Power of the MIND: Patients cured by sham surgeries because they think the surgeon solved their problem

Scientists have long been aware of what is known as the “placebo effect,” which refers to a treatment that has a positive therapeutic impact on a patient, even though the treatment or medication they received wasn’t actually real. Drugs.com notes that placebo effects have been noted in as many as 40 percent of patients in research studies. But did you know that even surgery is subject to this effect, and that patients can actually be cured by totally fake operations?

The U.K.’s Daily Mail reports that thousands of patients are possibly undergoing invasive surgical procedures for nothing, because the benefits they perceive are placebo effects rather than actual results of the surgery.

Many different types of surgery may be putting patients at unnecessary risk, including keyhole knee surgery, gastric balloons for the morbidly obese and arthritis operations. Surgery for endometriosis, a debilitating condition which can cause infertility and extremely painful periods for women, is another type of surgery in which the results seem to rest more in the mind of the patient than in the surgery itself. [Discover more about the power of the mind at Psychiatry.news]

Other possibly useless surgeries include vertebroplasty, which involves fusing vertebrae by injecting liquid bone cement into the spine; migraine implants; and the removal of damaged bone in osteoarthritis patients.

Studies have found that patients who undergo sham surgeries and are never actually operated on can recover virtually as well as those who really do have the surgery. It would seem that people’s minds are so powerful that just expecting a procedure to work is enough to do the job. [RELATED: Did you know that surgical removal of wisdom teeth is often just a sham?]

Andrew Carr, a professor of orthopedic surgery at the University of Oxford, believes that for certain surgeries patients should be advised about this placebo effect. He notes that the hospital environment, medical professionals being dressed in a certain way, and the fact that the patient is put under anesthesia, combine to “create a phenomenal placebo effect.”

“The correct thing has got to be to do the trials, and not to continue doing operations where we don’t know whether or not there’s a strong placebo component or an entire placebo component, because that means that tens or hundreds of thousands of patients are having unnecessary operations,” Professor Carr noted.

Of course, getting surgeons who have been performing a certain procedure for many years to accept that it is essentially unnecessary can be very difficult. Nonetheless, it is important that they recognize which procedures can be avoided to spare their patients unnecessary and even dangerous surgical interventions.

For a study published in the British Medical Journal, researchers reviewed multiple clinical trials to compare true surgical results versus placebo. They found that in 39 out of 53 trials there was an improvement among the placebo control group. In 27 of the studies they found that results were no different for the placebo group when compared to the surgical group. Interestingly, in 18 of the trials serious adverse effects were reported among the control group, which really illustrates the power of the mind.

In 2014, the New England Journal of Medicine published a study which once again proved the power of sham surgeries. Participants in the trial were divided into two groups; one group received knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus, while the second group only thought they had received the surgery. All the patients were put under anesthesia, and the surgical team went to great lengths to pass instruments and do whatever was necessary to make sure that even patients who could hear what was going on would not know that they were not truly being operated on. Amazingly, both groups recovered from their injuries equally well.

So, next time your surgeon wants to operate on you, it might be worth doing a little extra research and finding out if the surgery is truly necessary.

Sources:

Drugs.com

DailyMail.co.uk

BMJ.com

NEJM.org

How to stay SANE in an INSANE world (and why YOU are important for the rebuilding of human society)

For those of us who are awake, aware and conscious, the world looks increasingly insane… perhaps even hopeless. The emotional whiplash of political elections, outbreaks of war, government lies and cultural insanity can take a real toll on a person’s sense of hope for our world, and far too many goodhearted, sensitive people are right now being driven to a sense of despair.

I’ve recorded a deeply philosophical podcast that confirms the world is going insane around us all, and there’s nothing wrong with you if you see the insanity, the breakdown of civil society and the coming collapse.

In fact, the truly insane people are those who remain oblivious to what’s happening in our world. Much of the world population today has retreated to living inside delusional mental constructs rooted in popular social conformity rather than physical or economic reality. Those people, by the way, won’t stand much of a chance of surviving once things really start to unravel. Natural selection sooner or later prunes delusional organisms from the Tree of Life.

YOU are important to the rebuilding of the next society

Because you are awake and aware, it is vital that you retain your presence of mind and remain able to contribute to the rebuilding of the next society after the inevitable collapse of this one. Every rational person already knows that whatever is unsustainable must come to an end, and human civilization is presently structured on so many unsustainable phenomena that it’s almost hard to keep track of them all: The global debt bubble, the collapse of irrigation water for crops, the collapse of farming soils for food, the collapse of ocean ecosystems, the mass poisoning of the food supply with deadly herbicides, the collapse of rational education across western civilization, the collapse of law and order, the collapse of trust in government, the collapse of human fertility, the collapse of media credibility and even the collapse of the credibility of institutional science.

Notably, it only takes one large-scale trigger event to bring society to its knees for the simple reason that it is built upon a house of cards. That trigger event, by the way, could be something as simple as a single solar flare or North Korea EMP weapon that brings down the power grid. Current estimates reveal that such an event could result in a 90% reduction in the population of the United States, with most deaths occurring from starvation and disease. (Related: Read Survival.news for daily articles on how to survive the coming collapse.)

Yet even as the current structure of society will soon fail, humanity itself will not become extinct. Even if global death rates reach 90% as is predicted by some analysts, that still leaves roughly 700 million human beings on this planet to build a better society rooted in human liberty rather than global enslavement at the hands of tyrannical government. Notably, the largest percentage of deaths will likely occur in the most densely populated cities, invoking Darwin’s natural selection that eliminates those from the human gene pool who are least qualified to survive (and who tend to be the most delusional about reality).

It is my deepest hope that you and I survive this next great collapse and are able to constructively contribute to the rebuilding of a more just, more compassionate and more sane society that values life, liberty and happiness… all of which are currently under total assault from governments, tech giants (like Google and Facebook) and the entire “status quo” regime that currently runs this planet through deception, propaganda and pure EVIL.

To stay informed from SANE news sources (rather than the totally fabricated mainstream media), visit Censored.news every morning and evening, and bookmark the website. It’s updated hourly.

Listen to my podcast on all this at the Health Ranger Report website, or listen below:

Mind reading technology is now allowing people to communicate by thought alone

An individual who is in a “locked in state,” reports ZDnet.com, is one who remains fully mentally active, but has lost the ability to move. The person experiencing this state is fully cognizant in their mind, but “trapped inside an unresponsive, paralyzed body.” There are varying degrees of this challenging diagnosis. As reported by ScienceDaily.com, some stroke patients who live with Locked-in Syndrome (LIS) may even lose the ability “to swallow or even breathe on their own.” However, with technological help, “a remarkable level of independence” has been achieved.

In 2013, ScienceDaily.com reported that with the use of “sophisticated computerized interfaces,” combined with neurological rehabilitation and a “strong will to live,” LIS patients with nearly complete paralysis had been able to learn to use a joystick or a wheelchair with ever so slight movements of their head. If a one to two degree of movement is manifested as a twitch of the eye, then these movements can correlate with letters or symbols, opening up a world of communication, as documented in the movie The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, a film based on a book written with that method by Jean-Dominique Bauby, a man whose own stroke precipitated LIS.

Today’s technological advances for LIS patients, however, far surpass those that aided Mr. Bauby just a few years ago. The Wyss Center for Bio and Neuroengineering, located in Geneva, Switzerland, has developed a “brain computer interface that can decipher the thoughts” of LIS patients. This world renown organization ran a trial of this interface on four individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a disease that causes “complete destruction of the part of the nervous system known for movement.” In other words, there would be no blink of the eye or twitch of a finger.

The patients, as reported by Wysscenter.ch, were able to respond to personal questions via the brain-computer interface, which measured “changes in the blood oxygen levels in the brain.” According to Zdnet.com, functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIS) is used to create an image of this blood flow. The patient also wears a cap with sensors that light up according to the activity of the brain. Over time, the interface learns to understand the oxygen flow measurement and the subsequent triggering of a “yes” or “no” response. The accuracy rate during the trial was 70%.

Here’s how it looks in real life:

This is just the beginning phase of the Wyss Center system, with hopes that greater communication methods can be discovered. These types of technologies can also be used for people not experiencing LIS, but with lesser forms of brain damage. During the Wyss Center trial, another very important discovery was made concerning the emotional well-being of the patients experiencing ALS. When asked if they were happy, the answer was yes. Professor Niels Birbaumer, the lead researcher of this project said:

“There’s no reason to assume that this disease state is causing depression and it’s not worth living with the disease. Our patients teach us this is not the case.”

Follow more news about the conscious mind at MIND.news.
Sources:  

ZdNet.com

ScienceDaily.com

YouTube.com

Science.NaturalNews.com

Wysscenter.ch

YouTube.com

We all know Scientology is a cult. But Facebook, everyone’s favorite social network, has plenty of cultish qualities too. After all, the amount of control and personal information we relinquish toFacebook goes way beyond any confidential tidbits John Travolta reveals during the church’s regular “auditing” interviews.

Think of the cult similarities between Facebook and Scientology: Both have a strong, authoritative leader (Zuckerberg/L. Ron Hubbard) who came to power via questionable means (See The Social Network/The Master for reference). And both Facebook and Scientology have Tom Cruise as a member—coincidence, or something more?

Like all cults, Facebook and Scientology have diabolical means of controlling their members.Facebook updated its Terms of Use this past month, in an attempt to clarify its privacy policies. But the pages of information and infographics just serve as a reminder that the social media company basically owns us, and has access to all our most personal information. Yet we are willing participants in this pillaging of our private lives. Being a member of Scientology is all about surrendering one’s power to self-determination. We voluntarily allow Facebook to have more power over our lives than the science fiction cult from the Planet Xenu—and here’s how.

1. The Contract

Members of Scientology’s elite inner circle, known as the Sea Org, are required to sign a billion-year contract pledging their fidelity to the religion. Meanwhile, Facebook requires you to sign a detailed contract for terms of use—a beast of legalese the Zuckerberg crew really doesn’t want you to read. If you do sift through the Terms of Use, you’ll find that it attempts to absolveFacebook of any and all liability for anything it might do to you. (But chances are you didn’t read it.) You sign away all possible rights, leaving your entire identity exposed for exploitation. Only a fool would sign such a contract.

2. Complete Surveillance of All Activities

Many former members of Scientology claimed they felt brainwashed, like a robot for the church living in an Orwellian nightmare, with all their moves monitored by the higher-ups within the group. Scientology dissidents, such as L. Ron Hubbard’s great grandson, have often been trailed by thugs associated with the church.

Facebook also welcomes you to 1984. Think of Facebook Location Tracking as an NSA Santa Claus; it sees you when you’re sleeping, it knows when you’re awake. More specifically, it knows what bar you’re at, and the name of the restaurant where you just had dinner. You’ve volunteered to have Big Brother—or potential stalkers—watch over you and all your friends, feeding them constant updates about where you are and what you are doing. Better yet, Facebook will bombard you with ads for nearby establishments by tracking your location (which it euphemistically calls “building a history”). Facebook explains that you can turn this tracking off, but “Location History” must be turned on for some location features to work, including Nearby Friends. You can run but you can’t hide!

3. Personal Files

When actress Leah Remini left the Church of Scientology in 2013, her biggest fear was being blackmailed by personal confessions she made during “audit” sessions; she feared her confidential files would go public and ruin her life. Facebook users are much more gullible than Scientologists. They don’t require an “audit” session to disclose intimate personal information; they freely post it on their own, which has sometimes ended up ruining their offline lives.

Take the Idaho schoolteacher who was fired after posting a humorous photo on Facebook of her finance’s hand on top of her swimsuit. Or the Ohio waitress who was canned after complaining about bad tips. You could also be given the sack if a friend happens to post those drunken party pics from Cabo—and tags you in the post. Or if that photo of you sucking on a bong, which you thought was deleted, happens to surface. Facebook is more effective than a Scientology auditing session; it allows people to wreck their own lives by practicing the First Amendment.

4. Facebook Owns You!

Sure, Scientology has dirt on John Travolta and his various romps with gay porn stars that could be detrimental to his sagging career (or helpful, at this stage), which prevents him from ever leaving the cult. Facebook, on the other hand, owns your ass! Did you bother to read its copyright notice when you signed up? These are the rules you agree to play by so long as you useFacebook. Chances are you didn’t bother reading these either, so read along with me:

“For content that is covered by intellectual property rights, like photos and videos (IP content), you specifically give us the following permission, subject to your privacy and application settings: you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with Facebook (IP License). This IP License ends when you delete your IP content or your account unless your content has been shared with others, and they have not deleted it.

When you delete IP content, it is deleted in a manner similar to emptying the recycle bin on a computer. However, you understand that removed content may persist in backup copies for a reasonable period of time (but will not be available to others).”

So if you’re a professional photographer and post your images on Facebook, Facebook now has the right to use those images. Same with your party photos from your cousin’s bat mitzvah.Facebook can use those too, and even put out a book called, Your Cousin’s Bat Mitzvah Photos.

Facebook also has access to all your personal information, and most people willingly provide it.Facebook knows where you went to school, who you’re dating, your birthday, even your phone number. Good thing Facebook, unlike Scientology, is not run by an evil overlord from the Planet Xenu who wants to ruin your life.

5. No One Will Hear Your Complaints

Scientology has a reputation for hostile action toward anyone who criticizes it in a public forum;executives within the organization have proclaimed that Scientology is “not a turn-the-other-cheek” religion. Hubbard Church policy letter states, “Don’t ever tamely submit to an investigation of us. Make it rough, rough on attackers all the way.” And that tactic helps keep the Scientology brand intact.

Facebook has a more ingenious method for dealing with criticism: As long as you are a member of the cult of Facebook, – you will have no one to turn to if you want to voice a grievance over, say, an ex-boyfriend or stalker posting incriminating photos of you. Sure there’s a phone numberoffered (650-543-4800) but good luck with that; if you press the prompt you’ll be told thatFacebook doesn’t offer phone support.

Or better yet, send your complaint to the Facebook Help Desk. It might be a long shot, but remember, until Facebook’s policies change, it will also own the full text of your complaint.

6. You Allow People to Stalk You on Facebook

Scientology is a secret sect, closed off from the rest of society. Though this veil of secrecy is troubling in its own right, at least members’ private information is only available to other members of the organization. In fact, if you leave the Church of Scientology, members will practice “disconnection,” which strongly discourages them from associating with “enemies of Scientology,” further keeping the lives of members secret from outsiders.

Facebook, on the other hand, is a stalker’s wet dream. Statistics show that 28 percent of Facebook profiles are set as “visible to the public,” meaning anyone can access them, becoming privy to information such as a status update about your engagement being broken off or a selfie showing your 30-pound weight gain. Once you “friend” a person, they gain access to a plethora of random information about your life. A recent study suggested that romantic partners (or hopefuls)Facebook stalk because of “relational uncertainty,” noting that checking up on someone’sFacebook activity is a way we monitor and gather information about potential significant others (or victims).

What if your stalker’s drunken messages become increasingly disturbing? You can block him or her. Or delete your Facebook account. Or complain to Facebook…OK, nix that last idea.

7. You Are One Big Market Research Project

Scientology uses an E-meter. It claims that this lie detector device can examine a person’s mental state and “see a thought,” like some sort of mind-reading market research contraption of tomorrow. Using a trained auditor, Scientology believes it can uncover “hidden crimes.”

Facebook has something better than the E-meter: the capacity to mine all your personal data and sell it to marketing companies. Come on, did you think this free account was actually “free”? Everything has a price, and Facebook’s is targeted advertising. The scope of this brokering of information is on par with the NSA’s, and yet it is almost entirely unregulated.

8. Impossible To Completely Leave the Organization

Much like Scientology, the cult of Facebook makes it tough for members to leave. Until 2007, Facebook never completely deleted a user’s information—even when it deleted an account. The status was more like suspending an account, which meant a user could get her account and all the information back anytime if she decided to rejoin.

In 2008, the social media giant introduced an option to permanently delete the account, though a Facebook member has to be sure not only to deactivate his or her account but also check other preferences to make sure the account is completely deleted. Still, all those photos that were tagged on other peoples’ pages will live on—and Facebook will retain the right to use them as it pleases. Also, much like Scientology, other members will ostracize you when you quit Facebook; you will be left out of the social loop— which will force you to go out into the real world and make real friends. The horror!

If you do happen to break away from Facebook and feel lost with nowhere to go, there’s one group you can turn to that has a social network based on the Planet Xenu. It’s called Scientology, and it wants to be your friend.

source