Center for Consciousness Center . Tucson . Arizona

TSC 2010

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS

Microtubule information processing

Jack Tuszynski, Anirban Bhandyapatyay

LUCID DREAMINGTheory and Practice

In the course of everyday life, most people do not question whether they are awake. Likewise, while dreaming, people are not usually aware that they are dreaming. Cognizant or “lucid” dreaming is a significant exception to this generalization. During lucid dreams, one can reason rationally, remember the conditions of waking life, and chose one’s course of action--all while remaining soundly asleep, fully engaged in a dream world that can appear astonishingly real. Laboratory research at Stanford and elsewhere has proved by means of voluntary eye-movement signals that lucid dreams occur during unequivocal REM sleep. The fact that lucid dreamers can remember to perform planned actions and signal to the laboratory opens the dream state to more direct study. Lucid dreamers can perform experiments while dreaming, “time-stamping” particular dream events with eye-movement signals, allowing correlations between the dreamer's subjective reports and physiology, and enabling the methodical testing of hypotheses. We have used this strategy in a series of studies demonstrating significant correspondence between dreamed actions and physiological responses.
The study of dreams can tell us much about how consciousness works. For example, comparing how waking and dreaming experiences are similar and different casts light upon the constructivist/top-down/endogenous and ecological/bottom-up/exogenous determinants of the contents of consciousness. Likewise, dreams are clearly relevant to a major focus of the conference: stimulus-independent thought. In order to study dreams optimally, it is necessary to do so with the mindfulness and cognitive clarity afforded by lucid dreaming. Lucid dreaming is a learnable skill that can be developed through training in dream recall, concentration, and prospective memory. The frequency of lucid dreaming can also be increased by a variety of other methods to be reviewed in the workshop, including pre-sleep pharmacological and behavioral manipulations; sleep-cycle interruption; and lucidity cueing by meaningful sensory stimuli applied during REM sleep. This workshop will present an overview of scientific research on the theory and practice of lucid dreaming. Participants will learn techniques for inducing, stabilizing, and controlling lucid dreams, and how to use them for the exploration and development of consciousness. The program will include demonstrations of technology to assist lucid dream induction. We will also explore the relationship between lucid dreaming and consciousness in dream yoga, non-lucid dreams, out-of-body experiences, virtual reality world simulations, and waking life.
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Stephen LaBerge received his Ph.D in Psychophysiology in 1980 from Stanford University where he researched consciousness, dreaming and waking, for 25 years. He has taught courses on sleep and dreaming, psychobiology, and altered states of consciousness at Stanford University, the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, and San Francisco State University. In addition to his scientific writings on lucid dreaming he has published several influential popular books on the topic which have been translated into more than 20 languages.

Experimenting with Endogenic Experience:

fMRI, EEG and TMS in search of the functionality of the default-network

Certain forms of spontaneous brain activity have been recently indicated to be related to endogenic experience. This emerging field of interest, which evolves alongside with the concepts of "the default-mode network" and "the brain's dark energy", is led almost solely by neuro-imaging – mainly fMRI and PET - studies. Studies have already shown that some aspects of spontaneous neural activity during rest are associated with the experience of ongoing spontaneous thought, or self-referential thought, or mind-wondering. In these studies, typically ‘rest’ was contrasted with self-related or neutral cognitive tasks, sometimes also accompanied by behavioural measurements of self-related thought to assess experience.

In this workshop existing and new techniques for controlled experimental interventions in the relation between default-network activity and internally generated experience will be introduced, elaborated and discussed. Manipulations on rest- related subjective experience and manipulations on “default” neural activity will first be presented and discussed independently. The workshop will further aim to eventually reach a theoretical comprehensive model, in which the potency of each of these techniques will be combined to altogether shed more light on the relation between rest-related neural activations and experience.

To discuss manipulations on rest-related experience, theoretical aspects of spontaneous thought and mind-wondering will first be raised and discussed. Then emphasis will be made on adapting neuro-imaging paradigms for examination of the relation between rest-related neural activity and variations in experience and consciousness. Two examples will be given from our neuro-imaging laboratory. In one, hypnosis was used to manipulate experience and temporal and spatial dynamics of neural activations were analyzed. In the other, EEG and fMRI were combined to show how two different alpha-related processes in the brain correspond to different experiences. Special attention will also be given to the role of altered states of consciousness in this kind of research and to the neural basis of various thought contents and emotions within the normal resting state.

To discuss manipulations on default-network activations, options beyond neuro-imaging will be reported. The astonishing results of an attempt made by our group on the issue by employing inhibitory deep transcranial magnetic stimulation (dTMS) prior to rest in healthy subjects will be presented. Albeit its drawbacks in terms of spatial resolution, this paradigm offers a unique opportunity to examine causality and localization in the relation between default-network activations and experience, thus elegantly complementing results obtained in imaging studies.

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Neuroimaging of Meditation Workshop: Imaging Meditation and fMRI Analysis of Transcendental Meditation

Background: Four decades of meditation research have examined EEG parameters as well as peripheral physiological measures including heart rate, respiration and electrodermal activity. Initial studies of direct imaging of meditative brainstates have been reported. The reported ability of meditation to provide access to “deeper, more expanded” states of cognitive function is of particular interest in light of the default mode network underlying spontaneous, non-directed mentation. Moreover, the significance of intrinsic brain functioning may find a unified, fundamental basis in a ‘ground state’ of cognitive function reported during transcendental experiences. The first part of this workshop will review the current status of published neuroimaging findings across various meditative techniques in the context of intrinsic brain function.

fMRI Study of Transcending: In Study 1, subjects were asked to rest with their eyes closed for 1 minute then meditate for 20 minutes, then rest with eyes closed for 1.5 minutes. fMRI brain images were collected continuously. The average of 5 epochs of 30 seconds each (2.5 minutes) of meditation at 13 minutes were contrasted with (subtracted from) the average of 5 epochs of 30seconds each (2.5 minutes) of eyes-closed rest before and after meditation (TR 2000, TE 30, 33 slices). In Study 2, subjects were instructed to cycle between three states--resting with eyes closed, daydreaming, and meditation every 30-46 seconds for a total of 5 cycles (BOLD EPI collected at TR 2000 TE 30, 33 slices). The brain images show meditation contrasted with daydreaming.

fMRI Findings: We studied 19 practitioners of TM, aged 18 to 62, with 3 months to 30 years experience in daily practice. fMRI images ranged from widespread activation to very localized areas of activation and deactivation. Brain patterns fell into three groups: 1) widespread activation in executive and sensory areas and activation in rostrolateral prefrontal cortex (RLPFC) associated with attention , 2) deactivation in executive and sensory areas with sustained activation in RLPFC, 3) deactivation in RLPFC and activation in unilateral insula.

David Hubbard MD, Applied fMRI Institute, San Diego, CA

Alarik Arenander, PhD, Brain Research Institute, Fairfield, IA

Psychologist Russell Hurlburt is known for his innovative methods of exploring inner experience. Philosopher Eric Schwitzgebel is known for his skepticism about such methods. Hurlburt and Schwitzgebel will team up (perhaps “square off” would be a better term) and interview participants in the workshop audience about the details of their inner experience. That interview will follow Hurlburt’s Descriptive Experience Sampling (DES) method: While Hurlburt and Schwitzgebel give presentations outlining their views, a random timer will be set for a beep to sound. When the beep sounds, participants are to reflect on their last undisturbed moment of inner experience just before the beep. A random member of the audience will then be selected to describe her experience, and Hurlburt, Schwitzgebel, and the tutorial attendees will question her about the beep, using a variation of what Hurlburt calls an “expositional interview”. During these interviews, we (all tutorial participants) will conduct “sidebar” discussions about: what are the characteristics of good and bad questions; how believable are the subjects’ reports; to what extent do we “lead the witness”; etc.

Russell T. Hurlburt, Psychology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Eric Schwitzgebel, Philosophy, University of California, Riverside

Neural Basis of Suppression, Repression and Dissociation

A great deal of complex cognitive processing occurs at the unconscious level and affects how humans behave, think and feel. But scientists are only beginning to understand how this occurs on the neural level. Understanding the neural basis of consciousness requires an account of the neural mechanisms that underlie both conscious and unconscious thought, and their dynamic interaction. For example, how do conscious impulses, thoughts, or desires become unconscious (e.g. repression) or, conversely, how do unconscious impulses, desires, or motives become conscious (e.g. Freudian slips)? Reseach taking advantage of advances in technologies, like functional magnetic resonance imaging, has led to a revival and re-conceptualization of some of the key concepts of psychoanalytic theory, and progress at understanding their neural basis. According to psychoanalytic theory, unconscious dynamic processes defensively remove anxiety-provoking thoughts and impulses from consciousness in response to one’s conflicting attitudes. Within this classical framework, the processes that keep unwanted thoughts from entering consciousness include repression, suppression and dissociation. We will discuss studies from psychology and cognitive neuroscience in both healthy and patient populations that are beginning to elucidate the neural basis of these phenonema. Reconceptualizing classical psychoanalytic concepts within the context of modern cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience may facilitate their empirical study, allowing us to characterize the neural basis of the dynamic unconscious. This will ultimately lead to more effective treatment options for certain psychological disorders, and help us better understand our own consciousness.

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Voices, Visions, Dreams, and the Limits of Consciousness: Explaining Anomalous
Neurological Phenomena

We elaborate on Julian Jaynes's theory of the origin of consciousness, with discussions of geographical areas not discussed by Jaynes: Mesoamerica, India, China, South and North America. We demonstrate that all ancient societies followed the same bicameral/consciousness transition as theorized by Jaynes. We also comment on the Moai or 'talking and walking statues') of Easter Island as a 'test case' for Jaynesian psychology (its isolation, small population, and documented changes make Easter Island an 'experiment in history'). We also survey recent advances in our understanding of the dual brain/Jaynes's neurological model, including new evidence from brain imaging studies. By exploring anomalous neurological experiences and the evolutionary aspects of what is called 'consciousness,' the distinction between conscious and unconscious mental processing becomes clear. Jaynes offered explanations for the psychology of spirit possession, hypnosis, auditory hallucinations, and glossolalia. However, other anomalous experiences, generically called auto-vision phenomena (e.g., auto-visions proper and doubled auto-visions), must be taken into account. We examine the most recent research on these puzzling phenomena and argue that they qualify as vestigial bicamerality. Finally, we contrast the dreams from ancient civilizations, pre-literate tribes, and children on the one hand with those of modern literate adults on the other.

Brian J. McVeigh received his Ph.D. from Princeton University and was a student of Julian Jaynes. He worked in Asia for 17 years and authored seven books on spirit possession, religion, education, politics, nationalism, and popular culture. He teaches in the East Asian Studies Department at the University of Arizona.

Marcel Kuijsten is editor of the book Reflections on the Dawn of Consciousness: Julian Jaynes's Bicameral Mind Theory Revisited, co-editor (with Brian J. McVeigh) of The Jaynesian (the newsletter of the Julian Jaynes Society), and Founder and Executive Director of the Julian Jaynes Society.

Transforming Consciousness: Personal Mythology, Neuroscience, and Organizational Culture

Dr. Krippner has led many people to discover how their personal stories have controlled their perceptions and actions. In this workshop he describes the four factors that influence personal myths: biology, culture, interpersonal experiences, and transpersonal experiences; and illustrate how to work with each. He also offers guidance in identifying, evaluating, and transforming dysfunctional myths, beliefs, and worldviews. Dr. Krippner will guide you to find the story that is living through you and to see that the greatest opportunity for personal transformation is precisely in the dysfunctional parts that are no longer working for you.

This workshop explores the positive potential of transformative learning in organizational life. Organizations change when people change. Given the notion that organizational culture is emergent and relational, this section is a conversation about being and becoming in organizational life. The concept of social construction is applied to health care management teams in real life settings. "What is culture transformation?" will be discussed along with innovative thoughts about the death of ideas in agencies.

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Dr. Frank Echenhofer is a professor of psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco. Working with the Dalai Lama’s guidance, he has conducted research on the EEG correlates of advanced Tibetan Buddhist meditators. He is also known for his EEG research on practices of shamanic journeying in the Brazilian and the Peruvian Amazon. He is currently studying creativity and sacred visionary and kinesthetic experiences across spiritual traditions to develop ways to facilitate such experiences for healing, creativity, and spiritual growth.

Dr. Stanley Krippner is internationally known for his work in the scientific investigation of human consciousness, having written or co-authored over 900 articles and a dozen books on the topic, including Personal Mythology, Dream Telepathy, Dreamworking, and The Mythic Path. Dr. Krippner is past President of the Association for Humanistic Psychology and the recipient of numerous awards. He is a living treasure in dream study and mind research and a pioneer in the field of transpersonal psychology.

Why Synesthesia Matters: The Scientific, Artistic and Spiritual Manifestations of This Gift of Consciousness

Synesthesia can benefit science because it may be a linchpin to understanding the hard problem of consciousness. Though it is ineffable and noetic, it can be measured in brain scans and other tests, providing keys to a very unique experience which may be latent in all of us. Traditional, classical science says it is either a cross-wiring of neurons or lack of chemical inhibition between them. But what of the future? Dr. Hameroff has said synesthetes may have a lower threshold to quantum consciousness; Dr. Amit Goswami believes they may be more sensitive to vital energy, also known as prana or chi.

Synesthesia has inspired artists for centuries - both those who have it and those who have emulated it (slides of artwork). Further, it is eight times more common in those in the Arts according to Dr. V.S. Ramachandran of the University of California at San Diego. Due to diffuse expression of the synesthesia gene throughout the brain, synesthetes are masters of metaphor and linking seemingly unrelated things. I have identified synesthetes who will surprise - from Billy Joel to Itzhak Perlman to the co-inventor of the world wide web, Sir Robert Calliau, and will excerpt from their testimonies.

Synesthesia is an extremely common experience among meditative adepts. Dr. Roger Walsh of the University of California at Irvine found 80-90 + percentiles among Tibetan and Zen meditators. Old Buddhist texts imply that enlightenment is not possible without synesthesia. This is not to say all synesthetes are enlightened, but, rather, that the experience is present in the enlightened. Synesthesia is also mentioned in the Kabbalistic text, The Zohar, and was commented on by prominent rabbis.

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Research on Psychedelics Moves into the Mainstream — The Lancet

Emerging and reemerging research on psychedelics point to three major uses: 1) psychotherapeutic, 2) creative problem solving, enhanced cognition, and boosting intelligence, and 3) entheogenic (spiritual). We will review research on these three, their possible future ramifications for developing the human mind, and how, with proper precautions, psychedelics can be used with considerable safety and beneficial, even profound, results. These include facilitating scientific and technical solutions in biology, biochemistry, engineering, neuroscience, physics, architecture and other fields that are less well known but have had considerable cultural impact, including two Noble Prizes. They also point to experimental religious studies, experimental humanities, and assembling a full, multistate map of the human mind. This workshop will review the different settings and ways of facilitation for each kind of use. With psychedelics, one needs to be aware of seven variables: Mental set, physical setting, the skills of the guide or sitter, the substance and the amount taken, the session itself and the situation or life-space of the person afterwards. Most important is the intention of the person using the substance- their goals and capacities. A variety of effective psychotherapeutic models will be reviewed as well. Special attention will be paid to the significantly different skill sets that guides should have for each kind of experience with individuals or with groups. The workshop will help each participant become a more knowledgeable manager of their own consciousness as well as a more prudent and helpful advisor to others. A copy of The Lancet article used as a title for this workshop and detailed manuals for entheogenic and scientific sessions with be distributed to each participant.

James Fadiman, Ph.D. has been researching the effects of psychedelic substances for many years; his work was recently featured on the National Geographic Program, Explorer: Inside LSD. He is the author and editor of Shattering Certainty: Using Psychedelics Wisely and Well.(in press).He been on the faculty of San Francisco State, Brandeis and Stanford, was a co-founder of the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology and has taught in Europe and Asia.

Thomas B. Roberts, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus at Northern Illinois University. Among his publications are: Psychedelic Medicine, Psychoactive Sacramentals, Religion and Psychoactive Sacraments. In Psychedelic Horizons, he presents Multistate Theory. He has taught Foundations of Psychedelic Studies since 1981, the world’s first cataloged psychedelic course at a university and originated the celebration of Bicycle Day.

A Victorian’s Guide To Consciousness: James, Myers,

and The Fin De Siècle Gang - then and now

The year 2010 is the centennial of William James’ death. With his passing a whole style of understanding consciousness was soon to fade. Research on consciousness at the fin de siècle and during the first decade or so of the 20th century questioned the boundaries of conscious awareness as well as exploring the possibility of “subconscious” or “unconscious” mental states. This workshop illuminates the study of consciousness as it existed 100 years ago, while developing comparisons with related ideas that exist today. Topics such as dissociation, the existence and nature of the unconsciousness, altered states of consciousness (from hypnosis to psychedelic experiences), as well as discussions of the relationship of consciousness to brain processes, and the possibility of experiences beyond the ordinary as well as its continuation after physical death, were all part of turn of the century theory and research, and are part of the study of consciousness today as well. Time will be allowed aside from the presentations to invite interested participants to dialogue or present thoughts of their own as well.

Stanley Krippner, Saybrook Graduate School. Stanley Krippner is the Alan Watts Professor of Psychology at the Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center in San Francisco. He is an internationally known humanistic and transpersonal psychologist, having written extensively on dreams, altered states of consciousness, hypnosis, shamanism, dissociation, and parapsychology. In 2002 he received the American Psychological Association Award for Distinguished Contributions to the International Advancement of Psychology. Krippner has published over 200 articles, chapters, and books on consciousness and psychology.

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Arthur Hastings, Institute of Transpersonal Psychology. Arthur Hastings is a Professor and the Research Director at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, and a past president of the Association for Transpersonal Psychology. He is also Director of the William James Center for Consciousness Studies. Professor Hastings has taught at Stanford University, the University of Nevada, and the University of California at Santa Barbara, and has conducted research on remote viewing, hypnosis, dreams, stress, and bereavement. He is the author of With the Tongues of Men and Angels: A Study of Channeling, co-author of Argumentation and Advocacy, Changing Images of Man, and is the Senior Editor of Health for the Whole Person, an award winning book on holistic medicine.

Jonathan Bricklin, New York Open Center. Jonathan Bricklin is the Program Director at New York Open Center and a James scholar. He is the author of the recent book Sciousness (James' term for consciousness without self) and is presently completing a book on the spiritual dimensions of James’ later writings.

Pim van Lommel, Division of Cardiology, Hospital Rijnstate, Netherlands. Pim van Lommel, M.D., is a leading cardiologist at the Division of Cardiology, Hospital Rijnstate, Arnhem, Netherlands, who has made an extensive study near death experiences, interviewing over three hundred heart patients at his hospital in Arnhem, Netherlands who had had experienced clinical death. Dr. van Lommel has published in the prestigious Lancet medical journal and lectures widely on near death experiences. His book, After Life: A Scientific Approach to Near-Death Experiences, will be available in English from HarperOne in 2010.

Gary E. Schwartz, University of Arizona. Gary E. Schwartz is a professor in the departments of medicine, neurology, psychiatry, and surgery and Director of The VERITAS Research Program of the Human Energy Systems Laboratory in the Department of Psychology at the University of Arizona. He has been a professor of psychiatry and psychology at Yale University and Director of the Yale Psychophysiology Center and co-director of the Yale Behavioral Medicine Clinic. He is the co-author of The Living Energy Universe, and is the author of The Afterlife Experiments: Breakthrough Scientific Evidence of Life After Death and The Truth About Medium, and has published many scientific papers and edited academic books.

Adrian Parker, Gothenburg University, Sweden. Adrian Parker is a faculty member at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. He has authored or co-authored more than 50 articles and book chapters on clinical psychology and parapsychology. He has held clinical appointments in the adult and child clinical areas in both the UK and in Sweden. He is a member of the Swedish Psychological Association, the British Psychological Society, the Society for Psychical Research, and Council/Board Member of the Parapsychological Association; and Examiner for the Swedish Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis.

Allan Combs, California Institute of Integral Studies. Allan Combs is a Professor of Transformative Studies at the California Institute of Integral Studies. His background is in consciousness studies, neuropsychology, and systems science. Professor Combs is author of over 100 articles, chapters, and books on consciousness and the brain, including The Radiance of Being (2ed), winner of the best-book award of the Scientific and Medical Network of the UK, and Mind in Time: The Dynamics of Thought, Reality, and Consciousness, with Mark Germine and Ben Geortzel and the recent book, Consciousness Explained Better.

Yoga Asanas as Tools for Transforming States, Contents, Structures, and Levels of Consciousness

This workshop uses PowerPoint slides to explain the four aspects of consciousness that Patanjali describes in the ancient text The Yoga Sutras: states, contents, structures and levels. Workshop participants will directly experience each of these aspects through the practice of yoga asanas (postures), and Pranayama (regulation of the breath). Participants will be taught sequences of poses that, together, have the capacity to change the state and contents of the mind. The method of teaching the poses (Iyengar yoga) has the capacity, over an extended period of time, to change the structures and levels of consciousness. The aim of this workshop is for participants to experience the degree to which consciousness is embodied, how it exists in layers, and what its natural structural tendencies are. The workshop will be progressive and assumes no prior experience with yoga, nor pre-existing flexibility or physical skills. Those with physical limitations from stiffness, or chronic pain, etc. who otherwise wish to attend will be provided modifications to permit full participation.

Siegfried Bleher, PhD, Physics, University of Maryland in 1989 in nonlinear dynamics, and completed postdoctoral work in quantum chaos at University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia and postdoctoral work on transition state theory at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, before accepting a visiting faculty position at West Virginia University in 1994. Since 1992 Siegfried has had an interest and practice in yoga, and began teaching yoga full time in 1996. He and his wife run Inner Life Yoga Studio in Morgantown, WV. He is a certified teacher in the method taught by modern yoga master B.K.S. Iyengar, at the Intermediate Junior II level of certification, and has trained with the Iyengar family in Pune India, as well as with many of the senior teachers in the US. His research interest and work is currently to explore the boundary between what is objectively verifiable, and what is subjective about consciousness. Specifically, he is interested in (1) the implications that yoga philosophy has for a modern science of consciousness, (2) whether a coherent science of consciousness can be built up from a phenomenological view of consciousness, and (3) what, if anything, does quantum theory and its various interpretations have to do with the nature of consciousness.

Effecting Individual Transformation through Pranahuti Aided Meditation, an Experiential Workshop

This is an experiential workshop on the transformation of individual consciousness through the method of Pranahuti Aided Meditation(PAM). The word Prana means life or life force. It is in fact in the form of thought power in humans. Ahuti means offering. Pranahuti or transmission/offering of pure thought or Primal Consciousness is the most unique feature of the system. Stated very simply, Pranahuti is an act of will on the part of a capable person transmitting the thought to improve the spiritual condition of another. The direct, unmediated infusion of the Primal Consciousness is made possible only through this process. It acts as a catalyst in lifting and transforming an individual consciousness and it makes the task of individual transformation easier. When the experience of Universal Consciousness percolates into one’s being, the person starts to feel his/her ground reality and starts being what he/she is in essence (K.C.Narayana, 2005). The nature of the original Prana could be experienced by any one who seeks it with an open mind as research studies have shown (Imperience, Inaugural Issue, August 2002), and can be defined in the following ways: happiness, balanced condition akin to tranquility, freedom, aspiration, life activity or impulse (Elan Vital) manifested as feelings of vibration, jerks in the body.

General outline of the workshop is as the following: We will start with an introduction to the system of PAM followed by instructions as to how to do the meditation. We will then present the special meditational practices that are useful for regulating the indulgencies of the mind. By keeping two special psychic points purified through the special meditative techniques, one begins to feel the ascent of his or her own consciousness to higher levels on further transmissions (K.C.Varadachari, 2002). This will be followed by a presentation on the concept of Pranahuti. Then an adept in meditation will offer a half-hour Pranahuti guided meditation. Attendees could thereby further understand and validate the talks through their inner experience in the form of subtle feelings. Afterward, we will lead a group discussion on the way of living as propounded by the founder of the system Sri Ramchandraji Maharaj of Shahjahanpur, U.P. India. A road map charting out all the stages of progress up to the highest stage of consciousness made possible through PAM is presented. The goal of the workshop is to make participants aware of the possibilities of leading a balanced holistic life style such that one could achieve optimal levels of efficiency in all walks of life. Every participant in the workshop gets a first hand experience of the Unique Pranahuti or the transmission of Divine grace or Pure Consciousness.

Dr. K. Madhava is a professor of surgery at the Mediciti Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad India. He is also the Director of the Division of Surgery in Mediciti Hospital, a tertiary super specialty hospital in Hyderabad, India. He is a senior consultant in Laparoscopic surgery and Surgical Gastroenterology. Apart from surgery, he incorporates holistic heath care into his practice by employing complementary system of medicine such as homeopathy in treating his patients. He has been practicing meditation for the last 34 years. Since 1990 he has been involved in training aspirants in Pranahuti Aided Meditation (PAM). He is seriously interested in the problem of human transformation and believes that the practice of PAM is an easy method to solve the problem of life.

Dr. Kesava Mannur, FRCS (Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons, U.K.) is a consultant surgeon and director of bariatric surgery at Homerton Universtiy Hospital and Royal London Hospital. He has a longstanding interest in the psychology of people. He has been practicing Pranahuti Aided Meditation as expounded by Sri Ramchandraji of Shajahanapur, India for about 33 years. He has been both a trainer and a practising ‘abhyasi’ (student) in this type of meditation. He feels that it has transformed his outlook totally and has given a sense of direction and purpose to life. Service, sharing, and sacrifice will become automatic and happiness prevails in the world.

Dr Sastry Bhamidipati Ph.D, is a research associate of Imperience, Centre for Research and Training in Pranahuti Aided Meditation (PAM). He has studied and practiced PAM for over 15 years and dealt with various subjects in this field of raja yoga (meditation). Since 2000, he has been responsible for coordinating the monthly PAM training program in the San Francisco Bay Area, California. Prior to coming to this practice, he had 12 years of experience in traditional eastern meditation practices. He received his Ph.D. in Material Science Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and was a faculty member of a university for eight years in India prior to coming to the U.S.

Dr. B.S. Murty, Ph.D has got introduced into the system of Pranahuti Aided Meditation (PAM) in 2002 and since then he has found a way of living that is characterized by moderation, balance and harmony between the two worlds, the inner and the outer, and has been able to live accordingly. He has seen a significant transformation in himself ever since he joined the system and has been sharing his imperience in the monthly Training Programmes of PAM for the past two and half years. He has been assisting the aspirants in their spiritual growth through the system of PAM for the last one year. He received his PhD in Engineering from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore in 1992 and served IIT Kharagpur as a faculty member until 2004 before joining as Professor in IIT Madras. His area of research is Nano materials

Sri. N.V.Raghava Rao is a research associate of Imperience, Centre for Research and Training in Pranahuti Aided Meditation. He has been following Pranahuti Aided Meditation for the last 16 years and has undergone great transformation. Improved spiritually with better values, more positive outlook and attitudes in life, and convinced about the efficacy of the system through his personal experiences, he has been involved in training aspirants in this system for the past 10 years. He received his B.E (Bachelor of Engineering) and M.E (Master of Engineering) in Electrical Engineering and worked in various capacities in the field of software and has retired as a Director of Delivery in a Multi-National Software Company. He is currently pursuing spiritual learning full-time. Mostly recently he delivered a paper titled “Role of Pranahuti in Human Transformation” in the June 2009 Yoga for the New Millennium Conference.

Mission

People