Physicists Will Test Existence of Alternate Universes

Scientist running the world's biggest physics experiment — the Large Hadron Collider located in Geneva, Switzerland — will soon begin trials that will test for the presence of alternate universes existing in different dimensions of hyperspace.

Since detecting the Higgs boson, the so-called God particle, which explains how matter originally obtained mass, the collider has been shut down for two years while undergoing renovations. When it reopens, it will be able to reach energy levels higher than ever before: 13 tera electron volts (TeV). The Higgs boson was discovered at levels of 5.3 TeV.

At these high levels of energy, physicists will be able to determine if alternate universes exist in different dimensions of hyperspace, the strange area into which our universe is expanding. There are upwards of 10 dimensions in hyperspace and scientists think that our universe may be one among many. As Michio Kaku explains in a Big Think interview:

"Our universe is nothing but one bubble, but there are other bubbles. When two bubbles collide that could merge into a bigger bubble, which could be the big bang. In fact, that is what probably the big bang is or perhaps a bubble fissioned in half and split off into two bubbles. That could be the big bang. Or perhaps the universe popped into existence out of nothing. That is also a possibility."

The existence of alternate universe could explain the current incongruities that exist at our most fundamental understanding of the universe, or our universe, at least. Physicists are at a loss to explain the source of dark energy, which is propelling galaxies farther away from each other at an increasing velocity. But scientists theorize that dark energy may be spilling into our universe from parallel universes.

Whether the existence of these alternate universes is confirmed or denied, physics is set to reach a new understanding of the physical world thanks to the Large Hadron Collider, located at the CERN particle accelerator laboratory. 

Source: http://bigthink.com/ideafeed/physicists-will-test-for-presence-of-alternate-universes

Does The Soul Exist? Evidence Says ‘Yes’

New scientific theory recognizes life’s spiritual dimension

by Robert Lanza M.D.

The reality of the soul is among the most important questions of life. Although religions go on and on about its existence, how do we know if souls really exist? A string of new scientific experiments helps answer this ancient spiritual question.

The idea of the soul is bound up with the idea of a future life and our belief in a continued existence after death. It's said to be the ultimate animating principle by which we think and feel, but isn't dependent on the body. Many infer its existence without scientific analysis or reflection. Indeed, the mysteries of birth and death, the play of consciousness duringdreams (or after a few martinis), and even the commonest mental operations – such as imagination and memory – suggest the existence of a vital life force – an élan vital – that exists independent of the body.

Yet, the current scientific paradigm doesn't recognize this spiritual dimension of life. We're told we're just the activity of carbon and some proteins; we live awhile and die. And the universe? It too has no meaning. It has all been worked out in the equations – no need for a soul. But biocentrism – a new ‘theory of everything' – challenges this traditional, materialistic model of reality. In all directions, this outdated paradigm leads to insoluble enigmas, to ideas that are ultimately irrational. But knowledge is the prelude to wisdom, and soon our worldview will catch up with the facts.

Of course, most spiritual people view the soul as emphatically more definitive than the scientific concept. It's considered the incorporeal essence of a person, and is said to be immortal and transcendent of material existence. But when scientists speak of the soul (if at all), it's usually in a materialistic context, or treated as a poetic synonym for the mind. Everything knowable about the "soul" can be learned by studying the functioning of the brain. In their view, neuroscience is the only branch of scientific study relevant tounderstanding the soul.

Traditionally, science has dismissed the soul as an object of human belief, or reduced it to a psychological concept that shapes our cognition of the observable natural world. The terms "life" and "death" are thus nothing more than the common concepts of "biological life" and "biological death." The animating principle is simply the laws of chemistry and physics. You (and all the poets and philosophers that ever lived) are just dust orbiting the core of the Milky Way galaxy.

As I sit here in my office surrounded by piles of scientific books, I can't find a single reference to the soul, or any notion of an immaterial, eternal essence that occupies our being. Indeed, a soul has never been seen under an electron microscope, nor spun in the laboratory in a test tube or ultra-centrifuge. According to these books, nothing appears to survive the human body after death.

While neuroscience has made tremendous progress illuminating the functioning of the brain, why we have a subjective experience remains mysterious. The problem of the soul lies exactly here, in understanding the nature of the self, the "I" in existence that feels and lives life. But this isn't just a problem for biology and cognitive science, but for the whole of Western natural philosophy itself.

Our current worldview – the world of objectivity and naïve realism – is beginning to show fatal cracks. Of course, this will not surprise many of the philosophers and other readers who, contemplating the works of men such as Plato, Socrates and Kant, and of Buddha and other great spiritual teachers, kept wondering about the relationship between the universe and the mind of man.

Recently, biocentrism and other scientific theories have also started to challenge the old physico-chemical paradigm, and to ask some of the difficult questions about life: Is there a soul? Does anything endure the ravages of time?

Life and consciousness are central to this new view of being, reality and the cosmos. Although the current scientific paradigm is based on the belief that the world has an objective observer-independent existence, real experiments suggest just the opposite. We think life is just the activity of atoms and particles, which spin around for a while and then dissipate into nothingness. But if we add life to the equation, we can explain some of the major puzzles of modern science, including the uncertainty principle, entanglement, and the fine-tuning of the laws that shape the universe.

Consider the famous two-slit experiment. When you watch a particle go through the holes, it behaves like a bullet, passing through one slit or the other. But if no one observes the particle, it exhibits the behavior of a wave and can pass through both slits at the same time. This and other experiments tell us that unobserved particles exist only as ‘waves of probability' as the great Nobel laureate Max Born demonstrated in 1926. They're statistical predictions – nothing but a likely outcome. Until observed, they have no real existence; only when the mind sets the scaffolding in place, can they be thought of as having duration or a position in space. Experiments make it increasingly clear that even mere knowledge in the experimenter's mind is sufficient to convert possibility to reality.

Many scientists dismiss the implications of these experiments, because until recently, this observer-dependent behavior was thought to be confined to the subatomic world. However, this is being challenged by researchers around the world. In fact, just this year ateam of physicists (Gerlich et al, Nature Communications 2:263, 2011) showed that quantum weirdness also occurs in the human-scale world. They studied huge compounds composed of up to 430 atoms, and confirmed that this strange quantum behavior extends into the larger world we live in.

Importantly, this has a direct bearing on the question of whether humans and other living creatures have souls. As Kant pointed out over 200 years ago, everything we experience – including all the colors, sensations and objects we perceive – are nothing but representations in our mind. Space and time are simply the mind's tools for putting it all together. Now, to the amusement of idealists, scientists are beginning dimly to recognize that those rules make existence itself possible. Indeed, the experiments above suggest that objects only exist with real properties if they are observed. The results not only defy our classical intuition, but suggest that a part of the mind – the soul – is immortal and exists outside of space and time.

"The hope of another life" wrote Will Durant "gives us courage to meet our own death, and to bear with the death of our loved ones; we are twice armed if we fight with faith."

And we are thrice armed if we fight with science.

You can learn more about Biocentrism at www.robertlanzabiocentrism.com(link is external) andwww.robertlanza.com

A hard problem for soft brains: is there a Hard Problem?

Alex Grey - http://www.alexgrey.com

BY MICHAEL BROOKS 

Oh, to have been a fly on the wall when the philosopher Daniel Dennett chatted with Tom Stoppard. The conversation took place after a performance of Stoppard’s new play about consciousness, The Hard Problem. A few days earlier, Dennett had told an audience at the Royal Institution (RI) that there is no “Hard Problem”.

The play’s name comes from the label that the Australian cognitive scientist David Chalmers gives to the task of understanding consciousness. This is hard, he says, because no physical phenomena will ever be found to account for the emergence of conscious experience. It is a statement of faith but one that has garnered plenty of support and clearly caught Stoppard’s attention.

Consciousness is a tough nut to crack. Scientists aren’t sure how to define it and they don’t know how it – whatever “it” is – emerges from the squidgy, biological matter of the brain. Somehow, billions of neurons connect and give us the ability to sense the outside world and have what we describe as “feelings” about our experience.

To Stoppard, consciousness is an almost supernatural phenomenon – something beyond the reach of science. His play suggests that those who indulge in spiritual beliefs might be more successful in hunting down the root of consciousness, as if consciousness inhabited some realm beyond physics, chemistry and biology.

Dennett, on the other hand, thinks that we may have already solved the problem of consciousness with a coterie of small-scale, rather banal explanations. The non-mysterious ways in which the brain creates our sensory experience might be the only ingredients we need to explain how it is that we are aware of feeling something.

He expands on this possibility in his contribution to a new collection of essays at edge.org that asks the question: “What scientific idea is ready for retirement?” He chooses the Hard Problem (even though, he says, it isn’t actually a scientific idea) and suggests we should approach all of its difficulties in the same way as scientists approach extrasensory perception and telekinesis: as “figments of the imagination”.

The central issue concerns our trouble with believing in the physicality of things we cannot see or touch. Software, Dennett suggested at the RI, provides a good example. Everyone agrees that software exists and performs tasks that are far from mysterious. But what is it made of? Lines of code written on a piece of paper do nothing. When written into a computer, they become abstract information encoded in the electronic state of silicon chips – we know that they are there but they are transformed. However hard that is to grasp, it doesn’t
make software spiritual or take it beyond analysis.

A word of caution: there is always a danger of interpreting our scientific struggles within a familiar paradigm. Newton discovered his “clockwork heavens” in an age when accurate means of measuring time were the central goal of many scientifically minded colleagues. Einstein’s special relativity, which defines the fundamentals of the universe in terms that reference light and signals, was birthed in the era of the electric telegraph. Neither was the final word.

These days, much of physics and biology focuses on issues of information transfer, probably because computing now plays such a significant role. So it is possible that Dennett’s software analogy is an innocent sleight of hand. It may be that we haven’t yet encountered the paradigm that will allow us to frame a good understanding of consciousness.

That would certainly make consciousness a hard problem to solve right now – but still not the Hard Problem.

http://www.newstatesman.com/sci-tech/2015/04/hard-problem-soft-brains-there-hard-problem

The Scientific Pagan

Allison Ehrman

One of the few things I lost when I left the religion of my upbringing was the ability to easily define my beliefs in a simple label. I am no longer “Southern Baptist” and all those two words immediately imply. 

I don’t in any way consider this a bad thing, but when people ask me what I believe now I don’t want to weigh them down with “I’m a Unitarian Universalist neo-pagan scientific pantheist humanist who practices Buddhist insight meditation (Vipassana),” even though it’s the truth. Sometimes, however, I have the personal need to privately unpack these labels that usually blend seamlessly in my daily life in order to get a better sense of who I am and where I’m going on this spiritual journey.

My degree is in education with a specialization in life and earth sciences. How does my love of science fit into my spiritual life? While I’ve always been a pagan at heart (but didn’t realize it), I discovered I was a scientific pantheist first. I won’t go into all the details of what scientific pantheists believe (for more information you can go here: http://www.pantheism.net/manifest.htm#statement), but in short I have a deep reverence for the universe and believe that science can ultimately explain all phenomena within it. Until that happens there are many mysteries I can’t explain, but I don’t believe they are caused by supernatural forces. I believe there are forces and events that are nothing short of miraculous in human terms, but I feel that they are all part of the natural system of our cosmos, that they all obey standard laws of biology and physics, and that we just still have a long way to go in some cases to define these laws. I believe that many of the things we do and do not understand are completely deserving of our awe. Both of the Cosmos television series serve as an excellent documentary of what it is I believe as a scientific pantheist.

But then how can I be a pagan? Don’t all pagans believe in supernatural forces? A brief exploration with Google shows that this isn’t the case. Most probably do, and I have nothing but respect for those who do. As an earth-centered pagan, however, I believe that the universe is worthy in and of itself to be worshiped and honored in my rituals. Science, as the system I trust to explain the universe, is a great tool for shaping and enabling this worship. But it doesn’t fulfill my need to interact with the things I don’t understand and which sometimes bring about deep emotions and moving mental states. Ceremony and ritual help me meet that personal requirement, and I find that pagan rituals do so best of all.

When I first participated with the women’s pagan circle at my UU fellowship, I was somewhat uncomfortable using the words “goddess” and “spirits.” I’ve since come to associate the forces and conditions of the universe that science cannot yet explain with those terms. To me these words are just as good as any others in naming that which cannot (yet) be named. There are also a lot of people who believe that we can be one with, if not the same as, “God” or “Goddess.” My spiritual nature can identify with the creativity, love, and sense of power so often attributed to supernatural beings – not that I consider myself to be above others in any way. So I’ve lost most of the wariness I once had for such terms. I often find myself thinking of science promotor Adam Savage’s words, “I reject your reality and substitute my own.” But this is something all thinking spiritual people do as they evolve.

In the end, I don’t feel any kind of disconnect between my love of science and my love of and reverence for nature. And maybe someday I’ll drop all the labels I’ve given to myself and just consider my spiritual beliefs to be what they are. In the meantime, I find them helpful in mapping out just what it is I do and do not believe, and that’s an excellent way to continue propelling myself down my own path.

Read more: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/naturespath/2015/04/the-scientific-pagan/#ixzz3XuZIu8oG

How Meditation Primes The Mind For Spiritual Experiences

Meditation – Painting of Buddhist Monk
Nik Helbig Painting 2007

The practice of mindfulness dates back at least 2,500 years to early Buddhism, and since then, it's played an important role in a number of spiritual traditions. 

While the stillness and connecting with one's inner self cultivated through mindfulness are certainly an important part of a spiritual practice, feelings of wonder and awe -- the amazement we get when faced with incredible vastness -- are also central to the spiritual experience. And according to new research, mindfulness may actually set the stage for awe.

Mindfulness is the key element of the spiritual experience in a number of different religions.
Awe is defined as a feeling of amazement of fascination and amazement invoked by an encounter with something larger than ourselves that is beyond our ordinary frameworks of understanding. Previous research has shown that spirituality, nature and art are the most common ways that we experience awe.

"You can't digest [the object of awe] with your cognitive structures -- it's too big for you," University of Groningen psychologist Dr. Brian Ostafin told the Huffington Post. "So there's a need for accommodation, to change your mental structures to understand what that is. This is the key element of the spiritual experience in a number of different religions."

Ostafin recently conducted several studies that shed light on the relationship between mindfulness and awe -- two of the core elements of many spiritual traditions.
 
For one study, Ostafin and colleagues recruited 64 undergraduate participants to view and respond to a number of images. All of participants were shown two sets of images: One set of images was used to inspire awe (the Grand Canyon, majestic mountains, a view of the Earth from space) while the others were meant to inspire feelings of positivity (kittens, flowers, baby chicks), and asked to rate their awe and positivity responses on a scale of 1 to 7.

Prior to viewing the images, half of the participants listened to a 10-minute mindfulness audio tape, while the other half listened to non-mindfulness control audio. The participants who took part in the brief mindfulness exercise experienced a greater awe reaction than the control group in response to the awe-provoking images.

By way of explanation, Ostafin had this to offer:

"Awe involves that assimilation -- giving up your cognitive structures in order to accommodate [the object of awe]. And mindfulness is a little bit about that too, because you're paying attention and exercising non-conceptual awareness, so you should be more open to the immensity that's there. You step out of the small frame that you have and this small idea of what the world is... You're not stuck in your own story." 

The relationship between mindfulness and awe also seems to be mediated by accomodation, Ostafin said. When we practice mindfulness (the cultivation of a focused, non-judgmental awareness on the present moment), we're more able to open our mind to make sense of new experiences.

The findings shed light on the link between meditation and spiritual experiences, and also suggest that mindfulness practices may be effective in facilitating feelings of awe, which have been associated with improved well-being and creativity and reduced inflammation.

The findings were presented at the annual Society for Personality and Social Psychology conference in Long Beach.

Source: Huffington Post

Science and Spirituality: The Divine Marriage

There are beautiful and wild forces within us. - St Francis of Asisi   

Behind the existence of all matter is a conscious and intelligent mind - this mind is the matrix of all matter. - Max Planck, "father" of quantum

There is something "out there." Just beyond our perceptions of the everyday world there’s a presence, or force, that’s at once both mysterious and comforting.

We talk about it. We feel it. We believe in it and pray to it, perhaps without even understanding precisely what it is! A series of groundbreaking experiments in the last decade of the Twentieth Century unveil dramatic and undeniable evidence of a previously unrecognized form of energy, a Divine Matrix, that appears to link each member of our global family, creation, and the events of our lives in unexpected and empowering ways. From the success and failure of our careers and relationships, to family health and the peace of our world, these studies add to a growing body of evidence suggesting that we may actively participate in the outcome of the personal, as well as global, events of our lives. Reported by leading research institutions of our day, the experiments shake the foundation of traditional science, documenting that:

All of creation is bathed and connected through a field of subtle energy.




We "speak" directly to this field through emotion, beliefs, and prayer. Through this field we are part of the healing in our bodies, and the peace in our families, communities and nations. Calling it by names that vary from the Web of Creation to the Spirit of God, ancient traditions knew this presence exists. They also knew how to apply it in their lives.

In the words of their time, they left detailed instructions to the people of their future describing how we may use this invisible force to heal our bodies and relationships, and bring peace to our world; they are all part of the same force. Today we know the language connects all three as a "lost" mode of prayer.

Unlike the traditional prayers that we may have used in the past, however, this technique of prayer has no words. It is based in the silent language of human emotion. It invites us to feel gratitude and appreciation, as if our prayers have already been answered. Through this quality of feeling, the ancients believed that we are given direct access to the power of creation: the Spirit of God.

In the 20th century, modern science may have rediscovered the spirit of God as a field of energy that is different from any other form of energy. It appears to be everywhere, always, and to have existed since the beginning of time. Just as the ancients suggested, the Field responds to human emotion!

Regardless of what we call it or how science and religion define it, it is clear that there is something out there—a force, a field, a presence—that is the "great magnet" constantly pulling us toward one another and connecting us to a higher power. Knowing that this force exists, it makes tremendous sense that we would be able to communicate with it in a way that is meaningful and useful in our lives. Ultimately, we may discover that the same power that heals our deepest hurts and creates peace between nations holds the key to our survival as a species.

© Gregg Braden

Article from: http://www.greggbraden.com/newsletter05-06.html

12 Facts about the Mysterious Puma Punku

45 miles west of La Paz high in the Andes mountains, lie the mysterious ancient ruins of Puma Punku. The megalithic stones found here are among the largest on the planet, measuring up to 26 feet long and weighing more than 100 tons each.

Puma Punku is a large temple complex or monument group that is part of the Tiwanaku Site near Tiwanaku, Bolivia.

1. Puma Punku is so unique in the way that it was constructed, shaped and positioned, that it is the most intriguing ancient site on the planet.
2. If you look at the stones carefully, you can see some intricate stonework, as though they used machine tools or even lasers. Evidence of ancient civilizations using modern technology?
3. At Puma Punku you will find incredible stones with perfect right angles, almost smooth as glass, this makes Puma Punku unique. Only few places on earth display this type of stone work.
4. The massive stones were hewn at quarries over 60 miles away according to archaeologists.
5. Puma Punku is located  at an altitude of 12,800 feet, which means it is located above the natural tree line, this means NO trees grew in that area which means that no trees were cut down in order to use wooden rollers, the question is how did they transport the stones?
6. Tiahuanaco is located near Puma Punku, less than a quarter mile northeast of Puma Punku. Scientists believe Tiahuanaco was once the center of a civilization with more than 40,000 inhabitants.
7. Tiahuanaco is probably the greatest Native American civilization that many people haven’t heard of.
8. It’s said that Tiahuanaco displays all the races of mankind, even elongated skulls, people wearing turbans, people with broad noses, people with thin noses, people with thick lips, people with thin lips, and some of the statues are particularly unusual and are unlike the ones found in the nearby area.
9. One of the most important archaeological artifacts ever discovered in Tiahuanaco or Puma Punku is the famous Fuente Magna Bowl.
10. The Ceramic bowl has Sumerian cuneiform and Proto-Sumerian hieroglyphic written on it.
11. The megalithic stones found at Puma Punku are among the largest on the planet.
12. There are stones at Puma Punku that weigh over 100 tons.

Source: http://www.ancient-code.com/12-facts-about-puma-punku/

Aliens Created Our Species, Scientist Says

A group of researchers worked for 13 years at the Human Genome Project (Project completed in 2003) indicate that they made an astonishing scientific discovery: They believe so-called 97% non-coding sequences in human DNA is no less than genetic code of extraterrestrial life forms.

Non-coding sequences, originally known as "junk DNA", were discovered years ago, and their function remained a mystery. The overwhelming majority of Human DNA is "Off-world" in origin.

After comprehensive analysis with the assistance of other scientists, computer programmers, mathematicians, and other learned scholars, Professor Chang had wondered if the apparently "junk Human DNA" was created by some kind of "extraterrestrial programmer".

Professor Chang further stipulates that "Our hypothesis is that a higher extraterrestrial life form was engaged in creating new life and planting it on various planets. Earth is just one of them.

Professor Chang further indicates that "What we see in our DNA is a program consisting of two versions, a big code and basic code." Mr. Chang then affirms that the "First fact is, the complete 'program' was positively not written on Earth; that is now a verified fact. The second fact is, that genes by themselves are not enough to explain evolution; there must be something more in 'the game'."

"Soon or later", Professor Chang says "we have to come to grips with the unbelievable notion that every life on Earth carries genetic code for his extraterrestrial cousin and that evolution is not what we think it is."

Human Genome Project Discovery Implications associated with "Human-looking Extraterrestrials"

The implications of these scientific finds would reinforce claims by other scientists and observers of having contact with 'off-world' human looking extraterrestrials.

The 'off-world' human looking extraterrestrial have been claimed to have provided some of the genetic material for human evolution, and that many of these extraterrestrials have allowed some of their personnel to incarnate as 'star seeds' on Earth in human families. These "star seeds", "star children" or "star people"



 
Human DNA encoded with extraterrestrial signals

Now in 2013, scientists from Kazakhstan believe that human DNA was encoded with an extraterrestrial signal by an ancient alien civilisation.

They call it "biological SETI" and the researchers claim that the mathematical code in human DNA cannot be explained by evolution.

In a nutshell, we're living, breathing vessels for some kind of alien message which is more easily used to detect extra terrestrial life than via radio transmission.

"Once fixed, the code might stay unchanged over cosmological timescales; in fact, it is the most durable construct known," the researchers wrote in scientific journal Icarus. "Therefore it represents an exceptionally reliable storage for an intelligent signature.

"Once the genome is appropriately rewritten the new code with a signature will stay frozen in the cell and its progeny, which might then be delivered through space and time."

The scientists also claim that human DNA is ordered so precisely that it reveals an "ensemble of arithmetical and ideographical patterns of symbolic language".

Their research has led the scientists to conclude that we were invented "outside the solar system, already several billion years ago".

One mystery remains: If we were the creation of aliens, who created them?




source: agoracosmopolitan.com , news.com.au , discovery.com , arxiv.org , orln.gov

http://ufosightingshotspot.blogspot.ro/2013/04/scientific-proof-human-race-was-created.html

18 Spiritual Teachings That Blew My Mind Wide Open

I have been a grateful sojourner on the winding spiritual path for as long I can remember.

After rejecting the Catholic Church around age 10, I stumbled upon the love of my life—yoga-—at the critical age of 12-going-on-13.

I started reading New Age self-help books in college and met the Buddha in the San Francisco Bay area at 23.

Each stage along the way has been illuminating and necessary to move to a higher level of consciousness. I am thrilled to continue learning and practicing throughout this lifetime, at least.

At certain points in the past, I have wished for epiphanies, signals and sudden enlightenment. Of course, life doesn’t work that way. What we seek eludes us. Letting go allows newness to enter.

So, although I would like to gift you with these 18 teachings that have altered my mind and improved my life, they may not resonate with you. The most important teaching of all is that we are each where we need to be when we need to be there, learning the lessons that we need to learn.

1. Everything I need is already within me.

Authentic power comes from finding balance within; it is not imposed from external authorities.

2. I can (and do) create my life through creative visualization (to a certain extent).

Using the common sense techniques Shakti Gawain outlines in her books, I was able to realize my dream of living in California and becoming a full-time yoga instructor 11 years ago. I do not, however, subscribe to the “Secret.”  Reality is reality, and people and objects are not mere pawns in our manifestations.

3. All things must pass.

My first bout of depression in my early 20s was the worst, because I seriously believed it would never end. I thought, Okay, this terrible, listless, sad, anxious state is adulthood. This is what it means to grow up. Of course, I turned out to be wrong. The depression lifted (and came back and lifted again, over and over).

My dear friend Liz has a tattoo that reminds her, “This too shall pass.” Depression will pass, but so will joyous times. Our beloved pets and friends and family will pass, and so will we. Rather than hiding from this morbid truth, I now embrace it and live my life more fully because of it.

4. Beliefs separate.

Since absorbing this fundamental teaching via J. Krishnamurti, I have strived to let go of beliefs and labels. I am not a Catholic Buddhist liberal American yogini. I am a human. You are a human. Now we can relate.

5. Faith is letting go.

Faith is not holding on to a dogma, a promise, a future in heaven. Faith is letting go and letting in the ever-unfolding experience of life as it flows presently.

6. All meditation is good meditation.

And another thing: it is perfectly fine to meditate for 30 seconds. If I meditate for half a minute, then take a little break (because, damn, that was tough!), then start again—that is A-OK. Some days it may be 30 minutes, others 30 seconds. The key, I’ve found, is to pause regularly throughout the day. In this way, I integrate meditation into my life and not just as a part of my formal practice on the cushion.

7. Metta.

Learning the metta meditation technique at a spiritual conference in Palo Alto in 2004 was transformative. Metta is loving kindness. The basic technique is to send good wishes to ourselves, our loved ones, strangers, enemies and ultimately every sentient being without exception. I have introduced it to countless yoga students over the years. Metta is powerful and can be used in formal meditation as well as on-the-spot.

8. Each morning, I am born again. What I do today is what matters most.

Thanks, Buddha!

The past brought me here, but it is over. The future is totally uncertain. I aspire to concentrate as much of my attention and effort on the present moment, the current situation and the living relationships I cultivate with myself and others.

Shout out, also, to Eckhart Tolle and The Flaming Lips. Living in the moment, cliché as it has become to say, is truly liberating. The more I practice, the better I get.

9. Equanimity.

Attending two 10-day silent Vipassana retreats two summers in a row effectively branded the concept of equanimity in my mind. Balance of mind. Not allowing it to be swayed by every little (or big) feeling of pleasure and pain. Like all these lessons, it is a process that continues to unfold.

10. No self.

The separate “I” that I seem to be is merely an illusion, a fiction, a well-told story. Letting it go is a moment-to-moment practice, an utterly liberating one.

11. Suffering is the result of clinging.

Yesterday, we took a bus to Cali, Colombia. We were told it would take five hours. After eight hours had passed, I was hungry, tired, annoyed with the horrendous movies being shown in rapid succession on the bus and tearfully frustrated. I was clinging to my expectation that the trip would be five hours long. My young daughter, on the other hand, was just fine. She had no expectations. Whenever I cling, I suffer. So I strive not to cling.

12. Worry is useless.

I used to be a worry wart—even as a kid. At some point, I read that worrying is planning for a negative future. That blew my mind open in the best of ways. So I stopped.

13. Friendship is the highest form of love.

This teaching came from Osho. When I read that sentence, it stopped me in my tracks. It rang so true. Though at the time I struggled with romantic love, I have typically flourished in friendships. True friendship is founded on trust and respect. The best marriages are founded on genuine friendship.

14. Difficult people are the best teachers.

(Much gratitude to Pema for this one!)

15. Therefore, be grateful to everyone and everything.

Gratitude can be cultivated through appreciation of the lovely people—as well as the pain-in-the-ass people—and the unique details of our daily lives.

16. Don’t get on the train.

There are 1,001 great metaphors for meditation. One that really resonated with me came from Matthieu Ricard. I imagine sitting at a train station, watching the trains arrive and depart. My pure awareness is the station and my thoughts, feelings, sensations, etc. are the trains. If I am not mindful, I will hop on a train and take it to who knows where. But the moment I realize I am on the train, I am magically off of it, back at the station, just watching without judgment, with compassion.

17. Breath is life.

As Buddhist teacher Gil Fronsdal says, if you’re aware of the breath, you’re aware of the present moment. Our breath is with us from the moment of birth until the moment of death. It is the one bodily function that we can consciously control. Deep breathing is calming. Awareness of breath is the most fundamental meditation technique—and one that I always return to no matter what.

18. Make your mind as vast as the sky.

When I read this line, also from Matthieu Ricard, my mind actually did feel like it blew wide open, in the best possible way. It felt spacious and vast and calm and just there. Now, when I am feeling small-minded and constricted in my thinking, I often remind myself to make my mind as vast as the sky and it inevitably helps.

May these teachings be of benefit!

Bonus: Reggie Ray explains that meditation is the most important thing he’s done with his life:

What would you put on your list? Please share in the comments section if so inspired. Namaste.

Source: Elephantjournal.com

Extraterrestrial Nucleobases: DNA Building Blocks Can be Made in Space

NASA-funded researchers have evidence that some building blocks of DNA, the molecule that carries the genetic instructions for life, found in meteorites were likely created in space. The research gives support to the theory that a "kit" of ready-made parts created in space and delivered to Earth by meteorite and comet impacts assisted the origin of life.

"People have been discovering components of DNA in meteorites since the 1960's, but researchers were unsure whether they were really created in space or if instead they came from contamination by terrestrial life," said Dr. Michael Callahan of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. "For the first time, we have three lines of evidence that together give us confidence these DNA building blocks actually were created in space." Callahan is lead author of a paper on the discovery appearing in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America [see below].

The discovery adds to a growing body of evidence that the chemistry inside asteroids and comets is capable of making building blocks of essential biological molecules. For example, previously, these scientists at the Goddard Astrobiology Analytical Laboratory have found amino acids in samples of comet Wild 2 from NASA's Stardust mission, and in various carbon-rich meteorites. Amino acids are used to make proteins, the workhorse molecules of life, used in everything from structures like hair to enzymes, the catalysts that speed up or regulate chemical reactions.

In the new work, the Goddard team ground up samples of twelve carbon-rich meteorites, nine of which were recovered from Antarctica. They extracted each sample with a solution of formic acid and ran them through a liquid chromatograph, an instrument that separates a mixture of compounds. They further analyzed the samples with a mass spectrometer, which helps determine the chemical structure of compounds.

The team found adenine and guanine, which are components of DNA called nucleobases, as well as hypoxanthine and xanthine. DNA resembles a spiral ladder; adenine and guanine connect with two other nucleobases to form the rungs of the ladder. They are part of the code that tells the cellular machinery which proteins to make. Hypoxanthine and xanthine are not found in DNA, but are used in other biological processes.

Meteorites Contain a Large Variety of Nucleobases, an essential building block of DNA.
[Artist concept credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Chris Smith]

Also, in two of the meteorites, the team discovered for the first time trace amounts of three molecules related to nucleobases: purine, 2,6-diaminopurine, and 6,8-diaminopurine; the latter two almost never used in biology. These compounds have the same core molecule as nucleobases but with a structure added or removed.

It's these nucleobase-related molecules, called nucleobase analogs, which provide the first piece of evidence that the compounds in the meteorites came from space and not terrestrial contamination. "You would not expect to see these nucleobase analogs if contamination from terrestrial life was the source, because they're not used in biology, aside from one report of 2,6-diaminopurine occurring in a virus (cyanophage S-2L)," said Callahan. "However, if asteroids are behaving like chemical 'factories' cranking out prebiotic material, you would expect them to produce many variants of nucleobases, not just the biological ones, due to the wide variety of ingredients and conditions in each asteroid."

The second piece of evidence involved research to further rule out the possibility of terrestrial contamination as a source of these molecules. The team also analyzed an eight-kilogram (21.4-pound) sample of ice from Antarctica, where most of the meteorites in the study were found, with the same methods used on the meteorites. The amounts of the two nucleobases, plus hypoxanthine and xanthine, found in the ice were much lower - parts per trillion - than in the meteorites, where they were generally present at several parts per billion. More significantly, none of the nucleobase analogs were detected in the ice sample. One of the meteorites with nucleobase analog molecules fell in Australia, and the team also analyzed a soil sample collected near the fall site. As with the ice sample, the soil sample had none of the nucleobase analog molecules present in the meteorite.

Thirdly, the team found these nucleobases - both the biological and non-biological ones - were produced in a completely non-biological reaction. "In the lab, an identical suite of nucleobases and nucleobase analogs were generated in non-biological chemical reactions containing hydrogen cyanide, ammonia, and water. This provides a plausible mechanism for their synthesis in the asteroid parent bodies, and supports the notion that they are extraterrestrial," says Callahan.

"In fact, there seems to be a 'goldilocks' class of meteorite, the so-called CM2 meteorites, where conditions are just right to make more of these molecules," adds Callahan.

Map Shatters The “Official” History

(Collective Evolution) Human history is quite an enigma. We know so little, and much of what we think we know seems to be highly questionable in the wake of new evidence, as well as pre-existing information that challenges our current understanding of the world.

Our world is no stranger to unexplained mystery, and there are numerous examples of verified phenomenon, ancient monuments, books, teachings, understandings and more that lack any explanation and counter what we’ve already been taught. We are like a race with amnesia, able to put together small bits and pieces of our history yet unable to provide any sort of verified explanation. There are still many missing pieces to the puzzle.

One great example is the Piri Reis map, a genuine document that was re-made (copied from older documents) at Constantinople in AD 1513, and discovered in 1929. It focuses on the western coast of Africa, the eastern coast of South America, and the northern coast of Antarctica. It was drawn by the military intelligence of Admiral Piri Reis of the Ottoman era. He is a well-known historical figure whose identity is well established. The Admiral made a copy of it, and the original was drawn based on documents that date back to at least the fourth century BC, and on information obtained by multiple explorers.

Why The Map Is So Compelling

Right off the bat, one of the most compelling facts about the map is that it includes a continent that our history books tell us was not discovered until 1818.

Secondly, the map depicts what is known as “Queen Maud Land,” a 2.7 million-square-kilometer (1 million sq mi) region of Antarctica as it looked millions of years ago. This region and other regions shown on the map are thought to have been covered completely in ice, but the map tells a different story. It shows this area as ice free, which suggests that these areas passed through a long ice-free period which might not have come to an end until approximately six thousand years ago, which again, totally goes against what is taught and currently believed. Today, geological evidence has confirmed that this area could not have been ice-free until about 4000 BC.

Official science has been saying all along that the ice-cap which covers the Antarctic is millions of years old. The Piri Reis map shows that the northern part of that continent has been mapped before the ice did cover it. This means that it was mapped a million years ago, but that’s impossible, since mankind did not exist at that time. Quite the conundrum isn’t it?

Professor Charles Hapgood, who was a university history professor, wrote to the United States Air Force Reconnaissance Technical Squadron (SAC) and they also confirmed that “this indicates the coastline had been mapped before it was covered by the ice-cap.” (1) They also went on to state that “we have no idea how the data on this map can be reconciled with the supposed state of geographical knowledge in 1513.” (1) (The reply was from Harold Z. Ohlmeyer, a Lt Colonel, USAF)

Here’s what Professor Charles Hapgood had to say about it:

“It appears that accurate information has been passed down from people to people. It appears that the charts must have originated with a people unknown and they were passed on, perhaps by the Minoans and the Phoenicians, who were, for a thousand years and more, the greatest sailors of the ancient world. We have evidence that they were collected and studied in the great library of Alexandria (Egypt) and that compilations of them were made by the geographers that worked there.” (1)

Furthermore, the map is very detailed and includes mountain ranges in the Antarctic. which were not even discovered until 1952.

“His idea is original, of great simplicity, and if it continues to prove itself – of great importance to everything that is related to the history of the Earth’s surface.” – Einstein on Hapgood’s interpretations of the map (1)(2) (From a forward Einstein wrote for Hapgood in one of his books)

Hapgood and mathematician Richard W. Strachan have also provided more mind-boggling information. For example, a comparison with modern day photographs that are taken from satellite images shows remarkable similarities; the originals of Piri Reis’ maps might well have been aerial photographs taken from a very high height. (2) I’ll let you think about that for a second. How is that possible for a map that was made millions of years ago?

“A spaceship hovers high above Cairo and points its camera straight downward. When the film is developed, the following picture would emerge: everything that is in a radius of about 5,000 miles of Cairo is reproduced correctly, because it lies directly below the lens. But the countries and continents become increasingly distorted the farther we move our eyes from the center of the picture. Why is this? Owing to the spherical shape of the earth, the continents away from the center “sink downward.” South America, for example, appears strangely distorted length-ways, exactly as it does on the Piri Reis maps! And exactly as it does on the photographs taken from the American lunar probes.” – (Erich Von Daniken 92)

Changing Our View of The Past

The fact that this ancient map could have been made with some sort of arial technology is quite a thought, isn’t it? Even if this isn’t an option, who had the technology to undertake such an accurate geographical survey in Antarctica a couple million years ago? How would they have known to detail the map as if it were taken from above, with knowledge about the earth’s shape?

It remains a mystery how the Sumerians, Mayans, and others were aware of bodies in space that are impossible to detect without modern technology, and were able to make calculations based on that awareness. This map is another example of just such a mystery, and suggests that the existence of some sort of ancient advanced civilization, with all the tools (or possibly more) of modern day civilization, is indeed plausible.

For more detailed information regarding this truly fascinating map, I suggest you check out source # 1 for starters.

I’d also like to mention that this map is part of a very large body of evidence suggesting that extremely intelligent, very advanced ancient civilizations once roamed the Earth.

Sources:

(1) Hancock, Graham. Fingerprints of the Gods: Canada: Anchor Canada, 2005

(2) Daniken, Erich. Chariots of The Gods. New York: Berkley Books, 1970

Source: Collective Evolution

How the Universe Works with You

One way to think of the Universe is like a grand resonating drum, reverberating in the field of consciousness. 

Like a cave that responds to sounds waves with an echo, the universe actually responds to thoughts and intentions as well as actions.

Its important to realize that more than just echo these back to you in the precise form you sent them, the Universe collaborates with you.

 Open Your Eyes and Expand Your Vision

As your partner in the projects you want to realize, love you want to attract and goals you wan to achieve, the Universe may have different options or interpretations to offer which could differ from what you expect.

This is why it is necessary to be open minded and trust in this process. In fact, it can help to consider, what if the Universe has plans for me that are even better than the ones I can imagine? 

You’ll never find out unless you can let go of some of that control and expand your vision.

Many people have a narrow view when it comes to their goals and desires, keeping a tight grip on their initial vision:

“My future job/ partner/ project must look exactly like X or I will not accept  I met this expectation of myself.”

If you have this tunnel vision, it may cause you to miss opportunities because you fail to recognize them as such. Often things show up in our lives in a different form then we expect, but with the means to bring us to where we ultimately want to go.

If you can let go of a controlling grip and open your mind to alternate paths, you will begin to see how to use what comes back to you.

Remaining Creative and Open

The mind state of play is important for encouraging a creative approach to problem solving. This is because while in play mode the mind is open to letting ideas flow and seeing different perspectives. A fear based mind set does the exact opposite, essentially putting blinders on one’s vision.

So, by adopting the perspective you are playing with the Universe to bring what you want into your life, you will see opportunity instead of hurdles and challenges instead of set backs.

The trick is to change your perspective. You may not be able to change what cards you are dealt  but you can change how you view them, which can have a dramatic influence your journey.

Would you rather journey through life bitter and resentful, fearful and closed off or open and fearless?

By choosing to look at situations with a more positive and playful perspective, you invite more joy and positive experiences into your life.

Asking for Help

If you ask for help, the Universe will respond. There are many ways you can do this, including contacting your spirit guides, accessing your Akashic records, prayer and through the Tarot. You can even ask for help to come in your dreams.

Usually help comes through gaining insight or clarity into a situation. The more well formed your question, the clearer your answer will be. 

For instance, if you ask “will I ever find love” you may get a “Yes” but there is no indication of when this is in the works for you. The best way to communicate your questions is to form it clearly and think it calmly.

Interpreting the answer can be tricky. The metaphysical world communicates in a different language from what we are used. As opposed to a linear set of words and syntax, messages from the metaphysical come in the form of images, symbols and metaphor.

Often, it can be hard to tell what they mean. The trick is to be open to how answers come and what they are showing you. For instance, you may be wondering something and suddenly a song pops into your head with lyrics related to your pondering. 

This is likely a message to help shed light on what it is you are wondering about. Since our society does not prioritize teaching us to interpret these signs and signals from the Universe, we often have to teach ourselves and it can be a hard terrain to navigate at first.

This is why when you first begin to make contact like this it can be useful to seek out an expert you trust, be that a Tarot/Akashic record reader, elder, spiritual leader, medium or coach.

The Challenge – Don’t Let Fear or Doubt Stop You!

Show you are committed to your intention, be that to find love, achieve your goals or reach fulfillment, by putting a little action in.  Do something and the Universe will take care of the rest.

The Universe responds to commitment in the form of actions, taking care of 90% of what is needed to make it happen. You’ll meet the right people, be in the right place at the right time, things will come together.

As Terrance Mckenna said:

“Nature loves courage. You make the commitment and nature will respond to that commitment by removing impossible obstacles. Dream the impossible dream and the world will not grind you under, it will lift you up. This is the trick.
“This is what all these teachers and philosophers who really counted, who really touched the alchemical gold, this is what they understood. This is the shamanic dance in the waterfall. This is how magic is done. By hurling yourself into the abyss and discovering its a feather bed.” - Terence McKenna

So it pays to trust and belief in yourself enough to face what seem like impossible odds and dare to dream big!

by Laura Jane, The Pale Fox