TCF 06.29.24 | Is Your Brain Blocking Reality?

In this edition of our newsletter, we delve into the fascinating intricacies of the human brain, its impact on our perception of reality, and the evolving paradigms of consciousness. Dr. Deepak Chopra in the article “Is Your Brain Blocking Reality?” explores how the brain, despite its complexity, remains unaware of its own existence and often manipulates reality to suit human needs. He challenges the conventional view that the brain answers all questions about reality, proposing instead a deeper inquiry into consciousness and its role in shaping our understanding.

In the article ?"From Soil to Sip," I take you all on a journey through the Western Ghats (India), highlighting the transformative potential of AI in coffee production. I underscore the importance of ensuring that small farmers benefit equitably from technological advancements, emphasizing sustainability and inclusive growth.

Carley Beck our ChopraPost guest author sheds light on the therapeutic power of video games in "Harnessing the Power of Games for Change," demonstrating how gaming can alleviate anxiety and promote mental well-being. Her insights into the psychological benefits of gaming provide a fresh perspective on digital entertainment.

Continuing our exploration of consciousness, Ryan Castle (Chopra Foundation Institute) examines the evolving scientific understanding of consciousness beyond humans in "Our Conscious Universe: Part II." He challenges traditional boundaries of consciousness, exploring the complex behaviors of animals like crows and octopuses that suggest a deeper level of awareness.

Lastly, William C. Bushell (Chopra Foundation Institute) shares intriguing observations from his research on bioelectricity in East Asian Taoist yogic traditions in "ADEPTS 17: CONTROLLED TESTS." His findings offer compelling insights into the potential of bioelectric energy in influencing physiological responses, opening new avenues for scientific exploration.

We invite you to delve deeper into these thought-provoking articles and join us in exploring the frontiers of science, consciousness, and human potential.

With peace and gratitude,

Poonacha Machaiah - CEO

The Chopra Foundation

www.choprafoundation.org

Is Your Brain Blocking Reality?

By Deepak Chopra, MD, FACP, FRCP

The peculiarities of the human brain are as puzzling as its complexity. It is peculiar that the brain doesn’t know it exists. As monarch of the nervous system, you’d think that this simple fact wouldn’t escape it. In the same vein, you don’t need to know that you have a brain in order to be conscious — until a few centuries ago, the greatest geniuses, including Shakespeare, Newton, and Bach, couldn’t care less that they had a brain.

Once you start along this path, the scientific veneration of the brain becomes stranger and stranger, because it hides a mistaken assumption. This is the assumption that the brain answers all questions about reality. It is just as true to say that the brain blocks reality, or to be fair, it manipulates reality to suit human purposes.

Does any of this matter to the average person, a non-scientist attempting to lead the best life possible? Actually, all-encompassing explanations are so tempting that we can’t seem to do without them. Three such explanations have dominated every culture. They revolve around God or the gods, scientific materialism, and consciousness. Depending on which culture you were born in and when, one of these worldviews, as we can call them, felt totally convincing. Total belief runs into problems if you happen to disagree because worldviews all have cracks and flaws, which is an uncomfortable fact if you are a true believer.

<<Link to full article>>

How Your Mind Controls Your Biology

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From Soil to Sip: How AI Can Revolutionize Coffee Production for Small Farmers in the Western Ghats

By Poonacha Machaiah

I was back in Kodagu, my hometown. The monsoon rains fell heavy, with a constant drumbeat. My cousins and I watched the downpour and discussed how Kodagu should be included in the AI revolution. Kodagu is just five hours from Bangalore, India’s Silicon Valley. Yet, we remain forgotten by the tech wave, except for the steady flow of Bangaloreans seeking respite and our fragile flora and fauna have taken a beating! We brainstormed the possibilities, and from that conversation, this article was born.

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) has been transformative across various industries, including agriculture and coffee production. As AI continues to revolutionize farming practices globally, small coffee growers in regions like Kodagu and Chikmagalur in India’s Western Ghats face both opportunities and challenges. Ensuring these smallholders are not overshadowed by larger economies leveraging AI is crucial for equitable growth and sustainability.

AI technologies, such as smart greenhouses, intelligent spraying systems, and predictive analytics for crop yields and market prices, are reshaping the landscape of coffee production. According to a detailed analysis by Coffee Intelligence, these tools promise increased efficiency, enhanced quality control, and better resource management. However, the benefits of AI are not uniformly distributed, with larger producers in developed economies standing to gain the most from these advancements.

<<Link to full article>>

Harnessing the Power of Games for Change: Reducing Anxiety and Promoting Mental Health Across All Ages

By Carley Beck

Anxiety is something many of us know all too well. Whether it’s the stress of daily life, work pressures, or the challenges we’ve faced during the pandemic, anxiety has become a common experience. But what if I told you that video games, often seen as mere entertainment, hold the potential to reduce anxiety and promote mental health? As someone who has spent years immersed in the worlds of high fashion, gaming, and digital art, I’ve seen firsthand how these digital communities can provide more than just distraction—they offer connection, mindfulness, and even therapeutic benefits.

The Therapeutic Potential of Gaming Gaming isn’t just about flashy graphics and epic battles. For many, it’s a refuge—a place to unwind, connect, and find joy. Studies have shown that playing games can help reduce anxiety by providing a much-needed escape from stress. When you’re immersed in a game, you’re not thinking about tomorrow’s deadlines or today’s worries. You’re in the moment, and that can be incredibly therapeutic. Games also trigger the release of dopamine, the “feel-good” hormone, which can help elevate your mood. Research from the?University of Oxford?has found that casual gamers report lower levels of stress and anxiety, highlighting the mental health benefits of this pastime.

<<Link to full article>>

Our Conscious Universe: Part II

By Ryan Castle

The question of consciousness is often posed as a human issue, but we do not have a monopoly on the concept. The scientific idea that other forms of life possess innate consciousness has simmered since Darwin’s era, yet it remains a contentious and provocative topic. While many are ready to acknowledge the consciousness of dolphins and great apes, what about the intelligence of crows? Or the enigmatic behaviors of octopuses? Perhaps even insects? Most people end up having a boundary, a point at which they are no longer comfortable describing an animal as conscious, though that boundary of where consciousness begins and ends in the animal kingdom is different for each person. However, scientists are finding this boundary increasingly elusive. As researchers move away from?anthropocentric ideas of measuring consciousness, they are uncovering behaviors that are unmistakably conscious, and often in the most surprising places.

Consider the crow, a bird that demonstrates intricate social structures, tool use, and even a form of language. These birds have been observed crafting tools from twigs and are known to share ideas across generations, indicating a level of cognitive ability that suggests advanced awareness. Similarly, the octopus, with its unparalleled neural complexity and evident problem-solving abilities, presents a compelling case. These cephalopods exhibit behaviors such as learning to use tools by observation and using shells to build suits of armor. Such actions?go beyond mere instinct, suggesting a form of awareness and adaptability that parallels humans.

<<Link to full article>>

ADEPTS 17: CONTROLLED TESTS

By William C Bushell

In the previous installment of this series, I presented descriptions of direct observations made by members of my scientific research team (including myself), of demonstrations of bioelectricity or bioelectricity-like phenomena by certain adepts (or adepts-in-training) working in an East Asian Taoist yogic tradition (see above). These descriptions were presented solely as preliminary data (or evidence) of a classic anthropological observational nature, not as examples of conclusive scientific demonstrations. As such, they may be considered to constitute a form of “clinical medical anthropology” (eg, Phillips 1985), and were based on careful clinical observations by 6 members of our research team, including two professionally trained medical anthropologists, and two medical doctors (MDs), both latter with extensive experience working under a broad range of field conditions (see Bushell et al, in progress).

These descriptions were of the following:

• The production of muscle spasms, twitching, and contractions in volunteers through the application of touching to the limbs by practitioners, putatively solely caused by the endogenous electricity (or electricity-like energy) of the practitioner
• The production of intense sensible electric shocks (or electric shock-like phenomena) in volunteers solely through the application of practitioners’ hands alone (purportedly the conduits of the endogenous bioelectrical energy source)

<<Link to full article>>

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