Monthly Book Review (December): The Afterlife Experiments by Gary E Schwartz

Every month - that is the plan, anyway - I will review a book selected randomly from my Paranormal Library. This month, I will review The Afterlife Experiments by Gary E Schwartz.

Having previously read his other book, The Sacred Promise, I knew what to expect when I began to turn the pages of The Afterlife Experiments. Like his last book, I found his style of writing very addictive - very quickly, I discovered that I was zooming through the chapters, hungry to learn more about his intriguing experiments involving mediums and their unknown sitters in his laboratory.
    Although reading this book has made me realise that a second read of The Sacred Promise would probably be a good idea, The Afterlife Experiments proved to be just as interesting (at least for me) as The Sacred Promise. 
    Scattered throughout the pages of the book are the details and results of the experiments that Schwartz conducted. These seemed extremely interesting, especially since the mediums' readings for the unknown and hidden sitters were not always flawless - for example, in his reading for a sitter named Pat, John Edward made a small error in the identity of one of the deceased family members of his sitter, which was partly due to his sitter accidentally saying more than she was supposed to and leading him to think that her husband was dead when, in actuality, he was alive and sitting in another room! However, this apparent error was later explained, as it related to the sitter's dream and subsequent events that made her wonder how long her husband had left to live on Earth. The readings didn't seem to be obvious cold-reading, although there were aspects of that at times with some of the readings for at least one of the sitters. Although the method and procedure of the experiment seemed to be good, I wasn't convinced that the medium being unable to see their sitter was sufficient against hot or warm reading, since they could still hear them and be able to deduce some aspects about the sitter which they could then put in the reading - for example, one sitter may have had a nasty cough, which may make the medium deduce that they have an illness or flu. I was, however, relieved to discover that in the following chapter, the author gave an in-depth account about the next series of sitter-medium experiments, which included a silent period - so that the sitter remained silent whilst they were given their reading. Whilst I read the details concerning this series of experiments, I still had doubts about the experimental design. The accuracy of the information as given by the mediums seemed, from the extracts, too good to be true and I suppose I was still looking for loop-holes somewhere - and somehow. Once again, when I approached the following chapter, my doubts were met once more: another series of sittings with the mediums, this time with the sitters remaining silent throughout.
    However, the readings proved to be interesting, as there were certain areas that overlapped with the readings performed by the different mediums for the same sitter, despite the experimenters ensuring that the mediums didn't mingle with each other after the separate readings. I was also glad that although the sitter did have a small hiccough one time,that they were instructed to only say 'Yes/No' answers to prevent them from giving away much information to the medium (this was during the non-silent periods when the sitter was allowed to reply 'Yes' or 'No' to the statements). 
   Although the mediums made some errors in their readings some of the time and despite frequently making statements that could have two possible interpretations - I found it extremely interesting. This interest was increased due to the fact that with each experiment (which had increasingly better controls put into place, such as the third experiment being double-blind) all of the mediums acquired a very high level of accuracy which was greater than the control group of students' guesswork and this trend also happened for when the sitters had to evaluate all of the readings including their own for accuracy. Their own readings were rated a greater level of accuracy than the readings that were done for the other sitters.
I was pleased that the author took the results of the studies as evidence supportive of his 'Living Soul Hypothesis', though I myself think that there might be alternative explanations for the research: for example, one of the possibilities that I've often thought about is the concept that psi is some kind of living energy that even if it doesn't have awareness or consciousness at least similar to our own, then it might have some kind of intelligence behind it. I feel that reality is a kind of "playground" for the mind, in which the mind affects the psi, moulding it like playdough into the features of the individual concerned's beliefs. For example, a person who believes in angels might see angels because psi manifests itself (at least sometimes) as angels. I believe that this theory might explain some of the phenomena that occurred in the experiment, since the mediums may not have been speaking to "dead people" literally, but perhaps aspects of the universal consciousness that Carl Jung talked about which was manifested by psi. 
   In conclusion, it was a great read, but I feel there are still alternative explanations for the findings - even if fraud or deception wasn't involved consciously by the mediums, is it possible that they are not talking to actual dead people, but some other spiritual energy such as the one my theory above concerns? Also, I wasn't convinced the data was not supportive of the existence of the Akashic Records, since the mediums may have consulted these unconsciously. This would have meant that they could obtain information concerning the past, the present and the future, even if the sitter was unaware of the validity of some information given by the medium. Lastly, another theory of psi in relation to the results of Schwartz's experiments is the Decision Augmentation Theory (DAT) which proposes that there is an aspect of goal-seeking and that the individual (e.g. medium) uses psi to find information in relation to their goal (e.g. information that would prove or support the notion that their sitter's loved one/s are still alive and well but in the world of spirit). The book, for me, raised more questions than answers, yet despite this I feel it was well worth reading. 

Theories of Psi: Part One

In this article, the subject of Psi will be discussed. In separate articles, the possible ways in which Psi might work will be explored. In this first part, the Psi-Mediated Instrumental Response (PMIR) explanation of Psi will be investigated.

What is Psi?

Without the knowledge of what exactly psi is, no specific explanation regarding how it works can be agreed on within the parapsychological community. Indeed, there are a plethora of possibilities regarding how psi can be explained. In this article, psi will be taken to mean the force - regardless of how it actually works - that is behind psychical phenomena such as ESP and PK. 

The Psi-Mediated Instrumental Response (PMIR) Explanation

This explanation of psi was developed by Rex Stanford. This model proposes that an organism uses psi, alongside its normal senses (such as sight, for example) to scan its environment for information related to its needs. The PMIR model of psi has evident advantages from an evolutionary perspective, because it would mean that the organism could use psi to:

•  find food
• find shelter  
• find its mother (if the animal concerned has lost its mother who it needs for survival)
• find its young (if the animal concerned is the mother animal)

, The use of psi may be useful for the animal if its normal senses are not as functional as they should be or the subject of its needs is difficult to come by and using psi as an additional "sense" may be the only way in which it can obtain what it needs.

The PMIR theory of psi might function consciously or unconsciously. For evolutionary purposes, it might work best if it is a mixture of both, depending on the organism's needs. If the example of a wild animal is used again, like above, then it is clear how it might work: it may not be the case that sometimes PMIR works (consciously or unconsciously) as part of the animal's everyday life, and other times it is not at work. If this is so, however, then it would be difficult to ascertain the extent to which the animal consciously or unconsciously relies on it. It may be that the animal simply uses PMIR to supplement its normal senses (i.e. sometimes they use PMIR and sometimes not), rather than the animal relying on it more than the other senses (so the animal is using it constantly). Indeed, if PMIR is used unconsciously, how would it be possible to know when it is being used and when it is not being used?
    If PMIR is a conscious process, when would it be used? In the list of possible uses above, it may be used at a conscious level to find its mother, or used by the mother to find its lost young, but exactly how this can be differentiated from pure instinct is not clear. Perhaps it is used unconsciously to find food and shelter, and maybe it is PMIR that is involved when the animal senses danger.
 
In the model of PMIR, it is almost like 'cybernetic PK' in that the organism concerned is scanning its environment for what it needs and the psychokinesis that occurs is like an instrumental response to that. For example, if a young chick fell out of its nest and it cannot find its mother (and nor can it immediately sense her with his senses), he may use scanning to try and find her and in doing so, may "switch on" its PK powers which attract her to him, or him to her. This use of psi, however, is determined by how much of a scan the organism needs to do first - in the case of the chick, it may do a full scan because it cannot detect where his mother is. Its vulnerability calls for a full scan of its environment, since if it did more of a quick scan, it may miss some vitally important clues as to where its mother is. A full scan may trigger PK to come on, due to being in immediate danger of being found by a predator.

PMIR in this model seems to be goal-orientated - since the chick in the example had the goal for finding its mother (since not doing so would result in its death either due starvation, pneumonia or being eaten). According to p.131 of Introduction to Parapsychology (Chapter 8 - Theories of Psi):

In its most recent form (Stanford 1990) the PMIR model proposes that psi experiences arise because, under circumstances prevailing in the environment, the individual has some disposition or need for the experience to occur. That is, the psi experience or "psi-mediated response" is fundamentally goal-oriented or adaptive. Stanford further proposes that psi operates below the level of consciousness through the facilitation of responses that are already encoded in memory ... The range of responses thought by Stanford to be facilitated by psi nevertheless is reasonably broad. Under the PMIR model psi may trigger behaviors, feelings, images, associations, desires or memories. These, either singly or in combination, may constitute the psi-mediated response.

Application to Real Life

Applying PMIR to real life may be quite tricky, since there are many other factors involved for seemingly lucky or miraculous events that happen to individuals. These will be examined, since one application of PMIR is that of coincidences or miracle, as these often are very much welcomed by those to whom they occur. If a person has a goal or ambition for gaining more money, for example, and they buy a lottery ticket, they may unconsciously use psi to obtain that goal. This then may materialise as winning a large amount of money on the lottery.
Another application of the PMIR model of psi is the phenomenon of luck, although luck may simply just be a term used by people to explain happy coincidences or much-needed windfalls and may not actually exist like we know the sun does. If these happy coincidences happen for the majority of people occasionally, it may simply be due to chance. Although it may seem incredible to the person who finally wins the lottery when they get the jackpot, and despite the chances of winning the lottery being very small, there is always going to be someone out there who is going to win it unexpectedly.  Yet for some certain individuals, it appears that 'lucky' coincidences happen almost all of the time. Is this due to psi, or is it because of something on a more psychological basis? In one study that Richard Wiseman conducted, he found that participants who considered themselves lucky were more inclined to jump at opportunities than individuals who did not consider themselves to be lucky. When presented with a newspaper with the task to count how many pictures were in it, it was the 'lucky' individuals who spotted the experimenter's large text box in it that read, "Win £100 by telling the experimenter that you have seen this."
    In the case of luck, it may simply be due to something psychological concerning the person, and may not involve psi being at work at all. In the same way, determining whether something was due to psi or not in real life is a subjective business: even if psi had been responsible for a miracle that occurred (for example, someone recovers from a serious illness after receiving faith healing), how can it be certain that it was due to psi and not something else? A person may become well after a serious illness after having faith healing and this may have been because of psi. But they may have become well which happened to occur after the faith healing and this may not have happened as a result of psi. The person's recovery could have been due to spontaneous recovery which had nothing to do with psi. Perhaps the person was goal-seeking (in that the person was wanting to get better), but even so, this does not prove that psi - (PMIR) - was the factor responsible for the person's recovery. Furthermore, even if PMIR was a proven phenomenon in the laboratory, exactly how it would be possible to prove that it was PMIR at work and not something else in real life is another matter altogether. In the laboratory, it is possible to do a controlled experiment. In real life, there is an abundance of factors that need to be considered when a very fortunate and unexpected event has occurred.

Conclusion

There are some explanations of psi that are difficult to test in the laboratory, whilst for others, it is fairly straightforward. Stanford has formulated his PMIR model in order for the different aspects of his model to be more readily verifiable in the laboratory. Because the psi-mediated instrumental response model can also be applied to people's parapsychological experiences, this provides further ground for future experiments concerning the PMIR model. As was stated previously, it does not seem to be a small matter to decide whether an experience was due to psi or some mundane cause when it comes to real life, yet perhaps future experiments can provide more enlightenment about this issue should they be undertaken. Certainly, further research is necessary with regard to this model of psi.

References

Irwin, H.J. and Watt, C.  (2007) Introduction to Parapsychology. (5th ed). North Carolina: McFarland & Company Inc.

Special Report: Under the Magnifying Lens: Part 1

PART ONE: STARSEEDS' BELIEFS - AN INTRODUCTION

Part One aims to introduce the reader to the world of starseeds, and tries to establish the foundations on which further exploration and investigation will be undertaken in subsequent parts.

Introduction

In the first part of the first of the series of Special Report, Under the Magnifying Lens will explore - partly through inside circles, but later on in books - what it is like to be a "starseed". But firstly, what exactly is a "starseed"? My personal definition, garnered from meeting the people themselves, is as follows: 'A starseed is a person who believes themselves to be here on Earth for a purpose, or spiritual mission. They may believe themselves to have originated from "other star systems" (which essentially means that they believe themselves to have an "extraterrestrial" origin). The mission may differ in terms of wording depending on the person asked, but basically each person believes that their "purpose" is to raise the vibrations of the planet and its people.' But:

1. How is this "raising of vibrations" brought about, in the eyes of the starseeds?

2. What is it like to be a "starseed"?
3. How do "starseeds" view the world - and indeed, themselves?
4. Does being a starseed change who you are?
5. Does being a starseed change your perception of your past?
6. How do starseeds differ compared to spiritualists?



Investigation 1

In October 2014, the investigator went to the annual meeting for starseeds (for the first time), intrigued to find out what being a starseed is all about.It must be said that at this point that the investigator is sceptical of starseeds' beliefs and their explanations, but was armed with a curious mind to go behind the curtains in order to try to understand the world from their perspective.
                                                                       

Report 1:

   The host spoke a great deal about her own personal encounter with the "star beings", to whom she referred to as "Pleideans". After she had told us about her experience of seeing such a being, she showed us the impression she had  made of it, which looked like a massive indigo orb. (It looked like a very impressive painting of massive indigo orb; it was probably created with acryllic paints.)
Was this orb that she had seen really a "multi-dimensional being", or was this orb brought about because of a bit of debris behind her eye's retina? Evidently, the host was convinced that it was evidence for the existence of the Pleiadeans.

The day seemed to drag on. There was a great deal of exchange of people's experiences, with people of like mind swapping their perspective and explanations or thoughts with others. I tried to keep a low profile, because I was uncertain what to say should I be asked about my thoughts on this stuff. However, I took the opportunity to talk to the starseed people themselves, and listened to some interesting stories involving what were perceived to be star beings. Some of these tales took place many years ago. One person told me about their experience of suddenly being bathed in a light (which likely was white) whilst in the bathroom.

Although I'd heard about the Pleiadean race, the "Lion People" were a concept of star-beings that I hadn't come across before. So it was interesting when the host mentioned about her first meeting, some years ago, with the Lion People, and how they are "coming to help us". It strikes me as strange that all these beings have resemblances to what we are familiar with here on Earth (such as the Pleiadeans having humanoid features and the Lion People - unsurprisingly - having lions' heads for their heads) but that point will be expanded on in a later part.

Since it was more of a field trip into the world of starseeds, I tried to make notes concerning it all when I got back home (about 30 minutes later). It obviously was wrong to covertly take notes of everyone's disclosed encounters with the star beings, especially considering that most of them were taken very seriously and literally. For this reason, I only wanted to get an overall feel or sense of what starseeds were like, without making too much of an attempt to remember all their experiences.


In my next field study - as of yet undetermined when - I will take notes where possible in order to answer the key questions listed above. As an aside, I am neither lying to nor intentionally deceiving anyone during my "membership" to starseed meetings - indeed, I do not claim to hold their beliefs. I believe that the best way to understand a given group's perspective is to meet the members of that group themselves, and to have discussions with them about the subject of their beliefs (e.g. star beings such as the Lion People, and spiritual concepts with which I am familiar, like spirit guides). The answers to my list of questions will be obtained through this way. 

Conclusion

This first part has put in the groundwork upon which further investigation will be undertaken. In the second part of this series - The Believer's Perspective, a closer look will be taken regarding starseeds' experiences - indeed, the phenomenonology of their beliefs and experiences will be examined under the microscope.
In the third part of this series - The Sceptic's Perspective, the literature concerning starseeds will be explored in depth, as well as taking a peek at phenomena that is of relevance or importance to starseeds, and finally, possible ways of explaining their experiences will be examined in depth.

Monthly Book Review (November) - Did You Spot the Gorilla by Richard Wiseman

Every month - that is the plan, anyway - I will review a book selected randomly from my Paranormal Library. This month, I will review Did You Spot the Gorilla by Richard Wiseman.

Did You Spot the Gorilla is a book based on the psychological concept of selective attention - otherwise known as 'inattentional bias'. In their 1999 study, Simons and Chabris discovered this phenomenon: they asked participants to count the number of passes made by the basketball players in their video, and when asked at the end, 'Did you spot the gorilla?' the majority of people hadn't - they had been so focused on counting the number of passes, that they didn't notice the man in gorilla costume appear, not one of the players leave the stage, nor the curtains changing colour.
    Wiseman's book proved to be interesting - it includes some activities for the reader to participate in without leaving the comfort of their cosy chair, which help them to understand the ideas and concepts the author talks about. The book is filled with quotes, as well as with interesting studies, such as Wiseman's own study in which he asked participants - the 'lucky' individuals and the 'unlucky' individuals - to count how many pictures there were in a newspaper. Unbeknownst to them, he had put a big bold box that read, 'Win £100 by telling the experimenter you have seen this.' The results found that the individuals who had actually noticed (and therefore took subsequent action for) the 'Win £100' box, were the individuals who had claimed that they  frequently had spells of good luck. This suggested that lucky people were better at spotting unexpected opportunities than unlucky people - a finding that follows Derren Brown's discovery. This study clearly found the same concept as Simon and Chabris - that if you are sufficiently attentive to all the sensory information available to you (or most of it), you will be more easily able to notice the unexpected - whether it be an opportunity to win £100 or spotting a man in a gorilla costume.
Wiseman also includes key tips for "spotting the gorillas in your own life" - which try to help the reader to take advantage more of unexpected opportunities that crop up.
    The book also has an unusual element - two characters, Oliver and Lucy, feature in a couple of pages in each chapter, and they enhance the reader's understanding of how looking for gorillas (unexpected opportunities) can be applied to real life.
    Was the book worth the time and effort to read? Undoubtedly, yes. It had the author's usual sense of humour and perhaps "fun", and once again proved to be an interesting, enjoyable and informative read.

Look out for next month's book review!

References

Did You Spot the Gorilla - Wiseman, R. (2004). London: Arrow Books.
Inattentional bias - http://www.kienco.com.au/blog/2013/05/11/environment-scanning (last accessed: 29/11/15)
The Monkey Buisness Illusion - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGQmdoK_ZfY (last accessed: 29/11/15)

Near-Death Experiences

Introduction

Near-Death Experiences (NDEs) are deemed by some as "evidence" for the afterlife. Why is this? Typically, NDEs involve going through a tunnel, at the end of which experients usually see a bright white light. They may also meet religious figures, such as Jesus, and, indeed, deceased family members or friends. The place that they end up at is usually a beautiful place. The post (which may be updated later on) aims to have a peek into the world of NDE experiences.

Cases of NDEs

In their book, Life After Death and The World Beyond on p.40, authors Jenny Randles and Peter Hough cite a near-death experience that a young boy had experienced and which had been reported in the 1993 edition of Psychic News. This boy had entered a coma for three months after being struck by a car. When he woke from it, he described his near-death experience:

After passing through a tunnel and coming out into the light, he said, he continued his journey into a beautiful land which he interpreted as heaven.Young Pietro described heaven as being bright, full of sunshine and music. He met and talked with many people whose names he remembered after his recovery. His startled parents confirmed that they were long-dead family members, of whom it was unlikely that the child could have been aware. Eventually, the boy said, he was told he could not remain in heaven because his parents needed him back on earth. Reluctantly he agreed to leave, and then awoke from coma

This case has a few key features that are shared by countless other NDE reports:

1. The boy, five year old Pietro Volpato, passed through a tunnel
2. After passing through the tunnel, he came into the light
3. After that, he found himself in a "beautiful land"
4. He interacted with family members in this "heaven" 
5. He was "told" that he couldn't remain in this beautiful place and so he had to return back

    Neurosurgeon, Dr Eben Alexander, in his book, Proof of Heaven, describes his personal experience of a near-death experience which he had during a coma. In this, he saw a beautiful land, angelic beings and "someone next to me: a beautiful girl with high cheekbones and deep blue eyes. ... We were riding along together on an intricately patterned surface, alive with indescribiable colors - the wing of a butterfly."
 
In The Near-Death Experience by Calvert Roszell p.47, recounts the NDE experienced by a twenty-year-old man called George Ritchie:

George Ritchie tells of finding himself suddenly looking at his body in the hospital room from above, filled with panic; he calls this the greatest shock of his life. He relates that he maddeningly found himself floating through walls and doors and even people. He felt an icy lonliness settling over him that he says cannot be comprehended in terms of bodily experiences at all.

Here, Ritchie seems to find himself in an out-of-body state, which is commonly experienced in conjunction with NDEs. After that (p.48), Ritchie "reports that the dark hospital room then began ti light up all around him until it was bathed in an indescribably dazzling brilliance. At that point, what appeared to him as the shape of a man of light stepped toward him from out of the light. This figure stood by his side while a panorama of his life passed before his eyes in complete detail, and all the thoughts of his mind were laid open to this figure, whom he now calls his guide."
   In Ritchie's account, there are some more parallels with the typical NDE experience: an out-of-body experience (OBE), seeing bright light around him (usually, this is described as white light and accompanies the experiencer to the spiritual dimension), seeing another person (often a spiritual guide, or family members, or even religious figures), and the undergoing of a life-review.

After-effects of NDEs: How experients cope after their experiences

In The Wisdom of Near-Death Experiences by Dr Penny Sartori p.26, a first-hand account is given by an NDE experient concerning what it is like to return to normal life after the profound, and often life-changing, experience of having an NDE:

... Not all NDE experiencers remain uplifted and joyously positive throughout every day of their lives post event. ... My NDE made me drop out of my BA Honours Sports Studies degree course because I couldn't deal with the back-biting, the competitiveness, the 'posiness',  ... it all seemed so artificial ... I later got a job in the NHS and have been very happy in my role ... but this led to a 'burn-out' moment where I was trying to up-hold the rights of the elderly, trying to ensure that the sick were getting the best quality in all the investigations they received. I  have put everyone else's health and happiness before my own, so that now at 40 I realize I have very little for myself, ... I have gone through great bouts of depression ... even repeatedly considering 'going back to that peaceful place' ... as an NDEr you feel like a misplaced person...

Rather than necessarily seeing his having had an NDE as a blessing, this person seems to find it, at times, as something of a curse. Whereas before they had the NDE, they felt as if they fitted in to society, but since the NDE, they feel as if they no longer "fit in". As he goes on to say, some NDErs struggle to come to terms with their experience, in that they can't find people with whom they can share their experience, and what they personally could draw from. 

The NDE experience can change people in many different ways. For many, it heralds the dissolving of a fear of death - clearly due to having apparently just escaped the clutches of death during the time that they had their NDE, as well as being due to "glimpsing heaven" - in which the experient found themselves in a beautiful place where they encounter deceased family members.

  

Proof of Heaven?

In her book, Conversations with Heaven p.247, Theresa Cheung claims that "near-death experiences provide us with the best evidence for communication with the departed and the most convincing proof we have that heaven is real". But are NDEs really evidence for the afterlife, or are there alternative explanations?

Whilst it may seem logical to believers that the answer is "Yes" - given that the experient has seen themselves entering a tunnel, at the end of which is a bright white or golden light, which preludes their entrance into a heaven-like world where they meet dead relatives (which would be interpreted, therefore, as a "spirit world"), others argue that NDEs are not, in fact, evidence for the survival hypothesis. One explanation brought forward is the "Dying Brain Hypothesis", which, as explained by Susan Blackmore in her book Consciousness An Introduction, p.365, is where

Severe stress, extreme fear and cerebral anorexia all cause cortical disinhibition and uncontrolled brain activity, and we already have most of the ideas needed to understand why this should cause NDEs. Tunnels and lights are frequently caused by disinhibition in visual cortex, and similar noises occur during sleep paralysis. OBEs and life reviews can be induced by temporal lobe stimulation, and the positive emotions and lack of pain have been attributed to the action of endorphins and encephalins; endogenous opiates that are widely distributed in the limbic system and released under stress. The visions of other worlds and spiritual beings might be real glimpses into another world, but against that hypothesis is evidence that people generally describe other worlds that fit their cultural upbringing. For example, Christians report seeing Jesus, angels and a door or gate into heaven, while Hindus are more likely to meet the king of the dead and his messengers, the Yamdoots.

 As Explaining the Unexplained by Hans J Eyesenck and Carl Sargent p.155 put it:

A severely injured or stressed person is inevitably affected by powerful physiological changes such as depleted oxygen supply to the brain, sensory isolation, and the like. Some of the characteristics of an NDE are by no means unique to it. The sensation of travelling along a chute or tunnel is one encountered in epileptics, migraine sufferers, and sometimes when just about to fall asleep ... Drugs and anaesthetics may indeed elicit some of the simplest phenomena associated with NDES, athough there are abundant cases of NDEs from people who were not under the influence of drugs or anaesthetics at the time of their experience.

Furthermore, the nature of the NDE - which is termed as the 'phenomenology of the NDE' -'appears to be quite independent of a person's cultural background. Whether people believe in angels and spirits, Christ, Vishnu or Buddha does not appear to make any difference. Indeed stereotyped accounts of Heaven and Hell are very rare in NDE reports. Social class, education, and economic status do not correlate with the frequency or nature of NDEs either.'

References

Life After Death and The World Beyond - Randles, J and Hough, P

Proof of Heaven - Alexander, Dr E. -

The Near-Death Experience - Roszell, C

The Wisdom of Near-Death Experiences - Sartori, Dr P.

Conversations with Heaven -Cheung, T

Consciousness An Introduction - Blackmore, S.

Explaining the Unexplained by  Eyesenck, H. and Sargent, C.

 


 

Acupressure

Introduction

 

Acupressure, according to Accupressure by Michael Reed Gach, p.3, is 'an ancient healing art that uses the fingers to press key points on the surface of the skin to stimulate the body's natural self-curative abilities'. It differs from Acupuncture in that it uses the physical touch of the practitioner's fingers to relieve pain, discomfort or particular ailments, not the use of fine needles that are inserted into the patient's body. Both use the same pressure points, of which there is said to be 365.

How does it work?

 

 

Acupressure uses the idea that humans - as well as animals - are comprised of a physical body with a system of energy pathways called meridians. On each of these meridians - and there are said to be twelve major ones - are energy points called 'acupuncture points' or 'pressure points'. If there is a blockage in one of these pressure points, this blockage is said to cause problems with the flow of energy along the meridian this blocked acupuncture point is on. The blockage itself is energetic in nature. If, for example, an acupuncture point was blocked on the heart meridian, it may result in energetic problems with the affected organ - in this case, the heart - which, if not addressed immediately, will manifest into a physical disorder. So manifests disease.

When we've hurt our ankle, we may be inclined to rub it. In the same way, applying pressure to a point that corresponds to the area where we may be experiencing pain or a physical ailment, is thought to relieve the energetic blockage that caused the physical disorder in the first place. 

But does it work?

Does acupressure work?

 

It might seem logical to assume that accupressure, like acupuncture, could work, on the basis that it obviously works physically on the body. It is not like crystal healing which is where the placement of crystals is believed to alleviate illness - through the crystals' energies. Instead, acupressure and acupuncture physically manipulate the body, often resulting in some degree of pain or discomfort during the treatment. 

 

A retired man in his sixties underwent a few weeks' acupressure treatment for his knees, which had degerative knee problems. With each treatment, the problems lessened and lessened, even though he had suffered from them for many years. After the acupuncture, his knees were much better (the problems went altogether). Despite being a complete sceptic regarding matters concerning psychics, mediums and the like, he believes that acupuncture can and does work, thanks to the experience.

 

The above anecdote is completely true, although it is easy to see how acupuncture may work as a 'placebo effect' if the person is desperate enough to believe. Did the acupuncture work for the man purely because he was desperate enough to give it a go? Or did it make a difference because it involved physical manipulation? Is it possible that it really worked, or was some other factor involved? 

 

 In the opinion of another sceptic, acupuncture can work because of the stress it exerts on an already stressed muscle of the body. The stress thus builds up to the extent that the muscle is forced to loosen, resulting in the relief in the particular ailment.  But what has science got to say about it?

 

Scientific studies

 

One study (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4274564/) found evidence in favour of acupuncture working for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).  'The purpose of the study was to assess the effects of catgut embedding acupuncture in improving of IBS.' It used three conditions: one group received clofac drug for IBS (DO), another group received 'catgut embedding acupuncture' (AP), whilst the third group received sham acupuncture (SA). Each group was comprised of 20 participants and the condition was double-blind. The 'Symptoms, pain, depression and anxiety' was evaluated before and after two weeks at the end of study. 

 

The results found that 'There was statistically significant difference between AP and SA and DO in constipation and bloating. Differences that were statistically significant favored acupuncture on pain'. 

 

The conclusion was 'Our finding showed a significant positive associated between acupuncture and IBS. Catgut embedding acupuncture is a new method which can eliminated IBS symptoms and can use as alternative therapeutic method for improvement of IBS.'

 

Clearly, if there is scientific evidence in support of there being a real effect in using acupuncture for treating certain ailments, then that evidence would also be relevant for acupressure.

 

Another study also found evidence that acupuncture was helpful for fibromyalgia (http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S0482-50042014000600431&script=sci_arttext&tlng=en). This study aimed to 'evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of fibromyalgia, considering the immediate response of the visual analogue pain scale (VAS) as its primary outcome.'.  The study was randomised and double-blind and involved 36 participants. Twenty-one underwent Traditional Chinese acupuncture, whilst the other fourteen had sham acupuncture. 'For pain assessment, the subjects completed a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) before and immediately after the proposed procedure. The mean change in VAS was compared among groups.' 

The results found the VAS scores to be significantly higher in the conditions that did not involve actual acupuncture, whilst the effect size for the real acupuncture condition  was 'considered a large effect'. It was therefore concluded that 'Acupuncture has proven effective in the immediate pain reduction in patients with fibromyalgia, with a quite significant effect size.'

 

Not surprisingly, however, some newspapers are still cynical of acupuncture - as they usually are when it comes to complementary medicine. In an article from July 2013, The Guardian published an article on acupuncture, featuring a few studies that found only minor differences in favour of acupuncture when compared to placebo. It raises some other explanations for how acupuncture might work, for example 'the gate control theory of pain', which is 'based on the idea that the spinal cord contains a neural "gate" that can open and close to reduce or enhance pain messages passing to the brain. Stress and tension can open these gates, as can boredom, lack of activity and focusing attention on pain. Relaxation, distraction and physical activity can close the gates. The theory remains controversial, but could explain why distraction and rubbing arms appear to ease pain. Similarly, it could also explain why the pinpricks of acupuncturists' needles do the same for some people. 

 

 

As to whether acupuncture works or not, the question requires further research, as there seem to be only a few studies on it - some find statistically significant findings that acupuncture works, whilst the rest find that it works no better than a placebo.

 

References

 

Accupressure by Michael Reed Gach

Accupressure's potent points - by Michael Reed Gach

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4274564/ - accessed 26/9/15 

 

http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S0482-50042014000600431&script=sci_arttext&tlng=en - accessed 26/9/15

 

 

Monthly Book Review (September): Spirited by Rebecca Rosen

Every month - that is the plan, anyway - I will review a book selected randomly from my Paranormal Library. This month, I will review Spirited by Rebecca Rosen.

Background: This book I first chanced upon four years ago in the mobile library that comes every Friday afternoon. It was probably my second or third book on psychic stuff at that time.


Spirited by Rebecca Rosen

This book is written in a down-to-earth, easy-to-read style. It is intended for those familiar with the concept of psychic and mediumship development, particularly since it has a foreword by James Van Praagh. 

The relaxed format this book has is typical of other books on psychic and mediumship development. Despite this, the book offers a slightly different take on those subjects, because it combines the author's personal experiences with activities for the eager reader to try, in order for them to develop their own psychic abilities. And, whilst this combination does appear in other books on the subject, it does not appear in such a delicate yet humorous, enjoyable manner as it does in Spirited.

Although this book is recommended for those interested in developing their psychic abilities, it is not a book ideal for those who are unfamilair with how seeming coincidences have profound spiritual meanings, as, dotted around the book are also accounts of coincidences which are taken by the author as evidence for a certain concept or idea. Because the significance of such coincidences is not adequately explained by Rosen, I do not find it the best book for a peek into the world of supposed psychic abilities. 

Nonetheless, the book is fun to read, because of the creative meditations included for the reader to do. Also, "testimonials" are added to help give credence to the author's (psychic) abilities. One such testimony involved a woman who had lost one of her baby boys at birth. Although he was a stillborn, his mother suffered from guilt because she had not found a way to try and make him live. As the story goes, a reading with Rosen enabled her to forgive herself for not having tried to help her baby survive, because she channelled the spirit of the stillborn baby who reassured his mum. Affirmations directed for the reader to use are included, which are aimed to help them on their spiritual journey.

As is evidenced throughout the pages, this book is aimed for those who are spiritually-inclined who need a small nudge to push them deeper into the world of spirituality. Some of the author's experiences are followed with voicing the reader's potential confused thoughts about her account. This is then followed with a spiritual concept - such as emotional damage experienced in this life being carried into the afterlife - which is explained with the author's convicted mediumistic belief. This can be useful for spiritualists who are, as has already been said, still a little new to the whole thing.

The author recounts an interesting story of how she made contact with her deceased Grandma Babe through automatic writing and received spiritual insight from her. As may be considered stereotypical, she claims that she was "...skeptical that my dead grandmother was truly "talking" to me...". This skepticism is blown away when she phones her father about "the white sheets" that her Gandma Babe tells her about. When her father tells her about how he had gone down into the cellar to where his mother - and where he'd found white sheets under her dead body - Rosen is "shocked by the validation" and finds herself becoming a believer that the dead continue to live, but in spiritual form.

Realising that the reader might be skeptical of this account, the author assures that the reader can find evidence for "believing or trusting in something that isn't tangible" for themselves by, later on, teaching them "how to read the signs" and see the truth of what she's claiming for themselves. 


The author includes in later pages what particular symbols may mean in a spiritual sense - such as an ashtray - to help the reader when they are developing their psychic abilities. At the same time, the book is filled with advice for the reader to heal themselves emotionally (and psychologically). 

The book is then concluded with a selection of meditations for the reader to do.




Look out for next month's book review!

Monthly Book Review (October): This House Is Haunted by Guy Lyon Playfair

Every month - that is the plan, anyway - I will review a book selected randomly from my Paranormal Library. This month, I will review This House Is Haunted by Guy Lyon Playfair.

This House Is Haunted by Guy Lyon Playfair

This book was, undoubtedly, a very good enjoyable read. It relayed Playfair's account of his co-investigation of the Enfield Poltergeist case that began on 31 August 1977. It is written in an extremely easy-to-read yet entertaining style, and recounted some rather fascinating accounts of phenomena he witnessed during the time that he and Maurice Grosse were investigating.
   Alongside some photographs of Janet being "levitated" from her bed and graphs obtained through the use of specialist equipment that was brought along by a  visiting physicist, the book provides an exclusive insight into one of the best cases of poltergeist activity.
   In the book, we meet the family of four who are plagued by poltergeist activity - which started off as merely flying marbles and pieces of  Lego  - Janet, Rose, Jimmy and Mrs Harper. As the book progresses, the tale becomes more and more compelling - to the extent that I found it difficult to put the book down! The level of activity seems to go up and down, and the list of the phenomena that the family experienced was varied, although it was  monotonous most often. The activity seemed to be based around Janet, although Playfair and Grosse counted out the possibility of fraud on behalf of the twelve-year-old girl. Some experts both investigators brought in proved to be useless, whilst others seemed to be, at first, helpful. Some individuals, however, were hell-bent on finding evidence for fraud, convinced that the case and the phenomena were only the product of trickery. One such individual was a magician, who was adamant that Janet was behind all of  the phenomena at Enfield. However, the evidence did not seem to account for fraud. How was it possible, for example, for Janet to maintain the voice of an old man for hours at a time, even with the use of her false vocal cords?
    At times, the phenomena reported was amusing: for example, a shoe danced in front of the investigators, whilst at other times, the phenomena was disgusting. Some of the most intriguing examples that appealed to me the most were the books that seemed to pass through the wall and into the family's neighbour's household, as well as various items levitating even when people were sat on them.
In conclusion, Playfair's account of the Enfield poltergeist was a compelling one. I found it an addictive read that was both informative and entertaining. It has spurred me into finding out more about the remarkable case of the Enfield Poltergeist.

Look out for next month's book review!

Monthly Book Review (August): Tai Chi Chi Kung by Peter Chin Kean Choy

Every month - that is the plan, anyway - I will review a book selected randomly from my Paranormal Library. This month, I will review Tai Chi Chi Kung by Peter Chin Kean Choy.

Background: I found this excellent book in a local Oxfam shop, having asked the guy at the till if he knew whether they had any books on 'Qi gong'. He didn't know what that was and said that he didn't think that they did have any books on it. I looked anyway and found Tai Chi Chi Kung by Peter Chin Kean Choy. I knew that contrary to what the guy told me, this was a book on what i was looking for, since  'Chi Kung' is another term for 'Qi gong'.

Tai Chi Chi Kung by Peter Chin Kean Choy review

I'd previously read Choy's other book, 'Tai Chi', so I was not surprised by the layout - which did not seem to have changed in the slightest. As usual, colourful, uplifting photographs of smiling people were used to illustrate the movements. As indicated by the title, the book teaches techniques from both Tai Chi and Chi Kung. 

    Although just as informative as ever, the only real difference with the Tai Chi Chi Kung - aside from the fact that the book Tai Chi Chi Kung dealt with Chi Kung as well, whilst the Tai Chi book didn't -  is that it has pages referring to 'Homework' with instructions for the reader regarding the exercises to practise, as well as space to record their own experiences or feelings regarding the exercises. These I feel are a nice idea, although I've never really bothered to make use of them. 

    The reader cannot get confused with which exercises are 'Tai chi' and which are 'Chi Kung' because, aside from the fact that by the chapter name at the top of the page it says which practice it belongs to, at the start of each exercise in bold writing, it says whether it is Tai chi or Chi Kung. 

    Furthermore, whilst the Tai chi book has a small introduction to 'Aqua Tai chi', the Tai Chi Chi Kung book has fun Chi Kung exercises that are aimed at young children, which I think is a great idea.

   In summary, the book made simple, yet informative, inspiring and uplifting reading. The pictures of the people in colourful clothing with smiling faces made the reading even more enjoyable - a trait shared with Choy's Tai Chi book. And although it carries out the same layout as the other book, it has some well-made differences, too - like the exercises for young children to do. Once again, a book that can be recommended to anyone who wants to learn how to do Tai Chi, Chi Kung or who has children who they want to teach - and do with them - Chi Kung. 


Look out for next month's book review!

Monthly Book Review (JULY) : Kinesiology for Better Health by Brian H Butler

Monthly Book Review: Kinesiology for Better Health by Brian H Butler

Every month - that is the plan, anyway - I will review a book selected randomly from my Paranormal Library. This month, I will review Kinesiology for Better Health by Brian H Butler.

Background: Kinesiology for Better Health by Brian H Butler is a manual that was given to me as part of a £1200 course that spanned over 8 weeks a couple of years ago. This was a self-help course which delivered the basics of a type of kinesiology called Systematic Kinesiology. Systematic kinesiology uses the concept of 'different systems' within the body, or different energetic circuits. Although it still uses the same muscle-testing idea, and though the same sceptics' arguments for general kinesiology practice would still apply to systematic kinesiology, this type of kinesiology differs from clinical kinesiology as well as the other sorts for various different reasons.

Kinesiology for Better Health by Brian H Butler review

I found this a useful guide to complement my practising muscle-testing during the aforementioned course. It provides an in-depth overview of all the diffferent concepts I learnt about on the course, such as the best way to go about testing the Strong Indicator Muscle (abbreviated to SIM), as well as explaining the concept of kinesiology behind the practice. It includes pages on all the muscles the course taught us about - such as the supraspinatus muscle - and which meridian and organ it is linked to. On these pages dedicated to the different muscles tested, photographs of how to test the particular muscle are included, as well as an explanation to provide more information about the position the muscle should be in before testing. Furthermore, it lists the sort of problems with the muscle that relate to its weakness, for example studying a new project or driving long distances. It lists the nutrition related to the muscle which gives the student a basic idea of what nutritional deficiencies may be causing the weakness of the muscle. This is to guide them to possible forms of treatment, because if a person is deficient in, for example, B-vitamins, this may be the reason why their supraspinatus is not as strong as it should be. Other forms of treatment illustrated are the 'Neuro-Vascular' points, which are acupuncture points normally on different areas of the head. Other points, which are supposed to be massaged, are called the 'Neuro-Lymphatics' and diagrams for where these are located for each muscle are included, to help the student massage in the right place.

The meridian location is shown on the photograph of a man, which is useful for students because it helps them to learn how to 'trace' the meridian, as a further treatment. The exact physiology of the muscle is given, as well as the 'Meridian Energy Interchange' instructions, which can be employed if required. 

Further guidance for muscle testing is given. The author explains what is expected should a muscle be "strong" - that the muscle should resist the slight pressure applied by the practitioner; that it should seem"locked" - it resists the pressure, which is seen as an indicator of good health. Should the muscle succumb as a consequence of the pressure, then weakness of the muscle is perceived and then the practitioner should endeavour to treat it by employing the techniques as already mentioned. The variables which may affect the functioning of the muscles is outlined, which is a useful aid for the dawdling beginner.

The book advocates the 'whole person approach' and this is illustrated by the fact that it starts off with a couple of pages delivering that whole concept at the beginning, and is encountered again some time later. 

Helpful exercises, which were also shown on the course I did, are given for the reason that these may benefit the person the practitioner may be working with as these help brain power, as well as co-ordination and memory. These exercises are also illustrated and are also great fun to do. These include cross-crawl which involves moving the opposite limbs simultaneously in different directions. 

The flow of energy, as well as further information about the meridian system is given, as well as more comprehensive diagrams of how to trace the meridians of the body for different muscles. 
Food is a major topic covered, due to the explanation of which muscles are typically tested for testing for food sensitivity, as well as emphasising the importance of having a balanced diet. The student is reminded also of the best place to put food when testing it - which is usually on the naval, or in the mouth, due to the greater senstivity of these areas - as well as the professional procedure to implement for testing food on the client. Common food sensitivites and the muscles they are related to are listed to help provide the student with a general overview. This is helpful because it can give a general idea of what to expect when a food sensitivity is encountered. 

Correction practices are further explained, which may be necessary to include in an actual treatment - for example, 'pulse sychronisation' which can, through synchronising the client's heartbeat with the practitioner's through toughing the pulse, resolve any imbalances. 

As the book progresses, the ideas for how to use kinesiology, as well as the treatments to use become more and more advanced. Before the pages of muscles as explained earlier continues, the Oriental concept of 'Wheel Energy Balancing' is explained, as this can be used for determining what to do when it comes to doing a general testing of the muscles. Each of the meridians and therefore their corresponding muscles and organs pertain to a particular element (out of Earth, Wood, Metal, Fire and Water). This author, however, assures the student that testing in this way is not always necessary.


I found the book a good read and very helpful during the self-help course. I would recommend it to anyone who might have some degree of interest in this form of complementary therapy. 

One criticism of mine is that in a social setting such as the treatment room of the practitioner, the client, if they are female, may feel uncomfortable when the muscle corrections involve her massaging under her bra-line (a Neuro-Lymphatic treatment). Presumably, the practitioner would avoid this particular treatment entirely, or ask the client to do it herself. Either the way, the book does not advise what to do.

My second criticism is that if I was to take this whole approach to healing further, I would need to bale out £10,000 in order to fund the professional training course. And whilst I enjoyed the course that the book supplemented, I nonetheless found it intense and difficult to absorb all the information I needed to learn. Although the book is a good taster, the course is not suited for the faint-hearted, and clearly someone needs to be affluent in order to be able to afford the final course to become a professional. 


Look out for the next Book Review - on Peter Chin Kean Choy's Tai chi chi kung book - out sometime next month!

Aromatherapy

Introduction

There is nothing like the smell of a rose. Its smell is irresistible - when people see a beautiful red rose, they will go over towards it just to take a sniff. The smell of blossom is also tantalising. So, what is aromatherapy all about? Smelling the scent of a beautiful rose, or is it something more? Scroll down to find out more.

How aromatherapy first came to be

Aromatherapy as it is known today was, actually, discovered 'by accident' . The story, as told on p.69 of The Hamlyn Encyclopaedia to Complementary Health,  - by Bradford is that in the 1930's, a chemist named Rene-Maurice Gattefosse burned himself in a laboratory. As a natural reflex action, he dunked his burned hand into the nearest glass of liquid - what he probably thought was water. It turned out to be lavender essential oil. What Gattefosse found was that his hand '...healed remarkably quickly, without infection and no trace of scaring'. At that time, essential oils were already around, but it wasn't until Gattefosse's experience that serious research into aromatherapy really began.

Aromatherapy consists of the different types of oils - see below. These are used for different purposes, depending on the issues of the client.

Oils

Carrier oils - such as sweet almond - have no particular scent. They cause no irritation or harm to one's skin and can safely be used to dilute pure essential oils. The dilution is usually given on the essential oil bottle and may be something like the following: 'dilute a couple of drops of essential oil in 5ml of carrier oil'.  Essential oils can also be diluted in oils found in the home - such as extra virgin olive oil, or avocado oil.

Absolutes - these are the purest essential oils. These are usually the more expensive because they haven't been diluted (and so cost more because they contain more of the actual essential oil).

Essential oils -  Essential oils are the natural oils derived from plants. For example, lavendar, tea tree, ylang ylang, rosemary and rose. They are used in some cosmetics, shampoos, soaps, air fresheners, as well as in some foods. Some can be affordable - such as lavender oil - whilst others are pricey - for example, rose oil. Rose oil is extremely expensive because it takes an enormous amount of rose petals to produce a little bottle of essential oil. In my opinion, these natural oils are called 'essential' because they are thought to be - or contain - the 'essence' of the plant. These oils are derived through the process of distillation. The petals, stems or leaves may be used for this process, depending on which parts contain the greatest amount of natural oil. Generally, they are diluted in a base oil (another term for carrier oils). They can also be added to food, as well as to skin creams, or aloe vera gel and used on the skin. It is suggestd to dab a bit of essential oil to  small area of skin and then watch for any sign of irritation in the next one or two days, to check for possible allergy. If no irritation is present, it is possible to try the oil neat on the skin. However, for citrus oils such as lemon, it is best to just dilute it in carrier oil.

To give a general idea, the following provides a list of the properties of a few essential oils. Books list psychological conditions (e.g. stress, depression) that the oil can help alongside physical conditions it may help with (e.g. acne, cuts and wounds). Although I've given a brief excerpt from some books to give a rough idea of how the following oils may help, they are not at all complete, because usually a greater description is given of their medicinal properties and actions.

Lavender - Lavender Oil - by Lawless, Julia , from a brief flick through the pages, says it can help with ''Dizziness, herpes, acne, depression, fatigue, cuts/wounds, asthma, sunburn, stress, scabies, palpitations, muscular aches and pains'. The book is centred on the applications to be implemented for these conditions and so is a useful guide for anyone who wants to have an in-depth view of how lavender oil can be used.

A more well-known use of lavender oil is with its use for treating insomnia. A few drops of the oil placed on the pillow can encourage the insomnia sufferer to sleep by its soothing, relaxing scent. However, if the insomnia is due to lack or relaxation before sleep due to an over-active mind, then this method of treatment may help. However, if an over-active mind is not the underlying cause of insomnia, then this way of treating it may not work.

Lemon - according to p.12 of Essential Aromatherapy- by Jenny Plucknett, Lenib is 'stimulating, invigorating and astringent' and is 'deodorising, diuretic and antiseptic' and can be used to overcome an aching body, mental exhaustion or for lousy circulation. It must be remembered that this oil MUST be diluted in carrier oil because it can cause definite skin irritation, and, if it is taken, it MUST be ensured that the person is not exposed to sunlight for 48 hours (according to one book, though according to Essential Aromatherapy, p.13, it is a maximum of 6 hours that the person must not be exposed to sunlight. According to Aromatherapy by Nicola Jenkins - p.45, for Bergamot {another citrus essential oil}, the person must not be exposed to sunlight for 12 hours).

Tea tree oil, according to p.178 of The Encyclopedia of Essential oils by Julia Lawless, has 'Anti-infectious, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, antiviral, bactericidal, balsamic, cicatrisant, diaphoric, expectorant, fungicidal, immuno-stimulant, parasiticide, vulnerary' actions. This is why is can be found in some (more natural-based) mouthwashes, as well as some toothpastes. The Encyclopedia of Essential oils - by Julia Lawless provides a very comprehensive guide to the uses and actions of many essential oils and is highly recommended for those who want to find out more. 

  
Extraction

The price of essential oils depends, not surprisingly, on how much of it is made. If tonnes of the plant are needed to make even a drop of oil, the essential oil made will be expensive to buy. Although rose oil is commonly found in beauty products, usually the sort used is of an impure grade - it has been diluted. This, logically, is because pure rose oil is expensive. For this reason, the diluted rose oil is used because it is cheaper and makes the product that uses it more economic. Sometime earlier in 2015 - around May -  the extraction of rose essential oil was featured on Food Unwrapped on Channel 4 (Series 5, Episode 4.) According to the programme, 1.4 kg of rose essential oil is made from 4 tonnes of rose petals. This explains why rose oil is one of the most expensive aromatherapy oils to purchase. This episode (from YouTube) is below:

The episode parts relating to the distillation of rose essential oil can be found at 3.00 - 4.28 minutes in and 14.14 - 17.36 minutes in. The distillation section is from 15.11 minutes to - 17.36 minutes.

Aromatherapy in practice

Strictly speaking, it is always advised to dilute pure essential oils in a 'carrier oil'. There are exceptions to this rule, however. Lavender oil can be applied neat on the skin without dilution, and in most cases, so can tea tree oil. However, for those with sensitive skin, tea tree oil may cause irritation if it does not get diluted in a carrier oil. 

         The citrus essential oils can cause especial problems if they are applied neat to the skin. (I once applied a couple of drops of lemon essential oil neat on the skin and was overcome with subsequent itchiness that occurred shortly afterwards). Also, citrus essential oils are sensitive to light, so they are ideally used -diluted of course - on the skin with no exposure in 48 hours to light.

      A rule of thumb in aromatherapy - when it comes to blending different essential oils together - is to blend a maximum of four oils together (in a carrier oil). 

Application 

An aromatherapy treatment may consist of massaging particular oils into the skin of the client, depending on their needs. There are six different techniques for this.

Baths - Although some shampoos have essential oils in their ingredients, a few drops of a chosen essential oil may be added to the bath water. This is a great way of ensuring that one smells nice and floral after a bath.

Incense - A New-Age edition to any home is lighting an incense stick. Myrrh and frankincense are excellent choices, whilst Clary sage may be employed to "cleanse" the energy of a room that feels rather down-beat and depressing. Incense consists of a stick with essential oil already added and only requires lighting with a match and "swabbing" around the room. They are usually used to spice up the atmosphere of a room, or for energy cleansing a home.

Friction rub - One palm moves flat across the skin in a forwards motion, whilst the other moves backwards in the opposite direction, also flat.

Ingestion - Due to their intensity, it is not advisable to take essential oils internally. They may be taken safely in the form of food - for example, Nestle's After Eights chocolates contain peppermint essential oil, as well as Plamil's organic mint chocolate - or, as Shirley Price suggests in her Practical Aromatherapy, a couple of drops can be placed on a sugar cube and eaten. From personal experience, essential oils do not taste pleasant - rather, they actually taste rather disgusting.

Inhalation - Water is boiled and poured into a basin. A few drops of essential oil (e.g. lavender) is added to the how water and a towel is based over it as well as over the head of the inhaler. The person inhaling may have a blocked-up nose or a throat filled with mucus and inhaling the oil may help to clear this. 

Kneading - same concept as for when bread dough is kneaded: The fingers of both hands are kept next to each other, and the thumbs are left at 90 degree angles. Flesh is passed across, towards the other hand - like one does with sticky bread dough. The thumbs are used to move the skin towards the fingers.   

Plasters - A couple of drops of lavender oil may be added to a plaster and placed over a wound or cut. A couple of drops of essential oil that has been diluted with carrier oil may be applied to the plaster instead.

Pummelling - the hands are made into fists and then moved rapidly down onto the skin, in a drum-like motion. One fist follows the other, and parts of the fingers may also be used to complement the treatment.

Raking - The fingers are moved downwards, like one uses a rake to rake up the fallen autumn leaves from a grassy lawn. This can be a soothing, relatively gentle treatment. The fingers are moved down the skin.

Stroking - The fingers are traced lightly over the skin and the pressure may be light, or slightly more manipulating by increasing the pressure. This can be beneficial for tired, aching joints, as well as for joint pains. It can also encourage circulation to areas where the blood circulation is poor by stroking firmly the specific area.

Thumbing - The thumb is used for this and this technique is just an extension of kneading. The pad of the thumb is used, as well as its side, and kneads the skin firmly but deeply; the pressure may be placed and held for a time before being released in a stroking manner. It may be done in circular motions.


What should I do if I get essential oil in my eyes?

This is not a pleasant experience, because the oil actually stings the eyes. What is advised is to go and immediately wash the eyes with cold, running water until the oil has gone. A flannel may be used for extra effect to dab the cold water around the eyes. If washing the eyes with cold water does not do the job, the person should go and see their doctor. 

How does it work?

As is explained below, aromatherapy is believed to work through the effect of the constituent chemicals of the oils on the brain. If the oils are inhaled, then the chemicals will be absorbed through the nose, to act more directly on the brain because they are not dealt with by the liver first.

          If the oils are massaged into the skin, then they will be absorbed by the skin and end up in the bloodstream, to be checked with by the liver. After this, they will be carried (it is said) in the bloodstream to the organs of the body. A more thorough explanation is given below.

 
A recent study

On http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-33519453, there is featured a recent study that looks into whether rosemary essential oil can improve memory - with interesting results. Although more research is needed, it does provide an interesting revelation: that perhaps aromatherapy might help people in the way it is claimed - to some degree at least. 

   For proponents of aromatherapy, the results of the study are not surprising, because how aromatherapy works is explains in terms of chemistry - how certain chemicals contained in the oils can have a healing effect on the person being treated - particularly on their brain. The article explains that one of the chemicals in rosemary oil is '...called 1.8-cineole -[and] as well as smelling wonderful (if you like that sort of thing) it may act in the same way as the drugs licensed to treat dementia, causing an increase in a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine.

These compounds do this by preventing the breakdown of the neurotransmitter by an enzyme. And this is highly plausible - inhalation is one of the best ways of getting drugs into the brain. When you eat a drug it may be broken down in the liver which processes everything absorbed by the gut, but with inhalation small molecules can pass into the bloodstream and from there to the brain without being broken down by the liver.'
In confirmation of this, '...Mark and his team analysed blood samples and found traces of the chemicals in rosemary oil in the blood.'

      References

Aromatherapy - by Sadler, Julie 

Aromatherapy - by Jenkins, Nicola

Aromatherapy - by Wildwood, Christine

Aromatherapy, A guide for home use - by Westwood, Christine
Aromatherapy, Esential - by Plucknett, Jenny

Complementary Health, The Hamlyn Encyclopaedia to - by Bradford, Nikki [et al.]

Essential oils, a guide to - by  Harding, Jennie

Essential oils, The encyclopedia of - by Lawless, Julia
Oil, Lavender - by Lawless, Julia

Herbal Remedies

Introduction

Herbal remedies - or herbalism - involves the use of medicinal herbs to help cure or alleviate suffering as caused by illnesses or ailments. It is a practice which is a great deal older than Western orthodox medicine, which constitutes pharmaceutical drugs prescribed to treat a patient's symptoms. Many of these drugs were originally derived from plants, although it is not a subject much talked about. Although other ways of treating health also use herbal remedies - for example, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM for short) and Ayurvedic medicine (the traditional healing system of India) - these will not be mentioned in this article for several reasons. The first being that those are unfamiliar to me, the second being that this article is concerned with the traditional way of treating illness as practised in the UK and Europe before pharmaceutical medicine drove up the road. Although there is a great deal of information waiting for curious eyes to find it, both in books and on the web, on the subject of pharmaceutical medicine, the topic will only be touched on in passing.

Herbal Healing?

Today's Western orthodox medicine seems to be in stark contrast to the traditional medicine of a couple of centuries ago. However, it must be said that much of today's pharmaceutical medicines are derived from plants. For example, the drug aspirin was derived originally from the bark of the willow tree, whilst digitalis was originally got from the foxglove. Some other examples can be found on http://www.rain-tree.com/plantdrugs.htm#.VZuTIvmFmhY. 

According to Herbalism, by Christopher Robbins, p.68, herbalists '...normally choose herbs for prescriptions on the basis of their actions on the body, and not because they match the patient's symptoms.' In other words, the herbalist will try to match the herb to what may be seen as the underlying cause behind the symptoms the patient presents them with. For example, if a person came up to the herbalist with symptoms that were seen as relating to a sluggish liver, they may be given liverwort to encourage their liver to function, rather than being given remedies that tackle the immediate problem. This is, of course, contrary to how practitioners of orthodox Western medicine practice. Medical doctors would prescribe the patient with medicines that are supposed to tackle with the symptoms. 

   Herbalism is one of the types of complementary therapies in which the whole person is considered, and not just their physical ailments which afflict their well-being. This is called the holistic approach and is the principle adopted by most complementary therapists. Indeed, the mental, spiritual, emotional and psychological aspects of a person are taken into account, not just their physical state as well their nutrition. The herbs given for ailments are tailored to the person being treated, to address the ailment on these dimensions.

     Although herbal remedies do not have side-effects - unlike pharmaceutical drugs - not all of them are suited to everyone. For example, some herbs are supposed to avoided in pregnancy - a fact which also goes for some aromatherapy oils. These are best looking into at length, should a pregnant woman take herbal remedies or aromatherapy oils. Also, some people may be allergic to some plants - which means that they can't take a particular herbal remedy. However, such allergies should be listed in the first session with the herbalist, as that is the time when they need a detailed background of the person's health, which included any allergies. This means that the herbalist should be able to prescribe remedies that are from herbs that the person is not allergic to.

 Taking herbs

Although herbs can be taken as "supplements" taken in tablet form, that is not the best way to truly enjoy their benefits. 

Poultice - A poultice is made by grinding up the dried herb, adding water - sufficient quantity to make it into a paste - then it is applied on the afflicted area with a bandage wrapped over to keep it in place.

Infusion - The herb - which can be dried or left fresh, but washed - is placed in a mug and hot boiled water is poured on top. The leaves are left to rest in the mug then taken out after about five minutes. They are then taken out and the tea is then drunk.

Tincture - These are made by chopping up the herb. This is then put into a clean jar of suitable size, with spirit mixed with water added. Ensure that this is labelled clearly. This mixture is then left in a cool, dark place for two weeks and the liquid is strained through a sieve into small, glass bottles that are clean. Label these with the name of the substance, e.g. 'lavendar tincture' and date made. Make sure you know how much to take of the tincture.

Herbal Remedies, by Christopher Hedley and Non Shaw gives an excellent account of how to make these, as well as how to make ointments and creams. However, the tincture of poultice of a herb can be applied externally if mixed with aloe vera gel, which can be obtained easily.

Some herbs and their uses

Aloe Vera - Can be used for burns, wounds, stings, bee stings, sun burn, burns, diabetes, antiseptic, antibacterial, astringent, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, anti-tumour, anti-viral, blood sugar lowering, breastplate angina, bronchitis, bruises, cerebral trauma, coronary insufficiencies, cystitis, decongestive, diuretic, headaches, heart palpitations, hypertension, hysteria, inflammation from insect bites, insomnia, kidney infections, liver protection, lung virosis, moral depressions, muscle aches, nephritis, neurosis, nightmares, night terrors, paresis, rheumatic pain, semiparesis, sprains, superficial phlebitis, wound healing, haemorrhage, irritable bladder, bleeding... the list goes on and on! For burns, stings, etc. it can be applied externally. This is done by applying the gel from the leaves, which, although best fresh from the leaf if a plant is available, can be purchased from natural health shops. Aloe vera can be taken internally - as a tea made from the leaves.

Blackcurrent - in Grow Your Own Drugs, p.158, Wong says is

'...used to treat long-lasting inflammatory skin conditions like eczema, as well as PMS, breast pain, mild hypertension and rheumatic disorders. Blackcurrent oil outperforms evening primrose oil, though it needs to be taken over 6 months for best effect. As the oil comes from the seeds, it's probably easier to buy rather than make at home, as you'll need very large quantities of fruit. You can, however, make the leaves into a tea for use as a mild diuretic, to lower blood pressure and alleviate inflammatory sore throats. The berries themselves are also antiviral, protecting against flu.'

 

Chickweed - in Herbal Healers, p.16, Kindred tells us: 'Use an infusion of the leaves to soothe all inflammations of the digestive system, including stomach ulcers, colitis, cramps. It has an affinity to the lungs, and is helpful for bronchitis, pleurisy, coughs and hoarseness.' 

Milkwort - According to p.37 of Lust's About Herbs, milkwort '...is used for its milk-giving properties...'. Its root, when powdered, '...is prescribed for pleurisy, and in cases of dropsy three teaspoonfuls an hour of a decoction made from the roots has proved successful.' 

For more information on herbs, there is a list of recommended books for further reading at the end of the article.

 

Folk names

Sometimes, the folk names given to plants gives an indication of what their traditional uses in herbal remedies might be. But it is not always the case, and discrimination and logic must be exercised. To illustrate, lemon balm also goes under the name of Bee balm. This does not, however, mean that the plant is good for bee stings, or anything to do with bees. A bit of research may reveal why it has its namesake, as well as further investigation that shows that it is not necessarily good for treating bee stings. Usually, plants' names that suggest their herbal properties, include the Old English wort, which means, according to the Oxford English dictionary, means 'herb, plant', although, as the small list below will show, this is not always the case. 

Bone-set - Comfrey

Bruisewort - Daisy
Eyebright - A remedy recommended by herbalists for eye problems.
Feverfew - A remedy still recommended today by herbalists for treating headaches, migraines and fevers.

Heartsease - Wild violet

Knitbone - Comfrey
Liverwort - Used for ailments of the liver.

Lungwort - Common lungwort
Milk thistle - One use of this spiky plant is to take this (that is, the inside of the plant, which has the spiky outside sliced off) to increase the mother's supply of milk.
Milkwort - Traditionally, this was (and some people still use it as such) the remedy for increasing the mother's supply of milk

Motherwort - Recommended for motherly/female ailments
Pilewort - Lesser celadine

Piss-in-the-bed - Dandelion (in herbalism, dandelion is a diuretic!)

Ribwort - English plaintain
Scabwort - Elecampagne
Spleenwort - A type of fern, which, according to Wikipedia, 'was useful for ailments of the spleen, due to the spleen-shaped sori on the backs of the fronds.' However, I can't find any confirmation of this in books. Nonetheless, a branch of herbalism believed that if a plant resembled, in some way, a body part or ailment (e.g. the spleen, or piles), then that plant must be a remedy for the ailments of that body part, or for that condition.
Wormwood - This plant has been traditionally used to treat worms, as well as other parasites.

Applications

 

These 'case histories' below are completely fabricated but designed to illustrate how, practically, herbal medicines may be taken for real ailments.

 

Daisy has sore, tired eyes which are irritated by constantly watching television. Although she has stopped watching television after realising how bad her eyes felt, her eyes are still feeling sore and tired. 

She is prescribed eyebright, a herbal powder she is advised to mix in water and have a daily eye-bath twice a day, or each time her eyes feel tired. One or two teaspoons mixed in warm water carefully splashed on the closed eyes. 

Other advice: Daisy could give Bate's Method a go, to see if that can improve the condition of her eyes. Although it may benefit those with short or long sightedness, it may help her eyes to get better and recover from excess strain. 

Luke has worms. He is a black Labrador dog. His owner, Jane, who is a practising herbalist, decides to give him powdered wormwood in his dog food, twice a day, for a few weeks. She has also heard that one hundred pumpkin seeds, when eaten, can cure an outbreak or worms. She grinds these and mixes them into Luke's dog food. 

Penny is recovering from having broken her ankle. She applies the poutlice of comfrey onto her trouble ankle and takes comfrey tea internally.

Jake, a 5-year-old boisterous, rowdy lad is constantly covered in bruises. His parents apply poultices of bruisewort (daisy) onto the bruises, which help to reduce inflammation and pain.

Who was Nicholas Culpeper?

Culpeper is one of the most well-known herbalists of today. He was the author of Complete Herbal, a book which lists descriptions and uses for countless different herbs and plants that were available in his time. Today, the Complete Herbal is still available to buy, due to re-publication. His book provides an interesting insight into his herbal knowledge which also accommodated knowledge of astrology in relation to the planets. 

He was born in 1616 and died in 1654.  According to the Science Museum website, he was '...an English apothecary and physician.' Also, he '...published books in English, giving healers who could not read Latin access to medical and pharmaceutical knowledge.'

According to the Skyscript website, 'At the age of ten Nicholas started reading astrological and medical texts from his grandfather's library. In particular Sir Christopher Heydon's Defence of Judicial Astrology (1603) greatly impressed him. He was fond of reading and looking at the illustrations in William Turner's New Herball (1568). From his early teens he was familiar with all the local species of herbs that grew in his part of Sussex. BY 13 he was an avid reader of many of the books available in the library.'

Culpeper's book, Complete Herbal, was known as The English Physician, according to the Science Museum website. This had been first published in 1653. 

References

Herbal Remedies - by Hedley, Christopher and Shaw, Non

Nature's Medicines - by Digest, Reader's

The Country Way of Cures and Remedies - by Page, Robin

Grow Your Own Drugs (As seen on BBC) - by Wong, James

Herbal Healers by Kindred, Glennie

About Herbs - by Lust, Dr Benedict

Culpeper's Complete Herbal - by Culpeper, Nicholas

Neal's Yard Natural Remedies - by Curtis, Susan; Fraser, Romy and Kohler, Irene

Herbalism - by Robbins, Christopher

Nicholas Culpeper  

Science Museum 

Skyscript

Edible Wild Food