Resolved to Practice Meditation or Yoga This New Year?

Practices such as meditation, yoga, and Tai Chi require that we place the body in certain ritualistic postures. Did you know that the body is a multi-faceted antenna system and positioning it in different postures helps attune that antenna from the bones all the way down to the cells? The way you position the body is critically important to the types of informed energies that it can both transmit and receive.

Discover how it works on The Sage Age site at http://www.SageAge.net/articles.shtml

Voice of the Angels Magazine Debut

In November, I had the pleasure to interview Dyan Garris during the release of her new DVD, Automatic Chakra Balance. This month I am happy to introduce you to her new monthly e-zine, Voice of the Angels.com Magazine for Multi-Dimensional Living. The debut issue can be found at http://www.voiceoftheangelsmagazine.com

This issue includes a lead story on "The Co-Creation of a Spiritual Toolbox", a featured Angel Card of the month, and music reviews by Dyan, whose own music consistently charts at #1 on Music Choice’s Soundscapes cable TV station.

Be sure to click on Articles in the Departments tab for an article on "The Harmonics of Sound" which includes excerpts from The Sage Age.

Lecture Tour Begins in Knoxville

The first lecture series based on topics from The Sage Age was warmly received by the wonderful group of folks at the Knoxville chapter of The Institute of Noetic Sciences. I’m pictured here with host, Stephen Anthony. We discussed “How Thoughts Become Reality.” Many of those in attendance were delighted to discover that there is a great deal of hard scientific documentation on this subject, including research by the physics and quantum physics communities. Also covered were recent breakthroughs in brain mapping technology that will be immediately applicable to quadriplegics and amputees, allowing them to be more functional. We also discussed thought-forms as defined by intuitive practitioners and ways that our thoughts affect ourselves and others, as well as how our thought patterns color our world view.

The purpose of The Sage Age is to educate and open dialogue. It was a delight to have a time of sharing at the end of the lecture where everyone could fully participate in sharing their experiential wisdom.

I’ll be on tour with this lecture topic through the early part of 2009 as well as teaching a class on Acoustics for Intuitives. For more information, please visit the the On Tour page.

The Sage Age Listed on Better World Books

I am proud and honored that The Sage Age is available on Better World Books.

Here's a small blurb about what they do:
Better World Books collects and sells books online to fund literacy initiatives worldwide. With more than two million new and used titles in stock, we’re a self-sustaining, triple-bottom-line company that creates social, economic and environmental value for all our stakeholders.

This business is so green they even offer carbon neutral shipping. If you routinely buy books online, please consider the Better World Books site for your next purchase.

Interview with Dyan Garris

I am delighted to welcome Dyan Garris as my guest today. I had the good fortune to meet her while on tour with The Sage Age. Early in life Dyan recognized her gifts of clairvoyance, clairaudience, and clairsentience that she has used to help people move forward in their lives by showing them how to use the power contained in their chakras to be the best they can be. She has also created a CD series of music and meditation for healing, chakra balancing, relaxation, and vibrational attunement of mind, body, and spirit. Each CD vibrates to a specific chakra and contains several tracks of music plus a guided meditation. She is the author, developer and artist of Voice of the Angels – A Healing Journey Spiritual Cards. (©1994 - 2008) and Voice of the Angels – Talk To Your Food! Intuitive Cooking, The Book of Daily Channeled Messages and Fish Tale of Woe – Lost at Sea. She also writes a “Daily Channeled Message.”

Below is our interview discussing her newest offering followed by links where you can sample her DVD and links to her site.

MaAnna: Your new DVD, Automatic Chakra Balance™, is part of a larger series. Can you tell us more about both?

Dyan: “Doors To The Soul” DVD for Automatic Chakra Balance™ is part of my Spiritual Toolbox™ full of products that are designed to work together as integrative, multi-dimensional healing tools. Each is part of a bigger picture and each is related, just as we are all one.

MaAnna: I’m sure busy folks will be happy to find a way to balance their chakras in just ten minutes. Tell us more about the benefits of using your system.

Dyan: There is a lot of interest in chakras and the energy field, but many people don’t know how to begin to balance their chakras. Like my CD series for relaxation, chakra balance, and vibrational attunement of mind, body, and spirit, “Doors To The Soul” DVD is vibrationally attuned to do this automatically. The user doesn’t need to know anything about chakra balance. You watch and listen for ten minutes and you feel as if you’ve been gone for an hour. It’s quite relaxing. And what’s interesting is that it keeps on working for hours later.

MaAnna: Your music has ranked in the top 100 of the New Age Reporter billboard chart for over a year. Tell us about your music and how your create it.

Dyan: My CD series is a series of music and meditation that is also designed to clear and balance the chakras and energy field simply by listening. The first six CDs have six tracks of music followed by a guided “journey” on the last track. Each is for a particular purpose and each will work on all of the chakras, while vibrating to a particular chakra at the same time. These work multi-dimensionally. I hear the music in my head as whole songs before I ever sit down to the keyboard. I can hear the way it’s supposed to sound and then it is my job to translate what I’m hearing to the recording. My music consistently charts at #1 on Music Choice’s Soundscapes cable TV station.

MaAnna: You are giving away a free music CD with your new DVD. Tell us about the CD.

Dyan: The CD that comes free with the DVD is the radio version compilation “Spiritus Sanctus” Volume 2. This is one of the CDs that remained in the top 100 for over a year on the NAR chart. It’s sixteen tracks of music compiled from “Patterns,” “Illusions,” and “Connections” CDs. The songs on the CDs are longer than on this radio version compilation because they are for preparation of meditation. The songs on this radio version music compilation are shorter, made for radio play, but vibrationally do the same as the longer versions.

MaAnna: The visuals on your DVD are very angelic looking. Would you share with us how you choose the shapes and colors and guide the flow from one to the other?

Dyan: Thank you. That was one of the goals. I am not an animator. So I did not do the actual animations. I did explain to the animator exactly how I wanted the flow to be. The chakras are all connected and I wanted the flow between each scene to be smooth and vibrationally correct. As to the colors and shapes, I used the colors of the chakras and among other images I incorporated visuals from the seven doors in “Voice of the Angels – A Healing Journey Spiritual Cards.”

MaAnna: The Secret and The Laws of Attraction have become very popular, yet there are many folks who have not had the success they were expecting by implementing these techniques. You are a multi-faceted intuitive with the gifts of clairvoyance, clairaudience, and clairsentience. You are also a voice recognition psychic and trance channel. Will you share a bit about how you use these gifts to counsel others and help them find the root of what keeps them from fully manifesting their intentions?

Dyan: There is so much misinformation out there regarding the Law of Attraction. This is a universal law that is designed for attracting, not manifesting. It’s one part of the manifesting process, not the whole thing. This is the main reason people are having difficulty. We don’t create only with the power of the mind. Creation happens in the root chakra and travels upward. I’m no longer providing private psychic readings, but I am providing “Manifesting Therapy.” This is part psychic reading, because I’m tuning in to a person’s energy, and part “therapy” session where we examine what’s in their way of effective manifesting and what they can do about it. What’s usually at the root is a learned pattern. Once they see and understand that, they can eliminate or shift it and start moving forward on their path.

MaAnna: Where can folks find more information about you, your services and your products?

Dyan: My main site is where everything is, including the four free online angel card readings in three languages, and many other free services. And there is also a free spiritual forum with a growing community. There a person will find a lot of free spiritual guidance and I also have a free spiritual advice column “Dear Dyan” on the main site as well. It’s www.voiceoftheangels.com.

To learn more about Dyan Garris – visit her website and view a sample from her Automatic Chakra Balance DVD on YouTube. You will find more details about manifest therapy at her site as well. To listen to samples of Dyan’s music, visit herhttp://www.myspace.com/voiceoftheangelsMySpace page.
Full details for her virtual tour can be found on Dyan's tour home page.

Dyan Garris - Balance Your Chakras in 10 Minutes

Join me here on Nov. 22nd to meet my guest, Dyan Garris, who will be stopping by on her blog tour to talk about her new Automatic Chakra Balance DVD. Dyan has a wonderful vibe and will help you discover how to balance your entire chakra system in just 10 minutes. You can experience a sample of her DVD here.

And, she's giving away one of her music CDs with the video. Her CDs have ranked in the top 100 of the NAR chart for over a year, so it's a great opportunity to get even more of the good stuff. The blog will be open for comments and Dyan will be on hand to reply and answer your questions.

Beyond the Matrix interview

Join me on Nov. 13th with host Patricia Cori on her radio show, Beyond the Matrix. We will be discussing topics from The Sage Age. You can find links and time of show on The Sage Age site.

While you're there, subscribe to News From The Sage Age to receive your copy of the e-book, How Thoughts Become Reality. I'll be speaking on this topic to the local Knoxville chapter of the Institute of Noetic Sciences on Nov. 29th.

Great Interviews

The tour for The Sage Age continues through November with two more internet radio shows. I'll be talking with my publisher, Valerie Connelly, on her show Calling All Authors, Nov. 4th. That will be followed by a guest appearence on Beyond the Matrix, which is produced in Italy, on Nov. 13th.

There are already several great interviews for you to hear and read on The Sage Age site. Visit the Interviews page for audio clips and links to the blog tour interviews.

Take a Break From the Campaign

If you are worn out by constant political talk, take a break on election day and listen to my interview with the publisher, Valerie Connelly, on her internet radio show, Calling All Authors. It's a live show at 4pm CT, but will be archived for download later.

More 5-Star Reviews

During the virtual tour, The Sage Age received several great reviews. Excerpts include:

- The power of the book is its groundbreaking combination of hard science with intuitive feeling. MaAnna reunites science with both Eastern and Western philosophical schools, and then reconnects science with the inner self.

- Combines knowledge from the physical sciences and the intuitive arts to present an unbiased perspective that harmonizes these diverse disciplines into one body of knowledge. This book is sure to open the dialog and get both communities talking.

- The author's powerful achievement is her awareness of the interconnectedness of the natural sciences and the human mind, leading to an emerging paradigm shift in scientific thought.

Read them all in full on the Reviews page on The Sage Age site.

New Readers From Virtual Tour

The Virtual Blog Tour was a great success. The book was introduced to an estimated 100,000 new readers. A big "Thank You" to all of the hosts for sharing their cyber space and for their endorsements. Because it was a blog tour, you can still visit and see what they had to say about The Sage Age. Several sites offered great reviews, interviews, and comments from visitors that are well worth reading. Links are on The Sage Age home page.

How the Shape of Things Affects Us

From the creation of the Platonic solids, which are five unique models that embody the perfect combination of whole shapes, to the beautiful and complex symmetry of a modern fractal pattern, humans have been fascinated with shapes and how they interact to create things. But did you know that researchers in biology and chemistry are now finding that shape has everything to do with the way our cells function and even how we can tell one smell from another?

A previous article on the body antenna detailed how placing the body in certain shapes formed by ritualistic postures aids in the transmission and reception of certain frequencies. It also touched on the conformational shape changes that happen at the cellular level just prior to a chemical exchange. It’s known as a receptor lock-and-key model because the receptor changes into a specific shape that will only accept a molecule that fits it like a key.

This is a very important discovery for biologists and pharmacologists because it will lead to new ways of targeting the delivery of drugs at much lower doses. Eventually, it may also lead to a new vibrational understanding of the physical body that will eliminate treatment by pharmaceuticals altogether.

One of the newest forms of drug delivery methods is through nasal sprays. The brain and nervous systems are protected from infection by what is known as the blood-brain barrier. The molecules that make up viruses and bacteria are too large to pass through the narrow passage. Unfortunately, this barrier also keeps drugs needed to treat the nervous system from being administered intravenously. However, the barrier can be bypassed via the nose. Have you ever noticed that certain smells can trigger memories? That’s because the most ancient part of the brain can be directly accessed through the nasal passages. This is also why aromatherapies are so effective. They stimulate chemical changes at the very root of the nervous system.

The combination of investigations into bypassing the blood-brain barrier with nasal sprays, the conformational shape changes of receptors, and the affects of aromatherapy led to a very interesting discovery. In 1991, Dr. Linda Buck headed a team of researchers at Harvard Medical School investigating the source of smell. What she found won her a Nobel Prize. It was well known that millions of nerve cells lie at the top of the nose near the eyes. On the surfaces of these nerve cells lie over 1,000 different smell sensors called odorant receptor cells. Buck discovered that these receptor cells work just like hormones and neurotransmitters in that they recognize shape and combine in a lock-and-key manner. But, unlike hormones and neurotransmitters, the odorant receptor cells are not exclusive to accepting only the one type of molecule they recognize. These odorant receptor cells can combine and reorder themselves to recognize 10,000 different smells. After binding, the cell sends a signal to two specific places in the olfactory bulb in the brain that carries messages to the primitive brain areas, which control emotions and affect the limbic system and to the higher brain areas that control conscious discrimination. In her book, Molecules of Emotion, Dr. Candace Pert describes the limbic system as a hypothetical construct that is considered to be the seat of emotions in the brain.

But, there’s another side to this story. Biophysicist Dr. Luca Turin believes that smell is not recognized by shape alone. He believes that it is a combination of shape and vibration. That’s because molecules with the same shape can smell very differently. Turin lives in France where the perfume industry is a multi-billion dollar business. Manufacturers often employ hundreds of chemists in an effort to isolate and develop new smells. Turin wanted to find a way to improve this process.

The vibrational theory of smell was first popularized by British scientist Malcolm Dyson in 1938. In 1977, the research was picked up by R.H. Wright who applied modern technological advances to his investigation. But neither scientist was able to explain how the process worked at a level that would satisfy the publication standards of most scientific journals. In the early 1990s, Turin used egg whites to show that proteins can conduct electricity. He concluded that the olfactory bulb cells could channel electrons like a battery and sense their vibratory content. Even with this new evidence, most of his colleagues dismissed Turin’s ideas out of hand without so much as even reading his paper. Finally, in 1996, Turin was published in Chemical Senses and his story was picked up by the media who sensationalized it. Turin’s research ultimately got the attention it deserved. Turin left academia and began his own scent molecule production company called Flexitral. By using the vibrational method to ascertain new smell molecules, he is able to employ just one chemist, making his company radically more profitable than other research and manufacturing facilities. In 1992, Turin wrote Parfum: Le Guide which has become France’s best-selling perfume guide in history.

To date, it has taken the efforts of pharmacologists, chemists, biologists, aromatherapists and a perfume manufacturer to shed new light on how shapes affect us. Through the blending of science with intuitive wisdom, we will continue to bring new models into play which will revolutionize how we understand the vibrational aspects of the body.

Some content excerpted from The Sage Age – Blending Science with Intuitive Wisdom © 2008 MaAnna Stephenson

Follow the Tour

The Virtual Blog Tour has only just begun and the response has already been wonderful. Wayne Hurlbert gave the book a 5-star review. He also provided great questions in his interview. Stop by his blog to read all about it.

There's a very interesting discussion on intent happening at Dyan Garris' site. You'll find it in the comments section below her interview with me. She provided the most insightful questions on the the tour. Read more about it on her blog, Voice of the Angels, and join in the discussion of those wanting to go beyond the "law of attraction" ideas. Dyan has also requested that I write an article for her new ezine and she will also be featuring my article on the harmonics of sound.

The newsletter from the folks at SelfGrowth.com has been delivered to over 100,000 folks and contains a book excerpt. Responses are already coming in.

As you know, I also blog on the Institute of Noetic Science's Shift in Action site. One follower just informed me that he will be contacting the Talking Book Library to request that the book be made available for the blind.

On Friday, I'll be guest hosting on the Coffee Thoughts blog. Lots of fun things planned for the day.

The tour runs through Monday of next week with plenty of interesting sites still to go. Stop by one of the sites and join in the fun. It only takes 5 minutes!!!

Visit The Sage Age site for all links and dates. Discussion will be happening all week even on the previous dated sites.

See you online,
MaAnna

Chat with the Author on the Virtual Book Tour

The virtual book tour for The Sage Age is booked solid for eight days and runs from Oct. 19-27, 2008. A few of the tour stops include: two Kathleen Gage sites at Daily Awareness and The Marketing Mindset, a day with Wayne Hurlbert at Blog Business World, a visit with Phil Harris at All Things That Matter, a stop at Yvonne Perry's blog Writers in the Sky, four days on Joyce Anthony's blog and every day of the tour at Nikki Leigh's blog, Muze's Musings

You'll find the full schedule at The Sage Age website. Drop any day of the tour and say hey.

Is Texting Really an Ancient Art?

Many professional writers and editors lament that the English language is being obliterated by the casual use of more symbolic language on mobile devices and some social media internet sites. They cite two main grievances, which are that casual writing formats are showing up where formal writing styles would be more appropriate and that most people don’t know the difference. Are we witnessing the demise of a modern language or the birth of a new way to communicate that is rooted in ancient traditions? Read the full article on The Sage Age

Tour Dates Posted

More interviews and virtual blog tour dates have been posted for October. Interviews include Toward The Light, Author's Voice and Writers in the Sky Podcast.

The Virtual Blog Tour runs from October 19-27 and includes sites hosted by Kathleen Gage, Joyce Anthony and Phil Harris.

MaAnna will also be speaking live to the Knoxville chapter of the Institute of Noetic Sciences in November.

For more information and full tour dates, visit The Sage Age website.

The Sage Age featured in Publishers Weekly

In the September 22nd edition, Publishers Weekly featured The Sage Age in the article: New Age Pragmatism Crystals and tarots give way to more practical and mainstream subject matter. Written by Juan Martinez.

Upcoming Interview

Upcoming September interviews include

Toward The Light with Rev. Juliet Nightingale
Sept. 21, 2008 live at 5pm ET
Read Toward The Light News to find out how Juliet and MaAnna first met.
Click here to go directly to the BBS Radio site.

Author's Voice with Joe Carroccio
Sept. 26, 2008 (podcast)

New eBook available on The Sage Age

A new eBook titled How Thoughts Become Reality is now available. Written exclusively for newsletter subscribers, it contains excerpts from chapter four of The Sage Age about what thoughts are, how they affect us, as well as how our intentions directly impact our reality.

To get your free copy, visit The Sage Age.

The Sage Age to be featured in Publishers Weekly

In the upcoming September 22nd edition, Publishers Weekly will feature The Sage Age in an article on the genre of New Thought.

To get your copy of The Sage Age at the publisher's discount using PayPal, either click here or contact Nightengale Press during normal business hours at (847) 810-8498.
The Sage Age is also available at all major online retailers.

The Mythos of the Large Hadron Collider

The Mythos of the Large Hadron Collider

Billions of years from now, a father and his young daughter may be enjoying the twinkling beauty of a clear summer night when she asks, “Dad, how did all those stars get there?” To which he will reply, “It all started with a big bang.” Today, as the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) ramps up to speed, speculations abound as to whether science is on the verge of the biggest breakthrough in history or on the event horizon of creating a black hole. Even some physicists are concerned that while we think we are safely recreating only the first instant of the Big Bang, we may actually be hitting the “Reset” button on the entire cycle of creation instead.

High energy particle colliders are nothing new. The first ones were developed in the 1930s and called cyclotrons. This type of device used large magnets to guide and accelerate particles ever faster through a spiral configuration. By the early 1940s, such a device was used to enrich uranium for the Manhattan Project. The cyclotrons were eventually developed into extreme high-energy particle colliders which were the biggest machines ever conceived and can only be seen in their entirety from the air because, instead of spiral tracks, they use full circles that are miles wide. They are often referred to as “atom smashers” because they send two particles at high speed around a circle in opposite directions and then document their collision. There are currently seventy-five particle colliders located on six continents around the world. Of the largest, one is the International Linear Collider located at Fermilab. The other is the Large Hadron Collider built for CERN, which is the European Organization for Nuclear Research.

The expanded use of so many colliders opened the door for multiple research projects revealing the existence of one new particle after another. Of course, with every new particle came its anti-particle twin. The cornucopia of new particle discovery was so plentiful that it eventually became known as “the particle zoo.” It’s important to realize that few, if any, of these anti-particles have actually been recorded. They are merely theorized to keep the mathematical equations balanced. This same sort of theoretical balancing act is also applied to the existence of many fields and forces. For every force, there must be a particle to carry it. Conversely, every new particle found by the colliders must be associated with a force.

The most elusive of these particles, and one that the LHC was specifically designed to find, is the Higgs Boson, which is associated with the Higgs Field. It is commonly referenced in science circles as the “God particle” and is thought to be the reason why things have mass. The force of gravity is associated with mass. In Einstein’s pursuit of a single Theory of Everything (TOE), he simply could not get gravity to play well with relativity theory. And neither could anyone else. Mass and gravity have successfully provided a monkey wrench to thwart all attempts by physicists to establish a Grand Unified Theory (GUT).

Considering the fact that much of the science behind the experiments that will be conducted at the LHC are, at best, theoretical, is it any wonder so many folks are nervous about what might happen? Let’s get a historical perspective. Even though theories of the world being round instead of flat were recorded as early as fourth century B.C., many still thought that Columbus would certainly fall of the edge of the Earth if he sailed west into the unknown. Many people, scientists among them, thought that a plane would simply explode if it attempted to break the sound barrier. When the U.S. was ready to send a living being into orbit, they chose a chimp rather than a human because they were concerned about unknown contaminations from space. It’s often overlooked that Einstein did not win his Nobel Prize in Physics for E=mc2. At the time, relativity theory was looked upon with a raised eyebrow and the scientific community withheld its laurels until the theory could be substantiated. History shows us that new theories are usually not embraced immediately. More often than not, they are fully accepted only after they are proven.

Will the LHC create an uncontrollable Big Bang or a black hole big enough to swallow the Earth and all its surrounding space, as sensationalized by the popular media? Not likely. It’s more likely that the quantum leap of faith taken by a few contemporary physicists will demonstrate a lack of fear based on an understanding that transcends the science and the math. In doing so, they just might give us a small glimpse from a unique perspective into the nature of reality.

Some content excerpted from The Sage Age – Blending Science with Intuitive Wisdom
© 2008 MaAnna Stephenson
Content may be used freely with proper credit and a link to www.SageAge.net

September Interview Schedule

Upcoming September interviews include

Toward The Light with Rev. Juliet Nightingale
Sept. 21, 2008 live at 5pm ET

Author's Voice with Joe Carroccio
Sept. 26, 2008 (download podcast)

Visit The Sage Age where you can see the full schedule on the Interviews page. Get a peek of the topics that will be discussed by clicking the links for the Interview Questions on the Media page.

The Mysterious Allure of Fields and Forces

The actions of invisible fields and forces on objects in the material realm have fascinated humans for eons. The idea of a force came into existence long before the idea of a guiding field was recognized. In fact, fields of all sorts are just now coming under the microscope of collaborative scientific and intuitive investigation.

Since both fields and forces are invisible and can only be measured by how they affect material objects, the experimental findings are theoretical. Even when proper mathematical foundations have been provided and applied science moves forward in creating new ways to use these discoveries, it’s important to remember that the ideas behind them are subject to be overturned in the future. Many of the most important scientific advances on these subjects have been a mixed bag of amateur experimenters who had little formal training and, for the most part, simply followed their hunches or by physicists who made mathematical advances but failed to see the significance of the ideas.

A case in point is the discovery of global wireless communication. In the early 1830s, Michael Faraday found the connection between the combination of electric and magnetic forces, which were mathematically substantiated by James Clerk Maxwell and became the underpinnings of all experiments with radio waves. By the mid 1880s, Heinrich Hertz significantly advanced the research and by the early 1890s, Nikola Tesla suggested that global wireless communication was possible. Shortly thereafter, Guglielmo Marconi took up this research and by 1901 proved that long-distance wireless communication was indeed possible.

Faraday was an amateur experimentalist who was completely fascinated by electricity and its connection with magnetism. He did not, however, have the formal training necessary to validate his theories about these phenomena. Maxwell, an elite mathematician, provided that proof. Hertz, another elite physicist, significantly advanced the mathematical understandings of wave theory, and developed devices to produce both UHF and VHF waves but considered the technology of limited use. Tesla was a visionary experimentalist and had the formal scientific training to provide the necessary mathematical foundations to his theories but his ideas were so far ahead of the academic communities of his time that he was mostly misunderstood and sometimes feared. Marconi had been passionately absorbed by the discovery of radio waves since he was eight years old. With no formal training, but with substantial financial backing and a bit of secrecy to keep him from being considered a madman, he proved what few others even believed possible. He built devices that could transmit and receive radio signals beyond the curvature of the Earth, effectively establishing global wireless communication. All previous attempts were limited to short range line-of-sight transmissions.

But, here is the most important point. Even though Marconi had proved that it could be done, no one knew how it was possible. The theoretical foundation of these experiments was not established until several years later. These investigations also revealed what became known as the Schumann Resonance. This is an electromagnetic wave that constantly circumnavigates the globe at a dominant frequency of 7.8 Hz and has recently been correlated to many forms of psi phenomena including energy healing.

The discovery of invisible radio waves which could be made to carry information led some prominent physicist to suggest that they might be used to facilitate contact with those who have crossed over or to communicate with other disincarnate entities. This type of research is still ongoing today but has become mired in controversy and has fallen into the category of pseudo-science.

Experiments with radio waves led to the discovery of higher frequency electromagnetic waves that constitute the light spectrum, only a small fraction of which fall into the visible range. EM wave radiation then became the darling of science and the basis of quantum physics.

It also became a source of investigation by intuitive practitioners who dealt with subtle body energies because the “feel” of these bodies mimicked the scientific descriptions of EM wave properties. These descriptions also verified that various “bands” or ranges of EM frequencies were useful to different types of communication and that higher frequencies also carried more energy. Many intuitives found these descriptions appealing because they suggested that the energetic templates which constitute the material realm were of a higher frequency. Until recently, measurement of these energies has been out of the reach of rigorous scientific investigation. What science can’t measure, science can’t study. But, as technology progresses, more and more subtle readings have been taken and new investigations are being brought to bear on the mysterious and invisible energies that surround and permeate the entire material universe.

The next article will cover what constitutes a field and the various types that have gained popular attention such as the Zero Point Field, Morphogenic Fields and the Implicate Order of subtle energies as espoused by David Bohm.

Some content excerpted from The Sage Age – Blending Science with Intuitive Wisdom
© 2008 MaAnna Stephenson
Content may be used freely with proper credit and a link to www.SageAge.net

The Sage Age is now in print

The Sage Age is now in print and will be available for purchase directly from the publisher after August 23rd. You will be able to get your copy before the official release date of September 1st. Click here to purchase or visit The Sage Age website for more information.

Their entire website is being updated and the online store server is having technical difficulties. If you have any difficulty, you may contact Nightengale Press directly during weekdays at 847.810.8498 and they will process your credit card order by phone.

The Harmonics of Sound

Sound has been a source of divine inspiration since the beginning of time and has been regarded as the very foundation of creation by many traditions. Archeological records indicate that all ancient cultures developed orthodox musical systems based on a pentatonic scale. While there might be a supernatural or metaphysical connection to account for how so many far-flung cultures came to this same conclusion, there is a very simple and down to earth explanation for it as well. The notes were derived from the naturally occurring harmonics inherent to sound itself.

Pythagoras was among the first recorded in the Western world to have established a mathematical basis for the natural harmonic series. He was also the first to tweak the tuning of an instrument in such a way that eventually led to the divorce of Western music tunings from these harmonics. By contrast, ancient Eastern culture adhered to the natural harmonics and chose to remain true to the Kung, or cosmic tone of the universe.

The ancient Chinese were meticulous in recording their astronomical observations. Like Pythagoras, they also found the mathematical underpinnings of music. But, unlike Pythagoras, they correlated these musical patterns to those they found in the cosmos, which were slightly irregular in their repetition. This is an important point because it exemplifies one of the main philosophical differences in Eastern and Western thought.

Pythagoras preferred a two-thirds division on a string to show an orderly, mathematical progression of the harmonic series. After seven such divisions, twelve distinct notes were produced. This was akin to the seven known planets traveling through the twelve zodiacs. He displayed these ratios geometrically in a circle. Upon the thirteenth division, the cycle was supposed to repeat, but it didn’t. That next note is actually just a little sharp, or higher in pitch, than the original note. This became known as the “comma of Pythagoras”. Because of his preference for symmetry, Pythagoras chose to de-tune the scale a bit so that all twelve notes would fit into one octave and the entire progression would fit perfectly into a circle. This became known as the Circle of Fifths.

The ancient Chinese also discovered this problem, but they chose to deal with it quite differently. In keeping with their belief that everything follows its own Tao, they elected not to confine the pattern to a perfect circle. Instead, they displayed it as an expanding spiral. This was also in accordance with their observations of the planets, which did not orbit in perfect circles either.

Because their tunings stayed true to the natural harmonic series, the Chinese developed linear styles of play in which one note was followed by another in serial fashion and the chord progression was built-up in the memory of the listener. So, in Eastern music, listening is not a passive act. It requires focus and paying attention to detail.

In stark contrast to these ideas, Western music became vertical with many notes stacked on top of one another and played simultaneously. The chords allowed the music to be delivered all at once so, the listener had little responsibility to pay attention or be patient for the whole of the sound to be delivered. This basic difference in philosophy can also be seen in the contrasting ways the East and West developed medicine and science in general.

Dividing a string is not the only way to experience the harmonic series. Let’s take a mythical journey back to a time when humans lived in caves and imagine how sound might have become sacred music in the first place. Caves are reverberant spaces. The hard, smooth rock walls would reflect or echo any sound produced inside the cave. Never having heard an echo, Bruno, our first-time cave dweller, was disconcerted by this phenomenon every time he made a sound and thought perhaps other people or creatures in the cave had created them. He eventually determined it was the sound of his own voice. As part of a ritual blessing, he made sounds and gestures to ward off any harmful spirits in his new home. Then, to encourage beneficial spirits to protect him, he made one long sustained sound. Suddenly the faint echo of women’s voices began to emerge from the cave. This startled Bruno, but he accepted it as the voices of the spirits who had answered him. What our mythical Bruno experienced might well have been the beginnings of musical harmony.

Sounds of a certain pitch correspond to waves of a certain length. If the wavelength of the sound Bruno created was the same as the distance between two walls of the cave, a standing wave would have been created. If sufficiently energized, the second harmonic of that wave would have been produced, which was the octave. Because it was higher than his own voice, Bruno may have thought it to be a woman or a spirit.

Other harmonics can be produced in this manner. In fact, the interiors of several gothic cathedrals and other temple structures are designed specifically to enhance the production of harmonics and simulate the ethereal sounds of angels or other heavenly beings. This type of rich harmonic environment is also why it just feels good to sing in the shower.

Some content excerpted from The Sage Age – Blending Science with Intuitive Wisdom
© 2008 MaAnna Stephenson
Content may be used freely with proper credit and a link to www.SageAge.net

New Lightning Types May Affect Our Psyche

Between the lower boundary of the ionosphere of the sky and the ground plane of the Earth exists a cavity that is continually energized by 40 million lightning strikes a day. This energy makes the cavity resonate and creates an electromagnetic (EM) standing wave that bounces between the sky and Earth. It travels at the speed of light, as do all EM waves, and circumnavigates the entire planet about 7.86 times per second. It is called the Schumann Resonance (SR) and studies show that it likely plays a critical role in psi activity.

The frequency range of the SR is between 1-40 Hz with a dominant frequency of 7.8 Hz which falls in the Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) range of the EM spectrum used for radio waves. It travels in a west to east direction and is longer at night than during the day. This is due to the rotation of the Earth and the sun’s rays compressing the ionosphere on the daylight side of the planet. It is primarily energized by lightning but the North American power grid energizes it as well because the ninth overtone of the dominant wave frequency (7.8 Hz) is 60 Hz, which is the operating frequency of the grid. (Most of the rest of the world’s power grids run at 50 Hz.) The SR is named for the physicist who first mathematically predicted its existence in 1952, Winfried Otto Schumann, although Nikola Tesla was the first to document his observations of it in 1902. Tesla was also the first to suggest the possibility of wireless radio communication.

The SR acts as a carrier wave for the sound of lightning activity all over the globe and this can be heard with a radio receiver tuned to the ELF range. Because the SR’s dominant frequency of 7.8 Hz is also in the middle of the alpha-theta range of brainwave activity, it has been studied as a carrier wave of psychic and healing abilities. In 1969, Robert C. Beck researched the brain activity of healers. They all entrained to the Schumann Resonance in both phase and frequency.

Professor Michael Persinger of the Psychophysiology Laboratory at Laurentian University noted that ELF waves propagate more easily from midnight to 4:00 a.m. and that they are easier to transmit from west to east rather than east to west. Persinger surveyed the ESP literature for any correlation and found that there was a direct correspondence in time and direction in both telepathic and clairvoyant episodes with the SR. Persinger also observed that the same geomagnetic disturbances and magnetic storms that affect global communication also disrupt the SR and psi experiences.

Although there are several accurate mathematical descriptions about how lightning behaves and a few theories about how it originates, to date no one is positively sure how it is generated. What we do know is that lightning makes amino acids, which is thought to be a critically important ingredient in causing life to arise from the primordial soup. Lightning also splits apart molecules in the air and by doing so makes nitrogen available to plants.

Most folks think one lightning bolt is pretty much the same as another. Amazingly though, new forms of lightning have been discovered in just the last few decades. While 75% of all bolts fire within clouds, most of those that strike toward the Earth are considered negative bolts. They are less than an inch wide and burn at about 50,000 degrees, which is hotter than the sun’s surface. Recently, it has been confirmed that some lightning bolts work in reverse and lower a positive charge to the ground. Unlike negative bolts, which burn for 10 milliseconds, positive bolts burn for hundreds of milliseconds with 10 times more amps. This has required NASA to develop new safety requirements for aircraft and space shuttles.

Another new form of lightning that is a concern for space flight is sprites, which is an acronym for Stratospheric/Mesospheric Perturbations Resulting from Intense Thunderstorm Electrification. Their official classification is as Transient Luminous Events or TLE’s. These new bolts are plumes of EM energy rising anywhere from 15,000 feet above the clouds to 50 miles high and 25 miles wide. They were predicted as early as 1925 by Scottish physicist C.T.R. Wilson, but weren’t documented until 1993 by Walt Lyons at the Yucca Ridge Field Station in Colorado.

Soon afterward, blue plumes called jets were found. They shot out into space. Later discoveries have been named elves, which is an acronym for Emissions of Light and VLF perturbations from EMP events. They are the most powerful bolts of all and can shoot anywhere from 10 to 50 miles up into space all the way through the ionosphere.

Since lightning plays a direct role in creating amino acids and, therefore life, and since humans are so attuned to the Schumann Resonance, it will be interesting to see what discoveries lay ahead in the investigation of these new types of lightning and how they affect life on Earth. It will be especially interesting to see how it may affect those who practice the intuitive arts.

Some content excerpted from The Sage Age – Blending Science with Intuitive Wisdom
© 2008 MaAnna Stephenson
Content may be used freely with proper credit and a link to www.SageAge.net

Dancing to the Same Score

One of the most famous experiments in physics is a simple yet profound example of the dual nature of light. It is called the “two-slit experiment.” It was first conducted by English polymath, Thomas Yong around 1800 and validated the wave theory of light, overturning Newton’s corpuscular ideas. Neils Bohr used it to develop the Principle of Complementarity showing that light was both a particle and a wave and no description of light was complete without referencing both. It was also at the heart of Einstein’s famous thought experiment called the EPR Paradox, designed to show the incompleteness of quantum theory. One of the most intriguing aspects of the experiment is that you find exactly what you expect to find. It validates light as both a particle and a wave. How can this be? Well, that is the very question physicists have been trying to answer for over 200 years.

The experiment is very simple. A steady laser beam of light is aimed at a target. Two devices with slits which can be individually opened or closed are placed side by side in the path of the light beam. When only one slit is open, all of the light travels through it and hits a target on the other side of the slit in a bullet fashion. This demonstrates the particle nature of light. When both slits are open, the pattern on the target looks exactly like waves which are interfering with one another. The most puzzling thing is that these same patterns emerge when the light is sent in a steady stream or when one photon is released at a time.

There are two main conclusions which physicists have drawn from this experiment. The first is that you find what you are seeking. If you set up the experiment with one slit to detect particles, that’s what is produced on the target. If you set up the experiment to detect waves, that will be the pattern produced regardless if it is a steady stream of light or one photon at a time.

As physicists attempted to come to grips with these results, some exotic theories arose. Some called into play the hidden variables found in entanglement experiments. Others suggested that each particle somehow “knows” beforehand which path to take so that it mysteriously cooperated with all of the other particles yet to be fired. Einstein even suggested a pilot wave ahead of the particle that served to guide it.

Physicist David Bohm developed a most intriguing theory. He described the two-slit experiment as photons dancing to a musical score. The score came from what he called the Seamless Whole which acted as a pool of information. This Whole included the physicist, the laser, the photons within the laser beam, the slits and the target, or measuring device. After the experiment was set up by the physicist, all elements of it became known to the Whole. For example, the conditions under which the experiment would be conducted was one element in the overall pool of information in the entire system. If the experiment were set up with one slit open to detect particles, that condition became a “known” element in the entire system. The photons then, simply went along with that information. In other words, they danced to that music. When the experimental conditions were changed, i.e., when the music changed, the photons simply did another dance in accordance. The photons didn’t have to have prior knowledge of anything nor was an observer necessary.

Prior to the introduction of Bohm’s theory, all of quantum physics had been absorbed in determining the state of a system in the present and the prediction of how that system would be in the future. This description was muddled in murky probabilities. Bohm’s theory described the genuine motion of particles over time, not just the probability of where any one would be at any one time. This solidified the idea that the universe must be seen as a whole system and that anything which can be said of its individual elements at any one instance is only a partial description at best. Bohm’s theories eventually came to be referred to as Bohmian Mechanics.

One of the interesting features of the two-slit experiment is that it allows a thing to be realized in two different ways. But, our daily experience would lead us to believe the words of Gertrude Stein in that “A rose, is a rose, is a rose.” We can accumulate different sensations of it by looking at it, smelling it and even touching it, but alas, it remains a rose. But, the two-slit experiment demonstrates a thing becoming a wave. That’s like a door knob turning into a sound depending on how you observe it. The entire concept is mind-boggling. Of such things, Heisenberg said, “What we learn about is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our methods of questioning.” Perhaps someday we will have a broader concept of nature that will give the two-slit experiment a fitting context so that we can better understand the question we are asking of it.

Some content excerpted from The Sage Age – Blending Science with Intuitive Wisdom
© 2008 MaAnna Stephenson
Content may be used freely with proper credit and a link to www.SageAge.net

The Power of a Curved Line Known as Gravity

Since ancient times, many people have theorized why things fell toward the Earth. The ancient Greeks, Newton and Einstein have all dramatically expanded our understanding. Even today, it is still a subject of debate as new experiments may shed light on a topic that is as old as the universe itself. Gravity is usually described as an attractive force. But, that force is actually a by-product of the power in a curved line.

Ancient geometers were aware of curved line effects but, the significance of this concept wasn’t attached to gravity until the time of Einstein. The writings of Aristotle stated that all things fell to Earth because everything was made of earthly substances and they were attracted to their natural home. Galileo substantiated this claim by stating that the center point of a pendulum’s swing always pointed toward the Earth, which provided its source of attraction.

Newton also subscribed to this view of attraction, but he expanded it in significant ways. He is credited with giving the affects of gravity a mathematical foundation and directly associating gravity with the mass of an object. For example, an apple has mass. So does the Earth. Since the planet is bigger than the apple, it has more mass and thus, more attraction or gravity. So, an apple falls toward the ground because the Earth’s attractive force is the larger. He applied this idea on a cosmological scale to account for why the planets in our solar system orbited the sun and why moons orbited planets. Because of Newton’s combined knowledge in ancient geometry, alchemy and the use of Calculus to determine acceleration along a curved line, it is amazing that he did not relate this concept to gravity. But, eventually, someone did.

Einstein’s first paper was found to be a special case over a limited range of circumstances, hence its common name of Special Relativity. It did not take into account the affects of gravity. He then developed a more general theory which did. It took him a decade to complete and it revolutionized the model we use to understand what gravity is and how it works.

Einstein stated that mass was not necessarily attractive, it simply bent or curved the space around it and that curve provided the means to move one body toward another. In Special Relativity he showed that spacetime is actually a fabric. In General Relativity he showed how it is bent or deformed by mass.

An easy way to imagine this process is to picture a bowling ball, which represents a planet, at the center of a trampoline, which represents the fabric of spacetime. Since the ball has mass, or weight, it curves the surface of the trampoline a great deal near the center and only a little at the edge. If we set a golf ball near the edge, it has very little mass, so it doesn’t bend the surface very much. If we give the golf ball a little push around the edge, it will circle in a spiral that draws ever closer to the bowling ball.

Here’s the key point Einstein made. The golf ball is merely following a path determined by the curve of the trampoline. The bowling ball is not actively exerting an attractive force. As the golf ball nears the center, the curve is greater hence, the force is greater and it “falls” even faster toward the bowling ball. Einstein showed that the acceleration that one massive object “feels” when it approaches another is what constitutes gravity. In other words, acceleration and gravity are the same phenomenon. Gravity then, is an effect or by-product of the bending of space.

It is unfortunate that most dictionaries and text books still describe gravity as an attractive force, which is often misunderstood to be akin to other types of attractive forces such as magnetism. This concept is misleading in that it attributes the force to the massive body, not to the curve.

There are several reasons to update this notion of attraction. You are not kept on the face of the Earth because it is pulling you down. You stay in place because space is pushing down on you. The moon has less mass than the Earth therefore it curves the space around it less. So, you weigh less on the moon simply because space is pushing on you less there. Einstein’s model also shows how everything in the universe is connected to, and affected by, everything else in the universe.

There is no way to over-emphasize the importance of understanding the nature of gravity to our future knowledge of how the universe came to be, what it is, and how everything in it works. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four known forces. This disparity is the monkey wrench that
keeps physicists from being able to generate a Grand Unified Theory. It is hoped that experiments at the new Large Hadron Collider will help identify why the forces aren’t equal and whether gravity could be leaking out of our universe into others, as suggested by Lisa Randall, Professor of theoretical physics at Harvard University.

Some content excerpted from The Sage Age – Blending Science with Intuitive Wisdom
© 2008 MaAnna Stephenson
Content may be used freely with proper credit and a link to www.SageAge.net

Einstein and His Famous Equation

When most people hear the name Einstein, the next thought is usually his famous equation, E=mc2. Believe it or not, Einstein’s Nobel Prize was not awarded for this revolutionary discovery, but for his lesser known paper on the Photo-Electric Effect also published in the same year. A good deal of the confusion about Relativity Theory is that most folks think it is one theory. It is actually three different ideas submitted in three different papers. The equation showing the relationship of energy to mass can be found in an addendum he submitted three months after publishing the Special Theory of Relativity in 1905. He began work on the General Theory of Relativity in 1907 and finished it in 1915. With it, he added the effects of gravity to his original equations and revolutionized how we view the makeup of the universe. And then there’s the confusion about that light speed squared business. What’s that all about?

Einstein’s first paper was titled “On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies.” This eventually became known as the Theory of Special Relativity. It dealt primarily with how space and time were related, showing that they were actually two descriptions of the same phenomenon known as 4D spacetime. (A description of spacetime and how it differs from 3D space with an added element of time can be found in my article titled “Dimensions.”) It also explained the time dilation between objects which were moving near the speed of light and those that were moving very slow compared to the speed of light.

The paper showed time to be relative to its frame of reference. For example, if you and a buddy are standing in the aisle of a moving jet and tossing a ball back and forth, the two of you seem to be still and the ball seems to be moving at a normal, slow rate of speed. But, to an observer on the ground the ball, you, your friend, and the jet are all moving at 200 mph. The plane provides you with a different frame of reference than the one the observer on the ground has. Both Galileo and Newton understood this concept and called it an “inertial frame.” Einstein enlarged the inertial frame by stating that everything including you, the jet and the observer on the ground were all moving at speeds far below that of light. When one of the objects in the scenario gets ramped up to light speed, everything changes.

Because of this, no one observer had a privileged frame of reference. In other words, if an event happened and was observed in two different spatial locations, the event might appear to have happened simultaneously to one observer and as two separate events to another observer. The different perspectives were due to each observer’s motion in relation to the event. Therefore, both observations would be correct to each observer respectively. It would be impossible for either observer to claim they saw the event the “right” way.

Just as Einstein’s first paper showed that space and time were two descriptions of one phenomenon, similarly, the addendum to this paper showed that energy and mass were also two descriptions of one phenomenon. Energy and mass are not equal, as is often misquoted. They are intra-convertible. A very small amount of mass can be exchanged for a very large amount of energy, as demonstrated by experiments in atomic and nuclear physics. It’s considered one of the most elegant formulas in all of physics because a few characters demonstrate the complex concepts found in the original equation which is big enough to fill a blackboard.

Einstein applied this equation to whether or not an object of mass, any mass, could be accelerated to the speed of light. That’s also were the c2 part of the equation comes into play. The whole thing is about speed, not light. Let’s roll a rock to see how that works. It’s a rather large rock, so it takes a good deal of energy to get it rolling. The energy from that initial push is now stored in the rock as kinetic energy, which it dissipates as it rolls. Any additional pushes just store more kinetic energy than the can dissipate and now it has velocity. So, when we want to stop the rock from rolling, we have to absorb the extra energy it contains. The kinetic energy is proportional to the speed squared. So, if you give the rock twice the energy it can disperse, it will take four times as much energy to stop it from rolling (twice the energy squared is four times the energy). In Einstein’s equation, c represents the speed of light, emphasis placed on the word “speed.” His famous equation then, is the ratio of the energy required to move a mass proportional to the speed of light squared.

Some content excerpted from The Sage Age – Blending Science with Intuitive Wisdom
© 2008 MaAnna Stephenson
Content may be used freely with proper credit and a link to www.SageAge.net

Non-locality and Entanglement

Einstein called non-locality “spooky action at a distance”. He was concerned that the early founders of quantum mechanics were attributing the effects we see in the manifested, material world to be initiated by non-local causes, meaning that they were not measurable in the physical realm. Einstein’s entire argument against non-local causes involves a condition known as entanglement.

To show that quantum theory was incomplete, he asked two fellow physicists to help devise a thought experiment which later became famously known as the EPR Paradox. In it was theorized that when a particle goes through beta decay, two new particles were produced. Because they have interacted with one another, they are considered to be entangled. Those two particles are sent away from each other in either a straight line or at right angles. When the spin of both are measured, a table of results can be created showing that they are correlated in some direct manner. Einstein suggested that the only way for this to happen was that some force traveled between particle A and B, delivering the necessary information for B to drop into the appropriate state in correlation to the state of A after A had been measured.

Here’s the catch which Einstein pointed out. A force can only travel at the speed of light and can only go so far between each particle. This means that the short range of the force’s furthermost reach can be traversed at the speed of light in what amounts to no time, or instantaneously. If the distance between the particles is increased, no force can travel that far so as to instantaneously affect the other particle.

Here’s another way to think about this concept. A large building contains a very powerful electromagnet. When it is turned on, nearby metallic objects will fly toward it. But, the magnet’s field can only affect objects within a certain distance. It doesn’t affect the cars outside the building in the parking lot. If it could affect the cars at the same time and in the same way as nearby metal objects, some influence outside hidden force or information would have to travel faster than the speed of light out to the parking lot. In quantum theory, this influence is called a “hidden variable”. Einstein wanted to show that no such spooky thing existed.

Later, physicist John Bell developed a matrix, or a table, showing every combination of detection at every combination of angle alignment of the two detectors and compared it to a table showing classically measured results (those with only local causes). The table showed that the quantum theory of hidden variables produced more accurate predictions than did the table of classical measurements. This was experimentally proved in 1982 by physicist Alan Aspect.

Some physicists also interpreted this experiment to mean that faster-than-light travel might also be possible. The type of correlation referred to in Bell’s Theorem was called entanglement in a 1935 paper written by Edwin Schrödinger.

The metaphysical and epistemological implications of this idea are staggering. What is chosen for one system affects all other systems that are entangled with it. Of this, Schrödinger went on to say,

“It is rather discomforting that the theory should allow a system to be steered or piloted into one or the other type of state at the experimenter’s mercy in spite of his having no access to it”.

This leads back to the philosophical implications of free will versus determinism which is often entangled with the human philosophical implications of the same topics. Later, Schrödinger’s original idea of this reality has been expanded to include all experiential reality including that of the mind and soul, which Schrödinger never meant to address. As Heisenberg pointed out, philosophical arguments cannot altogether be avoided and good physics can be spoiled by poor philosophy.

Scientific theories and discoveries such as entanglement don’t actually prove anything. They provide models and frameworks of understanding. They beg us to ask the question, “Do the laws which describe the physical realm also apply to any non-physical realm?” Many intuitives might argue that this is a bogus question to begin with. They might assert that the laws of the non-physical realm are what create and sustain what we perceive as the physical realm. Unfortunately, science needs something to measure to study a thing at all. Since the advent of quantum theory, some physicists have come to the same realization that every mystic has always espoused, which is that the act of measurement is the limit of science, but not the limit of reality.

Do you experience “spooky action at a distance” that seems to imply the transfer of information outside the physical realm? Is there a boundary beyond which science can never measure but some information from it still influences our material realm?

Some content excerpted from The Sage Age – Blending Science with Intuitive Wisdom
© 2008 MaAnna Stephenson
Content may be used freely with proper credit and a link to www.SageAge.net

Quantum – What Does it Mean?

Quantum – What Does it Mean?

The investigations that led to the development of quantum mechanics began in the mid 1800s. It started as a simple inquiry as to why heated objects glowed in different colors. This became a field of research investigating “black body” radiation. It centered on the study of light and the final conclusions drawn were that the frequency of the emitted light was temperature dependant and that higher frequency waves carried higher energy. This study eventually branched off into the field of spectroscopy and the analysis of the color spectrum different elements emitted when heated.

From these early inquiries, Newton was able to develop the laws of thermodynamics in the late seventeenth century. By the mid-nineteenth century, physicists knew that heat was produced by the accelerated motion of molecules and at absolute zero temperature, the motion of the molecules became still. Also by this time Michael Faraday had experimentally established the theories of electrodynamics and these were mathematically grounded by James Clerk Maxwell.

The mystery most puzzling physicists of the time was how to tie the theories of thermodynamics (heat), electrodynamics (light) and the new mechanics (matter) together. Johann Jakob Balmer found at least a partial and most intriguing piece of this puzzle when he came up with a formula that worked over a limited range. Later, Max Planck developed a formula that worked over all ranges, but there was a hitch. It only worked if the radiation was discontinuous. In other words, the radiation had to come in tiny, discreet packets which he called quanta. And, there was another problem. At the time, electromagnetic radiation was thought to travel only in waves.

Soon afterward Einstein published a paper on the Photoelectric Effect describing light as traveling in discreet particles, just as Planck had indicated. Each light quanta, or discrete packet, carried a specific amount of energy, known as a quantum. Today we know this as a single photon particle. In essence, Planck showed that energy was emitted in packets and Einstein showed that energy was absorbed the same way. The work of Planck and Einstein established the particle idea of light. Thus began the modern debate over the wave/particle nature of light that continues to this day. Einstein later showed a preference to Schrödinger’s wave mechanics, but most physicists today still favor the particle nature simply because so much applied science can be derived from it.

This initial combination of discoveries also finally tied thermodynamics, electrodynamics and mechanics together. The theories of mechanics deal with ponderable matter, so the new theories of quantum mechanics dealt primarily with how light and matter interacted.

Later, physicist Niels Bohr applied the newest quantum theories and found that the energy in electrons combined with the frequency of their orbits equaled Planck’s constant. From this he surmised that electrons jump from one energy state to another in a discontinuous fashion. In other words, they go from one orbit to another without existing anywhere in between. This became known as a quantum leap.

Today, the word quantum is popularly associated with anything that accesses or pertains to an invisible realm of subatomic particles which acts as a single entity and cooperates with our intentions. Considering the vast difference in the original and popular definitions, it seems that the very word has made a quantum leap in meaning.

Perhaps the word “quantum” has been confused with the actions of special quantum level systems such as a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC). In this instance, a gas is cooled to near absolute zero and the atoms reach their lowest energy state, also known as their lowest quantum state of potential. At that point, the system exhibits quantum effects meaning that the atoms no longer act individually. They begin to act as a single unit.

The empty parts of outer space are at near-zero temperatures. This is commonly referred to as the Zero Point Field in cosmology. In general, the Zero Point Field (ZPF) is the baseline energy of a system when that system is near a temperature of absolute zero. Without this baseline energy, the system could not exist in manifested space. The ZPF must be accounted for when investigating these systems because at the quantum level, energy cannot be completely still.

Physicist David Bohm stated that the quantum realm is not a real place. It is a set of equations that map or describe a process just below the threshold of everyday matter. Some popular references to the quantum realm describe it as if it is a real place or thing even if it is invisible.

What does the word quantum mean for you? Do you think devices that have the word quantum in their name or description really analyze something different than other biofeedback type devices? Do you think quantum has become an overused buzzword just to sell things?

Some content excerpted from The Sage Age – Blending Science with Intuitive Wisdom
© 2008 MaAnna Stephenson
Content may be used freely with proper credit and a link to www.SageAge.net

Dimensions – A Word of Many Faces

The word “dimension” is used very differently by the rational sciences than by the intuitive arts communities. In its most basic sense, the term “dimension” means “measured out.” It generally refers to the measure of physical space and that is how mathematics and the rational sciences treat it. In the intuitive arts, dimension usually refers to a realm of existence whether or not it occupies physical space. So, the rational sciences community and the intuitive arts community have a bit of an ontological disagreement about this word. Therefore, the term must be considered in context for its proper meaning to be derived.

The type of geometry most of us studied in high school is called planar because it includes only the two dimensions of a flat surface. A simple x,y grid, known as a Cartesian coordinate system, is enough to describe the location of any point on that plane. But, to describe most objects, we need an extra dimension of height, also known as the z axis. To describe where a jet is while flying through the air, we need an extra dimension of time. So, a flying jet requires four dimensions to be described properly, which are x,y,z and a fourth dimension of time.

This type of measurement is often confused with Einstein’s description of 4D spacetime, which is actually a description of one thing, not four separate elements of description. It is the geometrical fabric of space which can be bent into shapes by the force of gravity. This also bends time at the same rate. So, to clarify the difference, objects in motion can be described with four dimensions, three which reference a point in space and one reference of time. These are four separate descriptive elements. On the other hand, spacetime is one 4D thing. The element of time is intrinsic to the same fabric as are the spatial dimensions.

The word “dimension” as used by intuitive arts practitioners usually refers to realms of existence. The physical domain is one such realm of existence. The other dimensions are not as dense as the one in which we physically exist. The physical dimension is like light which has been slowed down to the point of seeming solid. Beings and objects in the other dimensions are composed entirely of light or pure energy, which is why they can move faster, or at a higher frequency, than can usually be perceived in the physical realm.

Many parallels have been drawn in New Age thought between this idea and those of quantum mechanics, which state that we seem solid, but we are actually composed of bits of energy. The quantum model still falls short of what the intuitives intend, but it suffices for the sake of comparison and as a modeling reference.

Since the words light, frequency and vibration are used by both the rational sciences and the intuitive arts, confusion often arises because of the different applied meanings. For instance, in physics, String Theory requires ten spatial dimensions. M Theory requires eleven dimensions. These are spatial dimensions, not realms of existence. Since physical existence is described by three planes of measure and one of time, we can’t even point to another spatial plane. So, where are these extra dimensions that are required for String Theory? Believe it or not, they are rolled up inside the other dimensions. Just try to imagine another spatial plane rolled up inside length. It’s inconceivable to the mind but perfectly acceptable in theoretical mathematics.

The idea that one physical dimension is rolled up inside another and occupying the same “space” seems, to me, more far-out than a purely energetic being of higher frequency occupying the same physical space that I do. So, in many ways, physicists and intuitives are dealing with the same dilemmas in offering proof of the existence of other dimensions. Most intuitives state that the other dimensions are nearly imperceptible for what they really are and there are extremely few words from our material existence which are an adequate match for the experiences. Physicists lament that they have the same problem. At some point, we simply have to extend our faith around these concepts in order to make progress in the investigation of them until we can develop the hard proof that they exist.

Some content excerpted from The Sage Age – Blending Science with Intuitive Wisdom
© 2008 MaAnna Stephenson
Content may be used freely with proper credit and a link to www.SageAge.net
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The Rational Scientist and the Intuitive Arts Practitioner

In our daily lives, each of us incorporates our rational “knowings” and our intuitive “knowings” into a wholistic matrix that helps us make sense of our world. It’s likely that each of us leans a little more toward one way or the other type of knowing depending on personal preference.

The phrases “rational scientist” and “intuitive practitioner” are used extensively throughout The Sage Age. These are not mutually exclusive types of people. Rather, they represent schools of thought in perception and focus. For example, “rational scientist” refers to those who primarily make use of the intellect in the methodical investigation of reality. The term “intuitive practitioner” refers to those who primarily use a supersensible means of perception in a wholistic investigation of reality. In other words, they use senses other than the five associated with the tangible world. The term “intuitive” is a little different than the word “spirituality” in an important way. The intuitive arts are concerned with the esoteric sciences meaning that they deal primarily with the investigation of metaphysics in a methodical manner. Spirituality, on the other hand, is personal and subjective and focuses on how each person relates to everything in accordance with their beliefs.

At this point in history we have the opportunity to combine all ways of knowing to understand informed energy in an entirely new way thereby resolving many of the dilemmas we face today. The Sage Age highlights the information that each way of knowing brings and blends them into new models for new thought.

How do you combine your rational and intuitive knowings to form a wholistic view?

New book blends new science and New Age into new models for new thought.

In the tradition of the information presented in "What the Bleep Do We Know?!", author MaAnna Stephenson and Nightengale Press introduce The Sage Age – Blending Science with Intuitive Wisdom, an expansive new work that combines knowledge from physics and intuitive practice to present a visionary perspective of science and mysticism. Four years in the writing, The Sage Age provides a well-rounded and well-researched approach to its subjects, not only providing historical context and theory, but including practical examples of what this information can mean and how it can be responsibly applied for the benefit of humankind.
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Written for the seeker with more than a casual interest, The Sage Age demystifies complex ideas with relatable analogies and examples. Unlike other books currently on the market, which focus on one area of cutting-edge science as it relates to ancient practice, The Sage Age covers a broad range of sources from ancient to modern thought and places them in a historical context that harmonizes the new science with current intuitive wisdom. This amazing new work provides a look into the depth and breadth of its subject matter, taking centuries of information and collating it into an understandable, cohesive whole. Living up to its mantra of "new models for new thought," The Sage Age is certain to be a catalyst for dialogue and is destined to be a major work in its field.

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