“God contracts and expands.” (2:245)

The heart is a fairly small muscle that beats 100,000 times a day and produces roughly 115,000 Joules of energy, enough to boil a cup of water for some tea. Like a flowing river, deoxygenated blood travels from the right side of our body to the right side of our heart via valves and chambers until passing through our lungs, where each breath we take facilitates the oxygenation of every individual blood cell with 4 molecules of oxygen. The now oxygenated blood, continues to progress, never stopping, now through the left side of the heart, again passing through valves and chambers, eventually being pushed out to the rest of our body with the help of the left ventricle. The left ventricle is the thickest, largest, strongest, and most muscular part of the heart because it has the responsibility of pumping oxygenated blood through the aortic valve and aorta to the rest of our body. If this continual circulation is ever interrupted, it can lead to catastrophic outcomes.

There are several ways this flow can be interrupted, many of which happen before birth and require immediate surgery after delivery. Congenital heart defects (CHD) are some of the most common types of birth defects, but as medical care and treatment have advanced many of the babies that suffer from them usually end up living long and healthy lives. Treatment isn’t required while babies are in their mother’s womb, because the circulation of the heart is different before the baby takes its first breaths, and there is normally a mixing of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood. CHD can be mild, like a hole in the heart between two chambers that allows the mixing of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood. Ventricular septal defects and atrial septal defects (holes in the heart) are some of the most common forms of CHD. Sometimes these defects can be resolved on their own or may not be realized until much later in life, or they may require a “patch” repair if they are larger. VSDs and ASDs are associated with Down’s Syndrome, and maternal risk factors including diabetes, obesity, and smoking. Patent foramen ovale (a hole in the heart that fails to close) is found in up to 30% of the general population. It usually requires no treatment and isn’t discovered unless complications like a stroke occur later in life by having a blood clot form, requiring the blood to then travel through the hole, and then be shot up through the aorta into the brain. All babies are born with patent (open) ductus arteriosus – the ductus arteriosus is a fetal blood vessel that allows flow from the right heart to the aorta, necessary when the baby is in their mother’s womb, but incompatible for life after the baby is born. Within the first few days of life, this blood vessel should close and eventually transform into a ligament that helps tether the pulmonary artery and aorta to each other. If closure fails and the ductus arteriosus remains patent, a continuous machine-like murmur can be heard with a stethoscope, and treatment with indomethacin is started. Untreated, a PDA would result in cyanosis (blue/gray skin) and Eisenmenger Syndrome due to decreased oxygen delivery [1].

The heart’s responsibility is not only to provide oxygenated blood to the rest of the body but to also somehow feed itself. The heart’s muscles exhaust 11.6% of the body’s total oxygen consumption in order to maintain its own contractile activity, coming in 3rd after the liver (20.4%) and the brain (18.4%). During contraction or systole, the heart pumps at 120 mm Hg to provide blood through the aorta and arteries. During relaxation, or diastole, the heart expands and allows for blood to fill into its chambers and also flow through the coronary arteries. These coronary arteries are the arteries that will feed the heart itself. Thus, in order to feed itself the heart must relax and therefore allow its coronary arteries to expand and provide blood to itself. When the heart is contracting and providing blood to the rest of the organs it is too constricted to provide blood to itself. Since these branches are located within grooves of the heart, when the heart is systole the arteries are too constricted for blood flow due to increased tension. This is especially true regarding the arteries supplying the left ventricle since it is larger and more muscular – remember this is where the aorta will branch off, providing oxygenated blood to the rest of our body.

This balance between contraction and expansion may remind some readers of the concepts of Qabd (contraction) and Bast (expansion) in Sufism or Tzimtzum in Jewish mysticism, and how one truly feeds the other thus allowing for growth through this cycle of contraction and relaxation. Tzimtzum is used to explain the process of creation, a contraction of infinity happening to give birth to a finite universe [2]. The Sufi tradition is a personal journey described as “contraction and openness are mysterious ‘bargains’ that have been made without the will or intention of the traveler. The first one blocks his or her way; the second one gives him or her wings to fly to new heights [3].” What is perhaps most interesting is that our physical heart performs this contraction and expansion perfectly so long as we take care of it, whereas our spiritual heart can have lapses in this critical exercise. Maybe, if we understand how to take care of our physical heart, we will also find the answer to keeping our spiritual heart healthy. Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, emphasizes this connection as follows: “Verily, in the body is a piece of flesh which, if sound, the entire body is sound, and if corrupt, the entire body is corrupt. Truly, it is the heart.”

Some ways to take care of our physical hearts include incorporating more physical activity into our daily lives, eating less and healthy, and controlling our stress. Perhaps our spiritual health would also benefit from these and similar activities, including regular acts of worship, fasting, controlling our temper, and being kind to others. When we don’t take care of our physical heart, it begins to fail since oxygen ceases to be delivered to our heart and the electrical currents can no longer travel effectively, thus resulting in a heart attack.

Coronary artery disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, and especially in developed countries. The deadliest heart attack occurs if there is a blockage of the left anterior descending coronary artery, which is why it is tragically termed the “widow maker.” Beginning from adolescence, arteries begin to accumulate fatty streaks and progress to an atherosclerotic plaque. This plaque can lead to several disastrous complications such as follows:

• a narrowing or complete obstruction of an artery, impairing blood flow and leaving the heart thirsty for oxygen
• a stroke due to a blood clot caused by decreased movement, breaking off and flowing to the brain
• a weakening of the vessel wall leading to an aneurysm, the vessel bursting

For some patients, a heart attack becomes a wakeup call in order to make the many necessary lifestyle changes that are necessary in order to live a long and healthy life. However, 20% of patients will experience a second heart attack. As the heart gets weaker and weaker it can eventually develop cardiorenal syndrome, a complication that results from the heart being unable to pump effectively resulting in it getting backed up in the heart and the right side of the body. This increase in volume in the body is further exacerbated by the kidneys, which continue to retain fluids and thus cause the body to become overloaded. This leads to edema, or swelling, in the legs that can eventually progress to the lungs and cause congestive heart failure. As the kidneys try to ameliorate the fact that the heart is not pumping effectively, they ultimately worsen the situation leading to end-stage renal disease and stage D heart failure.

Of course, as with almost all medical conditions, these fatal results can be prevented much earlier with lifestyle changes, even before introducing medical intervention with prescription drugs or other procedures. These lifestyle modifications include moderate aerobic exercise at least 3 times a week, a diet rich in vegetables and low in fats, sugars, and carbohydrates, smoking and alcohol cessation, and weight reduction (which would come as a result of these modifications). It is also important for patients that are already dealing with hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia should keep them well-managed and controlled.

Maybe similarly, some simple lifestyle changes, such as putting aside a few minutes every day to reflect, can be the secret to keeping our spiritual heart healthy. Our heart must remain healthy to keep the rest of our body healthy. Considering the close relationship between our physical and spiritual heart, our spiritual heart must be kept healthy to keep the rest of our spiritual body healthy. Spiritually healthy individuals will further reinforce the health of our community, for Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, says, “The believers in their mutual kindness, compassion and sympathy are just like one body. When one of the limbs suffers, the whole body responds to it with wakefulness and fever.”

“As the whole of existence is in His grasp and at His free disposal, it is He Who directs and disposes of all things, from the heavens to the human heart… When God wills, He contracts a heart so tightly for what only He can provide that only He can satisfy it. By contrast, He expands and exhilarates it to such an extent that it needs nothing. Contraction is caused by God’s Majesty; openness is caused by His Grace. (Fethullah Gülen, Emerald Hills of the Heart).”

References

• https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/congenital-heart-defects
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Isaac-ben-Solomon-Luria#ref163236
• http://fgulen.com/en/fethullah-gulens-works/key-concepts-in-the-practice-of-sufism-1/qabd-and-bast-contraction-and-openness

Are cities the same as water? It’s possible to look at chemistry for new understandings of social dynamics.

The universe is a field where existence is transformed from state to state. The transformation of matter from one state to another is generally called a “phase transition” and each phase has its own characteristics. A phase transition is possible via the alteration of some parameters and variables. For instance, heat is one of the parameters required for the transition of ice (solid) into water (liquid) and later into vapor (gas); the increased heat causes ice to change states. The characteristic feature of each phase (ice, water, and vapor) is unique. For example, ice has a certain volume; however water and vapor take the shapes of their containers. In contrast to ice, water and vapor have flowing properties.

In a similar way, if the temperature of a ferromagnetic material displaying magnetic properties is elevated, at a certain temperature, it is observed to lose its magnetism; this is called the “Curie point.” In some materials, such as some solutions, the transition into different phases can be achieved by adding solvents.

Seasons can also be considered different phases. Each season has its own specific traits and features. Seasons are generated by the alteration of the angle between the axis of earth and its orbital plane.

As these examples show, the universe resembles an erase board where continuous transitions are taking place, new sentences are being written, and existing writings are dismissed to form new sentences with new meanings.

In a recently completed academic study, a new definition of a phase transition encountered in social life has been made and this phase transition is called “freezing by heating” [1]. It is well known in daily life that the less individuals are informed about their temper and the direction they are headed, the weaker the efficiency of cooperation among individuals. If people in a unit or group behave irregularly, a dead end or bottleneck could occur. Solving dead-end problems and bottleneck situations, or preventing them before they happen, is among the topics scientists study today. In Figure 1, cases showing the traffic stream of people moving in opposite directions obtained in this study are displayed.

It is stated that there is less “noise” in situations in which there is a reduced amount of irregular behavior taking place. The term “noise” is used to define concepts that can be disruptive human relations. The higher the noise, the more the degradation of human relationships, and as a result, a disruption or even an arrest (freezing) may happen regarding social events. The elevated temperature of a melting solid material provides it with the properties of a fluid, whereas in social events, an increase in temperature ends up with a jam and freeze in social life. In Figure 1a, a pedestrian traffic flow in which there is less noise present – in other words, a situation that characterizes ideal relations among people – is displayed. Here, it is observed that people with yellow marks have a stable flow towards the left and those with red marks move towards the right side. They do so via lanes of people going towards both directions. A stable flow indicates that the system is not frozen (not in an arrest), or free of a bottleneck. In such a flow, relations work in such a way that fluidity results.

Figure 1

An intermediate noise level causes an increase of irregular behaviors (in other terms, unpredictable human behavior) and shows the presence of serious problems that are experienced regarding the relationships among people. The corresponding situation for this case is shown on Figure 1b. Here, the pedestrian traffic is now jammed and the flow is almost halted. It is impossible for lanes to form since irregular behaviors are above a certain critical level. For a system to be rescued out of this state, oscillations of sufficient magnitude are necessary.

If the situation in Figure 1c occurs, forming a vertical interface (please note the vertical interface that separates people going left and right), this case is called a “frozen state” and much bigger oscillations are required to get out of this state. Figures 1a, 1b, and 1c exhibit before our eyes how elevated noise affects pedestrian traffic: an increase of the noise in the system (for instance, an increase in the number of people who do not stop at red lights and do not continue on green) changes it from a fluid phase to a frozen one, resulting in gridlock. It is possible to compare the increased noise of the pedestrian traffic to an increase in temperature; the elevation of temperature also causes an abundance of irregular movements inside matter. Just like that, the rise of heat in a society due to a particular issue (like turmoil or other problems) may generate an increase in chaotic behaviors. Let’s try to explain this with certain events happening right now.

Let’s think about motor vehicle traffic in any city. If every individual driver observes the rules of the road, this means a low temperature – less noise, and little traffic. Fluidity is present here. On the contrary, if there is not any consensus in terms of traffic rules among the citizens – in other terms, if majority of the people are failing to abide the rules – there will be “heat”; the noise will be high, and there will be a traffic jam. If drivers cannot assess the rules at a four way intersections, or if people with no knowledge of red, yellow, or green lights are driving, a city will have a major problem with traffic.

When a freezing event takes place, waiting becomes inevitable. Unfortunately, most people don’t like waiting. Thus, such “freezing” events should be avoided, so as to keep citizens happy. For example, public announcements of road closures due to scheduled road works limit the reactions against traffic problems on certain routes. However, if traffic is announced and no reason is given, people might still be very unhappy.

For a second example, let’s consider a judiciary system. Just like the example of motor vehicle traffic, the presence of irregular moves independent from rules can lock a legal system. If laws are insufficient, or existing laws are not universally implemented nationwide, or the laws are executed and interpreted differently according to individuals, it is inevitable for a bottleneck or a freeze in the legal system. Actors within the system may anticipate a “freeze” about to happen. People in a state of anticipation need to be convinced and satisfied pertaining to legal practices. Otherwise, they may not enforce the laws properly, and legal chaos may ensue.

Freezing by heating may also apply for certain economic processes. Some economic uncertainties or some actions of unknown cause can be considered as noise by elements of the economy, thus enforcing a behavioral change that is able to affect the entire economy. Therefore, any applied change is followed carefully by the actors of the market and these actors must be satisfied about the changes taking place. Higher noise levels and dissatisfaction of members who are waiting affects the liquidity of the market and can lead to the withdrawal of funds. Withdrawal of money negatively impacts the parties who are in need of cash in various ways and the economic system gains momentum towards a “frozen state.” Negative factors are not the only reason for a bottle neck. Conservation of balance and the fluidity of the economic system are considered as the essence of this issue.

The principles briefly given above can also be applied to socio-psychological events. It is impossible not to encounter a bottleneck for a society consisting of members who are aggressive, stressed, or have less knowledge of their destinations. If a decision can be made with a peaceful state of mind and there is no doubt present regarding current practices, patience becomes the most important parameter. Hence, until a state of balance is established, it is advised to wait with understanding and patience. Patience is a healing aid that plays a role in reducing the temperature in all bottleneck situations.

Fasting prayer is very important for people in terms of gaining this habit. Even for a person who observes fasting one day or two in a week, it becomes more possible to deal positively with any bottleneck situations encountered that week. Another way to lessen the impact of a bottleneck is living to be aware of the fact that each event may serve a purpose. As Nursi stated, each negative or positive event that has been experienced has a purpose. Every event will be over once its purpose is reached. For a sincere believer who is aware of this, realizing that patience also means to appreciate time; thus, it is possible for him to disperse the negative elements that this waiting will bring.

It is possible to expand the “freezing by heating” phase transition to various different mediums across many other disciplines. However, the only necessary element in all of them to prevent such freezes, or to break present freezes, is the reduction of noise (temperature). It’s possible to find guidance by acknowledging that this world is a place of wisdom and service, and rewards do not always come in this life.

References

1. Dirk Helbing, Illes J. Farkas, Tamas Vicsek, “Freezing by Heating in a Driven Mesoscopic System,” Physical Review Letters 84, 1240-1243 (2000).
2. H.Eugene Stanley, “Non-equilibrium Physics: Freezing by Heating,” Nature 404, 718-719 (2000).

I first came across his ideas in the 70s, through a book, Psychic Discoveries Behind the Iron Curtain (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1970), by two American authors, Sheila Ostrander and Lynn Schroeder.

Reflecting somewhat the counterculture of the 60s and 70s, the authors were exploring psychic matters and occultism, and for that purpose they visited Soviet Russia, Bulgaria, and Czechoslovakia in the summer of 1968. As described in the back cover, “they reveal astonishing breakthroughs and key personalities spearheading exploration of man’s unknown powers” in laboratories from Prague to Moscow.

One place they stopped was the Pulkovo Observatory near St. Petersburg (then Leningrad), “the principal observatory of the USSR Academy of Sciences and the timekeeping Greenwich of Russia” (today The Central Astronomical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences) to meet Dr. Kozyrev. They were going there to discuss “an amazing theory of time” developed by Kozyrev, whom the authors described as “one of the Soviet Union’s most renowned astrophysicists” (p. 157).

Kozyrev does deserve this praise, as he was only 17 when he published his first scientific paper. When he graduated in physics and mathematics from the University of Leningrad, he was only twenty. And by the age of twenty-eight, he had already won distinction as an astronomer and had taught at several colleges (p. 158).

He was brimming with new ideas and life was as good as he could possibly have wished it to be. Then the ax fell. In 1936 he was arrested in the Stalinists repressions and in 1937 he began eleven crushing years in a prison camp. … When he was at last rehabilitated and could return to astronomy, Kozyrev made a series of brilliant predictions about the Moon, Venus, and Mars. Much later, Soviet space probes proved him right. (p. 158)

Like many other geniuses throughout world history, his announcements were received with skepticism in the beginning. In 1958, for instance, he announced volcanic activity on the moon, which meant that there were vast natural resources to exploit. Scientists “classified him as an eccentric hunting for gas on the moon. They knew this was not possible.” But he was proven right when Dr. Harold Urey, a U.S. Nobel Prize winner, talked with him and NASA started the enormous “Moon Blink” project. Eventually, gas emissions were found on the moon.

Kozyrev was proposing a new theory when he said, “Time is a form of energy. It is to time’s properties that we should look in order to find the source that maintains the phenomenon of life in the world.” With all credit to his other findings, this theory on time may sound completely irrelevant and without basis to scientists today; but as mentioned in the beginning, the purpose of this review is not to confirm his theory, but to open up a long forgotten gateway for researchers studying time and ether.

Although approached with suspicion today, parapsychology studies peaked in the eastern bloc in the 1960s, which was the main reason the two American authors felt the need to travel overseas and spend three years researching their 450-page book. “Parapsychology, nonexistent just a decade before, was suddenly flourishing all over the USSR,” they wrote. When the authors looked beyond Iron Curtain politics, “behind the lace curtains of everyday Russia,” they began to come across “some very unusual material about life.”

“Soviet scientists were asking publicly, ‘What is man?’ Do we have unused, undreamed of potentials? Can parapsychology melt the barriers and create the supernormal human being? These were heady questions to read in Soviet publications.”

In 1966, the authors noted, the influential journal Science and Religion put out a special issue, No. 3, on current Russian telepathy research. Outstanding Soviets, including such notables as Dr. Nikolai Semyonov, a Nobel Prize winner in chemistry and Vice President of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, called for further scientific investigations of telepathy. It was in this time and context when Kozyrev’s research intensified and his speculative theory came into a form.

The authors noted that, according to some Soviet scientists (p. 159), ESP (extrasensory perception) “may involve an unknown form of energy,” which Kozyrev called “time,” in the telepathic transfer of “thought” instantly from one person to another.

“Time is the most important and most enigmatic property of nature. Time is not propagated like light waves; it appears immediately everywhere. The altered properties of a certain second of time will appear instantly everywhere at once, just as time is everywhere. Time links us all and all things in the universe,” Dr. Kozyrev told the authors in his high-ceilinged office at Pulkovo. The authors noted the following from their interview with Kozyrev:

Kozyrev’s “time” has a number of properties which he says can be studied in the scientist’s lab. He has found, for instance, that this “X” energy, or “time,” is denser near the receiver of an action and thinner near the sender. He showed us some of the instruments he has devised to chart this unusual effect. The basic equipment includes precision gyroscopes, asymmetrical pendulums, and torsion balances. The instruments, when set up in a complex arrangement, react showing a change in time density near a mechanical action (like stretching elastic) or a chemical action (like burning sugar).

This is the gist of what happens in one of the more simple experiments: a long elastic is stretched by a machine. You can think of this elastic as having two poles. The “pull” or cause end and the “stretch” or effect end. When the elastic is stretched, the registering equipment, consisting mainly of an asymmetrical pendulum made with a gyroscope, arcs toward the effect pole of the elastic. This deflection is imperceptible to the eye, but easily registered on the sensitive instruments. It is a highly important effect. It shows there has been an increase in the intensity of time, according to Dr. Kozyrev. “This has nothing to do with force fields. We shielded and calculated out any possible influence of electrostatic or any other force.” Considering Kozyrev’s rarified caliber as a scientist, he probably knows what he is talking about.

Kozyrev’s instruments also showed a thinning of time near the “cause” end of the elastic, and this was possible even when the “cause-effect” equipment was shielded by a wall one yard thick: “It reacts even through iron tubes.” Chemical cause-effect, like burning sugar, also showed the change in time density. “We postulate,” Dr. Kozyrev said, “that time is thin around the cause and dense around the effect.”

According to the authors, “what Dr. Kozyrev has found in these tests can be called PK (psychokinesis),” for the chemical events acted on the gyroscope pendulum at a distance and without the use of any known force. Dr. Kozyrev would say that “time density” brought on this startling action at a distance. PK is usually considered not as matter affecting matter from a distance, but as a mind affecting matter. The authors asked Kozyrev whether thought might have any effect on this time density. “Yes,” Dr. Kozyrev replied. “Thought definitely affects the reaction. When I purposefully think of poetry or something emotional during the test, the equipment registers more of a change than when I think of mathematical calculations. Our thoughts may change the density of time.”

“Would the density of time, then, have something to do with telepathy?” asked the authors.

“Telepathy always depends on the density of time. Time would be thin near the sender of the thought and denser around the receiver. We’ve already done tests in our lab to try to artificially change the density of time. When we can make time dense at will, we can make telepathy happen when we want it,” Dr. Kozyrev feels.

What else affects the density of time? Thunderstorms, the weather, the change of season, the activity of growing things, gravity, and density of matter have an effect on time density, which lingers longer in some substances than in others. “It remains twice as long in aluminum as in lead and five times longer in wood than in lead” (p. 162).

Another characteristic of the energy Kozyrev called “time” is that it has a flow pattern, according to his findings:

Dr. Kozyrev thought about all living organisms-animals, plants, people. Our right and left sides are not mirror images. More of the heart is on the left than the right side. Microbes produce colonies of a spiral structure. Protoplasm, the basic building block of life, is not symmetrical either. Asymmetry is a basic property of life. This can’t be a chance thing, Dr. Kozyrev thought. … Perhaps the energy of “time” flows in this pattern. If so, Dr. Kozyrev figured, he could see it and measure it in a rotating body like a gyroscope. Altering the time pattern in a rotating system should add or subtract energy.

After years of careful experiments, Dr. Kozyrev and his colleagues found that in a left-hand rotating system the time flow is positive-it adds energy. In a right-hand system the time flow is negative. … In Dr. Kozyrev’s view our world is a left-hand system and it has a positive time flow that adds energy to our universe.

Time not only has a pattern of flow, says Dr. Kozyrev, but also a rate of flow. He calls “the rate of flow” the difference between cause and effect. “As the rate of the time flow through a substance changes, weight is lost,” Dr. Kozyrev told us. “It means that ‘levitation’ is a perfectly practical possibility.” (p. 163)

Time or ether?

Time is not matter. According to Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, “time is like an aspect or a ‘ribbon’ of motion” (The Thirty-First Word, p. 591). That is, time is not possible without motion. I argue that what Kozyrev thought he discovered was not time, but perhaps had to with what is called ether, an element which is assumed by some cosmologists to be the essence of all existence, but which is also disregarded by many scientists today. Bediuzzaman is one of those scholars who referenced ether in his work. In his partial Qur’anic exegesis, The Sign of Miraculousness (Isharat al-I’jaz first published in 1914), Bediuzzaman explained the verse (Hud 11:7) as follows:

… the verse “the heavens and the earth were at first one piece, and then We parted them as separate entities”(21:30) indicates that the earth and the solar system were a sort of dough kneaded by the hand of power out of a simple substance; I mean ether, which compared with beings is a fluid substance that passes through and among them. The verse “His Supreme Throne was upon the water”(11:7) alludes to this matter, which resembles water. After its creation, the ether received the Maker’s first manifestation giving existence; that is, He created the ether, then He made it into the subatomic particles (jawâhir farda) … (Isharat al-I’jaz, pp. 254)

For Bediuzzaman, ether was something like an interface upon which all acts of God were displayed:

… being an extremely subtle, fine, obedient and subjugated page for the All-Majestic Maker’s acts, being a means for the transmission of His commands, being an extremely delicate veil for the execution of His decrees, being refined ink for His writing, being a finest raiment to clothe His acts of creation, being a fundamental component in His artifacts and a field in which to sow His seeds, ether acts as a mirror for the manifestations of the Lordship of God. (The Thirtieth Gleam, p. 477)

Bediuzzaman also referred to “ether” when he said “refined matter” in the following quote: “Such subtle and refined matters as light, electricity, and heat point to the existence of a more subtle and refined matter that fills space” (The ThirtyFirst Word, p. 589).

The observations and findings of Kozyrev, though in desperate need of endorsement by objective scientific criteria, sound, from how the American authors revealed in their interview, as if referring to this mysterious subtle matter called “ether” rather than “time.”

Conclusion

The authors of this once popular book wrote in the Prologue that they “would have to be megalomaniacs to think that scores of highly reputable scientists from centers across the Soviet Union and the satellite countries all conspired to publish data for a decade and to bluff through interviews” to impress them when they happened to meet them. The authors further noted that “whether communist observations and theories about psychic happenings are right or not, can only be determined by further investigations East and West.”

Let us conclude with the following quote from the Prologue: “As Vladimir Mutshall wrote of current Soviet telepathy research in the American Foreign Science bulletin, Vol. 4, No. 8, ‘If the Russian reports are even partly true, and if mind-to-mind thought transference can be used for such things as interplanetary communications or the guiding of interplanetary spacecraft, the reports will obviously have overwhelming significance.'”

The main reason I have extensively quoted from this book is not to confirm any of the findings, but to encourage scientists to conduct further research into the essence of matter without completely disregarding phenomena like ether.

I am sorry, give me a minute.
…

You see, I easily lose my head. So, I need to use medications to balance my mood. Oh my God! That was supposed to be a secret, and it just slipped from my mouth to an admirer. Look, I suspect that once you learn my most-hidden aspects, my reputation with you will be ruined, and you won’t love me anymore. And it really distresses me to have failed your high expectations of an equation like me.

Nevertheless, it is such a heavy burden to suppress one side of mine while constantly showing the other. Yes, being an equation, I am well balanced and very clear about my views. I am one of those lucky theories that have a sound mathematical foundation, and this is why even the psychologists could not suspect a grain of problem due to my childhood. But I am telling you: I am bipolar….

Well, wait a minute! Who are you, and why would I share my secret with you? Go away with your own business, and leave me alone. I mean, I don’t want to disrespect you, but this is my private life, you know! …

No, no, wait, wait… Give me a second… Let me take my medication!

I know it sounds ridiculous if an equation complains of a disorder. How can you be an equation if you have a disorder, and how can you be in disorder if you are an equation? Well believe it or not, that’s exactly what I have been suffering from for such a long time. I am both orderly and disorderly; just like light is both wave and particle at the same time….

Hey, why are you looking at me like that? I told you to leave me alone. It was you who insisted on waiting and learning my secret. I don’t care if your designs are ruined or whatever. Actually, I’m the one who should be blamed. Why did I trust a person whom I met just a few minutes ago? I am like a fish that is eager to eat the worm on the hook. Such an idiot, I am…

Hello? Are you still there? I think I am losing my head again. Where are my pills?

Look, this is not easy for me to do, because in my routine life, people are obsessed with my equation aspect. And, they are passing this obsession from generation to generation. Every time I meet a young brain, my dream to finally meet an unconditioned mind fails. I am always too late to reach the fresh and eager minds. People always manage to find them before me, and instruct them to treat me as a well-established equation. No matter how much I want to show otherwise, they refuse to see my imperfect side, even if the experiments hit them in the face.

Why do they keep doing it? Much like a missionary, they are converting people into the belief of the Bernoulli Equation. I am telling you guys: I am bipolar, and I have imperfections, too!

What am I doing?! You are not going to believe me anyway. I am telling you my deepest secret, and making myself vulnerable as can be, but I still can’t wake you from a dream. You don’t want to wake up anyway; why would you? Do you have any other theory to believe in? Do you have another equation with which to orient yourself in an ocean of unknowns? Go on with your sleep, have nice dreams…

Unfortunately, I don’t have the same luxury as you. My continual tumbling between the two aspects of my reality never allows me to dream… Sometimes, I feel so energetic, so elated. I feel part of everything in the universe, and fall into an ecstasy by realizing that I contain everything in me. And the flow of time stops; we all become one and at peace with each other. No need to rush anywhere, no need to do anything… Just be…

But then my other side kicks in. I feel depressed under the burden of my duties and deadlines. I find myself in an ever faster pace of life, where there is no time to “just be”. There is always an action being commanded; there is always a motivation behind exchanges with others. The universe appears to be made of distinct individuals, like broken pieces of glass. Each is headed to a target of its own, unaware of any union. When life is filled with such a merciless momentum, what is more meaningful than getting rid of my life altogether?

Then, in that gloom, as my dizziness fades, my energetic side starts shining. By virtue of having been created in the same story, I focus on myself to read the universe. I realize that I carry the traits of anything and everything else around me. Once again, I start breathing the life that is gushing forth from me.

As I lose my conscience by getting high in life, I get stuck with the fact that losing my conscience defeats the purpose of being whole. You cannot hold onto the entities whose existence you fail to recognize. I start criticizing myself for disrespecting those around me. I blame myself for being such an addict and a loser; the shame of creation…

You see, there is no end to my ups and downs. As a remedy to these continuous head losses, I am using medications, but they have side effects. I am constantly growing fat, and losing my beauty. I hope one day, someone is going to be inspired with another equation that can take over my duties. Then I can retire from this bipolar life, and be mentioned in the scientific stories as a respectable grandparent…

The Bernoulli Equation given in its simplest form contains a pressure term (P) and a velocity term (1/2 (pV)^2), the sum of which is constant along a streamline:

P+1/2 pV^2=P_0

Thus, pressure and velocity work inversely with each other. As one increases, the other decreases.

The Bernoulli Equation can be derived in two independent ways. First, one can start with the conservation of energy (1st law of thermodynamics), and then follow some assumptions to end up with the Bernoulli Equation. Energy has a scale but no direction, and can be transformed from one form to another. Therefore, everything in the universe can essentially be converted into each other, just like the pressure and velocity terms in the Bernoulli Equation.

The second way to reach the Bernoulli Equation is based on the momentum equation (Newton’s second law). Again using few assumptions, one can achieve the nice and simple Bernoulli Equation. Unlike energy, momentum has both scale and direction. Any changes to this directionality require a forceful interaction between two objects.

Having its base on two fundamental laws of physics, hence reflecting both energy and momentum, makes the Bernoulli Equation one of the strongest and most beautiful equations of science, but not perfect!

The underlying theory of the Bernoulli Equation requires that the density (p) of the fluid be constant – in other words, incompressible. Therefore, the Bernoulli Equation fails to accurately explain the flow of gases at high speeds, which involves density changes. Similarly, the effects of viscosity are neglected in the foundations of the Bernoulli Equation. This means that the variation of pressure and velocity near a solid object cannot be explained by the Bernoulli Equation.

As a result of these imperfections, the Bernoulli Equation describes a fluid as a pile of metal sheets, and explains a flow as the sliding and bending of these metal sheets around each other. Clearly, this is not what a fluid is and not what happens in a real flow. Therefore, predictions of the Bernoulli Equation are inherently wrong, especially when there are sharp turns or obstructions in the way of the fluid.

In order to compensate for some of these deficiencies, a concept known as head loss (hloss) is introduced. Head loss is experimentally measured and then artificially added to the Bernoulli Equation, which then becomes:

P+1/2 pV^2+pgh_(loss,turns)+pgh_(loss,obstructions)+pgh_(loss,wall shear)=P_0

The final result is an equation that is useful but repulsively oversized, and it is certainly not well-established in theory.

“I am an aerodynamicist. I ask myself, by subscribing to aerodynamicism and providing mechanical explanations devoid of conscience, am I committing a murder against air? What if the air’s motion is the embodiment of conscious acts with feelings?”

Have you ever thought of the mechanics of a murder? Yes, the mechanics of a murder! Given an object with 50 grams of mass at point A, with a velocity of 400 m/s, the time it takes to reach point B, which is 4 meters away, is approximately 10 milliseconds. When this mass reaches point B, it contacts a surface that can sustain a maximum of 90 m/s2 acceleration. Because the momentum of the 50 gram object is high enough to overcome this limit, it penetrates this surface. As it cuts through the target object, its kinetic energy is converted to heat. Eventually, the 50 gram object comes to a stop, but the path it has opened now becomes filled with a red-colored, non-Newtonian fluid whose density is 1060 kg/m3 and whose viscosity is 3.5 x 10-3 Pa.s. When this fluid flow stops due to a process called agglutination, or commonly known as clotting, the whole system achieves a steady-state behavior, i.e. all motions come to a halt.

“All motions come to a halt”: that is death. This explanation could be the murder of your parent who was assassinated while working for the good of your country, or your family members who were martyred during a war. And this scientific picture made of dead words cannot portray the love and sorrow gushing out of your eyes. But I can tell you where your love and sorrow can be found.

Loving means being vulnerable, and you know why? Because when you love someone, their presence stimulates the release of dopamine in your brain. Dopamine is the hormone that lowers the threshold of feeling pleasure and pain, thus you feel pleased and hurt more easily. Your emotional devastation is nothing but an accumulation of dopamine in your brain. Just wait until it diffuses completely. As the common wisdom says: time heals everything.

Loving also means bonding, and you know why? Because when you love someone, their presence stimulates the release of oxytocin in your body. Oxytocin is the hormone that accompanies the feeling of serenity while with your loved one. It also functions in pair bonding and fidelity. The terror in your mind and the brokenness in your soul in the aftermath of your loss is only a hunger for oxytocin.

What did you say? My explanations would not console you? See a psychiatrist and take some pills to balance your hormone levels. Don’t worry. Everything is going to be all right.

That’s Enough!

I cannot take it anymore. I can’t go on with my life when one side of my being is tortured by the other. Did you, too, feel tormented by the explanations I just told you? These words are coming from the cold chamber of science, where all emotions are to be kept dead-frozen. Isn’t it a murder in itself?

I am an aerodynamicist. Calling myself an aerodynamicist recalls an ideology that hasn’t been named, that doesn’t exist in encyclopedias: aerodynamicism. Aerodynamicism has its own dogmas, rules, methods. It tells you that air is just another fluid whose behavior can be studied through mathematics and experiments. So, I ask myself, by subscribing to aerodynamicism and providing mechanical explanations devoid of conscience, am I committing a murder against air? What if the air’s motion is the embodiment of conscious acts with feelings?

Perhaps I should listen to the air itself, instead of what others say about it. Maybe I should at least give air a chance to show me that it is actually alive, that it has emotions. So I stand atop a hill overlooking a bay. I keep silent, and try to remove the scientific knowledge that is clogging my ears. And I start hearing something:

It is the wind. As the air approaches my body, it slows down, forms a stationary layer right around my torso. Around this layer, it paces gradually towards my back. Behind my arms, it forms small vortices that are shed along with the wind. What I am hearing is actually the sound of the friction between my ear and the air. And the whistling sound is the vortex-shedding triggered by the separation of the air’s flow from the body’s surface. Hey, hey, hey… I thought I was listening to the air! This is not air! This is my self, forging mechanical shapes and passing them off as if they belong to air. If air has feelings, it must be very disappointed by my hypocritical pose of listening. I just invited it into my lungs for an intimate conversation, but I aborted that conversation with my scientific thoughts.

I should apologize. With my eyes closed and arms wide open, I allow my whole being to be embraced by air. “I am sorry. I hope I did not hurt your feelings. Are you crying?”

“Crying only ends with the act of shedding tears, but it starts long before when someone hurts the love inherent in creation. I am crying. I want to shed my tears, each like a galaxy, to the expanse of the universe till the end of time. Isn’t there someone out there to hear me?”

“Why do you feel so alone?”

“I feel alone because I am different. Although I visit many people and many places every day, it is a very routine interaction going on between me and everything else: mundane tasks to be performed without intimacy. Like the two parties in a business. Once the mutual interests are delivered, the relationship is over. No loyalty, no love. I imagine myself like a chunk of meat going through a meat grinder. This is a meaningless, merciless flow where your identity or existence means nothing special. So, why would I talk to those people about my private world anyway? Instead, just a few words about the weather…”

“I wish I could do something for you!”

“The Creator didn’t give me eyes so that I would embrace everyone, good or bad; so that every individual in this world is cared for. So, I would like to become friends and feel the warmth of their presence. Often I ask myself when they are going to notice that I am offering my love by hugging them. At least, I wish they saw my tears upon my separation from them…”

At first, I didn’t consider air as a living being! But now, I was learning that air was hugging me! And it was crying, too? Could the mechanical explanations be blinding me towards the reality behind the observations? If that were the case, the flow separation and vortex shedding were actually manifestations of melancholy. How is it possible that I am so distant to someone that is so close to me? My turbulence inside exhibited itself as a silence outside. At least, so, I thought. But I couldn’t be further from reality.

“I am used to this kind of silence. Despite their nonchalance towards me, I still care a lot about people. And using the subtle clues in their words and voices, I can penetrate into their psyche.”

Someone who knows me better than I? And I can’t even see that someone! When and how have I become its focus of attention?

“With their first breaths and cries in life, I start observing them from within.”

From within?

“With every breath, I become part of their souls, and with every utterance, I become part of their connections. Sometimes, I feel their inner pains through the trembling in their voices; the pains that they are ardently hiding even from themselves. As I leave them in that state, I break into a thousand pieces. But, the Creator made me invisible. So, none of what I learn about them is revealed to the eyes of strangers. Thus, I make a reticent confidant.”

I was totally conquered by these words. I found myself whispering “Not just reticent! You are a reticent and affectionate companion that anyone would like to have.”

“People live by breathing, and I breathe by loving; loving even if there is no reciprocity. As life goes on, I think about new people to be relieved of their pain, even if they won’t take me as one among them…”

“I love you air, I love you…”

Heart Failure

The heart is basically a pump that provides the force needed to circulate blood and its contents to the body. It consists of four chambers: left ventricle, left atrium, right ventricle, and right atrium. The right ventricle and atrium collect the blood from the whole body and pump it to the lungs for removal of carbon dioxide and replenishment of oxygen. On the other hand, the left ventricle and atrium are responsible for collecting the blood from the lungs and pumping it to the body through the aorta (main artery). Non-stop blood circulation requires life-long and unfailing heart muscle power. Common symptoms of heart failure include waking up at the middle of night with shortness of breath and decreased ability to walk a few steps upstairs. Heart failure could arise due to any condition that decreases efficiency of the myocardium (heart muscle – Figure 1) through myocardial infarctions (death of muscles due to lack of oxygen, also known as heart attack) or overloading, such as hypertension, that requires increased contraction force. Loss of function in the ventricles (lower chamber of the heart) may require the use of ventricular assist devices (VAD).

Ventricular assist devices

A VAD is a mechanical pump that is implanted into the chest of patients to support the heart function through bridging the blood flow from the lower chamber to the aorta (Figure 2).^2,3 A VAD is usually useful during or after cardiac surgeries until recovery of the heart or while waiting for a heart transplant. VADs could also be used long term if the patient is not eligible for a heart transplant due to other complications. A VAD has several components, including a tube carrying blood out of the heart into a pump, a pump with another tube carrying blood to the aorta, and a power supply connecting to a control unit that monitors the VAD`s functionality.

There are different designs of VADs such as HeartMate, HeartWare, DuraHeart, and so on. Some VADs pump like the heart does, using a pumping action, and others use continuous blood flow. Intriguingly, VADs with continuous flow lead to a loss of normal pulse, but this has been found to decrease complications and increase survival. Two types of VADs include left ventricular assist device (LVAD) or right VAD (RVAD). LVADs are the most commonly used ones due to higher incidence of left ventricular function loss. If both LVAD and RVADs are used together, they are called a biventricular assist device (BVAC). VADs nowadays could be used not only for people with end stage heart failure, but also earlier stages of heart failure, including children. A VAD takes ninety percent of the pumping function of the heart. When using a VAD, your heart will still beat and have a rhythm. If none of these works for a patient, this requires the use of a mechanical or artificial heart, also known as total artificial heart (TAH).

Total artificial hearts

An artificial heart is a mechanical device that substitutes for the failing heart.^4,5,6 They are commonly used during heart transplantations to bridge the blood flow temporarily or to replace the heart permanently during a shortage of transplantable hearts. Early studies with artificial heart trials go back to the 1940s. Since then, various groups worldwide have invested in development of artificial heart prototypes and performed animal and human trials. Total artificial heart prototypes include, but are not limited to, SynCardia, ABIOMed (AbioCor), and Carpentier (CARMAT).6

SynCardia is developed from the Jarvik-7. It was first implanted in 1982. Dr. Robert Jarvik originally designed the Jarvik-7 (Figure 3). Barney Clark underwent the first artificial heart implantation at the University of Utah and survived for 112 days. This was followed by other implants. The longest survival with the Jarvik-7 is 620 days. However, the device is more commonly used on patients as a bridge during heart transplants. It has two pumps that resemble the two ventricles of the heart and is pneumatically (air) powered. The pump of SynCardia is covered with polyurethane. A pneumatic driver used in the US is a non-portable console, and requires patients to stay in the hospital. However, a portable version has been developed in Europe that could be carried a backpack while a patient waits for a donor heart.

The ABIOMed (AbioCor) is a completely self-contained, total artificial heart, which avoids the need for an external console or having wires or tubes piercing the skin to power the device. It uses a wireless energy transfer system, also known as a transcutaneous energy transmission system. This decreases the risk of developing infections due to implants.

CARMAT, on the other hand, is designed by Alain F. Carpentier.⁷ It is a fully implantable artificial heart with embedded biomaterials that make the device more biocompatible. In addition, the CARMAT includes valves made from cow heart tissue and has internal pressure sensors. This allows a person to adjust the flow rate in response to increased demand, such as during exercise. This feature distinguishes the CARMAT from other artificial hearts that provides a constant flow rate.

Biological artificial hearts

Synthetic replacement of organs is one of the long-sought dreams of modern medicine. To this end, there are efforts to develop biological artificial hearts in the laboratory. One recent study took the approach of producing a decellurized (empty from cells) scaffold of a mouse heart and recellurized it with human cardiac cells, and showed that lab-grown human heart tissue can beat on its own (about 40-50 beats per minute) in as short as a few weeks (Figure 4).⁸ They took the advantage of induced pluripotent cell (iPS cells) technology to produce multi-potential cardiovascular progenitor (MCP) cells, which could give rise to all three types of cardiac cells found in the heart. This area of research is still in its infancy but in the future, at least, it may provide tools to generate patches of heart tissue to replace damaged parts of the hearts. Given the success of a mouse heart cellurized with human cardiac cells, it’s possible that scientists will also try to decellurize the heart of a monkey or another animal and then cellurize it with human cardiac cells to produce a beating human heart in the laboratory as an alternative source to a full heart transplant.

Another approach to a biological artificial heart is to genetically modify animals in a way that their hearts will be compatible with a human body. Genetic engineering is a rapidly evolving field that one day could provide such tools for scientist to grow necessary organs in monkeys, dogs, or maybe even horses. Genetic modification may overcome tissue rejection issues when they are transplanted into a human body. For instance, one study tested the possibility of a heart transplant from genetically modified pigs into monkeys and showed the applicability of heart transplants between different species.^9,10

Until the development of biological artificial hearts, ventricular assist devices and mechanical artificial hearts seem to the best options. However, artificial heart implants have had various complications, including infections, pneumonia, high fevers, and multiple organ failures with variable survival rates based on the type of device and materials used. Another issue is the necessity of artificial heart to meet requirements of the body in terms of heart flow rate. For instance, the required flow rate of someone walking or exercising is different than someone at rest. In addition, the possibility of mechanical or computerized systems to fail may be a source of distress in patients implanted with artificial hearts or assist devices. This reminds us of that as long as we take care of our heart’s health, we won’t have worry whether its battery could fail – and what a mercy that is.

It is stunning that even with so much need and effort we are still not able to develop something that completely replaces all the functions of a heart. This clearly points that the heart is a marvelous gift granted to us. We are counting on every beat of the heart for our survival, and we should give thanks, with every beat, for what an incredible gift we’ve been given.

References

1. Bui, A. L., Horwich, T. B. & Fonarow, G. C. Epidemiology and risk profile of heart failure. Nat Rev Cardiol 8, 30-41 (2010).

2. What Is a Ventricular Assist Device? NHLBI, NIH. Retrieved from www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/vad/ on 1/2/14.

3. Ventricular assist devices (VADs) Definition – Tests and Procedures – Mayo Clinic. Retrieved from www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/ventricular-assist-devices/basics/definition/PRC-20020578 on 1/2/14.

4. Artificial Hearts. Retrived from www.umasswiki.com/wiki/Artificial_Hearts on 1/2/14.

5. Artificial heart. Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_heart on 1/2/14.

6. Heart Assist Devices. Texas Heart Institute. Retrieved from http://texasheart.org/Research/Devices/index.cfm on 1/12/14

7. Carmat artificial heart patient in good condition: hospital. Retrieved from www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/30/us-carmat-patient-idUSBRE9BS07O20131230 on 1/2/14.

8. Lu, Tung-Ying, Bo Lin, Jong Kim, Mara Sullivan, Kimimasa Tobita, Guy Salama, and Lei Yang. “Repopulation of decellularized mouse heart with human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiovascular progenitor cells.” Nature communications 4 (2013).

9. Heart of genetically modified pig ‘successfully transplanted into monkey’, South Korea scientists claim. Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2164964/South-Korea-scientists-successfully-transplant-heart-genetically-modified-pig-monkey.html on 12/1/14

10. Pig to human transplants. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/jan/03/qanda.simonjeffery on 12/1/14

How beautiful it is to stop somewhere every day!

How nice it is to flow without freezing and getting muddy!

What word that belongs to yesterday,

Is gone, my loved one, with yesterday,

Now is the time to say new things.

We vessels can be divided into three main groups in terms of structure and function. The ones with thicker walls, which bring every organ the blood they need from the heart, are the arteries. The pressure inside us is higher and we easily carry blood to the organs. The ones with thinner walls, lower pressure, and larger inner space are called veins. As a matter of fact, both arteries and veins have a three-layered structure that is very suitable for holding a fluid like blood. Since our walls are strengthened with both connective tissue and smooth muscle layers, we bear the pressure coming from the heart and help blood proceed by contracting and relaxing. Since arteries are directly subjected to the strong pressure from the heart, our walls were created in a thicker and stronger form. Since the veins return blood to the heart and thus have lower pressure, we have valves that close after blood passes, so it does not flow backward due to gravity. This is a serious challenge for the blood passing through your legs. Varicose veins might develop due to weight gain from pregnancy or obesity, which increases pressure on the legs, or to hours of standing, walking, or running on hard surfaces.

Capillaries are the most delicate blood vessels, with walls made of a single layer of epithelium, which enables us to exchange substances between blood and tissues. As blood vessels, our total length is about 120,000 kilometers. Try to imagine if a fisherman’s net were made from a rope of this length and how wide it would be! And yet, such a vast network of blood vessels is located in your body, and capillaries take blood to every part, without neglecting an area as tiny as the head of a pin.

The well-being of your organs is directly related to us. If our interiors begin to narrow, because of fatty cholesterol plaque for instance, then we begin to lose our flexibility. This means malnutrition for that organ, since a lesser amount of blood than expected can come. If a blood clot sticks to our wall and blocks the blood flow, the relevant organ may be in terrible trouble. If other arteries supply blood to that organ, then it can handle this, but if a main artery is blocked and if secondary channels do not exist or are insufficient, you experience infarction. Taking this into consideration, you need to be careful what you eat and lead a physically active life. When you get old, if sufficient blood does not pass through us in your brain, failures with brain activities appear and you go senile. As the walls of veins and arteries have a rich network of nerves, we let the suitable amount of blood flow according to the need of the organ we’re serving, under the control of the autonomous nervous system. While blood vessels that are connected to an organ not currently requiring much blood contract to reduce the amount supplied, those that are connected to currently more active organs expand. And dear Peter, the greatest blessing here is that none of these activities require any conscious effort from you; everything works smoothly without your even being aware.

This wonderful network of ours finds its value in the vital fluid we carry. If it weren’t for blood, we would have no value at all, and such a perfect means of distribution would be unnecessary. Even the duty of the heart is to make this fluid circulate throughout the body. Now, let us step aside and allow blood to have the floor.

The Fountain of Living Waters frames Christian Scriptures from beginning to end. In Genesis, the first book of the Torah, in the very first verse, we read: “In the beginning, when God began to create, the Earth was without form and void, and the Spirit of God moved over the face of the deep.” The deep in Hebrew is tehom. Such depth is not only the literal vastness of the primordial ocean; tehom also points us to the truth that creation comes from chaos. Life begins in the waters of the womb; cosmos originates in chaos.

Then, in the very last verses of Christian Scriptures, the Book of Revelation, another water image appears. The author borrows from the Prophet Ezekiel to envision the new Jerusalem, the city of peace. This city comes down from heaven, and in its center is a river of life. This river contains crystal clear water, washing away all violence, so that “nothing any more shall be accursed.” Living Waters flow through Christian Scriptures from alpha to omega.

The Holy Bible practically drips; 692 verses refer to waters. Prophet Moses leads the people of Israel to freedom through the waters of the Red (or Reed) Sea. Prophet Jonah doesn’t think it’s such a good idea to preach repentance to the people of Nineveh, Israel’s enemy, and embarks on a boat going the opposite direction. But God swallows him up in the belly of a whale, and he returns to the waters of creation, the chaos of tehom. And what does he do there? He prays. His prayer brings him safely to Nineveh, where out of the waters he brings the enemy to repentance. Living Water, the Fountain, turns enemies to allies. This truth is beautifully conveyed in perhaps the most famous Psalm, Psalm 23:

The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, for Thou art with me. Thou preparest a table before me in the company of my enemies. My cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.

The Fountain overflows with abundance, to invite even enemies to the table of justice and mercy.

But the Fountain of our Source also dissolves our petty, ego-driven associations. Prophet Amos puts this best. The people of Israel in his day were unjust. They treated the poor with callous disregard, they didn’t educate their youth, they were violent. But they were also pious, praying five times a day (or the ancient equivalent, anyway!)

And hear what God says, through Amos: “I hate, I despise your festivals. The noise of your solemn assemblies hurts my ears … But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”

The Fountain of love is not just a gentle flowing stream. It’s also a tsunami of the power of love that sweeps away all our pretenses. The Fountain throws us unto the mercy of an infinite flood of justice.

Of course, for Christians like me, this merciful and just Fountain also points to, indeed is incarnate within Jesus. Jesus is Living Waters. The story that most clearly conveys this metaphor is in the Gospel of John, where Jesus meets a Samaritan woman by a well and asks her for a drink. She asks him what he’s doing there, for being at a well was woman’s work, and Jesus’ disciples are scandalized, because rabbis didn’t talk to women, much less Samaritans (who were racially “other”). And to make matters worse, this woman has been married five times, and she is now living with a man who is not her husband.

But Jesus tells her: “The water that you give me will only temporarily quench my thirst. But the water I give to you is living waters, and it will well up in you to eternal life.”

And this woman cries out: “Give me this water!” And Jesus says: “I am he.”

Jesus is innocent and perfect compassion. He is a drink of water on a hot day. He is mercy for outcasts, for the poor, for sinners like this Samaritan woman. And what he brings is the possibility that we, too, might live compassionate lives. So the woman goes and tells her neighbors: “I’ve met the Messiah!” She has been washed in the Fountain.

Once we lose our attachment to petty associations, we can live for others, out of true grace. “Whoever seeks to save one’s life,” Jesus teaches, “will lose it. But whoever gives up one’s life for my sake and for the sake of the good news (the gospel), will find true life.”

True life is a life lived for others. This doesn’t entail masochism, but instead offers fulfillment. Psychologists teach that when we are fully engaged in a task we lose the usual blinders of self-consciousness and enter into what they call “flow.” We’re “in the zone,” whether at work, at play, or in love. The point is this: when we love, we truly live.

This is why Lutheran Christians like myself celebrate the baptism of infants. Sometimes, baptism is misunderstood as a one-time event: you get dunked and you’re done. In fact, baptism is more like a first contact with the Fountain. Metaphorically, it can be experienced daily, even many times a day.

Whenever we wash, we can be reminded of our Source. Whenever it rains, we can remember the Fountain. Whenever we take a drink, we can give thanks to God for the mercy of compassion.

All in all, then, baptism is not unlike wudu—the washing of regeneration—that prepares us to pray. As the Apostle Paul urged us, “Pray constantly.” This doesn’t mean doing salat perpetually, it means being aware of our Source. Praying constantly means giving up petty attachments or associations, such as greed, anger, and violence. And praying constantly means giving ourselves away in acts of compassion. When we find the flow of love, we live.

Reading The Fountain as a Christian connects me not only to a magazine, but also to a profound metaphor. The Fountain reminds us of our Source, dissolves petty egoist attachments as we learn about our world, and invites us to join the flow of compassionate living. And isn’t that worth at least the price of a subscription?

Conventional water and wind turbines cannot function properly in a whirling current; the working of turbines depends on the existence of a steady and regular flow. In order to be able to obtain energy from vortices, turbines would need to mimic the movements of fish, adjusting their position to the differing angles of flow. A mechanical device to be developed in this respect should perceive the angle of the current flow instantly and adjust itself accordingly.

Normally, wind turbines are set up in high and open places. However, in cities the eddies that are formed by winds moving around buildings and roofs prevent conventional turbines from working efficiently. In order to overcome this challenge, scientists are aiming to develop turbines that benefit from the dynamic principles apparent in the movement of fish, though without imitating the fish exactly. They hope that in this way it will be possible to produce energy from turbulent currents as well. The projects being devised aim to develop different types of turbines to work in air and water. The energy production of these turbines will naturally be relatively low in comparison to common wind turbines operating in strong winds. However, these new types will make it possible to produce energy from winds moving at less than 32 feet per hour, when conventional turbines do not function. So, the total annual energy they are expected to produce will be no less than the regular wind turbines. If scientists can successfully model the admirable engineering applied in the bodies of fish, they will be able to boost the efficiency of these devices dramatically.

Notes

1. For further information see Liao J. C. et al., “Fish exploiting vortices decrease muscle activity,” Science 302, 1566–1569, 2003.
2. Dabiri, J. O., “Renewable fluid dynamic energy derived from aquatic animal location,” Bioinspiration and Biomimetics 2, L1-L3, 2007.