The Science of Near-Death Experiences

"Consciousness can be experienced in some alternative dimension without our body-linked concepts of time and space. The brain is not producing consciousness, but it enables us to experience our consciousness."

A near-death experience (NDE) is a profound psychological experience, typically occurring in about 10% of people during a physical or emotional trauma, a life-threatening health crisis, or actual clinical death.

Browse the link below to read more in this TIME magazine article.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1657919-1,00.html

The Sound of Music and Plants

Article from Self-Realization Fellowship Magazine. Issue: Spring 1979

If plants could talk, one can not help but wonder what they would tell us about their likes and dislikes. In The Sound of Music and Plants, Mrs.Retallack gives the reader an insight into the emotional reaction of plants to music. Jazz, pop, country, rock, ragas, Berg, Bernstein, or Bach - which type do they most enjoy? To find out, the author, a professional musician and wife of a medical doctor, conducted scientific experiments while working on her B.A. degree at Tempel Buell College(now Colorado Women's College).

The results were so interesting that her work received worldwide recognition through the news media - articles appeared in over 500 news papers and magazines, including the New york Times, Harper's Science Digest, and Reader's Digest. In addition CBS television filmed the experiments on time-lapse camera for a special feature on Cronkite News.

What is so novel about these experiments? It is not that this type of research is new; experimentation with the effect of music on plants has been going on for years.

The experimentation of the author has unique twist. She writes: "Although others have done experiments for reasons of better production, bigger flowers, and so on, apparently I was the first in US to do scientifically controlled experiments purely to see how plants react to different types of music." By carefully setting up controlled music chambers with all factors constant except the music, placing a speaker at one end of each sound chamber and various types of vegetable, flowering, and leafy plants in the middle, she set the stage for observing the plants' reaction to the sound of music.

She watched in dismay as one group drooped, faded, and turned away from the sound source. What is more, after eighteen days, they died. Only six feet away, in another sound chamber, the drama was strikingly different: "At the 14th day, the plants nearest speaker were leaning at 60-degree angle so as to almost embrace the speaker. The growth was noticeably lush and abundant, as were the roots." The difference? The first group has been listening to "acid rock" ( the term used to define a highly percussive, heavily rhythmic kind of rock music), and the second to East Indian devotional music. The evidence gathered from this experiment led to an intriguing theory.

"Of all the various kinds of music used," the author explains, "there were three kinds, apparently different in every way, that the plants responded to most favourably: East Indian devotional, Bach's 'Orgelbuchlein(Preludes based on Hymn Tunes of the Church Year), and jazz.

The author appeals to mankind to listen to what plants are trying to say and to consciously develop music as means of inspiration and upliftment of all forms of life - as a "bridge to Infinite."

The highest mission of music is to serve as a bridge between man and God.

Click the link below for more information on the experiments:

http://www.dovesong.com/positive_music/plant_experiments.asp

Christmas Tree Deco @ Midvalley Megamall, KL

Physalis Flowers in a magical forest

Physalis is a genus of plants in the nightshade family (Solanaceae), native to warm temperate and subtropical regions throughout the world. The genus is characterised by the small orangey fruit similar in size, shape and structure to a small tomato, but partly or fully enclosed in a large papery husk derived from the calyx. Collectively, they are referred to as groundcherries but many species are well-known to humans and have more fanciful names.

They are herbaceous plants growing to 0.4-3 m tall, similar to the common tomato - a relative - but usually with a stiffer, more upright stem; they can be either annual or perennial. Most require full sun and fairly warm to hot temperatures. Some species are sensitive to frost, though others such as P. alkekengi (Chinese Lantern) tolerate severe cold when dormant in winter.

A Melodious & Delicious Deepavali Night @ Our Meditation Centre

It has been the tradition of our meditation centre (KL SRF) that we celebrate Deepavali with our spiritual family members at our centre. This year, we celebrated on the 24th November '07.

This year, we had special performance by "Sruti Academy" students led by their guru, Srimathi Vijaya Lakshmi Arumugam. we were all spell-bound by Srimathi Vijaya Lakshmi Arumugam's veena music.

And, of course, after their performance, we (devotees of SRF) sang our Cosmic Chants led by Magesan(vocal) and Mrs. Lakshmi (harmonium).

Finally, we all had a very delicious potluck dinner.

It was, indeed a special Deepavali Night for me. :)

Astral Body : An Electro-Dynamic field : A Blueprint of Human Body

The Hindu scriptures say that God has created this Universe. God thought the design of the Universe, then created a blueprint of the design and then materialised the physical Universe.

Please read the following, amazing scientific explanation for the existence of blueprint of human body (God created human beings).

Excerpts are taken from Blueprint For Immortality, by Dr. Harold Saxton Burr

Dr. Harold Saxton Burr, Ph.D., who was E. K. Hunt Professor Emeritus, Anatomy at Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Burr was a member of the faculty of medicine for over forty-three years. From 1916 to the late 1950’s, he published, either alone or with others, more than ninety-three scientific papers.

Dr. Burr discovered that all living things - from men to mice, from trees to seeds - are molded and controlled by electro-dynamic fields, which could be measured and mapped with standard voltmeters. These “fields of life,” or L-fields, are the basic blueprints of all life on this planet. Their discovery is of immense significance to all of us. Dr. Burr believed that, since measurements of L-field voltages can reveal physical and mental conditions, doctors should be able to use them to diagnose illness before symptoms develop, and so would have a better chance of successful treatment.

“Electro-dynamic fields are invisible and intangible; and it is hard to visualize them. But a crude analogy may help to show what the fields of life - L-fields for short - do and why they are so important. Most people who have taken high school science will remember that if iron filings are scattered on a card held over a magnet, they will arrange themselves in the pattern of the ‘lines of force’ of the magnet’s field. And if the filings are thrown away and fresh ones scattered on the card, the new filings will assume the same pattern as the old. Something like this happens in the human body. Its molecules and cells are constantly being torn apart and rebuilt with fresh material from the food we eat. But, thanks to the controlling L-fields, the new molecules and cells are rebuilt as before and arrange themselves in the same pattern as the old ones.

“Until modern instruments revealed the existence of the controlling L-fields, biologists were at a loss to explain how our bodies ‘keep in shape’ through ceaseless metabolism and changes of material. Now the mystery has been solved: the electro-dynamic field of the body serves as a matrix or mould which preserves the ’shape’ or arrangement of any material poured into it, however often the material may be changed.

“When a cook looks at a jelly mould, she knows the shape of the jelly she will turn out of it. In much the same way, inspection with instruments of an L-field in its initial stage can reveal the future ’shape’ or arrangement of the materials it will mould. When the L-field in a frog’s egg, for instance, is examined electrically, it is possible to show the future location of the frog’s nervous system because the frog’s L-field is the matrix which will determine the form which will develop from the egg.

“To return to the cook, when she uses a battered mould, she expects to find some dents or bulges in the jelly. Similarly, a ‘battered’ L-field - that is, one with abnormal voltage patterns - can give a warning of something ‘out of shape’ in the body, sometimes in advance of actual symptoms. For example, malignancy in the ovary has been revealed by L-field measurements before any clinical sign could be observed. Such measurements, therefore, could help doctors to detect cancer early, when there is a better chance of treating it successfully.

To read the complete article, please click the link below:

http://www.wrf.org/men-women-medicine/dr-harold-s-burr.php

Enriching Your Life Through Solitude and Silence

An article from " Self-Realization Fellowship Magazine"
by Susan Smith Jones, Ph.D

Noise certainly seems to be part of our everyday lives - from the alarm clock in the morning , to the traffic outside, to the never-ending sound of voices, radio and television. Our bodies and minds appear to acclimate to these outside intrusions. Or do they?

Two decades ago, the Committee on Environmental Quality of the Federal Council of Science and Technology found that "growing number of researchers fear the dangerous and hazardous effects of intense noise on human health are seriously underestimated."

More recent studies, writes, Michael D. Seidman, M.D., in his terrific book, Save Your Hearing Now, suggest that we pay a price for adopting to noise: higher blood pressure, heart rate, adrenalin secretion; heightened aggression; impaired resistance to disease, a sense of helplessness. Studies indicate that when we control noise, its effects are much less damaging.

I have not been able to find any studies on the effects of quiet in repairing the stress of noise, but I know intuitively that most of us love quiet and need it desperately.We are so used to noise in our lives that silence can sometimes feel awkward and unsettling. On vacation, for instance, when quiet prevails, we may have trouble sleeping. But choosing times of silence can enrich the quality of our lives tremendously. If you find yourself overworked, stressed-out, irritated, or tense, rather than heading for a coffee or snack break, may be all you need is a silence break.

Everyone at some time has experienced the feeling of being overwhelmed by life. Everyone too, has felt the need to escape, to find a quiet, secluded place to experience the peace of Spirit, to be alone with quiet thoughts. Creating time of silence in your life takes commitment and discipline. Most of the time, periods of silence must be scheduled into your day's activities or you will never have any.

May be you can carve out times of silence while at home where you can be without radio, television, telephones, or voices. If you live in a family, may be the best quiet time for you is early in the morning before others arise. In that silence, you can become more aware, more sensitive to your surroundings, feel more in touch with the wholeness of life.

From quiet time or silence, you recognize the importance of solitude. Silence and solitude go hand in hand. In silence and solitude, you reconnect with your self. Solitude helps to clear your channels, fosters peace, and brings spiritual lucidity. When you retreat from outside world to go within, you can be at the very centre of you being and reacquaint yourself with you r spiritual nature - the essence of your being and all life.

Outside noise tends to drown the inner life - the music of soul. Only in silence and solitude can we go within and nurture our spiritual lives. Within each of us there is a silence waiting to be embraced.

How do you feel about being alone? Aloneness is quite different from loneliness. (Loneliness is the pain of being alone. Solitude is the glory of being alone) Loneliness is something you do to yourself. Have you ever expressed being lonely even when you are with other people?

Choose to Make Solitude Your Friend

It is my contention that all the other good things we endeavour to provide for ourselves, including sound nutrition, daily exercise and material wealth, will be of reduced value unless we learn to live in harmony with ourselves, which means knowing ourselves and finding peace in our own company. This peace is natural occurrence of spending time alone in silence. In spending time alone we realize that we are never really alone and that we can live more fully by focusing our inner guidance rather than externalities.

Embrace solitude. Walk in silence among the trees, in the mountains, by the ocean, with the sun and moon as your friends. Be by yourself, and experience a whole new way of celebrating yourself and life. Feel the heartbeat of silence. Bathe in its light and love. Know within yourself that you are a child of God, and in your silence in Heaven.

"When from our better selves we
have too long
been parted by the hurrying
world, and droop,
Sick of its business, of its pleasures tired,
How gracious, how benign, is solitude." --- William Wordsworth

The Divine Art of Erasing Age and Creating Vitality (continued ...)

Healthy Blood Is Necessary For Optimum Vitality

The canals in our bodies carry blood plasma that brings nutrition to all the cells, as well as take away the waste products that are dumped by the cells into the bloodstream. Healthy red blood is of utmost important in order to keep well - and plenty of exercise and fresh air.

Many persons do not exercise at all. Working is not really exercise. Of course any physical activity does some good and is better than sedentary life; but if it does not use all the muscles, you are not truly exercising. Scientific exercise means working the entire muscular system. That charges fresh blood into blood vessels in all parts of the body, and as a result it washes away poisons and gives life-force-laden oxygen and food to cells through out the system.

The red blood corpuscles not only carry oxygen, but also life-force, prana, to the cells. Every corpuscle is a tiny battery of life energy. That is what most people don't know. This is why when you loose blood, energy goes. Unless your body is strong, you should never give your blood; it is a mistake to do so. If you are weak, the loss of even one point of blood may injure you in unsuspected ways by lowering your body's overall life energy. If your body is strong, then it is all right to give blood.

The blood is an amazing thing. It knows how to throw off anything it does not like - anything foreign to the health of the body. Being a vehicle of life-force or prana, it carries the subtle intelligence innate in that creative energy. Some of the chemicals in the medicines are not good for you, with t he result that potent tonics are filtered out rather than absorbed by the blood. The blood takes oxygen readily than anything else.That is why proper breathing is so important to keep your blood charged with vitality. You receive more tonic from oxygen than from anything else - especially if you have good habits of proper breathing.

Learn and practice this method: First, throw out the breath with a strong double exhalation (one short and one long breath). Then, inhale in a double inhalation (one short and one long breath), filling the lungs as full as is comfortable. Hold the air in the lungs for a few seconds, allowing the oxygen to be fully absorbed and converted into prana. Then repeat the double exhalation, followed by the double inhalation. Practice this method in fresh air 30 times in the morning and 30 times at night. It is very simple. You will be healthier than ever if you follow this. This exercise brings in a great deal of extra life-force; and also decarbonizes your blood, promoting calmness. Remember that. I (Paramahansa Yogananda) want all of you to be healthy and well.

Eating bananas will help to increase the health of your red blood. They are one of the most beneficial of God's foods. Taking half an avocado daily with your meal will also greatly help in giving you the right nutrition. Your body will feel just as strong as if you had meat - and without creating meat's harmful acid conditions.

The foundation of divine healing is to live naturally. This is just not a physical method of healing; it is a divine method. To maintain health you must use nature's laws. Sun, fresh air, pure water, fruits, and vegetables - all these were given to you by God to keep well.