Merkabah

Roses In The Vineyard said:
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that movie was a life saver :) and there is no better name for that tree but Xibalbá.

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Impact Character said:
that movie was a life saver :) and there is no better name for that tree but Xibalbá.

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Such a great film, I was sad to learn that it was stifled a bit by budgeting. The war stuff was intended to be more large scale which would have been awesome! Ah well, still great!
 
Wyote said:
Such a great film, I was sad to learn that it was stifled a bit by budgeting. The war stuff was intended to be more large scale which would have been awesome! Ah well, still great!
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I think I'm okay with that. Had my own share of war stuff that was quite enough :P
and yes.. great film indeed! ^^
 
Hmmm....more proof of the power of perspective.
Enjoy!


Negative mood signals body's immune response

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​

Negative mood—such as sadness and anger—is associated with higher levels of inflammation and may be a signal of poor health, according to researchers at Penn State.

The investigators found that negative mood measured multiple times a day over time is associated with higher levels of inflammatory biomarkers.
This extends prior research showing that clinical depression and hostility are associated with higher inflammation.

Inflammation is part of the body's immune response to such things as infections, wounds, and damage to tissues.
Chronic inflammation can contribute to numerous diseases and conditions, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes and some cancers.

This study, the results of which were recently published in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, is what the researchers believe is the first examination of associations between both momentary and recalled measures of mood or affect with measures of inflammation, according to principal investigator Jennifer Graham-Engeland, associate professor of biobehavioral health at Penn State.

Participants were asked to recall their feelings over a period of time in addition to reporting how they were feeling in the moment, in daily life.
These self-assessments were taken over a two-week period, then each was followed by a blood draw to measure markers that indicated inflammation.

The researchers found that negative mood accumulated from the week closer to the blood draw was associated with higher levels of inflammation.

Additional analyses also suggested that the timing of mood measurement relative to the blood draw mattered, Graham-Engeland said. Specifically, there were stronger trends of association between momentary negative affect and inflammation when negative mood was assessed closer in time to blood collection.

This work is novel because researchers not only used questionnaires that asked participants to recall their feelings over a period of time, they also asked participants how they were feeling in the moment, Graham-Engeland said.

In addition, momentary positive mood from the same week was associated with lower levels of inflammation, but only among men in this study.

Participants were from a community sample generated from a housing development in the Bronx, New York, as part of the larger Effects of Stress on Cognitive Aging, Physiology, and Emotion (ESCAPE) study. Participants were socio-economically, racially and ethnically diverse.

The research was cross-sectional, Graham-Engeland said, and several analyses were exploratory and will require replication.
These results inspire ongoing research to investigate how intervention in daily life can improve mood and help individuals cope with stress.

"We hope that this research will prompt investigators to include momentary measures of stress and affect in research examining inflammation, to replicate the current findings and help characterize the mechanisms underlying associations between affect and inflammation," Graham-Engeland said.

"Because affect is modifiable, we are excited about these findings and hope that they will spur additional research to understand the connection between affect and inflammation, which in turn may promote novel psychosocial interventions that promote health broadly and help break a cycle that can lead to chronic inflammation, disability, and disease."

Explore further: Emotions like anger and sadness may cause pain as well as being a result of it

More information: Jennifer E. Graham-Engeland et al. Negative and positive affect as predictors of inflammation: Timing matters, Brain, Behavior, and Immunity (2018). DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2018.09.011

Journal reference: Brain, Behavior, and Immunity

Provided by: Pennsylvania State University
 
Skarekrow said:
Yes...that movie was a trip...very cool stuff.
Thanks @Roses In The Vineyard !
Good to see you around!
How are you?
:<3white:
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Other than a somewhat slow recovery from the worst flue I've ever had and getting laid off from work after getting sick I am ok. I like seeing the panic from all the shit faced people on wallstreet, I only skim over the news these days.
 
Roses In The Vineyard said:
Other than a somewhat slow recovery from the worst flue I've ever had and getting laid off from work after getting sick I am ok. I like seeing the panic from all the shit faced people on wallstreet, I only skim over the news these days.
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Ugh...sorry...I hate being sick.
Glad you are getting past it.

Yes...to bad your stocks are crashing you dumb leeches!

Take care of yourself!!
 
Skarekrow said:
Ugh...sorry...I hate being sick.
Glad you are getting past it.

Yes...to bad your stocks are crashing you dumb leeches!

Take care of yourself!!
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All that coke they snorted when the market was good addled their minds so the rest of us get to watch the world go into a recession/depression sometime next year. I hope that someday society evolves to where it doesn't need money, business, monolithic government, and other social ills. Probably already familiar to this one but if not I hope that you like it. :wink:

 
Skarekrow said:
Hmmm....more proof of the power of perspective.
Enjoy!


Negative mood signals body's immune response

badmood.jpg
​

Negative mood—such as sadness and anger—is associated with higher levels of inflammation and may be a signal of poor health, according to researchers at Penn State.

The investigators found that negative mood measured multiple times a day over time is associated with higher levels of inflammatory biomarkers.
This extends prior research showing that clinical depression and hostility are associated with higher inflammation.

Inflammation is part of the body's immune response to such things as infections, wounds, and damage to tissues.
Chronic inflammation can contribute to numerous diseases and conditions, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes and some cancers.

This study, the results of which were recently published in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, is what the researchers believe is the first examination of associations between both momentary and recalled measures of mood or affect with measures of inflammation, according to principal investigator Jennifer Graham-Engeland, associate professor of biobehavioral health at Penn State.

Participants were asked to recall their feelings over a period of time in addition to reporting how they were feeling in the moment, in daily life.
These self-assessments were taken over a two-week period, then each was followed by a blood draw to measure markers that indicated inflammation.

The researchers found that negative mood accumulated from the week closer to the blood draw was associated with higher levels of inflammation.

Additional analyses also suggested that the timing of mood measurement relative to the blood draw mattered, Graham-Engeland said. Specifically, there were stronger trends of association between momentary negative affect and inflammation when negative mood was assessed closer in time to blood collection.

This work is novel because researchers not only used questionnaires that asked participants to recall their feelings over a period of time, they also asked participants how they were feeling in the moment, Graham-Engeland said.

In addition, momentary positive mood from the same week was associated with lower levels of inflammation, but only among men in this study.

Participants were from a community sample generated from a housing development in the Bronx, New York, as part of the larger Effects of Stress on Cognitive Aging, Physiology, and Emotion (ESCAPE) study. Participants were socio-economically, racially and ethnically diverse.

The research was cross-sectional, Graham-Engeland said, and several analyses were exploratory and will require replication.
These results inspire ongoing research to investigate how intervention in daily life can improve mood and help individuals cope with stress.

"We hope that this research will prompt investigators to include momentary measures of stress and affect in research examining inflammation, to replicate the current findings and help characterize the mechanisms underlying associations between affect and inflammation," Graham-Engeland said.

"Because affect is modifiable, we are excited about these findings and hope that they will spur additional research to understand the connection between affect and inflammation, which in turn may promote novel psychosocial interventions that promote health broadly and help break a cycle that can lead to chronic inflammation, disability, and disease."

Explore further: Emotions like anger and sadness may cause pain as well as being a result of it

More information: Jennifer E. Graham-Engeland et al. Negative and positive affect as predictors of inflammation: Timing matters, Brain, Behavior, and Immunity (2018). DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2018.09.011

Journal reference: Brain, Behavior, and Immunity

Provided by: Pennsylvania State University
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Amazing how powerful the mind is!
 
Roses In The Vineyard said:
All that coke they snorted when the market was good addled their minds so the rest of us get to watch the world go into a recession/depression sometime next year. I hope that someday society evolves to where it doesn't need money, business, monolithic government, and other social ills. Probably already familiar to this one but if not I hope that you like it. :wink:

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I have zero pity for such money whores.
It would be nice if there were such a utopia...I really like some of the ideas from folks at places like the Venus Project - https://www.thevenusproject.com


It may seem far off...but in reality we are moving toward a crux that will send us to a higher state of being, or it will all crash and burn...probably slowly and painfully.
Fingers crossed that humans can be smart enough to survive themselves.

JennyDaniella said:
Amazing how powerful the mind is!
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It is!
I find it particularly interesting since I have an inflammatory illness and have always had some amount of depression plaguing me since I was young.
Perhaps, the depression was a symptom or expression of some inflammatory process that was already (and maybe always?) at work even when I was younger...then it triggered the HLA-B27 gene and others that were in my family history responsible for ankylosing spondylitis and it physically manifested in my early 20’s...which then became a negative loop unto itself with one reinforcing and amplifying the other.
IDK...just an idea...but it’s amazing the things they are discovering even now.
Maybe one day they will have a better grasp of the interconnectedness of these things and be able to offer a more holistic solution that actually works for people.

Hope you are well!?
Much love!
 
Skarekrow said:
It is!
I find it particularly interesting since I have an inflammatory illness and have always had some amount of depression plaguing me since I was young.
Perhaps, the depression was a symptom or expression of some inflammatory process that was already (and maybe always?) at work even when I was younger...then it triggered the HLA-B27 gene and others that were in my family history responsible for ankylosing spondylitis and it physically manifested in my early 20’s...which then became a negative loop unto itself with one reinforcing and amplifying the other.
IDK...just an idea...but it’s amazing the things they are discovering even now.
Maybe one day they will have a better grasp of the interconnectedness of these things and be able to offer a more holistic solution that actually works for people.

Hope you are well!?
Much love!
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There could be a definite connection for sure! It wouldn’t be a surprise. The mind and body go quite hand in hand and it could be depression was a form of reaction or symptom as you have mentioned. And I do too hope they find further analysis of research!

And I’m doing very very well! Been the happiest I’ve ever been! :) hope you are doing well too my dear friend! :<3blue:
 
JennyDaniella said:
And I’m doing very very well! Been the happiest I’ve ever been! :) hope you are doing well too my dear friend! :3blue:
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Wonderful to hear...I hope it continues for a long while!
I’m doing...but more so I’m being, lol.
So that’s a good thing.
;)
 
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Darkroom retreats:

Darkroom retreats have been used by a variety of spiritual traditions throughout the centuries as a higher-level practice.
The aspirant enters a room specially prepared to admit absolutely no light and spends a number of days under this sensory deprivation in order to bring about a profound shift of consciousness.

Research has shown that in prolonged darkness a biochemical reaction in the brain is causing extraordinary molecules like DMT to be synthesized which trigger altered states of perception allowing for accelerated evolution towards the Revelation of the Self and a Consciousness of Oneness.

The Taoist Perspective:

According to Mantak Chia in the book Darkness Technology:

“The darkness actualizes successively higher states of divine consciousness, correlating with the synthesis and accumulation of psychedelic chemicals in the brain.

Melatonin, a regulatory hormone, quiets the body and mind in preparation for the finer and subtler realities of higher consciousness (Days 1 to 3).

Pinoline, affecting the neuro-transmitters of the brain, permits visions and dream-states to emerge in our conscious awareness (Days 3 to 5).

Eventually, the brain synthesizes the ‘spirit molecules’ 5-methoxy-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) and dimethyltryptamine (DMT), facilitating the transcendental experiences of universal love and compassion (Days 6 to 12).”

The Alchemical Perspective:

“The journey into Darkness is not just a first stage, but it is the essence of the spiritual alchemical work, because without it, the individual will remain only at the superficial level of mere rational thinking and social existence, dominated by dogmas. There is an important alchemical adagio: Visita Interiora Terrae Rectificando Occultum Lapidem (“Visit the interior of the earth; rectify what you find there, and you will discover the hidden stone.”)

To describe the “descent into Darkness,” summed up in the word “vitriol,” alchemy has preserved some very ancient symbols.

The individual (actually only his/her personality) descending into its original nature will suffer a great loss.
He must abandon all his old moral, social and spiritual values.

Thus, he will open himself to a different order, more in tune with the Harmony of the Whole.
This is what is happening in a Dark Retreat.” (Hridaya Yoga)

“Remember that by welcoming darkness, you become a womb for light…” -Leela

“If you can love darkness, you will become unafraid of death. If you can enter into darkness – and you can enter when there is no fear – you will achieve total relaxation. If you can become one with darkness, you are dissolved, it is a surrender. Now there is no fear, because if you have become one with darkness, you have become one with death. You cannot die now, you have become deathless. Darkness is deathless. Light is born and dies. Darkness simply is. It is deathless.” -Osho

“I wish I could show you,
When you are lonely or in the darkness,
The Astonishing Light
Of your own Being”
-Hafiz​

Article:

Blindfolding yourself for long periods of time can cause incredible hallucinations perhaps even more intense than psychedelic substances.
According to this study, subjects reported having insane hallucinations after being blindfolded for four days:

 
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Skarekrow said:
Wonderful to hear...I hope it continues for a long while!
I’m doing...but more so I’m being, lol.
So that’s a good thing.
;)
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Me too! It’s been a while since I’ve felt this content. Just going through the motions of life and trying to enjoy the moment—a hard challenge for us INFJs who are so future orientated haha.

And I’m glad you are doing well Skare! That’s actually a good mentality right there. Society can be so cumbersome and stressful, including that with our own issues either personal or health related, we always tend to forget to be more present and just simply be. <3
 
Wyote said:
I always did like this ole chestnut
do-be-do-be-do.jpg
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JennyDaniella said:
Me too! It’s been a while since I’ve felt this content. Just going through the motions of life and trying to enjoy the moment—a hard challenge for us INFJs who are so future orientated haha.

And I’m glad you are doing well Skare! That’s actually a good mentality right there. Society can be so cumbersome and stressful, including that with our own issues either personal or health related, we always tend to forget to be more present and just simply be. <3
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Future AND past oriented...lol.
I’m trying...at least I can always say that in the end...I gave it my all.

That is super that you are feeling contented!!
Ah...enjoy it for me!! haha

I feel like I’m in a transitory phase right now...just not sure where it’s headed.
:<3white:
 
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