Strange connections – Body Magnetism, Electric Currents and our World

At the moment, you’re the current astrological equivalent of a magnet, so there’ll be no refusing you and no way for them to win an argument. So announced my horoscope on the My Yahoo Portal for my stars today.  If this was all just mumbo jumbo I would have let it go.  But then my friend, DK Matai, also sent along an interesting article about the Magnetic fields which originate in human beings.

While the first time that “Biomagnetism” was measured was in 1963, it is still not conclusively known as to how we really generate the magnetic field that has been measured.  DK discusses an interesting argument – that the basis for most of the physical world is actually electrical energy.  Which also is fundamental to the electromagnetic properties.  Even in humans.

According to Einstein, matter is to be regarded as the mainfest part — the principle part — of the electromagnetic field, and electric energy is therefore the fundamental origin of our entire physical world. Consequently, in work published by The Academy For Future Science it has been cited that: “under present biological conditions, evolutionary development in living bodies from earliest inception follows unicellular semiconductivity, as a living piezoelectric matrix, through stages which permit primitive basic tissues — Glia, Satellite and Schwann cells — to be supportive to the neurons in the human system where the primary source is electrical. This has been especially shown in bone growth response to mechanical stress and to fractures which have been demonstrated to have characteristics of control systems using electricity.”

According to the article, electron diffraction studies on cerebral cortex, cerebellum, and meninges — membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord showed that they had magnetite-maghemite crystals, organised into linear, membrane-bound chains a few micrometres in length, with up to 80 crystals per chain.

Biomagnetism is the “phenomenon of magnetic fields produced by living organisms; it is a subset of bioelectromagnetism”.

In fact, even something as common place as stress on the physical structure of our human body creates and then is regulated by the electrical signals.  The collagen and apatite work on the electrical signal that is produced by mechanical stress during stress or release.  Signal strength signifies Strength of Stress and Polarity tells the direction.  The growth and resorbtion processes of the bones are regulated by the stress levels and polarity.

Maybe by chance or by fluke or by inherent knowledge of the human body, the magnetic healing has been part of the health culture for very long.  For example, the Chinese used magnetic stones (lodestones) to heal disease over five thousand years ago.  So did medical practitioners in India.

The entire fundamental science behind Homeopathy is based on nothing more than use of polarities and strength of the ions of different chemical combinations.

These sciences are not always as exact or as powerful as direct intervention that Allopathy uses (therefore there is stronger and quicker recovery from the immediate cause); but these magnetic related sciences were more holistic.

Yoga’s fundamental core are the Chakras and the Nadis.  These are primarily energy points with electrical manifestation.  Vivekananda explains the concept of Ida, Pingala and Sushumna:

Now, these later Yogis consider that there are three main currents of this Prana in the human body. One they call Ida-, another Pingala-, and the third Sushumna-. Pingala, according to them, is on the right side of the spinal column, and the Ida on the left, and in the middle of the spinal column is the Sushumna, an empty channel. Ida and Pingala, according to them, are the currents working in every man, and through these currents, we are performing all the functions of life. Sushumna is present in all, as a possibility; but it works only in the Yogi.

Yogic practices are very careful as to how one lies down and does the asanas or even sleep.  This is because these Yogis use the magnetic forces of earth to their advantage.  Simple rituals like going clockwise around the temple parikrama in the Northern hemisphere (and anti-clockwise in the Southern hemisphere) is based on this very understanding.  Body is aligned in every action in such a way that it uses the magnetic field.  Even when the a person dies, the body is kept in the North to South direction.  The idea is that by doing so, the Prana (which is a manifestation of the magnetic field of the body) will be able to detach itself from the body much easily.

A lot of Hindu rituals are created with the interaction between Earth’s magnetic field and that of the human body.

The field of astrology is also primarily based on the interaction between the planetary bodies and the human mind and body.  It is presumed that certain alignments of the bodies affect the human mind in a certain way.  Some alignments could make humans more violent than in other times in very large numbers.  Or some alignments could lead to greater air accidents.  What is interesting about astrology is that it not only illustrates the effect of magnetic fields on the quantitative aspects of humans, but also the qualitative.  Even the emotions of human beings (in small or large numbers) could be affected.  Such correlation is a very interesting assumption on part of the astrologers.

And that brings me back to the reading on my horoscope this morning.  Someone sitting in some affiliate of Yahoo has figured out the magnetic activity of my body based on the electric currents I have been generating.  Damn!  I should remember to not let the switch on for so long lest strangers start messing up with it.