Undying Love

Suzanne Bernstein said she and her husband, Sidney, eat side-by-side when they go out, always walk hand-in-hand, and begin and end each day with “I love [1] you.”
The couple from Weehawken, N.J., have been married 18 years and Suzanne said the relationship is as passionate as when they first met.
Now research exists to support her claim.

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The Self As Metaprogrammer

The human brain is not a static computing device merely receiving and processing information acquired by its sensoria but, rather, it is a dynamic and plastic network of neural centers, each specialized to handle specific tasks, coordinated with each other through a continuously changing array of associative connections between hundreds of billions of neural cells. (Readers are encouraged to look through "The Self & It’s Brain" by Karl Popper & John Eccles for exhaustive studies of neuronal plasticity in associative networks and their implications for consciousness.) While the various regions of the brain are shared by all humans, and the functions of those regions are essentially the same in each of us, the connections between them and the intangible interface which integrates experience between our senses and our mind is absolutely unique to each individual. Genetic predisposition, early imprints, and life experiences each contribute to the ever-evolving construct of the individual. And behind it all in the secret center of our mind, resides the self, absolutely intangible but undeniably real, stringing together the momentary snapshots of the sensoria, creating our sense of time and guiding the processes of mind in accord with its will. But while many may never question the way their mind and brain color their world, others seek to elevate the self to the level of meta-programmer and actively break the bonds of belief to rewire the associative network of the brain and its mind. Many tools exist for such a task, including the archaic techniques of shamanism, the use of psychedelic compounds, and the canon of western esoterica commonly known as magick. By employing these and other methods it is possible to directly modify the physiology of the brain and reprogram the mind in accord with the ideals of the self. (Please note that this paper is not intended to present a reductionist or mechanistic view of consciousness. The visionary experiences of shamanism and the phenomenology of magick are far more profound and ineffable than if they were simply side effects of metabolism.)

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Buddhism and Sex

This is an age in which sexual matters are discussed with great openness. There are many who are puzzled to know what the Buddhist attitude towards sex is, and it is therefore to be hoped that the following guidelines may be found helpful towards an understanding. It is, of course, true to say that Buddhism, in keeping with the principle of the Middle Way, would advocate neither extreme puritanism nor extreme permissiveness, but this, as a guiding principle without further specification, may not seem sufficiently helpful for most people.
In the first place, we must distinguish between the rules undertaken by Buddhist monks for their own conduct, and any guiding principles for lay people.

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Thyroid Hormone And Astrocyte Morphogenesis

Astrocyte cells clearly play a role in neural development, but nowadays their total action is seen as a far wider one. Recent findings consider them as stem cells, involved in the control of most facets of functional neural networks. Astrocytes play a central role in thyroid hormone metabolism in the brain, being the principal transporters of thyroxine from the blood, responsible for its conversion to 3,5,3′-triiodothyronine and hence supplying the neural tissues with the biologically active form of the hormone. Specific thyroid hormone transporters play an essential role in this regulatory system. The presence of thyroid hormone receptors has been demonstrated in cultured astrocytes. Furthermore, thyroid hormone regulates several aspects of astrocyte differentiation and maturation, including the production of extracellular matrix proteins and growth factors, and thus controls neuronal growth and neuritogenesis. Therefore, astrocytes are currently suggested as important mediators of thyroid hormone in neuronal development.

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Making Love Across Generations

In an excerpt from her new memoir, Ann Marlowe ponders why she has been drawn to romances with much older — and younger — men.
By Ann Marlowe

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Living With Resolute Determination

How can you live with a resolute determination and steadfastness when you feel stuck or overwhelmed with uncertainty? Here is how…

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Deprogramming

This Article shows you the first steps towards claiming back mastery of your life. It looks at how your brain can be observed and brought under control to move your life in the desired direction.

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New Drugs May Act As Brain’s Fountain Of Youth

It would be hard to imagine improving on the intelligence of computer engineer Bjoern Stenger, a doctoral candidate at Cambridge University. Yet for several hours, a pill seemed to make him even brainier.

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Respecting Democratic Roles

I am delighted to be with you tonight and to have been invited to deliver the keynote address to this important audience. It is not often that the three branches of government – legislative, executive and judicial – gather to discuss their responsibilities and their relationships.

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Memory Drugs Create New Ethical Minefield

We can wring our hands all we want about pills that make learning more effective without greater effort, offending the belief that gains should be hard-earned, or about drugs that selectively erase painful memories, evoking a Brave New World of the happily drugged — and less-than-fully human. I have a feeling it won’t make much difference. “Patient” has become synonymous with “consumer,” someone unlikely to take kindly to physicians, let alone ethicists, blocking his or her pursuit of self-improvement and happiness.

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