Why Wash Your Hands?

Show Me the Science - Why Wash Your Hands?

Keeping hands clean is one of the most important steps we can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others. Many diseases and conditions are spread by not washing hands with soap and clean, running water.

How germs get onto hands and make people sick

Feces (poop) from people or animals is an important source of germs like Salmonella, E. coli O157, and norovirus that cause diarrhea, and it can spread some respiratory infections like adenovirus and hand-foot-mouth disease. These kinds of germs can get onto hands after people use the toilet or change a diaper, but also in less obvious ways, like after handling raw meats that have invisible amounts of animal poop on them. A single gram of human feces—which is about the weight of a paper clip—can contain one trillion germs 1. Germs can also get onto hands if people touch any object that has germs on it because someone coughed or sneezed on it or was touched by some other contaminated object. When these germs get onto hands and are not washed off, they can be passed from person to person and make people sick.

Washing hands prevents illnesses and spread of infections to others

Handwashing with soap removes germs from hands. This helps prevent infections because:

• People frequently touch their eyes, nose, and mouth without even realizing it. Germs can get into the body through the eyes, nose and mouth and make us sick.
• Germs from unwashed hands can get into foods and drinks while people prepare or consume them. Germs can multiply in some types of foods or drinks, under certain conditions, and make people sick.
• Germs from unwashed hands can be transferred to other objects, like handrails, table tops, or toys, and then transferred to another person’s hands.
• Removing germs through handwashing therefore helps prevent diarrhea and respiratory infections and may even help prevent skin and eye infections.

Teaching people about handwashing helps them and their communities stay healthy. Handwashing education in the community:

• Reduces the number of people who get sick with diarrhea by 23-40% 2, 3, 6
• Reduces diarrheal illness in people with weakened immune systems by 58%  4
• Reduces respiratory illnesses, like colds, in the general population by 16-21% 3, 5
• Reduces absenteeism due to gastrointestinal illness in schoolchildren by 29-57% 7

Not washing hands harms children around the world

About 1.8 million children under the age of 5 die each year from diarrheal diseases and pneumonia, the top two killers of young children around the

world 8.

• Handwashing with soap could protect about 1 out of every 3 young children who get sick with diarrhea 2, 3 and almost 1 out of 5 young children with respiratory infections like pneumonia 3, 5.
• Although people around the world clean their hands with water, very few use soap to wash their hands. Washing hands with soap removes germs much more effectively 9.
• Handwashing education and access to soap in schools can help improve attendance 10, 11, 12.
• Good handwashing early in life may help improve child development in some settings 13.
• Estimated global rates of handwashing after using the toilet are only 19% 6.

Handwashing helps battle the rise in antibiotic resistance

Preventing sickness reduces the amount of antibiotics people use and the likelihood that antibiotic resistance will develop. Handwashing can prevent about 30% of diarrhea-related sicknesses and about 20% of respiratory infections (e.g., colds) 2, 5. Antibiotics often are prescribed unnecessarily for these health issues 14. Reducing the number of these infections by washing hands frequently helps prevent the overuse of antibiotics—the single most important factor leading to antibiotic resistance around the world. Handwashing can also prevent people from getting sick with germs that are already resistant to antibiotics and that can be difficult to treat.

Small Ways to Find Joy While Physical Distancing

Small moments of joy mean more during times of struggle.

It’s a Monday afternoon and I’ve crawled back into bed with a book. Rain is beating on the window and I’m cozy.

It’s not often I have the time for such indulgences, but I’m one of the lucky ones. For some, physical distancing has increased time constraints with kids home from school combined with remote work duties.

For me, time has become a seemingly abundant resource and I’m making sure I make it count. I’ve been etching out a space in my day for moments like this one.

Moments that are purely for pleasure, moments that offer some respite from the scary world outside. They are teeny tiny pockets of joy.

If you aren’t familiar with the concept, “pockets of joy” are little moments of pleasure or happiness derived from the small things in life. And they’re pretty essential for us as humans if we’re to get by.

Often, these small moments of joy take on more meaning during times of struggle.

Think of how you seek comfort when a loved one is sick or when you’re going through a painful breakup. It’s likely those same coping mechanisms will bring you peace during quarantine.

Finding joy in the little things

Right now, many of the things we normally derive joy from are out of bounds. There are few things I love more than grabbing an after work drink with a friend or catching up with my mom over coffee.

I miss the adventure of trailing through the shops looking for a bargain and the pleasure of sitting in front of the big screen in a cinema munching mindlessly on popcorn.

I’m even missing my morning commute.

These are all things many of us mostly take for granted in our day to day. We probably don’t give them too much weight.

When we’re able to see them for what they are — moments of joy and pleasure — we can begin to understand the importance of creating new moments from the comfort of our own homes.

In times of stress, like the one we find ourselves in now, we need these moments more than ever. Most of us are dealing with a lot of extra pressure.

Some of us are under a lot of financial stress as a result of the outbreak. Others are worried about family members getting sick, or getting sick themselves.

There’s a culture of fear and uncertainty out there which lends itself to feelings of anxiety and depression.

With nothing to keep our spirits up, it’s all too easy to get down.

I spent my first week of isolation mostly moving between the couch and the kitchen, grabbing snacks and watching endless news updates and trash TV.

Then I realized that this method of existing really wasn’t working for me.

I felt bored, lethargic, and like my enthusiasm for life had been sucked right out of me. If I was to get through, I needed to find things that lit me up, so to speak.

I needed moments in my day to look forward to. Moments that would help me break away from the doom and gloom.

So I made pockets of joy part of my new daily routine.

Here’s how I did it:

Bake something yummy. One of the first things I did was to cook and bake. I got happily lost in the process and marveled at my creations at the end, feeling a swell of pride at having achieved something.

Catch up on your watch list. I made a movie bucket list with my partner and we spent our evenings cuddled under a blanket in front of the TV.

Brighten your space. I bought flowers and placed them on the kitchen table where I would see them and every time I’d walk by they’d make me smile.

Get moving. I start my mornings with a dance around the kitchen. Those few moments of uncoordinated jiggling set me up for a more positive day ahead.

Get some R&R. When I made these changes, my time at home started to feel more like an opportunity to recharge rather than getting grounded by my parents. My spirits were lifted. I started to feel hopeful and optimistic.

Enjoy silence. How often do you get to sit and do nothing? For most of us the answer is not very often. Put your phone on flight mode, switch off any distractions, and relish the joy of having nothing to do.

Get lost in a good story. I’m finally working my way through a pile of books that have sat on my bookshelf unloved for some time. A chapter or two before I drift off at night sets me up for a blissful night’s sleep.

Run yourself a hot bath. I like to add lots of bubbles, light some candles, and maybe even sip some wine.

Play dress up. I’ve been pulling out items from my wardrobe and putting together outfits that I plan on wearing when my social calendar is back to normal. It gets me out of my sweats and provides some welcome escapism.

Be creative. These activities work for me, but you may find joy in a routine that’s completely different. Watercolor, make or listen to music, the list is endless. The trick is to find that thing you’ve been wanting to do for forever, but just haven’t had the time to devote to it.

Once you find those little things that bring you bliss, you may find yourself feeling like quarantine was just what you needed.

I know I did.

Finding the silver linings

I began waking up in the mornings and looking forward to the day ahead.

I didn’t feel as scared or as threatened by what was going on in the outside world, and if it ever did start to feel like too much, I simply retreated to one of my happy places and started to feel better again.

It didn’t make all my troubles go away, but it did give me some respite.

It reminded me that no matter what’s going on in life, as cliché as it sounds, I can always find reasons to be joyful.

For me, the trick was to be deliberate about creating those special little moments. I thought about what makes me happy and I wrote a list of moments that I could carry out throughout the day.

When I need a little extra joy, I step away from those fear-inducing news bulletins, and put it in action — and if you need a little boost you can do the same.

It might seem like we don’t have much to feel joyful about right now. People are sick and dying, others are losing their jobs.

We can’t see our friends and family, and the places we normally go to for fun — bars, cafés, restaurants — are all closed for the foreseeable future. But in any situation we find ourselves in, we have the opportunity to seek out joy.

I’m reminded of an illustration of two stick figures. One is carrying a jar of happiness. The other points at it and says “Where did you find that? I’ve been searching for it everywhere,” to which his friend replies “I created it myself.”

We don’t get to choose our circumstances in life, but we can choose how we react to them. I choose joy.

Thinking with the Heart

Tap into the Innate Intelligence of the Heart

For far too long, but particularly in the modern Western world, we have thought of the heart as simply a pumping mechanism responsible for bringing blood to our organs.

The heart’s physical importance is not to be underestimated, it supports life, sending the blood of life to the tree-like limbs of our vascular system–but this is an overly simplistic view of what the heart is capable of.

Gregg Braden’s latest research elaborates on the ancient technique of using the heart as an intelligent organ.

The heart’s intelligence has been ignored for far too long. What we’ve learned about the heart’s wisdom, however, in the past several years through the Heart Math Institute and through the research of psychologists, neurobiologists, and resurfaced wisdom teachings from our ancient past, should inspire everyone to look at the heart in a completely new way.

For those who are not used to using their innate intelligence–that is their intuition—tuning into the heart for answers to the most profound and difficult questions they could possibly drum up might seem ridiculous. Why ask the heart whether to stay in a relationship that is challenging, or even if you should go through with a medical procedure?

It might seem ignorant or even haphazard to ask the heart questions like these, but it has wisdom that the intellect cannot match. Here’s why:

The heart does not send information through an egoic filter.

The heart knows your past, your present, and your future. Its intelligence does not care about your egoic constructs. The heart simply speaks from a completely neutral place.

What lessons will you learn if you follow your heart?

You can think of it like a close friend who has your best interest at heart, and who does not care about making themselves look good in your eyes.

Hridaya

There is an ancient term that does not have a direct English translation that describes this intelligence of the heart. Hridaya, is the energy which is contained within the heart chakra. This is not just the physical heart, but the spiritual heart. It contains the intelligence of God or the transcendental mind.

The word comes from the Sanskrit language, and the closest meaning to English would be something like this:

Hrid = center

Ayam = this

Thus, the spiritual heart always brings you to your center. It will not veer away from your highest self, always taking in a 360-degree (and beyond) view of any situation you could possibly face.

The yogi Bhagavan wrote once to explain this spiritual heart in more detail:

Just as there is a cosmic center from which the whole universe arises and has its being and functions with the power or the directing energy emanating therefrom, so also is there a center within the frame of the physical body wherein we have our being. This center in the human body is in no way different from the cosmic center. It is this center in us that is called the Hridaya, the seat of Pure Consciousness, realized as Existence, Knowledge and Bliss. This is really what we call the seat of God in us.

Conversely, the mind-brain thinks of our past experiences, our past erroneous beliefs assigned to those experiences, and takes all sorts of twists and turns through a conceptual landscape that we’ve created to give us a ‘right’ answer to life’s deep questions.

The mind-brain creates false perceptions where the heart is true.

A Zen Buddhist can also describe what happens when we think with the head (brain) instead of the heart.

We place a fog–a type of perceptual overlay on top of a situation and then add an emotional investment. We call this ‘real,’ but this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Yet, we think we have to obtain a siddhi (great accomplishment or miracle) in order to obtain supernormal wisdom or intelligence. So, we go on trusting the false perceptions of the mind-brain.

The Neurobiology of the Heart

Moreover, if we were to look at the simple neurobiology of the heart–there are many more fibers leading from the heart to the brain than from the brain to the heart. This means–as Gregg Braden recently pointed out in a Gaia talk–that there is much more communication being sent to the brain then being received from it.

As the HeartMath Institute explains, the heart also begins beating in the unborn fetus before the brain has even been formed, a process scientists call autorhythmic.

We humans also form an emotional brain long before a rational one, and the heart has its own independent complex nervous system known as ‘the brain in the heart.’

The heart can also create a level of coherence in the body just through its rhythm, which regulates all its systems, and corrects even diseased cells.

And finally, the electromagnetic field of the heart is about 60 times greater in amplitude than the brain, and permeates every cell in the body. The magnetic component is approximately 5,000 times stronger than the brain’s magnetic field and can be detected several feet away from the body with sensitive magnetometers.

Tapping into the heart’s intelligence is tapping into your innate wisdom.

Thinking with the Heart’s Wisdom

Braden suggests these tips to help you tap into your heart’s massive wisdom:

1. Focus on the heart (and heart chakra). This sends a signal to the heart that you seek its intelligence.
2. Slow your breathing. This sends another signal to your body that you seek higher intelligence, and not that of the normally stressed, and freaked out ego. Deep breathing calms the nervous system and quiets the brain.
3. Conjure a sense of gratitude, compassion, or love. These are the feelings which trigger an activation of the heart’s energy.
4. Ask your heart a question. The question should be brief and to the point.
5. Everyone will experience the heart’s intelligence a bit differently. You may feel butterflies in your gut, a warm sensation growing around your body, or tingling in your fingertips. You may not feel any bodily sensations but have a clear, short answer that comes through your mind. Know that it likely won’t need a long-drawn-out story to ‘justify’ its wisdom. The heart speaks directly and clearly. If it isn’t, try this process again to let your body know that you seek the intelligence of the heart and not the ego.
6. Practice makes perfect. The more often you do this, the easier it will be to tap into the seat of pure consciousness–the hridaya.

How to Boost your Happiness Naturally

Achieving a Natural High with Dopamine

Dopamine is a naturally occurring neurotransmitter in our brains associated with pleasure, addiction, and reward though it’s value to overall well-being is often overlooked. Depression, fatigue, procrastination, apathy, hopelessness, low libido, and inability to concentrate are signs that you may need a dopamine boost.

Luckily there are plenty of natural and healthy ways to get you back in the game without indulging in sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll. Are you ready to increase your euphoria, bliss, inspiration and lust for life?

Though we all enjoy a little sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll on occasion, we have to remember that with extreme pleasure comes the risk of addiction. The quick-fixes we all seek may give the needed energy spike, but over time they will devolve into unhealthy habits which drain our energy more than they replenish. Sometimes these indulgences combine with unhealthy social interactions which can create painful suffering for ourselves and our loved ones. The quicker the rush, the harsher the come-down, so readers please inhabit your own biology responsibly!

With extreme pleasure comes the risk of addiction

Since dopamine has a lot to do with reward and pleasure, it helps us to concentrate while keeping our eyes on the prize. It is the great feeling of accomplishment when you reach a goal and small amounts of it will be released when you finish reading this article! This competitive drive for success can help us in business, sports, and also love, so developing a lifestyle that is rich in dopamine-inducing practices is a goal worthy of pursuit.

Quick Fixes

Quick-fix foods include caffeine, alcohol, and sugar. Manufactured crises (always being involved in drama), impulsive shopping, too many video games, porn, and gambling are behaviors that can also produce a quick surge of dopamine. When you are reaching for these substances or activities regularly, it is a sign that you are running on low dopamine reserves and that you should consider modifying your lifestyle.

When you are reaching for the quick-fix it is a sign you are running low on dopamine reserves

Diet

Healthy dopamine levels seem to be related to balanced intestinal flora. So make sure to eat some foods that are high in natural probiotics such as yogurt, kefir, and raw sauerkraut and you might just eat your way to enlightenment. A balanced diet that is rich in whole “natural” or unprocessed foods that are high in plant foods such as fruits, vegetables, grains, beans, seeds, and nuts. Don’t forget that diet is more than just food, it includes the the kind of media you take in, the environment you are surrounded by, the people and mental attitudes that you absorb every day as these things will also affect your mood and dopamine levels. Below is a short list of beneficial foods!

Eat some foods that are high in natural probiotics, such as raw sauerkraut

Apples: A compound found in apples called “quercetin’ is an antioxidant that studies have shown may not only help in the prevention of cancer but may also play an important role in the prevention of neurodegenerative disorders.

There may be something to that old saying, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away . . .”

Banana: A banana is a good source of tyrosine. Tyrosine is the amino acid neurons turn into norepinephrine and dopamine. Norepinephrine and dopamine are excitatory neurotransmitters that are important in motivation, alertness, concentration and memory.

Banana is a good source of tyrosine

Beets: Betaine, an amino acid naturally present in certain vegetables, particularly beetroot (beets), is an antidepressant of the first order. Betaine acts as a stimulant for the production of SAM-e (S-adenoslmethionine). The body cannot do without SAM-e, which it produces.

SAM-e is directly related to the production of certain hormones, such as dopamine and serotonin. Dopamine is responsible for feelings of well-being and pleasure.

Chicken: Chicken, like eggs, contains complete protein that increases levels of the excitatory neurotransmitters norepinephrine and dopamine. Chicken is also a good source of coenzyme Q10 (Co Q10), which increases the energy generating potential of neurons.

Betaine, an amino acid naturally present in certain vegetables, particularly beetroot, is an antidepressant of the first order

Cheese (especially Cottage Cheese): Cheese is a well known protein food . . . Protein provides amino acids, which help produce dopamine and norepinephrine.

Eggs: Research from the University of California, Berkeley suggests that people who suffer from depression have low amount of serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine in their brains. One natural antidepressant is to increase dopamine by eating protein-rich foods, such as eggs for this purpose, because they are versatile and appeal to some people who choose not to eat meat.

One natural antidepressant is to increase dopamine by eating protein-rich foods

Fish: Omega-3 fatty acids are found in seafood, especially mackerel, salmon, striped bass, rainbow trout, halibut, tuna, and sardines. These fatty acids may have many jobs in the body, including a possible role in the production of neurotransmitters.

Wheat Germ: Wheat Germ is a good source of Phenylalanine. Phenylalanine is an essential amino acid found in the brain and blood plasma that can convert in the body to tyrosine, which in turn is used to synthesize dopamine.

Exercise and positive actions can have a cumulative effect

Exercise

Many of us spend a whole lot of time at a desk, or driving in a car which means that we are not getting enough exercise. Dopamine is released when we get our blood pumping, this is increased when it is combined with a goal like hiking to the top of a mountain for sun set. Exercise and positive actions can also have a cumulative effect. For example maybe you lose a few pounds and look healthy thus attracting a new romantic interest. Exercise also creates new brain cells, by improving the flow of nutrients to the brain while also producing serotonin, norepinephrine as well as adrenaline. Some yoga, Tai Chi, Qigong, bike-riding, or hiking should set you up for many feel-good rewards.

Some Qigong should set you up for many feel-good rewards

Gratitude

This is one of the most interesting aspects of brain chemistry, and it is that we can change our biology with our thoughts and attitude. Gratitude has been noted as a great way to boost dopamine in multiple experiments listed in this great Psychology Today article. Gratitude sets up a virtue-cycle, which encourages us to be grateful for what we have and work towards or seek more things that make us grateful while focusing on things that make you happy. A great practice in gratitude is to keep a gratitude journal that you write in and read each day, you can take it one step further by practicing the feeling of gratitude often throughout the day.

Gratitude sets up a virtue-cycle

Among things to be grateful for – you have almost completed reading this article. Your reward is that now you have a bunch of ideas to get started on increasing your dopamine-forming habits in a healthy way. Try it for two weeks and see if you like the results. Then with all that added euphoria, drive and inspiration you can ignite a local dopamine movement and save the world (or maybe just share this article with your friends).

Trust Your Gut and Follow Nature’s Example

We can’t always explain or rationalise why certain people or activities make us feel a certain way, but if we give ourselves the opportunity to genuinely tune in, we can usually get a sense for whether something or someone is having a life force giving or draining influence on our energy.

Get started on increasing your dopamine-forming habits in a healthy way

Once we know this, it becomes a conscious decision how we respond. Sometimes we may choose to pour our energy into something that seems to temporarily drain us, in order to help initiate, cause a shift or breakthrough. Sometimes we are one simple action or conversation away from moving something from Life Force Draining to Life Force Giving. And sometimes that action may be to withdraw our energy completely from a situation in order to grow, evolve and maintain integrity with who we truly came here to be. When in doubt, nature is probably our greatest teacher in the realms of energy and Life Force management. Animals exclusively trust their “feel” and instincts to find food and avoid threatening situations. Plants continually store and draw energy from the atmosphere around them and grow in the direction of the most Life Giving elements. They don’t question or try to justify staying in Life Force Draining situations. They simply move, lean, seek and grow continually in the direction of that which is supporting and sustaining the balance of life.

How balanced is your Life Force right now? What simple steps could you take today to shift or release that which is not serving the balance and begin more powerfully cultivating positive, good-feeling Life Force on all levels, in all areas of your existence?

A Multi-Dimensional Theory of Mind

The Quantum Physics of Consciousness

In philosophical debate, particularly in the philosophy of mind, the question of how mind and consciousness arise out of our matter, or more specifically, out of the physical neurological processes in our brains, has been a long-standing one and it has baffled scientists and philosophers alike. When we speak or think of mind, it seems natural to suppose that it is directly linked to our brain and our conscious thinking, including other cognitive functions. 

Even if, from our direct experience and observation, there is no direct evidence or clue that could lead us to unambiguously understand what mind is, we do collectively intuit that mind is a phenomenon that is deeply interrelated to our brain activity, and yet it is something more. But what is this ‘something’ more? 

This question alone has historically spurred some interesting theories of mind, together with various philosophical standpoints and debates.

The most common take on the nature of mind in modern Western thought is that mind is the same thing as brain activity and hence the question of ‘what is this something more?’ does not arise. This materialistic position on mind was born out of the classical scientific view and its influence on modern thought. It is called materialist because it assumes that mind is nothing more than matter. 

The philosophical idea coming out of this materialistic view is a reductionistic one, meaning that it assumes that phenomena such as mind and consciousness can be explained by reducing them to the physical and chemical processes occurring in the neurology of our brains. It is literally a flattened view of the world, since it reduces all phenomena to the dimension of matter, time and space, which are considered primary, according to this view.

The materialist view is that mind is the same thing as brain activity.

The Mind-Body Problem

The mainstream scientific position has led itself into a brick wall when it comes to understanding the phenomenon of consciousness. Philosopher of mind, David Chalmers, refers to this as the hard problem of consciousness, which is basically the problem of explaining subjective mental states of consciousness objectively in terms of physical processes, as required by the strict view of science. In simple words, how do we explain a particular feeling we have when we think of chocolate, in terms of neurons firing in our brain?

Other positions that do not subscribe to this reductionist view of mind, however, tend to face another problem–the problem of dualism. Basically, if we are to consider the mind as being separate from the brain, then this once again begs the question “What is mind?” and more specifically, “What is the relationship between the physical brain and mind?” The former is an ontological question asking about the nature of mind, while the latter is an epistemic one, which tries to understand the cause and effect relationship between brain and mind and how information and knowledge passes from one to the other, seeing that they are two different things.

The assumption that mind is different from the brain, such as–for example–that mind is non-material whereas the brain is material, gives rise to the so-called mind-body problem, first addressed by French philosopher René Descartes, who said that the mind and the body are two different substances. Bodies are extended in space, incapable of feeling or thought, whereas minds are unextended, thinking and feeling substances. Because they are two different substances, belonging to the material and non-material, and because there is no observable point of interaction between the two, then we cannot explain a causal relationship between the two. If we cannot come up with a causal explanation, for example, of how our internal mental states and beliefs give rise to behaviour, then some would argue that talking of mind would be superfluous.

Mind is non-material whereas the brain is material.

Mind as Software and Emergent Effects

Despite this seemingly problematic position of the mind and brain co-existing in some form of relationship, the idea lived on in other theories and metaphors. One of the most popular metaphors, in fact, is borrowed from the computer sciences and which sees the mind as analogous to a software that runs on top of a hardware (or wetware)–the brain. This model has served particularly well in psychology and the cognitive sciences, where the non-material aspect of mind is seen as the software program and the material aspect of the brain is seen as the underlying hardware.

Another interesting position considers the mind as an emergent phenomena, resulting from the complex interactions of the neural processes in the brain. This theoretical position is a non-reductionistic one while at the same time it circumvents the mind-body problem because although mind is still considered as something other than the brain, the cause and effect link between the two can be explained in terms of emergent effects. The problem with this view, however, is that it still considers matter (the brain) to be primary and mind and consciousness as something that emerges out of matter, rather than being a fundamental aspect of the universe, such as time and space are.

The Mind as a Higher Dimensional Field

As science and research continues, new theories of mind arise which could shed more light on some of the philosophical questions mentioned above. One of the latest ideas to come out from the academia is one which sees the mind as a field existing in a different dimension than the brain, and which interacts with it on a quantum level. Dr. Dirk K.F. Meijer, a professor at the University of Groningen, published a paper positing his idea in the peer-reviewed scientific journal NeuroQuantology, an academic journal that brings together research from the fields of neuroscience and quantum physics.

The mind exists as a field in a different dimension than the brain.

Meijer suggests that the mind is basically a field, or more technically, ‘a holographically structured field’ that acts as a ‘receptive mental workspace’ in that it exists around the brain but at the same time, is able to access other fields outside of it. This field, Meijer suggests, resides in a fourth spatial dimension, a higher dimensional space than the one the brain is embedded in (3D). It is also worth noting that parallel research, such as in the blue brain project–an interdisciplinary collaboration between mathematician and neuroscientists–have identified that the ‘brain’ works in multiple dimensions.

The question then is how does the mind, as a fourth dimensional field, interact with the 3d brain processes? Although we do not yet understand the specific mechanisms underlying the mind-brain communication, Meijer lends on quantum physics to suggest possible contenders. Two possibilities are through what is called quantum entanglement and quantum tunneling; two of the most perplexing and mysterious phenomena observed in the quantum world. In simple words, entanglement is the observed phenomenon that two particles are ‘synced’ together in a way that one effects the other instantaneously, despite being separated by immense distances, say for example, on opposite ends of a galaxy. This phenomenon has baffled scientists for years, including Einstein himself who termed it ‘spooky action at a distance.’ Quantum tunneling can be best explained by analogy to a macro world object. Imagine you throw a tennis ball against a wall. Naturally we expect the ball to stop its motion once it hits the wall and bounce back in the opposite direction. Strangely enough, in a quantum tunneling parallel, the ball passes through the wall and is observed to keep its motion and momentum in the other adjacent room. Strange stuff indeed.

Yet Meijer thinks that although entanglement and tunneling are possible explanations to how the mind field and brain rapidly pass on information to each other, the most probable mechanism at work is quantum wave resonance. This means that at the very quantum and sub-quantum levels there is a wave pattern underlying all the neurons and particles in the brain and which also passes through the mind field. Changes in the mind field resonate with the neurons in the brain instantaneously and vice versa.

Wave patterns in the brain pass through the mind field.

Faster than the Speed of Thought

The quantum wave resonance model of brain and mind field communication can be a very clever answer to what is called ‘the binding problem.’ Different neural regions and clusters in our brain are responsible for different cognitive functions, say for example, vision, colour, sound or verbal processing. Yet these different signals from different regions in our brain come together collectively faster than the speed at which they are processed individually, hence giving rise to an observed anomaly known as the binding problem. Now, this is relevant here because it seems that the binding problem arises when we scratch our heads and try to figure out what is happening from just one layer of reality–say from the neural activity of our brain.

On the other hand, when we start to view the brain and mind as being multidimensional manifestations of the same thing and which communicate information at the quantum level through resonance, a better, wider picture starts forming that explains apparent anomalies, such as the binding problem. This also gives more credence to the fact that a flattened and reductionistic view of reality does not work at all. We need a richer, broader and possibly a multi-dimensional view of consciousness and reality. This brings me to the next interesting point about the field theory of mind.

Mind is Universe

The discussion about mind as a field ultimately goes beyond entertaining the possibility of answering longstanding philosophical questions. It opens a door of exciting new possibilities that give us a completely new way of understanding the phenomenon. In a way, it is the classical conundrum of answering one question and opening up another hundred, but this is what is special about growth in knowledge.

Mind is universe and everything is mind.

The real pearl inside the oyster of this theory is that mind is not individual or exclusive to us humans, as we have always assumed. A very short way of saying it is that mind is universe and that everything is mind. As the first principle of the hermetic philosophy goes: ‘All is Mind.’  So one of the things that science might have got fundamentally wrong, and which David Chalmers refers to as “the hard problem of consciousness,” is that it did not assume that consciousness and mind are fundamentally part of everything that is. Consciousness is primary; even relative to matter. This starts to converge with ancient knowledge or modern panpsychism, which hold that everything is imbued with consciousness. Matter arises out of consciousness and not vice versa.

But what does this have to do with Meijer’s theory of mind as a field? Well for one, Meijer holds that the fourth dimensional field of mind is a torus shape which we are now understanding is found everywhere in the universe. Secondly, fields are all interconnected with each other via quantum phenomena such as resonance, entanglement and tunneling. This might explain what we consider as psychic or extra sensorial phenomena such as precognition, clairvoyance, remote viewing or telepathy.

Meijer, in fact, sees consciousness as a boundary condition that exists between the internal information of the brain and everything else outside of it, which he refers to as the ‘universal information matrix.’ From this point of view, consciousness is similar to a phenomena observed in black holes, called an ‘event horizon.’ When light or matter approach a black hole they do not disappear but their information is projected on its boundary. That boundary is what separates the black hole from everything else, and he uses this as an analogy to explain what consciousness could be from his research and insights.

So the bottom line of this thought-provoking and pivotal research is this: Your brain is a quantum tuner that resonates with a field called mind. That mind field is connected to many other fields and this might explain transpersonal and psychic experiences we could not previously explain through mainstream science.