Green Tea Fat Loss: Quick and Convenient

Lose Weight from Drinking Green Tea

Hey Everyone,

Recently, I have been hearing that green tea can help people to lose weight without changing their diet or exercise regimen. For the past two weeks, I have decided to see for myself what the hype has been about with drinking green tea.

First I went to the store, and bought different kinds of green tea to see which ones I might like. I found that there are several that I like to drink, and some aren't as bitter tasting as others. There have been many studies indicating how good green tea is for you to drink, but until now I never knew it could help with weight loss when drank three to four times a day.

So, this is how I drink my tea. I eat a meal and make the tea. I let the tea cool off all the way until it is warm, but not hot. I then drink it about one hour after my meal has been eaten. I do this for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I recently, went to the doctors, and I have lost two pounds and have not changed anything in my diet except for adding the green tea.

So, I now am making sure to drink the tea three times a day and am trying to add a fourth cup a day. I will be logging in every few weeks to update my readers about my progress. I wanted to see how well this might work without changing my eating habits or adding exercise.

Okay, I am sure you are wondering what kind of green tea are you drinking? Well, like I said earlier, I am drinking a variety of green tea. I drink jasmine tea and regular green tea from Yogi and Stash.

So, there you have it. These are the exact teas I am drinking each day that have led to the two pound weight loss in two weeks. Come join me and share your own experience with green tea.

Writing Advice from Anne Rice

By Dr. Mercola

In this fascinating video, taped at last year’s Restorative Medicine Conference in Portland, Oregon, Dr. Jorge Flechas, MD discusses the importance of total body iodine sufficiency, and how lack of iodine might severely affect your child’s brain and intellectual prowess. Iodine is an essential trace element required for the synthesis of hormones, and the lack of it can also cause or contribute to the development of:

• Hypothyroidism
• Goiter
• Mental retardation
• Cretinism (severely stunted physical and mental growth and deafness due to untreated congenital hypothyroidism)
• Certain forms of cancer

Iodine is used by your thyroid gland to help regulate metabolism and development of both your skeleton and brain, among other things. But how much iodine do you need, really? There’s quite a bit of contention on this issue.

Some, like Dr. Flechas insists severe iodine deficiency is rampant, while others claim this is not the case at all, and that taking higher doses of iodine can be harmful. I don’t proclaim to have the answer to this question... There’s no doubt you need iodine. But it’s difficult to say precisely how much.

I suspect the dosages recommended by Dr. Flechas, Dr. Brownstein, and others, may be too high, so I would encourage you to do your own research, and adopt a sensible, middle-of-the-road approach when it comes to iodine. It’s also important to realize that there are two types of iodine, and that you need them both:

1. Iodine
2. Iodide

The latter is the salt of iodine. One of the primary differences between them is that iodine will diffuse into the cell, whereas iodide must be transported into the cell. Different tissues in your body absorb either one or the other, hence you need BOTH for optimal health. One is not necessarily “better” than the other on its own.

Why Is Hypothyroidism More Prevalent in Women than Men?

There is simply no question that optimizing your iodine levels is essential for thyroid health. Hypothyroidism disproportionately affects women at a rate of about 9 to 1 in the US. The reason for this is that the female hormone estrogen inhibits the absorption of iodine.

According to Dr. Flechas, hypothyroidism is associated with up to 80-90 percent free estrogen levels, compared to the normal value of 40-60 percent free estrogen. Hyperthyroidism is associated with only 20 percent free estrogen levels, and low iodine intake can lead to a hyperestrogenic state. In his lecture, Dr. Flechas explains the interplaying dynamics of estrogen, thyroid hormones, and iodine at greater depth, so for more information, please set aside 40 minutes to watch the video above.

Your Body Needs Iodine for More than Just Your Thyroid

Dr. Flechas presents a number of interesting facts about iodine that is not widely known. For example, did you know that thyroid hormones are created not just in your thyroid, but also in a woman’s ovaries (thyroid T2), and in the white blood cells of your bone marrow? Furthermore, iodine is not only required for proper function of your thyroid. Other tissues that absorb and use large amounts of iodine include:

Breasts	Salivary glands	Pancreas	Cerebral spinal fluid
Skin	Stomach	Brain	Thymus

Iodine deficiency, or insufficiency, in any of these tissues will lead to dysfunction of that tissue. Hence the following symptoms could provide clues that you’re not getting enough iodine in your diet. For example, iodine deficiency in:

• Salivary glands = inability to produce saliva, producing dry mouth
• Skin = dry skin, and lack of sweating. Three to four weeks of iodine supplementation will typically reverse this symptom, allowing your body to sweat normally again
• Brain = reduced alertness, and lowered IQ
• Muscles =  nodules, scar tissue, pain, fibrosis, fibromyalgia

How Much Iodine Does Your Body Need?

According to Dr. Flechas, researchers have determined that the average dietary intake of iodine for Japanese women is 13.8 milligrams (mg) per day. He recommends 12.5 mg/day, especially for his pregnant patients to optimize their child’s intelligence. He shares a couple of success stories in his lecture, where iodine supplementation at higher doses resulted in children with remarkably advanced intelligence.

Hypothyroidism, which is one of the first ailments to develop in response to iodine deficiency, is indeed particularly troublesome during pregnancy. One 1999 study found that thyroid deficiency during pregnancy can lower your child’s IQ by about seven points. The researchers noted that for the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, before the unborn child's thyroid becomes active, the mother is the sole source of thyroid hormones. Studies suggest that these hormones play an important role in brain development. Overall, compared with other children, the offspring of thyroid-deficient mothers had impaired school performance and lower scores on tests of attention, language, and visual-motor performance.

But pregnant women aren’t the only ones who need to be concerned with the iodine content of their diet. According to Dr. Flechas, your thyroid alone needs about 6 mg of iodine per day; the breasts of a 110-pound woman will need about 5 mg/day (larger women or women with larger breasts need more); and other body tissues, such as your adrenals, thymus, ovaries, hypothalamus, and pituitary gland, need about 2 mg/day.

Here are a few more interesting facts:

• In total, the human body can hold 1,500 mg of iodine
• Your thyroid can hold a maximum of 50 mg of iodine
• 20 percent of the iodine in your body is held in your skin (if your skin is depleted of iodine, you will not be able to sweat)
• 32 percent of your body’s iodine stores are in your muscles (if muscles are depleted, pain and other fibromyalgia symptoms can develop)

Although he makes a compelling argument, I am not yet convinced that such large amounts may be necessary. Dr. Brownstein and others would label this as iodinophobia, but I believe caution may be appropriate here before swallowing mg amounts of iodine on a regular basis. Personally, I am not yet convinced and do not take such high doses in supplemental form.

The US RDA May Be Insufficient for Many

It is important to realize that the current US daily recommended allowance (RDA) for iodine are not in milligram doses but in micrograms:

• 150 micrograms (mcg) per day for adult men and women
• 220 mcg for pregnant women
• 290 mcg for lactating/breastfeeding women

However, this RDA was set with the intention to prevent goiter only. Dr. Flechas makes a compelling argument for it being completely insufficient for overall physical health and prevention of diseases such as thyroid disease, fibromyalgia, and cancer. Iodine actually induces apoptosis, meaning it causes cancer cells to self destruct. Dr. Flechas is adamant that absence of iodine in a cell is what causes cancer, and statistics tend to support this view. In his lecture, he shows the results of a number of NHANES surveys.

For example, between 1971 and 2000, the average iodine levels declined by 50 percent in the US. During that same time, cancers specifically associated with iodine deficiency—such as cancer of the breast, prostate, endometrium, and ovaries—increased.  He also points out that the RDA completely ignores the presence of increasing amounts of goitrogens in the environment. The following halides compete for the same receptors used in your thyroid gland and elsewhere to capture iodine, so if you’re exposed to too many of these, your thyroid hormone production can be severely disrupted, resulting in a low thyroid state:

• Bromide / bromine (Bromide can be found in several forms. Methyl bromide is a pesticide used mainly on strawberries, found predominantly in the California areas. Brominated vegetable oil (BVO) is added to citrus drinks to help suspend the flavoring in the liquid. Potassium bromate is a dough conditioner found in commercial bakery products and some flours)
• Chlorine
• Fluoride

Could High-Dose Iodine Be Dangerous?

As I mentioned at the beginning, while Dr. Flechas provides very compelling arguments for using doses as high as 12.5 milligrams (mg) per day, which is a far cry from the RDA of 150 micrograms (mcg), I’m hesitant to make such a recommendation. I think the jury is still out, and we need more research to determine the health effects of too much iodine.

As reported by Reuters at the beginning of this year1, a recently published study has cast some doubts on high-dose iodine supplementation. The study, published December 28, 2011 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition2, randomly assigned one of 12 different dosages of iodine (ranging from 0 to 2,000 mcg/day) to healthy adults for four weeks.

When diet was factored in, those taking 400 mcg/day were receiving a total of about 800 mcg of iodine per day.

At doses at and above 400 mcg of supplemented iodine per day, some of the study participants developed subclinical hypothyroidism, which appeared to be dose dependent. At 400 mcg/day, five percent developed subclinical hypothyroidism; at the highest dose—2,000 mcg/day—47 percent of participants were thus affected. Subclinical hypothyroidism refers to a reduction in thyroid hormone levels that is not sufficient to produce obvious symptoms of hypothyroidism (such as fatigue, dry skin, depression or weight gain, just to mention a few common tell-tale signs).

So, these findings suggest it might not be wise to get more than about 800 mcg of iodine per day, and supplementing with as much as 12-13 mg (12,000-13,000 mcg’s) could potentially have some adverse health effects.

Four Other Essentials that Promote Higher IQ

While iodine is clearly needed for health brain development and function, it’s by no means the only factor that determines your child’s mental capacity. The list could get exceedingly long were I to include everything currently known to contribute to decreased or increased IQ, but there are four additional factors that I believe are of particular importance that affects a majority of people:

1. DHA
2. Vitamin D
3. Avoiding fluoride
4. Optimizing gut flora 

DHA—An Essential Fat for Brain Function and IQ

Docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA, is an essential structural component of both your brain and retina. Approximately 60 percent of your brain is composed of fats—25 percent of which is DHA. DHA is also an essential structural ingredient of breast milk, which is believed to be a major reason why breastfed babies consistently score higher on IQ tests than formula-fed babies.

Omega-3 fats such as DHA are considered essential because your body cannot produce it, and must get it from your daily diet. DHA-rich foods include fish, liver, and brain—all of which are no longer consumed in great amounts by most Americans. To compensate for our inherently low omega-3 diet, a high quality animal-based omega-3 supplement is something that I recommend for virtually everyone, especially if you’re pregnant. I prefer krill oil to fish oil, as there’s compelling evidence demonstrating its superiority.

Most of the DHA needed for brain and nervous system development is transferred from the mother to the fetus during the last trimester. The DHA content in the mother's diet reflects in the amount of DHA passed on to the baby. DHA levels of premature infants are especially low since they miss much of that last trimester. Preemies are also more likely to be bottle-fed, hence missing out on valuable DHA from their mother’s breast milk. While you can now find infant formula that contains added DHA, I don’t believe it’s anywhere near comparable to the DHA found in breast milk.

Studies show that low DHA intake in infancy can lead or contribute to Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Low DHA levels have also been linked to increased risk of suicideand dementia.

Why Animal-Based Omega-3?

While there are both plant and animal sources for omega-3 fats, there are differences between them, and when it comes to protecting brain function, you need the animal-based version. There are three important omega-3 fatty acids—ALA, EPA and DHA. DHA is the most important for your brain. EPA is also required by your brain, but in smaller amounts.

Plant-based omega-3 sources like flax, hemp and chia seeds are high in ALA, but low in EPA and DHA. Although ALA is an essential nutrient, the key point to remember is that the conversion of ALA to the far more essential EPA and DHA is typically quite inhibited by impaired delta 6 desaturase, an enzyme necessary for you to convert the ALA into the longer chain EPA and DHA. Because of this, it is important to include animal-based sources of omega-3 fats, such as krill oil, in your diet.

Vitamin D Deficiency May Be a Primary Culprit in Skyrocketing Autism Rates

In more recent years, rampant vitamin D deficiency has been linked to a proportionate jump in autism. While the connection may not be obvious, it’s important to realize that vitamin D receptors appears in a wide variety of brain tissue during early fetal development, and activated vitamin D receptors increase nerve growth in your brain. Researchers have also located metabolic pathways for vitamin D in the hippocampus and cerebellum of the brain, areas that are involved in planning, processing of information, and the formation of new memories.

The National Institutes of Mental Health recently concluded that it is vital that the mother get enough vitamin D while pregnant in order for the baby’s brain to develop properly. The child must also get enough vitamin D after birth for “normal” brain functioning. Appropriate sun exposure would take care of these issues, as the sun is irreplaceable when it comes to the body’s ability to produce adequate amounts of vitamin D.

Vitamin D deficiency is also associated with depression. In 2006, scientists evaluated the effects of vitamin D on the mental health of 80 elderly patients and found those with the lowest levels of vitamin D were 11 times more prone to be depressed than those who received healthy doses. More recently, researchers found that intake of more than 400 IU of vitamin D from food sources was associated with a 20 percent lower risk of depressive symptoms compared with intake of less than 100 IU. This was a significant benefit from a very small amount of vitamin D -- as 400 IU is far too low to benefit most people.

It now appears as though most adults need about 8,000 IU's of vitamin D a day in order to get their serum levels above 40 ng/ml, which is the lowest they should be. Ideally your serum levels should be between 50-70 ng/ml, and up to 100 ng/ml to treat cancer and heart disease. However, it’s important to realize that there’s no magic dosage when it comes to vitamin D. What’s important is your serum level, so you need to get your vitamin D levels tested to make sure you’re staying within the optimal and therapeutic ranges as indicated below.

Fluoride Found to Harm Brain Function and Lower IQ in Children

Fluoride is known to interfere with basic functions of nerve cells in your brain3, and numerous animal and human studies demonstrate the damage fluoride inflicts on your brain, including your pineal gland. Shockingly—considering the fact that 70 percent of the US is still fluoridating their water supplies—there are more than 25 human studies and 100 animal studies4linking fluoride to brain damage and reduced IQ in children. This includes such effects as:

Reduction in nicotinic acetylcholine receptors	Damage to the hippocampus	Formation of beta-amyloid plaques (the classic brain abnormality in Alzheimer's disease)
Reduction in lipid content	Damage to the purkinje cells	Exacerbation of lesions induced by iodine deficiency
Impaired antioxidant defense systems	Increased uptake of aluminum	Accumulation of fluoride in the pineal gland

Fluoride can also increase manganese absorption, compounding problems since manganese in drinking water has also been linked to lower IQ in children.

One of the most recent studies into the effects of water fluoridation on intellectual performance, published in December 20105, found that about 28 percent of children in the low-fluoride study area scored as “bright, normal or higher intelligence” compared to only 8 percent in the high-fluoride area. Further, 15 percent of children in the high-fluoride city had signs of mental retardation, compared with only 6 percent in the low-fluoride city. Most alarmingly, some of these brain-damaging effects have been observed even at low levels of exposure, such as 1 part per million (ppm) of fluoride in water, which is right around the levels used in US water fluoridation programs, which range from 0.7-1.2 ppm.

Optimizing Gut Flora Strengthens Natural Detoxification Pathways

The presence of, and continual exposure to, toxins is another important factor that can have profound influence on your child’s IQ—both in utero and after birth. According to Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, neurological problems such as autism and learning disorders are caused by toxic overload, stemming from abnormal gut flora.

Children use all of their sensory organs to collect information from their environment, which is then passed to the brain for processing. This is a fundamental part of learning. However, in children with Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS), the toxicity flowing from their gut throughout their bodies and into their brains, clogs the brain with toxicity, preventing it from performing its normal function and process sensory information. GAPS may manifest as a conglomerate of symptoms that can fit the diagnosis of autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), attention deficit disorder (ADD) without hyperactivity, dyslexia, dyspraxia, or obsessive-compulsive disorder, just to name a few possibilities.

The treatment she developed is called the GAPS Nutritional Program, which covers both diet and detoxification. Fermented foods are a staple of the GAPS diet. The beneficial bacteria in these foods are very potent detoxifiers, capable of drawing a wide range of toxins and heavy metals out of your body. According to Dr. McBride, the GAPS Nutritional Protocol restores the natural detoxification system in about 90 percent of people, and the fermented/cultured foods are instrumental in this self-healing process.

"The cell wall [of the bacteria] have chelators; molecules that grab hold of mercury, lead, aluminum, arsenate, and anything else toxic," Dr. McBride explains. "They hold them until they're removed through stool."

You don't need to consume huge amounts. About a quarter to a half a cup of fermented vegetables, or cultured food such as raw yoghurt, per day, is sufficient. The key is variety. The greater the variety of fermented and cultured foods you include in your diet, the better, as each food will inoculate your gut with a variety of different microorganisms.

Planning for a Bright and Healthy Baby...

As you can see, there are many factors contributing to making a healthy, happy, and bright baby—and there are many more that I did not expound on in this article, such as:

• Phosphatidylserine (PS), a phospholipid that is an essential part of the membranes that surround all your body's cells. PS enables cells to move nutrients into and cellular waste out of each living cell in your body. Abundant in your brain and in the membranes of your brain cells, PS is important for brain functions such as memory, judgment, and reasoning. Cow brain, mackerel, herring, and organ meats are some of the foods that contain higher levels of PS
• GPC (Glycerophosphocholine), the bioactive form of choline. Unlike the other forms of choline, GPC is the form that has substantial clinical evidence behind it for its direct effect on healthy brain functions. It occurs naturally in limited quantities in eggs, milk, nuts, fish, certain vegetables, organ meats, and human breast milk
• Magnesium is another important element needed for optimal brain function and IQ. Stress has been shown to have a detrimental impact on magnesium levels, which in turn can result in lower IQ levels in school-age children, according to some research6.

Fortunately, most of these factors are largely, or entirely, within your control. For even more healthy pregnancy tips, please see this previous article. 

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Science Now Proves Reincarnation: A Look At The Soul’s Journey After “Death”

October 29, 2013 by Jeff Roberts. 121 Comments.

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Dr. Michael Newton’s case study compilation paints a picture of the journey our soul takes between lives.

Science and spirituality have split the public`s opinions on the matter of reincarnation. The two sides are evident; science proponents believe biological death to be the absolute end of our human experience, whereas spiritualists believe that our bodies are physical vessels for an eternal energetic aspect of our consciousness called the soul, which implants itself into a new body after the previous body has died.

Many popular religions, such as Christianity and Catholicism, also refute the idea of reincarnation because it contradicts the belief systems within the theologies which state that there is a place where sinners go after death called “Hell” and a place where the devoted go called “Heaven”. It becoming knowledge that the major religions were used as a control mechanism to manipulate the masses through the use of fear.

It wasn’t until around the 17^th century when science began to influence people’s belief systems due to the continued development of the scientific method and advancements with the laws of nature. This system challenged any truth that had no physical proof, and so began science’s dominance in human society. The scientific systems that were established provided many innovations and advancements for the human race, but there were still many questions that could not be answered by the scientific community such as various paranormal phenomena and other impossible ‘miracles’ in nature.

The 20^th century ignited a new wave of science that dealt with the exploration of consciousness, psychedelics, and paranormal psychology that collectively aimed to connect the spiritual and scientific communities. Instances of near death and out-of-body experiences during which people were consciously aware, after being declared clinically dead, began to test the hard facts that science had previously established. Today these cases are still widely reported and there are remarkable similarities between the reports all over the world. Dr. Pim van Lommel, a cardiologist in the Netherlands, conducted the largest hospital-based study of NDEs (Near Death Experiences), years after hearing a patient report seeing a tunnel, a light, and beautiful colors and hearing wonderful music during a clinical death in 1969. Dr. Lommel was inspired to research the matter further after hearing a detailed near death experience of someone who had been clinically dead for six minutes.

“After reading [this] book I started to interview my patients who had survived a cardiac arrest. To my great surprise, within two years about fifty patients told me about their NDE…. So, in 1988 we started a prospective study of 344 consecutive survivors of cardiac arrest in ten Dutch hospitals…. 62 patients (18%) reported some recollection of the time of clinical death…. About 50% of the patients with an NDE reported awareness of being dead, or had positive emotions, 30% reported moving through a tunnel, had an observation of a celestial landscape, or had a meeting with deceased relatives. About 25% of the patients with an NDE had an out-of-body experience, had communication with ‘the light’ or observed colours, 13% experienced a life review, and 8% experienced a border…. Patients with a NDE did not show any fear of death, they strongly believed in an afterlife, and their insight in what is important in life had changed: love and compassion for oneself, for others, and for nature. They now understood the cosmic law that everything one does to others will ultimately be returned to oneself: hatred and violence as well as love and compassion. Remarkably, there was often evidence of increased intuitive feelings.” (David Wilcock’s ‘The Synchronicity Key: The Hidden Intelligence Guiding the Universe and You’)

Evidence of life after death continued to rise with the ground-breaking addition of work from hypnotherapists such as Dolores Cannon, Dr. Ian Stevenson and Dr. Michael Newton. With over 50 years of client-session information documenting people’s subconscious memories of past lives and even memories of the time in between two lives, something has to be said about evidence from the doctor’s research supporting reincarnation. Dr. Newton explains that people under hypnosis are not dreaming or hallucinating— and in this state they are not capable of lying. They report whatever they see and hear in their subconscious minds as if everything is a literal observation. While under hypnosis, it is possible for them to misinterpret something they are seeing, but they will not report on anything they do not feel to be the literal truth.

“I also found that it did not matter if a person was an atheist, deeply religious, or believed in any philosophical persuasion in between— once they were in the proper superconscious state of hypnosis, all were consistent in their reports….” Dr. Newton in David Wilcock’s ‘The Synchronicity Key: The Hidden Intelligence Guiding the Universe and You’.

^^ Dr. Michael Newton discussing how past-life regression became a part of his practice^^

Interestingly, Dr. Newton also reported that many clients were hesitant to reveal too much about their time between lives, almost as if they were following a universal code of ethics of sorts, where the information was not supposed to be revealed to mankind for a reason. Over the years Dr. Newton noted similarities among client’s descriptions, ultimately putting together a picture of the process that our soul goes through from the moment we ‘die’ to the moment we are ‘reborn’. These are the stages that he described:

1.)    Death and departure – Most clients recall looking down at their body and seeing people mourning over their death. Some people reported staying around their loved ones until after their funeral. During this time clients could feel a pull towards a light, and described a tunnel of sorts to get there.

2.)    Gateway to the spirit world – This is the stage where clients report moving through the tunnel and reaching the light at the end. Location of the tunnel varies, as some say it appears right above their bodies and others say they have to travel above the Earth to reach it. After reaching the end of the tunnel clients almost always describe in varying ways beautiful visions, music, and scenery. Dr. Newton suggests that these images are beloved memories from our lives, to help give a feeling of familiarity during such an overwhelming process. Younger souls may feel sad or confused during this time, and it’s reported that their guides will come to assist and comfort.

3.)    Homecoming – Here we are greeted by souls who are close to us. They appear as luminous beings who sometimes project faces of people who are still ‘alive’ in a physicality because our souls only project a certain percentage of itself into the physical body, so there will always be a part of the soul existing in the spirit realm. During this stage the soul begins to remember more about the afterlife and also their previous lives, feeling more at ease with the process. Souls which have committed murder or suicide will analyze their actions with their guide and decide on an appropriate path to begin almost immediately.

4.)    Orientation – During the orientation stage a soul will shed any regret/doubt/sadness/traumatic memories from its previous life by going through what clients describe as a ‘shower of light’. This renews the soul’s vibrancy and restores it to its original vibration. Afterwards, we discuss with our guide everything that has happened in our life and decide whether or not we lived up to our expectations about how we dealt with those incidents and if the lessons need to be repeated in the next life.  

5.)    Transition – After we have completed our light shower and have worked through our previous life, we then move onto what most describe as the most breathtaking visions of the entire journey. Here we see a mega-hub of souls at the same stage, all moving through beautiful tunnels of light to their destination. Clients describe this moment as exciting because there is no darkness, just pure light, and we are also on our way to meet up with our soul family, souls who are at a similar stage in their evolution and who we shared lives with. Once we meet up with these souls, we usually compare experiences and learn from each other. These are souls that we keep reincarnating with over and over again, playing various roles with each other such as partners, brothers/sisters, parents, children, etc. Sometimes souls will be present but dimmer and quieter than others, and that is because they are still projecting a physicality at that moment.  Another crucial aspect of this stage is to meet a grand counsel that oversees our previous life, going into more detail about the experiences and lessons learned.

6.)    Placement – This stage is almost like a school where larger groups of soul families (up to thousands) who incarnate around each other in cycles learn about their previous experiences. Here clients report projecting into specific scenes from their previous life and into other people’s minds to gain a full understanding of the larger picture. Here we feel what others felt to learn how we hurt people in certain situations.  This stage can also see the larger soul groups connecting in circles, sharing more ideas, singing, and experiencing other joyful events.

7.)    Life selection – During this stage we move to a large sphere of light where we then choose our next life path. We are able to see multiple paths and are able to temporarily project into these lives to feel which one would be most appropriate. We also have the ability to fast forward through the timelines to see critical events that will happen. Some souls will choose greater challenges to experience such as a disability or premature death.

8.)    Choosing a new body - This process is a part of the previous life selection stage, but has a separate categorization because it focuses on the physical appearance that we will possess in the next life. This choice vastly affects our experience, so it usually takes much thought as to what it will be. If you were obese in one life, chances are you will choose to be skinny the next, etc.  

9.)    Preparation and embarkation – After choosing our life path, next we meet up with our soul group, the people who will play roles in the next life, to do extensive planning and to create synchronicities and cues that will guide us throughout our life. Higher-level guides also help to plan out specific symbols we will see or hear that will trigger certain thoughts and actions at specific times. After the synchronicities are decided, we once again meet with a counsel to go over our goals and plans for the next life. This meeting is also to encourage us to have patience, to hold true to our values, to trust ourselves in the midst of difficult situations, and to avoid indulging in anger and negativity.

10.) Rebirth – Clients report traveling back to Earth through the same tunnel they left in, entering the mother’s womb. Until the age of 5, the soul is able to leave the baby’s body to travel and meet up with other souls if it wishes, but will snap back to the body if the baby is in any turmoil. During the first few years the soul will work to integrate its energy with the brain.

This outline of our experience between lives is based on decades worth of research, and like Dr. Newton and other hypnotherapists state, clients under such hypnotic states will never lie and will only describe what they are actually seeing. How is it that almost everyone who undergoes hypnotherapy or who have NDE or OOB experiences, regardless of whatever religious or cultural background they come from, report such similar experiences? Could it be merely coincidental? How is it that people recall these kinds of experiences after being declared clinically dead? These are the sorts of questions that can only be answered by the assimilation of science and spirituality. In the years to come we will witness more of this conjunction between two seemingly unrelated spectrums, which will ultimately bring us closer to an understanding of life, death, and consciousness like never understood before.

References:

1.)    Lommel, Pim van. “About the Continuity of Our Consciousness,” in Brain Death and Disorders of Consciousness, ed. C. Machado and D. A. Shewmon (New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, 2004); Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology (2004) 550: 115-132, http://iands.org/research/important-research-articles/43-dr-pim-van-lommel-md-continuity-of-consciousness.html?start=2.
2.)    Newton, Michael. Journey of Souls: New Case Studies of Life Between Lives (Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 1994), p. 2; http://spiritualregression.org/.
3.)    Wilcock, David. The Synchronicity Key: The Hidden Intelligence Guiding the Universe and You (Part II, chapter 8: Mapping Out the Afterlife). Penguin Group US. Kindle Edition.

- See more at: http://www.collective-evolution.com/2013/10/29/science-now-proves-reincarnation-a-look-at-the-souls-journey-after-death/#sthash.DKofYOXE.dpuf

Researchers Discover a Rational Biological Source of Pain in the Skin of Patients with Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia Is Not All In Your Head, New Research Confirms Researchers discover a rational biological source of pain in the skin of patients with fibromyalgia
[June 14, 2013, Rensselaer, NY] – Fibromyalgia, a painful condition affecting approximately 10 million people in the U.S., is not imaginary after all, as some doctors have believed. A discovery, published this month in PAIN MEDICINE (the journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine), clearly now demonstrates that fibromyalgia may have a rational biological basis located in the skin. Fibromyalgia is a severely debilitating affliction characterized by widespread deep tissue pain, tenderness in the hands and feet, fatigue, sleep disorders, and cognitive decline. However, routine testing has been largely unable to detect a biological basis for fibromyalgia, and standard diagnosis is based upon subjective patient pain ratings, further raising questions about the true nature of the disease. For many years, the disorder was believed to be psychosomatic (“in the head”) and often attributed to patients’ imagination or even faking illness. Currently approved therapeutics that provide at least partial relief to some fibromyalgia patients are thought to act solely within the brain where imaging techniques have detected hyperactivity of unknown origin referred to as “central sensitization.” However, an underlying cause has not been determined, leaving many physicians still in doubt about the true origins or even the existence of the disorder. Now, a breakthrough discovery by scientists at Integrated Tissue Dynamics LLC (Intidyn), as part of a fibromyalgia study based at Albany Medical College, has provided a biological rationale for this enigmatic disease. The small biotechnology research company, founded by neuroscientists Dr. Frank L. Rice and Dr. Phillip J. Albrecht, reports on a unique peripheral neurovascular pathology consistently present in the skin of female fibromyalgia patients which may be a driving source of the reported symptoms. “Instead of being in the brain, the pathology consists of excessive sensory nerve fibers around specialized blood vessel structures located in the palms of the hands,” said Dr. Rice, President of Intidyn and the senior researcher on the study. “This discovery provides concrete evidence of a fibromyalgia-specific pathology which can now be used for diagnosing the disease, and as a novel starting point for developing more effective therapeutics.” Nerve Endings Come In Many Forms Three years ago, Intidyn scientists published the discovery of an unknown nervous system function among the blood vessels in the skin in the journal PAIN. As Dr. Rice explained, “we analyzed the skin of a particularly interesting patient who lacked all the numerous varieties of sensory nerve endings in the skin that supposedly accounted for our highly sensitive and richly nuanced sense of touch. Interestingly however, this patient had surprisingly normal function in day to day tasks. But, the only sensory endings we detected in his skin were those around the blood vessels”. Dr. Rice continued, “We previously thought that these nerve endings were only involved in regulating blood flow at a subconscious level, yet here we had evidencs that the blood vessel endings could also contribute to our conscious sense of touch… and also pain.” Now, in collaboration with renowned Albany Medical Center neurologist and pain specialist Dr. Charles E. Argoff, the study primary investigator, and his collaborators Dr. James Wymer also at Albany Medical College and Dr. James Storey of Upstate Clinical Research Associates in Albany, NY, clinical research proposals were funded by Forest Laboratories and Eli Lilly. Both pharmaceutical companies have developed FDA-approved medications with similar functions (Serotonin/Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors, SNRI) that provide at least some degree of relief for many fibromyalgia patients. “Knowing how these drugs were supposed to work on molecules in the brain,” Dr. Albrecht added, “we had evidence that similar molecules were involved in the function of nerve endings on the blood vessels. Therefore, we hypothesized that fibromyalgia might involve a pathology in that location”. As the results demonstrate, they were correct. To analyze the nerve endings, Drs. Rice, Albrecht, and postdoctoral researcher Dr. Quanzhi Hou, used their unique microscopic technology to study small skin biopsies (less than half the size of a pencil eraser) collected from the palms of fibromyalgia patients, who were being diagnosed and treated by Drs. Argoff, Wymer, and Storey. The study was limited to women, who have over twice the occurrence of fibromyalgia than men. What the team uncovered was an enormous increase in sensory nerve fibers at specific sites within the blood vessels of the skin. These critical sites are tiny muscular valves, called arteriole-venule (AV) shunts, which form a direct connection between arterioles and venules (see diagram). As Dr. Rice describes their function, “We are all taught that oxygenated blood flows from arterioles to capillaries, which then convey the deoxygenated blood to the venules. The AV shunts in the hand are unique in that they create a bypass of the capillary bed for the major purpose of regulating body temperature.” A Thermostat for the Skin In humans, these types of shunts are unique to the palms of our hands and soles of our feet which work like the radiator in a car. Under warm conditions, the shunts close down to force blood into the capillaries at the surface of the skin in order to radiate heat from the body, and our hands get sweaty. Under cold conditions, the shunts open wide allowing blood to bypass the capillaries in order to conserve heat, and our hands get cold and put on gloves. According to Dr. Albrecht, “the excess sensory innervation may itself explain why fibromyalgia patients typically have especially tender and painful hands. But, in addition, since the sensory fibers are responsible for opening the shunts, they would become particularly active under cold conditions, which are generally very bothersome to fibromyalgia patients.“ A role in regulating blood flow throughout the body. Although they are mostly limited to the hands and feet, the shunts likely have another important function which could account for the widespread deep pain, achiness, and fatigue that occurs in fibromyalgia patients. “In addition to involvement in temperature regulation, an enormous proportion of our blood flow normally goes to our hands and feet. Far more than is needed for their metabolism” noted Dr. Rice. “As such, the hands and the feet act as a reservoir from which blood flow can be diverted to other tissues of the body, such as muscles when we begin to exercise. Therefore, the pathology discovered among these shunts in the hands could be interfering with blood flow to the muscles throughout the body. This mismanaged blood flow could be the source of muscular pain and achiness, and the sense of fatigue which are thought to be due to a build-up of lactic acid and low levels of inflammation fibromyalgia patients. This, in turn, could contribute to the hyperactvity in the brain.” Dr. Albrecht also points out that alterations of normal blood flow may underlie other fibromyalgia symptoms, such as non-restful sleep or cognitive dysfunctions. “The data do appear to fit with other published evidence demonstrating blood flow alterations to higher brain centers and the cerebral cortex of fibromyalgia patients” he stated. Senior Research Chair of the Alan Edwards Center for Pain Research at McGill University, Dr. Gary Bennett, commented after seeing the results that “It is exciting that something has finally been found. We can hope that this new finding will lead to new treatments for fibromyalgia patients who now receive little or no relief from any medicine.” This discovery of a distinct tissue pathology demonstrates that fibromyalgia is not “all in your head”, which should provide an enormous relief to fibromyalgia patients, while changing the clinical opinion of the disease and guiding future approaches for successful treatments. About Integrated Tissue Dynamics LLC (Intidyn) Integrated Tissue Dynamics LLC (www.Intidyn.com), located in Rensselaer, NY amid the Capital region’s Technology Valley, provides flexible and scalable pre-clinical and clinical research and consulting capabilities on skin and nerve related chronic pain afflictions in collaboration with the pharmaceutical industry, government agencies, academia, and a network of pain specialists throughout the United States. The Intidyn ChemoMorphometric Analysis (CMA) platform can be used to detect chemical and structural changes in the skin and other tissues related to chronic pain, numbness, and itch associated with a wide variety of afflictions, including diabetes, shingles, complex regional pain syndrome, carpal tunnel syndrome, sciatica, fibromyalgia, psoriasis, chemotherapy, unintended side effects of pharmaceuticals, and others. How to Support Further Research on Fibromyalgia and Other Types of Chronic Pain Tax deductable donations to support the research of a nationwide network of pain specialists, which includes Drs. Argoff and Wymer at Albany Medical College, can be made to the Clinical Pain Research Program at the University of California San Diego, an American Pain Society Center of Excellence, by contacting the UC San Diego Office of Development (giving.ucsd.edu; 858-534-1610; specify area of research) or UC San Diego Center for Pain Medicine (anes-cppm.ucsd.edu; 858-657-7072). This network, referred to informally as the Neuropathic Pain Research Consortium, includes top neurologists, anesthesiologists, and research scientists at leading universities and pain treatment centers in California, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin. Albrecht PJ, Hou Q, Argoff CE, Storey JR, Wymer JP, Rice FL (2013). Excessive Peptidergic Sensory Innervation of Cutaneous Arteriole-Venule Shunts (AVS) in the Palmar Glabrous Skin of Fibromyalgia Patients: Implications for Widespread Deep Tissue Pain and Fatigue. Pain Medicine, May 20. doi: 10.1111/pme.12139 [Epub ahead of print]. Posted at the National Library of Medicine (PubMed): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23691965 A description of this study for the general public can be found at: http://www.intidyn.com/Newsroom/Fibromyalgia Pathology for lay people 2013-06-24.pdf For further information, contact:
Frank L. Rice, PhD
frankrice@intidyn.com
866-610-7581, ext. 102