Recently I uploaded a video to facebook featuring Brue Lipton.  In this video he is discussing the effect of our beliefs on our physical world and our physical selves. 

This is an excpetionally interesting thought provoking video which you can find here.   

http://www.2011tappingworldsummit.com/VideoSeries/?p=8

After posting this video I got a pointed and well conceived comment from Kevin.  I felt I owed a respectable answer to his comment but, the reply would not fit in the limit for facebook comments.  So I've posted it here instead. 

If you're interested in energy medicine, energy healing or quatum physics, EFT or related subjects, you may find my post to be of interest.  I've posted my reply below.  In it I address some of the basic concepts on which many related fields of energy work lay.  

 

Marvin Double Hi Kevin and thanks for taking time to post your very well constructed and thought provoking comment.

You are of course correct that this video does not clarify the points Bruce Lipton makes. In fact, as you noted he is somewhat vague in offering anything in the way of actual proof, which is unfortunate.

The examples he does point to don't really illustrate the essential argument well. In fact this is a very complicated subject which crosses the threshold of more than one aspect of human existence and is both physical and non-physical in nature.

It is entirely true that when one has a headache, as a simple example, ASA may take away the pain. There are numerous such examples of how at the primary physical level drugs work to relive suffering or prevent disease. Polio, Small Pox, and Measles are some examples of how medicine has been used to successfully prevent illness.

There is no argument from me that medicine is effective and often necessary in addressing disease, especially in critical or life threatening situations.

I was saved from death from pneumonia at the age of 5 by penicillin.

The question Lipton poses is simply this, "why was I so sick at 5 so as to need such dramatic medical intervention to prevent my death? Other children, when exposed to the same virus that made me so very ill, would have recovered with out the extraordinary medical assistance needed to keep me alive.

Lipton is saying something fundamental about the reason why this should be so. In essence he's stating that, something in my energetic make-up made me susceptible to being ill. My immune system, being a reflection of my bio-energetic self was in some way compromised and unable to fight off the virus.

As a result I needed outside help in the form of a drug which made it possible for my immune system to kill the virus so I could again become well.

The illustrations Lipton uses are intended only to help us understand that we each have within us capabilities to heal ourselves which are often suppressed. We can however, though specific techniques evoke these capabilities to heal ourselves in ways which may in fact seem miraculous.

Such capabilities are already well documented and can be scientifically validated. Such noteworthy examples are already available in studies comparing such things as the benefits of meditation on various medical conditions. However there is more here than is made visible by meditative techniques alone.

Lipton does not unfortunately talk here about the fact that so called non-medical treatments are already the subject of scientific investigation and have been for some time. The famous or infamous placebo effect being one such element of such study.

It is remarkable to consider that someone could be cured of a serious disease by the power of belief alone, yet this does happen. When it does, science is unable to offer an explanation that fits within current understanding or physical laws or theories.

We are left with very non-scientific words like will-power, or spontaneous remission or worse still miracle. None of these offer a truly satisfactory answer to those natural questions which rise up when we are faced with something which seems beyond understanding.

The explanation which Lipton offers is one which steps outside the strictly physical world. He is stating that, our thoughts have the ability to effect matter. In the case of healing, it is as simple as saying what we believe is as important to the outcome of our treatment as is any drug. This is the so called Mind-Body Effect.

Hypnosis is one technique which has demonstrated the remarkable capacity of of the mind to, with property direction, overcome pain, even offering a non-drug anaesthetic like state during surgery. Such seemingly impossible things have been demonstrated under controlled conditions and validated beyond dispute for many years.

Hypnosis is acknowledged as working via the sub-conscious mind through a process which is not yet entirely understood. It is only one of various techniques which address the subconscious and perhaps not the most effective.

Not all drugs work on all people. There is a high degree of variability in how effective or ineffective any drug might be across the population in general. Such differences are not sometimes easily explained without entering into the realm of why we are different as individuals. Such is also true for things like hypnosis or another other technique to address our subconscious minds.

There is a high degree of variability between individuals which can make it difficult to predict what will be effective in any given person. Some people will find ASA works to relieve a headache, while for others, relieve requires a different medicine.

Such variability can be difficult to explain in groups of people with very similar physical traits. Scientists and doctors all generally accept that one such variable factor is something which is not physical but rather lies within a persons beliefs.

Simply put, for some pain is intolerable and any pain, seems unbearable. For them the effect of ASA may be overcome by anxiety that causes their body to react in such as way as to override the analgesic effect. For others, even a single ASA tablet would be more than enough to mediate or eliminate their pain.

The only difference between those 2 individuals is what they believe. One finds pain to be a terrible trail, something to be feared and fought. The other accepts that a headache is just a part of life, nothing of much concern that will go away in time.

Scaled up to something more serious, like cancer, one can see how such a difference in belief might effect the outcome of treatment. Taken to yet another level, once might then see how, such a difference in beliefs might in fact make one more likely to become ill or to be healthy.

If indeed we accept that the mind can and does effect the body then it is not hard to understand how such could be possible.

The big issue with medicine, or the pharmaceutical industry is that the Mind/Body Effect can't be quantified, while the effects of drugs can. The unfortunate result of this is to create a division between those seeking a purely physical way of treating disease and a method that addresses less understood, but no less powerful, connections between mind and body.

The gaps and divisions between these 2 apparently opposing points of view is however closing. There is recognition on both sides of the divide that each is valid and useful.

It seems pretty obvious that at the age of 5 no one could have expected that I could cure myself of pneumonia by changing my beliefs. Dramatic medical intervention saved my life. Today as a Reiki practitioner I can look back with an understanding of the roll my own energies played in allowing me to become sick.

With an adult understanding that everything is energy, I now know that the virus that made me sick could only take hold if my immune system could not fight it off. Another child, with a different energy profile, exposed to the same virus would not have become so ill as did I.

There is a very old saying "change your thoughts and change yourself, change yourself and change the world." Such I think is appropriate for the point I am making here.

At the heart of this matter is the so called mystery of life. When it comes down to it, there is a point to be made which is the essence of all discussions. What is the force which gives us life? What is it that animates us and allows us to breathe, keeps our hearts beating and our minds to function?

This mysterious life force is the thing which is the origin of all the stuff of which universe and all life in it is made. This thing which is in fact beyond our capacity is measure scientifically but can be seen and felt, is the great unknown in the middle of the debate.

We know it exists, and yet can't prove it. We can see the by-product of such existence in those things which we can touch and measure. We can now tear apart atoms and peer into the fundamental sub-atomic energies which create the glue that holds together the bits and pieces.

But still, there is that pressing question that hangs in the air, unanswered. What is the governing force of creation?

The argument being made is simply this. Everything is energy, even our thoughts. At very basic level, our thoughts interact with and effect the physical world and in some way change it. Evidence that this happens can be found in various examples, which is illustrated by people doing things which generally believed to be impossible.

Such impossible things are accomplished by virtue of the adoption of a belief. The assumption being that, a belief, being the energy contained in thought can manifest an effect in the physical world.

Such a construct challenges us to look at what we actually do believe. Is for example the entire world, even the larger universe a reflection of collective thought? Have we the capacity, as some suggest, to create from our mutual thoughts the reality in which we live? Is our existence a manifestation of energy driven by the so called collective unconscious?

Do we as individuals have more control over our physical well being as well as the nature and progress of our lives than we know by changing our beliefs?

It is clear to me, through my own personal experience that there is something more to me than just the physical me I see in the mirror (perhaps lucky for me).

For me this idea of me as energy is not far removed from the concept of me as a soul. These are in fact the same basic idea simply expressed using different terms.

The idea that I am an accumulation of energies, which I will call thoughts, is also easily accepted. The idea that I am a physical manifestation of these thoughts, also makes sense to me.

It is then not much of an effort for me to see how changing those thoughts which as energy created the physical me, might also create my strengths or weaknesses, both physically and mentally. By extension then, by reflecting on and revising certain thoughts (beliefs) I can effect me at a physical level.

From that perspective, if indeed those core energies of thought or beliefs can be accessed via the sub-conscience, it would be possible to, in a sense reprogram how I function on a physical level. This would give me the capacity to overcome disease etc from within rather than requiring external assistance.

The debate on all this can go on from this point forward for quite some time. There are of course numerous examples of things that are clearly very wrong such a birth defects, or good people to which bad things happen. It's easy to get into the morass of right and wrong, good and bad. There is an obvious potential to lapse into some kind of religious argument as to what it all means.

Such moralistic or judgemental aspects of the debate are not important for me. Here at least I confine myself to an attempt to explain the premise on which the debate comes to rest. That premise most simply stated is that, we have a capacity to change our physical world and our physical selves by changing our beliefs.

It is my belief that we in fact do have this ability. I also believe this it is for each individual to come to their own decision on this point. This is a matter of personal choice and the courage to be open to exploration. Each much find their own way.

Help Needed to Record "Zombie Christmas Carol" 

 

Zombies at Christmas?
The recent TV series, "The Walking Dead" got me in thinking about zombies, as it did lots of folks apparently. In fact around my house, zombies became quite the focus of conversation, especially among the younger set.  If all this seems a little weird, keep reading, there's something funny for you at the bottom of the post.

Silly Zombies
I admit to thinking zombies are just silly, but anything that generates that much interest can't be all that bad with my interest piqued I started to do a little research. Just fun I searched on the keywords Zombie Christmas. Was I ever surprised to find a ton of site featuring Zombies and Christmas together. I mean it's one of those combination I'd never have thought went together. It just goes to show that sometimes life is stranger than one could image.

Ticked My Funny Bone
The whole Zombie Christmas thing tickled my funning bone and got my creative juices flowing. Putting those two ideas together stuck me as being a worthy challenge. As a marketer, I appreciate how putting odd things together can sometimes work to create something really unique. So I put on my writers hat and wrote a variation on the old Christmas classic, Jingle Bells, with a little Zombie twist. Then I created an illustrated song sheet for to complete the whole Zombie Christmas theme.

 Sing or Record This Song
Just click the image to engarge and read the lyrics. You can of course save a copy for your own use.

I would have done a recording of the song, but heck, I sing like a Zombie. So I need a little help in that department. So here's the deal, I'm offering the lyrics to song to you as a free Christmas Gift. Take it and sing it with friends and family around the old family piano.

Better yet, if you're inclined to do so, make a recording, post it on You Tube, Blog it or Broadcast it. The lyrics were written to be sung to the tune of Jingle Bells, the very one we all know and love, so you don't have to write any original music.

Go ahead, give it a try and lets see what we get.

Oh yes, if you do a recording please post a comment here and let me know.

The Lyrics are mine of course, so give me credit if you post it anywhere.

 

Zombie lovers everywhere will thank you for creating a new Christmas song, just for them.

 

The Tempest and the Birch Tree reading at Harbord House last night was wonderful. Congratulations to the playwright, Jonathan Klien for creating a terrific entertaining and insightful piece. It will resonate with anyone who has been or is involved in a relationship. This work clearly points to the complexities that arise when selfish self-interest and mistrust destroy love.

The work accomplishes several difficult things very well. It is both dramatic and pointedly humorous at the same time. It is satirical and serious while never losing it's perspective on elements which are so universal to all human relationships. It is not preachy, and yet delivers a powerful and deeply evocative message.

Jonathan clearly brings to this work the first hand experience of a lawyer but so much more. His artistic insights go well beyond the mere realities of divorce and into the very heart and soul of the human experience of relationships and marriage. This is a work which is truly worthy of our full attention. The tempest and the Birch Tree has within it the seeds of a much larger work, suitable for stage or screen.

Congratulations again Jonathan for a terrific work, and thanks to Theatre Caravel and all the actors for their excellent reading. It was a great evening.

Oh yes, and by the way, Harbord House is a exceptional Gastro-Pub, with delicious food and a very nice atmosphere. Highly recommended as a good place to go for a meal, a drink or a brew.

Young men once stood where now only old men stand and remember, overwhelmed by sadness.  Theirs is a unique understanding of what others can only imagine.

 

They know that victory and valor are hollow words, written here in blood.  So to they know well the cruel sting of defeat etched in the suffering of those who fell in the name of honor or glory.  

 

 

As they pause this day they each wonder silently, why?  

 

What was won on these fields now covered in graves.? What was gained here for the price so many paid?  How is it peace could only be wrestled from the teeth of such as monster?

 

In the morning sun the crosses glint white against the green grass, stark and silent in their testament.  These are stone memories, messages from those who lie beneath, to those who might forget, war is not the answer.

 

In the silence between heartbeats, we can hear the voice of the fallen.  They ask of us to pause and reflect and to remember, peace can never be won.  It must be found instead within us.  

 

And so it is that here, in a thousand places,  tears of remembrance water the earth.  A living river of sorrow reaching back through time.  

 

They are tears which nourish the hope that perhaps tomorrow, the sun will rise on a new world, a world of peace, a world where such tears will be shed no longer. 

Will Smith is not only a wonderfully talented actor, but he's also a truly inspiring motivating person. I offer the following YouTube video featuring Will Smith and drawn from many different sources. The video is highly recommended and really worth watching, especially if you are dealing with challenges right at this moment in your life. But, even if you are on top of the world, you'll find this video very affirming. This really is a bit of Positive Energy 4 You

I was sitting here working on my laptop this morning when our new kitten Ashes decided she
needed a place to take a little cat nap.  So, she climbed up the back of my chair and made herself
comfortable on my left shoulder.  Within a minute or so she was purring in my ear and drifting off to sleep. 

My camera was sitting on the table next to me so I quickly capture the moment for posterity.  Just for the record, it's hard to work with a kitten purring in your ear.  Ashes seemed quite content to stay on my shoulder until I started taking pictures. 

The moment of my arm as I positioned the camera disturbed her slumber and the flash woke her right up.  After 1 or 2 shots she'd had enough and found her way to another location. 

You've not doubt heard it said that everything is connected. Everyone and everything is part of the energy that makes up the universe. That is to say that we are all composed of the same stuff, molecules, atoms, particles, subatomic particles, and so on. Science tells is that in point of fact you and I and everything on earth are the remnants of some distant star, pieces of stardust if you will. So the energy which made us also made everything else in the world, the solar system, the galaxy and the entire universe.

Much has been made about this thing called consciousness, especially by those with interest in the spiritual aspects of existence. Which then raised the question; if we are all connected energetically, does that connection include consciousness?

There's a good argument to be made that consciousness is the product of sentient beings, such as ourselves. It perhaps at the least, a sense of awareness that springs from living organisms. The ability to sense feel and experience living in some fashion and to a greater or lesser extent.
But what if consciousness isn't in fact limited to this explanation. Could consciousness in fact be something more. Could it indeed be something which is much more inclusive and difficult to grasp. So called primitive peoples around the world often believed that spirits inhabited, animals, rocks and trees, water and air. They thought that they shared the world with other supernatural beings; that in fact the world was a living organism. Such beliefs were labeled a being superstitious nonsense by others for whom science had become the all embracing ideology of reason through which everything could be explained.

As we come to the end of this first decade of the 21st century things have once again become a bit muddy. New scientific discoveries are reexamining much of what had once been taken as dogmatic and factual. Science is once again confirming that much of the physical world which we inhabit is in fact mostly an illusion. The matter which makes up our world, when seen up close is in fact mostly empty space. At the smallest sub atomic levels the distances between particles of matter are in fact very large. So, back to the issue of consciousness for a moment. Lots of the folks with an interest in the nature of reality have come to the conclusion that what we think of as reality is in fact a by product of something called our collective consciousness. As mind blowing as it seems, this idea, simply put, is that what we think of as being reality is in fact only a projection of what might be called a single unified thought.

It's a bit difficult to fathom how this is possible. After all, given the complexity of the universe, how could we folks whirring around on a rock in space be responsible for everything. After all, where's God in that idea. Certainly God much have some part in the whole thing?

If one is religious then God, in one form or another is generally thought to have cooked up reality as we know it and then created all of us to live in it. That is certainly a very widely accepted scenario, even in, pagan religious.

Consider for a moment the idea that we are in fact living within something called God consciousness. That in fact God is within all things animate and inanimate. That the illusion we have created is that we are in fact separate from God and so have a different consciousness.

If indeed God is all things then it's not so silly and idea to suggest that a plastic bag could be conscious. In that regard God is within every thought you have and all the energy which makes up everything you perceive as being real.

With that I'll leave you with this very interesting little film. I hope you all enjoy it.

Do you have friends that send lots of those sappy chain emails?  You know the ones, illustrated with flowers or cute big eyed children.  These are instantly recognizable because they are also festooned with prose about the value of love or friendship.  Some contain a sad story or one intended to be inspiring. 

Most such email is clearly intended to evoke a sentimental reaction; the typical awwwww, isn't that cute reply.   All fine and good but for one problem.  It's really rather pointless.   Everyday the Internet is flooded with such dribble.  Inane and often mindless. they come flowing down the wire in a tidal wave of banal use of technology which could be better used for something that really makes a difference. 

Do we really need email with cute bunnies or teddy bears to make our day a little brighter.  Is is necessary to circulate trite overworked stories which momentary create a little emotional hit that pulls on the heart, or stimulates some sense that some one out there likes me.

So much of what passes as being life today is manufactured to some specific purpose.  We live in a world in which artificial sentiment is normal and accepted. 

Once upon a time, not long ago, human beings lived cheek by jowl in a much more direct way.  For thousands of years we lived in tribal societies where we were enveloped and immersed in the emotions of others.  It was a life of mutual dependence and interaction. 

Societies evolved and became bigger, more complex and in many ways much less personal.  Today it's very possible to live surrounded by others but completely isolated.  While this is a global phenomenon, it is perhaps no more keenly felt than here in North America.

We are artificially stimulated by watching the lives of fictional characters interact on TV.   We see things happening to others on the news but are detached, removed distant. 

If I listen carefully, I can often hear my heart telling me that something is wrong with this.  It craves something real, something substantial, something rooted in the reality of my humanness, something that connects me with others of the species. 

Take a moment and listen to your own heart.  Does it want emails with teddy bears and tear jerking sentiment or something more?  Changes are good that you already know the answer