Section
Science and consciousness
Studies on meditation, yoga, sleep and the mind.
AccountConsciousness during sleep: what science describes, and what is pure speculationThe brain is highly active during REM sleep, and a video from Mistérios do Universo reads that as a sign consciousness leaves the body, a claim science rejects.ScienceQuantum physics and Vedanta: where the analogies help and where they misleadEntanglement, the observer and Maya are the most cited parallels between quantum physics and Vedanta; a close look shows what holds up and what is extrapolation.TraditionVedānta and quantum physics: what the observer has to do with realityA text compares Vedānta to quantum physics, both of which seem to put the observer at the center; the two views do not say the same thing, and the analogy is the writer's own.AccountChildhood trauma and illness: what Gabor Maté argues, and what medicine establishesPhysician Gabor Maté argues that childhood trauma and repressed emotions lie behind many illnesses, a thesis medicine only partly confirms.ScienceThe pineal gland: what science knows, and what “unblocking” it doesn't supportThe pineal regulates the body clock through melatonin; calcification is common with age, and claims of “decalcifying” the gland lack evidence.ScienceWhat the studies show about Ashtanga Yoga, from the heart to the bonesSmall studies point to gains in strength, flexibility and mood from Ashtanga, and clear limits on bone density and intense aerobic conditioning.