Meteorite may validate Crick's "Directed Panspermia"

I found this interesting article today that may validate the legendary biologist Francis Crick’s (the discoverer of DNA) theory of Directed Panspernia. Panspermia is the the theory that the seeds of life exist throughout the universe Universe and may have introduced life to Earth. Directed Panspernia goes further and postulates that advanced civilizations wanting to preserve their DNA would distribute it’s organic components intentionally through meteorites and other planetary objects. Crick believed that life on earth was seeded in this way and he stuck with this theory throughout his life. It gave him an unusual yet logical explanation of the amazing complexity of DNA.

Meteorite yields life origin clue

Hollow spheres found in a primordial meteorite could yield clues to the origin of life on Earth.

Scientists say that "bubbles" like those in the Tagish Lake meteorite may have helped along chemical processes important for the emergence of life.
The globules could also be older than our Solar System - their chemistry suggests they formed at about -260C, near "absolute zero".

Details of the work by Nasa scientists are published in the journal Science.

Analysis of the bubbles shows they arrived on Earth in the meteorite and are not terrestrial contaminants.

These hollow spheres could have provided a protective envelope for the raw organic molecules needed for life.

Read full article at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6197228.stm

American Guru 1

Developing New Myths for Mankind

I have two novel and eccentric ideas for new myths for mankind. Neither of them is uniquely mine, but a result of reading diverse modern authors and thinkers.
 
What if the earth, in some way, became conscious about 150,000 years ago, that it would need an increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to continue to sustain life (read DNA based organisms here) in the future? So in its own way it mutated an organism that would eventually grow in number to cover the entire surface, consume fossil fuels and generate a massive overdose of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, thereby heating the planet’s surface and allowing new life to evolve to cope with new conditions to come. Perhaps the sun is about to increase its activities in terms of solar winds and flares and the earth and its inhabitants will have to be ready to cope with this. What if we are just part of a bigger plan to help DNA continue its survival.
 
And then here’s another one….
 
What if DNA is water’s way of getting back to the stars? Science has shown that DNA was a mutation of water that occurred about 1 billion years after the formation of the earth. And now finally, a creature has evolved that is capable of carrying DNA into space. So since we are all DNA and mostly water at the core, I guess we are the perfect vehicles for taking them on a trip of the stars – perhaps even home one day to where they came from.
 
Enjoy the holiday weekend (In the US anyway)!

Complexity

How can you look at the universe and not be filled with awe at the vast mystery that unfolds before you.
 
We are just beginning to understand how wonderfully complex it all is. Trillions of suns like our own spinning around billions of galaxies. 125 million miles of encoded DNA data in the nuclei of each and every one of our cells. Strings at the quantum level that fluctuate matter and energy, an earth that seems aware of itself, and human beings that can build computers and explore space but who only use 10% of their brains and whose consciousness is just beginning to open up to even more infinite possibilities.
 
But why is there such complexity? What purpose does it all serve? And most surprisingly, why are we conscious of this complexity?
 
Our ancestors stared at the universe with the same awe and encoded their visions and mysteries in remarkable ways through myths, architecture, astrology, astronomy, art, alchemy, music and religions. They tried to explain the complexity as God or Super Consciousness or Buddha nature. They saw that the complexity seemed to have its own consciousness that seemed to express itself in everything, from the spiral of the nautilus shell to the swirls of giant galaxies.  
 
They mapped the heavens and found seven bodies that seemed to be dynamic and living in cycles around us at the center: the Sun, Moon, Venus, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. They gave them divine powers to affect us. They turned this sacred seven inwards. They reflected what they saw in the heavens within their own bodies and found seven spheres, heavens and Chakras that if concentrated upon would tune them psychologically and biochemically into different states of consciousness.
 
They saw that the stars in the background formed patterns that become constellations. They found that these numbers were to be found in everything in nature – the cycles of the moon 4 by 7, the cycles of precession – 21,600 years to complete one full round of all the star constellation, 60 years to complete 1 degree of precession, 1800 years to complete 1 house, 432, 108, 9…all these numbers became sacred.
 
They looked at the earth in the same way and saw her as a mother that gave nurture through gestation cycles of the seasons. They developed mysteries to celebrate the cycles of nature and gave them divine dimensions. They developed ritual and hallucinatory experiences for their devotees to experience the mysteries of nature. From the Amazon to the plains of Mongolia, Shamans and mystics developed techniques of inducing trance states to commune with their internal nature and in turn the external universal nature.
 
Psychologically, our ancestors found ways to control their bodies and minds and unleash amazing internal experiences and transformations. Through fasting, rhythmic dancing, meditation, prayer, drums, music, art, breath, silence, darkness, plant hallucinogens and concentration. Mankind was able to tap into supernatural realms through its own mind. Whether these were actual journeys is difficult to prove but the psychological and spiritual transformations gave birth to all religions, mystical practices and spirituality.
 
In these states man found creativity, mysticism, God, angels, demons, art and the stories that make up our myths.
 
All these techniques are still available to us, but in addition our knowledge of the universe has expanded to incredible new heights and our emerging knowledge of consciousness, microbiology, genetics, cosmology is all opening up new languages for the mysteries.
 
Do we still need God? Perhaps we should leave the door open for the possibility of her existence.

Reposted from Raja Choudhury’s Blog http://themodernmystic.typepad.com/themodernmystic/

Meet Spinnaker - Hal, is that you?

Ever since Hal decided to take things into his own hands in the seminal science fiction novel/movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, we have been fascinated with the idea of an artificial intelligence (AI) built into a man-made computer. The difficulty was not just in computer processing speeds and chips, but also in replicating the shear complexity of the human brain and consciousness. Now, scientists in the UK have unveiled a project called Spinnaker which takes us into a new age in the evolution of AI. Could this be an early ancestor of Hal and finally succeed in overturning the Turing Challenge?

According to Discovery News:

A computer with thousands of microprocessors is being built to mimic and model the function of millions of nerve networks in the brain.

The Spinnaker — short for "spiking neural network architecture" — system will not only help scientists better understand the complex interactions of brain cells, but it could also lead to fault-tolerant computers that, like the brain, work despite malfunctions in tiny circuits.

"You lose one neuron per second during your adult life. As they die, there doesn't seem to be any gross underperformance in the brain," said Steve Furber of the University of Manchester in the U.K., leader of the Spinnaker project.

(Read the full article: 'Brainbox' Computer Mimics Human Brain by Tracy Staedter, Discovery News at http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2006/08/02/brainbox_tec.html?category=technology&guid=20060802143030&&clik=news_main)

Discuss this subject further at the Universal Quest Group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/universalquest/

The Value of a Human Life

These past few weeks have seen a very interesting revelation of the value of a human life in our modern consciousness through media and our self-interests in the developed western world. On the one side we had President Bush vetoing the Stem Cell funding bill on the basis of protecting a 150 cells that could one day form an American life and at the other end of extremes we had 650 die in a Tsunami in Indonesia, 500 in typhoons in China. While most of the news media outlets covered the Lebanon war (640 Lebanese dead versus 50 Israelis) and Bush’s veto, the daily death tolls of hundreds of Iraqis (over 2000 have been killed in the past month alone in sectarian violence), Indonesians, Indian, Sudanese and Chinese human beings. And this does not take into consideration the millions of people around the world that go to bed hungry and homeless and may not see the light of the next day.

I remember reading a UNDP report in 2003 that calculated the cost of managing a human being in different countries of the world from birth until death – health, education, housing etc. The numbers were staggering. A single American was equivalent to 1.5 British citizens, 77 Senegalese and well over 100 Bangladeshis. An American or British or Israeli life is considered more valuable and gets more media attention than 200 Indians dying in a terrorist attack in Mumbai or the poor Tsunami Victims of Indonesia. I guess the value of a human life is completely dependent on the wealth of their nation and the good fortune of their gene pool.

All perennial philosophies seek to find the common thread in our myths around the world and yes, DNA and universal philosophies say we are all the same at the core. But the reality today is that we are not equal at all.
 
What myth is being created here when a mere 5 – 10% of the world’s population consumes the majority of it resources, dominates its media minutes, and sees it self as more valuable than an equivalent human life across two thirds of the rest of the world. I guess we could compare it the myths of Olympian Gods playing games with mere mortals from high on Olympus and coming down from time to time to intervene in human affairs.
 
These are fascinating times we live in and while we obsess over what makes the middle east such a a breeding ground for conflict, we must really consider what role we play in perpetuating a world of divisions, disparity and the demeaning and devaluing of human lives. It will be interesting to see how perspectives change as China and India emerge as economic super powers towards the middle of this century and what value human life will have then based on their values and ideas of the human mythic experience.

Techniques of self-induced Awakenings

I have been meditating for a long time and while all practices give greater peace of mind the most ecstatic results that have consistently been repeatable for me have come from the practice of Kundalini Yoga. This is the “left path"  Tantric method of awakening consciousness through a psychic and spiritual journey upwards through the spine to a massive awakening in the head (as in Alex Grey's paintings of a thousand points of light - a total DMT explosion of your own doing.)

The electrical storms, sound sensations and visions that result from this practice are sweeter, more sustained and completely repeatable with practice - than any other trip including psilocybin, lsd, mescalin, zen, raja yoga, dmt etc.

And it really is a journey.

For the best guides to practicing these techniques of awakening it is worth taking some early initiations from a teacher of a Bhija Mantra (or sound machine) that when repeated over and over again results in the initial trance states.

As you progress you will learn sounds, postures, hand gestures, concentration methods and other tools for awakening the 7 levels of Kundalini's journey.

All teachers of Yoga teach some form of Kundalini Yoga or left path Tantra including Patanjali, Yogananda, Aurobindo, Ramakrishna, Vivekananda, Rajneesh, Gayatri Devi, Gangaji and even the Tibetan Buddhists.

Where to start - in the next post I show you a small technique that might get you started.

India struggles to protect Yoga heritage

It was only a matter of time before Yoga became an international trade issue with patent and copyright battles and legal struggles to own posture and disciplines. With over 20 million practitioners in the US alone, all eyes are on Yoga with billions of dollars at stake. Patanjali would be certainly be amused.

MUMBAI, INDIA, October 6, 2005: Yoga has to remain an Indian discipline. It's in this spirit New Delhi's health minister has approved a project of almost US$3.6 million to protect on the international level the patent on the postures involved in this ancient discipline that is an expression of Indian culture and religion, which the West has been trying to get a hold of after it gained worldwide popularity. A team of experts will produce a digital document on the 1,500 asana or yoga postures, to be translated in English, French, German, Spanish, Chinese and Japanese, and distributed in 11 countries. Under the supervision of V. K. Gupta - a health ministry expert - the team, which can count on the collaboration of more than 100 members and 15 Indian religious schools, examined 16 Vedic texts (Hindu sacred texts) to illustrate yoga's historical origins and evolution, said patent lawyer K.M. Gopakumar. In the West, yoga generates huge revenues in the range of billions of dollars. Many improvised gurus, of Indian origin, start up their own yoga business. The Indian health ministry has recorded more than a thousand yoga-related websites run by these "gurus" who publicise yoga postures and practices claiming that they are their original creation and therefore protected with an international patent and covered by copyrights. Once the Indian government's document is issued, ''the so-called life-style gurus cannot claim copyright and allege infringement by others," said Gopakumar. In the United States, in Europe and Japan at least 150 yoga postures are covered by patents, says the health ministry. In the US alone 2,300 yoga schools and yoga practices have copyrights. Yoga is also connected to health, as underlined by the Indian health ministry's project, which aims to protect this wide religious, scientific and cultural heritage, which includes 75,000 formulas of ayurvedic medicine and 50,000 formulas of unani herbal remedies. - read more... www.adnki.com.

Supernova blast 41,000 years ago led to extinction of mammoths

This theory, if proven correct, would explain the discovery of frozen mammoths in Alaska following a sudden change in climate that must have occurred very quickly – fascinating...

A supernova blast 41,000 years ago started a deadly chain of events that led to the extinction of mammoths and other animals in North America, according to two scientists.

If their supernova theory gains acceptance, it could explain why dozens of species on the continent became extinct 13,000 years ago.

Mammoths and mastodons, both relatives of today's elephants, mysteriously died out then, as did giant ground sloths, a large-horned bison, a huge species of armadillo, saber-toothed cats, and many other animals and plants.

Read the full article...<http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20050926/mammoth.html>

New Analyses Bolster Central Tenets of Evolution Theory

When scientists announced last month they had determined the exact order of all 3 billion bits of genetic code that go into making a chimpanzee, it was no surprise that the sequence was more than 96 percent identical to the human genome. Charles Darwin had deduced more than a century ago that chimps were among humans' closest cousins.

But decoding chimpanzees' DNA allowed scientists to do more than just refine their estimates of how similar humans and chimps are. It let them put the very theory of evolution to some tough new tests.

If Darwin was right, for example, then scientists should be able to perform a neat trick. Using a mathematical formula that emerges from evolutionary theory, they should be able to predict the number of harmful mutations in chimpanzee DNA by knowing the number of mutations in a different species' DNA and the two animals' population sizes.

Read the full article.... http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/25/AR2005092501177.html

Arctic ice 'disappearing quickly'

The area covered by sea ice in the Arctic has shrunk for a fourth consecutive year, according to new data released by US scientists. They say that this month sees the lowest extent of ice cover for more than a century. The Arctic climate varies naturally, but the researchers conclude that human-induced global warming is at least partially responsible. They warn the shrinkage could lead to even faster melting in coming years. "September 2005 will set a new record minimum in the amount of Arctic sea ice cover," said Mark Serreze, of the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), Boulder, Colorado.

Read full article.... http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4290340.stm

Free Talk on Meditation in New York City

M Speaks on Meditation
Come  and meet M, a Yoga and Meditation master from India. He will be in New York City on Saturday 1st October 2005 at 6.30 pm at the Community Church of New York at 40 E 35 Street (between Park and Madison Avenues) in the Assembly Hall.

To find out more visit:  http://www.universalquest.com/m.html

Planet X? - Distant object found orbiting Sun

Astronomers have found a large object in the Solar System's outer reaches. It is being hailed as "a great discovery".

Details of the object are still sketchy. It never comes closer to the Sun than Neptune and spends most of its time much further out than Pluto. It is one of the largest objects ever found in the outer Solar System and is almost certainly made of ice and rock. It is at least 1,500km (930 miles) across and may be larger than Pluto, which is 2,274km (1,400 miles) across. The uncertainty in estimates of its size is due to errors in its reflectivity. It might be a large, dim object, or a smaller, brighter object. Whatever it is, astronomers consider it a major discovery. In 2004 scientists discovered Sedna, a remote world that is 1,700 km across.

Read the article at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4726733.stm

Japanese scientist develops first 'female' android

It was bound to happen, and who better than the Japanese to accomplish it – the first human looking android robot. Like some fantasy science-fiction concept out of a Manga or Anime comic book, a Japanese scientist is  well on the way to creating the perfect companion – to a male scientist that is – a beautiful Japanese female robot with silicone skin that mimics human behavior and has over 30 sensory receptors. And his greatest challenge – to fool people into thinking that his Robots are human. I wonder if Asimov would be jumping for joy or rolling in his grave...From the BBC article (click to see the picture – quite amazing!! - looks like a Stepford Wife!)

Japanese scientists have unveiled the most human-looking robot yet devised - a "female" android called Repliee Q1.

She has flexible silicone for skin rather than hard plastic, and a number of sensors and motors to allow her to turn and react in a human-like manner. She can flutter her eyelids and move her hands like a human. She even appears to breathe. Professor Hiroshi Ishiguru of Osaka University says one day robots could fool us into believing they are human.
Repliee Q1 is not like any robot you will have seen before, at least outside of science-fiction movies. She is designed to look human and although she can only sit at present, she has 31 actuators in her upper body, powered by a nearby air compressor, programmed to allow her to move like a human.

Read the full article.... http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4714135.stm

EU: Thousands of vitamin products threatened by ruling

An interesting article from the Independent in the UK:

Campaigners for Britain's millions of vitamin and supplement users have reacted with dismay to a ruling that could sweep up to 5,000 products off the shelves. The European Court of Justice has rejected British health food industry claims that the proposed Food Supplements Directive, coming into force on 1 August, breaches EU rules. Yesterday's decision means some 300 nutrients and nutrient sources in the UK will be banned unless they can obtain inclusion on a 'positive' list -- a move that supplement manufacturers say requires excessive levels of testing and red tape. Among the vitamins and supplements facing a ban are boron, important for healthy teeth and bones; sulphur, important for healthy skin; and 1,000mg Vitamin C tablets...

Read the full article at: http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/article298799.ece

A film on the life of the Buddha

With Buddhism’s popularity on the rise around the world as a way of living spiritually in a secular, scientific age, it was only a matter of time before talk of a movie on his life would arise. Bertollucci’s “Little Buddha” was the last brave effort at retelling this story on the silver screen using a modern tale of reincarnation to weave in the story of the making of the “Buddha”. In more recent years, Karen Brown’s wonderful biography, just called “Buddha”, made a real impression on me with its casting Buddha in a very post-modern context as a man very much of his time during the Axis Age (around 500BC, as humans settled down to urban civilizations, philosophers began discussing the self and the purpose of life around the world – Buddha, Confucius, Socrates, the Upanishadic Sages and Elijah were all contemporaries.) Brown managed to beautifully present a life lived in questioning and doubt leading to an amazing spiritual awakening of compassion and universal consciousness. Let’s hope the movie can imbibe of some of that intelligence and perspective.

This is from the London Times of 23 July:

More than a decade ago an epic film about Buddha was abandoned after it provoked such threatening protests in India that the director needed police protection. Now the Anglo-Indian director Shekhar Kapur, is embarking on his own ambitious project, with a possible role for Richard Gere, a devout Buddhist. Although the film has yet to be cast, reports suggest that Brad Pitt and Aishwarya Rai, the former Miss World and star of Bride & Prejudice, might also be involved.

The film will tell the story of the man who appeared to have everything — a royal title, looks and the most beautiful girls — but who felt that something was missing and went on to attain enlightenment. Some 2,500 years after his death, Buddha looks likely to be brought to life on the big screen as the film-makers have secured the blessing of the Dalai Lama. The film has a big budget — up to about £70 million, it is believed — funded entirely by the Indian billionaire industrialist Bhupendra Kumar Modi. In India it is not unusual for a sole person to back a film. In this case, he is supporting one of the industry’s leading directors. After making the critically acclaimed Bandit Queen, Kapur directed Elizabeth, which was nominated for seven Oscars and 12 Baftas, and made a star of Cate Blanchett.

Read the full story....http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-1704639,00.html

Religious hate crimes rise fivefold after London Bombing

In a worrying turn following the bombings of 7/7 in London , British Muslims are facing an unprecedented rise in hate crimes including taunts, telephone attacks and physical violence. Additionally, it looks like the British Police are adapting a “shoot first” and “ask questions later” approach to tracking potential terrorists as was demonstrated in yesterday’s shooting of a Brazilian student. The Guardian newspaper, probably the UK’s most progressive paper, is covering both these issues extensively.

The number of faith hate crimes has risen fivefold in the fortnight since the London bombings, the Guardian has learned. The Metropolitan Police has recorded 800 race and faith hate crimes since the July 7 attacks.

The number of faith hate crimes, predominantly directed at British Muslims, has passed the 200 mark. In the same fortnight last year, 30 faith hate incidents were reported by the Met.
Nationally, the figure for hate incidents directed at Muslims has passed 1,200 as a backlash continues.

Read this story at http://www.guardian.co.uk/attackonlondon/story/0,16132,1534518,00.html

Universe 'too queer' to grasp

Universe 'too queer' to grasp says scientist Professor Richard Dawkins.

Scientist Professor Richard Dawkins has opened a global conference of big thinkers warning that our Universe may be just "too queer" to understand. Professor Dawkins, the renowned Selfish Gene author from Oxford University, said we were living in a "middle world" reality that we have created. Experts in design, technology, and entertainment have gathered in Oxford to share their ideas about our futures.

Read more at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4676751.stm

Let My Country Awake

My God! How little do my countrymen know what precious blessings they are in possession of, and which no other people on earth enjoy!
~ Thomas Jefferson

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world is not broken up into fragments by the narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arm towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit,
where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.
- Rabindranath Tagore

Today in Mythology: The dog days of summer and the Rosa Mundi

Today is the start of the “dog days of summer”, in which the Sun moves directly opposite the position of the Dog Star Sirius, marking the hottest day of the year. Historically, many cultures have attached special significance to Sirius. Sirius was worshipped in the valley of the Nile long before Rome was founded, and many ancient Egyptian temples were constructed oriented so that light from the star could penetrate to their inner altars. The Egyptians based their calendar on the heliacal rising of Sirius, which occurred just before the annual flooding of the Nile and the Summer solstice. In Greek mythology, Orion's dog became Sirius. The Greeks also associated Sirius with the heat of summer: the name Sirius is derived from Seirios meaning "the scorcher". This also explains the phrase "dog days of summer" - see the full definition at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sirius.

Today is also Rosa Mundi - Rose of the World - day in the Palestinian Christian Calendar. This day has its roots in Rosicrucian - http://www.rosicrucian.org/ - mythology (a 17th century secret society rooted in Christian mysticism that has influenced many aspects of modern life including Freemasonry. See the definition of Rosicrucianism at the Wikipedia site - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosicrucian .) Esoterically, the Rose is a symbol of wisdom and knowledge with the Rose of the World as a synonym for Pax Cultura, peace through culture. Daniil Andreev, the Russian mystic and poet, saw Rose of the World as a sign of  the future age of Mother of the World, a New spiritual and idealized Age of Aquarius. So now, when you look at a red rose you can see it as a meditation on an ideal new age to come and the dream of world peace and a new awakening.