Past Meetings
Past meeting speakers and subjects will be moved here as a record of talks given.
Latest Meetings (Just a quick way to the bottom of the list)
Consciousness and personal development
Alternative methods of diagnosis in general medical practice
The participatory universe
Stages of development in childhood and adolescence
Mathematics as art, vocation, and therapy
Artificial intelligence
Quantum theory and chaos in modelling consciousness
The death wish in living cells (apoptosis)
Vedic medicine
Dreams and consciousness
Michael Drosnin’s book, The Bible Code
The nature and source of intuition, inspiration, and revelation
Call to the Inland, a mythic inner journey
Personal experiences of mysticism
Aristotle and the doctor-patient relationship
Drawing to Brahms; colour and shape in music
The biology of human-ness
Unsolved problems in physics
Challenging the frontier (exploring new dimensions of experience)
Can physics explain life?
The undiscovered country: where is the green-ness of the grass?
(A group enquiry into the nature of sensation and perception)
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Meetings since March 1998 1998 March Call to the Inland: Exploration of a Mythic Inner Journey.
Margaret Needham and Margaret Bowater 1999 March Humans and Robotics: Where lies the Greenness?
Doug Kingsford and Group Participation Mode 2000 March Ecological Philosophy ) 2 Public Meetings with Henryk 2001 March Esoteric Healing (Teachings of Alice Bailey). Jenny Neve 2002 March Origins and Implications of Language. Pille Burnell. Combined meeting with Radical Sanity GroupApril Science and Spirit: Two Worlds or One? Leo Hobbis May The Kabbalah. Loveday Kingsford June Bioenergetic Medicine. Gerald Gibb June Special Meeting Kakkib li´Dthia Warrawee´a, Australian Aboriginal Sage July Bioenergetic Medicine continued August Cancelled September Scepticism---Keeping it Healthy. Robin Kelly October The Third Ventricle. Joyce Kovelman November Energy Healing and Spiritual Development. Caroline Stockdale December Poetry of R S Thomas. David Bell and Stuart Manins 2003 March Rhythms of the Universe. Ray Tomes |
At our June and July meetings Louis Statham will survey the ideas presented in Ken Wilber's book, "No Boundaries". Louis has provided the following outline.
"Ken Wilber is highly regarded for his writing on consciousness and transpersonal psychology. He has a deep understanding of eastern and western philosophy and what is known as the perennial philosophy. The main theme of the book is that at some time in our human evolutionary development of consciousness we drew up boundaries, the primary one being the self/not-self boundary. We created a world of separation. Taking these boundaries to be real is the cause of human suffering. Seeing through these boundaries is our way through to our next stage of conscious development and freedom from suffering. The ideas presented have major implications for philosophy, psychology and religion. In particular we will look at the implications for the way we experience everyday life. For a short time before we start on "No Boundary", I will show some simple diagrams that may help in understanding the world view presented. There will be plenty of time allowed for discussion."
Encouraged by Louis Statham we will continue to explore the ideas presented by Ken Wilber in his book, "No Boundaries", Louis intends to give particular attention to the implications for religion. Please bring with you the extracts from the book sent out with last month's notice.
At our August and September meetings Jonathan Clark will lead a discourse on Free Will versus Determinism. More of this challenge in next month's notice, but Jonathan has put some questions for all to consider before these sessions.
1) Define Free, Freedom
2) Are we free to DO?
3) Are we free to think?
Make an informal survey of colleagues, friends and family as to whether they feel they make decisions or are they simply tossed about this universe.
Were the following individuals determinists or did they propose free will?
Plato, Epicurus, Marcel Aurelius, Thomas Aquinas, Descartes, Locke, Hegel, Emerson, Spencer, William James, Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg.
Jonathan Clark will lead a discourse on Free Will versus Determinism at our August and September meetings. He has provided the following introduction to this challenging topic which is at the heart of the nature of mind.
"You shall seek the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
Free Will versus Determinism
Firstly , here are the well known Determinists
Einstein Everything is determined, the beginning as well as the end, by forces over which we have no control. It is determined for the insect as well as the star. Human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust, we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible piper.
Bertrand Russell The first dogma which I came to disbelieve was that of free will. It seemed to me that all notions of matter were determined by the laws of dynamics and could not therefore be influenced by human wills.
Schopenhauer A man can surely do what he wills to do, but cannot determine what he wills
Baruch Spinoza In the mind there is no absolute or free will; but the mind is determined to wish this or that by a cause, which has also been determined by another cause, and this last by another cause, and so on to infinity
Voltaire Everything happens through immutable laws, ...everything is necessary... "There are," some persons say, "some events which are necessary and others which are not." It would be very comic that one part of the world was arranged, and the other were not; that one part of what happens had to happen and that another part of what happens did not have to happen. It one looks closely at it, one sees that the doctrine contrary to that of destiny is absurd; but there are many people destined to reason badly; others not to reason at all others to persecute those who reason
Aristotle The cause of every motion is the result of some other motion. The Master of every slave is the slave of some other master.
And secondly, a free-will proponent
Sigmund Freud We like to forget that in fact everything in our life is chance, from our genesis out of the encounter of spermatozoon and egg onward.
The sessions will commence with a definition of terms and progress along a 3-phase proof that Free-Will is an illusion.
The group may split into biases of free-will and determinism during the first session and return for the second discourse more fully convinced or disillusioned.
As well, we will examine why the illusion of Free-Will is so embedded in our psyche and why we defend the right to make choices, why we fear the acceptance of determinism, fatalism, how our society depends on the belief of free-will to justify the harshest of penalties.
Further an examination of how the interval of time has an influence on free-will…how we might slip through the GAP to spirituality to achieve volition.
Questions to consider before the sessions
1) Define Free, Freedom
2) Are we free to DO?
3) Are we free to think?
An informal survey of colleagues, friends and family before the meeting as to whether they feel they make decisions or are they simply tossed about this universe.
Were the following individuals determinists or did they propose free-will?
Plato, Epicurus, Marcel Aurelius, Thomas Aquinas, Decartes, Locke, Hegel, Emerson, Spencer, William James, Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg.
... missing information ...
You will recall that Joyce Kovelman had to cancel her plans to visit NZ in August. She will now speak at our October meeting, a week later than usual, about "The Third Ventricle—Temple of the Soul", drawing on a study she has made with her colleague Hoang van Duc, M D. This will be the third time we have met with Joyce on her visits from the US. She has doctorates in both Anatomy and Psychology and has been concerned for many years with the integration of body, mind, and soul. I quote from an abstract provided by Joyce.
"We weave and integrate ideas from Eastern and Western Science into a larger understanding and vision of self, world and reality, leading to greater awareness of humanity’s purpose and destiny, as well as providing an expanded map and cosmology for its realisation. In particular, we call attention to the ventricular system of the brain which nourishes and protects the Central Nervous System. We reveal the hidden purpose of the third ventricle [strategically located at the exact centre of the brain] and offer evidence for its critical and necessary role in attaining enlightened states of awareness allowing us to become more fully human and conscious beings. The "True Heart" of the mystics ------ must be approached through the third ventricle------. Will we open and reconnect to source through the True Heart of Spirit and Mind? ------Will we do so in time?"
At our September meeting, one of our members, Caroline Stockdale, will present on her experiences as a healer.
Cally Stockdale, a member of our group who is currently working at a healing and spiritual centre in Ponsonby two and a half days a week, will be speaking at our next meeting on Wednesday 13 November. She has provided the following outline of her talk.
Cally became interested in alternative therapies and treatments when a good friend of hers became ill and subsequently died from liver cancer in 1997. The frustration of knowing that she could have offered more than just the practical help (which was useful at the time) led her to investigate learning Reiki. Reiki appealed because she was aware that as a cancer patient, her friend could be treated regardless of his condition, and wherever he was, even if Cally couldn’t be present at his bedside.
Learning Reiki led on to learning other forms of energy healing, spiritual development and a very great interest in metaphysics. Cally offers Reiki, Magnetic Healing, also known as Auric Healing, Horstmann Self Sabotage Technique, EMF Balancing Technique and Ayurvedic Massage to her clients.
Working with energy and Spirit provides an intimate and personalised view of higher consciousness which can't be truly measured by empiricists. Cally will talk about her various forms of energy work, why she is not a "healer", and some of the current understandings she has of working with the body's electro-magnetic field.
Poetry can stimulate the imagination and may offer new insights into familiar but sometimes tired concepts. In a departure from our usual meeting style, David Bell and Stuart Manins will lead us during our last gathering for 2002 in an exploration of the poetry of R S Thomas.
A small Steering Group has been formed to guide the future activities of the FSMN. The Group’s initial membership is Robin Kelly (Chair), Margaret Needham, David Bell, Roger Booth, Louis Statham, Max Thomson and Leo Hobbis. We will be meeting soon and will consider, amongst other things, next year’s programme and the possible need for some kind of constitution. Your suggestions on these and any other matters would be most welcome.
Some of you will have read the paper I produced earlier this year entitled "Science and Spirit; Two Worlds or One?", and in a revised form called "Science, Spirit and Reality". The paper contained a short quotation from William James, which I had understood to be as he wrote it. However, it is now clear that quotation was heavily edited. I will include what I believe is the authentic version as an attachment to this message.
Ray Tomes spent 12 years full time studying cycles in many things including economic data, weather, astronomy, physics, extinctions of species, geology, commodity prices, climate, animal populations and cosmology. Certain common cycle periods were found in various diverse phenomena and these periods were related in the same way as frequencies in the musical scale. This same pattern had been found by other researchers but Ray was the first (in modern times at least) to work out the cause of the pattern.
He developed the Harmonics theory which explains many aspects of the universe around us and makes a number of new predictions, some of which have been verified. These include the prediction of a new light atomic particle subsequently discovered; the matrix arrangement of galactic super clusters, galaxies and stars; and the successful prediction of a number of galaxy redshift periodicities that prove that the big bang is wrong. The theory predicts that from the observable universe the pattern of structures including galaxies, stars, planets, moons, ... cells, atoms and particles will form at nearly common distance ratios.
When it comes to humans, the predicted strong harmonics give the vertical locations of chakras and acupuncture points, giving a good physics reason for often doubted eastern subtle energy phenomena. The theory helps to understand how a single cell begins to take form as it divides and why various glands and organs are where they are and gives some vital clues as to how the whole show works.
Everything in the universe may be understood in terms of electromagnetic wave structures, including matter, gravity and the arrow of time. Nothing is random, everything is part of a unified field which has certain common wave structures at all scales and underlying many structures, while the departure from an exact similarity at different scales is also explained. The supposed weirdness of quantum mechanics and general relativity result from looking at things in a way which is flawed.
At our April FSMN meeting Ray Tomes will complete his presentation on the Rhythms of the Universe. He will speak about some of the predictions of his harmonic theory in the fields of atomic physics and cosmology. And in human biology he suggests that the theory can be related to the locations of the chakras and acupuncture points, and to the way our cells and organs develop.
Leo Hobbis will present some of the evidence for "Direct Cognition"; the claim that under suitable conditions the human mind can directly access information about our world by some form of extra-sensory perception. We will look especially at the work of the two theosophists, Annie Besant and Charles Leadbeater, in what they called "occult chemistry", and at the insights into plant genetics by Nobel Laureate, Barbara McClintock.
Besant and Leadbeater claimed to have acquired through training in Kundalini yoga, a clairvoyant faculty which they used during the period 1895-1932 to study the atoms of all the chemical elements. They observed certain forms in common which enabled them to relate their observations to the periodic classification of the elements, and identified what they called the Ultimate Physical Atom (UPA) as the most fundamental component of all atoms. They also identified several elements not known to science at the time but discovered later.
Although these claims are likely to be readily dismissed by the sceptic, Stephen Phillips, a theoretical physicist, has in recent years done painstaking research aiming to validate the theosophists' observations in terms of the latest theories of particle physics. He is continuing his work in collaboration with a Canadian Buddhist.
Barbara McClintock (1902-1992) was a brilliant plant geneticist who concentrated on the genetics of maize. Although highly respected by her close associates, few others understood or accepted her work on gene mobility when she first described it during the 1940s and 50s, and after the discovery of DNA the molecular-biological approach became dominant. Eventually gene mobility was recognised as a property of DNA and in the 1970s McClintock's work was acclaimed. She became the 3rd female Nobel Laureate in Science in 1983. She had a particular gift of insight whereby she seemed to become part of the chromosomal system she was studying and "everything got big". She used these insights to inform her subsequent validation of the science by conventional means. Others are known to practise these or similar techniques today and SMN member Peter Stewart claims significant success rates for a training course which he has developed.
Besides the intrinsic interest of all this work I would like us to explore what light such human experience may be able to cast on our understanding of the phenomenon of consciousness.
The year 2003 marks the 300th anniversary of the birth of John Wesley, a towering figure of the 18th century. David Bell will speak at our next FSMN meeting on "John Wesley Amongst the Scientists".
David will examine the significance of natural theology in the 18th century and the Wesleyan Quadrilateral of experience, reason, scripture and tradition, with a particular emphasis on experience. He will explore the reasons why natural theology remains important today and the implications which follow. Copies of the full text of David’s presentation, neatly bound, will be available for $4.00 to cover the costs of colour production.
In July and August, Roger Leitch spoke about Anthroposophical Medicine.
Roger is a general practitioner interested in musculoskeletal medicine and a whole person approach to healing. He is mainly influenced by the ideas of anthroposophical medicine after working in the field over the past 28 years. In the first of his talks Roger introduced some of the basic ideas of the Austrian philosopher, Dr Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925), and their application in extending the art of medicine. Steiner was strongly influenced both by the spiritual insights which were his from an early age and also by the scientific and artistic work of Goethe. He developed these ideas into a system of knowledge which he called Spiritual Science or Anthroposophy. This holistic approach to life became in turn applied to a wider field including medicine, science, especially biology, art, movement (eurythmy), and architecture. Steiner was prominent in the Theosophical Society until 1913 when he broke away to form the Anthroposophical Society.
In the second talk Roger expanded on the influence of Anthroposophical Medicine in his own general practice. In addition to using the full range of mainstream allopathic medicine he aims to have a whole person understanding of the patient. Steiner developed the idea of the human body as the instrument of the human soul, his term for the whole, self-aware, individual. He defined the threefold human in terms of the metabolic limb system (digestive and articulated limb system), through which we act on the world; the head, mechanically inert but the seat of our intellectual and creative action; and the rhythmic system (heart and lungs) which are the organic, physical counterparts of the polarities of the soul's moods (love/hate, calm/anger, happiness/sadness etc). The anthroposophical practitioner seeks to understand a patient's state in terms of the function and balance between and within these systems. For example, we will be unhealthy if we allow feeling, will (action), and thinking, to become separated.
Rudolf Steiner once summed up the idea of the threefold human organism in the following meditative saying:
"In the heart weaves feeling, In the head shines thinking, In the limbs lives strengthening will.
Light that is weaving, Weaving that strengthens, Strength that gives light:
That is man."
Chavah Aima is accomplished in the teachings of the Qabalah and in the philosophy and practices of the mystical lineages of ancient Europe and Arabia. She is the founder of Enlightened Life Sanctuary, an international organisation based in NZ and dedicated to creating unique and innovative expressions for the extraordinary spiritual traditions of the ecstatic lineages. Chavah writes, “The ecstatic traditions provide specific techniques that aid one in developing a closer alignment with the truth of divine being. Living from that truth, each individual is empowered into greater personal spiritual authority, and led ever closer to the realisation of the limitless Source within. ------- This mission is aided and accomplished by adherence to the eternal spiritual principles of unity, love, truth, compassion, and service.”
Chavah is the author of “Wisdom of the West, Pathways to Self Realization.” Her web address is www.enlightenedlife.org
Here follow the main points in Chavah’s widely ranging presentation of the Western mystical tradition and its differences with that of the East. (Separate from these are the indigenous and Shamanic traditions which still remain of significance to many.):
Principal features of the Western tradition:
Our world today is largely out of control under the thrall of materialistic hedonism. It desperately needs enlightenment. Main line religions may give some people what they need, but one must beware of institutions which follow a materialist philosophy with an appearance of spirituality. The Western enlightenment tradition is one of leaders, not followers.
Prior to this meeting FSMN members had submitted the following questions to Professor Hursthouse.
1 What is Prof Hursthouse's position on the Free-Will debate? Has the philosopher's position on Free-Will followed a trend along the course of history from Greek Philosophers (500BC) to present day thinking (20th Century). In other words, is there an evolving bias either way?
2 a Do you recognize different kinds of truth/reality?
b If so, how do you describe them?
c How can this knowledge be useful?
3 What major philosophical concepts are important to understanding contemporary ideas of Science, Medicine, The Arts, Religion, Education?
4 a What do you like to think about when you are not thinking about philosophy?
b And what moves you most in life?
c Why?
5 Is it reasonable to expect that scientific materialism will ever be able to account adequately for the whole of human experience?
6 If we don’t have free will what becomes of personal responsibility, crime, and punishment?
7 Should the philosophy of science be required study in all tertiary science courses?
8 a Are our universities currently serving us well as conscience and critic of society?
b If not, what limits them?
c Should they be serving so?
9 a What is meant by the term ‘domain’ in epistemology?
b What particular features characterise distinct domains?
c Can ideas, concepts, statements in one domain be mapped uniquely onto a related domain?
10 To what extent do the postmodernism theories of deconstruction affect moral (or indeed any kind of) absolutes?
11 What do you think is the most important question in philosophy?,
12 What became of the Mind-Body problem that Descartes’ philosophy failed to solve?
13 Is there anything we can know for certain?
14 What do philosophers think of scientists’ habit of giving names to entities whose existence they only infer, often on very indirect evidence?
15 a Do you agree with those who say that philosophy is an analytic activity rather than a
body of knowledge……..concerned with what statements mean, rather than whether
they are true or false?
b “In the 1950s American and British students admired and read Sartre and Camus
…..because their own philosophers back home had dismissed all metaphysical and
most moral questions as either nonsense or irrelevant to philosophy’s true concerns….
The prevailing school of language philosophy in the English-speaking world presented
little to stir the soul or fire the imagination.” Edmund White, “The Flaneur”, p3
(Bloomsbury, 2001)
Has anything changed since?
16 In the 20th century we came to understand how much both process and human participation are involved in reality. Early in the century we gained new knowledge of the microcosm and in the latter decades we gained new understanding from the work of people such as Maturana, Bateson and Prigogine. Is it not time therefore that we took another and more serious look at Whitehead’s process philosophy?
17 In the absence of up there is no down. In the absence of good there is no bad. What then would remain should sufficient numbers of people be able to withhold their individual and collective illusions?
18 Could you comment on :
a philosophical notions/definitions of ‘the self’?
b the genetic basis of moral conduct?
Professor Rosalind Hursthouse, Head of Philosophy at Auckland University, joined us at our October meeting. Rather than present a talk on this occasion she chose to lead a discussion on the question, 'Can science account for everything we know about?' This approach enabled her at the same time to address many of the questions submitted by members. The topic goes right to the heart of FSMN interests and made for a particularly interesting and challenging evening.
Professor Hursthouse returned to New Zealand in 2001 after a distinguished 25 year career at Britain's Open University. Prior to this, while completing a D Phil, she was the first woman to break convention when she was appointed to a lectureship at an Oxford men's college. Recognised as a pre-eminent virtue ethicist, Professor Hursthouse has published the highly acclaimed text on this subject, 'On Virtue Ethics' (OUP 1999). She has remarked that there is nothing more important for children than a moral education, and that morals are best taught by parents, through example.
Robin attended this biennial SMN conference in August this year, held within the beautiful grounds of Canterbury Cathedral. Contributors ranged from Dr Larry Dossey to Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The event was jointly sponsored by the Transpersonal Section of the British Psychological Society, and the newly formed ‘Spirituality and Psychiatry’ Group of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. There is now a wealth of good research on these areas of consciousness. 80 of the 120 U.S. medical schools now offer undergraduate tuition on spiritual issues in medicine. Robin gave an overview of the presentations, then played an edited audio tape of an interesting discussion between Larry Dossey, Peter Fenwick and David Lorimer on various prayer research projects, which proved to be an excellent stimulus for our discussion.
In the prior business meeting, it was agreed to adopt the FSMN Constitution as proposed by the informal Steering Group, and to endorse the continuation of the present Steering Group members as the Steering Committee for the next 12 months.
These poems, published in 1998, were dedicated to the children of Hughes and Sylvia Plath, from whom he separated in 1962. Sylvia Plath, an American poet, died by suicide in 1963. The 88 poems, written over a 25-30 year period, graph the chronology of the relationship between Hughes and Plath from first meeting, through marriage and separation, to her suicide and after.
The Birthday Letters, described as a powerful, intimate sequence of poems about their relationship, are said to have caught the literary world off guard after 35 years of aggressive silence regarding the subject.
In the poem ‘Epiphany’ Ted Hughes told how he met a man on an April evening in London carrying a fox cub buttoned into the top of his jacket. The man offered to sell the cub to Hughes for a pound. Hughes declined the offer, thinking quickly how they would fail to contain such boundless energy in their small home and with a new baby. Later, he saw that response as symbolic of his own failure, and perhaps that of Sylvia Plath, to make a success of their marriage.
From a scientific background in the biological sciences, principally in crop research, Hugh retrained in the 1990s in osteopathy. Hugh summarised the Osteopathic approach to achieving health, including some of its philosophical foundations and history. The emphasis lies on encouraging and facilitating the body's self-healing potential. Hugh focused particularly on Osteopathy in the Cranial Field, which had its beginnings a century ago. He explained the little known primary respiratory mechanism, the slow cyclic movement of the cranial bones, and the way in which this connects with the dural membranes, the cerebrospinal fluid , and the central nervous system to form a functional unit. One approach of the osteopath is to sense a functional disorder by using subtle palpation which can then guide his gentle manipulation of organs and tissues. An attempt to understand this clinically powerful approach leads from the more familiar territory of anatomy and physiology to the difficulties of describing the findings of subtle palpation and to understanding the processes that initiate the healing process. Hugh said that the procedures he found most effective clinically were often the ones he understood the least.
Margaret is a qualified psychotherapist, and author of "Dreams and Visions - Language of the Spirit," published 1997 by Tandem Press. She has been leading dream workshops in the public arena since 1986.
What can dreams and visions tell us about the spiritual transition through and beyond death? Margaret presented a range of reported dreams and visions, collected from New Zealanders, which bear on this topic. Included were examples of pre-death dreams, near-death experiences, clairvoyant visions of spirits departing, post-death visions, encounters with ancestors, and similar phenomena. Members of the audience also contributed examples.
These experiences would seem to serve a range of purposes, such as alleviating the fear of death, providing comfort and assurance to relatives of the deceased, and strengthening the will to survive when in mortal danger. They also provide significant material to inform our continuing study of the nature of mind and being.
Instead of our normal meeting in May we held a seminar with Rev Michael Cocks on The Stephen Experience. Michael, a retired Anglican priest, was one of a small Christchurch group who, between 1973 and 1980, were in communication with an entity supposedly identified as St Stephen, the first Christian martyr. Much of what passed between ‘Stephen’ and the group, and an account of Michael’s research on the subject, is recorded in his book, ‘The Stephen Experience’. (See also http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~cocks).
The Stephen Experience consisted largely of conversations with Stephen over a 7 year period characterized by metaphysical teachings and the setting of numerous puzzles. There were also many synchronicities for Michael both preceding and during the events. A sense of the numinous was ever present.
The events of the Stephen experience must be quite a rare instance where trance communicators establish with a reasonable likelihood that they are who they claim to be; or that at the very least the life record (memory?) of the supposed communicator is being accessed in some way. The central evidence is some Greek supposedly spoken by St Stephen through the lips of a then agnostic Jewish channel in a dialect of which none of the Christchurch group had any knowledge. This example of a northern dialect of Koiné Greek has been passed as genuine by two Greek scholars.
The Greek words “spoken” by the channel, Thomas Ashman, are an example of Xenoglossy, that is, speaking or writing in a language never learned or heard. It is one of the most amazing psychic phenomena, which sceptics continually and deliberately seem to ignore. But there are thousands of cases reported, many hundreds of which have been documented and rigorously investigated.
The aim of our seminar was to conduct a participatory enquiry into the nature of mind and being, using the Stephen material provided by Michael and drawing also on other insights relevant to our study. Those of us interested in studying such accounts often feel frustration at our inability to question the people involved. But through Michael’s presence we had the great privilege of being able to dialogue directly with one of the main players involved at the time. As well as having a deep personal interest in the significance of those events, Michael, who is a member of the UK Scientific and Medical Network, also brings a scholarly rigour to his examination of them.
Participants (19 plus Michael Cocks) first had the opportunity to talk with Michael about the whole experience. After some initial responses to the material provided a general discussion followed. Following lunch we continued the dialogue in small groups before a concluding session together.
Some of the points made by seminar participants were:
• Cherished beliefs are challenged;
• Childlike we find ourselves asking many questions;
• Many experiences can’t be explained by science—they lie in a different domain;
• There is a strengthened sense that we are one;
• Some answers are best found through experience rather than analysis;
• There may be a movement in human minds, an extension of tendrils as it were, towards establishing a better understanding of reality. There are dogmas to be rid on both sides of the science/religion divide. The incoming tide erases the patterns in the sand;
• We must beware in our responses to avoid purveying ‘snake oil’. our ideas must be tested;
• During our own creating, the director in us can inhibit creativity. We must seek not to interfere;
• Like children we need time to absorb new experience. The mind has to let go before it can respond;
• There is a sense in which Stephen lies both in and beyond an imaginal world between the conscious and the unconscious;
• Do young people and adolescents move into such a place?
• The apparent intervention of Jesus during conversations with Stephen, for example concerning incorrect doctrine, was awe-inspiring for Michael;
• The Stephen experience was valid for that group. Others must make their own journey;
• The Stephen phenomenon seems to be distinct from many of the psychophysical constructions which have been reported;
• One commentator has summarized the common theological ground suggested by channelling as: human beings are inherently divine; we are responsible for creating our own reality; our behaviour is strongly influenced by incidents in previous lifetimes; the universe is a single inter-connected holistic field……; sacred places draw in spiritual energies from other parts of the universe;
• Participation in the seminar gave some a sense of personal affirmation, a warm confirmation of other life experiences;
• There is a sense in which we are all now part of the Stephen experience and should allow that to travel with us.
Michael has presented the events of The Stephen Experience without the wish to demonstrate any particular philosophy, theology, or scientific point of view. He believes that theology should be based on actual spiritual experience and on science, rather than on doctrines, creeds, and Biblical or church inerrancies. He himself finds the most self-consistent understanding in terms of contact in real time with the spirit of Stephen who was part of The One (the Source, Cosmic Consciousness) in which there is no separation. Following David Bohm’s gnosis the synchronicities can be seen as arising as a kind of projection from an underlying connectedness (Bohm’s Implicate Order) onto the physical sensory world.
These ideas and other implications for our understanding of mind and being were not explored in any depth by the seminar. While this was in some degree disappointing it was perhaps too much to expect us to go far along this route in the time available, given the uniqueness of our personal starting positions. We have however added to the awareness we need to continue our enquiries at future meetings and individually.
‘There are more things in heaven and earth---------‘
His talk may be summarised as follows:
If we are truly open-minded we will have the courage to look with open minds at alternative world views. If some aspect of our own world view falls short as a result of our investigations then we must modify that view. Whatever the outcome we cannot lose. Louis described how his own position has been influenced by considering current neuro-science, the work of Humberto Maturana, the eastern philosophy of no-self, and the work of James P. Carse ( the 1980’s professor of religion at New York University). It is difficult to encapsulate simply the scope of what Louis covered, but the following points may give readers some suggestions for their own future thinking.
The processes involved in apprehending the ‘external’ world include the formation of vast numbers of neural pathways which give our minds the faculty of intellectualising, using the tool of language. The final processes, involving the activity of running clusters of clusters of pathways, proceed almost instantaneously, thus allowing a quite amazingly skilful and creative ability. The full scope of this ability is even today not properly grasped. For example, much of the ‘channelled’ information may well be actively and creatively produced from one’s past sub-conscious learned experience. (Louis did not think language itself could answer the question, ‘What is consciousness?’)
According to Maturana, all knowing is doing (active, creative participation) and all doing is now. We do not live in the world but a world which we ‘bring forth’ (we also heard this from Skolimowski). The concept of me/ego/self(mes) arises out of languaging and the distinctions we make using language. This ‘mes’ is in-formed or formed within.
This concept/creation (mes) is a necessary in the evolution of consciousness for it is the unit that is to be transcended through relationship for ultimate Union to be realised. For this transcendence to take place we need to be free from the attachment to, or identification with mes into a state of ‘no-mes’ or no-self. Many of the quotations from the great teachers of various traditions seem to recognise this need.
This concept of Soul or ‘Atman’ is quite different from the soul that, while free from the body, still has identifiable attributes. The Atman is totally stripped of attributes and is One with or identical to Brahman. This Self /Atman/Soul has no plural. This Self is realised (made real) in life, not at the end of life. In this view there is no ‘other’ world or side. There is only here and now (the eternal now) but it is realised in a higher state of consciousness. In this state we experience life through mes not from mes.
James Carse contrasted the approach to living of what he called ‘finite’ players and ‘infinite’ players.
‘The finite player aims to win eternal life; the infinite player aims for eternal birth.’
.....’the infinite player does not die at the end of play, but in the course of play.’
‘infinite players offer their death as a way of continuing the play’ ....’they do not play for their own life; they live for their own play. But since the play is always with others, it is evident that infinite players both live and die for the continuing life of others.’
We recognise human depression as a negative departure from a normal state of health and seek to return to ‘normality’ by a range of therapies. The depressed person is obsessively self-centred (identified with/attached to ‘mes’). But the seemingly ‘normal’ person is still mes-centred but to a lesser degree. The ideas above would suggest that a state of no-mes can release us to a more conscious ‘super-normal’ state.
A short musical programme drawn from the Western Classical tradition formed the heart of the experience. Framing this was information about the Bonny Method of Guided Imagery & Music [GIM], which enabled members to relax so that a maximum, related-arts, sensory response was experienced. After listening to the the music, participants were invited to respond with writing and/or drawing (or however they wished) to a second hearing. Open discussion followed. All were satisfied with their own result and expressed appreciation to Joanna for her skilled and sensitive handling of the situation. GIM, originally created for personal growth by exploring the so-called unconscious, is powerfully therapeutic. However the focus was primarily to provide a 'brief holiday' to catch up with aspects of self which had been neglected or sidelined during busy lives.
From Newton’s time there was debate as to whether light was made of waves or particles. However, matter was assumed to be made of hard stuff, the indivisible 'atoms' of Democritus, and this concept of fundamental particles has persisted, although the units have been several times altered downwards in size. But perhaps when viewed in a deeper way, Democritus was wrong after all.
During the early 20th century the debate about the nature of light expanded to include matter, which was clearly demonstrated to have both a wave and a particle, or quantum, nature. Known in quantum physics as wave particle duality, this idea has been shrouded in mystery with many physicists stating that it is impossible to understand with realistic models. The notion of probability waves was introduced with a particular way of interpreting their meaning, the ‘Copenhagen Interpretation’, championed by Bohr against Einstein, who argued that ‘God did not play dice’. Although other physicists, such as de Broglie and Schroedinger, believed in real waves, not just probability ones, the Copenhagen interpretation has had a firm grip for three-quarters of a century.
A small but significant group have continued to believe that a realistic, non-random, and totally wave structure to both matter and light can be developed into theory. Realistic interpretations of the famous Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen experiment have been proven, showing that there is no need for mystery in even this supposedly most mysterious area. Furthermore, Russian experiments prove that even the most random events known, radioactive decay, are in fact not totally random and have fluctuations that correlate with chemical and biological fluctuations, indicating that the cosmos breathes. This validates Einstein’s famous statement that God does not play dice.
A small but enthusiastic group had a lively discussion. The full paper is available in the articles section.
Murray Stentiford is President of the Auckland Branch of the NZ Theosophical Society. In the past theosophists have been strongly influenced by the teachings of the early leaders of the theosophical movement, notably Madam Blavatsky. Many of these leaders claimed to have received their instruction from ascended masters with whom they met from time to time. Large libraries of their writings were handed down. It was held that the observed physical universe is only part of the whole, and that there are a whole series of non-physical planes of existence. In addition to our physical bodies we also have an etheric body and an astral body. The world is populated by a large hierarchy of spiritual beings of different orders and functions in the processes of cosmic evolution. As our understanding of nature has been informed by science during the last century or so many theosophical concepts have undergone change so that today there is quite a wide spectrum of views held about the nature of ultimate reality. Nevertheless it would be true to say that most theosophists believe strongly in the existence of a spiritual component to reality and in the essential unity or connectedness of all things.
Professor Hursthouse, Head of the Philosophy Department of Auckland University, spoke about the nature of true happiness and how such a state might be attained. She argued that although someone may insist they are happy their happiness may be lacking something. Pure hedonism may not be fulfilling. Indeed happiness is best not sought as a goal, but rather it follows from living a life of virtue, in which qualities such as justice, courage, generosity and charity are practiced willingly. One becomes rightly happy or justly contented. There is still plenty of scope for individuality in a world like this. She believes we humans are not virtuous because of our nature, or contrary to it, but that we are fitted by our nature to be virtuous. Life presents many obstacles to the practice of virtue, but the virtues themselves can arm us to deal with those problems. So it becomes very important to start teaching children about the virtues when they are very young. For example, sharing is a concept which can be introduced as soon as children play together.
One of our larger gatherings was given much to reflect upon and we enjoyed a profitable discussion.
Rajen spoke about Making a Difference to Society, drawing from a lifetime of experience in prominent positions in public life. He has been an associate professor, New Zealand's Race Relations Conciliator, a Human Rights Commissioner, the Chair of the Ministerial Working Group on Violence on TV, a member of the Residence Review Authority hearing appeals against immigration decisions, and is now the Chief Commissioner of the Families Commission. It is clear that he has won great respect in his work in a wide range of challenging roles. Rajen described some of the difficult cases he had encountered and identified several important principles he sought to apply: thorough analysis of the problem; marshalling all available relevant knowledge to combine with the analysis to formulate a convincing course of action; having the courage to carry the action through, if necessary against the odds. In social work it was mostly the small successes which kept him going. He found personal inspiration in the sacred writings of the major faiths, in many individual writers, and in many serendipitous events. It was amazing how often apparently unconnected events had contributed to finding solutions. Common themes throughout his work have been: a strong philosophical/spiritual base; a belief in people; a conviction to make a difference; the importance of the family; and a notion of the connectedness /oneness of nature.
A recording of the musical prelude and part 1 of the poem were played after a brief introduction that placed the work in its context of the 300th anniversary of the discovery of New Zealand by Abel Tasman, 13 December, 1642 and the positions of Curnow and Lilburn as an early New Zealand poet and composer respectively.
Relationships between the poetry and the music were noted and the audience invited to comment on points raised about the suitability of the music to reflect the content and mood of the poem. The match was generally agreed to be close but some details provided interesting discussion. Some similarity to Vaughan Williams' style might have suggested a closer link with voyage preparation set in England rather than Europe, let alone the Batavia of Java.
Considering further sections of the music and the remaining sections of the poem in a similar way allowed for increasing audience participation in becoming involved in the music and poetry of this icon of New Zealand art. Universal "truths" imbedded in such words as, "Simply by sailing in a new direction you could enlarge the world,"
and, "The stain of blood that writes an island story," stated in elegant music and language will always be worth thoughtful consideration and discussion.
Christians have reacted in different ways to the scientific age (Modernity). Anglicans, accepting the enlightenment’s high valuation of reason, continued Thomas Aquinas’ scholasticism, with natural theology a strong emphasis. Those Christians who look to the Bible rather than Church authority are deeply split. Fundamentalists take the Bible as factual (scientific) prose, every word inspired by God. They are reacting against modernists, who came on more strongly than ever in the 1960s: Christianity must conform to modernity—-everything else, including the Resurrection must be metaphor. There are different views, however, on just what the ‘scientific way of knowing’ is. Lloyd Geering’s description of it in his 1968 book contains tacit acts of judgement. Scientists actually make explicit judgements by working with hypotheses which are repeatedly modified after comparison with observations. This process stops when time/money runs out so the results are never finally proved beyond possible doubt. There is no logical justification for extrapolating to the whole universe tentative research findings, such as the mechanistic world view commonly associated with science. Many philosophers of the Enlightenment have longed for certainty, but the 20th century showed that the search for it is hopeless. What we call ‘knowledge’ is belief in which we have enough confidence to use as a basis for action. Dennis wove his own life experience of 75years into this exposition to which audience reaction was positive and thoughtful.
Such experiences raise challenging questions about the reach of the human psyche. For example, a man and his wife had simultaneous nightmares about their grand-daughter whom they were each trying to rescue from a potential danger. Neither image was based on memory. Next afternoon their daughter in Wellington advised she had been that morning desperately searching for the little girl after a shopping expedition. The dreams had occurred 7 hours earlier, 800 km away. Margaret gave many other examples of dreams with strong telepathic or precognitive elements. Others demonstrated an apparent re-living of past lives. In some cases there was validating evidence, for example, a diary entry of details of a predictive dream. Such experiences lead us to agree with transpersonal psychologist Stanislau Grof who wrote ‘We are not just highly evolved animals with biological computers embedded inside our skulls; we are also fields of consciousness without limits, transcending time, space, matter, and linear causality.’ The large audience showed great interest in this topic.
This theme reflects such observations as those of William James who once said that our normal human consciousness is just one special type of consciousness, while all around it, “parted from it by the filmiest of screens” are other entirely different forms of consciousness, always available if the requisite stimulus is applied. We were led through a guided meditation in which we were invited to find a part of ourselves which might be crowded out by our daily busyness. We then formed small groups to share and discuss whatever part we might choose from our experiences during the meditation. Each group’s discussion remained private to that group. It seemed that some participants experienced nothing of note while for others there were unexpected experiences. A few remarked that while they began feeling sceptical about the exercise, things changed when they adopted a more open attitude.
Many people believe the sacred can occur only on specific days and in special places, or be invoked only by those ordained by a higher power. Cally explored the different facets of finding sacredness in daily life; how the mundane can be as sacred as the extra-ordinary, and how day-to-day life can be as sacred and spiritual for the ordinary person as for those who are living in a monastery or ashram. She looked at some of the different cultures that she experienced last year while travelling with her family across the globe; how these cultures impacted on them, and how each culture can enrich one’s Personal Truth, at the same time strengthening one’s core practices and beliefs.
She illustrated with a sequence of striking slides, many taken on their travels, showing, for example, religious buildings, art, and people, and various things especially sacred to her----the beauty of animals, natural patterns and forms, and people with whom close relationships were formed. The family were particularly struck by the way sacred practice or ritual entered almost continuously into the daily life on the Navajo and Hopi reservations. This was a much appreciated presentation which concluded with participants offering their own examples of sacred moments.
Jennifer reviewed the life, work and philosophy of Dr Edward Bach (1886 – 1936), an English physician who abandoned a successful career in London hospitals and a Harley St practice to seek natural methods of healing. He came to believe that emotional and spiritual imbalance was the root cause of physical illness, and after researching homeopathy he intuitively discovered his own Flower Remedies while exploring the countryside of England and Wales.
His remedies, which are now used throughout the world, contain no chemical extracts of the mother plant, but are presumed to work at a bio-energetic level. Despite the absence of a scientific evidence base, descriptive reports of their action are impressive.
Jennifer Barraclough is a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatry and was until recently consultant in psychological medicine at the Churchill Hospital, Oxford, UK. She has published various books and research papers in general psychiatry and psycho-oncology. For about ten years she has been interested in holistic approaches to medicine and has trained in energy healing, life coaching, colour therapy and Bach Flowers. She now works from home as a Bach Flower practitioner.
Pat gave her answers based on her personal experience of introducing humour and laughter into some unlikely places such as business and orphanages. She worked for 16 years as a Registered Nurse in Education and Management roles. Almost 4 years ago she became a Joyologist, a term she coined for herself and has since been working in the field of Positive Psychology and Humour. She has conducted 2 pilot programs on Laughter Therapy based on the concept of Yogic Laughter, and has since then conducted over 250 keynotes and workshops on the role of humour in business and life. She toured Russia in November 2004 with Dr Patch Adams visiting hospitals and orphanages with 36 others in clown persona! She is currently documenting the results of the two pilot programs and has begun a second book on paradox and synchronicity.
Julia gave us a dynamic introduction to a new way of working with sound as a diagnostic and therapeutic tool. In this approach various stimuli are used to motivate the sensory nervous system while producing sounds with one's own voice. During the subsequent experience of physical sensations, imagery, or auditory perception, the sound can stimulate the nervous system initiating the release of stress and tension in the physical body as well as on a mental and emotional level. Benefits of this process range from hearing improvement and strengthening of the voice to an overall state of wellbeing and peace.
Julia worked for several years as a veterinary surgeon after emigrating from Berlin to New Zealand in 1985. With a keen interest in holistic healing, she then studied and began practising Therapeutic Massage, Structural Bodywork, Healing Touch (Energy Balancing), Voice/Sound Balancing (Lichtenberger Institute for Voice and Instruments, Germany) and Body-Mind Analysis and Therapy (Herman Mueller, Australia). She has been working as a practitioner for over 12 years.
David has provided the following note on the conference. His presentation included a DVD recording of a dialogue between Rupert Sheldrake and Peter Fenwick (President of SMN) on the subject of memory and morphic fields. The DVD is available for loan to members. David also includes here the abstract of a paper he submitted for the poster session.
The 2005 “Memory Beyond the Brain” Conference at the University of Lincoln was another highly successful event. I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the first of this series in 1995 and, comparing the two, I have formed the distinct impression that the SMN activities have promoted a definite shift in attitudes about the nature of science and spirituality in both scientific and religious communities.
The key speakers for me were Prof Gary Schwartz asking the question “Does Everything have Memory? Systemic Memory and the Evidence from Transplant Patients” and Dr Pim van Lommel, a cardiologist examining the implications of his research in Near-Death Experiences. Prof Schwartz’s home page http://veritas.arizona.edu gives an extensive overview of the nature and reach of his experimental programmes. “The VERITAS Research Program of the Human Energy Systems Laboratory in the Department of Psychology at the University of Arizona was created primarily to test the hypothesis that the consciousness (or identity) of a person survives physical death.” Dr van Lommel’s presentation of his research (accessed in “Consciousness and the Brain”, Lancet Dec 2001) can only be described as magisterial in its sweep and painstakingly exact in its drawing of conclusions Some of the case histories were memorable. For example, a patient had an NDE in which he experienced an old man helping him. He could remember the old man vividly. Some ten years later the patient’s mother was dying. On her death-bed she confessed to her son that his biological father was a Jewish man who had been deported to the concentration camps and subsequently perished. She handed her son a photo of his father. It was the face of the old man he had experienced in the NDE. During the NDE all the brain functions of the EEG had been flat, and according to conventional science it was impossible for such a memory to have imprinted itself in short term memory.
The upshot of all the presentations was to make clear that the conventional models of science do not adequately explain the data of being human. Application of quantum physics analogies to the phenomena of consciousness and memory can be misleading in a number of ways. New explanations are emerging which take consciousness and memory as primary informational fields in the universe. Pim van Lommel argues that if this is the case, our whole and undivided consciousness is simply not observable or measurable in the physical world. To put that into my words, we cannot know all that we are, we only get hints of it.
On a personal level, I found the Conference intellectually stimulating. I was also able to put up a poster paper (see abstract below) which got some attention in an audience discussion during the Conference.
Abstract: This paper attempts to provide a brief overview of Rupert Sheldrake’s concept of fields of memory and consciousness and show how it might apply in the following circumstances. The Pakeha New Zealander, usually of English, Irish or Scots descent, is profoundly shaped by interaction with Maori, the Polynesian first people of the land. This gives rise to important questions concerning cultural identity and memory. Some of the sharpest points of dialogue occur around competing currents of spirituality and secularism. Insights into identity are generated through story and collective memory. A radical and creative new world view (Pasifika) emerges, based on memory as revelation.
Wednesday 9 November, 2005. One of our members, Peter Becroft, spoke on the subject of "Mind and Reality".
Peter provided the following introduction to his presentation.
“Such questions as: What is the relation between mind and reality? What is the nature of knowledge, truth and morality? (asked in Plato's
metaphysics, Christian theology and the 17th century Enlightenment) are firmly entrenched in the western mind right up to the present day. How are we to respond to those contemporary philosophers who ask novel questions and recommend that we ditch the old, traditional questions because in their view such questions are fruitless. In some cases the response is hostile. Others among us may agree that the time is ripe to ask novel questions.”
Peter gave an interesting historical review of these issues leading up to the present time when he suggests some philosophers are recognising the importance of language and context in our interpretation of human experience. This leads to the view that we should not say that one theory is true and another one false but that some are more useful to our purposes than others. We need always to acknowledge that we all have aims and purposes for our thoughts and actions.
Wednesday 8 March, 2006. Steering Committee Member Murray Stentiford,
Global Consciousness and Connectedness by Subtle Energy Fields.
Murray who has a background in physics, is the current President of the Auckland Theosophical Society. He explored the expanding knowledge that is becoming available through recent scientific research on how the five senses of the human is no longer enough to encompass our knowledge of the world and the wider universe. The sixth sense is becoming more acceptable as a form of knowledge and that humanity is awakening to a new consciousness.
Murray used the metaphor of looking at the way humans treat each other and compared this behaviour with treating the human body in the same way. For example cutting off the supply of food and energy to one area of the body, say an arm, because this part was not considered important enough in the short term and other parts of the body needed the food & energy more. He spoke of his strongly held belief that we are already whole in head and heart, and when integrated with our Spirit, we would awaken to being spiritual beings and see the kinship and connectedness between each other rather than our separateness.
Research on how this connectedness and knowing about events in advance and physical change through thought form was discussed. This included: the Global Consciousness Project started by Roger Neilson from Princeton University; randomised double blind studies on distant healing; Re-incarnation studies by Ian Stevenson from the USA and near death experiences.
Wednesday 12th April, 2006. Reinhard Kanuka Fuchs, Sacred Geometry - Healing with Soul Resonance
Reinhard started with a short background on Sacred Geometry, proportions of the Golden Rectangle and how the Fibonacci Series presents itself throughout nature. He used a number of images and natural objects, including water crystals, sunflowers, nautilus shells and the human body to demonstrate the frequency of sacred geometry within our surroundings and how harmonic proportions and patterns guide our life on earth. Foremost, the human body is designed to resonate to Sacred Geometry. The body proportions follow Phi such as all parts of the arm right through to the fingernail. Your face and smiling teeth create Golden Rectangles, including Phi succession of the eight front teeth. A human smile is hence perceived universally as a peaceful experience because it offers Golden Proportions together with harmonic vibrations.
As an architect, Reinhard works with natural materials, and with the land rather than against it. He explained how when using the guiding principles of Sacred Geometry one can create a building and useful space that has harmony, alignment, coherence and foremost beneficial vibrational resonance. He believes that the harmonic proportions found in nature are a door to understanding life and spirituality. He reminded us that our human history is filled with Sacred Geometry from Plato to da Vinci, from the Egyptian pyramids to the Greek temples and Gothic cathedrals. Theology and religions have applied Sacred Proportions in “Man:Christ=Christ:God” and Sacred Geometry is in many Sacred Islamic patterns.
He pointed out that if we distort any aspect of life -- our food, dwellings, music, art, natural environment, our body, cells, genes and DNA -- we will slip out of resonance and lose the sacred guidance of our Higher Consciousness. Without that guidance our thoughts, feelings and actions will race around without fulfilling their purpose or deeper meaning. We will feel disconnected, separated and lonely, trapped, frustrated, stuck and lost deep inside, despite our superficial business and materialistic abundance. On the other hand, alignment with Sacred Geometry will bring us back into resonance with harmonic vibrations and interconnect our physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, creative-artistic selves.
Wednesday 10th May, 2006 Man, Medicine & Machines - Quackery or Cure?
Four guest speakers spoke on new technology they are using in complementary medicine. Dr Vlatko Petric (Serbia), Biljana Knaap (Macedonia), Michael Kelly (NZ) & Jo Baker (UK).
This evening was frustratingly short for the amount of information and knowledge available and for any depth of discussion. However it gave an overview of new technology being used as an aid by conventional doctors and alternative therapists.
The first machine on demonstration by Jo Baker, was the Quantum Xxroid Consciousness Interface, (QXCI) which was created by Professor Bill Nelson, ex-NASA and currently living in Hungary. This machine contains a huge software programme that is claimed to use bio-feedback to read the body’s energy field. The client is attached by wires around both ankles and wrists and a band around the head. Basic information is put into the program to start: age, sex, lifestyle, major traumas, organs removed etc. The machine 'reads' the electro-magnetic field of the client over a four minute period and then produces a read-out of 9,000 results which are valued and graded, from non-problematic to chronic. The art comes in interpreting the results and using one of the 24 programs within the machine to correct any problems using the bio-feedback mechanism. It is claimed to be so sensitive that the client can show marijuana in their energy field because they have been in a room with a person smoking earlier in the day. The QXCI is used by many complementary health practitioners world wide, but has many detractors because it is seen as a threat by large drug companies.
Michael Kelly, using a member of the audience, demonstrated an Electronic Gem Therapy system designed by Dr John Whale from Exeter in the UK. This machine comprises three stands that look rather like high-tech directional reading lights but are described as 'vibrating enclosures' containing gem stones with the lights mostly there to 'help target the invisible gem rays'. The ‘client’ could feel the energy as heat – although the gem enclosures were cold to the touch. The rays are said to be created by the conversion of kinetic energy when the gems are excited. The energy is transferred to living tissue by sympathetic resonance in the same way that the energy of the sun is transferred to us. The member of the audience reported he could feel the pleasant energy travel down throughout his body and pulsate on areas where he had previously damaged himself. Michael explained that this energy was gently smoothing out areas of physical and emotional congestion.
The last presentation was by Biljana Knaap and Dr Vlatko Petric who spoke on the Russian machine the ‘Vitafon’ designed by A Fyodorov from Russia. The Vitafon is a very small machine, with two small ‘ear-pieces’ that are placed on the body at the appropriate place. It produces a noise that goes up and down the auditory scale of hearing sounding rather like a cross between static and white noise on a radio and a child’s toy car. The Vitfon produces micro-vibrations which are believed to stimulate the capillary system in the body, increasing blood flow and energy in the affected area. It was originally created to help a friend of the designer who had a haematoma as a result of a car accident. The doctors wouldn’t operate. The Vitafon has been extensively tested in Russia with the Russian Military Medical Academy and Olympic Sports Academy. The results are impressive and being a non-invasive technique and low cost the device has a million regular users in Russian alone. The Russian Army ‘vaccinate’ their troops for flu using the Vitafon as they have a problem during the long winters with illnesses associated with the cold. The Vitafon has proved more effective than conventional drugs. It is also claimed to have had some good results with stem cells and they are looking at more research in this area.
Our Steering Committee has chosen ‘The Mind-Body Connection’ as theme for 2007. The importance for our well-being of how we think about ourselves and the attitudes we bring to our relationships and daily living, has long been recognised in many cultures. However the general adoption of the bio-physical model of the body in 20th century medicine led in Western society to a downplaying of the importance of these factors. This situation is now changing with the rediscovery of the mind-body connection as evidenced by the relatively new field of psycho-neuro-immunology.
During 2007 the FSMN will examine a number of topics in this area. Some of the material presented will be informative/descriptive and some will be experiential. We want the approach throughout to be critical without ruling out the exploratory and/or unconventional. As far as possible we want to avoid the woolly terminology which pervades much of alternative medicine but we recognise that the exploration of some aspects of human experience requires an inventive use of language.
During the first 2 meetings this year we are examining ‘The Biology of Belief’. This is the title of a book and several video presentations by Dr Bruce Lipton, a cell biologist whose research has examined how the functioning of living cells and organisms is influenced by their environment, leading to the recognition of the way our health can be affected by how we live and think. Each session is being introduced by one of our members, Dr Roger Booth, an immunologist and Associate Professor in the Auckland University Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.
The well-attended first session dealt primarily with the influence of the cellular environment. We first viewed about half of a DVD of a lecture by Bruce Lipton, after which Roger led a lively open discussion; the audience particularly appreciated Roger’s intimate familiarity with the subject matter. Lipton emphasises the fact that while the cell DNA provides the blueprint for new protein production it needs appropriate signals from inside or outside the cell to activate that process. The signals are derived in turn via receptors on the surface of the cell membrane. Roger illustrated the function of the receptors by describing how certain white blood cells can be observed under the microscope to migrate up the concentration gradient of an attractant substance. An audience member, Dr Vlatko Patric, happened to have with him a video clip he had himself made of the same process.
Bruce Lipton’s website www.brucelipton.com offers some excellent downloads on this material. Another site relevant to our theme, www.emofree.com, contains information on .Energy Psychology, which will be the subject of a later meeting(s).
We watched the remainder of Bruce Lipton’s DVD where he reviewed some of the ways our environments and circumstances, including our perceptions and beliefs, can affect our bodily processes and therefore our health. Even the embryo has been shown to respond to events in its home environment.
The discussion was again led by Roger Booth who began by summarising the material in the first part of the DVD. It was felt that Bruce Lipton’s presentation had not adequately developed the role of the conscious mind and had somewhat glossed over the relationship between the conscious and the unconscious mind. However deeply we examine the body we will find only beautiful mechanisms for executing its functions. Wilfulness and intentionality are not visible there. It is the conscious mind which is creative and therefore allows for new possibilities to emerge. This raised the familiar questions about the nature of the self, and where lies the distinction between the observer self and the observed self. Roger suggested that it can be helpful to talk instead about 2 roles of the self, observing and acting (or behaving).
This was the first of several meetings in which we explored areas in the field of “Energy Psychology”, which is concerned with accessing pathways to influence our subconscious mind-sets. (Bruce Lipton referred to this subject and related ones, without elaboration, at the end of the DVD we have viewed recently.)
One of our founder members, Ralph Stevenson, an electronic engineer who has a wide knowledge of unorthodox therapies, provided a bridge from Bruce Lipton’s “Biology of Belief” to “Energy Psychology” by outlining a model of how the conscious, subconscious, and body interact, including the role of the "molecules of emotion" described in the writing of Candace Pert. Building upon conventional therapeutic methods, Energy Psychology uses techniques from acupressure, yoga, qi gong, and energy medicine. Using these techniques people can be taught simple steps for initiating changes in their inner lives. Thus stimulating energy points on the skin, combined with specific psychological procedures, is believed to alter the brain's electrochemistry to help overcome negative emotions (fear, jealousy etc), change unproductive behaviour, and enhance life skills.
We also viewed short clips of therapy sessions in which Gary Craig, who refined the procedures known as Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), succesfully treated one woman with a rat phobia and another with chocolate addiction.
Discussion was introduced by member Robin Kelly a general practitioner who uses a synthesis of Eastern and Western medicine to form a modern mind-body approach with a focus on deep healing. Robin's second book, “The Human Aerial”, is being adapted by an American publisher as a foundation text for the new field of Energy Psychology.
At this meeting Ralph Stevenson continued his presentation on "Energy Psychology" and the "Emotional Freedom Technique" by showing a DVD of David Feinstein, one of EFT’s best known practitioners, demonstrating the powerful methods of Energy Psychology which can be used for self-help or in a therapeutic setting. David moved to EFT after working as a clinical psychologist for many years. He presented research results from over 30,000 subjects. Segments shown included the freeing of one subject from a fear of heights while another was released from severe claustrophobia.
Continuing our series on Energy Psychology, member Murray Stentiford gave his interpretation of the spiritual and energetic principles which appear to underlie different Energy modalities, concluding with a demonstration in which audience members could take part if they wished. Murray has recently trained as a practitioner in several Energy Psychology modalities including EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques). He has a deep interest in the relationship between forefront science and spirituality, and the practical alleviation of human suffering. With a degree in physics, he is currently National Vice President of the Theosophical Society in NZ.
In addition to their rapidly growing therapeutic uses, Murray believes that Energy Psychology techniques help in the realisation of greater harmony within the mind-body at the deepest level. They bring about a resolution of our light and dark sides in a completely natural way, with an outcome of increased spiritual wellbeing. At the physical level, brain wave evidence from a group of people recently at a 21 day retreat showed a specific activation pattern after the retreat, a pattern that was characteristic of peaceful and unitive states of consciousness.
The process of EFT involves the use of statements of acceptance and affirmation accompanied by tapping on certain acupuncture points. The subject makes an estimate (1-10) of the level of distress associated with the condition under treatment, before and at the conclusion of a round. If need be, the whole process is repeated until an acceptable level of relief is realised. Relief is frequently rapid. Once learnt, the procedure can easily be used by individuals, although some conditions are best tackled with the help of a skilled therapist. Full success in application of EFT requires unresisting awareness by the subject of his/her condition and acknowledgement of accompanying emotions such as shame or anger. (Cf the starting point in recovery from alcohol addiction.) There should also be present a healing intention. There is evidence that the tapping procedure of EFT can be used to help others at a distance ----this is “proxy tapping”, not unlike prayer in its intent. The basic tapping procedure was discovered almost by accident during the treatment of a classic water phobia in the mid-1980s. The woman, whose phobia had been under conventional psychotherapy for 18 months without success, was completely and permanently cured when a therapist tapped the acupuncture point under the eye, following some electrical measurements that suggested to him that the corresponding meridian was at a "low energy level". The process has since developed into a spreading tree of effective healing modalities.
Murray concluded by inviting participants to join in a practical application of EFT to addressing chocolate "addiction", or rather, modifying an excessive attraction it. There was universal agreement that chocolate is "very nice", but 3 out of 4 volunteers reported a reduction in their perceived level of desire after 2 rounds of tapping.
Member Ray Tomes spoke on the subject of “Transplanting Memories” and we viewed a video of a TV programme about this. The video tells the stories of several organ transplant patients who subsequently experienced the apparent transfer of the memories and personalities of their donors. In the discussion which followed we explored the challenging questions this raised about the nature of mind and consciousness, and especially the question, “where lies the seat of the human mind?”.
At this, our last meeting of 2007, member Roger Booth spoke from his position as a psychoneuroimmunologist about how medical science is rethinking mind-body relationships in human health and illness.
The emerging research field of psychoneuroimmunology has identified extensive bi-directional pathways of connection within the human body between the nervous system and the immune system. This means that what goes on in our immune systems moment-by-moment is influenced by what is happening in our nervous systems and vice versa. Our thoughts and feelings, our perceptions and how we make sense of our lives - what we often refer to as 'mind' - are therefore affected by what goes on in our bodies, especially the neuroimmune pathways, and also have the capacity to influence the activities of those pathways.
Roger gave several examples of psycho-neuroimmune relationships which demonstrate influences in each direction. He also examined what we mean by 'mind' and 'body', how each of our identities is shaped by both, and what this means for our understanding of health and disease.
For our first meeting in 2008 we held an 'Open Forum' to explore with members some possible topics for meetings during the year. Suggestions included:
Cycles and Periodicities in Nature and Cosmology. Interesting questions emerge as to the validity of Big Bang theory.
Music – How it works aesthetically and emotionally.
Distributed Intelligence.
The Heart and Consciousness
Mind and the Nature of Conscious Experience.
Geoffrey Hodson---Mystic and Clairvoyant.
The Body – Mind Connection---- A presentation focusing on the “How To” side of Energy Psychology, putting the theories into practice.
The suggestion was also floated, and favourably received, that we try providing resource reading before the presentations, possibly with appropriate questions to stimulate thinking prior to the talks. This would facilitate more interaction and the potential to get deeper into topics than currently achievable.
At our April meeting Dr Tony Fernando spoke about “The Science of Happiness”. Tony is a Senior Lecturer in Psychiatry in the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences of Auckland University. Having noticed that many of his students seemed unhappy and easily depressed he developed a workshop on the science of happiness which has proved very popular. In his talk to us he reviewed some aspects of this workshop material. It has been found that there is a sound scientific basis for the connection between happiness and physical health. We can positively influence our happiness by appropriate cultivation of the mind, such as developing attributes like compassion, gratitude and living in the moment, and engaging in some form of meditation. Those who do this are likely to have improved immunological function, cardiovascular status, longevity and mental health. Tony’s own introduction to some of these ideas came from reading the Dalai Llama’s book, “The Art of Happiness”.
We see here another example of the Mind-Body Connection. Participants at the meeting had a thoroughly enjoyable and instructive evening.
This meeting, to have been led by Robin Kelly, was cancelled. His presentation was re-scheduled for later in the year.
Member Murray Stentiford spoke in June on “The Heart and Consciousness”. Poetry and tradition abound with expressive sayings about the role of the heart as central to our whole being. From another quarter, psychic descriptions, ancient and contemporary, describe energy vortices or chakras over the heart and other organs.
Since the concept of a functional heart brain was introduced by Dr.
J. Andrew Armour of the University of Montreal in 1991, there has
been a veritable explosion of research in both neurocardiology and
the neuroscience of emotions.
Murray described the activity of the neurons and ganglia in the heart and their two-way relationship with the brain. He recounted several views of the role of the heart to human consciousness, bringing together Western and Chinese medicine as well as Eastern non-dual understanding. He also gave a demonstration of the HeartMath Institute's heart rate and emotion-monitoring measuring device, the "Freeze Framer".
The Freeze Framer is one of several techniques devised by the HeartMath Institute to help people transmute stress and negative emotions to achieve more coherent inner states, improve performance, and enrich the quality of life. There is a wealth of information on the internet about the work of the HeartMath Institute, for example, at http://www.heartmath.org/
Robin Kelly is a local general practitioner who uses a synthesis of Eastern and Western medicine to form a modern mind-body approach with a focus on deep healing. In recent months Robin has been engaging with many in this field, and has had extended interviews with some US internet and syndicated radio shows around the content of the US version of his book, "The Human Antenna", which has been adopted by an American publisher as a foundation text for the field of Energy Psychology.
After first entertaining us with his song, “We All Let Go”, about staying calm in the eye of the storm, Robin gave a sweeping survey of his approach to healing, referring to some of the many ideas on which he draws to inform his understanding of the human mind-body. These range from well-established scientific concepts to new areas where quite novel theories have been proposed. One such is the Wave Genetics hypothesis of Dr Peter Gariaev which links in with the concept of morphogenetic fields. Robin is enthralled by the patterns in the structure of the universe, from macroscopic cosmology to the minutest sub-nuclear scale, and sees these as manifestations of an ordering energy or information field which also controls our own bodily structure. The unity of this vast scale range is strikingly depicted by the ancient Oroboros figure, in which the snake’s mouth at the macroscopic limit is shown swallowing its tail at the sub-nuclear limit, with the human scale positioned mid-way.
Robin summarised the principles he seeks to follow in healing practice, including the need for compassionate intent and non-attachment of the healer. Wherever possible the aim is for the patient to learn appropriate techniques after which they can practice self-maintenance.
In the past Ray has talked about the theoretical aspects of cycles in the Universe. This talk was a more basic one covering only observations of cycles and vibrations from the largest to the smallest scales, and especially cyclical processes in human beings. We live in a world of cycles, of day and night, the seasons, monthly cycles, as well as the rhythms of breathing, heart beat, brain waves and other bodily processes. The world we live in is also subject to cyclical fluctuations, with climate being especially topical at present. Ice age cycles occur fairly regularly. The associated temperature changes have been much larger than those which can be attributed to human activity to date. However the precise effect of humans compared with that due to the sun and other forces remains uncertain so it behoves us to do all we can to minimise our influence.
Both Theresa and Denise have extensive training in the application of Neuro-Linguistic Programming. In this largely experiential session they presented some practical suggestions to improve the quality and effectiveness of our thinking about ourselves. They referred to the language blocks we sometimes create through thoughts such as 'can't' and 'shouldn't' and they proposed release from these restrictions by counteracting with ones such as 'according to whose or what expectations?' and 'Is that me or a belief about me?'
They outlined some accelerators designed to shift us into a forward focus such as 'What would happen if I could?' and 'What are some new possibilities?' and then some very practical transforming thoughts to change ideas into action such as 'What is within my power to act on now?' and 'How am I going to adjust my focus differently in the future?'
We were invited to discuss our personal response to this material with a partner and then share further with the whole group some of the resulting important ideas. This was an informed, helpful, interactive, group session.
Murray Stentiford is well placed to discuss “How Music Works” because of his familiarity with the worlds of Science, Music, and Spirituality, although, from the start, he emphasised the need to follow the title with a question mark. He began with a practical demonstration of harmonics in sounds of the voice, double bass and clarinet, and how their combination determines tone colour. The origin of musical scales was linked to the harmonic series in natural sounds. A reference to brain science looked at brain activation patterns in different states of consciousness, and the role of left and right hemispheres. Does the performer need to feel a specific emotion in resonance with the intention of the composer? How can we know?
We shared the mystery of the bridge between structural and physical aspects of music and its power to evoke different emotions. The cross-stimulation of the senses in synaesthesia was illustrated in the linking between colour and shapes experienced by some people. This led on to the consideration of clairvoyants such as Geoffrey Hodson who have described a range of subtle forms in the energy field. Active listening to the Haydn “Emperor “ quartet, and Bach’s Prelude #4 in C# minor (Book 1, The Well Tempered Clavier) while viewing the associated images was a great way to end a fascinating evening.
After our Annual General Meeting Robin Kelly spoke again about his approach to healthcare and some of his impressions from recent conferences he had attended in Canada.
He began by referring to two current news items. A pharmaceutical company wants to give a cholesterol lowering drug to everyone from an early age, irrespective of potential side effects. On the other hand, a 13 year old girl in Britain has won her fight against hospital authorities for the right to decline treatment for a fatal heart condition. What is at stake is the recognition of the importance of patients’ taking ownership of their health and of the medical practitioners’ role to assist them do so. Most of his patients welcome this and it is supported by the developments in epigenetics and therapies such as the Emotional Freedom Technique. Robin aims to simplify procedures such as acupuncture and EFT so that patients can easily apply them by themselves.
As well as the usual opportunities to share experience with other practitioners the recent meetings in Canada provided inspirational encounters with people such as quantum physicist Amit Goswami, a proponent of consciousness as the ground of all being. This concept leads naturally to the recognition of our interconnectedness and the constructive spiritual value of compassion and empathy in healing.
Our main theme for 2009 is to be “Transcendence”. This term is multi-faceted and will probably mean something different to each one of us, ranging from the unexpected occurrence which adds magic to an everyday moment to the profound ineffable experience of the mystic. We will be having presentations from a variety of people, each speaking about Transcendence from their own perspective.
Margaret began her presentation by reviewing various aspects of Transcendence which have been identified by several people including Henryk Skolomowski, William James, and Stanislav Grof. James emphasised that it must be experienced, it is noetic, and it brings feelings of oneness with the universe and a sense of insight. Margaret then described her personal experience of the imaginal realm of the subconscious. This experience, which she called “Inland”, took place over an extended period in the 1990s but it is only recently that she has reached an understanding of its deeper meaning for her life.
The Inland journey began suddenly one night when Margaret awoke from sleep and found herself spontaneously in an imaginal place which she could later enter at any time she felt the need to do so. It was like the physical world of everyday life with an inherent consistency and coherence, but at the same time subject to “scene changes” when the story required it. It was peopled by many characters of all ages, some of whom Margaret recognised as corresponding to people in her own life. She was fully conscious throughout and able to exercise some control as things unfolded. She was faced with many challenging situations, some of them so harrowing that they disturbed her everyday life. Towards the end she met the “Counsel of the Deep”, 10 archetypal characters who helped her understand her experiences. Throughout, she was guided and supported by the perceptive wisdom of one, Dalmos. Inland concluded with a “Review” before a great assembly which acknowledged her achievements in facing the many tests encountered. Two instructions stand out. One, given at the end of the Review; “Well done. Now write what you know”. This she has faithfully done. The other, from Celsus, a recorder and keeper of knowledge; “There are two kinds of knowledge…..That which is learned and that which is inner knowing.”
Margaret concluded by suggesting that the mythic actors in her story are aspects of the soul at the junction of the inner self and the physical self. Soul is our deepest identity and the story is about attending to formative events in her life which needed to be addressed if soul is to fully express itself. She believes the imaginal world offers unlimited resources, though not to be used externally. It is a rich source accessible to all, given appropriate preparation.
It was noted in discussion that Inland is very like Joseph Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey” and has features in common with shamanic experience. There is clearly much material in such experiences for those seeking a deeper understanding of the human condition.
Tony is a Senior Lecturer in Psychological Medicine at the University of Auckland, a psychiatrist and sleep specialist with a special focus on insomnia. He treated us to a broad survey on the nature of sleep, its vital role in maintaining our wellbeing, the factors which influence our sleep patterns, and the treatment of sleep disorders.
Not much body repair occurs during sleep. Its main function seems to relate to supporting memory, facilitating tasks requiring practice and problem sorting skills, the pruning and strengthening of neural circuitry, learning new skills and reinforcing existing ones.
Sleep deprivation is common, frequently for occupational reasons, resulting in performance errors, sometimes serious. Shift workers are particularly vulnerable. Individual sleep requirements vary over a wide range. Most of us need 7-9hrs sleep per day while a few may be naturally short or long sleepers. Our sleep needs reduce as we age, though it may not always be concentrated in one stretch and may not be so deep.
The brain seems to have separate circuitry concerned with waking and sleeping, with a delicate and fairly easily disturbed balance between them. For good sleep Tony recommends: avoidance of over-stimulation before retiring by TV programmes, reading, caffeine, alcohol etc; attention to bed firmness and ambient noise; and going to bed only when really sleepy. Excessive exposure to light towards bedtime from TV and computer screens, and maintenance of high alertness should be avoided when it is time for body and brain to be shutting down.
Many factors may be involved in insomnia: psychiatric, drug abuse, neurological, circadian rhythm disturbance, shift work, jet lag. A wide range of treatments are available and most sufferers can be helped.
Similarly, there is a range of reasons and treatments for daytime sleepiness.
Cultivation of mindfulness, eg. through meditation, can be very helpful for treating insomnia and many other conditions. (See “Calm” website below)
This was an informative and entertaining talk with much audience participation. Relevant information can be found on 2 websites; www.insomniaspecialist.com and www.calm.auckland.ac.nz (“calm” signifies “Computer assisted learning for the mind”)
Leo started by defining his topic as being about transcendence in the sense of transformation, about transcendent relationships which have made us what we are and point to what we might become. He came to this topic after years of thought but was recently stimulated by reading some of the work of Stuart Kauffman. The recent financial problem he believes, reflecting as it does a crisis in our culture, has its roots in the pervasive influence of reductionist materialist science.
Quoting Vaclav Havel, Ben Okri, and Gehan Gunasekara, Leo went on to speak of the need to transform ourselves and seek to discern the true nature of the universe and not to leave this to a few scientists. Pursuing the issue of how we might achieve such a transformation he lead us through our entire history from the “Big Bang” through the formation of matter, atoms, stars, and the extremely rare heavier elements and then on to rocky planets and through the major biological levels to ourselves. Claiming consciousness as the pinnacle of current evolution he said it has arisen through processes of transcendent relationship in which entities of all levels of complexity combine to form new entities with emergent properties quite unlike the component parts. He also stated that evolution has involved a balance between cooperation and competition and how new levels of life emerged from combinations of the old. He used the cooperative micro-organisms in higher cells as a case in point. He further spoke of the importance of relationships in our lives especially love, compassion and justice. Without rejecting reductionist science per se he emphasised a need to dwell upon our relationships with our environs and to be co-creators in a participatory universe where everyone matters.
Leo called upon us to restore moral value to our secular post-Galilean culture and to let our innate spirituality (as opposed to religion) play a role in our society. This revision of enlightenment thought might require a change to the scientific model itself. Current reductionist science has no place for the emergent consciousness. He quotes from Stephen Weinberg “all the explanatory arrows point downwards from societies to people to cells to chemistry and ultimately to physics”. Quoting Stuart Kauffman “this ceaseless creativity is God enough for me”, he asked us to use our sense of wonder, awe and reverence and to further develop our awareness of the creative process of evolution.
The meeting ended with some spirited debate. None present supported a wholly reductionist view but for some the creative process was not God enough for them.
Christine spoke about the many transcendent episodes she had experienced throughout her life and how they had influenced her living.
From early childhood Chris had unusual psychic experiences, such as apparitions, auras, and out-of-body experiences. She wondered about the mysteries of existence and knew the world was more than the five senses could comprehend. She left an unhappy marriage in 1974 with a 19 month-old daughter and pregnant with her son. During his difficult birth she had a partial near-death-experience but didn’t realise these were relatively common or what they might mean. Taking up Transcendental Mediation she began a search for God, or Truth, and completed a degree in philosophy and psychology. By 1979 she had become aware that she was a Silent Witness or Watcher in which the objects of the world appeared in pure empty awareness. It was like a pure awareness was dreaming everything. She continued searching for truth for 23 years, unsuccessfully she thinks because she was still caught in a duality, whereas she needed to dissolve into the non-dual. She stopped searching in 2002, by when she was overworking, sick and chronically fatigued. After giving up work to train in an alternative therapy she had an experience of herself as ‘Pure Being, here and now in all time’. There was a lightness of Being, completely formless and unbounded. But it didn’t last. Although Chris looked forward to starting a new life she was still very tired and run-down. In 2003 she was diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. While in her worst hell after radical surgery followed by chemo- and radio-therapy, she fell into a perfect peace and knew she had ‘come home’, was whole, and totally fulfilled. She remained that way through most of 2004 although suffering again, this time with bronchial pneumonia, but then subsided into a kind of half-way house, no longer completely ‘home’ yet not fully identified with the world of form either. She believes that by trying to hold on to peace, trying to work it out intellectually, her ego had reasserted itself.
Something has changed forever and, although not cleared by her oncologist, surprisingly perhaps she is still here. She’s not afraid of dying. She “knows we are all the unborn, undying, Pure Being, and that being totally unified and whole, our essential nature is Love” Chris concluded with the statements:
“Life is living me so let love live you.”
“Love is something we are.”
“In my worst hell there was light, there was life, and although I couldn’t see it at the time, there was love – my prayer to know God as love had been answered.”
Jim Feist, a retired secondary school teacher, has engaged in amateur sculpture throughout all his adult life. He showed some of his sculptures in carved wood, cast bronze, and sheet metal, telling how making them over the last 50 years has been a way of self-expression and self-discovery. He described how some of the sculptures came to interact with certain dreams, which to him were visions, with the sculptures influencing the dreams and vice versa. This he used to illustrate transcendence as transformation - integration that makes not only art and dreaming but other activities like sport, work and so on, richer than they are on their own. He was able to draw in this process on his knowledge of Jungian psychology.
This talk strongly engaged the interest of Jim’s audience as he invited comments on his observations, for example, on the presence of ambiguities in the various forms. “Did the holes allow something to pass from the inside outwards, or from the outside in?”
Alan has a Diploma in Fine Arts and is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He has practised as a painter and taught art for many years in England and New Zealand. He showed us pictures from a wide variety of artists who seem to him to show elements of transcendence and went on to discuss his own interest in the Epic of Gilgamesh and the search for eternal life.
Transcendence can’t be explained—it has to be experienced. We may experience transcendence through meditation, it may be induced by music, by watching a sunset or looking at the stars. We may describe this as a peak experience or as a sense of the transcendent and then later detect it in a work of art.
Particularly striking were the photos of Canterbury Cathedral and the vaulted ceiling nave of Kings College, Cambridge, which illustrate transcendence in space. Among various powerful examples of the way light has been used were: light from within the painting as in Rembrandt’s Adoration of the Magi; and from outside the painting as in a landscape by Turner. A visionary and mystical aspect is conveyed in the works of Blake and also in Samuel Palmer’s. In the paintings shown Light was used as a symbol for the inward experience.
The German landscape painter, Friedrich, a member of a small group of transcendentalists, worked in a bare studio and didn’t start until the picture “stood ready before his inner eye”. He said “Follow the voice speaking inside you, for it is divine and will not mislead you”.
Manessier, a French abstract painter, whose life was changed by the experience of a retreat at a Trappist monastery, said “If I could succeed in grasping this inner light, this rhythm, this meaning, I could do more than render a visible image of it, I could give its essence”.
Alan concluded by inviting us to view his 12 lithographs of events in the Epic of Gilgamesh, who ruled the Babylonian city of Uruk around 2,700 BC.
This was a most informative evening in which many of us found new understandings to engage our appreciation of the painter’s art.
Wednesday 8 September, 2004, Murray Stentiford spoke on "Theosophy Today".
Wednesday 27 October, 2004, Professor Rosalind Hursthouse discussed the nature of Happiness.
Wednesday 10 November, 2004, Dr Rajen Prasad, on Making a Difference to Society.
Wednesday 8 December, 2004, David Bell and Stuart Manins presented
LANDFALL IN UNKNOWN SEAS: Text, Allen Curnow; music Douglas Lilburn.
Wednesday 9 March, 2005, Dennis Marshall gave a presentation on 'Christianity and Science'.
Wednesday 13 April, member Margaret Bowater, a qualified psychotherapist and experienced leader of dream workshops, spoke about Paranormal (or Psychic) Dreams.
Wednesday 11 May 2005. Margaret Needham and Anthea Harper, counsellors and psychotherapists, led an experiential session under the theme of “The Unbounded Human Psyche”.
Wednesday 8 June, 2005. Member Cally Stockdale spoke on “A Spiritual Odyssey - Finding the Sacred in Daily Life”.
Wednesday 13 July, 2005. Member Jennifer Barraclough spoke on Bach Flower Therapy.
Wednesday 10 August, 2005. Pat Armitstead, Joyologist, asked the question "Why is Laughter Important?".
Wednesday 14 September, 2005. Julia Biermann presented "Sound's True",
or Exploring the Relationship of Sound - Mind – Body.
Wednesday 12 October, 2005. David Bell reported on the SMN conference he attended in August with the theme, "Memory Beyond the Brain".
Wednesday 14 March, 2007. The Biology of Belief.
Wednesday 11 April, 2007. The Biology of Belief (Part 2)
Wednesday 16 May, 2007. Introduction to Energy Psychology
Wednesday 13 June, 2007. Energy Psychology continued.
Wednesday 11 July, 2007. Energy Psychology continued.
Wednesday 8 August, 2007. Transplanting Memories
There was no meeting in September.
Our normal October meeting was substituted by an invitation to hear Richard Heinberg, a US Peak Oil expert, speaking on “Life after Oil” to the Green Party and the Engineers for Social Responsibility.
Wednesday 14 November, 2007. Mind-body Relationships in Human Health and Illness
Wednesday 12 March, 2008. Open Forum
Wednesday 9 April 2008. The Science of Happiness.
Wednesday 14 May. Energy Medicine, Psychology and Healing -- Is it Coming of Age?
Wednesday 11 June. The Heart and Consciousness.
Thursday 17 July 2008, jointly with the Auckland branch of the NZ Theosophical Society. Dr Robin Kelly spoke on “Energy Medicine, Psychology and Healing - Is It Coming of Age?"
Wednesday 13 August 2008. Member Ray Tomes spoke on "The Wobbly Universe".
Wednesday, 10 September, 2008. Theresa Grainger and Denise Garner spoke on "Energy Psychology in Practice".
Wednesday, 8 October, 2008. Murray Stentiford spoke on "How Music Works"
Wednesday, 12 November, 2008. Our Annual General Meeting was followed by an update from Robin Kelly.
Wednesday, 11 March, 2009. Margaret Needham spoke on “Making Sense of Transcendence” ……a personal story.
Wednesday, 8 April, 2009. Dr Tony Fernando spoke on "Sleep Medicine--from basics to clinics".
Wednesday, 13 May, 2009. Leo Hobbis spoke on "Transcendent Relationship in Evolution and Human Affairs"
Wednesday, 10 June, 2009. Christine Wykes told of her own transcendent experiences through her story, entitled, "HERE AND NOW IN ALL TIME: From duality to non-duality"
Wednesday, 8 July, 2009. This meeting was cancelled.
Wednesday, 12 August, 2009. Jim Feist spoke on "Transcendence as Transformation through Sculpture".
Wednesday, 9 September, 2009. Alan Gilderdale spoke on "Transcendence in Art"