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Correlations between brain electrical activities of two spatially separated human subjects
Abstract
Six channels electroencephalogram (EEG) were recorded simultaneously from pairs of separated human subjects in two acoustically and electromagnetically shielded rooms. While brain electric responses to visual pattern-reversal stimuli were elicited in one subject, the other subject relaxed without stimulation. EEGs of both subjects were averaged at times of stimulus onset, effective voltage of the averaged signals was computed within a running window, and expressed as ratio (Q) to the effective voltage of averaged EEG signal from non-stimulation periods. These ratios in non-stimulated subjects at the latency of the maximum response in stimulated subjects were analysed. Significant departures of Q ratios from reference distributions, based on baseline EEG in non-stimulation periods, were found in most non-stimulated subjects. The results indicate that correlations between brain activities of two separated subjects may occur, although no biophysical mechanism is known.
... In 1978, the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment found that only an estimated 10% to 20% of the techniques that physicians use are empirically proven. 4 16,000 pieces of mail lost every hour, and 32,000 bank checks deducted from the wrong account every hour.' Surely, even 0.5-1% error rate is alarming. . . ...
... These results are buttressed by many similar experiments. [15][16][17][18][19] These findings pose serious questions about the intentions and underlying belief systems of investigators. If the intentions and beliefs of a healer can shape the outcome of an experiment, can the beliefs and intentions of an experimenter also "push the data around?" ...
... Along with quantum non-locality, there is also biological non-locality (Josephson and Pallikari-Viras, 1991;Thaheld, 2010). Even though it was subjected to unjustified criticism when it was proposed, various studies have shown that there may be a non-local effect between brains (Grinberg-Zylberbaum, 1982;Grinberg-Zylberbaum and Ramos, 1987;Grinberg-Zylberbaum et al., 1994;Wackerman et al., 2003). Approximately 23 similar studies were carried out between 1963 and 2010, 20 of which hinted at a network, communication or effect between brains. ...
... This potential has been called transferred potential, and many other researchers have been able to make a transfer of up to 15 m under strict experimental conditions (Orme-Johnson et al., 1982). Even if the transfer is not always of a similar pattern to that created in the sender by the stimulus, it has at least been established that a simultaneous perturbation can take place in the brain of the receiver, which is above zero (Grinberg-Zylberbaum et al., 1994;Standish et al., 2004;Radin, 2004;Wackerman et al., 2003). In a similar way, a magnetic stimulus applied to the brain of a sender has successfully reached the brain of a receiver to whom no stimulus was applied (Persinger et al., 2008a;2008b;Hu and Wu, 2006). ...
The concepts of quantum brain, quantum mind and quantum consciousness have been increasingly gaining currency in recent years, both in scientific papers and in the popular press. In fact, the concept of the quantum brain is a general framework. Included in it are basically four main sub-headings. These are often incorrectly used interchangeably. The first of these and the one which started the quantum mind/consciousness debate was the place of consciousness in the problem of measurement in quantum mechanics. Debate on the problem of quantum measurement and about the place of the conscious observer has lasted almost a century. One solution to this problem is that the participation of a conscious observer in the experiment will radically change our understanding of the universe and our relationship with the outside world. The second topic is that of quantum biology. This topic has become a popular field of research, especially in the last decade. It concerns whether or not the rules of quantum physics operate in biological structures. It has been shown in the latest research on photosynthesis, the sense of smell and magnetic direction finding in animals that the laws of quantum physics may operate in warm-wet-noisy biological structures. The third sub-heading is quantum neurobiology. This topic has not yet gained wide acceptance and is still in its early stages. Its primary purpose is directed to understand whether the laws of quantum physics are effective in the biology of the nervous system or not. A further step in brain neurobiology, toward the understanding of consciousness formation, is the research of quantum laws effects upon neural network functions. The fourth and final topic is quantum psychopathology. This topic takes its basis and its support from quantum neurobiology. It comes from the idea that if quantum physics is involved in the normal working of the brain, diseased conditions of the brain such as depression, anxiety, dementia, schizophrenia and hallucinations can be explained by quantum physical pathology. In this article, these topics will be reviewed in a general framework, and for the first time a general classification will be made for the quantum brain theory.
... In the energetic aspect of life, the EM field directly wrestles with the molecular processes thus assuring the indispensable long range order on the cellular level (Popp et al, 2006), while the biofield brings even more extended long range order, perhaps spanning over the whole multicellular organism and beyond. Namely, long range connection was indisputably demonstrated between humans (Wackermann et al, 2003, Standish et al, 2004, Grinberg-Zylberbaum et al, 1994 and even isolated neurons (Pizzi et al, 2004). The experimental system that includes humans is a simple one; two subjects in two separate Faraday cages with a few meters between them. ...
... Namely, consciousness is much too synthetic, holistic to be directly expressible through countless fragmented biochemical reactions or even individual electric fields of the brain cells. On the other hand the biofield is deeply integrative and can be responsive to conscious intention as proved by Tiller's and of course many other experiments (Wackermann et al, 2003). In this light we can understand the strong influence of our psyche on our health on one hand and many so called parapsychological phenomena on the other. ...
SYNOPSIS Advances in science are not achieved merely through the accumulation of knowledge but also through the development of new concepts. In physics, the inclusive concept of the field was used centuries ago with a great scientific profit, while in life sciences we are still waiting for a similar universally acceptable term. For the time being, we only use the concept of the field in its strictly physical meaning, e.g. transmembrane cellular electrical field. Nevertheless, an increasing number of research groups make surprising discoveries that require a new conceptual and empirical breakthrough also in the field of life sciences; one of the promising concepts is the concept of biofield. Here many problems and questions pose themselves: first, what is the real (physical) basis of the biofield; second, what are the scientific evidences for such field; third, what is the biological meaning of the biofield and fourth, what would be the significance of the biofield for consciousness.
... Several earlier experiments demonstrated correlations in brain function between empathic individuals who are widely separated and who have no sensory contact with each other. [68][69][70][71] If there was one thing we could have wished included in Achterberg's study, it would be monitoring to ascertain whether, and in what time frame, therapeutic intention altered the course of an illness. Several other studies suggest that this will be a fruitful area for future study. ...
Postmaterial spiritual psychology posits that consciousness can contribute to the unfolding of material events and that the human brain can detect broad, non-material communications. In this regard, this emerging field of postmaterial psychology marks a stark departure from psychology's traditional quantum measurements and tenets. The Oxford Handbook of Psychology and Spirituality codifies the leading empirical evidence in the support and application of postmaterial psychological science. Sections in this volume include: personality and social psychology factors and implications; spiritual development and culture; spiritual dialogue, prayer, and intention in Western mental health; Eastern traditions and psychology; physical health and spirituality; positive psychology; and scientific advances and applications related to spiritual psychology. With articles from leading scholars in psychology, medicine, physics, and biology, this text is an interdisciplinary reference for a rapidly emerging approach to contemporary science.
... Possible explanations for the recovery of veridical fetal and perinatal memories, including those with OBE components, have been advanced in the consciousness and paranormal literature to account for similar phenomena (e.g., Dossey et al., 2011;Penrose et al., 2011;Schwartz et al., 2018;Tashaev, 2007) and to provide a more adequate paradigm for consciousness per se, a discussion beyond the scope of this paper. Suffice it to say that nonlocal theories of mind that would account for veridical pre-and peri-natal data include: having psychic connections to information possessed by others present, including their memories (e.g., Cardeña et al., 2015;Cheek, 1992;Pizzi, 2004;Stokes, 2007;Sudduth, 2016); quantum entanglement theories that posit the linking of minds outside conventional means (e.g., Dossey et al., 2011;Radin, 2006;Standish et al., 2003;Standish et al., 2004;Wackerman et al., 2003); the super-psi hypothesis, which comprises extra-sensory perception (the acquisition of information about past, present, or future mental or physical events, objects, or influences outside known sensory channels; cf. Alvarado, & Martinez-Taboas, 1983;Cardeña et al., 2015;May & Marwaha, 2014Rock et al., 2013;Zingrone, 2010) and retrocognition (noninferential knowledge of a past event by paranormal means; Berger & Berger, 1991a;Cardeña et al., 2015;Melton, 2001); and the multiple sources of psi hypothesis (Merlin, 2020a(Merlin, , 2020b. ...
... An accumulating body of evidence suggests that brain-state correlations can exist between human subjects under conditions excluding sensory communication via their environment. Wackermann et al. (2003) found that when one subject of an "empathically bound" pair of subjects was stimulated by light flashes, waveforms similar to evoked potentials were found in the nonstimulated other subject. Pairs of subjects who participated in a "tuning in" process to attain an empathic bond were measured by six electroencephalographic channels, with subjects seated in separate, shielded rooms. ...
Because all aspects of social life have a mental component, sociology’s focus is not society alone but mind and society. Insofar as mind is an emergent level of brainwork, the description and measurement of mindwork amidst social interaction can be accomplished by neurometric measurement methodology. The authors’ topic, hyperscanning, involves the simultaneous recording of either hemodynamic or neuroelectric measurement of brain activity in two (or more) interacting individuals. The authors consider two hyperscanning methods, functional magnetic resonance imaging and electroencephalography (EEG). Although functional magnetic resonance imaging provides excellent spatial resolution of brain-region activation, the temporal resolution of EEG is unmatched. EEG’s low spatial resolution has been overcome by low-resolution electromagnetic tomography. Hyperscanning studies show that interpersonal coordination of action includes mutual entrainment or synchronization of neural dynamics, flow of information between brains, and causal effects of one brain upon another with respect to social-signaling processes involving fairness, reciprocity, trust, competition, cooperation, and leadership.
... We replicated the Grinberg-Zylberbaum study in which he had claimed that a visual stimulation of one subject had introduced transferred evoked potentials in the EEG of a spatially distant, but connected participant (Grinberg-Zylberbaum et al., 1994). In our study we could not find transferred potentials as such, but significant deviations from chance expectations (Wackermann et al., 2003). Harald Walach commissioned two large-scale replications in the same lab, which were clearly positive, but never published (Claudio Naranjo, personal communication; he had conducted the studies but was prohibited from publishing the data by Wackermann, the former head of the lab). ...
We have reported previously on positive effects found in the matrix experiment. This is a setup where a random event generator (REG) drives a display, which participants are instructed to “influence” at will, i.e., in a psychokinesis (PK) setup. The difference of this matrix experiment from standard micro-PK REG experiments was that the deviation from randomness was not measured, but a large array of 2025 correlations between the behavior of the participant and the behavior of the REG was tested. This previous experiment was significant, and we devised a consensus protocol, which was deposited before commencement, according to which we conducted two independent replications with the same experimental setup and equipment. In the first experiment 64 participants conducted the experiment in one location under the experimental guidance of KK, in the second experiment 40 participants conducted the experiment in another location under the experimental guidance of HV. The analysis used a non-parametric randomization test with 10,000 iterations. None of the two experiments was significant. While in the first experiment a very small, but non-significant effect was found, in the second experiment no effect whatsoever was detectable. Sensitivity analyses did not suggest that the effect was in fact there but overlooked by our analysis. We discuss the findings in the context of the larger debate around replicability of parapsychological (PSI) research results and our theoretical model. This starts from the assumptions that such PSI effects are likely effects of a generalized form of entanglement correlations, and a consequence of this model is that such effects must not be used for the transfer of signals. Classical experiments, however, are detectors or extractors of signals in or from systems. This seems to be prohibited. Thus, the replication problem and this failed replication is likely part of the systematic nature of these effects. This makes it unlikely that experimental research alone will be successful in the long run demonstrating PSI effects. Our conclusion is that the matrix experiment is not a replicable paradigm in PSI research.
... Two of these studies used MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the brain) - Richards et al. (2005) and Standish et al. (2003) -but in the vast majority of cases electroencephalographic recording techniques have been used, e.g. Wackermann et al. (2003), Achterberg et al. (2005), Ambach et al. (2008), Manolea (2015), Persinger et al. (2010), Radin (2004), etc. An updated 2016 list of these papers is presented in Table 1 in . ...
... In a recent study, it was shown that the occipital lobe was the brain region where a decoder person receives information sent from an encoder person (Jiang et al., 2019). Other studies established the same electroencephalographic records during telepathy in the occipital lobe (Duane and Behrendt, 1965;Kittenis et al., 2004;Standish et al., 2004;Wackermann et al., 2003) and concurrently in both the frontal and occipital lobes (M. Persinger, Koren and Tsang, 2003). ...
Up now, the communication between brains of different humans or animals has been confirmed and confined by the sensory medium and motor facilities of body. Recently, direct brain-to-brain communication (DBBC) outside the conventional five senses has been verified between animals and humans. Nevertheless, no empirical studies or serious discussion have been performed to elucidate the mechanism behind this process. The validation of DBBC has been documented via recording similar pattern of action potentials occurring in the brain cortex of two animals. With regard to action potentials in brain neurons, the magnetic field resulting from the action potentials created in neurons is one of the tools where the brain of one animal can affect the brain of another. It has been shown that different animals, even humans, have the power to understand the magnetic field. Cryptochrome, which exists in the retina and in different regions of the brain, has been confirmed to be able to perceive magnetic fields and convert magnetic fields to action potentials. Recently, iron particles (Fe3O4) believed to be functioning as magnets have been found in various parts of the brain, and are postulated as magnetic field receptors. Newly developed supersensitive magnetic sensors made of iron magnets that can sense the brain's magnetic field have suggested the idea that these Fe3O4 particles or magnets may be capable of perceiving the brain's extremely weak magnetic field. The present study suggests that it is possible the extremely week magnetic field in one animal's brain to transmit vital and accurate information to another animal's brain.
... En 2003, Wackermann y col. (48) lograron resultados similares a los de Grinberg-Zylberbaum. Registraron EEG de pares de sujetos separados en dos habitaciones bloqueadas acústica y electromagnéticamente. Mientras se estimulaba visualmente a uno de los sujetos, el otro permanecía relajado. ...
... Ereignisbedingte Veränderungen im Elektroenzephalogramm von R wurden ebenfalls untersucht (vgl. Radin, 2004b;Standish et al., 2004;Wackermann et al., 2003). Meta-Analysen dieser Studien deuten darauf hin, dass Menschen die physiologischen Zustände des jeweils anderen psychisch auf eine Weise beeinflussen können, die über die konventionellen Modelle der menschlichen Interaktion hinausgeht (vgl. ...
In der deutschen Literatur wird das Thema Intuition noch nicht differenziert in seinen wichtigen Facetten betrachtet.
Bislang wird Intuition vornehmlich auf Basis der Arbeiten von Prof. Gigerenzer, als Erfahrungsintuition bzw. heuristische Entscheidungen auf Basis sog. Daumenregeln beschrieben. Amerikanische Forschungsarbeiten werden bislang weniger
berücksichtigt. Häufig wird unter Intuition das sog., unbegründete Bauchgefühl untersucht (Prof. Klein). Diese Arbeiten gehen sogar soweit, dass antitipatorische Entscheidungen einbezogen werden (Dr. Radin). Daher soll in dieser Studie die Intuition dreigeteilt untersucht werden, um auch die wirklich unbewussten, intuitiven Entscheidungen einzubeziehen. Dieser Ansatz ist besonders innovativ, weil zum Thema Intuition bisher nur Studien auf Basis von Einzeltheorien im Vergleich zur Rationalität vorliegen. In diesem
Forschungsprojekt sollen vier wichtige, unterschiedliche Entscheidungsgrundlagen (RHIBA) erstmals zusammenhängend im Vergleich erforscht werden:
(R) Rationale, kognitive Entscheidungsfindung,
(H) Heuristische Entscheidungen („Faustregeln“),
(I) Intuitive Entscheidungen bzw. das sog. Bauchgefühl oder (P) die unbegründete
Entscheidung
(A) Antizipation) RHIA. Das Fehlen einer solchen zusammenhängenden Untersuchung mag in der Komplexität des Versuchsaufbaus liegen. Für die Forschung und insbesondere die Entwicklung von Anwendungsfeldern wäre das Gelingen eines solchen Prototypens von entscheidender Bedeutung.
... For example, according to Dual-Aspect Monism (Atmanspacher, 2012), there is neither a material reality nor a mental reality -rather, they are two different aspects of one reality. These mental characteristics are also consistent with Generalized Quantum Theory (GQT) proposed by Walach &von Stillfried (2011), andFilk &Römer (2011). ...
Abstract
Background: In this paper, data from two studies relative to the relationship
between the electroencephalogram (EEG) activities of two isolated and
physically separated subjects were re-analyzed using machine-learning
algorithms.
The first dataset comprises the data of 25 pairs of participants where one
member of each pair was stimulated with a visual and an auditory 500 Hz
signals of 1 second duration.
The second dataset consisted of the data of 20 pairs of participants where one
member of each pair received visual and auditory stimulation lasting 1 second
duration with on-off modulation at 10, 12, and 14 Hz.
Methods and Results: Applying a ‘linear discriminant classifier’ to the first
dataset, it was possible to correctly classify 50.74% of the EEG activity of
non-stimulated participants, correlated to the remote sensorial stimulation of
the distant partner.
In the second dataset, the percentage of correctly classified EEG activity in the
non-stimulated partners was 51.17%, 50.45% and 51.91%, respectively, for the
10, 12, and 14 Hz stimulations, with respect the condition of no stimulation in
the distant partner.
Conclusions: The analysis of EEG activity using machine-learning algorithms
has produced advances in the study of the connection between the EEG
activities of the stimulated partner and the isolated distant partner, opening new
insight into the possibility to devise practical application for non-conventional
“mental telecommunications” between physically and sensorially separated
participants.
Keywords
EEG, correlation at distance, machine learning, linear discrimination analysis.
... The correlation of brain activities of two separated human beings is analysed in Wackermann et al. (2003). This experiment involved recording six channels EEG data simultaneously from pairs of separated human subjects in two acoustically and electromagnetically shielded rooms where one person is subjected to visual pattern-reversal stimuli while the other subject relaxed without any stimulation. ...
... The principle of locality, strongly supported by Einstein − who held the hypothesis of hidden variables in the attempt to explain the spooky actions at distance who considered quantum mechanics incomplete because through it the existence of entanglement, called "spooky actions ad distance", had to be assumed (Einstein, Podolsky, & Rosen, 1935) − has also been overcome with the demonstration of entanglement by quantum physic, now applied a t quantum cryptography and quantum information teleportation (Aspect, Grangier, & Roger, 1982;Fracas, 2017;Hill & Cox, 2012;Moreau et al., 2019;Musser, 2015). A quantum biology is emerging in life sciences as well, while an increasing interest has raised on the hypothesis of quantum and/or quantum-like aspects of consciousness (Facco & Fracas, 2018;Grinberg-Zylberbaum, Delaflor, Attie, & Goswami, 1994;Poznanski, Tuszynski, & Feinberg, 2017;Standish, Johnson, Kozak, & Richards, 2003;Thaheld, 2010;Wackermann, Seiter, Keibel, & Walach, 2003). In this regard, it is worth mentioning that the only scientists who rediscovered the relevance of subjectivity in science and devoted themselves to the study of consciousness in early 20 th century were quantum physicists, in an epoch where both psychology and neurology considered it unworthy of investigation. ...
Aim of this theoretical paper is to review the ontological status of so-called altered states of consciousness, suggesting a revision of their common interpretation as abnormal, or anyway less-than-normal conditions. The term Non-Ordinary Mental Expressions (NOMEs), is described and emphasized as a new conceptual tool allowing a more comprehensive interpretation of the varieties of the normal albeit non ordinary consciousness experiences and their implications in the mind-body relationship.
... The correlation of brain activities of two separated human beings is analysed in Wackermann et al. (2003). This experiment involved recording six channels EEG data simultaneously from pairs of separated human subjects in two acoustically and electromagnetically shielded rooms where one person is subjected to visual pattern-reversal stimuli while the other subject relaxed without any stimulation. ...
... A large and growing research literature has considered the role of human consciousness and intention in biology, psychology, and the physical sciences. 8,9 These human intentionality effects have been reported in a variety of living systems-for example EEG 146 and galvanic skin response 147 -suggesting that human intention may play a key role in biofield interactions. ...
... This is a theoretical prediction made from WQT, which, however, could eventually explain the anomalistic data in question and thus lead to a positive definition, the lack of which is one of the reasons for skeptics to sink the life-boat completely (Alcock, 2003). At the moment, this is only a theoretical option, which needs experimental verification, although some positive hints have been provided (Wackermann et al., 2003;, and it is by no means implied that WQT is the only theoretical option, another example being the Model of Pragmatic Information (Lucadou, 1995) which places more emphasis on the informational content of a system. However, what is implied is that any theoretical concept needs to take into account the non-local nature of the phenomena in question. ...
... This experimented supported the concept that consciousness is nonlocal. Wackermann, et al. (2003) conducted an experiment where six channels electroencephalogram (EEG) were recorded simultaneously from pairs of separated human subjects in two acoustically and electromagnetically shielded rooms. The results indicate that correlations between brain activities of two separated subjects may occur, although no biophysical mechanism is known. ...
The quantum consciousness model explains that our consciousness is immortal, non local and can work independently of the physical brain. The model also proposes that our perceived reality is created by our consciousness by interpreting vibrating energy. The Urantia book is a spiritual and philosophical revelation from the spiritual world that aims to unite religion, science and philosophy. The Urantia book reveals the nature of human consciousness and supports with its theology the quantum consciousness model paradigm that has been used in recent years to support a multidimensional view of the human mind and modern humanistic and spiritual psychology paradigms such as transpersonal psychology. This article aims at viewing the Urantia book revelation as key to support the quantum consciousness model paradigm.
... Further examples of the careful claims of consciousness researchers: In 2003 in Neuroscience Letters, Wackerman and colleagues reported on "correlations between brain electrical activities of two spatially separated human subjects." 14 In 2005, Achterberg and colleagues reported "evidence for correlations between distant intentionality and brain function in recipients: a functional magnetic resonance imaging analysis." 15 In 2004, Standish and colleagues reported a functional magnetic imaging analysis of "correlations between distant intentionality and brain function in recipients." ...
... same evoked potential was found to appear in the other subject's brain, and viewable on the EEG of this subject (again minus brain noise). This is called a "transferred potential," but is similar to the evoked potential in phase and strength (Grinberg-Zylberbaum et al. 1987). This experimented supported the concept that consciousness is non-local. Wackermann, et. al (2003) conducted an experiment where six channels electroencephalogram (EEG) were recorded simultaneously from pairs of separated human subjects in two acoustically and electromagnetically shielded rooms. The results indicate that correlations between brain activities of two separated subjects may occur, although no biophysical mechanism is kn ...
The Urantia book reveals the nature of human consciousness and supports with its theology the quantum consciousness model paradigm that has been used in recent years to support a multidimensional view of the human mind and modern humanistic and spiritual psychology paradigms such as transpersonal psychology. It also explains that every human is connected to the Universal mind or God through a source of light in a central Universe. The article proposes a quantum consciousness model that explains that our consciousness is immortal and non local. The model also proposes that our perceived reality is created by our consciousness by interpreting vibrating energy. The Urantia book aims to unite religion, science and philosophy. This article aims at viewing the Urantia book as key to support the proposed quantum consciousness model paradigm and the Christian belief that a fraction of God resides in us and connects us to his infinite source of light.
... No biophysical mechanism is presently known that could be responsible for the observed correlations between EEGs of two separated subjects." 20 As functional magnetic resonance imaging brain-scanning techniques matured, these began to be used, with intriguing results. Psychologist Leanna Standish at Seattle's Bastyr University found that when one individual in one room was visually stimulated by a flickering light, there was a significant increase in brain activity in a person in a distant room. ...
... These experiments employ both fMRI and EEG technology to demonstrate mental connections between distant individuals. [48][49][50][51][52][53][54] These experiments show that individuals can modify not only the fMRI of a distant individual, but the galvanic skin response (GSR) as well. The GSR is a measure of sweating and the electrical conductivity of the skin, which is one of the physiological indicators used in the standard polygraph and the military's PCASS device. ...
... In these experiments, the stimulation of one individual's brain appears to be registered simultaneously in a distant individual's brain, as demonstrated by fMRI or EEG. [64][65][66] These experiments suggest that the idea of united, linked minds is more than philosophical speculation. ...
... Several other fMRI and electroencephalographic-based studies in separated subjects show similar findings. [40][41][42] An intriguing study involving human tissue examined the effects of noncontact therapeutic touch (TT) on the proliferation of normal human cells in culture, compared with sham and no treatment. These researchers found that TT administered twice a week in 10-minute intervals for two weeks significantly stimulated proliferation of fibroblasts, tenocytes, and osteoblasts in culture (P ϭ .04, ...
... Several prior experiments have examined correlations in brain function between empathic individuals who are widely separated and who have no sensory contact with each other. [6][7][8][9] A proof-of-concept study, the experiment of Achterberg and colleagues was designed to test whether a nonlocal, compassion-mediated, physiological effect exists. It did not explore whether or not such an effect could alter the course of an illness. ...
... A large and growing research literature has considered the role of human consciousness and intention in biology, psychology, and the physical sciences. 8,9 These human intentionality effects have been reported in a variety of living systems-for example EEG 146 and galvanic skin response 147 -suggesting that human intention may play a key role in biofield interactions. ...
... For example Duane and Behrendt (1965) reported correlated EEGs in spatially separated identical twins. And recently Wackermann et al (2003) reported non-local correlations between EEGs of isolated but 'bonded' subjects, when one is stimulated optically. ...
We discuss the content required of mental percept / qualia (thought, image, cognitive percept) in order that it prove the existence of extraterrestrials and perhaps entanglement as a mode of communication (though accidentally so in this context). Given the considerable uncertainties involved the primary purpose of this effort is simply to broach the topic for discussion, though we do take the opportunity to discuss specific experimental tests. A longer term goal however is the emergence of an experimental protocol to maximize likelihood of detecting and interpreting a signal in the event such a modality exists and is employed by extraterrestrials.
... No biophysical mechanism is presently known that could be responsible for the observed correlations between EEGs of two separated subjects." 44 As fMRI brain--scanning techniques matured, these began to be employed, with intriguing results. Psychologist Leanna Standish at Seattle's Bastyr University found that when one individual in one room was visually stimulated by a flickering light, there was a significant increase in brain activity in a person in a distant room. ...
Unlike traditional Eastern medicines, Western medicine has been oriented towards a reductionist approach almost exclusively focused on the mechanisms that trigger the disease in an attempt to inhibit its effects. If, on the one hand, this approach has made enormous progress possible, on the other it has restricted the space reserved for the personal doctor-patient relationship and the role of their subjective experience on the course of the disease and the outcome of treatment. Thus, the patient’s need to analyze his/her own inner experience in search of purpose and meaning, and to keep a window open on the transcendent during the treatment process has taken a back seat. The need to recover this spiritual dimension has, however, been widely recognized in the last 30 years and the interventions at the institutional level necessary to promote its integration into the treatment path have been identified. Real integration, however, cannot take place without accompanying the institutional intervention with that at personal level. It will be aimed at providing the patient with the tools to accept the discomfort of the disease and the doctor to continue dispensing his care with loving kindness avoiding burnout. In this direction, the protocols of Mindfulness have found application, a contemplative practice within everyone’s reach, based on the teachings already present in the Buddhist canons of the origins dedicated to remedies to deal with suffering, illness and the fear of death. This is how a millennial tradition is contributing to the search for a new dimension of the relationship between Medicine and Spirituality.
Mental health professionals can help patients understand exceptional and paranormal experiences, integrate them into day-to-day life, and cope with confusion and anxiety that sometimes accompany them. However, a broader clinical perspective and specialized training in clinical parapsychology is needed. In the first part of the paper I argue that psychiatry as currently practiced is limited because it embraces a strictly materialist paradigm, emphasizes treatment over prevention, and relies principally on pharmaceuticals that are often ineffective and/or unsafe. A paradigm shift in psychiatry is taking place that will soon lead to novel concepts of energy and innovations in therapeutic approaches. In the second part of the paper I review the ongoing debate over consciousness, implications of novel understandings of energy for psychiatry, and research findings in physics, neuroscience and parapsychology that are contributing to a postmaterialist paradigm in psychiatry. I comment on an important problem in the philosophy of science called Hempel’s dilemma and argue that future scientific theories of consciousness will probably encounter similar conceptual limits to those faced by current theories. Following Beauregard, Trent and Schwartz (2018) I argue that different categories of theories may be needed to adequately explain the variety of human experiences and I propose an integral paradigm that acknowledges the validity of both conventional scientific explanations and postmaterialist theories of consciousness. Finally, I discuss implications of postmaterialism for research, education and training in psychiatry.
Postmaterial spiritual psychology posits that consciousness can contribute to the unfolding of material events and that the human brain can detect broad, non-material communications. In this regard, this emerging field of postmaterial psychology marks a stark departure from psychology's traditional quantum measurements and tenets. The Oxford Handbook of Psychology and Spirituality codifies the leading empirical evidence in the support and application of postmaterial psychological science. Sections in this volume include: personality and social psychology factors and implications; spiritual development and culture; spiritual dialogue, prayer, and intention in Western mental health; Eastern traditions and psychology; physical health and spirituality; positive psychology; and scientific advances and applications related to spiritual psychology. With articles from leading scholars in psychology, medicine, physics, and biology, this text is an interdisciplinary reference for a rapidly emerging approach to contemporary science.
In the light of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, a well-functioning person with full potential can possess Psi abilities. It is suggested that everyone can have the Psi abilities after completing the second level of Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist SEMs. Accordingly, Psi abilities would be trained. There are six kinds of Psi ability which is addressed in this chapter. There are two main purposes for why we can have Psi abilities. The first purpose is to help the others who are in suffering. The second purpose is to use the Psi abilities to seek understanding or witness the authority of Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist wisdom, as well as the other cultural wisdom. There are two stages for Psi performance. The chapter presents a possible mechanism for Psi at the initial stage and a proposed process for experiencing visual images of targets during Psi performance. In the first stage, Psi information enters the brain via unknown sensory mechanisms, which I developed the Cryptochromes (CRY) Theory (CT). CRY exists in all living systems and has quantum biological properties which allow, among other things, for the extreme sensitivity to weak energy such as light and magnetic fields in avian magnetonavigation. It is assumed that Psi information triggers chemical reactions in the CRYs, influencing the spin states of paired radical ions. This process activates the CRYs and then spreads their summed signal throughout the brain, creating a meaningful synthesis. In the second stage, I developed a visual Psi model that this Psi information interacts with target-relevant memories, resulting in the experience of targets-related visual images. This process is likely similar to the process of creating visual information in the brain in non-psi contexts. Finally, a three-stage Psi training model developed by the author is presented. In the first stage, the model suggests that participants need to attain a quiet and/or drowsy mental state. In the second stage, the brain plasticity of adapting to Psi targets will be trained by largely repeated Psi stimuli, while participants attempt to experience awareness of the targets. The third stage is the trial-by-trial feedback only thought to be effective when participants experience images, and awareness of targets in whole or part.
In this chapter, we postulate an integral concept of information processing in the universe, on the basis of a new biophysical principle, coined the generalized music (GM)-scale of EMF frequencies. Meta-analyses of current biomedical literature revealed the presence of a distinct pattern of discrete EMF frequency bands in a wide range of animate and non-animate systems. The underlying algorithm of harmonic solitonic waves provided a novel conceptual interface between living and non-living systems being of relevance for the areas of brain research as well as biological evolution. We hold that nature is guided by resonating quantum entities related to quantum vacuum fluctuations of an imminent zero-point energy (ZPE) field, also regarded as a superfluid quantum space (SQS). Since the whole human organism, including the brain is embedded in this dynamic energy field, a pilot wave guided supervenience of brain function is conceived. Conversely, the brain may write discrete informational states into the ZPE- field as individual memory traces. Both information fluxes may be related to a holofractal memory workspace, associated with, but not reducible to the brain, that operates as a scale-invariant mental attribute of reality. Our concept, therefore, addresses the earlier postulated “hard problem” in consciousness studies. The proposed field-receptive workspace, integrates past and (anticipated) future events and may explain overall ultra-rapid brain responses as well as the origin of qualia. Information processing in the brain is shown to be largely facilitated by propagation of hydronium (proton/water) ions in aqueous compartments. The hydronium ions move freely within a hexagonally organized H2O lattice, providing a superconductive integral brain antenna for receiving solitonic wave information, according to the Schrödinger wave equation. The latter quantum process enables an ultra-rapid soliton/biophoton flux that may orchestrate overall brain binding and the creation of coherent conscious states. In a cosmological context, we envision a scale-invariant information processing, operating through a toroidal/wormhole operator at the interface of our 3D world and a 4D acoustic phase space. We submit that the resulting meta-language is instrumental in a partially guided evolution and the creation of first life. This implies that sentience exists on infinite scales, on the basis of an electromagnetic signature of the universe providing an intrinsic cosmic connectivity that is mirrored in the human brain and that we may experience as a vivid dream of a concealed reality. Humans, in this respect, are not only observers but also active participants in this cosmic endeavor: the evolution of conscious entities has been woven into the cosmic mastercode from the beginning. The main thesis of this chapter is that in science and philosophy the dominant paradigm of materialism should be considered as incomplete for explaining the whole of reality.
Current education paradigms were informed by the classical Newtonian worldview of brain functioning in which the mind is simply the physical activity of the brain, and our thoughts cannot have any effect upon the physical world. However, researchers in the field of quantum mechanics found that the outcomes of certain subatomic experiments are determined by the consciousness of the observer, leading philosophers to propose that the observed and the observer are linked. Quantum mechanics also demonstrates that distant minds may behave in simultaneous correlational ways, in the absence of being linked through any known energetic signal. Further, researchers in this field propose that an external memory space is operating in the human brain, suggesting that this proposed external memory space may be a quantum field surrounding the brain and interacting with other fields, generating a global mental field of information flow. This article proposes that current education paradigms, which have been informed by a classical Newtonian physics worldview may need to be expanded to include a quantum mechanics worldview. The author seeks to understand if, and how, quantum mechanics could inform education practices, theories and paradigms and invites discussion, debate and speculation on the implications this would have for education systems.
Part 2 of this review article provides a novel conceptual bridge between living and non-living systems, being of relevance for the areas of biophysics, brain research, as well as for mechanisms of biological evolution. As to the latter aspect, the potential role of phyllosilicates (clay materials) in the generation of a primordial biofield is treated and seen as instrumental in a partially guided creation of first life. We hold, in general, that nature is guided by a discrete pattern of harmonic solitonic waves, likely originating from quantum vacuum fluctuations derived from an immanent zero-point energy (ZPE)/superfluid quantum space. Since the whole human organism, including brain is embedded in this dynamic energy field, a comprehensive model for human (self)-consciousness could be conceived. Evidence is presented for a pilot wave guided supervenience of brain function that may arise from a holofractal memory workspace, associated with, but not reducible to the brain, that operates as a scale-invariant mental attribute of reality. This field-receptive, workspace integrates past and (anticipated) future events and may explain overall ultra-rapid brain responses, as well as the origin of qualia as proposed in the so called hard problem of consciousness studies.
This review article submits an integral concept of information processing in the universe on the basis of a generalized musical (GM)-scale of discrete EMF frequencies. Meta-analyses of current biophyisical literature revealed the effects of similar EMF frequency patterns in a wide range of animate and non-animate systems. This provided a novel conceptual bridge between living and non-living systems, being of relevance for the areas of biophysics, brain research, as well as for mechanisms of biological evolution. As to the latter aspect, the potential role of phyllosilicates (clay materials) in the generation of a primordial biofield is treated and seen as instrumental in a partially guided creation of first life. We hold, in general, that nature is guided by a discrete pattern of harmonic solitonic waves, likely originating from quantum vacuum fluctuations derived from an immanent zero-point energy (ZPE)/superfluid quantum space. Since the whole human organism, including brain is embedded in this dynamic energy field, a comprehensive model for human (self)-consciousness could be conceived. Evidence is presented for a pilot wave guided supervenience of brain function that may arise from a holofractal memory workspace, associated with, but not reducible to the brain, that operates as a scale-invariant mental attribute of reality. This, field-receptive, workspace integrates past and (anticipated) future events and may explain overall ultra-rapid brain responses as well as the origin of qualia. Information processing in the brain is shown to be largely facilitated by propagation of hydronium (proton/water) ions in aqueous compartments. The hydronium ions move freely within a hexagonally organized H2O lattice, providing a superconductive integral brain antenna for receiving solitonic wave information. A nonlinear Schrödinger equation describes the quantum aspects of the transfer of wave information mediated by H+ and Ca2+ ion flux over long distances at cerebrospinal, inter-neuronal and gap junction spaces. The latter processes enable ultra-rapid soliton/biophoton fluxes that may orchestrate overall brain binding and the creation of coherent conscious states. In a cosmological context, we envision a scale invariant information processing, operating through a toroidal/wormhole mediated information flux. Our concept touches upon the earlier postulated hard problem in consciousness studies. This implies an intrinsic cosmic connectivity that is mirrored in the human brain. The assumed hydrodynamic superfluid background field is proposed to guide the ongoing fabric of reality through a quantum metalanguage that is instrumental in the manifestation of universal consciousness of which human consciousness is an integral part. 2
Individual consciousness is considered as an expression of an underlying, non-local, quantum field, that exhibits holographic properties. This paper pays special attention to the interfacing of this field of universal consciousness and our personal brain in relation to potential afterlife. We postulate a toroidal event horizon workspace of the brain that allows symmetric 4-D to 3-D quantum information flux and holographic 2-D personal memory integration. The geometry of a 3-D brain being embedded in a 4-D realm may explain the phenomena of functional brain binding, qualia, intuition, serendipity, synchronicity, extra-sensory perception, and well-established Psi-phenomena. Brain function is conceptualized as guided by zero-point energy field (ZPE) derived pilot waves that support consciousness also in the absence of neuronal activity, such as in near death experiences (NDE). Its toroidal organization exhibits quaternionic dynamics and thereby allows an opening to 4-D geometry and thus to universal consciousness and ZPE. This personal holographic workspace, that is associated but not reducible to the brain, collects active information in a 2-D "brain event horizon", an internal and fully integral model of the self. At death of the material body, this personal knowledge mental domain uncouples from the body, yet it is conserved because 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 maintained by fractal semi-harmonic frequencies from ZPE that reflect an entangled personal register of each conscious being. The proposed concept, therefore contradicts the tentative, promissory materialist solution to the mind-body problem. Instead, it substantiates the notion that brain can act as a kind of 'receiver' by filtering of (sub)conscious states, through holographic resonance of universal consciousness with 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 removed at states of modified brain function such as NDE, deep meditation and use of psycho-mimetic drugs, that 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. It even implies that death should not be seen as a transition to another state of existence, but rather that all of us are already belong to such an eternal domain in our present life. Therefore, the present model implies the potential for the survival of individual life, qualifying us as designated survivors and eternal beings. 2
We propose that attention is a purely psychological faculty without any corresponding neural centre, though it operates on neural assemblies for its functional aspects. An algebraic attention function is proposed to account for time perception removing the divergence of neural recruitment in the exponential attention function proposed earlier. The equation for subjective time is derived with the non-divergent recruitment. The inherently non-local nature of our model is discussed. The nonlocal nature of attention is discussed in view of recent experimental data indicating instantaneous correlations between spatially separated neural assemblies derived from the neural stem cells of the same individual as well as between human subjects.
True dreams are a vivid reflection of pseudo-telepathy. The discussion around pseudo-telepathy goes back to more than 60 years ago when the question whether “persons acting as ‘agents’ could transfer their thoughts to the minds of sleeping ‘subjects’ and influence their dreams” was posted. The previous chapter provided evidence supporting the neuroscientific aspect of such a phenomenon. In the present opinion, entanglement is explained as its physical basis.
This article presents a summary of research conducted between 2014 and 2018 regarding the possibility of a distant mental interaction between pairs of sensorially isolated subjects. A total of 85 experimental sessions were completed, during which the EEGs of each subject of the pair were recorded (respectively called "Sender" and "Receiver"), all while the Sender was given a series of light and auditory stimuli of one second duration. Members of the pairs knew each other well and were also experienced in relaxation and meditation techniques. The cerebral response to a series of stimuli is well known and is called the ERP (Event Related Potential), but the aim of this study was to look for a possible-presumably weak-response also in the Receiver. Specifically, we studied the possibility of applying a frequency modulated stimulus (from 10 to 18 Hz) in accordance with the Steady-State method and observing any possible distant response to the same frequency. The overall evaluation of all the experimental sessions was carried out using the Global Synchrony (GS) analysis, which effectively allowed us to observe a weak but important and totally unconscious response in the Receiver (P = 0.001), coinciding with the stimulus given to the Sender. While the normal ERP response of directly stimulated subjects (Sender) caused an average increase in the GS by about 12-18%, in the non-stimulated subjects (Receiver) this average increase was about 0.5%. Although very weak, this effect appears to truly be associated with information transfer between two people outside any normal means of sensory communication. These results are discussed and an experimental procedure is suggested for the actual transfer of information (stimulus frequency) between the two subjects of a pair, similar to digital binary information. This type of research is deemed fundamentally important in understanding the nature of Consciousness, based on a general model of "entanglement" between two minds. This article presents the overall results of research conducted in the last few years (2014 to 2018) by the authors together with other researchers regarding the study of a possible distant mental interaction (mind-to-mind) between two sensorially isolated, but mentally and emotionally connected, people.
This chapter formulates seven long-standing problems related to consciousness using introspection and a certain amount of experimental evidence provided by biomedical sciences. The physical boundary problem is to find a rule that sets the boundary between our own conscious mind and the rest of the physical world. The binding problem is to explain what binds our conscious experiences into a single whole. The causal potency problem is to explain how our mind could act upon the physical world. The free will problem is to explain how it is possible for us to make genuine choices between two or more alternative future courses of action. The inner privacy problem is to explain why we have a privileged access to our unobservable conscious minds whose phenomenal content is incommunicable to others. The mind-brain relationship problem is to explain whether the mind and the brain differ, and if they do, how they interact with each other. The hard problem of consciousness is to explain how our brain generates consciousness and why we have any conscious experiences at all.
This book addresses the fascinating cross-disciplinary field of quantum information theory applied to the study of brain function. It offers a self-study guide to probe the problems of consciousness, including a concise but rigorous introduction to classical and quantum information theory, theoretical neuroscience, and philosophy of the mind. It aims to address long-standing problems related to consciousness within the framework of modern theoretical physics in a comprehensible manner that elucidates the nature of the mind-body relationship. The reader also gains an overview of methods for constructing and testing quantum informational theories of consciousness.
Our brain is not a "stand alone" information processing organ: it acts as a central part of our integral nervous system with recurrent information exchange with the entire organism and the cosmos. In this study, the brain is conceived to be embedded in a holographic structured field that interacts with resonant sensitive structures in the various cell types in our body. In order to explain earlier reported ultra-rapid brain responses and effective operation of the meta-stable neural system, a field-receptive mental workspace is proposed to be communicating with the brain. Our integral nervous system is seen as a dedicated neural transmission and multi-cavity network that, in a non-dual manner, interacts with the proposed supervening meta-cognitive domain. Among others, it is integrating discrete patterns of eigen-frequencies of photonic/solitonic waves, thereby continuously updating a time-symmetric global memory space of the individual. Its toroidal organization allows the coupling of gravitational, dark energy, zero-point energy field (ZPE) as well as earth magnetic fields energies and transmits wave information into brain tissue, that thereby is instrumental in high speed conscious and subconscious information processing. We propose that the supposed field-receptive workspace, in a mutual interaction with the whole nervous system, generates self-consciousness and is conceived as operating from a 4 th spatial dimension (hyper-sphere). Its functional structure is adequately defined by the geometry of the torus, that is envisioned as a basic unit (operator) of space-time. The latter is instrumental in collecting the pattern of discrete soliton frequencies that provided an algorithm for coherent life processes, as earlier identified by us. It is postulated that consciousness in the entire universe arises through, scale invariant, nested toroidal coupling of various energy fields, that may include quantum error correction. In the brain of the human species, this takes the form of the proposed holographic workspace, that collects active information in a "brain event horizon", representing an internal and fully integral model of the self. This brain-supervening workspace is equipped to convert integrated coherent wave energies into attractor type/standing waves that guide the related cortical template to a higher coordination of reflection and action as well as network synchronicity, as required for conscious states. In relation to its scale-invariant global character, we find support for a universal information matrix, that was extensively described earlier, as a supposed implicate order as well as in a spectrum of space-time theories in current physics. The presence of a field-receptive resonant workspace, associated with, but not reducible to, our brain, may provide an interpretation framework for widely reported, but poorly understood transpersonal conscious states and algorithmic origin of life. It also points out the deep connection of mankind with the cosmos and our major responsibility for the future of our planet.
The term biofield was coined in 1994 by an ad hoc committee of CAM practitioners and researchers convened by the newly established Office of Alternative Medicine (OAM) at the US National Institutes of Health. The biofield represents mainly the long range non-chemical informational integration of a) a living being with itself and b) the living being with its environment. We decided to test the possibilities of detecting the biofield’s influence a) on humans exposed to a supposed biofield irradiation performed by bioenergy therapists and b) a direct influence of the therapists on water structuring. From the restults it may be concluded that the human organism can serve as a reliable detector of the biofield emission, as yet indiscernible by conventional measuring methods and that water may also serve for the same purpose. There is a solid evidence for certain scientists’ claims that there exists an as yet unknown, physically unexplained field that may be (but not necessarily) connected with such concepts as torsion field, orgone, qi, prana, ether, longitudinal EM waves, Tiller’s magnetoelectric field, Cope’s magnetoelectric dipoles, informational field, quantum vacuum field etc.
“The future belongs to those who give the next generation reason for hope.” —Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Could quantum information be the key to understanding consciousness? Will the study of consciousness enable quantum information technology? The nature of consciousness and its place in the universe remain mysterious. Classical models view consciousness as computation among the brain's neurons but fail to address its enigmatic features. At the same time quantum processes (superposition of states, nonlocality, entanglement...) also remain mysterious, yet are being harnessed in revolutionary information technologies (quantum computation, quantum cryptography and quantum teleportation). A relation between consciousness and quantum effects has been pondered for nearly a century, and in the past decades quantum processes in the brain have been invoked as explanations for consciousness and its enigmatic features. Critics deride this comparison as a mere "minimization of mysteries" and quickly point out that the brain is too warm for quantum computation which in the technological realm requires extreme cold to avoid "decoherence", loss of seemingly delicate quantum states by interaction with the environment. However quantum computation would surely be advantageous from an evolutionary perspective, and biology has had 4 billion years to solve the decoherence problem and evolve quantum mechanisms. Furthermore recent experimental evidence indicates quantum nonlocality occurring in conscious and subconscious brain function, and functional quantum processes in molecular biology are becoming more and more apparent. Much like study of the brain's synaptic connection promoted artificial neural networks in the 1980's, appreciation of biological quantum information processing may promote quantum information technology. Moreover macroscopic quantum processes are being proposed as intrinsic features in cosmology, evolution and social interactions. Following the first "Quantum Mind" conference held in Flagstaff at Northern Arizona University in 1999, "Quantum Mind 2003" will update current status and future directions, and provide dialog with skeptical criticism of the proposed synthesis of quantum information science and the brain.
Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) correlations between human brains are studied to verify if the brain has a macroscopic quantum component. Pairs of subjects were allowed to interact and were then separated inside semisilent Faraday chambers 14.5 m apart when their EEG activity was registered. Only one subject of each pair was stimulated by lOO flashes. When the stimulated subject showed distinct evoked potentials, the nonstimulated subject showed "transferred potentials" similar to those evoked in the stimulated subject. Control subjects showed no such transferred potentials. The transferred potentials demonstrate brain-to-brain nonlocal EPR correlation between brains, supporting the brain's quantum nature at the macrolevel.
The concepts of complementarity and entanglement are considered with respect to their significance in and beyond physics. A formally generalized, weak version of quantum theory, more general than ordinary quantum theory of physical systems, is outlined and tentatively applied to two example.
The transferred potential
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