Times Square to get a close look at consciousness when video brings questions of mind, physics, and reality to main street

The Institute of Noetic Sciences is using Men’s Wearhouse sponsorship and major international travel destination to raise mainstream awareness of consciousness research in areas of transformation, healing, and mind-matter ability

Petaluma, CA, April 21, 2011 – Millions of visitors to Times Square are in for a riveting encounter this month when the beguiling face of a child, blue and tattooed to represent multiple worldviews, fills a giant video screen to ask some of the most taboo questions studied by science.

Is there life after death? Do our thoughts have the power to heal? Can we see into the future? These are the questions that ignite scientific inquiry at one of the world’s most renowned yet relatively obscure consciousness research institutes. The Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) hopes they also will awe and inspire a large tourist population to support its research and education programs.

“We need an emerging population of supporters to ensure our longevity and to help consciousness research continue to benefit future generations,” said IONS CEO Dr. Marilyn Schlitz. For information about supporting IONS, visit Noetic.org.

IONS also expects the ad’s sponsorship by popular retailer Men’s Wearhouse, together with massive public exposure, will help neutralize the taboo sentiment sometimes associated with consciousness research. To explore the video’s questions about consciousness, IONS has set up a special website page and implemented a members’ live talk teleseminar series.

The Times Square appearance is the second time in the last two years that IONS has gained widespread exposure. Dan Brown’s best-selling novel The Lost Symbol, published in September 2009, prominently features the organization and the benefits of consciousness science to social and humanitarian good.

Nudging the Tipping Point “We are at a tipping point in consciousness research,” said Dr. Schlitz, a PhD anthropologist and social and behavioral psychologist. “Research overwhelmingly supports a more universal belief system that includes mind-body interaction, emotional and intuitive intelligence, spiritual engagement, ancient cosmologies, and psychic insight. We have come to Times Square to nudge that tipping point toward a more profound beneficial influence on a culture seeking new hope for humanity,” she said.

According to Schlitz, who with her colleagues at IONS pioneered consciousness research methods that adhere to standard research protocols, “While science has explored the powers and potentials of consciousness for centuries, our research has gained legitimacy in the last few decades as real, tangible benefits have been applied to modern institutions like medicine, personal and mental health, social services, business, and sustainability efforts.

“At the same time, more people are better educated, social taboos are abating, the media is more democratic, and the public has unlimited access to information. These conditions translate to more scientists openly reporting their consciousness research, mainstream science journals publishing it, and traditional media feeding the public’s increasing interest in it.”

About 55 percent of Americans believe in the healing powers of the mind, and three quarters believe in at least one paranormal phenomenon - 41 percent citing extrasensory perception (ESP), according to a 2005 Gallup survey.

The 15-second video advertisement will debut on the CBS’s 26’ X 20’ (570 square feet) “Spectacular” screen on Times Square’s 42nd street on April 20, 2011. It will appear every hour for 18 hours for 90 days.

IONS Mysteries of Consciousness teleseminar series is for members who support IONS at the $10/month level and above. The live talks host consciousness science visionaries who explore transformational shifts in consciousness resulting from telepathy, extra sensory perception, precognition, spiritual intelligence, and remarkable experiences that lead ordinary people to perform extraordinary deeds. About the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) The Institute of Noetic Sciences, founded in 1973 by Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit research, education, and membership organization that supports individual and collective transformation through consciousness research, educational outreach, and engaging a global learning community in the realization of our human potential. Funded by members, donors, and grants, IONS’ primary program areas are consciousness and healing, extended human capacities, and emerging worldviews. For information on, membership, research, online journals, the EarthRise conference and retreat center, and IONS international conference, go to Noetic.Org.