Placebos trigger an opioid hit in the brain

Placebos trigger an opioid hit in the brain - "It seems that placebos have a real physical, not imagined, effect – activating the production of chemicals in the brain that relieve pain, a new study suggests," reports NewScientist.com. I guess I am constantly amused by scientists finding it "mysterious" or "surprising" that psychological conditions can bring about a physical / chemical response within the body. I am happy that science is slowly but surely confirming what many people people with experience with hypnosis, meditation, or trance already know and accept through actual subjective experience, rather than via a dreamed up hypothesis or "external" observation (said to be objective)... roll on holistic "science" ... an underlying obstacle of modern science I guess is the belief that mind and body and separate, rather than a deeply interconnected system - with perhaps the mind actually giving rise to the body in the first place. However, if this isn't "observed" with the mundane senses (and some "logically devised" equipment) then it cannot be possible, in the view modern science.

The Surface of the Sun

The Surface of the Sun article proposes a new model for the sun, suggesting that the gas model (that the sun is a ball of gas) is not correct, but rather that it has a solid surface that conducts electricty. This is certainly worth reading over, and the images of the sun are certainly visually stunning.

So You'd Like To... De-virus Your Mind

I've added an article that based on my review of Richard Brodie's book Virus of the Mind: The New Science of the Meme. It explores some of the similarities between Psychosynthesis, Memetics, Carlos Castaneda, and Speed Reading. This article was originally written as a "So you'd like to..." guide for Amazon.com. Read So You'd Like To... De-virus Your Mind.