I underlined some eye-catching information, in Chapter 4. First I was surprised at the idea of a heart kept alive outside of a body. A heart specifically used to scientific experimentation, but would not belong to any physical body. Experiments were conducted on the heart to make it beat faster or slower. Ultimately it became a question of chemicals vs. wave of electromagnetic signals. The two challengers had the same affect. This reminds me of the different methods doctors use when someone is in cardiac arrest or having a heart transplant. Adrenaline can be used to jumpstart a heart, as well as a deliberator; this is an example of chemical vs. waves. Also, electroconvulsion shock treatment (ECT) is similar, but it is waves used on the brain.
The concept of searching for where specific memories are located in the brain was interesting. I found it especially intriguing when scientists could actually trigger certain memories and flashbacks. Considering that color and incredible details could be catalyzed, by stimulating the brain, really amazes me. Recently, I fell and hit my head. As result, I was referred to get a catscan taken of my brain. The test showed that I have an abnormal growth inside the left side of my skull and therefore, need to get an MRI. Since discovering the (hopefully slim) possibility of a tumor or something that needs to be removed, this concept caught my attention. Yesterday I was discussing brain surgery with a friend and she was explaining that during mot brain surgeries an individual is awake, but numb. In order to check a patient’s status, during surgery, a doctor can stimulate movement by stimulating different parts of the brain. For example, by stimulating a certain part of the brain it can cause a patient’s foot to twitch. Overall, the brain is an incredible phenomenon.
Showing posts with label Blog 2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blog 2. Show all posts
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Further into the ZPF
Your blogs this week were insightful and really enjoyable to read. Some of you are still confused or struggling with the scientific bent of the book, but just remember that Mctaggart didn't write this for a scientific audience, and that simply trying to grasp the basics the first time around is enough to begin thoughts and connections. Many of you, though, are making some great connections. Syeda makes associations to the "evil eye" prominent in many cultural superstitions, and the nazar. Nick brings up Ch'i and the abilities of those practicing the Martial Arts. Sarah remembers traditional science's metaphor of the brain as a "filing cabinet," but ponders the "awesome possibilites" that open up if we question this traditional stance. Both Becci and jme mention the quote,"...at the lowest level of mind and matter, each of us creates the world" -- a significant thought for the basis of this class. Danny questions whether dreams are simply a "weaker form of reality" (perhaps they are just a different form???) and asks "what's death?" can we also ask, then, what are ghosts? What, as jme refers to, is deja vu? Dusty makes the connection between the reading and the ancient "scientist" Thales, noting, too, the relavance of DNA (let us know if you find the source of the NPR segment). Hannah's word "enlightenment" for breaking into the ZPF seems to sum it all up, and the fact that breaking into the ZPF might require "work and dedication" provides a nice seguey into some of the other ideas we'll discuss in class. I look forward to next week's installment.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
blog 2
I found chapters 4 thru 6 of The Field to be almost as difficult to follow as the first three chapters. I’m not familiar with much of the scientific jargon used in the reading and I’ve been finding myself reading the same passages over and over. I do like how McTaggart seems to be tying all the chapters together using the idea of Zero Point Field. Perhaps by the end of the book it will be laid out more clearly for me to digest and I will be able to grasp some of the ideas better.
I noticed in chapter 4 a reoccurring theme in the book. When a scientist comes across a major break through that goes against the established scientific community it is shot down and played off as nonsense. This time it was Benveniste and his research with water and its ability to imprint and store information from molecules. When Benveniste was published in Nature magazine his article was followed by an editorial addendum asking for readers to find flaws in the study. Why does the scientific community keep doing this? Are they afraid that one discovery could destroy a lifetime of what they believed to be true? The men that we are reading about in The Field are pioneers with their work in science, but if the so called “scientific community” keeps putting down these new discoveries there’s no telling what we will miss out on.
I realize that animals have been used in experiments to find cures for humans many times in the history of modern medicine, but it turned me off to much of chapter 5. I did enjoy learning about Walter Schempp and his work with the MRI. His dedication in going back to school at age 50 to become a doctor just so he could be qualified to study the MRI machine was amazing. Schempp was able to improve the MRI technology and allow a person to have one done in 20 minutes compared to the 4 hours it took before.
I was in awe after reading chapter 6 and learning how we may be able to control things around us by simply concentrating. When I first saw the findings the PEAR research team came up with I thought the data didn’t seem to prove very much when the difference was only 0.2. Then when McTaggart explained that in many tests with medicine such as aspirin .03 is considered enough to make it a success I was amazed.
I noticed in chapter 4 a reoccurring theme in the book. When a scientist comes across a major break through that goes against the established scientific community it is shot down and played off as nonsense. This time it was Benveniste and his research with water and its ability to imprint and store information from molecules. When Benveniste was published in Nature magazine his article was followed by an editorial addendum asking for readers to find flaws in the study. Why does the scientific community keep doing this? Are they afraid that one discovery could destroy a lifetime of what they believed to be true? The men that we are reading about in The Field are pioneers with their work in science, but if the so called “scientific community” keeps putting down these new discoveries there’s no telling what we will miss out on.
I realize that animals have been used in experiments to find cures for humans many times in the history of modern medicine, but it turned me off to much of chapter 5. I did enjoy learning about Walter Schempp and his work with the MRI. His dedication in going back to school at age 50 to become a doctor just so he could be qualified to study the MRI machine was amazing. Schempp was able to improve the MRI technology and allow a person to have one done in 20 minutes compared to the 4 hours it took before.
I was in awe after reading chapter 6 and learning how we may be able to control things around us by simply concentrating. When I first saw the findings the PEAR research team came up with I thought the data didn’t seem to prove very much when the difference was only 0.2. Then when McTaggart explained that in many tests with medicine such as aspirin .03 is considered enough to make it a success I was amazed.
Blog 2>
This book is really informative and just pure amazing.
Talking to cells using resonating waves, cognitivie processes, makes me wonder why in the world I am an english major. The quantum physcis nature of this book is what really itnerests me the most. That were connected to the world ins ome way. When i think this I immediately think of a commercial i saw once for the Quattro shaving kit. The statement in there or slogan for this mechanical shaver is that "the whole world has a pulse". As for homeopathy my family themselves are big on primarily alternative remedies due to our background. The fact that science long ago has proven alternative medicines can work and has been successful makes me question why I bother with my current healthcare coverage.
God I cant wait to continue reading...
Talking to cells using resonating waves, cognitivie processes, makes me wonder why in the world I am an english major. The quantum physcis nature of this book is what really itnerests me the most. That were connected to the world ins ome way. When i think this I immediately think of a commercial i saw once for the Quattro shaving kit. The statement in there or slogan for this mechanical shaver is that "the whole world has a pulse". As for homeopathy my family themselves are big on primarily alternative remedies due to our background. The fact that science long ago has proven alternative medicines can work and has been successful makes me question why I bother with my current healthcare coverage.
God I cant wait to continue reading...
blog two
"Stones do not fall from the sky because there are no stones in the sky" (72). This quote from chapter 4 actually inspired a dream of mine the other night. I saw in the dream the sun being broken into little bits by meteorites and when I woke up, it made sense to me that meteorites come from the sky, but it was only in my dreaming mind that they could destroy the sun (as we see it here on earth). But the quote must have stuck with me because of its stark observation that if I were to draw a picture of "the sky," I would draw, of course, a vast blue plane filled with fluffy, white clouds and a burning ball for the sun. The sky is, in our minds, the opposite of earth (ground). But Benveniste recalled this quote because for the dilution principle of homeopathy to be accepted, we have to take into consideration that out of something that we think we so concretely understand and define, comes its apparent opposite.
In chapter 5, though the Fourier principle still escapes me (I am no mathematician), the idea of holographs was facinating. I never knew that a hologram is nothing more than a whole unit made up of identical, smaller particles. And to apply holographic technology to the brain and memory makes sense even with our traditional "understanding" of memory. Science has always suggested that our memories are a collection; they just didn't know how the collection was organized. And the symbolic resemblance of the synapses (spaces between) in our brains and the vast "vacuum" of the ZPF is starting to make more sense to me now that I understand that holograms are 1/2 light and 1/2 wavelength (both notions that have already been suggested in previous chapters to exist in the body). Additionally, I've begun to associate the term "consciousness" with focus and the idea of coherence. If consciousness is nothing more than coherence (which is just another word for organization), then couldn't what we perceive to be consciousness actually be just a particular organization of wavelengths (a frequency)?
Chapter 6 called to mind Plato's Republic (I believe, and someone please correct me if I am wrong), in which he expresses thoughts on reality through a sort of parable about light and shadow. (We may have already talked about this "cave" story of his in class.) The passage that reminded me of this idea reads, "According to the mathematics, the quantum world was a perfect hermetic world of pure potential, only made real--and, in a sense, less perfect--when interrupted by an intruder" (103). It's the whole "if a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound at all?" kind of idea. "Concrete" things exist because we freeze them with our visual interpretations of them. Also in chapter 6, was the example of the butterfly, which made me think about the grander scheme of things: fate. If we are all connected through this ZPF, aren't we all at all times (consciously or unconsciously) leaving an imprint, getting imprints left upon us, and guiding or outright directing the fates of everything around us? Jahn and Dunne's experiments support the notion that we can will matter, just as some schools of thought believe we can will our own biological processes (such as getting through a physically painful experience or beating an illness with strength of mind and determination). This chapter shines a whole new light on "mind over matter."
In chapter 5, though the Fourier principle still escapes me (I am no mathematician), the idea of holographs was facinating. I never knew that a hologram is nothing more than a whole unit made up of identical, smaller particles. And to apply holographic technology to the brain and memory makes sense even with our traditional "understanding" of memory. Science has always suggested that our memories are a collection; they just didn't know how the collection was organized. And the symbolic resemblance of the synapses (spaces between) in our brains and the vast "vacuum" of the ZPF is starting to make more sense to me now that I understand that holograms are 1/2 light and 1/2 wavelength (both notions that have already been suggested in previous chapters to exist in the body). Additionally, I've begun to associate the term "consciousness" with focus and the idea of coherence. If consciousness is nothing more than coherence (which is just another word for organization), then couldn't what we perceive to be consciousness actually be just a particular organization of wavelengths (a frequency)?
Chapter 6 called to mind Plato's Republic (I believe, and someone please correct me if I am wrong), in which he expresses thoughts on reality through a sort of parable about light and shadow. (We may have already talked about this "cave" story of his in class.) The passage that reminded me of this idea reads, "According to the mathematics, the quantum world was a perfect hermetic world of pure potential, only made real--and, in a sense, less perfect--when interrupted by an intruder" (103). It's the whole "if a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound at all?" kind of idea. "Concrete" things exist because we freeze them with our visual interpretations of them. Also in chapter 6, was the example of the butterfly, which made me think about the grander scheme of things: fate. If we are all connected through this ZPF, aren't we all at all times (consciously or unconsciously) leaving an imprint, getting imprints left upon us, and guiding or outright directing the fates of everything around us? Jahn and Dunne's experiments support the notion that we can will matter, just as some schools of thought believe we can will our own biological processes (such as getting through a physically painful experience or beating an illness with strength of mind and determination). This chapter shines a whole new light on "mind over matter."
Blog 2
I was very much pleased with this weeks reading, since it kept me well in tuned. Unlike the first few chapters, I really connected with this reading; it made me think about what my dad had told me once about homeopathic medicine and how dilution causes an increase in the effectiveness in healing. Who knew water can hold such inexplicable and astonishing properties as well? I would have to give Benveniste a standing ovation for the research he’d conducted despite all the negative feedback for the Allopathic community. These readings are slowly yet steadily starting to connect, proving that human bodies are quantum entities along with the rest of the universe. Wow, it all fits!
I guess it’s proving Sir Isaac Newton wrong in saying, “we are not lonely being on a lonely planet.” I admire what the author had to say in her YouTube video. She stated that, “we are not a chemical reaction, but an energetic charge, human beings and all living things are a grouping of energy in a field of energy connected to every other thing in the world. This also made me think about the women in the lab. How the experiment rendered a negative outcome whenever she was around. I was taken back by how her presence interfered with the communication of the cells and how she was emitting waves that were blocking the signals. This reminded me of how some cultures believe in “Evil Eye,” how certain people can cause bad luck and how many cultures and religious practices use protective notions in dealing with such afflictions. For example, Turkey uses charms in the shape of an eye called “nazar” that are blue in color and shaped like an eye to ward off evil afflictions in homes, cars, etc. I felt that Benveniste should’ve hung “nazar” in this lab to see if that did any good to his experiment.
Who knew Quantum Physics, which looks at the very tiny and very large particles in the universe, could connect to humans and human body. Furthermore, the waves which we humans omit could have a deeper impact on how we perceive and are interconnected to everything around us; whether, it is positive or negative.
Moving on with the reading, Chap 5 had a whole new ball game in store for me. Memory is something that I have been fascinated with for a long time and the discoveries made by Pirbram made me think more about our brain and how it’s a miracle on its own. Pirbram theory made sense on how our brain, “talks to itself and to the rest of the body not with words or images, or even bits or chemicals impulses, but in the language of wave interference,” that statement stuck out like a sore thumb to me. We always take life as just another day and never really question what our purpose is or what our capabilities are. Pirbram really made me think that we never question our being and go on with our lives taking everything for granted. He made me think about the people who strive to find the meaning in life and our purpose in this world.
All in all, the readings all seem to connect and make sense. We do hold a purpose and we’re not mere objects or machines and that we all hold power and value. Ah, that really felt good to say that. We do reflect our personalities on things around us. Then, it only seems right to infer that we all have aura and it’s up to us to learn how to use it positively.
I can’t wait to read on…
I guess it’s proving Sir Isaac Newton wrong in saying, “we are not lonely being on a lonely planet.” I admire what the author had to say in her YouTube video. She stated that, “we are not a chemical reaction, but an energetic charge, human beings and all living things are a grouping of energy in a field of energy connected to every other thing in the world. This also made me think about the women in the lab. How the experiment rendered a negative outcome whenever she was around. I was taken back by how her presence interfered with the communication of the cells and how she was emitting waves that were blocking the signals. This reminded me of how some cultures believe in “Evil Eye,” how certain people can cause bad luck and how many cultures and religious practices use protective notions in dealing with such afflictions. For example, Turkey uses charms in the shape of an eye called “nazar” that are blue in color and shaped like an eye to ward off evil afflictions in homes, cars, etc. I felt that Benveniste should’ve hung “nazar” in this lab to see if that did any good to his experiment.
Who knew Quantum Physics, which looks at the very tiny and very large particles in the universe, could connect to humans and human body. Furthermore, the waves which we humans omit could have a deeper impact on how we perceive and are interconnected to everything around us; whether, it is positive or negative.
Moving on with the reading, Chap 5 had a whole new ball game in store for me. Memory is something that I have been fascinated with for a long time and the discoveries made by Pirbram made me think more about our brain and how it’s a miracle on its own. Pirbram theory made sense on how our brain, “talks to itself and to the rest of the body not with words or images, or even bits or chemicals impulses, but in the language of wave interference,” that statement stuck out like a sore thumb to me. We always take life as just another day and never really question what our purpose is or what our capabilities are. Pirbram really made me think that we never question our being and go on with our lives taking everything for granted. He made me think about the people who strive to find the meaning in life and our purpose in this world.
All in all, the readings all seem to connect and make sense. We do hold a purpose and we’re not mere objects or machines and that we all hold power and value. Ah, that really felt good to say that. We do reflect our personalities on things around us. Then, it only seems right to infer that we all have aura and it’s up to us to learn how to use it positively.
I can’t wait to read on…
Blog 2
Seeing how the last 3 chapters didn't go over so well with my brain, I was very skeptical as to reading chapters 4, 5, and 6. As I started chapter 4, I really had to get myself to 'try' to get into the reading. I guess it's hard for me to get into this kind of stuff because I'm not a big science person, so when they talk about protons and all that jazz, my attention goes elsewhere. The whole water and allergen idea got my attention because I have allergies and I was curious to see how water plays a role in that. However, as I was reaching towards the end of Chapter 4, the text was finally grabbing my attention. I found the topic of Benveniste's robots to be very interesting. It amazed me at how far this guy was willing to go to finally figure out what was going on with his experiments that other people were attempting to do. When I read the part towards the end of the chapter where a woman was conducting the same experiment as Benveniste and using his robot while doing so, I too was puzzled as to why she couldn't get the same results that everyone else was getting. Before I read on, I tried to figure out what the possibilities might be.. but since I am no scientist, I only pondered the thought for about 2 minutes and then figured the heck with it and read on to find out the conclusion to all of it. It really surprised me when I read that the reason why she wasn't getting the correct results was because she was emitting electromagnetic fields during the experiment. It blew my mind that something like that would be possible. It also blows my mind that Benveniste thought of this being a possible answer as to why the experiment wasn't working out for her. It's amazing how our 'bodies' can interfere with science sometimes.
Resonating with the World was an okay chapter for me. The part that really kept my attention was how Lashley used a curling iron over and over again to burn parts of the rats brains. No matter how much he burned or squashed their brains, the rats still new how to do the procedure correctly, even if they were disoriented and a little confused at first. With this experiment, I was wondering if this would have the same outcome on humans as well. Do our brains function just as theirs? If so, would we be able to remember certain tasks to their full extent when half of our brain has been fried and squashed? As he started going in to topics that involved certain parts of our brains, my attention was lost again. I found parts of this chapter hard to understand and to follow.
The Creative Observer was also a difficult chapter for me to comprehend, in some ways. However, I did find it interesting that they were trying to see if people could think of events and make them (basically) happen. I guess maybe this goes with the theory that you can will some things to happen. For example: one person may think that they have a fever and it ends up that they don't, simply by checking their temperature. However, that person is still convinced that they have a fever, so eventually.. they end up convincing their body as well and the fever is produced. That subject would be something I'd like to get more input on. On the last page of Chapter 6, two sentences really caught my attention. "The PEAR studies also suggest that reality is created by each of us only by our attention. At the lowest level of mind and matter, each of us creates the world." Those statements really got me thinking about the surroundings I 'create' for myself. Both of those sentences became realistic to me and I never really thought about that information on such a level of understanding. It makes me wonder what other people's input on that might be.
Resonating with the World was an okay chapter for me. The part that really kept my attention was how Lashley used a curling iron over and over again to burn parts of the rats brains. No matter how much he burned or squashed their brains, the rats still new how to do the procedure correctly, even if they were disoriented and a little confused at first. With this experiment, I was wondering if this would have the same outcome on humans as well. Do our brains function just as theirs? If so, would we be able to remember certain tasks to their full extent when half of our brain has been fried and squashed? As he started going in to topics that involved certain parts of our brains, my attention was lost again. I found parts of this chapter hard to understand and to follow.
The Creative Observer was also a difficult chapter for me to comprehend, in some ways. However, I did find it interesting that they were trying to see if people could think of events and make them (basically) happen. I guess maybe this goes with the theory that you can will some things to happen. For example: one person may think that they have a fever and it ends up that they don't, simply by checking their temperature. However, that person is still convinced that they have a fever, so eventually.. they end up convincing their body as well and the fever is produced. That subject would be something I'd like to get more input on. On the last page of Chapter 6, two sentences really caught my attention. "The PEAR studies also suggest that reality is created by each of us only by our attention. At the lowest level of mind and matter, each of us creates the world." Those statements really got me thinking about the surroundings I 'create' for myself. Both of those sentences became realistic to me and I never really thought about that information on such a level of understanding. It makes me wonder what other people's input on that might be.
Blog Numba Dos
Water? A simple bond of hydrogen and oxygen atom right? Well, according to chapter 4 we have been taking water for granted. We all found out that water is a form of communication between our bodies and can possibly communicate with other beings. Water, a tasteless, odorless, substance is more powerful than we think.
If we could use water to communicate with molecules in the body, why cant we cure cancer? Couldn't scientists just carry out Beneveniste's experiments and find immunity to what has been a topic of discussion for years? Maybe money has something to do with that concept. Although it is quite sad, but I wouldn't surprised that a means to cure cancer hasnt been developed just because people pay and arm and a leg when they are diagnosed. I also thought maybe just because of the fact of water memory that this is how we all as humans (composed mainly of water) can tap into this field.
Whenever I read the 5th chapter talking about the brain I couldn't help but think about the ancient Chinese word Ch'i or qi (pronounced chee) I think even the definition of Ch'i pertains to this book, "the natural energy of the universe." I dont know if any of you have ever seen shows on how Martial Arts use ch'i, but its pretty astonishing. I mean what human being (no matter how strong or tough) can break through layers of cinder block?! Well according to martial arts practices, these people are able to tap into the universes energy and use it against their obstacles. So not only is it the person who is breaking the cinder block, but with the help of the powerful energy of the universe, they can complete their task. So perhaps in a different way these people are already tapped into this field we speak of ,not through books or scientific experiements, but through their ancestors a loooong time ago who were at peace with the world and understood its true natural beauty.
So perhaps our memories arent stored in the brain but a passage way to storing them in a field? This brings up a few observations to me. Like every other form of communication there has to be interference. What if somehow what we experienced gets lost and is never found again? What if that train of thought got mixed up and was later retrieved into somebody elses mind? Is there something that controls that? Maybe this is how it relates to the first chapters of us all being connected. Maybe a traumatic memory was stored in the field and recieved by someone else. This could make us feel each others pain, or think what someone else was thinking, or help us bond together.
With these chapters read, what is conciousness? (haha) does it even exsist anymore? There are so many different perceptions of reality now that maybe we have been brainwashed by the way we were brought up? Who knows, I have too many random thoughts that probably dont even make sense or connect right now. But hopefully the rest of the book will fix this later
If we could use water to communicate with molecules in the body, why cant we cure cancer? Couldn't scientists just carry out Beneveniste's experiments and find immunity to what has been a topic of discussion for years? Maybe money has something to do with that concept. Although it is quite sad, but I wouldn't surprised that a means to cure cancer hasnt been developed just because people pay and arm and a leg when they are diagnosed. I also thought maybe just because of the fact of water memory that this is how we all as humans (composed mainly of water) can tap into this field.
Whenever I read the 5th chapter talking about the brain I couldn't help but think about the ancient Chinese word Ch'i or qi (pronounced chee) I think even the definition of Ch'i pertains to this book, "the natural energy of the universe." I dont know if any of you have ever seen shows on how Martial Arts use ch'i, but its pretty astonishing. I mean what human being (no matter how strong or tough) can break through layers of cinder block?! Well according to martial arts practices, these people are able to tap into the universes energy and use it against their obstacles. So not only is it the person who is breaking the cinder block, but with the help of the powerful energy of the universe, they can complete their task. So perhaps in a different way these people are already tapped into this field we speak of ,not through books or scientific experiements, but through their ancestors a loooong time ago who were at peace with the world and understood its true natural beauty.
So perhaps our memories arent stored in the brain but a passage way to storing them in a field? This brings up a few observations to me. Like every other form of communication there has to be interference. What if somehow what we experienced gets lost and is never found again? What if that train of thought got mixed up and was later retrieved into somebody elses mind? Is there something that controls that? Maybe this is how it relates to the first chapters of us all being connected. Maybe a traumatic memory was stored in the field and recieved by someone else. This could make us feel each others pain, or think what someone else was thinking, or help us bond together.
With these chapters read, what is conciousness? (haha) does it even exsist anymore? There are so many different perceptions of reality now that maybe we have been brainwashed by the way we were brought up? Who knows, I have too many random thoughts that probably dont even make sense or connect right now. But hopefully the rest of the book will fix this later
I have heard from several people how difficult this book is to read. To me, it is almost pure pain. Don't get me wrong, I love the subject material, but I cannot wrap my head around it because of the way it is written. As a former science/engineering major, I am used to topics like these being written in textbooks and view about half of what McTaggart is saying as a waste of space. After discussing the readings with a couple of my classmates, I became convinced of my feelings. After being given explainations about the readings, it made more sense to me. I could actually understand what McTaggart was trying to say.
In Chapter 6, McTaggart suggests that it is possible to make things happen just by thinking them. In fact, theres a 54% chance of that. This got me thinking about how many times it has happened to me. I spent a good couple hours the other day just thinking "I hate this book...I can't read this book...I have NO idea what she is saying." And guess what? I had a miserable, unsucessful two hours. This seems to happen a lot to me; I become conviced that something won't happen and it doesn't. This happens less often when I try to make something good happen. I began to wonder if most of that 54% is the bad things that people are so conviced will happen. This may be because, at least for me, I tend to have stronger pessamistic feelings. But either way, it shows that there is some sort of "Field" that has a direct connection to our brains. The strong thoughts in our brains must transfer over to somewhere else and have a direct effect on the world around us.
McTaggart also suggests that the brain doesn't actually store memory; it is just a receptor of sorts. This makes a lot of sense when you relate it to what I said in the last paragraph. Information comes into our brains and leaves it contantly. If we have strong thoughts or feelings, they stay with us for a while, but then leave. Where do they go, and do they have an effect on that place? If there is a 54% chance that thinking about an event will make it happen, then it seems obvious that these thoughts are not confined to our brains. Our thoughts travel out into the "Field" and then back into our lives.
In Chapter 6, McTaggart suggests that it is possible to make things happen just by thinking them. In fact, theres a 54% chance of that. This got me thinking about how many times it has happened to me. I spent a good couple hours the other day just thinking "I hate this book...I can't read this book...I have NO idea what she is saying." And guess what? I had a miserable, unsucessful two hours. This seems to happen a lot to me; I become conviced that something won't happen and it doesn't. This happens less often when I try to make something good happen. I began to wonder if most of that 54% is the bad things that people are so conviced will happen. This may be because, at least for me, I tend to have stronger pessamistic feelings. But either way, it shows that there is some sort of "Field" that has a direct connection to our brains. The strong thoughts in our brains must transfer over to somewhere else and have a direct effect on the world around us.
McTaggart also suggests that the brain doesn't actually store memory; it is just a receptor of sorts. This makes a lot of sense when you relate it to what I said in the last paragraph. Information comes into our brains and leaves it contantly. If we have strong thoughts or feelings, they stay with us for a while, but then leave. Where do they go, and do they have an effect on that place? If there is a 54% chance that thinking about an event will make it happen, then it seems obvious that these thoughts are not confined to our brains. Our thoughts travel out into the "Field" and then back into our lives.
Blog #2
As was the case with our first readings, I find there are many interesting ideas presented in chapters 4 through 6. For example, I remember when I took an intro to psychology class and we read about the brain. The readings in that class focused on the different parts of the brain and how each one functioned. It was, as the brain is usually described, the container or “file cabinet” of all our information. Yet, after reading The Field I realize that this may not be correct. Perhaps the brain isn’t the “file cabinet” of our information, but simply the organ we use to tap into a much larger information source—The Field. As stated in the book, “some scientists went as far as to suggest that all of our higher cognitive processes result from an interaction with the Zero Point Field” (95).
Something about this idea (that our brains are just the tools to interact with the Field) is hard for me to grasp. Perhaps it’s just the fact that I’ve always thought of the brain in its traditional sense of “file cabinet.” Indeed, McTaggert goes on to say, “This kind of constant interaction might account for intuition or creativity – and how ideas come to use in bursts of insight, sometimes in fragments but often as a miraculous whole” (95). I’d like to think I come up with my own ideas. Yet, if McTaggert is right, then our ideas aren’t really our own creation but that which we’ve discovered from this large information source, The Field. This kind of blows a hole in our American strivings for individuality, but it also presents some awesome possibilities.
For example, what if we’re only using a tiny fraction of the information available to us from the Field? Modern science has come up with many miraculous inventions (vaccinations and life-saving surgeries, to name a few), but what if by simply tapping into The Field we could have insights far beyond what we currently know? Could we, as Popp seemed to imply in Chapter 3, cure the body of cancer simply by getting in synch with The Field?
I would imagine, with a source as large as The Field, that the possibilities are endless. Theoretically, human life could be greatly improved by more interactions with The Field. However, right now this is not happening. It might be said that mystics and other spiritual believers are tapping into The Field, but there isn’t currently widespread use by the average person. If we ever do find a way to tap into The Field, and if it actually is the large source of information McTaggert says it is, then I’m excited to see what might happen. Until then I’ll just have to be content with imagining what might someday be.
Something about this idea (that our brains are just the tools to interact with the Field) is hard for me to grasp. Perhaps it’s just the fact that I’ve always thought of the brain in its traditional sense of “file cabinet.” Indeed, McTaggert goes on to say, “This kind of constant interaction might account for intuition or creativity – and how ideas come to use in bursts of insight, sometimes in fragments but often as a miraculous whole” (95). I’d like to think I come up with my own ideas. Yet, if McTaggert is right, then our ideas aren’t really our own creation but that which we’ve discovered from this large information source, The Field. This kind of blows a hole in our American strivings for individuality, but it also presents some awesome possibilities.
For example, what if we’re only using a tiny fraction of the information available to us from the Field? Modern science has come up with many miraculous inventions (vaccinations and life-saving surgeries, to name a few), but what if by simply tapping into The Field we could have insights far beyond what we currently know? Could we, as Popp seemed to imply in Chapter 3, cure the body of cancer simply by getting in synch with The Field?
I would imagine, with a source as large as The Field, that the possibilities are endless. Theoretically, human life could be greatly improved by more interactions with The Field. However, right now this is not happening. It might be said that mystics and other spiritual believers are tapping into The Field, but there isn’t currently widespread use by the average person. If we ever do find a way to tap into The Field, and if it actually is the large source of information McTaggert says it is, then I’m excited to see what might happen. Until then I’ll just have to be content with imagining what might someday be.
Blog 2
Poor rats!
Poor cats!
Poor salamanders!...I think...ground salamander brains...
While pondering what I wanted to blog about yesterday, I decided to walk down to Karn's and get something to drink. After picking up a six-pack of diet Pepsi, I felt the uncontrollable urge to walk down the frozen food aisle, though I knew there was nothing I wanted. Before I even made it to where I'd turn right, a familiar face appeared, my psychic friend. We talked for a moment about her group session the previous weekend and about the opening for my solo art show on September 5. She asked me what I was doing today and I remarked about The Field. Her eyes twinkled a moment, "I work with the field all the time!".....
Where does metaphysics end and quantum physics begin?
Many times I've said that the "computer gnomes" don't like me, and now there is scientific proof for that being the case. The Field is continuously adding scientific backing to many of theories that make "magick" and religion beyond the realm of fantasy. We are constantly in tug of war between the "rational" world of science and the "irrational" world of religion, and now here is a science which at times seems even more radical than religion.
My brain is being overloaded with the concepts and I can't help but think of several things:
1.) If the entire universe is interconnected energy, then did the "Big Bang" actually matter in the first place, or even better, did the "Big Bang" actually happen at all?
2.) If all our brain is doing is interpreting frequencies and that is how we see, then does everything look the same to me as it does to the rest of us? That being said, if the brain does not store memories, but instead receives them from the field, then wouldn't dreams be just a weaker form of reality? In a sense wouldn't be possible that reality as we know it is just one big vivid dream? In some Hindu mythology, we are God's dream.
3.) If our brain itself is just a receiver and our "higher conscious" works on a quantum level, when we are dead, is our point in the field dead as well?
4.) I'm sure on a scientific level that 54% is a major event, but in my limited perception it still seems a bit insignificant. I'm curious to know if there were any people who consistently scored higher, or if they could have performed the experiment to see if even the normal people could learn to "control" what happens over time.
5.) If water has the capability to store memories and "the observer" has the ability to cause a desired outcome, then does that mean there is quantum proof that sacramental wine in Christianity, sacramental rum in Vodou, and the holy water of many faiths, has some real value? Or even more interesting, if the holy grail (whose importance actually comes from Celtic myth and is derived from older Pagan stories...sorry DaVinci Code fans) were to actually be discovered, then theoretically, wouldn't putting water or wine in it would produce the "memory" of Christ?
6) The whole idea of consciousness effecting the order of the universe is a scary thought for me as a painter. In a sense it would mean that nearly everything ever thought up, has at least existed for a time on the quantum level.
7) Are all those people who claim to see aura's or go on journeys while meditating simply just tapping into the field and are seeing reality far better than the majority of us can ever imagine?
8) When I talk to my atheist friend about a ritual or spell I did, will I now have quantum evidence to support my "delusion" (as he'd call it) of it actually having real possibility of working?
I still can't seem to get over the ground salamander brains. Seriously, I get that it's all for the good of science, but is it really necessary? Not only does it sound cruel and unusual, but it also gets me thinking odd thoughts like "salamander brain burgers"...
Poor cats!
Poor salamanders!...I think...ground salamander brains...
While pondering what I wanted to blog about yesterday, I decided to walk down to Karn's and get something to drink. After picking up a six-pack of diet Pepsi, I felt the uncontrollable urge to walk down the frozen food aisle, though I knew there was nothing I wanted. Before I even made it to where I'd turn right, a familiar face appeared, my psychic friend. We talked for a moment about her group session the previous weekend and about the opening for my solo art show on September 5. She asked me what I was doing today and I remarked about The Field. Her eyes twinkled a moment, "I work with the field all the time!".....
Where does metaphysics end and quantum physics begin?
Many times I've said that the "computer gnomes" don't like me, and now there is scientific proof for that being the case. The Field is continuously adding scientific backing to many of theories that make "magick" and religion beyond the realm of fantasy. We are constantly in tug of war between the "rational" world of science and the "irrational" world of religion, and now here is a science which at times seems even more radical than religion.
My brain is being overloaded with the concepts and I can't help but think of several things:
1.) If the entire universe is interconnected energy, then did the "Big Bang" actually matter in the first place, or even better, did the "Big Bang" actually happen at all?
2.) If all our brain is doing is interpreting frequencies and that is how we see, then does everything look the same to me as it does to the rest of us? That being said, if the brain does not store memories, but instead receives them from the field, then wouldn't dreams be just a weaker form of reality? In a sense wouldn't be possible that reality as we know it is just one big vivid dream? In some Hindu mythology, we are God's dream.
3.) If our brain itself is just a receiver and our "higher conscious" works on a quantum level, when we are dead, is our point in the field dead as well?
4.) I'm sure on a scientific level that 54% is a major event, but in my limited perception it still seems a bit insignificant. I'm curious to know if there were any people who consistently scored higher, or if they could have performed the experiment to see if even the normal people could learn to "control" what happens over time.
5.) If water has the capability to store memories and "the observer" has the ability to cause a desired outcome, then does that mean there is quantum proof that sacramental wine in Christianity, sacramental rum in Vodou, and the holy water of many faiths, has some real value? Or even more interesting, if the holy grail (whose importance actually comes from Celtic myth and is derived from older Pagan stories...sorry DaVinci Code fans) were to actually be discovered, then theoretically, wouldn't putting water or wine in it would produce the "memory" of Christ?
6) The whole idea of consciousness effecting the order of the universe is a scary thought for me as a painter. In a sense it would mean that nearly everything ever thought up, has at least existed for a time on the quantum level.
7) Are all those people who claim to see aura's or go on journeys while meditating simply just tapping into the field and are seeing reality far better than the majority of us can ever imagine?
8) When I talk to my atheist friend about a ritual or spell I did, will I now have quantum evidence to support my "delusion" (as he'd call it) of it actually having real possibility of working?
I still can't seem to get over the ground salamander brains. Seriously, I get that it's all for the good of science, but is it really necessary? Not only does it sound cruel and unusual, but it also gets me thinking odd thoughts like "salamander brain burgers"...
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
blog 2
After reading chapter 4, drinking a glass of water seemed the most proper thing to do. Throughout this chapter, I could not stop thinking about the first philosopher of Greek tradition, Thales. Early philosophers were in fact not even called philosophers, but more adequately, scientists. The point of early philosophy was to demystify nature, and Thales is the quintessential example of this. He believed the most important principle in the universe was water. He observed that everything that existed could be broken down into this element: beyond the tree is the seed, beyond the seed is the water contained within the seed itself. I think if Thales himself were aware of Beneveniste’s discovery of “the memory of water,” he would not have been the slightest bit surprised.
This concept of “the memory of water” is a strikingly unique concept. The experiments conducted by Beneveniste and his team provokes an enormous, if not infinite, amount of possibilities, “if water were able to imprint and store information from molecules, this would have an impact on our understanding of molecules and how they ‘talk’ to one another in our bodies, as molecules in human cells, of course, are surrounded by water. In any living cell, there are ten thousand molecules of water for each molecule of protein.” [63] Homeopathic medicine is a concept that I have had no prior knowledge on, but upon reading this chapter, my interest has peaked for further investigation. From my gathering of the text, if we were able to unite the memory of water to the dilution and succession period, would it be possible to create an infinite reservoir of antibiotics and other medicinal shortages? For example, if we can essential “impregnate” water molecules with solution and success it, and then remove the original solution, could we theoretically “clone” active ingredients and provide an unlimited supply? If this is the case, we will never read in the New York Times about our annual flu shot shortage again.
Another thing this chapter made me remember was a segment I heard on NPR radio a year or so ago. I remember hearing about a recent experiment in which a group of scientists had successfully recorded a brief musical passage onto a strand of human DNA. I tried to find references to this experiment on the Internet, but to my dismay, I came out empty handed. I really doubt that I dreamt this incident, but at the same time, I was in the altered state of consciousness known as morning fog, so it is possible that I heard it incorrectly. But if the finest strands of human existence can act as a form of memory and communication, the enormous percentage of our body that consists of nothing but water (and possibly memory enhanced water) may issue critical concern and debate. Water may not in turn be nothingness at all, but rather dew that resides on cobwebs.
This concept of “the memory of water” is a strikingly unique concept. The experiments conducted by Beneveniste and his team provokes an enormous, if not infinite, amount of possibilities, “if water were able to imprint and store information from molecules, this would have an impact on our understanding of molecules and how they ‘talk’ to one another in our bodies, as molecules in human cells, of course, are surrounded by water. In any living cell, there are ten thousand molecules of water for each molecule of protein.” [63] Homeopathic medicine is a concept that I have had no prior knowledge on, but upon reading this chapter, my interest has peaked for further investigation. From my gathering of the text, if we were able to unite the memory of water to the dilution and succession period, would it be possible to create an infinite reservoir of antibiotics and other medicinal shortages? For example, if we can essential “impregnate” water molecules with solution and success it, and then remove the original solution, could we theoretically “clone” active ingredients and provide an unlimited supply? If this is the case, we will never read in the New York Times about our annual flu shot shortage again.
Another thing this chapter made me remember was a segment I heard on NPR radio a year or so ago. I remember hearing about a recent experiment in which a group of scientists had successfully recorded a brief musical passage onto a strand of human DNA. I tried to find references to this experiment on the Internet, but to my dismay, I came out empty handed. I really doubt that I dreamt this incident, but at the same time, I was in the altered state of consciousness known as morning fog, so it is possible that I heard it incorrectly. But if the finest strands of human existence can act as a form of memory and communication, the enormous percentage of our body that consists of nothing but water (and possibly memory enhanced water) may issue critical concern and debate. Water may not in turn be nothingness at all, but rather dew that resides on cobwebs.
blog 2
I was not ecstatic about reading another three chapters of this book. The first three completely threw me and just totally lost me. So I did not have much hope for 4-6. But then I sat down to read.
Chapter 4 was just...mind blowing in the best of ways. Who knew water could quite possibly have that kind of power? Maddox and company set out to prove Benveniste wrong, and apparently, they did. But could Benveniste be right? There is a whole science dedicated to homeopathy! Is it possible that water has that kind of memory? I'm thinking of the all the possibilities it could create (both good and, unfortunately, bad) and it's astounding. I'm also thinking how this relates to the telepathy discussed in the first chapter. It may be obvious, but could this mean that, since we as humans are mainly made up of water, the water in our bodies could store information in their "memory" and just maybe send messages to others? All I have to say is: cool.
Near the end of chapter, Benveniste discovers a woman who is a "frequency scrambler" and cannot get the same results as the other scientists in her experiments. It seems to me that is it true that we are caple of emitting waves. Can we use these waves...this force, to communicate? Is it true that we are all connected? That our body, our being, does not stop where we think it does?
Chapter 5 was a little harder to grasp. The only thing I had a real concrete hold was that Lashley was trying to figure out where memory is stored in the brain. After all his experiments (and awful treatments of those poor rats), I began to wonder if our memory is something that cannot be located in the brain because it is so abstract. Or is it even located in the brain? Can our memory be located in every cell of our body? Is that why the rats remembered no matter how much of their brain was burned (cringe :/) away? Just a thought...
I had difficulty with Chapter 6 also. Does this mean it is possible to will events to happen? And McTaggart also mentioned this "will" may be only present in the Zero Point Field or only subconcsiously. Is there even a difference between concsioness and subconcsiousness anymore? Chapter 6, more than anything, only raised question after question for me; whether I simply trying to grasp what was being said or analyzing and thinking about the material.
Chapter 4 was just...mind blowing in the best of ways. Who knew water could quite possibly have that kind of power? Maddox and company set out to prove Benveniste wrong, and apparently, they did. But could Benveniste be right? There is a whole science dedicated to homeopathy! Is it possible that water has that kind of memory? I'm thinking of the all the possibilities it could create (both good and, unfortunately, bad) and it's astounding. I'm also thinking how this relates to the telepathy discussed in the first chapter. It may be obvious, but could this mean that, since we as humans are mainly made up of water, the water in our bodies could store information in their "memory" and just maybe send messages to others? All I have to say is: cool.
Near the end of chapter, Benveniste discovers a woman who is a "frequency scrambler" and cannot get the same results as the other scientists in her experiments. It seems to me that is it true that we are caple of emitting waves. Can we use these waves...this force, to communicate? Is it true that we are all connected? That our body, our being, does not stop where we think it does?
Chapter 5 was a little harder to grasp. The only thing I had a real concrete hold was that Lashley was trying to figure out where memory is stored in the brain. After all his experiments (and awful treatments of those poor rats), I began to wonder if our memory is something that cannot be located in the brain because it is so abstract. Or is it even located in the brain? Can our memory be located in every cell of our body? Is that why the rats remembered no matter how much of their brain was burned (cringe :/) away? Just a thought...
I had difficulty with Chapter 6 also. Does this mean it is possible to will events to happen? And McTaggart also mentioned this "will" may be only present in the Zero Point Field or only subconcsiously. Is there even a difference between concsioness and subconcsiousness anymore? Chapter 6, more than anything, only raised question after question for me; whether I simply trying to grasp what was being said or analyzing and thinking about the material.
blog 2
I found that The Language of the Cell chapter was much easier to read and understand than the previous chapters in the Field. I found that the experiments that Benvenist and his lab seemed to be easy to follow by anyone. I understood what he was saying that cells could communicate with each other. For example if you would step in some mud you could see the impression of your shoe. When you first step in the mud you can see all the details of the sole of your shoe. As time passes on there is less and less detail present. Eventually you wouldn’t see any details of the sole but you could see the outline. I think that could help explain Benvenist’s experiment. Because from what I could understand he took and extremely diluted solution that had no presence of the allergen but the blood cells still reacted. When I think of cells communicating I believe it is just trace chemicals left behind in the solution. (In the experiment) When I relate it to the body I think that it is how our body reacts to the chemicals. I don’t think that it is and auditory for of communication rather a chemical form of communication.
I think that the chapter resonating with the world is very odd and primitive in many ways. I understand that Lashley is trying to find out where memories are stored in the brain but some of the experiments were very odd. I think that some of the experiments with vision are difficult to understand. I think that the experiments lacked control. (Like did all the animals get the same treatment during and after the experiment?) For example there wasn’t really any consistency with his experiments. I really think that Lashley was ahead of his time with his experiments. I don’t think that most of his experiments couldn’t achieve the desired results with the technology that he had at that time.
The creative observer is another confusing chapter that has to do with some quantum physics. Personally I think it could be possible to communicate to someone without using words or sounds. Like in the chapter it states that it is possible to transmit information by using cards or symbols. You could possibly expand this to body language. I think it would be more difficult to do this between cultures. Because different cultures may have different ideas about what the symbols mean. Later in the chapter it talks about how the mind is its own thing and that it is separate. I agree that this contradicts Descartes’ idea that the mind is isolated and distinct from the body.
I think that the chapter resonating with the world is very odd and primitive in many ways. I understand that Lashley is trying to find out where memories are stored in the brain but some of the experiments were very odd. I think that some of the experiments with vision are difficult to understand. I think that the experiments lacked control. (Like did all the animals get the same treatment during and after the experiment?) For example there wasn’t really any consistency with his experiments. I really think that Lashley was ahead of his time with his experiments. I don’t think that most of his experiments couldn’t achieve the desired results with the technology that he had at that time.
The creative observer is another confusing chapter that has to do with some quantum physics. Personally I think it could be possible to communicate to someone without using words or sounds. Like in the chapter it states that it is possible to transmit information by using cards or symbols. You could possibly expand this to body language. I think it would be more difficult to do this between cultures. Because different cultures may have different ideas about what the symbols mean. Later in the chapter it talks about how the mind is its own thing and that it is separate. I agree that this contradicts Descartes’ idea that the mind is isolated and distinct from the body.
Blog 2
These three chapters all kind of tied together to me and made me ask myself… If everything is some type of frequency and it can travel & transform thru just about everything, then what is conscious & unconscious? Is there really a difference? At the end of the sixth chapter is says, “…the PEAR studies suggest that reality is created by each of us only by our attention. At the lowest level of mind matter, each of us creates the world.” After reading these chapters it is harder to put a label on what I can say is happening in reality & what is happening unconsciously.
It seems like the water in the fourth chapter has a consciousness or mind of its own if it is capable of carrying on information which it has been exposed to. I thought that maybe everything has its own level of consciousness, if cellular information can be passed on thru water almost naturally, and then thru man made channels like cellular phones. It’s almost like everything is alive. I thought it was interesting that this was discovered by mistake. It seems that often, in science, and other experimental situations major discoveries are found due to a mistake or a mishap. Or these mistakes inspire research in another direction.
The fifth chapter changed my entire idea of thinking and perception. It gave me a whole new level of respect for the human brain & its abilities. If there are constant waves with in our brains & around us like radio waves, cellular waves others memory waves & who knows what else then there must be some level of interference where waves intersect & overlap & get crossed. It makes me think that even when I’m trying to free my mind of the chaos, maybe I can never really get away from it, b/c I am made up of it. I thought about déjà vu & I wonder if this is actually something that really does occur because it really did occur & the memory or memories were stored on various places. Then new events take place which trigger those memories into a complete thought which I think & put together into a brand new thought…The part in this chapter that talks about chemicals which can “turn off consciousness”, now makes me wonder… what is a turned off conscience? Is there such a thing?
The next time my boss says her computer is having a bad day b/c its not doing what she wants it to do…I may take her a little more seriously.
Although hard to believe, I suppose that based on the previous chapters- if our minds are made up waves & frequencies & our memories are nothing more than that, & if cellular information is capable of being passed thru water…& everything is essentially made up of the same thing…then it would almost seem to make sense that we could “will” our thought waves onto other objects. What I get out of this is that our consciousness is something much bigger than within our minds, it is all around us, and it is influenced by our conceptual maps & then therefore influences the maps of others. Our “will” is outstretched at a much great level than we can imagine. An example of this in our everyday world already would be the use of placebos. It does seem that people have a certain natural energy about them that either attract others or doesn’t. How to transfer this onto a machine or inanimate object seems so hard to accept, but the statistics in this chapter are proof. This only reiterates the idea of consciousness as concept.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Blog 2
I remember a specific moment, while reading chapter 4, when I picked up the glass beside me and peered into the contents, as if I was looking at water for the very first time. Obviously, we come in contact with water numerous times on a daily basis, but what made me pick up my glass and slide the water around in a slow motion, was that I was considering water for the very first time. “Water could act as a template for the molecule, for example, by an infinite hydrogen-bonded network, or electric and magnetic fields (63).” “If water were able to imprint and store information from molecules, this would have an impact on our understanding of molecules and how they ‘talk’ to one another in our bodies…. In any living cell, there are 10 thousand molecules of water for each molecule of protein (63).” These words were what made me peer into my glass and think it truly astonishing that something tasteless, colorless, odorless, taken for granted, perhaps never in a lifetime considered, could potentially change the way scientists understand the living cell, because in reality there is so much more to discover about water!
I think a very fun part of reading The Field is the fact that McTaggart is presenting several ideas that (as Benveniste said, speaking as a scientist) “demolish everything he had been taught to believe”. She is presenting the ideas and theories of men and women who are pioneering on new terrain. She is presenting ideas that challenge the accepted and grounded ideas of the scientific community. As one such example, this idea that the Zero Point Field creates a medium for our cells communicate, and have their own language, is wondrous to me. This means we are communicating with our world much more than we realize. For it is a fact that the stars have their own binary pulses and “music” (89).
As another thought, I had a hard time understanding parts of chapter 5. Page 95 talks about and “outrageous idea, that short and long term memory does not reside in our brains at all but, instead is stored in the Zero Point Field.” Further down on the page: “If they are correct our brain is not a storage medium but a receiving mechanism in every sense and memory is simply a distant cousin of ordinary perception.” And lastly: “Lashley’s rats with the fried brains were able to conjure up their run in its entirety because the memory of it was never burned away in the first place.” So I left this chapter a little confused about memory loss, from accidents, traumas, etc. What accounts for this then? Is there really no memory loss, but rather a hindrance from tapping into the Zero Point Field’s storage of memory? I was hoping this would be explained, but it wasn’t.
Lastly, chapter 6 reminded me of a scene from Disney’s version of Matilda. Matilda was the little girl who had the power to control and move objects with her mind. I found the results of the RNG and PEAR studies remarkable, although I still can’t help but remain skeptical after reading the chapter. It definitely posed some challenges to our ideas of influence over our world, and the chapter also spoke a lot about our definition and understanding of consciousness. As I understand it, the power of human consciousness and our powers of influence all work within the Zero Point Field, and the more I read about the ZPF, the more I am beginning to grasp a concept of what it is, and what it means to me.
I think a very fun part of reading The Field is the fact that McTaggart is presenting several ideas that (as Benveniste said, speaking as a scientist) “demolish everything he had been taught to believe”. She is presenting the ideas and theories of men and women who are pioneering on new terrain. She is presenting ideas that challenge the accepted and grounded ideas of the scientific community. As one such example, this idea that the Zero Point Field creates a medium for our cells communicate, and have their own language, is wondrous to me. This means we are communicating with our world much more than we realize. For it is a fact that the stars have their own binary pulses and “music” (89).
As another thought, I had a hard time understanding parts of chapter 5. Page 95 talks about and “outrageous idea, that short and long term memory does not reside in our brains at all but, instead is stored in the Zero Point Field.” Further down on the page: “If they are correct our brain is not a storage medium but a receiving mechanism in every sense and memory is simply a distant cousin of ordinary perception.” And lastly: “Lashley’s rats with the fried brains were able to conjure up their run in its entirety because the memory of it was never burned away in the first place.” So I left this chapter a little confused about memory loss, from accidents, traumas, etc. What accounts for this then? Is there really no memory loss, but rather a hindrance from tapping into the Zero Point Field’s storage of memory? I was hoping this would be explained, but it wasn’t.
Lastly, chapter 6 reminded me of a scene from Disney’s version of Matilda. Matilda was the little girl who had the power to control and move objects with her mind. I found the results of the RNG and PEAR studies remarkable, although I still can’t help but remain skeptical after reading the chapter. It definitely posed some challenges to our ideas of influence over our world, and the chapter also spoke a lot about our definition and understanding of consciousness. As I understand it, the power of human consciousness and our powers of influence all work within the Zero Point Field, and the more I read about the ZPF, the more I am beginning to grasp a concept of what it is, and what it means to me.
Blog 2
Blog 2
9/7/09
Chapters 4-6
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I am really enjoying this book. It has been on my mind all weekend and it has sparked some pretty interesting conversations between my fiancé and I. I have found myself walking around and thinking about the ideas and concepts brought up in these chapters and the effects that they could potentially have on how we as a human race see and understand things.
This book has given me a new found sense of awe for water and all it can do. The concept of water as a conductor and amplifier of bodily processes, let alone the idea that each and everything that exists has a frequency is amazing. Could you imagine how much cheaper health care would be if you could imprint the frequency of a life saving (and ridiculously expensive) drug into a vile of pure water and have the same desired (live saving) affect? Not only that but basic science as it is taught now would be turned on its head. I had to laugh at myself this weekend. On Friday, I had only just read the first (4th) chapter and was totally engrossed in my own thoughts about water. I went for a run and the whole time I was imagining the lightning fast impulses of information sent to my body to continue to function, not as I had been taught in the chain-reaction sort of way, but in super-sonic fast waves and pulses sent out and through the water in my body. It made me think about heat-stroke and dehydration. These seem (according to the reading) to be issues of loss of communication. When we run out of the amount of water needed to transmit communications to our bodies, they shut down.
Other thoughts I had while I was reading these chapters were those surrounding the idea of the connections between our consciousness and that of those around us. How are we able to affect our surroundings and vice versa. While I have never personally experienced a moment of clairvoyance or anything like it per se, I can see that we are able to tap into this connection in certain involuntary ways. For instance, every single one of us has experienced this at one point in their lives or another. If you are in a group of people and one person is a total downer, it affects you. You feel their bad mood resonating outward to everyone else. An incredibly happy and boisterous individual can have the same outward reaching affect on your mood. In a moment, someone who really knows how to liven up the mood can single-handedly change the entire mood of the room.
This brings up another question to me. How are some people able to emit their moods more strongly than others and not submit to the majority of those around them and vice versa? What makes you dominant or submissive in receiving or sending out your own signals? Is this a personal thing or something that we can focus on and train ourselves to do better? Are some people more naturally in-tune with the ZPF?
This book continuously makes me think of what I have learned about eastern religions and the account of people who have experienced enlightenment or have had the opportunity to experience these kinds of connections with the whole of the universe. Do we all have the potential to break through our own sheltered understanding of the universe and how it works, or how we really fit into it? Or do you have to be born with a certain ability to break through? If it is just something that our bodies have prevented us from doing until we are safely able to handle and control this immense understanding and load of information, then how do we go about breaking through it? I found myself pondering this all weekend. I was almost trying, with no avail, to will myself to understand these ideas and this connection better. I wanted to just be able to break through it. No luck… I think something so great as this, as enlightenment is (I find this to be an incredibly appropriate analogy for breaking into the ZPF) really requires work and dedication. It has inspired me to sit and meditate again. A process that one my not forget how to do but one must start as a beginner again if they have been away from it for so long.
Hannah
9/7/09
Chapters 4-6
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I am really enjoying this book. It has been on my mind all weekend and it has sparked some pretty interesting conversations between my fiancé and I. I have found myself walking around and thinking about the ideas and concepts brought up in these chapters and the effects that they could potentially have on how we as a human race see and understand things.
This book has given me a new found sense of awe for water and all it can do. The concept of water as a conductor and amplifier of bodily processes, let alone the idea that each and everything that exists has a frequency is amazing. Could you imagine how much cheaper health care would be if you could imprint the frequency of a life saving (and ridiculously expensive) drug into a vile of pure water and have the same desired (live saving) affect? Not only that but basic science as it is taught now would be turned on its head. I had to laugh at myself this weekend. On Friday, I had only just read the first (4th) chapter and was totally engrossed in my own thoughts about water. I went for a run and the whole time I was imagining the lightning fast impulses of information sent to my body to continue to function, not as I had been taught in the chain-reaction sort of way, but in super-sonic fast waves and pulses sent out and through the water in my body. It made me think about heat-stroke and dehydration. These seem (according to the reading) to be issues of loss of communication. When we run out of the amount of water needed to transmit communications to our bodies, they shut down.
Other thoughts I had while I was reading these chapters were those surrounding the idea of the connections between our consciousness and that of those around us. How are we able to affect our surroundings and vice versa. While I have never personally experienced a moment of clairvoyance or anything like it per se, I can see that we are able to tap into this connection in certain involuntary ways. For instance, every single one of us has experienced this at one point in their lives or another. If you are in a group of people and one person is a total downer, it affects you. You feel their bad mood resonating outward to everyone else. An incredibly happy and boisterous individual can have the same outward reaching affect on your mood. In a moment, someone who really knows how to liven up the mood can single-handedly change the entire mood of the room.
This brings up another question to me. How are some people able to emit their moods more strongly than others and not submit to the majority of those around them and vice versa? What makes you dominant or submissive in receiving or sending out your own signals? Is this a personal thing or something that we can focus on and train ourselves to do better? Are some people more naturally in-tune with the ZPF?
This book continuously makes me think of what I have learned about eastern religions and the account of people who have experienced enlightenment or have had the opportunity to experience these kinds of connections with the whole of the universe. Do we all have the potential to break through our own sheltered understanding of the universe and how it works, or how we really fit into it? Or do you have to be born with a certain ability to break through? If it is just something that our bodies have prevented us from doing until we are safely able to handle and control this immense understanding and load of information, then how do we go about breaking through it? I found myself pondering this all weekend. I was almost trying, with no avail, to will myself to understand these ideas and this connection better. I wanted to just be able to break through it. No luck… I think something so great as this, as enlightenment is (I find this to be an incredibly appropriate analogy for breaking into the ZPF) really requires work and dedication. It has inspired me to sit and meditate again. A process that one my not forget how to do but one must start as a beginner again if they have been away from it for so long.
Hannah
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