Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan: “Every Human is Born as If They Have an IP Address…”

The event, held at Tuzla Municipality Şifa Cultural Center, was moderated by Vocal Artist and Presenter Züleyha Ortak.

“What is good for the heart is good for the brain, and what is good for the brain is good for the soul”

Speaking about the importance of the psychological resilience relationship between the heart, brain, and soul, Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, Founding Rector of Üsküdar University, said that what is good for the heart is also good for the brain, and what is good for the brain is also good for the soul. Tarhan said; “Just as people exercise for physical health and pay attention to what they eat, for example, young people stay healthy with what they eat. After 40-50 years of age, we also become healthy with our diets. Paying close attention to what we eat and don't eat is important for staying healthy. Life is Allah's destiny, but whether a person lives a quality life until their last breath depends on the decisions they make. Therefore, if you want to live healthily and not be in need, you need to take care of your health in some way. Looking at most psychological resilience studies, what is good for the heart is also good for the brain, and what is good for the brain is good for the soul. The person who secretes the most happiness hormone in his brain is Rumi (Mevlâna). There is something unique about him that he even calls death ‘Vuslat, reunion’.”

“If fate is shaking us, it wants us to change some things…”

Answering questions from artist Züleyha Ortak, Tarhan said that the earthquake following the pandemic also caused great traumas. Tarhan; “Traumas have a characteristic: they correct learned helplessness, but if not dealt with correctly, they can create new helplessness. Shocking experiences change mistakes and learned habits. If fate is shaking us, it wants us to change some things. The Covid pandemic is like that, the earthquake is like that, the Gaza events are like that... It tells humanity to change things, because fate speaks to people through the language of events, but only to prophets through revelation. Otherwise, it speaks through the language of events, and Allah has given people reason to read and solve these events. There is a visible reason for this, and an invisible reason. Rumi (Mevlâna) has an example: when a sheep strayed from the flock, the shepherd would throw a stone at it. The reason for throwing the stone was not to hurt the sheep, but to prevent the wolf from catching the one that strayed from the flock... This means that as an Islamic world, we are straying from the flock. This means we are not moving towards the divine goal. If we are not moving towards the divine goal, we need to question ourselves. We need to ‘stop, think, re-evaluate’.”

“Children exposed to social isolation became digitalized”

Underlining that the US federal government has officially launched an investigation into some social media accounts for harming society due to the impact of globalization, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan emphasized that children exposed to social isolation have become digitalized. Tarhan; “The US may soon pass a law prohibiting the use of social media for those under a certain age. Because due to this pandemic, children were exposed to social isolation. When exposed to social isolation, they became tremendously digitalized. Since impulse control did not develop in them, this became much easier if there was no warm relationship with parents and in the family. There are also families who came together within the family and turned the pandemic into an opportunity. There are those who say, 'I am with my spouse, my spouse is a good person'... There are more of those who know each other better in such cases, but there are also those who were completely exposed to social isolation and drifted apart from each other. Especially when parents and children or young people did not speak the same language, children became very disconnected. It has now become a global epidemic.”

Attention to Clip Syndrome…

Drawing attention to Clip Syndrome, a psychological disorder that occurs when children watch music videos and commercials on television for entertainment or to pass time, Tarhan said; “A four-and-a-half-year-old child comes with delayed speech. That child should have started forming sentences. When we examine why they are not forming sentences, we see that the child has Clip Syndrome. Clip Syndrome means the mother acts as a cheap babysitter, giving the child a phone or tablet. Since the child's brain does not receive stimuli related to word production, the child only listens and does not speak. If you turn off the tablet or mobile phone until the age of 4, it quickly improves. The child immediately adapts to the parents and quickly starts producing words, but if they pass the age of 4, it becomes very difficult. The areas in the brain related to word production then atrophy.”

“The information a child learns is seeds sown in their developing soul”

Tarhan emphasized that a person learns more than 50% of the information in their life between the ages of 0-3 and 0-5; “For example, a child picks up water and spills it, and we say they are being naughty. In fact, that child is teaching their brain to develop muscles against gravity. They learn to walk, stand, play, talk, and laugh. If they see their mother smiling in the morning, that child will be happy that day. When an earthquake occurs, children are not affected by the earthquake itself; they look at their mother's face, and if the mother is panicked or scared, they also get scared. So much so that in their world, there is only their mother and themselves. For example, if one child cries in a classroom with two first-graders, they all start crying. This is because their emotional literacy and empathy skills in their brains have not yet developed. When someone else is hurting, they think their own self is hurting. This is because children's brains mirror. They learn to distinguish their own pain from someone else's pain later. This is an event that occurs during the brain's development process. Emotional literacy is learned later. That is, there is a tendency to be empathetic, but empathy is learned later. Therefore, in a person's childhood, between the ages of 0-5, and even 0-3, no one can replace the mother. The information a child learns is seeds sown in their developing soul. That grows into a tree in later years, greens, grows, and forms that person.”

“The first symptom of California Syndrome is pleasure-seeking, hedonism, and chasing after enjoyment”

Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that in addition to self-actualization, one must transcend oneself and set a goal beyond oneself to be useful to society, humanity, and the universe; “The first symptom of California Syndrome is pleasure-seeking, hedonism, and chasing after enjoyment. There is Maslow's hierarchy of needs pyramid, and Maslow placed self-actualization at the top of that pyramid. 10-15 years later, he said that at the top of the second pyramid should not be self-actualization, but self-transcendence, and published it. Self-transcendence. When a person's goal is self-actualization, they become egocentric. Self-transcendence, on the other hand, is a goal beyond oneself, such as being useful to society, humanity, the universe, and the Creator. Humans also have that characteristic. They need to be able to transcend themselves, otherwise society would be composed of selfish individuals. Maslow changed the approach that ‘selfishness is inherent in human nature,’ but Hollywood has not changed it, California has not changed it. Because the entertainment industry has created a tremendous industry.”

“Love is one of the fundamental values of the family”

Prof. Dr. Tarhan, stating that families are the most protected place for values, emphasized that this is why the family is called the last refuge. Tarhan; “When a city is attacked, the outer fortress is destroyed first. Social norms have changed, our traditions are changing; this is the outer fortress. The inner fortress is the family. Inside the family, there is an open door: smartphones… They reflect everything insecure into the safe environment of the home. To protect this, while fifty years ago we spent half an hour with our child, now we will spend an hour. We will spend an hour with our spouse. That is the solution. Let the home be a safe space, let relationships be warm; Hollywood, social media, etc., can do nothing. The family has fundamental values; love is one of the fundamental values. Let there be love in the family, but such love that a greater love is compassion. Unconditional love without self-interest is very important in the family. The second is respect, and there is something a little greater than respect, and that is courtesy. Because there can be respect out of fear, but in courtesy, the feeling of not hurting and not upsetting exist simultaneously. When approaching one's spouse and children, one should approach them like a surgeon approaches organs. Very delicately, compassionately, and firmly, without damaging tissues. If approached with a medical understanding that respects tissues, the most efficient results are obtained at the most sensitive moment.”

“There is a need for a third path in the world: a synthesis of Eastern wisdom and Western technology”

Tarhan underlined that we need to modernize without changing our cultural codes; “Let's not accept the truths offered to us by Western culture as they are; let's accept them by questioning. They produce most of the knowledge in science and technology, and it's good that they do, for humanity to move towards good, not bad, and for life to become easier, but the social flaws of the West are wrong. Currently, there is a need for a synthesis of East and West. There is a need for a third path in the world. There is a need for a synthesis of Eastern wisdom and Western technology. Currently, the new generation is questioning; I don't think the new generation is going wrong. Let's not say young people are going bad, going this way or that. Young people are questioning. Because they question, we say 'oh no' and think they are on the wrong path, but they are questioning and want to learn. Let's explain the truths to them in a language they understand.”

“The most important thing that dulls a person is comfort”

Tarhan stated that trauma, when confronted correctly, is a developing trauma; “The Maraş earthquake is such an event that it is considered the disaster of the century. In such a catastrophe, we as a society gave a good reaction. Those who die in disasters are considered martyrs, but the important thing is for those who live to learn lessons. The most important thing we should take from this is that we no longer have the luxury of forgetting after ten or twenty years, so we need to move forward and take precautions accordingly. This is a trauma. When traumas are confronted correctly, we call it transformative, developing trauma. If confronted incorrectly, it drags a person down. If confronted correctly, it becomes a developing trauma. Without traumas, a person cannot develop. The most important thing that dulls a person is comfort, chasing after comfort. Comfort and happiness escape the more you try to catch them. Both comfort and happiness are like that. They escape the more you try to catch them, but if you pursue your purpose, they will follow you. When you chase comfort, it escapes, but you must have a goal and work towards that goal.”

“You need to have a meaning, a purpose in life worth striving for”

Tarhan, stating that mental health is the most important thing for psychological resilience, explained the PERMA model. Tarhan; “There is a model used for human psychological resilience. The first element of the PERMA model is ‘Positive Emotions’. Being in a state of positive emotion is also called authentic happiness. There is no equivalent for the word ‘huzur’ in English. They say ‘peace,’ they say ‘happiness,’ but ‘huzur’ is something different. In Turkish, ‘huzur’ actually means a person being happy even in prison, and being able to maintain the same happiness in a palace. This is inner peace. Being like a tree that bears fruit in any environment. Being like a flower that blooms in any environment… In positive psychology, since the word ‘happiness’ didn't quite fit, it is referred to as authentic happiness. The second is ‘Engagement’, a feeling of flow. Being able to immerse yourself in a topic and say that hours have passed, but you couldn't understand how they passed. If you achieve this, the second step of happiness is also formed. The third step is ‘Relationships’. For example, for a marriage to go well, for a family to be a warm home, love is needed in relationships that make a person happy. There is love; you love your child very much, but you are behaving incorrectly. Love + good cooperation = creating happiness. This is the formula for happiness. The fourth pillar is ‘Meaning’, creating a relationship of meaning. You need to have a meaning, a purpose in your life worth striving for. Meaning and purpose. And the fifth is ‘Achievement’, success… Small successes. Being able to say, 'Thank God, I am healthy' when you wake up in the morning. Small successes, small comforts. Knowing the value of what you have. Being able to find happiness in ordinary things…”

“The soul is knowledge in the sight of Allah…”

In the interview where questions from participants were also answered, Tarhan made striking assessments regarding the question of the Soul. Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan pointed out that the equivalent of the universal database in the Quran is Levh-i Mahfuz (The Preserved Tablet); “Allah first created knowledge in the main book. After that, the soul is actually knowledge in the sight of Allah. He has given the will to connect with Him, to be online with Him or not. Like turning a radio on and off, if we turn it on, we go online; if we don't press our button, we don't go online. Then we distance ourselves from Him, we live in our own internal program. We live as those whose hearts are sealed. That is the weakest form of servitude; reason says that when you are not in distress, one should be able to find their Creator. Because being a good person is the rent for our existence. The only living being with a gene related to the search for meaning is humans. No other living being besides humans has a gene for the search for meaning. Since we know we will die, we search for meaning, saying, 'Why do we exist? Where did we come from, where are we going?' To answer this, Allah says; 'Let those who use their reason find Me and pass the test.' ”

Is the 21-gram loss from a dead body an urban legend?

Regarding a participant's question about a 21-gram weight loss from a dead body after death, Tarhan dismissed the 21-gram loss as an urban legend. Tarhan said, “There is no such thing. For example, weigh a computer, then erase its RAM; will it lose grams? It won't lose anything from the computer. Because the magnetic particles there remain the same… But the software changes. Just as a computer has software and hardware... The human brain is also hardware. When you turn on a computer, you are turning on the hardware. If someone from the world came and opened a computer for the first time, looked at the screen, there would be many images. If they opened it up, they wouldn't be able to make a connection between those images and its interior. They wouldn't understand how that information circulates. Someone opening it for the first time, but a program is written, and that program has nothing like this. It has no weight; that program circulates within the computer. Something amazing emerges. There's an operating system, and then you have the authority to use it. You open windows for yourself limitlessly, within the limits provided by technology, and you load a lot of information. The human brain is the same way. Our brain, with all its hormones and so on, currently functions entirely like transistors and electronic circuits in a computer, but there is a cloud program within it that reaches out.”

Tarhan, stating that the human brain does not currently operate in a closed circuit but in an open circuit, and evaluating humans as relational beings in the universe, spoke about the definition of reality as follows:

“Computers were made by simulating the brain…”

“In the context of consciousness studies in quantum physics, go to a computer right now and ask 'what is reality?' Dozens of videos will appear. If you ask 'what is reality?' Ask 'what is consciousness?' Dozens of videos will appear. The concepts of consciousness and reality have a complete quantum explanation there. They are explained by it, and there is even a study on quantum science called 'What The Bleep Do We Know.' I wrote a book called 'Belief Psychology.' Before, there were books called 'Psychology of Religion.' But I wrote 'Belief Psychology.' Computers were made by simulating the human brain. There is the Blue Brain Project… In the 2000s, this project was carried out by imitating the brain. That's how artificial intelligence emerged. Because it emerged by imitating the brain, the brain currently lives and works like an organic computer, in fact, the human brain works like an organic quantum computer. What is the characteristic of quantum computers? They operate at -270 degrees, and at -270 degrees, electrons, atoms freeze. Only protons work, at -270. In space, it goes up to -400, 500 degrees. Where protons work, there is no time and space; in fact, there is proton telepathy; protons can travel to one end of the universe and back at the same time. There are protons that work independently of time and space, and what does it mean that these protons work like a human quantum computer? It means there is quantum consciousness… Above our brain, there is the mind. The mind performs reasoning. Above that, there is quantum consciousness. That is why this thing called quantum consciousness is like our IP.

“Every Human is Born as If They Have an IP Address…”

Tarhan made the following inference about humans using the computer IP address as a metaphor…

“What is most wondered about? You take a person's computer, you change the information, you change its IP address. You use it on another computer. Every human is born as if they have an IP address. It doesn't transfer from one person to another; why is this so? Why are the IP addresses of children from the same mother different, why are their personalities different, why are their senses of self, twins, identical twins, their appearances are exactly the same, but both are separate individuals. Separate personalities, they don't confuse each other's personalities. Colors, dimensions, body mingle, they don't mingle. Psychology researchers are currently going crazy wondering why this happens. They are really going crazy, but instead of going crazy, they should actually accept that this universe did not come into existence by chance.”

“The soul is knowledge in the sight of Allah”

Drawing attention to the collapse of materialism today, Tarhan said, “First, the universal database was created; materialism has collapsed right now… What did materialism say? They said that first there is matter, then meaning emerged dialectically. Now it is understood that first there is information. Dialectically, after information, there is mathematics for design. After mathematics, there is design geometry. After that, there is energy physics, then chemistry, then biology, living beings. It was created in six stages. The Quran also says it was created in 6 days. By six days, it means six stages. The universe was created in six stages. I first discovered it myself; when I looked at the world, it fit the number 6 exactly. Therefore, do you know what the equivalent of the universal database in the Quran is for the soul? Levh-i Mahfûz, which means 'the main book' in Turkish. Allah first created knowledge in the main book. The soul is actually knowledge in the sight of Allah. He gave us a piece of that knowledge. He gave us the will to connect with Him, to be online with Him or not. Turn our radio on and off. If we turn it on, we are online. If we don't press our button, we cannot be online, then we distance ourselves from Him, but we live within our own internal program. We live as those whose hearts are sealed. Our existence right now, being a good person, is the rent for our existence. Humans are the only living beings with a gene related to the search for meaning. No other living being besides humans has a gene for the search for meaning. Since we know we will die, we search for meaning, saying, 'Why do we exist? Where did we come from, where are we going?' To answer this, Allah says, 'Let those who use their reason find Me and pass the test.' As Rumi (Mevlana) says... He says you are not living in this world. You are passing through this world. If we accumulate good things in our satchel here, that is the real success at the end of our lives. Success is not about having this or that, living such a luxurious life, being wealthy, rich, famous… The real success is to be someone who leaves good traces, leaves a good impact in history, so that at the end of life, people can say, 'This person was a good person.' For that, one must aim for societal benefit instead of individual benefit. That's what our Anatolian wisdom says. That's what our belief system says. We have a responsibility in this world to mature our souls. We have a responsibility, that's why the 20th century was the age of information. The 21st century must be the age of wisdom. Otherwise, it will probably be the end of humanity.”

Unhappiness that comes with pleasure, fame, and ostentation…

Tarhan stated that those who chase after pleasure, fame, ostentation, and entertainment, living a life with illicit gains, will experience severe traumas in a vicious cycle and will not be able to escape the whirlpool of unhappiness…