Using my degree to understand Mediumship
I have a fascinating with the workings of the brain, which has been reinforced through the completion of a Health Sciences degree with the Open University. One reason for my interest is associated with mediumship and extra sensory perception (ESP) and how communications external to the brain work. An immense amount of scientific work has been undertaken in relation to the mind, is it part of or separate from the brain. Research undertaken by afterlifeconnections.org suggests that neuroscience cannot explain where the mind is within the brain and further suggest that the mind is not the brain. Scientist disciplines in relation to this consist of such studies as psychology, philosophy, neuroscience, cognitive science and biology. Information about the brain/mind being determined by many experiments in order to learn how the brain works as well as how thought processes and behaviours are also learned.
Afterlifeconnections.org, through their own research make reference to people who even though missing half of their brain, either illness or accident, still function well and retain their personalities. Where things get quite interesting however is in relation to external information that is at that time not known to the person perceiving said information, for example, remote viewing whereby the viewer is able to smell, and visualise their remote location, yet the brain is not actively at that location, so again where is the mind in all this?
Image (left) shows the placement of the limbic system that includes the thalamus, hippocampus and the amygdala, organs that are thought to be associated with memory, (hippocampus) emotions (amygdala) and perception (thalamus)
An article by scientificamerican.com titled, “where does the brain store long ago memories” suggests that cells within the hippocampus, with research being conducted on mice in order to prove or disprove this hypothesis. Further research suggested to the existence of a “complementary” memory, that are formed in they hippocampus before being moved to a more long-term memory within the “cerebral” cortex.
With the above information in mind, I find it intriguing that mediums who are in reception of information that is external to, thus not known to them at that time does not seem to follow the same mandates. The trance state for example, dependent upon the experience of the medium, can bring forth information that is far above their current understanding, yet it is not recalled once the medium has removed themselves from the trance state, it is as if any emotions and details of the events bypass the thalamus and amygdala, thus no memories, complementary or short term are made. Does consciousness play a major factor in relation to memory formation, in essence do we have to be physically taking part in the experience, an obvious statement, though think on it. I have always postulated that information conveyed from spirit is in the form of a thought wave, in much the same way as sound and light waves are conveyed into the brain and perceived by the thalamus. Is this process therefore different from information perceived via the physical sense organs.
Already stated above is the fact that the brain can continue to function even though parts or even half of the brain has been removed, through illness or accident, does this factor also affect a mediums ability to perceive information “externally” to the brain. Drugs would have some impact, particularly the stronger drugs such as heroin or cocaine, though what of drugs for aid in migraines, such as Sumatriptan, or serotonin reuptake inhibitors such as Escitalopram Oxalate to maintain a good feel factor for people undergoing depression and or anxiety. Do drugs such as these impair the functioning of the neuronal pathways, thus hinder the mediumship process. One reason for asking this is that when undergoing an emotional trauma, the loss of a loved one, the ending of a partnership, do these often-strong feelings hinder the process too. One answer could reside in the functioning of the auric field, the density of both the electrical and magnetic propensities of the energy field that surrounds the physical body. I for one can attest to the fact of conducting a mediumship demonstration, even with a heavy cold, and only a fortnight after a family bereavement. We are individuals that deal with trauma in very different ways, perhaps therefore a “problem” could be psychological, in that we convince ourselves that we cannot communicate with the spirit world.
In summary, the brain and mind coexist, the brain continuing the functionality of the brain, the rhythmic beating of the heart that is under autonomic control as are the lungs. Memories are deemed to reside firstly in the short-term storage of the hippocampus, before being moved to the cerebral cortex for long term storage. The brain receives and interprets information that is acted upon, through experience “memories” and learned behaviour. Mediumship involves information that is external to the brain, the thalamus once more comes into play in this, as the brain perceives the information as if it were gleaned via the physical senses, in a majority of cases however, the medium cannot recall any facts about the information they have received. Though drugs would to all extents have a marked impact on the brain, it appears that mediumship can still prevail.
I would be interested in your thoughts on this, constructive comments are very much appreciated.