Parallel universes DO exist. Welcome to quantum physics

Fascinating stuff to contemplate:

Parallel universes DO exist': Multiple versions of us are living in alternate worlds that interact with each other, theory claims

• The parallel worlds constantly influence one another, researchers claim
• This is because, instead of a collapse in which quantum particles 'choose' to occupy one state or another, they in fact occupy both, simultaneously 
• The theory could resolve some of the irregularities in quantum mechanics
• It states some worlds are almost identical to ours, but most are different
• Theory may even create possibility of one day testing for these worlds

By Ellie Zolfagharifard for MailOnline

Published: 11:48 EST, 31 October 2014 | Updated: 15:16 EST, 31 October 2014

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Imagine a world where dinosaurs hadn't become extinct, Germany had won World War II and you were born in an entirely different country.

These worlds could exist today in parallel universes, which constantly interact with each other, according to a group of US and Australian researchers.

It may sound like science fiction, but the new theory could resolve some of the irregularities in quantum mechanics that have baffled scientists for centuries.

The team proposes that parallel universes really exist, and that they interact. That is, rather than evolving independently, nearby worlds influence one another by a subtle force of repulsion. They show that such an interaction could explain everything that is bizarre about quantum mechanics

WHAT THEY CLAIM:

Professor Wiseman and his colleagues propose that:

The universe we experience is just one of a gigantic number of worlds. Some are almost identical to ours while most are very different;

All of these worlds are equally real, exist continuously through time, and possess precisely defined properties;

All quantum phenomena arise from a universal force of repulsion between 'nearby' (i.e. similar) worlds which tends to make them more dissimilar. 

The team from Griffiths University and the University of California suggest that rather than evolving independently, nearby worlds influence one another by a subtle force of repulsion.

They claim that such an interaction could explain everything that is bizarre about how particles operate on a microscopic scale.

Quantum mechanics is notoriously difficult to fathom, exhibiting weird phenomena which seem to violate the laws of cause and effect.

'The idea of parallel universes in quantum mechanics has been around since 1957,' said Howard Wiseman, a professor in Physics at Griffith University.

'In the well-known 'Many-Worlds Interpretation'', each universe branches into a bunch of new universes every time a quantum measurement is made.

'All possibilities are therefore realised – in some universes the dinosaur-killing asteroid missed Earth. In others, Australia was colonised by the Portuguese.'

'But critics question the reality of these other universes, since they do not influence our universe at all.

'On this score, our 'Many Interacting Worlds' approach is completely different, as its name implies.'

The Many Worlds theory was first proposed by Hugh Everett, who said that the ability of quantum particles to occupy two states seemingly at once could be explained by both states co-existing in different universes.

Instead of a collapse in which quantum particles 'choose' to occupy one state or another, they in fact occupy both, simultaneously.

IS OUR UNIVERSE A HOLOGRAM? UNIVERSE COULD BE A MERE PROJECTION

+3

The holographic model suggests gravity in the universe comes from thin, vibrating strings. These strings are holograms of events that take place in a simpler, flatter cosmos

The universe is a hologram and everything you can see - including this article and the device you are reading it on - is a mere projection.

This is according to a controversial model proposed in 1997 by theoretical physicist Juan Maldacena. 

Until now the bizarre theory had never been tested, but recent mathematical models suggest that the mind-boggling principle could be true.

According to the theory, gravity in the universe comes from thin, vibrating strings. 

These strings are holograms of events that take place in a simpler, flatter cosmos. Professor Maldacena's model suggests that the universe exists in nine dimensions of space, and one of time.

In December, Japanese researchers attempted to tackle this problem by providing mathematical evidence that the holographic principle might be correct.

The holographic principle suggests that, like the security chip on a credit card for example, there is a two-dimensional surface that contains all the information needed to describe a three-dimensional object - which in this case is our universe.

In essence, the principle claims that data containing a description of a volume of space - such as a human or a comet - could be hidden in a region of this flattened, 'real' version of the universe.

In a black hole, for instance, all the objects that ever fall into it would be entirely contained in surface fluctuations. This means that the objects would be stored almost as 'memory' or fragment of data rather than a physical object in existence. 

Like Everett, Professor Wiseman and his colleagues propose the universe we experience is just one of a gigantic number of worlds.

They believe some are almost identical to ours, while most are very different.

All of these worlds are equally real, existing continuously through time, and possessing precisely defined properties.

They suggest that quantum phenomena arise from a universal force of repulsion between 'nearby' worlds which tend to make them more dissimilar.

Dr Michael Hall from Griffith's Centre for Quantum Dynamics added that the 'Many-Interacting Worlds' theory may even create the extraordinary possibility of testing for the existence of other worlds.

'The beauty of our approach is that if there is just one world, our theory reduces to Newtonian mechanics, while if there is a gigantic number of worlds it reproduces quantum mechanics,' he says.

+3

Dr Michael Hall from Griffith's Centre for Quantum Dynamics says the 'Many-Interacting Worlds' theory may even create the extraordinary possibility of testing for the existence of other worlds

'In between it predicts something new that is neither Newton's theory nor quantum theory.

'We also believe that, in providing a new mental picture of quantum effects, it will be useful in planning experiments to test and exploit quantum phenomena.'

'For us at least there is nothing inherently implausible in the idea,' added Professor Wiseman.

'For fans of science fiction it makes those plots involving communication between parallel worlds not quite so far-fetched after all.' 

The ability to approximate quantum evolution using a finite number of worlds could have significant ramifications in molecular dynamics, which is important for understanding chemical reactions and the action of drugs.

Professor Bill Poirier, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at Texas Tech University, has observed: 'These are great ideas, not only conceptually, but also with regard to the new numerical breakthroughs they are almost certain to engender.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2816039/Parallel-universes-exist-Multiple-versions-living-alternate-worlds-interact-theory-claims.html#ixzz3HlMszBhm

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Kids' video of their own research on chemtrails (4 minutes long)

Isaiah ll:6. Isaiah simply, but profoundly said, "A little child shall lead them."

Encouraging to see that kids are aware of chemtrails and are doing their own research on it.  This video was made in 2012.  Maybe the little children will lead the way, as it says in the Bible.  I don't see how adults can be ignoring it -- just check out the jet trails in the video, stopping and starting.  As the kids in the video say, if this were a regular jet trail, the plane would be falling out of the sky -- a starting and stopping pattern of a jet trail is a dangerous sign that the jet's engines are failing.

Watch this 4 minute video and judge for yourself.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o3dF17EROk&inf_contact_key=d6f09dd03be139dc6e8d9486df1efbdcab562da48b1238f23cec7616cd828513

Hooray for the kids who are smarter than the adults in this case!!!!   It's time for us adults to start questioning and demanding answers from our "leaders." !!!!! 

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Truth: Retirement not in the cards for most

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Secret government controls Obama admin. by noted insider

National Security and Double Government - new book by Michael J. Glennon.  (Not a lightweight author but someone who knows the inside track -- see his credentials below)

Why has U.S. security policy scarcely changed from the Bush to the Obama administration? National Security and Double Government offers a disquieting answer. Michael J. Glennon challenges the myth that U.S. security policy is still forged by America's visible, "Madisonian institutions"--the President, Congress, and the courts. Their roles, he argues, have become largely illusory. Presidential control is now nominal, congressional oversight is dysfunctional, and judicial review is negligible. This book details the dramatic shift in power that has occurred from the Madisonian institutions to a concealed "Trumanite network"--the several hundred managers of the military, intelligence, diplomatic, and law enforcement agencies who are responsible for protecting the nation and who have come to operate largely immune from constitutional and electoral restraints. Reform efforts face daunting obstacles. Remedies within this new system of "double government" require the hollowed-out Madisonian institutions to exercise the very power that they lack. Meanwhile, reform initiatives from without confront the same pervasive political ignorance within the polity that has given rise to this duality. This book sounds a powerful warning about the need to resolve this dilemma--and the mortal threat posed to accountability, democracy, and personal freedom if double government persists.

Glennon is Professor of International Law at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. He has been Legal Counsel to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (1977-1980); Fulbright Distinguished Professor of International and Constitutional Law, Vytautus Magnus University School of Law, Kaunas, Lithuania (1998); a Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC (2001-2002); Thomas Hawkins Johnson Visiting Scholar at the United States Military Academy, West Point (2005); Director of Studies at the Hague Academy of International Law (2006); and professeur invité at the University of Paris II, Panthéon-Assas (2006-2013). Professor Glennon has served as a consultant to various congressional committees, the U.S. State Department, and the International Atomic Energy Agency. He is a member of the American Law Institute, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Board of Editors of the American Journal of International Law. A frequent commentator on public affairs, he has spoken widely within the United States and abroad and appeared on Nightline, the Today Show, NPR's All Things Considered and other national news programs. His op-ed pieces have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, International Herald-Tribune, Financial Times, and Frankfurt Allgemeine Zeitung.

NEWS VIDEO
The secret government that resists President Obama's efforts to change national security policy is exposed in "National Security and Double Government." In the book, Glennon talks about the two different governments and the concealed institutions that make policy changes in the realm of national security. We look at the inside perspective on who is calling the shots, in this Lip News clip with Mark Sovel and Elliot Hill.
http://consciouslifenews.com/insider-secret-government-controls-obama-administration/1177626/

In this interview, it is interesting to note that the dilemma being pointed out is apparently beyond our power to change.  No longer can there be any doubt about it. The Bush and Obama presidencies have proven it (with Obama carrying out the same policies as Dubya): there is a strongly seated, secret, behind-the-scenes government calling the shots, with U.S. Presidents and Congress simply serving as the front-man facade and having no real power. So, now that we know this for sure, what do we do? 


REVIEWS:

"If constitutional government is to endure in the United States, Americans must confront the fundamental challenges presented by this chilling analysis of the national security state."
Bruce Ackerman
Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science
Yale University

"Glennon has written a unique book that stands out among the collection of post-9/11 works for the way it lashes historical trends to the most contemporary problems of government secrecy, power and overreach in a highly readable way. I underlined passages on just about every page and can't wait to reread it. The 'ah ha!' moments are endless."
Dana Priest
Two-time Pulitzer Prize winning national security reporter, The Washington Post

"Michael Glennon has written a brilliant book that helps explain why U.S. foreign policy changes so little over time, despite frequent failure.... Glennon shows how the underlying national security bureaucracy in Washington - what might be called the deep state - ensures that presidents and their successors act on the world stage like Tweedledee and Tweedledum."
John J. Mearsheimer
R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science
University of Chicago 

"Michael Glennon offers us a penetrating, useful, and ultimately depressing warning about American democracy, indeed all democracies: There's no hope against the technocrats and moneyed interests while the general public remains so incredibly ignorant of public affairs. Liberal advocates take note."
Leslie H. Gelb
President emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a former columnist for The New York Times

"National Security and Double Government is brilliant, deep, sad, and vastly learned across multiple fields--a work of Weberian power and stature. It deserves to be read and discussed. The book raises philosophical questions in the public sphere in a way not seen at least since Fukuyama's end of history."
David A. Westbrook
Del Cotto Professor
SUNY Buffalo Law School

"Shrewdly updating Walter Bagehot's theory of 'double government,' Michael Glennon shows how present-day Washington really works. In our faux democracy, those we elect to govern serve largely ornamental purposes, while those who actually wield power, especially in the realm of national security, do so chiefly with an eye toward preserving their status and prerogatives. Read this incisive and richly documented book, and you'll understand why."
Andrew J. Bacevich
Professor of History and International Relations Boston University

"Taking a leaf from Walter Bagehot's thesis of dual government in Britain, Michael Glennon has transported the concept of 'double government' to the United States analyzing the constitutional institutions, or what he calls the 'Madisonian' side; and a cohort of several hundred senior military, diplomatic, and intelligence officials who run the daily business of national security, or what he calls the 'Trumanite' side. This explains the relatively little difference between the Bush 43 and the Obama presidencies. In this brilliant, deeply researched book, Glennon spells out the relation of his overall thesis to contemporary issues such as the Snowden revelations."
Charles G. Cogan
Associate, International Security Program, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs Harvard Kennedy School

"In this timely book Michael Glennon provides a compelling argument that America's national security policy is growing outside the bounds of existing government institutions. This is at once a constitutional challenge, but is also a case study in how national security can change government institutions, create new ones, and, in effect, stand-up a parallel state. This is a well-argued book of academic import and policy relevance. It is recommended reading for an informed debate on an issue of great significance."
Vali Nasr
Dean of Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies

"National Security and Double Government is an important and insightful book. It should be read by anyone concerned that Obama's national security policies differ so little from those of the Bush Administration, and by every in-coming President and her staff."
Morton H. Halperin
Senior Advisor Open Society Foundations

 "Michael Glennon's National Security and Double Government explains why U.S. foreign policy is prone to recurring failure and resistant to genuine reform. Instead of being responsive to citizens or subject to effective checks and balances, U.S. national security policy is in fact conducted by a shadow government of bureaucrats and a supporting network of think tanks, media insiders, and ambitious policy wonks. Presidents may come and go, but the permanent national security establishment inevitably defeats their efforts to chart a new course. Gracefully written and extensively researched, this book is the most penetrating analysis of U.S. foreign policy that I have read in years."
Stephen M. Walt, Robert and Renee Belfer
Professor of International Affairs Harvard Kennedy School

"National Security and Double Government is brilliant, deep, sad, and vastly learned across multiple fields - a work of Weberian power and stature. It deserves to be read and discussed. The book raises philosophical questions in the public sphere in a way not seen at least since Fukuyama's end of history."
David A. Westbrook
Del Cotto Professor SUNY Buffalo Law School

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NY Times: History not as we imagined. Nazis in the U.S.

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TEN MOST CONSERVATIVE AND MOST LIBERAL CITIES IN U.S.

At one time I thought I might like to live in Virginia Beach.  Sure am glad I didn't move there! It would have been a terrible match. (~.~)

TEN MOST CONSERVATIVE CITIES AND TEN MOST LIBERAL CITIES IN THE U.S.   (From Alternet)

Americans have countless stereotypes about people from different regions of the country. There’s the polite Midwesterner, the abrasive New Yorker, the Berkeley hippy, the gun-toting Texan. There is red America and there is blue, and never the twain shall meet. But a study of conservative cities published in American Political Science Review suggests that the United States has a much more complicated political patchwork than we might expect.

In order to determine which cities are most conservative, researchers analyzed large-scale surveys that questioned residents of over 1,600 towns and cities about a range of policy areas, from education to healthcare. Study authors Chris Tausanovitch of UCLA and Christopher Warshaw of MIT created an ideological score for each city based on these responses. The final study looks at the 51 U.S. cities that have at least 250,000 residents.

Some of their findings, like the fact that America’s biggest urban centers lean toward the liberal side of the spectrum, are unsurprising. But there is a remarkable ideological range within states, and beyond the top contenders, the rankings aren’t what you might expect. Mesa, Arizona’s title as the most conservative city in the country fits in with our preconceptions about national politics, but the fact that Buffalo, New York is more liberal than Chicago or that Portland doesn’t even crack the top 10 is more of a surprise. According to their results, San Francisco is the most liberal city, followed by Washington DC and Seattle.

The most interesting takeaway of the study is that ideology has tangible effects on policy at the municipal level. Academic literature has long held that city officials are unresponsive to their constituents, thanks to the constraints placed on them by state and federal governments and the impossibility of catering to a constantly changing demography. Yet as it turns out, “the substantive impact of citizens’ preferences on policy outcomes is quite large.” The most liberal cities have higher taxes per capita, rely on less regressive tax systems, and spend twice as much per person as their most conservative counterparts. And as Hunter Schwarz points out at the Washington Post, “even cities with governments designed to be less partisan, with institutions like nonpartisan elections and professional managers instead of elected mayors, are in line with residents’ political beliefs.”

Check out the top 10 most and least conservative cities below, or look through the Economist’s ranking of all 51 cities.

Most Conservative

1. Mesa, Arizona
2. Oklahoma City, OK
3. Virginia Beach, VA
4. Colorado Springs, CO
5. Jacksonville, FL
6. Arlington, TX
7. Anaheim, CA
8. Omaha, NE
9. Tulsa, OK
10. Aurora, CO

Most Liberal

1. San Francisco, CA
2. Washington, DC
3. Seattle, WA
4. Oakland, CA
5. Boston, MA
6. Minneapolis, MN
7. Detroit, MI
8. New York, NY
9. Buffalo, NY
10. Baltimore, MD

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We had Ebola vaccine 10 years ago -- but it wasn't lucrative enough for Big Pharma

...so it got shelved.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/24/health/without-lucrative-market-potential-ebola-vaccine-was-shelved-for-years.html 

HOW GREED ALWAYS WINS OVER NEED

GALVESTON, Tex. — Almost a decade ago, scientists from Canada and the United States reported that they had created a vaccine that was 100 percent effective in protecting monkeys against the Ebola virus. The results were published in a respected journal, and health officials called them exciting. The researchers said tests in people might start within two years, and a product could potentially be ready for licensing by 2010 or 2011.

It never happened. The vaccine sat on a shelf. Only now is it undergoing the most basic safety tests in humans — with nearly 5,000 people dead from Ebola and an epidemic raging out of control in West Africa.

Its development stalled in part because Ebola is rare, and until now, outbreaks had infected only a few hundred people at a time. But experts also acknowledge that the absence of follow-up on such a promising candidate reflects a broader failure to produce medicines and vaccines for diseases that afflict poor countries. Most drug companies have resisted spending the enormous sums needed to develop products useful mostly to countries with little ability to pay.

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Pope Francis: "God Is Not Afraid of New Things"

but the conservative bishops/cardinals sure are!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/19/pope-homosexuality-church-gay_n_6010904.html

EXCERPT: After an initial draft of the synod's final document was released on Monday, conservative bishops vowed to row back on the upbeat tone adopted regarding gays, cohabitation and re-marriage, saying it would create confusion among the faithful and threatened to undermine the traditional family.   (in truth, it should read: threatened to undermine the authority of the bishops and their control over the sheeple).

The cardinals and bishops who have long reigned over the laity, ruling them with an iron hand, do not want to lose their high positions of authority, privilege and reverent obeisance by the "faithful."  Why, that would put the Church "hierarchy" on an equal level with everyone else...good grief, we can't have that!  Interesting, isn't it, that that seems to be exactly what Pope Francis wants.  Poor guy, they won't let him get away with it.  The two factions (liberal and conservative) are fighting for control of the future of the Church.  Whether it will have a future depends on who wins....

Funny, isn't it, that the same fight seems to be happening in the world at large as well?  Whether the planet and its inhabitants have a future is at stake.  Conservative traditionalists are unable to see that change is necessary if we are to survive. Their greed-and-power-driven determination to maintain the status quo will be the death of us.

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Thoughtful essay by an M.D.

EXCERPT: Being an open-minded skeptic is healthy. It's the closed minded skeptic that keeps humanity at a standstill. If they had their way, we'd still think the Earth was flat and at the center of our solar system. ... In the end, it's all about a mix of science and faith. How much of each is up to you. Either way, you're destined to ride the wave.

LIFE AFTER DEATH: WHY THE GROWING INTEREST?
By Dr. Elisa Medhus

When I lost my 20 year-old son to a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, I plunged into a vacuum devoid of any belief system that would answer what would be the most important question of my life. Where is my son? As a physician with a strong science background raised by two atheists, I found it difficult to know where to start my search. I didn't even know whether there was anything to search for.

So, I did what I do best. I turned to science. I devoured hundreds of books and accounts by quantum and theoretical physicists and near death experiencers. I reviewed controlled, double blind experiments conducted on mediums and explored scientific studies on the survival of consciousness after death. My journey is still on going, but along the way, I became aware of the fact that I'm not alone in my exploration into the existence of life after death. In fact, I'm riding a surging wave of a growing fascination about what happens after you take that last breath, and that wave is swelling to tsunami like proportions as nearly 78 million baby boomers grapple with their own mortality.

Why now? Haven't people always wondered what happens when the lights go out for the last time? Haven't they always been afraid enough to ponder the question, or have they had their head in the sand for the last several centuries? Sure they have, but only in a closeted fashion. After all, most of us are afraid to die. The thought of disappearing from all existence or being yanked away from our loved ones isn't exactly a warm and fuzzy one. And yes, most of us are curious. However, we might casually wonder what happens after the person sitting next to us dies, but we don't often dwell on the thought of our own death.

Then there are the paranormal experiences. Those who have them often contemplate the existence of life after death. And you'd be surprised how many people have had them. It's nothing new. Near death experiences, visits from deceased loved ones or deathbed visions are commonplace, but until recently these were all hush-hush. No one wants to be ridiculed or labeled "mentally unfit." If only they knew that tens of thousands have experienced similar occurrences. In fact, estimates from NDERF (Near Death Experience Research Foundation) suggests at least 15 million adults have had NDEs. Multiple polls find that 20 percent of the population have had communications with those who have passed away, and a PEW Research poll conducted in December 2009 found that 18 percent of people report to have seen or been in the presence of a ghost (1)

So, what's changed? Several things. For one, we've seen a declining membership in and impact of the more dogmatic, inflexible religious denominations whose job is to tell us that some sort of Divine Being will sweep up our souls and sort us like nickels and dimes into either some sort of idyllic paradise or eternal hellfire.

Secondly, quantum science has begun to steal the show from material science (sorry, Sir Isaac), teaching us that we no longer have to rely on our five senses to hypothesize and eventually define a truth. Just because we can't see, feel, hear, taste or smell something doesn't mean it doesn't exist. As quantum physics comes into its own, studies into the existence of alternate dimensions and consciousness survival after death result in breakthroughs. Not a month goes by that new discoveries aren't becoming breaking news stories: The fact that we may be able to see other dimensions beside our own (2). The hypothesis that the microtubules in our cell's mitochondria are the origin of consciousness (3). The idea that our souls maybe be comprised of tiny subatomic particles known as "neutrinos." (4)

Last and most important, technology. The tie that binds us all. Now, the Internet helps us create micro-communities where we can share those "paranormal" experiences in a safe, anonymous place free from scorn. The number of websites dealing with life after death has skyrocketed in recent years as have the number of movies and television shows dealing with the afterlife and all things supernatural. Suddenly, the taboo becomes a more comfortable "well, maybe I'm not so crazy after all" thing. In fact, thanks to this public "outing" of deathbed visions, NDEs, and after death communications, even physicians have become emboldened enough to share the "paranormal" events they've seen throughout their careers during the dying process of their patients. Beforehand, they would have feared the ridicule of their peers, who were probably sharing the same secrets.

Once this discussion about the afterlife became comfortable, spiritual celebrities like Deepak Chopra, Neale Donald Walsh and Gary Zukav assumed a bigger stage and a large following. As the breakthroughs in quantum physics were made public through the Internet, television and other venues, the physicists, themselves, become popularized and many, such as Michio Kaku, have become overnight celebrities as well. The wave continues to swell.

For those of you who still need to see it to believe it, Dr. Thomas Campbell, Ph.D., (5) Theoretical Physicist and author of My Big TOE (Theory of Everything), explains it like this (and I'm paraphrasing, here): We are like our intestinal bacteria. For all we know, the bread that comes down to us is manna from Heaven. We know nothing of the sowing of the seeds, the irrigation, the crop rotation, the fertilization and pest control, the harvesting, the production of bread and its transportation to market. Furthermore, we have no concept of the global economics of wheat, the rise and fall of its price in the commodities market, etc. But it still affects us, the bacteria. That said, there is much out there that we cannot perceive with our senses that exists and affects us all. Other dimensions, including the one my son, Erik, is in, may be one such thing. But the course of a big ship changes its direction very slowly, and as Schopenhauer said, "Truth goes through three phases: First it is ridiculed. Next it is scorned. Then it is taken as self-evident."

Is there sufficient proof for immortality and the existence of the afterlife? No, not 100 percent. And for me, there will never be until I'm there. But that's okay. Being an open-minded skeptic is healthy. It's the closed minded skeptic that keeps humanity at a standstill. If they had their way, we'd still think the Earth was flat and at the center of our solar system. I'm still one of the intestinal bacteria learning about the global economics of wheat, but in the remedial class. In the end, it's all about a mix of science and faith. How much of each is up to you. Either way, you're destined to ride the wave.

If you'd like to accompany me in my adventure-laden (and sometimes pothole-riddled) journey through death, the survival of consciousness and the nature of the afterlife, please join me at www.channelingerik.com. We'll continue to search for answers, and we'll probably discover more questions along the way.

If you've learned anything in here, please also follow my twitter feed, @drmedhus

1 http://www.pewresearch.org/daily-number/boo/
2 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070203103355.htm
3 http://www.nonlocal.com/hbar/hameroffnote.html
4 http://fqxi.org/data/essay-contest-files/Nochur_The_Secret_Life_and.pdf
5 http://wiki.my-big-toe.com/index.php/Biography:_Thomas_W._Campbell,_Jr.

Follow Elisa Medhus, M.D. on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@drmedhus

More:

RELIGIÓN Paranormal Baby Boomers Near Death Experiences Life After Death Deepak Chopra Death Gary Zukav Michio Kaku Immortality

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Great essay on "tribal mentality"

LEAVING THE TRIBE
By Caroline Myss

All of us are born into a "tribal mentality" of various forms. These include our family unit, religious background, country of origin, ethnicity, etc. The tribal mentality effectively indoctrinates an individual into the tribe's beliefs, ensuring that all believe the same. The structure of reality – what is and is not possible for the members of the group – is thus agreed upon and maintained by the tribe.

While the tribal mentality has definite benefits in terms of establishing common ground and ensuring group survival, it is not a conscious agreement. We are born into it. Yet at a certain stage, both personally and collectively, the tribal mentality must be challenged. People can then begin to recognize the need for a personal honor code independent of the tribe. If humanity is to progress, we need to learn how to treat everyone – regardless of tribal affiliation – with honor and respect.

Every one of us is plugged into the tribal mind. We support tribal belief patterns by directing a percentage of our life force into maintaining our affiliation with the tribe. This involves an implicit agreement to think like the tribe thinks, to evaluate situations and people the way the tribe does, and to believe in right and wrong according to tribal values and ambitions. As long as the tribal mentality within us remains unexamined, we unwittingly subject others to our tribal laws.

When we are plugged into tribal thought forms, we can easily believe in nonsensical prejudices held by the tribe. Tribal mentality allows us to hold harsh, judgmental positions or attitudes about an entire group of people: "All fat people are lazy," or "all Irish are drunks," or "all Muslims are terrorists" for example.

A rigid tribal thought form may have little truth to it, but individuals hold to such beliefs because that perspective is what the tribe has agreed to believe. Innocent children, born into the hatred and prejudice of their parents and ancestors, grow up inside a tribal mentality that sponsors an endless march toward war against the tribe's perceived enemies. People grow up hating other people – people they have never seen – based on group affiliation. This is the shadow side of the tribe.

Inevitably, some among us come to a point where we want to break out of the inflexible tribal mentality. At some point, these individuals want to explore, develop, and manage their own consciousness without the judgments and limitations of the tribal mind.

It is easy to spot these mavericks when they start to question and unplug from tribal mentality – they hang out on the periphery looking bored and restless, or whimsical and dreamy. Others may act out the agitated hot-head as they challenge tribal ways.  

The unspoken assumption of the tribal mind is that everybody loves being part of the tribe. And in many ways, we do. Knowing where and to whom we "belong" is crucial to our self-concept and sense of safety in the world. Yet when we begin the real deep journey of questioning, "What do I believe?" and start to individuate from the tribe, we often enter a dark night of the soul. It is, by necessity, a passage we take alone.

It's one thing to reject what we don't want to believe anymore. It's quite another to begin to explore what we do believe. All we know as we enter the dark night is that we can't go back – even when the tribe is the only world we've ever known.

At this critical point in our development, the tribe doesn't feel right anymore. It no longer offers us comfort. Previous feelings of security and familiarity begin to feel like a trap constraining our individuality and hampering our efforts to discover deeper levels of who we really are.

This dark night passage pushes us to look at our false gods – the tribal belief patterns in which we've become invested and to which we've given our allegiance.

The Language of Wounds

For a large segment of the population, the language of wounds has become the new tribal language of intimacy. Prior to the current age of personal therapy – which only really took off in the 1960s and 70s – the tribal language of intimacy largely involved the sharing of only superficial personal and family data. Deeper matters such as family secrets like sexual abuse or a mad aunt or uncle were shared with exceedingly few, if any.

Divorce and financial information were also considered very intimate. People would almost never talk about such matters, or about their inner life and emotions. They talked only about the details of what was going on in their external lives. The tribal mentality at the time kept people from revealing intimate matters or deep wounds or traumas even with their family and close friends.

The current age of personal therapy has brought about a very different situation. Now, the tribal mentality has shifted such that we not only share our intimate feelings more openly and willingly, many have even begun to define themselves by their wounds. Let me give an example of how this phenomenon plays itself out.

I was in an Indian restaurant in Scotland talking with two men friends when the woman friend I was to meet for dinner walked up and greeted the three of us. After I had introduced her, another man walked over and asked if she was free on June 8th, as he thought she might like to attend a lecture on that date. The question required little more than a ‘yes' or a ‘no' answer.

Instead of a simple answer, she began an elaborate discussion about June 8th. "Did you say June 8th? No, no. Any other day would be fine, but not June 8th. That's the day my incest survivor group meets and I have to be there because we never let each other down." She went on and on for at least a full minute with this.

Later, I asked her, "Do you realize that in that brief introduction, you told two men whom you have never met before that 1) you had experienced incest, 2) you were still in therapy about it, 3) you were angry about it, 4) you were angry at men, and 5) you needed to determine the course of the conversation – all in one minute?"

She replied, "Well, I am a victim of incest."

To which I replied, "I know that. Why did you have to let them know that?"

She was operating from a tribal mentality. The group mind within the incest survivor community has a belief about how this particular wound should be healed. The tribe says, "You need a group." The tribe says, "You have a right to be angry."

People now get together in support group tribes that function within many of the same rigid frameworks of ethnic, national, or family tribes. Some feel that the comfort and security of belonging to a group or tribe is more important than venturing alone in the direction of real healing.

Tribalism in Relationships

The tendency toward tribalism can keep us stuck in repeating negative cycles in our intimate relationships, and can wreak havoc when a relationship is ripe for transition. Tribal mentality often teaches a righteous stance in relationships: an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. When we feel violated, the first thought is vengeance, rather than forgiveness.

Tribal mentality even has gender-specific undercurrents – women do vengeance differently than men. Yet for both genders, what rules the day is the tribal mentality that holds "breaking up is painful" or "betrayal warrants retaliation."

Healing revolves around this crucial question: "Do you want to make different choices?" Are we willing to let go of old, constricting tribal patterns? Sadly, the answer quite often is "No." Being healthy isn't always the most appealing option. Quite frankly, in many cases, it's not appealing at all. What is most appealing is being out of pain. Old patterns are difficult to relinquish because they do serve to relieve pain, even if it is only in the short run.

Change is terrifying for many precisely because short-term pain relief must be given up. Deep healing requires learning to tolerate the pain that comes with change. Fortunately, the growing pains that come with new behavior – with making the choices that will change your life – are often short-lived.

Thought alone doesn't heal. Nor does action without thought. For deep healing to occur, we need the chemistry of conscious thought and direct action combined. Every thought or attitude we have – whether consciously chosen or unconsciously adopted through the tribal mind – invests a part of our life-force into that thought or attitude. This is true whether the thought is one of betrayal and vengeance, or of understanding and forgiveness.

What matters is that a whole system of consciousness – the old tribal mentality – no longer holds us enthralled. We no longer have faith in those limiting patterns of thought. Through this transformation we learn a whole new level of trust. We break the habit of telling tribal lies which bring short-term comfort but long-term pain. We develop a new sense of self-worth and of trust and honor.

In spite of all the heavy tribal conditioning, we now have hope because tribal mentality the world over is going through a vast transformation. And each one of us can play a vital role in this transformation.

With increasing numbers of individuals changing and transcending limiting tribal beliefs, the codes of the tribe are being affected. As we collectively change and evolve, the tribes around us gradually change and evolve with us. Yet ultimately, the journey upon which we are embarking is an incredible solo flight of transcending the tribe to find our own trust, honor, and new sense of self-worth and meaning in life.

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Natl. Geo. Was Shooting A Beautiful Video From Space. Then They Sped It Up. Just WOW.

AWESOME!

http://www.upworthy.com/they-were-shooting-a-beautiful-video-from-space-then-they-sped-it-up-just-wow?c=ufb1

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Dr. Mary Neal's near-death experience on Fox News with Megyn Kelly

Excellent interview:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0N7tCeqPoqk

I've read Dr. Neal's book -- it's good to see her in person explaining her experience. You can tell just by looking at her that she has been deeply affected by the experience. 

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Angel, Sung On THE VOICE, KIDS

Sarah McLachlan's song "Angel" so beautifully sung by these 3 young kids...  it brought tears to the judges' eyes... These children all look like little angels. 
http://faithtap.com/1843/angel-sung-on-the-voice-kids/

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7-year-old piano prodigy on Ellen show

This child is so wired!!!!  Living with him and his twin brother must be like taking a wild roller coaster ride 24/7!   He is amazingly talented musically -- but his over-the-top personality is so entertaining, it actually outshines his pianistic talent!  The 2 videos below will surely give you some hearty laughs.  I guarantee that, once you see him, you won't ever forget Elias (~.~)

Ellen first meets Elias:         http://www.ellentv.com/2014/01/17/when-ellen-met-elias/

Elias returns to Ellen's show:      http://www.ellentv.com/videos/0-n0peijjd/

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This one-minute video speaks for itself!

This screening took place in a movie theater in Hong Kong to an unsuspecting audience.  

http://www.forbiddenknowledgetv.com/videos/activism/eyes-on-the-road.html

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They Took A Camera To A Remote Area In Greenland, And What They Recorded Is Simply Terrifying

OMG!  Watching this takes your breath away!  And still...still...some say there is no global warming!

Subject:	They Took A Camera To A Remote Area In Greenland, And What They Recorded Is Simply Terrifying

http://www.upworthy.com/they-took-a-camera-to-a-remote-area-in-greenland-and-what-they-recorded-is-simply-terrifying?c=ufb1

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IMPORTANT! CBS talks about GMO food labeling

...but in this CBS interview only minimal aside comments are made about the dangers GMO (genetically modified) foods pose to our children and ourselves.  However, it's a start in the right direction to see this important issue being discussed on mainstream media.  Smart folks will pick up on the warning being implied during the discussion and read up on GMOs to become informed about them -- so they can make decisions for their own families as to what kind of foods they ingest. Monsanto is spending a fortune in states where labeling is on the ballot, trying to keep labeling of GMO food away from U.S. consumers, although many European countries already demand such labeling. Monsanto knows education of the public with true facts will lead to far less consumption of these foods, which are health hazards to animals and humans.  Read article below about the findings of GMO consumption in animals and the horrific results...

CBS Video interview:   http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/what-youre-eating-consumer-reports-investigates-gmos-in-food/

For anyone interested in learning more about GMOs and the dangers they present to our health and the health of children, please read the following article from http://www.responsibletechnology.org/gmo-dangers:

GMO Dangers

Genetically modified foods…
Are they safe?

The American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) doesn’t think so. The Academy reported that “Several animal studies indicate serious health risks associated with GM food,” including infertility, immune problems, accelerated aging, faulty insulin regulation, and changes in major organs and the gastrointestinal system. The AAEM asked physicians to advise patients to avoid GM foods.

Before the FDA decided to allow GMOs into food without labeling, FDA scientists had repeatedly warned that GM foods can create unpredictable, hard-to-detect side effects, including allergies, toxins, new diseases, and nutritional problems. They urged long-term safety studies, but were ignored.

Since then, findings include:

• Thousands of sheep, buffalo, and goats in India died after grazing on Bt cotton plants
• Mice eating GM corn for the long term had fewer, and smaller, babies
• More than half the babies of mother rats fed GM soy died within three weeks, and were smaller
• Testicle cells of mice and rats on a GM soy change significantly
• By the third generation, most GM soy-fed hamsters lost the ability to have babies
• Rodents fed GM corn and soy showed immune system responses and signs of toxicity
• Cooked GM soy contains as much as 7-times the amount of a known soy allergen
• Soy allergies skyrocketed by 50% in the UK, soon after GM soy was introduced
• The stomach lining of rats fed GM potatoes showed excessive cell growth, a condition that may lead to cancer.
• Studies showed organ lesions, altered liver and pancreas cells, changed enzyme levels, etc.

Unlike safety evaluations for drugs, there are no human clinical trials of GM foods. The only published human feeding experiment revealed that the genetic material inserted into GM soy transfers into bacteria living inside our intestines and continues to function. This means that long after we stop eating GM foods, we may still have their GM proteins produced continuously inside us. This could mean:

• If the antibiotic gene inserted into most GM crops were to transfer, it could create super diseases, resistant to antibiotics
• If the gene that creates Bt-toxin in GM corn were to transfer, it might turn our intestinal bacteria into living pesticide factories.

Although no studies have evaluated if antibiotic or Bt-toxin genes transfer, that is one of the key problems. The safety assessments are too superficial to even identify most of the potential dangers from GMOs. See our Health Risks brochure and State of the Science report for more details and citations.

Recent health studies provide growing evidence of harm from GMOs:

GM Corn Damages Liver and Kidneys
Meat Raised on GM Feed is Different
Roundup Could Cause Birth Defects
Genetically Modified Soy Linked to Sterility
Damaging Effects of Roundup
GM Crops Do Not Increase Yields
GMOs Inevitably Contaminate and Persist
Industry Studies are Flawed

 

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An education re. the CIA and drug running

Most of us not living in a Bubble World realize by now that drug running provides much of the $ billions needed for covert black operations by the CIA and other unknown-to-the-public hidden agencies of the federal government. It has been this way for decades -- remember the Reagan scandal of the Iran Contra/arms deal? Top officials at the CIA knew the agency was working with Contra drug traffickers and didn't do anything about it. Ironically, at the same time, Nancy Reagan was being the dutiful First Lady with a project to rid the world of drugs -- remember the "Just Say No" project?  (Life is so insane. You really couldn't make this stuff up!)

Gary Webb tried to bring just a smidgen of this kind of information into the public eye when he wrote the series Dark Alliance about the CIA's involvement in cocaine running and pushing the drug in U.S. inner cities, published in August 1996 in the San Jose Mercury News.  Unfortunately for Webb, his timing on publicizing this factual information was cutting too close to the bone for the CIA.  So they called out their in-the-pocket major media dogs and set them loose on Webb, humiliating him and destroying his reputation and journalistic career. Having lost his career and his family (his wife divorced him in 2000), Webb committed suicide in 2004 (there is still much speculation that it might have been murder. He had TWO shots from a .38 revolver in his head). 

The article in the following link tells the truth about the story, for those who would like to know truth instead of what we are daily fed by the major media. The movie about Webb entitled Kill the Messenger will be out in theaters in early November: 

http://consortiumnews.com/2014/09/30/oh-what-a-webb-we-weave/    Read to get the full story.

OH, WHAT A WEBB WE WEAVE
By Greg Maybury

EXCERPTS from the article:

Webb’s revelations were a warning to the CIA that serious blowback was a-brewing, and its PR team had to do something drastic about. No problem there – the CIA understood “blowback,” especially where it might affect the Agency’s credibility.

It was one thing having a reputation for removing duly elected leaders from office by whatever means necessary including assassination; fomenting revolution in Third World countries by engaging in destabilizing black operations and propaganda; and conspiring to initiate regime change by funding right-wing death squads; but to be seen having a direct hand in – or even an indirect connection to – the drug epidemic that was sweeping America was another thing altogether. This was a little too close to home, and could well have been a game changer for the Agency. And not in a good way for the folks at Langley!

In a biography of the Washington Post’s long-time publisher, Katharine Graham, entitled Katharine the Great, author Deborah Davis quotes a CIA operative discussing with Graham’s husband, Phil Graham, the ease of getting journalists to write CIA propaganda and cover stories: “You could get a journalist cheaper than a good call girl, for a couple hundred dollars a month.”

That media monoliths have indeed gone out of their way to disparage and bully smaller, less influential media outlets and even destroy the careers and lives of those people who dared to reveal these activities to the broader public is something that is well documented if not widely known. And what they did to Gary Webb was possibly the best if not the most extreme example of it.

For those looking for further corroboration of Webb’s journalistic integrity and by extrapolation, the venal, self-serving and vindictive nature of the corporate media, you need go no further than read Nick Schou’s Kill the Messenger: How the CIA’s Crack-Cocaine Controversy Destroyed Journalist Gary Webb. Along with being a fitting tribute to the man and an equally fitting coda to his legacy, it is a savage indictment of America’s major news organizations (Washington Post, NY Times, LA Times, etc.), most of whom still purport to be bastions of fair and balanced reportage in an age when we need such more than ever.

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Professional skeptic Shermer opens his mind! But 3 women say he is also a sexual predator

Here's one for the category How the mighty do fall

Professional skeptic Michael Shermer is the face of scorn you see on TV when anything paranormal is discussed. He is the Devil's Advocate called in to dismiss and disparage any and all mystical claims, whether about near-death-experiences, ESP, reincarnation or the afterlife.  Apparently in June, by his own admission, a mystical experience of his own did for Shermer what no amount of argument could ever have done -- it's opened his mind...at least a tiny bit.  See article below in regard to this story. 

But wait. It's not all good news. Now the atheist community to which he belongs is being rocked by revelations that Shermer is a sexual predator, as a woman has accused him of rape. Two other women have also agreed to go on the record with stories about how Shermer sexually harassed them.  Fellow skeptic James Randi is trying to make excuses for him, but is floundering in the attempt. Read about this at:  http://www.patheos.com/blogs/daylightatheism/2014/09/the-shermer-affair-erupts/  and http://www.patheos.com/blogs/daylightatheism/2014/09/the-wall-of-silence-around-michael-shermer/

I feel very sorry for his new bride.

Powerful Coincidence Sways a Skeptic

Dr. Michael Shermer is the founding publisher of Skeptic magazine, the executive director of the Skeptics Society, and a monthly columnist for Scientific American.

He wrote in his column on Sept. 16 about an experience that led him to conclude: "We should not shut the doors of perception when they may be opened to us to marvel in the mysterious."

His fiancé's belongings were shipped to the United States from Germany, and among them was her grandfather's 1978 transistor radio. She was very close with her grandfather, who died when she was 16.

The radio had been silent for decades, and try as he might Shermer could not get it working again. It continued its silence in the back of a desk drawer in the couple's bedroom.

Three months later (June this year), they were married. After the ceremony, his wife asked to talk with him alone. She was feeling lonely, missing her family back in Germany and also wishing her grandfather could have been alive to give her away. The couple walked to the back of the house where they heard music playing, a love song.

They searched in vain for the source of the music, then his wife "shot me a look I haven't seen since the supernatural thriller 'The Exorcist' startled audiences. 'That can't be what I think it is, can it?' she said."

It was the transistor radio in the drawer.

"My grandfather is here with us," she said, tearfully. "I'm not alone."

Shermer's daughter had heard music coming from the radio just before the ceremony started, though the couple had been in the room only moments before without hearing any music. The radio continued to work through the wedding night.

"Fittingly, it stopped working the next day and has remained silent ever since," Shermer wrote.

 

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