The SHN #6: Rupert Sheldrake, The Pathless Path, and BATGAP

Welcome back to The Synergetic Health Newsletter! 

In this edition, we’ll learn all about who Rupert Sheldrake is.

After that, more illumination on the toxic effects of blue light.

Then comes a new way to think about your life's direction, The Pathless Path.

Finally, I’ll include some links to things I’ve found particularly interesting recently.

Joe Burt

Rupert Sheldrake opened his banned 2013 TED talk with the following: “The science delusion is the belief that science already understands the nature of reality, leaving only the details to be filled in.”

In this now infamous speech, Sheldrake argues that this belief has turned science into a worldview or belief system, inhibiting the free inquiry that is essential for scientific progress. Here are ten dogmas or assumptions Sheldrake says form the default worldview of educated people worldwide:

1. Nature is mechanical

2. Matter is unconscious

3. The laws of nature are fixed

4. The total amount of matter and energy is constant

5. Nature is purposeless

6. Biological heredity is purely material

7. Memories are stored in the brain

8. The mind is confined to the brain

9. Psychic phenomena like telepathy is impossible

10. Mechanistic medicine is the only effective form of treatment

Sheldrake argues that each of these dogmas is questionable and lacks sufficient scientific evidence. He proposes alternative perspectives, such as the idea that the laws of nature may transform rather than being fixed, and that nature has evolving habits instead of being driven solely by laws.

He challenges the current understanding of the mind, especially the unsolved problem of consciousness and the idea that our thoughts and experiences may extend beyond the confines of our brains. If science can emphasize the importance of free inquiry and move beyond the limitations of the current belief system, it can become more interesting and life-affirming.

For ten years running, Sheldrake has been recognized as one of the “most spiritually influential living people in the world,” has studied at Harvard, received a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Cambridge University, and has authored more than 90 scientific papers and 9 books.

Let’s take a quick look at some of this work:

“Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home”: Dr. Sheldrake's extensive research over five years involving pet owners and animal workers revealed a strong and unexplained connection between humans and animals. This connection, known as social or morphic fields, creates powerful invisible bonds among animals, their owners, and their homes. Sheldrake's findings shed light on the mysterious behaviors observed in pets and offer explanations for remarkable animal behaviors in the wild, such as migration and homing. This book not only provides captivating insights into animal and human behavior but also challenges conventional scientific thinking. It emphasizes the valuable lessons about biology, nature, and consciousness that our closest animal companions can teach us.

“Morphic Resonance: The Nature of Formative Causation”: Sheldrake coined the term "morphic resonance" to describe the phenomenon where past forms and behaviors of organisms have a direct influence on present organisms across time and space. By challenging established notions of life and consciousness, this concept reevaluates nature's patterns as resembling habits rather than rigid laws, prompting a fundamental reconsideration of our understanding.

Read about the fascinating 15-year mice study on morphogenic fields, an introduction to them, and/or watch a short two-minute video summarizing the concept.

“The Sense of Being Stared At: And Other Unexplained Powers of Human Mind’s”: In this book, Sheldrake delves into over 25 years of extensive research exploring various phenomena such as telepathy, staring, intention, precognition, and animal premonitions. By drawing on a wealth of evidence, including 5,000 case histories, 4,000 questionnaire responses, and experiments involving over 20,000 individuals, Sheldrake demonstrates that seemingly paranormal experiences like the sense of being watched or telepathy are not extraordinary but rather inherent to our biological nature. He reveals that these abilities are connected to our social bonds and traces their evolution from animal group dynamics. Moreover, Sheldrake reveals how our minds and intentions extend beyond our physical brains, forming invisible connections that link us to each other, our environment, and even the future. This comprehensive exploration challenges conventional beliefs and sheds light on the fascinating interconnectedness of our consciousness.

Here’s a link to all of Sheldrake’s books, his personal website, his research, and his documentary: “Seven Experiments that could Change the World.”

He is not without his detractors, who described him as “an unabashed purveyor of nonsense,” and his Wiki page says Sheldrake’s conjectures have “been widely criticized as pseudoscience.”

Personally I’m beyond fascinated by morphic fields and the scientific experiments that support its potential existence. If the hypothesis is correct, it completely flips the current scientific paradigm on its head.

Blue Light From Your Screens is Causing Skin Damage and Wrinkles

A review of the published literature on blue light exposure on the skin found:

“The results of in vitro, in vivo, and clinical studies show that blue light produces direct and indirect effects on the skin. The most significant direct effects are the excessive generation of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, and hyperpigmentation.

Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species cause DNA damage and modulate the immune response. Indirect effects of blue light include disruption of the central circadian rhythm regulation via melatonin signaling and local circadian rhythm regulation via direct effects on skin cells.”

The amount of time we spend on our phones and looking at screens in general continues to increase, causing many unintended consequences, including skin damage.

This study notes that “extrinsic skin aging can be caused by oxidative stress” and that “humans are not exposed to adequate levels of natural light during the day but are overexposed to relatively high levels of artificial light at night.”

This study review titled “The impact of blue light and digital screens on the skin” found that “numerous studies have shown that being exposed to blue light accelerates the aging process and produces cutaneous hyperpigmentation” and concluded “these negative consequences may eventually cause more general skin damage, which may hasten the aging process”

Sarah Knapton, the Science Editor of the Telegraph in a report entitled “Selfies can age the skin and cause wrinkles, warn dermatologists”, published on June 17, 2016, reported that dermatologists now believe that due to detrimental effects of irradiation with electromagnetic fields (EMFs) and visible light (VL), frequent exposure to VL and EMFs produced by smartphones can lead to skin damage and accelerated aging (promoting wrinkles).

Dermatologist Angela Casey, MD, coauthored a paper “Blue Light and Skin Health”, where she notes the role of blue light in skin pigmentation and skin damage. Casey notes “We have clear evidence that blue light can induce pigmentation, inflammation, and oxidative stress.”

If skin aging and getting wrinkles are a major concern, then yes, avoiding peak UV during the day is one preventative strategy. There is research linking excessive UV exposure to skin aging.

But since Americans spend 93% of their time indoors, and an average of 8 hours and 58 minutes staring at a screen per day, maybe we are overlooking artificial blue light’s impact on skin health.

Does the average American even spend enough time in the sun to cause long term damage? How would we even know if it’s the nearly 9 hours of screen time or the outdoor time that is causing this damage?

Monitors and electronic screen emit approximately 35% blue light while only 25-30% is emitted from the sun. To protect yourself from this excessive artificial light, you can use the same recommendations I made here. (spend more time outside, turn off artificial lights at night, limit screen time, wear day and night blue light blocking glasses, use Iris or F.lux, etc)

From Dr. Jack Kruse: “Blue light is the number one health issue facing all modern humans, it causes irreversible photoreceptor damage.”

The Pathless Path is a book by Paul Millerd that offers invaluable support to those contemplating career transitions, embarking on new journeys, confronting the uncertainties of unconventional paths, or seeking fresh perspectives on work in an ever-evolving world.

“The Pathless Path is an exploration of the invisible scripts that constrain our lives. It is not a how-to book filled with “hacks”; instead, it is a vulnerable and personal account of Paul’s journey from leaving a path centered around getting ahead and towards another, one focused on doing work that matters. It is the ideal companion for anyone contemplating an unconventional path or aiming to improve their relationship with work.”

Here are some of my favorite remarks in the book:

On the Path: “In sum, the goal of being on this path is: Being able to get to a state of being where I can spend almost all my time helping, supporting, and inspiring others to do great things with their lives.”

On Pre-Quitting: “Choosing to leave full‑time work was not a single bold decision but a slow and steady awakening that the path I was on was not my path.”

On Money: “On the pathless path, the goal is not to find a job, make money, build a business, or achieve any other metric. It’s to actively and consciously search for the work that you want to keep doing. This is one of the most important secrets of the pathless path. With this approach, it doesn’t make sense to chase any financial opportunity if you can’t be sure that you will like the work. What does make sense is experimenting with different kinds of work, and once you find something worth doing, working backward to build a life around being able to keep doing it.”

On Having Enough: “On the pathless path, knowing you have enough is what gives you the freedom to say ‘no’ to clear financial opportunities and say ‘yes’ to something that might bring you alive and might even pay off much more over the long term.”

On Retirement: “On the pathless path, retirement is neither a destination nor a financial calculation, but a continuation of a life well-lived. This shifts attention from focusing on saving for the future to understanding how you want to live in the present.”

On Identity: “Instead of looking to external cues to learn how to live, we need to have a coherent internal narrative about why we are living a certain way. This is the ethos of the pathless path and if you don’t know or understand your own story, you will struggle.”

On Finding What You Love: “The search for work worth doing is the real work and one of the most important pursuits in life.”

On Finding the Others: “The internet has made it possible for people from anywhere in the world with access to the internet to create and share their ideas, stories, and creations without permission.”

We’ve all been taught to take the default path, the well-worn path, the safe path. Even the thought of deviation can bring up fears and anxieties.

What would it look like if you traded worry for wonder and learned what truly enables you to thrive as a human being?

Buddha at the Gas Pump: This is one of my favorite podcasts. Rick Archer is a longtime spiritual practitioner and host of this pod, which has over 680 episodes. The show interviews people from all over the world and with vastly different backgrounds who are “undergoing a shift or awakening to their true nature.” Some of my favorite episodes are with Emilio Diez Barroso, Angelo Dilullo, and Haari Aalto.

Your Weekly Reminder To Avoid Artificial Light at Night 👇️ 

Transformation Facilitation: At least in my circles, I’m seeing an increased “desire” for people to seek out transformational experiences and practices. From psychedelics to meditation to deep learning to inner healing and beyond, people seem to be thirsting for something “more”. Do you agree? Are you one of these people? What sorts of things have you been drawn to if so? I’d love to hear from you, just reply to this email!

Donating Blood Helps Skin Again: This study shows how donating blood increases dermal thickness and collagen content while decreasing the number of senescent cells in old mice, “significantly altering age-related pathways…”. It’s beneficial to know your iron status (through a blood test) before giving blood for health purposes. If you’re already low iron this is not a good idea. Men are more likely to be high in iron due to women having a natural pathway to dumping iron every month.

I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying:

Recycling Old or Unused Clothes: The loyal readers of The Synergetic Health Newsletter sent in some great suggestions. In NJ, there is an organization called Helpsy which can arrange clothing pickup and also has drop-off bins. In Austin, there is a a Central Texas recycling service with bins around. There’s always the Salvation Army, and someone also suggested that art schools may be interested in old clothes, fabrics, etc.— free material for students to use.

That will do it for this time! Hopefully you got some value out of it. If you have any questions/comments/things you’d like to learn more about please don’t hesitate to reach out. If you know anyone who loves learning about these types of topics, pass it along!