2) Bentov article on K

[Guest guest]

(Continued from Part 1)

 

Sensory signals usually come to the cortex through the thalamus

and go back the same way (see Figures 11 and 12). It is interesting to note

that those parts of the body which are represented on the surface of the

cortex facing the cranium are felt more strongly by a person experiencing

the kundalini stimulus. Those chakras, or energy centers, are most actively

felt, while portions of the cortex which are cushioned and are located

inside the folds of the brain are less noticeable to the individual. This

may well occur because the arch between the tops of the two hemispheres and

the temporal areas are exposed to a double stimulus--one coming up from the

ventricles and one coming down from the cranial vault, accelerating the

brain downward. The larynx is the last point on the cortex facing the

skull, and it is also the last chakra to be activated and strongly felt.

Presumably, the stimulus continues inside the fold of the temporal lobe and

closes the circuit, as shown in Figure 13.

 

FIGURE 13: Frontal cross section of the brain.

 

This is shown by EEG measurements, indicating that during

meditation there are currents of opposing polarity, relative to the

midline, flowing along the sensory cortex of both hemispheres. These occur

in both the alpha and theta range of brain wave frequencies.

As the stimulus travels through, it crosses an area that contains a

pleasure center. When the pleasure center is thus stimulated, the meditator

experiences a state of ecstasy. To reach that state it may take years of

systematic meditation, or again, in certain people it may happen

spontaneously.

As long as the four oscillators--the aorta, the heart sounds, the

standing waves in the ventricles, and the circulating sensory stimulus or

kundalini current--are in phase and resonating, all parts of the body move

in harmony. The fifth oscillating circuit is activated when the sensory

cortex tissue has been finally polarized to the point where there is a

circulation of electrical current in the hemispheres and a magnetic field

develops inside the core of each current ring, as shown in Figures 14 and

15 (see Cohen 1972).

This magnetic field pulsates in harmony with the other oscillators.

The observed "normal" rate of the circulation of the sensory current is

about 7 cycles/sec.

 

FIGURE 14: Lateral and top views of the head, showing magnetic field lines.

 

Pulsating magnetic fields of the order of 10-9 gauss are produced

by the currents circulating in the brain. These currents may be detected by

an electroencephalograph electrode on the skin surface of the head.

However, they are quite variable (see Cohen 1972). The sensory cortex

currents will produce fields of symmetrical shape but with polarities

associated with the two brain hemispheres opposing each other, as shown in

Figures 14 and 15.

Thus by meditating in a quiet sitting position, we slowly activate

five tuned oscillators. One by one these oscillators are locked into

rhythm. This results eventually in the development of a pulsating magnetic

field around the head. When this occurs, one may simultaneously observe

other characteristic and automatic changes in the functioning of the

nervous and circulatory systems. It is the purpose of meditation to bring

about these changes in order to increase the ability of the nervous system

to handle stress and overcome it more easily. The noise level in the

nervous system is thus reduced, and the system becomes more efficient and

permits a fuller development of the person's latent physical and mental

capacities.

Any of the five tuned oscillators can be triggered individually

after a short period of stimulation. Any one of them will get the sensory

cortex current circulating and will soon lock the heart and the body's

motion into an artificial state of meditation. This is a dangerous

practice, which may be traumatic to an inexperienced meditator.

 

 

Magnetic Feedback

 

Fifteen subjects sitting upright were subjected to hemispheric

stimulation by an externally applied varying unipolar magnetic field of

0.5-gauss maximum intensity measured at the skin surface. The field was

produced by a C-shaped electromagnet, with 30-cm pole gap spacing,

activated by a voltage-offset sine wave power source, with a frequency of

3.75 Hz, and a stimulus duration of 2 minutes for each subiect. The

apparatus formed a closed magnetic circuit with lines of force going

through the brain. The polarity of the applied field could be reversed. The

responses of the subjects in a blind experiment were collected in tabular

form (see Table 1).

 

TABLE 1: Summary of responses of 15 subjects to unipolar 3.75-Hz, 0.5-gauss

maximum intensity, 2-minute duration magnetic field stimulation

applied to one hemisphere of the brain.

 

More than 50 percent of the subjects tested described sensations of

pain or pressure in the head, also a sensation of being pushed and pulled

by the applied magnetic field. These results suggest an interaction of the

field around the head with the externally applied field.

 

 

Discussion

 

The symptom-sign of this "sensory-motor cortex syndrome," or what

has been characterized as the kundalini process in ancient literature, can

be quite variable and sporadic. Its complete presentation usually begins as

a transient paresthesia of the toes or ankle with numbness and tingling.

Occasionally, there is diminished sensitivity to touch or pain, or even

partial paralysis of the foot or leg. The process most frequently begins on

the left side and ascends in a sequential manner from foot to leg to hip,

to involve completely the left side of the body, including the face. Once

the hip is

involved, it is not uncommon to experience an intermittent throbbing or

rhythmic rumblinglike sensation in the lower lumbar and sacral spine. This

is followed by an ascending sensation that rises along the spine to the

cervical and occipital regions of the head.

At these latter areas, severe pressure-caused occipital headaches

and cervical neck aches may be experienced at times. These pressures,

usually transient but occasionally persistent, may also be felt anywhere

along the spine, right or left side of the chest, or different parts of the

head and the eyes. Some individuals will notice tingling sensations

descending along the face to the laryngeal areas. The tracheolaryngeal

region may also be felt as a sudden rushing of air to and fro. Respiration

may become spasmodic with involuntarily occurring maximum expirations.

Various auditory tones have been noted, from constant low-pitched hums to

high-pitched ringing. Visual aberrations and a temporary decrease or loss

of vision has been observed. The sequence of symptoms continues later, down

into the lower abdominal region.

Because a particular symptom or sign of the altered sensory and

motor systems may occur or persist for months or years, the sequence of

symptoms may not be obvious, nor appear causally connected. Also, only in a

few of the known cases will all of the symptoms in this sequence become

vividly apparent to each person. Normally, physical and laboratory

examination reveals either little or no pathology and therefore, except in

rare cases, many of the complaints are probably dismissed as psychosomatic

or neurotic symptoms.

Meditation has been considered, here and elsewhere, as a stress

removal process (see Selye 1956; Benson 1975). The symptoms noted above are

indications that release of stress is taking place. Stress, as defined by

Hans Selye (1956), is a "state manifested by a specific syndrome which

consists of all the nonspecifically induced changes within a biological

system." The intensity of the symptoms is an index of the severity of the

stress being released. On the whole, these symptoms should be looked upon

as a positive sign of normalization of the body. The unusual aspect of this

mechanism is that the release of stress is experienced as a localized

stimulation of a particular part of the body, as opposed to the accepted

notion that stress is a diffuse general state.

A large percentage of individuals who meditate and who have

previously used psychedelic drugs for extended periods of time, or are

experiencing unusual stress, are more likely to show these symptoms. These

will eventually subside by themselves, without the need for any medical

intervention.

It is the spontaneously triggered cases that present a problem,

since the individual does not know the cause of these symptoms, and tends

to panic. The psychological problems may mimic schizophrenia and be

diagnosed as such by the physician. As a consequence, drastic procedures

may be used to alleviate the problem.

An awareness of the existence of the above-noted symptoms and

the mechanism triggering them is important, especially in view of the

constantly increasing number of persons practicing meditation, who are

therefore likely to experience these effects of stress release.

 

 

Possible Rhythm Entrainment Effects

 

Our experiments show that when a person in deep meditation is

suddenly called to come out and stop meditating, the normal response is

reluctance to abandon that state and a lapsing back into deep meditation

repeatedly. This seems to suggest that a "locking in" situation is present.

It is well known that the larger the number of frequency-locked oscillators

in a system, the more stable the system and the more difficult it is to

disturb.

When a situation exists where there are two oscillators vibrating

at frequencies close to each other, the oscillator operating at a higher

frequency will usually lock into step the slower oscillator.

This is rhythm entrainment. When, in the state of deep meditation, a

person goes into sine wave oscillation at approximately 7 cycles/sec, there

is a tendency for him or her to be locked into the frequency of the planet

(see Figure 16).

 

FIGURE 16: The earth's atmosphere is shown as a resonant cavity.

 

We have talked about resonant cavities and how a stimulus can set

such a cavity vibrating at its own resonant frequency. Our planet has a

conductive layer around it called the ionosphere, which starts about 80 km

from the earth's surface. The cavity between the earth and the ionosphere

(the atmosphere) is also a resonant cavity. Certain types of

electromagnetic radiation travel through this cavity, being reflected

alternately between the earth's surface and the ionosphere, and vibrate at

characteristic resonant frequencies.

In 1957 W. O. Schumann calculated the earth-ionosphere cavity

resonance frequencies at 10,6, 18.3, and 25.9 Hz. More recent work byJ.

Toomey and C. Polk (1970) gave the values 7.8, 14.1, 26.4, and 32.5 Hz. The

lowest frequency, 7.8 Hz, is approximately equal to the velocity of

electromagnetic radiation divided by the earth's circumference:

 

2.998 x 108 m/sec

4.003 X 107 m = 7.489 or 7.5 Hz

 

This is the reciprocal of the time required for a beam of electromagnetic

radiation to go around the earth.

Our planet is very much affected by the sun and quite closely

coupled to its plasma fields. These two bodies and their interacting fields

form our immediate environment. The sun produces energy in a wide spectrum,

from powerful X-rays to acoustical signals (see Ewing 1967; Thomsen 1968).

The solar wind shapes the magnetosphere and the plasmaspheres of our

planet. All these layers contain charged particles produced by the sun. In

the Van Allen belt, these particles oscillate back and forth along the

magnetic lines of the earth between the north and the south poles. Much of

this vibration occurs in the frequency range of 1 to 40 Hz, well within

physio-logical frequencies (see Konig 1971).

There is a strong coupling between these oscillations and the

changes in the magnetic field of the earth. These microfluctuations of the

magnetic field are on the order of 10-5 gauss, about 10,000 times stronger

than the fields around our heads. We live within this constantly active

natural electromagnetic environment, with the added perturbations of

broadcasting television and radio stations (see Becker 1972).

Given these conditions, it would be reasonable to assume that the

fluctuations in these planetary environmental fields have affected human

evolution in subtle ways over the ages--in ways that are not quite clear to

us yet.

Our knowledge of physiology considers the present state of the

human nervous system as being at the peak of its development. However, the

present discussion suggests a mechanism that may cause changes in the

cerebrospinal system. When a fetus develops in the womb, it undergoes

changes that mirror human evolution from a fish through the amphibian to

the mammal. But our findings suggest that this evolution very probably has

not come to a halt with the way our nervous system is functioning at

present. The hidden potential of our nervous system may be vast.

The mechanism outlined above describes a possible next step in the

evolution of the nervous system, which can be accelerated by the use of

certain techniques. We can speculate that this development will have the

effect of an increased awareness of the self as a part of a much larger

system. We can postulate that our magnetic "antennae" will bring in

information about our extended system--the earth and the sun--and will

allow us to interpret geophysical phenomena and signals to better

advantage.

In this connection the work of Walcott and Green (1974) is of

particular interest, since it shows that one of the orientation mechanisms

of the homing pigeon depends on the magnetic fields of the earth.

Indications are that the pigeon's built-in magnetic field is interacting

with the earth's magnetic field. The pigeon's field would be analogous to

the magnetic field around our head, when intensified by the sensory cortex

"current."

 

 

Acknowledgments

 

The author thanks Earl Ettienne, Ph.D., of Harvard Medical School,

Richard P. Ingrasci, M.D., of Boston State Hospital, and William A. Tiller,

Ph.D., of Stanford University, for their help in reviewing this report and

for many valuable suggestions.

Special thanks are due to Paul Nardella of Easton, Massachusetts,

for his design and construction of the electronic equipment used in making

the measurements described in this report.

 

 

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