"Tea is the ultimate mental and medical remedy and has the ability to make one's life more full and complete."- Myoan Eisai
Today we are officially in October, so I thought I would have some fun with some herbs and create a pumpkin spice tea. Containing dried apple, carrot, and pumpkin; with some ginger and turmeric root, cinnamon bark, and a vanilla pod (will include some cardamom next time) . I really loved how autumnal the colour of the tea was after brewing, and it paired perfectly with some cinnamon spiced biscuits. You can sweeten it with some honey or a bit of maple syrup. Or if you fancied a caffeine-free latte, you could add half a shot of chicory powder, plus milk to the tisane and top it with a bit of whipped cream.
Both of which I enjoyed this morning and in the afternoon. I was also really excited to receive some new books in the post. The first one is published by the "Crappy Childhood fairy", as I was curious where I have watched some of her videos on YouTube around CPTSD and self-regulation. The second was one that piqued my interest after I was forwarded a recent web article published by “Popular Mechanics.” The premise of what I read focused on the study of consciousness, and how it remains one of the most elusive and fascinating areas of scientific inquiry.
While traditional neuroscience has made significant strides in understanding the neural correlates (the processes that are linked to conscious experiences) of various cognitive functions, the underlying mechanisms of these experiences still remain a unknown. However, recent research has now suggested that we may be on the cusp of getting some answers, thanks to a ground-breaking study conducted at Wellesley College. This study has provided compelling evidence for the role of microtubules (hollow tubes of protein found in the cytoskeleton of plant/animal cells) in consciousness. Focussing on neurons, microtubules play a crucial role in cell structure and function as they are involved in our cognitive (thought) processes.
Administering anaesthesia, as well as microtubule-stabilizing drugs to some (but not all) rats during their research, it was noted that the rats that were treated with these drugs remained conscious for much longer (after being anaesthetised) than the ones without, suggesting that these structures are essential for maintaining consciousness. Although I personally believe that animal testing is cruel (especially in regard beauty and hygiene), this finding could actually support the hypothesis that consciousness may be related to quantum processes occurring within our microtubules. In the same way that scientists have hypothesized that plants, probably use quantum processes to convert light into energy. (See second link below, that was touched upon during my herbal medicine course)
First brought to the forefront as “Orch OR” theory during the early nineties, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Roger Penrose, as well as anaesthesiologist Stuart Hameroff (M.D) proposed that microtubules enable quantum computations that give rise to our conscious experience. This idea has gained significant traction in recent years, (despite initially being pegged as a fringe theory) where researchers have started to further explore the potential role of quantum mechanics in explaining the complexities of the human mind. Thus, if the quantum theory of consciousness is correct, it could revolutionize our understanding of the mind-brain relationship. Laying a solid foundation of evidence that consciousness may indeed be a fundamentally quantum phenomenon, existing beyond the limitations of classical physics. This could have profound implications for our understanding of free will, death, artificial intelligence, and the nature of reality itself.
While further research is needed to fully validate what has been discussed above, the Wellesley study for now provides a significant step forward. As scientists continue to explore the mysteries of the human mind, the potential role of quantum processes within the brain offers a promising avenue for future investigation, and has further inspired me to look into the works of Roger Penrose, by purchasing the very book that started it all.
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a62373322/quantum-theory-of-consciousness/ (The article I read from Popular Mechanics)
https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-have-discovered-a-quantum-switch-that-regulates-photosynthesis/ (An article from my course about photosynthesis)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orchestrated_objective_reduction (The history of Orchestrated objective reduction)
https://www.wellesley.edu/news/wellesley-teams-new-research-on-anesthesia-unlocks-important-clues-about-the-nature-of-consciousness (You can find a link to the Wellesley study here)
