Reality: Defining The Essence of Our Existence....

When I woke up this morning, I found the world largely as I'd left it. I was still me, my room in which I awoke was the same one I went to sleep in. The outside world had not been rearranged. History was unchanged and the future remained unknowable. In other words, I woke up in reality. But what is reality? It's surprisingly hard to say. Even defining it is difficult. Whatever reality is, it isn't what it seems...

What do we actually mean by reality?

A straightforward answer is that it means everything that appears to our five senses - everything that we can see, smell, touch and so forth. Yet this answer ignores such problematic entities as electrons, the recession and the number 5, which we cannot sense but are very real. It also ignores the phantom limbs and illusory smells. Both can appear vividly real, but we would like to say that these are not part of reality.

We could tweak the definition by equating reality with what appears to a sufficiently large group of people, thereby ruling out subjective hallucinations. Unfortunately there are also hallucinations experienced by large groups, such as a mass delusion called koro, mainly observed in South-East Asia, which involves the belief that one's genitals are shrinking back into one's body. Just because sufficiently many people believe in something does not make it real.

Another possible marker of reality we could focus on is the resistance it puts up: as the science fiction writer Philip K. Dick put it, reality is that which, if you stop believing in it, does not go away. Things we just make up yield to our wishes and desires, but reality is stubborn. Just because I believe there is a jam doughnut in front of me, does not mean there really is one. But again, this definition is problematic. Things that we do not want to regard as real can be stubborn too, as anyone who has ever been trapped in a nightmare will know. And some things that are real, such as stock markets, are not covered by this definition because if everyone stopped believing in them, they would cease to exist.

There are two definitions of reality that are much more successful. The first equates reality with a world without us, a world untouched by human desires and intentions. By this definition, a lot of the things we usually regard as real - language, wars, the financial crisis - are nothing of the sort. Still, it is the most solid one so far because it removes human subjectivity from the picture.

The second equates reality with the most fundamental things that everything else depends on. In the material world, molecules depend on their constituent atoms, atoms on electrons and a nucleus, which in turn depends on protons and neutrons, and so on. In this hierarchy, every level depends on the one below it, so we might define reality as made up of whatever entities stand at the bottom of the chain of dependence, and thus depends on nothing else.

This definition is even more restrictive than "the world without us" since things like Mount Everest would not count as part of reality; reality is confined to the unknown foundation on which the entire world depends. Even so, when we investigate whether something is real or not, these final two final definitions are what we should have in mind.

The Science of Positive Thinking: Part Two "Scientific Proof Thoughts & Intentions Can Alter The Physical World Around Us"...

Dr Masaru Emoto, a researcher and alternative healer from Japan has given the world a good deal of evidence on the magic of positive thinking. He became famous when his water molecule experiments featured in the 2004 film, What The Bleep Do We Know? His experiments demonstrate that human thoughts and intentions can alter physical reality, such as the molecular structure of water. Given that humans are comprised of at least 60% water, his discovery has far reaching implications - can anyone really afford to have negative thoughts or intentions?

The rice experiment is another famous Emoto demonstration of the power of negative thinking (and conversely, the power of positive thinking.) Dr Emoto placed portions of cooked rice into two containers. On one container he wrote “thank you” and on the other “you fool”. He then instructed school children to say the labels on the jars out loud everyday when they passed them by. After 30 days, the rice in the container with positive thoughts had barely changed, while the other was moldy and rotten.

 

Masaru Emoto’s Water Crystal Experiments:

The hypothesis that water “treated” with intention can affect ice crystals formed from that water was pilot tested under double-blind conditions. A group of approximately 2,000 people in Tokyo focused positive intentions toward water samples located inside an electromagnetically shielded room in California. That group was unaware of similar water samples set aside in a different location as controls. Ice crystals formed from both sets of water samples were blindly identified and photographed by an analyst, and the resulting images were blindly assessed for aesthetic appeal by 100 independent judges. In conclusion, the present pilot results are consistent with a number of previous studies suggesting that intention may be able to influence the structure of water. Here is a photo of the effects direct states of conscious intention has on the structure of water.



Consciousness has measurable effects on the geometric structure of water crystals. What does this tell us about the nature of consciousness? Is it possible that water is comprised of the same underlying “thing” as our thoughts are? Maybe this is an incentive to give good “vibes” to our food before we eat it.

Bhutan To Be First Country to Go 100% Organic...

If there was ever a nation that could see the purpose behind organic, sustainable farming, it would be a nation that is composed mostly of farmers. Such a place does exist, and it soon may be the first nation to go 100% organic, paving the way for others to do the same on a global scale.

The Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan is known for a high level of citizen happiness, but it is doing something even more noteworthy in the near future. With Prime Minister Jigmi Thinley making a major announcement regarding the organic farming project at the Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development, the move has made national headlines. It’s called the National Organic Policy, and it is fuelled by the simple concept that working ‘in harmony with nature’ will yield the most powerful results - all without sacrificing human health or the environment.

What this comes down to is no GMO, no pesticides, no herbicides, no fluoride-based spray products, no Monsanto intrusion at all, and a whole lot of high quality food available for the 700,000 citizens of Bhutan. Food that, at one time, was simply called ‘food’. In the statement to other policy makers, Prime Minister Jigmi Thinley explained the move:

“By working in harmony with nature, they can help sustain the flow of nature’s bounties.”

Bhutan’s land currently supply's most corn, rice, fruits, and some vegetables, and it is perfectly positioned to begin developing 100% organic farming. In addition to containing a population that is mostly farmers, it also has extremely rich lands that are truly beyond what many consider organic.

Some lands in Bhutan have not even been touched with harsh chemicals of any kind, and traditional techniques are utilized to produce high yields without Monsanto dipping into the pockets of family farmers. This is in sharp contrast to India’s farming community, which has been shafted by Monsanto and subsequently nicknamed the ‘suicide belt‘ due to the rampant suicides that can be blamed in part by Monsanto-induced financial ruin.

 

Australian adviser to Bhutan, Andre Leu, explains:

 

“I don’t think it’s going to be that difficult given that the majority of the agricultural land is already organic by default.”

The shift is certainly inspiring, but it also reminds us about the true lunacy of designating foods as ‘organic’ and ‘traditional’ in modern society. These Bhutan farmers are not growing magic beans or enchanted corn, they are growing real food. Actual food as it was grown for thousands of years. It’s only now, with the advent of ways in which we can make our crops toxic, do we value organic as if it were some privilege or act of class. When it comes down to it, we just want real food.

Teleportation From One Location to Another - It's A Particle Statistics thing.....

 The concept of teleportation mainly stems from science fiction novels and movies, but what was once considered fantasy has been validated as reality in 2014. For some time, developments in quantum theory and general relativity physics have been made, leading up to recent breakthroughs which have opened up a wide arena of study in the future.

This past January, numerous teleportation breakthroughs were recorded. One example is the work of Professor Rainer Blatt from the University of Innsbruck. He and the others on his team were able to successfully perform teleportation on atoms for the first time. Their work was published in the journal Nature, and lends interesting insight into this phenomena.

Without using a physical link, the scientists were able to transfer key properties of one particle to another. In this case, the teleportation occurred in the form of transferring quantum states between two atoms, which include the atom’s energy, motion, magnetic field, and other physical properties.

This is possible due to the strange behaviour that exists at the atomic scale; it’s a phenomenon called entanglement, or what Einstein labelled as “spooky action”.

A similar study was published by a team at the University of Queensland in the journal of Nature 2013. The physicists demonstrated that successful teleportation with solid state systems is possible. This is a process by which, again, quantum information can be transmitted from one place to another without sending a physical carrier of information. It is made possible through this mysterious occurrence known as ‘entanglement’.

Quantum entanglement is a physical phenomenon that occurs when pairs or groups of particles are generated or interact in ways such that the quantum state of each particle cannot be described independently – instead, a quantum state may be given for the system as a whole.

Quantum teleportation has been replicated by numerous scientists all over the world. Exploring matter at this depth is intriguing for all those curious as to the capability and potential of the Universe.

While the above examples all refer to quantum teleportation, another form of teleportation is psychic.

This is the conveyance of persons or inanimate objects by psychic means.

Eric Davis from FBIS shared his insight, “It became known to myself, along with several colleagues both inside and outside of government, that anomalous teleportation has been scientifically investigated and separately documented by the Department of Defence.”

No longer is it a mysterious fantasy reserved for movies, but a reality which will most likely become further explored.

In certain areas of the world, China, specifically, psychic teleportation has already been documented.

In 1981, the journal Ziran Zazhi (Nature Journal) titled, “Some Experiments on the Transfer of Objects Performed by Unusual Abilities of the Human Body” reported that “gifted children” were able to cause the teleportation of small, physical objects from one place to another. Some of the items included watches, horseflies, insects, radio micro-transmitters, photosensitive paper, and more.

Never were the objects touched beforehand, and the experiments were done under both blind and double-blind conditions. Researchers came from various colleges and sectors of the Department of Defence. It’s an exceptional case which has been showed to the public because of its necessity, according to the paper published in the People’s Republic of China.

More research was done by the Aerospace Medicine Engineering Institute in Beijing, in July 1990.

Published in the Chinese journal of Somatic Science (Kongzhi et al.,1990: Jinggenet al., 1990; Banghui; 1990), the study reported several experiments involving high speed photography videotaping which was able to capture the transfer of test specimens like nuts, matches, nails, pills, and more through the walls of sealed paper envelopes, sealed glass tubes, sealed plastic film canisters, and more without the walls of these containers being breached. All of the experiments reported using gifted children and adults to cause the teleportation of various materials.

Interestingly, it was reported that all of the test specimens remained in their original state after teleportation, including the insects. These examples show the mysterious qualities of the Universe and the potential capabilities all human beings may have, yet lack the insight on how to perform.

There was no explanation to explain the results from the Chinese studies. While the studies show the scientific procedure for measuring the repeatable and objectively documented experiments (with any possibility of fraud ruled out), most are still stumped at how these phenomena were able to occur.

This has created a new movement in the scientific community; some researchers believe it’s time to think outside of the box and possibly accept there’s more to life than what meets the eye.

“The results of the Chinese teleportation experiments can simply be explained as a human consciousness phenomenon that somehow acts to move or rotate test specimens through a 4^th special dimension, so that specimens are able to penetrate the solid walls/barriers of their containers without physically breaching them,” said Eric Davis, Ph.D., FBIS.

These examples all demonstrate the validity of consciousness, and the many different influences it can have on our physical material world. No doubt findings will be released in the future that more deeply comprehend the phenomena and lend insight into the many mysteries of human life and the cosmos.

 

The Science of Positive Thinking: Part One...

Few things in life are more powerful than a positive push. A smile, a word of encouragement, an optimistic view point, a glimpse of hope......positive thinking has many benefits including boosting your health, building or learning new skills and improving your work.

Positive thinking sounds useful on the surface. (Most of us would prefer to be positive rather than negative.) But "positive thinking" is also a soft and fluffy term that is easy to dismiss. In the real world, it rarely carries the same weight as words like "work ethic" or "persistence."

But opinions are changing.

Research is beginning to reveal that positive thinking is about much more than just being happy or displaying an upbeat attitude. Positive thoughts can actually create real value in your life and help you build skills that last much longer than a smile.

The impact of positive thinking on your work, your health, and your life is being studied at the University of North Carolina, and a published a landmark paper provides surprising insights about positive thinking and its impact on your skills.

What Negative Thoughts Do to Your Brain

Imagine you're walking through the forest and suddenly a tiger steps onto the path ahead of you. When this happens, your brain registers a negative emotion - in this case, fear.

Researchers have long known that negative emotions program your brain to do a specific action.

When that tiger crosses your path, for example, you run. The rest of the world doesn't matter. You are focused entirely on the tiger, the fear it creates, and how you can get away from it.

In other words, negative emotions narrow your mind and focus your thoughts. At that same moment, you might have the option to climb a tree, pick up a leaf, or grab a stick - but your brain ignores all of those options because they seem irrelevant when a tiger is standing in front of you.

This is a useful instinct if you're trying to save life and limb, but in our modern society we don't have to worry about stumbling across tigers in the wilderness. The problem is that your brain is still programmed to respond to negative emotions in the same way - by shutting off the outside world and limiting the options you see around you.

For example, when you're in a fight with someone, your anger and emotion might consume you to the point where you can't think about anything else. Or, when you are stressed out about everything you have to get done today, you may find it hard to actually start anything because you're paralyzed by how long your to-do list has become. Or, if you feel bad about not exercising or not eating healthy, all you think about is how little willpower you have, how you're lazy, and how you don't have any motivation.

In each case, your brain closes off from the outside world and focuses on the negative emotions of fear, anger, and stress -just like it did with the tiger. Negative emotions prevent your brain from seeing the other options and choices that surround you. It's your survival instinct.

Now, let's compare this to what positive emotions do to your brain.

What Positive Thoughts Do to Your Brain

Barbara Fredrickson (a positive psychology researcher) tested the impact of positive emotions on the brain by setting up a little experiment. During this experiment, she divided her research subjects into five groups and showed each group different film clips.

The first two groups were shown clips that created positive emotions. Group 1 saw images that created feelings of joy. Group 2 saw images that created feelings of contentment.

Group 3 was the control group. They saw images that were neutral and produced no significant emotion.

The last two groups were shown clips that created negative emotions. Group 4 saw images that created feelings of fear. Group 5 saw images that created feelings of anger.

Afterward, each participant was asked to imagine themselves in a situation where similar feelings would arise and to write down what they would do. Each participant was handed a piece of paper with 20 blank lines that started with the phrase, "I would like to..."

Participants who saw images of fear and anger wrote down the fewest responses. Meanwhile, the participants who saw images of joy and contentment, wrote down a significantly higher number of actions that they would take, even when compared to the neutral group.

In other words, when you are experiencing positive emotions like joy, contentment, and love, you will see more possibilities in your life. These findings were among the first that suggested positive emotions broaden your sense of possibility and open your mind up to more options.

But that was just the beginning. The really interesting impact of positive thinking happens later...

How Positive Thinking Builds Your Skill Set

The benefits of positive emotions last longer than the few minutes after good feelings subside. In fact, the biggest benefit that positive emotions provide is an enhanced ability to build skills and develop resources for use later in life.

Let's consider a real-world example.

A child who runs around outside, swinging on branches and playing with friends, develops the ability to move athletically (physical skills), the ability to play with others and communicate with a team (social skills), and the ability to explore and examine the world around them (creative skills). In this way, the positive emotions of play and joy prompt the child to build skills that are useful and valuable in everyday life.

These skills last much longer than the emotions that initiated them. Years later, that foundation of athletic movement might develop into ability as an athlete, or the communication skills may blossom into future employment. The happiness that promoted the exploration and creation of new skills has long since ended, but the skills themselves live on.

Fredrickson refers to this as the "broaden and build" theory because positive emotions broaden your sense of possibilities and open your mind, which in turn allows you to build new skills and resources that can provide value in other areas of your life.

As highlighted earlier, negative emotions do the opposite, because building skills for future use is irrelevant when there is immediate threat or danger.

Sometimes it can be hard to look on the bright side of life - and those are the times when it might be most important to do so.

A recent research paper published in a journal of the American Heart Association shows that even for people dealing with heart disease - the number one killer of adults in the USA - a positive outlook means living longer and stronger.

The study, which looked at 607 patients in a hospital in Denmark, found that patients whose moods were overall more positive were 58 percent more likely to live at least another five years. These people exercised more, too. The scientists can’t say prove whether the positivity led to exercise or if exercise improved mood, but the message is important either way: Positive thinking and regular physical activity are really important for life.

Having the right attitude is even more important for your body than sun cream in the summer or a weekend spa getaway - it is that important. Humour improves immune cell function, helps you ward off illness and decreases your chances of cancer - and can apparently also increase your chance of living if you develop heart disease. Obviously it would be better to change your exercise, food and stress management programs now so you are less likely to develop heart disease.

It also renders the chicken and egg theory unimportant in this case - if physical activity improves mood, and mood is improved by physical activity, it's a win-win situation. In addition, feeling happier and more optimistic helps motivate you to engage in healthier habits.

All of this research begs the most important question of all: If positive thinking is so useful for developing valuable skills and appreciating the big picture of life, how do you actually get yourself to be positive?

How to Increase Positive Thinking in Your Life

So what can we do to increase positive emotions and take advantage of the "broaden and build" theory in our life's?

Anything that sparks feelings of joy, contentment, or love will be successful. You're probably already aware of the things that will have an impact; playing an instrument, spending time with certain people or cooking for example.

Other ways you may consider are:

Meditation - The research undertaken by Fredrickson and her colleagues has revealed that people who meditate daily display more positive emotions than those who do not. As expected, people who meditated also built valuable long-term skills. For example, three months after the experiment was over, the people who meditated daily continued to display increased mindfulness, purpose in life, social support, and decreased illness symptoms.

Play - Schedule time to add some play into your life. As a society we are used to scheduling meetings, conference calls, weekly events, and other responsibilities into daily calendars, but rarely include time to play or have fun.

Most of us would struggle to remember the last time we put aside an hour to explore, experiment or experience playful interaction. Surely being happy and healthy is more important than a meeting on a dreary Wednesday afternoon, and yet we never give it freedom or time to breathe.

Allowing ourselves to smile and enjoy the benefits of positive emotion can lead to fulfilment, creativity, adventure, joy and contentment, plus the opportunity to build new skills.

Happiness vs. Success

There can be little doubt that achievement can bring happiness. Buying a bigger house, getting a faster car, gaining promotion, falling in love; these things will bring you joy and contentment.

We are almost programmed to think that the extra bit of income will bring more happiness or opportunities, but when does that amount become enough? When can you stop and say that you have reached you goal - when do you allow yourself the time to appreciate what you have achieved?

We frequently sabotage our immediate pleasure for the dream of that distance goal; but these goals are merely transient emotions and feelings which are similar to the spike in sugar levels gained by drinking sugary soft drinks. In reality it has more of an effect akin to the one you get from drinking a diet soda - the brain is programed to think that sweet items contain calories and when the body receives the message that there are no calories, becomes hungry for what was required in the first place - a more long lasting and fulfilling result. Achieving daily positivity to increase your levels of health and well-being are therefore a long term investment with immediate results.

In truth, researchers have noticed results in happy people whereby they develop new skills which lead to open new opportunities, these in turn provide new success, which consequently bring about happiness, with a cyclical conclusion.

Where Do We Go From Here?

Positive thinking isn't just a new catchphrase intended on manipulating you into spending money on a fly-by-night 'miracle solution' or diet pill. Of course it's easy to say we'll be happier and more positive, but in reality the stresses and strains of everyday life can be a challenge for even the most upbeat character.

To encourage our positive thinking, the moments of happiness - regardless of how brief - are critical for opening up our minds to exploration and buildings skills that can become so valuable in the other areas of your life.

Finding ways to build happiness and positive emotions into your life provides more than just a momentary decrease in stress and a few smiles.

Periods of positive emotion and unhindered exploration are when you see the possibilities for how your past experiences fit into your future life, when you begin to develop skills that blossom into useful talents later on, and when you spark the urge for further exploration and adventure.

The more we seek joy, encourage playful behaviour, and pursue adventure; the more we allow our brains to the rest - and people really should smile more.