Like any other part of the body, the feet are multilayer and complex, functioning as systems inside systems; not in isolation — They’re comprised of bones, nerves, muscles and blood vessels.
Holding and transporting the weight of the body and then some, feet are especially significant and biomechanically complex, with 26 bones and 33 joints.
Olympic weightlifting of course is a demanding load-bearing activity, with explosiveness and impact. And although the following recommendations apply to that somewhat extreme end of the spectrum, they can be applied to anyone.
First, the shoes have to fit well. If they’re too restrictive or inadequately supportive, that can cause pain — not just in the feet, but also the ankles, calves and on up the chain. Joint pain often has a direct cause and ready solution, though it’s often mistaken for some kind of intrinsic defect or age related reason.
Secondly, the self care has to happen. Just like maintenance on an automobile, the body requires upkeep for optimal function. When it comes to foot care, different forms of regular massage work well, from standing on a vibe plate to booking a reflexology appointment, to as simple using ones hands or a ball. Another favorite — walking barefoot on grass or sand.
Consider the amount of work placed on the feet, and manage the care accordingly. Respect the body as your cohesive, vehicular self.
Another recommendation — specific to Olympic lifters — is to avoid excessive slamming or stomping on impact. This is the bodily equivalent of spiking the barbell. This can feel satisfying in the moment, but over time the extra impact and nerve stress can add up.
I saw a video somewhat recently on Chinese lifter’s Deng Wei’s channel about not jumping and there being no need for it. When it comes to elite weightlifting on stage in competition, perhaps whatever gets the job done — however, as overall habit, avoiding excess impaction is important for foot and ankles, and avoiding problems like plantar fasciitis.
Get serious about self care as an enjoyable investment in wellbeing and performance optimization. That includes getting serious about comfortable shoes. All of the above is easier to find now. So is reflexology massage, which addresses the many nerves endings in the feet for relaxation and deep stress relief. That one you can DIY to a certain extent.
Relief of tension in the feet and keeping them happy is a great strategy for longevity in lifting and in life.
“Regrowing or replacing bone lost to disease is tricky and often painful. In a new study Australian researchers have found a relatively simple way to induce stem cells to turn into bone cells quickly and efficiently, using high-frequency sound waves.”
— Read on newatlas.com/medical/sound-waves-stem-cells-bone/
YES! I’ve been writing about sound tech the past couple years, in particular the work of Raymond Rife. This article is about a newly published & conclusive study from RMIT University Jan 2022.
“Australian researchers have found a relatively simple way to induce stem cells to turn into bone cells quickly and efficiently, using high-frequency sound waves…
Once the stem cells have begun to differentiate into bone, they can be injected into the body at the site of an injury or disease, or coated onto an implant, ready to grow new bone. The team says this process removes the need for drugs that coax stem cells down this path, and makes the whole thing much faster and more efficient. Importantly, the MSCs can be obtained from other parts of the patient’s body, such as fat tissue.”
“Stem cells have the superpower of turning into any other kind of cell – a superpower that some animals use to regrow limbs; for medicine, they yield the potential to help us repair parts of the human body that have been damaged by injury or disease.”
The pieces necessary to live indefinitely are already in place. Each of us inhabits a powerful vessel, the human body, with vast potential. After all, look at how far life has come. We can continue knowing ourselves even better in the 21st century and beyond, and appreciate the fascinating intricacies of our composition. This Part 4 analyzes a few of the many regenerative biological processes already at work for us, as well as how they can be augmented.
The first example of regeneration is the repair of the skin. Considered the largest organ and first line of immune defense, the dermis undergoes regular maintenance. When damaged, specialized engineer cells called Fibroblasts synthesize a matrix structure made of partly collagen and elastin to repair the site.¹ Remarkably, there are 28 known types of collagen throughout the body, and the shapeshifting fibroblasts determine which kind to make for the given task.
“The fibroblast is a malleable cell, capable of altering its function and physiology or even transforming into a new cell type, based on its location within the body.” — “Extracellular Matrix and Dermal Fibroblast Function in the Healing Wound,” Tracy / Minasian / Caterson
One approach to upgrade dermal healing and enhance tissue regeneration is already in use: Laser Healing and Light Therapy. Non-invasive Red LED Light Therapy, for example, has been proven effective for maintenance and prevention, and shows significant clinical and aesthetic promise being it’s a non-invasive. This “non-thermal photobiomodulation” alters cellular function with light in the spectral range from 600 to 1300 nanometers, which accelerates and stimulates healing and repair, resulting in improved overall skin health and increased intradermal collagen density.²
Low power or cold laser healing can also be used for more serious repair, given the non-damaging stimulatory effect on cells. Overall, Light Therapy is crossing over from cosmetics into general medicine. Reportedly, the Air Force and Pentagon have been funding research on laser and nanotech healing at the molecular level, including a “spray-on skin.”³ Most recently, the Air Force Research Lab with the University of Michigan have been developing rapid healing based on reprogramming cells using gene transcription factors.⁴
Another similar type of specialized cell is the Osteoblast, which synthesizes bone matrix. They are, in teamwork with other bone cells, responsible for formation, resorption, and remodeling of bone.⁵ At the root is the stem cell, produced in adults in the bone marrow. Undifferentiated stem cells can then become many other types of cells, cued by “growth factors, hormones, small chemicals, and extracellular matrix.”⁶
Another type of stem cell, and the most malleable, is the “pluripotent” or embryonic blastocyst. And recently it has been shown that adult stem cells can be genetically reprogrammed to behave like the pluripotents. Stem cell therapy, part of the next chapter of regenerative medicine, is already in use as well as undergoing development. Another recently discovered and surprising source of stem cells is: Human adipose or fat tissue. So
“Adipose tissue-derived stem cells (ADSCs) are mesenchymal cells with the capacity for self-renewal and multipotential differentiation. This multipotentiality allows them to become adipocytes, chondrocytes, myocytes, osteoblasts and neurocytes among other cell.”⁷
Another cellular candidate set to revolutionize regenerative medicine and bioengineering is the mutated cancer cell or “immortal” cell. The mutation allows the ongoing production of telomerase and thus the ongoing regeneration of telomeres, and indefinite cell division. The trick is harnessing this mechanism for a solely positive effect.
The answer to that is examining the complex catalytic proteins and reactions with AI-assisted sequencing, allowing certain processes to be tapped, and also limited. This amounts to using digital and electronic concepts and techniques to indeed help us deep learn ourselves.
1. Costa-Almeida R, Soares R, Granja PL. “Fibroblasts as maestros orchestrating tissue regeneration” | J Tissue Eng Regen Med. 2018 |https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28109062/
2. “A Controlled Trial to Determine the Efficacy of Red and Near-Infrared Light Treatment in Patient Satisfaction, Reduction of Fine Lines, Wrinkles, Skin Roughness, and Intradermal Collagen Density Increase” |Alexander Wunsch and Karsten Matuschka | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3926176/
1. Experiencing Timelessness. Be on a timeless scale. Live as if life is all. Clocks, schedules and dates are merely tools. Have an open-ended mindset.
2. Meditation, Affirmation & Prayer. Believe and re-program, say what you want, atone, give thanks, purify, connect to outer and inner cosmos.
3. Stellar Self-Care & Self-Talk. Enjoy the maintenance and respect your body.
3. Nutrient Dense Diet. Lots of Nature’s best. No alcohol or smoking.
4. Peak Experiences. Pockets of nirvana cultivated with contentment. Go climb a mountain if you want to, but this could be simple as a sunset dinner.
5. Minimize (Artificial) Stress. Cut back on noisy media for example, or draining influences.
6. Exercise Every Day. Stay in motion & express the body. Include strength and conditioning.
7. Optimize Environment. Home surroundings, work surroundings, relationships. Small choices & big choices.
9. Choose Contentment & Enjoyment. Be sure to enjoy life in the now — it is inherently abundant. Consider the earth itself.
10. Play & Create. This can come in many different forms!
12. Keep Learning & Exploring. The mind likes food too!
13. Detox. Cut back on known adverse chemicals. That includes household products and cosmetics. Check the labels, pay attention and keep it simple.
14. Plenty of Sleep. Following the sun is best. Sleep as needed, even hibernate. It’s the best medicine, how the body recharges and heals.
15. Supplement. Plants & macromolecules for examples! Use as desired what’s safe & effective, in enhancement and fun, not dependency. There’s a lot to learn.
16. Noninvasive & Regenerative Health Care + BioTechnology. Stay informed! Know your options and choose the best — they keep growing every day.
Another step beyond the VR headset would be to create a holosuite or spatial computing environment with which could physically interact for testing, like the computer interface that MIT PhD John Underkoffler designed for the Spielberg/Tom Cruise sci-if movie “Minority Report.”
Although not yet fully spatial/interactive, Underkoffler’s “Mezzanine” computer system is a reality — in use by companies like NASA and Boeing — and undergoing development as a product of the company Oblong based in LA.
This would be a good time to point out the direct connection from the arts & imagination to innovation and scientific reality.
Version 1Version 2“Telomeres” from Studio Shangri-La Art
First of all, Telomeres are located at the ends of our chromosomes, coiled DNA in nuclei, and contain repeated nucleotide sequences. They are the end cap data sequence and lengthen in response to cell division.
How so? An enzyme dubbed “telomerase” aka “telomere terminal transferase” cues the repeat. I say ‘dubbed’ because in a sea of different terms often used redundantly, it’s also important to interpret pattern, context and meaning.
Telomerase also contains the “rate-limiting catalytic” subunit gene Reverse Transcriptase.
Recently, Stanford researchers used modified RNA to extend the process and nucleotide sequence, and thereby add many years to life:
“…our method acts over just a few days to reverse telomere shortening that occurs over more than a decade of normal aging. This suggests that a treatment using our method could be brief and infrequent.”
What about Reverse Transcriptase in general?
To quote Thermo Fisher Scientific, “Reverse transcription involves a broad family of enzymes called reverse transcriptases that play a unique role in the flow of genetic information. Since their discovery, researchers have used these enzymes as fundamental tools in a wide range of molecular biology applications.”
Thermo Fisher has developed applicable genetic technologies related to sequencing, amplification and chain reaction.
So in addition to lifestyle optimization, one short answer solution to cellular immortality is modifying RT to lengthen telomeres. This could include even viral RT and as mentioned in the previous post, telomerase from mutated [immortal] cancer cells.
Biologists at the University of Iowa have unraveled a second pathway by which cancer cells multiply without end. Using baker’s yeast as a model, the biologists explored Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres, a second pathway that cancer cells use to become immortal.
— Read on now.uiowa.edu/2021/03/biologists-unravel-pathway-cancer-cells-become-immortal
ME: Let’s get this straight — renegade Cancer cells become immortal, able to divide indefinitely. So, the immortal cell mutation could be guided or harnessed as an evolutionary pathway. (I think Star Trek already called this one as well.)
There seems to be a huge irony here that what people are trying to limit in “cancer” cells is exactly what other researchers are seeking to extend our lifespans and that is the lengthening of telomeres.
Fine art Conceptual photography currently available through: TurningArt, Saatchi Art, Artsy, FineArt America, Perigold, West Elm, Wayfair, Society6, and 1stDibs. Custom orders also available.
The Theatre • Light Capsule • Sacred Geometry • Inside The Shell • City Lights
“How doth,” indeed. The crocodile has a powerful digestive system that has evolved over around 235 millions years. In addition to having an extra aorta, it produces “the most acidic gastric juices in nature,” including acidic Carbon Dioxide, for rapid digestion of prey. The Great White Shark is also known for amazingly fast digestion.
How does one get this acidic carbon dioxide? It’s easy actually. When carbon dioxide and water come together, the result is Carbonic Acid, or H2CO3.
The nature and digestion-inspired idea here is to use sequestered carbon from the atmosphere to create high concentration Carbonic Acid that would break down trash in, say, a landfill. The landfill could serve a dual purpose, with the ultimate goal of removing landfills, and “aforestation.”
Unlike hydrochloric acid, also produced by the crocodile’s stomach and humans,’ Carbonic Acid can easily be converted or neutralized because of its very short shelf life. Carbonic acid decomposes easily at room temperature again into Carbon Dioxide and Water, a circular process:
NRF2 stands for Nuclear factor-erythroid factor 2-related factor 2 —say that 10 times fast — and is a “DNA transcription factor” protein that regulates and enhances how genes are expressed by binding to it.
It’s a complex other world inside the human body, yet perhaps we can understand better by comparing with the outer world and across subjects.
Many sources refer to NRF2 as “master regulator” or “mediator” of immune response, including inflammation and autophagy, and induces production of protective antioxidants.
The descriptions sound like a maintenance tech, promoter or consultant. And somewhat musically, it contains a structural ‘motif’ called “Leucine zipper.”
Leucine is an essential amino acid used for building proteins. Proteins are compounds fundamentally composed of carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen. The strands of amino acids arrange like a great tapestry.
Here’s a great biology channel I came across, which provides a clear explanation of Leucine Zipper:
Shomu’s Biology
Back to NFR2: Identified by its sequence, NRF2 resides in the Cytosol of a cell and when activated or signaled as a result of oxidative stress, follows a pathway to assist the DNA. Overall signal strength is associated with robust health, while the opposite is associated with “age-related disorders” as mentioned in the article below.
Lastly, I have to bring up electromagnetism again as I research and attempt to understand these details. The interaction of DNA transcription protein with the DNA reminds me of the interaction of the electric and magnetic fields, which are indeed shaping forces that create matter — Two forces come together at an axis, or point, and that creates dimension. (I think that’s part of what the black cube at Mecca celebrates.) The graphic above clearly resembles a helix and if you visit the link you can see it in motion.
Even the proteins themselves look wave-shaped, of different amplitudes, if you will, depending on complexity of structure. This why I’ve been supposing that sound and light will be especially effective in the burgeoning fields of regenerative and noninvasive medicines.
“Some words cannot be said. Some stories won’t be read or reach the end. Some lines cannot be crossed.” — Serendipitously, the music I’m listening to as I type = “Twisted Act” by Chris Element 😉 part of Paul Van Dyk’s VONYC Sessions broadcast
I don’t know, we’ll see. I think computing and AI will continue to be extremely useful in sorting out all these complexities. It certainly is a different world in there — the micro world, and certainly the quantum energetic world — yet, similar as layers of the same larger shared existence.
1. Vomund S, Schäfer A, Parnham MJ, Brüne B, von Knethen A. Nrf2, the Master Regulator of Anti-Oxidative Responses. Int J Mol Sci. 2017 Dec 20;18(12):2772. doi: 10.3390/ijms18122772. PMID: 29261130; PMCID: PMC5751370. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29261130/
NAD is a coenzyme found in all cells. And coenzymes function as catalysts to mediate metabolic reactions.
For some great detail on the function of NAD+ within the body’s energy pathways, visit the linked caption above.
Generally speaking, NAD shuttles electrons or energy “as a way to carry stored energy to produce ATP.”
So, this is another molecule related to optimal mitochondrial health and function.
Life Extension NAD+
Regarding Supplementation, any beneficial substance like this is going to work better in conjunction with regular physical activity or exercise, and a nutrient dense diet.
My personal experience [as a masters weightlifter turning 40 next year] with the NAD+ supplement is that it puts more pep in my step on a deeper feeling level. I cut open the capsule, since I find cellulose annoying to digest, and put it in a shake or coffee. For me, I feel the effect pretty much immediately, like I could go jogging. Pleasant, not at all intense.
This is not something I take every day, just occasionally around my weightlifting and recovery. Since naturally produced by the body, NAD+ has been NSF sport certified. However it has not been approved in supplement form yet by the FDA, to my knowledge.
Again, it’s also important to bolster the food nutrients, exercise and sleep.
A Controlled Trial to Determine the Efficacy of Red and Near-Infrared Light Treatment in Patient Satisfaction, Reduction of Fine Lines, Wrinkles, Skin Roughness, and Intradermal Collagen Density Increase
— Read on www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3926176/
In short, non-invasive light therapy works – check out the article for further detail. I think the concept holds tremendous promise as part of the future now of regenerative and preventative medicine. One of the benefits of Red LED – healing scar tissue! Stay tuned for an account of my own experience – I had my first appointment today. My first impression: Energizing. Please note that one doesn’t necessarily have to book an appointment somewhere. Red LED Light panels with therapeutic wavelength range are readily available for purchase, and a lot of them are quite reasonable.
I’ve been on a trehalose complex kick for a little while now, long enough to experience that it helps with exercise recovery. Trehalose aka mycose, is a type of energetic and protective sugar produced by the organisms listed at the above instagram link. I also wrote about it a while back in “Examining Biological Immortality In Nature.”
The Trehalose Complex also contains D-ribose and modified citrus pectin, which respectively are key to mitochondrial function and contribute to blood detoxification. There’s also the fact that ribose is the structural backbone of RNA. That’s one of countless fascinating details of biochemistry, that part of our RNA and also DNA is a type of sugar. 
I read part of a research article regarding D-ribose and mitochondria and it humorously compared the ribose to cellular currency! I imagine them trading and bartering in there like, “Hey, you got any D-Ribose on you? I’ve gotta be at the job site all day and forgot to pack a lunch.” There’s a lot of comedic potential there.
Well, if indeed “as above, so below” is the Philosopher’s Stone, the different types of cells are somewhat akin to workers at factories or citizens of cities of the world inside.
Transformation from archetypical self to infinite self is both philosophical and physiological. The infinite self is multifaceted and maleable. To be experienced, one must allow it.
An archetype is a model or example that can be copied or emulated. In mythology and literature, a common archetype is the Hero, and a classic Hero’s Journey is that of Odysseus in Homer’s Odyssey.
Another well known example of the journeying Hero is Siddhartha Gautama. In a way, all people personify this archetype in the journey of life, and this is one reason why epic stories are so popular.
In 1959, psychoanalyst Carl Jung published “The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious,” in which he described 12 character variations. These were based on historical accounts, the work of previous philosophers, and mythological literature.
Archetypes, and also stereotypes, have been somewhat embedded into cultures, for better or worse. And though Shakespeare wrote, “All the world’s a stage…,” the archetypes perhaps fit dramatic entertainment best. In the interest of evolution, there must be some kind of change or improvement — and not just copies copying copies.
In reality, a person is an infinite self who can inhabit multiple roles at once. A person doesn’t necessarily fit a singular mold or model. Biologically, a human being is the evolutionary genetic aggregate and distillation of all that came before, and so contains a multitude.
There are plenty of examples though, of those who conform especially to one role or archetype, and to associated hierarchies. Very clear examples of this are soldiers in the military, or members of royal families.
The individual or “ego” mind may choose to play within certain cultural constructs; the Universal Mind is all-encompassing and has no limits.
Anaxagoras of Greece or “Hellas” is documented as having discussed Universal or Cosmic Mind, “nous,” in 5th century BCE.² He was influenced by ancient Egyptian (Kemetic) cosmogony, in which “Nu” was the primordial waters, or chaos.
Some concurrent metaphysics and cosmogonies came from the Vedic and the Indus River Valley civilizations (modern India), ancient China “Qin,” Maya, and Persian, as well as innumerable undocumented goings-on around the globe. Trade of course facilitated exchange of ideas.
Hindu, Egyptian and Greek cosmologies adopted the use of deities as characterizations to represent aspects of nature. Egyptian or Kemetic hieroglyphs represented cosmic concepts. The aforementioned “Nu” was the original substance from which was birthed the universe.
Cosmologies ancient and modern have much in common, because of the common experience of existence itself! What’s different are the languages. The breadth of understanding and level of detail have always been increasing.
The living Cosmic Mind or consciousness could be equated in essence to the Unified Field in physics, and to concepts of God. And in the author’s opinion, “dark matter” sounds something like “Nu.”
On the humanly visible level of reality, mechanics and physics apply; on the infinitesimal and cosmic levels, metaphysics and quantum physics apply. We really participate in and partake of both.
Consider the cosmic force known as electromagnetism, which encapsulates electric currents, magnetic fields and the general interaction of particles. At all times this force and these particles surround us, and flow through us.
The human body is a conductor of electricity. A conductor absorbs and allows for flow of energy in one or more directions. And one function of our cells membranes is to allow positively charged ions across the barrier in order to generate electricity crucial to our function.³
Signal flow is pervasive within and without. When people talk about being in “flow” or “flowstate,” there is indeed an electromechanical side to this feeling.
The study of electricity and magnetism, or electromagnetism, branches from Physics. Also connected is the study and creation of electronics. Bioelectromagnetics then, is the study of interactions between organisms and electromagnetic fields.
MeridiansChakrasHealth systems detailing bio-electric / electromagnetic energy
Two ancient health systems address bioelectromagnetic energy flow: Traditional Chinese medicine with Meridians and the Hindu or Vedic Chakra system. Respectively, life force is referred to as “Qi” and “Prana.”
There are 108 acupressure point along 12 main meridians, or channels, and there are 7 major chakra centers along the spine, although more chakric points can be considered in the extremities.⁴ Both energetic systems are associated with the nervous, endocrine and circulatory systems.
Physical and metaphysical, seen and unseen, electromagnetic processes keep us running, plus an infinitude of other processes. When Walt Whitman wrote “I sing the body electric,” he was deeply precise.
And artistically, building circuits is the externalization of internal and natural mechanics. So by extension AI, a hot button topic of late, helps us further deep-learn ourselves!
When we sleep, we recharge our multilevel batteries — the muscles, for example, store energy.⁵ When we meditate, we can consciously effect neural circuitry and brainwaves, which is a form of electromagnetic energy. And there’s an ever increasing body of studies to support the benefits of different types of meditation, an ancient practice renewed.⁶
Using directed chakra syllable mantras is one of the author’s favorite ways to meditate. This involves focusing on and passing electromagnetic energy pulsations from one area of the body to the next until a bioelectric flow sensation is experienced, in particular from the base of the spinal cord to the crown of the head. This charging from the (electrostatic) field can be energizing as well as relaxing.
The easiest way to experience one’s bioelectric field: “…rub your palms together strongly for a minute, concentrating on the energy which you are consciously stimulating in your hands. Then separate them a little bit, palms facing, and move them a little closer and farther from each other. You might feel that same attractive force. It is prana, and a wonderful thing to explore.”⁷
AUTUMN PASSAGE • “The whorl of leaves photos are tiled to resemble an hourglass shape with an orbital dimension, the hourglass being a structure used for telling stories and of course time.” • Forest Rapture Collection •
WINTER REEDS • “Mirror photos of the underbrush in Mystic River Reservation that looks fascinating whichever way you turn it.” • Nature Noir Collection •
PEACH NOISE • “This is an abstraction of ‘peach noise’ a flavor of white noise has a bit of rococo scrolling flare to it. It’s made of a closeup shot of a construction site.” • Abstraction Collection •
It’s important to remember in embarking on an exploration of herbal or botanical medicine is that at first, it was the only medicine. And modern medicine is not all that far removed. At times remedies direct from earth are referred to as “alternative,” yet both choices being interrelated, both branches have value.
The vast majority of plants are edible, medicinal or both, from seaweeds to the common dandelion. Plants provide dense vitamin and mineral content, protein, antioxidants and many useful compounds. In fact, it can be said if people allowed themselves to eat all edible plants, nobody would starve. That said though, our modern palettes have become very particular.
Early humans learned amongst and as an offshoot of fellow creatures, which plants to eat and which to avoid. Cataloging and different traditions then grew from there. Archeological excavations have revealed that as far back as 60,000 years ago in Sumeria or modern Iraq, primitive humans were using medicinal and even psychoactive plants.¹ And one of the earliest records of medicine came from that same area roughly 5,000 years ago in the form of 1,000 cuneiform tablets, which are purportedly astute by modern day standards.²
Among other ancient and well-documented traditions are Chinese medicine, including the influential text “Huangdi Neijing” connected with Taoist philosophy,³ and Indian Ayurveda, of which the first known text was “Charaka Samhita,” connected with Hindu philosophy.⁴ Both are holistic or whole body systems that inseparably connect bodily well-being to mind, spirit and Earth. Ayurveda, part of extensive teachings, connects its origin to the providence of Brahma(n), or Universe, God. The teachings flow as consciousness through every organism, and develop with each one.
It should also be recognized that both Chinese medicine and Ayurveda are alive and well, and popular in the United States. The pendulum of Western medicine has swung from Hippocratic integrative medicine towards overly compartmentalized and impersonal. Today, there is a need for balance.
There are also numerous tribal and shamanic traditions, both documented and undocumented, that contribute to the compendium of global knowledge of the Earth’s remedies. Two examples among many are Native American and Amazonian. From Native American medicine came “salicin,” for example, derived from willow bark and the main ingredient in Aspirin.⁶
The Matsés of Brazil and Peru live right next to the forest for easy access to its therapies.⁷ In both these cases and others, environmental conservation is vital. And what serves humanity in the bigger picture is the not only the preservation of these traditions, but also respecting them more — in the form of study, responsible cultivation and supporting sustainable agriculture.
The reality is that many medicines are plant derived on some level, with either direct or synthesized ingredients, and food as medicine — like turmeric. What was “natural” or “supernatural” once caused a schism long ago. People even became alarmed at geometric forms. Nowadays we can know better. What the Earth provides is as natural and truly conventional as it gets.
2. Historical Perspective of Traditional Indigenous Medical Practices: The Current Renaissance and Conservation of Herbal Resources | Si-Yuan Pan, Gerhard Litscher, […], and Kam-Ming Ko | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4020364/
One can examine an athlete’s technical specifications such as path of travel or velocity, and those are important for analysis, yet when considering what makes the champion athletes, their qualities often defy convention.
Highly decorated Olympic track star and 36 year old mother Allyson Felix is a perfect example. Lü Xiaojun, 37, just claimed weightlifting gold in Tokyo. And at 43, Tom Brady is still winning.
The champions who come to mind for me have one important X-factor — They don’t quit; they keep going.
And by extension, they keep growing and evolving.
They have histories, they have stories and so come to shape sport as well as capture public imagination.
A champion many have experienced many losses among the wins, yet they come to be seen as such because they stay in the game.
My three examples, among many, also have a nobility of character and provide largely positive examples. They engage with their audience in both gracious and animated ways.
Athletes of any age can do this, yet the most celebrated ones mature or grow up with their sport or discipline.
Champions don’t know how to give up, and that goes beyond winning. They often surmount incredible obstacles off the field in the game of life. Felix is once again a shining example.
The champion mindset can be cultivated with strong positive influences, such as wise mentors and different forms of cognitive behavioral therapy or strategy. It’s difficult to mentor oneself, yet it is possible with the aid of literature and meditation.
One learns to act on what one loves, regardless of applause. Although approval is enjoyable, that ability may lead to a richer life experience overall.
Chaka Khan said she didn’t do it for the Grammys. She kept making music because it’s in her blood. She couldn’t not do it!
In music — after all, athletics and music have a tight relationship — the most beloved artists have usually had a dud album or two along the way, but they keep producing because that’s their art.
AC/DC didn’t care about critical acclaim. They kept doing their thing unabashedly and have won over a global fanbase.
Champions may, at first, be even unremarkable in development or be so different they go unrecognized, but as their momentum gathers eventually the world catches up to them!
Becoming a champion doesn’t have to mean genetic profile or fame. It does mean becoming tenacious and living the joy of that alchemization.
My recent competition experience at National Masters in Reno reminded me of just how challenging Competition or Performance in general can be. In addition to potential obstacles, the experience also underscored what’s important and how one’s process can flow more smoothly.
Competing is a skill. You have to practice it in order to optimize it. Competition is unique and cannot fully be replicated unless you’re in it.
Reno inspired this list of suggestions for general competition behavior, some obvious and some more strategic:
• Give yourself enough preparation time beforehand to lock in your goal totals
• Have a coach, or someone who’s supporting, especially to mind the competition board and Marshal’s table, and at best make sure they have a productive influence on you
• Have your weight class realistic and locked in so that it’s not a point of distraction
• If you’re traveling, plan ahead and be mindful of any changes in environment such as time zone, elevation, culture and food availability
• Be well slept and well fed
• Keep activities beforehand somewhat normal like a usual (difficult) training day
• Have a simple master list of tasks, including exact warm-up necessary for starting weight amounts in the time allotted, just like following a workout — prepare this beforehand so there’s no guesswork
• Slow down the pace by minimizing reactivity & enjoy the experience
• Move steadily and rest between lifts
• Realize there will likely be quick changes in the order of lifters — that’s one thing the coach is there to keep track of — so during the overall training cycle, practice decisive reps
• Have faith in your abilities, be proud of yourself and keep going!
Masters Nationals 2021 was a huge 3-day competition, and another great takeaway from it is that there’s a lot of strong masters lifters who continue to progress. Anyone can get on board and be a freak of nature, but you have to love it and be dedicated, able to put things in perspective to keep at it, and take great care of your overall health.
Lastly — though I wasn’t into the gambling scene, the Silver Legacy Spa in Reno is fantastic. After the competition I enjoyed a hot tub soak with a beautiful view of the Sierra Nevada!
Within this grand cosmic environment, we participate in a spiraling ladder of evolution not unlike the DNA helix. And when world shaking events occur, or big ideas come along, they effect our developmental tree of decisions, the choices we make as a species and as individuals. Then, we must grow and adapt within this magnificent web of intercausality.
One big set of ideas calling for more growth comes from an emergent ideology called Quantum Biology, an offshoot of Quantum Physics. Keep in mind though that these are formal academic words for much larger, even philosophical concepts that expand our consciousness and awareness. Now it can be said that not everybody out there is on the same page of self-awareness. There are levels. But everyone has the opportunity should they choose to keep learning and exposing themselves to new ideas. Though, it’s also said that under this vast umbrella called the universe, there’s nothing entirely new, that everything can be traced back to the same building blocks.
Quantum Physics is the study of these building blocks, the unseen forces, and with Quantum Biology their interaction and entanglement with our cellular systems. Some define these quanta as packets of light energy, or photons, infinitesimal yet cosmically important movers and balancers of everyday operations, and the elementals of all matter. ¹ And having such importance, they have their own set of special behaviors, such as being able to teleport or translocate like you’d see in a science fiction movie. That science fiction is based in reality though. Have you ever noticed how the visions and fantasies that capture our imaginations the most come into being? There are lots of examples, and perhaps we have the quanta to thank as helpers.
Whatever your feelings or beliefs about the immaterial, it’s clear there is a grand design in play, from the neurons in your brain to the branches of a tree — a work of art. There are many names for the subatomic energies that help move these pieces and comprise the fabric of existence, such as the quark, proton, electron and neutrino. These particles have been observed as having dual wave and particle function, among possibly other different behaviors. Have a look at the sand dunes in the photo. The sand is excellent example of a dual function, that’s within our visual spectrum. That’s because the sand can exist as both grains, or particles, and also as a larger wave, the dune crest of which you can clearly see. There are even different types of sand grains, depending on what mineral it’s made of.
This is a suitable analogy for the many “flavors” of quantum particles that have been discovered. As the ancient Emerald Tablet stated in a phrase that has again become popular today: “As above, so below.” The forms that we see on different levels of existence have counterparts or similar structures in other levels or dimensions. The grains of sand form the larger structure of the dune, and then dune interacts with the environment as a wave, and so on. Then behind the scenes, on the fundamental level, you have those cheeky little subatomic particles.
This is a but long way of introducing the vast network or web of existence, which we see part of, and yet don’t see all of. You could say this is a quantum physics concept, or the holographic or fractal universe. However, something very similar can be traced back 3,000 years to the Mahayana school of Buddhism.² The Atharva Veda states:
“If untold buddha-lands are reduced to atoms, in one atom are untold lands, and as in one, so in each. The atoms to which these buddha-lands are reduced in an instant are unspeakable, And so are the atoms of continuous reduction moment to moment going on for untold eons; these atoms contain lands unspeakably many, and the atoms in these lands are even harder to tell of.”³
Much later on in the 70s, author Francis Cook eloquently described Indra’s Net as follows:
“Far away in the heavenly abode of the great god Indra, there is a wonderful net which has been hung by some cunning artificer in such a manner that it stretches out infinitely in all directions. In accordance with the extravagant tastes of deities, the artificer has hung a single glittering jewel in each ‘eye’ of the net, and since the net itself is infinite in dimension, the jewels are infinite in number. There hang the jewels, glittering “like” stars in the first magnitude, a wonderful sight to behold. If we now arbitrarily select one of these jewels for inspection and look closely at it, we will discover that in its polished surface there are reflected all the other jewels in the net, infinite in number. Not only that, but each of the jewels reflected in this one jewel is also reflecting all the other jewels, so that there is an infinite reflecting process occurring.”
Many perspectives, worlds within worlds
Now that we’ve reflected on the crystal web of Indra’s Net — pun intended — that compliments the holographic and fractal universe conversations, let’s explore through that gateway some of the fascinating concepts in Quantum Biology and the quantum behaviors that affect and assist physiological processes. And in learning about another level of existence, we inevitably learn more about ourselves and our potential. We can appreciate the world around and within us that much more.
The first concept is Entanglement. And the simplest definition of that is one thing affecting another thing, and thus coming into relationship. When it comes to human relationships, one person can be affected by another, even at a distance, by thinking about the person and associated events, or be influenced by that relationship. It seems to work the same way with particles: One can be affected by another and exchange information at a distance. With particles, that happens instantaneously. They can even overcome seemingly impossible barriers by “quantum tunneling.”
Several recent proofs include one experiment from MIT involving light from ancient quasars “that two particles, no matter how distant from each other in space and time, can be inextricably linked.”⁵ The concept of a large interconnected structure made of the same material holds here. Not only that, descriptions of particle “spooky action” ⁶ are not unlike what happens with thought and the human brain, and Google quantum computing emulates this, because when thought occurs, there may be cause and effect, but it’s not a mechanical series — It’s cloud of entanglement that happens instantaneously. Technology using quantum processes is on the forefront of innovation right now, especially with communications and data transmission, as well as biotech.⁷
Quantum behavior is familiar to us in that the atomic and subatomic are part of us. Perhaps this universal landscape functions like a giant organism. Brilliant mind and father of wireless technology Nikola Tesla made practical use of that belief in pervasive intelligence. Indeed, there’s overwhelming visible evidence that the universe has intelligent design, and even consciousness. It’s surprising though a lot of scientifics don’t accept that possibility. Perhaps it’s controversial because both science and spirituality would be true, and by extension so would ethics in conduct. All in all — it doesn’t make much sense how we could originate from something unconscious.
Further delving into entanglement is “the observer effect,” an offshoot of relativity. Simply, this refers to how a subject of observation is affected by being observed. The most basic example is observing something and then changing it, like an item that needs repair. Examples in quantum physics experiments are by contrast somewhat bizarre, having particles change behaviors depending on what researchers are measuring, or even expect. The observer effect comes from the eye of the beholder, something we experience every day actually, the perspective of the seer. If someone’s watching us do something or vice versa for a specific purpose, that affects the experience and the outcome.
This again lines up with the concept of Indra’s net, and intercausality. Within the structure, there’s also freedom of choice — choice of what to focus on, how to feel, and what to believe based on the sensory data. A reality of interconnectedness could be looked at as either elegantly simple or extravagantly complex, and everything in between. Within this model, each person possesses a eye of perspective for their personal experience or parallel/pocket universe, yet the greater universe is the aggregate of organisms within a larger whole — not unlike the human body.
Entanglement, the observer effect and relativistic time — all of these concepts have philosophical roots in Hinduism, a spiritual tradition that allows for a noble multiplicity of reality. In fact, pioneer quantum physicist Erwin Schrödinger was a devotee of the Upanishads, which he considered to be beautiful guiding texts.⁸ He and Einstein before him in a way rebranded and elaborated on the already existing philosophies. And there’s a saying that if you look hard enough for something you’ll find it! Prolonged and consistent focused attention is a powerful energy. They definitely had it, and that leads to results.
The tree of philosophy or human thought branches out into roads of discovery. The Hindu Upanishads have inspired many and continue to. And that brings us to the next concept of Resonance. On our level of familiarity, the transmission of philosophy or ideas is a great example. If an idea “resonates” with us, we become interested, then perhaps actively engaged with it. It’s a fascinating metaphysical process that in part happens on the quantum or atomic level. Quantum resonance involves energy transfer, between atoms or molecules. Energy or information exchange happens on all levels of life.
When it comes to human biology, quantum processes have been linked to enzyme catalysis, sense of smell, DNA structuring and restructuring, and thought — just to name a few. With plants, photosynthesis. And then with animals, navigation.⁹ From slowing down time at the DNA/molecular level to treat Alzheimer’s and autism,¹⁰ to prolonging life, to even upscaling quantum tunneling and translocation for teleportation, the potential is immense for new levels of understanding, and thus revolutionary new treatments and technologies.
7. “Resonance Energy Transfer: From Fundamental Theory to Recent Applications” Garth A. Jones and David S. Bradshaw, School of Chemistry, University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom, Frontiers In Physics, 12 July 2019, https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphy.2019.00100/full
10. “On the impact of quantum biology and relativistic time dilation in autism,” Marco Ruggiero, Stefania Pacini, AIMS Molecular Science, 2018, Volume 5, Issue 1, https://www.aimspress.com/article/id/1907
Dive in — Water is considered a type of liquid crystal!
Let’s explore an everyday technology that is truly amazing, if not a bit mind bending. And that is LCD, or liquid crystal display, commonly used in phones, computers and televisions.
The life of an LCD screen sometimes begins in the earth, as many industrial products do. Quartz, of which Silicon is a part, is one of the most abundant minerals on earth, and it comes in many varieties. The structure of quartz is a framework of silicon-oxygen tetrahedra or pryamids.¹
Front facing views of these type of diagrams looks like the ancient alchemy & transmutation triangles and circles
These days quartz doesn’t have to be mined, and it’s probably better if it isn’t. The most common method of industrial production is called “hydrothermal synthesis,” in which crystallization is produced using a water solution plus high temperature and pressure.²
“Royal Quartz” by Studio Shangri-La
Liquid crystal is made by melting crystal. The resultant liquid flows but maintains its crystalline molecular orientation. They line up in formation. This degree of predictability lends to their use in even the screen of this iPad that I’m typing on.
Variable Electric current is applied to the liquid crystal in order to create/turn on and off light and dark shapes on the screen. The segments can be the pixels of an image.³ And then the light source behind the liquid crystal is LED, or light emitting diodes.
While there is currently a shift to LEDs only in screens, which is simpler, the iPad I’m typing on has the backlit design using both.⁴ As you can see in the photo, the entire screen is a complex sandwich of materials interacting with each other, and that creates beautiful results.
Crystals and crystalline formations or lattices are extremely useful for data transmission, storage and conversion of energy. The most recent incredible application is the Google quantum computing time crystal. You can read more about it at the Quanta magazine link below.
