Consciousness
7 Mind-Blowing Discoveries That Would Touch All Aspects Of Humanity & Change The World Forever
By
Arjun Walia
20 minute read 
Before you begin...
Take a moment and breathe. Place your hand over your chest area, near your heart. Breathe slowly into the area for about a minute, focusing on a sense of ease entering your mind and body. Click here to learn why we suggest this.
What does it mean to be human? It’s a difficult question to answer. There are so many things which set us apart from one another, yet more still which bind us together, and I think we could all benefit from focusing more on what we share than what we do not. Our differences are important, as they allow each of us to bring something unique to the whole, but it becomes problematic when we use those differences as the basis for judgment, hate, and violence.
We are like a race with amnesia; we seem to know next to nothing about ourselves — our origins, our purpose, or even how we got here in the first place. We still have so many questions that need answering, and while we have created many theories (all with gaping holes), new discoveries are constantly emerging that challenge what we thought we previously knew. And so every now and then, we come to paradigm shifting realizations that alter our perception of what it means to be human, what we are capable of, and what the true nature of reality is.
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So it seems we do have one thing in common: Curiosity. We are constantly searching for ‘what is,’ and as the centuries pass, we seem to inch a little closer to understanding it — to understanding ourselves, our world, and what awaits us beyond it.
1. What If We Are Not Alone?
The Kepler Space Telescope has shown us that our galaxy alone could hold as many as 30 billion planets similar to Earth. That means there are at least 30 billion planets just in this galaxy which could host lifeforms like the ones we know. Yet we don’t even know with certainty that a planet must be ‘Earth-like’ to host extraterrestrial life. Who knows what other biological organisms are out there and what type of planetary environment they need to survive?
One thing is certain, however: Our discovery of extraterrestrial life is right around the corner. It wasn’t long ago when NASA’s chief scientist, Ellen Stofan, predicted that we would have “strong indications of life” on other planets by 2025. And just a couple of years ago, two top astronomers from the SETI Institute (Search For Extraterrestrial Intelligence) appeared in front of the Congressional House Science and Technology Committee for a hearing regarding the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. They told the committee that extraterrestrial life most certainly exists, without question; one of those scientists is Seth Shostak, a well-known senior scientist at the SETI Institute. They said that the chance of discovering life on other planets is inevitable and will most likely occur within the next 20 years.
Their main argument relates to the sheer size of the universe, emphasizing that there are trillions of stars out there, with one in every five most likely harboring an Earth-like planet. Seth explains:
In the last 50 years, evidence has steadily mounted that the components and conditions we believe necessary for life are common and perhaps ubiquitous in our galaxy,” he said. “The possibility that life has arisen elsewhere, and perhaps evolved intelligence, is plausible and warrants scientific inquiry. . . . If you extrapolate on the planets they discovered, there are a trillion planets in the galaxy. That’s a lot of places for life. We know that the majority of stars have planets . . . [but what] fraction of stars has planets that are more like the earth? It might be one in five. (source)
(Keep in mind that a planet does not necessarily have to be Earth-like to harbour life.)
But what about the other possibility….
“Yes there have been crashed craft, and bodies recovered . . . We are not alone in the universe, they have been coming here for a long time.” – Dr. Edgar Mitchell, ScD, 6th man to walk on the Moon (source) (source)
The other possibility — we’ve already been visited…
“There is a serious possibility that we are being visited and have been visited for many years by people from outer space, from other civilizations [and] it behooves us, in case some of these people in the future or now should turn hostile, to find out who they are, where they come from, and what they want. This should be the subject of rigorous scientific investigation and not the subject of ‘rubishing’ by tabloid newspapers.” (source)
– Lord Admiral Hill-Norton, Former Chief of Defence Staff, 5 Star Admiral of the Royal Navy, Chairman of the NATO Military Committee
Just as scientists are certain that the discovery of extraterrestrial life will occur within the next couple of decades, others are certain that we have already been visited by intelligent extraterrestrial lifeforms, and this is ‘mainstream’ knowledge. John Podesta, for example, the former Chief of Staff to Bill Clinton, Councillor to Barrack Obama, and the current head of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, has gone on record stating that it’s time to “pull the curtain back on this subject” and that “we have statements from the most credible sources – those in a position to know – about a fascinating phenomenon, the nature of which is yet to be determined.” You can read more about that here. Even Hillary Clinton stated earlier this year that we have have already been visited. You can read more about that here.
“There is another way, whether it’s wormholes or warping space, there’s got to be a way to generate energy so that you can pull it out of the vacuum, and the fact that they’re here shows us that they found a way.” (source) – Jack Kasher, Ph.D, Professor Emeritus of Physics, University of Nebraska.
Where is this evidence that Dr. O’Leary speaks of?
“An extraterrestrial influence is investigating our planet. Something is monitoring the planet and they are monitoring it very cautiously.” — 2008 Presidential Candidate Mike Gravel (source)(source)
We’ve written extensively on this subject, and it is backed by many credible sources. You can read some of these heavily sourced articles to learn more:
This is What Happens when a “UFO” is Tracked on Military Radar
Canadian Air Force Pilot Snaps a Pic of a UFO During Flight
2nd Director of Lockheed Skunkwork’s Shocking Comments About UFO Technology
Shocking Insinuation About Carl Sagan & Extraterrestrials Made By X-NASA Astronaut
More Than 60 School Children Witness Non-Human Beings & A Large Craft Landing
NASA Brings Scientists & Theologians Together To Prepare The World For Extraterrestrial Contact
“Intelligent beings from other star systems have been and are visiting our planet Earth. They are variously referred to as Visitors, Others, Star People, ETs, etc. . . . They are visiting Earth NOW; this is not a matter of conjecture or wistful thinking.” – Theodore C. Loder III, Phd, Professor Emeritus of Earth Sciences, University of New Hampshire (source)
2. What If Most Of Reality Is Hidden Or An Illusion?
This quote from R.C. Henry, Professor of Physics and Astronomy at John Hopkins University, sums up best what many scientists feel:
A fundamental conclusion of the new physics also acknowledges that the observer creates the reality. As observers, we are personally involved with the creation of our own reality. Physicists are being forced to admit that the universe is a “mental” construction. Pioneering physicist Sir James Jeans wrote: “The stream of knowledge is heading toward a non-mechanical reality; the universe begins to look more like a great thought than like a great machine. Mind no longer appears to be an accidental intruder into the realm of matter, we ought rather hail it as the creator and governor of the realm of matter. Get over it, and accept the inarguable conclusion. The universe is immaterial-mental and spiritual.
– (“The Mental Universe” ; Nature 436:29,2005)
Our universe may be nothing but a mental construction, one that doesn’t even exist until we look at it or ‘measure’ it. The quantum double slit experiment is a great experiment that demonstrates this, showing us how factors associated with consciousness play an imperative role in the creation of our reality. (source)
Australian associate professor Dr. Andrew Truscott recently published a paper in the journal Nature Physics which concluded that “at the quantum level, reality does not exist if you are not looking at it.” (source)
There are several other things to consider here, like dark matter, for example — a substance we can’t see or know that makes up the majority of what we call reality. What about other dimensions that we can’t see? What about other universes? Perhaps one day we will be able to experience these other worlds.
3. What If We Discover That We Can See The Future?
It’s no secret that computers are already producing accurate simulations of future realities. Even quantum physics has shown us that an atom can exist in a state of multiple probabilities until it is observed or measured. Perhaps there are multiple probable timelines for what will happen? Perhaps we will develop machines that will be able to accurately predict the future?
Few people are aware that a number of scholarly articles examining precognition and presentiment that have been published in reputable peer-reviewed journals. For example, a recently published study (meta analysis) in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience titled “Predicting the unpredictable: critical analysis and practical implications of predictive anticipatory activity” examined a number of experiments regarding this phenomenon which had been conducted by several different laboratories.
These experiments indicate that the human body can actually detect randomly delivered stimuli that occur 1-10 seconds in advance. In other words, the human body seems to know of an event and can react before it occurs, as evinced by physiological changes in the skin and the cardiopulmonary and nervous systems prior to the event. (source)
It’s important to note that these physiological responses to future events happen on an unconscious level, meaning that the subject (human) is not aware they are taking place. So it is a form of precognition, but not full blown conscious premonitions.
A meta-analysis of forced-choice precognition experiments conducted from 1935-1987 and published in The Journal of Parapsychology makes a strong case for the validity of human precognition.
For a selected list of downloadable peer-reviewed journal articles reporting studies of psychic phenomena, mostly published in the 21st century, you can click HERE. There is a section specifically for precognition and presentiment.
It’s also noteworthy to mention that in 1999 a statistics professor at UC Irvine published a paper showing that parapsychological experiments have produced much stronger results than the those showing a daily dose of aspirin helps prevent a heart attack. She also showed that these results are much stronger than the research behind various drugs like antiplatelets, for example. This begs the question, why are psi experiments only marginally acknowledged or even known of by the mainstream scientific community if the evidence for ESP (for example) is stronger than that of the effectiveness for the administration of popular drugs?
Cassandra Vieten, PhD and President/CEO at the Institute of Noetic Sciences, provides some insight into why this might be the case:
There seems to be a deep concern that the whole field will be tarnished by studying a phenomenon that is tainted by its association with superstition, spiritualism and magic. Protecting against this possibility sometimes seems more important than encouraging scientific exploration or protecting academic freedom. But this may be changing.
4. What If We Came From Space?
This is a theory which remains on the fringe of mainstream science. A number of scientists believe that human life actually originated in outer space, and one of them is leading British scientist Chandra Wickramasinghe. Wickramasinghe is the director of the Buckingham Centre for Astrobiology at the University of Buckingham in the U.K.
This astrobiologist believes that the ‘seeds of life’ were brought here from some outside sources, like a comet, and supports this theory with evidence he discovered a couple of years ago with a team of researchers at the School of Mathematics at Cardiff University and from the Medical Research Institute in Colombo, Sri Lanka. They found “a microstructure and morphology characteristic of a wide class of terrestrial diatoms.” The group concluded that “the presence of structures of this kind in any extraterrestrial setting could be constructed as unequivocal proof of biology.” Cardiff University was asked to proof-check and analyze the findings, which it did, concluding that the samples were “unequivocally meteorites” and that the analysis of the material structure showed that algae-like fossils were native to it.
This is the first-ever evidence of extraterrestrial life found in a celestial body. The researchers used sophisticated methods like X-ray diffraction, triple oxygen isotope analysis, and scanning electron microscopy.
English astronomer Sir Fred Hoyle, along with Wickramasinghe, co-developed a theory known as “panspermia,” which suggests that life exists throughout the universe and is distributed by meteoroids and asteroids. It’s a wonderful example of synchronicity that this meteorite happened to fall into their laps, potentially proving their theory correct.
You can read the study here.
He explores this topic in an earlier paper that he co-authored in 2012 titled “Non-terrestrial origin of life: a transformative research paradigm shift” as well. Below is the abstract:
Theories and hypotheses in science are continually subject to verification, critical re-evaluation, revision and indeed evolution, in response to new observations and discoveries. Theories of the origin of life have been more constrained than other scientific theories and hypotheses in this regard, through the force of social and cultural pressures. There has been a tendency to adhere too rigidly to a class of theory that demands a purely terrestrial origin of life. For nearly five decades evidence in favour of a non-terrestrial origin of life and panspermia has accumulated which has not been properly assessed. A point has now been reached that demands the serious attention of biologists to a possibly transformative paradigm shift of the question of the origin of life, with profound implications across many disciplines. (source)
This would be quite the shocker. If we were to determine that we came from space or that we are not alone in the universe, the resulting implications for all fields, from science and technology to religion and philosophy, would be immeasurable.
5. What If We Learn To Talk To Animals
The way we treat animals on this planet is heartbreaking, to say the least. Apart from destroying their world for the sake of economic growth, we also raise billions of animals every single year for the purpose of slaughter. We are now starting to see the dramatic consequences of our actions, but more empathy towards animals is still desperately needed. This isn’t just our planet; we share it with others, and all beings deserve an equal chance to live life and thrive.
There are many efforts underway to change things, and consumers are making a difference by voting with their dollars. SeaWorld has seen profits decline dramatically, as multiple areas in North America have now banned whale captivity. And not long ago, a New York court entertained the idea of granting chimpanzees the legal right to personhood. All thought the lawsuit was a failure, but the judge admitted that “efforts to extend legal rights to chimpanzees . . . are understandable; some day they may even succeed.
If this were to happen, I think we would quickly need to reevaluate our stance on the status of other animals. Why should only chimpanzees be granted rights? If animals were ever granted rights and personhood, we would not be able to keep them captive, or use them for testing.
In the August 2015 edition of New Scientist, Joshua Howgego offers his view on the issue:
If chimps were given rights, we might expect other intelligent species, such as killer whales and elephants, to follow. But why stop there? Our ideas about the inner lives of other animals – their capacity for suffering, autonomy and self-awareness – are based largely on analogy with ourselves; how would we like it in their place?
But what if those animals could tell us? What if a dog or dairy cow could let us know how it felt about its lot in life? The idea may not be as far-fetched as it seems. There are many examples of communication between apes and their human keepers. Researchers are busy decoding dolphin. And cognitive scientists are beginning to study emotional states in animals, It may only be a matter of time before more meaningful communication between species is possible.
If we could converse with animals, would we still eat them? What if we discovered that their intellectual ability to communicate, to show empathy, or to feel emotions were equal to ours? What would happen? What would you do? Would you eat something you could have an intellectual conversation with? I have a difficult time believing many people would.
6. What If We Found Out That ‘Life’ Goes On After ‘Death’
Below is a video of Dr. Bruce Greyson speaking at a conference held by the United Nations. Considered to be one of the fathers of near death studies, he is currently a Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Science at the University of Virginia.
In the video he describes documented cases of individuals who were clinically dead (showing no brain activity), but observing everything that was happening to them on the medical table below at the same time. He describes how there have been many instances of this – where individuals are able to describe things that should have been impossible to describe. Another significant statement by Dr Greyson posits that doing this type of research has been discouraged due to our tendency to view science as completely materialistic. Seeing is believing, so to speak, in the scientific community. It’s unfortunate that just because we cannot explain something through materialistic means, it must be instantly discredited.
In 2001, international medical journal The Lancet published a 13 year study on Near Death Experiences (NDEs):
Our results show that medical factors cannot account for the occurrence of NDE. All patients had a cardiac arrest, and were clinically dead with unconsciousness resulting from insufficient blood supply to the brain. In those circumstances, the EEG (a measure of brain electrical activity) becomes flat, and if CPR is not started within 5-10 minutes, irreparable damage is done to the brain and the patient will die. (source)(source)
A total of 344 patients was monitored by the team of researchers, and an astounding 18 percent of them had some sort of memory from when they were either dead or unconscious (no brain activity), and 12 percent (1 out of every 8) had a very strong and “deep” experience. Keep in mind that these experiences have occurred when there is no electrical activity in the brain following cardiac arrest.
Another study comes out of the University of Southampton, where scientists found evidence that awareness can continue for at least several minutes after death. In the scientific world this was thought to be impossible. Published in the journal Resuscitation, it is the world’s largest near death experiences study: (source)
In 2008, a large-scale study involving 2060 patients from 15 hospitals in the United Kingdom, United States and Austria was launched. The AWARE (AWAreness during REsuscitation) study, sponsored by the University of Southampton in the UK, examined the broad range of mental experiences in relation to death. Researchers also tested the validity of conscious experiences using objective markers for the first time in a large study to determine whether claims of awareness compatible with out-of-body experiences correspond with real or hallucinatory events. (source)(source)
Another great example comes from University of Virginia psychiatrist Jim Tucker, who in 2008 published a review of cases suggestive of reincarnation in the journal Explore. (source)
In the article, he describes a typical reincarnation case, where subjects start reporting a past life experience. One common denominator of these cases is that they all involve children, with the average age being 35 months when subjects begin to report their experiences. The experiences reported are often detailed and extensive, and Tucker points out that many of these children show strong emotional involvement when speaking about their claims, with some crying and begging to be taken to what they say is their previous family. Others show intense anger. But as children age, these memories generally disappear. He explains:
The subjects usually stop making their past-life statements by the age of six to seven, and most seem to lose the purported memories. That is the age when children start school and begin having more experiences in the current life, as well as when they tend to lose their early childhood memories. (source)
Some truly mind altering things to thing about..
7. What If We All Have ‘Super Human Potential?’
It’s fascinating to consider just how many ancient teachings tell us that humans have the capacity to gain extraordinary powers through various techniques. In Buddhism, for example, the existence of advanced powers is readily acknowledged; in fact, Buddha expected his disciples to be able to attain these abilities, but also to not become distracted by them.
Is there any scientific evidence that human beings have extraordinary potential beyond what’s commonly known? There definitely is.
During a visit to remote monasteries in the 1980s, Harvard Professor of Medicine Herbert Benson and his team of researchers studied monks living in the Himalayan Mountains who could, by g Tum-mo (a yoga technique), raise the temperatures of their fingers and toes by as much as 17 degrees. It is still unknown how the monks are able to generate such heat. (source)
And it doesn’t stop there — the researchers also studied advanced meditators in Sikkim, India, where they were astonished to find that these monks could lower their metabolism by 64 percent. (source)
What about Wim Hoff? He has demonstrated to scientists that factors associated with consciousness can influence our autonomic nervous system. You can read more about that here.
A study published in the American Journal of Chinese Medicine, as seen in the the US National Library of Medicine, demonstrated that a woman with special abilities was and is able to accelerate the germination of specific seeds for the purposes of developing a more robust seed stock. This is one example of many; you can find the study and read more about it here.
A paper published in the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) in September 1981, in the journal Ziran Zazhi (Nature Journal) tilted “Some Experiments on the Transfer of Objects Performed by Unusual Abilities of the Human Body” (Shuhuang et al., 1981), reported that ‘gifted children’ were able to cause the teleportation of small physical objects from one place to another.
There are also some extraordinary claims from a publication titled “Exceptional Functions of the Human Body.” This study reports of highly accurate parapsychological effects, including clairvoyance, psychokinetic effects, and more. (source)
A report published in 2010 by retired research chemist Dong Shen describes an experiment involving mental teleportation of bits of paper out of a sealed plastic film container. What’s even more fascinating is that these methods were taught to others with a success rate of 40 percent.
“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 Defense.” (source)
I just wanted to illustrate that the idea of ‘superpowers’ is not as farfetched as some may think it is. Who knows, some day we might all be able to do these things.
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Take a moment and breathe. Place your hand over your chest area, near your heart. Breathe slowly into the area for about a minute, focusing on a sense of ease entering your mind and body. Click here to learn why we suggest this.
We are having a Full Moon in Scorpio on April 26th/27th, which will appear the brightest on the night of the 26th for the majority of the world and on the night of the 27th in the countries furthest East. This is the peak of the Lunar cycle that began with a New Moon in Aries on April 11th/12th. It will also be a ‘Supermoon’, which is when the Moon appears larger and brighter due to its closer proximity to the Earth.
The energies of a Full Moon are strongest in the days surrounding it yet its astrological configurations also play a part over the following two weeks. You may start to see its themes slowly build up after the New Moon prior.
They are a period in which we feel a push-pull between two opposing signs, in this case being the Moon in Scorpio and the Sun in Taurus. It can play out as either a conflict, an integration, or some sort of dynamic between the energies of both signs. The Moon reflects the expression of feeling and emotion while the Sun reflects the expression of ego and conscious self.
We may feel this opposition happening individually within us and/or we can also experience it play out around us with some people (or circumstances) expressing the Scorpio side and others expressing the Taurus side. In some cases, Full Moons can also reflect/trigger some sort of change or release.
Sun In Taurus Opposite Moon In Scorpio
Taurus season began on April 19th/20th and will last until May 20th/21st. It is about practicality, thoroughness, pleasures, food, possessions, beauty, and nature. It is a sensual, tangible, and grounded energy. As a ‘Fixed Earth’ sign, it is like a rock, and is the most invested in the physical/material world in comparison to the rest of the signs. It can also be slow, rigid, habitual, and lazy.
This Full Moon is in its opposite sign of Scorpio, triggering a push-pull or integration effect between both of these signs. Scorpio energy is deep, complex, investigative, passionate, intuitive, driven, powerful, calculated, observant, primal, purging, regenerating, transformational, mysterious, intense, desiring, and sexual. It is associated with fears, shadows, death, secrets, hidden matters, conspiracies, and the extremes of Love and Hate. Scorpio energy can also be controlling, obsessive, jealous, aggressive, savage, vengeful, and manipulative.
While Taurus is more concerned about what is tangible, pleasant, and what’s on the surface, Scorpio likes to dive deep even if it gets ugly, scary, or uncomfortable. Both signs are associated with money, resources, values, and worth; with Taurus’ expression of these things being more ‘self-oriented’ and Scorpio being more ‘relationship/shared oriented.’ Scorpio is associated with taxes, debt, credit, investments, inheritance, which all include more then one party to be involved. Both signs also share qualities of being loyal, stubborn, and possessive.
Pluto Is Stationary, Going Retrograde Shortly After Full Moon
Pluto is going retrograde less than 12 hours following the peak of this Full Moon. It is nearly stopped in the sky (from our geocentric perspective) which is referred to as being ‘stationary’, as it transitions from moving forward to backward. Whenever a planet is in the process of changing motion, its energies become very strong and concentrated. This has been building up in the weeks prior to this Full Moon and will wane in the weeks following.
Some astrologers observe Pluto as the ruler of Scorpio and I personally view it as a sub-ruler or representative of Scorpio energy. Therefore having it stationary at this time amplifies the themes of that sign, mentioned in the above section. This can also be a time of changes pertaining to these themes or perhaps to do with power dynamics, control, hidden matters, obsessions, or things involving sexuality.
Pluto also rules fears, viruses, psychoanalysis, and shadows. The combination of this Scorpio Full Moon combined with Pluto stationary retrograde can be good for initiating a process of deep inner healing, purging, release, or transformation.
Full Moon Part of a T-Square With Saturn, Uranus, Venus, and Mercury
In February, Saturn in Aquarius and Uranus in Taurus made their first of three exact squares with each other, which will be followed by another in June and the final one in December. However, this energy will be an important part of the astrological backdrop throughout all of 2021 and somewhat in 2022 as they will still be close.
This Full Moon will be triggering this aspect as the Sun will be close to Uranus and this along with the Moon will be in a T-square with Saturn. Saturn themes of restrictions, limitations, tradition, caution, contraction, structure, responsibilities, delays, seriousness, are at odds with Uranus themes of freedom, surprises, progressiveness, rebellion, innovation, science, technology, and metaphysics.
Mercury and Venus are also in Taurus ahead of the Sun in which the Moon will also be opposing and tying in all of these planets together. This configuration can play out as struggles, complications, or restrictions between emotional needs, social life, relationship dynamics, sexual matters, communication, shared values, financial matters, and other ways as well. However, with Saturn serving as the apex of this t-square it could also point to a solution that involves responsibility, discipline, structure, caution, or implementing boundaries.
Things To Consider
Are there any aspects of your life calling for transformation? What do you need to purge? Do you feel like you need to do some shadow work or psychoanalysis? What makes you fearful and why? In what ways do you need to be more responsible, disciplined, structured or cautious? Do you have any attachments or habits getting in the way of feeling free or being your best self? Do you have any financial matters that need to be addressed?
Scorpio Full Moons, and the weeks following during the waning moon, are a great time to initiate different types of cleansing. It can be cleansing of the physical body, clearing/overcoming negative patterns or habits, or purging aspects of our external environment. Scorpio is associated with the colon, excretory system, and reproductive areas of the body, so it can also be good to approach healing modalities connected to those areas.
These are just some examples of themes that could come up or ways to approach this period; however, there may be other variations of this energy playing out as well. If you wish to do any sort of intentional release, it is best to do so after it begins to wane following the peak or during the two weeks afterwards when it is waning before the next New Moon. The exact peak of this Full Moon is at 3:32am Universal Time on April 27th which is the night of the 26th in much of the world. You can click here to see what that is in your time zone.
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Click below to watch a sneak peek of our brand new course!
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If you have been wanting to build your self awareness, improve your.critical thinking, become more heart centered and be more aware of bias, this is the perfect course!
Before you begin...
Take a moment and breathe. Place your hand over your chest area, near your heart. Breathe slowly into the area for about a minute, focusing on a sense of ease entering your mind and body. Click here to learn why we suggest this.
The simple exercise you were just introduced to is designed to help create a physiological heart brain connection that has been shown to improve memory, learning, problem-solving and discernment.
Since 2009, Collective Evolution has been committed to forging a radically new approach to media and the discussion of current events. Over the years scientific research has come to support the approach we have been taking to help improve the way people consume and synthesize information in order to make meaningful choices in their lives and in society.
Since part of our mission at CE is to observe what is happening in our world from a more neutral point of view, asking what about us and our current human story creates our world, society, ideas, day to day choices, and policies to be the way they are, it was important to us to develop a style that encourages people to be in a state of mind and being where they’re more open to exploring new ideas without bias, cognitive distortions, and immediate resistance.
This discussion is worthy of consideration as most platforms either focus on simple ‘feel good’ or ‘well being’ based content, or focus on news from a purely journalistic sense, often with a political bias. Since our content focus is on both personal transformation and news/current events from a new approach, we have chosen to actually measure whether or not people are having a more positive experience consuming current event information. A recent research survey that will be publicized in March 2021 will show the positive results of CEs approach on audiences well being, emotional state, and development of critical thinking over the 12 years CE has been doing this work.
Coherence & Optimal Function
Decades of research shows that our hearts send more information to our brains than our brains send to our hearts. When our body’s heart is beating in what is called an ‘incoherent rhythm’, it sends a message to our brains and nervous system that produces suboptimal function that leads to a reduction in our ability to learn, make effective decisions, problem-solve, critically think, and self regulate our emotions.
When our heart is beating in a coherent rhythm, it sends coherent signals to the brain and nervous system that then brings each of these systems into synchronization physiologically. The result is opposite of that of incoherent signals. Research shows an improvement in our ability to think clearly, navigate information, make decisions, remember things, and communicate. All of this can come from as little as 60 – 90 seconds of practices like the one we place at the top of each of our articles. Over time, these practices also helps to build self-awareness which helps us see our own bias’ more clearly.
Further research has shown that a connection between thoughtful breathing and the production of a compound in the cerebrum called noradrenaline. This compound goes about as a “mind compost” that is delivered when we are feeling tested, inquisitive, or centered.
Our Unique & Research Backed Style
At CE we have found that the pathway to meaningful and sustainable change in our lives and society comes from being able to self-regulate our emotions, understand and change our habits and patterns, and also from learning how to navigate information in our world in such a way that allows us to carry our personal transformation into the realm of societal change.
In other words, sometimes people can have a spiritual practice or work on personal transformation, but don’t often apply their transformation to questioning or re-imagining things like current events, society, or politics. We are at a critical time in humanity’s history where faith in existing institutions is deteriorating rapidly, typically based on a right intuition people have that these institutions don’t work in their favor. We must begin exploring why our world is in need of change, and at the same time be able to shift our consciousness and thinking enough that we can make societal changes from a new way of thinking and being.
In 2009, we chose to focus our journalistic, video and education content in alignment with these findings. Focusing on a sense of ease, curiosity, and playfulness in our style. We don’t intend on trying to convince people to believe what we are reporting on, instead we encourage them to openly explore and question. This has had a dramatic affect on how people feel when consuming our content, and how they understand what we’re producing.
Commonly reported feedback from our audience includes things like feeling more grounded, hopeful, inspired, clear, and empowered to take action in their personal lives and society. Our readers also report that they tend not to feel a notion of ‘us vs. them’ and division that often occurs when consuming media about current events. Interestingly, readers have also commonly reported that after repeated consumption of our articles, videos, podcasts or courses, they notice a stark difference in how they feel when they consume content from more traditional alternative or mainstream media. This was also a huge discovery for us as it suggests that people’s relationship with other forms of alternative media can bring them new information but does not necessarily help their well being and sense of inspiration to act.
To us, all these suggest that our style not only informs but helps to create a noticeable shift in our audiences state of being. We don’t feel that it is us doing this for our reader, we feel the style and platform invites the reader to, by nature, build their self-awareness, practice emotional regulation, and think more clearly. Imagine how this will ripple out into the world as a result. Imagine how different conversations would be about current events if more had access to this approach.
Controversial Topics & Meaningful Change
At CE, we sometimes cover ‘controversial’ topics that as a society we are often resistant to explore, whether we have a spiritual practice or not. Many of our colleagues and friends in the personal transformation space have chosen not to explore some of these subjects much as they don’t quite align with their brand messaging or line of work, we respect and agree with their choices. However, we saw this as an important challenge to take on in our work as these ‘tough’ conversations need to be had, and we believe they can be done in a way that inspires change and well being.
Culture today is often uncomfortable with uncertainty and thus open inquiry and examination of new evidence has shut off around certain subjects. In our minds, this is causing a very societally impactful sense-making crisis in which we have become divided, distressed, emotional, and unclear as to what is actually going on around us. With this, we are quick to react and are often living on edge. As research shows, when we make decisions within our lives and society based on this state of being, they are often ineffective, suboptimal, and create further disharmony.
Our research has shown that 63% of our audience feels that CE helps them explore tough or controversial subjects while feeling less emotionally charged when compared to when others report on it, whether it’s a mainstream or alternative media source. This was a very inspiring statistic for us as we feel this makes a meaningful contribution towards shifting the way media is told to bring about a better society, without being limited to only focusing on ‘good news’ which has many limitations and, we feel, does not lead to deep societal change.
In our work we have found that combining personal transformation and emotional regulation with the openness to re-imagine society and explore new ideas, even when they are controversial, has created the greater sense of empowerment, clarity and well-being amongst our readers.
In short, our work has helped to provide a path to self-awareness, practice, and the skills to tackle information openly and coherently, thus readers are not triggered by disagreements and different perspectives, and are able to synthesize information into meaningful practice, solutions, and actions steps.
We’re at a critical time for developing a greater sense of self awareness, openness, and increased critical thinking so that we can better explore information without our emotions, biases, and pre-conceived notions getting in the way and shutting down our inquiry.
At Collective Evolution we feel that the journey to creating collective change is one founded upon personal transformation, what might be called a shift in consciousness, which is to say: we must generate a greater conscious awareness of ourselves, how we function, how to regulate our emotions, and think more clearly about what is going on around us. When we make this shift, our perception about life, society and what is possible dramatically shifts, and we begin to tap into a new story about humanity and what we want to create.
With this new story, coherence, and connection to self, we have found that people are inspired to work towards creating a greater sense of harmony and coherence in their lives and society as well. Effectively being able to see how new and emerging ideas can build a new foundation for society, instead of making small adjustments to our current society that’s built on an old and outdated story.
To more fully explore our work, participate in practical courses and engage with a like minded community, consider becoming a member of CETV. Your participation not only helps to empower change in your personal life and society, but also helps support the continuation of our unique and impactful work.
Dive Deeper
Click below to watch a sneak peek of our brand new course!
Our new course is called 'Overcoming Bias & Improving Critical Thinking.' This 5 week course is instructed by Dr. Madhava Setty & Joe Martino
If you have been wanting to build your self awareness, improve your.critical thinking, become more heart centered and be more aware of bias, this is the perfect course!
Alternative News
Researchers Outline Reality of Psychic Ability & Explore Whether It May ‘Run In The Family’
In Brief
- The Facts:
It is commonly believed that psychic ability, like many mental and physical traits, runs in families. This suggests the presence of a genetic component. Researchers recently decided to search for one among people with psychic abilities.
- Reflect On:
Can special abilities, or psychic abilities be passed down? Are these abilities innate and lying dormant within all of us?
Before you begin...
Take a moment and breathe. Place your hand over your chest area, near your heart. Breathe slowly into the area for about a minute, focusing on a sense of ease entering your mind and body. Click here to learn why we suggest this.
‘Psychic ability’ comes in many different forms, from telepathy to clairvoyance or remote viewing, there are a number of phenomena that have been demonstrated under strict scientific controls that have yielded statistically significant and repeatable results. There are also multiple declassified documents that have been archived by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) via their electronic reading room, for example, pertaining to individuals with “special abilities” who are able to perform feats like telekinesis, or healing at a distance. You can access a few examples of that here, and here where I go more into depth.
The literature in this area, from peer-reviewed research all the way to examples from the within the defense departments of multiple countries, is quite robust. It’s another subject seen as fringe and in-credible yet has more than enough evidence to for a reasonable person to deem these abilities as possible.
The researchers of a recent study published in EXPLORE titled “Genetics of psychic ability – A pilot case-control exome sequencing study” decided to search for some sort of genetic link among people with psychic abilities. They explain:
Many cognitive and perceptual abilities are associated with genetic factors. An open question is whether or not extraordinary “psychic” abilities such as mind-to-mind communication (in the vernacular, telepathy), knowledge of future events before they occur (precognition), and perception of hidden or remote events (clairvoyance), might also be associated with genetic factors. Evidence of the reality of such extraordinary abilities has been offered by multiple meta-analysis of experiments conducted over the past century, which demonstrate independent repeatability and robust statistical significance.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that extraordinary manifestations of these abilities run in families.. Few formal studies have evaluated the genetics of psychic abilities. Telepathy studies with identical and non-identical twins have found mixed evidence for greater concordance among identical versus non–identical twins on telepathy task performance. Other case studies of families with data on up to four generations have been conducted. The pattern of familial transmission in “second sight” has also been examined. This capacity is defined as “a special psychic ability believed to be a natural faculty of mind, regarded as an inborn gift by some andan affliction by others…Second sight implies that there are two forms of sight. One is normal sight and the other is the ability to have prophetic visions which occur spontaneously and are rarely directed at will.” Second sight is considered hereditary within the Scottish tradition. A formal pedigree analysis of second sight found an autosomal dominant pattern f inheritance. Other studies have evaluated the relationships between psychic abilities and the temporal lobe. However, to our knowledge, no similar investigations have been conducted using modern genetics techniques.
Interesting stuff, isn’t it? For the study, more than 3,000 candidates from around the world were selected and screened through two online surveys. This was done to locate people who claimed that they, as well as other family members, had some form of psychic ability. Eligible candidates were then selected as the final “psychic cases,” and then age, sex, and ethnicity-matched individuals, with no claims of psychic ability, were selected as the controls.
DNA from the saliva of the 23 participants were subjected to “whole-exome sequencing.” This is a test that looks at most of the genes within an individual. After this, two independent bioinformatics analyses were blindly applied to the sequenced data. This means the ones doing the analyses had no idea about the results the other lab was getting. They were completely separate.The analyses focused on protein-coding sequences and another one included some adjacent noncoding sequences.
According to the researchers:
Sequencing data were obtained for all samples, except for one in the control group that did not pass the quality controls and was not included in further analyses. After unblinding the datasets, none of the protein-coding sequences (i.e., exons) showed any variation that discriminated between cases and controls. However, a difference was observed in the intron (i.e., non-protein-coding region) adjacent to an exon in the TNRC18 gene (Trinucleotide Repeat-Containing Gene 18 Protein) on chromosome 7. This variation, an alteration of GG to GA, was found in 7 of 9 controls and was absent from all psychic cases.
You can access the full study here.
This means the study did not find any significant markers suggesting that these abilities may be genetic, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t. We already know through epigenetic studies that various traits are passed down to offspring, be it physical or even emotional. It is interesting that the study did however identify a noncoding variant that was largely restricted to non-psychic controls.
The most conservative interpretation of these results is that they result from random population sampling. However, when the results are considered in relation to other lines of evidence, the results are more provocative. Further research is justified to replicate and extend these findings.
Keep in mind, the researchers did test those who claimed to have psychic ability and overall they scored better on the tests than those who did not. There were many limitations to this study, and a big one was the size of the number of people used for the study.
Given the fact that, in the researchers experience and based on my research and examples that I’ve written about, these abilities are undoubtedly real, so looking for some sort of genetic component is quite reasonable and would have tremendous implications.
The researchers explain:
The identification of genes involved in psychic abilities has the potential to yield clues about their distribution within the general population and also their evolutionary origins. Such a finding may also have clinical value because it may help inform the development of pharmacological or environmental interventions to enhance or suppress such abilities, and clinical performance applications could be used. Enhancing these abilities could augment decision-making in many contexts, stimulate creativity in art and science, and improve diagnosis of disease, insofar as these faculties and activities may be partly dependent on, or enhanced by, psychic ability.
For example, perhaps telepathic communications could be developed for individuals living with communication disabilities, such as aphasia or cerebral palsy. On the other hand, suppressing these abilities might alleviate psychotic symptoms in some individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia, insofar as “disordered” psychic manifestations may be at risk factor in these individuals.
The Takeaway: Studies within the realm of parapsychology, which encompasses the study of various psychic abilities mentioned in this article, are abundant. Many show eye-opening repeatable results. Remote viewing is one of many great examples, showing “successful replication” by yielding “significant scientific evidence.” (source)
The methodology and the controls on these experiments are tighter than any other area of science where I’ve worked. Dr. Dr. Jessica Utts, former Chair of the Department of Statistics at the University of California, Irvine (source)
Again, there are also documented real world examples that defy belief linked earlier within this article, which brings me to my next point. Much of the science produced today, in my opinion, isn’t really following the scientific method. By that I mean discoveries that challenge what we once thought we knew, and ones that have paradigm shifting implications for humanity, are often ignored and unacknowledged. We see this all the time in the field of parapsychology.
“There seems to be a deep concern that the whole field will be tarnished by studying a phenomenon that is tainted by its association with superstition, spiritualism and magic. Protecting against this possibility sometimes seems more important than encouraging scientific exploration or protecting academic freedom. But this may be changing.”
– Cassandra Vieten, PhD and President/CEO at the Institute of Noetic Sciences (source)
Why do we fail to properly confront new concepts and ideas that don’t fit within the frame? Studies and results from these realms truly call into question what we think we know about the nature of reality and human potential. They will force humanity to open up to a broader view of reality that currently may not fit within the accepted framework of knowledge in the minds of many. But if there’s one thing that’s constant, it’s change.
Discoveries in this field, I believe, will lead to the realization that love, compassion, thoughts, emotions and service to others are key for humanity to move forward. It’s more than likely that this is the true nature of human beings, not competition and separation.
These must be our priority, we have to change the way we think here on planet Earth. If we continue to operate from a place of greed, ego, and have a lust for power, control and material wealth, which are cultural learnings, not necessarily our nature, we will not move forward to a thriving world. Non-material science has the potential to change the way we perceive the world, and ask the deeper questions like, why do we live the way we do when we can create a human experience where everybody can thrive? How can a race that is so intelligent and technologically advanced be so politically and morally corrupt?
Dive Deeper
Click below to watch a sneak peek of our brand new course!
Our new course is called 'Overcoming Bias & Improving Critical Thinking.' This 5 week course is instructed by Dr. Madhava Setty & Joe Martino
If you have been wanting to build your self awareness, improve your.critical thinking, become more heart centered and be more aware of bias, this is the perfect course!
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