Yoga, meditation-induced altered states of consciousness common in general population

 Yoga, mindfulness, meditation, breathwork, and other practices are gaining in popularity due to their potential to improve health and well-being. The effects of these practices are mostly positive and occasionally transformational, yet they are known to sometimes be associated with challenging altered states of consciousness.

New research by a team including investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital reveals that altered states of consciousness associated with meditation practice are far more common than expected.

Although many people reported positive outcomes, that were sometimes even considered transformational, from these experiences, for a substantial minority the experiences were negative. The results are published in the journal Mindfulness.

"With more people engaging in mindfulness, meditation, and other contemplative and mind-body practices, we thought that altered states and their effects might be common among the general population. We conducted a series of international surveys to investigate and indeed found that such experiences were widespread," said senior author Matthew D. Sacchet, Ph.D., the director of the Meditation Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital and an associate professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

"Altered states were most often followed by positive, and sometimes even transformational effects on well-being," Sacchet adds. "With that said, negative effects on well-being were also reported in some cases, with a small subset of individuals reporting substantial suffering."

For the study, a panel of experts in psychiatry, neuroscience, meditation, and survey design developed a questionnaire on the experience of altered states of consciousness.

Among 3,135 adults in the US and the UK who completed the online questionnaire, 45% reported experiencing non-pharmacologically induced altered states of consciousness at least once in their lives.

This is far more than expected from the 5% (US) to 15% (UK) of these population estimated to have undertaken mindfulness practice.

The experiences included derealization (the feeling of being detached from your environment), unitive experiences (a sense of unity or "oneness"), ecstatic thrills, vivid perceptions, changes in perceived size, bodily heat or electricity, out-of-body experiences, and perception of non-physical lights.

Respondents reported a mix of positive and negative well-being following altered states, with 13% claiming moderate or greater suffering and 1.1% claiming life-threatening suffering. Of those who experienced suffering, 63% did not seek help.

"Rather than being extremely unusual and rare, our study found that altered states of consciousness are a common variant of normal human experience," said Sacchet. "However, we've found that those who experience negative outcomes related to these altered states often do not seek help, and that clinicians are poorly prepared to recognize or support these kinds of experiences. This has contributed to what might be considered a public health issue as a certain proportion of people have difficulty integrating their experiences of altered states into their existing conceptions of self and reality."

Sacchet noted that additional studies are needed to identify individual characteristics associated with experiencing altered states of consciousness, and with potential suffering associated with these states. He also stressed the importance of applying this research to patient care.

"We should not dismiss meditation and other practices as inherently dangerous but rather we need to better understand and support meditators to fully realize the potential of these practices," he said. "Similar to psychotherapy, pharmacology, and other therapeutic tools it's important that we learn to best implement and support people when engaging with these powerful practices."

He added that "ancient meditation manuals from the wisdom traditions may be useful for classifying and understanding altered states of consciousness. They may provide guidance into how to better manage altered states when they may be difficult. We clearly need more research to further study and understand this possibility."

"Clinical curriculum on altered states of consciousness should be developed to better support clinicians caring for patients experiencing suffering linked to these kinds of experiences," Sacchet added.

"Also, those who teach meditation practices should ensure that participants are aware of potential risk," he said. "Together, these kinds of safeguards will help to ensure that these very promising and powerful practices are taught and experienced safely."

More information: Malcolm J. Wright et al, Altered States of Consciousness are Prevalent and Insufficiently Supported Clinically: A Population Survey, Mindfulness (2024). DOI: 10.1007/s12671-024-02356-z

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-05-yoga-meditation-states-consciousness-common.html

'Amal Clooney helped convince ICC to issue arrest warrant for Netanyahu, Hamas leaders'

 Amal Clooney played an instrumental role in making the case for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to prosecute Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leaders for suspected war crimes in Israel and Gaza.

Clooney announced on the Clooney Foundation for Justice website Monday that she was asked by the ICC to join a panel of international legal experts to evaluate evidence of suspected war crimes.

After an extensive legal review, the panel determined unanimously that the ICC has jurisdiction over crimes committed in the course of Israel’s war against Hamas, recommending both Hamas and Israeli leaders be held accountable.

“We unanimously conclude that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, including hostage-taking, murder and crimes of sexual violence,” Clooney wrote of the panel’s determination.

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Amal Clooney of the Clooney Foundation allegedly helped convince ICC prosecutors to issue arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and top Hamas leaders.AFP via Getty Images

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The mother and relatives of a Palestinian girl, who was killed in an Israeli strike, carry her body at Al-Aqsa hospital in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, May 19, 2024.REUTERS
Israeli leadership did not escape the recommendations of the panel, which singled out both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and hardline Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for crimes against humanity including “starvation as a method of warfare, murder, persecution and extermination.”

Clooney, 46, an accomplished Lebanese British human rights lawyer, co-founded the Clooney Foundation for Justice with her husband, Academy Award winner George Clooney.

Joining Clooney on the panel were a range of international legal experts and academic advisers in international law, including international humanitarian law and international criminal law. Two members were former judges at criminal tribunals at The Hague.

Clooney was a vocal proponent of prosecuting war crimes committed in Ukraine, even addressing a UN panel in April 2022 when she called the war-torn country “a slaughterhouse.”

However, she has up until now weathered scattered criticism online for a perceived reticence about speaking out on the Israel-Hamas war.

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Yehia Sinwar, head of Hamas in GazaAP
“As a human rights lawyer, I will never accept that one child’s life has less value than another’s. I do not accept that any conflict should be beyond the reach of the law, nor that any perpetrator should be above the law,” she wrote.

“So I support the historic step that the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has taken to bring justice to victims of atrocities in Israel and Palestine.”

https://nypost.com/2024/05/20/world-news/amal-clooney-helped-convince-icc-prosecutors-to-issue-arrest-warrant-for-benjamin-netanyahu-hamas-leaders/

Jamie Dimon Is "Cautiously Pessimistic" As QT Uncertainty Supercharged By World War Threats

 On Monday morning, investors flocked to JPMorgan's Manhattan campus to hear CEO Jamie Dimon rant about several critical topics. From regulation crushing the US economy to geopolitics, inflation, potential market swoons, and monetary policy, Dimon covered the most critical ones. 

Let's begin with the topic of stock buybacks. Dimon said, "We're not going to buy back a lot of stock at these prices." He was responding to a question about whether stress tests will allow the bank to unleash a new buyback program in the second half of the year. 

"We simply aren't going to tell you anything anymore about stock buybacks," Dimon said, adding that he wants to outsmart the hedge funds. 

In markets, JPM shares sank more than 1% after Dimon's comments. As of 1245 ET, shares were down 2.2%. 

Dimon then commented on credit markets, saying, "Investment-grade credit spread will be dead wrong too," adding, "It's just a matter of time." 

His comments about the credit markets followed a Bloomberg interview last week in which he warned that higher interest rates and possibly stagflation could spark problems in the commercial real estate sector, leveraged firms, and private credit. 

"If you have higher rates and — God forbid — stagflation, you will see stress in real estate and leveraged companies, and private credit," Dimon said last Thursday. 

Dimon confirmed again, "We're not going to buy back stock now." He noted buybacks will come into play when the stock goes back down. 

On regulation, Dimon said, "They make it seem like we're a hedge fund." He said regulation is "damaging America at this point."

He continued on the regulation rant, indicating how overregulation has already forced some customers to exit the banking system. 

Dimon then commented on artificial intelligence, suggesting it will impact almost every job at JPM. 

Back to markets, he expects another market panic someday. Potentially, that's why he's saving the dry powder of buybacks for that day. 

On monetary policy, the bank exec said:

"I'm cautiously pessimistic. We have the most complicated geopolitical situation that most of us have seen since World War II, if you study history. We don't really know the full effect of QT. I find it mysterious that, somehow, it had this beneficial effect, but it's not going to have a negative effect when it goes away. I personally think inflation is a little bigger than people think and that rates may surprise people."

On inflation, he said:

"It's possible that inflation is embedded in the system at 4% for next year & there's not a damn thing anyone can do about it. That is possible. And I'm not saying it's going to happen. We don't make bets in the future, though I don't believe in central base cases at all. But that is a risk." 

This is very telling of why Dimon has a slight bearish lean on the outlook. 

As for a succession timetable, he said it's "well on the way" and "not five years anymore." 

Dimon's ominous comments are timely. They emphasize the risks of inflation and the impact of quantitative tightening in a rapidly deteriorating geopolitical landscape as stagflation threats emerge. 

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/jamie-dimon-cautiously-pessimistic-qt-uncertainty-supercharged-world-war-threats

Venezuela Bans Crypto-Mining To Protect Power-Grid

 by Amaka Nwaokocha via CoinTelegraph.com,

The Venezuelan government has joined the list of countries that have frowned on crypto mining due to its hefty electricity demands.

According to a local news outlet, Venezuela’s Ministry of Electric Power has unveiled plans to disconnect cryptocurrency mining farms from the national grid. The move aims to regulate excessive energy consumption and guarantee a stable power supply for the population.

An X post from Venezuela’s National Association of Cryptocurrencies stated that crypto mining is prohibited in Venezuela.

This move follows a recent crackdown involving the confiscation of 2,000 cryptocurrency mining devices in the city of Maracay as part of an anti-corruption initiative.

Source: Asociación Nacional de Criptomonedas

The ministry emphasized the need to offer efficient and reliable electrical service across Venezuela by eliminating the strain caused by these high-energy-consuming farms. According to officials, these measures are essential to stabilize the national power supply, which has been unreliable for the past decade.

The country has been experiencing recurring blackouts, particularly since 2019, which have significantly impacted residents’ daily lives and overall economic activity.

Cryptocurrency mining has hefty electricity demands. In response, some countries such as China and Kazakhstan have implemented stringent regulations or outright bans on the practice.

The Venezuelan government’s move against cryptocurrency mining is reportedly part of a larger anti-corruption push, which has led to the arrest of several top officials. Joselit Ramírez, the ex-head of the National Superintendency of Cryptoassets, is a key figure in the corruption allegations.

Rafael Lacava, governor of Carabobo state, has reportedly highlighted the importance of public collaboration in detecting illegal mining operations, encouraging citizens to report any unlawful activities.

However, this is not Venezuela’s first act against crypto mining activities. In March 2023, Venezuela’s energy supplier shut down crypto mining facilities nationwide as part of corruption investigations involving the country’s state oil company.

Venezuela’s attorney general, Tarek William Saab, said at the time that government officials were allegedly running parallel oil operations with the assistance of the national crypto department.

Elsewhere, in 2023, eight major cryptocurrency mining operators in Kazakhstan signed an open letter to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, complaining about high energy prices for crypto miners.

https://www.zerohedge.com/crypto/venezuela-bans-crypto-mining-protect-power-grid

FDA sued by scientist urging sexual side effects warning for widely used depression drugs

 A Howard University scientist on Monday sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for failing to act on his six-year-old petition seeking a warning label for two classes of common antidepressant drugs about the potential for persistent sexual side effects.

In a complaint filed in Washington, D.C. federal court, Antonei Csoka said the FDA has "unreasonably delayed issuing a decision in light of the nature and extent of the public health interests addressed in the petition."

Csoka was one of 22 scientists who filed the so-called citizen petition with the FDA in May 2018, urging the agency to require an update to warning labels of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs).

Current warning labels for the drugs - which include Eli Lilly's Prozac, Viatris's Effexor and generic versions of them - warn of sexual side effects during use. The petition said research has showed that these side effects, including loss of sexual function and pleasure, can persist after the drugs are discontinued.

The FDA declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Csoka's lawsuit said that the FDA ran afoul of its own regulations, which generally require a response to citizen petitions within 180 days. It said that the agency issued an interim response in November 2018 saying the petition required further review, but has since not made a decision or taken any actions requested in the petition.

European and Canadian regulators have since warned that SSRIs and SNRIs can have persistent sexual side effects, it said.

"The FDA needs to act in a timely way to inform the public about the risks associated with use of these drugs," Michael Kirkpatrick of Public Citizen Litigation Group, a lawyer for Csoka, said in a statement. "The FDA's failure to act exposes consumers to potentially life-long harm."

The case is Csoka v. Food and Drug Administration, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, No. 1:24-cv-01486.

https://www.xm.com/research/markets/allNews/reuters/fda-sued-by-scientist-urging-sexual-side-effects-warning-for-widely-used-depression-drugs-53842553

FDA tested retail milk samples for bird flu in 17 states

 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Monday that it tested retail samples of milk and other dairy products in 17 states for viable bird flu virus, providing further details about the locations of the previously disclosed tests.

The regulator said it collected 297 samples at retail locations in 17 states between April 18-22, but the retail samples represented products made at 132 processing locations in 38 states.

"Even if a sample was collected in one particular state, the milk in a consumer package could have come from cows on several farms located in several states, pasteurized in a different state from where the milk was produced, and available for purchase in yet another state," the agency said in its statement.

The U.S. has confirmed bird flu in dairy cattle in nine states since late March.

The FDA had said on May 10 that no live virus was found in retail milk samples. It has also said that pasteurized milk is safe to drink but has cautioned against consuming raw milk.

Scientists, however, have said they believe the outbreak is more widespread based on the FDA's findings that showed about 20% of retail milk samples contained remnants of the H5N1 virus.

The samples included cottage cheese, cream, and half and half, which is equal parts milk and cream, sour cream and yoghurt, in addition to milk.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/us-fda-tested-retail-milk-182231530.html

UnitedHealth's unit to launch new drug pricing model next year

 UnitedHealth said on Monday its unit OptumRx would offer a new pricing model, starting next year, to help manage insurers' costs for drugs.

The new model, Optum Rx Clear Trend Guarantee, will provide value-based pricing of drugs per member combining the cost of these medicines from various sources such as retail pharmacy, home delivery, specialty drug and rebates.

Under value-based pricing models, insurers, pharmaceutical companies and the middlemen, which include pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) like OptumRx, agree to link payment for medicine to the overall outcome for patients.

The new model adds to OptumRx's announcements of other measures to offer transparent pricing of drugs last year and comes amid increased scrutiny into the role of PBMs in ballooning healthcare costs in the United States.

Currently, out-of-pocket drug prices are decided by a complex, multi-tiered network including insurers, drugmakers, pharmacies and PBMs, resulting in ambiguity around fees and markups to the original cost of the drug.

PBMs handle prescription drug benefits for health insurance companies, large employers and Medicare prescription drug plans — a group often referred to as payers.

OptumRx's new model will be effective at the same time as TrueCost, which was announced by CVS' PBM unit, Caremark, to offer clients more visibility into prescription drug pricing and administrative fees.

https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/UNITEDHEALTH-GROUP-INC-14750/news/UnitedHealth-s-unit-to-launch-new-drug-pricing-model-next-year-46775952/