SYMBOLS, RUNES AND MANDALAS

Many traditions use graphic representations, not only to symbolize the sacred, but also for inspiration or even direct communication with that realm.

Generally, the studies of Western academics remain on a purely intellectual level as they consider all these representations to be metaphors. Similarly, certain pseudo-esoteric studies only lose themselves in conjectures when the power of symbols, runes and mandalas is actually real.

Doctor Francis Lefebure performed much research on the brain’s ability to produce images, these studies can lead us to a scientific and physiological understanding of the mechanisms that create runes, symbols and mandalas. His studies are based on the systematic use of the phosphenes, which are a unique means to measure certain cerebral parameters that cannot be detected any other way.

The phosphenes are all the subjective perceptions of light, i.e. all the sensations of light which are not directly generated by light stimulating the retina. The images of dreams or what neurologists call hypnagogic visions (visions perceived in half-sleep) belong to that class of sensations.

By stimulating the third zone of the cuneus with an electrical current, phosphenes are produced. These phosphenes always have geometrical shapes: squares, circles, triangles and crosses, as well as straight and broken lines. This zone of the brain is thus specialized in the production of images with geometrical shapes.

Though they are sometimes complex, symbols, runes and mandalas can be broken down to the basic geometrical shapes that compose them. Indeed, a mandala is characteristically a drawing of a square containing a circle, with several other subdivisions possible.

Also, the geometrical shapes generated by the brain can sometimes be animated with movement. The triskelion, a Celtic rune and the swastika, a sanskrit symbol, both are a representation of a cross in motion.

Carl Gustav Jung relates many cases of spontaneous appearances of geometrical shapes (runes, symbols and mandalas) in the dreams of his patients. He interprets them as a representation of the self, the archetype of psychic wholeness.
However there are interpreted, runes, symbols and mandalas are very interesting mediums of meditation. You can try the following experiment:

Experimenting with the phosphenes

This experiment is based on the technique of Phosphenic Mixing design by Dr Lefebure. It consists in maintaining a particular image in your mind’s eye during the presence of a phosphene produced by focusing on a source of light. In this case, there are two possible variations:

1) Choose a symbol, a rune or a mandala that you find inspiring.
    Do a phosphene.
    Think about the chosen symbol, mandala or rune. (Visualize it, bring back its memory to your mind).
    Repeat this operation during at least 15 minutes, for example before going to sleep, for several days in a row. (The more you practice this exercise, the more chances you have to obtain a result.)

2) Practice the same exercise as above, but using the image of a rune, a symbol, a mandala or a geometrical shape that you have seen appear spontaneously during a dream, a session of meditation or while falling asleep.

Keep practicing every day for at least a week. You will be surprised by the results…

MANAGING EMOTIONS

Emotions are complex reactions to our view of the world. We actually create our own emotions, even though they seem to be beyond our control. Indeed, the data coming from our environment is processed through a certain number of filters that operate unconsciously. We would not be able to survive without sorting the massive input of information coming from the external world. These filters delete information, transform or generalize it. These filters include our language, of beliefs, our values, our memories, our modes of sorting and stocking data…

It is only after this filtering has taken place that we create a mental representation of reality. From this representation stems an emotional state and a behavior. This process takes but a fraction of a second.

Managing emotions mainly deals with unpleasant emotions: anger, fear, frustration, depression, despair… Managing your emotions will allow you to improve your capacity of adaptation, and your confidence.

Let us analyze anger, for example. It is a very destructive emotion. When we give in to anger, we lose control of ourselves, and we lose the ability to react to events in an appropriate manner.

Many books have been written on anger and on how to channel it. From catharsis, the liberation of repressed affects that can be provoked by, for example, hitting a pillow to a conscious transposition of energy on another object, a form of sublimation, the techniques are many.

The best strategy for anger management consists in evaluating the situation again. As the emotion is triggered by the representation that we have of an event, let us substitute another representation to the previous one.

A slow method would consist in becoming more and more conscious of one’s filters, in changing one’s beliefs and strategies, in processing information differently… There is a more global and efficient technique: managing emotions with Phosphenism.

In 1960, Francis Lefebure, a French doctor, discovered the influence of light and rhythm on mental processes thanks to the phosphenes. A phosphene can be produced by focusing shortly on a source of light. A phosphene is a subjective sensations of light that persists for several minutes. It channels attention and favors mental associations. It is a very useful tool for managing emotions.

PRACTICAL EXERCISE:

Choose a person with whom you are in conflict.
Do a phosphene by focusing on a source of light (the phosphenic lamp, the flame of a candle, the reflection of the sun on a white wall, bright clouds, etc.). While focusing, concentrate on this person.
During the presence of the phosphene, observe all the sensations that appear. You will be surprised by the density of the thoughts that come to you.
Do several phosphenes (6 to 8), concentrating on the same person.
Practice this exercise several days in a row.
When you will meet that person again, you will be probably surprised to discover that you react differently. Thanks to this exercise, you can change your representation of a person and solve your conflicts.

SUBLIMATION OF AN EMOTION

Every time you experience an unpleasant emotion, think about a dot of light while keeping in mind the idea that this emotion is located within this dot of light. If you feel rage, for example, transform it into light: the more the emotion is violent, the more the dot should be bright. It should be as if your rage was directly feeding the dot of light. Use this emotion as a fuel, transform it into something positive.

MAGNETISM

Becoming a good magnetizer does not require many years of study. There is no need to read entire libraries; one simply needs to practice. Thanks to practice, sensitivity is increased and one can become aware of the ‟invisible world”.

An exercise of mummification to witness the power of magnetism associated to the practice of Phosphenism.

Cut a piece of meat in two and place one half in a fridge. You will use it to compare the effects of magnetism. You will notice that it starts rotting and decomposing quickly.
You are going to magnetize the second half 20 minutes a day by placing your right hand over your left hand, arms stretched (use an inverted position if you are left-handed). At the same time, do a phosphene and project it on your hands. After a few days, the piece of mea twill be mummified. It will not decompose. The process of mummification will be accelerated by using the phosphenes.

Magnetization and phosphenization of water

Magnetized with the right hand (+), water is fresh and slightly acid; it stimulates and regulates the organs and has a beneficial action on the stomach, the live rand the intestines, relieving problems of digestion and constipation. It is a very good purgative.

Magnetized with the left hand (-), water is bland and alkaline, it is sedative.

When both hands are used, the water’s properties are mixed.

For a litre of water, practice for 20 minutes, at sunrise or sunset. Do a phosphene by focusing on the sun for two seconds through a piece of fabric, without glasses or contacts.

Then, while you are magnetizing the water by placing your hands on a glass bottle, project your phosphene on the bottle while maintaining the idea of healing in your mind. Renew this operation several days in a row. Close the bottle with cork. After a few days of practicing 20 minutes perd ay, the water will be charged with energy (magnetized and phosphenized).
Drink it or let a patient of yours drink it. You will be surprised by the result.

KARMA

The term ‟karma”, which Sanskrit root means ‟action”, is a word that defines the cycle of causes and consequences related to the existence of living beings.

The karma is the sum of all an individual has done, is doing or will do. The results of these actions are called karma-phala. The karma is not a mechanism of punishment or vengeance, but a kind of teaching, supposed to allow individuals to understand how to evolve to a higher state.

The religions that integrate the concepts of reincarnation or rebirth state that the effects of karmic actions affect the different lives of an individual. The laws of the karma make people and beings responsible for their actions and for the consequences they can have on the lives of others.

The law of karma is a central concept of many dharmic religions like Hinduism or Buddhism. All beings are held accountable for their karma and thus are in charge of their escape from the Samsara or cycle of reincarnations.

The earliest references to karma can be found in the Upanishads.

The concept of karma can also be found in Western esoteric movements, like the movement of the Rosicrucians or Theosophy.

The concept of karma can be attractive to Western religious or spiritual persons. The fact that virtue is rewarded and sin is punished is similar to Christian belief and can seem more logical than the concept of eternal damnation. Similarily, the notion of accumulated bad karma is close to the notion of original sin.

Doctor Lefebure, a French physician and scientist, compares the mechanisms of karma to the way the heart functions: ‟Giving is an effort of will, receiving takes place in a passive manner by a process that Hindu philosophy calls karma. The heart functions in a similar way. It does not function as suction and force pump, but only as a force pump. It is the pressure of the blood forced out of the heart that pushes the blood in the rest of the body, provoking its return to the heart by the blood circulation system. Similarly, even if we are not fully conscious of the details of the mechanisms of karma. They will, for sure, bring back to us the consequences of our actions.”

The yoga of good deeds (or karma yoga) is an obvious way to avoid accumulating bad karma. Nevertheless, it has to go together with good intentions. The various Hindhu and Buddhist traditions define meditation and the work on the self as redeeming. These initiatory techniques offer a way to help individuals to escape the cycle of reincarnations by clearing bad karma.

Dr Lefebure, a French physician and scientist, designed a ‟scientifically improved yoga”: Phosphenism.

He invented the Gyrascope, a device based on the praying wheels of the Tibetans but also on the rotary dances of the whirling dervishes. The Gyrascope produces a kind of centrifugation of the soul. In a centrifuge, the heavy elements accumulate on the periphery when, as a reaction, the lighter elements are concentrated in the center of the device. The Gyrascope has a similar action on the thoughts of an individual, pushing back the heaviest and concentrating the most subtle. A powerful effect of cleansing of consciousness is thus produced. This constitutes a means to escape from accumulated bad karma.

Gyroscopic meditation has an action on the deepest layers of the psyche of an individual. On the contrary, psychoanalysis only affects the superficial layers.

Initiatory techniques have nothing to do with psychoanalysis. In fact, the latter only focuses on the pathological. It is much more interesting to bring something more elevated into consciousness. A person in love sees life with ‟rose-tinted glasses” and does not think about his/her problems anymore. This process is a lifesaver. The mind acquires a positive direction, generating a higher state of consciousness.

On the contrary, focusing on a gloomy thought generates a negative state of consciousness. In the end, this negative state of consciousness will turn into a full-fledged depression. Thanks to the phosphenic techniques, you can find the way back to your dreams, a saving and transcendental process.

INSOMNIA

Insomnia is a condition characterized by the inability to fall asleep or to remain sleeping at night for a reasonable length of time. Insomnia usually involves sleepiness during the day.

Some types of insomnia can be efficiently treated with the practice of Phosphenism, particularly insomnia that arises from psychological causes. Solutions other than Phosphenism must be found for physically induced insomnias such as sleep apnea, and nocturnal polyuria.

On the whole, Phosphenism can treat insomnias related to:

– Stress
– Anxiety
– Fear
– Psychological traumas
– Jet lag. For those regularly changing time zones, the circadian cycle is no longer in alignment with biological rhythms. This affects sleeping patterns and can lead to insomnia.
– Insomnia stimulated by shift work
– Parasomnia that is caused by a physical response to dream experience
– The side effects of some medicines
– The consumption of stimulants
– Insomnia related to food allergies
– A dependence on sleeping pills
– Lack of exercise. Indeed, physical exercise promotes healthy sleep
– Dehydration. Toxins and stimulants are concentred in the organism by dehydration and can cause insomnia. Drinking two glasses of water can help induce sleep within one to two hours.
– Loss of sleep with age. Even though the sleeping time required for an individual stays the same through time, the capacity to sleep for long periods of time can diminish with age.

The effects of the practice of Phosphenism on sleep.

The principal beneficial effect of the practice of Phosphenism on sleep is achieved by the regulation of the nervous system. Indeed, the phosphenes are powerful regulators of the nervous system.

Since the 1950’s, it has been understood that light has a major influence on hormonal functions, through the medium of the hypophyse, and recently, research scientists have used the structuring of action of light on the nervous system to treat chronically depressed patients. Indeed, these research scientists have noticed that, in certain forms of depression, the most serious relapses take place in the autumn, a period when light is decreasing. In various hospitals, chronically depressed patients are placed under strong lamps of 110 to 500 watts, and of at least 10,000 lux, for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening, like for example, in the seasonal depression service of the Sainte-Anne hospital in Paris, France. Seasonal Affective Depression (S.A.D.) is very common in the northern countries because of the extremely long nights, and it has forced doctors and research scientists to find an alternative to the use of chemicals to solve this problem.

Light (and particularly the phosphenes) has a major influence on the production of melatonin. This explains the brain rejuvenation experienced by every practitioner of Phosphenism.

This production of melatonin is 100% natural as it is produced by cerebral functions that are induced by the phosphenes. This is a serious alternative to chemical substitutes.

So why stop at using light to benefit merely the hormonal system? Indeed, the practice of Phosphenic Mixing can be performed using any fixed light source, and so can be carried out at the same time as benefiting from hormonal or any other form of light therapy. One can therefore develop one’s attention, concentration, memory, mental initiative and creativity at the same time as benefiting from the phototherapeutic effects of the lamp.

Phosphenic exercises to help induce sleep and rest.

The effects on sleep of the use of the phosphenes is easy to notice. Associating a thought with a phosphene helps one to fall asleep. One does not fall asleep while focusing on the lamp but during the experience of the phosphene and the associated thought. Therefore, the danger of waking up in the morning with lamp still on is avoided.

This practice helps eliminating insomnia and improving the quality of our sleep. After a few days of practice, dreams become more colourful and brighter, with dream images that are often larger. For example, if a subject dreams of a mountain, it is the biggest one that they have even seen. In the morning they wake up more lucid, more dynamic, and all day they are filled with internal joy.

EXERCISE: At a distance of 1.50m to 2m, (or at arms length for the Phosphenic Pocket Lamp), and directly in front of you, look at the lamp for 30 seconds, then turn off the lamp and watch the phosphene. After 3 minutes of observation, as your phosphene reaches the end of its blue phase, turn on the lamp again and renew the operation 3,4, or 5 times in a row.

FOR INSOMNIACS: Same operation as described above, but including an important amendment; after having watched the lamp and observed the phosphene for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes, just as it changes to its blue tone, turn on the light and begin the cycle again. It is very important to turn on the light and begin again before the end of the phosphene. As before, repeat the practice 4, 5 or 6 times in a row.

THE ALTERNOPHONE: A machine invented by Dr Lefebure that stimulates the brain. It is based on the principle of alternating auditory stimulus, and can be used to create a state of relaxation, as well as inducing sleep. The 3 seconds alternated buzzing sound produces a deep state of relaxation, whereas the 4 seconds alternating rhythm induces sleep, therefore overcoming insomnia.

These various techniques can efficiently treat the problem of insomnias that arise from the causes mentioned earlier.

In the case of insomnias that stem from dehydration, a lack of exercise, or the excessive use of stimulants, Phosphenic Mixing will be effective through stimulating the sense of initiative and hence will give the individual the clarity and the will-power necessary to perceive and resolve their problem. (Taking more physical exercise, ensuring good hydration, etc).

Insomnia is not a life-sentence, and chemical drug-based treatment are certainly not the only solution. Light can be very effective, thanks to its profound balancing effects on our biological rhythms.

Can someone be influenced at a distance?

Theoretically, no. But practically yes, as human nature is weak. The only way to influence a person is to enter their mental structure, their psychological pattern. When a person is near another person, their energy fields interpenetrate, though they keep their integrity and can separate.

Thus, it is IMPOSSIBLE to have an action on someone at a distance, unless that person believes in the possibility of an influence.

Bewitchment functions by introducing doubt in the psyche of a person. Henceforth, it is essential not to let doubt creep into one’s mind. We will only be influenced if we agree to. It is important to understand this in an intellectual fashion: it constitutes a protection.

So, if we have experiences with another person, it is because we have affinities. In order to influence a person, one needs to find a breach in their defenses.

Check: bewitchment

Healing from a distance is pure utopia. It is but a placebo. Nevertheless, a patient needs to believe and certain forms of belief have an action on morale and thus affect the healing process…

Exercise of psychological bridge-building

Visualize a person in a phosphene with the idea that this person has a particular attitude towards you. It could be your boss, with whom you are experiencing difficulties, a person with whom you do not get along or a board of examiners that you want to impress.

The phosphene produces a feeling of proximity with the chosen person:
– Your visual images are sharper.
– You feel emotionally closer to that person.

Practice this exercise for 15 minutes, twice a day, for 15 days. If possible, choose a person that you will only meet at the end of this period. You will enjoy new ideas about this person and will tend to see the best in them. If it is an intimidating person, you will find what to say to them, you will be good at repartee. Practicing with the phosphenes improves intuition, bringing the feeling that you already know the chosen person, even if you have never met them. You will keep calm and confident, an attitude that will improve your success in life. The positive aspects of the relationship you have with the person you are speaking to will be strengthened and the negative aspects will tend to blur as light purifies thoughts.

Analysis

This type of exercise (Phosphenic Mixing) brings new information on the person who has been visualized in the phosphene. It modifies our perception of that person, leading to a different attitude. The person we are speaking to will be sensitive to this.

An even more efficient way to proceed is to project rhythms on the person. The results will surprise you.
This is the only kind of influence we can have over a person with our energy.