lived without conflict as if our two souls were one."[27]Together they raised five daughters and a son. Both his eldest daughter Geeta (born in 1944) and his son Prashant have become internationally-known teachers in their own right. The other children of B.K.S. Iyengar are Vanita, Sunita, Suchita, and Savita.[28] Geeta Iyengar is the author of Yoga: A Gem for Women (2002), and Prashant is the author of several books, including A Class after a Class: Yoga, an Integrated Science (1998), and Yoga and the New Millennium (2008). Geeta and Prashant co-direct the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI) in Pune.[29]
His wife died when she was 46 and Iyengar called his yoga school in Pune after her.[30]

Philanthropy and activism[edit]

Iyengar supported nature conservation, stating that it is important to conserve all animals and birds.[31] He donated Rs. 2 million to Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens, Mysore, reckoned to be the highest amount donated to any zoo in India.[31] He also adopted a tiger and a cub in memory of his wife, who died in 1973.[31]
Iyengar helped promote awareness of multiple sclerosis with the Pune unit of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of India.[32]

Death[edit]

He died on 20 August 2014 in Pune, India from heart failure and renal failure, aged 95.[33][34]

Bibliography[edit]

Iyengar published his first book (Light on Yoga) in 1966. The book has been translated into 17 languages and sold 3 million copies.[2]
  • Iyengar, B.K.S. (1966; revised ed. 1977). Light on Yoga. New York: Schocken. ISBN 978-0-8052-1031-6
  • Iyengar, B.K.S. (1989). Light on Pranayama: The Yogic Art of Breathing. New York: Crossroad. ISBN 0-8245-0686-3
  • Iyengar, B.K.S. (1985). The Art of Yoga. Boston: Unwin. ISBN 978-0-04-149062-6
  • Iyengar, B.K.S. (1988). The Tree of Yoga. Boston: Shambhala. ISBN 0-87773-464-X
  • Iyengar, B.K.S. (1996). Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. London: Thorsons. ISBN 978-0-00-714516-4
  • Iyengar, B.K.S., Abrams, D. & Evans, J.J. (2005). Light on Life: The Yoga Journey to Wholeness, Inner Peace, and Ultimate Freedom. Pennsylvania: Rodale. ISBN 1-59486-248-6
  • Iyengar, B.K.S. (2007). Yoga: The Path to Holistic Health. New York: Dorling Kindersley. ISBN 978-0-7566-3362-2
  • Iyengar, B.K.S. (8 Vols, 2000–2008). Astadala Yogamala: Collected Works. New Delhi: Allied Publishers.
  • Iyengar, B.K.S. (2009). Yoga Wisdom and Practice. New York: Dorling Kindersley. ISBN 0-7566-4283-3
  • Iyengar, B.K.S. (2010). Yaugika Manas: Know and Realize the Yogic Mind. Mumbai: Yog. ISBN 81-87603-14-3
  • Iyengar, B.K.S. (2012). Core of the Yoga Sutras: The Definitive Guide to the Philosophy of Yoga. London: HarperThorsons. ISBN 978-0007921263

References[edit]

  1. Jump up ^Aubrey, Allison. "Light on life: B.K.S. Iyengar's Yoga insights". Morning Edition: National Public Radio, 10 November 1995. (full text) Accessed 4 July 2007
  2. ^ Jump up to: abcdStukin, Stacie (10 October 2005). "Yogis gather around the guru". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 9 January 2013. 
  3. Jump up ^Iyengar, B.K.S. (2000). Astadala Yogamala. New Delhi, India: Allied Publishers. p. 53. ISBN 978-8177640465. 
  4. Jump up ^Sjoman, N.E. (1999). The Yoga Tradition of the Mysore Palace (2nd ed.). New Delhi, India: Abhinav Publications. p. 41. ISBN 81-7017-389-2. 
  5. Jump up ^"Ruskin Bond, Vidya Balan, Kamal Haasan honoured with Padma awards". Hindustan Times. HT Media Limited. 25 January 2014. Retrieved 2014-08-22. 
  6. Jump up ^"Padma Awards Announced". Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs. 25 January 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2014. 
  7. Jump up ^2004 TIME 100 – B.K.S. Iyengar Heroes & Icons, TIME.
  8. ^ Jump up to: abcBy B.K.S. Iyengar. "Yoga News & Trends – Light on Iyengar". Yoga Journal. Retrieved 15 November 2012. 
  9. ^ Jump up to: ab"B. K. S. Iyengar Biography". Notablebiographies.com. Retrieved 26 December 2012. 
  10. ^ Jump up to: abcdefgIyengar, B.K.S. (2006). Light on Life: The Yoga Journey to Wholeness, Inner Peace, and Ultimate Freedom. USA: Rodale. pp. xvi–xx. ISBN 9781594865244. Retrieved 8 January 2013. 
  11. Jump up ^Iyengar, B.K.S. (1991). Iyengar – His Life and Work. C.B.S. Publishers & Distributors. p. 3. 
  12. Jump up ^"B. K. S. Iyengar, Who Helped Bring Yoga to the West, Dies at 95". nytimes.com. Retrieved 2014-08-22. 
  13. ^ Jump up to: abcd"3 Gurus, 48 Questions" (PDF). Interview by R. Alexander Medin. Namarupa (Fall 2004): 9. 2004. Archived from the original on 7 March 2013. Retrieved 30 March 2013. 
  14. Jump up ^Sjoman, N.E. (1999). The Yoga Tradition of the Mysore Palace. New Delhi, India: Abhinav Publications. p. 49. ISBN 81-7017-389-2. 
  15. Jump up ^Iyengar, B.K.S. (2000). Astadala Yogamala. New Delhi, India: Allied Publishers. p. 57. ISBN 978-8177640465. 
  16. ^ Jump up to: abc"Being BKS Iyengar: The enlightened yogi of yoga(part1-2)". YouTube. 22 June 2008. Retrieved 15 November 2012. 
  17. Jump up ^Pag, Fernando. "Krishnamacharya's Legacy". Yogajournal.com. Retrieved 15 November 2012. 
  18. ^ Jump up to: ab"Being BKS Iyengar: The enlightened yogi of yoga(part2-2)". YouTube. 22 June 2008. Retrieved 15 November 2012. 
  19. Jump up ^"Life is yoga, yoga is life". Sakal Times. 13 December 2012. Retrieved 9 January 2013. 
  20. Jump up ^"Light on Iyengar". Yoga Journal (San Francisco): 96. September–October 2005. Retrieved 10 January 2013. 
  21. Jump up ^"B. K. S. Iyengar, Who Helped Bring Yoga to the West, Dies at 95". nytimes.com. Retrieved 2014-08-22. 
  22. Jump up ^SenGupta, Anuradha (22 June 2008). "Being BKS Iyengar: The yoga guru". IBNlive-CNN-F¨sÀt. Retrieved 8 January 2013. 
  23. Jump up ^"BKS Iyengar obituary". theguardian.com. Retrieved 2014-08-22. 
  24. Jump up ^NAUS Accessed 16 September 2006[dead link]
  25. Jump up ^Krishnan, Ananth (21 June 2011). "Indian yoga icon finds following in China". The Hindu (Chennai, India). Accessed 22 June 2011
  26. Jump up ^Dictionaries, Oxford. "Iyengar". Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved 11 January 2013. 
  27. Jump up ^"BKS Iyengar obituary". theguardian.com. Retrieved 2014-08-22. 
  28. Jump up ^BKS Iyengar Archive Project 2007. IYNAUS. 2007. [ISBN missing]
  29. Jump up ^Biography: Geeta Iyengar
  30. Jump up ^"BKS Iyengar obituary". theguardian.com. Retrieved 2014-08-22. 
  31. ^ Jump up to: abc"Zoo felicitates B.K.S. Iyengar". The Hindu. 10 June 2009. Retrieved 8 January 2013. 
  32. Jump up ^"BKS Iyengar to participate in multiple sclerosis awareness drive". The Indian Express. 22 May 2010. Retrieved 9 January 2013. 
  33. Jump up ^"Yoga guru B. K. S. Iyengar passes away". The Hindu.com. Retrieved 20 August 2014. 
  34. Jump up ^"B. K. S. Iyengar, Who Helped Bring Yoga to the West, Dies at 95". New York Times. 20 August 2014. Retrieved 2014-08-20. "B. K. S. Iyengar, who helped introduce the practice of yoga to a Western world awakening to the notion of an inner life, died on Wednesday in the southern Indian city of Pune. He was 95. ... The cause was heart failure, said Abhijata Sridhar-Iyengar, his granddaughter. ..." 

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to B. K. S. Iyengar.
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Charles Godfrey Leland

September 3, 2014, 4:28 am
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Written and compiled by George Knowles.

Blogger Ref Link http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Multi-Dimensional_Science 

 
Charles G. Leland was an American scholar, folklorist, humorist and prolific author who wrote several classic books on English Gypsies and Italian Witches.  These include Etruscan Roman Remains, Legends of Florence, The Gypsies, Gypsy Sorcery and perhaps his most famous book Aradia: Gospel of the Witches.  During his time he wrote more than fifty books on a variety subjects, and penned uncounted articles for many major periodicals.  His writings inspired the likes of Gerald Gardner and Doreen Valiente as well as many other pioneers of modern day Witchcraft.  In America he is also recognized for his effort to establish Industrial Art as a branch of public education.
 
Born of old English descent Leland’s ancestral lineage can be traced back to a John Leland who in 1530 was a chaplain and librarian to King Henry VIII.  He is distinguished in that a special position was created for him in 1533 when he became the first person to be appointed Royal Antiquary.  Another distinguished ancestor is Charles Leland who was Secretary of the Society of Antiquaries during the reign of Charles 1.  Other members of his linage moved to America in 1636 and were prominent among the early pilgrims to settle in Massachusetts.
 
Leland was born to parents Henry Leland and Charlotte Frost Godfreyin Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on the 15th of August 1824.  His father Henry was a descendant of Hopestill Leland, one of the first white settlers in New England.  His mother on her side of the family often referred to an ancestress that had married into “sorcery”.  In his own memoirs Leland wrote:  “My mother's opinion was that this was a very strong case of atavism, and that the mysterious ancestor had cropped out in me”.  His parents were both Episcopalians but during his early youth converted to Unitarianism and brought Leland up in that belief.  His parents encouraged his curiosity and he was exposed to a variety of ideologies as he grew up.
 
A few days after his birth Leland’s Old Dutch nurse carried him up into the garret of their home and performed a special ritual.  She placed upon his breast a Bible, a key and a knife, and then placed lighted candles, money and a plate of salt at his head.  The purpose of the rite was to ensure he rise up in life to be lucky and to become a scholar and a wizard.  As a child Leland suffered from a serious bout of a meningitis-like illness, which continued to dog him throughout his early childhood.  As a result he often appeared to be weak, nervous and frail.  Later he grew to a strapping six-feet, and enjoyed a vigorous adult lifestyle.
 
Leland grew up fascinated with folklore and magick, for as a child he was regaled with stories of ghosts, witches and fairies.  The family being prosperous, they lived in a household that employed servants, from one (an Irish immigrant woman) he learned about fairies, and from another (a black women working in the kitchen) he learned about Voodoo.  By the age of 6 or 7, Leland was already familiar with his parent’s library and was a voracious reader; he even memorized Prospero’s speeches from Shakespeare’s play ‘The Tempest’.  His interest in folklore and all things occult would occupy much of his adult life.
 
Leland was first educated in a series of private schools in Philadelphia and during the summer stayed with cousins in the New England countryside to benefit his health.  Although Leland was a great reader, he was a poor student and hated school.  His teachers, and even his father, regarded him as stupid due to his extreme weakness in mathematics.  Later he went on to Princeton University where he studied languages, wrote poetry, and pursued a variety of other interests, including hermeticism, Neo-Platonism, and the writings of Rabelais and Villon.
 
After graduating from Princeton, his father financed his post-graduate studies and sent Leland to Europe where he studied at the universities of Heidelberg and Munich before moving on to the Sorbonne in Paris.  While in Paris, Leland played an active part in the French Revolution of 1848.  As Captain of a group of Revolutionaries at the hotel where he was staying, he consructed barricades and fought on the streets of Paris.  Later that year he returned to America after the money his father had supplied ran out.
 
Back home in Philadelphia, Leland apprenticed for a time in a law firm and passed the bar association exams to practise in Pennsylvania.  Law however proved to mundane for his adventurous spirit and in 1853 he opted for a career in journalism.  During his years as a journalist, Leland wrote hundreds of essays, reviews and articles for some of the major periodicals of the time, including Vanity Fair, Graham's Magazineand the Knickerbocker Magazine.  He also wrote for the Illustrated News in New York, the Evening Bulletin in Philadelphia and eventually took on editorial duties for the Philadelphia Press.
 

 
In 1856 Leland married and became deeply devoted to his wife of 46 years ‘Eliza Bella “Isabel” Fisher’.  While acting as an editor for Graham's Magazine, he published the first of his German-English poems “Hans Breitmann's Party” (1857).  These he wrote in a mixture of German and broken English, imitating the dialect and humour of the Philadelphia Germans (also called Pennsylvania Dutch).  Collectively they were first published in the 1860’s and 1870’s and so popularized Leland that he soon became a sought-after and prosperous writer.  The poems were later collected in “The Breitmann Ballads” (newly edited in 1895).
 
It was about this time in the late 1850’s and during the build up to the American Civil War of 1861-65, that Leland developed strong pro-Union sentiments, and founded the Continental Monthly, a pro-Union Army publication to support their views.  He coined the term “emancipation” as an alternative to “abolition” in referance to the Union’s anti-slavery position.  After the war broke out on the 12th April 1861, Leland enlisted in 1863 and joined an emergency regiment at the Battle of Gettysburg.  After the war ended Leland traveled extensively throughout America developing his knowledge of folklore and the occult. On one occasion he tried his hand at prospecting for oil and on another while traveling through the old Wild West, he stayed for a short visit with General Custer at Fort Harker.
 
During his travels he lived and studied with the Algonquin Indians for months at a time recording their stories, myths and legends.  He also studied the myths and legends of the Eskimos, the Finno-Ugric languages of the Finns and Lapps, and delved into the anthropology of a number of Mongoloid peoples.  He found parallels in various Norse and North American Indian myths in as much as the Algonquin Indian stories could be related to Norse legends, he then developed a theory on their themes.  He postulated that certain myths had spread from Greenland down to Canada and into Northeastern America.  Leland’s studies led him to the conviction that the US did not have a meaningful legitimate folk ethos, and maintained that the American Indians understood nature and spirituality better than even Ralph Waldo Emerson or Walt Whitman.
 
In 1869 Leland’s father died, and with the inheritance from his estate together with the income he was generating from sales of his “Breitmann” poems, Leland abandoned journalism, being able finically to pursue his interest in folklore, mysticism and the occult.  In 1870 he moved to England and began his study of the English Gypsies. Over the course of time he won the confidence of the then “King of the Gypsies” in England, Matty Cooper.  From Cooper, Leland learned to speak Romany the language of the Gypsies, but it took many years before the Gypsy people accepted him as one of their own.  They called him Romany Rye, meaning a non-Gypsy who associates with Gypsies.
 
While in England Leland was profoundly impressed by the growing appreciation of the newly formed Arts and Crafts movement inspired by the likes of the English reformer, poet and designer William Morris.  So impressed, in 1879 Leland returned home to Philadelphia and established the Industrial Art School.  Initially it was a school to teach Art and Crafts to disadvantaged children in Philadelphia, but became widely known later when it was visited and praised by Oscar Wilde.
 
In a lecture given in New York and reported in the Montreal Daily Witness on the 15th May 15 1882, Wilde is quoted:  “I would have a workshop attached to every school...I have seen only one such school in the United States, and the was in Philadelphia, and was founded by my friend Leland.  I stopped there yesterday, and have brought some of their work here to show you”.  In a letter to Leland also in May 1882, now preserved at Yale University, Wilde wrote:  “When I showed them the brass work and the pretty bowl of wood with the bright arabesques at New York they applauded to the echo, and I have received so many letters about it and congratulations that your school will be known and honoured everywhere, and you yourself recognised and honoured as one of the great pioneers and leaders of the art of the future”.
 
As a result of his efforts Leland unknowingly kick-started a popular resurgence of Arts and Crafts in America and was an important influence on the Arts and Crafts movement.  Later the Home Arts and Industries Association was founded in imitation of his initiative.  In 1883 Leland returned to England to continue his studies on the Gypsies.  While traveling around Europe with his Gypsy friends, Leland also discovered a secret language used by traveling tinkers called Shelta.  During this time he wrote two classic books on Gypsies and established himself as the leading authority on the subject.  Later in 1888, Leland founded and became the first President of the Gypsy-Lore Society.
 
In the winter of 1888 Leland moved to Florence in Italy, where he lived for the rest of his life.  It was here he began an in-depth study of “Stregheria” or Italian Witchcraft.  His greatest source of information came from a mysterious lady called Maddalena, who worked as a Tarot reader telling fortunes in the back streets of Florence.  Leland believed her to be a practicing hereditary witch and employed her as his research assistant.  She in turn introduced him to another Tuscan witch called Marietta, who also helped to provide material for his research.
 
Leland was particular interested to learn about old medical treatments and magical rituals performed by witches across the rural areas of Tuscany.  Many of the treatments he found to be similar to those used by the ancient Etruscan Civilizations of the early centuries BC.  Passed down orally from generation to generation many of these age-old treatments were still being used at the beginning of the 20th century.  They included common treatments for dreams, toothaches, eye problems, headaches, bladder stones, colic and most all types of bodily pains.
 
Overtime Maddelena passed on to him more than 200 pages of written folklore, incantations and stories.  Later Leland wrote that her memory seemed inexhaustible, and that the incantations she had learned seemed endless.  He also felt sure that the incantations were originally Etruscan.  Although it took her ten years to do so, it was Maddalena who eventually provided Leland with the material he needed for his most famous book Aradia: Gospel of the Witches.
 

 
Leland was a prolific collector and spent most of his spare time collecting Witch lore and purchasing items of antiquity.  One of his most prized possessions was the Black Stone of the Voodoos.  It is believed that there are only five or six of these stones, or “conjuring stones” existing in the whole of America.  The stones are small black pebbles thought to have originally arrived from Africa during the slave trade, and whoever succeeds in obtaining one would become a Master of Voodoo recognized as such by all other Voodoo practitioners in America.  Leland somehow obtained one and this he exhibited at the Folk-Lore Congress in London during 1891.
 
 
Surviving the death of his beloved wife Isabel on the 09th July 1902, Leland himself died on the 20th of March 1903 in Florence.  He had suffered with in ill health for the pervious seven years, and toward the end a bout of pneumonia and resulting heart problems caused his death.  Leland was cremated in Florence and his ashes returned to America, where they were buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, PA.
 
Elizabeth Robins Pennell, Leland’s niece who inherited much of his notes, letters and unpublished materials, wrote a two-volume biography on him:  Charles Godfrey Leland: a Biography (published in Boston by Houghton, Mifflin and Co in 1906).  Her biography is filled with comments on his early passionate interests in witchcraft, magic and the occult, of his passion she writes:
 
“As might be expected of the man who was called “Master” by the Witches and Gypsies, and whose pockets were always full of charms and amulets, who owned the Black Stone of the Voodoo’s, who could not see a bit of red string at his feet and not pick it up, or find a pebble with an hole in it and not add it to his store – who in a word, not only studied witchcraft with the impersonal curiosity of the scholar, but practiced with the zest of the initiated”.
 
Sadly Leland departed without completing his work on Italian Witchcraft, however his legacy lives on through his books.  Until his time, no other books existed claiming to contain material obtained directly from a practicing witch.  His book Aradia: Gospel of the Witches became one of the most influential works to affect and influence modern Witchcraft and Wicca.  It is also one of the few books on Witchcraft to remain in print for over one hundred years.
 
 
 
 

A select bibliography:

 
 
1855: Meister Karl's Sketch-book
1855: Mystery of Dreams
1856: Piaui es of Travel
1862: Sunshine in Thought
1862: Heine's Book of Songs
1864: Legends of Birds
1870: Music Lesson of Confucius
1871: Hans Breitmann Ballads
1872: Pidgin-English Sing-Song
1873: The English Gipsies
1873: Egyptian Sketch Book
1879: Johnnykin and the Goblins
1879: Life of Abraham Lincoln
1880: The Minor Arts
1882: The Gypsies
1883: Industrial Education
1884: Algonquin Legends of New England
1889: A Dictionary of Slang (with Albert Barrerre)
1891: Gyspsy Sorcery and Fortune Telling
1892: The Hundred Riddles of the Fairy Bellaria
1892: Etruscan Roman Remains in Popular Tradition
1893: Memoirs
1895: The Breitmann Ballads (newly edited)
1895: Songs of the Sea and Lays of the Land 
1896: Legends of Florence Collected from the People (2 vols.)
1897: Hundred Profitable Acts
1899: Unpublished Legends of Virgil
1899: Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches
1899: Have You a Strong Will?
1901: Legends of Virgil
1902: Flaxius, or Leaves from the Life of an Immortal
1903: Kuloskap the Master, and other Algonquin Poems (with J. Dyneley Prince)
 Ref Source Link

End.

Controverscial.Com

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Brain-to-brain 'telepathic' communication achieved for first time

September 6, 2014, 1:56 am
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Team of US-led researchers successfully achieves brain-to-brain communication between humans from India to France

Team of US-led researchers successfully achieves brain-to-brain communication between humans from India to France
For the experiment, one person wearing a wireless, internet-linked electroencephalogram or EEG would think a simple greeting, like "hola," or "ciao." Photo: Alamy
11:55AM BST 05 Sep 2014
For the first time, scientists have been able to send a simple mental message from one person to another without any contact between the two, thousands of miles apart in India and France.
Research led by experts at Harvard University shows technology can be used to transmit information from one person's brain to another's even, as in this case, if they are thousands of miles away.
"It is kind of technological realisation of the dream of telepathy, but it is definitely not magical," Giulio Ruffini, a theoretical physicist and co-author of the research, told AFP by phone from Barcelona.
"We are using technology to interact electromagnetically with the brain."
For the experiment, one person wearing a wireless, internet-linked electroencephalogram or EEG would think a simple greeting, like "hola," or "ciao."
A computer translated the words into digital binary code, presented by a series of 1s or 0s.
Then, this message was emailed from India to France, and delivered via robot to the receiver, who through non-invasive brain stimulation could see flashes of light in their peripheral vision.
The subjects receiving the message did not hear or see the words themselves, but were correctly able to report the flashes of light that corresponded to the message.
"We wanted to find out if one could communicate directly between two people by reading out the brain activity from one person and injecting brain activity into the second person, and do so across great physical distances by leveraging existing communication pathways," said co-author Alvaro Pascual-Leone, professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School.
"One such pathway is, of course, the internet, so our question became, 'Could we develop an experiment that would bypass the talking or typing part of Internet and establish direct brain-to-brain communication between subjects located far away from each other in India and France?'"
Ruffini added that extra care was taken to make sure no sensory information got in the way that could have influenced the interpretation of the message.
Researchers have been attempting to send a message from person to person this way for about a decade, and the proof of principle that was reported in the journal PLOS ONE is still rudimentary, he told AFP.
"We hope that in the longer term this could radically change the way we communicate with each other," said Ruffini.
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Scientists see what’s in your mind and reproduce it on screen

September 8, 2014, 7:48 am
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Kathleen Miles | Patt Morrison | 

Shinji Nishimoto

A result from the study. Researchers watched movie clips and a computer program pieced together data from their brain activity to form an image.
Have you ever wanted to see inside someone else’s mind? Researchers at U.C. Berkeley have developed a technology that allows them to reproduce the moving images a person is looking at by tracking their brain activity. The hope is to be able to then reproduce the moving images that a person isn’t seeing, but rather thinking—say, in a dream, thought or memory.
To develop this technology, researchers James Gallant, Shinji Nishimoto and two others served as their own subjects, sitting inside an MRI scanner for hours at a time watching movie trailers. The brain activity that the MRI machine tracked was recorded into a computer program that learned, second by second, the brain activity that corresponds to each visual image. Next, the program was tested by having the subjects watch videos and seeing if it could determine the moving images the person was seeing. By putting together the 100 images most similar to what the subject was seeing, the program produced eerily blurry, yet recognizable images of the video that was watched.
The implications of this technology could mean eventually being able to read the minds of people who have thoughts but are unable to communicate them, such as stroke victims, coma patients and people with neurodegenerative diseases. Even further, there’s hope that it could lead to enabling people with cerebral palsy or paralysis to guide a computer with their minds.
The study’s coauthor, Jack Gallant, joins us to answer our questions; Martin Monti joins us to discuss application to comatose patients.

WEIGH IN:

If you could watch your own memory, fantasy or dream on YouTube, would you want to? If visually producing memories, thoughts and dreams becomes a reality, could there be practical implications in the field of psychology or criminology?

Guests:

Jack Gallant, neuroscientist and professor of psychology, UC Berkeley; co-author of brain imaging study
Martin Monti, Ph.D., assistant professor, cognitive psychology, UCLA; researches consciousness and cognition in coma, vegetative and minimally conscious state
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Brain-to-brain 'telepathic' communication achieved for first time

September 6, 2014, 1:56 am
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Team of US-led researchers successfully achieves brain-to-brain communication between humans from India to France (Source. Telegraph Article)/ Blogger Ref Link http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Multi-Dimensional_Science

Team of US-led researchers successfully achieves brain-to-brain communication between humans from India to France
For the experiment, one person wearing a wireless, internet-linked electroencephalogram or EEG would think a simple greeting, like "hola," or "ciao." Photo: Alamy
11:55AM BST 05 Sep 2014
For the first time, scientists have been able to send a simple mental message from one person to another without any contact between the two, thousands of miles apart in India and France.
Research led by experts at Harvard University shows technology can be used to transmit information from one person's brain to another's even, as in this case, if they are thousands of miles away.
"It is kind of technological realisation of the dream of telepathy, but it is definitely not magical," Giulio Ruffini, a theoretical physicist and co-author of the research, told AFP by phone from Barcelona.
"We are using technology to interact electromagnetically with the brain."
For the experiment, one person wearing a wireless, internet-linked electroencephalogram or EEG would think a simple greeting, like "hola," or "ciao."
A computer translated the words into digital binary code, presented by a series of 1s or 0s.
Then, this message was emailed from India to France, and delivered via robot to the receiver, who through non-invasive brain stimulation could see flashes of light in their peripheral vision.
The subjects receiving the message did not hear or see the words themselves, but were correctly able to report the flashes of light that corresponded to the message.
"We wanted to find out if one could communicate directly between two people by reading out the brain activity from one person and injecting brain activity into the second person, and do so across great physical distances by leveraging existing communication pathways," said co-author Alvaro Pascual-Leone, professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School.
"One such pathway is, of course, the internet, so our question became, 'Could we develop an experiment that would bypass the talking or typing part of Internet and establish direct brain-to-brain communication between subjects located far away from each other in India and France?'"
Ruffini added that extra care was taken to make sure no sensory information got in the way that could have influenced the interpretation of the message.
Researchers have been attempting to send a message from person to person this way for about a decade, and the proof of principle that was reported in the journal PLOS ONE is still rudimentary, he told AFP.
"We hope that in the longer term this could radically change the way we communicate with each other," said Ruffini.
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Quantum Psychics - Scientifically Understand, Control and Enhance Your Psychic Ability

September 10, 2014, 4:03 am
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Front CoverFront CoverFront CoverFront CoverFront Cover



Blogger Ref Link http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Multi-Dimensional_Science





This pioneering 2nd Edition book, written by bestselling author and professor, Theresa M. Kelly, MsD., utilizes an extensive list of new scientific research studies to reveal how the laws of physics do not have to be rewritten to explain how psychic abilities work. These research studies consist of initiatives in parapsychology, psychology, neuroscience, quantum physics, and related single and interdisciplinary fields. The author reveals the how's, the why's, and the when's of psychic potential and practice, and exposes it all from extrasensory perception (ESP) to psychokinesis (PK).

This book includes a wide collection of detailed and practical techniques, exercises, and experiments, designed for beginners, laypersons, and professional researchers, as stepping stones to assist the reader in their search for psychic control and development. For enhanced psychic performance and measurement, the author warns and informs the reader of the many misconceptions and myths that are preventing them from achieving their true psychic potential, and illuminates the true, raw, quantum nature of psychic phenomena.

This book uncovers the many personality traits linked with specific psychic experiences, facilitating the reader in discovering their exact psychic type. Let this book be your guide through the detailed scientific framework that takes a unique holistic approach to psychic understanding, control, and enhancement and bridges the gap between physics and metaphysics.

Includes: Models, Definitions, Descriptions, Techniques, Therapeutic and Experimental Practical Applications, and a Comprehensive Glossary. Topics Include: Telepathy, Clairvoyance, Mediumship, Remote Viewing, Precognition, Synchronicity, Empathy, Telekinesis, Biokinesis (Energy Healing), and other types of Psychokinesis.

Theresa M. Kelly, MsD, is a professor of scientific parapsychology, and has conducted psychical research for many years focusing on the phenomenology of psychic experiences, and the personality traits of psychic experients.

Above from Amazon



Front CoverFront CoverFront CoverFront CoverFront Cover




http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=omDJAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA82&lpg=PA82&dq=psychic+radiation&source=bl&ots=38MLKx84tz&sig=cu5PEyCQoBN-nNHqHBUUkCS6kYk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=UywQVP_REcrpaPr9grgF&ved=0CFMQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=psychic%20radiation&f=false
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Ptolemy

September 12, 2014, 3:47 am
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia/Ref link http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Multi-Dimensional_Science

Jump to: navigation, search
For other uses, see Ptolemy (name).
Ptolemy
Ptolemaeus.jpg
Early Baroque artist's rendition
Bornc. AD 90
Egypt, Roman Empire
Diedc. AD 168 (aged 77–78)
Alexandria, Egypt, Roman Empire
Occupationmathematician, geographer, astronomer, astrologer
Claudius Ptolemy (/ˈtɒləmi/; Greek: Κλαύδιος Πτολεμαῖος, Klaudios Ptolemaios, [kláwdios ptolɛmɛ́ːos]; Latin: Claudius Ptolemaeus; c. AD 90 – c. 168) was a Greco-Egyptian writer of Alexandria, known as a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology.[1][2] He lived in the city of Alexandria in the Roman province of Egypt, wrote in Greek, and held Roman citizenship.[3] Beyond that, few reliable details of his life are known. His birthplace has been given as Ptolemais Hermiou in the Thebaid in an uncorroborated statement by the 14th century astronomer Theodore Meliteniotes.[4] This is a very late attestation, however, and there is no other reason to suppose that he ever lived anywhere else than Alexandria,[4] where he died around AD 168.[5]
Ptolemy was the author of several scientific treatises, three of which were of continuing importance to later Islamic and European science. The first is the astronomical treatise now known as the Almagest, although it was originally entitled the "Mathematical Treatise" (Μαθηματικὴ Σύνταξις, Mathēmatikē Syntaxis) and then known as the "Great Treatise" (Ἡ Μεγάλη Σύνταξις, Ē Megálē Syntaxis). The second is the Geography, which is a thorough discussion of the geographic knowledge of the Greco-Roman world. The third is the astrological treatise in which he attempted to adapt horoscopic astrology to the Aristoteliannatural philosophy of his day. This is sometimes known as the Apotelesmatika (Ἀποτελεσματικά) but more commonly known as the Tetrabiblos from the Greek (Τετράβιβλος) meaning "Four Books" or by the Latin Quadripartitum.


Background[edit]

Engraving of a crowned Ptolemy being guided by the muse Astronomy, from Margarita Philosophica by Gregor Reisch, 1508. Although Abu Ma'shar believed Ptolemy to be one of the Ptolemies who ruled Egypt after the conquest of Alexander the title ‘King Ptolemy’ is generally viewed as a mark of respect for Ptolemy's elevated standing in science.
The name Claudius is a Roman nomen; the fact that Ptolemy bore it indicates he lived under the Roman rule of Egypt with the privileges and political rights of Roman citizenship. It would have suited custom if the first of Ptolemy's family to become a citizen (whether he or an ancestor) took the nomen from a Roman called Claudius who was responsible for granting citizenship. If, as was common, this was the emperor, citizenship would have been granted between AD 41 and 68 (when Claudius, and then Nero, were emperors). The astronomer would also have had a praenomen, which remains unknown.
Ptolemaeus (Πτολεμαῖος – Ptolemaios) is a Greek name. It occurs once in Greek mythology, and is of Homeric form.[6] It was common among the Macedonian upper class at the time of Alexander the Great, and there were several of this name among Alexander's army, one of whom made himself King of Egypt in 323 BC: Ptolemy I Soter. All the kings after him, until Egypt became a Roman province in 30 BC, were also Ptolemies.
Perhaps for no other reason than the association of name, the 9th-century PersianastronomerAbu Ma'shar assumed Ptolemy to be a member of Egypt's royal lineage, stating that the ten kings of Egypt who followed Alexander were wise "and included Ptolemy the Wise, who composed the book of the Almagest". Abu Ma'shar recorded a belief that a different member of this royal line "composed the book on astrology and attributed it to Ptolemy". We can evidence historical confusion on this point from Abu Ma'shar's subsequent remark “It is sometimes said that the very learned man who wrote the book of astrology also wrote the book of the Almagest. The correct answer is not known”.[7] There is little evidence on the subject of Ptolemy's ancestry, apart from what can be drawn from the details of his name (see above); however, modern scholars refer to Abu Ma’shar’s account as erroneous,[8] and it is no longer doubted that the astronomer who wrote the Almagest also wrote the Tetrabiblos as its astrological counterpart.[9]
Ptolemy wrote in Greek and can be shown to have utilized Babylonian astronomical data.[10][11] He was a Roman citizen, but most scholars conclude that Ptolemy was ethnically Greek,[12][13][14] although some suggest he was a HellenizedEgyptian.[13][15][16] He was often known in later Arabic sources as "the Upper Egyptian",[17] suggesting he may have had origins in southern Egypt.[18] Later Arabic astronomers, geographers and physicists referred to him by his name in Arabic: بطليموس‎ Batlaymus.[19]

Astronomy[edit]

Further information: Almagest
The Almagest is the only surviving comprehensive ancient treatise on astronomy. Babylonian astronomers had developed arithmetical techniques for calculating astronomical phenomena; Greek astronomers such as Hipparchus had produced geometric models for calculating celestial motions. Ptolemy, however, claimed to have derived his geometrical models from selected astronomical observations by his predecessors spanning more than 800 years, though astronomers have for centuries suspected that his models' parameters were adopted independently of observations.[20] Ptolemy presented his astronomical models in convenient tables, which could be used to compute the future or past position of the planets.[21] The Almagest also contains a star catalogue, which is a version of a catalogue created by Hipparchus. Its list of forty-eight constellations is ancestral to the modern system of constellations, but unlike the modern system they did not cover the whole sky (only the sky Hipparchus could see). Through the Middle Ages, it was the authoritative text on astronomy, with its author becoming an almost mythical figure, called Ptolemy, King of Alexandria.[22] The Almagest was preserved, like most of Classical Greek science, in Arabic manuscripts (hence its familiar name). Because of its reputation, it was widely sought and was translated twice into Latin in the 12th century, once in Sicily and again in Spain.[23] Ptolemy's model, like those of his predecessors, was geocentric and was almost universally accepted until the appearance of simpler heliocentric models during the scientific revolution.
His Planetary Hypotheses went beyond the mathematical model of the Almagest to present a physical realization of the universe as a set of nested spheres,[24] in which he used the epicycles of his planetary model to compute the dimensions of the universe. He estimated the Sun was at an average distance of 1,210 Earth radii, while the radius of the sphere of the fixed stars was 20,000 times the radius of the Earth.[25]
Ptolemy presented a useful tool for astronomical calculations in his Handy Tables, which tabulated all the data needed to compute the positions of the Sun, Moon and planets, the rising and setting of the stars, and eclipses of the Sun and Moon. Ptolemy's Handy Tables provided the model for later astronomical tables or zījes. In the Phaseis (Risings of the Fixed Stars), Ptolemy gave a parapegma, a star calendar or almanac, based on the hands and disappearances of stars over the course of the solar year.

Geography[edit]

Main article: Geography (Ptolemy)
Geography by Ptolemy, Latin manuscript of the early 15th century
Ptolemy's other main work is his Geographia. This also is a compilation of what was known about the world's geography in the Roman Empire during his time. He relied somewhat on the work of an earlier geographer, Marinos of Tyre, and on gazetteers of the Roman and ancient Persian Empire.[citation needed]
The first part of the Geographia is a discussion of the data and of the methods he used. As with the model of the solar system in the Almagest, Ptolemy put all this information into a grand scheme. Following Marinos, he assigned coordinates to all the places and geographic features he knew, in a grid that spanned the globe. Latitude was measured from the equator, as it is today, but Ptolemy preferred [26] to express it as climata, the length of the longest day rather than degrees of arc: the length of the midsummer day increases from 12h to 24h as one goes from the equator to the polar circle. In books 2 through 7, he used degrees and put the meridian of 0 longitude at the most western land he knew, the "Blessed Islands", often identified as the Canary Islands, as suggested by the location of the six dots labelled the "FORTUNATA" islands near the left extreme of the blue sea of Ptolemy's map here reproduced.
A 15th-century manuscript copy of the Ptolemy world map, reconstituted from Ptolemy's Geographia (circa 150), indicating the countries of "Serica" and "Sinae" (China) at the extreme east, beyond the island of "Taprobane" (Sri Lanka, oversized) and the "Aurea Chersonesus" (Malay Peninsula).
Ptolemy also devised and provided instructions on how to create maps both of the whole inhabited world (oikoumenè) and of the Roman provinces. In the second part of the Geographia, he provided the necessary topographic lists, and captions for the maps. His oikoumenè spanned 180 degrees of longitude from the Blessed Islands in the Atlantic Ocean to the middle of China, and about 80 degrees of latitude from Shetland to anti-Meroe (east coast of Africa); Ptolemy was well aware that he knew about only a quarter of the globe, and an erroneous extension of China southward suggests his sources did not reach all the way to the Pacific Ocean.
The maps in surviving manuscripts of Ptolemy's Geographia, however, only date from about 1300, after the text was rediscovered by Maximus Planudes. It seems likely that the topographical tables in books 2–7 are cumulative texts – texts which were altered and added to as new knowledge became available in the centuries after Ptolemy.[27] This means that information contained in different parts of the Geography is likely to be of different dates.
A printed map from the 15th century depicting Ptolemy's description of the Ecumene, (1482, Johannes Schnitzer, engraver).
Maps based on scientific principles had been made since the time of Eratosthenes, in the 3rd century BC, but Ptolemy improved map projections. It is known from a speech by Eumenius that a world map, an orbis pictus, doubtless based on the Geographia, was on display in a school in Augustodunum, Gaul in the third century.[28] In the 15th century, Ptolemy's Geographia began to be printed with engraved maps; the earliest printed edition with engraved maps was produced in Bologna in 1477, followed quickly by a Roman edition in 1478 (Campbell, 1987). An edition printed at Ulm in 1482, including woodcut maps, was the first one printed north of the Alps. The maps look distorted when compared to modern maps, because Ptolemy's data were inaccurate. One reason is that Ptolemy estimated the size of the Earth as too small: while Eratosthenes found 700 stadia for a great circle degree on the globe, Ptolemy uses 500 stadia in the Geographia. It is highly probable that these were the same stadion, since Ptolemy switched from the former scale to the latter between the Syntaxis and the Geographia, and severely readjusted longitude degrees accordingly. See also Ancient Greek units of measurement and History of geodesy.
Because Ptolemy derived many of his key latitudes from crude longest day values, his latitudes are erroneous on average by roughly a degree (2 degrees for Byzantium, 4 degrees for Carthage), though capable ancient astronomers knew their latitudes to more like a minute. (Ptolemy's own latitude was in error by 14'.) He agreed (Geographia 1.4) that longitude was best determined by simultaneous observation of lunar eclipses, yet he was so out of touch with the scientists of his day that he knew of no such data more recent than 500 years before (Arbela eclipse). When switching from 700 stadia per degree to 500, he (or Marinos) expanded longitude differences between cities accordingly (a point first realized by P.Gosselin in 1790), resulting in serious over-stretching of the Earth's east-west scale in degrees, though not distance. Achieving highly precise longitude remained a problem in geography until the invention of the marine chronometer at the end of the 18th century. It must be added that his original topographic list cannot be reconstructed: the long tables with numbers were transmitted to posterity through copies containing many scribal errors, and people have always been adding or improving the topographic data: this is a testimony to the persistent popularity of this influential work in the history of cartography.

Astrology[edit]

Main article: Tetrabiblos
The mathematician Claudius Ptolemy 'the Alexandrian' as imagined by a 16th-century artist
Ptolemy has been referred to as “a pro-astrological authority of the highest magnitude”.[29] His astrological treatise, a work in four parts, is known by the Greek term Tetrabiblos, or the Latin equivalent Quadripartitum: ‘Four Books’. Ptolemy's own title is unknown, but may have been the term found in some Greek manuscripts: Apotelesmatika, roughly meaning 'Astrological Outcomes,''Effects' or ‘Prognostics’.[30][31]
As a source of reference, the Tetrabiblos is said to have "enjoyed almost the authority of a Bible among the astrological writers of a thousand years or more".[32] It was first translated from Arabic into Latin by Plato of Tivoli (Tiburtinus) in 1138, while he was in Spain.[33] The Tetrabiblos is an extensive and continually reprinted treatise on the ancient principles of horoscopic astrology. That it did not quite attain the unrivaled status of the Almagest was, perhaps, because it did not cover some popular areas of the subject, particularly electional astrology (interpreting astrological charts for a particular moment to determine the outcome of a course of action to be initiated at that time), and medical astrology, which were later adoptions.
The great popularity that the Tetrabiblos did possess might be attributed to its nature as an exposition of the art of astrology, and as a compendium of astrological lore, rather than as a manual. It speaks in general terms, avoiding illustrations and details of practice. Ptolemy was concerned to defend astrology by defining its limits, compiling astronomical data that he believed was reliable and dismissing practices (such as considering the numerological significance of names) that he believed to be without sound basis.
Much of the content of the Tetrabiblos was collected from earlier sources; Ptolemy's achievement was to order his material in a systematic way, showing how the subject could, in his view, be rationalized. It is, indeed, presented as the second part of the study of astronomy of which the Almagest was the first, concerned with the influences of the celestial bodies in the sublunar sphere. Thus explanations of a sort are provided for the astrological effects of the planets, based upon their combined effects of heating, cooling, moistening, and drying.
Ptolemy's astrological outlook was quite practical: he thought that astrology was like medicine, that is conjectural, because of the many variable factors to be taken into account: the race, country, and upbringing of a person affects an individual's personality as much as, if not more than, the positions of the Sun, Moon, and planets at the precise moment of their birth, so Ptolemy saw astrology as something to be used in life but in no way relied on entirely.
A collection of one hundred aphorisms about astrology called the Centiloquium, ascribed to Ptolemy, was widely reproduced and commented on by Arabic, Latin and Hebrew scholars, and often bound together in medieval manuscripts after the Tetrabiblos as a kind of summation. It is now believed to be a much later pseudepigraphical composition. The identity and date of the actual author of the work, referred to now as Pseudo-Ptolemy, remains the subject of conjecture.

Music[edit]

Ptolemy also wrote an influential work, Harmonics, on music theory and the mathematics of music. After criticizing the approaches of his predecessors, Ptolemy argued for basing musical intervals on mathematical ratios (in contrast to the followers of Aristoxenus and in agreement with the followers of Pythagoras), backed up by empirical observation (in contrast to the overly theoretical approach of the Pythagoreans). Ptolemy wrote about how musical notes could be translated into mathematical equations and vice versa in Harmonics. This is called Pythagorean tuning because it was first discovered by Pythagoras. However, Pythagoras believed that the mathematics of music should be based on the specific ratio of 3:2, whereas Ptolemy merely believed that it should just generally involve tetrachords and octaves. He presented his own divisions of the tetrachord and the octave, which he derived with the help of a monochord. Ptolemy's astronomical interests also appeared in a discussion of the "music of the spheres". See: Ptolemy's intense diatonic scale.

Optics[edit]

His Optics is a work that survives only in a poor Arabic translation and in about twenty manuscripts of a Latin version of the Arabic, which was translated by Eugene of Palermo (c. 1154). In it Ptolemy writes about properties of light, including reflection, refraction, and colour. The work is a significant part of the early history of optics[34] and influenced the more famous 11th century Optics by Alhazen (Ibn al-Haytham). It contains the earliest surviving table of refraction from air to water, for which the values (with the exception of the 60° angle of incidence), although historically praised as experimentally derived, appear to have been obtained from an arithmetic progression.[35]
The work is also important for the early history of perception. Ptolemy combined the mathematical, philosophical and physiological traditions. He held an extramission-intromission theory of vision: the rays (or flux) from the eye formed a cone, the vertex being within the eye, and the base defining the visual field. The rays were sensitive, and conveyed information back to the observer’s intellect about the distance and orientation of surfaces. Size and shape were determined by the visual angle subtended at the eye combined with perceived distance and orientation. This was one of the early statements of size-distance invariance as a cause of perceptual size and shape constancy, a view supported by the Stoics.[36] Ptolemy offered explanations for many phenomena concerning illumination and colour, size, shape, movement and binocular vision. He also divided illusions into those caused by physical or optical factors and those caused by judgemental factors. He offered an obscure explanation of the sun or moon illusion (the enlarged apparent size on the horizon) based on the difficulty of looking upwards.[37][38]

Named after Ptolemy[edit]

There are several characters or items named after Ptolemy, including:

See also[edit]

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Footnotes[edit]

  1. Jump up ^Select Epigrams from the Greek Anthology By John William Mackail Page 246ISBN 1406922943, 2007
  2. Jump up ^Mortal am I, the creature of a day..
  3. Jump up ^See 'Background' section on his status as a Roman citizen
  4. ^ Jump up to: abG. J. Toomer, "Ptolemy (or Claudius Ptolemaeus). "Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography. 2008. Retrieved from Encyclopedia.com. 21 Jan, 2013.
  5. Jump up ^Jean Claude Pecker (2001), Understanding the Heavens: Thirty Centuries of Astronomical Ideas from Ancient Thinking to Modern Cosmology, p. 311, Springer, ISBN 3-540-63198-4.
  6. Jump up ^Πτολεμαῖος, Georg Autenrieth, A Homeric Dictionary, on Perseus
  7. Jump up ^Abu Ma’shar, De magnis coniunctionibus, ed.-transl. K. Yamamoto, Ch. Burnett, Leiden, 2000, 2 vols. (Arabic & Latin text); 4.1.4.
  8. Jump up ^Jones (2010)‘Ptolemy’s Doctrine of the Terms and Its Reception’ by Stephan Heilen, p. 68.
  9. Jump up ^Robbins, Ptolemy Tetrabiblos‘Introduction’; p. x.
  10. Jump up ^Asger Aaboe, Episodes from the Early History of Astronomy, New York: Springer, 2001, pp. 62–65.
  11. Jump up ^Alexander Jones, "The Adaptation of Babylonian Methods in Greek Numerical Astronomy," in The Scientific Enterprise in Antiquity and the Middle Ages, p. 99.
  12. Jump up ^Britannica.com Encyclopaedia Britannica 2007, "Claudius Ptolemaeus"
  13. ^ Jump up to: abVictor J. Katz (1998). A History of Mathematics: An Introduction, p. 184. Addison Wesley, ISBN 0-321-01618-1.
  14. Jump up ^"Ptolemy." Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2006. Answers.com 20 Jul. 2008.
  15. Jump up ^George Sarton (1936). "The Unity and Diversity of the Mediterranean World", Osiris2, p. 406–463 [429].
  16. Jump up ^John Horace Parry (1981). The Age of Reconnaissance, p. 10. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-04235-2.
  17. Jump up ^J. F. Weidler (1741). Historia astronomiae, p. 177. Wittenberg: Gottlieb. (cf.Martin Bernal (1992). "Animadversions on the Origins of Western Science", Isis83 (4), p. 596–607 [606].)
  18. Jump up ^Martin Bernal (1992). "Animadversions on the Origins of Western Science", Isis83 (4), p. 596–607 [602, 606].
  19. Jump up ^edited by Shahid Rahman, Tony Street, Hassan Tahiri. (2008). "The Birth of Scientific Controversies, The Dynamics of the Arabic Tradition and Its Impact on the Development of Science: Ibn al-Haytham’s Challenge of Ptolemy’s Almagest". The Unity of Science in the Arabic Tradition11. Springer Netherlandsdoi=10.1007/978-1-4020-8405-8. pp. 183–225 [183]. doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-8405-8. ISBN 978-1-4020-8404-1. 
  20. Jump up ^"Dennis Rawlins". The International Journal of Scientific History. Retrieved 2009-10-07. 
  21. Jump up ^Bernard R. Goldstein, "Saving the Phenomena: The Background to Ptolemy's Planetary Theory", Journal for the History of Astronomy, 28 (1997): 1–12
  22. Jump up ^S. C. McCluskey, Astronomies and Cultures in Early Medieval Europe, Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Pr. 1998, pp. 20–21.
  23. Jump up ^Charles Homer Haskins, Studies in the History of Mediaeval Science, New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing, 1967, reprint of the Cambridge, Mass., 1927 edition
  24. Jump up ^Dennis Duke, Ptolemy's Cosmology
  25. Jump up ^Bernard R. Goldstein, ed., The Arabic Version of Ptolemy's Planetary Hypotheses, Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 57, no. 4 (1967), pp. 9–12.
  26. Jump up ^Book 8
  27. Jump up ^Bagrow 1945.
  28. Jump up ^Talbert, Richard J.A. "Urbs Roma to Orbis Romanus" in Talbert, Ancient Perspectives: Maps and their places in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and Rome (Chicago) 2012, pp170-72.
  29. Jump up ^Jones (2010)‘The Use and Abuse of Ptolemy’s Tetrabiblos in Renaissance and Early Modern Europe’ by H. Darrel Rutkin, p. 135.
  30. Jump up ^Robbins, Ptolemy Tetrabiblos, 'Introduction' p. x.
  31. Jump up ^Jones (2010) p. xii.
  32. Jump up ^Robbins, Ptolemy Tetrabiblos, 'Introduction' p. xii.
  33. Jump up ^FA Robbins, 1940; Thorndike 1923)
  34. Jump up ^Smith, A. Mark (1996). Ptolemy's Theory of Visual Perception– An English translation of the Optics. The American Philosophical Society. ISBN 0-87169-862-5. Retrieved 27 June 2009. 
  35. Jump up ^Carl Benjamin Boyer, The Rainbow: From Myth to Mathematics (1959)
  36. Jump up ^H. W. Ross and C. Plug, "The History of Size Constancy and Size Illusions", in V. Walsh & J. Kulikowski (eds.) Perceptual Constancy: Why Things Look as They Do. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998, pp. 499–528.
  37. Jump up ^H. E. Ross and G. M. Ross, "Did Ptolemy Understand the Moon Illusion?", Perception 5 (1976): 377–395.
  38. Jump up ^A. I. Sabra, "Psychology Versus Mathematics: Ptolemy and Alhazen on the Moon Illusion", in E. Grant & J. E. Murdoch (eds.) Mathematics and Its Application to Science and Natural Philosophy in the Middle Ages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987, pp. 217–247.
  39. Jump up ^Mars Labs. Google Maps.

References[edit]

Texts and translations[edit]

  • Bagrow, L. (January 1, 1945). "The Origin of Ptolemy's Geographia". Geografiska Annaler (Geografiska Annaler, Vol. 27) 27: 318–387. doi:10.2307/520071. ISSN 1651-3215. JSTOR 520071. 
  • Berggren, J. Lennart, and Alexander Jones. 2000. Ptolemy's Geography: An Annotated Translation of the Theoretical Chapters. Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-01042-0.
  • Campbell, T. (1987). The Earliest Printed Maps. British Museum Press. 
  • Hübner, Wolfgang, ed. 1998. Claudius Ptolemaeus, Opera quae exstant omnia Vol III/Fasc 1: ΑΠΟΤΕΛΕΣΜΑΤΙΚΑ (= Tetrabiblos). De Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-598-71746-8 (Bibliotheca scriptorum Graecorum et Romanorum Teubneriana). (The most recent edition of the Greek text of Ptolemy's astrological work, based on earlier editions by F. Boll and E. Boer.)
  • Lejeune, A. (1989) L'Optique de Claude Ptolémée dans la version latine d'après l'arabe de l'émir Eugène de Sicile. [Latin text with French translation]. Collection de travaux de l'Académie International d'Histoire des Sciences, No. 31. Leiden: E.J.Brill.
  • Neugebauer, Otto (1975). A History of Ancient Mathematical Astronomy. I-III. Berlin and New York: Sprnger Verlag. 
  • Nobbe, C. F. A., ed. 1843. Claudii Ptolemaei Geographia. 3 vols. Leipzig: Carolus Tauchnitus. (The most recent edition of the complete Greek text)
  • Ptolemy. 1930. Die Harmonielehre des Klaudios Ptolemaios, edited by Ingemar Düring. Göteborgs högskolas årsskrift 36, 1930:1. Göteborg: Elanders boktr. aktiebolag. Reprint, New York: Garland Publishing, 1980.
  • Ptolemy. 2000. Harmonics, translated and commentary by Jon Solomon. Mnemosyne, Bibliotheca Classica Batava, Supplementum, 0169-8958, 203. Leiden and Boston: Brill Publishers. ISBN 90-04-11591-9
  • Robbins, Frank E. (ed.) 1940. Ptolemy Tetrabiblos. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press (Loeb Classical Library). ISBN 0-674-99479-5.
  • Smith, A.M. (1996) Ptolemy's theory of visual perception: An English translation of the Optics with introduction and commentary. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, Vol. 86, Part 2. Philadelphia: The American Philosophical Society.
  • Stevenson, Edward Luther (trans. and ed.). 1932. Claudius Ptolemy: The Geography. New York: New York Public Library. Reprint, New York: Dover, 1991. (This is the only complete English translation of Ptolemy's most famous work. Unfortunately, it is marred by numerous mistakes and the placenames are given in Latinised forms, rather than in the original Greek).
  • Stückelberger, Alfred, and Gerd Graßhoff (eds). 2006. Ptolemaios, Handbuch der Geographie, Griechisch-Deutsch. 2 vols. Basel: Schwabe Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7965-2148-5. (Massive 1018 pp. scholarly edition by a team of a dozen scholars that takes account of all known manuscripts, with facing Greek and German text, footnotes on manuscript variations, color maps, and a CD with the geographical data)
  • Taub, Liba Chia (1993). Ptolemy's Universe: The Natural Philosophical and Ethical Foundations of Ptolemy's Astronomy. Chicago: Open Court Press. ISBN 0-8126-9229-2. 
  • Ptolemy's Almagest, Translated and annotated by G. J. Toomer. Princeton University Press, 1998

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Colours of the Aura.............

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A HANDBOOK OF PREKSHA MEDITATION FOR THE TRAINERS


Muni Mahendra Kumar
PERCEPTION OF PSYCHIC COLOURS








Introduction to be given prior to the exercise: 



Our body is surrounded by a coloured envelope known as aura. The colours of the aura undergo continuous changes in accordance with the changes in our attitude and emotional pattern. In fact, there is close relation between the aura and our attitudes and emotions.
We can purify the aura by the purity in our attitudes and emotions, and the latter can be gauged through the former. In the present exercise, we have to use our power of visualisation of a particular colour at a particular psychic centre. Then again, with the mental projection, we have to visualise the same colour as spreading all around us and permeating the whole aura around us. Lastly, we have to make use of the technique of auto-suggestion to bring about the change in our attitude or emotional pattern. Deep concentration and alertness are of course to be maintained throughout the exercise.
The third step of preksha meditation is Perception of Psychic Colours.

1. With your mind's eye visualise that everything around you, including the air itself, is coloured bright emerald green.
Take a deep breath and as you slowly inhale visualise that you are breathing long streams of bright green air. Repeat the breathing exercise several times, each time inhaling bright green air.
Now concentrate your mind on the psychic Centre of Bliss situated in the middle of the chest near the heart; try to visualise bright green colour in that region.
Perceive bright green light and visualise that the bright green radiations are spreading in the psychic centre covering the whole portion upto the back.
If the light does not appear or vanishes after appearance, do not be disappointed. Intensify your effort for sustained visualisation.
Now visualise that the particles or radiations of bright green light are emanating from the Centre of Bliss and spreading all around permeating the whole body and the aura. Practise sustained visualisation with deep concentration.
Now using auto-suggestion realise---"My emotional pattern is being purified; my mindis being purged of all the negative attitudes".


 

2. With your mind's eye visualise that eveything around you, including the air itself, is coloured bright blue like peacock's neck.
Take a deep breath and as you slowly inhale, visualise that you are breathing long streams of bright blue air. Repeat the breathing exercise several times, each time inhaling bright blue air.
Now concentrate your mind on the psychic Centre of Purity, situated in the middle of the throat and try to visualise bright blue colour in that region.
Perceive bright blue light and visualise that the blue radiations are spreading in the psychic centre covering the whole portion upto the back.
If the light does not appear or vanishes after appearance, do not be disappointed. Intensify your effort for sustained visualisation.
Now visualise that the particles or radiations of bright blue light are emanating from the Centre of Purity and spreading all around, permeating the whole body and the aura. Practise sustained visualisation with deep concentration.
Now using auto-suggestion, realise "My sexual impulses are being under my conscious control."


 

3. With your mind's eye visualise that everything around you, including the air itself, is coloured bright red like the colour of the rising sun.
Take a deep breath and as you slowly inhale, visualise that you are breathing long streams of bright red air. Repeat the breathing exercise several times, each time inhaling bright red air.
Now concentrate your mind on the psychic Centre of Intuition situated in the middle of both the eye-brows and try to visualise bright red colour.
Perceive bright red light and visualise that the bright red radiations are spreading in the psychic centre covering the whole portion upto the back.
If the light does not appear or vanishes after appearance, do not be disappointed. Intensify your effort for sustained visualisation.
Now visualise that the particles or radiations of bright red light are emanating from the Centre of Intuition and spreading all around, permeating the whole body and the aura. Practise sustained visualisation with deep concentration.
Now using auto-suggestion realise--"My intuition power is developing."


 

4. With your mind's eye visualise that everything around you, including the air itself is coloured bright yellow like sunflower.
Take a deep breath and as you slowly inhale, visualise that you are breathing long streams of bright yellow air. Repeat the breathing exercise several times each time inhaling bright yellow air.
Now concentrate your mind on the psychic Centre of Knowledge situated on the top of the head and try to visualise bright yellow colour.
Perceive bright yellow light and visualise that the bright yellow radiations are spreading in the psychic centre covering the whole portion of the brain.
If the light does not appear or vanishes after appearance, do not be disappointed. Intensify your effort for sustained visualisation.
Now visualise that the particles or radiations of bright yellow light are emanating from the Centre of Knowledge and spreading all around, permeating the whole body and the aura. Practise sustained visualisation with deep concentration.
Now using auto-suggestion realise --"My perceptive capacity is increasing."
 

5. Now with your mind's eye visualise that everything around you, including the air itself is coloured bright white like the full moon.
Take a deep breath and as you slowly inhale, visualise that you are breathing long streams of bright while air. Repeat the breathing exercise several times, each time inhaling bright white air.
Now concentrate your mind on the psychic Centre of Enlightenment, situated in the middle of your forehead and visualise bright white colour.
Perceive bright white light and visualise that the bright white radiations are spreading on the psychic centre, covering the whole portion upto the back.
If the, light does not appear or vanishes after appearance, do not be disappointed. Intensify your effort for sustained visualisation.
Now visualise that the particles or radiations of bright white colour are emanating from the Centre of Enlightenment and spreading all around, permeating the whole body and the aura. Practise sustained visualisation with deep concentration.
Now using auto-suggestion realise--"My anger is waning away. My passions and emotions are being pacified. Iam feeling complete tranquillity of mind."

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18 Planes of Existence

September 12, 2014, 4:07 am
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Blogger Ref http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Multi-Dimensional_Science


18.1 Primordial planes

The Ari z”l, Isaac Luria, was the first to describe the cosmological structure above the world of Atzulut, the place of the sefirot. I described a journey that took me to the place of G-d before time and space in a previous vision.[1815] That vision brought me to the limit of what is knowable about G-d and then into the Nothingness beyond, Ayn Sof. This vision focuses on the experience of the 4 Expansions of the Name of G-d in the 5th universe residing above the apex of the Yod, what is known as Adam Kadmon.

18.1.1 Adam Kadmon

I used the following finger response techniques for obtaining answers from the subconscious. Answers with movements of the right hand are for the good (tov), those with the left hand are not so (ra). The lifting of the index finger means yes, the pinkie means no, and the fingers in between are degrees between yes and no.[1816]

Meditation 18-1: Into Daat and Up Through Havayah
17th of Tamuz 5754 – Morning
I ascended to Malchuts and then to Yesod[1817] with the help of angels lifting me into the light. From Yesod I went to the Garden of Eden where I saw the Lubavitcher Rebbe shlita[1818] standing outside the gates. I asked him the secret to getting married and he said, “Emunah, that one must believe with all one’s will for it to happen.” I asked if he were Moshiach and he answered again with Emunah, that he has done all he could, it is up to us to believe with all our mind for Moshiach to be.

I wanted to ascend higher to see the Tzaddik Emes, Rebenu z”l. I passed through Tiferets and was stuck at the Gates of Daat[1819] that I did not know how to open. I did not know the Name of Hashem associated with this sefirah.[1820] Eventually I saw Binah as a mother and Hochmah as a father embrace and the gates were opened and Binah lifted me up and showed her husband what she had found. I said, “I need to speak to the Tzaddik Emes and you should help me.” The father took me and passed me into the base of Keter. The entry to Keter opened inward like a hole punched upward through paper, like a new gate made for each who enters. I said, “I will to ascend to the level to see the Tzaddik Emes.” I was lifted through the blackness into the worlds above. I entered the level of MaH – 45 and the expansion of the Havayah was before me and then BN – 52, and then SaG – 63, and finally AV – 72 where I saw Rebenu z”l standing.

jkm066.png

He was so happy. He said, “I am as proud of you as one of my finest students for though you live in the recesses of the world, you have learned so much of my teachings and have studied with my teachers.”[1821] It is impossible to describe the joy he felt and I felt to reach him. I asked Rabbenu z”l to help me with a question and he put his hands upon my head to know the situation. I asked him what he is doing at this level and he said, “you should continue to learn my teachings and you will understand, but for now it is beyond you.”[1822] All of a sudden, I felt a vacuum pulling me down and I descended through the Tree in rapid progression through all of the sefirot and upper worlds.
Meditation 18-2: Adam Kadmon
May 4th, 2001

Regressed myself back to the point of conception and witnessed a spark of light like a shooting star back to its place in the heavens waiting to be born. As I followed the white star back into the night sky, I found its stationary location in the right wrist of Adam Kadmon. Like the rest of the sparks, it was motionless waiting to be reborn. I felt the incredible longing in the spark for the chance at life again, for the chance to improve its station. How long it waited to be born. Such a longing, the other sparks felt the same. All were waiting for suitable parents to provide a chance in life.[1823]

18.1.2 Expansion of the name Hashem


19th of Tamuz 5754

To understand the secret of entering Daat and Rabenu z”l’s role at the level of AV. From the Ari z”l:
YVD HY VYV HY יוד הי ויו הי

The Tetragrammaton expanded with Yods, adding up to 72 (Ab) motivates the union of Hochmah – Wisdom (Father) and Binah – Understanding (Mother), through the Neshamah of the Neshamah (i.e. Chaya) of the saint. It is associated with Hochmah – Wisdom.[1824]

The saint in this case is Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, who can make it possible to enter Daat through his Chaya bringing Hochmah and Binah together for one to enter there. He is at the level of AV for it is Mekor Hochmah, the source of wisdom, and also part of the name of his new settlement in Israel, Nachal Novea Mekor Hochmah where his efforts on high in the spiritual realm parallel the physical construction in our world. The name of the settlement translates to “The Source of Wisdom is a Flowing Brook.”
The words of a man's mouth are as deep waters,
and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook.
(Proverbs 18:4)

Rabbi Nachman teaches, ‘Spring Bubbling (from a mountain side) is a Source of Wisdom’ – Nachal Novea Mekor Chokhmah – נחל נובע מקור חכמה where the initial letters rearranged spell Nachman – נחמן.[1825] Because the letters must be rearranged the verse holds a secret – סוד. “I am a river which makes tahor all that is tamei.”[1826] The spirit of rebenuzal is a mikvah! “I am a beautiful wondrous tree, with wonderful branches, and below I reach into the ground” (Shevachey Haran – שבחי הר"ן 4b #5, #245) spoken on Chanukah December 25th, purifying the tree and cleansing the Temple during Chanukah! (“Until the Mashiach,” p.91 ... which is also the gematria of Elon - 91 - the distinguished tree)[1827] To see oneself as a tree is a very elevating image for character improvement. “Created in the image of G-d” is the 2nd reference to the Tzaddik Emet while the first is the “Ruach over the waters.” The Tree of Life[1828] containing the sefirot presents the qualities of G-d, reflected down into creation. This wondrous tree is also the Tree of Life that is the image of G-d that is Adam Kadmon. The published versions of the Shaarei Orah have as their cover picture, a kabbalist holding onto the Tree of Life.[1829] For some the Tree of Life is Atzulut, the sefirot and her pathways, while for others she is the Torah, the Tzaddik, or the Messiah.

18.2 Astral and Ethereal Planes

The Astral plane is a place outside of all places and yet connecting all. When in the Astral plane, one is invisible to all beings in other planes and yet able to observe all. The Astral body is a glowing white light and connects to its physical source by a line of light. It is also possible to teleport the physical body to the location of the Astral body in the non-physical planes. In this way one can interact with beings on other planes. The advantage of Astral travel is that it is possible to bypass gate keepers to reach spiritual destinations since one can only be seen by other beings on the Astral plane. The disadvantage to Astral travel is that it is difficult and one must achieve a high degree of purification and shed the physical body to enter this plane.
Text 18-1: Zohar on Ethereal and Astral Planes
For every letter that was transmitted to Moses, used to ascend as a crown upon the heads of the holy celestial Hayyoth, who with them flitted through the ether which is under the refined and unknowablesupernal ether.[1830] There were large letters and small letters; the large letters came from the most high and hidden Temple (hekhal) and the smaller letters from another lower Temple; and both kinds were transmitted to Moses on Sinai, along with their occult combinations.[1831]

The Ethereal plane is an inner plane that is experienced while dreaming at night. The Ethereal plane connects all physical places in the Universe and enables the subconscious to explore their locations. One can enter the Ethereal plane from the Astral plane but not vice-versa.
R. Eleazar began here with the verse, “Ask thee a sign [Tr. note: The Hebrew word is oth, which in Talmudic Hebrew commonly means “letter”] of the Lord thy God, ask it either in the depth or in the height above” (Isa. VII, 11). He said: ‘We have compared the former with the latter generations, and found that the former were conversant with a higher wisdom by which they knew how to combine the letters that were given to Moses on Mount Sinai, and even the sinners of Israel knew a deep wisdom contained in the letters and the difference between higher and lower letters, and how to do things with them in this world. For every letter that was transmitted to Moses used to ascend as a crown upon the heads of the holy celestial Chayot, who with them flitted through the ether which is under the refined and unknowable supernal ether. There were large letters and small letters; the large letters came from the most high and hidden Temple (hekhal) and the smaller letters from another lower Temple; and both kinds were transmitted to Moses on Sinai, along with their occult combinations.. [Tr. note: The rest of this passage up to 3b [“And he called...”] deals mainly with the occult powers of various letters. The whole is omitted from the editiones majores of Mantua, Cremona, and Lublin.][Note:The last fifteen lines of the Hebrew text do not appear in the translation as explained in the previous translator's note]

Meditation 18-3: Astral Travel
Astral Travel – May 19, 1997 – 27th Day of Omer – 8 PM
Today is influenced by Yesod in Netzah which brings righteous foundation to eternal visions. I visited Berkeley and the Hochmat HaLev meditation center for their weekly meditation. I took the BART up to Berkeley from Fremont and read a little of Crowley’s book on Magic. I had been trying to decipher the mystery of the Astral plane. I was late and jettisoned myself into the silent meditation.
I saw forms of the archangels descend and they pushed me higher from Malchuts to Yesod. The angels passed me to other angels in a chain fashion each pushing me higher. Each complained about my state of impurity and quickly pushed me to the next angel. Eventually something had to be done about the impure state and I beheld a boiling pool of water and sulfuric acid. There was a small sense of fear and then I was tossed into the pool. I sank into the waters and felt myself suffocating. As I sank, I noticed an angelic mermaid form near the bottom of the pool and she spoke to me, “You are safe here.” I began to breath and I noticed that the bottom of the pool was pure acid. The color was a blue-green. Quickly, the acid burned away my clothes. I asked the angel where I was and I was informed that I was in the Lower Plane of Water between the sefirot of Netzah and Hod. There are different types of liquids in the lower planes and this was a place of acid. I asked who she was and she said that her name would be the Hebrew word for acid with the suffix of an angel.[1832] I asked if she was an angel. She said that most beings are messengers of Hashem but that her role was more of an acid elemental. I noticed my skin was burning and pealing away and I beheld a pure white form of light emerging from the shell.

She told me that this was my Astral body and that I would be able to enter the Astral plane with it, while she watched over the remains of my physical form. I traveled quickly out of the pool and noticed a new perspective on the Sefirotic Tree. I was outside of the tree now looking in while connected with a line of white light to my body in the Lower Plane of Water. I noticed that I could look into any world yet I could not be a part of any of them. I glanced into Tiferet and descended into the world. I saw Jacob there in discussion with other religious sages. None of them noticed me because I was not really in that world. I moved out of the sphere and then gazed into Hesed and saw Abraham and Sarah there performing eternal chores associated with their meeting tent and they too could not see me. I popped out and then gazed into Binah and beheld the great angelic mother transmitting light energy and above her chains of other angels in an eternal dance. Though I wanted to dance with the angels, they could not see me and I understood the limitations of the Astral plane.

I asked about the Ethereal plane and found that I could enter it invisibly with the Astral body. I saw many dream souls within the beatific scenes of the ethereal world. Finally, I returned to Binah and asked what it would take to be seen so that I could dance with the angels. I understood that I could merge back with the physical body while within the sphere of Binah. I drew my body up from the Plane of Water and wrapped my body around my Astral form. Immediately I became physical in the World of Binah and the angels saw me and descended. I began to dance with them in great joy. I joined with their ascent to the world of Keter and we entered this world carrying the prayers of those singing into the realm of Will. I began to fall through a center column of the angels, each one closing its wings around me in a salute of departure. I unwrapped back into the astral body and the angels departed.
Nevertheless, all alone, I heard the Voice of G-d,
and I knew before G-d we are never invisible.

18.3 Space Travel

Meditation 18-4: Space Travel
April 25, 2000

I ascended into Malchuts with the name Adonai. This was Malchuts of Asiyah, a round cave with an opening at the top into Yesod. With further ascent, I encountered Eloah the source of creation. “I was here before and I will be here after. All that is I created.” I asked about His relation to El Shaddai? “She is my younger sister. She is within creation nurturing and helping to grow.” And what of El Chai? “He is the little brother, younger than El Shaddai. He causes the motion and springiness of life.” And what do you know of Eheyeh asher Eheyeh. “He is before me and will be after me before and beyond the Creator.” And of YHVH? “He is the viaduct connecting all of the higher spiritual places to creation. We are all connected to the root of Names, Yuhoah.” And El? “El is the prefix of my name and is the kindness that bestowed creation.” And of Elohim? “This is the din balancing kindness.” And of Yah. “Ah, Yah is in the crown and is the source of the higher energies sustaining the energies below.”[1833]

I asked to be shown a black hole that I may understand its role. I was shown an ocean of plasma before the creation of our world. I asked what is this? “Before your Universe existed, Hashem made previous universes. These are the remnants of the previous one. As the plasma cooled, gravity pulled particles together. Ultimately all was pulled into the great central light of the Universe. This is like the light of YHVH in Tiferets. This great star went super nova spewing elements throughout the Universe.

I entered the black hole. According to general relativity, gravity slows down time. Hence within a singularity time slows, maybe even stops. Light doesn’t emanate from a black hole due to gravity. This is like the place of Keter. There is no surface. One can fall into the singularity and be one with G-d.

One can communicate with each individual name of G-d. In this manner one can explore the meaning of concepts within the subjective perspective of differing attributes.


Meditation 18-5: Flying into the Past / Remaking the Present
October 26, 2002

From a spiritual dream on Shabbat afternoon. During the dream, I was revealed to the divine name Wah – וה. By saying this Name of G-d, one can elevate oneself to flying in a lucid dream or staying in flight. In addition to flying across space, Wah permits one to fly across time and visit the past and return to the future. Encountering the past with Wah changes the present so that one will find that when one returns to the date that one left, the place will look different in some small way and be different in a larger way. In my dream I started from Bimah, the raised place in a Jewish sanctuary, and I returned to the same place, though its appearance had changed and also reality.

How does Wah – וה transform reality? Quite simply, this name associates with Binah, mistress of the future. Yah – יה associates with Hochmah, master of the past. One recites Wah, over and over, to ascend in flight. Even without dreaming Wah is effective. Jacob dreamed of the angels ascending to heaven and returning.

One should try to become familiar or known to others in places of worship. One should teach others spiritual ways, though one would find that it is difficult to teach others to travel the Tree of Life, to travel in time.

This week was Shabbas Vayera – ‘And G-d appeared’ to Abraham on the plains of
Mamre – אלני ממרא. Three men appear to Abraham and Abraham offers them hospitality. From here we learn that one doesn’t ask questions when a guest arrives, that it does not matter if they are Jewish or not, and that one quickly prepares something for them to drink and eat. As the guests are present, G-d speaks to Abraham and tells him that He will destroy S’dom. G-d does not speak through one of the angels on this subject. Nevertheless, Abraham questions G-d on this until they decide that if he finds ten good men, G-d will not destroy the city for the sake of the ten. From here we learn the principle that it is meritorious to pray with a minyan, a group of ten. Interestingly, Abraham does not pray to save his son when G-d commands him to take Isaac for a sacrifice. Why did he not pray for Isaac though he prayed for S’dom. This teaches that before one can pray for a mercy that there must be justice. Because Isaac had done nothing wrong, the command to sacrifice him was not a punishment, hence without justice there is no concept of mercy.[1834] On the other hand, G-d would punish the people of S’dom for their sins, hence Abraham could pray for mercy. From here we also learn that since G-d created the universe with the name Elohim, he created it with justice; in so doing, He necessitated the principle of mercy in the world.[1835]

One should be a good example to others. One should develop a ‘center of gravity’. With a ‘center of gravity’ one can travel in other circles and be without personal conflict.[1836] Developing a ‘center of gravity’ requires a commitment to ones principles. It is harder to keep ones principles than to know them.
[1815] see ‘Back to the Beginning’ meditation
[1816] Led by a simple eye closure hypnosis tape.
[1817] In Yesod, I saw the Nickelsburg Rebbe who like all living Tzaddikim, ascend regularly to this sefira. The Tzaddik Joseph symbolizes Yesod, which means foundation. The gematria of Yesod – יסוד is 80. Sod, which means secret, is 70. Yesod is also the eighth sefira representing dedication. The temple was rededicated to Hashem in the 8 days of Hanukkah. Likewise, the tzaddik dedicates his entire life to Hashem. Yesod is the home of the tzaddikim (and the Living G-d) that is to live with El Chai.
[1818] He appeared as his portrait found in the beitim (houses) of Chabad.
[1819] Daat or knowledge is the quasi sefira, which is the result of mastery of wisdom, understanding, kindness, and responsibility. It is the gateway to Keter, the crown of G-d, which is the place of G-d’s will.
[1820] A cherub carries a coal and places it in your mouth. In meditation, you are cleansed and your mouth opens. The place of Daat does not associate with a single name of G-d but one must open his mouth with wisdom to enter.
[1821] The tapes of a Breslov teacher in Los Angeles, name unknown, and the tapes of Rabbi Aryeh Rosenfield.
[1822] In Rabbi Nachman Letter
[1823] Palo Alto JCC meditation group under the direction of Ira Brandell meets Thursday at 7 PM.
[1824] Shaar Ruach Hakodesh, p. 110. First Yichud. Quoted in Meditation and Kabbalah, Page 238.
[1825] Likutey Moharan, Ch. 19, Page 188, bottom notes. Also see Chayeh Moharan – חיי מוהר"ן i.e. Tzaddik #86.
[1826] Chayei Moharan 332
[1827] See 4.9.5.5
[1828] See 17The Tree of Life
[1829]http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/0761990003/ref=dp_image_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books
[1830] Astral
[1831] Soncino translation of Zohar, Vayikra, Section 3, page 2a on the small aleph on the first word of the Torah portion.
[1832] Acid is humetz, the word for vinegar is hometz that which we must remove from our household and soul to purify ourselves. The angel’s name is Humzahel – חומצהאל
[1833] Yah associates with Hochmah which is nearest Keter. Crown here refers to the location of the three highest sefira in general.
[1834] Adam Walton, October 26, 2002
[1835] Adam Walton, October 26, 2002
[1836] Micha Baruch at Shaare Tefilah in Salt Lake City
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'Quantum Cheshire Cat' becomes reality

September 17, 2014, 3:26 am
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By James MorganScience reporter, BBC News July 2014
Blogger Ref Link http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Multi-Dimensional_Science


Cheshire CatThe Cheshire Cat mysteriously disappeared leaving only his mischievous grin




Scientists have for the first time separated a particle from one of its physical properties - creating a "quantum Cheshire Cat".

The phenomenon is named after the curious feline in Alice in Wonderland, who vanishes leaving only its grin.

Researchers took a beam of neutrons and separated them from their magnetic moment, like passengers and their baggage at airport security.

They describe their feat in Nature Communications.

The same separation trick could in principle be performed with any property of any quantum object, say researchers from Vienna University of Technology.........


Well! I've often seen a cat without a grin, but a grin without a cat! It's the most curious thing I ever saw in my life!”
End QuoteAlice's Adventures in Wonderland



..........Their technique could have a useful application in metrology - helping to filter out disturbances during high-precision measurements of quantum systems.
Schrodinger's paradox
In Lewis Carroll's classic children's story, the Cheshire Cat gradually disappears, leaving only its mischievous grin.

This prompts Alice to exclaim: "Well! I've often seen a cat without a grin, but a grin without a cat! It's the most curious thing I ever saw in my life!"

In the world familiar to us, an object and its properties are always bound together. A rotating ball, for instance, cannot become separated from its spin.

Cheshire CatThe cat (the neutron) goes via the upper beam path, while its grin (the magnetic moment) goes via the lower

But quantum theory predicts that a particle (such as a photon or neutron) can become physically separated from one of its properties - such as its polarisation or its magnetic moment (the strength of its coupling to an external magnetic field).

"We find the cat in one place, and its grin in another,"as the researchers once put it.

The feline analogy is a nod to Schrodinger's Cat - the infamous thought experiment in which a cat in a box is both alive and dead simultaneously - illustrating a quantum phenomenon known as superposition.

To prove that the Cheshire Cat is not just a cute theory, the researchers used an experimental set-up known as an interferometer, at the Institute Laue-Langevin (ILL) in Grenoble, France.

A neutron beam was passed through a silicon crystal, sending it down two different paths - like passengers and their luggage at airport security.

By applying filters and a technique known as "post-selection", they were able to detect the physical separation of the neutrons from their magnetic moment - as measured by the direction of their spin.

"The system behaves as if the neutrons go through one beam path, while their magnetic moment travels along the other," the researchers reported.

ILL reactorThe high flux neutron source at the ILL made the weak signal of the 'Cheshire Cat' detectable

Glimpsing this Cheshire Cat requires what quantum physicists call "weak measurement," whereby you interact with a system so gently that you avoid collapsing it from a quantum state to a classical one.

Their delicate apparatus could have useful applications in high-precision metrology, the researchers say.

"For example, one could imagine a situation in which the magnetic moment of a particle overshadows another of the particle's properties which one wants to measure very precisely.

"The Cheshire Cat effect might lead to a technology which allows one to separate the unwanted magnetic moment to a region where it causes no disturbance to the high-precision measurement of the other property."
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Interview With Dr Lang

September 17, 2014, 3:36 am
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Post by Admin on Thu Aug 21, 2008 12:35 pm
Blogger Ref http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Multi-Dimensional_Science

This is a very interesting article about an interview with the controlling guide of the famous and very good psychic surgeon George Chapman

"This interview took place in September, 1988, at the healer's home in Wales. George Chapman was in trance.

Joe Fisher was unable to be satisfied as to whether a medium's guides were real people. While much of the geographical and historical information supplied by the entities was amazingly accurate, the claimed identities did not stand up to scrutiny, in his view, [even though Silver Birch, for example, spoke in his native dialect to a compatriot attending a seance, a language unknown to his medium, Maurice Barbanell].

In reply, Dr. Lang said: - Well, I think entities can be traced if you can find first of all a medium who is making genuine contact. I know as much about my life as I did when I was on Earth. You don't forget. One has memory.

Fisher: - But it seems that a lot of information given by discarnate entities is plainly wrong.

Lang: - You see, it could be, as I say, that the medium's not so perfect as one would like the medium to be.

Fisher: - Or is it that some entities are closer to the earthbound plane than others?

Lang: - Well, when a person passes over, they are very close to the Earth for a while. Therefore, if they make contact with a medium, they can give all the evidence quite clearly. But they don't remain close to the Earth for very long. They start to move away, as it were.

Fisher: - But you have remained close - for a purpose, presumably.

Lang: - Well, yes. I'm linked with George. Spirits are about you all the time. It's just becoming sensitive enough to make contact with the spirit and, as I say, George and I have a closeness through our lives of being of one [soul] family, if you wish, and having worked through other lives in this way...I still blame a lot on [the quality of] mediumship. You find today that mediumship is not being practised enough and there are not enough trance mediums who, I would say, are so fully developed. People seem to want to put a collar and tie on and become a type of medical doctor, which they're not. I think if you say the healing's coming from spirit, you have to PROVE the healing's coming from spirit.

Fisher: - It's just that I feel the entities I have talked to are manipulative. Does that make sense to you?

Lang: - This makes sense. Yes. This can happen.

Fisher: - Do you see those sort of people from your vantage point?

Lang: - Yes, because in this world you have playboys just the same and people wanting to believe they are important, giving so much evidence. I know I get many incarnate people telling me of the great guides they are they have, and they all seem to want someone very important. They talk of their great guides, but when you ask them: "Did you trace your guide?" they say: "Oh, no, no, but he told me he was some famous surgeon. He's using a different name because you see, he doesn't want his family to become involved." Well, surely, when you've passed into this world, you want your family to know where you are. That's what I wanted right away - my daughter and my grandchildren all came to see me [a fact - as he manifested through George Chapman*(see note below)].

Fisher: - Do you see yourself as George's guide?

Lang: - Well I don't like the word guide. I fele that I am George's close friend nd I am here to help him and, if you wish, to guide him. When you come into the world you have a guide but it's not usually a Red Indian. It's usually a member of your family who loves you and wants to help you on the right road. If later on you develop a gift of mediumship, then, no doubt, someone will get connected with you to help you.

*Note:- Dr. Lang's daughter, Marie Lyndon Lang, was naturally sceptical when she heard in 1947 that her father had returned to inhabit, at intervals, the body of George Chapman. But after hearing his voice, observing his mannerisms and asking personal questions concerning events which only she and her father knew about, she made this declaration: "The person who speaks through George Chapman and claims to be William Lang is, without a doubt, my father." For thirty-one years until her death at the age of ninety-four in May, 1977, Marie Lyndon spoke regularly with her deceased father. At her request, however, both her intimate connection to the increasingly popular Dr. Lang and her consultations with him were kept secret until her passing.

Vowing "I am going to put this quack to confusion," Dr. Lang's granddaughter, Mrs. Susan Fairtlough, reacted with angry derision when she heard that a healer was "pretending" to be her grandfather. But after meeting George Chapman and Dr. Lang, Mrs Fairtlough had this to say: "To my great horror, or rather, stupefaction, the man who was in this room was indisputably my grandfather. It was not him physically, but it was his voice, his behaviour. It was unquestionable. He spoke to me and evoked precise events of my childhood. And I was so impressed that all I could say was, 'Yes, grandpapa. No, grandpapa.'"

Testimonials to Dr. Lang's brilliance have been furnished by a host of living doctors, few of whom wished to be named for fear of professional censure. After meeting Dr. Lang for the first time in December, 1969, Dr. Robert Laidlaw of New York told told how he discussed in a professional manner certain ophthalmological conditions and techniques, and added: "I fully believed them, and I believe now, that I was conversing with the surviving spirit of a doctor who had died some thirty years ago."

While by no means underestimating the importance of the healing accomplished by his spritual partnership, Chapman feels the main intent of the surgeon's return is to convince people of the reality of life after death. And he considers the authenticity of Dr. Lang's claim to having lived before as fundamental to this cause. In his book "Surgeon from Another World," Chapman stresses the importance of verifying sources of channelled communication:

"Too many alleged spirit guides do not stand up to critical examination. I believe it is essential for those who develop trance mediumship to ensure that their spirit controls are examined thoroughly to prove their indentities. The spirit communicator should speak as near as possible to the way he spoke on earth, using the same phrases and mannerisms and manifesting other personal characteristics. He should be able to give dates, names and details of his earthly experiences that can be verified, and be able to discusss intimate matters with relatives and colleagues still on earth. All to often, a 'spirit controls' claimed earthly existence is outside the memory of those living, while others deliberately cloak their identities in a shroud of mystery."

Material reviewed from Joe Fisher's book "Hungry Ghosts" published by McClelland & Stewart Inc. Toronto, 1991. "
SpiritualismLink


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Harry Edwards

September 17, 2014, 3:40 am
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Harry Edwards
Henry James Edwards (29 May 1893 – 7 December 1976) was a spiritual healer, teacher and author who had a career of nearly 40 years.


Early years[edit]

Born in London as one of nine children, Harry Edward's father was a printer and his mother a dressmaker. In 1905, aged 12, Edwards joined the London Diocese Church Lads Brigade. In 1907 he left school and began a seven-year apprenticeship to a printer. Dissatisfied with that career, he developed political aspirations and joined the local branch of the Liberal Party, for whom he campaigned.[1]
On the outbreak of World War I in 1914 Edwards enlisted in the Royal Sussex Regiment and by late 1915 he was in Bombay en route for Tekrit, where he worked to build the railway track between there and Baghdad. He was commissioned in the field, and achieved the rank of Captain.[2] In 1921 he returned to the UK and married Phyllis. The couple opened a stationer's shop and printing works in Balham, and Edwards tried to launch himself into a political career, standing for parliamentary and council seats as a Liberal candidate on several occasions, but with no success. By this stage he also had four children to support.[1]

Spiritual healing[edit]

The Harry Edwards Spiritual Healing Sanctuary at Shere, Surrey
Edwards became a spiritual healer when he attended a meeting at a spiritualist church in 1936 and was told by the mediums present that he had healing powers. His early attempts at spiritual healing were met with success, and gradually his reputation as a healer spread and his services became more in demand.[2] During the Second World War Edwards served in the Home Guard and continued to run his printing business alongside his now growing practice as a healer. Gradually, as his fame spread, his healing took over from his printing business, which was later to be run by a brother. He moved to Stoneleigh in Surrey just after the war, where he used the front room of his house as a healing sanctuary.
Eventually, because of the increasing number of patients visiting him Edwards outgrew this home, so in 1946 he moved his family and his healing practice to Burrows Lea, a large house with several acres of gardens and woodland in Shere, where he founded the 'Harry Edwards Healing Sanctuary'. As his fame as a healer spread he was receiving 10,000 letters a week asking for help and distance healing.[1]
In 1948 Edwards held a healing demonstration in Manchester which was attended by 6,000 people. In September 1951 during the Festival of Britain he appeared at the Royal Festival Hall in London, where he demonstrated spiritual healing to a packed hall.[2] In 1955 he founded and was the first President of the National Federation of Spiritual Healers (NFSH).[3]
An 'Archbishops' Commission on Divine Healing' was set up in 1953 to investigate spiritual healing, and Edwards addressed the Commission in 1954, providing it with documentary evidence of a number of cases of successful healing for it to examine. At the same time he held a public demonstration in front of 6,000 people at the Royal Albert Hall to launch the '10 o'clock Healing Minute'. The Commission's report, published in 1958,[4] stated that neither the Church or the medical profession accepted the claims of spirit healers that they were responsible for successful healings. Despite the fact that Harry Edwards had appeared before the Commission he was never sent a copy of the final report.[2]
Edwards claimed that several deceased scientists worked through him, including Lord Lister and Louis Pasteur. The founder of the Aetherius Society, George King was complimentary of his healing powers.[5]
Harry Edwards died in December 1976 aged 83.

Skeptical reception[edit]

A study in the British Medical Journal (Rose, 1954) investigated spiritual healing, therapeutic touch and faith healing. In a hundred cases that were investigated, no single case revealed that the healer's intervention alone resulted in any improvement or cure of a measurable organic disability.[6] Edwards claimed he had cured about a hundred thousand people in Britain but Rose could not verify a single cure by Edwards. Rose visited a healing session held by Edwards and observed that an old lady had claimed to have been cured during the session and had walked without her sticks, but by the time the session was over was walking with two sticks out of the hall.[7]

Publications[edit]

  • Edwards, Harry Harry Edwards: Thirty Years a Spiritual Healer Jenkins (1968)
  • Edwards, Harry A Guide for the Development of Mediumship Spiritualist Aszon, [n.d.]
  • Edwards, Harry The Science of Spirit Healing Rider & Co, New York (1943)
  • Edwards, Harry The Mediumship of Jack Webber Rider & Co, New York (1940)
  • Edwards, Harry A Guide to the Understanding and Practice of Spiritual Healing The Healer Publishing Company Limited (1974)
  • Edwards, Harry The Mediumship of Arnold Clare Rider & Co, New York (1941)
  • Edwards, Harry Psychic Healing Spiritualist Press Ltd., London (1946)
  • Edwards, Harry Life in Spirit : with a Guide for the Development of Mediumship Healer Publishing Co. Ltd (1976)
  • Edwards, Harry The Power of Healing, Tandem Publishing (1967)
  • Edwards, Harry with Paul Miller The Science, Art and Future of Spirit Healing Healer Publishing Company, Ltd (1975)
  • Edwards, Harry, "The Healing Intelligence"
  • Edwards, Harry, "A Guide for the Development of Mediumship"
Newman, F Terry, "The Spiritual Healer" journal, Editor.

Select Bibliography[edit]

  • Branch, Ramus Harry Edwards : the Story of the Greatest Healer Since the Time of Christ Guildford (1982)
  • Miller, Paul Harry Edwards, the Healer The Spiritualist Press, London (1948)
  • Miller, Paul Born to Heal : a Biography of Harry Edwards, the Spirit Healer The Spiritualist Press, London (1962)
  • Barbanell, Maurice Harry Edwards and His Healing The Spiritualist Press, London (1953)

References[edit]

  1. ^ Jump up to: abcRedwood, Dawn ‘’ The Harry Edwards Spiritual Healing Sanctuary’’– brief biography
  2. ^ Jump up to: abcdBiography of Harry Edwards
  3. Jump up ^Harry Edwards Tribute website
  4. Jump up ^The ‘Archbishops’ Commission on Divine Healing’ in the National Church Institutions Database of Manuscripts and Archives
  5. Jump up ^Jason-Lloyd, Len ‘’Insight into Harry Edwards’’
  6. Jump up ^Louis Rose. (1954). Some Aspects of Paranormal Healing. The British Medical Journal. Volume 2, No. 4900. pp. 1329–1332.
  7. Jump up ^John Sladek. (1974). The New Apocrypha: A Guide to Strange Sciences and Occult Beliefs. Panther. pp. 120–124.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Harry_Edwards_(healer)&oldid=624404767"
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Surgeon From Another World

September 17, 2014, 4:07 am
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12:01AM BST 12 Aug 2006/Telegraph/Blogger Ref http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Multi-Dimensional_Science

       
George Chapman, who died on August 9 aged 85, was said to be one of Britain's most remarkable healers; for 60 years he treated patients from all walks of life, including celebrities and members of the medical profession, by going into a state of trance and allowing the spirit of William Lang to "operate" through him.
William Lang, the son of a wealthy merchant, had been an ophthalmic surgeon at London's Middlesex Hospital from 1880 to 1914, and his cultured tones from beyond the grave were a stark contrast to those of the Liverpudlian fireman through whom he spoke.
Some may have dismissed this vocal contrast as acting on George Chapman's part, but William Lang's daughter, Lyndon, and his grand-daughter, Susan Fairtlough, confirmed not only that his speech and mannerisms were as they remembered them, but also that they discussed events and people who would have been unknown to George Chapman, who was not even in his teens when Lang retired from private medical practice.
Chapman's "surgery" on his patients was carried out on their spirit (or etheric) bodies, from which the benefits were transferred to the subjects' physical bodies. Sceptics may have scoffed, but Chapman's supporters point to many astonishing healings achieved. He is credited with curing an inoperable and malignant brain tumour, among other cancers, as well as with improving various eye conditions and even lengthening a patient's leg. Chapman himself maintained that the purpose of his healing mission was to prove that there was life after death; the healings, he said, were secondary.
Born in Liverpool on February 4 1921, George William Chapman was brought up by his maternal grandparents after his mother died when he was five. Finding employment was difficult when he left school in Bootle, he took work as a garage hand, butcher and docker before becoming a professional boxer.
Having joined the Irish Guards in 1939, Chapman subsequently transferred to the Royal Air Force as an air gunner. In 1944 he was based at RAF Halton, near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, where he trained apprentices in unarmed combat, self-defence, small arms and battle drill.
It was at Aylesbury that year that he met and married Margaret May Dickinson. Their first child, Vivian, born in 1945, survived only four weeks. The Chapmans were devastated but, encouraged by a fellow fire officer (Chapman had joined the Fire Brigade after being demobbed), they used a glass-and-alphabet to receive spirit messages which reassured them that their daughter was alive and well in the next world.
These experiments also induced a trance state in Chapman, and a variety of "entities" spoke through him. In time, however, "Dr Lang" manifested himself, explaining that his mission was to heal the sick.
Over the years Laurence Harvey, Stanley Holloway, Patricia Neal, Barbara Cartland and Roald Dahl were among those said to have sought the spirit doctor's help.
So, too, did a dental surgeon, SG Miron, whose wife ironically had had the roof of her mouth perforated during a tooth extraction. No surgical procedure could cure the problem, but Lang's intervention caused the wound to heal, resulting in Miron writing a book, The Return of William Lang, about this and other remarkable cases.
Lyndon Lang was so impressed with Chapman's mediumship that she entered into a contract with him to hold twice monthly meetings at her home in London, to which she invited friends and medical contemporaries of her brother, Basil Lang (also a surgeon), most of whom had known William Lang. This arrangement continued for 10 years while Chapman served as a fireman and also held healing clinics, mostly in the Midlands.
When Chapman left the Fire Brigade in 1956, those meetings became weekly, but he also had more time to see patients and to travel. Eventually, he ran regular clinics in Paris and Lausanne, and carried out spirit operations in the United States, India and other parts of the world. Lyndon Lang showed her support for Chapman and his mediumship by leaving much of her estate to him on her death in May 1977.
By then, Chapman had moved to Pant Glas, close to Machynlleth, Wales. A healing clinic adjoined the house, where the medium slept in William Lang's bed, a gift from the surgeon's daughter.
George Chapman is survived by another daughter, Lana, and a son, Michael - a healer in his own right who assisted his father for more than 30 years.
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Psychic Detective

September 17, 2014, 4:13 am
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A psychic detective is a person who investigates crimes by using purported paranormalpsychic abilities. Examples have included postcognition (the paranormal perception of the past), psychometry (information psychically gained from objects), telepathy, dowsing, and remote viewing. In murder cases, psychic detectives may purport to be in communication with the spirits of the murder victims.
Although there are documented cases where individuals with psychic abilities have assisted police in solving crimes, there is considerable skepticism in regards to the general use of psychics under these circumstances.[1]


Prominent cases[edit]

Many prominent police cases, often involving missing persons, have received the attention of alleged psychics. Following the disappearance of Elizabeth Smart on June 5, 2002, the police received as many 9,000 tips from self-proclaimed psychics (and others crediting visions and dreams as their source).[2] Responding to these tips took "many police hours," according to Salt Lake City Police Chief Lieutenant Chris Burbank. Yet, Elizabeth Smart's father, Ed Smart, concluded that: "the family didn’t get any valuable information from psychics."[3] Smart was located by observant witnesses who recognized her abductor from a police photograph. No psychic was ever credited with finding Elizabeth Smart.
In the case of the Long Island serial killer, the psychic said the body would be found in a shallow grave, near water and a sign with a G in it would be nearby. Despite the vagueness of this claim (the body was not in a shallow grave, water is everywhere in Long Island, and no sign with a G was nearby) the New York Post stated that the "Psychic Nailed it!""More surprising than the psychic's failure is the fact that this information was described as an amazing success on over 70,000 websites without anyone realizing that she was completely wrong."[4]
When Washington, D.C. intern Chandra Levy went missing on May 1, 2001, psychics from around the world provided tips suggesting that her body would be found in places such as the basement of a Smithsonian storage building, in the Potomac River, and buried in the Nevada desert among many other possible locations.[5] Each tip led nowhere. A little more than a year after her disappearance, Levy's body was accidentally discovered by a man walking his dog in a remote section of Rock Creek Park.[6]
The case of Shawn Hornbeck received the attention of psychics after the eleven-year-old went missing on October 6, 2002. Most notably, self-proclaimed psychic Sylvia Browne appeared on The Montel Williams Show and provided the parents of Shawn Hornbeck a detailed description of the abductor and where Hornbeck could be found.[7] Browne responded "No" when asked if he was still alive. When Hornbeck was found alive more than four years later, few of the details given by Browne were correct. Shawn Hornbeck's father, Craig Akers, has stated that Browne's declaration was "one of the hardest things that we've ever had to hear," and that her misinformation diverted investigators wasting precious police time.[8][9]
In August, 2010, Aboriginal elder Cheryl Carroll-Lagerwey claimed to have seen the location of a missing child, Kiesha Abrahams, in her dream. The missing child's disappearance was being investigated by police. She took them to a location where a dead body was found, however it was of an adult woman and not the body of the child.[10][11]
A body was located in the US by Psychic Annette Martin. Dennis Prado, a retired US paratrooper, had gone missing from his apartment and police had been unable to locate his whereabouts. With no further leads, the chief investigating officer, Fernando Realyvasquez, a sergeant with the Pacifica (California) Police, contacted psychic detective Annette Martin. Prado had lived near a large forest, some 2000 square miles. Martin was given a map, she circled a small spot on the map, about the size of two city blocks. She said that Prado had struggled for breath, had died and his body would be there within the indicated area. She described the path he took, and where the body would be found. Although the area had been searched before and Prado had not been found, a search and rescue officer initiated a new search with the help of a search dog, as Martin suggested "A search dog is going to find him." They found the body covered with dirt at the location, as Martin had indicated. While the body had deteriorated, there was no evidence that he had been attacked and it is thought likely he had died of natural causes, as she also indicated.[12][13]
In 2001, the body of Thomas Braun was located by Perth based Aboriginal clairvoyant Leanna Adams in Western Australia. Police had initially been unable to find the body. The family of Braun had been told to contact Adams, an Aboriginal psychic who lived in Perth. The Braun family had requested police to do a search based on Adams’ directions but they had not assisted. Adams went to Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, and took the family members directly to Braun’s remains, a spot high on a ridge west of the town, some 20 kilometres out. The remains were not immediately identifiable. Police later confirmed the remains to be his using DNA testing.[14][15][16][17]
In Sydney, Australia in 1996, a Belgian born Sydney psychic, Phillipe Durant was approached by the fiance of missing Paula Brown to help locate her. Durante told police the location of the body of Brown. She was found less than two kilometres of the spot he had indicated in Port Botany, New South Wales, by a lorry driver who came across the body. "Even though the body was discovered purely by chance, the speculation by a clairvoyant appears to have been uncannily accurate," a police spokeswoman conceded. Durant had used a plumb bob and a grid map, combined with some hair from the victim.[18][19][20][21]

Official police responses[edit]

Many police departments around the world have released official statements saying that they do not regard psychics as credible or useful on cases.

In Australia[edit]

Australian police, officially, in general have said that they do not accept assistance from psychics. This was in response to an Australian TV show Sensing Murder in which self-professed psychics attempt to crack unsolved murders.[22]Western Australian Police have a policy that they do not contact psychics for assistance with investigations, however they will accept information contributed by psychics.[23] An unnamed Australian federal police officer was suspended following his seeking the aid of a clairvoyant in regards to death threats made against Prime Minister John Howard. A federal police spokesman said they do "not condone the use of psychics in security matters."[24] There are still cases of psychics professing to have trained with the Australian police and failing to provide credible evidence to support qualifications or evidence of being a psychic profiler or intuitive profiler with the Australian police.[25]
While official policy for police forces in Australia does not advocate the use of psychics for investigations, one former Detective Senior Constable, Jeffrey Little, has said police do use them "even though they officially say they don't".[26] Additionally, police in NSW have used psychic Debbie Malone on a number of cases.[27][28] While no evidence she has supplied has solved murders or missing investigations on their own.,[27][29][30] her evidence had been used to corroborate theories, and in one case, included in a coroner's brief on a case.[27] Little, in reference to one case she assisted on, felt her description of what happened was "exceptional", other officers also had been impressed by her assistance, while yet other NSW officers felt she had not helped solve any cases. Sergeant Gae Crea and Detective Sergeant Damian Loone, state that she did not give them anything the police and the public didn't already know. Crea recounts "I've dealt with a lot of psychics, but no one has ever said, 'I can see where the body is buried and I'll take you there'".[27][29][31]

In New Zealand[edit]

New Zealand police have said "spiritual communications were not considered a creditable foundation for investigation."[32]

In the United Kingdom[edit]

In 2006, 28 British police forces responded to a query from the Association for Rational Inquiry to say that they did not and have never used psychics, one force saying "We are unaware of any inquiries significantly progressed solely by information provided by a psychic medium."[1] In 2009, when the Metropolitan Police had denied the use of psychics and were then presented with emails suggesting the use of a psychic they made a press statement authorized by the senior investigating officer that was much more ambiguous: "We do not identify people we may or may not speak with in connection with inquiries. We are not prepared to discuss this further."[33]

In the United States[edit]

A 1993 survey of police departments in the 50 largest cities in the United States revealed that a third of them had accepted predictions from psychic detectives in the past, although only seven departments treated such information any differently from information from an ordinary source. No police department reported any instances of a psychic investigator providing information that was more helpful than other information received during the course of a case, since any information has to be proved, only information matching other evidence could be used.[34][35] A follow-up study looking at small and medium-sized cities in the United States, found that psychics were called upon by the police departments of those cities even less frequently than large cities.[36] A former senior investigator for the FBI has stated that psychics may be used "as a last resort [and] as an investigative tool with caution"[37] for providing clues not directly admissible in the court of law such as a criminal's character, or the location of dead bodies.[38][39]

Scientific studies[edit]

A number of tests have been conducted on psychics detectives, using control groups, to try to establish any psychic ability relating to crime solving. One of the earliest was carried out by Dutch Police officer, Fillipus Brink in 1960. He conducted a year long study of psychics, but found no evidence of any crime-solving abilities.[40] Another study was conducted in 1982 where evidence from four crimes was given to three groups; psychic detectives, students and police detectives. The clues related to four crimes, two crimes that had been solved, and two that had not been. The study found no difference between the three groups in ability to indicate what crimes had been committed by looking at the evidence.[41] Some flaws in the scientific method were apparent in these two tests. A further test was conducted in 1997, this test focusing on improving on the scientific methods used in the previous tests. This study used two groups, one consisting of three students from the University of Hertfordhire, the other group consisting of three psychics (two Psychic Detectives, and another Psychic who had a media profile and had been endorsed by police due to his abilities). The two groups were shown three objects associated with three serious crimes. They then advocated theories, but once again, no difference was found in terms of the accuracy between the two groups.[42]
To assess the claims of psychic crime-solving, the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (now Committee for Skeptical Inquiry) established a task force of investigators.[43] The group recorded many failures by psychics to provide useful information to criminal investigators, and felt that psychics may use "retrofitting" (or after-the-fact matching), offering vague clues, and then trying to retroactively fit them to details that are only discovered later.[43] In addition to cases of retrofitting, the apparent use of cold reading (a psychic's fishing for information while appearing to gain it paranormally), exaggeration, and examples where the psychic has used non-psychic sources of information, were also reviewed.[43][44]
In 2008 while being interviewed for the Skeptiko podcast, managing editor of Skeptical Inquirer Magazine, Ben Radford challenged the host Alex Tsakiris to give him the best case for evidence of a psychic solving a crime. Tsakiris had "repeatedly accused skeptical investigators of purposely choosing the weakest cases". Radford agreed to investigate in depth a case from any period in history, around the world, "that presented the gold standard for evidence". Tsakiris chose psychic Nancy Weber who in 2006 appeared on an episode of the Biography ChannelPsychic Investigators. Weber claimed to have helped the New Jersey police solve the serial murders of Amie Hoffman and Dierdre O'Brien from 1982. The police arrested James Koedatich in 1983 who was later found guilty of serial murder. Psychic Investigators interviewed Weber as well as the two police detectives she worked with, Hughes and Moore, who verified Weber had given them information she could not have known.[45][46][47]
Radford spent the next nine months reviewing the case, he and Tsakiris re-interviewed the detectives as well as the psychic on the Skeptiko podcast. Radford discovered that the detectives had not kept their notes from the case and their story had changed since the TV show aired, in fact he found that their stories now contradicted the psychic's story. A further discovery by Radford using a New Jersey phone book from 1982 found that if the psychic had indeed given the detectives all the evidence she claimed she had, the police could have discovered the killer with a 15 minute search through the phone book. Radford believes that the police and the psychic "simply fell prey to confirmation bias".[48][49]

Critical commentary[edit]

ABC's NightlineBeyond Belief program for August 17, 2011 featured psychic detectives and their involvement with the case of Ali Lowitzer. Typical of missing person cases, families are approached by people claiming they will help bring the missing home. "They told me, I see trees, water, dirt...but it is all very vague" according to Susan Lowitzer a mother whose daughter has been missing since April 26, 2010. Retired FBI agent and ABC consultant Brad Garrett states, "In 30 years...I have never seen a psychic solve a mystery". JREF investigator and mentalistBanachek feels that psychic detectives take advantage of families, "...because of fame and money, [they] step in and try to act like an authority". Banachek believes that not all psychic detectives are frauds, some are self-deluded and believe they are helping, but they "send police on wild-goose chases wasting precious time and resources". Psychic Georgia O'Conner states that Ali is dead, she was tortured and her body dismembered. When asked by ABC's JuJu Chang how can she tell parents this kind of information when she might be wrong, O'Conner replies "I can't let my ego get in the way of what I see". Despite the attention from psychic detectives Ali Lowitzer remains missing from her Spring, TX home.[50][51]
No psychic detective has ever been praised or given official recognition by the FBI or US national news for solving a crime, preventing a crime, or finding a kidnap victim or corpse.[52][53]
The Australian Institute of Criminology, Australia's official crime research agency, advises parents of missing children not resort to psychics who approach them.[54] Former FBI analyst and profiler Clint Van Zandt has criticized the use of psychic detectives and has stated that "What happens many times is that professed psychics allow themselves the benefit of 20/20 hindsight. After the case is solved, they make their previously vague predictions somehow fit the crime and the criminal."[55] A detailed 2010 study of Sylvia Browne predictions about 115 missing persons and murder cases has found that despite her repeated claims to be more than 85% correct, "Browne has not even been mostly correct in a single case."[56]

Belief in psychic detectives[edit]

Psychologists, researchers and other authors have posited a number of possible explanations for the belief that some can provide valuable crime information from psychic abilities.[57][58] The possible explanations include confirmation bias (or our natural tendency to favor information to confirm our beliefs), wishful thinking (which is the act of making decisions based upon what is appealing rather than reasoned), and retrofitting (or retroactively refining the specifics of a prediction after the facts are revealed).[58] The act of reinterpreting vague and nebulous statements made by psychic detectives is also referred to as the multiple out.[59] Taking advantage of these cognitive limitations is the practice of cold reading which creates the illusion of knowing specific information.[57] Additionally, police detectives and other authors suggest that psychic detectives appear successful due to making common-sense or high-probability predictions such as finding bodies at dump sites or "near water."[38][58]
While police departments claim they do not seek out or use psychics to solve crimes, they must follow up on all credible tips. If police do not refute this theory then "many in the public continue to believe that psychics are secretly employed by law enforcement" If the police state they do not use psychics then psychics claim that the police do not want to "share the credit" and are just covering up.[60][61]
Finally, the use of psychics may simply reduce anxiety and fill the emotional needs of individuals who must be experiencing great stress.[62][63]

In fiction[edit]

There is a long history of psychic detectives in horror and crime fiction, and in other genres as well. One of the earliest forms of the genre was the character Flaxman Low, created in 1897 by mother and son Kate and Hesketh Hesketh-Prichard.[64] Other examples include Jules de Grandin (created by Seabury Quinn), Doctor Occult (created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster) and Agent Jasi McLellan created by Cheryl Kaye Tardif.
The popular TV show, Psych features a charlatan paranormal detective helping the Santa Barbara police with crimes that range from robberies to kidnappings to murders. However, the man actually uses an acute sense of observation he acquired as a child; a photographic memory; excellent vision; and deduction and reasoning to solve cases, making a running gag of his claim to be a psychic.
In Douglas Adams's Dirk Gently novels, the titular character—a "holistic" detective—is implied to have psychic powers on occasion. One incident involved Gently attempting to scam his university classmates into paying for a set of answers to an exam, supposedly obtained using psychic powers that Gently did not think he had. To his surprise, the answers he provided, which he thought he had produced randomly, turned out to be entirely correct. He was expelled as a result.
Peter F. Hamilton wrote a series of books about the ex-military psychic Greg Mandel. In the series, Greg was a retired special forces soldier created as part of an elite spec-ops unit, the Mindstar Brigade, in the 'English Army', having fought a vicious war in Turkey and helped a rebellion overthrow the People's Socialist Party at home. Having won the rebellion he then retired to Rutland, suddenly being called out of retirement by the rich heirhess Julia Evans to use his psychic talents to find the root of industrial espionage against her company, Event Horizon [an organisation that was also integral to the overthrow of the communist government]. The series not only focuses on Greg's abilities, but also the abilities of other psychics created as part of the Mindstar Programme, the effects of social and economic change throughout the 21st century, global warming and rapid scientific advances. Greg regularly uses his abilities both for interrogation and as an offensive weapon.
The episode "Bart the Murderer" of The Simpsons depicts a psychic joining the hunt to find Principal Skinner.
The episode "Cartman's Incredible Gift" of South Park depicts a skeptical view of psychic detectives.
The Japanese manga and anime series Yu Yu Hakusho depicts a teenage boy named Yusuke Urameshi working as a Spirit Detective, which is a human who hunts down demons using supernatural abilities.

See also[edit]

Literature[edit]

  • Richard Wiseman, Donald West & Roy Stemman: An experimental test of psychic detection. In: Journal of the Society for Psychical Research. 1996, 61(842), 34-45 (PDF)

References[edit]

  1. ^ Jump up to: abJackson, John (2006-03-29). "Do the UK police use psychics?". Association for Critical Thinking (formerly known as the Association for Rational Inquiry). Retrieved 6 March 2014. 
  2. Jump up ^"Carla Baron, Psychic Detective?". Independent Investigations Group. Retrieved 2 September 2011. 
  3. Jump up ^Nickell, Joe (July–August 2005). "The Case of the Psychic Detectives". Skeptical Inquirer29.4. Retrieved 2 September 2011. 
  4. Jump up ^Ben Radford. "Psychic Tip on Long Island Serial Killer?". Discovery News. Retrieved 11 December 2011. 
  5. Jump up ^Horwitz, Sari (11 July 2008). "Who Killed Chandra Levy". The Washington Post. Retrieved 29 August 2011. 
  6. Jump up ^Twomey, Steve; Sari Horwitz (23 May 2002). "Chandra Levy's Remains Found in Park By Dog". The Washington Post. Retrieved 29 August 2011. 
  7. Jump up ^"Psychic Sylvia Browne Wrongly Tells Missing Boy's Parents He's Dead". Retrieved 28 August 2011. 
  8. Jump up ^"Sylvia Browne DEAD WRONG on CNN 360 Live Anderson Cooper 02". Retrieved 28 August 2011. 
  9. Jump up ^"Psychic Powers Debunked in Shawn Hornbeck Case?". ANDERSON COOPER 360 DEGREES. Retrieved 28 August 2011. 
  10. Jump up ^Arlington, Kim "Supernatural sleuths and the search for truth" The Sydney Morning Herald 30/12/2010, p4
  11. Jump up ^Cuneo, Clementine, The Daily Telegraph, August 13. Kiesha searches stumble on Corpse
  12. Jump up ^Martinez, Liz. "Looking into the crystal ball" Law Enforcement Technology July 2004 Vol. 31 No. 7
  13. Jump up ^Grace, Nancy CCN Report, November 23, 2005, CNNHN Aired November 24, 2005 - 20:00:00 ET http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0511/24/ng.01.html
  14. Jump up ^Butler, Paul Milton "DNA test proves body was Braun's" Centralian Advocate, 23/2/2003 p3
  15. Jump up ^Wilson-Clarke, Charlie “Nyoongar Sees End to Tourist Mystery” The West Australian 14 December 2002
  16. Jump up ^Morrison, Glenn “I know where Falconio’s body is” Northern Territory News 13 December 2002 p3
  17. Jump up ^Toohey,Paul "Searching for Peter Falconio" The Bulletin 8 March 2006 Volume 124; Number 11
  18. Jump up ^Harris, Sarah. "Did Paula speak from the grave? Investigators keep an open mind on psychics' claims in murder hunt" The Sunday Telegraph, May 19, 1996, Sunday
  19. Jump up ^Warnock, Steve "Chilling vision came true; 'A life means nothing to some people'" The Sun Herald May 19, 1996 Sunday Pg. 36
  20. Jump up ^No Author Information "Psychic's Pendulum Led Way" The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, Australia) May 15, 1996
  21. Jump up ^Jones, Gemma "Forensic Psychics Get It Right Sometimes" The Daily Telegraph (Australia) April 11, 2006 Tuesday p 23
  22. Jump up ^Crawford, Carly (2004-09-26). "Yard hunt for clues on Sarah". Sunday Herald Sun (Melbourne, Australia). Retrieved 25 May 2007. 
  23. Jump up ^Cox, Nichole - Police Reporter "Psychic help not banned" 5 July 2009 Sunday Times (Perth)1 - Street, p 10
  24. Jump up ^Shanahan, Leo; Duff, Eamonn; Koutsoukis, Jason (2006-04-09). "The police, the PM and the psychic". The Age (Melbourne, Australia). Retrieved 25 May 2007. 
  25. Jump up ^Suranyi, Julianna; R. T. Carroll (2011-02-15). "Psychic Intuitive Profiling for Parents". "The Skeptics Dictionary" (Sydney, Australia). Retrieved 17 March 2011. 
  26. Jump up ^Arlington, Kim. "Supernatural Sleuths and the Search for Truth" 30 December 2010 The Sydney Morning Herald, p4.
  27. ^ Jump up to: abcdKamper, Angela "Dead men do tell tales" Daily Telegraph, 1 - State p 30/5/2009 p32
  28. Jump up ^Hasham, Nicole "Psychic's murder clues" Illawarra Mercury 10 September 2010
  29. ^ Jump up to: abCardy, Todd "Rayney Clue Hunt" 17/1/2010 Sunday Times p4
  30. Jump up ^Thomson, Owen. "Eyes Wide Shut" 21/12/2003 Sun Herald p 21
  31. Jump up ^"Dead men do tell tales after all, says clairvoyant Debbie Malone". Dead men do tell tales after all, says clairvoyant Debbie Malone. 2009-05-30. Retrieved 21 September 2011. 
  32. Jump up ^"Police reject psychic advice". Bay Of Plenty Times (NZ newspaper). Retrieved 21 May 2007. 
  33. Jump up ^Barnes, Hannah (2009-11-23). "Can psychics help to solve crime??". BBC. Retrieved 22 November 2009. 
  34. Jump up ^Ayers Sweat, Jane; Mark W Durm (Winter 1993). "Psychics: Do Police Departments Really Use Them?". Skeptical Inquirer. Retrieved 4 March 2009. 
  35. Jump up ^Radford, Benjamin (2010-05-10). "Missing Persons and Abductions Reveal Psychics' Failures". Science Daily. Retrieved 10 May 2010. 
  36. Jump up ^Durm, Mark; Joe Nickell; Jane Ayers Sweat (1994). Update: Psychics -- Do Police Departments Really Use Them in Small and Medium-Sized Cites?. Prometheus Books. pp. 224–235. ISBN 0-87975-880-5. 
  37. Jump up ^John Douglas, Mark Olshaker, Mind Hunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit, Pocket Books; 11th THUS edition (August 1, 1996), p.137 ISBN 0-671-52890-4
  38. ^ Jump up to: abRobert Kessler, Tom Schachtman, Whoever Fights Monsters: My Twenty Years Tracking Serial Killers for the FBI, St. Martin's Paperbacks (March 15, 1993) p.270. ISBN 0-312-95044-6
  39. Jump up ^Noreen Renier, A Mind for Murder: The Real-Life Files of a Psychic Investigator, Hampton Roads Pub Co; Revised edition (May 9, 2008) p.13 ISBN 1-57174-573-4
  40. Jump up ^Wiseman, Richard and West, Donald "An Experimental Test of Psychic Detection" The Police Journal p 19
  41. Jump up ^Wiseman, Richard and West, Donald "An Experimental Test of Psychic Detection" The Police Journal p 20
  42. Jump up ^Wiseman, Richard and West, Donald "An Experimental Test of Psychic Detection" The Police Journal p 24
  43. ^ Jump up to: abcNickell, Joe (1994). Joe Nickell, ed. Psychic Sleuths: ESP and Sensational Cases. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books. p. 251. ISBN 0-87975-880-5. 
  44. Jump up ^Nickell, Joe (2007). Adventures in Paranormal Investigation. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky. p. 320. ISBN 0-8131-2467-0. 
  45. Jump up ^"The Great Psychic Detective Challenge". Skepticality. 2009-05-19. Retrieved 7 January 2012. 
  46. Jump up ^"151. Science Journalist Ben Radford "Believes" Psychic Detective". Skeptiko. 2011-11-01. Retrieved 7 January 2012. 
  47. Jump up ^Radford, Ben (March–April 2010). "The Psychic and the Serial Killer: Examining the 'Best Case' for Psychic Detectives". Skeptical Inquirer (Committee for Skeptical Inquiry) 34 (2): 32–37. 
  48. Jump up ^"Episode #017". Desert Air. 2011-12-04. Retrieved 7 January 2012. 
  49. Jump up ^"153. Skepticality Hosts Skeptiko, Blake Smith, Ben Radford, Karen Stollznow". Skeptiko– Science at the Tipping Point. 2011-11-16. Retrieved 7 January 2012. 
  50. Jump up ^"Primetime Nightline: Beyond Belief Psychic Power". ABC Nightline. August 17, 2011. Retrieved 19 August 2011. 
  51. Jump up ^"Alexandria Lowitzer". April 2010. Retrieved 4 September 2011. 
  52. Jump up ^The Blue Sense: Psychic Detectives and Crime by Arthur Lyons and Marcello Truzzi, Ph. D., Mysterious Press, 1991
  53. Jump up ^Psychic Sleuths: ESP and Sensational Cases by Joe Nickell, Prometheus Press, 1994
  54. Jump up ^Australian Institute of Criminology (2004). "Help for children and families". Missing children : advice, information and preventative action. Archived from the original on 2007-08-30. Retrieved 31 March 2007. 
  55. Jump up ^Van Zandt, Clint (17 August 2005). "Shoe leather, not sixth sense, breaks cases open". MSNBC. Retrieved 10 May 2007. 
  56. Jump up ^Shafer R, Jadwiszczok A. "Psychic defective: Sylvia Browne's history of failure."Skeptical Inquirer 34(2):38-42, 2010
  57. ^ Jump up to: abWiseman, Richard (2011). Paranormality: Why we see what isn't there. Spin Solutions. ISBN 978-0-9568756-2-4. 
  58. ^ Jump up to: abcRadford, Benjamin (2010). Scientific Paranormal Investigation. Rhombus Publishing. p. 185. ISBN 978-0-936455-11-2. 
  59. Jump up ^Hines, Terence (2003). Pseudoscience and the Paranormal. Prometheus Books. p. 59. ISBN 1-57392-979-4. 
  60. Jump up ^Ben Radford. "Psychic led police to Texas mass grave hoax? Police can't ignore a lead or tip even if it comes from a psychic". MSN. Retrieved 11 December 2011. 
  61. Jump up ^Ben Radford. "Psychic Fiasco: Texas Mass Murder Raid a Hoax". Discovery News. Retrieved 11 December 2011. 
  62. Jump up ^Alcock, James; Nickell, Joe (1994). Afterword: An Analysis of Psychic Sleuths' Claims. Prometheus Books. pp. 179–180. ISBN 0-87975-880-5. 
  63. Jump up ^Shermer, Michael (1997). Why People Believe Weird Things. W.H. Freeman and Company. p. 5. ISBN 0-7167-3090-1. 
  64. Jump up ^Parker, Eric (1924). Hesketh Prichard D.S.O., M.C.: Explorer, Naturalist, Cricketer, Author, Soldier: A Memoir. T Fisher Unwin. pp. 36–42. 

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The Emerging Science of Human Potential

September 17, 2014, 4:28 am
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Written By: Danielle Graham/Super Conciousness Magazine Blog
Blogger Ref http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Multi-Dimensional_Science



What will our institutions of science be studying in 50 or 100 years? What questions will scientists be asking? What problems will they be addressing and solving? How far will our scientific understanding of nature, life and ourselves have evolved and what unknowns will we still be exploring?
The Emerging Science of Human Potential - Introducing the Science and Spirituality Blog
There are presently a handful of vocal and visible theorists projecting their ideas about the direction in which science will evolve. However, they generally project concepts or technologies based on already existing theoretical speculation. What is interesting is that the great paradigm shifts that advance science have never sprung from existing precepts. Instead, transformational scientific theories and belief systems always emerge once enough anomalies are recognized to challenge the status quo of existing conventions. Scholar Thomas Kuhn provides excellent evidence supporting how such evolutionary leaps occur in his landmark treatise, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, a worthy read for scientists and non-scientist alike.
Our sciences are currently marginalized into three broad categories: physical, (physics, chemistry, engineering, etc.), biological (neurology, genetics, botany, etc.), and social (psychology, sociology, history, etc.). Even though research conducted in multidisciplinary teams is a developing context in which scientific data is accumulated, very little of this research is yet focused on exploring the frontiers of innate human ability. Thus, there are very few predictors for a science of human potential since academic environments as a whole are not yet peering in this direction.
Further, these artificial divisions of scientific inquiry are inconsistent with our actual experiences of life. For instance, when I inhale the rich aroma of a gorgeous Casablanca lily, I experience an emotional reaction of sheer ecstasy, and my brain is flooded with a cascade of neurotransmitters, signaling a multitude of physiological processes throughout my body. Or, if I stand on a waterfront dock captivated by the fading glow of the sun disappearing into the horizon, again, my body experiences an emotional reaction while neurologically stimulating the flooding of chemical responses that were not active only moments ago. Thus, my experience of the physical world evokes emotional responses, which then directly correlate with neurological processes, all of which generate subtle electromagnetic fields: a continuous interface and exchange of information and energy with the world around me. What are studied as separate fields of science is experienced as seamless and interconnected reality throughout life.
While science continues to explore in mostly reductionistic directions, so, too, do those who are trained in this rigorous yet often fractionated mindset. This minimizes the consideration of comprehensive models that would open the door to potential paradigm shifts. Consequently, what is missing is not simply the more multi-disciplinary perspective, but the concurrent inquiries that lead us in a greater, more visionary direction.
Once we begin to ideate and train in more comprehensive scientific systems of inquiry that better model our experience of life, we will inevitably ask questions about our impact on, and our interactivity and interconnectedness with, the whole of life. Scientific inquiry will expand to reflect our rich experience of life, becoming much more exciting and captivating in its study.
It is the premise of this column that many of our current, fundamental scientific assumptions will not sustain the significant impact of the emerging pool of human-generated anomalous research data. Rigorous evidence is building which supersedes the current models, clearly moving us toward a more unified understanding of the scope of human beings as well as our innate human potential. Additionally, the integration of these understandings into our cultures and schools will revolutionize the sciences and technologies of the future.
Thus, what the future of science promises truly is an expansion into an understanding of the greater part of us, the unlimited capacity within us, becoming an adventure of ultimate discovery.
Danielle Graham is the Founder and Executive Director of the NW Frontier Research Institute (NWFRI) in WA State. NWFRI’s experimental research is focused on human-generated gravitational and electromagnetic anomalies and is published by the American Institute of Physics.
References
Kuhn, Thomas, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (3rd ed., Univ. of Chicago Press, 1996).
A personal thanks
I would like to acknowledge Dr. Radu Auf der Heyde for contributing his insights as well as engaging in discussions on genius, creativity and idea execution. Friend, colleague and confidant, Radu escorted me to his alma mater, Stanford, instigating fruitful discussions on everything from spacebased gravitational wave experiments to cutting edge fMRI neurological research. Time and again, Radu inspired a significant depth of contemplation and idea formulation throughout the process of generating this issue’s content. Though he did not formally participate in editorial meetings or pen any articles, his contributions are implicitly present throughout this first issue nonetheless.
With deepest affection, thank you


About the Author: Danielle Graham is a founding editor and current Editor-in-Chief of SuperConsciousness Magazine, and is a published (American Institute of Physics) experimental researcher. She is primarily interested in contributing to and advancing scientific understanding generally, and evolving the field of physics specifically — relational to human mind.



























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Inside the Strange New World of DIY Brain Stimulation

September 19, 2014, 9:13 am
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 Ward Sutton
When Brent Williams got to RadioShack that day in the spring of 2012, he knew exactly what he was looking for: a variable resistor, a current regulator, a circuit board, and a 9-volt battery. The total came to around $20. Williams is tall and balding, with wire-rim glasses that make him look like an engineer, which he is. He directs a center on technology in education at Kennesaw State University and is the kind of guy who spends his free time chatting up people on his ham radio or trying to glimpse a passing comet with his telescope. But this project was different.
When he got home, he took his supplies into his office. He heated up his soldering iron, hoping his wife wouldn’t see what he was up to. He fished a few wires out of his desk and built a simple circuit. Using alligator clips, he connected the circuit to two kitchen sponges soaked in saline and strapped them to his head with a sweatband. He positioned one sponge just above his right eyebrow and the other up high on the left side of his forehead. Then he snapped the battery into place, turned a small dial, and sent an electric current into his brain.
Turn the red knob to adjust the current flowing to your brain.  Gregory Miller
It’s been nearly two years since Williams cobbled together his first device, and he has been electrifying his brain two to three times a week ever since. Often he does it for about 25 minutes in the evening while reading on the couch. Sometimes it’s while he’s doing laundry or other chores. It’s become just another part of his routine, like brushing his teeth.
Williams got the idea from a news story about how Air Force researchers were studying whether brain stimulation could cut pilot training time. The military is not alone in thinking that brain zapping may improve mental function. In recent years, the method—technically known as transcranial direct current stimulation—has caught the interest of academic researchers. British neuroscientists have claimed it can make people better at learning math. A team at Harvard has found promise for depression and chronic pain. Others are looking into using it to treat tinnitus and eating disorders and to speed up stroke recovery. Hundreds of papers have been published, and clinical trials are under way.
Though these are still early days for the research—many of the studies are small and the effects modest—it has inspired largely enthusiastic media coverage (“the electric thinking cap that makes you cleverer … and happier!” one British newspaper gushed) and spawned a community of DIY brain zappers.
Williams is one of its leaders. The treatments have made a huge difference in his life, he says. He retains more information from the tedious journal articles he has to read for work, and he feels more creative. On his blog, SpeakWisdom, he posts technically detailed reviews of stimulation devices and cheerfully gives advice to anyone considering trying it for the first time. He’s got lots of company. Asubreddit devoted to the practice has nearly 4,000 subscribers who actively follow the scientific research and share tips on where to place the electrodes on your head if, say, you’re depressed, too impulsive, or just want to amp up your creativity.
Williams is spreading the brain-zapping idea closer to home too. He has built brain stimulators for his wife (he couldn’t keep the secret very long) and several friends and acquaintances. All in all, he has persuaded at least a dozen people to give it a try. One says she’s gone off antidepressants for the first time in 20 years. Another says brain stimulation is helping him get his ADD under control. Several ambitious middle-­aged professionals say the devices have boosted their memory and focus.
 Gregory Miller
Entrepreneurs are starting to get in on the action. A company called foc.us has already planted a flag with a commercial brain-stimulation headset released last year. It’s marketed as a gadget for videogamers looking to improve their skills, thus skirting the need for FDA approval. The first batch of 3,000 sold out in just a few months. So did the second.
With easy access to the research, the equipment, and each other, self-experimenters aren’t consulting their doctors or waiting for scientific consensus. They’re zapping first and asking questions as they go.
In October I meet some of Williams’ converts at a barbecue he is hosting with his wife, Madge, at their four-­bedroom house in a quiet neighborhood of mature trees and well-tended lawns outside Atlanta. The first to arrive are Tom and Susan Tillery, a couple in their midfifties bearing a plate of brownies. While Brent tends the grill and Susan helps Madge in the kitchen, I ask Tom what kind of results he is noticing from the brain stimulation. He compares it to a runner’s high: not euphoria but a sense of wellness and calm. He assures me he’s not just doing it to achieve inner peace, though. “I’m doing it to be better at life,” he says. It’s not like electrotherapy will turn any dumb schmuck into an intellectual superstar, he says, but it puts you closer to the top of whatever game you’ve got.
Susan tried it first. She’d heard about it from Madge, who’d been stimulating her brain to improve her memory. Madge, who likes to memorize scripture, says the stimulation has improved her retention dramatically. Susan admits she was skeptical at first, but she was impressed to find out that researchers at Harvard were looking into it. “I was so intrigued,” Susan tells me. She decided to see what it could do for her. The Tillerys own a busy financial planning firm with offices in four states, and she figured she could use some extra focus.
 Ward Sutton
She started stimulating her brain a few times a week. “I put it on while I’m reading the Bible, so it goes by quickly,” she says. It gave her greater mental clarity. “It just kind of took the fogginess away.”
It’s a rare thing for a scientist to stand up in front of a roomful of his peers and rip apart a study from his own lab. But that’s exactly what Vincent Walsh did in September at a symposium on brain stimulation at the UC Davis Center for Mind and Brain. Walsh is a cognitive neuroscientist at University College London, and his lab has done some of the studies that first made a splash in the media. One, published in Current Biology in 2010, found that brain stimulation enhanced people’s ability to learn a new number system based on made-up symbols.
Only it didn’t really.
“It doesn’t show what we said it shows; it doesn’t show what people think it shows,” Walsh said before launching into a dissection of his paper’s flaws. They ranged from the technical (guesswork about whether parts of the brain are being excited or inhibited) to the practical (a modest effect with questionable impact on any actual learning outside the lab). When he finished this devastating critique, he tore into two more studies from other high-profile labs. And the problems aren’t limited to these few papers, Walsh said, they’re endemic in this whole subfield of neuroscience.
 Ward Sutton
Another crucial issue is how to rule out placebo effects. Though the current flowing through the brain during stimulation is almost imperceptible (it’s about a thousand times less than what’s used in electroconvulsive therapy), a slight tingling sensation under the electrodes can be a giveaway. Scientists are still grappling with the best way to deal with that.
A previous speaker had shown a slide with a curve illustrating the typical hype cycle for new technology. It starts with a steep rise to the “peak of inflated expectations,” then plunges into the “trough of disillusionment,” before finally reaching a “plateau of productivity.” Researchers at the meeting seemed to agree that brain stimulation was somewhere near the peak, and Walsh said the sooner they turn the corner the better. “It would do the field a service if we took a head dive into that trough of disillusionment and swam around in it for a while,” he said. There was nervous laughter in the audience. The DIY crowd, meanwhile, puts scientists in an awkward position. On one hand, the researchers genuinely believe the technique has potential. Some of them have filed for patents and started companies. For both selfish and scientific reasons, they don’t want the self-experimenters ruining it for everyone by getting hurt or creating an aura of kookiness around the thing.
Still, they’re reluctant to condemn the tinkerers outright. “You have to respect people’s autonomy,” says Roy Hamilton, a neurologist at the University of Pennsylvania. Hamilton and his colleagues have even considered making a safety video aimed at the DIY crowd. “We’ve talked at some length about whether that would be a socially responsible thing for clinicians to do.” They still haven’t decided.
 Ward Sutton
Before I leave Atlanta I visit James Fugedy, a physicianwho offers brain stimulation treatment at his small office. Fugedy is 65, with salt-and-pepper hair, a mustache, and glasses that give him a slightly owlish appearance. He electrifies his own brain several times a week and says he appreciates the boost it has given his memory.
Fugedy may be the only doctor in the country who trains people to stimulate their own brains and sends them home with a kit. In a way, he represents a narrow middle ground between the scientific establishment and the DIY community. Patients willing to pony up $2,400 get a four-hour consultation in his office, medical-grade equipment, and follow-ups by Fugedy, usually via Skype.
The day I visit, he has arranged for two of his patients to stop by. Hellen Owens has been coming to Fugedy for nine years, driving an hour and a half from her home in rural Bremen, Georgia. Dressed head to toe in burgundy velour, she rocks slowly back and forth on Fugedy’s examination table as we talk, gently massaging one hand with the other. At 57, she has suffered chronic pain that she attributes to fibromyalgia. Her previous doctor gave her epidural injections that helped for 20 minutes or so before the agony returned. “It was like my bones were going to explode,” she says. Brain stimulation hasn’t cured her, not nearly. But she’s convinced she’d be bedridden without it.
The other patient, Deborah Ellis, says brain stimulation has relieved her chronic pain—doctors also diagnosed her with fibromyalgia—and the depression that came with it. “I no longer spend every day thinking I don’t want to live,” she says.
It’s impossible not to sympathize with them. It’s also impossible to know what’s really going on. Placebo effects can be strong for depression and pain conditions, but Fugedy says it’s not in his patients’ minds. He has treated more than 300 people with overwhelmingly positive results, though he acknowledges that those results are just anecdotal. It’s the research that’s made him a believer.
It was basically the same thing I’d heard from the Williamses and their friends. They all trusted the scientific data, even if the scientists weren’t entirely convinced by it themselves. They felt it worked for them, and they’ve seen it work for their friends. They’re convinced it would work for others if they would only give it a try.
When I’d visited Brent Williams the day before, he told me he’d recently gotten an email from a psychiatrist in Los Angeles who was interested in trying brain stimulation with some of his patients. Williams was fantasizing a bit about the possibility that some Hollywood celebrity might use it and talk to Oprah or do an interview with People magazine and tell the world about it. That, he says, would be awesome.
As he was talking he plucked several sponges from a glass of saline solution he keeps on the kitchen counter. He popped them into his foc.us headset and put it on. He tapped a button at the back of his head and the device buzzed to indicate it was working. I watched his face closely. He didn’t twitch or blink or even stop talking for a second, but the current was flowing through his brain.
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Scientists Demonstrate Remarkable Evidence Of Dream Telepathy Between People

September 19, 2014, 9:21 am
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dream
 Dream telepathy suggests that human beings have the ability to communicate telepathically with another person while they are dreaming. This isn’t a new concept, scientific interest in telepathy dates back to the fathers of the psychoanalytic movement. Freud, for example, considered telepathy and the implications of it with regards to psychoanalytic thought. He also considered dream telepathy, or the telepathic influence of thought on dreaming on multiple occasions. Carl Jung believed in the telepathic hypothesis without question, and even developed a theoretical system to explain “paranormal” events of this nature. (2)
All great minds seem to encourage the study of various types of non-physical phenomena.
“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
“A wealth of anecdotal and clinical material exist which supports the possibility of telepathic effects occurring in dreams (Krippner, 1974). However, an experimental approach to the topic did not become possible until psycho-physiological laboratory technology became available. It was discovered that sleeping research participants awakened from periods of rapid eye movement (REM) activity were frequently able to recall dream episodes. As a result, it was possible to request a “telepathic receiver” to attempt dreaming about a target stimulus that was being focused on in a distant location from a telepathic sender.” (source)

Experiments and Results

In the mid 1960′s, Montague Ullman, MD, began a number of experiments at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York to test the hypothesis that sleeping people could dream about randomly selected material that they were targeting to dream about. In other words, they could choose what they wanted to dream about, some examples include artwork, movies, photographs and more. Shortly after these experiments began, she was joined by Stanley Krippner. Krippner is a PhD., and professor of psychology at Saybrook University, he has a very impressive background when it comes to the scientific study of dreams, psychology and parapsychology.
The experiments they conducted lasted a span of more than 10 years, and “yielded statistically significant results.”
During the experiments, there was usually a “telepathic sender” and a “telepathic receiver.” They met in the laboratory for a short period of time before being placed in completely separate rooms just before they went to sleep. The “telepathic” sender had an envelope waiting for them in the room in which they’d sleep. The envelope would contain something like a picture or a drawing. The “receivers” were then purposely awakened shortly after Rapid Eye Movement sleep (REM) and the researchers took a dream report.

degasA Very Significant Session

One very memorable and significant session of dream telepathy experimentation took place where the selected art print was “School of Dance” by Degas, which depicted a dance class of several young women. According to Krippner, the “receivers” dream reports included such phrases as “I was in a class made up of maybe half a dozen people, it felt like a school,” and “There was one little girl that was trying to dance with me.” These results are extremely fascinating, the idea that one can influence another’s dream is quite remarkable. Although we might not understand the process behind the transfer of information, and we can’t see this transfer take place from mind to mind, the phenomenon was well documented and real, yet void of any scientific understanding or explanation. This is quite common when we examine scientific studies that have evaluated parapsychological phenomena. It’s real, observed, yet we don’t quite understand ‘how.’
Another significant session conducted by Krippner and Ullman took place on March 15th 1970. In this session, a large group of people at a Holy Modal Rounders rock concert were selected as the “telepathic senders.” A local media artist by the name of Jean Millay took responsibility to ready the “telepathic senders” for “target preparation.” She did this with help from the Lidd Light Company, a group of artists that were responsible for the light show at the concert. Millay gave the audience a brief verbal set of directions before the image was flashed on the large screen that the “telepathic” senders were looking at. Six slide projectors were used to project a color film about eagles and their nesting habits as well as information about various birds from around the world, including information about the mythological Phoenix. This all happened at the same time Holy Modal Rounders were playing their song, “If you want to be a bird.”
 There were five volunteer “telepathic receivers” for this experiment, and they were all located within a one hundred mile radius from the “telepathic senders.” All of the receivers were aware of the concert location and were told to record their images at midnight because that was when the material to be sent by the senders would be exposed to them.
 “One “telepathic receiver,” Helen Andrews, had the impression of “something mythological, like a griffin or a phoenix.” The second, third and fourth research participants reported images of “a snake,” “grapes,” and “an embryo in flames.” The fifth participant was Richie Havens, the celebrated American singer and recording artist, who reported closing his eyes at midnight and visualizing “a number of seagulls flying over water.” Both Mr. Havens and Ms. Andrews reports represented direct correspondences with the target material.”(source)
More remarkable results were seen when the rock group “Grateful Dead” also volunteered to participate in a dream telepathy session over a span of six nights. You can read more about that (and other results) here. These results were actually published by the American Psychological Association (1)
These are usually the instructions given to the subjects that participate in these experiments.
1. You are about to participate in an ESP experiment. 

2. In a few seconds you will see a picture. 

3. Try using your ESP to “send” this picture to the receiver.

4. The receiver will try to dream about this picture. Try to “Send” it to them. 

5. Then, receivers will be made aware of the senders location

Possible Explanations?

Quantum physics has shed light on the vast interconnectedness of everything in the universe. One possible explanation is quantum entanglement.  For example, two electrons that are created together, if you send one to the other side of the universe, the other will respond instantly, distance doesn’t matter. This is one way of interpreting how everything is really connected in some way. Einstein called it “spooky actions at a distance.”  For a great visual demonstration of this, click here.
The truth of the matter is that there is no explanation and scientists are unable to give an explanation. They were only able to observe what was taking place, which again,  is very common for parapsychological phenomenon.
At the same time, these experiments involve dreams, a completely different and altered state of “reality” that we really don’t know much about. It’s a world separate (or at least we think) from the world in which we are “awake.” Although the world we perceive when we are awake could just be a dream. We could go on and on with these questions, and continue contemplating forever.

Parasychological Phenomenon Has Been Proven and Documented All Over The World

Parapsychological (PSI) phenomena, and studies examining the role of consciousness and its influence on our physical material world has been studied, documented, observed and proven (over and over again) by a number of renowned scientists in a number of laboratories all over the world. The Department of Defense has had a huge interest in it (and have studied it) for a number of years, yet the scientific study of it is concealed from the public and left out of universities and mainstream science, which is not fair, and not right. It’s not like we don’t have this information, some of this documentation and these publications are available in the public domain. CE has covered these in depth, and the link below will take you where you want to go, to an article that is well sourced with lots of information. There are more examples on our website, so if this sparks your interest feel free to browse through it and look for more!
Sources:
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Mystery of Death Solved: DMT is the Key

September 23, 2014, 4:15 am
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death pineal gland blue
www.lightworker.com

We now know what happens at death:

Resting comfortably in the recessed center of your brain, encased snugly within the corpus colossum, wrapped tightly between the dual-hemispheres of spongy nerve bundles, encased in the quarter-inch-thick armor-plating of skull, finally surrounded by your main and expressive organs with which you face the world, exists a tiny gland, long considered vestigial (serving little to no function), that holds the key to our interpretation of existence as we know it.  I’m speaking of the pineal gland. This minute spec, roughly the size of a grain of rice, is more heavily protected than even the heart with its literal cage of protection, because if something happens to your heart you die, but if something happens to your pineal, you can’t go to heaven.

Never heard of it?

This pineal gland has influences on both melatonin and pinoline, but our interest is in the gland’s role in the creation of dimethyltriptamine, or DMT. This chemical, DMT, may well be the reason we, as a species, are capable of sentience itself.

I’m not a chemist; break it down.

First, DMT is a narcotic, schedule 1. It’s scheduled as a highly illegal substance all over the planet, largely because DMT is one of the most potent psychedelics known to man. Intensely powerful. Yet, every day your pineal produces this stuff.
Secondly, DMT is the chemical that elicits dreams. That’s right. Each night as you drift to slumber-land, not only are you tripping on a psychedelic, but you’re also premeditatedly committing a federal offence; possession or consumption of DMT could land you a felony charge.
And third, this illegal gateway to dreamland is released in massive amounts at the moment of death. When I say massive, if a water glass of DMT evokes a dream, at death, an equivalent river excretes into your system. Any druggies reading this?

How have I not heard of this before?

Well, the pineal’s significance is neither a new idea, nor an unfounded one. Spanning the expanse of human civilization runs an undercurrent of worshipful adoration to the almighty pineal, more widely known as the inner eye, all-seeing eye, or the like – considered the body’s gateway to the soul.
www.magicdinero.com
www.magicdinero.com
Egypt had its Eye of Horus (now emblazoned on the US dollar bill). Hindu culture has its bottu (the familiar forehead dot). Even the ancient art of yoga recognizes the brow chakra, or ajna, as blossoming at the pineal, or third eye. That’s only to name a few.
The hell you say! The truth behind the cult of the pineal has gone largely unnoticed collectively, though the symbols themselves have been downright ubiquitous. Tibetan Buddhists, as well, have long carried a belief that the soul enters the fetus precisely 49 days after conception. Likely, reading this, you are not a Tibetan Buddhist – their numbers fall less than 20 million – and whether you subscribe to an eternal soul or not isn’t the point, because day 49 is the moment the pineal is formed in a fledgling brain.

Great, so what does all this have to do with death?

Well, on an experiential  level, shrooms distort perception, coke smacks you with raw energy, ecstasy grants superpower orgasms (ladies), and most notably, weed slows time– time distortion seems to go hand in hand with most psychedelics as well – so time passage then is totally subjective. Ask Einstein.
Meanwhile, among DMT smokers, out of the macrocosm of potential experiences, two major themes emerge nearly universally:
1) A stretching of time – they experience the hectic 6 or 7 minutes as a near eternity or lifetime. Imagine Cobb’s 50 year night in Inception.
2) They experience religious incarnations with a tilt toward whatever sect the subject is affiliated with.
Here’s the clincher: after death, while this massive psychedelic dose courses through the brain, there is this mysterious several minutes where the brain still functions. With our new perspective, however, we at last understand what these minutes are…
These few minutes after death, subjectively, are experienced as an eternity, engrossed in the DMT universe. Also, the trip itself is a highly personal experience dictated by the deepest realms of the subconscious.
Therefore, whatever at your deepest core you expect to happen when you die… Congratulations, that’s what’ll happen… Every religion was right.
Mystery solved. Peace on earth.
If you’re resourceful, you can find this stuff and try it. The bigger question now is: do you really want to know where you’ll be spending eternity?

Sources:
Vestigial
Pineal Gland
University of Wisconsin: Creation of DMT
Medical Hypothesis: Endogenous Hallucinogenics Central to Nervous System
Medical Hypothesis: Visions of Dream Sleep
DMT the Spirit Molecule 
Erowid N,N DMT Legal Status
Third Eye
Third Eye Images and Symbols Around the World
The Tibetan Book of the Dead
The Universe-Solved!
Theory of Relativity
Erowid: DMT Experience Reports
PopSci: The First Few Minutes After Death
Baseline of Health Foundation: Brain Functions Even After Death

About Jesse Davis Jr.

Always on the go in no particular direction, I get this wild gypsy hankering every few months to am-skray the hell outta dodge to greener pastures, but I'm starting to suspect each is the same shade. So my true home, other than wherever I lay my hat, has always been amongst you people, the miscreants of the inter-web. Hi friends.
                                                             Wonder about your world...

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Radical New Theory Could Kill the Multiverse Hypothesis

September 23, 2014, 4:21 am
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  • By Natalie Wolchover, Quanta Magazine  (reprinted in Wired)
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Blogger Ref Link http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Multi-Dimensional_Science
694341main1_m69Full
Globular cluster Messier 69. ESA/NASA

Though galaxies look larger than atoms and elephants appear to outweigh ants, some physicists have begun to suspect that size differences are illusory. Perhaps the fundamental description of the universe does not include the concepts of “mass” and “length,” implying that at its core, nature lacks a sense of scale.
PrintOriginal story reprinted with permission from Quanta Magazine, an editorially independent division of SimonsFoundation.org whose mission is to enhance public understanding of science by covering research developments and trends in mathematics and the physical and life sciences.
This little-explored idea, known as scale symmetry, constitutes a radical departure from long-standing assumptions about how elementary particles acquire their properties. But it has recently emerged as a common theme of numerous talks and papers by respected particle physicists. With their field stuck at a nasty impasse, the researchers have returned to the master equations that describe the known particles and their interactions, and are asking: What happens when you erase the terms in the equations having to do with mass and length?
Nature, at the deepest level, may not differentiate between scales. With scale symmetry, physicists start with a basic equation that sets forth a massless collection of particles, each a unique confluence of characteristics such as whether it is matter or antimatter and has positive or negative electric charge. As these particles attract and repel one another and the effects of their interactions cascade like dominoes through the calculations, scale symmetry “breaks,” and masses and lengths spontaneously arise.
Similar dynamical effects generate 99 percent of the mass in the visible universe. Protons and neutrons are amalgams — each one a trio of lightweight elementary particles called quarks. The energy used to hold these quarks together gives them a combined mass that is around 100 times more than the sum of the parts. “Most of the mass that we see is generated in this way, so we are interested in seeing if it’s possible to generate all mass in this way,” said Alberto Salvio, a particle physicist at the Autonomous University of Madrid and the co-author of a recent paper on a scale-symmetric theory of nature.
In the equations of the “Standard Model” of particle physics, only a particle discovered in 2012, called the Higgs boson, comes equipped with mass from the get-go. According to a theory developed 50 years ago by the British physicist Peter Higgs and associates, it doles out mass to other elementary particles through its interactions with them. Electrons, W and Z bosons, individual quarks and so on: All their masses are believed to derive from the Higgs boson — and, in a feedback effect, they simultaneously dial the Higgs mass up or down, too.
The multiverse ennui can’t last forever.
The new scale symmetry approach rewrites the beginning of that story.
“The idea is that maybe even the Higgs mass is not really there,” said Alessandro Strumia, a particle physicist at the University of Pisa in Italy. “It can be understood with some dynamics.”
The concept seems far-fetched, but it is garnering interest at a time of widespread soul-searching in the field. When the Large Hadron Collider at CERN Laboratory in Geneva closed down for upgrades in early 2013, its collisions had failed to yield any of dozens of particles that many theorists had included in their equations for more than 30 years. The grand flop suggests that researchers may have taken a wrong turn decades ago in their understanding of how to calculate the masses of particles.
“We’re not in a position where we can afford to be particularly arrogant about our understanding of what the laws of nature must look like,” said Michael Dine, a professor of physics at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who has been following the new work on scale symmetry. “Things that I might have been skeptical about before, I’m willing to entertain.”

The Giant Higgs Problem

The scale symmetry approach traces back to 1995, when William Bardeen, a theoretical physicist at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Ill., showed that the mass of the Higgs boson and the other Standard Model particles could be calculated as consequences of spontaneous scale-symmetry breaking. But at the time, Bardeen’s approach failed to catch on. The delicate balance of his calculations seemed easy to spoil when researchers attempted to incorporate new, undiscovered particles, like those that have been posited to explain the mysteries of dark matter and gravity.
Instead, researchers gravitated toward another approach called “supersymmetry” that naturally predicted dozens of new particles. One or more of these particles could account for dark matter. And supersymmetry also provided a straightforward solution to a bookkeeping problem that has bedeviled researchers since the early days of the Standard Model.
In the standard approach to doing calculations, the Higgs boson’s interactions with other particles tend to elevate its mass toward the highest scales present in the equations, dragging the other particle masses up with it. “Quantum mechanics tries to make everybody democratic,” explained theoretical physicist Joe Lykken, deputy director of Fermilab and a collaborator of Bardeen’s. “Particles will even each other out through quantum mechanical effects.”
This democratic tendency wouldn’t matter if the Standard Model particles were the end of the story. But physicists surmise that far beyond the Standard Model, at a scale about a billion billion times heavier known as the “Planck mass,” there exist unknown giants associated with gravity. These heavyweights would be expected to fatten up the Higgs boson — a process that would pull the mass of every other elementary particle up to the Planck scale. This hasn’t happened; instead, an unnatural hierarchy seems to separate the lightweight Standard Model particles and the Planck mass.
With his scale symmetry approach, Bardeen calculated the Standard Model masses in a novel way that did not involve them smearing toward the highest scales. From his perspective, the lightweight Higgs seemed perfectly natural. Still, it wasn’t clear how he could incorporate Planck-scale gravitational effects into his calculations.
Meanwhile, supersymmetry used standard mathematical techniques, and dealt with the hierarchy between the Standard Model and the Planck scale directly. Supersymmetry posits the existence of a missing twin particle for every particle found in nature. If for each particle the Higgs boson encounters (such as an electron) it also meets that particle’s slightly heavier twin (the hypothetical “selectron”), the combined effects would nearly cancel out, preventing the Higgs mass from ballooning toward the highest scales. Like the physical equivalent of x + (–x) ≈ 0, supersymmetry would protect the small but non-zero mass of the Higgs boson. The theory seemed like the perfect missing ingredient to explain the masses of the Standard Model — so perfect that without it, some theorists say the universe simply doesn’t make sense.
Yet decades after their prediction, none of the supersymmetric particles have been found. “That’s what the Large Hadron Collider has been looking for, but it hasn’t seen anything,” said Savas Dimopoulos, a professor of particle physics at Stanford University who helped develop the supersymmetry hypothesis in the early 1980s. “Somehow, the Higgs is not protected.”
The LHC will continue probing for convoluted versions of supersymmetry when it switches back on next year, but many physicists have grown increasingly convinced that the theory has failed. Just last month at the International Conference of High-Energy Physics in Valencia, Spain, researchers analyzing the largest data set yet from the LHC found no evidence of supersymmetric particles. (The data also strongly disfavors an alternative proposal called “technicolor.”)
The theory has what most experts consider a serious flaw: It requires the existence of strange particle-like entities called “ghosts.”
The implications are enormous. Without supersymmetry, the Higgs boson mass seems as if it is reduced not by mirror-image effects but by random and improbable cancellations between unrelated numbers — essentially, the initial mass of the Higgs seems to exactly counterbalance the huge contributions to its mass from gluons, quarks, gravitational states and all the rest. And if the universe is improbable, then many physicists argue that it must be one universe of many: just a rare bubble in an endless, foaming “multiverse.” We observe this particular bubble, the reasoning goes, not because its properties make sense, but because its peculiar Higgs boson is conducive to the formation of atoms and, thus, the rise of life. More typical bubbles, with their Planck-size Higgs bosons, are uninhabitable.
“It’s not a very satisfying explanation, but there’s not a lot out there,” Dine said.
As the logical conclusion of prevailing assumptions, the multiverse hypothesis has surged in begrudging popularity in recent years. But the argument feels like a cop-out to many, or at least a huge letdown. A universe shaped by chance cancellations eludes understanding, and the existence of unreachable, alien universes may be impossible to prove. “And it’s pretty unsatisfactory to use the multiverse hypothesis to explain only things we don’t understand,” said Graham Ross, an emeritus professor of theoretical physics at the University of Oxford.
The multiverse ennui can’t last forever.
“People are forced to adjust,” said Manfred Lindner, a professor of physics and director of the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg who has co-authored several new papers on the scale symmetry approach. The basic equations of particle physics need something extra to rein in the Higgs boson, and supersymmetry may not be it. Theorists like Lindner have started asking, “Is there another symmetry that could do the job, without creating this huge amount of particles we didn’t see?

Wrestling Ghosts

Picking up where Bardeen left off, researchers like Salvio, Strumia and Lindner now think scale symmetry may be the best hope for explaining the small mass of the Higgs boson. “For me, doing real computations is more interesting than doing philosophy of multiverse,” said Strumia, “even if it is possible that this multiverse could be right.”
For a scale-symmetric theory to work, it must account for both the small masses of the Standard Model and the gargantuan masses associated with gravity. In the ordinary approach to doing the calculations, both scales are put in by hand at the beginning, and when they connect in the equations, they try to even each other out. But in the new approach, both scales must arise dynamically — and separately — starting from nothing.
“The statement that gravity might not affect the Higgs mass is very revolutionary,” Dimopoulos said.
A theory called “agravity” (for “adimensional gravity”) developed by Salvio and Strumia may be the most concrete realization of the scale symmetry idea thus far. Agravity weaves the laws of physics at all scales into a single, cohesive picture in which the Higgs mass and the Planck mass both arise through separate dynamical effects. As detailed in June in the Journal of High-Energy Physics, agravity also offers an explanation for why the universe inflated into existence in the first place. According to the theory, scale-symmetry breaking would have caused an exponential expansion in the size of space-time during the Big Bang.
However, the theory has what most experts consider a serious flaw: It requires the existence of strange particle-like entities called “ghosts.” Ghosts either have negative energies or negative probabilities of existing — both of which wreak havoc on the equations of the quantum world.
“Negative probabilities rule out the probabilistic interpretation of quantum mechanics, so that’s a dreadful option,” said Kelly Stelle, a theoretical particle physicist at Imperial College, London, who first showed in 1977 that certain gravity theories give rise to ghosts. Such theories can only work, Stelle said, if the ghosts somehow decouple from the other particles and keep to themselves. “Many attempts have been made along these lines; it’s not a dead subject, just rather technical and without much joy,” he said.
Marcela Carena, a senior scientist at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Ill.
Marcela Carena, a senior scientist at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Ill. Courtesy of Marcela Carena
Strumia and Salvio think that, given all the advantages of agravity, ghosts deserve a second chance. “When antimatter particles were first considered in equations, they seemed like negative energy,” Strumia said. “They seemed nonsense. Maybe these ghosts seem nonsense but one can find some sensible interpretation.”
Meanwhile, other groups are crafting their own scale-symmetric theories. Lindner and colleagues have proposed a model with a new “hidden sector” of particles, while Bardeen, Lykken, Marcela Carena and Martin Bauer of Fermilab and Wolfgang Altmannshofer of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Canada, argue in an Aug. 14 paper that the scales of the Standard Model and gravity are separated as if by a phase transition. The researchers have identified a mass scale where the Higgs boson stops interacting with other particles, causing their masses to drop to zero. It is at this scale-free point that a phase change-like crossover occurs. And just as water behaves differently than ice, different sets of self-contained laws operate above and below this critical point.
To get around the lack of scales, the new models require a calculation technique that some experts consider mathematically dubious, and in general, few will say what they really think of the whole approach. It is too different, too new. But agravity and the other scale symmetric models each predict the existence of new particles beyond the Standard Model, and so future collisions at the upgraded LHC will help test the ideas.
In the meantime, there’s a sense of rekindling hope.
“Maybe our mathematics is wrong,” Dine said. “If the alternative is the multiverse landscape, that is a pretty drastic step, so, sure — let’s see what else might be.”
Original story reprinted with permission from Quanta Magazine, an editorially independent division of SimonsFoundation.org whose mission is to enhance public understanding of science by covering research developments and trends in mathematics and the physical and life sciences.
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