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Conscious Evolution and the New Sciences:

What are Quantum Physics and the Anomalies of Consciousness
Trying to Tell Us?






By
Charles Silverstein

A Culminating Project Submitted to the Faculty oI The Graduate Institute in Partial
FulIillment oI The Requirements Ior the Degree oI
Master oI Arts in Conscious Evolution

The Graduate Institute













MilIord, CT
2007
ii
Table of Contents
Table of Contents ii
Abstract iii
Introduction 1
Worldviews, Paradigms and Structures of Consciousness 3
What is Consciousness? 5
The Quantum Physics Connection to Consciousness 14
Quantum Physics and Consciousness 18
Consciousness Studies that Question the Current Worldview 29
Theories of the New Sciences and Their Relationship to Consciousness 38
Analysis of the Theories of the New Sciences 55
Implications of the Theories of the New Sciences 58
Evolution of Consciousness 62
Conscious Evolution 69
Bibliography 75
iii
Abstract




The main ideas oI this paper are:

1. The theory and experiments oI quantum physics and the experimental evidence oI
interactions between consciousness and matter strongly inIer that the universe
cannot be explained by the worldview oI material realism.

2. An 'inIormational level oI reality can explain the anomalous phenomena. This
inIormational level oI reality stores memories oI physical and mental events in the
universe. This level oI reality is also the source oI meaning, purpose and agency.
These stored memories, along with the meaning, purpose and agency oI this level,
guide Iuture events resulting in a dynamic and creative Ieedback loop.

3. Humans can have a direct experience oI and attain knowledge Irom this level oI
reality, which is a step Iorward in humanity`s evolution oI consciousness. This
evolution oI consciousness can only be attained through conscious choice.
ThereIore, this evolution will not happen on its own as past evolutions oI
consciousness; this evolution will be a conscious evolution.















- 1 -
Introduction


At the age oI 15, staring at the stars one night, I Ielt an intense desire to understand
the nature oI the universe. When I began attending college, that desire still burned in me,
and so I chose classes that would help me in this search. I reasoned that there were two
ways to go about this searching outward and searching inward. The outward search led
me to the study oI physics, while the inward search led me to study psychology. I
graduated with an undergraduate degree in physics with a minor in psychology. This was
in the late sixties and unIortunately my proIessors were not interested in metaphysical
inquiries. I was discouraged and sought metaphysical reIuge in spiritual communities that
suggested meditative methods Ior existential understanding. Thirty-Iive years went by and
during that time, academic interest had grown in both the outer world oI physics and the
inner world oI psychology, philosophy and spirituality, and the connections between them.
In approaching this culminating project Ior the Conscious Evolution program, I
decided to revisit my interest in the relationship between physics and psychology through
the research and analysis oI quantum physics and consciousness. I believe that science is
an important way to understand the world and I agree with Ervin Laszlo`s statement:
'There are many ways oI comprehending the world: Through personal insight, mystical
intuition, art, and poetry, as well as the belieI systems oI the world`s religions. OI the
many ways available to us, there is one that is particularly deserving oI attention, Ior it is
based on repeatable experience, Iollows rigorous method, and is subject to ongoing
criticism and assessment. It is the way oI science (Laszlo, 2004). Science as a way oI
knowing has credibility due to the technology it has provided. It is Ior these reasons that I
have Iocused on a scientiIic exploration oI consciousness.
2
There is a sense oI proIound change and transition in our culture Irom the dawning
oI the Age oI Aquarius in the late sixties, to books such as Paradigm Wars (Woodhouse,
1996) published in the 1990s. My idea was to investigate physics and consciousness with
respect to that change. Due to the research oI pioneers in these Iields, there is now much
written material in this interdisciplinary area.
My advisors suggested that I not conduct my research with any Ioregone
conclusions in mind, but to be open to exploration down avenues not contemplated at the
start oI this culminating project. That was wonderIul advice, as the research led me to
books and articles in branches oI the new sciences that I was not aware oI at the beginning
oI the project.
In this project, I will be investigating the question: What are quantum phvsics and
the anomalies of consciousness trving to tell us? My hypothesis is that the answer to this
question will provide signposts that will point to a new worldview and a new structure oI
consciousness, terms that will be deIined in the next section. I also hope to show that the
only way to achieve this new worldview and new structure oI consciousness is through a
conscious choice. II a conscious choice is required to advance to a new structure oI
consciousness, and the new sciences are providing signposts to the nature oI that conscious
choice, then the new sciences may be providing the theoretical underpinnings Ior the
conscious evolution to the next structure oI consciousness.

3
Worldviews, Paradigms and Structures of Consciousness

In the course oI human history, the way that the world has been seen, lived,
interpreted, and understood has gone through many transitions and transIormations. Ways
that humans know the world are called worldviews. The term worldview is used
extensively in our culture and has been deIined in the literature numerous times and in
numerous ways. Succinctly, a worldview is a set oI belieIs that governs an individual`s
philosophy oI liIe, view oI reality, world outlook, and systems oI meaning. There is an all
encompassing nature to a worldview. It is not a trivial view oI the world such as
perceiving a sun rising when one knows it is the earth rotating. In more detail, Koltko-
Rivera (2004) deIines worldview: 'A worldview is a way oI describing the universe and
liIe within it, both in terms oI what is and what ought to be. A given worldview is a set oI
belieIs that includes limiting statements and assumptions regarding what exists and what
does not (either in actuality, or in principle), what objects or experiences are good or bad,
and what objectives, behaviors, and relationships are desirable or undesirable. A worldview
deIines what can be known or done in the world, and how it can be known or done.
Worldviews include assumptions that may be unproven, and even unprovable, but these
assumptions are superordinate, in that they provide the epistemic and ontological
Ioundations Ior other belieIs within a belieI system. The all encompassing nature oI a
worldview will be the context that will be used Ior the word in this paper.
The term paradigm has been used most oIten to indicate a scientiIic outlook, or
even a scientiIic worldview. More Iormally, a paradigm has been deIined as, 'a
philosophical and theoretical Iramework oI a scientiIic school or discipline within which
theories, laws, and generalizations and the experiments perIormed in support oI them are
4
Iormulated; broadlv: a philosophical or theoretical Iramework oI any kind.
1
Philosopher
Mark Woodhouse (1996) says, 'Paradigms may be comparatively narrow as, Ior example,
the behavior modiIication approach to learning. Or they may be very broad as with the
Newtonian/Cartesian paradigm, which at one time was believed capable oI explaining
everything in the physical universe (including human behavior). I will be using the broad
sense oI the term paradigm as a comprehensive scientiIic outlook.
ShiIts oIten occur in worldviews and paradigms as knowledge, societies and
cultures slowly change. Sometimes the shiIt is so proIound that the transition can be called
a change in the structure oI consciousness. To deIine the structure oI consciousness, I will
Iirst deIine consciousness, and then return to the deIinition oI the structure oI
consciousness.


1
Merriam-Webster Online http://209.85.165.104/search?qcache:PmQxN7FG1mwJ:www.m-w.com/cgi-
bin/dictionary3Fparadigmdictionaryparadigm&hlen&ctclnk&cd1&glus
5
What is Consciousness?


The study oI consciousness has only recently been acknowledged as a Iield oI
scientiIic inquiry and is still encumbered by deIinitional problems. Philosopher and
consciousness researcher Christian de Quincey deIines consciousness as the property oI
experience. He says that in this world there are things, and there are the experiences oI
those things. Included in his meaning oI 'things are both physical and non-physical
things. The physical things are matter and energy, while the non-physical things are ideas,
Ieelings and intentions. Consciousness is 'what knows or Ieels or is aware oI anything
(de Quincey, 2002, p.79). De Quincey then leads us through many oI the other deIinitions
oI consciousness.
He distinguishes the philosophical meaning oI consciousness Irom the
psychological meaning oI consciousness. The philosophical meaning oI consciousness is
that oI having the capacity oI awareness, as opposed to having no capacity oI awareness at
all. Having no awareness is that oI being non-conscious as opposed to being unconscious.
Examples are inanimate objects such as rocks, tables, and marbles.
The psychological meaning oI consciousness is one oI a state oI awareness
contrasted with the unconscious. The example is that oI being awake as opposed to being
asleep, or being unconscious. Here there is always some level oI awareness, no matter how
dim. One would never say that a living human is non-conscious.
De Quincey concludes by stating that the deIinition that he wishes to use Ior
consciousness is the capacity Ior experience. Even with the word experience` there are
diIIiculties, as it can mean interior perception on the one hand, or having a skill or
6
knowledge on the other hand. For de Quincey, the deIinition oI consciousness is sentient,
subjective experience.
Other synonyms that are oIten utilized Ior consciousness include mind, awareness,
attention, or intention. I will use mind to reIer to content that shows up in consciousness,
and consciousness to reIer to sentient experience or awareness. The mind reIers to
something that we are conscious of an idea or memory. One can lose one`s mind while
being conscious beIore and aIter the loss. Similarly, awareness as used above is the pure
Iorm oI awareness awareness itselI.
Another approach to consciousness deals with the role oI the brain. Many
researchers are studying brain Iunction and its relationship to consciousness
2
. In Iact, Ior
many researchers, consciousness is onlv a Iunction oI the brain. As such, they are not
studying how a sentient experience occurs. Rather, they are investigating the neural
correlates oI the contents oI experience. Neural correlation is the study oI changes in the
brain monitored by electronic equipment as a human or animal receives sensory
stimulation. The neural correlation studies led one consciousness researcher to
diIIerentiate the 'hard problem oI consciousness Irom the easy problems oI consciousness
in a landmark article (Chalmers, 1995). The hard problem oI consciousness is to explain
how sentient experience arises Irom inanimate objects such as atoms and molecules.
Atoms and molecules are inanimate objects, yet in the combination that makes up a human,
there is the inner sense oI sentient experience. The hard problem is to explain the link Irom
non-conscious atoms and molecules to a conscious being. When, where and how does that
happen?

2
See Ior example Dennett (1993)
7
Chalmers (1995) contrasted the hard problem oI consciousness Irom easy problems
oI consciousness. He stated that the easy problems deal with those that can be analyzed by
standard methods in cognitive science. These include phenomena such as:
the ability to discriminate, categorize, and react to
environmental stimuli
the integration oI inIormation by a cognitive system
the reportability oI mental states
the ability oI a system to access its own internal states
the Iocus oI attention
the deliberate control oI behavior
the diIIerence between wakeIulness and sleep
Chalmers points out that these are not necessarily easy problems in the traditional
sense oI being easy to solve. He explains that these problems may take a couple oI
hundred years to solve, but he is categorizing them as easy because these types oI problems
have a straightIorward, standard reductionist process Ior their solution in the cognitive and
neurophysiological sciences. On the other hand, many scientists do not consider the hard
problem a problem at all. These scientists believe that the ability to have a subjective
experience emerges Irom the complexity oI the brain. This is known as the emergence
theory oI consciousness. But proponents oI this theory oI consciousness do not explain the
step in which non-sentient matter becomes sentient consciousness. Philosopher Colin
McGinn (1989) has said, 'Somehow, we Ieel, the water oI the physical brain is turned into
the wine oI consciousness, but we draw a total blank on the nature oI this conversion.
The hard problem asks, why is there a subjective experience at all? Chalmers asks, 'Why
doesn't all this inIormation-processing go on "in the dark" Iree oI any inner Ieel? Why is it
that when electromagnetic waveIorms impinge on a retina and are discriminated and
categorized by a visual system, this discrimination and categorization is experienced as a
8
sensation oI vivid red? This is the deep mystery oI consciousness how does experience
arise?
Although consciousness is the quality oI experience, there is another aspect oI
consciousness that constitutes the style or regime in which reality presents itselI to the
viewer. This aspect oI consciousness was introduced by Jean Gebser as the structure oI
consciousness (Gebser, 1985). Jean Gebser was a cultural philosopher who mapped
transitions and stages in the structures oI consciousness by observing historical cultures.
Gebser`s map oI structures oI consciousness began with the time that humans were still
embedded in nature essentially prehuman, and then traced the evolution oI the structures
oI human consciousness to his time in his magnum opus The Ever-Present Origin
originally published in 1949 (Gebser, 1985).
Gebser begins his map oI the evolution oI human consciousness with the archaic
level oI consciousness. This is pre-history, some would even say prehuman. These
humans were part oI the natural world just as animals are today. Their consciousness was
oI the immediate physical surroundings. The time period oI archaic man is diIIicult to
pinpoint, due to lack oI records and deIinitional issues. However, Homo erectus, who lived
Irom 2 million to 75 thousand years ago, would be a good representation Ior the archaic
structure.
Next, human consciousness moved to the magical structure oI consciousness. At
the dawn oI man, humans related to nature and their liIe through a magical belieI system.
This is considered the Iirst Iully human mode oI consciousness. At this level oI
consciousness, objects separated in space are related to each other. A drawing oI a bison in
the sand and the actual bison are one and the same. Striking the picture oI the animal can
weaken the animal. Magical structure is seen today in voodoo rituals.
9
Eventually, story telling and oral tradition began which brought human
consciousness to the mvthical structure oI consciousness. A greater awareness oI time
begins here, as mythic stories oIten begin with 'once upon a time or 'long ago. Starting
about 20,000 BCE human imagination began to soar as mythic poems and sculpture
become evident. Time and space were sacred. All that happened was imbued with the
signiIicance oI gods and goddesses. All oI nature and liIe were alive with the Iorces oI the
mythic gods.
The next structure was the mental or rational structure oI consciousness. Although
the seeds oI the mental structure were planted up to 1000 BCE at the beginning oI
Neolithic agricultural revolution, and there was a Ilowering oI rational consciousness by
the ancient Greeks, it was not until the Renaissance and ScientiIic Revolution that rational
consciousness became the dominant structure oI consciousness. With the ScientiIic
Revolution, the world changed Irom sacred space and time to secular space and time. The
Earth was no longer the center oI the universe. Instead, humans now knew that the Earth
revolved around the Sun. The universe was seen as a large machine Iollowing
mathematical laws in an impartial way. It was believed that soon all the laws oI nature
would be worked out, and iI one knew the location and energy state oI all matter, one could
predict the Iuture based on these equations. These equations could be discovered by
studying parts oI nature separating the object oI study Irom all other objects and energies.
The consciousness view here was one oI being outside oI nature the impartial observer
interrogating nature to learn its secrets.
Gebser believed that the next structure oI consciousness would integrate all oI these
prior modes in a balanced way, and called this structure oI consciousness integral. Later I
will compare Gebser`s integral consciousness with the results oI the research oI this paper.
10
There is a close relationship between worldviews, paradigms and structures oI
consciousness. At times they are used synonymously. But worldviews are broader than
paradigms as they govern all aspects oI person`s liIe. In a similar way, a structure oI
consciousness is a broad regime in the way in which reality presents itselI to the viewer.
For this paper, I will Iocus on worldviews and structures oI consciousness, but will also
make observations about the evolution oI scientiIic paradigms.
Our current worldview is oIten reIerred to as the rational or materialistic worldview,
and it developed out oI the Newtonian worldview. The Newtonian worldview grew out oI
the Newtonian/Descartes paradigm. This paradigm was named aIter Sir Isaac Newton
(1643 1727) and Rene Descartes (1596 1650). Newton discovered gravity, while
Descartes developed the Cartesian coordinate system. The Cartesian coordinate system
reIers to a three dimensional graphical model oI space where the three coordinate axes are
straight lines that are perpendicular to each other. Any point can be determined by three
numbers representing the position relative to their respective axes. As the other Iorces
were discovered, such as electricity in the 18
th
century, and electromagnetism in the 19
th

century, a new Iramework Ior understanding the world became the Newtonian/Cartesian
paradigm. This paradigm held that matter, such as atoms, and energy such as gravity and
electromagnetism, interact in the universe along Cartesian coordinates. Newtonian physics
is the study oI how these particles oI matter and Iorces oI energy interact in the Cartesian
coordinates oI space. Woodhouse (1996) summarizes the paradigm based on Newtonian
physics as Iollows:
1. The objects oI the universe are composed oI small Iundamental units.
2. Material atoms are hard, indivisible and have no intrinsic connection to any other
atom.
11
3. All change is Iundamentally oI position or oI motion. The laws governing such
change are the basis oI mechanistic science.
4. Fundamental units do not possess inIormation about the large wholes oI which they
are a part.
5. Complex wholes and their properties are less real than their constituents. For
example, consciousness is assumed to be reducible to neural-chemical processes.
6. Cause and eIIect are both distinguishable and distinct. Causes always precede their
eIIects in linear order.
7. Space is intrinsically three-dimensional. Time is independent oI physical change.
8. Space and time happen to contain various objects and events but, in principle, could
exist without them.
9. All events are in principle predictable, iI we had the time and resources to
determine the causes. There is no genuine Ireedom.
10.There is no overarching purpose in nature. Nature is merely the hurrying about oI
material stuII.
11.Nature is objectively 'out there waiting to yield its secrets to minds Iree oI bias
and uncritically held assumptions.
This paradigm expanded to the Newtonian worldview where the entire universe was
perceived as part oI a three dimensional grid with laws that governed movement in a
deterministic manner. Woodhouse (1996) points out that a worldview is broader than a
paradigm. 'It is a master perspective involving paradigms Irom diIIerent disciplines, one
oI which typically dominates and spills over into the others.A Newtonian
worldview.involves a whole network oI interdisciplinary assumptions that reIlects the
12
basic kind oI thinking that Newton and his successors adopted. This Newtonian paradigm
permeates the worldview oI a large segment oI the world population.
At the beginning oI the 20
th
century, the Newtonian paradigm was challenged by two
great theories: Einstein`s theory oI relativity and the theory oI quantum physics. These
two theories ushered in our current scientiIic paradigm. The major changes were the
theories oI (1) time and space expanding and contracting with diIIerent velocities oI
objects, (2) subatomic particles displaying randomness, and (3) the dual wave / particle
nature oI matter and energy. From these theories, the only aspect oI the scientiIic paradigm
to enter into the worldview was the randomness oI nature revising principle #9 that all
events are predictable. Quantum physics indicates that other principles should be revised
such as #2 and #11, but these revisions have not grown into a revised worldview. Our
current worldview is still quite similar to the Newtonian worldview, with the addition oI
randomness. And even though the scientiIic paradigm has evolved Irom this original
Newtonian paradigm, the current worldview is based on these principles (Woodhouse,
1996).
The rational worldview needs revision due to many oI the Iindings oI quantum
physics in the areas oI cause and eIIect, the continuity oI spacetime, and the separation oI
observer and observed. In addition, there are studies on Ieatures oI consciousness that do
not Iit the current scientiIic paradigm or the materialistic worldview. In my research I have
studied quantum physics and these Ieatures oI consciousness Ior implications oI a new
worldview and new structure oI consciousness.
The principles oI the materialistic worldview derived Irom the principles oI the
Newtonian worldview are as Iollows:
1. The objects oI the universe are composed oI small Iundamental units.
13
2. Atoms are made up oI subatomic particles that have strange quantum properties, but
these properties can be ignored in the macro-world.
3. All change is Iundamentally oI position or oI motion. The laws governing such
change are the basis oI mechanistic science.
4. Fundamental units do not possess inIormation about the large wholes oI which they
are a part.
5. Complex wholes and their properties are less real than their constituents. For
example, consciousness is assumed to be reducible to neural-chemical processes.
6. Cause and eIIect are both distinguishable and distinct. Causes always precede their
eIIects in linear order.
7. Space is intrinsically three-dimensional. Time is independent oI physical change.
8. Space and time happen to contain various objects and events but, in principle, could
exist without them.
9. There is randomness in the universe. LiIe is an accident.
10.There is no overarching purpose in nature.
11.Nature is objectively 'out there waiting to yield its secrets to minds Iree oI bias
and uncritically held assumptions.

14
The Quantum Physics Connection to Consciousness


Many attempts at an explanation oI the phenomena oI consciousness Irom a
scientiIic point oI view turn to the enigmatic Iindings oI quantum mechanics
3
. One reason
Ior this, Chalmers (1994) humorously points out, is that '|t|he attractiveness oI quantum
theories oI consciousness may stem Irom the Law oI Minimization oI Mystery:
consciousness is mysterious and quantum physics is mysterious, so maybe the two
mysteries have a common source. However, quantum mechanics is the only place in
science where consciousness has been shown to have a physical eIIect on matter and
energy.
OIten scientiIic enigmas precede great breakthroughs in our understanding oI the
nature oI reality, and the quantum-consciousness connection may be just that kind oI
anomaly. A paper by physicist David Mermin (1998) asks the question, 'What is quantum
mechanics trying to tell us? The reason Ior the question is that quantum physics lacks
intuitive applicability to the physical world. In quantum physics, physicists have
developed equations that are extremely accurate in describing the natural world. Quantum
physics has been subject to challenging tests Ior eight decades. No prediction by the theory
has ever been shown to be wrong. It is the most battle-tested theory in all oI science it
has no competitors (Rosenblum, 2006, p. 51-52). As Iar as accuracy goes, quantum theory
is the most accurate theory in all oI science. One particular test shows that the theory has a
precision oI one part in a trillion. This accuracy is equivalent to 'measuring the distance
Irom a point in New York to a point in San Francisco to better than the thickness oI a

3
For example, see Penrose (1989)
15
human hair (Rosenblum, 2006, p. 82). And yet, we do not know how the mathematics oI
quantum theory applies to the natural world.
A similar situation occurred when it was believed that the earth was the center oI
the universe. The anomalies oI the movements oI the planets pointed to the Iact that the
earth revolved around the sun and not the other way around. In the ancient world, it was
noticed that planets moved around the earth in strange patterns. To make sense oI the
movements oI the planets, mathematical epicycles secondary circles embedded in the
primary circular orbits around the earth were assumed to correct Ior the aberrant
behavior. When careIul astronomical measurements Iound inaccuracies in the predicted
movement oI the planets even with the epicycles, epicycles on the epicycles were
introduced which improved the accuracy, but were still not perIect. Finally, in the 16
th

century, Copernicus believed that there had to be a simpler explanation. He suggested that
the planets, including the earth, orbited the sun (Rosenblum, 2006). This was revolutionary
to a geocentric worldview. The heliocentric worldview produced a mathematical
description oI planetary movement that was more accurate and Iar simpler than the
geocentric model with all oI its epicycles. But the worldview oI a central stationary earth
was so ingrained in the populace, culture and Church that to suggest that the earth actually
moved at all, and moved around the Sun was too radical to accept. Instead, in Copernicus`
work, published shortly aIter his death, the Iorward declared that the mathematic model oI
a central Sun was a convenience onlv and did not describe actual movement (Rosenblum,
2006). The worldview at that time would not accept the idea that the sun was the center oI
the solar system and thereIore resisted the message the equations were sending.
Eventually, the question had to be asked, what is a heliocentric mathematical model trying
to tell us? To us, the obvious answer is that nature correlates to the mathematics the
16
planets do orbit the Sun as represented in the equations. To those living at that time, such
an explanation was quite counter-intuitive. AIter all, iI one dropped a stone, it Iell straight
down so how could the earth be moving? II the earth was moving, a great wind would
blow. And a heliocentric worldview would contradict the Bible. But eventually, through
the work oI Copernicus, Kepler and Galileo, the heliocentric viewpoint became accepted.
But not only was the heliocentric viewpoint accepted it eventually proIoundly changed
the worldview oI many, dropping the mythological stories oI creation in Iavor oI a
materialistic worldview.
Currently, the orthodox interpretation oI quantum physics basically states that we
do not know what quantum physics is trying to tell us, and it is unimportant. What is
important is that it works. Rosenblum (2006) estimates that quantum mechanics
applications now comprise one-third oI our economy! The mathematics works as a
convenience onlv, but does not apply to the real world. This sounds very much like the
Iorward to Copernicus` book! Is it possible that iI the mathematics oI quantum physics did
actually apply to the natural world, and iI we could determine how it applied, the
implications would result in a new worldview and a new story oI the universe that could
improve our approach to liIe, the planet and the cosmos?
The scientiIic community has agreed to ignore what quantum physics might be
saying about the natural world because they don`t know what the underlying nature oI
reality might be (Herbert, 1984). In spite oI this point oI view, some scientists have tried to
interpret the meaning oI quantum physics, risking their academic reputations in the process.
Very oIten the interpretation includes consciousness. Evidence oI this quantum
consciousness interest is physicist David Mermin`s 2001 list oI the ten questions he would
want to ask a physicist Irom the year 2100. His eighth question was, 'Has anv progress
17
been made in understanding the nature of conscious experience or how the mind affects the
bodv, and does quantum mechanics or its successor plav a fundamental role in that
understanding? And a recent book by Rosenblum and Kutter is entitled Quantum
Enigma. Phvsics Encounters Consciousness. Indeed in the past two decades there has been
growing interest in both consciousness and the quantum connection to consciousness.
In quantum physics the act oI observation has an eIIect on the outcome oI
experiments. What is remarkable about this eIIect is that it violates one oI the major
components oI the scientiIic method, namely that there is an objective world that can be
observed. In other words, up until the development oI quantum theory, the scientiIic
method held that there is a world oI matter and energy that operates according to the laws
oI physics whether or not there is someone watching. The Iact that matter and energy
behave diIIerently when there is an observer ended the separation between the observer and
the observed, violating principle #11 oI the materialistic worldview as described on page
13 that nature is objectively 'out there.
Quantum theory grew out oI the Newtonian paradigm, and to appreciate the
proIound conIlict quantum theory has with common sense, we will Iirst review a Iew oI the
principles oI classical Newtonian physics. Classical physics embraced materialism the
principle that matter and energy are all that exist in the universe.
18
Quantum Physics and Consciousness

Classical physics did not address consciousness or Iree will, Iocusing on matter and
energy only. 'There is mind, and there is matter. Physics deals with matter (Rosenblum,
2006, p.33). However, with quantum physics, the conscious observer plays a vital role in
the behavior oI matter, which ended this separation oI observer and observed. So I will Iirst
present the experiment that highlighted the problem oI the dual nature oI matter and the
role oI consciousness in physics. Some background to the experiment is that Sir Isaac
Newton became convinced that light was a particle and not a wave. He noticed that light
traveled in straight lines, bounced oII mirrors at the same angle with which they hit, just
like a tennis ball, and did not bend into a shadow. Waves would not behave this way. The
authority oI Newton was such that there was no challenge to the particle interpretation oI
light Ior over 100 years until Thomas Young in 1800, was shining light through two closely
spaced clear slits on a piece oI glass that was otherwise opaque. Sometimes he would shine
the light through one slit, and sometimes through both slits. When he would shine light
through only one slit, the light illuminated the screen as a well deIined circle oI light
which is what light would do iI it was a particle. When he would shine the light through
the two slits simultaneously, the light illuminated on the screen was in the Iorm oI an
interIerence pattern which is what light would do iI it was a wave. An interIerence pattern
is a ripple pattern with alternating light and dark bands. Waves create this interIerence
pattern through the intersection oI two waves emanating Irom two sources similar to
dropping two pebbles in a pond a Iew inches Irom each other. When two crests one Irom
each source arrive at the same spot on the screen, the screen is extra bright. When a crest
Irom one source and a trough Irom the other source arrive at the same spot on the screen,
19
they cancel each other and a dark area is Iound. This creates the alternating pattern oI light
and dark rings. So, with one slit, light behaves like a particle, with two slits, it behaves like
a wave.
Technology has improved since Young`s time, and we can now slow the emanation
oI light Irom a source until only one photon oI light at a time is heading towards the two
slits.

Experimenters perIormed the same procedure, but released one photon at a time toward the
slits. One by one, blips appear on the photographic screen behind the two slits.

And the blips Iorm the same interIerence pattern as beIore. What did each photon, one by
one interIere with? One possibility is that it interIered with itselI. It leIt the source as a
particle, became a wave as it reached the two slits, passed through both slits, interIered
with itselI, and when it came upon the photographic screen it became a particle again.
Scientists wanted to determine iI the single photon went through both slits as a
wave. They Iound that iI they set up the experiment so that they can detect whether the
photon went through both slits at the same time or just one oI the slits, the interIerence
20
lines would disappear. So the observation oI the photon passing through the slits changed
the very nature oI the light Irom wave to particle. More speciIically, it is the knowledge oI
which slit the light passed through that changes the nature oI light.
To make sure that the observation was not disturbing the light, and thereIore
changing the light`s characteristics Irom a wave to a particle, experiments were designed in
which it would not be directly determined which slit the photons pass through. Instead the
experimenter would nevertheless know which slit the photon passed through by making an
indirect measurement. The methodology employed the property oI entanglement another
Iinding oI quantum physics.
When a single photon oI light enters a crystal, at times a photon is split into two
photons the sum oI whose energy equals that oI the original photon. The two photons
seem to stay in constant communication with each other. This is not meant to be an
anthropomorphism, but they seem to actually have an inner connection. This was predicted
by the Iounders oI quantum physics based on the mathematics oI quantum physics alone.
This predicted Ieature oI quantum physics led to Einstein`s Iamous quote that he did not
believe in 'spooky action at a distance. In 1964, John Bell proved mathematically that the
universe has this entanglement property which is also known as nonlocality. In 1982,
Alain Aspect experimentally proved that the universe is nonlocal and that particles are
entangled as predicted. At Iirst physicists thought this entanglement would be Iragile
disrupted by a cosmic ray in the next room. Today we know that this entanglement has
been repeatedly demonstrated in physics laboratories around the world (Radin 2006). In
the March 2004 issue oI New Scientist, Michael Brooks summarized his Iindings:
'Physicists now believe that entanglement between particles exists everywhere, all the
time, and have recently Iound shocking evidence that it aIIects the wider, macroscopic`
21
world that we inhabit. Brooks went on to say that, 'It is a discovery that might have Iar-
reaching consequences. Not only will it give us a better grip on technological applications,
such as quantum computing and cryptography, and the teleportation oI quantum states, it
could also open up a whole new realm oI reality, enabling us to retain and control quantum
weirdness in our everyday world...Entanglement could even be the key to understanding
what gives rise to the phenomenon oI liIe.
Walborn, et. al. (2002) set up the double slit experiment such that he would be able
to determine which slit a photon would pass through without directly observing the photon.
They sent a photon into a beta-barium borate crystal which divided the photon into two
photons: p and s.

Photon p went to one detector, while photon s went to a double slit screen and then
to a detector. The p detector was a little closer to the source oI light, and so Iirst detector p
would register the p photon, then detector s would register the s photon. When this
experiment is perIormed, there is an interIerence pattern in detector s. In this setup, the
detection oI p gives no inIormation about the trajectory oI photon s. The interIerence
pattern is expected since the setup is similar to Young`s experiment. The next step is to
place two polarization Iilters in Iront oI each slit. The Iilters are placed in opposite
directions so that we could know through which slit the photon passed through. Because
photons p and s are entangled, by knowing the polarization oI photon p, we would know
22
the polarization oI photon s prior to reaching the two polarization Iilters and thereIore
know which slit s passed through. When this experiment is perIormed, the interIerence
pattern disappears because we know which slit the photon passed through.

Even iI the apparatus to measure the polarization oI photon p is not there, the
interIerence pattern disappears because the inIormation is available coded by the
polarization Iilter into the photon. Next, Walborn placed a second polarization Iilter in
Iront oI detector p that would erase the polarization inIormation the Iirst Iilter placed in
Iront oI photon p. Now we could not know the polarization oI photon s prior to reaching
the polarization Iilters in Iront oI the slits and thereIore we could not know which slit the
photon passed through. The interIerence pattern reappears.


No change was made to the s side oI the apparatus. Somehow, photon s 'knew
that the polarization oI photon p was scrambled, that the information carried by photon p
23
was lost to the universe, and thereIore, there was no way Ior anyone to know which slit it
went through. ThereIore, the interIerence pattern re-emerged. How did photon s 'know
that a polarization Iilm was placed in Iront oI detector p cancelling the inIormation?
Somehow that was 'communicated to s. The important points here are that the behavior
oI the photon going through the slits changes based on what the observer does and what
knowledge the observer has. II the observer places a Iilter in Iront oI detector p, thereby
erasing the polarization inIormation, the photon behaves like a wave. Take the Iilter away
and the photon behaves like a particle. The photon is not an objective entity doing what it
does irrespective oI the observer. The beauty oI the apparatus above is that no changes are
made to the s side oI the apparatus only to the p side, and yet the photon on the s side is
aIIected. We are not observing photon s directly, so our observations are not 'disturbing
the apparatus. And there seems to be an importance in the concept oI information. When
the observer destroys inIormation, photon s interIeres. When the observer can potentially
have the inIormation, even iI it is not used, photon s does not interIere. This indicates the
importance oI the role oI information in the way our universe works that does not Iit the
materialistic worldview. Other experiments have shown that this inIormation gets
communicated instantly as iI there is an inner connection between the two photons p and s.
InIormation plays a role in the behavior oI the matter and energy that make up our
universe.
It is important to note that when we say that a photon is like a wave or particle, the
emphasis is on the word like.` We do not know what a photon is really like; waves and
particles are models that physicists use as analogies. The mathematical equations Ior the
wave were developed by Schrdinger. The solution to the Schrdinger wave equation had
terms that were complex numbers. Complex numbers are numbers that have a real
24
component and an imaginary component. The imaginary component contains as a Iactor
the square root oI a negative number. Since a negative number does not have a square root
(a negative number times a negative number is a positive number, so no real number times
itselI can possibly give a negative number), physicists say that the quantum wave equation
does not represent anything physical. When an equation in physics predicts the outcome oI
events, it is natural to attempt to understand how the equation might correspond to the
natural world. So, Ior example, in Einstein`s Iamous equation E mc
2
, where E is energy,
m is mass and c is a numerical constant equal to the speed oI light, the equation
corresponds to actual meaning in the physical world real energy, real mass and the speed
limit oI light. But the Schrdinger equation deIies such correspondence due to the complex
numbers. And so, unlike perhaps all other equations in physics, conventional physicists do
not assign physical meaning to the Schrdinger equation. The wave that is described by
the Schrdinger equation cannot be measured or observed as a wave as soon as we
observe the photon, it acts as a particle. Physicists say the wave 'collapses and becomes a
particle. The wave collapses as soon as we observe it. According to the standard
interpretation, known as the Copenhagen interpretation named Ior the city in which it was
developed, light behaves as either a wave or a particle, but when it is a wave it does not
exist in 3-dimensional space. When it is a particle it does. This Ieature oI the standard
interpretation caused Einstein to remark, 'Do you really believe that the moon only exists
when you are looking at it?
At the moment a single photon is passing through both slits at the same time,
physicists do not believe that the photon actually exists in the 3-dimensional world. What
does exist is the potential Ior the electron to exist. The only way that the electron shiIts
Irom the potential to exist to existence is through observation. At this deep level oI reality,
25
nothing exists in physical space until observed. During those trials where an interIerence
pattern occurs, where we believe that the photon passes through both slits at the same time,
physicists say the photon is in a superpositional state the photon is a spread out wave oI
potentiality. The square oI the amplitude oI the wave indicates the probability oI finding
the photon if we make an observation. It is important to note that this is not the probability
oI the photon being in a particular place, but the probability oI finding the photon there
but only if we look. Until we look, and until it is Iound, the photon does not exist! What
does exist is the potential Ior Iinding a photon. Finding the photon brings the photon into
existence! This is also part oI the Copenhagen interpretation accepted by most physicists.
Recent experimental results have conIirmed that observation creates reality. In 2003,
Anthony Leggett, winner oI the Nobel prize Ior physics in that year, published equations
that would determine iI observation creates reality or not. A team oI researchers perIormed
the experiments using Leggett`s equations and showed that observation does create reality.
They reported their results this year in Nature stating, 'Most working scientists hold Iast to
the concept oI 'realism'a viewpoint according to which an external reality exists
independent oI observation. But quantum physics has shattered some oI our cornerstone
belieIs. Here we show by both theory and experiment that a broad and rather reasonable
class oI such non-local realistic theories is incompatible with experimentally observable
quantum correlations. Our result suggests that giving up the concept oI locality is not
suIIicient to be consistent with quantum experiments, unless certain intuitive Ieatures oI
realism are abandoned (Grblacher, et. al., 2007).
This interpretation oI observation creating reality violates many oI the principles
oI the materialistic worldview such as there is an objective world out there and that all
change is oI position or motion.
26
Quantum theory leads to the Iollowing conclusions:
(1) there is no deterministic world things can happen randomly and thereIore
without a reason
(2) there is a Iundamental denial oI ordinary physical reality while objects are in the
wave state
(3) there is quantum entanglement where inIormation is shared between distant
objects instantaneously
(4) there is the intrusion oI consciousness into the physical world through
observation


These Iour aspects oI quantum physics violate the principles oI the Newtonian
paradigm, and all but the randomness principle oI the current materialistic worldview. The
Newtonian paradigm became our current scientiIic paradigm as items 1 3 were
incorporated and widely accepted by scientists. But only the randomness principle made it
into the materialistic worldview. Even though these principles were accepted, most
scientists avoid seeking answers to what is going on in the non-physical realm that the
Schrdinger equation is pointing to. Physicist Danah Zohar states that, 'The existence oI
nonlocal quantum-level correlations has shaken the world oI physics and is one oI the main
Iactors making it so Iar impossible Ior quantum physicists to say what their theory means
(Zohar, 1990, p.37). Other scientists are interested in seeing iI science can extend to this
non-physical world where instantaneous inIormation and consciousness play a role. By
studying this non-physical realm one is attempting to see the entire world the way it really
is or at least closer to the way it really is than the way we see it now. I draw an analogy
to psychotherapy where bringing suppressed hidden emotions to consciousness allows the
individual to see themselves closer to the way they really are, thereby allowing them to live
a healthier liIe both physically and emotionally. Seeing the world closer to the way it
really is may result in a greater capacity to deal with the problems currently aIIlicting the
world. Not only might we achieve a better understanding oI this world, but it may lead us
27
to a new worldview that may provide solutions to the problems that we are Iacing today
with our current worldview. Rosenblum (2006) believes 'that quantum experiments hint at
a worldview that has not yet been grasped. Astonishing insights might await us.
Physicist John Bell, who proved mathematically that the universe is non-local, believed
that quantum mechanics reveals the incompleteness oI the current worldview. He stated
that 'the new way oI seeing things will involve an imaginative leap that will astonish us
(Rosenblum, 2006, p.87). Rosenblum points out that the meaning oI Newtonian mechanics
was clear it described a clockwork universe. Even Einstein`s relativistic world was clear.
Move Iast and clocks run slow. But this quantum mechanics is not so clear. 'It`s harder to
accept that observation creates the reality observed. That needs interpretation
(Rosenblum, 2006, p.99).
The Iourth item regarding the intrusion oI consciousness is controversial and so my
research next led to consciousness eIIects in the physical world. It seems that conscious
awareness causes a wave-like potential particle that does not exist in our 3-dimensional
world to change, or as it is said collapse into an actual particle in the 3-dimensional world.
Our consciousness is deIined as awareness. That awareness is of inIormation storage,
recognition and retrieval. Could an inIormational Iield be the connection between our
consciousness and the quantum enigma?
This idea oI an inIormational Iield was championed by physicist David Bohm. He
took a diIIerent approach Irom the standard interpretation oI quantum physics the
standard interpretation being that Schrdinger`s equation does not represent anything, but
is merely a calculating device albeit a very powerIul one. Bohm mathematically
separated the real terms Irom the imaginary terms in the Schrdinger equation. The real
terms described classical physics, while the imaginary terms, according to Bohm,
28
represented a hidden area oI our universe that was real, but outside oI our space-time
universe. Bohm said that this hidden area which he named the implicate order contained
inIormation or is inIormation that guides particles in the space-time universe. Bohm called
this inIormation 'in-Iormation meaning that it is a process that Iorms its recipient. This
in-Iormation oI the implicate order guides the explicate order through the patterns oI
meaning that it Iorms. Bohm called it one oI the Iundamental Iorces oI the universe. Later
we will return to Bohm`s implicate order.
We will now take a look at studies oI consciousness that question the current
materialistic worldview. These studies have been reported with risk to the scientist`s career
as the Iindings do not Iit into the current scientiIic paradigm or materialistic worldview. As
remarkable as these studies are, there are probably many more that go unreported by those
who wish to remain in their university positions. Because oI this reputational risk,
transpersonal psychologist Charles Tart has created a website where scientists can
anonymously submit articles about their experiences oI anomalies oI consciousness and
synchronicity. I point this out to indicate the diIIiculties in reporting investigations that
question the current worldview.

29
Consciousness Studies that Question the Current Worldview

In the last section, quantum physics led to Iour aspects oI the world that violated the
Newtonian paradigm. The Iirst aspect dealt with the probabilistic nature oI the quantum
world. According to the orthodox interpretation oI quantum physics, a quantum object will
be in a non-existent wave-like state until measured. Schrdinger`s wave equation provides
the probabilities oI where an object will be Iound iI we look Ior it. The orthodox
interpretation also provides that the Schrdinger equation gives the probabilities oI where
the object will be Iound but which outcome will actually occur is random and thereIore
non-causal. For example, in the double slit experiment, where the observer knows which
slit the photon went through, the observer had no control over which slit it would
eventually go through. Although the photon behaved as an existent particle and not a non-
existent wave due to the observation, there was no control by the observer which slit the
photon particle went through. Although observation brought the photon Irom the non-
existent wave state to the existent particle state, there is no control over where the particle
will maniIest. In this sense, observation creates reality, but there is no control over the
reality created. This is the standard Copenhagen interpretation. When a photon quaIIs into
existence due to observation, there is no inIluence over the location oI the photon that is
quaIIing into existence.
But what iI human consciousness could inIluence the location oI where the object
was Iound when looked Ior? What iI observation not only created reality but also allowed
the observer to inIluence the path the object took when quaIIing into existence?
In pioneering work, Robert G. Jahn began experimenting on the eIIects oI human
thought on a random event generator (REG) in the 1980`s at Princeton University. Jahn
30
established the Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research (PEAR) program in 1979, and
published the book Margins of Realitv. The Role of Consciousness in the Phvsical World in
1987. The approach oI the PEAR program 'has been to apply the techniques oI modern
engineering science to systematic study oI selected aspects oI consciousness-related
anomalies that appear pertinent to contemporary science and engineering practice and
amenable to controlled laboratory study (Jahn & Dunne 1987, p.89). The REG generates
a random signal that is either above or below a baseline level. A calibration is run to show
that there is no bias toward a positive (above) or negative (below) reading. In the
calibration, the REG even had excursions into a biased position that is predicted by chance
alone. Operators oI the REG were asked to use their mental intention to inIluence the
outcomes oI the REG to score more positives or more negatives, or to run the machine with
no intention. Their instruction was to use their intention by whatever strategy the operator
Ielt eIIective. In a large number oI trials, the eIIects were small but highly signiIicant. In
addition to an electronic random generator, the same experiment was perIormed with a
mechanical device a device where Ioam balls trickled down an entrance Iunnel into an
array oI pins that distributes the balls according to a Normal distribution (bell shaped
curve). The operators were to use their intention to move the distribution to the right or
leIt. Again, the results were signiIicant.
Jahn and Dunne tried to determine the most eIIective strategies used by the
operators to Iocus their intention. Some used meditation and visualization techniques.
Others utilized competitive strategies attempting to outperIorm other operators or their own
prior results. And there were other techniques, but on the whole the researchers Iound that
these techniques were operator speciIic and transitory. II there was any unity in these
various strategies, it was the attainment oI some sense oI 'resonance with the device (Jahn
31
& Dunne, 1987, p.142). One operator described the Ieeling as Iollows, '.a state oI
immersion in the process which leads to a loss oI awareness oI myselI and the immediate
surroundings, similar to the experience oI being absorbed in a game, book, theatrical
perIormance, or some creative occupation. And, '.I`m in resonance with the machine.
It`s like being in a canoe; when it goes where I want, I Ilow with it. When it doesn`t, I try
to break the Ilow and give it a chance to get back in resonance with me. Jahn points out
that the resonance mentioned here will play a role in his theory. Jahn then posits the
concept oI consciousness as a wave. He points out that we have regarded consciousness as
a particle, and draws an analogy to the wave particle complementarity oI quantum physics.
He describes standing waves and how they are able to carry and hold energy and
inIormation (Jahn & Dunne, 1987, p.215). Jahn proposed that consciousness as a particle
would be localized in the brain and would interact with other`s consciousness locally as in
a Newtonian Iramework, whereas consciousness as a wave would be spread out and would
account Ior the consciousness anomalies as described above. Perhaps that is why some
individuals have greater abilities in maniIesting their intentions they are able to allow
their consciousness to be in a spread-out wave state where they can have inIluence, rather
than in a localized particle state where they do not. The operator above who Ielt in
resonance with the machine might be describing the Ielt sense oI a wave state oI
consciousness as opposed to a particle state oI consciousness, where consciousness would
not have any anomalous eIIects. Jahn then develops a physics oI consciousness delineating
time and space dimensionality, mass, and charge oI consciousness. The details oI this are
beyond the scope oI this paper, however he does make two interesting observations. He
Iirst indicates that a limited consciousness that had no mental inIluence could be compared
to a bound standing wave. A bound standing wave is a wave that does not dissipate, and is
32
contained by boundaries that rise above the wave. II consciousness is like that bounded
wave, and then acquires suIIicient energy to be elevated above the boundaries, it would
then be a Iree wave a wave not constrained by any boundaries. Jahn believes the
consciousness then may gain access to all consciousness and space-time and interact with
any other point in space-time which would accommodate anomalies such as consciousness
machine interaction (Jahn & Dunne, 1987, p.244).
Jahn does not indicate the medium in which consciousness waves are transmitted,
nor what is resonating. Are these waves in the physical world or in a hypothetical mental
world? II they are in a mental world, how can they interact with the physical world to
produce the eIIects he has shown? This is not to say that the consciousness waves are the
interiority oI subjective experience, but that it may be the exterior correlate oI the interior
process or may only be a metaphor.
To consider consciousness as a wave or a Iield opens an entirely new way oI
looking at consciousness. II there is a consciousness Iield, science is unaware oI this Iield.
The analogy is to the early days oI electricity. There were many competing theories, and
over time electricity was better understood and harnessed. We may be in the early days oI
the discovery oI consciousness Iields. Radin points out that consciousness eIIects are
'.being regarded as a genuine, albeit poorly understood human Iacility that, iI we can
Iigure out ways oI using it reliably, will undoubtedly become the next trillion dollar
business (Radin, 2006, p.79). The eIIects that we are noticing may be the tip oI the
iceberg oI what is possible.
The next researcher to be reviewed is William Braud. Braud has been conducting
what he calls distant mental inIluence experiments Ior over three decades. In his
compilation oI studies, Distant Mental Influence, Braud summarizes experiments that show
33
the ability Ior intentional consciousness to inIluence a distant person`s bodily activity. A
Iew examples are the ability to calm another person at a distance and to protect human red
blood cells. He also shows that individuals can react to unseen gazing and remote staring.
Lastly, he reports on studies oI successIul remote mental inIluence on healing. Braud
points out that these results, 'cannot be adequately accounted Ior or explained by our
dominant scientiIic models and theories (Braud, 2003, p. xxxvii

).
Braud provides three possible theories Ior these anomalies oI consciousness:
transmission models, reorganization models, and holonomic models. Transmission models
are oI the radio transmission type whereby there is some quasi-physical Iorce that carries
inIormation Irom one location to another, and is then decoded at the remote site. The
reorganizational model posits that randomness or disorder already present in the remote site
is reorganized in a process that is analogous to resonance. So there is no transmission oI
Iorce per se, but inIormation is transIerred through a Iorm oI resonance. In the last model,
the holonomic model, nothing is transmitted or reorganized. All inIormation is already
present throughout all parts oI the system. All oI these theories indicate a 'deep and
proIound interconnectedness among people and also between people and all oI animate and
inanimate nature (Braud, 2003, p. xliii

). Braud concludes by noting that 'The value oI
realizing the interconnectedness suggested or revealed by distant knowing and distant
inIluence Iindings is.in the ethical and moral understandings and actions that may Ilow
out oI this apprehension.II I am deeply and proIoundly interconnected with other persons
or with nature, then in some important way, I am one with others and with nature. To harm
others and nature is to harm myselI; to be loving, compassionate, understanding, protective,
and caring Ior others and nature is to treat myselI in these benevolent ways (Braud, 2003,
p. xliv).
34
Most recently, Dean Radin has engaged in consciousness research utilizing state oI
the art equipment and rigorous methodology (Radin 2004). In one study Radin tests Ior
correlations in the EEGs between pairs oI subjects. Radin has one person relaxing in a
double steel-walled, electromagnetically and acoustically shielded room while a second,
located in a dimly lit room 20 meters away, is stimulated at random times by the live video
image oI the Iirst person. A computer program turned the image on and oII Ior 10-second
periods, randomly timed. The experiment was designed to see iI the non-stimulated subject
would react to the stimulated subject indicating a connection oI some kind. The stimulated
subject`s brain did indeed react to the stimulus oI the video, and so did the non-stimulated
subject. The reactions oI the two brains were correlated r .20, p.0005 (highly
signiIicant), while a control group`s correlation was r-.03, p .61 (not signiIicant). Radin
reIers to these consciousness anomalies as psi eIIects. Evidence supporting psi eIIects
continues to mount (Radin, 2004; Radin, 1997; Katra & Targ, 1998). Radin (2006)
summarizes the case Ior psi: 'AIter a century oI increasingly sophisticated investigations
and more than a thousand controlled studies with combined odds against chance oI 10
104
to
1, there is now strong evidence that some psi phenomena exist. Radin concedes that there
could be selective reporting oI results and variations in experimental quality which could
reduce the impressive results he cites, however he points out there can be little doubt that
something is going on.
Radin believes that these psi eIIects are due to minds that are entangled in a way
that is similar to quantum objects being entangled. In addition, he also embraces a
holographic Iramework: '.at some level our mind/brain is already coexistent with other
people`s minds, distant objects, and everything else. To navigate through this space, we
use attention and intention. From this perspective, psychic experiences are reIramed not as
35
mysterious powers oI the mind` but as momentary glimpses oI the entangled Iabric oI
reality (Radin, 2006, p.246). But how does a 'mind/brain actually perceive this level oI
reality? Radin believes that resonance provides the key: 'Non-sensory perceptions are
occasionally evoked in the brain because, as an exquisitely sensitive pattern recognizer, it
responds to ripples resembling similar undulations associated with previous events. So
similar memories arise. II the unconscious mind deems those memories to be suIIiciently
interesting, then inIormation will arise to awareness in the Iorm oI imagination or Ileeting
thoughts (Radin, 2006, p.266). In this theory, humans are receiving non-local inIormation
all the time, but are unaware oI this inIormation due to all oI the other stimulation that our
consciousness deals with. Only iI the inIormation is meaningIul and important can it make
it through the barriers that are present to prevent data overload. Radin quotes philosopher
Henri Bergson: 'II telepathy is a real Iact, it is very possible that it is operating at every
moment and everywhere, but with too little intensity to be noticed.We produce electricity
at every moment, the atmosphere is continually electriIied, we move among magnetic
currents, yet millions oI human beings lived Ior thousands oI years without having
suspected the existence oI electricity. It may be the same with telepathy (Radin, 2006,
p.267). Meditation may serve to quiet the mind so that the perception oI non-local
inIormation becomes more available.
Next, the role oI consciousness in healing will be explored. At Iirst the idea that a
person`s mind could aIIect their physical health was scoIIed at by the medical
establishment. We now take psychosomatic illness seriously no one denies the power oI
one`s mind on one`s health. The placebo eIIect is another example oI the mind-body
connection. But what about the eIIect oI one person`s consciousness on another person`s
physical health? This is exactly what Daniel Benor, a psychiatric MD decided to
36
investigate in 1980 when he witnessed a Reiki healing that shrank and soItened a Iirm 1-2
centimeter lesion on a young man aIter a 30 minute session. Benor had been a skeptic oI
this kind oI healing, but aIter this event, his curiosity led him to investigate. Over a 20 year
period he researched and reviewed healing studies that had been published, and analyzed
them Ior rigor and validity. He wrote a Iour volume book that summarized his Iindings
which led him to the conclusion that consciousness-based healing is both real and very
eIIective. Benor calls this type oI healing 'spiritual healing. Benor reviewed 191
controlled studies oI healing, Iinding 124 with signiIicant results showing healing eIIects
on wounds, hypertension, pain, anxiety, depression, enhancement and retardation oI growth
oI various organisms, and alterations in DNA. Benor`s Iavorite and most cited study was
that oI Randall Byrd, a CaliIornia cardiologist who reported success in distant intercessory
prayer in a 1988 study. In this double blind study, neither the patients nor the doctors knew
which patients were being sent healings and which were not. In this study, over a 10 month
period, with 393 patients, the group that was prayed Ior had signiIicantly lower severity
scores that is, lower need Ior intubation / ventilation (p.002), or antibiotics (p.005),
had lower cardiopulmonary arrests (p.02), developed less pneumonia (p.03), or required
less diuretics (p.05) (Benor, 2001).
Although there are so many studies summarized by Benor that show the
eIIectiveness oI consciousness-based healing, the most recent study on intercessory prayer
conducted by well known mind/body researcher Herbert Benson, MD showed that prayer
did not help heart patients (Benson, 2006). Interestingly, this study was more widely
reported in the mass media than any oI the successIul studies. I attribute this to the cultural
bias towards material realism as the prevailing worldview oI our society. There have been
criticisms oI both the Byrd and Benson studies, and it may be that intercessory prayer is too
37
diIIicult to eIIectively study. One criticism oI the study is that the control group might
have also received prayers Irom Iamily and Iriends thereby contaminating the control
group. In the Benson study, this was acknowledged, and so the researchers hypothesized
that the prayer the experimental group received was an incremental addition to the normal
prayers both the experimental and control group would be receiving. To measure the
eIIectiveness oI consciousness-based healing a better research design would be to utilize
experienced distant healers. There are now many healing schools in existence that teach
consciousness-based healing. For example, Fred Sicher, et al.(1998) conducted a distant
healing study in a randomized, double blind design to examine beneIits to advanced AIDS
patients. Forty healers with at least Iive years oI experience were assigned to halI oI 40
volunteers receiving medical treatment. Healings were conducted Ior ten weeks. AIter six
months, the experimental group had signiIicantly Iewer AIDS related illnesses (p .04),
and lower severity oI illness (p .02). Visits to doctors and hospitalizations were less
Irequent and days in the hospital were also lower to a signiIicant level. Improvement in
mood was also noted (p .04). As pointed out above, Benor became convinced in the
eIIicacy oI consciousness-based healing, and many other successIul studies were
summarized in his anthology.
As Iar as Benor`s understanding oI the science behind the distant healing he
reported in his anthology, he simply attributes the healing to the non-locality oI quantum
physics, and the consequent psi eIIects. We will thereIore conIine our interest in Benor`s
work to his reporting on the studies and not to his theories.

38
Theories of the New Sciences and Their Relationship to
Consciousness

There have been reIerences to resonance as an explanatory vehicle Ior psi eIIects,
and aIter reviewing many theories, I will Iocus on the resonance theory oI psi eIIects due to
its consistency with many oI the Iindings oI the new sciences. We recall that Jahn noticed
more eIIective mental eIIects over matter when the subjects Ielt they were in resonance
with the machine, and Braud`s reorganization theory was based on resonance. To review,
resonance reIers to sympathetic vibrations oI a same Irequency. Two vibrating objects
could be involved such as two identical tuning Iorks. One vibrating tuning Iork may result
in the other tuning Iork vibrating at the same Irequency. II there was no dissipation oI
energy, two tuning Iorks could resonate in a sympathetic Ieedback loop Iorever.
Psychologist Gary Schwartz developed a theory oI memory based on this type oI
resonance. Schwartz is currently a proIessor oI psychology, neurology, and psychiatry at
the University oI Arizona doing research in mind-body medicine such as bioIeedback. But
when he was a proIessor at Yale, he developed a hypothesis about how systems stored
inIormation that led him to entertain the notion oI the survival oI consciousness aIter death.
This theory has Schwartz asking in the preIace oI his book the startling question, 'Is
everything, including light itselI, eternal, alive and evolving? This question, as we shall
see, derives directly Irom Schwartz`s theory oI resonance and memory. Schwartz kept his
theory to himselI Ior 13 years so that he would not ruin his career due to scientiIic
prejudice. In his words, 'In science it is dangerous to propose novel ideas that challenge
the Ioundation oI accepted dogma (Schwartz, 1999, p.3).
39
His deep insight was that inIormation, once created, might continue Iorever. His
example was light that could reIlect oII an object and continue with inIormation about that
object into the night sky. 'II the light in the sky was to be believed, meaning that the light
IaithIully expressed inIormation and energy over time in the so-called vacuum oI space,
then the entire universe had a memory Ior its creation and everything that had taken place
since the beginning oI time itselI. It had, so to speak, a universal memory (Schwartz,
1999, p.7). Utilizing systems theory and Ieedback loop logic, Schwartz postulated that not
only memory, but liIe itselI is based on positive Ieedback vibrations resonance.
To get a better Ieel Ior positive Ieedback resonance, he gave the example oI pushing
a child on a swing. Through a series oI small pushes timed exactly right, the swing
increases its range substantially. The key is to push at the exact right moment to give the
positive, additive Iorce. Schwartz tells the story oI Nicholas Tesla, the 'mad genius who
is credited with the invention oI AC alternating current. Based on his interest in AC
current, he experimented with oscillators, exploiting the sympathetic vibrations that he
created in his building in lower Manhattan. At Iirst, objects in the room began to vibrate.
Finally the Iloor and walls began to vibrate with such Iorce that he seized a sledgehammer
and smashed the oscillator beIore the building would collapse. In another experiment, he
attached an oscillator to a steel beam two Ieet long and two inches thick. For a long time
nothing happened, but eventually the steel began to tremble, dilated and contracted like a
beating heart and Iinally broke. Tesla said that sledgehammers and crowbars could not
have done this, yet a 'Iusillade oI taps, not one oI which would have harmed a baby did it
(Schwartz, 1999, p.58). This shows how gentle sympathetic vibrations in a positive
Ieedback loop can accumulate into a strong Iorce.
40
Schwartz combines the concepts oI systems logic, positive Ieedback loops and the
strong power oI sympathetic vibrations to develop a theory oI memory. Returning to the
example oI the two tuning Iorks above, aIter the Iirst tuning Iork begins to vibrate, and the
second tuning Iork sympathetically vibrates, the vibrations oI the second tuning Iork then
cause the Iirst tuning Iork to vibrate in addition to its original vibration. Schwartz then
points out that there are vibrations not only between the two tuning Iorks, but also within
each tuning Iork atomic vibrations that are beyond our ability to perceive. Schwartz
posits that the vibrations within the Iirst tuning Iork would be aIIected by the direct strikes
it would receive and the vibrational energy received Irom the second tuning Iork. These
vibrations within the Iirst tuning Iork would be a record oI the vibrational history oI the
tuning Iork. Schwartz called these vibrations that store memory dynamic energy systems.`
These dynamic energy systems occur in molecules, atoms, and at the quantum level.
At the quantum level electrons and protons can resonate like tuning Iorks, and
should store inIormation and energy in the process. Schwartz then went Iurther and said
that these stored memories in these dynamic energy systems are the source oI liIe itselI,
and called the theoretical phenomena living energy systems. Simple molecules like water
and complex molecules like DNA should be alive, vibrant, and collect histories as they
live. Every cell stores inIormation concerning everything it comes in contact with. In the
same way that a brain learns, the heart learns, trees learn, the earth learns even the whole
universe learns. Everything that learns should be eternal, alive and evolving. To Schwartz,
the universe and everything in it is alive, vibrant, evolving and Iull oI memories.
Schwartz then goes into more detail about the heart`s ability to store memories. He
makes the point that the same technique that the brain uses to store memory, that is,
complex networks oI Ieedback loops, can work in all other cells oI the body including the
41
heart, lungs, kidneys, and even bones. Schwartz then presents anecdotal stories oI stored
memories in heart transplant patients. In one case the heart recipient began using the word
copacetic` aIter the transplant, where he had never used it beIore. When the recipient met
the wiIe oI the donor, it was quickly discovered that the word copacetic had been a code
word used between the donor husband and his wiIe that everything was okay aIter they had
had a Iight. With other similar stories, Schwartz makes a compelling case Ior living
memory in all the cells oI the body. He extends this ability oI storing memories to
memories held in water, which could explain the healing power oI homeopathy, to
electrons and to crystals, including DNA which is also a crystal. He points out that since
these resonating vibrations go all the way to the quantum level, the DNA crystal might be
able to read, through resonance, memories that are stored in the quantum vacuum. What is
the quantum vacuum?
In the physical world, a vacuum can be created by removing all matter. But on a
quantum level, the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle posits that there are ceaseless
Iluctuations ceaseless vibrations that are occurring even in this vacuum. This ceaseless
Iluctuation occurs not only in a vacuum, but in the entire universe. II all oI this energy is
added up, it is a sea oI energy whose total is enormous. This is a background energy Iield
that is a 'seething sea oI particle pairs, energy Iluctuations, and Iorce perturbations popping
in and out oI existence (Haisch, 2006, p.70). Because this is the baseline energy that
remains in the vacuum oI space, it is sometimes reIerred to as zero point energy or the zero
point Iield. Schwartz posits that this energy Iield may be Iilled with an unimaginable
amount oI energy and memories. All quantum objects have a connection to this quantum
vacuum, and all matter and energy are made up oI quantum objects. ThereIore, everything
in the universe is connected to the memories stored in the quantum vacuum or the zero
42
point energy Iield. Ervin Laszlo (2004) believes that this zero point energy Iield is able to
store all the memories oI the universe a universal dynamic memory and named this the
A-Field.
Schwartz Iound similarities in his living energy systems to the new science theory
oI biologist Rupert Sheldrake. Rupert Sheldrake (1995a) developed a radical theory oI
morphic resonance based on the earlier theory oI morphogenetic Iields. Sheldrake
suggested that there is memory inherent in nature and that instead oI laws oI nature, there
are habits oI nature. For example, iI there are laws oI nature, the way that a crystal Iorms
should be the same the Iirst time, the second time and the millionth time. Sheldrake says
that the Iirst time the crystal Iorms there is not a habit, but the second time, the crystal
Iormation is inIluenced by the habit created by the Iirst Iormation and thereIore takes place
Iaster. The third Iormation is inIluenced by the Iirst and second Iormations and thereIore
the speed oI crystallization is Iaster than either the Iirst or the second Iormation. There is a
cumulative buildup oI a habit in nature. Sheldrake reports that in Iact crystals increase
their speed oI Iormation over time and he attributes this to habit Iormation. ThereIore,
rather than Iixed laws oI nature, there are evolving habits oI nature. II there are habits,
Sheldrake says, there must be memory someplace in nature to remember these habits. This
memory in nature Sheldrake calls morphic resonance. 'Morphic resonance is the inIluence
oI like upon like through or across space and time. Similar things resonate with subsequent
similar things on the basis oI similarity oI pattern and, particularly, oI vibratory patterns oI
activity (Sheldrake, 1995a). The morphogenetic Iield is an organizing principle that inIluences
Iormation through vibrational resonance. Sheldrake calls this Iormative causation. Sheldrake
states that morphogenetic Iields underlie the Iorm and behavior oI morphic units at all levels oI
complexity. A morphic unit is anything that can be guided by a morphogenetic Iield. These
43
units include atoms, molecules, cells, organs, humans, societies, cultures, and so on.
Morphogenetic Iields shape objects, behavioral, social, cultural and mental Iields, and in turn are
shaped and stabilized by the morphic resonance with these morphic units. In this way, these
morphogenetic Iields contain a cumulative memory and tend to become increasingly habitual.
Chemicals resonate with the morphogenetic Iield oI previously Iormed chemicals; members oI a
species resonate with the morphogenetic Iields oI previous members oI that species. Sheldrake
believes this theory can explain the collective unconscious, telepathy, past liIe memories and
many other anomalous phenomena through the paradigm oI shared memories oI the
morphogenetic Iield.
When Schwartz read about Sheldrake`s work, he contacted Sheldrake about the
similarities in their interest. At the time, Sheldrake was supporting a contest Ior the best
completed experiment that validated or invalidated his own theory. Schwartz suddenly thought
oI a methodology Ior testing Ior the morphogenetic Iield utilizing Hebrew letters. Taking three-
letter Hebrew words that appeared in the Torah, he hypothesized that by scrambling the letters,
nonsense words could be created that should not have any morphic resonance while the actual
words would. Students were asked to draw pictures oI what they thought the words meant.
They did not know that halI oI the words were nonsense words. Then they were asked to
indicate the conIidence they had that their drawing was correct. In Schwartz`s words, the results
were 'unbelievable. Due to his disbelieI, he repeated the experiment Iive more times with
independent samples oI students. Although there was no relationship between the drawings and
the words, the students had a signiIicantly higher degree oI confidence oI being correct with the
real words.
The experiment was repeated with a variation resulting in interesting implications. This
time the students were told that halI oI the words were real and halI nonsense, and were asked to
44
identiIy the real words. Their ability to score higher conIidence levels on the real words
vanished. Schwartz believes this was due to their using their right brain in the successIul trials
since they were told to draw their pictures through Iree association, while in the second variation
they were trying to 'Iigure out which words were real, a leIt brain activity (Schwartz, 1999).
He won the prize, although he had to share it with a group that did a very similar experiment in
the Farsi language. Schwartz`s colleagues were so negative and cruel regarding this research
that he decided to save his reputation and not publish the results. Years later, the International
Societv for the Studv of Subtle Energies and Energv Medicine begged him to submit these
Iindings, but he still considered them too controversial to publish.
Returning to our discussion oI morphic resonance, what is resonating and where is it
resonating? Sheldrake believes it is somehow beyond time and space. Perhaps there is a
resonance with David Bohm`s implicate order. David Bohm was a quantum physicist who was
unsatisIied with the Copenhagen interpretation oI quantum physics, whose principles include
randomness and a denial oI meaning oI the wave Iunction. This interpretation regarded the
wave Iunction as a mathematical convenience only, having no representation in the physical
or non-physical world. When Bohm became a Princeton proIessor, he wrote the text Quantum
Theorv in order to clariIy the subject to himselI. The book agreed with Heisenberg, Bohr and
von Neumann in the Copenhagen interpretation that there was no deep reality subatomic
particles do not exist
4
(Herbert, 1985). In the early `50s, Bohm was blackballed by Senator
McCarthy`s Committee on Un-American Activities Ior reIusing to testiIy against Robert
Oppenheimer with whom he studied as an undergraduate. As a result he moved Iirst to Brazil
and then London. However, conversations with Einstein while at Princeton led Bohm to
develop an alternative quantum interpretation. Einstein could not accept the randomness oI the

4
See page 22-23 oI this paper
45
Copenhagen interpretation, and Bohm`s alternative quantum interpretation removed that
randomness by introducing a meaningIul, purposeIul level oI reality he called the implicate
order. The physical world he called the explicate order, which unIolds Irom this hidden
implicate order. Physicist David Peat who worked closely with Bohm described it this way:
'While the explicate order deals in separateness and independence, the implicate order is holistic
and mutually enIolding (Peat, 2002, p.63). The implicate order is like a hologram each part
contains the whole. As such, there is an interconnectedness and wholeness to deep reality.
'This means that what appear to be separate objects in our everyday world have arisen out oI the
same common ground and thus retain connections and attractions Ior each other, correlations
that lie outside the normal range oI explicate causality (Peat, 2002, p.63). In Bohm`s
explanation oI the quantum enigma, 'an elementary particle is not so much an object as a
process. It is a constant process oI becoming and dying away, a process in which the particle`
unIolds Irom the whole oI space into a tiny region and then enIolds back again over all space.
Wave-particle duality is explained as particular snapshots (at one moment localized, at one
moment spread out) oI what is not really a spatial object, but an entire process (Peat, 2002,
p.64). The implicate order is much deeper and more proIound than the explicate order. Peat
likens the explicate order to the surIace oI an ocean, while the implicate order is the ocean itselI
reaching to great depths. The implicate order embraces and contains the explicate order which
unIolds Irom and enIolds into the implicate order.
Bohm identiIied the implicate order with the quantum Iield Irom which the explicate
order unIolds and enIolds. He then introduced a superimplicate order which is to the implicate
order as the implicate order is to the explicate order. The superimplicate order is like an agent
that can have an eIIect on the implicate order, and the implicate order in turn produces a
maniIestation in the physical world that reIlects the agency oI the superimplicate order. Another
46
way to view the superimplicate order is that it generates the laws oI nature, or as Sheldrake
would say, guides the habits oI nature. Bohm suggested that there are an inIinite number oI
implicate orders each enIolding and unIolding Irom its higher level. Bohm named the
totality oI all implicate orders the holomovement due to the constant movement oI these hidden
orders and its property oI being an undivided whole. 'Ultimately everything in the explicate
order oI common experience arises Irom the holomovement (Bohm & Hiley, 1993, p.357).
The holomovement is Bohm`s theoretical Iabric oI reality that underlies the 4-dimensional
space-time universe, the explicate order, based on the concept oI this Iabric oI reality being an
undivided wholeness in Ilowing movement. The preIix 'holo also reIers to Bohm`s belieI in
the holographic nature oI the holomovement. In a holographic Iilm, each portion oI the Iilm
contains the whole picture. II one cuts the Iilm in halI, and shines laser light through the Iilm,
the entire picture appears, but is oI less resolution. Even iI a small portion oI the Iilm was used,
the entire picture would be seen, but its resolution would be even lower. Bohm indicated that
this was also the nature oI the holomovement in the sense that each element oI the
holomovement contained the whole. Any change in one little area oI the holomovement would
be known and have an eIIect throughout the holomovement, and thereIore could have an eIIect
throughout the explicate order.
Bohm indicated that the implicate order is an inIormational Iield that guides particles.
For this inIormational Iield to provide the inIormation to the particles, energy is needed. He
draws an analogy to a radio signal guiding a ship in the ocean. The radio wave contains a lot oI
inIormation, with a little energy. The ship contains a lot oI energy. No matter how Iaint the
signal, as long as the ship can read the signal, the ship can use that inIormation in Iull. Bohm
says this is how the implicate order works. There are two levels oI energy: the energy oI the
seen world such as electromagnetic energy, and a Iorm oI energy oI a diIIerent type, the
47
quantum potential energy, that is part oI the implicate order and has a lower magnitude. This
quantum potential energy is not only oI a lower magnitude but also behaves diIIerently. For
example, based on Schrdinger`s equations, this quantum potential energy has the same eIIect
on particles regardless oI its intensity, unlike typical energy where intensity is an important
Ieature. In other words, typical energy has decreased eIIects as it propagates over a distance,
while this quantum potential energy has the same eIIect no matter the distance (Sheldrake,
1995b). Bohm reIers to this lower energy as a very subtle Iorm oI energy. 'The implicate
energies are very Iine; they would not ordinarily even be counted as energies, and these
implicate energies are giving rise to the production oI electrons and protons and the various
particles oI physics (Sheldrake, 1995b).
An important interpretation oI the implicate order and the superimplicate order that
Bohm has provided is that oI meaning that is inherent in these orders (Hiley & Peat, 1987).
Bohm explains his interest in meaning because meaning is the essential Ieature oI
consciousness. Bohm, in placing meaning in the implicate order, is placing consciousness there
too. ThereIore, Bohm is indicating that the implicate order is comprised oI both consciousness
and a subtle Iorm oI energy, which together guide the matter oI the explicate order when the
next moment unIolds Irom the implicate order. Consciousness philosopher Christian de
Quincey points out that 'the relationship between consciousness and energy is an acausal
connection through meaning.
5
Acausality reIers to related events occurring without any
mechanistic connection between them. Carl Jung, the psychologist, developed the idea oI
synchronicity based on an acausal connecting principle that attempted to deal with the origin oI
meaningIul patterns in nature.
6
ThereIore, it is in the implicate order that meaning, through the
relationship between consciousness and the subtle Iorm oI energy, provides the signals, or the

5
Personal communication.
6
http://www.Idavidpeat.com/bibliography/essays/temple.htm
48
inIormation, Ior the next unIolding oI the explicate order. As the explicate order then enIolds
back into the implicate order, into the holomovement, the holomovement is slightly changed by
the enIolding explicate order. Bohm uses the terms injection and projection: 'Each moment is a
projection oI the whole.But that moment is then injected or introjected back into the whole.
The next moment would then involve, in part, a re-projection oI that injection, and so on
indeIinitely. Each moment will thereIore contain a projection oI the re-injection oI the previous
moments, which is a kind oI memory; so that would result in a general replication oI past Iorms
(Sheldrake, 1995b). Bohm also pointed out that since the moment is injected back into the
whole, the next moment will unIold under the inIluence oI the new whole in anv part oI the
explicate order. In other words, there is non-local inIluence Irom moment to moment. Bohm
reIerred to the past Iorms, this kind oI meaningIul memory, inIluencing Iuture Iorms as
Iormative causation.
Bohm delineates the diIIerent types oI causation by citing Aristotle`s Iour notions oI
causation: material, eIIicient, Iormal and Iinal causes. He went on to state that the scientiIic
paradigm only recognizes the material and eIIicient Iorms oI causation while he believed in
Iormal and Iinal causation in the holomovement. Bohm stated 'that the Iorm that a thing has is
its cause and also its aim, its goal, its end. To Bohm, the holomovement, which provides the
Iormative causation, is very similar to meaning. 'Meaning operates in a human being as a
Iormative cause: it provides an end toward which he is moving; it permeates his attention and
gives Iorm to his activities so as to tend to realize that end
7
(Hiley & Peat, 1987). Bohm
interprets the quantum wave Iunction as a description oI the Iormative cause, with meaning that
connects through quantum entanglement, thereby connecting the whole system with any part.
'The Iormal and Iinal cause determines Iundamentally what a thing is. They determine how it

7
David Bohm in interview with Renee Weber, page 436
49
acts, how it grows, how it sustains itselI, where it will end, what it will become and what it gives
rise to (Hiley & Peat, 1987, p.440). This point oI view is teleological, and it disagrees with
many oI the principles oI the materialistic worldview and scientiIic paradigm such as the
randomness, independence and purposelessness oI matter and the universe. Bohm conIirms his
teleological point oI view and Iurther states that science has Iormulated its equations to mask the
teleological Ioundation oI reality. Bohm points out that many oI these equations can be
separated into a mechanistic component and a teleological component. To Bohm, the
teleological laws are primary and the mechanical laws are special cases oI teleological laws.
Because these laws are teleological, there is an implicit meaning to the nature oI reality.
However, Bohm is careIul to point out that there is no Iixed and no Iinal meaning.
In 1982, Sheldrake met with Bohm to compare the implicate order with morphogenetic
Iields. We have previously discussed how, according to Bohm`s theory, the projection and
injection oI the explicate order Irom and to the holomovement creates a memory and provides
Ior Iormative causation. They Iound this so similar to Sheldrake`s morphogenetic Iield that they
agreed that morphogenetic Iields are an aspect oI the implicate order. In both theories, the past
aIIects the Iuture through Iormative causation. As particles unIold and enIold Irom and to the
implicate order, they resonate with an aspect oI the implicate order that gives Iorm to the
particles. But it`s important to remember that the implicate order as described by Bohm is a
holomovement all that is` takes the Iorm oI ceaseless movements and yet at the same time
constitutes a whole due to its non-local, interconnected nature. Rather than a random,
mechanistic view oI the world oI objects, Bohm`s view is that this holomovement is a constantly
evolving meaningIul process that Iinds expression in the explicate order. These processes or
movements oI the holomovement are not random, but instead are meaningIul, purposeIul and
intentional and seem consistent with Schwartz`s dynamic resonance memory theory and
50
Sheldrake`s morphic resonances oI the morphogenetic Iields. Sheldrake points out that there is
a holarchy oI morphogenetic Iields that gives shape to the explicate order Iields within Iields.
So there would be Iields Ior the cells oI a human, and Ior the human itselI. This meaning,
purpose and intention in the holomovement can maniIest in diIIerent Iorms in the explicate
order which Bohm says gives rise to synchronicities. In the holomovement there are
meanings that can unIold in a dream, in the waking state, or as a metaphor. When meaningIul
inIormation Iinds expression in two or more diIIerent ways in the explicate order, a
synchronicity can occur.
Combs and Holland (1996) give numerous examples oI synchronicities. For example,
Joseph Campbell the mythologist was recounting his reading about the praying mantis, which
plays a part in the mythology oI the Bushman, on the Iourteenth Iloor oI his apartment in New
York City near a rarely opened window Iacing Sixth Avenue. He suddenly Ielt the urge to open
a window. He opened the window, looked out to the right and there was a praying mantis
walking up the side oI the building. He looked at the mantis, and the mantis was looking right at
him. Campbell said his Iace looked just like a Bushman`s Iace, 'and it gave me the creeps!
8

A well known story is that oI Carl Jung in a session with a woman who had had a dream
about a golden scarab beetle. As she was telling her story, there was a tapping at the window.
Jung opened the window, and caught a local variety oI the beetle as it Ilew in. This had a
proIound transIormational eIIect on the woman.
These synchronicities are well known and experienced by many. Bohm`s implicate
order provides an explanation Ior their existence. The important point about the implicate order
and synchronicities is that there is meaning in the implicate order. The golden scarab held some
sort oI meaning in the implicate order and unIolded in both a dream and as an actual insect

8
Page 31
51
tapping at the window. Bohm provides the analogy oI a Iish in a water tank being looked at
Irom two adjacent sides. The Iish represents a meaning within the implicate order, and the
observers see two correlated views oI the explicate order. The two views are correlated because
they are actually two views oI the same unIolded meaning. Combs (1996) points out that under
certain conditions, such as deep meditation, the brain is able to 'range or be more in resonance
with the implicate order. Being more in resonance with the implicate order would give greater
expression oI a particular implicate order pattern to unIold in numerous ways in the explicate
order, thereby resulting in synchronicities. Being more in resonance with the implicate order
may give rise to the sensation oI being in the Ilow oI the universe. Combs describes ranging the
implicate order as tapping into the timeless well oI the cosmic Iabric, and attributes psi
phenomenon to this Iacility. Peter Russell (1995) points out that many people who practice
meditation Iind that the deeper and clearer their meditation, the more they experience these
synchronicities. Russell attributes these synchronicities to attaining a particular state oI
consciousness that he describes as 'opening up to the unitive level oI consciousness (Russell,
1995, p.295). David Peat believes that synchronicity 'is the human mind operating, Ior a
moment, in its true order and extending throughout society and nature, moving through orders oI
increasing subtlety, reaching past the source oI mind and matter into creativity itselI (Peat,
1987, p.235).
We have seen Schwartz`s experiments with Hebrew letters that suggests a receptivity
Irom the morphogenetic Iields in the implicate order, and that Iunctioning in a more open,
holistic, 'right-brained manner was more eIIective than the logical, more analytical leIt brain.
We have also seen anecdotal evidence that meditation can increase synchronicities. Meditation
typically quiets the leIt side oI the brain inducing a greater receptivity Irom the morphogenetic
Iields as a result.
52
But how does the transIer oI inIormation Irom the morphogenetic Iield to the
individual actually take place? How does an individual communicate, range or resonate
with the implicate order? We have discussed how meditation can quiet the leIt brain so
that awareness oI the inIormation oI the implicate order can enter an individual`s
consciousness. But how does this happen? To answer this question we will look in more
detail at how the human body is able to connect, range or resonate with the implicate order.
Bruce Lipton (2005) had been a cell biologist Ior over 20 years when a mid-liIe
crisis motivated him to leave the prestigious University oI Wisconsin where he was
working on stem cells. To provide an escape, he took a short-term position at a medical
school in the Caribbean. One night, at 2 AM, while walking on the beach, Lipton had an
epiphany in which he described an inIormational portal opening up and providing him with
deep insights about the nature oI liIe and reality. His deep insight was that the cell
membrane was the brain oI the cell, while the DNA was only memory storage Ior
producing new proteins. He compared the cell to a computer. The DNA was the hard
drive loaded with soItware, while the cell membrane was the intelligence that would
change the computer program as needed. Lipton`s investigation showed that the cell
membrane is a complex structure that maintains constant awareness oI its environment and
controls the substances that enter and leave the cell. Embedded in the membrane are
integral membrane proteins (IMPs) that allow 'approved molecules into the cell. There
are two classes oI IMPs, receptor IMPs and eIIector IMPs. The receptors are the cell`s
sense organs with some extending into the cell Irom the membrane, and some extending
out oI the cell to monitor the external environment. There are two types oI receptor IMPs:
those that respond to molecules such as estrogen, and those that respond to vibrational
energy. Lipton points out that 'Receptor antennas` can also read vibrational energy Iields
53
such as light, sound and radio Irequencies. The antennas on these energy` receptors
vibrate like tuning Iorks. II an energy vibration in the environment resonates with a
receptor`s antenna, it will alter the protein`s charge, causing the receptor to change shape
(attributed by Lipton to Tsong, 1989). The receptor proteins are connected through the
membrane to the eIIector proteins. InIormation Ilows Irom the receptor proteins to the
eIIector proteins which provide the liIe-sustaining response. The receptor-eIIector
combination translates environmental signals into cellular behavior (Lipton, 2005, p.83).
Energies that the receptor proteins can read include microwaves, radio Irequencies, the
visible light spectrum, extremely low Irequencies, and acoustic Irequencies. Lipton
emphasizes that 'the notion that only physical molecules can impact cell physiology is
outmoded. Biological behavior can be controlled by invisible Iorces, including thought
(Lipton, 2005, p.84). Each individual has a unique set oI receptors. Lipton says that it is
the unique set oI receptors that distinguishes one individual Irom another (Lipton, 2005,
p.189). It is these receptors that must match between an organ donor and recipient Ior there
not to be an immune rejection oI the donated organ. Lipton adds, 'it is not the protein
receptors, but what activates the receptors that give individuals their identity.These
identity receptors read a signal oI selI,` which does not exist within the cell, but comes to
it Irom the external environment (Lipton, 2005, p.190). Lipton realized that his identity,
his 'selI exists in the environment whether his body was present or not. II in the Iuture,
he suggests, aIter his body dies, a new body is born that has the same exact set oI identity
receptors, that new individual will be downloading his broadcast. He will again be present
in the world. Regarding organ recipients, they take on characteristics oI their donors not
because oI cellular memory, but because the protein receptors oI the donor`s organ are still
'downloading` the vibrational inIormation that relates to the donor`s selI. 'Even though
54
the body oI the person who donated the organs is dead, their broadcast is still on. What is
this broadcast that Lipton is describing and Irom where is it being broadcast?
55

Analysis of the Theories of the New Sciences


In this section, I will be using the research Iindings presented above and speculating
on their implications. We recall that the integral membrane proteins (IMPs) are unique to
the individual and 'download a broadcast oI the selI. I suggest that the IMPs are the
receptors oI the morphogenetic Iield and resonate with the unique morphic resonance
associated with an individual
9
. Just as there is a morphogenetic Iield Ior atoms, molecules,
cells, and organs, there is a unique morphogenetic Iield Ior each individual. These IMPs
are also able to resonate with morphic resonances other than the selI morphic resonance
and this is the mechanism by which knowledge can be extracted Irom the implicate order.
Sheldrake and Bohm agreed that the 'location oI the morphogenetic Iields must be the
implicate order. The IMPs are able to read, connect with, range and resonate with the
implicate order that results in the consciousness anomalies reported earlier in this paper.
The IMPs are able to resonate with the implicate order as the receptors vibrate with
quantum potential energies oI the zero point energy Iield. These quantum potential
energies have the patterns oI meaning that constitute the morphic resonances that result in
the Iormative causation Irom the implicate order to the explicate order. The patterns oI
meaning contained in the implicate order are the product oI, or due to the relationship
between the consciousness and the quantum potential energy oI the holomovement. The
relationship between the receptors and the patterns oI meaning is a two-way street with
receptors not only receiving inIormation through the resonance with the quantum potential
energy oI the implicate order, but also sending inIormation, thereby changing the resonance
and the associated morphogenetic Iields oI the implicate order. An individual can resonate

9
See page 40-41 oI this paper.
56
with the morphogenetic Iield guiding a random number generator, and using their
consciousness and their receptors, alter the morphogenetic Iield and thereby inIluence the
Iormative causation Irom the morphogenetic Iield to the random number generator to
obtain the desired outcome. To be clear, I do not see this as mind over matter, since the
thinking mind is not involved. Instead I see this as the ability oI the consciousness oI the
individual to resonate with the morphogenetic Iields that it identiIies, and then using
conscious intention still not the thinking mind alter the morphogenetic Iield identiIied,
thereby having an inIluence in the world. This ability to inIluence morphogenetic Iields
would also be the mechanism by which distant healing is possible, as the healer is able to
alter the morphogenetic Iield oI the healee.
Bohm`s implicate order contains not only vibratory inIormation, but also meaning
that maniIests as synchronicities. I believe that it is this meaning in the implicate order that
may be responsible Ior interior subjective experience. The hard problem oI consciousness
is what causes there to be interior subfective experience at all? Why does a certain
Irequency oI light look green? Why do we experience green at all? II the green light
reaches our retina and lights up certain neurons that only green light Iires, we have the
neural correlation, but not the reason Ior the existence oI an inner experience of green. But
iI these neurons vibrate such that they resonate at a sympathetic rate with the quantum
potential energy vibrating with the pattern that has a meaning oI 'green, then an
experience oI green will take place. The vibrating potential energy Iorms a pattern that can
also be viewed as a morphogenetic Iield in this case Ior the color green. The
morphogenetic Iield, as Bohm pointed out, is a very subtle Iorm oI energy. Connected to
this pattern is consciousness, and as noted above, it is the relationship between
57
consciousness and this subtle energy that provides meaning. This meaning is the source oI
the experience oI the color green.
All matter unIolds Irom the implicate order, but as matter and liIe become more
complex, more oI the meaning enIolded in the implicate order can Iind expression and be
known in the explicate order. Since the relationship between the explicate order and the
implicate order is a two-way street, as the explicate order increases in complexity, the
morphic resonances also increase in complexity. In Iact, I believe it is a co-creative
process with the superimplicate order providing agency in the direction that the
complexiIication takes place. As Bohm pointed out, there is purpose and meaning, but no
Iixed Iinal purpose towards which we are moving.
The membrane protein receptors along with the brain have provided an
extraordinary ability Ior humans to extract and store inIormation and meaning Irom the
implicate order. There is also a development that can take place to increase the ability oI
the individual or a group oI individuals to connect, range and resonate with the
morphogenetic Iields. This development requires a conscious choice on the part oI the
individual. ThereIore, the next step in the evolution oI consciousness requires a conscious
choice conscious evolution. I will return to conscious evolution in a later section.
58

Implications of the Theories of the New Sciences


We began our journey by asking what the enigma oI quantum physics and the
anomalies oI consciousness are trying to tell us. We will now try to answer that question.
The last major shiIt in the way humanity viewed the world occurred as a result oI the
scientiIic revolution which ushered in the age oI reason. According to many models oI the
evolution oI consciousness, this development was instrumental in the shiIt Irom the pre-
rational level oI consciousness to the mental or rational level oI consciousness. In a similar
way, in trying to answer the question oI what quantum physics and the anomalies oI
consciousness are trying to tell us, I propose that a new way oI looking at the world based
on these Iindings could lead to a new worldview and an evolution oI the structure oI
consciousness. Further, I propose that to achieve this new worldview and new structure oI
consciousness a conscious choice and conscious eIIort are required, hence the concept oI
conscious evolution.
The key characteristics oI quantum physics and the anomalies oI consciousness that
might translate into a new view oI the world are:
1. The interconnectedness, entanglement, non-locality and wholeness underlying
all matter and consciousness

2. The universe as a world oI ongoing processes rather than a world oI interacting
matter

3. An underlying meaningIulness Iound in the implicate order and thereIore in the
universe

4. Aliveness, intelligence and creativity in the processes oI the universe

5. The link oI human consciousness to the implicate order, and thereIore to all oI
the universe through the holomovement

59
These Iive characteristics do not negate the power oI the rational level oI
consciousness, but includes and transcends that level, and can thereIore be called
transrational. The rational level oI consciousness and the scientiIic paradigm led to a
worldview known as material realism. Material realism is the reigning worldview in
science and the media. The Iive characteristics above are in disagreement with the
worldview oI material realism, which are:
1. Matter is local and has no distant connections to other matter.

2. The universe is a world oI interacting matter operating through the local
exchange oI energy.

3. The universe is meaningless and random.

4. The universe in composed oI dead matter. LiIe arose due to accidental
happenstance.

5. Human consciousness is an epiphenomenon oI the brain and is localized to the
brain. Distant mental inIluences on matter, health and other`s consciousness is
impossible.

ShiIting Irom the worldview oI material realism to the new worldview that is
implied by the new sciences would represent a proIound movement that I believe would
constitute an evolution in the structure oI consciousness. Quantum physics and the
anomalies oI consciousness suggest that we live in a universe that is an interconnected,
whole, meaningIul, living process. Although our Iive senses do not interpret the world this
way, we can detect these Ieatures oI the universe indirectly through the theories and
experimental results oI the new sciences. No one has ever seen, Ielt, tasted, heard or
smelled gravity, but we believe in its existence due to the indirect experiences oI apples
Ialling and planets staying in orbit. In a similar way, the indirect experience through
quantum physics experiments and consciousness studies can lead to the belieI in or being
open to the possibility oI this new worldview. We also see synchronicities that are
60
maniIestations oI the interconnected processes that underlie our universe. But it is the
direct experience oI the holomovement through the conscious awareness oI the resonance
that the integral membrane protein receptors engage in that may allow the individual to
directlv experience, embrace, and internalize this new worldview and new structure oI
consciousness.
This interconnected level the holomovement is beyond space and time and has
the characteristics oI wholeness or oneness, and to be aware oI its nature and truly
internalize this aspect oI reality would constitute a new worldview. Just as the scientiIic
revolution created a new worldview based on rationality and material realism, this
revolution oI consciousness would create a new worldview based on the
interconnectedness, meaningIulness, creativity and intelligence in the nature oI the
universe. A new worldview is not just a change in the cognitive understanding oI the
world, but a complete transIormation oI the individual and society. One sees worldview
changes not only in science, but also in ethics, politics, music and art. All ways oI knowing
are transIormed in a new worldview. In addition, Ior the individual, a deep transIormation
takes place. Again, drawing on the experience oI the scientiIic revolution, not only was
there a change in the conception oI how matter and energy interacted (according to rational
laws instead oI mythical stories) there was also change in ethical values. This was seen in
the revolution against the dictatorial hierarchies oI monarchies and the establishment oI
democracies (Wilber, 2000). The attitude growing out oI the scientiIic revolution was to
no longer believe in myths, and was replaced with a more ethical stance oI equal
opportunity Ior all people. For example, the mythic worldview held that men are not
created equally, and that kings ruled by divine right. This belieI matched the mythic
consciousness oI that time period, but would be considered unethical today as the rational
61
worldview led to deeper insights in ethical living. In the same way, a shiIt Irom the
rational worldview to this new worldview being proposed would lead to even deeper
insights oI ethics. Social scientist Duane Elgin (2000) points out that 'in a dead universe,
materialism makes sense.each oI us is the product oI blind chance.It is only Iitting that
we the living exploit on our own behalI that which is not alive.II we are separate beings
in a liIeless universe, there are no deeper ethical or moral consequences to our actions
beyond their immediate, physical impacts. Elgin then indicates how a new worldview
would produce greater ethics: '.iI the universe is conscious and alive.we shiIt Irom
Ieelings oI existential isolation in a liIeless universe to a sense oI intimate communion
within a living universe.Every action in a living universe is Ielt to have ethical
consequences as it reverberates throughout the ecosystem oI the living cosmos.
How does such a proIound change occur in so many Iacets oI the individual and
society? To answer this question, we look to the developmental models that have mapped
the structures oI human consciousness. A proIound transIormation oI society and the
individual is regarded as an evolutionary development by many models. We will now
explore a Iew oI the many models oI the evolution oI consciousness and relate the next step
in the evolution oI consciousness to the discoveries oI the new sciences. Then we will
address the question oI the eIIect oI a cognitive understanding oI the new sciences and iI a
new cognitive understanding can lead to an evolution oI consciousness.
62

Evolution of Consciousness


The new sciences provide us with a new story oI the nature oI reality. This new story
has the potential to change our relationship with ourselves, others, the planet and the
universe. The shiIt is proIound, as many oI the key Iundamental belieIs about the universe
are transIormed with this new understanding. Let`s review the salient Ieatures oI this new
story. The universe is interconnected through a holomovement. The universe`s physical
reality and our consciousness unIold Irom this holomovement. Each part oI the
holomovement contains the whole. The universe is a process, imbued with meaning,
intelligence, and creativity. Individuals through their physical body and consciousness are
capable oI resonating with the implicate order and tapping into that intelligence and
creativity. The new sciences are pointing to a shiIt Irom a separate, inanimate, object-
oriented worldview to an interconnected, process-oriented and holistic worldview. In other
words, there is an aliveness and 'oneness to this new worldview. Because oI these
characteristics oI the new worldview, and the new structure oI consciousness that embodies
this worldview, I will reIer to this structure oI consciousness with the term Unitive. Unitive
consciousness is a proIound shiIt that I see as an evolutionary advance in human
consciousness.
This paper is providing a cognitive understanding oI this shiIt in consciousness
based on the latest scientiIic Iindings. However, this cognitive understanding can lead to
an internalization, which in turn can have a proIound eIIect on one`s ethics, values,
relationships, and many other areas oI liIe. For example, in meditation, being aware that
one`s integral protein receptors are resonating at the quantum level with the intelligence
63
and creativity oI the holomovement can change the quality oI one`s meditation. Meditating
with one`s mind only would result in very limited contact with the holomovement. But a
Iull body meditation, as recommended by Buddhist teacher Reginald Ray (2006), would
maximize that connection and result in a more proIound experience. Taoist Master
Hyunmoon Kim points out that the entire body is the brain.
10
By being Iully in the physical
body, that is, being Iully aware oI interior and exterior sensations and awarenesses
throughout the body, the connection between the integral protein receptors and the
morphogenetic Iield is enhanced resulting in a more proIound meditation. With a more
proIound meditation, the individual begins the process oI internalizing this new worldview
and new structure oI consciousness due to the direct connection and resonation with the
morphogenetic Iields oI the implicate order. David Bohm has said, 'We have to think with
everything we have. We have to think with our muscles (Jaworski, 1996, p. 82). Rational
consciousness is a very leIt brain consciousness, while unitive consciousness is one oI Iull
integration oI the entire body. It is through the integration oI these parts oI ourselves that
we can tap into the intelligence, creativity and wisdom oI the holomovement. In rational
consciousness, these parts remain separate, with all parts subordinated to the power oI the
brain and the leIt brain in particular. We recall the suggestion that when the leIt side oI
the brain dominates awareness, knowledge available to us Irom the implicate order remains
hidden. This leIt side oI the brain consciousness is like a pseudo implicate order crowding
out the subtle perception oI the actual implicate order. The leIt side oI the brain
consciousness is based on inIormation, just as the holomovement is, and can mimic the
intelligence and creativity oI the implicate order. In Iact, according to Karl Pribram (1991),
the brain stores memories utilizing holonomic interIerence waves a model that is very

10
Personal communication
64
similar to the theories presented above describing the dynamic memory oI the implicate
order. In this sense, the brain has been created in the image oI the implicate order. Our
culture teaches us to pay attention to the pseudo implicate order the rational, analyzing
mind and to ignore the actual implicate order the intuitive, transrational inIormation
available to us through the ranging oI the implicate order. The brain can serve a useIul
Iunction, iI and when it does not crowd out the inIormation available Irom the implicate
order. UnIortunately, Ior most humans, the brain provides a pseudo implicate order,
pretending to be the whole that the implicate order is, while keeping the individual Irom
being in touch with the true implicate order.
Unitive consciousness, on the other hand, can lead to solutions oI world problems since
one`s consciousness would be aware that the universe has purpose, and there is creativity
and intelligence in the world. This is a consciousness oI being more aware oI one`s body,
which results in one being more in touch with the embedded wisdom oI the universe. With
unitive consciousness, one is aware that the resonance with the implicate order is a two-
way street. Not only do morphogenetic Iields inIluence Iormation in the physical world,
but the physical world inIluences the development oI the morphogenetic Iields in the
implicate order (Sheldrake, 1995b). Individuals with unitive consciousness understand that
their actions can have inIluence throughout the universe. II there is liIe on other planets,
the morphogenetic Iields developed here may have an inIluence on the living beings on
those planets (Sheldrake, 1995b). II this understanding is Iully Ielt, it may become more
diIIicult to engage in activities that rational consciousness would say have no eIIect outside
oI a localized area. What one does in the privacy oI one`s home may no longer be so
private, but can have a deep impact in the universe. As a result, there is a sense oI greater
responsibility in the world.
65
The chart below summarizes this proIound shiIt Irom the mental or rational
consciousness oI material realism to the unitive consciousness oI wholeness.

Rational: Material Realism Transrational: Unitive Consciousness
Separate objects in universe
Matter and energy interact locally only
except at the micro-level
Interconnected universe
Non-locality; Action at a distance
even at the macro-level
Object-oriented Process-oriented
Meaningless random universe MeaningIul purposeIul universe
Matter is dead, unintelligent, uncreative Alive, intelligent, creative universe
Random accidents result in evolution Evolution due to creative impulse oI universe
Consciousness is a local epiphenomenon oI
nerve cells
Consciousness connects to the
holomovement
Brain knowledge Body knowledge leading to wisdom
Distant healing impossible Consciousness-based distant healing
Thoughts and actions aIIect only nearby
people and objects
Thoughts and actions aIIect the entire
universe through morphogenetic Iields
Immutable laws oI the universe Causative Iormation
Morphic resonance
Habits oI the universe

This shiIt in consciousness Irom rational to unitive as described above is based on the
enigmas oI quantum physics and the anomalies oI consciousness. The Ieatures oI material
realism in the chart above are also representative oI the current scientiIic paradigm. As
unitive consciousness takes hold, I expect the paradigm oI science to go through a similar
transIormation so that it is consistent with this new worldview.
Researchers have approached the evolution oI consciousness Irom a developmental
psychological Iramework, and we will now see iI there is any conIirmation oI unitive
consciousness Irom that perspective.
Earlier in this paper I introduced the theoretical model oI consciousness developed
by Jean Gebser (1985). Quickly reviewing, Gebser named historical structures oI
consciousness starting at the time that humans were still embedded in nature essentially
66
prehuman, and called that Archaic consciousness. He then traced the evolution oI human
consciousness Irom Archaic to Magical, then Mythic and Iinally to today`s Mental or
Rational consciousness. His belieI was that the next level oI human consciousness would
be one where humans would integrate the best Ieatures Irom all oI these consciousness
levels to a consciousness he named integral consciousness. Based on the situation, an
individual could utilize the most appropriate consciousness Magical, Mythic or Mental.
Gebser Ielt that through the awakening oI integral consciousness, there would be a more
transparent experience oI reality we would more clearly see things as they are. He gave
examples oI this level oI transparency in science and art: quantum physics and relativity
making time and space more Iluid than in Newtonian physics, and in the paintings oI
Picasso, where multiple perspectives are seen. Lastly, he believed that the making present
oI all oI the structures oI consciousness through transparency would result in a Iluidity oI
perception. Instead oI one mode oI consciousness to dominate, such as the rational
structure, all structures are recognized and seen as valid.
I Iind Gebser`s greater transparency oI reality analogous to the direct experience oI the
holomovement through the interior Ieeling oI resonance mentioned earlier. Gebser`s
Iluidity might be similar to the resonance Ielt by operators oI Jahn`s random number
generators. Most important is Gebser`s description oI integral consciousness the
incorporation oI all levels oI consciousness. I Iind this similar to the integration oI the
physical and (non-leIt brain) mental levels oI unitive consciousness. Rather than seeing the
evolution oI consciousness to a next level as climbing a Ilight oI stairs, both Gebser`s
model and my model oI Unitive consciousness point to an integration oI all levels oI
consciousness as the next step in human evolution being aware oI all the stairs in a Ilight
instead oI just the highest stair.
67
Susanne Cook-Greuter (2000), a Harvard developmental psychologist and integral
theorist, has a model oI selI-development in which the highest level is called the 'unitive
stage. Cook-Greuter describes this level as Iollows: 'The Unitive stage presents an entirely
new way oI perceiving human existence and consciousness. The new paradigm has a
universal or cosmic perspective. Unitive individuals experience themselves and others as
part oI ongoing humanity, embedded in the creative ground, IulIilling the destiny oI
evolution.They can take multiple points oI view and shiIt Iocus eIIortlessly among many
states oI awareness.Because oI this unitive ability they can cherish the humanness in the
seemingly most undiIIerentiated beings and Ieel at one with them.Irom a unitive point oI
view higher stages are not better than lower ones because all are necessary parts oI
interconnected reality and an overall evolutionary process.
In comparing Cook-Greuter`s unitive stage with my own deIinition oI unitive
consciousness, I Iind these characteristics oI the unitive stage the cosmic perspective,
experiencing embeddedness in the creative ground, and higher stages being integrated with
lower ones similar to unitive consciousness` experience oI the implicate order and
integration oI the physical body with the holomovement.
Gebser`s and Cook-Greuter`s models are both describing and Iorecasting the next stage
in human consciousness that both researchers began to see in their observations. It is
remarkable how similar these models are to the evolution oI consciousness suggested by
the enigmas oI quantum physics and the anomalies oI consciousness. This paper has
presented a cognitive understanding oI these anomalies and an explanation Ior them based
on the Irontier sciences. These anomalies have led us to a cognitive understanding oI a
new level oI consciousness I have called Unitive consciousness. Does a cognitive
understanding oI this new level oI consciousness lead to an embodiment oI this higher
68
consciousness? Ken Wilber, the integral theorist, says that a cognitive understanding is a
necessary condition Ior the development oI higher stages oI consciousness; although he
also points out that the cognitive understanding is not suIIicient. He explains that one has
to be aware oI something beIore one can act on it, Ieel it, identiIy with it or need it. I
believe that understanding the message embedded in the Irontier sciences can lead to the
embracing and embodiment oI unitive consciousness. Combining this cognitive
understanding with techniques that provide an experience oI the implicate order through
ranging, or the inner Ieeling oI resonance with the morphogenetic Iields, would propel the
evolution oI consciousness to the unitive structure oI consciousness.
69

Conscious Evolution


The new sciences are pointing to a worldview where the universe is seen as
meaningIul, interconnected, holistic, and process-oriented. A person with this worldview
would know that there are resonances with a deep level oI reality that can provide
guidance, creativity, and a unique way oI knowing. To take this leap along the
evolutionary path oI human consciousness, a conscious choice must be made to both
cognitively understand the possibility oI unitive consciousness and to experience the sense
oI resonance with the universe that leads to the inner knowing that accompanies the
ranging oI the implicate order
11
. Because this conscious choice is necessary, I consider this
next step in human evolution a conscious evolution.
The implicate order, and morphogenetic Iields have inIluence on the explicate order
and the physical world whether we are conscious oI this taking place or not. But iI we are
conscious oI this aspect oI the world, we become co-creators oI the next step oI
consciousness which is what makes unitive consciousness possible. In other words, unless
we become conscious oI the holomovement, and range with the implicate order, we will
not achieve unitive consciousness and this new worldview will not become a reality. To
attain unitive consciousness requires access to the direct experience oI the holomovement.
Conscious evolution is necessary to attain this unique and amazing structure oI
consciousness and new worldview.
To learn to range with the implicate order, one needs to quiet the analytical mind,
reduce the noise coming Irom the pseudo implicate order, and be more in touch with one`s
body. Practices such as meditation, yoga and qi gong, iI done in a way that puts the

11
See page 49 oI this paper.
70
practitioner in touch with the implicate order, may be the keys to the Iurtherance oI human
consciousness. But a conscious choice must be made to undertake these disciplines. The
evolution oI consciousness will not take place without this conscious choice. ThereIore,
this is called conscious evolution.
What is the good oI a new worldview iI it does not change behavior Ior the
betterment oI humankind in some way? Does unitive consciousness raise ethics and values
to a new level or at least make it more appropriate Ior the needs oI our time?
As humans have entered the third millennium, the problems oI humanity seem to
have grown worse and more critical. Although there have been doomsayers throughout
recorded history, our technology has reached a scale unheard oI in previous eras. There are
Iive major areas oI concern that could change liIe as we know it. These major problems
are overpopulation, resource depletion, environmental degradation, climate change, and
war
12
. The challenge is how to address these issues in a world where the predominant
structures oI consciousness have created the problems cited above.
In the past, evolution has been unconscious it has naturally unIolded. Over a time
Irame that is almost too immense Ior humans to conceptualize, nature makes adaptations
based on increased survival or sexual preIerence through both cooperation and competition.
Being aware oI the interconnectedness, purposeIulness, intelligence and creativity
oI the holomovement changes one`s approach to liIe. Awareness oI the limitations oI the
material realism, along with awareness oI the interconnectedness and wholeness underlying
the universe can lead one to a new worldview and a new consciousness Unitive
consciousness. Through an awareness oI this greater truth about the nature oI reality, and

12
For more detail see http://www.cluboIbudapest.ca/WorldFacts-101226.html
71
through practices that increase one`s exposure to the holomovement, one may be able to
consciously evolve to this higher level oI consciousness.
With this new worldview and new structure oI consciousness, new modes oI change
open up to solve humanity`s problems. With the understanding oI morphogenetic Iields
and morphic resonance, and the two-way Ilow oI inIormation, a group oI committed souls
can be inspired to change the morphogenetic Iields aIIecting these problems. The existence
oI a morphogenetic Iield related to a group oI human consciousnesses is being tested by the
Global Consciousness Project, headed by Roger Nelson, a research coordinator at the
Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research laboratory. In this research, 65 random
number generators in locations spread throughout the world are measured Ior coherence
when there has been an event that Iocuses consciousness in a signiIicant way. From 1998
to the present, events that have indeed Iocused human consciousness sometimes tragic
such as the 9/11 terrorist attack, and sometimes peaceIul events such as worldwide
meditations have resulted in signiIicant correlations and coherence in the 65 number
generators. Further, the eIIects on the random number generators would begin 15 minutes
beIore the event. The hypothesis oI the researchers is that, 'Based on evidence that both
individuals and groups maniIest something we can tentatively call a consciousness Iield,
we hypothesized that there could be a global consciousness.
13

While this group is trying to prove the existence oI a global consciousness, other
groups are proceeding in developing methods oI changing morphogenetic Iields Ior the
betterment oI mankind and the planet. One oI the Iew groups that not only is attempting to
change morphogenetic Iields, but is also trying to quantiIy their eIIect is the meditation
group oI Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Based on their many years oI meditation and research,

13
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72
they believe that group meditation can have a positive eIIect on society. John Hagelin,
quantum physicist, has directed numerous studies correlating group meditation with
societal improvements. For example, in 1993, 4,000 meditators in Washington, D.C.
gathered Irom June 7, 1993 to July 31, 1993 with the hypothesis 'that levels oI violent
crime in the District oI Columbia would Iall substantially during the Demonstration
Project, as a result oI the group's eIIect oI increasing coherence and reducing stress in the
collective consciousness oI the District (Hagelin, et. al., 1999). Their Iindings showed a
reduction in violent crime oI 15.6 during the experimental period (p 0.0008).
Hagelin`s group has conducted 50 studies, 23 published, indicating the
eIIectiveness oI their program. Hagelin has recently written, 'Creating peace is our
expertise. we have been given the supreme technique to create harmonious collective
consciousness. America will never change, the Middle East will never change, nothing will
ever changenothing will ever get betteruntil we make it better, until we create
integrated national consciousness.
14
II Hagelin`s eIIorts are eIIective, I suggest that it is
due to the morphic resonance being created between the morphogenetic Iields associated
with the variables they are studying and their consciousness. Through meditation they may
be having a dramatic direct eIIect on the morphogenetic Iield, changing the morphogenetic
Iield so that through causative Iormation, better societal structures result.
Another group active in this area is that oI Jason Shulman`s A Societv of Souls.
Shulman has created numerous practices that intend to have a direct eIIect on
morphogenetic Iields through the resonance oI the practitioner with morphogenetic Iields.
Shulman has created a school that teaches methods oI changing a client`s morphogenetic
Iields through resonance with the Kabbalistic seIirot divine attributes that have been

14
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73
meditated upon Ior hundreds, iI not thousands oI years thereby possessing strong morphic
resonances. Shulman teaches a method to 'read morphogenetic Iields in a proprietary
training, and a process to replace a suboptimal morphogenetic Iield with a rectiIied
morphogenetic Iield eIIecting change and healing in the individual. Shulman calls this
process 'morphic healing. A healer, trained by Shulman, reported that upon perIorming
the morphic healing on two long term clients, they unexpectedly Iiled Ior divorce soon aIter
the healings, while another person, a senior Wall Street analyst, abruptly quit her job, quit
drinking, quit an extramarital aIIair, and Iiled a sex discrimination suit. These dramatic
shiIts are indicative oI the power oI this consciousness-based healing.
Shulman has also created a practice that is intended to bring change into the world
through consciousness, which he has named the Magi Process
15
. In this practice, one Ieels
in one`s body all sides oI a situation. Shulman states one does not use reason, or other
types oI leIt brain thinking. Instead he is directing the practitioner to Ieel the issues Iully in
the body, then, dropping those thoughts, read a series oI 38 statements that are poetical and
relate to a creative birthing process. As with the holomorphic healing described above, this
process is intended to change the morphogenetic Iield that originally created the issue that
the practitioner is Iocusing on healing. Shulman oIIers no empirical studies oI the
eIIectiveness oI this process, but practitioners report proIound results.
Through research and eIIorts such as these just presented, humanity is learning how to
harness consciousness and its relationship to the implicate order and morphogenetic Iields,
to consciously evolve to the level oI Unitive consciousness in which humanity may be able
to live more peaceIully and in harmony with nature.


15
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74
'No problem can be solved Irom the same level oI consciousness that created it. Albert
Einstein.
75
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