Shared Death Experiences: A Multicultural Survey.

BACKGROUND: Shared-death-experiences (SDEs) and after-death-communication-experiences (ADCEs) are non-ordinary mental experiences related to the death of a known or unknown person. METHODS: These experiences were investigated by surveying four samples with different cultural backgrounds: Italian, Mexican, Brazilian and Taiwanese people. One-hundred-twenty-one participants reported 146 experiences of this type. RESULTS: Among the main characteristics of these experiences, visual, visual-auditory and feeling experiences, which comprised 74% of all experiences, were experienced both in the dream state and a normal state of consciousness. Furthermore, most of these experiences were lived before (47.3%) or after (39%) the death of the person in relationship with the participants. More importantly, these experiences influenced the participants' death interpretation favoring the belief that death affects only the body, but the consciousness of the deceased persons survives in another reality and sometimes can communicate with relatives and friends still alive in this reality. No substantial differences were observed among the different subsamples. CONCLUSION: As to the origin of SDEs/ADCEs, we discuss that whereas for most of them, in particular those lived after the death of a relative or a friend, we can assume hallucinatory characteristics triggered by emotional needs, for others, for example those related to unknown individuals and/or those experienced before the death of the person still in good health, it is not possible to exclude their anomalous connections and a real encounter with a deceased person.

Comments on previous psychological Tai-Chi models: Jun-zi self-cultivation model.

In this article we describe four previous Tai-Chi models based on the I-Ching (Book of Changes) and their limitations. The I-Ching, the most important ancient source of information on traditional Chinese culture and cosmology, provides the metaphysical foundation for this culture, especially Confucian ethics and Taoist morality. To overcome the limitations of the four previous Tai-Chi models, we transform I-Ching cultural system into a psychological theory by applying the cultural system approach. Specifically, we propose the Jun-zi () Self-Cultivation Model (JSM), which argues that an individual (, xiao-ren) can become an ideal person, or jun-zi, through the process of self-cultivation, leading to good fortune and the avoidance of disasters (, qu-ji bi-xiong). The state of jun-zi is that of the well-functioning self, characterized by achieving one's full potential and an authentic, durable sense of wellbeing. In addition, we compare egoism (xiao-ren) and jun-zi as modes of psychological functioning. The JSM can be used to as a framework to explain social behavior, improve mental health, and develop culturally sensitive psychotherapies in Confucian culture. Finally, an examination of possible theoretical directions, clinical applications, and future research is provided.

Death anxiety as mediator of relationship between renunciation of desire and mental health as predicted by Nonself Theory.

In the present paper, we report two studies examining the relationships among renunciation of desires, death anxiety, and mental health. In the first study, we constructed the Desire Questionnaire (DQ), which measures success in renouncing certain desire. The DQ has satisfactory psychometric properties. In the second study, 501 adults from a Chinese society ranging in age from 17 to 84 years (M = 35.58, SD = 14.76) completed the DQ, the Death Anxiety Scale (DAS), and the Chinese Health Questionnaire (CHQ), which measures mental health and the presence of psychiatric symptoms. As predicted, DQ had significant negative correlations with both DAS (p < 0.05) and CHQ (p < 0.01). DAS had a significant positive correlation with CHQ (p < 0.01). In the linear mediation model, DAS was found to partially mediate the relationship between DQ and CHQ (ß = - 0.18, p < 0.001). These results suggest that the negative effect of poor control of desires on mental health can be partially accounted for by death anxiety. These findings imply that training in eliminating desires can be a successful strategy to improve mental health. These results also support the Nonself Theory as a theory of death anxiety and show its relevance to the relationship between nonself and mental health.

Effects of intentionally treated water on the growth of mesenchymal stem cells: An exploratory study.

OBJECTIVE: This study explored if human primary mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), derived from two donors and cultivated in a medium made with intentionally treated water, would exhibit more growth and pluripotency than MSCs from the same source but grown in untreated (control) water. DESIGN: To create the treated water, three Buddhist monks directed their attention toward commercially bottled water while holding the intention that the water would enhance the growth of MSCs. Under double-blind conditions, cell culture growth mediums were prepared with the treated and untreated water, which was in turn used to grow the primary MSCs. Primary cells obtained from two donors were designated as Cells #1 and Cells #2. The prediction was that treated water would result in increased cell proliferation, that more cells would enter the cell cycle growth phase, and that there would be increased expression of genes (NANOG, OCT4 and SOX2) associated with improved cell growth and decreased expression of genes (p16, p21, and p53) associated with a decline in cell growth. The improved growth hypothesis was directional, thus one-tailed p-values were used to evaluate the results. RESULTS: Proliferation averaged across Cells #1 and #2 showed overall increased growth in treated as compared to control water (p = 0.0008). Cells #1 and #2 considered separately had differences in the same direction but only Cells #2 showed a significant difference on day 6 (p = 0.01). For cell cycle, there was a significantly greater percentage of Cells #2 in the S interphase with treated vs. control water (p = 0.04). For the gene expression analysis, when considering the average across the two donor cells, only the NANOG gene expression was in the predicted direction (p = 0.01); by contrast, the p16 gene expression was significantly opposite to the predicted direction (p = 0.005, one-tailed, post-hoc). For Cells #1 considered separately, no differences were significant except for p16, which resulted in an effect opposite to the predicted outcome (p = 0.05). For Cells #2, three genes were significantly in the predicted directions: NANOG (p = 0.0008), OCT4 (p = 0.005), and P53 (p = 0.05); p16 was significantly opposite to the prediction (p = 0.001). CONCLUSION: Intentionally treated water appeared to have some biological effects on the growth, pluripotency and senescence of human MSCs. This was especially the case in one of the two donor cells tested, but the effects were not consistently in the predicted direction. As an exploratory study, caution is warranted in interpreting these outcomes, and adjustment for multiple testing would likely reduce some of the weaker effects to nonsignificant. But given the double-blind protocol, as well as several more significant outcomes in the predicted directions, further research is warranted.

Survey of psychiatric impairment among residents exposed to environmental pollution from a petrochemical complex.

PURPOSE: This study first assessed the occurrence of major depressive disorder (MDD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), symptoms of poor sleep quality and high levels of distress among residents, caused by reported long-term stress from environmental pollution emitted from the biggest petroleum chemistry factory (PCF) in the world. METHODS: A total of 328 long-term residents (Mean age = 57.5, SD = 16.5 years, ranging from 22 to 95) were recruited randomly from a total population of 26,632 in Mailiao township in Taiwan next to the PCF. Trained assistants used the Disaster-Related Psychological Screening test, the Perception of Life Threats Caused by the SCNP questionnaire and the Sleep Quality Scale to interview the participants. RESULTS: The results support our hypotheses that most of the residents (71%) would report life threats caused by the PCF. The residents displayed higher rates of major depressive episodes (24.1%), PTSD (24.5%) and symptoms of poor sleep quality. The more they felt threat from the PCF, the stronger the connection with MDD and PTSD symptoms. CONCLUSION: The results indicate an increased prevalence of MDD, PTSD and symptoms of poor sleep quality in those exposed to environmental pollution from the PCF, highlighting the need for prompt prevention, diagnostic and therapeutic attention.

Effects of intentionally treated water and seeds on the growth of Arabidopsis thaliana.

OBJECTIVE: . A previously reported experiment indicated that Arabidopsis thaliana seeds with cryptochrome mutation His-CRY2 showed more robust photomorphogenic growth when hydrated with intentionally treated water as compared to untreated water. The present study attempted to replicate that outcome, adding a condition where the seeds were also intentionally treated. Arabidopsis seeds were used because they contain a photosensitive flavoprotein called cryptochrome (CRY). CRY has been proposed as a possible "transducer" of intention in living systems because it is thought to have quantum biological properties, and as such, it might potentially be sensitive to quantum observer effects. DESIGN: Three Buddhist monks directed their attention toward commercially bottled water and Arabidopsis seeds while holding the intention to improve the growth of the plant. As a control condition, no attention was directed at water or seeds from the same sources. Under double-blinded conditions, treated and untreated seeds were placed in an incubator, hydrated with treated or untreated water, and exposed to either continuous blue light or blue plus far-red light. The seed germination process was repeated three times, each time using new seeds. A 2 × 2 × 2 ANOVA, with water, seeds, and light as factors, was used to analyze the results. RESULTS: . Treated water was associated with enhanced photomorphogenic growth, as reflected by a shorter hypocotyl length (p = 0.04) and greater amounts of chlorophyll (p = 0.0005) and anthocyanin (p = 2 × 10-6). Treated seeds resulted in greater amounts of chlorophyll (p = 0.04), but also a longer hypocotyl (p = 0.0004) and less anthocyanin (p = 0.01). Plants exposed to blue plus far-red light were constantly more robust than plants grown under blue light, regardless of the type of water or seed (p < 10-10). CONCLUSION: . Intentionally treated water improved the growth of the His-CRY2 variant of Arabidopsis, confirming results of an earlier experiment. Enhanced growth associated with exposure to blue plus far-red light also confirmed to known effects. A more complex relationship was observed with treated seeds. Further research is required to understand the latter outcome, as it may provide clues about the underlying mechanisms of intentional influences.

Betel Quid Chewing, Personality and Mood: Betel Quid Chewing Associated with Low Extraversion and Negative Mood.

BACKGROUND: Betel quid (BQ), chewed by about 600 million people worldwide, is one of the most widely used addictive substances. Little is known about psychological factors in BQ chewers. OBJECTIVES: The present study was the first attempt to explore the relationships between BQ chewing, personality, and mood. METHODS: A survey was conducted with a purposive sample to assess BQ chewing habits in four subgroups: BQ-only users, BQ users who smoke and/or drink, smokers and/or drinkers only, and substance nonusers. A total of 494 participants were recruited from the civilian, non-institutionalized population in Taiwan. Habitual consumption of BQ, smoking and drinking; socio-demographic variables; extraversion; and mood (tension, depression, anger, vigor, fatigue, confusion, and self-esteem). All BQ chewers were evaluated on BQ dependence domains using DSM IV and ICD-10 criteria. RESULTS: The 6-month BQ dependency rate among BQ chewers, defined by either DSM-IV or ICD-10 criteria, ranged from 42.9 to 45.6%. BQ-only users had significantly lower scores on extraversion than substance nonusers. BQ-only users had statistically significant higher scores on confusion and total mood than substance nonusers. BQ-only users had significantly higher scores on fatigue, anger, tension, and depression, than substance nonusers, BQ users who smoke and/or drink, and smokers and/or drinkers only. The number of BQ dependence domains correlated significantly negatively with total mood scores. Conclusions/Importance: The results supported the two hypotheses: (a) BQ chewing is associated with low extraversion; and (b) BQ chewing is related to negative mood.

Effects of Intentionally Treated Water on Growth of Arabidopsis thaliana Seeds with Cryptochrome Mutations.

OBJECTIVE: A previous experiment suggested that consumption of intentionally treated tea influenced subjective mood under double-blind, controlled conditions. To investigate that effect objectively, again under double-blind, controlled conditions, we studied whether Arabidopsis thaliana seeds hydrated with intentionally treated vs. untreated water would show differences in hypocotyl length, anthocyanin, and chlorophyll. DESIGN: Three Buddhist monks focused their intention on commercially bottled water with the goal of improving the growth of seeds; bottled water from the same source served as an untreated control. Seeds with the following three variations of cryptochrome (CRY) were used: the wild type Arabidopsis (Columbia-4), a gain-of-function mutation (His-CRY2), and a loss-of function mutation (cry1/2), where "gain" and "loss" refer to enhanced and reduced sensitivity to blue light, respectively. Seeds were hydrated with treated or untreated water under blinded conditions, and then placed in random positions in an incubator. The germination process was repeated three times in each experiment, each time using new seeds, and then the entire experiment was repeated four times. RESULTS: Data combined across the four experiments showed a significant decrease in hypocotyl length in the His-CRY2 seedlings (treated mean 1.31 ± 0.01mm, untreated mean 1.43 ± 0.01mm, P < 10-13), a significant increase in anthocyanin with all three forms of cry, particularly His-CRY2 (treated mean 17.0 ± 0.31mg, untreated mean 14.5 ± 0.31mg, P < 10-4), and a modest increase in chlorophyll in His-CRY2 (treated mean 247.6 ± 5.63mg, untreated mean 230.6 ± 5.63mg, P = .05). These outcomes conformed to the monks' intentions because a decrease in hypocotyl length and increase in anthocyanin and chlorophyll are associated with enhanced photomorphogenic growth. These experiments suggest that the His-CRY2 mutation of Arabidopsis may be an especially robust "detector" of intention.

A pilot study on the Chinese Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 in detecting feigned mental disorders: Simulators classified by using the Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms.

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) is often used in forensic psychological/psychiatric assessment. This was a pilot study on the utility of the Chinese MMPI-2 in detecting feigned mental disorders. The sample consisted of 194 university students who were either simulators (informed or uninformed) or controls. All the participants were administered the Chinese MMPI-2 and the Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms-2 (SIRS-2). The results of the SIRS-2 were utilized to classify the participants into the feigning or control groups. The effectiveness of eight detection indices was investigated by using item analysis, multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA), and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Results indicated that informed-simulating participants with prior knowledge of mental disorders did not perform better in avoiding feigning detection than uninformed-simulating participants. In addition, the eight detection indices of the Chinese MMPI-2 were effective in discriminating participants in the feigning and control groups, and the best cut-off scores of three of the indices were higher than those obtained from the studies using the English MMPI-2. Thus, in this sample of university students, the utility of the Chinese MMPI-2 in detecting feigned mental disorders was tentatively supported, and the Chinese Infrequency Scale (ICH), a scale developed specifically for the Chinese MMPI-2, was also supported as a valid scale for validity checking.

A cross-sectional evaluation of meditation experience on electroencephalography data by artificial neural network and support vector machine classifiers.

To quantitate the meditation experience is a subjective and complex issue because it is confounded by many factors such as emotional state, method of meditation, and personal physical condition. In this study, we propose a strategy with a cross-sectional analysis to evaluate the meditation experience with 2 artificial intelligence techniques: artificial neural network and support vector machine. Within this analysis system, 3 features of the electroencephalography alpha spectrum and variant normalizing scaling are manipulated as the evaluating variables for the detection of accuracy. Thereafter, by modulating the sliding window (the period of the analyzed data) and shifting interval of the window (the time interval to shift the analyzed data), the effect of immediate analysis for the 2 methods is compared. This analysis system is performed on 3 meditation groups, categorizing their meditation experiences in 10-year intervals from novice to junior and to senior. After an exhausted calculation and cross-validation across all variables, the high accuracy rate >98% is achievable under the criterion of 0.5-minute sliding window and 2 seconds shifting interval for both methods. In a word, the minimum analyzable data length is 0.5 minute and the minimum recognizable temporal resolution is 2 seconds in the decision of meditative classification. Our proposed classifier of the meditation experience promotes a rapid evaluation system to distinguish meditation experience and a beneficial utilization of artificial techniques for the big-data analysis.

From Self to Nonself: The Nonself Theory.

The maintenance/strength of self is a very core concept in Western psychology and is particularly relevant to egoism, a process that draws on the hedonic principle in pursuit of desires. Contrary to this and based on Buddhism, a nonself-cultivating process aims to minimize or extinguish the self and avoid desires, leading to egolessness or selflessness. The purpose of this paper is to present the Nonself Theory (NT). The universal Mandala Model of Self (MMS) was developed to describe the well-functioning self in various cultures. The end goal of the self is to attain authentic and durable happiness. Given that the nonself is considered a well-functioning self, the MMS is suitable for constructing the NT. The ego and nonself aspects of psychological self-functioning and their underlying processes are compared, drawing on the four concepts of the MMS: biology, ideal person, knowledge/wisdom and action. The ego engages in psychological activities to strengthen the self, applying the hedonic principle of seeking desire-driven pleasure. In contrast, a nonself approach involves execution of the self-cultivation principle, which involves three ways: giving up desires, displaying compassion, practicing meditation and seeking understanding Buddhist wisdom. These three ways have the goal of seeing through and overcoming the illusion of the self to achieve a deep transformation integrally connected to the experience of eliminating the sense of self and its psychological structures. In addition, the NT provides a comprehensive framework to account for nonself-plus-compassion-related activities or experiences such as altruism, mindfulness, mediation, mysterious/peak experiences, elimination of death anxiety and moral conduct. The NT offers possible answers that might lead to a more comprehensive understanding of human beings and the deeper meaning of life, toward the ultimate goal of a well-functioning self. An examination of possible clinical applications and theoretical directions for future research in nonself psychology are provided.

Religion and Subjective Well-Being: Western and Eastern Religious Groups Achieved Subjective Well-Being in Different Ways.

Culture can moderate which variables most influence subjective well-being (SWB). Because religion can be conceptualized as culture, religious differences can be considered cultural differences. However, there have been few studies comparing how different religious groups evaluate SWB at any given time. This study is among the first to investigate this issue. The present study compared Buddhists, Taoists, Christians, and atheists. In addition to demographic items, 451 Chinese adults completed Chinese version of the Socially Oriented Cultural Conception of SWB Scale. Religious belief was distributed as follows: 10 % Christian, 20 % Buddhist, 25 % Taoist, and 43 % atheists. As predicted, the socially oriented cultural conception of SWB was found to be highest among Buddhists, followed in order by Taoists, atheists, and Christians. It was concluded that the various religious groups achieved SWB in different ways.

Improved emotional stability in experienced meditators with concentrative meditation based on electroencephalography and heart rate variability.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether emotional stability distinguishes how experienced and novice meditators react to visual stimuli. DESIGN: PARTICIPANTS practiced concentrative meditation and then responded to visual stimuli while continuing to meditate. PARTICIPANTS: Ten experienced and 10 novice meditators responded to sequences of visual stimuli after concentrative meditation. RESULTS: As predicted, both groups had increased parasympathetic activities during concentrative meditation. Experienced meditators had increased low-frequency electroencephalography (EEG) rhythms in response to visual stimulation, whereas novices had increased high-frequency EEG rhythms. Correlational analyses revealed that novice meditators changed from a meditative state to a nonrelaxed state when the visual stimuli were presented, whereas experienced meditators maintained the meditative state. CONCLUSION: The study provides evidence that regular concentrative meditation can improve emotional stability and that recording physiologic responses to visual stimuli can be a good method for identifying the effects of long-term concentrative meditation practice.

Religion and health: anxiety, religiosity, meaning of life and mental health.

We examined the association among anxiety, religiosity, meaning of life and mental health in a nonclinical sample from a Chinese society. Four hundred fifty-one Taiwanese adults (150 males and 300 females) ranging in age from 17 to 73 years (M = 28.9, SD = 11.53) completed measures of Beck Anxiety Inventory, Medical Outcomes Study Health Survey, Perceived Stress Scale, Social Support Scale, and Personal Religiosity Scale (measuring religiosity and meaning of life). Meaning of life has a significant negative correlation with anxiety and a significant positive correlation with mental health and religiosity; however, religiosity does not correlate significantly anxiety and mental health after controlling for demographic measures, social support and physical health. Anxiety explains unique variance in mental health above meaning of life. Meaning of life was found to partially mediate the relationship between anxiety and mental health. These findings suggest that benefits of meaning of life for mental health can be at least partially accounted for by the effects of underlying anxiety.

Schizophrenia and the paranormal: more psi belief and superstition, and less déjà vu in medicated schizophrenic patients.

OBJECTIVE: The present study examined the relation between déjà vu experiences and paranormal beliefs in schizophrenic patients. METHODS: A total of 522 participants (54.5% female; mean age=33.3, SD=16.02) were recruited, including 422 healthy adults (60.9% female; mean age=29.48, SD=15.07) and 100 medicated adult schizophrenic patients (27.3% female; mean age=48.98, SD=8.57). The Chinese version of the Inventory of Déjà-vu Experiences Assessment was created via back translation. Chinese versions of the Revised Paranormal Belief Scale (CRPB), Beck Anxiety Inventory (CBAI), and Perceived Stress Scale (CPSS) were also used. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: After controlling for age, gender, education, and anxiety, the results supported the following three hypotheses. Schizophrenic persons have fewer déjà vu experiences than normal persons. These experiences are positively related to paranormal beliefs in healthy adults but not in schizophrenic patients. Schizophrenic patients have higher scores than healthy adults on the psi and superstitious subscales of the CRPB.

Metaphysics of the tea ceremony: a randomized trial investigating the roles of intention and belief on mood while drinking tea.

OBJECTIVE: This study explored whether drinking tea "treated" with good intentions would enhance mood more than drinking ordinary tea, under double-blind, randomized conditions. DESIGN: Each evening, for seven days in a row, volunteers recorded their mood using the Profile of Mood States (POMS) questionnaire. On days three, four, and five of the test, each participant drank 600 mL of oolong tea in the morning and again in the afternoon. One randomly assigned group blindly received tea that had been intentionally treated by three Buddhist monks; the other group blindly received untreated tea from the same source. On the last day of the test, each person indicated what type of tea he/she believed he/she had been drinking. PARTICIPANTS: Stratified, random sampling was used to assign 189 adults into two groups matched by age, gender, the psychological trait of neuroticism, and the amount of tea consumed on average per day. All participants were Taiwanese and lived in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and the test was conducted over the course of one week to reduce mood fluctuations due to changes in local weather and other common influences. RESULTS: Those who drank treated tea showed a greater increase in mood than those who drank untreated tea (Cohen's d = 0.65, P = .02, two-tailed). Change in mood in those who believed that they were drinking treated tea was much better than those who did not believe (Cohen's d = 1.45, P = .00002, two-tailed). CONCLUSION: Tea treated with good intentions improved mood more than ordinary tea derived from the same source. Belief that one was drinking treated tea produced a large improvement in mood, but only if one was actually drinking the treated tea, indicating that belief and intentional enhancement interact. This also suggests that the esthetic and intentional qualities associated with the traditional tea ceremony may have subtle influences that extend beyond the ritual itself.

Recognition of tactile relief by children and adults.

This study was designed to compare tactile sensitivity of children and adults on printed target stimuli covering a wide range of elevations and requiring different resolutions. A recognition-relief task using 9 digits at 6 levels of elevation from a surface (0.5, 0.4, 0.3, 0.2, 0.1, and 0.05 mm) was presented to 24 young adults and 24 children. As predicted, relief elevations as low as 0.05 mm were recognized above chance. As predicted, children performed significantly more poorly than the adults on recognition at all elevations, although the difference increased as elevation increased. Adults performed significantly better than children on high-resolution digit 8, but there was no reliable age difference on low-resolution digit 1. Recognition difference between the high- and low-resolution digits decreased nonlinearly as elevation increased, irrespective of age. Overall, the findings support previous research indicating greater tactile sensitivity in adults than in children, but the superiority was moderated by the elevation and resolution requirements of the stimuli.

Paranormal beliefs and religiosity: Chinese version of the Revised Paranormal Belief Scale.

This paper reports an initial study investigating the relations of paranormal beliefs with religiosity in a Chinese sample, as well as the development of a Chinese version of the Revised Paranormal Belief Scale and a test of its psychometric properties with 310 college students (5.5% Christians, 21.3% Buddhists, 61% believers in traditional Chinese religions, and 12% atheists). The reliability and validity of the Chinese version were satisfactory. In general, traditional Chinese religious believers had higher scores on paranormal belief than did Christians and atheists, and the mean total score of the Chinese participants was higher than previously reported in a Western sample. It was concluded that the greater involvement of practitioners of traditional Chinese religions in activities emphasizing paranormal experiences might contribute to their greater paranormal belief, especially as compared to the minority Christian group. The results are consistent with the idea that Christianity may offer the least support for paranormal belief.