October Harvest

October Harvest

Health for the soul – how might that benefit the Secret Cell and beyond? 

Bear with me for a minute – I’d like to ask you to think in a quantum realm. Almost a year ago, I decided for some reason to read about quantum physics. I started with the Feynman equations and particle theory. Entanglement. A realm where matter, energy, probability, and observation seem to obey rules that strain against the intuitions we build from the world we can see. I ultimately found myself reading about the history of Einstein and people of that exciting era – Planck, Bohr, Heisenberg, Schrödinger, Pauli, and so many more.

The interesting thing about Einstein’s story was his ability to pull from a range of experiences and draw connections that would never have otherwise been drawn. His path was non-linear to say the least. His first job was working in a patent office. Scrutinizing ideas to see whether they had possibility or not. It shaped his mind and curated a process by which he undertook all of his future work. The world and an entire field of physics and innovative technology are forever indebted. When you read about Einstein, it is clear he seemed to be driven by something so much deeper. A calling within a calling perhaps. His soul? The universe itself?

I am not going to connect all the dots. I can’t. But I can plant a seed and leave you with the thought. Maybe it grows. It has for me.

The more I am looking back at non-linear paths, mine included, I see that there is a through-line. It’s as if there are other particles and waves and quanta at work. My scientific world is filled with understanding cell-to-cell communication that is at the nanoscale. These tiny messages contain instructions to other cells. One of the main types of messages they carry is microRNA – micro-modulators of gene expression. I bring this up, because microRNA live in the non-coding part of our genome. When I was doing my PhD, this was considered “junk” and tossed in the scientific garbage bin. We now know microRNA regulates over 60% of the genome. But many years ago, this was considered irrelevant because it did not directly code for a protein. Same goes for the physical nanoparticles (containers) of communication I study. Without recent-day microscopes and tools, we could never see these messages. Now we can and it has illuminated the entire field of biology.

So it has me thinking, what else is out there unseen that is waiting to be discovered? And importantly, are there clues that help us sense what is coming once the tools are ready?

I think it’s the work of the soul. And I think it’s connected to the quantum realm. When two souls connect, we feel it as a human. When many souls connect, it leads to “collective effervescence” (coined by Emile Durkheim and discussed routinely by Chip Conley – see below). This idea that there is a welling up of collective joy. We have all felt this at some point. Whether it’s meeting that special person or friend, or whether it’s at a group celebration, concert, or amazing speaker. Nature and awe.

We might not see the discrete elements of what is taking place. But like quantum physics, it exists, nonetheless. Measuring it may never be possible without changing it irrevocably. It’s nevertheless there. As humans, we have an internal “knowing” when it takes place.

Now how might this relate to health? It’s just the seed of an idea…Maybe the 60,000 miles of blood vessels lined by your Secret Cells are receiving invisible health communication and then amplifying this further to all cells. I cannot tell you what that looks like, nor do I have immediate data with a wearable to prove it. But I think the insights are there.

For those of you using a wearable device and working with the 60khealth app framework, you might notice that days spent with time in nature, breathwork, and meaningful community, there are some health effects seen – perhaps a lower resting heart rate and maybe improved sleep. It could be as simple as the vagus nerve providing a balancing parasympathetic activation to help us regulate the nervous system. We’ve known about this for millennia – intuitively from ancient practices and more recently, being validated by the scientific process.

Or it could be more.

It could be some other undetectable (for now) messaging system that acts on everything, from the outside in and back again. Some wondrous exchange between two souls or more. Benefiting the Secret Cell and entire health network within.

As we consider October and the emergence of fall, harvest your garden but also harvest your soul. Connect deeply for a few hours with someone and see what happens. Let the “messages” in. It just might be a new health operating system.

Suggestions:

· notice all the activity and connection taking place in a garden

· seek out an opportunity to connect with another soul

· notice if collective effervescence is taking place

Kathryn

Resources:

Collective Effervescence as described on The Midlife Chrysalis podcast (Chip Conley interviewing Dacher Keltner) – https://www.meawisdom.com/podcast/the-science-of-awe-rediscover-wonder-with-dacher-keltner/

Howe laboratory and some of the science – publication links available for free: www.howeandfishlabs.com