Kombuchat

This cool looking tank can affect your senses

A sensory deprivation tank is a unique way to alter your senses and affect your consciousness.

The concept has been around for the past few decades, but they are becoming more mainstream as more have tried the product and attested to the positive benefits.

Here’s how it works:

It is filled with salt water that is at body temperature, causing the user to “weightlessly float” in the tank. The tank is sound proof and light-less. Basically, all your senses are muted for you to be left only with your thoughts.

Usually, you lay in the tank for up to an hour and enjoy the experience.

Users report being in a dream-like state, peacefulness, calmness, as well as the ability to think and focus more deeply.

We don’t realize just how much of our personal experience occurs through our three most palpable senses: sight, sound, and touch.

When we’re in a state where those senses are muted, we can listen to our other senses. Smell and taste become heightened, but our sixth sense, our consciousness, becomes heightened as well.

If you haven’t tried one of these tanks before, you’re in for a unique experience.

According to scientists, there may actually be consciousness after death

Your consciousness is your current state of being.

It’s your awareness of what’s around you, it’s the understanding that you’re alive, breathing, functioning, living, growing, and existing.

But when you die, that consciousness does not simply disappear.

After all, the Law of the Conservation of Energy states that energy is neither created or destroyed in a closed system.

Essentially, when you die–you simply change form.

A new understanding of consciousness is changing the way we previously thought about life and death.

According to Dr. Robert Lanza:

If the body generates consciousness, then consciousness dies when the body dies. But if the body receives consciousness in the same way that a cable box receives satellite signals, then of course consciousness does not end at the death of the physical vehicle.

That means that consciousness moves on past death, and continues, just like a TV signal doesn’t end at your TV set, it goes to other TV sets and even radiates into space.

Quantum theorists have a deeper perspective of just what consciousness is and what happens to it when you pass on:

Consciousness resides, according to Stuart and British physicist Sir Roger Penrose, in the microtubules of the brain cells, which are the primary sites of quantum processing. Upon death, this information is released from your body, meaning that your consciousness goes with it. They have argued that our experience of consciousness is the result of quantum gravity effects in these microtubules, a theory which they dubbed orchestrated objective reduction (Orch-OR).

Isn’t that incredible?

Your body is just a temporary owner of your consciousness. It simply…rents it.

Does this prove that there’s life after death?

Not necessarily.

But it does show that there’s definitely something we cannot understand–yet.

How to use a quick nap to your advantage

There are those days that seemingly never end where you’d love nothing more on a warm afternoon to curl up and take a quick, refreshing nap.

However, many people nap incorrectly.

In fact, napping more than 30 minutes is essentially sleep, and can interfere with your evening sleep cycles, leaving you groggy and less restful than when you laid your head down to catch some “z”s.

If you want to mimic the effects of full sleep, a 90 minute nap will help. But for most of us, that’s simply inconvenient.

The sleep experts in the article say a 10-to-20-minute power nap gives you the best “bang for your buck”…For a quick boost of alertness, experts say a 10-to-20-minute power nap is adequate for getting back to work in a pinch.

It’s just enough to give your brain some rest, get the creative juices flowing, and is better for your system than that addictive afternoon energy drink.

Most importantly, it gives your mind a break from the hassles and stresses of the day. We don’t realize exactly how myopic we become when we don’t remove ourselves from daily problems to truly rest and tackle them with new eyes.

Next time you’re feeling that afternoon crash, try a brief nap rejuvenation.

A first-hand account of sensory deprivation tanks

Sensory deprivation tanks, or “iso tanks”, are a little known form of meditation which involves floating in a soundproof, lightproof saltwater tank the size of a tanning bed.

They are on the cutting edge of alternative medicine, and are not as widely found as other treatments, but they provide an unparalleled and unique effect on the body.

There are some things to remember before going in:

The water is salty enough that you float effortlessly. Yes, you need to completely LET GO. You won’t sink. If you fall asleep, you won’t drown. Just let go.

Which is strong advice for many of life’s problems.

What are the effects?

about 75% of people who use them will report an improvement in depression and anxiety after ONE use. (I can personally say that I felt significantly better, lighter, happier and calmer after my first use.)

The constant stimulation of the outside world has a continuous effect on those who suffer from depression and anxiety.

By allowing your body to calm, insulate it from outside stresses and noise, and have directed focus, you can overcome the struggles which lead to depression and anxiety.

If you haven’t tried out an iso tank experience, you should put it on your bucket list.

Is the medical industry finally willing to accept meditation?

The medical industry has been slow on the uptake when it comes to meditation. However, now that healthcare costs have reached unsustainable levels, the medical industry is looking to meditation to provide some guidance.

After all, “[u]nlike insurance-driven medical models, this one comes free and is available to virtually anyone. All it takes is a willingness to learn, discipline and plenty of practice.” UC Davis, with the Shamatha Project, is studying the effects of meditation in a program endorsed by the Dalai Lama himself. And now there is proof that meditation can scientifically help people’s health and well-being.

Hopefully, this completely-free treatment is employed in helping people suffer from a variety of diseases currently being treated with costly, ineffective measures.

Is meditation a form of brainwashing?

As meditation becomes more popular, it has raised more concerns.

There are fears that meditation is a cult, especially meditation with soundtracks or suggested phrases. People are afraid of brainwashing.

But you must think of the brainwashing you to do yourself so you can positively—wash your brain.

Think about how many negative thoughts go through your mind on a daily basis. Your mind may be sullied with low self-confidence, anger, frustration, lack of empathy, impatience, anxiety or depression. There are also the repetitive negative thoughts that surface when you least expect them to. These are all stains on the fabric of consciousness, and these thoughts need to be washed out. The alternative is to just let the negative thoughts pile on day after day, year after year, lifetime after lifetime until we are drowning in the onslaught of our own misery.

Many people just let these thoughts run free in their minds, and it’s disquieting. They quiet them with drugs and alcohol instead of thoughtfulness and calm. You can’t create more noise to block out the other noise. It’s time to find an activity, like meditation, that can quiet down the whole system.

What is mindful awareness–and why is everyone doing it?

Many companies now offer meditative escapes, which are vacations that are specifically designed to enhance your abilities for mindful meditation.

So what exactly is mindful meditation?

According to Diana Winston, director of education for UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center, it’s “[p]aying attention to present moment experiences with open, curious attention and a willingness to be with what is.”

That’s right–UCLA now has a Mindful Awareness Research Center.  It goes to show just how much meditation is being finally accepted by the mainstream.

In a retreat, visitors are encouraged to bring no electronic devices, eat vegetarian meals, clean up their own dishes, and eschew conversation.

The effect is to impart a strong degree of awareness and living-in-the-present, and with an ever-growing number of devotees, it certainly seems the retreats work.

How meditation makes you a better person

Among the many health benefits of meditation, there’s a new one—it makes you a nicer person.

In a new study between Northeastern and Harvard Universities, it was found that “meditation can improve compassion and do-gooder behavior.”

Surprise–meditation actually makes you a better person.

An actor in crutches struggled with a waiting room, and volunteers either responded to help or didn’t. The overwhelming number of those who underwent meditation treatment helped the person versus those who didn’t.

It goes to show that the benefits of meditation aren’t just physical—the benefits can help everyone!

Ow! How meditation helps pain relief

Meditation has so many health benefits that it’s difficult to keep them all in line.

Today, we return to one of its original discovered benefits—relieving pain and stress.

Heart-centered meditation has the ability to help your body through times of physical pain and stress.

Here is what you need to do:

Make your breath complete, with the assistance of your abdominal muscles. Inhale completely and balloon your abdomen out, then exhale and squeeze your abdomen toward your spine. Repeat this cycle 10 times.

Make sure to do this consistently with your heart rate. That way, you can synchronize your meditation and feel the full effects.

This type of meditation is geared towards relieving pain and stress.

So the next time you’re in a painful or stressful situation—try it out!