I’d like to introduce you to a book I’ve recently read called Stalking the Wild Pendulum which was written in 1977 by a medical device engineer, Itzhak Bentov. The book is available via Amazon but there are also free pdf versions available on the internet. I will warn you: the book is dense – meaning that while the language is not overly scientific, the concepts are “big” and take some deconstructing and reflection to take in – and they come thick and fast.
The book is about how quantum physics and consciousness are
connected. After explaining the science
of quantum physics, Mr. Bentov then makes some fascinating observations about
the implications of the science on consciousness and what we would call the
spiritual realm. For our purposes, I’m
only going to quote and discuss a few passages in the book – you may want to
get a copy for yourself and read the rest for context. Also, the science must be laid down before
the “spiritual” implications can be drawn – so for a while we will need to wade
through the science – but to be honest, that is what I love about this book and
why I wanted to explore it in this blog: it lays out plausible scientific
explanations for what we usually only associate with spiritual topics.
Sound, Waves and Vibration
Chapter one of Stalking the Wild Pendulum (StWP) is a
scientific explanation of sound, waves and vibration. I have included the summary from the end of
the chapter here for context into the quotes we’ll explore further.
READ: “We have seen various ways of producing sound. We
know that when a string or any other structure vibrates, it may develop
standing waves. These are waves that occupy a ‘fixed’ position in any
structure, whether it is a string, a plate, a container filled with a liquid,
or a blood vessel. Nodes are the spots in which minimum motion occurs. When
sets of waves are superposed, interference patterns result. A hologram is an
interference pattern of light waves on a photographic plate. When two differing
frequencies are superposed, beat frequencies result. Coherency is an in-step or
in-phase behavior of waves. Oscillators are devices that move in a periodic,
repetitive fashion between two points of rest. Our bodies are also such
devices. Oscillators vibrating out of phase with each other may get locked into
phase through rhythm entrainment. A system of oscillators that is in phase can
resonate. Our reality is a vibratory reality, filled by ‘sounds’ of different
kinds. We respond to differences in these sounds.”
What is a hologram?
A three-dimensional image formed by the interference of
light beams from a laser or other coherent light source (Oxford Dictionary).
A hologram requires two lasers or “coherent” beams of light;
coherent light is monochromatic light or light of a single frequency or color
(it’s “laser” sharp not diffused); it moves forward in an even, flat, single wavelength,
which enables it to stay in a narrow beam over long distances – the light stays
“in step” with itself.
One of the two beams of light must be “pure” or untouched in
its journey – it is called the “reference beam”; the other beam of light
encounters an object in its flight and is changed as a result; this is called
the “working beam”.
The coming back together of the reference beam and the
working beam is what forms the hologram or image; the interaction between the
two beams causes ripples to form between them (an interference pattern) in the
appearance of whatever it was the working beam encountered.
The way bats use their version of sonar to catch insects, is
an example of how this works in nature.
What does it mean that our bodies are oscillators?
Oscillation is movement back and forth at a regular speed;
it is regular variation or fluctuation between two extreme limits; it is to vibrate
or perform a repetitive, periodic movement; it in magnitude or position around
a central point; it is from the Latin word meaning “to swing” (Oxford
Dictionary).
An oscillator is a device for generating oscillatory electric
currents or voltages by nonchemical means (Oxford Dictionary).
Oscillators produce a sound or note as they alter the
environment within which they exist – environment can be anything including electrical
fields, air, water, gravitational fields, physical tissue, etc.
Two oscillators near each other can adopt the same vibration
or “sympathetic resonance” – they transfer energy easily between the two
oscillators and become “rhythm entrained” or locked in with each other; examples
of this include two violins on a table that are tuned identically – when a note
is played on one, it also hums on the other; another example are a room of
grandfather clocks with pendulums - the more oscillators there are in a “system”,
the more stable the system and the more difficult it will be to disturb it – if
you were to bring in a new clock, it would align itself to the other clocks
rather than stay on a different pattern or force the other clocks to adopt its
pattern.
The pumping of the heart through the aorta is an example of
how our bodies are oscillators; breathing is another example which produces an
oscillating rhythm. When we think, our
brains produce rhythmic electric currents in its neural network.
What is a vibratory reality?
From the subatomic level within our bodies and everything
that makes up the basic elements of the earth up to the cosmic level of the
orbits of stars and galaxies, everything in this dimension is in motion (nothing
is static) – vibratory energy is a critical aspect to all matter.
Since it is all connected within the “unified field” of
subatomic “wavicles”, it is all a single system, at a macro level. The various vibrations (which produce “sounds”)
interact with each other creating massive interference patterns across the
universe.
In our dimension, if it’s not moving it doesn’t exist.
READ: Regarding how a hologram is created, Mr. Bentov makes
the following statement on page 22:
“Note that the important part of holographic image making
is the interaction of a reference beam — a beam that is pure, virgin, and
untouched — with a working beam, which has had some experiences in its life.
The magnitude of these experiences is being measured against the reference
beam, which serves as a baseline for comparison. Our whole reality is
constructed by constantly making such comparisons. Our senses, which describe
our reality to us, are making these comparisons all the time. Unfortunately, our
senses, having no absolute reference line, must generate their own relative
reference line. But whenever we perceive something, we always perceive
differences only. Whether it be heat or
cold, light or darkness, quiet or noise we always compare two relative
quantities. We have no absolute measure of anything as far as our daily reality
is concerned.”
What are the implications of our senses having no
“absolute reference line” against which to judge our experiences on this earth?
Everything is relative to our experience.
So, the more experience we have, the greater the likelihood
that our reference line will be more aligned with an absolute reference line.
However, the volume of experiences we would need to
accurately mirror the true absolute reference line would require an almost
infinitely long life.
The longer we live and the more and varied the set of
experiences we have, the more wise we may perceive ourselves to be – in other
words, the more we think our reference line mirrors the absolute reference
line.
This can be a massive danger because we may have only
accumulated a billionth of one percent of the total experiences needed to
replicate the absolute reference line.
As a result, our “hologram” will be hugely distorted, and
what we think is real may be completely unreal in actual fact.
How can we access an “absolute reference line” in this
dimension, so that our comparative reality can mirror true reality?
We can study the scriptures (the truth revealed from God to
others); this is a critical start but if the absolute reference line contains
all truth, the scriptures will only contain a portion of that truth – and since
scriptures are reflected through the lens of the men and women who received the
insights from heaven, they may contain distortion as each “prophet” who
received a level of truth aligned to their level of light at that time, and/or
be tailored to the needs of the person who received them such that while they
may be useful, they may not be ultimately universal.
We must gain our own conduit to heaven through prayer,
meditation and aligning our frequency and behavior with that of the
divine. This lends an interesting twist
to Joseph Smith’s admonition through Brigham Young (via BY’s dream in 1847
where Joseph Smith visited him – “Tell the brethren to be humble and faithful
and be sure to keep the Spirit of the Lord, that it will lead them aright. Be careful and not turn away the still, small
voice; it will teach them what to do and where to go; it will yield the fruits
of the kingdom. Tell the brethren to
keep their hearts open to conviction, so that when the Holy Ghost comes to
them, their hearts will be ready to receive it.”). Since the Holy Spirit or light which emanates
from God to fill the immensity of space is also called the mind of God – this
is another label for the “absolute reference line” or the fullness of all truth
against which our mortal experiences can be accurately reflected and measured.
