Brains on LSD imaged

Posted on April 18, 2016 by rick_ranum

LSD is a drug. One that has been banned from research for a long time. Prior to banning LSD, it had shown positive possibilities in many many areas. Research was banned in the 1980’s. Since the 80’s technology for looking at brain activity has advanced immensely. Now it is possible to understand the physical effects of the drug on brain activity and function.

Here is an excerpt from the Guardian article.

“A dose of the psychedelic substance – injected rather than dropped – unleashed a wave of changes that altered activity and connectivity across the brain. This has led scientists to new theories of visual hallucinations and the sense of oneness with the universe some users report.

The brain scans revealed that trippers experienced images through information drawn from many parts of their brains, and not just the visual cortex at the back of the head that normally processes visual information. Under the drug, regions once segregated spoke to one another.

Further images showed that other brain regions that usually form a network became more separated in a change that accompanied users’ feelings of oneness with the world, a loss of personal identity called “ego dissolution”….

The study could pave the way for LSD or related chemicals to be used to treat psychiatric disorders. Nutt said the drug could pull the brain out of thought patterns seen in depression and addiction through its effects on brain networks.

Amanda Feilding, director of the Beckley Foundation, said: “We are finally unveiling the brain mechanisms underlying the potential of LSD, not only to heal, but also to deepen our understanding of consciousness itself.””

The Guardian Article >

Proper Use of the Mind

Posted on April 10, 2016 by rick_ranum

Recently I attended a retreat with a delightful presenter. Here name is Maria Manuchehri and she is primarily a energy intuitive. She is very capable of tuning into you, in many ways.

One of many things I learned from her was the proper use of mind. She suggested our mind primarily be used to hold positive, loving, peaceful thoughts while keeping a focus on the area a few inches below the naval. Now, my explanation is quite simplified and I am sharing this because it correlates with recent scientific research saying that our human minds are often on the future (anxiety) or the past (depression). It is good to look into the future if that future is one you would like to experience and to look into the past of that past memory is a pleasant one.

The Mythology of Science Based Medicine

Posted on April 9, 2016 by rick_ranum

Apple Blossoms in my garden.

As a hypnotherapist I see the power of the mind so often. Recently my friend Jim alerted me to something published in the Huffington Post and it confirmed my suspicions about our current medical paradigm. It cites a study from the British Medical Journal and it says this:

The British Medical Journal recently undertook an general analysis of common medical treatments to determine which are supported by sufficient reliable evidence. They evaluated around 2,500 treatments, and the results were as follows:

13 percent were found to be beneficial

23 percent were likely to be beneficial

Eight percent were as likely to be harmful as beneficial

Six percent were unlikely to be beneficial

Four percent were likely to be harmful or ineffective.

“This left the largest category, 46 percent, as unknown in their effectiveness. In other words, when you take your sick child to the hospital or clinic, there is only a 36 percent chance that he will receive a treatment that has been scientifically demonstrated to be either beneficial or likely to be beneficial. This is remarkably similar to the results Dr. Brian Berman found in his analysis of completed Cochrane reviews of conventional medical practices. There, 38 percent of treatments were positive and 62 percent were negative or showed “no evidence of effect.”

A few years back someone I am close to saw seven doctors before getting a diagnosis that was correct. It reminds me of one of my favorite toys of childhood — the magic eight ball.

So what should we take away from this? I think the most important thing to know is how important it is that we discover what is healthy for each of us and what is not healthy. Yes the medical establishment embodied in a doctor has a place. They can do amazing things to repair certain things but they rely often on the same truth I do, that the mind of the patient must be engaged in the healing process.

My dear friend Elmer Cranton is one of the smartest doctors I have ever known. And he has known more than most of his peers and contemporaries about the misinformation masquerading as medical truth during his career. One of my favorite sayings of Elmer’s is to mostly “stay away from doctors, they’ll kill you”.

He is an amazing friend and I am so blessed he is part of my life. He pioneered chelation therapy in spite of the opposition of the medical establishment. During his last practicing years he also had two Hyperbaric Chambers helping patients to speedier recoveries. He also “knew” that the heart bypass industry was incorrect a long time ago and wrote a book “Bypassing Bypass”.

Here is what the British Medical Journal just said about bypass: “We all marvel at the technological advances in materials and techniques that allow doctors to perform quadruple bypass surgeries and angioplasties without marveling that recent studies indicate that coronary bypass surgery will extend life expectancy in only about three percent of cases. For angioplasty that figure sinks to zero percent. Those numbers might be close to what you could expect from a witch doctor, one difference being that witch doctors don’t submit bills in the tens of thousands of dollars.”

So, exercise, eat well, and stay peaceful and calm.