The Canadian scientist Wilder Penfield, Neurologist and Nobel Prize winner eliminates brain tumours by surgery. When he opened the brain of his patients, he examined the functioning of their brain by stimulating certain areas of it by administering very low voltage electricity. The aim was to find the control centre of the brain.
In one of his most famous experiments he was stimulating a certain area of the motoric Cortex when suddenly the arm of the patient began to move. When Penfield was asking the patient what was happening, he answered “my arm is moving”. Penfield then asked “are YOU moving your arm?” and he got the answer “no, my arm is moving!”. Penfield then ordered to the patient “OK, now move your arm in the other direction” and the patient moved his arm immediately in the other direction. Whatever Penfield did to localise the “commander” of the order, he failed.
To find the place where the order is processed is easy – in the motoric Cortex – but to localise the place where the command is initiated, is impossible. One cannot find the location where the command is generated. It is at the same time everywhere and nowhere. It is the “thinker behind the thoughts”. It is the “self” that interacts with itself and generates ideas.
According to Dr. Deepak Chopra, one of the most famous scientists of the 20th century, this “self” is not to be found in the body, nor in the brain. It is everywhere in the body and in the brain and at the same time nowhere. This energy, that is everywhere and nowhere at the same time, does not belong to the domain of thoughts. This “self” lies in between our thoughts. It is this “self” that creates Space, Time, Matter and Energy. We think that there is “endless time” out there, but this still has to be proved. No serious scientist of world class has used the concept of “time” since 1913. Since then, the concept “Time-Space-Continuum” has been used.
The experience of time is another condition that can be different to each individual. Each individual consumes or metabolises “time” in a different way. Here are some examples: when you have a long flight and you are bored due to lack of distraction, the flight seems to be a real never-ending journey. But when your neighbour appears to be a very nice and communicative person, time flies by and your perception of the journey is that “it went in no time”.
You certainly know some people who constantly are saying “I have no time” or “I have lack of time”… as if time would be some product that they could carry with them, but that slips away because they have a hole in their pocket. They look at the same watch as you, but theirs is running faster. When analysing these “time runners”, then the finding is that their biological clock IS running faster. Their pulse is faster, they do have more arrhythmics per minute, their blood plates are more nervous, their hormone level (adrenalin, insulin, cortisone) is high and sometimes they drop dead due to heart failure. Then their time has gone and they are out of time. These sad people transform their internal experience of “I’ve lack of time, I’m running out of time” into a real physical condition.
Someone who has “plenty of time” is biologically completely different. You know the expression “the views were breathtaking – time stood still”. Interesting, but why? When someone experiences that time stands still, then his breath stands almost still, his thoughts come to a complete stop and his consciousness becomes calm.
And the moment that this happens, you will experience “Timelessness”.
When we have thoughts and experience feelings, then our brain produces certain chemicals, called neuropeptides. It means that one part of our brain does not communicate with another part through verbal communication, but through the very precise language of neuropeptides. You may imagine them as being keys that only fit to certain keyholes or “receptors” in the cell membrane. Each type of neuron in our brain has its collection of “keyholes” and “keys”. That’s the way these neurons communicate with each other. Scientists found out that not only neurons have these types of receptors, but all cells like for instance our immune cells. Immune cells do protect us from infections and all kinds of degenerative diseases like cancer. In other words, immune cells are influenced by our thoughts and feelings through the formation and acceptance of neuropeptides.
This finding confirms the earlier assumption that a heavy sorrow that has been carried for a longer period will have a negative influence on the behaviour of these immune cells and thus the person in question will become significantly more sensitive to immune and to degenerative related diseases. Also long term stressful conditions like fear, anger, hate will increase the amount of cortisone, adrenalin or noradrenalin and insulin that negatively influence the efficiency of immune cells.
So your thoughts and feelings will have a considerable influence on your entire body and as a result – the neuropeptides – will inform your entire body about what’s going on with you. When you experience a stressful situation for a long time, you should try to find a constructive solution to it bearing in mind that harmony is a lot better than friction. A sound life philosophy is focused on avoiding and eliminating the negative effects of a stressful situation. There are plenty of books about this subject and it is up to you to offer to yourself this wisdom. You deserve it.
Michel Robeers