Science of the SpiritS


Butterfly

Crazy, or unsuccessful healer? A shaman's view of mental illness

Stephanie Marohn
Earth We Are One
Thu, 12 Jun 2014 09:51 UTC

Dr. Somé
© unknownDr. Somé
The Shamanic View of Mental Illness

In the shamanic view, mental illness signals "the birth of a healer," explains Malidoma Patrice Somé. Thus, mental disorders are spiritual emergencies, spiritual crises, and need to be regarded as such to aid the healer in being born.

What those in the West view as mental illness, the Dagara people regard as "good news from the other world." The person going through the crisis has been chosen as a medium for a message to the community that needs to be communicated from the spirit realm. "Mental disorder, behavioral disorder of all kinds, signal the fact that two obviously incompatible energies have merged into the same field," says Dr. Somé. These disturbances result when the person does not get assistance in dealing with the presence of the energy from the spirit realm.

One of the things Dr. Somé encountered when he first came to the United States in 1980 for graduate study was how this country deals with mental illness. When a fellow student was sent to a mental institute due to "nervous depression," Dr. Somé went to visit him

Comment: It's a shame how the psychiatric industry treats the so-called mentally ill. Perhaps it is done out of sheer ignorance or, maybe, it is done on purpose to prevent the healing and enlightenment a true shaman can bring to communities.

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Bulb

Music of the hemispheres: Synchronized brain waves enable rapid learning, formation of new circuits

Sarah McDonnell
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Thu, 12 Jun 2014 12:59 UTC
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MIT study finds neurons that hum together encode new information.

The human mind can rapidly absorb and analyze new information as it flits from thought to thought. These quickly changing brain states may be encoded by synchronization of brain waves across different brain regions, according to a new study from MIT neuroscientists.

The researchers found that as monkeys learn to categorize different patterns of dots, two brain areas involved in learning - the prefrontal cortex and the striatum - synchronize their brain waves to form new communication circuits.

"We're seeing direct evidence for the interactions between these two systems during learning, which hasn't been seen before. Category-learning results in new functional circuits between these two areas, and these functional circuits are rhythm-based, which is key because that's a relatively new concept in systems neuroscience," says Earl Miller, the Picower Professor of Neuroscience at MIT and senior author of the study, which appears in the June 12 issue of Neuron.
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People

'Us' and 'them' thinking makes people more likely to harm others outside of their group

Anne Trafton
MIT News
Thu, 12 Jun 2014 15:15 UTC
stick figures
© Thinkstock
When people get together in groups, unusual things can happen - both good and bad. Groups create important social institutions that an individual could not achieve alone, but there can be a darker side to such alliances: Belonging to a group makes people more likely to harm others outside the group.

"Although humans exhibit strong preferences for equity and moral prohibitions against harm in many contexts, people's priorities change when there is an 'us' and a 'them,'" says Rebecca Saxe, an associate professor of cognitive neuroscience at MIT. "A group of people will often engage in actions that are contrary to the private moral standards of each individual in that group, sweeping otherwise decent individuals into 'mobs' that commit looting, vandalism, even physical brutality."

Comment: See also: Human Sheep - study reveals flock mentality, how 5% can influence the crowd

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Cult

Why law enforcement must adapt their strategies when dealing with psychopathic criminals?

Sharon S. Smith, Ph.D., Mary Ellen O'Toole, Ph.D., and Robert D. Hare, Ph.D.
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin
Sat, 07 Jul 2012 12:59 UTC
Image
© shutterstock.com
Samuel Brown was a top executive of a Fortune 500 company.1 Although he had a net worth of nearly $10 million, he was a family man with simple tastes and eschewed the trappings of power and wealth. Brown was a low-risk victim for violence. He resided with his wife in an affluent neighborhood where violent crime seemed nonexistent.

One morning, as was his custom, Brown dressed, left his home, tossed his briefcase into his car, and started the engine. As he walked to the end of his driveway to retrieve the morning paper, Anthony Lake jumped out of a nearby van and drew his gun. In the ensuing struggle, Lake fired his gun, wounding Brown, then shoved him into the van and drove away. Lake's female accomplice, tasked to drive a second (getaway) car, left the scene at the same time.

Comment: Not all psychopaths are violent. Many of them are aware of the social rules and can control to some extent their behaviour to conform to them. A great deal of psychopaths occupy high positions in politics, religion, banking, finance. If you are interested in what it means for the rest of our society, we recommend to read the excellent work of Dr. Andrzej M. Łobaczewski Political Ponerology: The Scientific Study of Evil Adjusted for Political Purposes which explains the phenomenon of psychopathy and its repercussions on our society. The book can be acquired here.
link, political ponerology
© en.pilulerouge.comPolitical Ponerology: A Science on the Nature of Evil Adjusted for Political Purposes


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Health

Teen mental health: Teenagers go from school psychologist to family doctor


ScienceDaily
Tue, 10 Jun 2014 14:03 UTC
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A considerable number of children and adolescents suffer from a mental disorder at some point of their time in school.
After initially visiting a school psychologist, adolescents in the United States with a mental disorder often go to seek care from their pediatricians or family doctors. Fewer of them continue their treatment directly with a psychotherapist or doctor specialized in mental disorders. This shows an analysis conducted by scientists at the University of Basel that has just been published in the academic journal PLOS ONE. The results are based on a nationally representative cohort of 6,500 U.S. teenagers.

A considerable number of children and adolescents suffer from a mental disorder at some point of their time in school. In these cases, school psychologists are an important first contact point. However, their ability to provide comprehensive psychotherapeutic treatment directly is limited. Ideally, school psychologists should guide the way through the health care system in order to ensure children get access to adequate mental care from specialists.

But what does the reality look like? Which role do school psychologists play in the trajectory of children and adolescents with mental disorders in the health care system? PD Dr. Marion Tegethoff and her research team from the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Basel tried to answer this question in a research project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation. They analyzed data from a nationally representative United States cohort of 6,483 students aged 13 to 18.
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Heart

Think about yourself in the third person: Detachment from problems helps deal with trauma

Jonathan O'Callaghan
Daily Mail, UK
Tue, 10 Jun 2014 10:23 UTC
Image
Scientists have claimed that people who are trying to recover from personal trauma such as a cheating spouse (stock image shown) are more likely to make more rational decisions if they imagine themselves in someone else's shoes, rather than trying to cope with making their own decision
* Scientists in Ontario and Michigan studied how people deal with trauma

* They found people made more rational decisions if they were detached

* When tackling a problem as an observer, they made a 'better' decision

* But when thinking of their own problem they would make rash judgements

* Study also reveals that people don't necessarily get wiser as they get older

Having problems in life? Then you need to detach from your issues and try to see the world through someone else's eyes.

Research has found the best way to tackle a heartbreaking or personal trauma is to distance yourself and think about the problem in the third person.

During tests, people faced with the idea of a cheating spouse, for example, were more likely to think wisely about the situation, if they considered it as an observer would.
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People 2

Why aren't we happy? The 4 major roadblocks to happiness

Gregory L. Jantz
Psychology Today
Thu, 01 May 2014 10:04 UTC
depression
A recent Harris poll revealed that only 33 percent of Americans are very happy. If happiness is a natural state of being, why is this number so low? What is keeping us from being happy? Below are four "happiness roadblocks" that might be inhibiting your bliss.

1. Unfulfilled Expectations

Whether we realize it or not, we all have an underlying set of expectations for life. We have expectations for ourselves: how we should act, how successful we should be. We have expectations for others: how they should act, how they should treat us. We also have expectations for life and how our days should unfold. Some of these expectations are fulfilled, and others are not. That's life, plain and simple.

Having expectations is an important part of life that helps direct the course of our lives and relationships. If we didn't expect ourselves to get up each morning and fulfill our responsibilities, there would likely be an increase of pizza deliveries and online movie streaming! Having expectations for how others should behave and treat us allows us to set boundaries and maintain healthy relationships.

Often, however, these beliefs about how ourselves, others, and life are supposed to be are so ingrained in us that the possibility of failing to meet said expectations is too much to bear. The problem lies in us attaching our personal happiness to the fulfillment of these expectations that are often out of our control, and the difficulty some of us have in accepting unfulfilled expectations. Releasing our tight grip on how we expect people to act and how life should unfold gives us the space to experience life as a journey. Loosening our expectations and control allows us to maintain equilibrium and happiness when things don't go according to our plans.
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Clipboard

8 things my bad-boy brother taught me about death

Annie Kagan
OM Times
Sun, 01 Jun 2014 12:01 UTC
Afterlife of billy fingers
When Annie Kagan's brother Billy died unexpectedly and began speaking to her from the afterlife, her future took a surprising turn. She recorded her conversations with Billy from the other side and published them in her debut book The Afterlife of Billy Fingers.

When my brother Billy woke me three weeks after he died, describing what was happening to him in the afterlife, I thought maybe I had gone a little crazy. How could my bad-boy brother, who died a tragic death, who had problems with addiction all his life, who didn't live what most people would call a successful life, how could he be sharing secrets about life's greatest mystery from another dimension? But as time passed, my skepticism turned to wonder as Billy taught me all about death.
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Cult

Psychopathy: An important forensic concept for the 21st century

Paul Babiak, Jorge Folino, Jeffrey Hancock, Robert D. Hare and others
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin
Fri, 06 Jun 2014 15:40 UTC
Image
Over the years, Hollywood has provided many examples of psychopaths. As a result, psychopaths often are identified as scary people who look frightening or have other off-putting characteristics. In reality, a psychopath can be anyone - a neighbor, coworker, or homeless person. Each of these seemingly harmless people may prey continually on others around them.

Comment: Along with Robert Hare's and Martha Stout's books about psychopathy there is also the excellent work of Dr. Andrzej M. Łobaczewski Political Ponerology: The Scientific Study of Evil Adjusted for Political Purposes which explains the phenomenon of psychopathy and its repercussions on our society. The book can be acquired here.
link, political ponerology
© en.pilulerouge.comPolitical Ponerology: A Science on the Nature of Evil Adjusted for Political Purposes


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Info

Meditation is the key to success - forget 'practice makes perfect'

Fiona Macrae
The Daily Mail, UK
Wed, 04 Jun 2014 12:44 UTC
Image
They key to success? The findings contradict the popular idea that 10,000 hours of hard graft make the difference between being good enough and being world class.
Practice doesn't make perfect - but meditation might.

Researchers say that however hard some people try, they won't excel at their chosen job, sport or hobby.

This is because the key to perfection lies in the mind.

They have shown that people who rise to the top have 'highly-integrated' brains finely-tuned for creativity.

The good news for those not naturally blessed is that mediation may help.

The advice from Dr Fred Travis, a US neuroscientist and advocate of Transcendental Meditation, contradicts the widely-held belief that practice will, eventually, make perfect.

Comment: Eiriu Eolas is a mediation breathing and meditation program that will help you to:
  • Relax from the stresses of everyday life
  • Gently work your way through past emotional and psychological trauma
  • Release repressed emotions and mental blockages
  • Rejuvenate and Detoxify your body and mind
Éiriú Eolas removes the barriers that stand between you and True Peace, Happiness, and ultimately a successful, fulfilling life and you can try it for free here.

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