Noetic Now

Is there Evidence for Universal Consciousness?

In Dan Brown’s new book The Lost Symbol, the fictional character Katherine Solomon mentions “universal consciousness,” which is an ongoing topic of interest at the real-life Institute of Noetic Sciences.

There Is No Such Thing as an Ego

What we call the ego is not another separate self so much as a mode of being that can dominate our thinking, decisions, speech, and actions, leading us to behave in ways that are uncaring, self-centered, or manipulative.

Show Me the Evidence

Critics are fond of saying that there is no scientific evidence for psi. They wave their fist in the air and shout, "Show me the evidence!" So I've created a SHOW ME page with downloadable articles on psi and psi-related topics, all published in peer-reviewed journals.

It’s about Time – Psi Research at a Tipping Point

Why is the existing literature on psi phenomena routinely dismissed by the scientific community and virtually ignored within the broader academic community? I think it's fear that some of our most cherished beliefs, about how the world works and about who and what we are, may be wrong. Such examination may lead to radical revisions in understanding our human potentials.

Burning Man Experiment—Data Analyzed!

Data analysis has just been completed on the experiment that IONS research scientists collaborated on at Burning Man just over a month ago. The report on the experiment is now available, and there are some significant results!

Rejecting Uncommon Beliefs: How Worldview Shapes our Experience

What limits our desire and capacity to take in new ideas – even when we hold an intention to transform and grow? How can we shift a paradigm that we see as flawed and incomplete without understanding the barriers to changing our minds and behaviors? And how can we develop habits that allow us to explore and reveal our own biases and intolerance of ideas that refute our prevailing beliefs and opinions?

Absent-minded Science, Part IV: The “C” Word and Emergence

The “hard problem” of consciousness is figuring out the relationship between mind and matter and why some matter gives rise to unitary subjects and why others don’t? Why am I conscious, and you, and my cat, but not the chair or the rock?

Responding to the Debate – Psi Research at a Tipping Point

I posted an article about Psi Research on my Huffington Post blog Friday morning and by Friday evening had nearly 1000 views and 250 comments. It’s been very interesting to read the comments on this article – now nearly 900 - and to see the great interest this topic generated. In this follow-up post I share my response to some of these comments.

Mediumship Study Update

In our last Breaking News we mentioned analyzing data for a study on mediumship. Some of you wanted more information...

How Do I Pray?

We usually think of prayer as an appeal to God or some other spiritual entity to change the world in some way. We might pray for someone’s healing, for success in some venture, for a better life, or for guidance on some challenging issue. Behind such prayers is the recognition that we don’t have the power to make the world the way we would like it to be – if we did, we would simply get on with the task – so we beseech a higher power to change things for us.

Double-slit Experiment Published in Physics Essays

For the last few years we have been exploring the possible role of consciousness in the physical world through an effect known as the quantum measurement problem (QMP). This refers to a curious phenomenon whereby quantum objects behave differently when they are observed than when they are not observed.

Wikipedia – ‘Reader Beware’ When it Comes to Psi Research

The Wikipedia entry on Masaru Emoto is a good example of why no one should trust an encyclopedia written by anonymous amateurs. I know it is possible, at least in principle, to edit Wikipedia pages to make corrections. But it is also possible for pranksters to change information on any page just for fun.

The Psi Taboo in Action

I have lectured and written about the scientific taboo that prohibits scientists from openly studying psi. One way this prejudice manifests is by being invited to give a lecture at a scientific conference, and then finding yourself disinvited after someone on the conference committee discovers that the invitee has an interest in parapsychology.

Consciousness Matters—The New IONS Blog

After a year of publishing contributed blog posts from a variety of visionaries, we will be focusing more on the inner life of IONS. Here at the blog, each week a member of our staff will bring you a close-up view of life inside IONS and/or commentary on what we are learning about the evolving field of consciousness research.

Of Mice, Men, and… Miracles?

Does hands-on "energy healing" really work or are outcomes attributed to such healing merely a matter of self-healing, as in the placebo effect? This is what sociologist (by day) and energy researcher (by night?) William Bengston set out to test, motivated by his own remarkable experience with an energy healer who cured his intractable back pain. Bengston got his evidence… and then some.

NEW! - Breaking News from IONS Research

Welcome to the first edition of IONS Breaking News, a periodic brief update coming to you directly from the research team and laboratory here at the Institute of Noetic Sciences. We're expecting new Breaking News posts to be published once or twice a month... keeping you abreast of the latest hot-off-the-presses scientific developments at IONS such as new projects, funding, publications, speaking engagements, and interesting findings.

Integral Health and the Role of Consciousness

A consciousness-based integral approach taps into the last uncharted frontier in health and healing: It builds on the pivotal realization that the expansion of consciousness is the driving force underlying a comprehensive and integral health and healing. By focusing on inner development we gain the most from our time and effort. We undertake the most important step towards assuring a larger life and optimal well being.

Absent-Minded Science, Part II: The Zombie Defense

Can zombies argue that they don’t exist? Empirical evidence suggests they can. Or does it? The philosophy of mind is a thriving field in recent decades, with new books and articles appearing with increasing frequency. This article is the second in an occasional series on the role of mind in the universe and, thus, in science.

What is Wisdom?

What is wisdom? We hear the word a lot these days – the need for wisdom, the wisdom traditions, wisdom schools. We each would like to have more wisdom…and for others to have it as well. Too much human hurt and suffering comes from lack of wisdom. There is something about wisdom that we all aspire to. But what is this quality we hold in such high regard?

How the Noetic Sciences Contribute to “Conscious Aging”

IONS Director of Elder Education talks about IONS' new Conscious Aging program and some of the things that IONS is offering to help support the transformation that comes with aging. "My wish," she says, "is that more people could learn how all of these ideas, tools, and practices can help reduce the suffering that can accompany aging and ignite the potential for positive, passionate, and soulful aging."

What’s the Matter with Miracles?

Some days I wake up and it hits me all over again. There’s a lot of science going on in the world, but how many people get to work at a place where a few very brainy and dedicated scientists are measuring the farthest reaches of the mind for clues to higher levels of the human experience?

Cultivating Social Consciousness

What does it mean to be part of a greater whole? How does our worldview, or model of reality, impact what we understand about who we are and how we relate to others? And how can we become more aware of all the ways we are part of an interrelated, global community?

When Skeptics Face the Evidence

This last weekend found me in Washington, DC, at the Society for Experimental and Social Psychology Annual Conference (SESP). I was invited to discuss the controversy that was kicked up in the field of social psychology about the study of precognition.

Social psychologists (and other scientists) as a whole are extremely skeptical not only of the research on psi but of the very idea that psi can or should be studied by scientists. But this may be changing. The session I presented in was very well-attended, and I found that most people, while not exactly open-minded, were open-hearted, thoughtful, and willing to engage in respectful discussion about the topic.

Are the Thought Police Knocking on Our Door?

"You can't go to jail for what you're thinking," wrote Frank Loesser in his 1956 hit song “Standing on the Corner.” His observation no longer applies in India, the world’s largest democracy, where you can now be convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to life imprisonment ...

Inner Space – Technology’s New Frontier?

It’s immersive, it’s interactive, it’s embodied (sort of), and it’s actually changing people’s lives, tapping into each individual’s potential to get beyond their conditioning and become engaged in transforming themselves and their world.