Religious leaders, grand masters of secret orders and even political chiefs seem to be able to control the masses by knowing how we think, what worries us, what pleases us. Most importantly, they knew how the environment affected us. To manipulate mankind in this way they had to understand how the mind worked. Our understanding and perception of ourselves and the world around us stems from the unique and complex organ known as the brain.
The brain reacts strongly, though elusively, to cyclic patterns in the environment, although we are yet to fully understand this. Functions such as sleep, consciousness, memory, imagination and our creative ability are all extremely complex and poorly understood â?? at least they are by modern means. All these functions are affected by our reaction to cyclic patterns and electromagnetic radiation.
In almost all cultures, approximately 90 per cent of people use the right hand for manual actions such as writing. This has been linked to the brainâ??s processing of language. In right-handed people, language tends to be mediated by the left hemisphere of the brain, the side that controls the right side of the body.
The cerebrum is symmetrical in structure. The two lobes are attached to the brain stem. The dominant hemisphere is occupied with language and the operations of logic, while the opposite hemisphere controls emotion, spirituality and artistic flair. The left hemisphere is usually dominant and is, in the majority of cases, the logical side.
A grave in Swaziland of a small Neanderthal child laid to rest over 80,000 years ago provides evidence of early religious burial, [1] which shows that Neanderthal man was connected with his more spiritual or artistic side. The Neanderthal man had a large cerebellum or old brain. This has been shown by the British psychologist Stan Gooch to be the more creative and instinctive element of the brain. Gooch argues that evolution came about through the battles in our own brain between the cerebellum and the cerebrum. Any added input from cycles and electromagnetic effects upon the brain could produce subtle changes to our evolutionary path.
The arguments for this assumption are good and should not be dismissed by scientists simply because of the link with the paranormal. In fact, to the credit of scientists, there are ongoing trials at various universities across the globe looking into paranormal activities and related scientific phenomena and I myself have even taken part in several of these.
The evidence currently shows that women, who are by most accounts more in tune with nature and more intuitive than men, have larger cerebella. Historically, many of the great mysteries of the religious world come from the east and it would, therefore, be no surprise to find Asiatics, Jews and Aboriginals possessing larger cerebella than Europeans.
It is believed that the cerebella is more in use during hypnosis, which is the state associated with imagination and removal of responsibility. The ancient word for hypnosis is â??mekhenesis,â?? which means to â??remove responsibility.â??
If the ancient priesthoodâ??s had the skill to tap into this part of the brain, if they knew all the secrets of cycles, magnetism, and brain control to use for their own ends, perhaps this was this how large buildings such as the pyramids were constructed and tens of thousands of people were controlled and fooled into believing that the Pharaoh was a god? Perhaps this was how mighty nations fell without ever a battle?
Birds
Man has always revered birds. From the Shaman, flying in a trance state, across the land, to the artistâ??s depiction of â??winged angels,â?? something has always attracted us to these creatures. Maybe it is the way they can just take flight and disappear. Maybe it is a shared understanding of travel and migration, which speaks to our nomadic hearts. Or maybe it is the desire to join the great sun god in the sky, who was often depicted with wings. In fact there are many explanations for this image of the winged sun, not least of which is the freedom of enlightenment. But there is another more reasonable and simple answer. The sun was the ancient navigators main guide and so too were birds. The link of bird and sun is therefore an obvious allusion to the need to navigate to survive. We can even see this incredible navigational link in the brain of the bird.
The bird is basically reptilian and therefore lacks a mammalian cortex and mid-brain. Their migratory instinct comes from the cerebellum or old brain, the same part of the human brain, which governs our instinctive and spiritual element.
It is claimed that many birds navigate using the sun and moon â?? others, the North Star. Research has shown that birds are also sensitive to the Earthâ??s magnetic field. Lately it has been shown that they also follow human roads, however this is due to the fact that these roads are really ancient track ways or Ley Lines and in all likelihood also have electromagnetic properties. A homing pigeon that was blinded by frosted glass contact lenses and taken 1,000 kilometers away from home, made the return journey without error. The reason for this is that between its eyes there is an area of tissue with over a million bar-shaped pieces of magnetite or lodestone. [2]
Magnetite is a magnetized mineral of iron oxide and was used by the ancients as a compass because it naturally swings northward. The Chinese knew of its properties and thought it magical. They used an implement containing magnetite in the shape of the Big Dipper constellation on divining boards. Although we have not yet discovered exactly how the bird uses the magnetite, we have seen that amazing feats of navigation are possible. In theory, the magnetite picks up the Earthâ??s magnetic currents and triggers directional messages to the birdâ??s brain.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals have authenticated incidents of psi trailing â?? the ability of animals to find their way home even when lost. There have even been cases of lost or abandoned animals tracking down owners who have moved to new homes without them. Is also possible that this homing instinct exists within us humans?
In 1970, Dr Robin Baker of Manchester University, England, experimented on people to discover whether this was the case. Blindfolded volunteers were taken from their homes, disorientated, and then asked to point the way home. A majority â?? above the accepted mathematical probability â?? pointed correctly. When, in later tests, bars of magnets and brass were attached to the volunteersâ?? heads, only the ones wearing brass could point their way home. The magnet had affected their ability to â??seeâ?? the way.
A Czech physicist, Zaboj V. Harvalik, found people could actually detect changes in the magnetic field as small as 1/1,000,000,000 of a gauss. A typical childâ??s magnet is 1,000 gauss. If, in our ancient past, we actually did have a conscious connection to this directional compass within us, would it be possible to get it back?
Maybe we have actually tried to retrieve the ideal. In alchemy, the idea of the spirit of the world or Anima Mundi claims there is a worldwide spirit, which gives us information, including our whereabouts and way home. Relate this to the idea that one of the truths behind alchemy is the Kundalini â??enlightenment experience,â?? which is in turn related to electromagnetic energy, and then we can begin to see what the ancients were really talking about. The Anima Mundi is indeed electromagnetism.
Many para-scientists have discovered electromagnetic effects emanating from ancient standing stones. The Dragon Project, specifically set up to monitor energies from such structures, states that all stone circles in England and Wales occur within a mile of surface faults, which are known to cause certain electromagnetic effects. When these energy lines cross Ley lines and other ancient energy centers, many strange phenomena occur. A large cross-section of scientists and para-scientists have reported that peculiar effects upon humans can occur due to the radiation produced. These effects include dreams and psychic abilities, lights and noises. All of these occur more frequently at times of greater importance such as the Solstice. And this is important â?? the effects on the mind are heightened by solar activity â?? the great sun god in the sky aids our enlightenment process! No wonder that ancient man hoped to attain godhead and worshipped the sun god as the highest of deities â?? his navigational and therefore survival nature and his internal "shining" were all related beautifully to the one vast orb in the sky.
Our connection with the Earthâ??s electromagnetism can also be seen in the ancient practice of dowsing. Today we use dowsing to discover underground fissures, water, artifacts and minerals. The dowser uses rods or a weighted pendulum and walks across an area. The rod or pendulum then moves accordingly at the precise spot. Dowsers say that the instruments are incidental and react only to the vibrations, waves or electrical magnetism, which is being picked up by their bodies.
Scientists have shown that some people are sensitive to 1/1,000,000,000 of a gauss of magnetism; therefore there is a strong possibility that dowsing is a practical and measurable skill. This would explain how the ancients could plot Ley Lines and understand Dragon Paths or Feng Shui.
When working in conjunction with a German dowser, the Czech physicist, Zaboj V. Harvalik, suggested that the adrenal gland was the organ used to detect the magnetism. He reached this conclusion because positive results increased when the dowser drank more water. This theory seems unlikely now â?? unless it is in some way linked with the pineal organ. In later experiments, aluminum foil was wound around the head of the dowser and this blocked the signal. Strangely, so did a block of foil placed on the dowserâ??s forehead in the area of the pineal gland. This is the same location as a pigeonâ??s magnetite. Another strange and telling piece of evidence comes when we find that solar flares can upset the dowserâ??s abilities â?? thus showing that mankind could theoretically actually physically measure the holy serpentine energy of the sun. Much of this energy is now understood to be picked up by the pineal organ.
The pineal organ is one of the outgrowths of the pineal apparatus. In aquatic and gill-breathing creatures, it can form a photosensitive eye-like structure, which is involved in the diurnal rhythm of color change. In ancient reptiles, and still in the Tuatura lizard of New Zealand, it formed a separate eye on top of the head â?? a third eye. It persists in higher vertebrates and may function as an endocrine gland â?? internally secreting into the blood and affecting distant parts of the body. In humans, this organ is buried deep within the brain, located in the Limbic system, which helps us to learn and has emotional capabilities. The pineal gland exerts some chemical reactions, which are not fully understood. Autopsies on mediums and spiritually inclined people have revealed larger pineal glands that contain a clear fluid called seratonin, which in turn makes melatonin. [3]
Seratonin, when depleted by amphetamines, causes mild psychedelic effects, which is why the drug â??Ecstasyâ?? is so popular. The administration of melatonin can help prevent jet lag and SAD. Strangely, it is also thought to influence our rhythms of activity. Some believe it is sensitive to the rhythms and cycles of nature and is responsible for transferring that information to us. The pineal gland is associated with color recognition, and reptiles can even change the color of this â??third eye.â?? It is also associated with measuring the length of the day and keeping track of the seasons.
Hindu tradition claims this area to be the center of the sixth â??chakraâ?? â?? the â??ajnaâ?? â?? the center of manâ??s spirituality and psychic abilities. This is the reason why people of many faiths wear a red dot on the forehead. â??Chakraâ?? means â??wheelâ?? and â??energy center.â?? The initiated are trained to perceive chakras as whirls of altering colors â?? which relates to the idea that the pineal gland is associated with color recognition. This are ancient kundalini concepts in relation to modern scientific knowledge of the brain.
In ancient Cabalistic theology, the Kether, or Crown chakra, is just above the head and therefore is said to relate to the pineal gland. The Kether is the crown of pure brilliance or Shining One. Itâ??s center, known as the bindu, is the point where all lifeâ??s energies spring from the Godhead.
In Deuteronomy 6:8, the priests of Israel wore a phylactery on their foreheads, and in ancient Egypt we find the royal Nemes head cloth â?? a piece of striped cloth with the Uraeus serpent insignia at the center of the forehead â??mimicking the serpentine Kundalini aspect of the chakra system. In many Christian Cathedrals, there are portraits of Christians with strange marks on their foreheads. Carved stone statues with circles, diamonds and triangles on their crowns or hats, are everywhere. [4] There is no explanation for these images, no reason given for these marks; they are just there and in some very symbolic positions. At Lichfield Cathedral in England, the pictures of Bishops are enhanced with these marks and face a large mystical image of the Virgin Mary with the bright rays of the sun shining from behind her. This can only be a symbol for the illumination - an emblem of the sight that is supposedly perceived through this third eye.
At this point we should be aware of how far from science we can stray. Map dowsing, for instance, cannot be explained scientifically, and some scientists point to the nose as the organ responsible for our directional senses. Many animals have a variety of senses, which we are yet to understand, such as the ability to emit small electrical discharges, underwater vibrations, infrasound and ultrasound. Some birds can detect polarized light, which helps them to see the fingerprint of their prey as it leaves a pattern across the ground. Snakes can see and produce images in infrared radiation. Can man use more senses than we know and could he pick up some of these images emitted by the likes of the snake? Should we believe that the dowserâ??s skill is simply in being more acutely in touch with their senses? As we move forward through the evidence the answers to these questions may arise.
The term to be â??mesmerizedâ?? derives from the Austrian physician Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815) who believed the human nervous system to be magnetized. He coined the phrase â??animal magnetismâ?? and claimed that magnetism from the planets had actually caused healing at one church in Austria. He developed a therapeutic regime, which incorporated iron magnets, magnetite and the laying on of hands. Mesmer built up a large following â?? many of which claimed to have been healed by his â??animal magnetism.â?? The modern day term for mesmerism is â??hypnotismâ?? and it had nothing at all to do with magnetism. Although using magnets and the left side of the brain to achieve a therapeutic response is still a relatively untried method, there is some evidence that our ancestors may have dabbled in it. As the famous Methodist John Wesley said, â??consider how far bodily disorders are caused or influenced by the mind.â??[2] If many illnesses are caused by the imbalance of energy such as electromagnetism, then perhaps the brain can help to cure itself by utilizing or balancing out this disparity. Alchemists hinted at this kind of belief many centuries ago. A balanced mind, full of balanced thoughts and emotions does indeed balance out the electromagnetic frequency within the brain as I myself have proven when connected to various monitoring devices. As my aid, Dominic Oâ??Brien said, "you have a Ferrari brain." Although I think he may have been over stating the case, he was simply indicating the balance that I had managed to achieve between the two sides of my brain. How did I do this? By knowing myself, by gaining knowledge and hopefully building wisdom in the process and by having a balanced perspective to all things.
New and modern techniques are emerging which might offer hints as to how our ancestors used their healing powers and allusions to the prayer life and meditative practices of the more spiritual ancients.
With Biofeedback, individuals mechanically monitor their own states of mind and body to gain self-control. This is similar to the Buddhist and Hindu methods of self-control via meditation, where not only do they control worldly desires but also bodily functions, such as appetite and body temperature. You will note that Hinduism and Buddhism stem from some of the oldest roots of mankindâ??s religious mythology, rooted I might add in the worship of the serpent and the sun.
These modern day counterparts use scientific tools to the same ends. They control heart rate, blood pressure, stress levels, halt the attacks of headaches and even monitor and alter their own brainwave patterns.
Medical specialists the world over are interested in this supposedly â??newâ?? technique for cures of cancer and other life-threatening diseases. This brainpower can release endorphins into the body, which have pain-relieving and mood-elevating effects in exactly the same way I expressed above about the kundalini enlightenment process.
With Biofeedback, and an understanding of our environment, and utilizing biorhythms in conjunction with the cosmic cyclic patterns, we may re-discover what we have lost.
Biorhythms were discovered by Dr. Hermann Swoboda and Dr. Wilhelm Fleiss, who found that the human body is subject to a twenty-three and twenty-eight day cycle. Added to this was the thirty-three day cycle discovered by Dr. Alfred Teltcher who observed the fluctuations in the intellectual performances of his students. These cycles lead us through peaks and troughs, mood swings and various other activity patterns and all of them match the cycles of the bodies in the solar system.
Japanese employers who lay off staff in regular cycles because of low mood swings have in fact achieved greater efficiency. There are now even small computer devices available, which can monitor menstrual cycles as a method of birth control.
In 1981, the biologist Rupert Sheldrake put forward the hypothesis for what he called â??morphogenetic fieldsâ?? (Greek morphe for â??formâ?? and genesis for â??coming into being.â??) Sheldrake claimed that these fields â?? unrecognized by modern science â?? were as real as magnetic or gravitational fields. He claimed that by morphic resonance, forms and behavior patterns are transmitted across space and time, and that growing embryos of the same species could tune into the morphic resonance and learn from the past, to give evolution that â??helping hand.â?? If we consider that we have problems with the huge gaps in evolution, and the fact that many evolutionary scientists are looking at the â??big leapsâ?? theory as being more acceptable, it may be that by learning from the past and adapting our genes while still an embryo, we could make these leaps.
Sheldrake supposed that this morphic resonance came from the memory bank of the past species. So when a species has learnt a new behavior pattern it is passed down and effects a change in the future. This falls in line with Lamarckâ??s evolutionary hypothesis of acquired characteristics. Let us look at evidence for such an idea.
The phenomenon called â??The Hundredth Monkeyâ?? has been put forward by adherents to Sheldrakeâ??s idea as being evidence for such a brain/mind transmitter/receiver. On an individual level we obtain new knowledge, which then erupts suddenly throughout the species. This comes from the explanatory folk tale of how a monkey in a cage is joined by an ever-increasing numbers of monkeys. When the hundredth one arrives, the cage bursts and all the monkeys escape â?? suddenly knowledge is widespread, where before it had been known to a select few.
Modern research, especially that undertaken by the anthropologist and biologist Dr. Lyall Watson, has shown a remarkable similarity in effect by observation. In 1952, the Macaca Fuscata monkeys of Koshima Island, Japan, were under close observation by primatologists. To get the monkeys to come closer to the researchers, sweet potatoes were placed before them. The potatoes proved unpalatable until a female monkey named Imo learned how to wash them. The young monkey taught the skill to her mother and other female monkeys, and by 1958 all the young monkeys were doing this. They also found that washing the potatoes in salt water had added more flavor.
The primatologists then noticed that the practice, once restricted primarily to the under-fives, had now become common knowledge amongst the monkeys, virtually overnight. The phenomena did not stop there. The practice also erupted on wholly isolated neighboring islands.
This was not a solitary observable incident. In Britain, in the same year as the primate study began, dairies first began to deliver milk in bottles topped with foil, through which birds can peck and drink the milk. Blue tits were first to learn how to do so. The initial spread of this practice was normal and comparable to previous observable examples and nothing was out of the ordinary. That was until 1955 when suddenly, and again virtually overnight, all blue tits and most of the great tits of mainland Europe were practicing this. Could Rupert Sheldrakeâ??s theory of morphogenetic resonance be true? Is this a hypothesis that science should take seriously when considering new ways to explain our evolution?
Early on in his career, the psychologist Carl Jung described a manifestation he called â??potent primordial images.â?? He believed that there is a vast, universal store of memory and images locked away deep within our unconscious. Sigmund Freud, however, considered them to be archaic residues, something we no longer need. This was in disagreement with Jung who saw them as vital to our psychic life, a â??collective unconsciousness,â?? which we all shared, added to and took from. The idea was that many religious and primordial beliefs in â??spirits,â?? â??souls,â?? â??godsâ?? and â??demigods,â?? â??ancestor worshipâ?? and â??heavenâ?? were gleaned from our â??unconscious mindâ?? tapping into the â??collective unconsciousness.â?? This may explain some of the shared images that Shaman and magicians experience when under the influence of psychoactive drugs, or the worldwide common images of â??near death experiencesâ?? and even â??alien visitation.â??
Scientists are now pointing to the passing on of residual memory within our genes, and this may explain some of the strange effects, although we should consider that there could be truth in both ideas: genetic modification from memory and modification from a handed-down shared consciousness.
Science is looking into some of the more common paranormal experiences in relation to the brain. Extra Sensory Perception, or ESP, is one such area. This is the phenomenon where information is supposedly transmitted or received from one brain to another. Scientists have, as yet, been unable to prove the existence of true ESP, although they have had some unusual and unexplainable results. As I write this down, scientists in Beijing are working on the â??Quantum Entanglement theory.â?? In this scenario, they put two people into separate rooms and connect them up to the scientific apparatus. One person is flashed one hundred times with a bright light while the other personâ??s reactions are being monitored. Amazingly the results were beyond doubt that the emotion of the flashing lights had transferred into the other chamber and into the mind of the second person. The scientists have called it â??Quantum Entanglementâ?? and they are even now researching how this amazing particle effect can be used in communication devices. [5]
By understanding the nature of our existence in a â??paranormal,â?? â??scientificâ?? and â??spiritualâ?? way, we will find the reasoning behind early religious beliefs. There would be little point in looking to the future or at modern rationalism for answers. The beliefs of ancient man came about through his understanding of the world around him. There was no science book to learn from and understand what the stars really were. He simply had to work it out for himself and attribute his own interpretation to the natural phenomena around him. To do this he used his mind, but in using his mind he also developed a major new way of thinking â?? how can I use my mind to manipulate that of anotherâ??s. Survival of the fittest became conscious.
Notes
1. Lifetide. Lyall Watson. (Coronet Books. 1980.)
2. The Paranormal. Stuart Gordon. (Headline. 1992.)
3. The Secret Life of Plants. Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird. (Harper and Row. 1973.)
4. Lichfield Cathedral, Staffs, England. Remarkable imagery, Geoffrey de Bouillon statue, numerology, symbolism, cross, trees, mountains, Marian cults, Illuminati, and much more. Philip: I have spent days at this Cathedral and have still not collated all the relevant symbolism contained within, well worth a visit.
5. From a paper by Gao Shan entitled A Primary Quantum Model of Telepathy â?? The Scientists Work Team of Electromagnetic Wave Velocity, Chinese Institute of Electronics, Beijing.
