Man, memory, and alchemy

The Reaction to Stress Dr. Soumitra Basu

It is interesting to note that we react to psychological threats in the same way as we react to a physical threat. Selye, one of the pioneers of stress research, finds that psychological events can produce the same stress responses as physical stressors. This means that whatever may be the source of the threat, most of us continue to physically and emotionally react to the stressors of modern life in the same way that we did as inhabitants of the wild - a habitual response which we now find difficult to unlearn. If this be true, then, obviously, in the area of stress reaction, the remarkable elevation in biological status is yet to be satisfactorily accompanied by a progressive elevation in Consciousness.

It is high time we outgrew our habitual reactions and responded with more maturity to stress. Man is a mental being and we do of course psychologically react to stress, though this reaction appears immature. In fact, we use a number of psychological manoeuvring techniques like blaming others (projection), minimizing the importance of the situation (denial), or avoiding the stressor (repression). Such skills are based on internal defence mechanisms. 1:06 PM 

The basic approach is consciousness Integral Health (By Dr. Soumitra Basu; Published by SAIIIHR, Sri Aurobindo Society, Pondicherry, Price: Rs. 75, pp.140)

Throughout this book Dr. Basu has quoted exhaustively from the works of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, describing the various planes of consciousness and the concept and role of Psychic Being in Integral Health. The attitude of Faith in relation to healing, the role of culture and society with respect to health and the role of the Pranic Shakti as it acts both in the individual microcosm and the macrocosm are elaborately discussed. The author has also given illustrative case studies of various patients as illustrations and a very effective glossary that explains the various terms and concepts that may be unknown to a reader not familiar with the works of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. Around 159 references are given at the end of the book and in about 140 pages Dr. Basu portrays quite admirably a comprehensive approach to health and healing. — Dr. D.E. Mistry 11:25 PM 

The human being is a sub-unit of the universe HEALTH: AN INTEGRAL APPROACH - Dr. Arati Sharma

An integral approach assumes great importance as it focuses on the very aim and goal of life itself. It is neither a mere mixing of various approaches, nor is it a new system or a special technique. It is called 'integral' because here the human being is considered in totality along with the universe of which he is a subunit. It is a multidimensional approach encompassing all levels of consciousness i.e. physical, vital, mental and spiritual including all types of forces acting upon the various levels, dealing with both the internal self and external self. Healing means to rediscover and restore communication with our inner self. 7:55 PM 

Decentralisation and dispersion of cells What is death? Dr. R.L. Bijlani

Clinical death is now defined as the permanent and irreversible cessation of function of any one of the three interconnected vital systems, viz. nervous system, circulatory system and respiratory system. Even after the person as a whole is no longer alive, individual cells and tissues remain viable for variable periods of time, making their transplantation possible… 

Physiologically, death is only a partial reality because a bit of the protoplasm continues to live, even after death, in the progeny. Physiologically, death is also necessary for getting around the problem of imperfection of the body. The body, like any machine, cannot function for ever. Therefore renewal by reproduction has got to be coupled with death, old order yielding to the new. Thus reproduction and death are two sides of the same coin and are designed to keep open the possibility of evolution of better, less imperfect forms of life.
Spiritually speaking, the answers are similar although the arguments are different and deeper. Death is a partial reality because it results in a breaking up of one form of life for reconstruction into new forms. Nothing may perish, but the configuration existing before death ceases to exist. Recycling, reconstruction and renewal are the basic features of life. 12:36 PM 

Yoga is threaded through the warp and weft of our existence Why Do We Practice Yoga? Have you ever asked yourself why you’re really practicing yoga? By Richard Rosen

At the outset, it’s natural to assume that our practice and our life are totally separate, that we practice for an hour or so a day and then forget about it. But after a while, the two inevitably begin to merge. As Sri Aurobindo, the great 20th-century Indian sage and progenitor of Integral Yoga, reminds us, “All life is yoga.”
In Aurobindo’s view, yoga is threaded through the warp and weft of our very existence, and in effect it chooses us. We practice yoga because we really don’t have any other choice. 2:43 PM 

Sri Aurobindo's "sunlit path" Gentle reminders Bharat Savur Business Line Friday, Aug 11, 2006 Getting forgetful is not an indication of ageing, but a sure sign of living edgily. Jog your memory: Exercise helps boost brain power- N. SRIDHARAN

I advocate Sri Aurobindo's "sunlit path". Face the sun, he advises. Have a natural spirit of faith and surrender. If you forget something, say cheerfully, "Well, that was pretty odd!" Dismiss it… Finally, a bit of voluntary forgetfulness is not a bad thing. You can forget grudges, fights, nastiness, and past negative influences... Simultaneously, remember to walk the sunlit path to health, happiness, laughter, lovingness and a luminous memory. (The writer is co-author of the book, ‘Fitness for Life'.) 12:00 PM 

The brain has not enough computing capacity Marko Rinck Says: July 31st, 2006 at 2:18 pm 

It seems to me that consciousness as an epiphenomenon of the brain has already been proven by science to be untrue. A number of courageous scientists have started to do research on Near Death Experiences, for instance the Dutch cardiologist Pim van Lommel who from 1988 on did research on patients that had cardiac arrest and came back to life.

He comes to the conclusion that consciousness exists independent from the brain (off course this doesn’t solve the hard problem but he has some interesting hypotheses on this subject, and his and other NDE researcher’s conclusions still don’t seem to have filtered through to other parts of science… Pim van Lommel has written a very interesting article “On the Continuity of Consciousness”: The Lancet  . 11:50 AM 

Metallic generation from sulfur and mercury Transforming the Alchemists By JOHN NOBLE WILFORD - NYTimes: August 1, 2006

Even geniuses of the first order, like Isaac Newton, found alchemy irresistible… Newton’s repeated experiments for the rest of his life were aimed at fulfilling the words of the Emerald Tablet of Hermes, considered the founding text of alchemy in ancient Egypt. Newton expected to achieve what the tablet said was the una res, “the one thing” by which “the world was created” and with which one could “perform miracles.” So it seems that Newton was no ordinary alchemist interested in making gold. He apparently aspired to a theory of alchemy more comprehensive than even his laws of gravity.

But it could be said, in a paraphrase of Newton’s famous expression of modesty, that the giants on whose shoulders he stood in this endeavor did not measure up to his antecedents in physics and astronomy. Newton’s alchemical bent was not out of character, Dr. Smith of Columbia said. “He was drawn to the occult,” she said. “Gravity for him was an occult force, and so was alchemy as an explanation of how things transform into other things.”

The British chemist Robert Boyle, a Newton contemporary, also had a foot on each side of the alchemy-modern science divide. He dabbled for years in an alchemical obsession, the search for the philosopher’s stone — the long-sought agent for transmuting lead to gold and unlocking other material and spiritual secrets. The stone was the unified theory of everything in that time. Boyle wrote enviously in 1680 that “there exists conceal’d in the world” a group of chemists “of a much higher order able to transmute baser Metalls into perfect ones.” 8:29 PM

SELF: Our physical nature offers an inert obstruction to any radical change - The Yoga of Self-Perfection and the Triple Transformation by Richard Hartz Mon 13 Aug 2007

Our physical nature offers an inert obstruction to any radical change. But before we can even hope to deal with it, we must master the life-force connecting mind and body—the vital being, as Sri Aurobindo called it—whose problematic character already raises serious doubts about the possibility of an integral transformation… The vital nature dominates much of our individual and social existence. If it cannot be converted, the idea of spiritually perfecting our embodied life would seem to be a chimera. 12:02 PM

Radical realists Times of India Baskaran Pillai Jul 25, 2011

The physical immortality of the body is a key concept among the Siddhas. According to them, enlightenment is simply not psychological. Liberation is not just psychological liberation from thought forms. Nirvana, according to Swami Ramalingam who turned his body into light in 1874, is a stage in the evolutionary process. He maintained that one should attain evolution of body, mind, and soul. Aug 11, 2011

Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo & The Mother Rajesh commented on The genesis of Sri Aurobindo's superman. I wrote a paper on Tamil connection to Supramental evolution "The metaphysical meaning of Tamil by Saint Ramalingam". Just thought it may be of general interest.

Paradigm of dynamic synergy and harmony The Influence Of The Ancient Greek Words On The English Language

I apologize for the idiosyncrasy of a zealous Hellenic, practicing orthopaedic physician who is also fanatically enthusiastic about the giant anode of European propaedutics and academics in orthopaedics and traumatology. 4:12 PM 

Language relationships are accurate but many languages are left out - The Indo-European Language Tree from Anthropology.net by Kambiz Kamrani at 8:55 AM

SELF: The Brahmi script was the ancestor of all South Asian writing systems

SELF: Consciousness Timeline: 1875-1945

Twitter Trends #KillerEnglish . Western Ghats