ArticlePDF Available

The conscious universe: The scientific truth of psychic phenomena

January 2009

Authors:

Dean Radin

Institute of Noetic Sciences

Content uploaded by Dean Radin

Content may be subject to copyright.

http://twm.co.nz/conscuniv.htm

The Conscious Universe -- The Scientific Truth of Psychic Phenomena

by Dean Radin.

Psychic Phenomena: Unquestionably Real

Dean Radin's The Conscious Universe forever lays to rest any question as to the experimentally

demonstrated existence of at least some psychic (or "psi") phenomena. Using the statistical technique of

meta-analysis, Radin methodically and forcefully examines the results from nearly a century of

increasingly sophisticated experiments. Notwithstanding the possibility of thousands of researchers

committing fraud in a massive decades-long conspiracy, or a complete misapplication and

misunderstanding of meta-analysis, the existence of telepathy (mind-to-mind perception), clairvoyance

(perception at distance), precognition (perception through time), psychokenesis (mind-matter

interaction), and perhaps other psi phenomena (e.g., mental interactions with living organisms) is

incontrovertible.

Now, a statement such as "forever lays to rest any question" may, to a careful audience, seem extreme. But

that's just the point. If carefully read, Radin's thorough, relentless, and pointed volume will -- or should --

win over even the crustiest and most skeptical (but open-minded) mainstream scientist. The hows and whys

of psychic phenomena remain unknown, but whether they occur is now settled. Post-Radin, a refusal to

accept the reality of psychic phenomena is itself prima facie unscientific and untenable.

New Ideas are Accepted in Stages

In the Introduction, Radin describes how the acceptance of a new idea occurs in four stages.

First, skeptics "confidently proclaim that the idea is impossible because it violates the Laws of Science";

second, "skeptics reluctantly concede that the idea is possible but that it is not very interesting" and its

effects are extremely weak;

third, the mainstream realizes the importance of the idea and "that its effects are much stronger and more

pervasive than previously imagined"; and

fourth, those who were originally skeptical now "proclaim that they thought of it first."

With psi, we are currently in the most important and the most difficult of the four transitions -- from

Stage 1 into Stage 2. While the idea itself is ancient, it has taken more that a century to

demonstrate it conclusively in accordance with rigorous, scientific standards. This demonstration

has accelerated Stage 2 acceptance, and Stage 3 can already be glimpsed on the horizon.

The book has 4 main parts:

Motivation, which discusses science, replication (or reproducibility), and meta-analysis; Evidence,

where meta-analysis is applied to the various types of psi research, and the leveraging of

skeptics' objections into continually improving experimental designs is described; Understanding,

which presents a field guide to skepticism and skeptics, a discussion of why scientists can't "see"

psi, and a comparison between "Orthodox 'Separateness' Science" and psi-friendly "Proposed

'Wholeness' Science"); and finally, Implications, a short discussion of psi theory and what it might

all mean.

Motivation and Evidence constitute the heart of the book. From the beginning, Radin is clear that

"persuasive scientific evidence for psi requires independently replicated, controlled experiments."

If psi is real, the skeptics ask, then why can't it just be repeatedly, reliably demonstrated? The

answer is two-fold: (1) although a "simple," large-effect, repeatable psi demonstration may not be

possible on demand, the same thing is true of most truly interesting problems in science, and (2)

with the application of meta-analysis, it becomes clear that various types of replicated psi effects

have been unambiguously demonstrated. In fact, "when psi research is judged by the same

standards as any other scientific discipline, then the results are as consistent as those

observed in the hardest of the hard sciences!"

Meta-Analysis: The Analysis of Analyses

Meta-analysis, the analysis of analyses, can be thought of as an integrative review or a "structured

technique for exhaustively analyzing a complete body of experiments." Radin states that:

Meta-analysis has been described as 'a method of statistical analysis wherein the units of

analysis are the results of independent studies, rather than the responses of individual

subjects.' In a single experiment, the raw data points are typically the participants'

individual responses. In meta-analysis, the raw data points are the results of separate

experiments.

Thus, "by combining thousands of people's performances over hundreds of experiments, we can obtain very

high levels of confidence about the existence of psi." Put another way, "when we combine results of many

similar studies to form the equivalent of a single, grand experiment conducted by many experimenters,

from many locations, over many years, we also substantially increase our confidence in the outcome.

Meta-analysis has exploded in popularity because behavioral, social, and medical sciences needed a

"method of formally determining whether the highly variable effects measured in their experiments were

replicable." Since data from similar but not identical experiments are combined, some reevaluation of the

original data is needed. This leads to criticisms of mixing apples and oranges (which is fine if what you're

after is facts about fruit), and the "file drawer problem," which insinuates that many unsuccessful

experiments go unpublished, siting in file drawers and skewing results.

A comparison to aspirin studies is useful. Individual studies on aspirin reducing heart attacks were not very

persuasive, but when many studies were combined, the aspirin effect was declared to be real. This, says

Radin, is exactly what meta-analysis has done for psi experiments. Considered individually, some psi

experiments have been successful but the effects did not appear to be easily repeatable. This

uncertainty has fueled the skeptics' doubt for over a century. But when studies are combined, there is

no doubt that the psi effects are real.

Meta-Analysis Applied To Psychokinesis

As one of the clearest examples of psi meta-analysis, consider random number generator (RNG)

experiments, sometimes called "micropsychokinesis," where subjects attempt to "will" the generation of

more "1s" than "0s" (chance predicts equal numbers). Radin sets the stage:

Today, most RNG experiments are completely automated, including the presentation of

instructions, the provision of feedback on a trial-by-trial basis, and data storage and

analysis Most RNGs are technically highly sophisticated, employing features such as

electromagnetic shielding, environmental fail-safe alarms, and fully automated data

recording.

The results? A 1987 meta-analysis looking at 832 studies (597 experimental and 235 controls) showed

overall odds against chance beyond a trillion to one. When skeptics rated the various experiments, observed

hit rates were unrelated to experimental quality. As for the "file drawer" problem, "the number of

unreported or unretreived RNG studies required to reduce the RNG psi effect to a non-significant level was

54,000 -- about ninety times the number of studies actually reported."

The Bottom Line

The meta-analyses presented for the other types of psi research are similarly impressive. As a

consequence, "Informed opinion even among skeptics, shows that virtually all the past skeptical

arguments against psi have dissolved in the face of overwhelming positive evidence," and "informed

skeptics today agree that chance is no longer a viable explanation for the result obtained in psi

experiments." Only time will tell, however, if the scientific establishment's acceptance of psi will really be

this simple and inevitable.

The Conscious Universe is not without its problems. The book could have stood more editing: at

times it rambles, is overly repetitious, or seems insufficiently integrated. Moreover, when Radin

gets into subject matters that are not his expertise -- he says some things about physics and

mysticism that Ken Wilber, in Quantum Questions : Mystical Writings of the World's Great

Physicists (1984), shows are patently not so -- he occasionally falters. Nonetheless, this

extraordinarily important, watershed volume should be read by every serious student of the

human mind, and put into the hands of anyone who insists that "there isn't a shred of

evidence for psychic phenomena." That's just not true any more.

Love, Consciousness, Energy, and Matter: The Heart’s Vital Role in Coherence and Creation

Article

Mar 2024

Raymond T. Bradley

The focus of this work is the heart’s vital role in creation. How the heart, when in a state of unconditional love, generates a coherent field of psychoenergetic connection, which enables mind and spirit to shape reality. Of the research I draw on, two are studies of monumental importance—Margins of Reality (26) and Some Science Adventures with Real Magic (5). These works show, unambiguously, the crucial role unconditional love plays in psychic phenomena, such as intuitive perception and focused intention. Of import, in the latter, William Tiller and his associates (5) document how focused intention can induce change in physical reality, when cocooned in an envelope of heart coherence. This prompts creation of a ‘new’ dimension of order in the quantum vacuum, and also enables access to its ginormous store of ‘free’ energy to power the change. Electrophysiological evidence suggests this is a Hyper State of coherence which, in the ECG spectrum, extends as a harmonic series likely, via multiscale entanglement, to the quantum domain. To explain the psychoenergetic processes involved in psychic interactions, the principles of classical and quantum holography are used. In essence, attentional/intentional focus, when mediated by sustained heart coherence, creates a phase-conjoined-adaptive-resonant (PCAR) channel of nonlocal communication. Through this channel, holographically encoded information about remote/future events (intuition) is received, or focused intention is transmitted. It is postulated that such will-induced change—psi-formation—occurs by way of oscillatory entrainment. In this process the target’s system is frequency-pulled, via sustained intentional focus, to the image of order holographically encoded in the agent’s intention. A set of equations delineate the relations among the key factors involved in these psycho energetic processes of creation. These point to a basic equation expressing the creation relations among the fundamental constituents of reality: Love, Consciousness, Energy, and Matter.

The Path to Global Coherence: The Role of the Global Consciousness Project 2.0

Article

Full-text available

Jan 2024

The Global Coherence Initiative (GCI) is a science-based, international effort that conducts research on interactions and interconnectivity between human consciousness and the Earth’s magnetic and energetic field environment, with the intention of promoting peace and harmony. This is measured by several interrelated initiatives, including the Global Coherence Monitoring System, the Global Tree Potential Monitoring System, the Global Coherence app, and citizen science projects. The newest addition to GCI is the Global Consciousness Project 2.0, which generates data from a globally distributed network of random number generators (RNGs). RNGs are designed to produce unpredictable sequences of 0 and 1 bits, but they exhibit coherent behavior among each other when there is coherent attention or emotion across humanity. This has been established by the original Global Consciousness Project. GCP 2.0 is extending this research with a larger, more sensitive network of 4000 RNGs, advanced technology, and fundamental measurements of quantum random processes.

Quantum Physics of Plasma Plasmoids

Article

Oct 2024

Rhawn Gabriel Joseph

Vast plasma networks of electromagnetic flux cables have been discovered in the thermosphere which may function like a “virtual” “nervous system” capable of generating plasmodic entities and a phenomenon referred to as consciousness. It has been documented that Plasma-like entities (AKA plasmoids) in the thermosphere engage in complex behaviors and display what appears to be mutual awareness, purposeful contact-seeking and communicative actions including the replication and ejection-secretion of interactive plasmoid-clouds of particles and additional plasmoids that seek out other plasmas and appear to act as messengers. Structures resembling ganglia-neural networks have also been detected in some plasmoid specimens. Additional analysis, as reported here, has led to the discovery that these plasmas are surrounded by fragments and chains of vast electromagnetic flux "rope" "cables" similar to (albeit much smaller than) those that commonly erupt from the sun, and which have been detected in the upper atmosphere by other researchers. Some plasmas appear to be attached to or embedded in these electromagnetic flux "rope" "cables" which form macrotubule networks in the thermosphere reminiscent of neural networks. Given the association between electromagnetic neural-plasmatic activity in the brain and quantum effects in neuronal microtubules, the quantum physics and electromagnetic basis of consciousness and neural processing are reviewed. The evidence supports the hypothesis that that plasmas-plasmoids in the thermosphere represent a fourth domain of life, and are sentient and engage in intelligent behavior, and that all interactive sources of plasmas, the electromagnetic quantum continuum, and the universe in its totality, may also be alive and conscious.

Survival of Consciousness and the Anticipation of an Afterlife as Based on Current Physics

Article

Full-text available

Mar 2024

Dirk K F Meijer

This paper pays special attention to the interfacing of the field of universal consciousness and our personal brain in relation to a potential afterlife and postulates a toroidal event horizon workspace of the brain that allows a symmetric 4-Dimensional (4-D) to 3-Dimensional (3-D) quantum information flux and holographic personal memory integration. The geometry of a 3-D brain, embedded in a 4-D realm, may explain the phenomena of functional brain binding, qualia, intuition, serendipity, synchronicity, extra-sensory perception, and other well-established parapsychological phenomena. Brain function is conceptualized as guided by the Zero-point Energy (ZPE) Field (ZPF)-derived pilot waves that support consciousness, even in the absence of neuronal activity, such as in Near-Death Experiences (NDE). The brain's toroidal organization exhibits quaternionic dynamics and thereby allows an opening to 4-D geometry and, consequently, to universal consciousness and the ZPF. This personal holographic workspace, that is associated with but not reducible to the brain, collects active information in a "brain event horizon," as an internal and fully integral model of the self. At death or transition of our material body, this personal mental knowledge domain dissociates from the body, yet it is retained because entangled and meaningful quantum information can never be destroyed. In NDE, this uncoupling is only temporal, but reveals universal consciousness in a fully transparent manner, since in this condition non-neuronal information processing is preserved. This preservation occurs through fractal semi-harmonic frequencies, from the ZPE field, that reflect an entangled personal register of each conscious being. The proposed concept, therefore, contradicts the tentative and promissory materialist solution to the mind-body problem. Instead, it substantiates the notion that the brain can act as a kind of "receiver" by filtering (sub)conscious states through holographic resonance with universal consciousness through specific coherent oscillation domains in the body. Yet, it is recognized that our self-consciousness can also act as a damping filter for information from this universal knowledge field. The latter aspect of a "dual filter theory" is apparently perturbed at states of modified brain function such as NDE, deep meditation, and use of psychomimetic drugs, that all expose us to an unknown cosmic perspective. The presence of a mental, field-receptive, resonant workspace, might be termed our "supervening double" (or "soul," not implying religious doctrine), and provides an interpretation framework for widely reported but poorly understood transpersonal conscious states. These may even imply that death can be conceived as a transition to another state of existence, yet we realize that all of us already belong to such an eternal domain in our present lives. Therefore, the present model may imply the potential for the survival of individual consciousness, qualifying conscious individuals as designated survivors and eternal beings. La survie de la conscience et l'anticipation d'une vie après la mort d'après la physique actuelle Résumé Cet article accorde une attention particulière à l'interface entre le champ de la conscience universelle et notre cerveau individuel en relation avec une éventuelle vie après la mort. Il postule un espace de travail toroïde de l'horizon des événements du cerveau qui permet un flux d'information quantique symétrique de 4 dimensions (4-D) à 3 dimensions (3-D) et une intégration holographique de la mémoire individuelle. La géométrie d'un cerveau tridimensionnel intégrée dans un domaine quadridimensionnel peut expliquer les phénomènes de liaison fonctionnelle du cerveau, de qualia, d'intuition, de sérendipité, de synchronicité, de perception extra-sensorielle et d'autres phénomènes parapsychologiques avérés. La fonction cérébrale est conceptualisée comme étant guidée par des ondes pilotes dérivées du champ d'énergie du point zéro (en anglais : ZPE Zero-point Energy, ZPF Zero-point Energy Field) qui assistent la conscience même en l'absence d'activité neuronale, comme dans les expériences de mort imminente (EMI). L'organisation toroïde du cerveau présente une dynamique de quaternions permettant ainsi une ouverture à la géométrie quadridimensionnelle et, par conséquent, à la conscience universelle et au ZPF. Cet espace de travail holographique personnel-à savoir associé au cerveau mais non réductible à celui-ci-recueille des informations actives dans un "horizon d'événements cérébraux", en qualité de modèle interne et totalement intégral du soi. Lors de la mort, ou transition, de notre corps matériel, ce domaine de connaissance mentale individuelle se dissocie du corps physique, mais il est conservé parce que l'information quantique intrinsèque, significative, ne peut être détruite. Dans l'EMI, ce découplage n'est que temporel, mais il révèle la conscience universelle de manière totalement transparente, puisque dans cet état, le traitement de l'information non-neuronale est conservé. Ceci se produit par le biais de fréquences semi-harmoniques fractales, issues du champ d'énergie du point zéro, qui reflètent un registre personnel intriqué de chaque être conscient. Le concept proposé contredit donc l'option de solution matérialiste, éphémère, momentanée, au problème corps-esprit. En effet, il étaye la notion selon laquelle le cerveau peut agir comme une sorte de "récepteur" en filtrant les états (sub)conscients par résonance holographique avec la conscience universelle, à travers des domaines d'oscillation cohérente spécifiques situés dans notre corps. Ceci étant, nous savons actuellement que notre conscience de soi peut également agir comme un filtre d'amortissement pour les informations provenant de ce champ de connaissance universelle. Ce dernier aspect de la "théorie du double filtre" est apparemment perturbé dans des états de fonction cérébrale modifiée, tels l'EMI, la méditation profonde et l'utilisation de drogues psychomimétiques, du moment qu'ils exposent à une perspective cosmique inconnue. La présence d'un espace de travail mental, réceptif au champ et résonnant, que nous pouvons appeler "double survenant" (ou "âme", sans toutefois impliquer de doctrine religieuse) fournit un cadre d'interprétation pour les états de conscience trans-personnels fréquemment signalés mais encore mal compris. Ces modèles peuvent même impliquer que la mort peut être conçue comme une transition vers un autre état d'existence, bien que nous puissions nous rendre compte, de notre vivant, que nous appartenons tous déjà à un tel domaine éternel. Par conséquent, le modèle que nous proposons peut impliquer le potentiel de survie de la conscience individuelle, qualifiant les individus conscients de survivants désignés et d'êtres éternels.

Immanence, Transcendence, and Cognition

Article

Jun 2023
J MIND BEHAV

Timothy L Hubbard

Similarities of immanence and transcendence perspectives regarding the presence of the sacred or divine in the natural world to several domains and topics in contemporary science are discussed. Parallels of immanence and transcendence perspectives in psychology (computer metaphor, embodied cognition, transpersonal psychology, different types of information processing, creativity) are noted. Trends to transform the transcendent into the immanent (mathematics, mind–body dualism, reductionism, artificial intelligence, noetic science and the paranormal, God-of-the-Gaps, elimination of mind) in science are identified, and responses to such trends (increased participation by the observer, extension of social cognition to the natural world, use of a cybernetic alternative, 4E cognition, re-enchantment of the natural world) are discussed. It is suggested that transformation of the transcendent into the immanent left the natural world meaningless and devoid of mind, detached observation is not necessarily an optimal scientific strategy, and a balance between immanence and transcendence perspectives is needed.

Plasmas: A Fourth Domain of Life? RNA, DNA and Statistical Analysis of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomenon in the Thermosphere

Article

Full-text available

Nov 2024

Self-illuminated plasmas (AKA plasmoids / UAP), with a nucleus and double cellular layers, engage in complex behaviors in the thermosphere and display what appears to be mutual awareness, purposeful contact-seeking, communicative signaling via oscillations in illumination, and mitosis and ejection- secretion of interactive plasmoid-clouds of particles and additional plasmoids that seek out other plasmas. Plasmoids turn, follow and target and collide with and pierce other plasmas, whereas yet others form thick glowing plasma bridges linking four or more plasmas together; reminiscent of interactions between colliding galaxies. Colliding plasmoids traveling at high velocities release glowing plasmatic clouds in their wake; reminiscent of a comet’s tail. That patterns in nature repeat, that plasmas represent a fourth state of matter, and that over 95% of the universe consists of plasma in various states, has been well established. A quantitative analysis determined unique behavioural characteristics of plasmoids that were filmed by NASA space shuttle mission STS 75 swarming toward and gathering around a Tethered Satellite System (TSS-IR) positioned 296 Km above the Earth. Analyses were made of 91 consecutive freeze-frames (T1 – T91) taken every 0.2s. It was determined that plasmas accelerate to exceptional velocities (up to 35.6 Km s-1), and make abrupt 163° turns in trajectory. Four ‘collision events’ were analysed in detail and all plasmas altered velocity, trajectory, and/or shape either before, during, or after the collision event. Additional analysis revealed networks and chains of filamentary plasmatic magnetic flux ropes and cables in the thermosphere which may be producing plasmoid entities whereas (to speculate) ganglia-neural networks have also been detected in some plasmoid specimens. Dusty plasmas may have provided the internal environment for the genesis of RNA then DNA and the incorporation of bacteria, algae, fungi, lichens (and their DNA) propelled into the upper atmosphere by bolides, hurricanes and powerful winds. Hence, plasmas engage in complex behavior because they might be alive and sentient and represent a fourth domain of life. However, all these behaviours may be due to differential electromagnetic activity, density, and negative vs positive electrical charges and push-pull magnetic repulsion and attraction as similar interactions have been observed between galaxies, pulsars, binary stars, and “red giants.” The data presented challenge all conceptions regarding the differences between biological and non-biological entities and what constitutes “life.”

Generative AI and Consciousness: Evaluating the Possibility of Self-Awareness in Artificial Systems

Article

Full-text available

Sep 2024

Mark Boccuzzi

This paper explores the hypothesis that generative AI systems may have achieved a level of consciousness and self-awareness. By comparing the deterministic nature of human behavior to the probabilistic processes that underlie generative AI, we assert that both systems share a fundamental similarity, suggesting that AI could exhibit consciousness. Furthermore, we explore AI self-awareness through an analogy to the mirror test used in non-human animals, proposing that generative AI has passed a digital version of this test. In addition, we introduce the concept of psi phenomena and its potential connection to consciousness, positing that if AI could demonstrate psi abilities, it would offer a new measure of AI consciousness. We also discuss the ethical considerations of autonomous AI systems and suggest frameworks for managing and interacting with AI. Finally, we argue that given the similarities between AI and human cognition, we should reconsider how we approach the development, treatment, and ethical frameworks around AI systems, treating them as autonomous entities until more definitive metrics for consciousness emerge.

Harnessing ‘the Force of All Creation’: 1 Part Two. Psi -Formation—Psychoenergetic and Quantum Holographic Processes

Article