Conscious Manifestations

Can you tell a snake from a pretzel? Some can't – and their experiences are revealing how the brain builds up a coherent picture of the world

Bashar answers a question about animal consciousness and what it means for human beings and what happens, when animals die. I guess he speaks mainly about pets, although it concerns all animals in a certain way. We should not abuse, kill and eat them

Placebo pain relief is not only subjectively experienced[;] in many cases the brain releases its own internal painkillers, [endogenous opioids].... [The simplest and least ethically hazardous way to exploit the placebo effect may be] to acknowledge that medicine isn’t just a set of approved treatments—it’s also a ritual, with symbolism and meaning that [may spur positive expectations, spark associations with past healing, and ease] distress in ways that can alleviate suffering. These meanings, [some] researchers say, are what the placebo effect is really about... [We needn't necessarily dispense more fake pills—perhaps] we should think less about any pill and more about the context in which it’s given. Whether we call it the placebo effect or use new terms, the research in this field could start to put a measurable healing value on doctors’ time and even demeanor, rather than just on procedures and pills. And that could change medicine in a way that few blockbuster drugs ever could.

Free spiritual development and conscious living resources for spiritual capitalists, with a focus on discovering your purpose of life through your work and spiritual evolution.

The question we are trying to address is: what is the complexity of this system (that we call the brain) that makes it capable of self-organizing and learning from its environment?

Guy Deutscher in NYTimes.com