Hi Mishika,

When people with your awareness start sharing from the heart, with authenticity, as you have here, we will see the blossoming of the innate goodness of humanity. As you say, shifting the energy from sad, disappointing and frustrating to being in gratitude, appreciating, complimenting and bringing good words and deeds to whatever we meet in life is an act of will, it is an individual choice and must come from within. It is only through bringing this innate goodness out to the world in need through our energy and actions that there will be change. What is the URL of your blog?

Norit,

There is an article which fits in with this thread, as an approach to anxiety and depression and with activating new pathways. It is:

Cannabis Treats Anxiety, Depression and Activates Pathways That Regulate Emotional Behavior

Cannabis Treats Anxiety, Depression and Activates Brain Pathways That Regulate Emotional Behavior

5th August 2016

By Marco Torres

Guest writer for Wake Up World

Despite the myths we’ve heard throughout our lives about cannabis killing brain cells, a growing number of studies indicate that cannabis actually has neuroprotective properties. Cannabis has been found to have an incredible ability to regulate emotional behavior, and may be the most reliable medicinal plant available as a therapeutic target for the treatment of anxiety and depressive disorders.

The Role of Beta-Caryophyllene

Beta-caryophyllene, a terpene in cannabis, is present in the essential oils of various plants including rosemary, hops, black pepper and cannabis. Like most terpenes, beta-caryophyllene contributes to the unique aroma associated with plant oils. In 2008, German researchers discovered that beta-caryophyllene also acts as a cannabinoid by binding to marijuana pathways in the body. Although some compounds like THC activate both cannabinoid pathways — CB1 and CB2 receptors — beta-caryophyllene specifically targets the CB2 receptor, which does not produce a high.

Interestingly, a 2014 study conducted with mice suggests that beta-caryophyllene may be useful in treating anxiety and depression. The findings were published online in the journal Physiology & Behavior.

“The present study has clearly demonstrated the anxiolytic and anti-depressant effect of Beta-caryophyllene and its underlying mechanism in a CB2 receptor-dependent manner in rodents,” wrote the authors, a team of scientists with the United Arab Emirates University. “The results also support the involvement of the CB2 receptor in the regulation of emotional behavior and suggest that this receptor could be a relevant therapeutic target for the treatment of anxiety and depressive disorders.”

Previous studies have also demonstrated a role of CB2 receptors in reducing anxiety and depression, the team added.

On the other hand, CB1 receptors, which are more widely dispersed in the brain, are known to exert a ‘biphasic’ effect when it comes to anxiety and depression; studies show cannabinoids that target CB1 receptors can help at low doses, while high doses seem to make things worse.

A better understanding of beta-caryophyllene’s properties, however, may help explain why cannabis users often cite relief of anxiety and depression as reasons for their use.

Antidepressant and Antianxiety

Anxiety and depression are pathologies that affect human beings in many aspects of life, including social life, productivity and health. Cannabidiol (CBD) is a constituent non-psychotomimetic of Cannabis sativa with great psychiatric potential, including uses as an antidepressant-like and antianxiety-like compound.

Cannabis acts on both types of receptors which are distributed mainly in the brain and immune system, respectively. In the brain, CB1 receptors are also targeted by endogenous cannabinoids (i.e., endocannabinoids).

The hippocampus is able to generate new neurons (i.e., neurogenesis) throughout the lifespan of mammals, including humans, has changed the way we think about the mechanisms of psychiatric disorders and drug addiction.

Chronic administration of the major drugs of abuse including opiates, alcohol, nicotine, and cocaine has been reported to suppress neurogenesis in the brain. But cannabinoids appear to be the only illicit drug whose capacity to produce increased newborn neurons is positively correlated with its antidepressant-like effects.

Research published in the journals Behavioural Brain Research and Experimental Brain Research demonstrated that even extremely low doses of THC (cannabis’s psychoactive component) — around 1,000 to 10,000 times less than that in a conventional cannabis cigarette — can jumpstart biochemical processes which protect brain cells and preserve cognitive function say researchers from Tel Aviv University (TAU). Another example is a 2009 study which found that teens who used cannabis as well as alcohol suffered significantly less damage to the white matter in their brains. Some alcoholics have even recovered from their illness by using cannabis daily.

Dose is key and findings suggest that high doses of cannabinoids produce anxiety-like effects. To make things more complicated, acute, low doses of cannabinoids have been found to induce antianxiety-like effects. The opposing effects of high doses of acute and chronic cannabinoids, together with the antianxiety-like effects caused by a low dose of cannabinoids, may finally explain discrepancies in the clinical study literature regarding the effects of cannabinoid on anxiety and depression.

What is certain is that low-doses of cannabinoids do work. For some medical marijuana is helpful, not curative. But others have been able to completely eliminate their dependence on other medications altogether.

Anecdotal evidence for the benefits of cannabis for depression and anxiety are by itself useful to guide us to try using it for intractable disorders, that is, especially when we know that conventional treatments are inadequate, ineffective and proven to cause more harm than good.

Sources:

About the author:

Marco Torres is a research specialist, writer and consumer advocate for healthy lifestyles. He holds degrees in Public Health and Environmental Science, and is a professional speaker on topics such as disease prevention, environmental toxins and health policy.

Please note: This article originally appeared on PreventDisease.com.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 4 months ago by Gary R. Smith.

Greenshade,

The above dialogue between us is now expanded as a blog post, ‘Love and Authority,’ at http://www.wholehuman.emanatepresence.com/realizations-blog/love-and-authority.

The blog post also follows. This interaction is enjoyed.

After publishing the blog post on Authority from Chapter 13, these realizations came to me:

The resistance I’ve felt towards authority from youth until now — has not been against authority itself at all, but the misuse of authority. Resistance of this type is not useful, of course, even if it seems ‘right,’ and I am working on it or more accurately Life is working on me with my agreement.

Natural authority, vibrant with innate confidence, leadership, self-command and service to Life, is a beautiful thing. It is given by the original design of pure consciousness. However, when a person through role, rank or position twists social authority to control, dominate and feel superior, there is misuse and imbalance.

One way to say it is that natural authority is a life-affirming influence, an out-raying of the One Being. Like a sunbeam to the sun, authority frequencies beam from the essential nature of pure consciousness, which is universal love. O.B. is a borderless inner sun, the foundation of everything pulsing within the atoms, particles and wavicles. It is within each of us and the one true self of us all.

Without awareness of the One Being/True Self, people given authority often turn it into a malfunction of society and a hindrance to the flow of living consciousness. In this sense, the universe is full of life, meaning the multi-verse of existence is populated on all dimensions for the self-expression of the One Being. When a person is aware and acts in alignment with it, authority supports the expansion and homeostasis of Life.

On a Tiny Buddha forum, Greenshade started a thread titled ‘Redefining love-beautiful read’ [1].

Qualities such as authority can have a hindering or supportive effect on the flow of life, and the difference is the presence or absence of pure love. With Greenshade’s permission, our forum dialogue to date follows.

July 31, 2016

GREENSHADE:

I read something beautiful online today that resonated with me, and thought you guys would appreciate it so sharing it here! It basically explores redefining love along these lines: ‘Love blossoms virtually anytime two or more people — even strangers — connect over a shared positive emotion, be it mild or strong.’

The beautiful something is ‘The Science of Love: How Positivity Resonance Shapes the Way We Connect: The neurobiology of how the warmest emotion expands your sense of self and blurs the boundaries by you and not-you.’ [2]

GARY:

Thank you for sharing the article link, Greenshade. This would be a subject for conversation over a cup of coffee or tea! It is a worthwhile exploration, to be sure.

I feel the author has presented a partial view based on a fairly narrow interpretation of love. The article says,

“Using both data from her own lab and ample citations of other studies, Fredrickson dissects the mechanisms of love to reveal both its mythologies and its practical mechanics.

“First and foremost, love is an emotion, a momentary state that arises to infuse your mind and body alike. Love, like all emotions, surfaces like a distinct and fast-moving weather pattern, a subtle and ever-shifting force.”

Greenshade, for me it is not mere semantics to gain a clear understanding of the word love. I would called the emotion described above arousal, passion, excitement or attraction — but not love. I like to keep the word love in its pure form as the constant, self-existing energy of creation that it is universally. Humans have rarely caught glimpses of love, except in transcendent moments of experiencing pure consciousness. It is well beyond emotion. But of course that is my perspective.

I agree that love expands the sense of self and blurs the boundaries by you and not-you. Just disagree that it is an emotion. Emotions get stirred when the universal energy of love is felt, but they are a side product and not love itself.

How do you feel about this?

GREENSHADE:

Hmm that is an interesting concept…I think I’m struggling a bit with separating the cause (love) and effect (emotion). My understanding of love has been as something very human and very mundane in how commonly it is felt but very unique in that it is how we manifest the divinity in all of us. I would love to hear more about your understanding of it, especially if you think its possible to acknowledge the cause and the effect it has on us as separate, if that makes sense.

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to reply and share your thoughts, it is appreciated :)!

GARY:

You have started a forum conversation of limitless breadth and depth. I would ‘love’ to interact with you on the subject of “The Science of Love: How Positivity Resonance Shapes the Way We Connect.”

I followed links from the article to a page titled, ‘What is Love? [3], which is a collection of sayings. Browsing those quotes, it seems people are talking about very different things, and calling all of them love.

Another link took me to “How to Love: Legendary Zen Buddhist Teacher Thich Nhat Hanh on Mastering the Art of “Interbeing”.

If I understand you correctly, you see love as the cause of the emotional response to it. And the emotional response to love is generally also called love.

If love is the cause and emotions are the effect, how do you mean “love” in this context? Are you referring to love as the attraction of one to another? And then after that, the feelings of completion, expansion, cherishing, companionship, friendship, loyalty, and so on? You wrote,

“My understanding of love has been as something very human and very mundane. It is commonly felt but very unique in that love is how we manifest the divinity in all of us.”

I see how you understand it and agree that love becomes everyday in human activities and that pure love truly felt manifests the divinity in all of us.

Love in its original design is the essential nature of the One Being of pure consciousness which emits as oscillating high frequencies from its universal field.

O.B. emanates itself, and fills and animates everything. O.B. is also the true self of each person and of all that is. This understanding is blocked from human awareness by social/environmental programming and the distortions of distance and density in the so-called 3D world. The distance and density mentioned are also illusory fabrications, made to feel very real in their effect. What we call love is a distortion of the emanations of O.B., normalized in fragmented human historical perspective. That is not to put down the experience humans call love. It appears to be the best we can do in this ‘point in time.’

Re-reading your sentence to me, ” I would love to hear more about your understanding of it, especially if you think its possible to acknowledge the cause and the effect it has on us as separate, if that makes sense …”

The cause and effect of love on us are separate in one way and in another way not. The cause of love, the emanations of O.B., is separate in blocked human awareness from the emotions which arise in response to the filtered down stimulus of universal love. We then take this filtered down stimulus and do what we do with it, and call that love too.The cause and effect are not separate in that the One Being who emanates itself, love, is in actuality our true self.

Following are some quotes I picked up on my hyperlink hopping from the article you linked.

Best regards,

Gary

****

“Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get – only with what you are expecting to give – which is everything.” – Katharine Hepburn, Me: Stories of My Life

Kurt Vonnegut, who was in some ways an extremist about love but also had a healthy dose of irreverence about it, in The Sirens of Titan: “A purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it, is to love whoever is around to be loved.”

Stendhal in his fantastic 1822 treatise on love: “Love is like a fever which comes and goes quite independently of the will. … there are no age limits for love.”

Ambrose Bierce, with the characteristic wryness of The Devil’s Dictionary: “Love, n. A temporary insanity curable by marriage.”

:

At the heart of Nhat Hanh’s teachings is the idea that “understanding is love’s other name” — that to love another means to fully understand his or her suffering. (“Suffering” sounds rather dramatic, but in Buddhism it refers to any source of profound dissatisfaction — be it physical or psychoemotional or spiritual.) Understanding, after all, is what everybody needs — but even if we grasp this on a theoretical level, we habitually get too caught in the smallness of our fixations to be able to offer such expansive understanding.

[1] ‘Redefining Love’ – a Tiny Buddha forum thread

[2] The Science of Love: How Positivity Resonance Shapes the Way We Connect

[3] What is Love?

Greenshade,

You have started a forum conversation which is limitless in breadth and depth. I would ‘love’ to interact with you on the subject of “The Science of Love: How Positivity Resonance Shapes the Way We Connect.”

This time I scanned the article with a little more focus, and followed a link to https://www.brainpickings.org/2013/01/01/what-is-love/, which is a collection of sayings. Browsing those quotes, it seems people are talking about very different things, and calling all of them love.

From there, another link took me to “How to Love: Legendary Zen Buddhist Teacher Thich Nhat Hanh on Mastering the Art of “Interbeing”.

Inter-being sounds inter-esting and merits further exploration.

This subject deserves fuller attention.

How would you summarize the article on the science of love?

You replied to my comment, “Hmm that is an interesting concept…I think I’m struggling a bit with separating the cause (love) and effect (emotion)….”

So, you see love as the cause of the emotional response to it. And the emotional response to love if generally also called love.

To have a meaningful dialogue we need to have a common understanding of the terms. If love is the cause and emotions are the effect, how do you mean “love” in this context? Are you referring to love as the attraction of one to another? And then after that, the feelings of completion, expansion, cherishing, companionship, friendship, loyalty, and so on? You wrote,

“My understanding of love has been as something very human and very mundane in how commonly it is felt but very unique in that it is how we manifest the divinity in all of us.”

Interesting. I see how you understand it and agree that love becomes everyday in human activities and that pure love truly felt manifests the divinity in all of us.

Love in its original design is to me the nature of the One Being of pure consciousness which emanates constantly from its universal field and fills and animates everything. It is blocked from human awareness by social/environmental programming and the distortions of distance and density in the 3D world. What we call love is a distortion of the emanations of O.B., normalized in fragmented human historical perspective.

Re-reading your sentence to me, ” I would love to hear more about your understanding of it, especially if you think its possible to acknowledge the cause and the effect it has on us as separate, if that makes sense …”

Yes, then, would you agree I have acknowledged the cause and effect on us as separate? It is and it isn’t. The cause of love, the emanations of O.B., is separate in blocked human awareness from the emotions which arise in response to the filtered down stimulus of universal love. We then take this filtered down stimulus and do what we do with it, and call that love too. I will have to go into how the cause and effect are not separate, in another post.

I am up for more! You can also connect with me over the Whole Human site for a non-public dialogue.

Following are some quotes I picked up on my hyperlink hopping from the article you linked.

Best regards,

Gary

****

“Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get — only with what you are expecting to give — which is everything.”

Kurt Vonnegut, who was in some ways an extremist about love but also had a healthy dose of irreverence about it, in The Sirens of Titan: “A purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it, is to love whoever is around to be loved.”

Stendhal in his fantastic 1822 treatise on love: “Love is like a fever which comes and goes quite independently of the will. … there are no age limits for love.”

Ambrose Bierce, with the characteristic wryness of The Devil’s Dictionary: “Love, n. A temporary insanity curable by marriage.”

At the heart of Nhat Hanh’s teachings is the idea that “understanding is love’s other name” — that to love another means to fully understand his or her suffering. (“Suffering” sounds rather dramatic, but in Buddhism it refers to any source of profound dissatisfaction — be it physical or psycho-emotional or spiritual.) Understanding, after all, is what everybody needs — but even if we grasp this on a theoretical level, we habitually get too caught in the smallness of our fixations to be able to offer such expansive understanding.

Yes, one person’s bravery and felt compassion from others make a difference.

Hrkg, I see low self esteem issues in people all around me and understand how debilitating it can be.

What is coming to me is on different tracks. One, is to investigate chemical imbalances in the body as a possible cause or contributing factor of your emotional turmoil and challenges. You may find that certain supplements support the changes you make in yourself towards emotional stability.

Another is to become involved in a group you find supportive at least for a transitional time. A virtual group like Tiny Buddha may serve that purpose.

A third is that ultimately only you can make the changes you desire for your life. The spark and determination must come from within. ‘The Impersonal Life’ is a spiritual classic which has potency in its words to help people make a shift in the way they see themselves, and to begin acting from inner strengths. I’ve been commenting on it chapter by chapter in Whole Human blog posts to make the text more accessible and global. You might take a look and see if the perspective of ‘The Impersonal Life’ is anything for you: http://www.wholehuman.emanatepresence.com/blog-posts.html

Your low self worth does not mean you cannot take any steps. It just means that taking steps require that you apply yourself more diligently. You can take the needed the steps, you have everything needed within you.

On a lighter note, from an old joke, “What did the Zen master say to the hot dog vendor?”

“Make me one with everything.”

The vendor said, that’ll be six dollars.

The Zen master gave him a twenty and waited.

Finally, he said, “I’m waiting for my change.”

The vendor replied, “Change comes from within.”

• This reply was modified 8 years, 4 months ago by Gary R. Smith.

Greenshade,

I appreciate that you reach out to share this article link. This would be a subject for conversation over a cup of coffee or tea! It is a worthwhile exploration, to be sure. I feel the author has presented a partial view based on a fairly narrow interpretation of love. The article says,

“Using both data from her own lab and ample citations of other studies, Fredrickson dissects the mechanisms of love to reveal both its mythologies and its practical mechanics.

“First and foremost, love is an emotion, a momentary state that arises to infuse your mind and body alike. Love, like all emotions, surfaces like a distinct and fast-moving weather pattern, a subtle and ever-shifting force.”

For me, it is not mere semantics to gain a clear understanding of the word love. I would called the emotion described above arousal, passion, excitement, attraction — but not love. I like to keep the word love in its pure form as the constant, self-existing energy of creation that it is universally. Humans have rarely caught glimpses of love, except in transcendent moments of experiencing pure consciousness. It is well beyond emotion. But of course that is my perspective.

I agree that love expands the sense of self and blurs the boundaries by you and not-you. Just disagree that it is an emotion. Emotions get stirred when the universal energy of love is felt, but they are a side product and not love itself.

How do you feel about this?

Dear Hopeful33,

You are capable of meeting the challenge of returning to ‘your’ city. I can feel that capability in the steadiness and balance of your words.

Based on my life experience and what I sense about you, going through your fears will not set you back to an earlier stage of healing but actually provide an excellent opportunity for you to gain strength and be more your authentic self. That you can talk about the bitter pill of being all alone and how it petrifies you tells me you have enough self awareness and ability to communicate clearly to see you through.

Since your mind keeps returning to the city where you met your ex and lived, listen to that message. Give yourself uninterrupted time to go deeper into listening. If you are comfortable with it, ask your higher wisdom for specific direction and confirmation.

Over years, I returned to my hometown where four members of my immediate family died. The town changed too, and familiar landmarks no longer existed. Each visit was another stage of healing. On some visits I felt very sad, as I dwelt on memories. On others I gained more acceptance, until I could live again in the town with neutrality towards the memories, and appreciation for what is. The memories became more distant, and were felt with warmth and understanding in my heart, as I allowed myself to be in the new present moment. You will have your own experiences, of course, and they may include challenging times, but my feeling is that you have a choice to make your own healing journey by returning to your city.

I am interested to know what you choose and how your journey unfolds.

As your icon says, “Your future is created by what you do today.”

For more about creating your future by how you think and act today, I suggest the blog posts at http://www.wholehuman.emanatepresence.com/realizations-blog .

Best to you.

Gary

…. I am welcoming you, dear reader, to comment about if and how what I post here applies to you in your life.

{{What I am noticing very recently is that I am not feeling the need to micro manage myself as before. I don’t need to micro manage my person or my healing like I did before, including overly thinking. There is a healing process in nature. Plants and animals and all living things get injured and then they heal. They do not choose to heal, it just happens. Just as an injured tree does not manage or micro manages its healing, it is not sensible that I do. Not anymore. I can relax into this natural process while I keep practicing insight and skills.}}

This is perfect for all the over-thinkers. I include myself, and have been on a similar journey of letting go of control, relaxing into trust and practicing insight and skills.

{{I am also noticing that I am better able to comfort myself, to pay myself positive, kind, gentle attention. I realized I did pay attention to myself all along, only negative attention. This is why my child within was so anxious, I paid her bad, abusive attention. There is a difference. I didn’t know any difference. I am new at this.}}

Beautiful, Anita.

May I share the insights and skills that have been most potent for me? I repeat these silently and aloud through the day, feeling them. They return me from drifting into thoughts of the past and projections of the future into the present moment, remind me that there is an original design (such as the healing process of nature) and that opening my heart to give and receive is a choice. I have found that while acceptance is generally beneficial, being authentically grateful for what is — even for the things I have aversion or resistance towards — is super self-empowering. With all my practice, I still miss opportunities for shifting from what hinders to what nurtures and supports — but I catch it earlier and often am able to make the shift after realizing my inner contraction. There was an occurance of this just yesterday, when I realized I contracted towards others due to unconsciously trying to control the situation. I placed blame on others, making the contraction more binding. At first, pride and self-righteousness blocked me from taking self-responsibility. But when I saw it and let go of control and took 100% responsibility, the softening and expansion of my experience was richly rewarding.

Thank you for your honest and open notes in this thread, shared for everyone’s benefit. Here are my ‘Ten Insights and Skills’:

Being the Present Moment

Being the original design

Opening the heart to give and receive

Being grateful for what is

Listening deeply to what Life is saying

Acting in the Flow

Letting go of what hinders

Embracing what nurtures and supports

Being the unknown, the mystery unfolding

Serving the wholeness of life

• This reply was modified 8 years, 6 months ago by Gary R. Smith.