Bending Spacetime with String Theory

Where science, psychology, and psi events meet
One of the aspects of String Theory that is mind-boggling is the concept of dimensions inside other dimensions. To accomplish this feat, one dimension has to curl up inside the other. A comment someone made recently about inter-dimensional beings projected new light on this topic and provided a model to begin to form a mental construct to picture it.

The word “dimension” is a term used by both scientists and intuitive practitioners. However, it means different things in each context. To a scientist, it denotes a plane of measure, like length. To an intuitive, it means realms of existence. (For more on this topic, see the article Dimensions – A Word of Many Faces.)

String Theory concedes ten dimensions of measure to be described and eleven dimensions to be properly understood. These dimensions are planes of measure, like length. To describe a jet plane flying through the air, you would need four dimensions, including the x and y trajectories, the height from the ground, known as the z trajectory, and the speed, or time trajectory.

To get to the ten or eleven dimensions of String Theory, some dimensions have to be curled up inside another. That’s like width being curled up inside length, and that’s the mind-boggling part of the theory. It’s very difficult, if not impossible, to imagine such a thing.

The reason that physicists theorize that these extra dimensions are curled up inside the ones we commonly experience is because matter travels in a circular pattern.

Recently, a colleague was discussing the possibility of inter-dimensional beings and declared that they had the capability of bending time so that five days spent with them may only correlate to a few minutes in our dimension.

What occurred to me was that if beings could exist in one of the curled up dimensions described in String Theory, the fabric of spacetime would be bent there in such a way that our timeframes would not be the same. So, the entities would not have to possess the capability to bend time because it would simply be a result of the difference in the dimensions.

Of course, this discussion brought to mind creation stories from several cultures and how the long periods of the Creator’s calendar differed so widely from the solar calendar days we use. Typically, a day for the Creator would equate to an epoch of time in Earth days.

These musings on curled up dimensions and the bending of spacetime may not hold up to the math of String Theory but, it certainly provided a model and framework to finally conceive the ideas.

Review of The Quantum Activist

Review of The Quantum Activist
Documentary featuring Dr. Amit Goswami
http://quantumactivist.com/

Thanks to the nice folks at Blue Dot Productions, I’ve had the pleasure of viewing an advanced copy of the new documentary Quantum Activist featuring theoretical physicist, Dr. Amit Goswami. You may be familiar with him from his many books including The Self-Aware Universe or his appearance in the documentary What the Bleep Do We Know?

Most professors admit that they truly did not understand their field of choice until they began to teach it to others. Dr. Goswami’s mastery of quantum physics is quite evident. His textbook on quantum mechanics is still the de facto collegiate standard for teaching students the basic equations of that science. From reading his books and watching this documentary, it is also evident that he has a mastery of philosophy that is inclusive of many cultures, religions, and belief systems. All of this knowledge is squarely rooted in a true understanding of history and the evolution of human thought, and that is what makes him a visionary. It is impossible for someone to connect such far-flung dots if they do not have a deep understanding of multiple disciplines and how they evolved into what we now experience.

It’s extraordinarily difficult to produce and market a documentary of this type. Veteran intuitive practitioners may find the tenets of spirituality Dr. Goswami presents very basic in scope. But, it’s important to understand the intended audience. Over the last several decades, a bridge has been built between the realm where scientists reside and the realm of intuitive practitioners. Dr. Goswami was once far inland on the science side. This documentary is the story of his journey to the bridge and his continued movement in that direction. He mostly speaks in language that is grounded in scientific and philosophic tradition. It can be heard by those who live inland and still practice materialist science. If he turned in the other direction, he would be facing the bridge and speaking only to those who are already standing nearer to the center, and that is preaching to the choir and unnecessary.

All documentaries are a snapshot in time. Where Dr. Goswami is on the bridge at the time this documentary was made is not nearly as important as the fact that he is moving toward the center and doing it in a way that will eventually bring other physicists with him.

One of the greatest gifts Dr. Goswami presents is something that he first gave to himself, and that is clarity. He knows what he knows with precision. Anytime he is presented with a question he cannot answer, he is diligent to investigate it, drop old beliefs that are no longer relevant, and expand his framework to accommodate the new information while maintaining the consistency of his theories. It’s like a sculptor finding the art that he already sees in the stone. He is in the process of removing that which is not the art and we are the benefactors of his craft.

I believe history will record Dr. Goswami as being a pivotal influence in developing a definition of consciousness that works across multiple disciplines, which in itself is a grand feat. He does this by making the case for consciousness as the ground of being instead of matter, as it has been regarded by Western culture since the time of the Ancient Greek philosophers. This resolves a number of paradoxes in quantum physics including the illusion of duality and the quantum measurement problem that even Einstein and Schrodinger grappled with in the beginning of the discipline.

He is also building the framework for a new understanding of the multiple levels of consciousness. In doing so, Dr. Goswami is presented with the limitations of current vocabulary. It is difficult to present an entirely new idea using words that have been wracked in controversy and highly emotional debates for eons. At the moment, Dr. Goswami defines at least two levels of consciousness using the words ego and god. He does so because it is necessary for him, by some means, to relate his new theories to concepts we already understand. To add insult to injury, these word choices could also lead to unnecessary disagreements that distract from the point he is trying to make.

However, in the documentary, he uses inspired analogies to explain the different levels of consciousness and clarifies several misunderstandings that were made vogue in the 1970s that eventually led to misinterpretations of practices that focus on attraction and intention and why many of these exercises don’t work. He also elucidates the concept of how we create our own reality versus how we perceive and react to reality and then create our own experience of it.

Dr. Goswami has lived in-country with materialist science and he fully understands the culture from an experiential basis. His statement that physics does not deal with the nature of reality is not new. It never has. But, his charge that the current paradigm in physics leaves no room for such questions is a highly contentious declaration to those still entrenched in that way of thinking. The first big split in quantum physics was due to a fundamental argument between Einstein and Bohr concerning the non-local aspect of reality. Dr. Goswami is resurrecting that argument in a way that is likely to revive many of the old lines of reasoning, putting them up for renewed debate. And, that is the point. If we hope to think new thoughts, we must construct them from new models. Dr. Goswami has done his homework and is now shaping a new framework that will eventually lead to real advancements in human thought instead of re-treading old ideas.

Article Block Party - Quantum Physics and Einstein

Articles - Topics covered in The Sage Age

Want to know a little bit about what the word quantum really means or why Einstein called the ideas of entanglement and non-locality "spooky action at a distance"? Ever wonder what the "c squared" part of Einstein's famous equation actually represents?

The Sage Age site has some wonderful articles on subjects covered in the book and we're throwing an article block party focusing on related themes. The articles featured in this block party include:

• Quantum - What Does it Mean? ~ follows the word quantum from its inception to how it's used today.
• Non-locality and Entanglement ~ find out why Einstein made such a fuss about these concepts
• Einstein and His Famous Equation ~ Most folks think Relativity was just one big idea. It was actually three separate theories. And what's that "c squared" stuff all about?

To join the block party, visit the Articles page on The Sage Age site.

New Dates Posted for Lecture Tour

More dates have been added for the lecture tour on "How Thoughts Become Reality", which covers the scientific investigation of thought including the PEAR studies, the Global Consciousness Project, and using focused intent for healing. It also clarifies the role of quantum physics in all scientific thought research and why Einstein called the ideas of non-locality and entanglement "spooky action at a distance." Also discussed are recent breakthroughs in brain-mapping technology that will be immediately applicable to quadriplegics and amputees, allowing them to be more functional and will change the way we interact with our environment by thought.

The talk includes the definition of thought-forms according to advanced intuitive practitioners and how our thoughts affect ourselves and others as well as color our world view.

Visit the On Tour page of The Sage Age site for more details.

Coming To Terms with Light

Articles - Topics covered in The Sage Age

What is light? Intuitives, philosophers, and scientists have been trying to answer that question since antiquity. Intuitives claim that light penetrates each realm of existence and “All That Is”, is made of light. Quantum physics also suggests that the foundation of every physical thing is based on light. While on the surface it seems that scientists and intuitives are on the same page, are they really talking about the same thing?

Visit The Sage Age to read the full article. You'll also find a link back to the blog to post your comments about what you think light is.

The Living Matrix Debuts in London

Where science, psychology, and psi events meet

A new film, The Living Matrix – The Science of Healing, features today’s leading frontier science researchers, psychologists, and holistic practitioners to view the body and healing using energetic information-based medicine methods.

The documentary was produced by Greg Becker and Harry Massey and was inspired by Becker’s seven-year struggle with chronic fatigue syndrome that left him bedridden. His road to recovery began when he met doctor of Chinese medicine Peter Fraser, who combines physics, biology and Eastern medicine into a treatment known as body-field therapy.

In part, the movie examines the role of quantum physics on biomechanical functions at the cellular level and finds that “our cells are senders and receivers of information, controlling our health in ways we never imagined.” It also address the scientific understanding of the placebo effect and what seem to be miracle cures.

The film features Dr. Fraser, cellular biologist Dr. Bruce Lipton, healer Dr. Eric Pearl, biophysicist Dr. James Oschmann, Director of Research at Institute of HeartMath Dr. Rollin McCraty, and others.

Folks facing health challenges also share their stories of using information-based therapies to treat chronic fatigue syndrome, an inoperable brain tumor, and cerebral palsy.

The Living Matrix premiered in London to a sold-out crowd and was followed by “The Science of Healing Conference” where participants were treated to workshops by presenters in the movie.

The DVD was released on March 13th, 2009 and is available on the site’s store.

The Quantum Science of Chi

My friend, Kim Gould of Love Your Design, posted a video on her blog of a Professor of Theoretical Physics who began using Tai Chi to improve his health. He is now dedicated to defining aspects of Chi so the rigors of scientific exploration can be applied to its study and how it plays a role in distance healing. This is not to say that Chi can fully be described and understood by science, only that it can be partially defined in a way that allows quantifiable data to be collected about it. This is akin to the relationship science has with electricity. We can say with great precision what electricity does. We can generate it at will and control how it operates. But, to date, no one can say exactly what electricity is. We still only have working theories to describe it but that does not keep us from working with it in useful ways.

To see the brief video, please visit Kim’s blog at http://www.loveyourdesign.com/blog/?p=235

For those willing to build a bridge

Social media sites such as Twitter are great ways to connect with folks. I’ve enjoyed daily chatting with 300 energy workers, PhDs of all sorts, physicists, intuitives, as well as both allopathic and naturopathic practitioners from all over the world.

Recently I lost a follower on Twitter; a biologist. He was unhappy that I said hello to a homeopathic practitioner. As a way to bridge the gap, I explained that I found a homeopathic remedy that treated a head cold far better than any allopathic remedy I had used. He maintained that my lack of symptoms should be attributed to the placebo effect. Replying that I was a skeptic myself and the homeopathic remedy actually worked better was enough to cause him to leave the conversation.

That event really pushed a few thoughts forward for me. First, it solidifies the fact that a bridge between the rational sciences and intuitive wisdom is greatly needed now more than ever.

Second, there are folks on both sides of that bridge who are so entrenched in their current beliefs that they are, as yet, unwilling to uproot and move to a more moderate position where all ways of knowing are considered valuable. Believe it or not, I’ve encountered just as much "I don’t even want to hear it" resistance from the intuitive community as well.

The main war I see between the two sides is squarely focused on the healing arts. Physicists, on the other hand, are a different breed of scientist and seem to be closer to the bridge and willing to listen to all ways of knowing. This is especially true of quantum physicists, who have shown everyone that there is demonstrable evidence of a world unseen that operates by its own rules. Intuitves who are closer to the bridge seem willing to contribute to the dialogue on this level as well.

The third thought this Twitter episode brought to mind was the fact that, until the early 1900s, all U.S. hospitals were homeopathic. Then the AMA was formed. Their by-laws stated that any doctor who associated with homeopathic physicians could not be a member. I doubt that the biologist on Twitter was aware of this by-law but obviously it is still being enforced one hundred years later.

For all those who are willing to be a bridge and risk their personal and professional credentials, thank you. For all those who are willing to step on that bridge and dialogue with one another, thank you. You are helping us all move forward in a new direction, together.

See the links in the sidebar to follow me on Twitter and join in the conversation.

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

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.