Monday, April 1, 2024

Hiatus

Due to some recent work and life changes, I'm taking a hiatus from the weekly blog.  I will leave the blog up for anyone who would like to reference it, until the lack of traffic makes sense to close it.  It's possible that I may add an additional post from time to time, so if you'd like to be alerted, I think becoming a follower of the blog will enable you to receive alerts when new material is posted.

In the meantime, thanks for allowing me to share this blog with you - I hope it has helped you to come unto Christ.  And if you've only gained one thing, I hope that the model of asking questions of the scriptures and taking those inquiries to the Lord in prayer and contemplation is it.

Thanks again.

Sunday, March 24, 2024

Bentov: Consciousness

READ Stalking the Wild Pendulum (StWP) pages 61-62

“We have described several instances in which time is being somehow manipulated. I’m not saying that we have actually slowed down the movement of the clock. It is still keeping good old objective time. But we did stretch our subjective time so that we are facing a subjective situation that in turn provides an analogy to a well-known objective situation. This was first made clear in the theory of relativity, in which it was shown that two observers moving relative to each other do not agree on the rates at which their respective clocks are running. Let us try to analyze what is common to all the cases. We find that the connecting link is an altered state of consciousness. Some may claim that the last experiment has nothing to do with altered states of consciousness; in fact, some will altogether deny the existence of such a thing as consciousness.”

What is consciousness?

There are many theories about consciousness.

Some believe that consciousness arises from the integration of information within complex neural networks like the human brain; the degree of consciousness in a system is determined by the extent to which its parts interact and generate integrated information and can be quantified mathematically (Christof Koch, Giullo Tononi and Daniel Dennett). 

Others postulate that while the function and mechanisms of the brain can be explained in terms of physical/chemical processes, that there remains a gap between those processes and the subjective experiences of consciousness; in other words, the physical brain alone cannot explain consciousness but the idea of “panpsychism” should be explored – that consciousness is a fundamental property of the universe and is present at all levels of physical reality from subatomic particles to complex organisms (David Chalmers and Itzhak Bentov).

Awareness of existence – of self-awareness.

Consciousness is subjective – it is experienced firsthand or anecdotally; it is experienced as a continuous stream of subjective states rather than discrete, isolated events.

It enables integration of information from various sensory modalities and cognitive processes; it allows one to respond to changing environmental conditions and to engage in problem solving.

Consciousness is the common uniting element of all creation, and that through this link all things are in permanent contact; it is a field of energy that is interconnected with the universe and that the brain acts as a transducer, converting this energy into sensory experience - into the electrical and chemical signals that are used to communicate information within the body; the brain has the ability to tune into different frequencies of consciousness, allowing individuals to experience different states of awareness.

Consciousness is a fundamental aspect of the universe and is not limited to the brain or the body; consciousness is non-local, meaning it is not bound by space and time and can exist independently of the physical body or brain; it is the fundamental essence of existence, pervading all levels of reality from subatomic to cosmic – it is intrinsic to the fabric of the universe itself – it is the source from which all material and nonmaterial phenomena emerge – it is the light or mind of God or Holy Spirit which emanates from God to fill the immensity of space and that universe composed of such elements have the capacity or consciousness to obey or disobey the voice or will of God (the dust of the earth chooses to obey while mankind do not – see Helaman 12:4-17).

Consciousness evolves to the ‘absolute’ which is the source of all consciousness; matter, composed of quanta of energy, is the vibrating, changing component of pure consciousness; the absolute is fixed, manifest and invisible but our physical world is a vibratory reality, from microcosm to macrocosm; realities are relative, depending on the position and condition of the observer.

It is manifested in various degrees of complexity from simple forms of awareness in inanimate objects to the high level of self-awareness exhibited by sentient beings. 

What is an altered state of consciousness?

An altered state of consciousness is any change in the normal pattern of waking consciousness – a departure from the usual level of awareness, perception, thoughts or feelings.

It can be a heightened level of awareness, expanded perception of reality not previously considered, a sense of interconnectedness with the universe and the absolute.

How can consciousness be altered?

Consciousness can be altered by disrupting the normal patterns of brain activity.

Spiritual practices can induce altered states characterized by feelings of transcendence and unity with the divine. 

Mediation can induce an altered state of awareness – including perceptions of time and space.

REM sleep induces dreams during which the individual experiences an altered consciousness – including lucid dreaming where the individual manipulates their surroundings.

Hypnosis can induce a trance-like state of awareness – leading to changes in memory and perception.

Psychoactive substances affect the neurotransmitter systems in the brain, inducing altered states of consciousness.

Injury, illness, and trauma can induce delirium or dissociative states.

 

READ StWP page 72

“As our ability to hold an expanded state of consciousness increases...this increases our subjective time, so that we can start remembering some information we have received while out of the body. From all the above it follows that we may describe a person’s level of consciousness by the ratio of his subjective time to his objective time. The range of these ratios is very broad. It starts with small differences, which normally would be taken for just a ‘wandering of attention’, to hypnotic time dilation, to dreaming, which is clearly an altered state of consciousness. And, finally, to a deep meditative state, in which time is ‘stopped’ or almost ‘stopped.’”

What does it mean that one’s level of consciousness is measured by the ratio of their subjective time to their objective time?

“Level” in this case is referring to the quality and quantity of consciousness one has at a given point of time.

If the amount of subjective time one experiences is higher than the amount of objective time they are “living through”, this implies that they “have more time” than they should have objectively; many people would like “more than 24 hours in a day” – by this definition of level of consciousness, those with a higher level have more time. 

Those who are able to “stop time” or “expand it out” so that it becomes very much longer than the objective time actually experienced by the physical body means that they are entering an altered state of consciousness – in this case a higher level of consciousness. 

A question this begs is whether or not this level of consciousness is fixed or dynamic; can one grow (or shrink) in level of consciousness as a result of some kind of skill building which can be gained or lost through attention and practice or is it a result of an inherent trait or a gift from God?  Scriptures (and anecdotal experience) would seem to suggest that it is dynamic.   

Why is this a good or bad definition for level of consciousness?

It’s a good definition to the degree that subjective time is a product of an altered state of consciousness, which it is by the definition we’ve discussed; the more you’re in an altered state of consciousness or the longer one is able to stretch that altered or subjective state of consciousness compared to objective time, the higher their level of consciousness likely is.

It’s a bad or incomplete (and possibility misleading) definition if level of consciousness refers more to the quality of consciousness rather than the quantity of subjective time in an altered state of consciousness vis-à-vis objective time in a non-altered state of consciousness. 

Why is level of consciousness, as defined here, not the same as “level of light”?

If light, truth and knowledge are all synonymous, then enabling one to experience more subjective time could enable the observer to collect more knowledge because they have more time (albeit subjective) to gather and integrate it into themselves.

However, just because one’s altered state of consciousness allows them to experience more subjective time than another doesn’t mean that this subjective time is raising their vibratory rate or that the experience is being used to increase the amount of light and truth they obtain.  It could increase their ability or “time spent in” the spiritual realm of an altered state of consciousness, but it doesn’t determine what they learn or spend their time doing there – either light or dark. 

 

Sunday, March 17, 2024

Bentov: Consciousness QUESTIONS

READ Stalking the Wild Pendulum (StWP) pages 61-62

“We have described several instances in which time is being somehow manipulated. I’m not saying that we have actually slowed down the movement of the clock. It is still keeping good old objective time. But we did stretch our subjective time so that we are facing a subjective situation that in turn provides an analogy to a well-known objective situation. This was first made clear in the theory of relativity, in which it was shown that two observers moving relative to each other do not agree on the rates at which their respective clocks are running. Let us try to analyze what is common to all the cases. We find that the connecting link is an altered state of consciousness. Some may claim that the last experiment has nothing to do with altered states of consciousness; in fact, some will altogether deny the existence of such a thing as consciousness.”

What is consciousness?

How can consciousness be altered?

 

READ StWP page 72

“As our ability to hold an expanded state of consciousness increases...this increases our subjective time, so that we can start remembering some information we have received while out of the body. From all the above it follows that we may describe a person’s level of consciousness by the ratio of his subjective time to his objective time. The range of these ratios is very broad. It starts with small differences, which normally would be taken for just a ‘wandering of attention’, to hypnotic time dilation, to dreaming, which is clearly an altered state of consciousness. And, finally, to a deep meditative state, in which time is ‘stopped’ or almost ‘stopped.’”

What does it mean that one’s level of consciousness is measured by the ratio of their subjective time to their objective time?

Why is this a good or bad definition for level of consciousness?

Why is level of consciousness, as defined here, not the same as “level of light”?

Sunday, March 10, 2024

Bentov: The Observer

READ Stalking the Wild Pendulum (StWP) pages 60, 62-63

“When a person has been trained by biofeedback to produce theta waves or can put himself into a deep meditative state and at the same time is able to watch the second hand of a clock in front of him, he will be surprised to find that the second hand has come to a stop. It’s a rather startling experience, and the natural reaction to it is: ‘This is impossible!’ At that moment, the second hand will accelerate and resume its normal rate. However, if we can get over this reaction and watch with half-open eyes the face of the clock, while all the time being in a deep meditative state, then we can keep the second hand from moving for as long as we wish…

Why, then, did the watch slow down or stop altogether for a while? I propose that the observing mind (or ‘the observer,’ for short), the entity that correlates and makes sense of the information submitted to it by the brain, was absent. It went off to the beach and left the ‘hardware’ at home, unattended. The ‘hardware,’ by which I mean the sensory organs and the brain, are processing and producing the information, but the entity that correlates and makes sense of the information, has left the body for a while…

From the moment the watch stopped to the moment it started moving again, the ‘observer’ was ‘out of the body.’ In cases in which the watch has only slowed down, the ‘observer’ was ‘split.’ He was partially on the beach and partially in the body, handling information at a reduced rate.”

What or who is the “observer”?

The entity that correlates and makes sense of the information submitted to it by the brain and physical senses – but is NOT that brain or physical body because it can leave or at least disengage from the body such that it stops making sense of the information being given it by the body.

The spirit that animates the body – that entity which leaves the body at death but continues to exist (and has always existed, even before taking possession of the body).

What is the relationship between the observer and the brain?

The brain is a primary tool that the observer uses to sustain and control the body, which in turn is the vehicle within which the observer interacts with the physical world. 

The brain is not the observer, although the “concrete reality” of the physical world (which paradoxically is not concrete at all, at the subatomic level) sometimes results in the observer forgetting who they are and falsely melding their identity with the brain and the body.

 

READ StWP page 63

“An alert reader has probably noticed by now an interesting property of this ‘observer’: He can flit about to distant places in fractions of a second. He may leave his physical body and be off to a beach thousands of miles away and be back all within one or two seconds.  In the previous chapter we discussed the behavior of oscillators and pendulums. Let’s recall what happens when a pendulum comes to one of its extreme positions. We found that between the points at which the pendulum has to come to a full stop and the point at which it started on its return trip, there is an area in which causal relationships between time and space break down, in which its position “smears out” and infinite or nearly infinite velocities are encountered because of the uncertainty principle operating on the quantum scale of things. We know that we cannot accelerate physical objects to the velocity of light, not to speak of infinite velocities. But under the conditions we are discussing, physical matter loses its definiteness, it becomes less “solid” thus making it easier for the observer to separate from it. Our bodies, as we know from Chapter 1, behave in pendulum-like fashion.”

It is possible that the “observer,” having no physical mass, could really be flitting back and forth at very high velocities with each up and down oscillation or movement of the subatomic elements of the body?

Yes; we know that a spirit can enter a body and vacate it again; this happens at birth and death; it also can happen if a person is possessed by dark entities; if spirits can enter and exit bodies in these instances, then it’s possible that a spirit “observer” (one who has a “right” to possession of a body) could also be separating from it for split seconds of time and returning.

From a quantum physics perspective, this is definitely possible, as Bentov has theorized.

How does the observer separate from the body? 

The subatomic elements of the human body lose their place in physical space 14 times per second (they reach the end of their respective oscillations) – when this happens, the physical elements of the human body become less solid and thus, easier to separate from it.

The fact that there are seven billion billion billion atoms in the average human body and each of these are composed of vibrating subatomic particles (which are likely not entrained together in a single oscillating rhythm), in any given moment, there are always subatomic particles in the body which have reached the end of their oscillation and have “flashed off” – so we are constantly in a state in which the spirit observer could separate from the body and likely is.  

Is the “observer” which can “flit” to different locations a single entity or is there an “observer” in every subatomic element of a human body?

This introduces a very interesting idea which Bentov explores later in the book, but which I’m not planning on discussing here – at least not at this time, but I’ll talk about it very broadly here. 

If consciousness exits in every subatomic particle of the universe, one can think about how those groups of atoms are bundled and the nature of consciousness at each level of bundling.  For example, subatomic particles with consciousness are bundled into atoms, which collectively have a greater consciousness than the individual particles.  Atoms are bundled into molecules, and the same is true.  This continues as elements are bundled into larger and larger discrete things – to make up a body or a rock or even the planet itself (or beyond).  So, if each of these collections of consciousness have subatomic particles which flash off, it is the consciousness of a finger that is leaving the body or some consciousness that is controlling or animating that finger?  Bentov talks about it bring the “observer” that is using the physical body to have a physical experience within, and I think this is the correct way to think about it – but the idea of consciousness at all of these other various levels (and within every element of the universe) is an interesting idea.  It gives more understanding to Christ’s comment to the pharisees after His triumphal entry into Jerusalem at the beginning of Passover week, that if the people hadn’t shouted their praise of Him and recognition of His role as the Messiah, that the very rocks would have done so – because of the consciousness within them and their acknowledgement of Christ as their creator and Lord.  It also makes you wonder about the “spirit” or consciousness of a rock, or a tree, or a hill (a collection of rocks), or a forest (a collection of trees) or the planet earth in its entirety (Mother Earth?).  There may be more to CS Lewis’ dryads or Tolkien’s naiad (Goldberry, the River daughter) than we thought!

 

READ StWP page 71

“Here the attentive reader has probably noticed that in our subjective time we have unceremoniously slipped through the velocity of light barrier. This is something that no physical object can do; but our ‘observer,’ being a nonphysical entity, will have no problems doing this. However, the ‘observer’ is still tenuously linked to the physical body, and the physical senses still relay messages to him in an undistorted form. He still operates, although loosely, against a background of physical spacetime.”

If the observer within each of us is a non-physical entity, what is it?

It is our spirit; the entity of light which animates our body; it is the true “us” which is having an physical experience by “possessing” a physical avatar or body within which it can interact with the rest of this physical creation.

When the observer permanently leaves the physical body, that body dies, despite the consciousness inherent in the subatomic particles which make up that physical body.

If the non-physical observer can travel faster than the speed of light, where could they go?

Anywhere within the universe.

Anywhere within time.

And if one was to connect with “infinity” or the “absolute” (the fullness of all truth) then one might be able to travel outside of time and this dimension, entirely. 

What does it mean that the observer is still tenuously linked to the physical body and what does this imply about the physical body?

The physical body was “given” to the observer as an avatar within which to experience this physical reality.

Although physical bodies can become possessed by other entities than the designated observer, we know from the fact that a single observer usually retains control over a given avatar/body through the course of an 80 year life span, that there is some right to that body given to that observer; in other words, we are given a body by the creator of all things (from whom all light and matter emanates) and have the right to the control of that body unless we relinquish control to another. 

So, despite the fact that the “loosening” of the connection between the observer and the body occurs many times a second, that observer returns to that specific body until they are permanently severed from it. 

Physical bodies are gifts from God to us to use as we choose (although not without consequence) to enable us to have a mortal, telestial experience. 

Since the physical body is composed of billions upon billions of subatomic particles, each with their own consciousness, a physical body has its own collective consciousness, separate from that of the observer.  It is a “natural man” with a lower level and quality of consciousness than the “higher” self or observer, but it is definitely conscious.  Unless the body and the observer spirit are aligned, they will be at war with each other for control of the avatar. 

What does it imply about the observer?

The observer is separate from the physical body, which is created from vibrating subatomic particles emanating from the Absolute – each of which have consciousness and are actually part of God.

The observers who animate these physical bodies are made up of a different level or type of consciousness than the subatomic particles making up the body (or the universe) – they are actually co-existent with God or the Absolute and are more akin to Him/Them than to the subatomic units of consciousness making up this physical dimension. 

 

READ StWP page 71

“It is time now for us to start putting together the assumed bizarre behavior of the pendulum or oscillator discussed in Chapter 3. When the distances per unit time at the extreme point, through which the pendulum is moving, become extremely small, almost infinite or infinite speeds are encountered. But infinite speeds of what? The answer seems to be: infinite speed of a nonphysical entity, the ‘observer,’ while the physical body loses its definiteness in space. (We cannot know its position.) The ‘observer’ retains its integrity as an information-processing unit in spite of its rapid expansion into space, while all we can say about the physical body is that it ‘blinks’ off and on twice per each oscillation, at the points of rest. So, as our bodies oscillate up and down about seven times a second, the ‘observer’ expands at the end of each movement for an extremely short period of objective time, then contracts, unaware of the event… This would happen about fourteen times a second since we have two points of rest per cycle. Normally, we retain no memory of the event. However, the ‘observer’ can cover long distances within this very short period of time and observe many things. No wonder then, that he can be off to a distant beach and be back in a few seconds.”

What does the fact that the non-physical observer retains its integrity as an information-processing unit mean and imply?

The observer is not the brain – it processes information separately from the brain. 

Our observer/spirit has a much greater capacity for intelligence (taking in, processing, recalling and using information) than our physical brains can process; our brains cannot comprehend the entire universe at the subatomic level throughout all time but our observer/spirit can.

If the observer retains its ability to process information and has the capability of processing infinite amounts of information, retaining some of that information for use on this physical earth should be a top priority for each of us.

What sorts of things could the observer see when its consciousness expands?

Almost anything – on this planet or anywhere in the universe and across all time; and if one’s observer connected to the Absolute, they could see all of this at once, as God does – although if they were “trained” or advanced enough to be able to expereince this AND recall it again in the physical body, it likely would mean that the physical body was advanced enough and glorious enough to have no need to continue a mortal probation here in this telestial sphere. 

This is could be the scientific answer behind clairvoyance or prophesy and a host of other “supernatural” occurrences or “spiritual gifts.”

 

Sunday, March 3, 2024

Bentov: The Observer QUESTIONS

READ Stalking the Wild Pendulum (StWP) pages 60, 62-63

“When a person has been trained by biofeedback to produce theta waves or can put himself into a deep meditative state and at the same time is able to watch the second hand of a clock in front of him, he will be surprised to find that the second hand has come to a stop. It’s a rather startling experience, and the natural reaction to it is: ‘This is impossible!’ At that moment, the second hand will accelerate and resume its normal rate. However, if we can get over this reaction and watch with half-open eyes the face of the clock, while all the time being in a deep meditative state, then we can keep the second hand from moving for as long as we wish…

Why, then, did the watch slow down or stop altogether for a while? I propose that the observing mind (or ‘the observer,’ for short), the entity that correlates and makes sense of the information submitted to it by the brain, was absent. It went off to the beach and left the ‘hardware’ at home, unattended. The ‘hardware,’ by which I mean the sensory organs and the brain, are processing and producing the information, but the entity that correlates and makes sense of the information, has left the body for a while…

From the moment the watch stopped to the moment it started moving again, the ‘observer’ was ‘out of the body.’ In cases in which the watch has only slowed down, the ‘observer’ was ‘split.’ He was partially on the beach and partially in the body, handling information at a reduced rate.”

What or who is the “observer”?

What is the relationship between the observer and the brain?

 

READ StWP page 63

“An alert reader has probably noticed by now an interesting property of this ‘observer’: He can flit about to distant places in fractions of a second. He may leave his physical body and be off to a beach thousands of miles away and be back all within one or two seconds.  In the previous chapter we discussed the behavior of oscillators and pendulums. Let’s recall what happens when a pendulum comes to one of its extreme positions. We found that between the points at which the pendulum has to come to a full stop and the point at which it started on its return trip, there is an area in which causal relationships between time and space break down, in which its position “smears out” and infinite or nearly infinite velocities are encountered because of the uncertainty principle operating on the quantum scale of things. We know that we cannot accelerate physical objects to the velocity of light, not to speak of infinite velocities. But under the conditions we are discussing, physical matter loses its definiteness, it becomes less “solid” thus making it easier for the observer to separate from it. Our bodies, as we know from Chapter 1, behave in pendulum-like fashion.”

It is possible that the “observer,” having no physical mass, could really be flitting back and forth at very high velocities with each up and down oscillation or movement of the subatomic elements of the body?

How does the observer separate from the body? 

Is the “observer” which can “flit” to different locations a single entity or is there an “observer” in every subatomic element of a human body?

 

READ StWP page 71

“Here the attentive reader has probably noticed that in our subjective time we have unceremoniously slipped through the velocity of light barrier. This is something that no physical object can do; but our ‘observer,’ being a nonphysical entity, will have no problems doing this. However, the ‘observer’ is still tenuously linked to the physical body, and the physical senses still relay messages to him in an undistorted form. He still operates, although loosely, against a background of physical spacetime.”

If the observer within each of us is a non-physical entity, what is it?

If the non-physical observer can travel faster than the speed of light, where could they go?

What does it mean that the observer is still tenuously linked to the physical body and what does this imply about the physical body?

What does it imply about the observer?

 

READ StWP page 71

“It is time now for us to start putting together the assumed bizarre behavior of the pendulum or oscillator discussed in Chapter 3. When the distances per unit time at the extreme point, through which the pendulum is moving, become extremely small, almost infinite or infinite speeds are encountered. But infinite speeds of what? The answer seems to be: infinite speed of a nonphysical entity, the ‘observer,’ while the physical body loses its definiteness in space. (We cannot know its position.) The ‘observer’ retains its integrity as an information-processing unit in spite of its rapid expansion into space, while all we can say about the physical body is that it ‘blinks’ off and on twice per each oscillation, at the points of rest. So, as our bodies oscillate up and down about seven times a second, the ‘observer’ expands at the end of each movement for an extremely short period of objective time, then contracts, unaware of the event… This would happen about fourteen times a second since we have two points of rest per cycle. Normally, we retain no memory of the event. However, the ‘observer’ can cover long distances within this very short period of time and observe many things. No wonder then, that he can be off to a distant beach and be back in a few seconds.”

What does the fact that the non-physical observer retains its integrity as an information-processing unit mean and imply?

What sorts of things could the observer see when its consciousness expands?

 

Sunday, February 25, 2024

Bentov: Objective and Subjective Time

READ Stalking the Wild Pendulum (StWP) page 59

“From grandfather clocks to wrist watches, all these clocks are supposed to chop up for us the 24 hours of the day more or less reliably into hours, minutes, and seconds. Let’s call this kind of time ‘objective’ since everybody’s watches are supposed to cut time into slices of even thickness. However, we know from personal experience that time does not ‘feel’ as passing evenly under different circumstances. When pursuing some interesting activity, time ‘flies’; while waiting in the dentist’s office, it ‘drags.’…

Having thus ‘firmly’ established the relativity of time, let us see, then, how this subjective time can be put to some use. We know from sleep studies that during dreaming periods time dilation occurs. In other words, if, for example, a person is awakened after a very brief period of active dreaming and is asked to describe what happened in his dream, usually a long story will come out, which would have taken a much longer period of objective time to occur. We also know that under hypnosis time dilation can take place and can easily be noticed.”

What is “objective time”?

Objective time is elapsed time as it’s measured on a watch – with 60 seconds in a minute and 60 minutes to an hour, etc.

However, as straight forward as “objective” time seems to sound, objective time is still unique to the one experiencing it; the general theory of relativity states that the amount of gravity being experienced by one person relative to the amount of gravity existing in any other place in the universe will change the amount of elapsed time each person is experiencing because the lower the gravitational potential (the closer the clock is to the source of gravitation), the slower time passes – 1 hour to one person could actually be a much longer period of actual, objective time to someone else.  The film “Interstellar” illustrates this principle well. 

What is “subjective time” and is it real?

The subjective feeling of duration; how time is perceived by the individual.

There is no objective time without a subjective interpretation of it; we feel the passage of time and estimate its duration.

But our experience tells us that if the brain is engaged in an activity or thought process, time can be perceived to be moving much more quickly than when we are bored – during which we more intensely feel our bodily and emotional selves.

Subjective time is very real, in that we only experience objective time through the lens of subjectivity – so in one way of thinking about it, there is no objective time without a subjective interpretation of it. 

What is “time dilation” and “time perception”?

Time dilation is the difference in elapsed time between two clocks.

Objective time dilation can result from either the general theory of relativity or the special theory of relativity; time dilation resulting from the general theory occurs when the gravitational pull differs between two observers – the heavier the gravitational pull, the slower the elapsed time relative to another person in an area with less gravitation.  In the special theory of relativity, time dilation occurs if two objects are traveling at different relative speeds – the Doppler effect is an example of this.

Another type of time dilation, called time perception, is the “warping” of objective time into subjective experience; this occurs during engaging activities, under the influence of mind-altering drugs, when hypnotized or during dream states.

Time dilation illustrates the tenuous nature of an element of our physical state: time – which we usually consider as extremely stable and objectively measured.  

Why is time dilation an important topic to consider?

If time is actually subjective, it can be manipulated, enabling us to experience (and learn) more than we might otherwise.

If God exists outside of time and all things are before His face (He sees all events in time at once instead of linearly), we have an opportunity to experience time the same way if we can connect with God such that we perceive the elements of the universe in the way that He/They do; but this is a capability that must be built within us – otherwise we will not be able to articulate or even comprehend what we are seeing and experiencing; that “upskilling” involves tapping into God’s mind (the Holy Spirit) and raising or quickening our frequencies such that we can subjectively elongate our experience with time as we’re engaging with God. 

Sunday, February 18, 2024

Bentov: Objective and Subjective Time QUESTIONS

READ Stalking the Wild Pendulum (StWP) page 59

“From grandfather clocks to wrist watches, all these clocks are supposed to chop up for us the 24 hours of the day more or less reliably into hours, minutes, and seconds. Let’s call this kind of time ‘objective’ since everybody’s watches are supposed to cut time into slices of even thickness. However, we know from personal experience that time does not ‘feel’ as passing evenly under different circumstances. When pursuing some interesting activity, time ‘flies’; while waiting in the dentist’s office, it ‘drags.’…

Having thus ‘firmly’ established the relativity of time, let us see, then, how this subjective time can be put to some use. We know from sleep studies that during dreaming periods time dilation occurs. In other words, if, for example, a person is awakened after a very brief period of active dreaming and is asked to describe what happened in his dream, usually a long story will come out, which would have taken a much longer period of objective time to occur. We also know that under hypnosis time dilation can take place and can easily be noticed.”

What is “objective time”?

What is “subjective time” and is it real?

What is “time dilation” and “time perception”?

Why is time dilation an important topic to consider?

Sunday, February 11, 2024

Bentov: The Nature of Reality

Vibratory States

READ Stalking the Wild Pendulum (StWP) pages 45-46

“You will remember from the previous chapter that our physical bodies and all matter is made up of interacting electromagnetic fields vibrating at tremendous frequencies. At room temperature an atom will vibrate at a rate of 1015 Hz. (That means 1 followed by fifteen zeros.) The nucleus of an atom will vibrate at about 1022 Hz. These are almost inconceivably fast rates. In the process of inventing live systems, Nature had to come up with sensory organs that will allow these living things to interact with their environment. It had to use available building blocks that, as we have seen, are very jittery. In order to communicate with a slow mind, Nature has largely given up the tremendous information handling capacity that is inherent in matter itself…

Well, after a lot of experimentation, Nature came up with a reasonable solution. It has bound atoms into molecules, which have much lower vibratory rates because of their much larger mass. Out of these molecules — which still vibrate at Gigahertz (109 Hz.) rates — it has made live cells, which are the building blocks of all organisms. Then came the specialized nerve cells, or neurons. A rudimentary nervous system resulted that translated sensory input into a slow Morse code fashion of action and rest. It was a process of gradually stepping down the high vibratory rates of the atoms, to the “reasonable” vibratory rates of the molecules, to the “acceptable” frequency response of the cells (which is in the 103 Hz. range) for an assembled live cell. In other words, a cell will be able to respond to stimuli at that rate.”

Why is there a need to “step down” the speed of vibrations in this creation?

The human mind and the sensory organs are too slow to process information at the speed of an atom (much less a sub-atomic element); in this physical world, we cannot respond quickly enough to frequencies that are as fast as those of the atom.

In a similar way to how electrical systems operate – high voltages can be transmitted across special networks but to be used to run a household appliance, they must be run through a transformer to reduce the voltage to a usable level. 

This begs the question of what vibratory rates are like in other dimensions that are not hamstrung by the nature of our state of being on this earth.

How does Nature “transform” or “step down” vibratory rates?

It combines atoms into larger entities (molecules and then cells and then organs, etc) – it is the size of the combined entity that helps to determine the vibratory speed of the whole.  The larger the mass of the entity, the lower the vibratory rate of the combined elements. 

This goes back to the idea of being “in phase” – the slower “beat frequencies” which result from adding up the fast frequencies of all of the component parts, where the wave “hills” and “valleys” coincide or oppose with each other – either adding amplitude or canceling each other out – which ends up in a longer, higher/deeper wave which is by definition, slower.

 

READ StWP pages 46-47

“Physiological studies show that when a sensory nerve cell is not stimulated, the output of that cell will consist of sparse and unevenly spaced electrical pulses or spikes, as they are called. However, if we apply pressure or any other stimulus to that nerve cell, its output will become very lively. With each stimulus the cell will fire off salvos of closely spaced spikes. Their rate per unit time will depend on the strength of the stimulus.  Our whole sensory system operates this way, whether it is optical input coming through the eyes, acoustical through the ears, or tactile through the skin — and the end result is a series of spikes conducted to the appropriate area in the brain. In short, our senses translate the surrounding reality to us into a Morse code language of action and rest. Action comes when the neuron fires its spike, and rest comes as the cell is regenerating and readying itself for the next firing. Out of this action-and-rest code our brain constructs for us, for example, the form of a rose, its texture, its color and smell.”

What does this “Morse code” of electrical pulses from our senses reveal to us?

It is our subjective reality.

It is how our nervous system translates what it encounters into “reality” in the brain.

What other languages or applications, beside Morse code, use an “on” or “off” system to communicate sophisticated ideas?

Computer coding languages are also binary (0 or 1) and can be used to create amazingly complex applications.

 

READ StWP pages 49 and 50

“Let us visualize an atom made up of a nucleus and electron shells. We find the electrons orbiting rapidly about the nucleus while at the same time rotating about their own axes. If we look now at an aggregate of atoms in a crystal, we find that they vibrate about their fixed position in the lattice of this crystal. Thus, the microlevel of Nature is represented by two kinds of motion: a circular spinlike motion and a reciprocating motion due to vibration, each about a relatively fixed point…

Throughout the animal kingdom, from plankton to elephant to humans, we find that reciprocating motion prevails. There is almost no spin in the living structures. We are confined to a pendulumlike or, if you wish, oscillating behavior. As we go up the hierarchy of sizes and to heavenly bodies, orbiting and spin reappear. We know that all planets rotate about their axes while at the same time they orbit around their respective stars. We know that galaxies rotate, as do galactic clusters, and so on. In short, we find that one of the unique characteristics of live creatures is their reciprocating motion.”

Why might live creatures only display elements of reciprocating motion and not spin?

At the subatomic level, even live creatures display elements of spin.

But at the entity level, the ability to move and interact without being constrained to an orbit is critical to the use of agency – a gift from a Creator who knows that our lives in this dimension are to give us an interactive experience with real consequences as a result.

That is not to say that “live creatures” as we traditionally define them are the only elements that are “conscious” – as Christ hinted at after His Triumphal entry into Jerusalem saying: “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” (see Luke 19:40) – the “stones” are not traditionally “living” as we define the word but still have the ability to choose to “cry out” in some way.

Also, it is interesting that certain Sufi active meditation practices incorporate spinning/dancing as a way to deepen the level of the meditative state. 

 

READ StWP pages 50-53, 54

Speaking about a grandfather clock: “Let us analyze the motion of the pendulum. As it approaches its point of rest, it slows down more and more; eventually, it stops and starts moving in the opposite direction. The laws of classical mechanics tell us that at the point of rest the acceleration of the body is maximum; its potential energy is maximum; its velocity is zero; and the time required for changing the velocity of the pendulum is zero. If we analyze the events taking place at the zero point from the point of view of quantum mechanics, we get a different picture. Let us view the pendulum bob as a mathematical point, that is, a point that is too small to be measured (a dimensionless point) and follow its progress as it slows down. Clearly, the point will cover a smaller and smaller distance per unit time as it approaches its turning point. But quantum mechanics tell us that when distances go below Planck’s distance, which is 10'33 cm., we enter, in effect, a new world. The causal relationship between events breaks down; movements become jerky rather than smooth. Time and space may become ‘grainy’ or ‘chunky.’ Perhaps a piece of space can be traversed by a particle of matter in any direction without necessarily being synchronized with a piece of time. In short, a pair of events would occur in either time or space, the pair not being connected causally but by a random fluctuation. Suppose, indeed, that a material point can traverse space without necessarily requiring any chunk of time for the process. Should this happen, then a chunk of space has been spanned without any time elapsing. If we divide that tiny piece of distance to zero time, we find that the event occurred at infinite velocity. In other words, when we move through space without using up time, no matter over how short a distance, that event occurs at infinite velocity! 

We have heard about Heisenberg’s principle of uncertainty. This principle states that in trying to measure two parameters of a particle — for instance, its momentum and its position — we find that the more accurately we can measure its momentum, the less we can know about its position, and vice versa. (Momentum simply means: mass x velocity.) If we want to measure either the momentum or the position of a particle, we can measure precisely only one of these quantities. If we know the exact momentum of a particle, then its position is completely indefinite or unknowable, and vice versa. This is an example of those strange ways in which particles of atomic size or smaller behave. We know that at rest, when the pendulum is changing direction, its velocity is zero. But the momentum, at low speeds at least, is equal to velocity multiplied by mass. However, if we multiply any quantity by a zero, we get zero. Thus, we have now established that the momentum of the pendulum at that point is zero, that is, we know its value very precisely: It’s zero. But we have said before that if we know precisely the momentum of a particle, then its position becomes diffuse and completely indefinite. That is, the pendulum can be just about any place, even at the end of the universe. Yes, but it has very little time to get there because this whole event occurs in zero time. So there we go again. The pendulum has to disappear in all directions at infinite velocity. It will have to expand very rapidly into space, like a balloon, and then collapse just as rapidly. Having done this, it comes back, picks up speed, and goes about its usual good-natured business as if nothing had happened. None of us would suspect the leisurely pendulum of doing such a wild thing when no one is looking! But then again, one cannot rely on appearances...

We have so far been using the pendulum as an example. But a pendulum represents any system that oscillates or moves back and forth, whether such an oscillator pulsates concentrically, goes around in orbits, or turns about itself. From the standpoint of one observer, there are always two points at which either of these systems appears to be at rest. But to be completely at rest — that is, being at the point at which movement in one direction is changing sign or reversing direction — that point of rest implies somehow a disappearance of matter and a movement at infinite or almost infinite velocities. Infinite speed and total rest seem some¬ how complementary.”

Since all of the universe, including our bodies, is created of subatomic particles that demonstrate this oscillating behavior, what is implied about the physical nature of this world?

This world is not nearly as stable and concrete as we think it is.

All subatomic particles of which we and the entire universe are created continue to “flash” out of the place in the physical world where they are supposed to be and disappear, only to return again in a fraction of a second.

Because time and space become “grainy” when particles get to the “resting” part of their oscillating journey, and particles can “jump” across space without using any time, it opens up the possibility of particles moving way beyond the speed of light – at infinite velocity. 

How might infinite speed and total rest occur at the same moment?

Given Heisenberg’s principle of uncertainty, the “rest” or lack/end of movement stage in a reciprocal journey enables the particle to travel or “be” anywhere else in the universe – which we can think about as requiring infinite speed to accomplish.

It is possible that entering the “rest of the Lord” includes seeing creation as He does – being omnipresent – which might be seen to require “infinite speed” to enable.  Another way of thinking about this is suggest that God is outside of time altogether – and that total rest enables us to also “flash” out of time. 

 

Objective and Subjective Reality

READ StWP pages 54-56

“In Chapter 2 we looked through a super microscope and discovered that our objective reality is made up of void, vacuum which is filled by pulsating, oscillating electromagnetic fields that in turn move between two points of rest. Each of the points of rest is reached through a period of motion. In the beginning of this chapter we tried to analyze the nature of our subjective reality. We know that it consists of the sum total of impressions conveyed to us by our senses. Then we found that our nervous systems translate the objective reality for us in a Morse code of action or motion and rest, which are oscillating electrical states of the nervous system. We can thus extract a common denominator of our objective and subjective realities. We shall find that both realities become ‘real’ only due to the change or motion occurring between the two states of rest. In other words, if there is no change, we have a state of perpetual rest, and a state of perpetual rest means no perceptible reality. It may be useful for us to ponder the possibility that “tangible reality” exists for us only as long as there is movement; and when the movement stops, matter and solid reality become diffuse and disappear.

At this point, I can no longer resist the temptation to quote from a book by Alexandra David-Neel and Luma Yongden entitled The Secret Oral Teachings In Tibetan Buddhist Sects: ‘The tangible world is movement, say the Masters, not a collection of moving objects, but movement itself. There are no objects in movements, it is the movement which constitutes the objects which appear to us: they are nothing but movement. This movement is a continued and infinitely rapid succession of flashes of energy (in Tibetan “tsal” or “shoug”). All objects perceptible to our senses, all phenomena of whatever kind and whatever aspect they may assume, are constituted by a rapid succession of instantaneous events. There are two theories and both consider the world as movement. One states that the course of this movement (which creates phenomena) is continuous, as the flow of a quiet river seems to us. The other declares that the movement is intermittent and advances by separate flashes of energy which follow each other at such small intervals that these intervals are almost non-existent.’”

What does it mean that in a state of perpetual rest there is no perceptible reality?

In a state of rest, a subatomic particle demonstrates “spooky” behavior as it seems to devolve back into a “wave” state and loses its physical place in time and space.

If all subatomic elements resided in a state of perpetual rest, none of them would exist as physical particles that we can interact with in this dimension, so to us, there would be no perceptible reality – just wave probabilities. 

But when things remain in oscillating motion (a state of movement), they demonstrate the behavior of a physical particle and can be perceived as “real” to us – thus the truth of the statement: “it is the movement which constitutes the objects which appear to us”.

Does “no perceptible reality” mean to actual reality or existence?

Perceptible reality is contextual.

To the physical being that is made up of a large collection of oscillating subatomic particles, perceptible reality requires a universe made up of similarly vibrating particles to interact with. 

But if an entity was made up of something other than oscillating subatomic particles (and thus existed outside of time as we understand it) OR the world they existed within operated at a speed of oscillation so high that it seemed to be at rest (the waves being so fast that the difference between the peaks and valleys was so minute as to seem to be a straight line), then their reality would still be perceptible to them (but not to us) and thus still be an actual reality.

What are the implications from the two theories offered in The Secret Oral Teachings In Tibetan Buddhist Sects?

Continuous: The flow of movement is always on – it never stops because if it did, it would cease to exist in the physical world.  This idea supports a divide or veil between a possible “physical” world which exists in time and a separate “non-physical” world which exits outside of time. 

Separate: The flow of movement does stop because it consists of oscillating motion which must be definition have start and stopping points, and when it stops it may cease to exist in the physical world as we understand it or at least it stops existing as a particle in a particular place and time; but this separate reality seems continuous to us because our senses are too slow to pick up on the nature of the separate oscillations – like how a film appears to be a continuous record of movement rather than a series of separate photographs being displayed before our eyes and brain so quickly that we can’t perceive of them as being separate.  But this theory begs the question: what happens to us and the universe we exist in when we “blink” off – what happens to matter when it periodically disappears during the moment of “rest” between the separate flashes of movement?    

Sunday, February 4, 2024

Bentov: The Nature of Reality QUESTIONS

Vibratory States

READ Stalking the Wild Pendulum (StWP) pages 45-46

“You will remember from the previous chapter that our physical bodies and all matter is made up of interacting electromagnetic fields vibrating at tremendous frequencies. At room temperature an atom will vibrate at a rate of 1015 Hz. (That means 1 followed by fifteen zeros.) The nucleus of an atom will vibrate at about 1022 Hz. These are almost inconceivably fast rates. In the process of inventing live systems, Nature had to come up with sensory organs that will allow these living things to interact with their environment. It had to use available building blocks that, as we have seen, are very jittery. In order to communicate with a slow mind, Nature has largely given up the tremendous information handling capacity that is inherent in matter itself…

Well, after a lot of experimentation, Nature came up with a reasonable solution. It has bound atoms into molecules, which have much lower vibratory rates because of their much larger mass. Out of these molecules — which still vibrate at Gigahertz (109 Hz.) rates — it has made live cells, which are the building blocks of all organisms. Then came the specialized nerve cells, or neurons. A rudimentary nervous system resulted that translated sensory input into a slow Morse code fashion of action and rest. It was a process of gradually stepping down the high vibratory rates of the atoms, to the “reasonable” vibratory rates of the molecules, to the “acceptable” frequency response of the cells (which is in the 103 Hz. range) for an assembled live cell. In other words, a cell will be able to respond to stimuli at that rate.”

Why is there a need to “step down” the speed of vibrations in this creation?

How does Nature “transform” or “step down” vibratory rates?

 

READ StWP pages 46-47

“Physiological studies show that when a sensory nerve cell is not stimulated, the output of that cell will consist of sparse and unevenly spaced electrical pulses or spikes, as they are called. However, if we apply pressure or any other stimulus to that nerve cell, its output will become very lively. With each stimulus the cell will fire off salvos of closely spaced spikes. Their rate per unit time will depend on the strength of the stimulus.  Our whole sensory system operates this way, whether it is optical input coming through the eyes, acoustical through the ears, or tactile through the skin — and the end result is a series of spikes conducted to the appropriate area in the brain. In short, our senses translate the surrounding reality to us into a Morse code language of action and rest. Action comes when the neuron fires its spike, and rest comes as the cell is regenerating and readying itself for the next firing. Out of this action-and-rest code our brain constructs for us, for example, the form of a rose, its texture, its color and smell.”

What does this “Morse code” of electrical pulses from our senses reveal to us?

What other languages or applications, beside Morse code, use an “on” or “off” system to communicate sophisticated ideas?

 

READ StWP pages 49 and 50

“Let us visualize an atom made up of a nucleus and electron shells. We find the electrons orbiting rapidly about the nucleus while at the same time rotating about their own axes. If we look now at an aggregate of atoms in a crystal, we find that they vibrate about their fixed position in the lattice of this crystal. Thus, the microlevel of Nature is represented by two kinds of motion: a circular spinlike motion and a reciprocating motion due to vibration, each about a relatively fixed point…

Throughout the animal kingdom, from plankton to elephant to humans, we find that reciprocating motion prevails. There is almost no spin in the living structures. We are confined to a pendulumlike or, if you wish, oscillating behavior. As we go up the hierarchy of sizes and to heavenly bodies, orbiting and spin reappear. We know that all planets rotate about their axes while at the same time they orbit around their respective stars. We know that galaxies rotate, as do galactic clusters, and so on. In short, we find that one of the unique characteristics of live creatures is their reciprocating motion.”

Why might live creatures only display elements of reciprocating motion and not spin?

 

READ StWP pages 50-53, 54

Speaking about a grandfather clock: “Let us analyze the motion of the pendulum. As it approaches its point of rest, it slows down more and more; eventually, it stops and starts moving in the opposite direction. The laws of classical mechanics tell us that at the point of rest the acceleration of the body is maximum; its potential energy is maximum; its velocity is zero; and the time required for changing the velocity of the pendulum is zero. If we analyze the events taking place at the zero point from the point of view of quantum mechanics, we get a different picture. Let us view the pendulum bob as a mathematical point, that is, a point that is too small to be measured (a dimensionless point) and follow its progress as it slows down. Clearly, the point will cover a smaller and smaller distance per unit time as it approaches its turning point. But quantum mechanics tell us that when distances go below Planck’s distance, which is 10'33 cm., we enter, in effect, a new world. The causal relationship between events breaks down; movements become jerky rather than smooth. Time and space may become ‘grainy’ or ‘chunky.’ Perhaps a piece of space can be traversed by a particle of matter in any direction without necessarily being synchronized with a piece of time. In short, a pair of events would occur in either time or space, the pair not being connected causally but by a random fluctuation. Suppose, indeed, that a material point can traverse space without necessarily requiring any chunk of time for the process. Should this happen, then a chunk of space has been spanned without any time elapsing. If we divide that tiny piece of distance to zero time, we find that the event occurred at infinite velocity. In other words, when we move through space without using up time, no matter over how short a distance, that event occurs at infinite velocity! 

We have heard about Heisenberg’s principle of uncertainty. This principle states that in trying to measure two parameters of a particle — for instance, its momentum and its position — we find that the more accurately we can measure its momentum, the less we can know about its position, and vice versa. (Momentum simply means: mass x velocity.) If we want to measure either the momentum or the position of a particle, we can measure precisely only one of these quantities. If we know the exact momentum of a particle, then its position is completely indefinite or unknowable, and vice versa. This is an example of those strange ways in which particles of atomic size or smaller behave. We know that at rest, when the pendulum is changing direction, its velocity is zero. But the momentum, at low speeds at least, is equal to velocity multiplied by mass. However, if we multiply any quantity by a zero, we get zero. Thus, we have now established that the momentum of the pendulum at that point is zero, that is, we know its value very precisely: It’s zero. But we have said before that if we know precisely the momentum of a particle, then its position becomes diffuse and completely indefinite. That is, the pendulum can be just about any place, even at the end of the universe. Yes, but it has very little time to get there because this whole event occurs in zero time. So there we go again. The pendulum has to disappear in all directions at infinite velocity. It will have to expand very rapidly into space, like a balloon, and then collapse just as rapidly. Having done this, it comes back, picks up speed, and goes about its usual good-natured business as if nothing had happened. None of us would suspect the leisurely pendulum of doing such a wild thing when no one is looking! But then again, one cannot rely on appearances...

We have so far been using the pendulum as an example. But a pendulum represents any system that oscillates or moves back and forth, whether such an oscillator pulsates concentrically, goes around in orbits, or turns about itself. From the standpoint of one observer, there are always two points at which either of these systems appears to be at rest. But to be completely at rest — that is, being at the point at which movement in one direction is changing sign or reversing direction — that point of rest implies somehow a disappearance of matter and a movement at infinite or almost infinite velocities. Infinite speed and total rest seem some¬ how complementary.”

Since all of the universe, including our bodies, is created of subatomic particles that demonstrate this oscillating behavior, what is implied about the physical nature of this world?

How might infinite speed and total rest occur at the same moment?

 

Objective and Subjective Reality

READ StWP pages 54-56

“In Chapter 2 we looked through a super microscope and discovered that our objective reality is made up of void, vacuum which is filled by pulsating, oscillating electromagnetic fields that in turn move between two points of rest. Each of the points of rest is reached through a period of motion. In the beginning of this chapter we tried to analyze the nature of our subjective reality. We know that it consists of the sum total of impressions conveyed to us by our senses. Then we found that our nervous systems translate the objective reality for us in a Morse code of action or motion and rest, which are oscillating electrical states of the nervous system. We can thus extract a common denominator of our objective and subjective realities. We shall find that both realities become ‘real’ only due to the change or motion occurring between the two states of rest. In other words, if there is no change, we have a state of perpetual rest, and a state of perpetual rest means no perceptible reality. It may be useful for us to ponder the possibility that “tangible reality” exists for us only as long as there is movement; and when the movement stops, matter and solid reality become diffuse and disappear.

At this point, I can no longer resist the temptation to quote from a book by Alexandra David-Neel and Luma Yongden entitled The Secret Oral Teachings In Tibetan Buddhist Sects: ‘The tangible world is movement, say the Masters, not a collection of moving objects, but movement itself. There are no objects in movements, it is the movement which constitutes the objects which appear to us: they are nothing but movement. This movement is a continued and infinitely rapid succession of flashes of energy (in Tibetan “tsal” or “shoug”). All objects perceptible to our senses, all phenomena of whatever kind and whatever aspect they may assume, are constituted by a rapid succession of instantaneous events. There are two theories and both consider the world as movement. One states that the course of this movement (which creates phenomena) is continuous, as the flow of a quiet river seems to us. The other declares that the movement is intermittent and advances by separate flashes of energy which follow each other at such small intervals that these intervals are almost non-existent.’”

What does it mean that in a state of perpetual rest there is no perceptible reality?

Does “no perceptible reality” mean to actual reality or existence?

What are the implications from the two theories offered in The Secret Oral Teachings In Tibetan Buddhist Sects?

Sunday, January 28, 2024

Bentov: The Sub-atomic World

What is Matter?

Read Stalking the Wild Pendulum (StWP) pages 35-36

“Let us now magnify a piece of bone. Very soon an orderliness will emerge: highly ordered bone crystals embedded like jewels in webs of long molecular strings. Everything is vibrating. Suppose we now apply an electric field to the bone. As soon as we do that, the crystal changes its length. It shrinks or stretches instantly in response to the field. Some more magnification will give us an even better look at this crystal: we see the atoms weaving back and forth like a field of ripe wheat blown by the wind. They move in unison and in beautiful rhythm. Acoustical energy is flowing through the crystal.  Next, we focus on the atoms. At first, they appear as little shadowy balls vibrating about fixed points in the molecule. As we magnify, we see less and less. The electron shell has somehow dissolved, and we are looking at a vacuum. As we further magnify, we see something tiny moving about. We focus on what we suspect is the nucleus of the atom, located in this vast space within the atom. If we take the diameter of the nucleus of a hydrogen atom to be 1 mm., then the diameter of the electron orbit will be about 10 meters, a ratio of 1 to 10,000, and the intervening space is vacuum. As we zero in and further magnify the vibrating nucleus, it seems to be dissolving. We are looking at some shadowy pulsation; some more magnification, and the nucleus is almost gone. We are sensing the pulsation of some energy; it seems to be a rapidly pulsating field. But where did the bone go? We thought that we were looking at a solid piece of matter! Well, it seems that the real reality — the micro-reality, that which underlies all our solid, good, common-sense reality — is made up, as we have just witnessed, of a vast empty space filled with oscillating fields! Many different kinds of fields, all interacting with each other. The tiniest disturbance in one field carries over into the others. It’s an interlocked web of fields, each pulsating at their own rate but in harmony with the others, their pulsations spreading out farther and farther throughout the cosmos. Whenever a focus of disturbance tends to drive these fields out of their harmonious rhythm, the irregularity will spread and disturb the neighboring fields. As soon as the source of disturbance is removed, orderly rhythm will return to the system. Conversely, when a strong harmonizing rhythm is applied to this matrix of interlocking fields, its harmonic influence may entrain parts of the system that may have been vibrating off key. It will put more orderliness into the system.”

Is the ”vacuum” of empty space between the subatomic elements of creation actually empty?

No, it’s filled with various kinds of interconnected, interlocking, oscillating fields (e.g. electric, magnetic, gravitational, acoustic, etc).

These fields could make interference patterns as they vibrate at different frequencies, unless they become rhythm entrained or aligned.

This “unified field” of energy or light proceeds from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space – “fill” being truly literal in this case (see D&C 88:5-13).

What implications exist in the fact that we (and this whole creation) are made up of a set of interacting, oscillating fields instead of separate “matter”?

We are much more connected to each other (and to God) than we think.

The fact that disturbances or changes in one aspect of the interlocking fields affects all of the others to various degrees, shows how what we individually think and do influences, or at least affects, everything else in creation. 

Matter is not what we think it is.

There is an orderly rhythm at the heart of things in this universe – a way they are “supposed” to be or are naturally; this begs the question of whether or not these natural rhythms are lower than what they could be – that they could be “quickened” and what would happen if they were. 

The harmonic influence of entrained rhythms can speak to either a healing effect (the idea that disease is a result of being out of resonance) or that of a collective “group think” of the natural man (that we need to awake from our current state of being and ascend to something else – something that would be viewed as “out of rhythm” with the norm of this current reality).

 

READ StWP pages 38-41

“The electromagnetic and electrostatic fields making up and shaping our bodies are relatively strong and serve to hold our atoms and molecules together. They weaken as they move outside our bodies. We are surrounded and permeated by several fields: 1. The so-called isoelectric static field of the planet. 2. The electrostatic fields created by our bodies. 3. The magnetic field of the earth. 4. The electromagnetic field, which has a very wide spectrum, ranging from the very slow wave caused by disturbances in the atmosphere, through the spectrum of the visible light, and into the ultraviolet and higher frequency radiation. 5. The gravitational fields of the earth, the moon, and the neighboring planets and the sun. 6. The electromagnetic fields created by humans; the different broadcasting fields of radio and television networks. We shall discuss the first two of these fields.

As you know, our planet is surrounded by a layer of electrically charged particles called the ionosphere. The lower layer of the ionosphere starts at about 80 km. from the surface of the earth. It is a charged layer and is known to reflect radio waves. It is therefore essential to radio communication around the globe. We are interested, however, in another aspect of this layer. Since this is a highly charged layer, it forms a so-called capacitor with the earth. This means that there is a difference in electric potential between these two, the earth being negatively and the ionosphere positively charged. This potential difference is evenly distributed along the distance between the earth and the ionosphere and comes to about 200 volts per meter.

When standing on the earth, we are moving constantly within this field, which is, so to speak, very “stiff.” It means that it behaves like a fairly rigid jelly. We have all had the experience of handling a bowl of jelly and know how sensitive it is to vibration. Visualize a few raisins embedded in this jelly. Poke one of the raisins and vibrate it; you’ll soon see that all the other raisins in this jelly are vibrating, too. We can also add that the raisins are quite well coupled with this jelly field. By coupling we mean that there is a good connection between the raisin and the jelly, that the energy transfer between them is good. They can’t make the slightest movement without the jelly transmitting it to the other raisins.

The electrostatic field of the planet is like the stiff jelly. When our bodies move and vibrate, these movements are transmitted to the environment, including all human and animal bodies on this planet. These fields not only impinge on our bodies, but they also affect the charges inside our bodies. But how effective is this coupling? Can’t we make the slightest move without detection? What influences this coupling effect? The coupling is, in fact, quite good. It has been shown by our measurements that when a human body is standing on the ground under normal conditions, it is electrically grounded. It acts as a sink for the electrostatic field and will distort the force lines somewhat. But if there were a charge on our bodies, the interaction would be stronger, independent of the polarity of the charge. It turns out that our bodies do indeed have a charge. They keep producing a field around themselves as long as they are alive.

The electrostatic field of the body can nowadays be quite easily measured by commercially available static meters… The device is sensitive enough to be able to pick up this signal at 16 to 18 inches from the body. The large waves are again created mostly by the reaction of the body to the ejection of blood from the left ventricle. The strength of this signal changes with distance from the body…The strength of this signal depends very much on the vitality of the subject. A person brimming with energy will produce a big signal, while one whose vitality is low will produce practically no signal at all. Thus, we have an electrostatic field around the body. This field couples us well to the isoelectric field of the planet which means that the motions of our bodies are transmitted far and wide around the planet. This is, naturally, a very weak signal.”

What is implied by the fact that the layer between the earth and the ionosphere is “stiff” like jelly?

Everything we do affects everything else – at least on some level.

We are a “system” which is connected – which means that if one person begins emitting a particularly strong frequency, people (plus animals, plants… really all of creation) near them will be affected by it – and could begin to resonate at the same frequency due to the principle of entrained harmonic rhythms; this can either be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on the type of frequency being emitted.

At a minimum, a person would need to be connected to an even stronger frequency to avoid being affected – this is an interesting idea that I hope to continue to explore: the idea of “subtle” frequencies that only some people can pick up because they are “tuned” differently or more finely. 

What other labels might we use to describe this electrostatic field surrounding the body?

Spirit; as in “you have a sweet (or a dark) spirit about you”

Aura

The strength of the body’s electrostatic field differs significantly depending on the “vitality” of the person – does this equate solely to cardio fitness or does it include other elements?

A strong heart within a fit person will enable blood to be efficiently pumped across the body, enabling higher levels of vitality and energy.

However, other factors – some physical and some not – also effect the level of vitality within a person – sleep and food are physical factors, and depression and anxiety are examples of mental or emotional factors. 

Spiritual factors also effect the vitality of the person – if thoughts produce energy, a person who is strongly tuned or connected to God and is filled with the mind of God (Holy Spirit) will demonstrate a high level of mental activity and vitality as a result, regardless of the health of their heart. 

 

Meditation

READ StWP pages 41-42

“We may say now that in deep meditation the human being and the planet system start resonating and transferring energy. This is occurring at a very long wave¬ length of about 40,000 km., or just about the perimeter of the planet. In other words, the signal from the movement of our bodies will travel around the world in about one-seventh of a second through the electrostatic field in which we are embedded. Such a long wavelength knows no obstacles, and its strength does not attenuate much over large distances. Naturally, it will go through just about anything: metal, concrete, water, and the fields making up our bodies. It is the ideal medium for conveying a telepathic signal. We have said previously that when we stop breathing, the amplitude of the micromotion increases by about a factor of three because the body goes into resonance, and its movement becomes very regular?”

Can this resonant state be extended in some way?

Slowing the breath and aligning it better with the resonating frequency of creation can be accomplished through mediation.

“Techniques of extending this harmonious resonant state have been known for thousands of years. These are the different meditative techniques. They slow down the metabolic rate of the body so that much less oxygen is required to keep the body going. Moreover, as one becomes proficient in meditation, the breathing becomes so gentle as not to disturb the resonant state of the aorta. It seems that an automatic process develops in which the lungs and the diaphragm regulate the heart-aorta system so as to keep them well tuned and thus extend the resonant behavior in spite of some shallow breathing. The resonant state will naturally apply to the whole body. The skeleton and all the inner organs will move coherently at about 7 cycles per second. It so happens that the natural frequency of the normal body seems to lie in this range. It therefore takes very little effort on behalf of the heart-aorta system to drive the body at this rate. It is similar to pushing a swing in correct timing. The normally occurring destructive interference ceases, and the body starts acting in an increasingly coherent fashion.” (StWP, p 42).

What does it mean that this long wave frequency is an ideal medium for conveying a telepathic signal?

The fact that this frequency can go through just about anything, including our bodies, implies that it can be used for communication from one person to another.

The issue, though, is the receiving of that communication – as the receiver must be tuned to that same frequency to hear and understand the communication; that doesn’t mean that the sender can’t send the message – and it might be understood to a lesser degree or sensed by another person who is operating at a different frequency; it’s just that the message won’t be nearly as clear and complete.

This idea begs the question: is this part of how God and angels communicate with us?  If the Holy Spirit is the mind of God and we can begin to resonate at a frequency that allows us to hear and understand those messages, does this begin to describe the science behind obtaining the will of the Lord and rending the veil/communing with heaven?  It might also explain how some people communicate with other spirits.  The implications into the way we pray, or more especially, how we listen for answers and communion after we pray, is huge.


Sunday, January 21, 2024

Bentov: The Sub-atomic World QUESTIONS

What is Matter?

Read Stalking the Wild Pendulum (StWP) pages 35-36

“Let us now magnify a piece of bone. Very soon an orderliness will emerge: highly ordered bone crystals embedded like jewels in webs of long molecular strings. Everything is vibrating. Suppose we now apply an electric field to the bone. As soon as we do that, the crystal changes its length. It shrinks or stretches instantly in response to the field. Some more magnification will give us an even better look at this crystal: we see the atoms weaving back and forth like a field of ripe wheat blown by the wind. They move in unison and in beautiful rhythm. Acoustical energy is flowing through the crystal.  Next, we focus on the atoms. At first, they appear as little shadowy balls vibrating about fixed points in the molecule. As we magnify, we see less and less. The electron shell has somehow dissolved, and we are looking at a vacuum. As we further magnify, we see something tiny moving about. We focus on what we suspect is the nucleus of the atom, located in this vast space within the atom. If we take the diameter of the nucleus of a hydrogen atom to be 1 mm., then the diameter of the electron orbit will be about 10 meters, a ratio of 1 to 10,000, and the intervening space is vacuum. As we zero in and further magnify the vibrating nucleus, it seems to be dissolving. We are looking at some shadowy pulsation; some more magnification, and the nucleus is almost gone. We are sensing the pulsation of some energy; it seems to be a rapidly pulsating field. But where did the bone go? We thought that we were looking at a solid piece of matter! Well, it seems that the real reality — the micro-reality, that which underlies all our solid, good, common-sense reality — is made up, as we have just witnessed, of a vast empty space filled with oscillating fields! Many different kinds of fields, all interacting with each other. The tiniest disturbance in one field carries over into the others. It’s an interlocked web of fields, each pulsating at their own rate but in harmony with the others, their pulsations spreading out farther and farther throughout the cosmos. Whenever a focus of disturbance tends to drive these fields out of their harmonious rhythm, the irregularity will spread and disturb the neighboring fields. As soon as the source of disturbance is removed, orderly rhythm will return to the system. Conversely, when a strong harmonizing rhythm is applied to this matrix of interlocking fields, its harmonic influence may entrain parts of the system that may have been vibrating off key. It will put more orderliness into the system.”

Is the ”vacuum” of empty space between the subatomic elements of creation actually empty?

What implications exist in the fact that we (and this whole creation) are made up of a set of interacting, oscillating fields instead of separate “matter”?

 

READ StWP pages 38-41

“The electromagnetic and electrostatic fields making up and shaping our bodies are relatively strong and serve to hold our atoms and molecules together. They weaken as they move outside our bodies. We are surrounded and permeated by several fields: 1. The so-called isoelectric static field of the planet. 2. The electrostatic fields created by our bodies. 3. The magnetic field of the earth. 4. The electromagnetic field, which has a very wide spectrum, ranging from the very slow wave caused by disturbances in the atmosphere, through the spectrum of the visible light, and into the ultraviolet and higher frequency radiation. 5. The gravitational fields of the earth, the moon, and the neighboring planets and the sun. 6. The electromagnetic fields created by humans; the different broadcasting fields of radio and television networks. We shall discuss the first two of these fields.

As you know, our planet is surrounded by a layer of electrically charged particles called the ionosphere. The lower layer of the ionosphere starts at about 80 km. from the surface of the earth. It is a charged layer and is known to reflect radio waves. It is therefore essential to radio communication around the globe. We are interested, however, in another aspect of this layer. Since this is a highly charged layer, it forms a so-called capacitor with the earth. This means that there is a difference in electric potential between these two, the earth being negatively and the ionosphere positively charged. This potential difference is evenly distributed along the distance between the earth and the ionosphere and comes to about 200 volts per meter.

When standing on the earth, we are moving constantly within this field, which is, so to speak, very “stiff.” It means that it behaves like a fairly rigid jelly. We have all had the experience of handling a bowl of jelly and know how sensitive it is to vibration. Visualize a few raisins embedded in this jelly. Poke one of the raisins and vibrate it; you’ll soon see that all the other raisins in this jelly are vibrating, too. We can also add that the raisins are quite well coupled with this jelly field. By coupling we mean that there is a good connection between the raisin and the jelly, that the energy transfer between them is good. They can’t make the slightest movement without the jelly transmitting it to the other raisins.

The electrostatic field of the planet is like the stiff jelly. When our bodies move and vibrate, these movements are transmitted to the environment, including all human and animal bodies on this planet. These fields not only impinge on our bodies, but they also affect the charges inside our bodies. But how effective is this coupling? Can’t we make the slightest move without detection? What influences this coupling effect? The coupling is, in fact, quite good. It has been shown by our measurements that when a human body is standing on the ground under normal conditions, it is electrically grounded. It acts as a sink for the electrostatic field and will distort the force lines somewhat. But if there were a charge on our bodies, the interaction would be stronger, independent of the polarity of the charge. It turns out that our bodies do indeed have a charge. They keep producing a field around themselves as long as they are alive.

The electrostatic field of the body can nowadays be quite easily measured by commercially available static meters… The device is sensitive enough to be able to pick up this signal at 16 to 18 inches from the body. The large waves are again created mostly by the reaction of the body to the ejection of blood from the left ventricle. The strength of this signal changes with distance from the body…The strength of this signal depends very much on the vitality of the subject. A person brimming with energy will produce a big signal, while one whose vitality is low will produce practically no signal at all. Thus, we have an electrostatic field around the body. This field couples us well to the isoelectric field of the planet which means that the motions of our bodies are transmitted far and wide around the planet. This is, naturally, a very weak signal.”

What is implied by the fact that the layer between the earth and the ionosphere is “stiff” like jelly?

What other labels might we use to describe this electrostatic field surrounding the body?

The strength of the body’s electrostatic field differs significantly depending on the “vitality” of the person – does this equate solely to cardio fitness or does it include other elements?

 

Meditation

READ StWP pages 41-42

“We may say now that in deep meditation the human being and the planet system start resonating and transferring energy. This is occurring at a very long wave¬ length of about 40,000 km., or just about the perimeter of the planet. In other words, the signal from the movement of our bodies will travel around the world in about one-seventh of a second through the electrostatic field in which we are embedded. Such a long wavelength knows no obstacles, and its strength does not attenuate much over large distances. Naturally, it will go through just about anything: metal, concrete, water, and the fields making up our bodies. It is the ideal medium for conveying a telepathic signal. We have said previously that when we stop breathing, the amplitude of the micromotion increases by about a factor of three because the body goes into resonance, and its movement becomes very regular?”

Can this resonant state be extended in some way?

What does it mean that this long wave frequency is an ideal medium for conveying a telepathic signal?

Hiatus

Due to some recent work and life changes, I'm taking a hiatus from the weekly blog.  I will leave the blog up for anyone who would like ...