ISPECTRUMIssue 04/November-December 2013 MAGAZINEThe Blissful Brain:Neuroscience and the Proof of thePower of MeditationThe Music of theSpheres MONEY REDUCES TRUST IN SMALL GROUPSIs there a psychologicalexplanation for the NDE?
CONTENTS Features 20 17 03 The Blissful Brain: Neuroscience and the Proof of the Power of Meditation 07 Exploring mystical experiences elicited by meditation 12 Investigating the effect of medi- tation on measurable health out- comes 20 The Music of the Spheres 24 Universal Melody 26 The Romantic Dance between the Sun and the Earth 27 What do Jupiter or Neptune Sound Like? 28 Eternal Echoes 30 MONEY REDUCES TRUST IN SMALL GROUPS INTERVIEW WITH3 GABRIELE CAMERA 34 What does money do today? 35 The cooperation is supportable in small groups37 30 37 Is there a psychological explanation for the Near Death Experience? 42 Psychological theories and evidences 1
editorial How was Halloween? I hope it was Mado Martinezcreepy! Here at ISPECTRUM MAGAZINEwe made it through the tricks and treats Editorial Directorand survived the ghosts, witches andzombies so we can offer a new edition. IspectrumThis issue number #4 is full of featuredcontents. magazine The neuroscientist Shanida Nataraja, Editorial Directorauthor of The Blissful Brain, has proven Mado Martinezthat meditation has real benefits for [email protected] functioning. She explains to uswhat effects’ meditating has on blood Art Directorpressure and depression, through the Rayna Petrovalatest insights of brain imaging studies. [email protected] Gonzalez, Editor in Chief of Año/Cero Magazine and author of hundreds Copy Editing and Proofreadingof articles mainly related with history Matt Lovedayand archeology, shares with us the [email protected] music of the spheres. He guidesus through the cosmos and introduces John Simsus to the sounds of the planets, stars [email protected] satellites, as NASA has proved thatPythagoras was right in his intuitions. Victoria KleinDon’t miss our interview with Dr. GabrielCamera, from Chapman University, Contributing Writerswho conducts research in the field of Rob HutchinsonEconomy, and has observed that moneyreduces trust drastically in small groups Dr Shanida NatarajaYou will also enjoy reading our expertin psychology, Rob Hutchinson, who in Paco Gonzálezthis issue, ponders if there is a psycho-logical explanation for near death expe- Imagesriences (NDE). commons.wikimeadia.org, www.sxc.hu, Thank you very much for reading. morguefile.com,Feel free to share your comments and NASA image libraryopinions with us! www.ispectrummagazine.com 2 [email protected] +44 7938 707 164 (UK) Follow Us
3
The Blissful Brain:Neuroscience and the Proof of thePower of Meditation by Dr Shanida Nataraja website www.blissfulbrain.comT he human brain is a mind- attraction. However, the less tan- boggling feat of neural engi- gible aspects of what it means toneering; a biosupercomputer. Over be human have largely resisted ourthe last couple of decades, as scientific scrutiny. Not only are wethe experimental tools at our dis- are still trying to define the neu-posal have become more complex ral basis of human characteristics,and more successful at probing such as creativity and inspiration,the inner workings of the brain, but we are also still far from under-we have been able to define the standing the exact nature of thebrain’s involvement in everyday relationship between the brain andtasks, such as object recognition, consciousness.the expression of consciousness Mystical or religious experienc-through language, and even sexual es have historically been seen to 4
lie within the domain of Religion,or spirituality, and scientists haveshied away from trying to explainwhy and how they occur and, inmany cases, have challenged theirvalidity. However, groundbreakingresearch around the turn of the cen-tury revealed the brain’s involve-ment in mystical experiences, andthis has prompted a growing inter-est in investigating these phenome-na in the confines of the laboratory.Neurotheology reveals humans are hard-wiredto have mystical experiencesMystical experiences can be defined and a fabrication of our minds, andas short-lived experiences associ- this insight brings about an expan-ated with a different mode of think- sion of awareness in which the indi-ing and perceiving from that of our vidual loses the sense of time andeveryday existence. Because of this, space, and the boundary betweenmystical experiences defy explana- self and non-self. Although mysticaltion in terms that can be understood experiences can occur spontane-by individuals who have not them- ously, particularly during and afterselves had an experience. However, a life crisis, regular meditation, asgenerally speaking, they are associ- practised within countless differentated with a sense of optimism and disciplines, can also increase theunboundedness. The isolated ego, frequency with which these experi-“I”, is perceived to be both restricting ences occur.5
Mystical experiences were first Although some subjects failed tofound to correlate with specific pat- have an experience when wearingterns of brain activity through the the helmet – most notably Richardstudy of patients with temporal lobe Dawkins, the self-proclaimed athe-epilepsy. The researcher Vilayanur ist – these observations suggestRamachandran and his colleagues that the large majority of subjectsinvestigated brain activity in these tested had the innate neural wiringpatients, and found that many expe- necessary for them to have a mys-rienced bursts of activity in their tical experience. This led Persingertemporal lobe, referred to as micro- to suggest that an individual’s pro-seizures. Patients who frequently pensity to have mystical experi-reported mystical experiences, or ences depends on the lability ofwho were known to express reli- their temporal lobe (i.e. how pronegious fanaticism, were more likely it is to change). Individuals with ato have these microseizures than high lability were seen to be morethose that did not [1]. likely to have microseizures, andTaking this research one step further, Dr. PersingerMichael Persinger designed a devicethat would become popularly knownas the “God machine”. This simpledevice – a series of small electro-magnets attached to a motorcyclehelmet – delivers a weak electro-magnetic field that can be used toselectively activate distinct regionsof the brain. Persinger reported thatstimulation of the temporal lobeelicited a mystical experience inabout 80% of subjects; stimulationof the right temporal lobe tended toelicit more pleasurable experiencesthan stimulation of the left temporallobe. 6
therefore more likely to an apple. The perceived ing mystical experi-have mystical experi- apple would not be ences, and, in doingences. Persinger’s early real; it would be, quite so, gives rise to ourresults have been con- rightly, an artefact of conscious awarenessfirmed in a more recent brain function. Does of these experiences.analysis of more than the rep-400 additional subjects lication This research therefore[2]. of the merely suggests that neural most of us possess the For some, this research impres- innate neural circuitry,provided the proof that sion of an or hard-wiring, allow-mystical experiences, apple in ing us to perceive andand even the experi- the lab- make sense of mysticalence of God, were the oratory experiences when theyresult of aberrant neu- call into occur.ral circuitry, an arte- questionfact of brain function. whetherHowever, this view is applesflawed. Our brains are actually exist in ourdesigned to receive world? Similarly, theinformation about our observation that mys-experiences, whether tical experiences canthat be the experience be artificially evokedof biting into an apple merely reveals thator a mystical experi- the neural circuitry ofence. Hypothetically, the human brain hasif we were capable of evolved to allow it toexperimentally stimu- process the full rangelating the specific areas of experiences, includ-of the brain involved ing mystical experienc-in the perception of es. Like a radio receivesan apple, the subject and transmits music,would likely report that our brain receives infor-they had experienced mation about all of our experiences, includ- 7
Exploring mystical experienceselicited by meditationThe investigation of dent or peak moment and d’Aquili demon- strated that meditationartificially evoked brain of meditation – they triggered two impor- tant changes in brainevents is clearly far were asked to pull on activity. Firstly, there is an increase in activityfrom ideal. This fact led a string. Radioactive in the frontal cortex, in the area of the brainthe researchers Andrew tracer was then inject- known to be involved in sustained attention –Newberg and Eugene ed into the meditator, referred to as the atten- tion association cortex.d’Aquili to attempt to through an in-dwelling Increased activity in this association cor-study mystical experi- catheter, and the bind- tex leads to decreased activity in the surround-ences elicited by medi- ing of this tracer in the ing regions of the brain that are responsibletation in the laboratory. brain visualised using for complex cognitive processing. This is theExperienced Buddhist SPECT (single photon consequence of innate circuitry that filters out emission comput- redundant information in order to maintain ed tomography). sustained attention in the face of continual Active regions of distractions. The more attention is held on a the brain have single focus, the eas- ier it becomes to sus- a greater blood tain that attention. The supply and can therefore be expected to bind more of the radioactive trac- er. In this man- ner, information about the activitymeditators were asked to in the meditator’s brainmeditate and, when they at this transcendentfelt they were access- moment was captureding an altered or mysti- and visualised.cal state of awareness– sometimes referred From these pivotalto as the transcen- experiments, Newberg 8
key feature of this Newberg and d’Aquili demon-first step is a shift strated that meditation triggeredin brain activity two important changes in brainfrom the left to the activityright hemisphere,as attention is predom-inately a right-hemisphere resultsfunction. The implications of this confirm thatare discussed below. Secondly, the sustained attention elicits definedincrease in activity in the frontal changes in the activity of the fron-cortex drives a decrease in activity tal cortex that trigger the unfoldingin the parietal cortex. This houses of the meditative experience. Manytwo important association cortices; meditators also report a dissolv-the orientation association cortex ing of the boundary between selfand the verbal-conceptual cortex. and non-self and an expansion ofThe former gives rise to our sense awareness that brings a sense ofof orientation in space and time, unboundedness and transcendence.and contains the neural circuitry This so-called mystical experiencethat defines the boundary between can also be understood in terms ofself and non-self, whereas the latter changes in brain activity, with medi-confers the ability to relay our expe- tation switching off the circuitry inrience in words. A decrease in activ- the parietal lobe involved in gen-ity in the parietal cortex therefore erating our perception of time andleads to a decreased awareness of space, and our position within it, asspace and time, as well as an inabil- well as the self/non-self boundary.ity to describe the experience using Furthermore, the indescribability oflanguage [3]. mystical experiences can also be explained by the reduced activity in the parietal lobe, as this part of theThe findings of this research therefore brain also houses the neural circuit-mirror our current subjective under- ry that confers the ability to expressstanding of the mystical experienc- our experiences in language.es elicited by meditation. Sustainedattention is pivotal to all types ofmeditation, and these experimental 9
Meditation as a neural process designed tounlock the innate potential of our brains In the discussion above, we foresaw that meditation, throughsustained attention, elicits a ableswitch between left and right-hemisphere activity. This to mimeswitch is a crucial componentof the process leading to the what a toothbrushmystical state of awarenessoften experienced as a result of would be used for (i.e. they under-meditation. In order to understandthe implications of this, it is impor- stood the toothbrush’s purpose);tant to first examine the functionsof the two hemispheres. Our under- however, they were unable to namestanding of the different roles of thetwo hemispheres largely stems from the object. Both the term “tooth-split-brain surgeries performed inthe 1960s in patients suffering from brush” and the ability to vocalise thisparticularly severe epilepsy. By sev-ering the connections between the term lie within the left hemisphere.two hemispheres, the two sides ofthe brain can be essentially isolated Observations in these split-brainfrom each other. Following one ofthese surgeries, a split-brain patient patients prompted the neuroscien-was blindfolded and given a tooth-brush to hold in their left hand. tists, Jerre Levy and the now NobelAs the right hemisphere controlsthe left-hand side of the body, the prize winning Roger Sperry, to sug-toothbrush was sensed by the righthemisphere. The patient was there- gest that the two hemispheres have inbuilt, qualitatively different, and mutually antagonist modes of cog- nitive processing [4].10
The left hemisphere houses the perception of ourselves and theneural circuitry that mediates ver- world. Experiences that fit our worldbal and written language, as well as view and “boost our ego” are cap-being home to many of the cogni- tured, whereas those that challengetive processors that give rise to the our world view and “undermine ourintellectual functioning of the human ego” are ignored. The right hemi-mind (i.e. our ego). Accordingly, the sphere, on the other hand, capturesleft hemisphere is often considered the whole experience and therefore,to be the dominant hemisphere, and during meditation, when the practi-many of us spend much of our exis- tioner has access to the right hemi- sphere, often long-forgotten memo- ries can surface in full Technicolor or solutions to unsolved problems or dilemmas can emerge.tence cultivating and using the left- Meditation therefore provides thebrain mode of cognitive process- practitioner with a method throughing. During meditation, the practi- which to switch between the twotioner accesses the functioning of modes of thinking and perceivingthe right hemisphere, and therefore conferred by the two hemispheres.can gain insight from the right- We have seen that the expansionbrained mode of cognitive process- of awareness often reported dur-ing. Experiments suggest that the ing mystical experiences elicited byright hemisphere captures a much meditation can be partially explainedmore truthful representation of an by decreased activity in the neuralexperience. Our left hemisphere has circuitry conferring our sense ofa tendency to filter our experiences orientation in space–time, as wellso that they fit into our established as our self/non-self boundary. This expansion of awareness can also, however, be partially explained by the fact that meditation triggers a shift from left-hemisphere activity to right-hemisphere activity, and thus a shift towards a more holistic, abstract mode of cognitive process- ing that reveals the interrelatedness11
of all things, as well as the restric-tions of the ego-centred mode ofcognitive processing. In the late 1970s, Maxwell Cade, a awareness or the “awakened mind”prominent psychophysiologist, pro- state – involves comparable levelsposed that there were five differ- of alpha and theta brain waves toent levels of consciousness (dream- the meditative level of conscious-ing sleep; hypnogogic/hypnopompic ness, but also includes beta brain[i.e. between waking and dream- waves, indicating a return of highering]; everyday waking; medita- cognitive functions. Unlike the betative; and lucid awareness), and brain waves seen during the every-that these different levels of con- day waking level of consciousness,sciousness correlate with specific which occur predominantly in thepatterns of electrical brain activity. left hemisphere, the beta brainDuring meditation – considered by waves seen in the “awakened mind”Cade to elicit a higher level of con- level of consciousness are balancedsciousness than the normal, wak- across the two hemisphere. Optimaling consciousness (equated to the brain functioning, and indeed higheraforementioned ‘mystical’ or ‘medi- states of consciousness, are thustative’ state of awareness) there is seen to stem from balanced left anda prominence of alpha brain waves, right-hemisphere cognitive function-associated with relaxed wakeful- ing [5].ness, and theta brain waves, associ-ated with the creative subconsciousmind. Unsurprisingly perhaps, there isalso a decrease in the beta brainwaves that are associated withactive thought. The highest level ofconsciousness – referred to as lucid12
In our left-hemisphere ity underlying some ofdominated society, in the main features ofwhich achieving and mystical experiencessucceeding are valued elicited through medi-over being, medita- tation, we have there-tion offers us a method fore not only gainedof switching into the a better understandingright-hemisphere mode of the involvement ofof thinking, there- the brain in convey-by re-addressing this ing mystical experienc-imbalance. Meditation es and eliciting mysti-also elicits brain wave cal states of aware-changes associated ness, but we have alsowith higher states of gained a more com-consciousness than our plete picture of the roleeveryday, waking state, that meditation plays inand therefore provides eliciting these changesthe key to unlocking the in brain activity, andinnate potential of our indeed, the role it playsbrains. By observing the in optimising the per-changes in brain activ- formance of our brains.Investigating the effect of meditation onmeasurable health outcomes The growing body of ing view of meditation health and well-beingevidence supporting as a potential meth- of the practitioner. Thisthe role of meditation od of optimising brain research reveals thatin triggering mystical performance, have meditation may playexperiences or mystical prompted researchers an important role instates of awareness, to explore the effects modern healthcare.together with the evolv- of meditation on the 13
Mindfulness-based MBSR trains the practi- precipitated by chronicstress reduction (MBSR) tioner to become more pain [6].isatechnique developed aware of their moment-by Jon Kabat-Zinn for to-moment thoughts. Furthermore, in can-use in patients, includ- Rather than modifying cer patients, particu-ing those with chronic these thoughts, prac- larly those with hor-pain, depression, can- titioners are taught to mone-dependent can-cer, heart disease and modify their attitude to cers such as breast andanxiety. Based on the these thoughts. MSBR prostate cancer, MBSRBuddhist practice of also involves the prac- can lead to significantmindfulness, but essen- tice of seated medita- improvements in qual-tially independent of tion, together with a ity of life. In a studyany esoteric tradition, body-scan relaxation conducted by Michael technique and some Speca and colleagues, yoga postures. A num- MBSR was shown to ber of studies have elicit a 65% improve- shown that MBSR has ment in mood and a a measurable impact 35% improvement in on the well-being of symptoms of stress [7]. patients suffering from In a recent meta-anal- chronic pain. In one of ysis of studies of MBSR, these studies, conduct- Paul Grossman and col- ed by Kabat-Zinn, more leagues concluded that than 65% of patient MBSR was an effective who had failed more stress-reduction meth- conventional meth- od that was associated ods of pain manage- with clear benefits in ment responded to a terms of both overall 10-week programme health and the ability of MBSR. Patients of patients to cope with not only reported an their illness. The size improvement in their of the effect seen is level of pain, but also dependent on both the an improvement in frequency and duration the mood disturbances of practise [8]. 14
Meditation’s impact on and stress-related dis- meditation with scepti-stress underlies many ease on both the indi- cism.of its proven physi- vidual and our health- This is largely the resultcal health benefits. In care systems. of the failure of medi-some patients, regu- tation to demonstratelar meditation is asso- Despite the growing statistically significantciated with a reduced body of evidence sup- results in large-scalerisk of cardiovascu- porting the effect of meta-analyses.lar disease, as well meditation on measur- In 2007, the authors of aas decreases in blood able health outcomes, technology assessmentpressure, both of which orthodox medicine still based on research con-are likely to result from largely approaches ducted by the Universitybetter stress manage- of Alberta Evidence-ment.Regular meditation alsoconfers psychologicalbenefits, such as reduc-ing anxiety and depres-sion, improving copingmechanisms (both withdisease and chronicpain), and addressingaddictive behavior ,all of which are again,at least in part, mani-festations of stress.In a world in whichthe levels of stressappear to be continu-ally escalating, medi-tation appears to offera therapeutic antidotethat can, at least to acertain degree, lessenthe impact of stress 15
based Practice Center enrolled patient popu- lines for trial report-(EPC) under contract lations [9]. ing to ensure that theirto the Agency for data are viewed in theHealthcare Research This example high- most favourable light.and Quality (AHRQ) Secondly, it remainsstated that “firm con- lights a number of questionable whetherclusions on the effects studies of meditationof meditation practices important issues. should be forced toin healthcare cannot meet the rigorous stan-be drawn based on the Firstly, there is a clear dards devised for clini-available evidence”. As cal trials of investiga-acknowledged by the need to standardise tional drugs. Meditationauthors, this negative is not a substitute forfinding results from the methodology used conventional treatmentthe low quality of the approaches; it is anincluded studies and when studying medi- alternative therapy thatthe diversity of types can, in some patients,of meditation studied, tation and to, wher- provide added ben-methodology used and efit. Whereas failure ever possible, conduct of an antihypertensive could lead to consider- randomised controlled able patient morbidity and mortality, failure of trials. Furthermore, meditation to improve a patient’s clinical situ- researchers study- ation has few draw- backs. ing meditation should The value of medita- strive to adhere to tion as a healthcare intervention is perhaps the CONSORT guide- best illustrated by the fact that, at an increas- ing number of medical 16
institutions in the US and Europe, struggling to cope with the ever-training courses in medita- expanding pool of patients,tion are being offered this trend suggests thatto a diverse range meditation can playof patients. More a key role in effec-than 16,000 tive patient man-patients have training courses in agement, andundergone meditation are being may well offerMBSR train- offered to a diverse a much-neededing at the solution to theMassachusetts range of patients growing health-Medical School, care crisis in theCenter for West.Mindfulness, sinceit was founded in1995, and the feed-back from healthcare profession-als and patients involved is over-whelmingly positive. Furthermore, Defining a role forat the MD Anderson Cancer Center meditation in ourin Houston, Texas, patients are nowroutinely offered a variety of sup- modern, everyday livesport programmes, including cours-es in meditation, to help them tobetter deal with their illness and In the clinical setting, medita-its consequences. In the UK, the tion can undoubtedly alleviate someCentre for Mindfulness Research of the burden currently placed onand Practice at Bangor University our healthcare systems, as well asoffers training courses in mindful- empowering the individual patientness to both healthcare profession- to play a pivotal role in the manage-als and patients, and strives to pro- ment of their condition. Meditation’smote the use of mindfulness in the adoption into mainstream society,clinical setting within the National however, requires another sub-Health Service (NHS). In a climate stantial shift in thinking. Our fast-in which our healthcare systems are paced, adrenaline-filled lives draw 17
and their motivation to instigate lifestyle changes that promote good health and well-being.our attention away from our health Meditation offers a potential strat-and well-being, and often promote egy through which an individual canunhealthy lifestyles. Western medi- cultivate and maintain a state ofcine is largely responsive rather good health and well-being. Long-than preventive; by the time most term stress can have damagingindividuals seek medical help, they effects on the body long before thesehave established disease requiring effects are manifest as poor healthactive intervention. There are obvi- or disease. Not only does medita-ous benefits of diagnosing disease in tion reduce stress, but it may alsoits early stages, or even preventing prevent or delay the onset of stress-it before it can develop. The achieve- related diseases, as well as reducingment of this, however, depends on risk prone behaviour triggered byboth the individual’s awareness of stress, such as smoking and the usetheir state of health and well-being of recreational drugs. Furthermore,18
there is an abundance understanding of which conducive to personalof anecdotal evidence situations, individu- growth. Through med-suggesting that medi- als and behaviour are itation, it is possibletation can be associ- constructive and which to harness the innateated with the following are destructive. This power of both our leftsubjective benefits: a evidence provides a and right hemispheres,boost in energy levels strong rationale for the and reap the benefitsand a decreased need inclusion of meditation afforded by using thefor sleep; an increase in our everyday lives. complementary modesin productivity and In addition to confer- of cognitive process-creativity; increased ring health benefits, ing offered by them.self-acceptance, which the insights gained for Meditation, and theoften translates into an our investigations into mystical states associ-increased acceptance of the effects of medi- ated with meditation,other people and thus tation on the brain appear to be part andimproved interpersonal reveal that meditation parcel of what it meansrelationships; a great- is also an important to be human, and reg-er ability to express tool that allows us to ular practice promis-emotions; fewer bouts access higher levels of es to allow us to fulfilof irritability and impa- consciousness. These more of our potential,tience, or emotional higher levels of con- both as individuals andor behavioural out- sciousness are asso- a society as a whole.bursts; an improved ciated with optimisedand expanded sense of brain functioning, and Dr Shanida Natarajaidentity; and a greater their attainment is is the author of The Blissful Brain: Proof of the Power of Meditation (Gaia, £7.99). For more information, please see: www.blissfulbrain.com 19
Dr Shanida Nataraja has a BSc (First Class education agencyHons) in Human Science and Neuroscience producing materialsand a PhD in Neurophysiology, both from in the field of neu-University College London. Her research rology, cardiology,thesis focused on learning and memory oncology, psychiatryand she continued researching in this and women’s health.field, holding a post-doctoral research Shanida has manyposition at the Johns Hopkins School of years of experienceMedicine in Baltimore, Maryland. After in both Christianfive-years in research, Shanida aban- mantra meditation and Buddhist mind-doned the isolation of the laboratory fulness meditation, and has receivedfor the relative comforts of a career basic instruction in a variety of otherin medical communications. Shanida is contemplative practices, including Taicurrently Scientific Director at a medical Chi, Chi Gung and Iyengar yoga.References: [6] Kabat-Zinn, J. An outpatient program in behav-[1] Ramachandran VS, Blakeslee S. Phantoms in the ioural medicine for chronic pain patients based on theBrain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind. practice of mindfulness meditation: theoretical con-Harper Perennial, 1999; Chapter 9. siderations and preliminary results, General Hospital[2] St-Pierre LS, Persinger MA. Experimental facilita- Psychiatry, 1982: 4(1):33–47.tion of the sensed presence is predicted by the spe- [7] Speca, M, Carlson, LE, Goodey, E, Angen, M.cific patterns of the applied magnetic fields, not by A randomized, wait-list controlled clinical trial: thesuggestibility: re-analyses of 19 experiments. Int J effect of a mindfulness meditation-based stress reduc-Neurosci 2006; 116(9): 1079-96. tion program on mood and symptoms of stress in[3] D’Aquili, E, Newberg, AB. The Mystical Mind: cancer outpatients. Psychosomatic Medicine, 2000:probing the biology of religious experience, Augsburg 62(5):613–22.Fortress Publishers, 1999. [8] Grossman, P, Niemann, L, Schmidt, S, Walach,[4] Sperry RW. Hemispheric specialization of men- H. Mindfulness-based stress reduction and healthtal faculties in the brain of Man. Advances in Altered benefits: a meta-analysis. Journal of PsychosomaticStates of Consciousness & Human Potentialities, Research 2004; 57(1):35–43.Volume 1. A Psychological Dimensions, Inc. (PDI) [9] University of Alberta Evidence-based PracticeResearch Reference Work. Barber TX (Ed). PDI, 1976. Center/Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.[5] Cade, M, Coxhead, N. The Awakened Mind: bio- Evidence Report/Technology Assessment Number 155:feedback and the development of higher states of Meditation Practices for Health: State of the Research.awareness, Delacorte Press/Eleanor Friede, 1979. AHRQ Publication No. 07-E010, June 2007.20
The Music of the SpheresbyPaco Gonzálezwebsitewww.facebook.com/paco.gonza- The Music of the SpheresIn 2004, a NASA satellite discovered that A Scientist involved with thethe interaction between the Sun’s solar NASA satellite remarkedwinds and the atmosphere of its depend- that our Sun behaves like a musicalable planets’ produces harmonic vibra- instrument. NASA’s evidence sug-tions which, in turn, create incredible gests that the Sun is expelling har-sounds. monic vibrations caused by oscil- lations on its surface, acting in theDoes this mean Pythagoras was right? same manner as an internal mem- brane of a speaker. 21
By contrast however, some quite From where did Pythagoras gainstunning NASA images from 2009 this knowledge? Was there anothershow an impressive nebula, the before him that passed the infor-form of which looks like a Butterfly. mation on? Or did he ordain thisThe picture was taken by the Hubble information all on his own? Indeed,Telescope and today has become if he did learn of the phenomena byone of the most beautiful visual himself, how was he able to graspexamples of our living Universe. something that we today have only discovered through the means of The Cosmos is alive. Both sounds precise technology in the earlyand images offer us an insight into 21st Century?a harmonic, moving cosmos image.Our most advanced, 21st Centurytechnology, it would seem, is nowbeginning to confirm the ancestrallegacy that was first mooted andstoically defended and explainedby Pythagoras, Kepler, Kircher andmany others, hundreds of yearsago.Pythagoras theAlien? One of the most mysterious voic- Pythagorases in world history, Pythagoras isunderstood to be the first name Perhaps the answer lies with thethat records knowledge of the music contemporary writers of the time;of the spheres. We do not have their disciples and the neo-Pla-any original manuscripts by him tonists. Maybe their area of knowl-though, and very little is known edge and expertise was closer toabout his life. 22
Pythagoras’s own than his peers. Some of them It was said also, thatwe ever have been – wrote that even Apollo Arabis once visitednot only in the chrono- could have been his him aboard ‘a goldenlogical sense but in a Father, a view derived arrow’. An extraterres-literal sense. from a consensus that trial visit? Pythagoras literally Our new findings ‘gleamed’ with a super- Almost certainly themean things we have natural glow. A bright- strangest occurrence(s)always thought to be ness. Some scholars supporting the theoryinvented fantasies even purport that he is that Pythagoras wasand myths could be had a golden thigh. An continually reportedrevisited through new extraterrestrial pros- to be seen in numer-eyes. Why? Because thesis perhaps? ous different places atPythagoras was often the same time. This isregarded as a God by known in paranormal 23
History Repeatingterms as bilocation or It would not be cant and ancient civili-multilocation. the first case in sations of world histo- history of a being ry? The secrets that lie Was Pythagoras an seemingly beyond in the origin and con-alien? And if he was that of mere mor- struction of the colos-– presumably a being tals. Jesus Christ, sal Pyramids are evenendowed with precious of course, was now a suggestive tracewisdom and knowledge born of a Human of an unveiled mystery.– why did he travel but possessed How did the ancientto so many different inner abilities far Egyptians managelocations in order to beyond that of to build such perfectstudy under different man. But again, it monuments with pre-‘Masters’? is believed that he sumably no technology – like Pythagoras – whatsoever? The ques- studied under dif- tion has been discussed ferent ‘Masters’, if we at length, but there refer to the Apocryphal is no definitive answer. Gospels. However one of the most popular beliefs is It is believed that many that the Pyramids were of the potential learn- built with the aid of ing’s received by these extraterrestrials. How anomalies descend else could they achieve from ancient Egypt. A something that is so place that could hold far beyond the reaches an indecipherable of modern man? That link between the two is, of course, if they beings, and is it any really did build them. coincidence then, that Egypt is the cradle of one of the most signifi- 24
Universal Melody Pythagoras was perceptive Platoenough to study the musical describedsounds and their relation- in ‘Timeus’ship with Mathematics. He how themaintained that the orbit Demiurgusof the ‘heavenly bodies’ – forged thea term given to all matter world divid-of Space: Planets; Stars; ing the mainAsteroids etc - and their ‘substance’ inaccompanying sounds were in harmonic inter-harmony with each other. The vals. His conclusion,result was a beautiful, perpetual through Epinomis’suniversal melody. voice, was that ‘the heavenly bod- ies play the best of the songs’, and Iamblichus wrote of Pythagoras in if we read a little further…his book entitled ‘Protepticus’:‘He used a divine, ineffable and ‘This harmony produces a musicundecipherable power. That is how much more beautiful and intensehe could concentrate and listen than the worldly music’.to the sublime symphony of thespheres. He was able to under- Whether Pythagoras was the firststand the universal harmony and to be aware of this Interstellarthe concert of the spheres and the Orchestra or not, it would seemHeavenly bodies’. that the comparison between the Cosmos and a huge musical instru-So it seems that Iamblichus attrib- ment has been assumed from theuted to Pythagoras a special power Middle Ages right through to the– a divine power – one that was present day.indicipherable. He is held as some-one with skills far beyond our own. 25
Kepler human body; Angels and the music itself. He thought that the Universe was a ‘monochord’ universe where the ten melodic ranges evoked by Pythagoras’s theorem translated the harmony of the creation.Singing From the Same The ‘gene in hermetic philosophy’,Hymn Sheet? Athansius Kircher, is well known for his famous maxim:Kepler was a famous Mathematicianand Astronomer. He attributed a ‘Heaven above, Heaven below;musical note to each planet and Stars above, Stars below; all thataffirmed that the angular speeds is above thus below’.of each heavenly body producedsounds. According to Kepler, the He wrote an illustrated book titledsounds would be of a higher pitch if ‘Musurgia Universalis’ where hethe movements were faster. In his explained music as a reflection ofown words: mathematics and the essential pro- portions of creation.‘The Heavenly movement is a con-tinuous song for several voices. If we look back we find manyThese voices can only be perceived more traces, many famous names,by intellect, not the hearing. This and many sages who recalled themusic leaves its trace in the flow of ancient legacy of Pythagoras, suchthe time’. as Plinius; Boecius; Ptolomeus; Newton; Pico Della Mirandola; Jean The British Alchemist Robert Fludd Phillipe Rameau etc… It seemswas very interested in the cor- that today – centuries after theserespondence between the plan- philosophers, our contemporaryets; the different parts of the Science is finally converging with these fascinating theories.26
The Romantic Dance between theSun and the EarthA satellite called propagated from arc to bombs, the solar explo-‘Transition Region arc: sions send the acousticand Coronal Explorer’ sounds through these(NASA) discovered that ‘The sound is very simi- ‘arcs’ at dozens of kilo-the Sun sounds and lar to the one you obtain metres per second:behaves like a musical while plucking the gui-instrument. This sophis- tar’, said Robert von Jay- ‘We can now say thatticated and ultraviolet Siebenburgen – Head these are acousticobservatory studies the of the Solar Physics waves and these wavessolar corona. The solar and Research Centre, are excited by explo-explosions generate in a statement for BBC sions at the foot pointsPlasma rings or elec- Television. Releasing of these loops’, said thetrified gas that causes the equivalent energy Mathematician Yourasound waves. These are of millions of Hydrogen Taroyan of the University 27
of Sheffield in the UK, odies, since these ultra- dance. These eventsin an edition of New sounds are played out however do not confineScientist Magazine. in a 100 milihertz fre- themselves to just our quency every ten sec- Star…One of the most intrigu- onds.ing aspects of these solarsounds is that despite At NASA, a multidisci-Human Beings not being plinary team from theable to hear them (they ‘Ulysses’ mission hasare of a frequency 300 discovered that these What do Jupitertimes lower than those pulses from our Solar or Neptunewe can hear); they pro- Star can be detected Sound Like?duce peculiar effects on in Submarine cables,our planet, causing it seismographs etc. Moreto vibrate in sympathy fascinating still are the ProfessorDonaldWKurtzwith the frequencies. discoveries of the inves- from the Astrophysics tigators David Thomson Centre at the UniversityIn this context, we can and Louis Lanzerotti of Lancashire (UK)propose that the Solar from the Hiscale pro- states:System is a cosmic cho- gram in the Ulyssesrus with equilibrated and mission. They conclud- ‘All the Stars in ourharmonic ed that different sounds Galaxy produce har-mel- generated by the Sun monic vibrations pro- not only reach ducing a kind of celes- our planet; but tial melody’. the earth also g e n e r a t e s NASA has promoted the Sun sounds and rigid move- some laboratory experi-behaves like a musical ments in ments in order to syn- r e s p o n s e thesize the sonic oscilla- instrument to the ultra- tions and they obtained s o u n d s , surprising results. By b r i n g i n g accelerating the sounds on a kind of three or eight times, romantic cosmic you would be able to say 28
that you are hearing the wavesof the ocean; such is the simi-larity, or the song of whalesand dolphins. It depends ofcourse on the intensity of eachelectromagnetic field as well asthe grade of manipulation. And,of course, the imagination. We highly recommend our read- Jupiterers make a search on the internetso they can hear these amazingsounds. Donald A. Gurnett is Professor Eternal Echoesof Physics and Astronomy at theUniversity of IOWA (USA) and he is Pythagoras may have been the firstone of the pioneers in the classifica- to become aware of the phenome-tion of the sounds of the Universe. non. But who was the first to haveThis scientist’s investigations have the privilege of actually ‘listening’ toactually inspired musicians to the music of the spheres? We haveintroduce these peculiar signa- to travel back to the 1930’s, when the young physicist Karl Jansky, ture sounds from Bell’s Laboratories, discov- into their ered that some radio waves gener- composi- ated static interferences that came tions. from the centre of the Milky Way. With merely an old radio-receptor Neptune and an antenna assembled on his Ford T chassis, he was the first man able to audibly distinguish the music of the stars. 29
Ultimately, whatever the origin, we can see that this musical struc- ture in the Cosmos is not limited to the ‘Pythagorean School’ of knowl- edge, nor does the knowledge of it end with Kepler. Whether through ancient wisdom or contemporary science, our models for explaining the nature of the Universe continue to overlap; very wide of a rigid or exclusive solution for the world.Karl Jansky The Milky Way,NASA 30
MONEY REDUCES TRUST INSMALL GROUPS by Mado Martinez website www.madomartinez.comINTERVIEW WITHGABRIELE CAMERAG abriele Camera, Fullbright Scholar, has held previous positions at Purdueholds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University (USA), the University of Iowa (USA), and theUniversity of Iowa (USA) and is current- University of Basel (Switzerland).ly Research Profesor of Economics andFinance, in the Economic Science Instituteat Chapman University in California. He 31
M.M. Are we more selfish when money is involved?G.C.I want to get the words mon language you can involved, this tendencystraight and correct you use them. Basically indi- to try to cooperate witha little bit in terms of viduals tend to be coop- others, over time, islanguage. In economics, erative with others, that greatly diminished. So ifselfishness and altruism is, they tend to sustain you want to call it self-are very precise con- personal costs to help ishness you can think ofcepts, so I prefer not others when money is it in that way it’s moreto use those types of not involved, and as self-interested.words, though in com- soon as money getsM.M. It’s very interesting what you’re saying because in Spain (where Icome from), people are suffering a very big economic recession at themoment, but at the same time there is much growth of solidarity. Do youthink that can be related to your theory?G.C. Definitely. The point licated outside the lab extent, but not fully to ahere, and the prece- so it gives us a point, certain extent they weredence here, is that we a way to think about successful, at dispellingdid a laboratory experi- behaviors in society, but social norms of mutualment, so all you can you’re right. So what we support, cooperation,get out of the data is found in the experiment as you say, or reciproc-some intuition for how is that people were able ity, in a certain sense,behavior might be rep- successfully, to a certain when there was no way 32
to obtain high pay-offs words ‘greedy’ in the tions in which jobs areotherwise, when there sense and they would lost, as is the currentwas nothing they could not help others unless situation in Spain andexchange for a favor, they received compen- in many other coun-or for help. Whereas sation. That is they tries, unfortunately,when we introduced this switched behavior from when people do notobject that had no cash norms of mutual support have access to liquid-value, it had no refer- to norms of exchange, ity, to money to pay forence to outside curren- in which I want to be the things they need, itcies, basically it was compensated immedi- is natural for groups ofjust a symbolic object, ately for some benefit people to come togeth-people started to be that I provide to you. er and rely on norms ofin a sense, and I use So it is reasonable to mutual support.quotes around these believe that in situa- 33
M.M. I guess you have tried to compare this information with colleaguesin other fields like psychology, sociology, etc. Why is money able to changethe way we behave?G.C. on the others, but if you that if there is some- help someone today, one who does not help, Well, so far we have or if you’re given help, as everyone else does,some hypotheses that then someone else will the entire group has tohave to be tested, of help you in the future, punish these individu-course, in order to give so there is this give and als. These types of pun-at least an initial intu- take. ishment norms are veryition, an initial answer,but it’s not proof from Creating these norms hard to enforce, and inan experiment, it pro- requires that the groups particular there must bevides an intuition, and of people that engage some sort of coordina-it has to be replicat- in such norms of mutu- tion at the group level.ed many times to have al support are able to The larger the group,some sort of more sci- punish, or enforce, the harder it is to coor-entific validity, but the deviations from coop- dinate on this type ofidea is this: consider eration. The theory is punishment scheme. Sothe many differencesamong the individu-als in a large group ofpeople, individuals thatdo not know exactlyeach other’s behavior,they may not help eachother, as it is in modernsocieties, large societ-ies. In these types ofsocieties, if you want tocreate norms of mutu-al support, you reallyhave to rely quite a bit 34
the problem is not that to support these norms else – then it becomespeople do not under- of mutual support. So problematic because asstand the benefits of that’s really the benefit it happens these dayscooperation, the prob- of money, it bypasses in Spain, in Italy and inlem is that people do all these problems of certain parts of the USnot understand how to coordinating, of think- for sure, when I havegenerate behaviors that ing about what you’ve nothing to give you ineliminate opportunism, done in the past, how exchange for what Ithat’s the complicated to punish. It’s very sim- need, then what do I do?part. How do I punish ple: you give me noth- Well, under the normsindividuals? How do I ing, I give you noth- of monetary exchange Imake them responsi- ing. That’s why money can give you nothing soble for what they have works, and that’s why I’m stuck. That’s reallydone? it can support these the bad component of types of interactions. this arrangement. It isIn a society of strangers The negative effect, the simple and it is intui-this is complicated. It one that you notice, is tive, quid pro quo asrequires a lot of coordi- that once we decide to the Latins would put it,nation at the civic level, coordinate on this type but it has this negativein the group or society. of exchange – I’ll give component that it dis-What does money do you something only if places norms of mutualtoday? Money bypasses you give me something support.all this because the pun-ishment for not cooper-ating, so to speak, ina monetary exchangeis that I don’t give youanything. You do notgive me what I need; Ido not give you money.So it simplifies tremen-dously the large degreeof coordination that associal groups we haveto undertake in order 35
M.M. Anthropologists tend to find that cooperation is supportable in smallgroups but in large groups it’s very hard to do. How can we teach peopleto learn to support each other?G.C. dously reduced, but you vide disincentives, has need to have the bit to to remove incentives, As a matter of fact the first communicate, to from doing that type ofexperiment is not about know and to talk to behavior.teaching how people each other, directly ifcan mutually support possible, and second to So anyone seeing theso it is a sort of specu- have information about experiments we’ve triedlative comment that I what individuals have with prisoner’s dilem-can make at this point done. Third, you have mas, anyone who’sfrom other experiments to have the possibility been subject to thisthat we’ve done, the of sustaining punish- type of environment inimportant thing is to ment if someone does which they can com-make sure that individ- not behave in a way municate with others,uals are made in their that is socially support- in which they can trackhead responsible, at an ive, society has to pro- each other’s factionsindividual level, for theactions they’ve taken.So what we’ve found outis that communicationamong individuals, andin particular, informa-tion about the actionsthat the individual hastaken in the past, canhelp those who haveinclinations to behaveopportunistically but isdoing something that isnot very nice, for per-sonal gain, this type ofbehavior gets tremen- 36
and the opportunity you said, tend to find Punishing, not just ver-of punishing individu- bally, others, becomeals who misbehaved that cooperation is sup- complicated, so thisdirectly, generally it’s mechanism becomesa very, very high coop- portable in small groups very difficult.eration level. Which iswhy anthropologists, as but in large groups it’s very hard to do because information about behavior becomes hard. 37
M.M. I see that your findings can be applied in many fields. For example,how we behave in a company that uses monetary incentives for theiremployees? G.C. This is interesting, what people with my medical you say, Mado, because skills. Sometimes pro- there is some research viding additional incen- that looks into the pos- tives to the monetary sibility that monetary need removes these incentives may actually intrinsic incentives, so reduce the effort that our training does not workers put into what- address that there are ever the firm’s objective other interpretations is, so the experiment and other consequenc- was not designed to test es for organizations or this sort of hypothesis work within a firm. but there is some work which shows that some- For example if in team- times monetary incen- work is very difficult to tives in company work organize around coop- environments actual- erative norms, perhaps ly go in the opposite it is because the team is direction because they far apart in the world or displace intrinsic incen- team members cannot tives. For instance, if exactly understand what I’m a baker, I’m allowed each other are doing so to do it because I like to there’s a contradiction make bread. Or if I am to output. There may a doctor, I like to help be monetary incentives 38
that can be introduced,but I’d be very hesitantat this point to interpretour results in the lightof small complete typeof groups.M.M. I guess the place you did this research was the United States withAmericans?G.C. That’s right. We didit at Purdue University,which is a universi-ty in Indiana, a cou-ple of hours south ofChicago, with under-graduate studentsfrom that institution.The students ranged inage from eighteen toaround twenty-four. Ithink the median agewas twenty. About fifty-fifty men and women.It’s a relatively largeinternational populationbut of course the stan-dard subject pool wasused. It would be inter-esting to look at differ-ent, non-standard sub-ject pools. 39
M.M. What’s the next step now in your research? Do you intend to gofurther?G.C. Definitely more money can help you successful in creatingresearch because this improve, it certainly supporting cooperationwas an initial step. At manages it in the soci- is because sometimesthis point we were inter- eties at large. those that needed helpested in understanding could not buy it. That’swhat really is the role of Now we are looking at what we call these daysmoney in society from other issues, in particu- a liquidity shortage. Soa behavioral perspec- lar leading to the endog- we’re looking into issuestive and it revealed to enous emergence of of this type, whetherus that the behavioral the systems, how they liquidity shortages canrole is very strong. It emerge, and liquidity or cannot create prob-is even if you can orga- problems. In the exper- lems for society in termsnize society in such a iment, the main reason of performance.way that everybody has why the monetary sys-the maximum pay-off. tem that emerged wasSociety cannot do it but not a hundred percent 40
Is there a psychologicalexplanation for the NearDeath Experience? by rob hutchinson website www.ispectrummagazine.comI n the last issue of Ispectrum I have always had an interest in magazine we had a fas- NDEs and despite never experi-cinating interview with Dr Eben encing one myself I am a strongAlexander, a distinguished neuro- believer in them. However, as asurgeon and sceptic of the near psychologist I couldn’t help butdeath experience (NDE). He never delve into the past research andforesaw that, despite writing a see if there was anything vergingpaper discrediting people’s experi- on a purely psychological explana-ence of NDEs, he would one day tion for the NDE. Many scientistsbecome a believer. After bacteria point to neurobiological evidence,attacked his brain and put him in such as a lack of oxygen in thea coma for seven days he had his brain as the reason for NDEs, andown NDE in a heavenly realm, and other corroborating evidence alsohe awoke from that coma a changed points to neurobiological factors.man, a believer. In fact, oxygen starvation causing 41
hallucinations is the most popular lections are subject to psychologi-explanation for the NDE and does cal interpretation, so an explorationhave various merits. Although neu- of psychological mechanisms couldroscience and psychology overlap shed light on the NDE reports andI am more interested in focusing lead to a better understanding ofpurely on the psychological aspect the NDE itself. Could a psychologi-as so far this has been largely cal model explain the NDE? And ifignored in favour of neuroscience. there is no psychological evidence,It is possible that the NDE fulfils a where would a psychological theorypsychological need, or could even for the NDE start and what would itbe a psychological defence mecha- need to prove?nism. In terms of the reports of theNDE itself it is likely that the recol- 42
psychological theoriesand evidences One of the earliest that would explain whypsychological theo- there is such consisten-ries for the NDE was cy in NDE reports. Theput forward by Grof peace and transcen-and Halifax in 1977. dent feelings alongsideThey were looking for the advancing througha psychological expla- a tunnel is in fact anation as to why NDE subjective recountancereports are so univer- of being born and trav-sal. Their birth - mem- elling through the birthory - activation model canal, with the peacepostulated that a close and light at the endshave with death trig- representing the feelinggered repressed mem- of being born into theories of the process of world. However, therebirth. After all, every- are obviously majorone is born in gener- issues with this, notally the same way, so least that being born is a pain- is highly unlikely that ful experi- it can remain buried ence for the and be activated by baby. Also, the moment of death. the infant No empirical evidence does not supports this theory, have the and scientific evidence capacity to strongly indicates that remember infants simply do not this experi- have the mental pro- ence so it 43
cesses necessary to fulfil a psychologi- regressing to a prever-remember their expe- cal need. However bal stage of develop-riences of birth. unlikely this may ment where they had seem, it could be an imbedded trust in Many psychologi- possible to explain the ‘realness’ of theircal theories have the NDE in this way. experiences and feel-shown that our reac- The theory of crisis ings of bliss associatedtions, experiences and intervention sup- with a time when, asdesires are working to poses that patho- a child, all their needs logical states can were readily met. This lead to an oppor- could explain why peo- tunity for positive ple report feeling so growth. This oppor- at ease and in awe of tunity for growth in their experiences with- crisis involves the in the NDE. But could person entering a this regression indicate state of disequilib- that the NDE served rium due to great a psychological need? periods of stress. In Greyson (1981) tried this period the ego to explain why posi- is overwhelmed and tive personality trans- the person becomes formations sometimes more susceptible to occurred in those who positive and correc- had attempted sui- tive influences. It is cide and experienced possible that the per- an NDE. He concluded son has a regression to that it was possible the a very primitive level NDE reduced the per- and this return to basic son’s suicidal intentions functioning leads them in the future by using to view their experi- psychological mecha- ences (real or imag- nisms. Some of these ined) in a sense of psychological mecha- childlike awe and bliss. nisms he used for these In essence, they are explanations included 44
that the NDE represents the death die, so the psychologicalof the ego, providing a substitute for mechanism would servethe death of the person, and the life no purpose. And, if itreview helps to resolve old conflicts occurred just to those whoand move on with life. went on to live, how could these mechanisms possi- Could facing death cause a regres- bly know if the person wassion in the mind of the individual to a going to live or die? Ondevelopmental stage of life, thereby the positive side, it wouldallowing psychological mechanisms explain the consistency ofto kick in , manifesting as the NDE? the NDE reports, as wellThere is no hard evidence for this as it’s paranormal aspectsand this idea relies a lot on factors and why it can have ben-that cannot be tested easily. Also, eficial effects on the indi-does this happen just to survivors or vidual.to everyone at death? If this regres-sion occurred in everyone it would The most promising psychologicalbe pointless as the huge majority theories all seem to focus on whyof people who are dying do in fact people have such a universal expe- rience. There are some academics, such as Grosso, who have pointed to the similarities between the universal experience of those who experience the NDE with that of patients who suffer Delirium Tremens. This disease is caused by withdrawal from alcohol or sedative - hypnotic drugs, such as barbiturates. The symptoms of Delirium tremens include, amongst others, palpitations, convulsions and auditory and visual hallucinations. These hallucinations involve distor- tions of the environment and tactile sensations such as animals crawling45
on the skin. The interesting The most promising psychologi-part in relation to the NDE is cal theories all seem to focus onthat there is a common ele- why people have such a universalment reported in these hal-lucinations, be it walls mor- experience.phing or visions of rats forexample, and that this ele-ment is reported across cul-tures, age groups and personalities. breathing rate and sometimes sei-It seems that the common hallucina- zures. All these physiological chang-tory experience is universal in the es are rapidly affecting thesame way as the NDE. We system, just like the bodyknow Delirium Tremens may go through sharpis caused by withdrawal changes just before,from a drink or drug or during, a person’sthat is usually preva- NDE. In the case oflent in the body sys- Delirium Tremenstem, and it is charac- these changesterized by high blood cause hallucinationspressure and pulse, that are similar inincreased most sufferers, so why does it seem so strange to suggest that the simi- lar experiences reported in the NDE could be caused by the physiological changes that they are experiencing? Many people assume that the NDE is such a special experience because of the common elements reported, but Delirium Tremens shows that it is not unique for people who suffer drastic changes in the physiological components of the body to experi- ence common elements in visions or hallucinations. 46
So far the evidence fora psychological expla-nation for the NDE islooking pretty thin onthe ground. The theo-ries or ideas are therebut nothing has beenshown to be solidenough to be rigor-ously tested to providehard evidence. A keyfactor in all psychologi-cal theories is havinga workable model thatcan be tested, so whatwould a model for theNDE have to accountfor and how could it beput to the test? If weassume that the NDEdoes have some sortof psychological func-tion then a workingmodel would be ableto explain it. A psychological model the psychological rea- to construct any kindwould have to account son behind it and the of model in relation tofor three things in rela- physiological process- the NDE as the psy-tion to the NDE; the es in the brain that chological theories areconsistency of reports occur during the pro- just not robust enoughand the universality of cess. At the moment to form the basis ofthose who report them, it is extremely difficult a model. Looking back 47
At this moment there seems not be a strong psychological explanation for the NDEon Grof and Halifax’s points but still remains At this moment therebirth - memory activa- elusive in terms of pro- seems not be a strongtion model it is almost viding anything that psychological explana-impossible to test, and could lead to concrete tion for the NDE. Therein terms of a model results. are some loose theo-based on the regression ries that are difficult totheory it has more valid prove but could serve as a starting point for further analysis if a more in depth investi- gative method can be found. However, inter- esting points are raised in terms of explaining the consistency of NDE reports. As for pro- ducing a psychological model, the criteria it would have to explain are clear, but as yet no-one has been able to put forward anything substantial in terms of ticking all the boxes and providing valid results. 48
Search
