For a quarter of a century, I had the honor of serving in leadership positions at IONS, exploring the vast and mysterious dimensions of human consciousness. With the remarkable team of scientists, my work has spanned many topics. One study that was close to my heart involved an experiment with bonded couples, one of whom had cancer. The healthy partner was invited to learn compassionate intention in order to send love to their partner in another room. Our results were published in a peer reviewed journal (Radin et al., 2008) as well as being featured in popular media.
Since leaving IONS as a full-time staff member, I have continued my personal journey of exploration and discovery. I have the honor of being a Professor of Transpersonal Psychology at Sofia University, working with talented students from across the globe. I continue to conduct research investigating consciousness through the psychomantium in order to examine peoples’ experiences of invisible others (Schlitz et al., 2025). I serve as President Emeritus and Fellow at IONS, where I am a huge fan. And most relevant to this essay, I fully enjoy the spaciousness of my own creative imagination.
A fictional story exploring science and love
Most recently, I have turned my pen to fiction, translating some of the extraordinary experiences I have had in both life and lab. I published a novel entitled Love Study, loosely based on the experiment the IONS team conducted years ago. What follows is a brief excerpt that sheds some light on how the IONS research can be harvested in the realm of both science and fiction. At this point in the narrative, the protagonist has been working at the Institute of Advanced Human Development for less than a year. We have seen her through many stages that led her to this fateful board meeting to defend her team’s pioneering research against a materialist skeptic. I am sure this sounds familiar to readers here on the IONS blog:
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Grace seeks to maintain her composure. Looking directly at Jerome, she continues in a controlled tone of voice. “Our team may be considered renegade, but this is where the breakthroughs happen. We contend that this work on love and human connectedness will help to advance our human potentials. As such, our work is core to the mission of this Institute. We are not satisfied with conventional truth and dogma, largely devoid of anything more than assumptions. For years,” she continues, “no one knew how aspirin or morphine worked. They just knew it worked. Richard Feynman, the famed physicist, reminded us that if anyone thinks they understand quantum physics, they’re wrong. Yet new breakthroughs are being made every day.
“What kind of question could be more basic: how are we interconnected? Are our thoughts and intentions entangled with our biology? Can a husband’s love for his wife affect her body in ways beyond physical contact? Does our consciousness have the capacity to reach out with love and connect to someone else in a way that’s health-promoting?”
The audience is drawn into the tension between the scientists and the compelling presentation. Grace continues, “Dr. Young will help me to explain the theoretical basis for what we are observing. As he will show, we are attempting to demonstrate a quantum entanglement, but at a macro level. It’s groundbreaking in its implications.”
Gene comes to the front of the room, where he has the small holographic chamber set up on the table. Next to it is a copper display that is connected to the chamber. He turns on the machine, which makes a large zapping sound that startles everyone. Grace continues to explain that they are now piloting their technology for the next phase of the research. “Based on our preliminary data, we believe we have a breakthrough in our understanding of human connectedness and the power of intention. We don’t know how to explain just how this works. Not yet. But as Gene can explain, we are drawing on the theory of ‘quantum entanglement’ to guide our program.”
Gene turns on the holographic particle matrix. “Hi everyone. Thank you for your attention. We have been developing our theory based on the idea that quantum participles remain entangled, even if we separate them by miles. We have been guided by the old adage ‘that love knows no bounds.’” Several people in the room chuckle.
“While previous work has focused at the subatomic level, we believe we have captured the resonance between two people at the quantum level. We hypothesize that there is a new model of information processing in nature called the Quantum Hologram. which we believe is supported by strong evidence. This evidence suggests that the QH expands the role of information in nature, putting it at the same level as matter and energy. We are building on the work of the Apollo astronaut, Dr. Edgar Mitchell, who speculated that QH may serve as a vast information storage and retrieval mechanism in nature. Dr. Mitchell and his colleagues argued in the 1990’s that this may explain how the universe is a self-organizing, interconnected system that learns, self-corrects and evolves.”
Grace picks up where Gene leaves off. “We are exploring this revolutionary theory within a simple experimental model, raising the question about whether people in close relationships can also be entangled? We want to see if there is some type of physical field that connects people, including couples, parents and children, and siblings. Can they be entangled, not just at an emotional or psychological level, but at some core physical level, grounded in the exchange of information through the quantum hologram? This would allow us to bridge mind, body and spirit within the laboratory. Of course, this is a step that we hope to build on in the coming year.”
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And the fictional story continues in Love Study (A Novel), available on Amazon.
References
Radin D., Stone, J., Levine, E., Eskandarnejad, S., Schlitz, M. , Kozak, L. , Mandel, D. and Hayssen, G. (2008). “Compassionate Intention as a Therapeutic Intervention by Partners of Cancer Patients.” Explore.
Schlitz, M., Lucci D., Thompson J., Tarrant J., Guem S., Patel A., Zvan, P., Olmstead, E. (2025). “From Grief to Growth: Uniting Ancient Wisdom and Cutting-Edge Technology to Probe Grief and Absorption in the Psychomanteum.” Journal of Management, Spirituality and Religion
Schlitz, Marilyn (2024) Love Study (A Novel). Amazon
