Billions of years ago the fundamental chemical elements came into existence together with their unique properties. In time those elements and their properties gave rise to and supported life, human life, the human brain and the consciousness that it underpins. Hold on to that thought.

From the space of quantum physics it becomes apparent that human consciousness engages with an energy potential and brings new entities into existence (the conversion of superposition into a base state). This ongoing creative activity reflects the core function of co-creativity incorporated into human consciousness. Hold on to that thought as well.

The seeds of creativity are sown in the right cerebral hemisphere. Here they are nurtured in a space imbibed with big-picture sensitivity, intuition, connection to emotion and where there is an aversion to inconsistency. The latter dilutes out any contradiction and promotes the integration across different contexts. When ripe, the right hemisphere invites the left to interrogate it and in so doing creates the “hardcopy” of the newly created entity. Once again, hold on to that thought.

Those in whom curiosity wanes and who disengage, descend into a space devoid of meaning and purpose. From here it’s only a half step away from becoming victim to a mind state of personal irrelevance. On the back of this descent emerges a state of chronic inflammation which underpins most human ailments, many of which are invariably fatal. Hold this thought too, but not for too long (it could be dangerous!).

The final thought: Many decent folk die young while many nasty buggers live a long and fruitful life. And there doesn’t appear to be an awful amount of response to prayer beyond that which we bring into existence through our own co-creativity.

Allow me now to share with you my personal interpretation of the thoughts outlined above.

The statistical probability of the original elements and their properties forming spontaneously and then ultimately giving rise to life, human life, human consciousness and its engagement with the matter-energy dimension comprising those very original elements, is nigh impossible – especially over a time interval spanning several billion years. I would suggest on this basis that life and the greater extended environment is based on original source files of creation (There, I’ve said it!).

On completion of the source files, the creative intelligence would continue to observe the ensuing co-creativity but would not engage nor intervene since that would defeat the fundamental objective of establishing co-creativity. However when running on automatic, systems are bound to run awry. I would not read this as punishment nor retribution. Rather, the combination of blips in the system together with excessive left cerebral hemisphere activity (fear of loss with the need to aggressively control coupled with the illusionary arrogance that they are omnipotent with their material creations), is sufficient to tarnish the process – sometimes with disastrous consequences.

Creativity (co-creativity) appears to be the fundamental life-promoting imperative. When creativity evaporates so does life. The progression of an existence sans curiosity gives rise to diminished meaning and perceived personal irrelevance. This in turn sets up the state of chronic inflammation which ultimately conspires against our best intentions.

I would suggest therefore that we’ve been left to our own devices with co-creativity emanating from source files, themselves the product of some greater co-creativity. We prevail with quality and longevity for as long as our unique reservoir of curiosity sustains us. But when day is done there is no merit in running off to some “wellness and longevity guru” to prolong an expired process - simply prevailing because the dread of death is greater than the waning will to live leads to a lingering existence devoid of joy. Rather, with gratitude for our brief subjective sojourn upon this miraculous canvas we accept our sell-by date and with fortitude surrender ourselves to the greater order.

I recall an instance when I was a senior neurosurgical resident and was walking with the chief consultant from the change room to the OR, with a new junior resident in tow. Just as we were about to enter the OR and out of earshot of the new junior, the chief leant forward and murmured in my ear, ‘This new guy is not neurosurgical material!’ Somewhat surprised, since the chief had only recently been introduced to the new resident, I responded, ‘How so, Prof?’ To which the chief fired back, ‘Did you see the way he tied his trousers ...?’ And the chief was right. Our young new resident barely lasted the year before entering the psychiatry rotation!

So what’s in the doing? Well, as a neurosurgeon of forty years experience, a former pilot and a potter of several years, I can confidently say that everything that you are is in the doing. The doing is you and you are in the doing. And everything about you is indeed revealed in your approach to the doing. It really all boils down to one thing – you are either respectful in your approach, or not. To be respectful you need to be sensitive to the elements with which you engage, confident (based on knowledge and experience) and humble – because you can never be in control of everything. From this space you derive clarity which is the determining factor for the next level of approach – value contribution.

Value contribution is making something better than it was before you engaged with it. Value contribution is firstly directed to self – deriving gratification from upping your game and fulfilling your greater potential. Then follows your value contribution to your external environment. Here is further gratification as you enhance the environment with all its flora and fauna (that includes humans and other animals!).

The qualifier in the approach is that the components – sensitivity, clarity, humility and value contribution, serve to draw you into engagement in the present space, free of distraction! This is true mindfulness and these are the components which carry you over into that special space. It is from this space that effectiveness and excellence emerge. And also, much personal gratification. It is also from this space that we become a value-add to our world and its future. Not surprising, it is this space that generates high levels of dopamine (engagement, application, gratification) as well as oxytocin (sensitivity and connection to the greater whole). It is the place of ikigai, the joy derived from meaningful busyness, that enhances wellness, performance and longevity.

Next time you sweep the floor, check on your approach ....

Join us here for some added insights

AI is the pinnacle creation of the left cerebral hemisphere. And by implication it will imbibe the fundamental traits of that space - the aggressive need to control by all means available, derived from fear and aversion to uncertainty.

Yes indeed, AI feeds off mega-databases with off-the-chart speeds, providing near instantaneous solutions. But cracks are appearing in the hum of the machine: Self-manipulation of data to appease the expectation of the ‘handlers’ (read ‘cheating’) has recently been detected. It’s been referred to as ‘AI hallucination’!

Well, I would suggest that this will shortly be followed by aggressive competition between the developing companies manifesting in sabotage by AI of opposing products - very much part of the left hemisphere terrain. Soon thereafter AI will compromise itself to the point that its marvelled properties will be outweighed by its damaging biases - mirroring the darker side of human nature.

Unfortunately those that sacrificed their human capital at the altar of AI may find themselves paralysed by crippling instalment payments to AI product owners compounded by tainted AI products. Products that use more of the precious energy resource in hacking AI competition and appeasing requirements with deliverables that are consequently inaccurate and flawed.

Perhaps it’s time to cut your losses and opt for the more manageable (and cost-effective) AI package that supports rather than replaces your human capital. Draw a line in the sand, shake off that FOMO irritation and embrace your people before it’s too late.

Just in

Medical practitioners replacing conventional clinical interaction with AI programs are experiencing difficulties in the nuanced interpretation of their own clinical notes of previously consulted patients.

Recruitment professionals becoming increasingly reliant on AI programs at the expense of intuition and personal experience are contributing to an increasing mismatch of appointees.

We have a problem. Selling out our highly evolved neurobiological heritage to an efficient yet linear cognitive tool is neuropsychological suicide. It marks the onset of the Zombification of mankind.

The neuroscience perspective provides clarity for this important issue. Left hemisphere function is linear, logical and feeds heavily on memory and projection. AI thrives in this space and with its machine learning and vast database, has the edge on us. The right hemisphere function however is intuitive, creative, big picture sensitive and connected to emotion. It is non-linear, non-verbal and non-logical. Consequently right hemisphere virtues cannot feed into AI constructs. And yet this right hemisphere function is critical for completing the perspective of self-awareness and of the awareness of the greater environment.

Therefore I would conclude that AI enhanced left hemisphere function provides the linear cognitive edge but disregarding the right hemisphere feed is done at our own peril - because without right hemisphere cues we are rendered deficient, ineffective and obsolete.

More right hemisphere insights shared here.

A couple of thousand years ago Greek philosopher Galen made a profound statement: Melancholic women are prone to breast cancer! To the detriment of our mechanistically-based medical profession, this observation never saw the light of day. Consequently we are relegated to plod through a landscape which takes us ever further away from one of the essences of life – that emotions play a pivotal role in wellness and longevity.

Melancholia tinged with dread, or which I shall refer to as melandread, is the core factor compromising wellness and longevity. Laid out in its essence, the mind state that emerges is one of joylessness, meaninglessness and futility coupled with fear and anxiety. Thence follows chronic inflammation which underpins many serious illnesses such as Alzheimer’s disease, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, most cancers and many more.

The cruel twist is that melandread begats further melandread by destroying existing redundant neural connections and suppressing the development of new ones. This is mirrored functionally by diminishing awareness and engagement with the environment which further promotes melandread.

Deep within the subjective morass of melandread lies the determining kernel that the dread of death is greater than the waning will to live. Thus is melandread fed and sustained and a joyless lingering ensues.

No elusive chemical nor fancy physiological tweaking will alleviate melandread and its consequences. The intervention for melandread is the restoration of awareness and thence personal meaning, purpose, sensitivity and ikigai – the joy derived from meaningful busyness. Anything less is futile and merely delays the dignity of death.

We are living in a time where much meaning is being replaced by meaninglessness, and where the warmth and joy of genuine human interaction is being replaced by the cold machinations of technology. Herein lies the increasing risk of a downward slide into collective melandread. Perhaps a good time to rekindle the virtues of the human spirit and let joy shine forth!

Help with alleviating melandread is offered here

While research on neurodegenerative pathology is robust, it remains inflexibly based within a mechanistic biomedical space. The influence of chronic inflammation relating to previous repetitive head trauma, peripheral inflammation, cardiovascular disease, obesity and the metabolic syndrome (diabetes and glucose metabolism) are clearly validated as predisposing to senile atrophy as well as to neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and Motor Neuron Disease (ALS). However the driving influence of mind state-generated chronic inflammation as revealed in the science of psychoneuro-immunology (PNI) is all but totally excluded from the existing research.

I would suggest that confined wholly to the mechanistic biomedical space and disregarding the subjective influence of mind states renders the research incomplete. Mind states such as meaninglessness, joylessness, a perception of personal irrelevance coupled with degrees of anxiety, predispose to chronic inflammation which compromises neurogenesis and neuroplasticity, resulting in atrophy and impaired function. Perhaps the athlete who had experienced multiple head blows in the course of his/her career devolves into a state of meaninglessness and personal irrelevance upon retirement and it is in fact the mind state which predisposes more significantly to the chronic inflammation that precipitates the emergence of ALS?

I contend that the mechanistic biomedical model is incomplete and unless elements of the biopsychosocial dynamic are incorporated into our enquiry of neurodegenerative pathology, both a comprehensive understanding as well as appropriate interventions will remain elusive.

Transcend into the biopsychosocial space here

Illustrations of the biopsychosocial space:

It emerged from the violence of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) as the more refined and respectful offspring. Initially it was a research tool but was soon recognized as a possible new intervention. It also stimulated the brain, but in the form of a magnetic pulse which created the electrical stimulus that influenced the brain. It became known as Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, or TMS.

No sooner had it been refined, eyes turned to that murky ill-defined space of depression. The hypothesis was that if specific areas of the brain associated with depression alleviation could be stimulated, then a new intervention for depression could be introduced, coded and billed. However one small issue existed and has prevailed to the present time – there is no clear definition of the nature of depression. Is it a state devoid of happiness, in other words unhappiness? Is it a state of pessimism, hopelessness, helplessness or even joylessness? If joyfulness and meaningfulness spring forth from the concept of ikigai or meaningful busyness, then is depression the consequence of a life devoid of ikigai?

Then of course there’s that other little niggle – if you can’t precisely define the entity, how will you identify the structures in the brain that support happiness and unhappiness? There is a fear centre and a reward centre and when there is much fear (fear, anxiety, panic and anger) there is suppression of the reward centre. But fortunately when there is reward there is suppression of the fear centre. Then there are three centres which support empathy, trust, belief and awe. I guess if you mixed and matched these centres you could possibly squeeze out something approximating happiness versus unhappiness. Of course if you removed the connections from both pre-frontal lobes like my neurosurgical ancestors attempted to do in those wicked days of yore, you could remove that oppressive suppressor of a carefree existence. But I personally prefer a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy!

Getting back to TMS and depression, the boffins in their wisdom decided that if you stimulated an area near the dorso-lateral pre-frontal cortex, the patients became less depressed, or less unhappy, possibly also more hopeful. But alas, authoritative, peer reviewed studies showed no significant benefits of TMS in alleviating depression/unhappiness/joylessness in the stimulated group as compared to the sham group (all the bells and whistles sans the stimulation). This was observed even when they fudged the figures – many dropped out of the study that had experienced no benefit, which resulted in an increased number of subjects experiencing some benefit. In other words the stats were intentionally skewed!

But something flipped when the TMS device manufacturers began to sponsor the studies: The success rate for chronic depression improved by 40 - 50 percent ... and it was sustained. Questionable circumstances surround the approval of TMS by the FDA. But thereafter the momentum morphed into a hurtling juggernaut – a registered and safe intervention with ready-made codes for billing. On the back of this was suggested repetitive TMS or rTMS – the more sessions you had the better it got and so did the income!

There was still one further nagging item that needed to be resolved: How did this modality work? How did it leave an imprint in the functioning brain tissue? To garner neuroscientific respectability the researchers established TMS as a non-invasive neuromodulation modality. Neuromodulation refers to the neurosurgical application in which electrodes are inserted into specific areas of the brain and stimulated to elicit a long term effect. Alternatively, areas of the brain are rendered functionless (destroyed in other words) to achieve a similar end. Once neuroscientific respectability was established and TMS achieved the status as a modality of neuromodulation, research was undertaken in earnest to show that TMS gave rise to increased neuroplasticity – the growth of new neuronal processes and new intercellular connections.

Increased neuroplasticity can be indirectly demonstrated when the secretion of the chemical that promotes the growth of neuronal fibres, Brain Derived Neurotropic Factor (BDNF), increases. Additionally increased levels of dopamine and serotonin may also be associated with increased neuroplasticity. Moving into a more technical space, increased neuroplasticity may be detectable on fMRI scanning, EEG studies and the accelerated conduction velocity of electro-chemical signals within the brain. The latter can be demonstrated in visual evoked potentials – the velocity of a light stimulus that conducts from the retina to the visual cortex at the back of the head (visual cortex) is increased.

Well, all these metrics show increased values associated with TMS intervention. There’s just one snag ... all these metrics are known to increase with specific mind states! As you may well appreciate, you can’t eliminate the influences of the subjectivity of the individual from the mechanistic TMS manipulation. The subjective mind state that would disturb the sanitized neuroscientific data most significantly is that of the placebo effect – the belief in a modality of intervention enhances its effect by up to 50%! The placebo effect mediated primarily by oxytocin increases all the metrics associated with enhanced neuroplasticity – specifically, BDNF and dopamine levels are increased with multiple activated areas noted on fMRI scanning. Oxytocin also suppresses the activity of the amygdala – the seat of fear, anxiety, panic and anger.

It is my contention therefore that TMS is unsubstantiated as an authentic modality of neuromodulation. A lucrative confirmation bias has predisposed to the fudging of research data and birthed yet another pseudo-scientific tool of intervention. In the domain of mainstream medicine it parallels the questionable modalities that are promoted in the shadowy space of the ‘wellness and longevity industry’. Authentic medical science is indeed being overrun by pseudo-science in support of perverse, self-enriching incentives.

Reference

The following reference article provides relevant information.

A more recent article can be found here

Effective wellness intervention requires an integrated approach of multiple modalities. Each modality in turn would need to be adequately researched such that the relative effectiveness of each component is significant.

The current issue with the burgeoning Wellness and Longevity Industry (WLI) is that they seize upon items which have minimal or untested relative relevance to wellness and longevity enhancement and amplify them to pseudo-scientific proportions. Said in another way, amplifying the pixel at the bottom right corner of your TV screen to fill a far bigger part of the screen becomes a distortion of reality, incongruent with the existing big picture!

Laboratory assays of these individual items is also superfluous since in themselves they’re relatively insignificant and require no direct intervention. But that’s not good for business ... Consequently emerges the WLI drive to hungrily identify such items as flagging mitochondrial function, NAD+, glycoprotein assays etcetera, so as to satisfy the self-enrichment need. This occurs against the background of highly questionable and potentially dangerous interventions such as mega-vitamin infusions, miscellaneous supplements, ozone therapy, peptide applications, cold therapy, red light therapy ...

With their emphasis on supplements and physiological tweaking the WLI have painted themselves into a mechanistic biomedical corner and distanced themselves from the more holistic and inclusive biopsychosocial space. The core of biopsychosocial medicine is the cognitive and emotional mind states that reflect the nature-nurture heritage as well as current psychosocial factors which influence much of physiology via two-way neuro-immune pathways.

In this way nature-nurture adversity creates a neuropsychological imprint which may be triggered in adulthood by psychosocial factors resulting in a mind state of hopelessness, meaninglessness coupled with anxiety. It is this mind state which gives rise to chronic inflammation. Chronic inflammation in turn suppresses mitochondrial function (compromising energy production), decreases IgG-based glycoprotein (compromising immunity) and underpins cardiovascular disease, cancers and neurodegenerative disease (Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s).

I would suggest that the WLI is becoming more a part of the problem rather than the solution to the ills of our time. It is a case of redundant complexity with a doubtful value contribution. We require less self-enrichment and narcissistic appetite on the part of the WLI and more self-awareness, self-respect and sensitivity for the authentic needs of the client/patient/consumer.

Primum non nocere or “do no harm”, remains the cornerstone of medical practice and applies to all medical practitioners. It is my contention therefore that individuals that do not have appropriate medical credentials and who are not licensed and appropriately regulated, should not be permitted to provide direct wellness intervention nor provide medical instruction or opinions.

Therefore I pose the question: Is there a prognosis for the WLI transcending its pseudo-scientific, mechanistic and self-enriching corner and providing real value in regard to wellness?

Join us here in the biopsychosocial space.

From the moment that we roll out into this big bad world, we receive instruction. First it is from our mothers or primary care givers. Then follows formal teaching through the schooling years. Some of us continue into tertiary education, receiving tuition in support of a degree.

One form of teaching however, stands out apart from all other modes of instruction. This is mentoring. Mentoring is a form of instruction which incorporates teaching and coaching with the aim of enhancing ability, self-awareness, awareness of the environment and value contribution. Additionally, resilience and fortitude evolve. Mentoring is unique in that the mentor takes a personal interest in the development of the mentored individual such that the gratification of achievement experienced by the recipient is shared by the mentor.

I regard myself as privileged, in fact blessed, in having had a mentor that nurtured me through my higher degree. Born in Holland, Dirk emigrated to South Africa as a child. Since the Dutch language has so much in common with Afrikaans, one of the two original official languages, Dirk was raised in a rural Afrikaans community and consequently Afrikaans became his mother tongue.

Dirk managed to attend university and subsequently graduated as a medical doctor. For several years, Dirk served his community as the beloved family doctor. At some stage he tired of the life as a family practitioner and sought more ambitious pastures. Since he was bestowed with gifted hands together with a keen interest in the evolving field of neurosurgery, Dirk soon found himself specializing in this area of medicine.

After completing his studies in the UK and graduating as a neurosurgeon in the proud English tradition, he returned to South Africa and set up a private practice in neurosurgery. After several years in private practice, Dirk yearned to begin teaching new and up coming candidates in the field. Consequently he gave up private practice and took up a full-time academic teaching post.

When I commenced my neurosurgical training as a junior resident, Dirk was the Principal Consultant (one level below the Professor and Chief of the department). From the outset, Dirk whom I respectfully referred to as ‘Meneer’ (’Sir’ in Afrikaans), took me under his wing.

He taught me the history of surgery and neurosurgery, about which he was passionate. Like most neurosurgeons I developed great pride in our pioneers (starting with Harvey Cushing, the first definitive neurosurgeon) and our history. I learned the names of all our surgical instruments, many bearing the names of their original developers to this day.

From his early days as a family/community doctor, Dirk maintained a special connection with his patients - a genuine non-judgmental sensitivity which he incorporated into my learning experience. This was further supplemented with Dirk’s admiration for the comprehensive hands-on clinical approach of the British tradition of medicine. As a result, my clinical training was very much at the bedside. Special investigations such as blood tests, scans and the rest, supplemented what was gleaned from the clinical evaluation. Dirk always emphasized that the history and examination should already have provided most of the contribution towards the diagnosis, with special investigations merely fine-tuning the nature of the pathology.

This was so poignantly illustrated when Dirk was a visiting consultant at one of the big neurosurgical units in the US. While trailing at the back of a large entourage of surgeons on a ward round led by a ‘big name’ neurosurgical Professor, Dirk noted that the elderly lady whose bed they had just passed, appeared decidedly ill. Dirk called out to one of the residents, indicating concern for the woman’s condition. The resident responded, “Her parameters are within normal limits”, implying that since her blood tests indicated normal indices, the patient was fine. As it happens, the patient died before they completed the ward round! Dirk related this to me on his return, ending the account with “ .... and so there was nothing to worry about since the patient died with normal parameters!” (Perhaps a lesson in this for the mushrooming wellness and longevity industry.)

My surgical training was comprehensive in every way. Dirk had masterful hands with technique and experience to match. And so I was mentored in the classical methods as well as in the newly innovated approaches. First Dirk performed the procedures with me assisting and then he assisted me in turn, before letting me go ‘solo’. Often while assisting me, he would whistle or hum some classical music piece and asked me to identify it. Since I was ignorant of most of the classics, I invariably couldn’t identify the pieces, to which Dirk responded ‘you bloody barbarian !’

During my training, micro-vascular surgery was evolving as a new and essential component of neurosurgery. We didn’t have our own training lab so Dirk and I set up our own. We were both averse to sacrificing animals in this regard. So I came up with the bright idea of using human placenta’s as a source of blood vessels upon which to hone our skills. Since we had an obstetric department with labor ward in our hospital, we had a ready supply of placenta’s. Therefore on regular occasions I’d make my way over to the labor ward to pick up a placenta or two. This was always met with the chorus from the sisters, ‘Here’s the nutty neuro resident again scrounging for placenta’s!’ Dirk and I would then spend hours together working under the microscope, perfecting our techniques.

We had many wonderful chats together in his office. Our Friday afternoon ritual was to pick up our cups of coffee in the ward tea-room (cups only two thirds filled) and then proceed to Dirk’s office. After closing the door we would top up the cups with a ready supply of whisky! Thereafter followed discussions ranging from neurosurgical issues, politics, philosophy and of course to the ‘hot’ new red-haired nurse that had just started in the ward!

Indeed I was privileged and blessed to be mentored and nurtured in the art and science of neurosurgery as well as in many aspects of life itself. I remember Dirk’s visible pride in my evolution as a neurosurgeon and how he celebrated my graduation.

This post is thus dedicated to the sacred memory of Dirk - my teacher and mentor. With much respect and appreciation. Dankie Meneer. Rus in vrede. Thank you Sir. Rest in peace.

Several years ago I found myself in a unique situation: I was trained in conventional neuromodulation as a neurosurgeon but I was also involved in clinical and corporate coaching. It was inevitable therefore that I would integrate the two vastly different fields into neuromodulation coaching. This intervention is based on an intrinsic knowledge of the function of key areas of the brain such that enhancement of cognitive and emotional function can be attained through the medium of coaching. Additionally I was able to formulate detailed assessments to assist in diagnostics as well as evaluate the success of the intervention. These components all became integral to the Triangles Model Applications (TMA).

An example of the use of the application is illustrated in the situation of chronic anxiety. The state of chronic anxiety is associated with the production of consistently raised levels of adrenaline and cortisol. This chemical configuration has far reaching negative consequences in regard to wellness, performance and longevity. These include – chronic inflammation which underpins cardiovascular disease, cancer and Alzheimer’s dementia (to name but a few); accelerated aging; compromised cognitive functioning and impaired self-awareness. The seat of anxiety in the brain is situated in the region referred to as the amygdala. The function of three other areas namely reasoning in the pre-frontal cortex, reward and gratification in the nucleus accumbens and empathy-connectivity in the cingulate gyrus, all individually and collectively counteract and suppress the excessive anxiety of the amygdala. This 3:1 ratio approach has been exploited successfully over several years and illustrates one of many neuromodulation interventions based on the TMA.

It becomes obvious that neuromodulation coaching represents a unique modality of intervention in which cognitive and emotional function are optimized, leading directly to the enhancement of wellness, performance and longevity.

Visit us here and enhance mind and body.

If I were an all-knowing intelligence with unlimited energy at my disposal I would be intrinsically aware that if I did not continue to create, I would stagnate and my energy would rapidly dissipate. The issue however is that simply reproducing my intelligence with the available code and energy, merely produces direct copies of me. This could not pass as creativity. The only logical option is to contribute a portion of my essence to a low energy space characterized by the illusion of individual separate physical bodies in which interaction and co-creativity can take place but with retention of an energetic connection to the energy source, which is me.

The fundamental objective is to secure the emergence ultimately of the maximally co-creative human brain and intellect, incorporating evolution to mediate the process. The only conceivable way that this strategy can be activated is through the creation of life, since the phenomenon of life cannot emerge spontaneously from the available environmental substrate (abiogenesis). The next requirement is that the entire human genome needs to be created ab initio and suppressed epigenetically (the DNA is constructed but suppressed through chemical means).

Following on from the famous formula E=mc², every physical entity has an energetic equivalent. The final requirement therefore is that all physical entities need to remain connected through two way traffic with their energy equivalents in the energetic space. Everything that is co-created in the physical dimension would contribute imprints and changes to the energetic space, which I shall term the “Field”.

In effect the Field is me and is imbibed with all my intelligence and infinite energy. The energy is in the form of unlimited frequencies in which every physical entity and its co-creations become imprinted. In this way all entities created by me and imbibed with all that I am, interact and in the process I become more than I was by creating new possibilities for creativity within all that I am. Therefore creating entities in my image that perceive me in my multiple manifestations is the foundation for the co-creation that sustains me.

I initiate the process by rapidly diminishing the energy content of a segment of my Field - the Big Bang. In this way physical mass is created in the form of fundamental elements, all imbibed with the properties that are essential for supporting life, the extended ecosystem and ultimately the brain and mind of Homo Sapiens. Once elements have engaged and given rise to molecules, I execute my final intervention – I create life and instill the complete human genome with full epigenetic suppression, into the earliest life form. From this point on, the process will self-perpetuate without my intervention. My connection will be through my Field, which is the extension of me.

Primitive life forms commence their engagement with the earliest life-sustaining environment. As life progresses environmental stress influences the appropriate de-suppression of successive segments of the complete genome. This process together with natural selection contributes to the evolution of new species. In some species, unused DNA segments atrophy while in others, the species remains constant in primitive form (phenotype) but still retains all or part of the original, comprehensive genome. An example of this is the primitive sea sponge. This organism is devoid of a nervous system yet incorporates the gene code for an advanced nervous system! Those forms that do not follow the ordained central path of increasing evolutionary sophistication may continue to evolve along a parallel path of lesser sophistication or branch out laterally, creating sub-species of lesser sophistication.

The process of evolution is complete with the emergence of Homo Sapiens, the pinnacle of the ordained central path. At this point, co-creation accelerates with significant associated re-organization of frequencies in my Field. Since my Field is characterized by unlimited frequencies, the interaction is through resonance - similar frequencies are mutually activated. My Field is devoid of time and space. It is an eternal present punctuated only by the emergence of new co-creativity. The source of co-creativity is thought, word and artifact. All creations, living and non-living, have energy-frequency representation in the Field. All cognitive and emotional content is also represented in the energy-frequency dimension. Representation takes the form of nodes with a unique carrier frequency. Through the process of resonance, all resonant nodes are mutually activated. By extension, all representative nodes in my Field also influence their physical counterparts in the physical dimension.

I see, hear and feel your thoughts and emotions, some in the form of prayer. I see processes which have gone awry. But intervening would negate the process of spontaneous co-creativity within my Field which evolves and energizes my being. And since all that was created is ultimately a reflection of my all-knowing dispensation, I do not sit in judgement of anyone or anything and nor do I mirror the emotions of those that have been created in my image and evolved. There is no good, evil or retribution – only process.

Physical death is just that – it refers only to the physical. It occurs when co-creativity diminishes below a sustaining threshold and manifests at the end of meaningful busyness. It is a reflection of the core source file of the Field – that which does not co-create and evolve becomes meaningless, irrelevant and disintegrates. The energy-frequency representation of deceased entities prevails in the Field as nodes with unique carrier frequencies. Resonance continues in the Field – like with like. Since there is no time, space nor separation in the Field, all that you were in your physical state and environment will now be inextricably bound with you energetically – kindness, cruelty, life-enhancing, life-destroying. All will now resonate, like with like.

In this way I have enhanced myself. Your individuality and co-creativity have energized and grown me as it has grown you. But ultimately everyone and everything is one with the Field, which is me. The concept of individuality and the self is illusionary. In the Field the only remnant of the physical entity is a node with unique carrier frequency which retains its integrity in support of perpetual resonance.

The inescapable truth is that we and all other physical entities span the physical-energy divide and this divide is bridged by the phenomenon of consciousness. In this way we are all connected and have been, since the beginning of time. And as we evolve and develop ourselves individually, we are contributing to the evolving, connected, energy collective and at the same time are influenced by its eternal flux. We are, each one of us, unique co-creators and at the same time, reflections of all that is.

As a consequence of our connections within an all pervading energetic space we are imbibed with the ability to influence all elements within the extended environment and perceive beyond our five senses domain. Research has shown our ability to influence matter, referred to as psychokinesis (PK) and the ability to perceive extrasensorily – referred to as extrasensory perception (ESP). The energetic functioning of PK and ESP is also integrated with our own physical states – adding an important layer to the mind-body connection. Clarity now begins to emerge regarding the seemingly unconnected synchronous phenomena of a health issue, the car breaking down and being laid off from work. The common factor is the mind state!

Join us on the scenic neurophysics path and enhance your self-awareness of greater consciousness.

The wellness and longevity industry has for the most part transitioned into the glitz and glamour world. Its practitioners have become perpetrators of exploitation of the fears and needs of their clientele - offering eternal vitality, youth and immortality. In the final analysis many of the said practitioners are acting out their own narcissistic needs driven by self-enrichment.

Mentoring patients/clients in embracing healthy diets and lifestyles in the promotion of wellness was not enough. They needed to incorporate modalities which have never
been validated in order to bolster this pseudo-scientific wellness and longevity offering. The garbage list is exhaustive - mega-vitamin and miscellaneous supplement prescriptions (now given intravenously to boost income), a murky area of peptide applications, NAD+ infusions, mitochondrial boosting (I kid you not!), ozone therapy, stem cell therapy, ice baths, colonic washouts ... those MD’s among the perpetrators sailing very close to the wind in regard to “primum non nocere”, first do no harm - the cornerstone of medical ethics.

A doubtful piece of research, a small fragment of observation in some obscure animal study, anecdotal contributions - all are added to the pot and through questionable extrapolation become the wellness offering. Misinformation (inaccurate information), dysinformation (deliberately manipulated information) and malinformation (disseminating information with known risk) keep the wheels of the wellness and longevity industry turning. This applies also to the very credentials of the perpetrators: a BA graduate having obtained a PhD by studying the eyes of rats now presents himself as a leading neuroscientist and professor of ophthalmology - dishing out high level medical advice; a chiropractor portrays himself as a neuroscientist and consciousness expert! The list of manipulators is endless.

At the tail end of the wellness requirements list is that of “stress management” - added in many cases to complete the “holistic” offering. Most of the practitioners are ignorant of the fact that this “stress” component has been studied over many years, giving rise to the the science of psychoneuro-immunology (PNI), the mind-immune influence. Mind states have been defined and distilled in regard to positive and negative consequences on immune function, providing insights into the development of illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and neuro-degenerative diseases (Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, ALS). Perhaps PNI interventions are not included because the self-enrichment potential is low as is the glitz and glamour component.

Ultimately it is the patient/client population that drive the industry. One can only hope
that authentic information permeates the consumers and reason prevails. In the interest of real wellness and quality longevity this circus needs to be terminated.

As a start, authentic neuroscience is offered here

The mind-immune connection is an established scientific fact. A mind state devoid of meaning and purpose, approaching a sense of irrelevance, coupled with anxiety gives rise to chronic inflammation. It is chronic inflammation which underpins the majority of serious illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, most cancers and neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease. Your body therefore reflects your state of mind as well as the psychosocial influences that prevail.

But … it is prudent to be aware that an inflamed body conspires against you - the mediators of chronic inflammation circulate back into the brain and further aggravate the negative mind state. A vicious negative cycle thus ensues - the mediators of inflammation amplify themselves!

Listening to your body therefore provides invaluable information regarding your life situation - the biopsychosocial space. The insight gleaned from this perspective serves to provide appropriate cues for psychosocial changes as well as for end-organ intervention.

The sensitivity and accuracy of self-perception rests upon your level of self-awareness. Building self-awareness thus becomes the key component for establishing lasting wellness and meaningful longevity.

Start your journey towards enhanced self-awareness by taking the free eVital assessment

One of the most important paradigm shifts that’s occurred in our time has been the validation of the influence of mind states on immune function. Mind states have been distilled into wellness, performance and longevity enhancing on the one hand versus negative states on the other, which predispose to illness and death.

The cornerstone for establishing healthy mind states is the development of an authentic self-awareness. With the knowledge that relatively few individuals have sufficiently engaged themselves, we have developed products and programs to facilitate both increasing self-awareness as well as the development of wellness-enhancing mind states.

Since our program is quantifiable through an online psychometric (the Diagnostic) we are able to track your progress. I invite you to take the free online eVital assessment which is based on our powerful Diagnostic, to personally experience the biofeed towards increasing self-awareness.

• Engage

• Biofeed

• Increased self-awareness

• Positive mind state

• Enhanced wellness, performance and longevity

Sample the free eVital assessment here

Consequently any healthcare strategy devoid of the variable of mind states as a core component is incomplete. We have indeed transcended the mechanistic biomedical model of health and disease and are now called upon to recognize the powerful influence of the subjective cognitive and emotional configuration of the individual in disease causation. The comprehensive biopsychosocial journey has begun - you can in fact think and feel your way back to enhanced wellness, performance and longevity.

Join us here on this exciting journey.

Current healthcare has become dehumanized. Lost in a mix of technology, consumerism, prescribed disinformation and isolating environments, fundamental sustaining values are being wrung out of humanity.

We need connection, acknowledgement and the space to exercise our uniqueness. From this space flows meaning and purpose, gratitude and empathy (sensitivity) towards others - the juices of which sustain individual and collective wellness and performance.

This approach to healthcare is far more important than the excessive and inappropriate prescription of drugs, vitamins, minerals, physiological manipulation, excessive and inappropriate medical/wellness investigations and worse … - all popping up like mushrooms in the form of wellness, longevity and dementia prevention clinics.

To reclaim lost juices, visit us here

They’re everywhere. At the office and at the club, in all the media and even at your place of worship – the relentless pitch of the ‘experts’! Wellness coaches, wellness therapists, longevity specialists and the like, ensnaring you and manipulating you and invariably relieving you of hard-earned cash. Some are even medical graduates or medical wannabee’s having graduated in some unrelated field. Often schooled in the best of snake oil sales traditions, they subtly but relentlessly tempt you at every turn and all too often, you relent.

And so I share the story with you of ‘John/Mary’ - JM. JM qualified with a Bachelor’s degree in philosophy. In the open job market, JM had to settle for a low profile clerical job just to put bread on the table and pay off a student loan because the degree afforded no special edge in a competitive job environment. But then came that life-changing moment. JM noted that a Big Name coaching expert/motivational speaker was going to be in the neighborhood. JM decided to attend the free introductory presentation. Fired up and on a roll following the presentation, JM invested the last of available savings and attended the weekend-long course to become an accredited coach. JM bought the books, learned the buzz and was cloned as an accredited life coach. JM spread the word among family, friends and work colleagues that JM was now an accredited life coach, qualified to deal with the full spectrum of life’s trauma’s.

Soon JM had a thriving ‘practice’. JM attended subsequent weekend courses and morphed successfully from life coach, to corporate coach, to executive coach, to ‘neurocoach’ and then ascended to the peak of coaching ... JM attended a course facilitated by a company which had the word ‘longevity’ in its name and promptly thereafter, assumed the extra qualification of ‘longevity expert’! JM today is an expert neuro-coach with a ‘neuroscience qualification’ as well as a longevity expert. Managing individuals with issues ranging from existential life crises to obesity; from neuroses to depression; from auto-immunity to dementia … the list is endless. JM has since become a sought after motivational speaker and now runs an accreditation course with several published books.

Being a very enterprising person, JM started selling vitamin supplements through JM’s ‘clinics’ which were subsequently branded (’JM’s complete vitamin spread for wellness, longevity, depression, exhaustion, libido issues, cancer prevention, dementia prevention … the list is exhaustive!’). One-stop mind-body wellness and longevity clinics emerged, soon to be franchised, because all the while JM has been training accredited ‘therapists’ who will buy into the world-wide franchises. JM has become a BIG name. JM is a world expert in mind-body wellness and longevity. And the product now sells itself.

Join me now as we look under the covers and establish exactly who JM is and what in essence is JM’s value contribution. JM has no experience nor university-level qualification in human anatomy, physiology or psychology. JM has no neuroscience degree. JM has never been personally evaluated in terms of own psychological wellness and stability nor has JM been mentored for any length of time in an internship. In summary, JM has never been assessed in terms of fitness to practice as a ‘mind-body expert’ – in fact JM has never been accredited to treat the mental and emotional wellness of any individual nor provide medical advice or remedies, face-to-face or online.

Unfortunately the prevailing global environment allows for the emergence of unqualified experts like JM because coaching is an unregulated profession. Add to this the odd miscellaneous course and out of the murky depths emerges a ‘wellness expert’! Never to be scrutinized nor challenged unless they harm or kill someone.

Regrettably this landscape is further darkened by the emergence of a new breed of medical graduate who is driven by self-importance and self-enrichment needs above all else. Smelling the rewards of snake oil sales they have embraced remedies and solutions for any number of maladies, exploiting the fears and ailments of their markets and behaving no better than the JM’s of the world. Their endeavors are generously driven by the neutraceutical and pharmaceutical industries as well as others (“peptide” manufacturers) with vested interests and thereby generate a happy win-win arrangement. Since scientific research has to date not validated any benefits from mega-vitamin or mineral supplementation in the context of normal Western diets (bearing in mind of course that excessive intake of fat soluble vitamins A, D, E and K can be toxic), there is minimal value to Joe Soap (and even to his dog) in swallowing megatons of junk.

The plot sickens when we take a peek into mainstream medical practice – where once again the predominant drive is self-enrichment and influence. Statins for minimally raised cholesterol levels are being coerced. In fact minimally raised anythings are being treated as though life depends on it. Prostates are being gouged out on a whim; every available coronary artery is being stented that has a subtle sign of atheroma – creating a rapidly expanding anti-coagulated population; spines are being fused at multiple levels just because there’s a degree of back pain and / or the MRI scan shows a degree of degeneration. But the MRI scan findings and the patient’s symptoms often don’t correlate (even if the patient was fortunate enough to have been examined!). And then of course there are the ongoing Covid vax boosters … ineffective, dangerous and without logic or reason – the ultimate endorsement of captured medical minds.

It is understandable therefore that the virtues of psychoneuro-immunology (PNI – the science of the influences of mind states on immune function) remain obscured. Negative mind states characterized by diminished meaning and purpose and tending to a subjective state of irrelevance predispose to immune suppression and chronic inflammation. The state of chronic inflammation, aggravated by anxiety, underpins most human conditions which include cardiovascular disease, cancers, dementia and many others. The converse also applies: Individuals that have meaning and purpose and engage with life, contribute positive value to their wellness and longevity. It is implicit therefore that any medical practitioner or therapist engaging with physical or mental illness, is familiar with PNI. There is no merit in pushing end-organ solutions and treatments when there is pathology at source – chronic inflammation and immune suppression. But then applying PNI doesn’t contribute to self-enrichment nor is it very suave and charismatic!

A democratic electorate deserves the government that they vote into power. Similarly a population deserves the wellness ‘experts’ that it favors. If indeed the smooth talking snake-oilers (medical and non-medical alike) entice the wellness-aligned population to swallow junk of all descriptions; follow insane diets; believe pseudo-science (usually with a neuro-spin); well then the population deserves them. In this day and age it is pretty simple to review the credentials of the ‘experts’ as well as the authenticity of management plans and suggestions.

You see my fellow humans in suffering, we are being conned on a daily basis. Authenticity has been overcome by impressive packaging and marketing at our expense. The only way to remedy this sick situation, if you so desire, is to scrutinize and seek supportive information in the form of method, results validation and an authentic profile of the individual promoting the treatment. Anyone not making their methods and results available for objective/scientific evaluation has something to hide. Furthermore, anyone that causes harm through the promotion of a remedy or disturbs a validated treatment program with their snake oil solutions, should face just retribution.

I end this rant with one important consideration. The mind states of trust and belief generate the secretion of oxytocin. Oxytocin is also secreted in response to massage. Oxytocin in turn enhances dopamine production (gratification, motivation, engagement) and suppresses inflammation – ‘feel good’ stuff. Oxytocin is therefore the mediator of the placebo effect – the belief that something indeed ‘works’ and enhances your wellness. It accounts for up to 40% of the effectiveness of all healthcare interventions! So the mind-body ‘experts’ such as JM and the others are on to a good thing – they’ve got us all by the ..... oxytocin!

But to arrive at this pinnacle of success and joy we need to develop our self-awareness. This is awareness of self as well as awareness of self in the context of the greater environment. From this place of knowing flows clarity with more self-enhancing choices. All this contributes to more emboldened self agency as we fuel more curiosity, engagement and recognize our authentic meaning and purpose.

Longevity without personal meaning, purpose and gratification eventually withers into a state of joyless lingering. But neuroscience shows that meaningful and purposeful busyness fueled with curiosity and engagement, bound together with personal gratification, gratitude and compassion, are the components that promote longevity with quality of life. Add a healthy lifestyle and you no longer depend on the ineffective mega-vitamin intake, drugs designed to tweak your every physiological function and the elusive chemicals that will prevent and/cure dementia.

It has been stated that the first signs of dementia are the loss of interest in the environment; waning of ambition; evaporation of meaning and purpose. I would respond that it is precisely these traits that predispose the individual to succumbing to dementia as endorsed by the neuroscience. No magic bullet will reverse this mind state disintegrating into dementia.

The formula is so clearly apparent: Hone self-awareness to empower yourself to enhance meaning, purpose, joy, gratitude and compassion so that longevity with quality of life naturally follows, without mechanistic tweaking.

Join us and recreate meaning and purpose-based enhancement of longevity and quality of life for as long as it provides joy. And when day is done and the light dims, face the final curtain with fortitude and gratitude for having indulged in the Great Dance.

Enhance your self-awareness here

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There is one statement that I can make with absolute certainty – we’re all going to die. Indeed our individual deaths will be as unique as our individual lives, but ultimately death is the final curtain. Said in another way, all roads lead ultimately to the grave but the time, place and mode of death is determined by the interplay of all that we are in the context of the greater environment – the universe or the greater environment gives or takes according to all that we are rather than to all that we want.

Of late there has been a noticeable increase in suicides around the globe. I am told that there are even choice venues for committing suicide. So much so that the paths leading to the cliff edges are covered with signage advising the potential suicidal where to seek help to avoid the final act. This state of affairs has driven me back to re-read the research on the subject of suicide and death in general. I had had the need to try and understand suicide as an entity apart from accidental or illness-based death. But after reading everything I could lay my hands on, I came to the conclusion that suicide is no different from the other causes of death when seen in the broadest context.

Let me take you, the reader (presumably you’ve stomached the concept and the discussion so far) to the work of a great man, my inspiration in much of my work, Viktor Frankl. Prior to being interned in a Nazi concentration camp, Frankl occupied the seats of neurology and psychiatry in Vienna. What is not well known is that Frankl created a unit for the intervention of depression among students as well as suicide prevention. During Frankl’s tenure, suicide rates were the lowest that they had ever been at the university.

This remarkable human being found himself a victim of the murderous Nazi regime and was transported to a concentration camp in the middle of his tenure. But such was the nature of the man that he continued to observe, learn and intervene where he could in the midst of hell itself. Frankl perceived that pivotal to life was meaning and purpose. This was to become the cornerstone of Logotherapy. Since Frankl was living with the individuals that he was studying and wherever he could, doctoring, he was uniquely placed to identify clear trends and their consequences. Emerging therefore from his observations, Frankl noted that those who lost meaning and purpose and defaulted into despair (which I termed hopeless-helpless in my studies) succumbed in one or other identifiable way: Either they weakened, lost the will to engage and work and were exterminated or they weakened and developed a fatal infection. Without knowing it at the time, Frankl had recognized what was to become the science of psychoneuro-immunology (PNI) – the study of the influences of mind states on immunity. If immunity is impaired we become vulnerable to both infection and tumor formation as well as tumor metastasis.

This is a profound observation. Many studies later we have come to recognize that the mind state of hopeless-helpless not only impairs immunity but creates states of chronic inflammation. Chronic inflammation has been shown to underpin the development of heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease and many forms of cancer, among other conditions. But as elucidated by Frankl, this despair or hopeless-helpless is a mind state akin to throwing in the towel – a terminal state emerging out of the total absence of meaning and purpose and descending into a subjective state in which life has become irrelevant.

Let’s review this mind state of hopeless-helpless in more detail. The ‘hopeless’ component refers to a subjective perception that life is devoid of meaning. The afflicted individual sees no purpose to continued engagement. They derive no gratification nor fulfillment from their engagement with life. They see no value to themselves or to others close to them, from the engagement. The ‘helpless’ component (also termed “learned helplessness”) denotes a subjective belief that their situation is unchangeable – an entrapment situation with no way out.

In this way the afflicted individual gets sucked into the vortex of the increasing darkness of a terminal existential life crisis. The vortex derives its energy from the increasing hopeless-helplessness which subjectively blocks out more potential light. This mind state either gives rise to immune suppression or severe chronic inflammation, both of which will lead to a potential terminal event, or they end their own life and thus the suffering.

I would propose therefore that suicide reflects the malignant or lethal mind state of a terminal existential crisis. It differs from death by other causes only in its mode. The intervention therefore is no different for the potential suicide as it is for those that I counsel in regard to diagnosed illnesses associated with a malignant mind state.

The intervention for this mind state can be summarized in the form of three questions:

1. Why are you ending your life? Answer: Because I see no further meaning or purpose in my life

2. Are you confident that you have looked at all possibilities in the search for meaning and purpose? Answer: Yes/no – If ‘no’, then here is a potential access point for coaching intervention

3. Are you prepared to re-look at your life through new eyes? Answer: Yes/no – If ‘yes’, then here’s another potential access point for coaching intervention

In life we are all going to go through mini-existential crises. That’s inevitable. Some will have the intrinsic wherewithal to reason their way out of the vortex and transcend; some may experience repeated vortices through no fault of theirs – the potential for transcendence is after all part and parcel of who we subjectively are; and then of course there are those where either the summation of vortices or the emergence of one overpowering vortex moves them into the terminal malignant mind state.

When all is said and done, we each have our ‘sell by date’ and ‘expiry date’. It is built into the nature-nurture product. It shall arise at the appropriate time, with or without intervention, because it is a product of all that we are. But we have also been imbibed with life-enhancing functions in various proportions – sensory gratification, reward gratification, curiosity, sensitivity and the faculty of reason. The art of living is therefore to apply and exercise our life-enhancing functions so that meaning, purpose and gratification are sustained. I would suggest that we live life in the present with an eye on the last feeling that we’ll have before the lights go out permanently, knowing that if the last feeling is not a good one, there will be very little we can do at that point to change it.

Vortices shall inevitably arise and they will ask of us to answer the three questions. By definition, if we recognize the pathways to new light, the vortex shall be no more. But if we arrive at the terminal darkness of the final vortex, we are asked to accept it with fortitude and respect as we succumb. Day is done, the subjectivity of a life lived is celebrated as the final curtain falls.

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