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Intentionality is defined as a relationship between mental states of a human being and the external environment. This phenomenon determines and directs these mental states at certain objects, events, etc. It is an important element of mental experience, because intentionality directed it towards external world and gives our desires, sensations, feelings, believes certain content, certain orientation. This happens very often, because as a rule our perception, our thinking and experiencing are intentional, as we always perceive, experience something as something existed in the external world or given to us.

The notion of “intentionality” has Scholastic origin, but nowadays it was reintroduced by Franz Bernando. The philosopher determined the notion as an important feature of “physical phenomena” and pointed out that the core of it was “intentional inexistence of an object” (Chisholm, 1967).

Bernando states that almost every mental state or action has certain content, certain direction. He says that person’s desires, thoughts, feelings, sensations are directed at certain objects, events of the environment. He also declares that all these external objects and events at which the mind is directed have one common characteristic called “intentional inexistence”. Bernando means that there is no mental state that could experience intentionality without having some intentional objects.

In a word, a person could not love, hate, believe, perceive, etc without having an object to be loved, hated, believed or perceived. This is an essence of Bernando’s notion “intentional inexistence”. Brentano claims that not every “physical phenomena” has its intentionality. Because he is sure that only mental states or acts can have it.

Chisholm in his book “Brentano on Descriptive Psychology and the Intentional” (1967) agrees with these arguments of Brentano, explaining them in the terms of psychology. He says that when a person is eager to describe non-psychological phenomena, he does not need to use intentional words. But when a person wants to describe his emotions, feelings, desires, experience, etc, he has to include in this description intentional objects, to use intentional language.

In the present work there were covered different points of view on the issue of intentionality – Brentano’s, Dennett’s and Dretske’s. But they all agree that intentionality as a relationship between mental states and the external environment is an essential and important feature of consciousness.

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I was with my daddy when he died. Excuse me, I was with my daddy when his spirit left his body. I drove him to the emergency room because he was having chest pains. He said that they weren’t too bad, and his color was good. He was still walking.

In fact, Daddy walked into the cubicle in the ER and hopped up on the gurney. Almost as quickly, he hopped off saying, “Whew, doggie! Feels like somebody’s got a knife in my back, right between my shoulder blades.” Daddy said it with a great big grin on his face. That’s just the way my Daddy was.

A few minutes later his aorta ruptured spilling his lifeblood into his chest cavity. His lips quivered briefly as he said, “I’ll see you in a little while.”

The moment his spirit was free from his body, an ethereal serenity bathed the room and flowed out into the bustling hallway. The emergency department took on a surreal silence, as all motion and sound seemed to slow…then to stop. I was embraced by a joyous warmth so real that it was overwhelmingly palpable. We were no longer separate. Daddy’s spirit enfolded and permeated my being.

Is there any way to retain your loved one’s presence while navigating the valley of grief? Yes, there are some things you can do right away.

First, suspend your doubting mind. Whether you look at life after death spiritually, or logically as the natural culmination of evolution, or through the evidence of quantum physics, you come up with the same answers. Probabilities indicate that life continues after the death of the physical body.

Second, understand that your loved one is still here with you. Don’t say, “Yeah, right!” Suspend your doubts. Go somewhere quiet; somewhere you can be alone, even if it’s a closet. Close your eyes. Get still inside, and just stand there, or sit there and breathe. Give yourself a few minutes to calm yourself. And then imagine how you would feel with your loved one standing right beside youso close that you can hear him breathe and feel his body heat. Pretend, if you will.

Your loved one has not “passed away” anywhere. In reality he’s closer to you than your heartbeat. There’s a thin veil between heaven and earth. Your loved one has simply passed through that veil. S/he can still hear you, see you, and touch you, but your physical body is a barrier to your being able to perceive your loved one.

Third, when you’re quiet inside, ask him something simple like “Are you here with me?”

Ahh HAH! Where did that “Yes” come from? Inside your head? Well sort of, but there’s more to it than that. Psychologists say that we all have an inner child and an internalized parent within us. In a similar way you have internalized your loved one. So what you hear are partly the characteristics of your loved one that you have internalized and partly the still living, growing, eternal character of your loved one surrounding you in the spirit world.

The body is a mechanical device powered by chemistry. The living, thinking, loving, remembering, planning, and dreaming part of you is LIFE, and it is eternal. Life cannot be destroyed. At the death of the mechanical, chemical body the eternal living consciousness of you is immediately aware of a sublime freedom. You are capable of seeing your spirit body for the first time. And it is exquisite.

Jesus called the afterlife “heaven.” He said that it’s “at hand” (Matthew 4:17). He also said that it’s “within” (Luke 17:21). He called it “paradise.” Jesus told the dying thief on the cross that he would be with Him in paradise today (Luke 23:43). That clearly indicates that there is no waiting period between life and the afterlife. Your loved one is in heaven, or paradise, right now. And that paradise is “at hand” and “within you.”

The New Testament says that we have a natural body and a spiritual body (1 Corinthians 15:44). It says that the things we can see are temporary, but the things we cannot see are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18). Jesus referred to the spiritual body when He said that people who live in Him and believe in Him would never die but have everlasting life.

As for the logical culmination of evolution, logic requires that there be an afterlife. Nature naturally selects the characteristics of living creatures. Qualities that insure survival are chosen over other qualities. If life ends at the grave, why have humans evolved so many qualities that they have little or no use for on earth? Altruism, charity, honor, patience, fidelity, etc. have little value in a society where materialism, war, and self-interest prevail.

Humility and service do not generate financial gain or the acquisition of power. They are a handicap, if anything. Yet, they persist as character traits in the majority of people. Man is driven more by abstractions like love, loyalty, accomplishment, curiosity and discovery than by simple biological directives. Why?

An unborn child develops arms, legs, eyes, and lungs because it will need them to function in the world into which it will be born. Man develops compassion, devotion, generosity, hope, understanding, and trustworthiness (to name but a few) because he will need them to function in the world into which he will be born when he leaves the physical body.

And in the same way that an unborn child is not separate from the world of his family, we are not separate from the loved ones that have passed through the veil.

And what if the quantum physicists are right? What if we really do live in a world with multiple dimensions…a holographic world? The mystics and the prophets have insisted that this world is an illusion for millennia. A holographic universe would mean that our bodies, our houses, our cities, and even the stars above us are a mirage. Those dimensions are all around us as the physicists are discovering, and those dimensions really do influence our world. What if other dimensions are the “mansions” that Jesus referred to?

Your loved one is still here with you. He’s part of a dimension that you cannot perceiveyet. You are a spiritual creature having a human experience. You have spiritual senses that you can use to communicate with and become aware of your loved ones in heaven. It’s done through focused prayer and meditation. In Matthew 5:4 Jesus said, “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.” That’s His promise. Believe it. Experience it.

©Copyright 2004 Robbin Renee Bridges

About the Author:

RobinRenee Bridges has been a chaplain and officer in The Sanctuary for more than thirty years. She is the author of “A Bridge of Love between Heaven and Earth: Self-Induced Contact in the Afterlife.” For more articles about death, dying, and the afterlife visit her web site at: http://www.spirit-sanctuary.org

Depression is a very common problem which can affect your quality of life, from just slowing you down to seriously incapacitating you. It’s also a serious issue for the health service in both the USA and the UK and is predicted to become the second biggest burden on both countries health services in less than two decades. Many people suffer in silence, not wanting to go to their doctor with a condition which some still find embarrassing and difficult to discuss. Others find that the side-effects of the antidepressants they are prescribed prove almost as debilitating as depression itself, or simply that the drugs do not have the right effect. This can leave sufferers feeling even more isolated and unhappy. However, research suggests that there may be a natural remedy for what is often referred to as ‘the common cold of mental illness’.

After extensive research scientists have come to believe that high quality fish oils, rich in Omega 3 essential fatty acids, are the natural solution to depression, even in severe cases in which the patient has not responded to other treatment. The key to alleviating depressive symptoms is EPA or elcosapentaenoic acid, an essential fatty acid of the Omega 3 group which can be found in some specialist fish oils. It has been shown by brain scans to regenerate the brain, and it is also possible that it stimulates stem cells into producing new nerve cells.

EPA has a positive effect on the brain regardless of whether you are depressed or otherwise of low mood. It has been shown to improve mental performance as well as a host of other health benefits including decreasing the risk of heart attacks, deep vein thrombosis or DVT, and stroke. An international group of medical scientists have assembled an impressive body of research over the last couple of years which gives weight to these astonishing beneficial claims. Consultant psychiatrist Dr Basant Puri, who is also a senior lecturer at London’s Imperial College MRI unit, is an enthusiastic supporter of the EPA cause and prescribes it in a high-quality form to his depressed patients at his Hammersmith Hospital Clinic. He says they are responding well; “Studies show that this nutrient, found in high quality fish oil, can clear the symptoms of depression within three or four weeks, and then the patient can ward off any further attacks just by taking a daily supplement.”

Dr Puri first became intrigued by the function of EPA when studying nutrition, and when he became a psychiatrist and brain imager he could see for himself the benefits of supplementing diet with EPA. It became clear that a lack of EPA in diet may in fact be a major cause of depression. Dr Puri’s work and insights led him to consider the accepted view on the biochemistry of the brain and to think differently. He realised that human beings ate more fish during the period in history when our brains were still developing, and saw that “The trouble today is that many things we eat, along with stress and nicotine, inhibit the body’s own ability to produce [essential fatty acids].”

One 21-year-old man Dr Puri first treated EPA with had suffered from depression for seven years or more, but after taking the supplement for nine months he had a new lease of life. He set up his own business and was planning to travel to the US to study – a significant change had occurred. And not only in his mood, but in his brain itself. A comparison of a brain scan taken before the EPA treatment with one taken after indicated, to Dr Puri’s amazement, that the brain had partially regrown. Depressive patients show low levels of electrical activity in the brain and an actual reduction in the cerebral cortex – this patient showed nerve cell regrowth and a thickening of the greater part of the brain, commonly referred to as the ‘grey matter’. Dr Puri took this as indicative that EPA, with its apparent power to stimulate the brain to make it repair itself, could bring hope to people suffering from a wide variety of conditions.

Omega 3 is found chiefly in oily fish – tuna, fresh salmon, pilchards, sardines and mackerel – but these alone do not provide EPA in sufficient qualities to have this amazing effect on the brain. Supplements, which can be taken alongside antidepressants in complete safety, are necessary to treat depression. It’s not a good idea to stop antidepressants immediately, without a gradual reduction as advised by your GP, as you can suffer severe side effects. You should always consult your GP before embarking on any treatment, however, and should be especially careful with fish oil supplements if you are taking any blood-thinning medication as EPA also thins the blood.

It’s good to find an EPA supplement which contains a lesser quantity of DHA, another Omega 3 fatty acid, as too much of this can lessen the effectiveness of EPA. Patients suffering from mild to moderate depression should take two capsules twice a day with food, while patients with severe depression should take a higher dose after consultation with a specialist. As with antidepressants it’s advised that you continue to take the supplements after the symptoms have gone – in the case of EPA, Dr Puri recommends two capsules a day as a maintenance dose. There are positive side effects of EPA too – patients will find their skin looking fresher and the condition of their hair and nails improving, which can help to give that boost of self-esteem depression sufferers benefit so much from.

Copyright 2006 David McEvoy

Dave Mcevoy runs a high quality supplement site
http://www.mind1st.co.uk/EPA_Pure_EPA.asp http://www.mind1st.com

Oxytocin is a nine amino acid peptide produced in the brain and released by the pituitary gland. It is produced in the body naturally, by both males and females, and plays a role in reproduction and may even contribute to those feelings we call “love.”

Recent research has linked oxytocin with the ability to trust others. Evidence suggests that it may even play a major role in a person’s ability to take care of others and for avoiding conflict.

It’s been demonstrated in animals that oxytocin acting within the brain plays a major role in establishing maternal behavior, as scientists put oxytocin into the ventricles of the brains of virgin rats and non-pregnant sheep, and it rapidly induced maternal behavior.

A team of Japanese and American researchers did a recent study where they genetically engineered mice to not process oxytocin. The result was that the males became more aggressive and the females often forgot to take care of their babies. Additionally, the males were quicker to attack aggressors and they would fight for a longer period of time than the mice with normal oxytocin production.

Acute stress can inhibit oxytocin release in humans, and that may explain sudden anger if someone is experiencing a lot of stress.

One characteristic of autism is a lack of a sense of empathy towards other people. They can sometimes be aggressive or have trouble relating to others.

While it would be quite a stretch for these results to go from mice to humans, scientists believe that this research may help to develop a treatment for people with autism. It could prove that internal problems with oxytocin may help offer an explanation about the nature of autism. If a direct relationship is found, it may provide us a way to help those with autism. Copyright 2005.

Jessica Deets has been researching the internet for over 4 years and finds valuable information to help people. The website at http://www.bestautismnews.com has information, news and a current blog regarding autism breakthroughs.

Attention Deficit Disorder is a very complex, and often times
misunderstood, disorder. Its basis is physiological, but it can have a
host of ramifications that come along with it. That aside, what are the
differences between ADD and ADHD? ADHD stands for Attention Deficit
Hyperactive Disorder, with the main symptoms being visible
hyperactivity and/or impulsivity. These are the symptoms that
stand out to the objective observer. ADD stands for Attention
Deficit Disorder with the main symptoms being inattention. Now
many other things can come along with both of these subtypes of ADHD,
but those are the distinguishing features of both.

For many years, the typical picture of Attention Deficit Disorder has
been the little boy that is bouncing off the walls and driving his
teachers and parents crazy. ADHD is by far the most diagnosed of
the two subtypes because it is so much more visible than ADD. Since
hyperactivity creates a lot more distraction and problems for
classrooms, it gets the most attention and will be picked up on a lot
faster. Unfortunately, even though ADD is less invisible, the results
of the disorder can just as destructive.

With inattentive attention deficit disorder, or ADD, the person
suffering from it will seem spacey and disorganized. Most often,
sufferers with this type will be staring out the window during classes
and will appear as if they are never quite present. It is much
more difficult to diagnose and many people with this form of ADD go
years without even knowing they have it. But the results of the
wandering mind can be just as destructive.

For many years, it was thought that only boys had ADHD. This myth
has been shattered recently, though. It is now known that both
boys and girls can have attention deficit disorder, and many do not
grow out of it in adulthood. One difference that has been noted is that
girls tend to have the inattentive version of ADD, and many times it is
misdiagnosed as depression. Because inattentive ADD does not
cause obvious problems and distractions to the surrounding environment,
many suffer in silence for years before they find out the real cause of
their troubles.

With both ADHD and ADD, diagnosis early is very important.
Although problems with academics is the most obvious symptom, some
sufferers do not have significant issues with getting school work
done. Keep track of your children, not just academically, but
socially and emotionally as well. Do they have trouble with other
children? Does it seem as if they have trouble organizing or are
excessively messy? Do they have trouble sitting still for a period of
time? Are they excessively quiet or excessively talkative? Now any of
these symptoms do not specifically signify ADD or ADHD, but they do
point to asking for outside help from a counselor or therapist. Your
child’s psychological health is just as important as their physical
health and how they do in school. Check it out if you feel like
something is off. If left for years undiagnosed, ADD can cause
lots of other secondary problems that can take a long time to undo and
can be prevented.

Keith Londrie II is a well known author. For more information on ADHD, please visit ADHD for a wealth of information. You may also want to visit keith’s own web site at http://keithlondrie.com/