excerpts from the book...
The Science of Melanin
Dispelling The Myths
by T. Owens Moore, Ph.D.
|
|
|
Science is the systematic exporation of natural phenomena.
To the Black youth of the Nineteen Sixties for Beginning the Second Great Emancipation - the
Liberation of Our Minds and thus Changing the Course of History.
The open-minded person who is able to read objectively will learn the most from this book.
The close-minded, who maintain a priori conclusions that melanin is a farce, will miss out on a
learning experience.
To improve individual health, more emphasis should be placed on prevention. A responsible
and efficient medical system advises individuals on how to avert illness, not on how to besiege
a patient only after an illness develops. By enriching your body through diet, nutrition,
meditation and positive thinking, you can avoid illness and maximize yuor health.
..., melanin is genetically programmed to function according to an individual's overall genetic
makeup.
...melanin functioning in the nervous, endocrine, visual, auditory, and vestibular systems, and
in early childhood development. Part three speculates on the metaphysical implications of the
scientific phenomena of melanin. It is proposed that melanin is a link between the material
and spiritual realms of existence.
...the creation of thoughts and ideas begin in an unformed state in our minds. The thoughts and
ideas that come from the mind are found in the recesses of the subconscious (dark) mind. Only
when your thoughts and ideas are brought into fruition and turned into action (light) can we
say that something will be formed. Therefore, our thoughts and ideas first occur in the
blackness of our imagination to later form into a conscious manifestation.
...the locus coeruleus (LC), which secretes norepinephrine, is black because it contains large
amounts of melanin.
From an African-centered perspective...the LC is an anatomical brain site that is important for
linking the human mind to the spiritual world.
Therefore, emotions, memory, and alertness are some mental processes generated by the brain
that are highly dependent on the proper functioning of LC norepinephrine.
Based on the accumulated research on melanin, this author believes that high levels of melanin
in and outside the body increase the likelihood of an optimal state of health. There may be
further enhancements in the performance of mental activities related to movement, alertness,
emotions and memory. The reader should note, however, that no notion of "superiority" is
posited. What is postulated is that highly melanized individuals can reach optimal health and
increase their potential more easily than those who lack melanin's enhancing capabilities.
Although we should believe that "all men *and women are created equal," we should
not blindly embrace such rhetoric. In actuality, we are clearly different in ethnicity and
should not put shields over our eyes to act as though all humans are the same. From a
moralistic perspective, all humans should have the same rights. However, our different
physical appearances provide clear evidence that all humans are not identical. A new
age of morality needs to emphasize the beauty in differences so everyone can
appreciate the rainbow of humanity. Appreciating the differences would be one way to
remove most bigoted attitudes that currently exist as a result of the created social
construct known as "race".
(*emphasis mine)
...It is reported that ancient Africans chewed a root called ami-majos when they went on
caravans across the desert sands. This root provided extra protection from the sun by
reinforcing skin pigmentation.
...Ultraviolet light carries enough energy to damage DNA and thus disrupt the operation of
cells. Thus, excessive exposure to sunlight is thought to be the primary cause of some skin
cancers...
The first humans originated on the African continent, and they were unquestionably dark in
skin color (Black). Reinforcing the fact that the original humans were black should help the
reader understand the pigmentary transformation that has occurred over time. Speaking in
terms of evolution, black parents gave rise to brown, white, red, and yellow pigmented humans
all over the world.
Early human fossils were found around the equatorial region in Africa. Any organism born
near the equator has a dark exterior. The organism will be lighter in color the further it is from
the equator. Finch (1991) informs us that this phenomena is known as Gloger's Law.
The dark exterior is a result of the pigment melanin. Melanin provides protection against the
harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation. However, melanin can be disadvantageous in regions of
the earth that have limited sunshine.
As early dark-skinned humans migrated out of Africa, they settled in may geographical regions.
Natural climatic changes such as the ice age caused migrating humans to be separated from
other early humans for long periods.
The rising and setting of the sun and the cyclical relationship between the sun and moon are
critical for all living systems.
...It is proposed that melanin is the molecule, both in the human body and in the universe, that
acts as a conduit between the visible (material) and the unseen (spiritual) world.
...Although substances in the material plane can be physically manipulated, the spiritual plane
can only be perceived.
The meditation process is a way a person trains the mind and body to tune into divine
universal consciousness.
Therefore, meditation, or the awareness that everything in the universe is connected, can give
one a feeling of unity with the Creator.
...the Chakra System is the human body's direct link to the spiritual realm. From the base of the
spine to the crown of the head, a spiraling energy force rises to awake a person's spiritual
consciousness. Although people are generally aware of their spirituality, proper meditation is
the key to maximizing spiritual experience. Meditation can allow one to quietly dwell in the
dark matter of the universe and be at one with the creator of this world. The dark matter of the
universe and the blackness of melanin are the material planes that connect our mind and body
to the spiritual world.
|
|
|
