Reality Series: Type I-Somatic Mapping and Imaging

Today, we revisit our discussion of the true nature of our mental realities. If you have not as yet had an opportunity to study the psychological model developed at the Institute, now is such time.

To understand the nature of our daily awareness, or Type I diurnal Reality, one needs to understand that the physical brain does not create images or pictures of our surroundings, rather our brains generate internal maps of how the physical body and external objects are situated in space.  The corresponding images and pictures, we perceive are generated by our aphysical minds.  For only in mind can we experience the physical world as objects and form.  Fortunately, the brain’s map and the mind’s images are overlaid quite accurately  during wakefulness. As we will see, it is not accurate to say that our acting-receiving egos are present in the physical, as our bodies are; rather, our egos exist solely in the virtual aphysical, or mental world (there is also type I nocturnal reality–see blogs).

Subsequently, none should be surprised when I suggest that your mindbrain was born with the facility to generate, maintain, and monitor a true virtual image, in addition to a physical map. While, the physical brain maps the local environment, the aphysical brain, or mind, formulates images and pictures of your environment.  By working together, your mindbrain continuously processes gigabits of afferent sensorimotor, somatic, and visceral information data sampled (at the skin surface and within) so to produce a fine-grained, three-dimensional map and image of your physical body comprising small volumes of organ tissue (actual scale currently unknown). Such virtual map and image being back-projected onto the physical and  psychoempyreal bodies so to correspond in actual inner space.

As the physical and psychoempyreal ‘organs’ are fully entangled, occupying the same geometric space, they operate temporally as a single psychobiological unit, or mindbrain. Subsequently, mindbrain is actually a single functional organ with two interconnected modes of temporal function–and Not two separate organs!  If such a model is accurate, then the mind-brain problem dissolves into nothingness.

As a visual aid to understanding the three-dimensional structure mapped by the central nervous system (CNS), I suggest each of you go to http://www.biodigital.com and join for free. By spending a few minutes with this digital human anatomy site, you will understand and be able to utilize the virtual map created by your mind brain. [NB: that the distribution of blood vessels and nerve fibers are much more dense than shown.]

The CNS possesses the capacity to monitor the extracellular milieu surrounding the various cells of the body (minimally, biochemical and electrical), including, the skin. Much of the milieu sampling appears to be secondary to retrograde axonal transport of extracellular chemicals produced (normal, immunogenic, inflammatory, or traumatic) in the vicinity of the axonal endings of small, unmyelinated, low conduction speed nerves named C-fibers. C-fibers are responsible for transmitting sensations of itch, temperature, pressure, tonic nociception, joint position and space, and muscle status. Many such fibers are operational in both the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic system being concerned with catabolic activity and the parasympathetic with anabolic activity; matched fiber sets are provided to all organ systems.

In close proximity to the sensory nervous system (including the large, myelinated, high conduction speed delta and beta fibers), though less dense, are the nerves controlling smooth and skeletal muscle, both sampled by the sensory nerves.

The afferent input from the sensory nerves is not haphazardly arranged in the sensory cortex, rather, the various parts of the body are separately represented along the length of the sensory cortex forming a distorted “little man or woman” called homunculus.

Normally, we do not pay much attention to our virtual body map, but, the mindbrain is constantly monitoring the relation of its somatic map to it’s world map so to respond to beneficial or adverse situations. Our conscious awareness is only stimulated when we respond to a threat or pleasantry with covert or overt muscular activity so to draw the attention of our psychoempyreal, or mental body.

Generally, we are consciously unaware of the myriad organ activities (hormonal, messenger molecules, chemicals, digestion, circulation, and so on) occurring throughout the day and night so to maintain a healthy body state of homeostasis. Simultaneously, such biochemical activities are monitored by the mindbrain and integrated into the 3-dimensional virtual body map so to inform the CNS of the local and global status of its instrument.

Many persons believe that animate bodies possess what is called ‘intrinsic body or cellular memory,’ though, I am unaware of any strong scientific studies supporting such beliefs. However, this concept takes on new meaning when we realize that the CNS possesses a real-time, real-space map of the current condition of the body (as well as memories of prior conditions). Moreover, as the CNS orchestrates the totality of the peripheral nervous system, both as to afferent and efferent information, it is able to initiate changes within the actual body via motor feedback to traumatized areas so to control the rapidity and effectiveness of healing.

The Institute’s virtual body map-image  is the only model which appears to resolve the long argued mind–body conundrum introduced by Rene Descartes, i.e., how does the aphysical mind communicate with the physical body? Simple, the activity of the mind generates a real-time, virtual image which is ‘spatially’ overlaid upon the underlying tissue substrate map of created by the CNS. Whenever, biological changes occur in a tissue bed, such changes are transmitted to the CNS by the nervous tissue resulting in a tissue bed specific modification of the body’s homoeostatic, virtual image. I imagine that the time scales of such peripheral-central-peripheral information exchanges are on the order of seconds.

Presuming, the biophysical activity of the mindbrain is capable of forming an aphysical alter idem (a duplicate other) of the physical body, then, one needs consider that the human mindbrain also produces aphysical representations of objects, creatures, words, music, pain, and so on, be such of internal tissues or our geographical environment. Moreover, the fact that all of us generate rich dream worlds full of mythological and impossible creatures, is sufficient proof that the mindbrain possesses extensive and very sophisticated ‘imagining operators.’

The existence of aphysical images is supported by our dreamworld experience. However, such experiences introduce further complications, i.e., to experience an aphysical mental image requires observation by an aphysical observer. Such observers arising from the combined action of the CNS image operator(s) and a primary aphysical source. This subject is fit for contemplation and is discussed in detail in Creation and Its Energies blog series.

Clearly, those portions of the mindbrain involved in understanding and producing speech is activated by linguistic thoughts, whether expressed or not. Subsequently, as the CNS processes oral, written, and silent speech, it has the capacity to provide such psychoneural data to the appropriate psychoempyreal organ system via its entanglement. Auto-biographical and semantic memory systems are important contributors too such alter idem. The overlaid virtual image can act as either the activator or the mediator.

Such model explaining how clinicians can induce healing and relieve organic nociception using hypnotic techniques, including, visualization, energy and other complementary psychologies, without having to invoke magical forces and miracles. Such changes resulting from ongoing, bidirectional information exchange within the two ends of our extended nervous system; coupled with reflected changes in our psychosomatic virtual images.

When people visual portions of their body, they activate the virtual body image, and so can make changes, both physically and emotionally.

More later. Think on it and try to find ways to convince yourself.