[This is really a terrific article.--Lori]
by Peter Baksa
After spending time interviewing Tibetan monks while in Beijing, China, at the Lama Temple, correlations between their rituals and how they aligned with modern neuroplastic science began to surface. I was able to spend time with the Dalai Lama himself and found that he was curious about the question "Does consciousness in and of itself, force changes in the structure of the brain? " Does the mind create physiological change in the brain and then thereby alter life situations in the natural? I decided to find out.
In addition to the brain giving rise to thoughts, hopes, beliefs and emotions that add up to this thing we call the mind, could it be that the mind also acts back on the brain to cause physical changes in the very manner they were initiated? If so, then pure thought (our consciousness) would change the brain's activity, its circuits or even its structure. Joe Dispensza suggests in his book "Evolve Your Brain" that if we choose to rely soley on our inherited circuits (DNA) we are stuck with those traits and patterns, good, bad or indifferent. Read More
Animals as Spirit Guides Those spirits that are in animal form that teach us, guide us, empower us, and help us heal are called animal spirit guides or spirit animals. In shamanic and indigenous cultures they’re usually called totem animals or power animals. Often these terms are used interchangeably, although there are subtle differences in meaning.
