Neurosciences and Phosphenism

Neurosciences

Neurosciences include all the sciences that are necessary for the study of the anatomy and the functioning of the nervous system.

The different disciplines that make up neurosciences are:

Dr Lefebure’s research belongs to the domain of neurosciences, and more particularly to the domain of cerebral physiology, though its framework reaches beyond the purely materialistic point of view of neurophysiology.

Dr Lefebure’s works, based on the systematic use of the phosphenes, have allowed the detection of various unknown cerebral rhythms. The starting point of these discoveries is a surprising cerebral phenomenon, that Doctor Lefebure discovered by chance in 1959 and that he called “The Subud Effect”.

The phosphenes are all the subjective sensations of light that are not directly generated by light stimulating the retina. They correspond to what ophtalmologists call images of retinal persistancy or post-images.

Extract from Exploring the Brain with the Study of the Oscillations of the Double Phosphenes:

“We have discovered an absolutely surprising and certainly unpredictable phenomenon; as far as we know, it has never been reported by any author, though a child could have discovered it as a game.
At a distance of three meters, focus on an ordinary lamp for a minute, then switch it off and remain in the dark. Wait for a few seconds until the phosphene appears. Then, sway your head at an average speed: you will notice that the phosphene sways at the same speed as your head.

Try the experiment again, but, this time, sway your head much faster: The Phosphene seems to stay fixed on the median axis of the body. Now sway your head very slowly: the phosphene seems to sway a little, But much less than the body.

Thus, the association between the movements of the head and the movements of the phosphene only takes place at a certain rhythm, while other rhythms diminish or distrupt this association. We have named this unexpected opposition of the movements of the phosphenes, according to the rhythm of the head sways, The Subud Effect, as a memory of the circumstances of its discovery (it was discovered thanks to the analysis of head sways practiced by Indonesian mystic Pak Subuh).

The Subud effect is the dissociation of the movements of the head and of the movements of the phosphene when the movements of the head are fast.

This simple fact has a considerable neurological and educational significance. It is the starting point of a new branch of study of humankind: neuro-education, i.e. teaching and learning according to the reality of cerebral physiology.”

Thanks to this discovery of the rhythmic functions of the brain, Dr Lefebure designed a revolutionary protocol of cerebral exploration: cerebroscopy. The principle of cerebroscopy lays in measuring cerebral rhythms with the oscillations of the double phosphenes (the mode of operation is fully described below). Cerebroscopy efficiently complements today’s techniques of brain imagery.

Brain imagery plays a major role in the study of the functioning of the brain. Several techniques are used by neurosciences :

Rather than a principle of imagery, cerebroscopy is a mode of cerebral exploration. It measures the alternation of the double phosphenes. The mode of operation is the following: using a sheet of cardboard or plastic, placed between the eyes to separate their field of vision, a phosphene is produced in each eye separatly, by switching on and off two lamps at a rhythm of two seconds per side. The phosphenes thus produced are not constant, but alternate. Unlike what one might think, this alternation does not follow the rhythm of two seconds of the lighting, but a Rhythm that is specific to the subject. On average, this rhythm is of six seconds per side, and the alternation lasts from four to six minutes. The object of this method is to study the regularity of the alternation.

Indeed, a regular cerebral alternation shows that the brain is in a good condition, when an irregular or absent alternation shows the opposite. The cerebral alternation of a given person can vary greatly throughout the day. In the morning, after a good night’s sleep, cerebral alternation is much more regular than in the evening, after a hard day’s work. In a constant manner for a given subject, certain situations improve cerebral alternation when others disturb it. This study can measure the impact on the brain of various parameters (physical activity, diet, the use of medicines, etc.) and has allowed Dr Lefebure to determine a new law of cerebral physiology:

“Everything that improves cerebral alternation improves intellectual work, and vice versa”

Dr Lefebure then transposed his discoveries on the sense of sight to the other sensory organs, thus revolutionizing our comprehension of the mecanisms of perception.

Perception is the capacity to receive information by the sensory organs and to interpret it with the brain. Sight and audition are the two main senses that human beings use for perceiving the environement, but the sense of touch, smell, taste and also the sense of balance have their role to play.

In the course of his studies, Dr Lefebure has demonstrated that there are inner equivalents to physical perception. The phosphene, for example, corresponds to sight. It seems to be a kind of neurological echo of the visual perception.

The same way, all the other physical senses have inner equivalents, Dr Lefebure called them “physiological phenes” and together, they form the “Phenic System” of the person.

A phene is a physiological intermediary between the physical sense to which it corresponds and an equivalent spiritual sense. When that spiritual sense is awakened, intangible energies and events are perceived (i.e. aspects of the universe that cannot be perceived by the physical senses).

When it is stimulated, the phenic system provokes the perception of the spiritual planes, that the traditions call “beyond”, “invisible worlds” or “subtle planes”.

The phenic system is constituated by:

All these phenes, and probably other ones that have not been detected yet, are all connected together. This is why, when a particular phene is stimulated, sensations related to a different phene can be perceived.

Moreover, there is a third sensory system that, until now, is usually refered to as “psychic centers” or chakras. This third sensory system is connected to the phenic system and to consciousness. These psychic centers or chakras could be, in a certain way, the organs of consciousness.

Dr Lefebure’s discoveries are major advances in the domain of neurosciences and, without a doubt, will inspire new discoveries to the researchers of the future.