A Phenomenological Study of the Transpersonal

A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE TRANSPERSONAL

EXPERIENCE OF "ACTING FROM FIELD":

THREE CASE STUDIES

Gayl Welch

A Dissertation

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Counseling Psychology

The Professional School For Humanistic Studies

The Dissertation of Gayl Welch

is approved and is acceptable in quality and form:

Committee Chairperson

Committee Member

Committe Member

The Professional School For Humanistic

San Diego, 1983 Studies

DEDICATED TO

Georgette Krummenacker Martin Muller Annie Muller

Without whom this never would have been possible. /

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

First, I wish to thank my committee, Ted Orcutt, Oscar

Schmiege, and Wayland Myers for the sensitive way they guided the initial development of this work and their insightful suggestions as the work progressed. !am especially grateful for the ongoing techn ical guidance given by Wayland Myers. I also want to acknowledge a much larger group which range

from San Francisco to San Diego who participate directly in and generate a backing for the experiences described by the subjects. I give this / dissertation as a gift to them, with the hope that in some way it will aid them.

Two people contributed in very special ways. Christine Vecchio helped me dare to choose the topic, and though at times I despaired at having done so, now that it is finished, I really appreciate her insight. Nicolas

Vasquez catalyzed development of the basic form within which the nonverbal experience was finally placed. This was one of the most difficult steps. My heartfelt thanks is given for the thoroughness, creative intent, and patient focus offered as well as for all the relevant references he unearthed in unlikely places.

There were many people who read chapters in various stages of development and provided helpful comments. Among them, I want to especially acknowledge Rosemary Miller, Daniel Krummenacher, Caroline Hawley, and Kurt

Rosi. In the later stages, Pat Burke, Marsha Burach, and Yoram Braun proofread and offered further suggestions.

I also want to thank typists Portia Metras and Pam Kepner who helped smooth my rough drafts. A special thanks goes to Ellen Maung who rescued me in the final stages with her wordprocessor.

There are many others, both nameable and unnameable, who gave support, offered clarifying ideas, suggested resources, healed my tornness, and helped me mature to meet the challenge. I am grateful to them all in the awareness that this is truly a group effort.

Last, and perhaps the most important, there is a very special thank you to Dee Klocow, without whose sustaining love and steadfast faith that I was capable of bringing out onto paper the experience we share, I would never have finished. There is no way I could list all the varieties of selfless support she gave over the long four years this has taken me.

ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION A. Phenomenological Study of the Transpersonal Experience of "Acting from Field": Three Case Studies

by Gayl Welch

Doctor of Philosophy in Counseling Psychology The Professional School For Humanistic Studies San Diego, California 1983

This research is a contribution to the literature of unusual human experience and extends the possibilities beyond what had previously been known. Vocabulary was adapted from the physics and consciousness research of Bohm and Pribram in order to place the experience of acting from Field in the context of psychology and religious literature. The study is based upon a phenomenological description of functioning from a field rather than from an organismic/ personality base. The field encompasses and affects the organism, and its personality but is not created or controlled from the organism/personality.

The three subjects are psychologists who function Field based, both in their private lives and professionally with clients. The significant themes of their common experience are compared with the closest descriptions in the literature of transpersonal psychology, Christianity, Buddhism, Taoism, and the current physics and consciousness research. The essential structures of functioning from Field are compared to phenomenological descriptions of schizophrenia, usual Western organismic-based consciousness, and Zen.

Though decidedly different from all three, action from Field is most closely related to Zen and least similar to schizophrenia.

Elements of acting from Field which have not been described prior to this study include: (1) A movement which starts from Field and moves to the more obvious, including the organism and its personality. (2) When they act from the Field, participants know simultaneously what they are doing, but not beforehand. There is no rule, system, idea, or precedent to follow. (3) Acting from

Field is common in the presence of other people, usually a group action. (4) The experience is communicable by entrainment, living it together from the Field.

(5) A new mode of consciousness results, called Actinic mode to distinguish it from Deikman's Receptive and Active modes. Extensive references are included.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DEDICATION ...... iii

ACKNOWLED ...... iv GEMENTS ...... vi A E S T RA C C O N T E N T S T viii ...... TABLE OF xi

LIST OF ...... xii FIGURES

LIST OF TABLES INTRODUCTION ...... 1

Chapter Definition of Specialized Terms ...... 3 1. Statement of the Problem ...... 39 Importance of the Problem ...... 39

Delimitations ...... 42

Personal Motivation Behind this Project ...... 46 Presuppositions ...... 48

2 REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ...... 50 Western Psychology ...... 51

Buddhist Psychology ...... 65

Chinese Taoism ...... 90

Christian Mysticism ...... 93

Science and consciousness ...... 99 Transpersonal Psychology ...... 114

viii

Ontology Group ...... 125

Summary of Literature Review 128

3 METHODOLOGY ...... 132 132 Choice of Method ...... Research Design ...... 137

Methodological Problems in the Appraisal of Results ...... 152 Reliability ...... 161

Validity ...... 161

Significance ...... 162

4 RESULTS ...... 164 164 Introduction ......

Section 1: Interviews ...... 165 Section 2: Metathemes ...... 218

5 SUMMARY ...... 241 Conclusions ...... 241

Recommendations for Further Research ...... 28i

REFERENCE ...... 283 S 303 APPENDICES ...... A ACTING FROM FIELD IN A THERAPY SITUATION ...... 304 DEVELOPMENTAL STRUCTURE: WILBER B AND ZEUCHNER ...... 313 C DEVELOPMENT OF CONSCIOUSNESS: G C VIN D A ...... 317

D BUDDHIST MEDITATION AND WESTERN COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY: BROWN ...... 320

E WAVES AND VIBRATIONS: JENNY ...... 327

F MIND NIA PS ...... 330

G CONSENT FORMS ...... 334

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure • Page

1. Developmental Interrelation of Experiential Approaches to Implicate-Order Fields and Their relation to Acting (from) Field ...... 13 2. Implicate-Order and Semi-Implicate Order Fields in Hierarchical Scheme ...... 15 3. Acting, (from) Field Related to a Developmental "Ladder." ...... 17 4. Hierarchy of Basic Structures of Consciousness: Wilber ...... 314 5. Developmental Order for Uncovering Ground: Zeuchner ...... 315 6. The Structure and Development of Consciousness: Govinda ...... 317

LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

1 Van Dusen (1958) compiled in tabular form compared to Acting Field ...... 268

2. Laing (1965) compiled from The Divided Self and compared to Acting Field ...... 270

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

This study can be characterized as consciousness research into some transpersonal aspects of an implicate order Field and its activation in the explicate order by holomovement. The purpose is to obtain a preliminary description that stands out clearly, rather than an exhaustive catalog of the condition. All specialized terms used here will be defined in the course of this introduction.

"Acting (from) Field" is a way of being-in-the-world. "Acting (from) Field" is distinguished from the more usual bases of action: acting from biological urges, acting from subconscious motivations, acting from conscious desires, acting from mentally chosen principles, acting from willpower, and acting (in) Field (a Zen Buddhist-related position of doing-not-doing). For definitions of the term "Field," turn to pages 9-11 and 69-71. By exploring their way of being- in-the-world with three individuals who "act (from) Field," this researcher hopes to introduce the psychological community to an alternative means of functioning in change, and provide a context in which it can be integrated into the current situation in psychology. Since the first studies of paradigm shifts in physics in 1962, the educated public has become increasingly aware of rapid worldwide changes in fundamental world views and paradigms of reality, not only in physics and chemistry, but in conceptions of human nature, economics, social organization, and ecology. Ralph Metzner and others have suggested that the changes might be even more fundamental: "The

species home sapiens is undergoing a collective transformation for which we have no precedents in our experience" (Metzner, 1980, p. 47). If that is the case, it would be helpful to know how to manage this collective transformation since we don't have previous models to guide us. One thing that can be done is to report what is working successfully in individuals at any point in the process of collective transformation.

The three case studies presented here represent to the researcher a highly functional means of dealing with fundamental change from a transpersonal position. They could also be seen as a part of a fundamental transformation, perhaps contributing to it. Although some aspects of this way of being have been known and described for centuries, because of apparently new aspects, the present function is qualitatively different. The difference is of an ontological nature -that is, there is a shift in the nature of identity which is concurrently a shift in the nature of the world that one experiences. In other terms, this could be described as a radical alteration of paradigm. l

This shift of paradigm has a great deal in common with the shift of paradigm from classical physics to quantum mechanics and relativity theory.

What is being studied may be a psychological counterpart to the same ontological movement. At any rate, some of the concepts physicists have used to orient themselves with respect to their discoveries are useful to orient the reader to the area of human experience to be studied here.

There is a major difficulty in characterizing the subject matter of this study which does not ordinarily occur in psychological research. Most psychological research looks at a figure placed on a ground. The figure can be measured, variables in the figure can be altered, results of these variations can be described in familiar psychological language. In contrast, this study looks at a shift in a general mode of consciousness within which psychological figures become located. A general mode of consciousness usually functions as a ground rather than a figure, and is thus illusive and difficult to characterize. Tile subject matter is subtle and all pervasive. There are additional difficulties because no standard Western psychological vocabulary has been developed for describing a ground. This study of acting (from) Field is an attempt to capture a general mode or consciousness which apparently has not been recognized before. A rather extensive orientation is necessary to establish a

working vocabulary through which the study can be precisely communicated. For those who would prefer to orient through examples, please turn to pages 34-35 and Appendix A.

Definition of Specialized Terms

At this point, there may be a, demand on the part of the reader for a clear and simple statement of what acting (from) Field is about, without the need for lengthy definition of terms. The demand , is understandable, but premature. It is parallel to requiring Einstein to explain E = MC2 without first introducing the concept of relativity, or demanding that Lavoisier clearly describe what he meant by oxygen

without introducing the concept of combustion. Thomas Kuhn (1962) was the first to suggest that definitions of this sort introduce new paradigms of reality into Western science. They are required to make full sense of the data under study.

It is most difficult to briefly characterize the nature of acting (from) Field because the ontological shift involved apparently Occurs at a pre-verbal level and has a multipurpose, multidimensional nature. Reports of their experiences by subjects sound strange or paradoxical because they must employ terminology in general use by those who have not yet been reached by the transformation. No brief statement can help but be misleading.

Transpersonal

A minimal definition of transcendental experience upon which transpersonal psychology is based was developed by Roger Walsh, Duane

Elgin, Frances Vaughan, and Ken Wilber (1980) in an article written for the first textbook on transpersonal psychology. This transcendental experience includes at least the following:

1. Ineffability: the experience is of such power and so different from ordinary experience as to give the sense of defying description.

2. Noetic: a heightened sense of clarity and understanding.

3. Altered perception of space and time.

4. Appreciation of the holistic, initiative, integrated nature of the universe and one's unity with it.

5. Intense positive affect including a sense of perfection of the universe.

Such experiences have been called by many names, including cosmic consciousness (Bucke, 1972) and Peak Experiences (Maslow, 1964, 1971) (p. 47).

The experience studied here incorporates these items but the nature of the experience is only minimally defined by them. It involves a great deal more than this, including other accepted aspects of transpersonal psychology.

Transpersonal psychology as a specific discipline within psychology emerged with the publication of Journal of Transpersonal Psychology in 1969.

The term "transpersonal" was adopted after considerable deliberation to reflect an orientation which was more inclusive than the individual person (Sutich,

1976). According to Walsh and Vaughan (19,80):

Transpersonal psychology cannot strictly be called a model of personality because personality is considered only one aspect of our psychological nature; rather it is an inquiry into the essential nature of being." (p. 16)

Three contributions to that inquiry which have been accepted in transpersonal psychology have been: (1) Ken Wilber's (1980a) distinction between "three primary levels of consciousness, namely the ego, the existential, and the level of Mind or pure non-dualistic consciousness. . Ideally the transpersonal recognizes the potential of all three levels" (p. 168-9). (2) In connection with that James Fadiman (1980) says, "One therapeutic goal is to align the personality within the total self so that it functions appropriately" (p.

177). (3) James Bugenthal (in Walshend Vaughan, 1980) contributes an existential element:

When I begin to realize that my truest identity is as process and not as fixed substance, I am on the verge of a terrible emptiness and a miraculous freedom . . . . Presence, being here, centeredness, immediacy, are all terms to point to a fundamental reality. Only in this moment am I alive .., only now, now can I make life different. (pp. 191-192)

These contributions can he taken as indicative but not definitive statements of the nature of transpersonal psychology. Taken together, they provide the context in which the present study can be placed within the field of psychology. Explicate Order, Implicate Order, Holomovement

There is some similarity between the subject matter of quantum physics and the field phenomena being studied here and, fortunately, bridging concepts are already available. David Bohm, theoretical physicist at University of Londo n, has developed a theory which others find applicable to neuropsychology and consciousness research (Bohm & Welwood', 1980). In Bohm's theory (1973), the term implicate refers to an order of undivided wholeness where many elements are holistically compressed or enfolded together. They are there implicitly but have not become apparent, defined, or explicit as separate elements. Bohm demonstrated2 this with a container of glycerin into which drops of ink have been stirred. As they are folded in, the drops lose their separate identity and interpenetrate the whole. When he reverses the direction of the stirring,- the ink drops reappear as separate objects at sequential moments in time. Bohm uses this demonstration to illustrate how an enfolded order may unfold as an explicate order of discrete separate elements.

Bohm makes a distinction between an implicate order and that which is entirely implicit, or the ultimate ground of being. One knows only that it is there, genuine, and real, but because it is beyond the

7 right brain/left brain beyond the emotions and sensations, one has only a vague sense of it. It is entirely unutterable. It is what is implicit in the implicate order which cannot be made explicit at all. VVhen we begin to say things about it, we are beginning to make a subtle implicate order out of it, rather than the unutterable, entirely implicit reality which it is. Even that thing which permeates our thought is not it. We ca n keep on extending the implicate and getting more and more subtle, but that is not it. Bohm himself then extends the entirely implicit into the implicate order by speaking of it as an energy which moves between the explicate and the implicate orders, a holomovement. It is the force that brings about the unfolding of the implicate and is more inward than the two orders which are its extremes. Holomovement, a flowing movement without boundaries, is more fundamental than the implicate and explicate orders, so it is not an interaction between them but rather the around of both.

In brief, the explicate order includes the empirical sense data which ordinary vision, hearing, touch, smell, taste, and proprioceptive senses provide of tables, chairs, and behaviors of an organism and the inner empiricism3 of our consciousness insofar as we objectify it with symbols, images, concepts, judgment, and self-reflection. The implicate order includes field awareness and the flow of inner living, before anything is picked out or abstracted and given a particular meaning. The implicate order also includes atoms, particles, fields, etc. of quantum mechanics and relativity theory which are now known

3"'Empirical' here refers to any knowledge gained by any human experience [not merely sense experience that is publicly verifiable which is an exterior empiricism]. This wider definition includes dreams, emotions, religious experiences, and so on" (Christian, 1981, p. 565).

E primarily through their effects in the explicate order. More fundamental than either of these orders is an entirely implicit holomovement which is the ground of both. It was primarily the difficulty of understanding quantum mechanics with only the explicate order means that brought Bohm to theorize about an implicate order and holomovement. The implicate order opens a way to look at the reality of quantum mechanics without contradiction; it opens ways to help explain the nature of space and time; one can explore the wave-particle theory without getting into unacceptable infinite results. Bohm's theory also provides a context within which our study of acting (from) Field can be oriented.

In psychology, strict behaviorism, social behaviorism, and learning theory deal entirely with the explicate order (all observable behaviors) while transpersonal psychology studies primarily aspects of the implicate order. Other psychologies range between these two extremes and include various mixtures of explicate and implicate features. In this group would be included, for example, the Freudians and psychodynamic psychologies, family systems orientation, and humanistic psychologists. Psychologies of this sort explore the more collectively familiar features of the inner empiricism of the explicate such as motivation, personality, and family group interrelations. There has, however, been very little study of implicate order fields by these psychologists. The majority of this work has been done by Eastern psychologists or transpersonal psychologists who draw on Eastern . sources, even though one of the implicate order fields involved, the emotional field, plays significantly in the area of motivation, personality, and family interrelations. Insofar is this researcher is aware, Murry

9 Bowen (1978) is the only Western psychologist to date to explore emotional fields and his followers have operationalized them away into behavior.

Acting (from) Field involves also the subtle fields which are the

legitimate domain of transpersonal psychology (See Appendix B). Subjects who act from Field consciously base in the action of holomovement and responsibly bring the implicate order into the explicate in some very specific ways. This study could, therefore, be characterized as consciousness research into some transpersonal aspects of implicate order Field and its activation in the explicate by

holomovement.

Field Another important bridging concept is the term "field." For Bohm, classical physics deals with the explicate order; fields are primarily aspects of the implicate order. Implicate order fields and Field are independent realities not reducible to anything but the totally implicit, and all aspects of them are mutually interdependent. "Field" in this paper will signify the totally undivided wholeness of the implicate order. When "field" or "fields" are spoken of, these uncapitalized forms will represent domains of wholeness which fall short of the all-encompassing, undivided wholeness. !f Schumacher (1979a, p. 11 ) were to be followed, we would have to say all these fields were in the explicate order. But that is deceptive because they have, in many cases, been taken for the all- encompassing Field and are interpenetrated by it. The less encompassing transpersonal fields discussed in this chapter will generally later be included in the implicate order with the understanding that they may subtly approach an explicate order because

10 they are distinguishable by certain refined qualitative differences. They will be called transpersonal fields to distinguish them from the mental, emotional, and sensory fields which belong more nearly to the explicate order. It should be understood that Field and transpersonal fields do not exclude but encompass the mental, emotional, and sensory fields. The way these personal fields are integrated in the more inclusive fields and Field cannot be discovered from the more familiar enclosed position.

The word "field" has been used in the West 4 primarily as a component of theoretical constructs based upon field theory in physics, beginning with Faraday and Maxwell's electromagnetic fields (Mey, 1972; Capra, 1975). Albert Einstein in writing about electromagnetic fields stated, "The electromagnetic fields are not states of a medium (ether) and are not bound to any bearer, but they are independent realities which are not reducible to anything else" (Einstein, 1920, 1975). Use of field theory has gradually expanded from physics, first, to chemistry, and then more generally (Kunz, 1963). In physics, the following fields are currently recognized: electromagnetic fields, gravitational fields, matter fields, in which each kind of particle has its own type of field, strong and weak fields. In the biological and human arenas, there are morphogenic fields, emotional fields, family fields, and social fields, to name a few. Kurt Lewin developed his social field theory on the basis of a different definition of field also taken from Einstein. "A totality of coexisting facts which are conceived as mutually interdependent is called a field" (Lewin,

1951, p. 240).

11 Actually, the treatment of fields in Western psychology by Lewin and other field theorists is inconsistent with respect to field theory and some of the inconsistency will be mapped in the discussion of literature. In order to avoid misleading the reader familiar with that literature, an independent and consistent typology of implicate order fields will be presented in terms of the manner in which fields are approached. There are five current ways of approaching implicate order fields and Field: (1) Thinking about them, (2) experiencing fields by observing and relating to another, (3) experiencing fields by being them, (4) experiencing fields by differentiating from them, and (5) experiencing fields by acting (from) them. This conceptualization is preliminary, and based primarily upon the author's experience. The classifications are meant as heuristic devices only, and are not intended as ontological categories because fields are dynamic (Combs, 1976; Capra, 1975; Muller, 1978) and, therefore, cannot be tie d down to permanent classifications. Approach by Thinking About Implicate Order Fields Thinking about fields and Field is of two related sorts: theorizing about them and believing in them. Theorizing about fields and Field is the most scientifically familiar approach to fields. Discussion of fields in this paper has used this approach exclusively up to this point. Theoretical constructs are intentional mental hypotheses

created for the purpose of consistently analyzing and synthesizing experiences. It may not be necessary that what they describe be experienced, experienceable, or that the;, even exist except as mental constructs, as long as reliable prediction of observable results is

facilitated by the concept (Eddington, 1941). Observation without the observer's involvement is expected. Theoretical field constructs are employed extensively in physics and social field theory to unify and predict observed data. Field concepts may, on occasion, also be used as explanatory constructs as well.

The work of Lewin and Lana discussed in the literature review are examples of this approach.

Believing in fields, although it may appear to belong in a different category, is essentially non-experiential. There is intellectual and perhaps emotional consent to the proposition as true without direct experience. There is a'choice made to believe, perhaps on the basis of an existential leap, a deductive argument based on unprovable but accepted premises, or reliance on the authority of written materials of an

institution , either scientific or religious. Statements such as: believe there is really such a thing as gravity"; "I believe morphogenic

fields exist"; "I believe there are emotional fields from which we can differentiate"; "I believe God permeates all of life" are all statements of intellectual and/or emotional consent to different propositions about

fields. They are based on second-hand knowledge, knowledge by description, rather than direct acquaintance in which there is no intermediary process.

Experiencing Implicate Order

Fields -- General Developmental Orientation

Relating to, being, differentiating from, and acting (from) fields form a group of interrelated ways of approaching fields in that they are all experienced without intermediary distancing. Direct experience means existentially alive a living action as it presents itself before abstraction,

13 It is not: (a) limited to what is usually meant by experience, i.e., feelings, vitality, emotions, problem solving, interpersonal relations, and roles; (b) the enlivening of a concept by imagination, emotion, or suggestion. It is important not only to conceptualize the differences between the different ways of approaching implicate order fields, but as much as possible to live the differences vicariously through the descriptions of experience provided. This is not easy if one has no previous references for the experience. Figure 1 shows an interrelation of the four experiential approaches to implicate order fields, the general application of which is discussed briefly in this section. Following this, each way of approach is discussed in detail, particularly as it relates to the formless transpersonal fields and Field which are the subject of this study.

To higher maturity

from Field Relating, to field--~P Being I field -30 Differentiating Acting (from) field

(Not in developmental sequence)

From less maturity 1 I

Figure 1. Developmental Interrelation of Experiential approaches to Implicate-order fields and their 14

The developmental sequence in which a certain field is appropriated begins by relating to a field as vicariously experienceable but separate from oneself. Then there comes a point of fusion, 5 when one appropriates or identifies fully with the field as oneself, and at a later time one differentiates from that field to go on to the next rung of the developmental ladder. There is evidently no loss of use of the field after differentiation, although one is no longer identified with it as oneself.

This is the same process described by Ken Wilber in his extract- summary of System, Self and Structure: ______An Outline of

Transpersonal Psychology (1981). His description of the appropriation of one of the substrates of consciousness structure is along these very lines. In the course of development, a self-system emerges and takes as its successive substrates a basic structure of consciousness. In a sense the basic structures form rungs of a ladder upon which the self-system climbs. . . . As the self "steps up" each higher rung of the ladder, it generates a set of transition-replacement structures, i.e., those structures that are not a permanent part of the ladder but rather are temporarily generated .., and necessarily discarded (replaced) at the next rung. (p. 41)

(See Appendix B for a description of his developmental ladder.)

Figure 1 on the previous page can be used to symbolize the developmental sequence with respect to fields in the human realm. All but one of the experiential approaches to fields fit into this developmental sequence.

5Fusion. The term is often used in Family Therapy exclusively to indicate an obliteration of ego boundaries resulting in emotional non- differentiation between two people. The usage here is more general. It denotes a non-duality in which the field in question becomes so evident that it is taken over as the identity.

1 5

Being Transpersonal Differentiation use formless field from trans- continued persona! formless field

(Acting from transpersonal formless field)

Being mental field Differentiation use from mental continued field

(Acting from mental Field) ,_

111A • e\6 ______~I - - T Being emotional Differentiation use o~ from emotional continued F_ ~o field 0 (Acting from emotional field) 0 > m

t+ 0 i O U

Figure 2. Implicate-order and Semiimplicate-order Fields in Hierarchial Scheme. Shows how Figure 1 (page 13) can be applied to a hierarchy of structures of consciousness. For simplicity, only three general categories of fields are shown. Transpersonal fields include subtle and causal fields of Hinduism and arupadhatu of Buddhism among others.

Acting (from) Field is not part of the developmental sequence shown. It appears at right angles to the developmental sequence at the point of greatest identification with the field. It represents an action which expresses that field in the explicate order. The field no longer remains entirely implicit or intangible.

This way of schematizing implicate order Field and semi-implicate fields like mental and emotional fields shows clearly the differences between acting (from) an emotional field, acting (from) a mental field, and acting (from) a transpersonal field. It is misleading, however, in that acting (from) a transpersonal field appears in the model to be possible only after the development of acting

(from) emotional or mental fields. In the model, it also appears to be related only to being a field. From this scheme, when one analyzes according to linear mental concepts, it could be believed that it would be necessary to develop the mental and emotional in order to act from the transpersonal, or one might also be led to conclude that it was necessary to isolate oneself

from the mental, emotional functions in order to act (from) a transpersonal field. The figures so far presented are misleading because they seem to lend support to that hypothesis.

The actual situation, however, appears to be different. In the first place, the transpersonal fields encompass the mental/emotional and sensory. It is extremely difficult to show the non-linear experience in a diagram. It is easier if the developmental structures can be regarded as events in the whole which have sufficient strength to become evident. An action (from) Field, if it is sufficiently intense, affects all the other events. It is a kind of functioning which effects the entire developmental structure, bringing a particular function into multiple

17 levels of the developmental "ladder." Capabilities can occur before one is supposed to be capable of it according to a developmental sequence. This characteristic of acting: (from) Field can perhaps be better understood by using the model shown in Figure 3.

ACTING FROM TRANSPERSONAL FIELD

Figure 3. Acting (from) Field related to a Developmental Ladder." Field makes itself apparent in all orders.

Evidence that acting (from) Field, as studied here, does function across the developmental ladder (in a non-linear way), comes from the author's personal experience and with clients and students, as well as the three case studies presented here. Each of the studies can be seen as representing different "rungs" of the developmental ladd-er, and yet there is agreement as to the nature of acting (from) Field. Acting (from) fields or Field will, therefore, not be included in the developmental sequence listed below.

First step in developmental sequence: experiencing implicate order fields by relating to them. The existence of the field begins to become conscious, and exploration of its nature unfolds. It is experienced as outside oneself, so one of the major differentiating characteristics between this and the next category is that there is a definite duality involved. This discussion will confine itself to experiences of relating to field which have a transpersonal dimension, although most of the psychological research done has been in the development of mental and emotional processes.

It is difficult to tell whether all the experiences classified in this croup were actually experienced in this way, or whether they were only expressed as a duality though they were lived in a more unified way. For the sake of clarity in this study, in order that an expression be classified as being field, the experience of non-duality must be carried into the expression of the experience. As will be shown in the literature review, most of the psychological analysis and experience of implicate order fields in meditative states and mystical experiences is of this dual nature. The field is observed or related to another; the relation is similar to a relation between two persons. At best, it is dialectical

(Laing, 1965) or dialogical (Buber, 1970).

4';. H. Clark (1976) gives a synopsis of typical cases of Western mysticism. He states that there is an experience of unity in which specific awareness of the sensible world drops away. There is an experience of timelessness and spacelessness and a sense of having been in touch with some sort of objectivity or ultimate reality. There is a

feeling of blessedness, joy, and peace; a holiness, all of which there is no literal way to convey. The experience is a recognition of nevi

patterns (Wise, 1974). John White describes enlightenment as a state of conscious union with the ultimate reality in which "all long-sought answers are given along with peace of mind and heart" (White, 1974, p. xii). Capra's description of seeing the Dance of Shiva in the Tao of Physics is a contemporary example:

I was sitting by the ocean one late summer afternoon, watching the waves rolling in and', feeling the rhythm of my breathing, when I suddenly became aware of my whole environment as being engaged in a gigantic cosmic dance. Being a physicist, I knew that the sand, rocks, water, and air around me were made of vibrating molecules and atoms, and that these consisted of particles which interacted with one another by creating and destroying other particles. I knew also that the earth's atmosphere was continually bombarded by showers of "cosmic rays," particles of high energy undergoing multiple collisions as they penetrated the air. All this was familiar to me from my research in high-energy physics, but until that moment, I had only experienced it through graphs, diagrams, and mathematical theories. As I sat on that beach my former experiences came to life; I"saw" cascades of energy coming down from outer space, in which particles were created and destroyed in rhythmic pulses; I"saw" the atoms of the elements and those of my body participating in this cosmic dance of energy; I felt its rhythm and I "heard" its sound at that moment, I knew that this was the Dance of Shiva, the Lord of the Dancers, worshipped by the Hindus. (Capra, 1975, p. xv)

For another writer, all types of meditation have been seen as models of the mind "coming into balance so that it can see more clearly the nature of our experience" (Kornfield, 1978, p. 125).

In all these cases, feelings and experiences happen to the person who is experiencing. The person is an observer of what is occurring. In order to be aware of this field, the observer has to change the usual way of relating to the environment, but this does not alter the basic nature of the one who is relatinq. This secondary

20 change is described by Deikman (1971) as the "receptive mode." It is a different strategy for engaging the world than is usually used, which he calls the

"action mode." The receptive mode is not passive or "regressive" in the sense of ignoring or retreating from the world, though it can be used for that. It is a quiet, expectant awareness. In relating to the field, one is in touch with, or recognizes something or is given something, or sees or hears something, or is absorbed into something. The relation of the person to the implicate field is somewhat like the audience in improvisational theater. The audience may experience the actors, become "one" with them, identifying vicariously, living the experience with them vividly, but not necessarily emotionally. There is, however, both an element of passivity in the audience and a kind of separation that still occurs. The audience, however active, is still depending upon the actors. Precisely when one is

"in touch with," there are still two; when one seeks something or some state that one reaches, there are still two. There is a dependence of the person on that which is given the experience to him/her. This aspect of relating to the field has been exhaustively described by Rudolf Otto (1960) as a state of dependence on the

Holy Other, and is for Otto, the basic mark of mystical and religious experience.

In all cases when relating to implicate order fields, one has an experience of the field, and the experience may or may not affect the subsequent life of the individual. In order to communicate, if that is possible at all, one talks about it from memory image. In all cases, the impulse which created the experience comes from beyond the usual awareness, and the consciousness concentrates on following, reaching toward, and responding to the activity. One does not identify as the

producer of the activity, the ordinary will being in abeyance and no other possibility being available. This can be true even with training where one brings consciousness of the transcendent into everyday life:

The first time I was aware of a field in the spaces between objects, I was high in the Sierra, Mountains. Being of a skeptical sort, I thought the altitude was doing something to my perception. I could see a dance of energy, something like alive heat waves (only more random and finer) in the air , around the granite boulders, over the flower-strewn, decomposed granite on the ground, and around, and through the campers. At Bishop, California, 4,000 feet lower, I expected my vision to return to normal. Instead, I saw the "vibration" in the asphalt, in the plastic packages in the grocery stores, as well as the fruit and vegetables, and around the clerks as well. I wasn't the only one on that trip who discovered a field everywhere. For a while, I thought it might be a group illusion. Once I got back home, to routine, I expected it to go away. After a while, I discovered I could stop seeing the energy if 1 closed my mind to it, but if I relaxed out of the belief that I was a "skin encapsulated ego," I could see the vibration everywhere again. (Welch, 1976)

In the usual situation, the context or base from which a person observes is a stable mental, emotional, and physical identity. In cases where one relates to the field, that is also true, though these identities may drop away to a great degree, usually temporarily. One may also observe from a point of consciousness having a vague global location or an ethereal identity but still involving separation.

Second step in developmental sequence: experiencing implicate

order fields by being them. To psychologists, the most familiar way of being an implicate order field is undoubtedly being an emotional field. There is a nondifferentiated identification with the field, say the emotional field of one's family, and an unawareness that one is thus identified.

Family theorists like Murry Bowen (1978) have studied people who identify as emotional fields; that is, they do not have an identity separate from the emotional field of the family. They are swept along by ongoing turbulence or intermittent shock waves within the family without being aware that their feelings or actions have any direct relation to an upset or trauma in the immediate family or in some other part of the extended family. There is a lack of differentiated awareness of the individual emotional functioning so the fused field is determining feelings and behavior. In this condition, the emotional condition of anyone is taken as the emotional condition of oneself. There is no individual control.

The more complete the identification of the family as being that fused emotional field, the more severe the emotional problems of its members. Bowen developed his studies of emotional fields in his research on family field of schizophrenic families in an institutional setting. Alfred French (1977) is doing work with disturbed children having other types of problems, and has discovered fused family emotional fields in these cases also. Bowen's later work agrees with these findings. French feels that success in therapy requires a certain core reference structure outside of the emotionally fused field. Both he and Bowen work to establish independent mental identity as one means of differentiating from emotional fusion and eliminating the pathology. This technique is in harmony with Wilber's developmental sequence, which puts emotional development prior to mental functioning.

Rational-Emotive therapy and Bowen's Family Therapy are among several approaches which promote identification with mental functioning, but only as separate, isolated individuals. This has proved effective as

23 an antidote to emotional fusion. However, one side effect can be a general trend toward isolation, conflict, and depersonalization which occurs in more mentally developed countries (Gebser, 1972).

Mental fields, as mutually interdependent systems, involving numbers of thinking individuals has only recently been acknowledged in the West

(Sheldrake, 1981; Green and Green, 1977; Bailey, 1932; Tharthang, 1976), even though they have probably functioned since mental development has become general. Mental fields are probably unfamiliar, even theoretically, to the majority of psychologists. Think-tanks are an example of the use of mental fields, perhaps unconsciously. They have also been known and used by some creative writers and inventors like Bentov (1977). Mental fields have been described

(Ferguson, 1980; Vaughan, 1979; Bailey, 1934) as reservoirs of ideas available to anyone who is sensitive enough to tap into them. Sometimes a writer will peruse the market in order to gauge the audience's readiness for a certain topic he has in mind, hoping another writer will not express it before he does (Otto,

1979). It is not uncommon for scientific journals to report two people inventing something or discovering something within a very short time of each other but without knowledge that someone else is on the same track. When it does become known, there still may be unbelieving accusations that one stole the other's idea, even though no specific evidence can be found. There is no acknowledgement of common source in the mental field. Recently, it has been pointed out (Blair,

1975; Watson, 1979) that when a certain number of people share an idea, a critical number will be reached and suddenly the idea explodes into common knowledge through the field and

24 is incorporated into the general trend. This has happened with the development of the Newtonian paradigm6 in the past 200 years. Non-differentiation (fusion) of mental field is believed to produce harmony, not pathology as in the non -differentiation of emotional fields (Bentov, 1977; Butterworth, 1977; Holmes, 1938). In Bettelheim's (1969) study of kibbutz children in Israel, there was emotional differ entiation from parents and non-differentiation from the pool of ideas shared by the Kibbutz. In this case, there was not only harmonious living but also uniformity in the mental structure. As a result, the second generation kibbutzniks lacked outstanding leaders and creativity. There was, however, a marked social and mental harmony among them. Descriptions which clearly represent being transpersonal implicate order fields (like arupadhatu and Gharbadhata discussed in Buddhist literature review) are even less common than descriptions that represent being mental fields. Clear communication of this way of approaching fields evidently requires a long habit of living from this position because the living must be communicated through the mental, emotional, and physical aspects and can easily be taken for them. The ego separation, so clearly developed in mental functioning, has dissolved in such a way that everyday activity is in harmony with the surroundings, both moving together spontaneously and appropriately as a unified field. There is a sense of balance and stable emotional independence that is evident in observat ion of their interactions with others, but they do not report feeling or thinking anything, their attention being on the process of the whole.

Shunryu Suzuki describes being Field beautifully in his Zen Mind,

Beginner's Mind (1970):

When I was at the Eiheiji Monastery in Japan, everyone was doing what he should do. That is all. It is the same as waking up in the morning; we have to get up. That is all. At Eiheiji Monastery, when we had to sit, we sat; when we had to bow to Buddha, we bowed to Buddha. That is all. And when we were practicing, we did not feel anything special. We did not even feel we were leading a monastic life. For us, the monastic life was the usual life, and the people who came from the city were unusual people. . . . It is the people who are outside the monastery who feel its atmosphere. Those who are practicing actually do not feel anything. I think it is true for everything. (p. 78)

There is a conscious participation, an appropriate following of the events in each situation, a unified field. There is no sense of the monk directing the monastic life either with his ordinary achieving will or in any other way. Yet, as

Watts says, "[though] I am not controlling it voluntarily any more than I am controlling my automatic nervous system . . . at the same time, it is not befalling or happening to any separate me as its observant victim. There is simply a whole process happening of itself, spontaneously, and with every pair of eyes it takes a fresh look at itself" (Watts, 1976, p. 401).

Muktananda describes a state of union of the self with the Self, "I attain perfect peace and equanimity." A disciple of Muktananda, Amma (1969), says of one in this state:

He has nothing, to do and nothing to achieve; still he does the activities of worldly life remaining a witness to them all. (Coleman, 1972, p. 175)

In these cases, one does not knowingly give impulse to the activity of the unified implicate/explicate fields, either as a personality (since there is no personal ego-center in the psychological sense), not as the field, or as a unification of both. Though one is no longer

26 looking at the field or relating to, it as separate, one is not initiating or creating the process in any way. One is in the receptive mode (see p. 20).

Third step in developmental sequence: experiencing implicate order fields by differentiating from them. It is known that considerable detachment is required to relate to emotional fields as an "other" after one has experience of being the emotional field. A kind of duality different from relating to is established. Bowen describes his own experience of differentiating from his family of origin in his book Family Therapy in Clinical Practice (1978). The narrative, too long to reproduce here, tells of his maintenance of emotional objectivity while in the midst of turmoil in the emotional system of his famil y. He maintained his objectivity while at the same time actively relating to key people in the system. One has to be able to detriangle7 from the emotional attachment, and control one's emotional reactivity on the basis of one's own chosen principles.

Success depends on developing a person-toperson relationship with everyone in the family based upon this differentiation. One then has the ability to use the emotions without being identified with the emotional field out of which the emotions originally developed. Witkin's (1977) measurements of field dependence/independence seems to be measuring differentiation from this emotional field, although he says he is measuring "outside world."

7According to Bowen, a triangle is an emotionally interdependent triad that is the basic unit of emotional fusion in a family and with a therapist.

Descriptions of differentiating from mental fields occur only in the context of transpersonal psychology. Developmentally, this cannot occur until differentiation from emotional fields is well on the way, and identification with the mental is solidly established. In both Eastern and Western psychology, ego development, that is, a sense of independent identity as a separate unique self, is related to the development of the rational mind. Western psychology focuses on process which moves from the emotionally fused mass to a place of independent functioning as a developed ego. Eastern psychology focuses on the process of moving from an independent ego to a transpersonal state beyond ego. Confusion of the two processes is called by Wilber (1980b) the pre/trans fallacy.

The following is a description of one stage in differentiation from the mental by identifying with a transpersonal energy field. This is an Englishman's experience of coming out of Absolute Samadhi as it is practiced, in Ch'an Buddhism.

It was written in a letter to a translator of Ch'an literature, Lu K'uan, Yu (1974): In my practice now I am at the stage where after dropping body and mind and being in a state of luminosity where all phenomenal multiplicity is dropped into the still bliss of the One. To stop in this stage or think it is the ultimate I realize is wrong; it is nothing extraordinary in itself though its bliss is very seductive. . . . Consciousness is not held in the body when the body is dropped; it reaches to the edge of the cosmos and is one with the energy that infuses the Galaxies. It is the Tathagata and nothing else. This is experienced without discursive thought by instant perception and is a total knowing. With this experience there also go certain physical changes and manifestations; weightlessness, sweating, and sometimes the feeling that a force is pushing up the spine from the seat to the top of the head where it will sometimes seem to explode in light with a certain

feeling of joy. . . . As the body is only the union of illusory elements, there is no attachment when the mind is still. So there is no attainment and nothing that attains; even pure consciousness must know none other than its one and total oneness. . . . (p. 18)

28 ... There was the indescribable feeling of weightlessness which I had before which again Iasted for a day or so. Cut the most obvious difference was the feeling that though I could say I was conscious of myself as being, this sense was no longer located in this or any body. !t was as if the whole world was conscious, was a living, moving body of energy, which was also at the heart quite still and serene. My mind seemed quite empty of any thought except that it seemed to be able to function; but it was simply reflecting what was around and objective without any subjective choice or selection or attachment. It was certainly like having no head at all. (p. 12-13)

Differentiating from the more encompassing formless transpersonal fields

(arupaditatu) is considered the final developmental shift by Buddhist psychologists. The identity that one may have established as a Higher Self, a reincarnating soul, as a formless field radiation or as, in one Tibetan tradition

(Bailey, 1934), a Solar Angel, are all finally relinquished. When one differentiates from fields entirely, the resulting condition is called Sunyata

Tathata; no more can be said. This has been called Major Death to distinguish it from ordinary repeated death of the bodily personality. Since this

Dissertation is limited to the function of a specific kind of action from the formless fields and an encompassing Field, this final stage of differentiation need not be discussed.

Experiencing Implicate Order Fields By Acting (From) Them

Acting (from) transpersonal fields and Field is not part of the developmental sequence which preceded this section. One can act (from) Field, whether or not she/he is on the corresponding rung of the developmental ladder. Acting (from) transpersonal fields and Field presents a different state of affairs than acting from mental or emotional fields, as will be subsequently shown.

29 !n psychological literature, acting from emotional field is accompanied by recognizable explicate social behavior. Those actions like mass hysteria and mob action by persuasive oratory or emotionally manipulative salesmanship are more sophisticated examples. On the other hand, action from mental field is considered useful and helpful, for example, when consensus is stated by one member of a group discussion. This is also a recognizable explicate social behavior. It is considered especially valuable when the other members of the group regard the statement as fitting the essence of their individual positions without compromise, resulting in a sense of "being of one mind." This "one mind" has a definite mental quality which is felt to be clearer and freer, more universal, than emotional use of words in persuasion or evangelism. Acting (from) transpersonal fields and Field is accompanied by behavior which is not yet socially recognized like the other two. The quality of it is as different from the mental and e motional as they are different from each other. (See Appendix A for the author's description of a therapy session of this kind of behavior.) Transpersonal action is sometimes confused with action from emotional field by those who are sensitive and can tell the difference between mental and emotional but have not yet developed discrimination between the emotional and transpersonal action. This may result in the pre/trans fallacy mentioned earlier.

Actinic mode. For those familiar with the writings in transpersonal psychology, another confusion is possible. Arthur Deikman (1971) has made a distinction between the action mode and the receptive mode of consciousness which was discussed briefly in the

30 section of relation to fields. The choice of mode is determined by the motives of the individual organism.

Action mode directs itself from external impressions and subconscious motives, organizing, directing, and controlling the environment toward achieving personal goals by manipulation of objects in the environ ment. It has a priority over receptive mode to insure biological survival. Language is the very essence of the action mode because through it we discriminate, analyze, and divide the world into pieces which can then be grasped and acted upon. It is easiest to maintain in an upright physical position and the skeletal muscles tend to be tense. This is related to the type of attention in which a person exercises as much direct voluntary control over his life as possible.

The receptive mode is a state of sensory intake organized around receiving the environment rather than manipulation of it. There is diffuse attending, paralogical thought processes, and decreased boundary perception. It takes in as much of the environment as it can and is probably the predominate mode of the infant. It should not, however, be confused with primary processes in psychoanalytic theory. It is easiest to maintain lying down and muscular relaxation is typical. Color experience (as distinct from classifying colors) and the experience of love require the receptive mode.

Action (from) transpersonal fields and Field could be confused with the action mode, simply because the word "action" is used. The assumption that since action (from) transpersonal fields is not action mode, then it must be receptive mode is also incorrect. The actinic mode also has other qualities though it does have some characteristics of both modes.

In order to more accurately state the situation, another mode must be introduced: actinic mode. The word originally comes from chemistry and is used to describe the property of luminous or nonluminous radiant energy to effect chemical charges (Funk and VVagnals, 1953). The action spoken of is analogous to the action of radiant energy in chemistry. Unlike the receptive and active modes which have a focus of awareness in the personal perception, the actinic mode is Field based. Below is tabulated a preliminary comparison of receptive, actinic, and active modes which make the characteristics of actinic mode more evident than a general description might, since it has some characteristics of each of the other modes.

Receptive Mode Actinic Mode Active Mode

Intake of environment; Integrates the whole by Actively manipulates nondiscriminatively increasingly efficient the environment. open. radiation.

No personal goals No personal goals. Organizing, controlling for personal goals.

Paralogical. "Awareness" is prob- Logical. ably neither, can use both.

Diffuse attending, Clear, sharp, no Sharp attending, cuts diffuse boundaries. boundaries. environment in pieces.

Easier lying down. Easier upright. Easier upright.

Relaxes muscles. Relaxed muscles. Tense muscles.

No anxiety. No anxiety. Anxiety.

Receptive Mode Actinic Mode Active Mode

Color experience Can use both. Language use predomin requires this mode. antely requires this mode.

Wu wei.8 Situation centered. Striving.

Problems of survival In integration of Solving problems not important (infant). whole, problems are important for survival included and solved, (adult). but focus is not on the problems but on the Field dynamics.

See the Conclusions in the Summary Chapter for a further characterization of Actinic Mode in terms of the results of the research. Acting (from) field and acting Field - a clarification. The terms

"acting (from) transpersonal fields and Field" do rot really describe the situation. They have been used so far in this preliminary study in order to make clear that there is a difference between acting from emotional fields and mental fields, and acting from the transpersonal arena. The transpersonal dimension does not necessarily exclude the mental, emotional, and physical dimensions. They can be included but in a way that cannot be known from the exclusively mental or emotional standpoints. Therefore, descriptions cannot be followed meaningfully without transpersonal experience. The term, "acting (from) transpersonal field" is also misleading in another way: It tends to make a person think that what is meant is a type of acting that is exclusive of

33 the mental, emotional, and physical aspects. A phenomenological study of the transpersonal without some mental reference (at minimum) would be impossible because there could he no description of something which does not appear in consciousness. (See Methodology chapter for discussion of this. ) So, in order not to mislead further, the terms

"acting Field" will be used from here on to mean acting from an inclusively transpersonal awareness which includes the mental, emotional, and physical components in its own way.

So far, the locution "acting (from)" has been used to indicate that what is studied is a different way of connecting field than thinking about, relating to, being and differentiating from fields. There is a certain implied linearity about the use of the word "from" that is not always appropriately descriptive, but it is intended to indicate a dynamic potency that is not characteristic of being Field.

The linearity is appropriate in speaking of the actinic mode (which is a part of acting Field) because it does have a sense of going from someplace to someplace else. In this case, the direction is out, not from the personal center as in active mode, but out from the Field. Since Field is all-encompassing, that makes no sense without the qualification, "out from the implicate order into the explicate order within the whole Field." So, although the actinic mode is linear, acting Field is not necessarily so it includes more than the actinic mode. From here on, the two aspects will be spoken of separately when the differentiation between them is clear.

It should be understood that these formulations are very preliminary.

They have changed several times in the course of preparing this material, and depend a great deal on an ongoing,

changing process that gradually becomes clearer to this researcher. They should be considered offerings of the current status in a process that may well have no end.

Preliminary description of acting transpersonal fields and Field. Before attempting to make a preliminary list of defining characteristics of acting

Field, an early description of the experience which led the researcher to study this specific topic will be offered.

Journal entry: November 21

Group training session with [name omitted ... on flowing and "seeing" flow. I couldn't consistently "see" flowing around or though the hands of people who were demonstrating. I began to think the whole thing was the power of suggestion and nothing was really happening . . . . I knew it was time to finish with that. . . . [ A ] got out of his chair in front of the room and moved to the far left of it. He said to me, "Now come sit in my chair." I felt everything in me register shock. . . . My thought was, "That's serious business . . . I hadn't intended to go that far when I started this." Beyond that there was a deep movement of recognition that this was an effective change. Very gently he said, "Come on." When I first sat down, my muscles tensed and for just a bit nothing happened. I had a flush of disappointment and relaxed. Then from no• particular place, I felt my body begin to flow. I don't know whether I breathed or not. Everything was very still but flowing. Although there was an occasional thought, what was flowing included more and more of what was sitting there. The physical sensation of flowing increased. There was no specific source and yet it was not alien. It was intimately familiar. At one point, I felt a shift and was aware of having dropped something. It was a relief. There was awareness of feeling totally unattached to what the people (40-50 of them) in the room were thinking, feeling, etc. I no longer cared, since nothing out there was separate from the flow. It filled up the room and beyond. It felt unlimited and unconcerned about anyone's personal feelings. . . . Nothing in the room or beyond belt separate from that powerful flowing radiation that kept flowing. It didn't flow from another source behind or above the body. There

'S J was a full awareness that what I am most truly was flowing. I was no size, though I could see my physical body and everyone else's in a normal way ... The flow just seemed to come from nowhere and include everything in it. It seemed less and less a part of time. At some point, I looked to the other end of the room at [ Z] sitting there. I don't know what I saw but I was drawn to what it was. . . . There was a sense of the Holy beyond what had bee-n possible before. It was almost overwhelming, and it didn't feel separate from the room or everyone there. [ A j said, "Notice how the room has changed." Someone asked, "how do we know this is not a suggestion like the last case?" He answered, "you don't," and out on the bubble edge of my consciousness I thought, "I know how, because I experience this differently than the lady that was suggestible. It's coming out of the deepest, most intimate base of what I am, even before that which doubts, and I can feel the difference. ... I can understand why you can't tell. You aren't living it. You have to live it to know." These thoughts just flittered along the surface while the river of flowing absorbed most of my attention. By that time, there was no body sensation, no awareness of much but a clear golden vastness with faint forms of people and furniture and walls. ... I found myself standing up and the flow continued. There was no point of consciousness directing a unit, as there had been before. I don't know now where I was aware from, though I was very aware. I walked around. The flow flowed on, and did for more than three days. It felt like a dense flow moving through a dense flow. There was no pressure on the floor, but just a burst going out everywhere like a "big Bang" picture of the universe. As I sat down, I walked 'by a man who had appeared to me to have tried to intimidate me for several years. I felt a meeting, acknowledged. There was no more personality reaction than if he had been a piece of stereo equipment. At the same time there was a flowing through to the deepest acknowledgement of him as being that flow and meeting him in that. From then on I could "see." (Welch, 1979)

A preliminary description of acting Field and actinic mode will be based upon this example. There is hope that it will be sufficient to giv e the reader a tentative basis for distinguishing acting Field from the developmental ways of connectina field discussed in this introduction. It certainly cannot be considered definitive in any sense.

-36

This example occurs in a group context, which is frequently the case with acting Field. It is not a private meditative absorption within. There is a marked radiation out that is inclusive of the whole of that situation. There is a sense of dynamic activity that predominates over form. There is mental and emotional detachment from the usual associations and yet a functional doing of what is appropriate in the context, i.e., thinking, walking, etc.

The flow described in this example seemed to come out of nothing and had a broad direction and purpose that was not entirely a part of time. There was an intense holiness present. The flow made a change in the room (the lived world of those present).

The most intimate nature was expressed, and also recognized in another.

The senses of "me" and an "other" were not important to the experience; nevertheless, there was no emotional or mental fusion.

The usual consciousness was distinguishable from another kind of awareness, and the other awareness seemed more basic. There was a knowing of

"seeing flow" that came out of doing it. There was no understanding of how to do that beforehand.

Using the improvisional theater analogy again to compare this way of connecting Field with the others, the group is now the actors as well as the audience (the personal consciousness taking part as the audience). Those of the group who lived the experience (the researcher never asked the group how many did) would be those who flowed with and contributed to the flowing in the room. The director could be regarded as that Impulse which brings about the actinic mode.

One can be identified as the whole theater, but the primary identification in the group was probably with the action. One lives the play directly rather

than vicariously. One is simultaneously being /following /observing /acting the action. Therefore, what is happening cannot be experienced and understood solely in the usual fashion. In the usual linear experience, one thinks that the knowing initiates the movement. However, in this type of functioning, it feels more accurate to say the movement initiates the knowing.

A final description will be given, this time it comes from Martin Muller who provided training which has resulted in this researcher ,- - beginning to act

Field. He provides training in ontology which includes a great many other things as well. This quotation is excerpted from a transcribed taped interview by Wayland

Myers (1976):

If we take the physicist's explanation, then the personality would be the product of the field. ... So if you can follow the functioning that is in the field, you have something that is more basic than the appearance. Of course, it's much more subtle, much less easy to follow, especially with the usual means -those means which most people are educated in using. I would say that with those means you just can't follow it. Your perception has to be trained in a -- well, let me qualify that -- if I speak of "perceptions" basically I'm wrong. Because the way I am actually using is derived from livance. (The fullness of what one lives as against one's conscious awareness of what one is and lives. ed.) . ... I said that you live the other's field -- Well, there's no basic difference between your field and the other one's field. In other words, there is just that condition. Your patient is in a given condition. Okay, so you live that condition. You can live that condition to the point where "you" and the "patient" disappear. But the function of the condition is here. So you follow that. . . . If you have a specific situation and you have to do something with that person, you have to act. There is that concrete part of the observer part of your mind that might receive observations, true. Cut if you look very closely, the acting part in you is related to the acting part in the other one. Now that sounds silly as a sentence goes, but what f mean is that there is one action going on and you act from the action going on. That means you act in action. You don't process information and decide what to do ...

38 [mind] processing can go on simultaneously in a kind of parallel way, but the more that you are trained in acting in the situation itself, without that kind of processing going on [the more effective it is] .... [You] have means of working that are different, fully different from mental and [emotional] processing. It's much quicker (pp. 2-7).

The reader may begin to sense differences between this way of functioning from transpersonal fields and Field and the development stages described in the previous sections. Acting (from) may include components of all three developmental aspects on the rungs of Wilber's final two stages (see

Appendix B). It also occurs when those stages have not been reached.

As stated earlier, it is important not only to conceptualize the differences between the different ways of approaching implicate order fields, but as much as possible, to live the differences vicariously through the descriptions of experience provided. This is not easy if one has no previous reference for the experience.

For the reader who relates to transpersonal fields only as theoretical constructs or beliefs and not as intimate experiences, the distinctions between the three developmental ways of functioning can hardly make sense, let alone the actinic mode and acting from transpersonal fields. They might easily be taken as fanciful. As Claudio Naranjo says, "We can only understand what we have experienced" (Naranjo, 1974, p. 24). This is as true for urban squalor, dolphin research, or psychology of aging as it is for the study of implicate order fields. The phenomenological method used in this research presents the experience as it appears to the subjects and withholds judgment as to how it might fit into whatever metaphysical presuppositions about reality that might be held.

39 Statement of the Problem

In the previous sections, the tentative structure of acting Field and actinic mode has been introduced and differentiated from the developmental sequence. Acting Field has been situated within the context of Bohm's theory of the explicate order, the implicate order, and holomovement. Actinic mode has been briefly introduced and tentatively distinguished from action and receptive modes of consciousness. On the basis of this preparation, and within the researcher's experience prior to the research, it can be said that subjects who act (from) Field appear to base in the action of holomovement and responsibly bring the transpersonal implicate order Field into the explicate while functioning in the Actinic mode of consciousness.

This brings us to the fundamental questions of this research: "What is the broad nature of this significant and little studied process? What, more specifically, is the nature of the actinic mode inherent to the process? "'hat are the experiences of others who function in this way?"

A useful method for beginning to formulate answers to these fundamental questions is to enter into the living of a number of those who have several years' experience functioning this way and who also have been trained in psychological observation so that they can describe their functioning in terms understandable to a psychological public.

Importance of the Problem

Those who have kept up with recent proliferation of literature about paradigm shifts are aware of the effect of the developing world view on broad sectors of society.

A glance at Marilyn Ferguson's Aquarian Conspiracy (1980) reports this change in physics, biology,

40 ecology, education, nutrition, medicine, brain physiology, consciousness research psychology, etc. There is a great deal of theoretical discussion on psychosomatic medicine, consciousness research, and humanistic psychology about this paradigm shift which involves whole-to-part function, rather than the part striving to be whole. The discussion has, for the most part, remained theoretical. Most experiential human examples given are still from the position of the part striving to be whole. It is believed that this research on acting

Field and actinic mode is important because it gives examples of consciousness functioning according to the new theory, the whole expressing dynamically through the part.

This research is also in line with the recent trend to study exceptional human capacities. Peak performance, superhealth, and supermind are being studied in order to establish the outer limits of human potential that can be used in guiding future human development. Many of the characteristics of the experiences studied in this paper fall into Maslow's (1964) B-Cognition category, experienced most frequently by fully functioning humans. Many other characteristics found in this research are not listed by him, as aspects of either B-Cognition or of the more deficit oriented D-Cognition. These exceptional human capacities have not been described before. It is, therefore, important to add then; to the growing list of human potentialities.

One common criteria which has established importance of research in psychology has been the number of people who function in a given manner. The emphasis on the exceptional is new. Alfred French (1977) voices this new position when he calls for psychologists who discover a new phenomenon to describe it for the edification of the whole

psychological community. Vie do net knew how many people act Field or live the actinic mode. Until it has been adequately described, it is impossible to design a survey to discover its incidence.

Willis Harman (1981), of SRI International and the Institute of Noetic Sciences, called for more emphasis on consciousness research in his address at the 1981

Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association. He says that "the study of human consciousness is quite evidently of central importance to the understanding of human behavior, motivation, and well being - how important we have appreciated even more as the role of unconscious processes has become clearer. The neglect (of such studies) is surely not because the field is unimportant" (Harmon, 1981, p. 1). He suggests three reasons why there has not been more advance in studies of human consciousness: (1) methodological problems,

(2) factors in the subculture of the scientific community that have hindered advance, and (3) the deep ambivalence in scientists themselves about the "need to know" and the "fear to know" in this area. Harmon goes on to say, The methodological problems are not insurmountable, but they are real. The resistance to paradiamchallenging research is a familiar phenomenon in the history of science. And, there is ample evidence that any one of us is ambivalent toward uncovering knowledge of the deeper self. Now that we have a better understanding of how advance has been hindered in the past, it is time for human consciousness research to move ahead (p. 4).

This study is important in that it is one small contribution to the study of a function of human consciousness which challenges the paradigms of psychologies based upon Newtonian science. 9

42 Delimitations

There are five delimitations to this study: (1) Neither the aura nor parapsychological phenomena nor hypnotic phenomena will be studied. (2) The training required in order to work from transpersonal will not be discussed. (3) The analysis of "field" will be limited. (4) The phenomenological method as an appropriate method of scientific research will not be defended. (5) The subjects will be confined to highly functional people with professional training in psychology. The Aura, Parapsychological, and

Hypnotic Phenomena will not be Studied

A distinction is helpful between (1) what some people call aura, defined as an area around the body which has a distinct shape and color to clairvoyant vision and is said to be related to the emotions and condition of the physical body (Bailey, 1934; Hunt, 1980; Bruyere, 1980) and (2) what is sometimes called self-transcendence, or formless mystical states (Clark, 1976; Green 8 Green, 1977; Goleman, 1974). There are a variety of different names in different systems for the initial self-transcendent states involved; the most familiar to 4Western readers are probably Samadhi, Purity of Heart, God Consciousness, satori, and Choiceless Awareness. Perception of an aura is often considered to be an extension of ordinary perception and, therefore, is not these transcendent states (Schwartz, 1980; Bailey, 1936;Wortz, 1980; Green & Green, 1977; Eshbach, 1979; Muller, 1978; Bruyere, 1980; Hunt, 1980; LeShawn, 1968). Perhaps this is a totally different way of approaching emotional and etheric fields.

It is not clear to this researcher at this time if the "aura" and other parapsychological phenomena are part of the implicate order because awareness of aura requires training other than the current sensor-empirically based consensus reality, yet seems to involve ordinary vision. According to Coleman

(1978) and Green (1977), they are nonconsensus states of consciousness but not meditative (transpersonal) states of consciousness. Auras are often bypassed by transpersonal meditative training's in favor of the subtler and more formless aspects of implicate order fields (Kapleau, 1980; Patanjali, trans. 1970; St. John of the Cross, trans. 1973; St. lgnatius, 1979). Decision on the issue of where parapsychological phenomena are to be classed is not necessary for this dissertation. What needs to be made clear is that they are not the fields emphasized in this study (Muller, 1973).

In line with this, the study does not include any kind of descriptions of psychic healing, clairvoyance or clairaudience involving any kind of disincarnated entities of a psychic nature. There will be no involvement with the material or theory of hypnosis or states involved in the practice of hypnosis. Training Required In Order

to Work from Field

The training required to develop or accelerate development of acting

Field, actinic mode, and their applications as therapy is extensive and rigorous.

There will be no attempt to outline the training required to: (1 ) differentiate acting

Field from the developmental sequence outlined earlier, beyond what is possible for the reader as he lives with the descriptions written here; (2) differentiate acting Field from acting mental or emotional fields; or to (3) act from transpersonal fields and

Field or function in actinic mode. At least one introductory technical manual for such training is already in print: Prelude to the New Man

by Martin Muller (1978). There will be no attempt to demonstrate appropriate training's for relating to or being in or differentiating from implicate order field. Those are readily available from those groups cited in the study as most representative of that type function. Scope of Analysis of

"Field"

Analysis of "field" will be limited to amplification of the introduction. It will not include the many other endless issues that arise in this regard, both theoretical and practical. The point of this dissertation is to demonstrate that it is possible to function from transpersonal Field and act on and, therefore, alt er personality in a way which does in no way violate, control, or manipulate personality.

The author is aware that there are a variety of fields within fields interpenetrating fields, if one wishes to organize one's field experience by discriminating qualities of the whole. It may be extremely important to know in certain situations which field one is acting from. This is, however, far beyond the scope of this study. This issue only becomes of serious importance to one who has begun to act Field. It also may become extremely important to discover exactly how the explicate order of ordinary sense experience and transpersonal implicate order fields and Field are related. However, this is not within the scope of this paper. The Phenomenological Method

Will Not be Defended as a Research Method

1+5 post-Newtonian period. It will be assumed that the reader is familiar with the previous, extensive research on this subject.

For the same reason, there will be no detailed defense of the practice of bracketing questions of "reality" of a phenomenon in this paper or in phenomenological research in general.

Study will be Confined to Highly Functional People Trained in Psychology

The study will confine itself to highly functional subjects actively involved in family and professional work, and with deep interpersonal caring relationships. Subjects will be selected to meet the three criteria of Gorden Allport for mature people and the criterion of Abraham Maslow of a fully human person. The selection of subjects was determined through interview by the author to meet these criteria.

1. Allport's Criteria: I have argued that the attributes of a mature personality are three in number. First, a variety of psychogenic interests is required which concern themselves with ideal objects and values beyond the range of viscerogenic desire. Unless one escapes the level of immediate biological impulse, one's life is manifestly dwarfed and infantile. A second attribute is the ability to objectify oneself, to be reflective and insightful about one's own life. The individual with insight sees himself as others see him, and at certain moments glimpses himself in a kind of cosmic perspective. A developed sense of humor is an aspect of this second attribute. Finally, a mature personality always has some unifying philosophy of life, although not necessarily religious in type, nor articulated in words, nor entirely complete. But without the direction and coherence supplied by some dominant integrative pattern any life seems fragmented and aimless. (Allport, 1950, p. 53)

2. Maslow's criterion: (the statement], "The fully human person in certain moments perceives the unity of the cosmos, fuses with it, and rests in it, completely satisfied for the moment in his yearning for oneness," is very likely

46 synonymous, at a"higher level of magnification," with the statement, "This is a fully human person" (Maslow, 1964, p. 95).

Although people who do not meet all these criteria act Field, their expression is less easy to interpret, due to increased distortio ns of personality needs. As stated earlier, the point of this study is to get as clear a preliminary description of the condition as possible. Cther research can be done which would show how acting

Field and actinic mode are expressed by other groups of people. This desire for a clear preliminary description is also the reason for the selection of subjects who were psychologically trained. They have more precise vocabularies with which to describe subtle experience and a certain amount of perspective about the variations of human nature.

The Personal Motivation Behind this Project

The motivation for this research comes out of ten years' personal experience with a group doing experimental work and training in the field of ontology.

"Ontology, in this sense, does not denote a philosophical system addressing the nature of being or existence, but indicated . . . a technical system for training a person to activate a which life is at the core of his being" (Myers, 1977, p. 2).

The two decades prior to joining this croup had been spent experimenting with different philosophical, medical, religious, and psychological ways-of-being-in-the--world, searching for effective means of producing harmony between self and world, personally, within the culture, and in the world at large. Over the years, this researcher had developed a pragmatic program of entering into a variety of proposed ways-of-being. There was a total commitment for one year, adopting the

47 proposed presuppositions and practices, allowing the very nature of the orientation to permeate practical everyday living as well as the psychological and intellectual frames of reference. The self was used as a living laboratory to test the effectiveness of the orientation to produce harmony on the scale required.

After one year, evaluation was made and decision as to whether there was in fact a broad solution to the problem likely from this approach.

Until working in the "ontology" group which sparked this research, no orientation had shown results worth continued life investment. Though partially effective, the scopes of application of other approaches were too limited. After about ten months of involvement with the "ontology" group, this researcher became aware that some members of the group functioned in broadly harmonious ways that were totally unfamiliar and impossible at that time for her to follow. As years of training went by under the direction of Martin Muller, the group unified and a totally different way of engaging the world began to emerge with increasing concreteness. It proved to be practical and effective but difficult to describe in words.

Incidentally, it has proven to be more therapeutic than all the extensive psychological therapy, philosophical training, and religious practices in which this researcher had trained. While developing psychological therapy incorporating this ontology, it became obvious that the effective aspects of the group work had to become more verbally expressible and expressible in psychological terms. It becomes increasingly obvious as dissertation level research is published (Myers, 1977; Seagal, 1981; Goldenberg, 1981) describing and using the effects of this ontology without verbalizing the mode of consciousness which produces those effects. Because of this lack of

48 clarity, transpersonal psychologists who have been somewhat aware of this type of functioning have confused it with the developmental process called a

"path." This is true of Goleman (1972) in his typology of meditative techniques when he included Sri Aurobindo and D. T. Suzuki as techniques rather than different types of ontology. Francis Vaughan (1980) and Ram Dass (1980) also classified it as part of the developmental process at the transpersonal stage. 10 This lack of clarity occurred in part because the mode of consciousness involved had not been described precisely enough. In order to restrict the topic to manageable proportion, but key to the process involved, this researcher was drawn to research that eventually came to be named "Acting (from) Field." She had, at that time, no idea how it could be studied, expressed in language, or oriented to any kind of current cultural framework. Without the deep motivation to share the effectiveness of this way-of-being with fellow psychologists who might be able to help others, those nearly insurmountable obstacles would not have been, even partially, overcome.

Presuppositions

This researcher attempts, as explicitly as possible, to make clear the general presuppositions brought to this work, which has not been possible to entirely bracket in the course of phenomenological reduction. The following is a summary of those most relevant to this study:

10 After reading review copies of Muller's Prelude to the New Man.

1. A. human being is not limited to being an "organism" having only mental, emotional, and physical aspects.

2. Direct experience is prior to conceptualizat ion and objectification of sensory data, both epistemologically and ontologically.

3. Being-in-the-world involves simultaneously self and world. How the world presents itself is co-dependent with how the self-system presents itself. If the self- system is changed, the presented world is changed. Self/world dichotomy can be dissolved.

4. It is possible for new self/world ontologies to occur. Life is a creative process.

5. Considering one self/world system as definitive and all others as distortions or more primitive expressions creates blocks in the study of the possibilities of human growth. The systems of both Eastern and Western psychology have tended to do this.

6. Though the structure of one's world view is often more influential on dynamics than the other way around, it is possible for the situation to be reversed.

In addition, the following additional presuppositions are shared with

Alfred North Whitehead (1929) and Cobb (1979):

1. Sense perception is not the only or primary means of knowing what is outside of us.

2. Causation occurs beyond contiguous events. There is action at a distance and nonlinear systems causation.

3. Causes are not limited to physics.

4. A system can be creative and is not reducible to its parts.

Chapter 2

REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

The original purpose of the literature search was to discover/develop a context in which this experience could be articulated. The researcher was hoping to find other expressions, and perhaps studies, of acting Field or illusions to it.

The literature itself suggested the typology put forward in the

Introduction and the articulation in terms of "field" as a basic concept. The search became extensive because provocative hints would be found

that might have led to acting Field experiences; but, in each case, when the lead was followed far enough, the description proved to be one of the other forms of connecting field.

The literature shows how the various traditions approach field and what components of acting Field are found in these various approaches. It also brings out the familiar issues against taking any description of mystical experiences at face value, and issues of different interpretations according to different metaphysical stances.

The literature will be grouped according to major differences in metaphysical articulation of the nature of being and what is possible from that position. The material will be presented in the following order: Western Psychology Buddhist Psychology Chinese Taoism Christian Mysticism Science and Consciousness

51 Transpersonal Psychology (as an amalgam of the above)

Ontology Group Research (specifically relevant transpersonal)

Western Psychology

Mystical experience has, by and large, been ignored by Western psychologists, and the prevailing attitude has been that any cases that do arise are pathological. The precedent for this is undoubtedly Freud's theories: In the projection theory (Freud, 1959), he proposed that religious rituals were means to reinforce control of instinctual impulses of antisocial acts. In the

Oedipal theory (Freud, 1955), he associated the mysterious authority of God with the guilt feelings the son had over desiring to usurp the father's place. In general, Freud regarded religion as pathological adaptation fulfilling some repressed need.

This view became popular through Leuba's (1929) Psychology of Religious Mysticism which suggested that religious experiences are related to schizophrenia. Alexander (1931) following on this suggested that they represent infantile regression in avoidance of the real world. The psychiatric community still generally holds these and, similar views, as the following selection from the Modern Synopsis of the Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry/11 shows

(Freedman, et al, 1976).

The classical hysterical attack represents a flight from genital sexuality by a dramatic disability but with symbolic sexual gratification demonstrated by hysterical movement or paralysis. Mystical trance state often resemble an attack of hysteria and sometimes may even betray symbolic sexual content. The aspect of religion that corresponds psychodynamically to schizophrenia is othervrorldliness or transcendentalism. Transcendentalism finds its most explicit expression in mysticism. The mystical trance resembles a kind of hysterical transport or brief psychotic dissociation. The trance

52 is ordinarily induced by observing a regimen, usually of abstinence and asceticism, or in other cultures, of excessive sexual indulgence. It may be invited by long periods of meditation. The person experiences the state passively. . . . Descriptions of the trance state consistently refer to striking sensory experiences. The trance state, at its beginning, is sometimes associated with anxiety. As it approaches its climax, the person usually describes a feeling of great pleasure, often called bliss or ecstasy. The schizophrenic is apt to announce that the world has come to an end, that it is destroyed in a conflagration or in a war. Then he becomes aware that the world and life are being renewed, often by virtue of some act of his. ... Less dramatic than the trance state but more influential in determining the person's fate is the mystical way of life. The person who adopts the mystical way of life may display a general behavior pattern that is little, if at all, different from that of others. The difference lies in how he experiences his life. Doing the same mundane things that everyone else does, he feels himself to be in direct contact with divinity. For the mystic, the world of consensus reality is flavored by the transcendent world. It is the quality of transcendence that lends his life meaning, pleasure, and reality, even though this whole dimension is invisible to others. The psychopathological analogue to this state of mind is paranoia. The paranoic, too, walks with one foot in consensual reality and the other in his own private universe, which he considers the ultimate reality. He can arrange his responses to the outside world so that they seem appropriate. Yet he knows that these things that others regard as ordinary and unremarkable have meanings. One may regard both these states as states of partial dissociation. The two states differ in that the mystical way of life affords gratification and pleasure, but the paranoic sees the world as hostile. (pp. 1262-1264)

In their review of recent empirical research on mysticism and mental illness,

Thomas and Cooper (1980) and Walsh and Vaughan (1980) noted that this

Freudian based opinion has not been supported, although it is still widely held. Five recent studies have all found a positive correlation between peak experiences and personal maturity. In the first study, conducted by Greeley and McCready (1974) and reported in the New York Times Magazine article,

"Are We a Nation of Nlystics?", a

53 representative national sample of 1,500 adults was asked, "Have you ever had the feeling of being very close to a powerful spiritual force that seemed to lift you out of yourself, an experience that can best be characterized by the word ecstasy?"

About six hundred people reported having at least one such experience, and seventy-five reported having had such experiences often. Those who reported the experiences were most likely to be college educated, having above $10,000 a year income, and to be psychologically healthy according to the Psychological

Well-being Scale. According to Elmer Green (1977), Professor Norman Bradburn indicated that the relationship between frequent ecstatic experiences and psychological well-being was the highest correlation he had ever had with his scale. Greeley and McCready (1974) were dismayed when their professional colleagues dismissed their findings with abrupt certainty. They thought funding agencies responsible for mental health research would be intrigued by the correlation they had discovered between ecstasy and mental health. It turned out that they didn't believe it. In another example, using the Budner Intolerance of

Ambiguity Scale, those who responded affirmatively to the spiritual experience question were compared to a group of those who reported not having had such an experience. The No Experience Group scored significantly higher, which indicated on that scale that they were more intolerant of ambiguity and less open to new situations than those having spiritual experience.

Until Maslow's (1964) full-length phenomenological description of peak experiences, serious research had not been reported on the actual nature of mystical experience. A recent and more detailed study has been done by

Livingston (1975), but, the Viaslow study has been the

54 most recognized. Maslow found that "peakers" were more easily able to refrain from projecting human purposes on the world. Objects and people were more readily perceived as having an independent reality of their own. The bad things about life were accepted more totally than during nonpeak periods. Facts and values overlap, world and people not only are, but are also sacred. Fear of disintegration, of insanity, of death disappear. Anxiety, defense, and control also disappear so that there is a sense of well-being established. As a result of these experiences, a person is less selfish. "It is precisely those persons who have the clearest and strongest identity who are most able to transcend the ego or self ..."(p. 67).

Peak experiences have been further defined and the concept refined by a flurry of studies following Maslow. A search of that literature shows a broad cross-section of types of peak experiences which range from Athletics to Zen meditation as their context. Using the typology given in Chapter 1, most of the experiences described in the literature are of the first (believing in) or the second

(relating to) field types, or they are psychic experiences.

This closely follows the recent findings of Thomas and Cooper (1980) in their survey of the incidence of peak experiences in the general population. Of the

305 people who returned the survey, 35% reported having the feeling of being close to a powerful spiritual force that seemed to lift them outside themselves. Of the total, 10% were uncodable, 8$ were psychic experiences, 16% were characterized by faith and consolation (believing in), and 1% mystical (Being type in tile above typology) . Three other surveys using different questions have corroborated the general incidence of peak experiences at 33% or more,

55 but none of them have broken down the response into type of experience reported. Even though the incidence of such experience in the general population is significant, there are few Western psychologists who have included it in their professional interest. A short summary of the literature will show what has been done and what of it is relevant to this particular study.

European Psychology A survey of European literature shows greater emphasis on implicate order human functioning than in Anglo -American psychology. Carl Jung's influence has been greater there, while Freud's naturalism has been more easily received in the United States. Jung wrote significant prefaces to translations of key Eastern religious literature (!Wilhelm/Baynes, 1950; Evans-Wentz, 1967). He also studied Medieval Christian and Hermetic (Jung, 1955a) symbolism sensitively. He felt that millions of people had lost faith in any kind of religion; this loss was bewildering and painful because religious symbols give life its meaning (1964). Though Jung did not regard mystical experiences as patho logical, he was mainly interested in healing pathology. He says, "The approach to the numinous is the real therapy and inasmuch as you attain to the numinous experiences you

0 7 1 are released from the curse of pathology" (1 - 13, p. 377 ). His focus was on the symbolic aspects as they express through dream symbols, rather than the nonsymbolic, formless aspects of mystical experience. Therefore, there is little of his specific work which is relevant to this study. Jung's use of positive aspects of religion in therapy did influence others in the psychiatric field to explore the phenomenon of

religion independently of Freud's approach. Existential analysts (Binswanger, 1963; Trub, 1952; Frankl, 1955), following Jung's lead, interpreted mystical and symbolic religious experiences in the context of the life-world of the individual. Medard Boss (1963) generally represents this movement in his discussion of Freud's methodological approach. He quotes Freud (1943):

Our purpose is not merely to describe and classify phenomena, but to conceive them as brought about by the play of forces in the mind, as expressions of the tendencies striving toward a goal, which work together or against one another. In this conception, the trends we merely infer are more prominent than the phenomena we perceive. (p. 60)

Boss comments about his own approach which has included extensive contact with Indian mysticism: In sharp contradistinction to this natural science approach to man's nature, the Daseinanalytic phenomenological science of man and his world asks us for once just to look at the phenomena of our world themselves, as they confront us, and to linger with them sufficiently long to become fully aware of what they tell us directly about their meaning and essence. It is inappropriate in principle to regard ... statements as "derived" from factors assumed to lie behind that which is described or to expect such statements can be "proved" by reduction to imagined presuppositions. (p. 30) Due to this approach, religious and mystical experiences are not automatically classified as pathology. Examples of relating to transpersonal field can be found in the writings of this group, however, there is no study of being or acting transpersonal fields. This may, in part, be due to the emphasis on pathology and its treatment. In line with that, there are lengthy descriptions of being and acting from emotional fields in this literature.

Paul Ricoeur (1965), a French phenomenologist, provides extensive phenomenological descriptions of voluntary aspects of the will and its interrelatedness to the involuntary. None of the studies yet published describe acting transpersonal fields or Field; but, given his program, descriptions of will-like direction from transpersonal aspects could be possible in the future.

Anglo-American Experimental Psychology

The work of the men in the preceding section has not had great influence on American psychology until the past 15 years. In general, emphasis has been on studying the explicate order, which can be measured, predicted, and observed. Representative of this position is the massive Handbook of

General Psychology (Wolman, ed. 1973), which devotes one and one-half chapters to Humanistic Psychology in its 1000 -page survey of the key points in the field of psychology. There was no space allotted to transpersonal subjects. In contrast, 45 chapters deal with explicate order studies of the human organism, how it perceives the external world, and how it is conditioned to learn, etc.

Royce (1973), who presents a survey of the present situation in theoretical psychology for the Handbook, notes that:

... men of different philosophic commitments (i.e., world views) reflect limited or encapsulated images of reality as a function of their particular epistemological profiles (p. 9). [He assesses] the present situation in contemporary . . . psychology in terms of underlying epistemologies (i.e. , empiricism, rationalism, and metaphorism) . Because of twentieth century encapsulation within the epistemology of empiricism, contemporary man finds it difficult to be open to symbolic and intuitive cognition. Psychology, as part of the contemporary cultural Zeitgeist, can al so be characterized as super-empirical, somewhat at the expense of the rational, and almost completely at the expense of the metaphoric, [humanistic] approach to reality. (p. 20)

58 Given this emphasis on the empirical (narrowly defined as evidence acquired by the five senses only), it is no surprise that a search of the fields of perception, learning theory, motivation, and emotion yielded few studies in implicate order phenomena and no descriptions of transpersonal fields. The methodology used is not appropriate to the study of these phenomena. In the literature of cognitive psychology, implicate order activity of the mind is studied through its effects in the explicate. In other words, the processes of the mind are not studied through direct experience, but through their effects on instruments and through behavioral responses. Because of the methodology, the most that could be expected would be theorizing about or relating to implicate order fields, particularly mental fields. Brown (1981) reports high-speed signal detection studies which corroborate subjective reports of both the stage and quick models of meditation to enlightenment. In the stage model, with which he is concerned, there is cognitive research parallel to reports of meditative states in stages three, four, and five (see Appendix D). Although these studies are relevant to the general field of transpersonal psychology, they are not specifically related to this study. The hypothesis, commonly held in cognitive psychology (Kreitler, 1976), that changes in beliefs induce changes in behavior is, in a general way, relevant. The work of Bruner (1975) and Neisser (1976) indicate that selectivity is inherent in the process of information pick-up and cannot be relegated to any separate device. As the perceiver acquires more sophisticated perceptual skills, he notices more. Using

the analogy of a chess player, Neisser (1976) makes the implications of these studies clearer.

The chess player literally sees the position differently, more adequately, more comprehensively, than a novice or nonplayer would. Of course, the nonplayer sees a great deal; the chessmen are carved of ivory, the knight resembles a horse . . . a young child would still see less; that the pieces would fit in his mouth. . . . The differences among these perceivers are not matters of truth and error, but of noticing more rather than less. (p. 180)

This principle is applicable to the perception of fields in general, and transpersonal fields in particular.

On the other hand, Walsh reports (1978a) a resurgence of anti- introspectionism by some cognitive psychologists. He quotes Nisbett and Wilson

(1977):

There may be little or no direct introspective access to higher order cognitive processes. . . . It is proposed that when people attempt to report on their cognitive processes, that is, on the processes mediating the effects of a stimulus on a response, they do so on the basis of any true introspection . ... This suggests that though people may not be able to observe directly their cognitive processes, they will sometimes be able to report accurately about them. (p. 231)

This may be a serious challenge to the study of meditation by the phenomenological method, with which Walsh is mainly concerned. But as he points out, the results of the phenomenological study agrees with cognitive psychology that access to mental processes is usually extremely poor and that the poverty and distortion of this access is rarely recognized. However, with long and arduous training, introspective sensitivity and validity can be enhanced.

This present study uses subjects who have considerable introspective training particularly in order to avoid as much of the known distortion as possible.

They are not mainly concerned with the

60 processes of mediating the effects of a stimulus on a response, but on the production of a stimulus by the Field. This is reported in a variety of different ways by the different consciousnesses. According to Michael Polanyi (1958), tacit knowledge (which includes the basis of introspection and therefore the implicate order) is in fact the dominant principle of all knowledge, and that rejection would, therefore, automatically involve rejection of any knowledge whatever. Polanyi defines tacit knowledge as "the unformulated knowledge such as we have of something we are in the act of doing . . . we may say we always know tacitly that we are holding our explicit knowledge to be true." (Polanyi, 1958, p. 24)

While specific kinds of reports of cognitive processes may be suspect, this does not necessarily include all reports of implicate order experience.

Field Theory in Social Psychology Psychologists using concepts of fields, systems, and holism come closer to the flavor and scope of acting transpersonal field than those focused on the laboratory or the couch. They are concerned with wholes and their functions rather than analyzing parts. Although there are many systems psychologists, i.e., Goldstein (1963), G. Murphy (1947), Satir (1972), and Haley (1963), only those who explicitly use field concepts will be included here. Murry Bowen is the only family systems therapist to qualify, and a discussion of his work is included in the Introduction. This section will then emphasize social and perceptual psychologies. Social psychology, since its beginning with Lewin (1935), has used many terms borrowed from physics, such as vector, forces, etc.

London (1944) has criticized Lewin for misuse of those physical terms, including the concept of "field." It will be shown in the science and consciousness section where some of the inconsistency lies, and how the use of "field" in this paper avoids that inconsistency.

According to Hall and Lindzey (1957), Lewin's field theory helped make a subjective frame of reference scientifically respectable at a time when the so-called inner determinants of conduct, such as aspirations, values, and intentions, had been cast out in favor of conditioned reflexes, rote learning, etc.

It helped revive the conception of mar as a complex energy field, motivated by psychological forces, functioning selectively with his environment. For Lewin, behavior is a function of the field which exists at the time the behavior occurs. The dynamics of the field change constantly, so that maps of forces active at one time are quickly obsolete. Analysis begins with the situation as a whole from which are differentiated the component parts. This orientation was a fertile field for social psychology, which Lewin helped develop.

He and other social psychologists of his time recognized fields as

"totalities" within the personal consciousness, both as a whole and as separate totalities of physiological or psychic processes. They also included intrapersonal fields (fields within the person) of conflict within the totalities of personal consciousness as well as within groups of persons (Osscini, 1972). Social psychologists recognized fields exceeding the limits of one "unit of consciousness" in relation with several "units of consciousness" in a small group.

The scope of the interlocking of totalities depends on the focus of the study. In the largest focus, reality can be thought of as an interlocking of totalistic forces (fields of forces) in an extended sense. This meaning includes

an individual's subjective field of world perception as well as all external influences acting on a person. Social psychology also recognizes social fields including the sector fields of Karl Mannheim, in which groups are interdependent. There are also fields of social conflict between interest and power groups. Society as a whole can also be seen as a combined field - a combination of dynamic totalities (Mey, 1972).

A definition of "field" intending to encompass this broad scope of development was suggested by Robert Lana (1969): "a theoretical construct in which total patterns of environmental conditions at a particular point or in a particular segment of time are included" (p. 83). His definition, however, is lacking in scope in that it did not recog nize intrapersonal fields or the "unit of consciousness" explicitly included by Lewin.

If a field definition is to include the relativistic stance of fields as used in relativity theory, from which the concept derived, then a theoretical construct involving fields must include the observer as part of the field. Lana did not do this, however. The observer is included in a definition of field developed by Arthur

Combs, and Anne and Fred Richards, and others in their Perceptual

Psychology (1976). The perceptual field l is the entire universe, including himself, as it is experienced by an individual at the instant of action. (p. 22)

1 For Combs and the Richards, the perceptual field has been called the personal field, the private world (L. K. Frank, 1939); the behavioral field, the psychological field space (Lewin, 1943, 1935); the image (Boulding, 1956); the life world (Giorgi, 1970a; Husserl, 1954); the assumptive world (J. Frank, 1974; Ornstein, 1972); the frame ( Goffman , 1974; Bateson, 1972); and the phenomenal field (Keen, 1975; Lawrence and O'Connor, 1967; Landsman, 1968).

When Combs includes the observer in the field observation, he involves himself in a different difficulty, which is an unclear differentiation between the field as an explanatory construct and, description of the field as an experiential reality.`

Vie have explored field theories involving human beings which expose two difficulties: (a) either they have not included the observer and his internal states as part of the field, or (b) they have ambiguously shifted from field as a theoretical construct to field as an experiential reality. The problem is particularly acute for most Western individuals who are accustomed to explaining themselves as moving isolated inside their skins and theorizing about what is "out there" as detached from themselves. This is an extension of the Cartesian dualistic system which requires a dichotomy between experience and observation

(mind/body-object).

Alan Watts pointed out to a Harvard Colloquium on Social Sciences as early as 1963 the need for dropping this dichotomy. He offers parallels between the pure mysticism of Mahayana Buddhism (Dharmadhatu) and the way an individual is seen in biology, ecology,

2Combs and Richards' ambiguity shows clearly when they state: "a field is an inference" (Koffka, 1935). "Whether or not it reall y exists in any tangible fashion we do not know. Although no one knows exactly how a field is composed, or what it is that makes it operate, none the less the concept is useful" (Combs, 1976, p. 21). In the Combs' text, there is a subsection entitled, "The Perceptual Field as Reality." In it they say, "To each of us the perceptual field of another person contains much error and illusion; it seems an interpretation of reality rather than reality itself. But to each individual, his phenomenal field is reality; it is the only reality he can know. . . . It is the only field and the only reality we can experience directly" (ed. italics; Combs, 1976, pp. 22, 24). Note that in the previous quotation it says, "Whether or not the field exists in any tangible fashion we do not know." The contradiction between explanatory construct and experiential reality is obvious.

and physiology (Watts, 1963). In these sciences, if what the individual is doing is described accurately, only a few steps are taken before one is describing what the environment is doing. If the whole thing is reduced to the process of doing, then the doing called the behavior of the individual is, at the same time, the doing of the environment. At this point, Watts calls for a field theory of man's behavior for these sciences, which could be modeled after that which has already been developed by Mahayana Buddhism. The editor's note introducing the article points out that: Theoretically many scientists know that the individual is not a skin-encapsulated ego but an organism-environment field. The organism itself is a point at which the field is "focused," so that each individual is a unique expression of the behavior of the whole field, which is ultimately the universe itself. But to know this theoretically is not to feel it to be so. (Lee and Metzner, 1963, p. 55)

Transpersonal psychology is developing ways in which the requisite experience can be forthcoming. The skin encapsulated ego does remain a problem for most psychologists, however.

For the present purposes, there are two other difficulties in the term

"field" as it is defined in social psychology. One, the wholes are not inclusive enough

(they do not include the transpersonal); and two, the concept of "field" originally used to describe events in implicate order physics has been inconsistently used according to rules applicable to explicate order objects. This latter problem will be discussed further in the section on science and consciousness.

Humanistic Psychology

Given the more whole-person orientation of humanistic psychology, one would think there would be more interest in peak

65 experiences than there has been. Some, like Allport (1940, 1950) and Bugenthal (1965, Chap. 23), include brief statements about mature mysticism or transpersonal dimensions, but they don't make full -length studies. Sutich (1976), feeling the lack of orientation which could accommodate the depths of the inner world and give sufficient attention to the place of man in the cosmos, began to develop the transpersonal orientation with Maslow and Vich in 1966. A separate section will be allotted to this part of humanistic psychology since the most relevant work has been done in this area. It will follow the sections on Buddhist psychology, Chinese mysticism, and Western mysticism, because they provide a background for its studies.

Buddhist Psychology

Sources Used According to Lama Govinda (1969), "The extent of the Buddhist scriptures is so enormous that a lifetime Would be too short for their complete study. Even the sacred scriptures of a single school would suffice to keep a scholar busy for all his life" (p. 47). With this in mind, it can be said that the literature search into Buddhist psychology has not touched on all sources of material related to this dissertation. Much literature has been reviewed through condensed descriptions of contents of historians and scholars. Through this review, certain descriptions applicable to the task at hand have been chosen. Those have been studied in more depth and reported here, without claiming to be exhaustive of all possible Buddhist sources. Sources used will be presented geographically and then a general synopsis by subject matter will follow.

Pali writings of early Buddhism. lsaline Horner's (1975) Early Buddhist

Writings was used as a guide to 21 major Pali Works. Of those, two, the

Abidhamma (Govinda, 1969) and the Vimilakirti Sutra (in Beyer, 1974) were studied in detail.

Sanskrit writings. A critical introduction to a Study on the

Ratnagotravibhaga (Uttaratantra) by Jukido Takasaki (1966) and Dialectical

Aspects in Buddhist Thought by Alfonso Verdu (1974) provided information about the contents of Indian Buddhist writings through the 5th Century A.D. Of those writings, the following were read in some depth:

The Heart of Interdependent Origination by Nagarjuna (1974), The Diamond

Sutra (Conze, 1958), Sraddhotpada (Verdu, 1974), The Ratnagotravibhaga

(Takasaki, 1966). This latter work will be referred to as the Ratna in this work.

Ch'an Buddhism (Zen in China). Verdu again provided some guide to these writings as did John Blofeld (1972) in his introduction to the Zen

Teaching of Hui Hai. A History of Zen Buddhism (Dumoulin,

1963), beside providing more details, helped put all the previous writings into a

Zen perspective. Particular reading was focused on Hui Hai and the Tsung

Ching Record (Blofeld, 1972), the writings of

Hua-yen (Kegon) school, particularly Kuei-feng Tsunq-mi (Verdu, 1974), and

Transmission of the Mind Outside the Teaching by Lu K'uan Yu (1974).

Tibetan Buddhism. The amount of literature here is so overwhelming, there was hesitation even to begin to select representative writings. General overviews were provided by Chogyam Trungpa (1969) and

John Blofeid's Tantric Mysticism of Tibet (1974). These were

67 supplemented by private conversations with a Western trained in Tibetan

Buddhism from France, Jean Pierre Dumas.

Modern Buddhism in the U.S. There is considerable interest and research in Buddhist psychology in the United States at this time. This researcher has drawn particularly from Dan Brown's massive correlation of meditation states from Mahamudra, Visuddhigamagga, the Hundu Yoga Sutras of

Patanjali, and recent research in cognitive psychology (see Appendix D).

Beside a variety of individual articles by Western psychologists who incorporate

Zen buddhist practices into their therapy, much has been drawn from a recent conference in Clairemont, California, entitled: "What is Sanity? East and

West," which was

attended in large part by Buddhists and Buddhist scholars practicing psychotherapy in the United States. Many insights were finally checked for accuracy with Robert Zeuchner, scholar at the Los Angeles Zen Center.

Material Relevant to this Study Arranged by Subject

in order to simplify discussion, there will be no attempt to show the relationship of one source to another, either historically or according to school, even though some sources seem to contradict or supplement others.

The purpose here is to only report descriptions of experience which appear to be similar to those studied here.

In much Buddhist literature, it is difficult to tell if the statement is entirely speculative conceptualization or based upon phenomenological report of direct experience. Since the Abhidhamma (very early text) , the tradition agrees that everything said is based on

68 what is psychologically experienceable. There is a certain presupposition of phenomenological base, even if it is not specified whose experience is being described (Govinda, 1969; Conze, 1958, ). There are innumerable warnings about mistaking the written word for the experience throughout Buddhism's long history; the most famous is the story in the Lanktvatara Sutra about mistaking the finger pointing to the moon for the moon itself! The well-known Vimilikriti

Sutra warns: "An intelligent man never adheres. The letter is far from the substance of the matter and in the substance, the letter does not exist" (Dumoulin, 1963, p. 45-50).

Since the tradition is so explicitly based upon experience rather than speculation, it will be assumed that all these writings have a phenomenological backing of some sort. That may not, in fact, be true. However, establishment of the matter is beyond the scope of this research.

Reliance on experience rather than concepts creates another problem for

Western scholars. The experience is often communicated nonverbally, and different schools may use different words for the same experience. An example is "Dharmakaya," which in the Ratna denotes "suchness," the totally unconditional universal body having no characteristics of substance and yet dynamically functional. In Tibetan Buddhism, that same experience is called the

"Diamond Body" (Vajrakaya) , and the word "Uharmakaya" is used for a dynamic body having an etheric quality though not similar to what we, in the West, would call the human body (Dumas, 1982). This inconsistency does not concern the Buddhist, who insists that the reliance on language is, at best, superficial anyway. Unless a

Westerner sees language as a tool of expression (Wittgenstein, 1953) rather than as denoting a specific

69 essence of something (Aristotle) , he is apt to discount Buddhist reports as unreliable.

In what follows, there will be an attempt to group discussions of the same experience together, regardless of terminology through which they are conveyed.

Fields and bodies. The Sanskrit word "dhatu" originally meant "the realm the ox feeds in," similar to the way our word "field" had an agricultural meaning, usually an area planted with grain. Both words have developed technical meanings in modern science and in Eastern psychology. "Dhatu" in Buddhism has a general meaning of a

"place where something happens." It always assumes a dynamic quality

(Zeuchner, 1982).

There are many fields in Buddhist psychology. There are five fields related to each of the five senses that are considered quite common knowledge, as shown in this quotation from Pai Chan:

In the Teaching Hall the Master said, "The spiritual light shines alone, far transcending the senses and their fields; the essential substance is exposed, real and eternal. It is not contained in written words" (Cleary, 1979, p. 20).

For Sanskrit Buddhism, the sense fields are part of the kamadhatu (or world of sensuous desire). Kamadhatu includes both what Maslow would call basic needs and all aversions or avoidance behavior.

There are two other fields in Buddhist psychology which are included in the world of mundane consciousness (what in Western psychology would include personality, organism, and behavior). They are rupadhatu (or field of form) and arupadhatu (or formless field). Rupadhatu includes thought, one- pointedness, and most of Maslow's higher needs. It is described by Blofeld

(1972) as "those forms and 70 objects rather like those in a calm dream where there is no sensuous desire involved" (p. 38). Arupadhatu (arupakola in the Abidhamma) is described by Govinda (1969) as formless realms of pure spirit or contemplation wherein one would find beings of radiant light, limited or infinite radiance, abodes of purity and clears iglitedness. These two fields and kamadhatu are called the "three worlds" of ordinary human consciousness. Sanskrit Buddhist literature also speaks of additional fields: the Garbhadhatu, or the Absolute conceived as the womb of all phenomena, and Dharmadhatu, the Buddhafield of pure "thusness" (Takasaki, 1966). In Tibet and Japan, there is also Vajradhatu or the "diamond realm of original knowledge" (Blofeld, 1972, p. 214). These latter three fields are experienced only by supramundane or directed consciousness (lokuttaracittani), unknown to Western psychologists at this time. Function from these fields is the primary point of this study, though the other fields are necessarily involved, because expression uses the mundane human fields. Several expositions speak of bodies (kaya) which correspond to the various fields. Those apparently most relevant to this study are the three Buddha-bodies: dharmakaya, sambhogikaya, and nirimanikaya (Takasaki, 1966). The terms have different shades of meaning in different writings. The ones which seem most useful in this context are from Indian Buddhism of the Eighteenth to the Twelfth Century and as expressed clearly in the early Chan writings. All three of these bodies are regarded as dynamic processes, not as static "things." They stand in the place of the ordinary body when certain conditions are met.

71 The Dharmakaya is indivisible from the "suchness," nothing about which can be said other than it is and is dynamic, all

 ncompassing wholeness. According to Suzuki (1958), "The positive

statement of 'sunyata' (emptiness) from the religious and personal point of

view is the Dharmakaya" (p. 329). For Sanskrit Buddhism, the sambhogakaya is boundaryless, a space-like body which is formless. It is said that those who have freed themselves from worldly attachments enjoy the rewards of this body. They can appear to beings in insubstantial form (not to be confused with the ghost-like entities described by spiritualists). From this body, the Dharma (nonverbal teaching) is transmitted to others. This is said to have the power to overcome the "defilements," the things that stand in the way of enlightenment (Takasaki, 1966). The nirmanikaya appears similar in physical characteristics to the bodies of ordinary men, but it is not experienced as solid. It is rather a dynamic process not entirely confined to the limits of the skin. It is called the apparitional body because to ordinary sight it looks like any other human body. It is, however, experienced as "empty" (sunya) (Blofeld,

1972).

These are not to be confused with the ordinary human body, which they replace. According to Govinda (1969),

The ordinary physical body is by its nature materialized karma, the consciousness of past moments of existence made visible. Karma (cause and effect) is nothing else but the acting principle of consciousness which, as effect (vipaka), also steps into visible appearance. The appearing form is thus essentially "past" and it is felt as something alien. (p. 109)

Generally, for Buddhists, the Western consciousness of physical body as studied by biology and psychology is limited to the ordinary 72 body as it is regarded by the masses of men who are caught in a particular mental state and consider it reality. This study does not presuppose either view about the nature or reality of "bodies," or the supposed requirements for their development, even though descriptions of Buddha-bodies are similar to the experience studied here.

Field as primary; personality and behavior are secondary aspects. A great deal of Buddhist literature deals with methods of switching from the personal identity as a locus of awareness to functioning in certain field loci awareness. Insofar as it is concerned with reaching that goal, the literature is irrelevant to the problem studied. There are, however, descriptions of the experienced of living integrated in field wherein there is no sense of separate personal identity. There is, nevertheless, use of the five skandhas (body, sensation and emotion, concrete and abstract mind) from an undifferentiated position in the field. Similar experiences are reported when acting Field. There are many descriptions of this state in Buddhist literature. A few representative ones from the "Ranks" or "Categories" of awakening in the Zen tradition will be presented. Depending on the school, there are four or five conditions marked out which are described differently at different times. For this study, only the descriptions themselves are relevant, not the order of their relation to the Buddhist goal of Enlightenment In the Rinzai tradition in Zen, there are four Categories (Sekida, 1975, pp. 91-96): 1) Man is deprived; circumstances are not deprived: The mind is absorbed and directed in outward circumstances totally unaware of himself in his concentration. An example would be a

surgeon so engrossed in his surgery that he was unaware of a major earthquake going on until the surgery was completed. 2) Circumstances are deprived; the man is not deprived: This is an inward directed attention, where one may be concentrating on the Koan "Mu", for instance, in which a certain self-ruling spiritual power dominates the mind. There is no introspection on it because subjectivity does not reflect on itself. Man is it, and outward circumstances are forgotten. 3) Both man and circumstances are deprived: No reflecting action of the consciousness occurs. One does not perform a noticing action in which one becomes aware of one's thinking. One comes to notice nothing, feeling nothing, hearing nothing, see nothing. But it is not a vacant emptiness. Rather, it is the purist condition of our existence. It is not reflected, and nothing directly is known of it. It is called the "Great Death" by Hakuin Zenji. It is considered the way to shake off the habitual way of consciousness and discover one's original face, or the "real man." 4) Neither man nor circumstances are deprived: The person aces out into the world of actual routine and lets his mind work with no hindrance, never losing the

"man" he has established in Step Three. There is now a combination of Steps

One and Three. Problems arise as to how not to lose the sense of absolute self when he comes out into his daily routine and eats, talks, and is active in his business. He is now striving for the condition in which both the inner man and the outward concerns are not deprived but freely in, action. One school teacher's description (in part) of a movement from Category Three to Category Four is as follows:

I became aware of myself. Dark! I could not discover where I was. As in a dream, I was trying to locate myself, and suddenly it became light. I saw that it was bright day. . . . The light came flooding

74 over my shoulders as I was seated with my back to the window . . . . Perhaps I wanted to know the time. My hand stretched to the watch on the desk, and I picked it up. At that moment, I encountered a very strange phenomenon. The watch seemed to be part of me. There was no differentiation between my hand and the watch. Truly, an extraordinary feeling. ... I kept looking at the watch for some moments in amazement. The watch was its usual shape and gold color, and as far as these qualities were concerned, it was a quite different thing from my hand which was holding it. Yet, in another dimensional quality, it was not different from my hand. The experience was not bewildering, but was deeply impressive. (Sekida, 1975, p. 2001)

Sekida, in discussing this step from Category Three to Category

Four, says that it can happen:

.., that one becomes fully aware of one's being in its pure form; that is, one experiences pure existence ... it leads to the recognition of pure existence in the external world too. Discussion of these topics inevitably leads us into epistemological tangles, but let us proceed for the moment, granting that such recognition of pure existence is possible. To look at one's self and the objects of the external world in the context of pure existence is Kensho (satori) or realization. And this has been achieved, since Buddha himself did so, by men and women of every generation, who bear witness to its feasibility. (p. 225)

The experiences in this study bear some resemblance to these descriptions of Category Four where the personality is rot primary but is integrated in the whole.

In the Chinese Hua-yen, which becomes Japanese Kegon and Soto traditions, there are five "Ranks," and several descriptions of them relevant to this study.

In the 12th Century A.D., Tsung-mi of the Kegon school in

China describes the Fifth Rank as the experience of emptiness that is non-impededness. It affirms both the unity of consciousness and the plurality of the world as nonoppositional. In order to reach this

75 awareness, one has previously had the partial awareness that soul consciousness and the external world can be seen as opposing one another. This opposition has, however, been demolished by first experiencing the nonsubstantiality of soul consciousness (i.e., there is no permanent personal or soul identity) and then becoming aware that in the plurality of the world, things are not independent From consciousness in a transcendental (ultimate) sense. This results in a sense of voidness which negates both the unity of consciousness and the plurality of things as such. What is left is sunyata (a dynamic, encompassing field, a"suchness" of a different order called variously Vajradhatu and Dharmakaya, Diamond-field, or Buddha-body). One is not involved in ordinary existence at this time. In the final stage, one experiences that field (Dharmadhatu) interpenetrating all ordinary worldly things and ordinary consciousness in a way that all opposition is dissolved.

This condition may begin with "tongo," a sudden metarational experience of "nonimpededness" (Japanese, muge; Chinese, Viu-ai) in which things are permeated by "suchness." This metaphysical interpenetration points to the intrinsic inner

... emptiness of all things wherein exclusion and impenetrability disappear. Things interinclude themselves metaphysically (although not necessarily sensorially and physically. . . . The myriad things manifest their metaphysical transparency and interpermeability but they are not blotted out from consciousness. (Verdu, 1974, p. 64)

Once this sudden experience has occurred, it becomes deepened by repeated returns until all of the daily life becomes interpenetrated. One's daily life gradually changes as a result of the consciousness of "suchness." At this point, field and personality are an integrated

76 whole. It is this experience of the Fifth Rank that is relevant to this study even though the developmental sequence is not maintained.

Singularly, in the late 16th Century, Yuan -hsien symbolized the

Forth Rank as equality (wholeness) and diversity, through which there is a harmonious consortment of both levels of reality. He describes it as a

... going out of the experience of sheer emptiness and utter equality (in order to return to diversity) without abandoning it. Thereby equality and diversity, silence and talk, stillness and action [are] harmonized in a functional co- existence. ... One becomes self diversified by using diversity and functioning in diversity without forsaking the already conquered equality. (Verdu, 1974, p. 126)

The Kegon Sutras' attempt at analogical description of this Rank is a lotus in the midst of fire which is never consumed by it (Verdu, 1974). At this stage, the synthesis between "stillness" and "activity" is a functional one and does not represent a formal identity. This occurs in the Fifth Rank.

In Yun-hsien's Fifth Rank,

the entire function (of both stillness and action) is but one body of reality ...[ it is] something that illuminates both the particular and the universal, that makes use of both light and darkness (simultaneously). This is an absolute and ontological fusion, not merely a "co-operation" that could oppose each other. (Verdu, 1974, pp. 128-129)

There is no marking out of personality as a separate aspect.

Tung-shan (founder of Soto Zen) wrote about the different Ranks in several places. In the Kung-hsun wu-wei, he has the following commentary to the third stage.

The sphere of utter formlessness, in which even differentiation and duality fades away, is reached. In this sphere, the common frames of logical thinking are broken into pieces; for this is a dimension with neither "up and down" nor "fore and aft." One has

7 lost all sense of orientation and is no longer able to determine 7 one's position if only because every relative point of reference and even the possibility of "holding a position" have vanished. When the infinity of consciousness has expanded into the boundless extension of "emptiness," the mutual relationship that coordinates the "holder of a position" and the "position" itself vanishes. This is the moment (as exemplified by the 8th of the 10 Ox Herding Pictures) in which both the "man and the ox" have disappeared from sight. [expressions of irrationality] must be interpreted as conveying the total "loss of reference" and the traceless disappearance of a platform on which to "situate" the plurality of things within the limits of a "sense-making" framework. (Verdu, 1974, p. 145} For Tung-shan, the Fourth Rank, a sharing or communicating of Merits is a natural result of the third stage. The "fruit" of the third stage produces seeds of mercy toward all beings. These seeds transform themselves into manifestations of mercy. He cautions against being impatient with one's immaturity and trying to stay in stage three rather than living with (but not in) samsara, or everyday life. In other words, using the Skandhas: body, emotions, mind,

... To reach the top of the 100 foot pole (stage 3) is not enough; for such "emptiness of mind" (as excluding the all including true emptiness) is like sinking into "stagnant 3water. " This is elsewhere called "Blank emptiness."

Tung-shan says, One has to jump off the top of the "100 foot pole" into the real "voidness of suchness" into the absolute "emptiness" that is in all things and "is" the things. Real apprehension of truth lies in entering the dharmadhatu of interpenetration. (Verdu, 1974, p. 149)

This experience has also been described as the Coming from

within the Real (Zeuchner, 1982):

3 1t is considered the First Rank by some writers (Zeuchner,

78 One's compassion begins to shine forth, effort lessly; one begins to genuinely be able to assist sentient beings to realize their own buddha-nature. Cut the stage is missing the paired opposites of yinyang, brightness and darkness. The next stage (arrival at mutual integration) is described as the Bodhisattva standing. His head cove-red with dust and his face streaked with dirt, he moves through the world; he is "on the road yet not having left his house; to have left the house and yet not be on the road." No one can identify him as either sage or ordinary person. . . . (p.1) These descriptions of the Ranks or Categories and ocean -wave analogy can all be seen as living field-wise and within that, functioning as body, sensorality, and conceptual mind. These letter are not, however, considered central or determinant. They are not experienced as in any way separated from or responsible for the wholeness of the field base, and yet are not denied function.

Neurotic and psychotic conditions. Even though the terminology and ontological presuppositions are different from any form of Western psychology, Buddhist psychologists recognize and alleviate what we call neurotic and psychotic states. They call them "unwholesome factors."

The Abhidhamma Pitaka, one of the cannonal works in Pali, presents systematic descriptions of all the psychological states known. It classifies them according to planes of consciousness, lying one above the other, a peripheral, a subperipheral, and a subliminal layer. Western psychology confines itself to the first two of the three. (See Appendix C for a diagram and description of their relationship.) There are 121 classes of consciousness listed, 52 of which are basic material of mental functioning. There are seven constant or primary factors present in any consciousness whatsoever, these and some secondary factors form a neutral group. The rest of the factors are divided into root causes

which are either wholesome or unwholesome. The unwholesome factors can be balanced by the wholesome ones in a process we would call reciprocal inhibition.

It is with this development of balance of wholesome and unwholesome factors in the periphery of consciousness that Western psychology is most concerned.

Western depth psychology involving unconscious material also works with and includes some aspects of the subperipheral layer. It is assumed by Buddhist psychology that balance toward wholesome factors has been developed before the boundary between the subperipheral and the subliminal can be bridged; therefore, neurotic and psychotic conditions must be removed before one can proceed to any kind of advanced "field" activity.

Those psychological descriptions which seem most closely related to this study are classified as subliminal or superamundane (which, according to

Buddhist approach, cannot be obtained until one has reached the center of the subliminal layer, having worked through all karmic fetters (sankhara), and all causes of neurotic or psychotic "defilements" ) .

One description of the condition of supramundane consciousness in

Chinese text of Hui Hai shows clearly the difference between this condition and any "unwholesome" conditions. Wisdom means that your stillness of mind is not disturbed by your giving any thought to that stillness, that your purity is unmarred by your entertaining any thought of purity and that, in the midst of all such pairs of opposites as good and evil, you are able to distinguish between them without being stained by them and, in this way, to reach the state of being perfectly at ease and free from all dependence. (Blofeld, 1972, p. 54)

In Brown's (1981 ) study of the stages of meditation in Tibet, Theravadin

Buddhism, and the Hindu Yoga Sutra, he divides

80 consciousness into six stares of the process of enlightenment. (See Appendix D for diagram of stages.) He equates these, insofar as that is possible, with Western cognitive psychology. In all three types of meditation, stage one equates with Western psychotherapy, insofar as it involves changes of attitude, intrapsychic transformation and behavior regulation. Stage two eliminates any deeper problems of associative thinking and its physical correlates. It is only after these two stages are completed, that one begins to enter the states described in this paper.

Rinsai Zen teacher, Katsuri Sekida, calls psychotic and drug states which appear to resemble Kensho, "pseudo -Kensho." He gives a detailed analysis of the malfunctions of the "nen" (or positions of consciousness) which occur in "pseudo-Kensho." In general,

In the Zen tradition, bizarre visions (hallucinations) of the devils, wild animals, Bodhisattvas, and other strange figures are called "makyo" (devil's condition). By establishing jisho-zammui (self-mastery.), "makyo" do not appear. (Sekida, 1975, p. 202)

Buddhist psychologists clearly distinguish between pathological conditions and the conditions described in the "Ranks" and "Categories." This distinction is similar to that used in this study.

Ineffability which can nevertheless be communicated. It is rather commonplace to note that Buddhists do a great deal of talking and writing about that which they avow cannot be communicated in words. Tung-shan has already been quoted regarding descriptions of the 8th of the 10 Ox Herding Pictures (an empty white circle) as i rrational expressions which somehow convey the total loss of reference within the "sense-making" framework.

The Karma Kargyu Pa school of Tibetan Buddhism has a tradition of nonverbal communication of the Dharma. Teaching is by presence; when in contact with the teacher one is changed. All written guidelines are coded so that they cannot be understood without the nonverbal experience or the aid of the experience of a teacher. There is a similar situation in Ch'an Buddhism.

Ch'an Master (Pai Chang) Hua Hai was asked by a guest monk: "What Go you teach the others?" Pai Chang stretched out his hands at his two sides, closing and opening them. The monk asked, "what else?" Pai Chang pointed his forefinger to his head thrice. (ti-leaning, "revealing three Buddha-bodies: Dharma, Sambahoga, Nirmana"). (Lu K'uan Yu, 1974, p. 56)

In these cases, the nonverbal aspect is communicated without the words in two different ways.

In the Chinese Buddhist groups, where verbal communication is attempted, it is described as the Wordless in the midst of the w ord ed. The manifestation in words carries the stillness. Tsao -shan says:

The one who speaks "words" though inspiration, which is analogous to the enlightened writer of the sutras and the instructions, speaks from a superior level, the level of total synthesis wherein the "word" and the "nonword," the "form" and the "void," the "coming" and the "going," the "external appearance" and the "internal essence" are one and the same reality. This "superior state" of synthesis is the level where "opposition" but not the reality of things themselves disappears. (Verdu, 1974, p. 172)

An Eighth Century student asked Hui Hai about the relation of expression to the ineffable ground which his school believed could be obtained in this lifetime:

Q: The (Miahaparinivana) Sutra also says: "No words, nothing to say . . . this is called

dhyana" (Zen). But can we also speak of being in dhyana while we are engaged in talking?

A: My definition of dhyana just now, referred to that perpetual dhyana which is unaffected by speech or silence ... since the nature of dhyana functions even while we are engaged in speaking or making distinctions, our speech and those distinctions also pertain to dhyana. Similarly, when we contemplate forms with our minds in a state of voidness, the voidness persists as much during the act of regarding these forms as when we are neither speaking nor engaged in any other kind of discursive activity. The same applies to our seeing, hearing, feeling, and consciousness. (Blofeld, 1972, P. 61)

The transpersonal field condition is transmitted either in the presence of words or without words; the words or body language are considered secondary in transmission. This corroborates the experiences reported here.

Radiance. It is difficult always to tell if the adjective "radiant" is being used in a literal sense or analogously. It is a fairly frequent description used in describing the condition when the mind has become perfectly still. A typical example is from

Hui Hai:

It is through abiding in the Dharma of no thought that we obtain this golden color and these thirty-two bodily marks . . . which emit an effulgent radiance that penetrates the entire universe. (Blofeld, 1972, p. 75)

More analogously, Hui Hai describes the unwavering state of dhyana and wisdom like the case of sunbeams which do not waver when they shine on the earth.

4Zen: Ceremonial release or meditation and state of mind attained; "dhyana" in Sanskrit is translated "Ch'an" in Chinese, "Zen" in Japanese.

83 That they do not waver whether they encounter something or not is due to their property of shining without experiencing sensation. The quality of being able to reflect (or shine) [the same word in Chinese means both] pertains to wisdom, while that of perfect steadiness pertains to dhyana (concentration) . (Blofeld, 1972, p. 62)

A similar situation occurs in the Sanskrit Patna. One of the 32 marks is a description of the body as having a radiant pure halo around it. The liberation of the Inate Mind, the basis of - Intellect and Wisdom, has a resemblance to the purity of the disc of the sun through its being perfectly free from pollution and its being radiant. (Takasaki, 1966, p. 345)

in this study, these Though not identical with descriptions of radiation references foreshadow actinic mode.

The mental condition has a noetic quality unlike the usual mental condition. According to Conze's (1958) introduction to the Buddhist Wisdom

Books, thought becomes transparently luminous at the ninth stage of development. Blofeld (1974) describes this in more detail when he says,

Abstention from thought does not mean trance-like dullness, but a brilliantly clear state of mind in which the details of every phenomenon are perceived, yet without evaluation or attachment. (p. 13 7)

He also says that when memory and reverie are cut off, past and future cease to exist. The present does, of course, exist in a firmer sense than either of the others. But it is not PRESENT except when thought of in relation to past and future. The state of mind of an illumined man is independent of time-relationships. These conditions occur in acting Field, though the subjects are not necessarily

"illumined." This state of mind allows for an effortlessness in function which is often described in Buddhism for the personal side as "non action."

The nature of "non-action." Blofeld footnotes a passage on the total abstention from action with this explanation:

Total abstention from action is a phrase not to be taken literally by turning ourselves into blocks of wood or stone. It m e a ns abstention from action dictated by impure motives involving love, hatred, and all other pairs of opposites, but not from actions necessary for responding to the needs of the moment. This conception of non-action is close to the conception of wu wei: In response to hunger, we eat, but this should be done without gluttony, fastidiousness, etc. Similarly, in these days most people, especially those with families to support, have to work; but each job should be done for its own sake without dwelling on the profit or loss likely to accrue and without zest or aversion for particular aspects of the work. (p. 338)

Total abstention from action becomes understandable in the context of the way consciousness is regarded in the Abidhamrna. Undirected consciousness (Deikman's action mode) allows itself to be driven

... hither and thither by instinct-born motives and external impressions. On account of its dependence or., the external world, it is designated as worldly or mundane, (lokiya) consciousness. (Covinda, 1969, p. 80)

Directed consciousness is held to be supramundane. There is a recognition of the goal of liberation to "sunyata" (one has entered the stream of awareness of something beyond) and one is wholly bent on obtaining the other shore (release into "thusness").

There is no other kind of directed consciousness. Prajna (or wisdom) is its motor, and it works by eliminating all "covers" over the "thusness"; it adds or creates nothing itself. This intuitive insight of prajna liberates and makes "non-action" possible.

"Non-action" is being the "original face" of which nothing can he said except that it is dynamic.

35 Forms may come and go, but the marvelous substance of reality is neither augmented nor reduced; nothing is created or born; nothing ceases to be and yet is has its function. (Blofeld 1972, pp. 130-31)

Other actions are said to be undirected. That includes all activities like mental creativeness and behavior directed toward any other goals than liberation. "Chandra," the desire to act, the wish to accomplish, the will to

realization, is Cal neutral factor. It can Lie used directediy toward the goal of liberation, but is most often turned toward sensuous desire or mental creativeness, which are considered undirected, based upon conditioned factors.

The creative nature of action. According to Nagarjuna (1974), all creation occurs in the three realms of desir e, form and the formlessness and is conditioned by the mutual causes within them. The three realms are all due to ignorance, craving, and grasping and nine other co-originating constituents, which include mental formations, becoming, and the sense organs. According to this tradition, "emptiness" is a technical term involving cc-dependence. It is the awareness that no thing is independent; no inner essence or outer life separates itself from these three realms. Everything arises in a giant symphony of

process. Anything created is entirely within the processes of the three realms of the mundane (Zeuchner, 1982). For Mahayana Buddhism, there is no other creativity possible.

One of the major creative forces in the three realms is "cetana."

"Cetana" is a primary factor, an instinctive volition bound by previous causes and involved in all responses to external conditions and to the subconscious conditions. It is regarded similarly to conditioning in the

36 West. Mental creativeness as well as physical creativeness are included in this. In Buddhist ontology, there appears to be no causal agents which produce the web of existence-in-general. The Lankavatara Sutra (Suzuki, 1956) discusses the origin of the agency "that stirs the waves of change" upon the ocean of Gharba (the potential matrix of existence) and leaves it shrouded in mystery. There seems to be no reason or causal agency which accounts for the "clouds" that appear over the sheer "suchness" of Dharmadhatu. This remains one of the unsolved mysteries of Buddhism (Zeuchner, 1982). There is an agreement, however, that within the Dharmadhatu and its expressions in existence in the other field's, that there are "seeds" of reversion to the "unclouded." These are not considered causes, and they do not originate co-dependently with the web of existence. "Suchness" is provided with mysterious transcendental actions which are considered "non-actions" in that they do net create but destroy the "clouds" that cover over the original dynamic "thusness. " The Ratna discusses three of these "seeds of reversion" in everyday life: faith in the Great Vehicle, meditation, and the compassion of the Bodhisattvas (a spiritual being who has renounced immediate entrance into Nirvana in order to assist others thereto).

These three are based prajna (wisdom) and mahakaruna (great compassion) which are considered the most important of the supernatural powers of reversion. Prajna is said to contain no single thing describable in words but capable of whatever functions are befitting. Its functions are said to be numerous as the sands of the Ganges; so

87 there is nothing at all which it does not comprehend (Blofeld, 1972, p. SE).

What is implied is that since prajna can comprehend everything, it can do anything that is befitting without "action" in the sense outlined above. Note that the major emphasis is on doing because there is comprehension. This is quite different than the condition which is being described in this study.

Although there is agreement about the experience of "reversion," there is disagreement as to the course of its coming about. Those groups following close to the Hindu tradition insist that where there is any differentiation, limitation, or determination, there cannot be realization of infinity and absoluteness. One must completely purify the self of multiplicity before one is ready to attain the supreme undifferentiation. The Chinese version of this is that imperfect perception (however slightly imperfect) cannot possibly be the perception of Absolute reality itself. There-fore, we remain in the dark up to the final moment, though we prepare gradually for it (Blofeld, 1972).

On the other hand, "reversion by decrees" is found in the Chinese and

Japanese traditions begun by Tsung-mi of the Kegon, school in the Eighth

Century in which there can be a partial experience of illumination and increasing depths of awareness of the interpenetration of "suchness" and everyday life as one continues toward the complete go,--I.

Neither approach to "reversion" is appropriate to this study because actinic mode is not goal directed toward enlightenment or self-development. This is particularly interesting since this review of Buddhist literature has shown many parallels in describing its "higher" states.

Summary

The Buddhist literature reviewed was replete with descriptions of being Field where there is no sense of separate personal identity. This condition was clearly distinguished from; neurotic and psychotic disruptions of identity by distinctions similar to those made in this study. The personality is integrated into a larger whole and functions as an expression of that whole in ordinary life. When seen from the personality-oriented spectator's position, the illumined Buddhist would appear to be extremely independent of mental, emotional, physical, and cultural pressures and conditioning. As we have seen, this independence occurs when those pressures and conditionings are relinquished in favor of "thusness," or Dharmadhatu. There is an interpenetration of the Dharma field throughout the personality. There is then no sense of directing any action, and yet the ordinary things get done.

The relationship here between this condition and acting Field are not completely clear to this researcher. Descriptions of the Fifth Rank, the 10th Ox

Herding Picture, and the Fourth Category of Rinsai, are quite similar to some of those in this study, and yet there is a complete absence of the absorbtive inward directed attention which, in all Buddhist cases, precedes this condition. It was hoped that the results of this research will make the relationship between the

Buddhist ontology and acting Field clearer than it did.

It is obvious that the mental clarity described in Buddhist experience and acting Field is similar and that the experience of memory falling away is shared.

The radiance being spoken of is not identical to the radiation described here, though there are some similar qualities,

89 i.e. , goldenness, transparency, and brightness. It is unclear from this search whether the radiance has any "saving" characteristics in the transmission of the

Dharma or not. There is an agreement that the transmission can be nonverbal. It is not clear whether or not transmission by Presence occurs by radiation because that tradition is not recorded in writing.

There are three major differences between the Buddhist experience, as discovered in this search, and acting Field:

1) There is no space in the Buddhist system to insert any type of nonkarmic action in-the-world whose purpose is to bring Dharmadhatu more concretely into the world of phenomena. It does not make sense to ask if a different kind of

"non-action" could come out of "thusness." Acting any field except the

DharmadhatU would be considered part of the formless realm in the mundane world, and, therefore, noncreative in any ultimate sense. It would be based upon karmic conditionings of nondirected state. Effortless action of wu wei is not considered acting but

returning to a changeless state. There would then be no acting

Dharmadhatu either, since it does not change. This is the Perennial

Philosophy.

This difference may be only apparent if we take the position of the

Chinese master in the Tsung Ching Record (Blofeld, 1972). When a

Theravadin scholar asked if any kind of change could come out of "thusness," he was told that it neither changed nor did not charge. If the scholar knew his own nature, he would not cling to either concept because neither concept was applicable to that nature.

2; There is another difference which does not seem, so easily resolvable.

The experience of acting Field before knowing that field is

90 impossible and unthinkable. That kind of acting -living is not recognized as one of the 81 forms of consciousness. Wisdom, insight, or prajna comes closest, and the emphasis is on knowing in order to do what is needed to help the

"reversion."

3) Related to this difference is the emphasis on "reversion" as the only karmically nonconditioned goal or purpose. There can be no other nonconditioned functioning, in their sense of directed functioning. Therefore, the system is ontologically closed to any other possibilities. Actinic mode must be reduced either to cetana (and karmic conditioning) or to part of the path toward enlightenment. Actinic mode of consciousness cannot be included straight forwardly as it is experienced.

Chinese Taoism

There are many similarities between Buddhism and Taoism which allowed

Buddhism to flourish on Chinese soil. The relevant ones will be touched briefly, but emphasis here is on the unique contribution of Taoist literature to a milieu in which acting Field becomes possible.

In a search of the literature on Taoism, the most relevant author was clearly Lao-tzu. Lao-tzu taught that the long and serene life is to be obtained by simplicity, tranquility, and enlightenment. Other early Taoist philosophers and the later religious Huang Lao movement emphasize means to the long life which do not yield descriptions relevant to this study (de Bary, et al., 1960).

The opening sentence of the Tao Te Ching by Lao -tzu (1962), if translated literally, would read, "The Tao that can be tao'd is not the Tuo," the Tao being used as both a noun and a verb (Mai-Mai Sze, 1956, p. 15). The Tao is dynamic and cannot be trapped by words.

91 When it is explained statically, it ceases to move and is made to remain idly inoperable and inanely passive (Suzuki, 1959, p. 21). The general term, "te" used with "tao" lends a dynamic aspect to the Tao as it moves out into the world of the finite. Suzuki (1959) quotes Lao-tzu in his commentary:

[The Tao] moves everywhere in all directions ... and yet is sure of its every step. It may properly be designated as Mother of all things. ... Tao stands all by itself, all alone, and yet walks about everywhere. This is significant. It stands and yet it walks; it is and yet it becomes. Standing and walking are not contradictory to it. ... It is continually transforming itself, its very being is becoming. And the Tao's movement is never limited or bound. (pp. 18-19)

The ultimate ground is experienced as continually transforming itself. This is closer to acting Field than the experiences of the Ground as beyond transformation as it is experienced in Buddhism.

Suzuki goes on to describe the Tao in modern paraphra se of Lao- tzu:

The object is to obtain the limit of emptiness. . . . The Tao is empty. It cannot be filled. Trying to see, you cannot see; trying to hear, you cannot hear; trying to catch, you cannot catch. The Tao is one. When you go through these descriptions, you are tempted to imagine that the Tao is after all something that is nonexistent . . . . The truth is that the Tao's movement or operation or activity is so continuous ... that as soon as you try to bring it under your sensuous or intellectual observation it slips off your hands. The Tao cannot be cut into pieces for measurement, cannot be picked up for logical analysis. . . . The reason is simple: what is infinite cannot be measured by anything finite. (p. 20-21 ) It is the wise man indeed, who under the haircloth of finiteness holds the jade of infinity. (p. 23)

Not only is the Tao encompassing and dynamic, Being and Becoming without conflict, but it is also ineffable. This is very similar to the

c ; 2 descriptions given in aspects of this study. The means of expression, for the Chinese

Taoist is, however, quite different. The goaI of Chinese painting was specifically to express the Taco which could only be apprehended in 4 state that is neither speech nor silence. Chinese painting is not exactly a phenomenological description, but it is the best communication of the Tao that the Chinese offer.

Since the Tao is both Being and Becoming, there is not the problem of limiting creativity to the interrelationship of the "three worlds" as in Buddhism. Chang

(1970) speaks of the Unlimited creativity of the Tao:

[Lao-tzu says,] The Tao never acts, yet through it no thing is undone . . . . All things create themselves (Ch. XXVII). Whitehead explains this concept of self-creativity in Western terms: Creativity is without a character of its own. ... It is the ultimate notion of the highest generality at the base of actuality. It cannot be characterized because all characters are more special than itself. But creativity is always found under conditions and described as conditioned. (p. 66) To be free from the entanglements both of the external and the internal is what the Taoist calls "wonder of the Tao," the primordial source of creativity. (p. 88)

It is in the light of the contribution of Taoism to Zen, that the following statement about the creativity of the Buddha might be understood. Sekida

(1975) says that there are varieties of Kensho (Satori) and have been from the outset.

Sakyamuni Buddha's satori was a matter of creating a new world. Before his time, it was not even known whether there was such an event. The unprecedented experience came to him suddenly, striking him like a thunderbolt, arid his every problem was solved in an instant. (p. 225)

Creativity in Taoism and in Chinese Ch'an Buddhism is approached, not as a

Westerner might seek to approach it, through the action mode, but

through the receptive mode. Suzuki (1959) describes the doctrine of wu wei as the position through which the creativity of the Tao is expressed.

[The Western] view of life and of things generally has been dualistically conditioned, which prevent-, them from penetrating the core of Lao-tzu's teaching [on wu wei], such as: "He who conducts himself well leaves no tracks;" "the man of superior virtue is nonacting and makes no intentional efforts to accomplish;" ... "The wise man acts but does not claim." . . . These are some of the many cognate sayings Lao-tzu gives us ... all purporting to illustrate his philosophy of wu wei. The infinite does all things and yet claims no credit for itself, for it is the finite ego or an individual mind that imagines that "I do this" or "I do not," that "I have to be rewarded for that," that "I am responsible for the deed" and so on. When the wise man or the Tao man realizes that the Tao or the Infinite is at the back of all his doings, his deeds are "nonacting," "nonpurposive," he is like a bellows "in that it is empty but gives a supply that never fails." This is no other than the Buddhist idea of ... no-mind or passivity; it is full of potentialities or possibilities. Therefore, it is the hidden source of infinite resourcefulness. (p. 24-25)

Even though creativity itself comes out of the Tao, the position of the Tao man is the receptive mode. He does not take the position of the Tao - or in our terms, the transpersoral field. He does not shift to the actinic mode, even though his nonegocenteredness would allow it. He is the "bellows" through which the supply is created. The description here is dualistic in the subtle way relating to field is dualistic. Descriptions of the Tao, in the nondualistic sense of being transpersonal field, also occur, but the wise man does not take the position of acting the Tao's creativity.

Christian Mysticism

In a survey of Christian mystical literature from Medieval and Modern periods, the majority of descriptions proved to be of the

94 dualistic, relating to type. This is not surprising, since orthodox Protestant theology and the Roman Catholic Church both consider complete union of creature and creator to be pantheistic and, therefore, heretical. So mystical experiences have been described in the language of duality or interpreted as duality even when they were experienced as union (being field). The case of Jan van Ruysbroeck (Stace, 1960) is clearly of this latter type. The experiences of being "burnt up in the fire of love" are called mistakes by him because the spirit comes to be so deluded by love that it does not notice the difference between itself and

God.

In some of the most famous Western writings, description of being emotional field abound (Saint Teresa, 1961; Wordsworth, 1965; Swedenborg in

White, 1974). There is plenty of material here to support psychoanalytic interpretation of hysteria or obessive-compulsive neurosis. These people's descriptions are not, however, confined to being emotional field as it has beer, hastily assumed. Swedenborg, beside cataloging the experiences of heaven and hell, of good and evil spirits (later called hallucinations), led a prosperous life as a nobleman and respected scientist (for example, he was the first to propound the nebular hypothesis and engineered the world's largest dry-dock). He speculated on the nature of madness and sometimes ascribed it to involvement in one's own fantasies, or to pride in one's own powers (spiritual madness). Van Dusen (1974), whose studies of hallucinated phenomena in mental patients corroborated

Swedenbcrg's findings, similarly divides these experiences into lower order

(destructive) and higher order (helpful) hallucinations. The higher order ones respected

person's freedom, and would withdraw if they frightened him. They

95 often appear as formless light or nearly imageless qualities. They had great power to broaden the individual's values. It is possible that some of these more formless experiences are beyond the emotional field. Van Dusen considers the higher order hallucinations as most like Jungian archetypes, whereas the lower order ones Iook like Freud's id. AIl the examples in these writings are either being emotional field or relating to a field. As such they are not what is being studied here.

I n St. Teresa's case (1961), she indiscriminately mixes reports of being emotional field with relating to and being transpersonal field. As Stace (1960) notes, St. Teresa does not have the power of psychological analysis, or any kind of analysis. She, herself, says that she cannot understand what is meant by "mind" or how this differs from soul or spirit. They all seemed the same to her.

Other writers like St. John of the Cross (1973) and Meister Eckhart

(1941) do make these discriminations between emotional and. transpersonal fields and are therefore not often cited as examples of emotional illness. The field descriptions by St. John o-l" the Cross are of the relating to type. He denies the possibility of being transpersonal field and Field, and he does not describe acting from either emotional or transpersonal field. He often notes that his experiences of God bear no resemblance to any knowledge or feeling of God that he might have had before. This corroborates the reports in this study that the experience does not have the usual mental or emotional components. As with the

Buddhist writings, the majority of St. John of the Cross' writings are about the methods to reach the goal, not the experience of acting or living out of that union. And like the

Buddhist literature, the sought-after union comes only after long, arduous withdrawal from the

senses, detachment from desire and abstraction from the world. Insofar as this is the case, these writings are not relevant to this study.

There are, however, some passages of St. John of the Cross that indicate that the integrated function in every day activity was not unknown.

The less other objects are possessed, the more capacity and ability there is for . . . this one object .., according in the measure that a person dispossesses his memory of forms and objects, which are not God, and he will fix upon Cod and preserve it [the mind] as empty, in the hope that God will fill it. . . . As often as distinct ideas, forms, and images occur to him, he should immediately, without resting in them, turn to God with loving affection, in emptiness of everything rememberable. He should not think or look upon these things for a longer time than is sufficient for the understanding and fulfillment of his obligations, if they refer to this. And he should consider these ideas without becoming attached or seeking gratification's in them, lest they leave their effects in , the soul. (p. 236)

This integrated function in everyday activity was also true of St. Teresa who was a Mother Abbess in the Carmelite Order. The spiritual marriage, as she describes it (1961), could not be maintained without having been integrated into the administrative duties of the Order.

[In Spiritual Marriage] the Lord appears in the center of the soul, not through an imaginary, but through an intellectual vision . . . just as he appeared to the Apostles, without entering through the door, when he said to them: Pax vobis. This instantaneous communication of God to the soul is so great a secret and so sublime a favor, and such a delight felt by the soul, that I do not know with what to compare it .... For He has been pleased to unite himself with His creature in such a way that they have become like two who cannot be separated from one another; even so He will not separate Himself from her. The Spiritual Betrothal is different: here two persons are frequently separated . . . by union is meant the joining of two things into one, each of the two, as a matter of common observation, can be separated and remain a thing by itself. This favour

97 of the Lord passes quickly, and afterward, the soul is deprived of that companionship - I mean so far as it can understand. In this other favour of the Lord it is not so; the soul remains all the time in that center with its God. We might say that union is as if the ends of two wax candles were joined so that the light they give is one; yet afterwards the one candle can be perfectly well separated from the other. ... But here it is like the rain falling from, the heavens into a river or spring; there is nothing but water there and it is impossible to divide or separate the water belonging to the river from that which fell from the heavens. (p. 213-4)

Neither Teresa or john describe any experience of acting transpersonal field. Their functioning remains within the personal consciousness' receptive mode.

This is true also of Meister Eckhart (1941).

But you may be saying, "Sir, you make our salvation depend entirely or, ignorance. That sounds wrong. God made man so that he could know, as the prophet says: 'Lord, make them to knew!' Where there is ignorance, there is error and vanity. The ignorant person is brutal. He is an ass and a fool, as long as he remains ianorant." And that is true. But one must achieve this unselfconsciousness by means of transformed knowledge. This ignorance does not come from lack of knowledge but rather it is from knowledge that one may achieve this ignorance. Then we shall be informed by the divine unconsciousness and in that our ignorance will be ennobled and adorned with supernatural knowledge. It is by reason of this fact that we are made perfect by what happens to us (literally, in passivity), rather than by what we do. (p. 107)

He does distinguish two kinds of awareness, "our ignorance" and the "divine unconsciousness." This may have some relationship to the difference between consciousness and awareness as spoken about in this study.

In the following passage, he make the distinction between the action mode (the commercial spirit) and the receptive mode, and relates God's Presence with the receptive mode.

God. does not seek his own. In all his acts, he is innocent and free and acts only out of true love. That is why the person who is united to Cod, acts that way - he, too, will be innocent and free, whatever he does, and will act cut of love and without asking why, solely for the glory of God, seeking his own advantage in nothing - for God is at work in him. Arid what is more, as long as a man is looking for pay for what he does, or wants to get from God anything that God could or would give, he is like a merchant. If you want to be rid of the commercial spirit, do all you can in the way of good works, solely for the praise of God, and efface yourself as completely as if you did not exist. Whatever you do, you shall not ask anything in return for it and then your efforts will be both spiritual and divine. Then only are the merchants driven out of the temple and Cod is alone in it. (p. 157-8)

Like the others reviewed here, his descriptions are mostly relating to but he was accused and condemned for heresy because he described being experiences. He does not seem to know the actinic mode.

There are many ether Christian mystical experiences that have been recorded outside the being emotional field type (Merton, 1957, 1970; Fremantle and Auden, 1964). They are often occasional happenings of the relating to type. C. S. Lewis (1555) presents refreshingly detailed phenomenological statements, but they are in the receptive mode of the relating to type.

In conclusion, Christian mysticism includes more being emotional field experiences than does Buddhism. The emotional field is characterized by the duality of love and bliss versus pride, malevolence, and torment. These writings are not relevant to this study. For Christian mystics who relate to transpersonal field, being and acting transpersonal field is impossible because the duality between creature and creator must be maintained. The state of bliss can be reached in which personal self-centeredness is dropped, but it is doctrinally ord ontologically impossible for man to create out of nothing (the way God is

99 said to create in Christianity). The soul remains in the receptive mode; actinic mode being impossible while incarnated in the human body (St. John of the

Cross, 1973, p. 189-190). In the Christian ontology, the dualism is maintained because of their view of human nature and, what is possible within that nature.

Because of this, it is not surprising that a search of the literature has provided only a few incidental points which are relevant to this project.

Science and Consciousness

Since 1960, literature relating to physics and consciousness has increased exponentially. The implications of this relation have carried over into biology and brain physiology, as well as other fields. Although no phenomenological descriptions of acting Field are found in this literature, an intellectual context has developed in which such an experience could become meaningful and possible to anyone knowing the context. The purpose of this section is to briefly sketch recent developments in the science literature relative to this context.

A representative statement of the early '60s is an article by F. L. Kunz (1963) from Main Currents in Modern Thought about the consequences when life and man are put in the new context of Field Physics.

It is widely assumed that the force fields would remain even if all compound matter were to be dissolved into them as radiation or other wave forms, dispersing the forces concentrated in atoms, molecules, molar particles and greater aggregations of matter. Therefore, the fields may be thought of as being real in a sense that is superior to the physical world. . . . Once the conviction is widely disseminated that there are real domains in nature of nor- material character, but sovereign, the further transformation of that from a sheer physicalism into

100 larger view, can be expected to quicken. This new view obtains at present only in physics and chemistry. In biology and human psychology appropriate fields are rot as yet documented. (pp. 16-17)

For him, the evidence of force potentials in the entire unive rse indicates that what was formerly called space is a presence. On the basis of this, he wonders if consciousness itself is a localization in a universality. Since force potentials are present at every point in space, together they constitute a continuum. A natural thing or process is a localization thereof. But all of the force field potentials are not revealed by every object, only by appropriate test objects; i.e., iron car, reveal the presence of gravitational field and magnetic field, photons can reveal features of the quantized radiation field. He suggests that psychologists should look on conscious, cognitive, cultural, and moral mar as a localized force of which the physical organism is the test object. He suggests the possibility that the poets and mystics and idealist philosophers may be right when they speak of the experience of universal fields. According to field physics, nothing can exist or happen except that which the fields, by their proper nature, allow:.

° It is necessary for us all to begin to think in that same manner, i.e., in terms of universal - a universe localized, not a universe that consists of sensed objects as if they are collectively the whole. The whole is, in its own right, and it is nonmaterial (but real) That reality is the ultimate environment. The basic truth is today seen differently [than the past]. The seas and lakes, the mountains and snows and streams, the atmosphere and its clouds, are themselves docile creatures of the true environment, the force field continua; All creatures, including humans, are incessantly adjusting not only to mechanical and chemical charges, but also to electromagnetic field forces and others, no doubt, as yet unknown. (Kunz, 1963, p. 20)

101

By 1969, the literature has become less global, more precise issues are discussed. AA good example is LeShan's Physicists and stics: similarities of world view (1969; 1974), in which he compares statements about the nature of the world from both perspectives. If one does not know ahead of time, it is impossible to tell whether the statement comes from a mystic or a physicist.

The attempts to establish specific theoretical relationships between field physics and consciousness has had a similar development. An early statement by

Pauli (1961) quoted by Heisenberg spoke generall y of a complementary relationship between the Platonic thought and the spiritual movement behind gnosis and alchemy. Platonic thought originally directed toward a unity of spirit and matter eventually led to the cleavage between them, while the alchemical brought forth both chemistry and another dissociated mysticism of Boheme.

C. G. Jung and Vi. Pauli (1955) both saw a longing for a unified understanding of the world, a unity that could absorb the tensions of the opposites. Pauli considered the Bohr interpretation of Quantum theory as a new thought from which a unity could more easily be developed because it has reference to a deeper invisible reality.

Formulations that Sparked Research

More precise formulations have continued to follow. The beginnings of a

Quantum psychology was begun by Demys (1972) from Charles Muses discussions of the Heisenberg uncertainty pools of bio-molecular energy as the natural and viable basis for voluntary movement and function. The second important principle of this theory is that the zero point energy of the vacuum is the primal energy for redistribution of the quantum-biological pool. Demys feels that the

102 theoretical prediction and experimental verification of the inherent energy of the vacuum is perhaps the single most profound finding of all modern physics. He sees it providing the transducer between consciousness and matter by way of shared properties. The other principles of this psychology, though interesting, are not particularly relevant here.

By 1979, an International Colloquium on Science and Consciousness was held in Cordoba, Spain, to address development of a workable framework to account for the phenomena of mind and quantum physics. A notable contribution was made by Brian Josephson (1979a), a Nobel-laureate physicist, who suggested that: pure consciousness may eventually find a basis in concepts of general thermodynamics, especially in the tendency of the free energy of a system to increase toward the maximum values permitted by the boundary conditions. . . . Meditation techniques may achieve their specific effects by selectively perturbing the core state of pure consciousness. ... while physics can exclude consciousness, it can equally well extend its borders to include consciousness within. ( p. 2 )

As greater numbers of individuals explore meditation and `astern psychologies, they are suggesting that what they experience is the field phenomena described by post-Newtonian physics. Important work has been done in physics from this view by Jack Sarfatti (1975), Brian Josephson

(1979b), Nicholas Herbert (1978), Fritjof Capra (1975), Fred

Wolff (1980), David Bohr. (1979b).

Some of the attempted theoretical formulations have sparked specific research. One of the earliest of these was the work by Hans

Jenny (1967) on the nature of vibratory phenomena in general. All natural systems available to our experience are essentially periodic; they have in common rythmicity, oscillation, and seriality. Rather than

103 study these phenomena from the view of wave theory, using interpretive and analogical thinking, the extensive experiments were conducted strictly empirically and phenomenologically. The purpose was to deal with the effects of vibrations, not with vibratory phenomena in a narrow sense. Experiments were set up to make vibrations visible, which could be photographed and studied more precisely than is possible auditorily. The results of experiments with lycopedium, powder (spores of the club moss) and heated kaolin paste are most relevant here. The moss was sprinkled evenly on a diaphragm and subjected to a variety of vibratory conditions. A single vibration created forms, patterned areas, circulation, pulsation, dynamics of eruption, dynamics of current flow, and many other effects (see Appendix;: E for pictures). In summarizing these experiments, Jenny says: It is through this generative arid sustaining vibrational field that the entire complex comes into being. And this complex whole is omnipresent. There is no parcellation, no patchwork; on the contrary, what appears to be a detail is utterly integrated with the generative action and merely acquires the semblance of an individual. (p. 98-99)

In the experiments where kaolin paste was heated, when it was liquified, it was poured on a vibrating diaphragm. The formations were photographed during the cooling process (see Appendix E). Jenny summarized the results:

If we follow the course of events, we find first of all wave phenomena which are the prototypes of periodicity. These are followed by formations and organized patterns. At the same time, different forms of movement appear: rotations, circulations, to and fro motions, pulsation. But these processes are caused purely and simply by vibration and nothing else; periodicity is inherent in them; it lies in their very nature to be rhythmic, whether in form, in configuration, in movement or as in the play of forces. Sculptural shapes are actually formed . . . . All these phenomena take their rise in the field vibration. The;/

104

have therefore, originated in vibration and are it-, some measure its specific effects. Vibration produces a multiplicity of effects or is polyergic. (p. 147)

What is described here as the effects of vibrations in physical media is similar to what has been hypothesized as the effects of vibratory fields in quantum mechanics, and is described experientially in this current study; the field creates shapes, the details of which appear to be individual, but are, however, utterly integrated with the entire complex.

Physicist William Tiller (1974), at Stanford University, has developed a model which correlates conventional and unconventional energy fields by adapting the yogic philosophy of seven principles operating in man. He hypothesizes that these are really seven different levels of substance, and that each is unique and has different type of configuration. They obey different kinds of laws and have unique characteristics of radiation. They operate in different kinds of space- time frames in the universe and so are distinct from each other. These field's can be mace to interact more strongly with each other through the agency of the mind. In his introduction to a report of Motoyama's research (Tiller, 1978), he says that "mental field patterns can be thought to act like a stress influencing the field term of the magnetochemical potential of molecules [at what he calls] the negative space-time level" (p. 17). Mind forces can create a pattern which then act as a force field that applies to the next level of substance. In turn, that force field organizes the atoms and molecules at the new level of substance by a ratchet effect.

In the second paper cited (Tiller, 1974), he gives considerable evidence for the effect of several of these levels on the preceding one: for example, the effect of electromag gnetic fields

105 on muscles and organs in the use of x-rays and diathermy; the evidence for changes in enzymes in a test tube by the mental state of a healer in laying-on-of-hands (Justa-

Smith, 1972); the evidence for nonphysical psi-ability to influence temperature of a termistor, located a fixed distance from the subject's body, in a pattern consistent with a prescribed coding of hot, cool, neutral, etc. ( Swann , 1975). He calls for the development of instrumentation which can detect the more subtle fields and their relation to the ones already experimentally studied.

Hiroshi Motoyama (1978 a & b) has developed two instruments in his laboratory in Tokyo, one which measures the output of points in the acupuncture meridians AMI) and another which measures the electrical field around the body (Chakra Instrument).

The Chakra Instrument is so sensitive that it is placed in a lightproof, electrostatically shielded room. The concrete walls are lined with lead and contain copper netting. The electrodes are connected by leads to a pre-amplifier of very high impedance, and the rest of the equipment is outside the room. Even the blink of an eye is recorded. Repeated recordings have been made at the areas designated as chakras, or organizing, radiating centers of nonmaterial energ y, using subjects said to be able to control the various chakras. Readings in the designated areas change according to a predictable pattern (increase, now decrease, now increase, etc.) while other areas remain stable. These readings have been correlated with AMI readings at acupuncture points in order to diagnose problems in energy circulation, resulting in certain physical illness symptoms.

It has been physically demonstrated that nonphysical fields can affect physical dimensions, as Tiller's model suggests.

106

Nobel Physicist Eugene Wigner (1972) and others (Walker, 1972; Dispanet,

1979) concur that consciousness does influence the physical world. Wigner's belief is based on the observation that "we do rot 'know of any phenomenon in which one subject is influenced by another without exerting an influence thereupon" (p. 136).

Entrainment

Not only does this observation about mutual influence effect consciousness and the physical world, it also affects the rhythmic relationships between people. George Leonard (1978) gathers together considerable evidence for entrainment between people. Entrainment is a simpler word for mutual phase- locking of two oscillators. It was discovered in 1 665 by Christian Huygens when he noticed that two pendulum clocks mounted side by side would swing together in precise

rhythm.. We know this same entrainment synchronizing when we are attempting to tune a TV set. If one gets near the frequency of the oscillators of the station, the set's oscillators may suddenly click into a perfect match as if they "want" to pulse together.

This phenomena is universal. Whenever two or more oscillators in the same field are pulsing at nearly the same time, then tend to "lock in" so that they are pulsing at exactly the same time. The reason, simply stated is that nature seeks the most efficient energy state, and it takes less energy to pulse in cooperation than it-, opposition. (Leonard, 1978, p. 13-14)

Humans are multitudes of oscillators that pulse and change rhythmically. William Condor, (1976) has studied the dance that occurs during any conversation. Using a time-motion analyzer on motion pictures taken of conversation, he has been able to show that the micromovements of the speaker's body are precisely synchronous with the microunits of his speech.

The listeners were also observed to move in

107 precise shared synchrony with the speaker's speech. Since there was no discernible lag of even 1/48th second in either case, both synchronization's are forms of entrainment. It has since been discovered that infants are born entrained with their mother's speech. Paul Byer (1977) has discovered that a variety of bodily proce-s-ses can become synchronized through close interaction. For example, singing, rowing, and sometimes marching will synchronize breathing.

Synchronized heart beats have been recorded between psychiatrist and patient.

Husbands and wives are said to have synchronized all their major biological rhythms after about 15 years. It is at this time that they begin to hear increased remarks that they look alike.

Leonard gives multiple examples (aikido, remote viewing, driving

in heavy traffic) where a person has become entrained with the environment when the ego was temporarily in abeyance. A harmony occurs between the movements and action of the person and the movements and action of the environment.

The conditions described in this study seem, at least on first glance, to be communicable through entrainment, though they are not transmittable verbally or with physical body language. It is hoped that the research will make the dynamics of that entrainment more evident.

Holography

The invention of holographic photography in the mid-sixties made available a new analogy between consciousness and the sensed world. To make a hologram of some object, an especially coherent light, a laser beam, is split in two. One half of the ray is directed to the plate, while the other half is bounced off the object and then directed to the same plate. The two halves of the beam thus meet on the pate and set

108

up an interference pattern of waves which is recorded on the plate as apparently meaningless swirls that do not resemble the object at all. To use the hologram, ore shines the same laser through the developed plate and looks through the other side. The object is not recreated as a flat picture, but is perfectly duplicated as a three-dimensional ghost object that hangs in space. If the object is looked at from any angle, it is seen exactly the same way the original would have been seen from that angle. If the holographic plate is broken in small pieces, each piece will reconstruct the entire image if light is shown through it. The smaller the pieces, the more blurred the ghost object that is projected. The relevant information is coded everywhere in the hologram.

Kieth Floyd (1974), z: psychologist at Virginia Interment College, said of the holographic possibility,

Contrary to what everyone knows is so, it may not be the brain that produces consciousness - but rather, consciousness that creates the appearance of the brain - matter, space, time and everything else we are pleased to interpret as the physical universe. (p. 278)

The hologramic analogy was used by Karl Pribram (1971), brain physiologist at Stanford. He and other researchers were at that time uncovering what appeared to be the brain's neural strategies for knowing, 'or sensing, and for using mathematical computation, Marilyn Ferguson (1978), reporting on these findings, says:

It appears that in order to see, hear, smell, taste, the brain performs complex calculations on the frequencies of data it receives. These mathematical processes have little common sense relationship to the real world as we perceive it. Pribram believes that the intricate mathematics may occur as a nerve impulse travels along and between cells through a network of fine fibers on the cells. The fibers move in slow waves as the impulse crosses the cell and those waves may perform the calculating; function. ln taking a hologram, light

109 waves are encoded and the resulting hologram that is projected then decodes its stored memory traces. ... (pp. 3G-31) The possibility also occurred to him that if the brain was a hologram, the nature of reality itself might be holographic. He soon found th at David Bohm, physicist in London, described a holographic universe in his papers, some aspects of which were discussed in the Introduction.

Bohm (1979a) developed his new theory from the basis of undivided wholeness. Quantum physics and relativity theor y both require undivided wholeness but deal with it in different ways. He discovered that wholeness demands a different kind of order and holography provides a new way to manage whole-part relationships which include the observer without specifying whether he is active or passive (J. Schumacher, 1979b). Science has previously analyzed parts. As in the glycerine example given in Chapter 1, the enfolded order cannot be seen until it manifests, and the manifestation is an abstraction from the whole. The movement is basic. Reality is nonlocal and not three- dimensional. In this reality, there is neither causality nor chance, neither determinism nor nondeterminism; there is a different relationship. Pribram (1979 a & b) fits the breakthroughs in perception and memory into this framework. He says that cells in the brain beat like the heart beat and respond to the environment in a specifically tuned way. The cells may be preordained to pick out certain things. Every cell in the body vibrates to the environment, to what is encoded in the brain. That process is not linear; it is like a hologram. A. particular memory trace is not lost if the brain is injured, though the mode of retrieval can be lost. It is the implicate order that is real. The

110 Eastern philosophers have experienced an order that fits this descriptier, of the world. The experiences described in this study can be placed in this context in a more meaningful way than is possible with other theories that have been put forward, though elements in the others are useful. The survey of the science and consciousness literature touches briefly on the writings most relevant to the current project. Material is appearing so rapidly that it is becoming difficult to keep up with the findings. The Roszak (1978) Bibliography, though now dated, provides an overview of most of the early articles of general significance in this area.

Newtonian Paradiam and the Paradigm of Contemporary Physics The recent popularization of quantum physics and relativity theory by Zukov (1979) puts the general educated public in closer touch with the implications of those findings for the social sciences and transpersonal psychology. His tabulations of the shift from Newtonian physics and its study of the explicate order to the new physics and the implicate order raise major issues about the nature of reality and consciousness (p. 66).

The following table shows the general characteristics of each physics.

Explicate Order Implicate Order

Classical physics: Newtonian. Particle physics-quantum mechanics and relativity theory.

Explicate Order Implicate Order

Based on ordinary sense percep- Based on particles/fields net tion of objects in motion. directly observable by the senses.

One can describe things, i.e., One describes behavior of groups, individual objects in space and foci in field, systems of time. energies. No isolated objects.

Statistical probabilities of Specific events can be predicted. groups and events can be predicted.

Causality is nonlinear. Everything Causality is linear, traced from affects everything else. event to event.

Does not assume reality apart Assumes objective reality from experience. "out there."

Ey the nature of cur observa - "Things out there" can be observed tions, we change what we observe. without changing them. One cannot make accurate images in the mind of what is happening. One can make images and models, objects and events work. Verbal descriptions involve

paradox. Verbal descriptions are consistent with conceptual linear logic. Particle-events are constantly

being created and annihilated. Objects remain stable through time. Characterized primarily as activity

and events in space-time. Characterized primarily as objects in space over time.

It is now possible to clearly see the way Lewin uses parts of both systems in his social field psychology. occur In doing so, inconsistencies as mentioned on page 61.

Implicate Order Explicate Order Particle physics, includes fields. Newtonian physics-objects

Social psychology applied to ordinary psycho-social world, i.e., sensory, emotional, social events.

11 Explicate Order Implicate Order 2

Events can be pictured by images.

Individuals can be schematized Groups and individuals can be and described in space and time. described in terms of fields and foci oil fields. Casuality is linear. CasuaIity by systems theory recently incorporated (Prigogine in Ferguson, 1979; Bandler Individual events predicted in Grinder, 1975; Satir, 1972). some cases. Statistical prediction of Older works assume observation of behaviors of group events. social event without changing the event. Assumption challenged by Orne (1962), Rosenthal (1966), and Hampton-Turner (1970) and still Assumption of objective reality, open to question. reached by sensory observation of behavior (Lana, 1969).

Social psychology has more of the characteristics of the explicate order than of implicate order qualities even though it incorporates the concept of field and statistical measurement of groups from, particle physics.

Preliminary characteristics of acting transpersonal field and Field

are consistent with the characteristics of the implicate order as shown in the following table.

Newtonian Physics Particle Physics

The phenomena usually cannot be sensed by ordinary untrained senses.

Descriptions in terms of foci within fields, systems of energies are more accurate descriptions of isolated events or objects.

113

Newtonian Physics Particle Physics

Involves behavior of groups and shared experience.

Causality is nonlinear. Everything affects everything else. Reciprocal interaction which may in part be conceptualized by systems theory.

Objective reality is not assumed to be separate from some level of awareness although it may be outside ordinary consciousness.

How You get there has something to do with what you find.

The phenomena cannot be imaged in pictures because it is basically action.

Images and reflections can be made but their accuracy is not necessarily reliable.

Verbal descriptions involve paradox.

Characterized primarily as activity and events.

Summary

As a relation is increasingly forged between the new physics and consciousness, a clearer place is being made for transpersonal experience.

Being! Field no longer is theoretically impossible to Westerners. An increasing number of physicists conclude that what they study and what they experience in meditation are the same. Experiments have shown that nonmaterial fields do affect the explicate order of

objects, and physical theory is in harmony with that. More radically,

114 holographic theory, the possibility of the field creating the brain. and all the rest of the explicate order becomes consistent with accepted quantum and relativity theory. In this context, it becomes possible to take seriously the claims of those who describe the experience of acting Field, even though the implications of that might not be fully understood. The described characteristics are consistent with the qualities of the physics involving implicate order, whereas that is untrue of social field theory.

Transpersonal Psychology

This psychology cannot be classed as either Eastern or Western because it draws on both methodologies and concerns itself with transcendent experiences in both hemispheres. It also draws on the recent developments in contemporary physics. Much of its sources have already been discussed, so this section will include only that literature which is outside those domains. Transpersonal psychology formed when psychologists began to struggle with the nature of nonordinary experience. For example, professional publications exploring unusual and perhaps mystical states

began to increase in the last twenty years. (Watts, 1960; Pearce,

1971 ; Herrigel, 1 1, 171 ; Gebser, 1972; Lilly, 1973.) It wasn't until the development of the Journal of Transpersonal. Psychology in 1969 (Sutich, 1976) that a delineated field of study began to develop in the United States.

Peak and Plateau Experiences The definition of Transpersonal psychology, as it is being used in this paper, was developed gradually. Only those aspects of that development which pertain to this study will be outlined. Maslow (1969a)

115 developed Theory Z to cover those self-actualizing people who had transcendent experiences, like Aldous Huxley and Einstein. He reserved Theory Y for self-actualizing people with little or no transcendent experience, like Eleanor Roosevelt and Eisenhower. He allowed that some nonhealthy people, also, had transcendent experiences hut he didn't enlarge upon that. Maslow later (1972) made a distinction between peak experiences and plateau experiences. He saw peak experiences as poignant and emotional discharges that car produce great turmoil in the autonomic nervous system. The plateau experience is a kind of unitive consciousness in which there is a simultaneous perception of the sacred and the ordinary. It is perceiving ordinary things under the aspect of eternity:

There is nothing excepted and nothing special, but one lives in a world of miracles all the time. There is a paradox because it is miraculous and yet it doesn't produce an autonomic burst. This type of consciousness has certain elements in common with peak experience - awe, mystery, surprise, and esthetic shock. These elements are present, but are constant rather than climactic. ... In the plateau experiences, you're not as surprised because they are more volitional than peak experiences. Further, I think you can teach plateau experiences; you could hold classes in miraculousness. There tends to be more serenity rather than an emotionality. . . . There are peak experiences (that are) a type of cognition. ... And then slowly I learned that this was not always the case. There were peak experiences which seemed to be empty of cognitive content. They were just emotional bursts, very happy and ecstatic, but passive. My attention was called to this partly by the fact that if you witness heaven in a peak experience, why the hell isn't everybody getting better all the time? We should soon turn into a race of anaels. Well, very obviously, 1 was able to get reports of peak experiences from extremely sick people and from sons-of-bitches.

11 The important point that emerges from these plateau 6 experiences is that they are essentially cognitive. . . . This is not the standard description of the acute mystical experience, but the way in which the world looks if the mystic experience really takes. If your mystical experience changes your life, you go about your business as the great mystics did. For example, the great saints could have mystical revelations, but also could run a monastery. (pp. 113-115) The experiences in this study are closer to the category of plateau experiences than peak experiences. They are not altered states, which one has occasionally from which one returns to a base state, but plateaus which "take" and in which one goes about one's business. For Maslow, the plateau began occurring after a major heart attack, not through extensive meditation, although the plateau often happens also

under those conditions (M. Murphy, 1969). Coleman (1977) calls the

plateau experiences "altered traits of consciousness" because there is an enduring change transforming the meditator's every movement.

They meet Tart's criterion for "higher states of consciousness": 1) All functions of "lower" states are available, that is waking, sleeping, and dreaming and 2) some new aspects, derivative of an, altered state are present in addition. (p. 116)

For Goleman, and also Naranjo (19714), all the forms of meditation diffuse the effects of meditation into the meditator's waking, dreaming, and sleep states following the period of withdrawal into meditation. In his

topology (1972), Goleman does not include "opening up" meditations described by Ornstein (1974) as closely integrated into daily activity

during the period of meditation (like the Zen practice of shikan-taza).

There has been extensive research on the former type (Walsh, 1979) but none on the latter, which might be closer to the current study.

The plateau experience is in some ways different from the conditions studied here in that the plateau involves a "witness to the

117 world" which is a subtle form of duality. These experiences would still be within the relating to category described in the Introduction.

Psychic Experiences Generally speaking, transpersonal psychologists (,Maslow, 1972; LeShan, 1968; Tart, 1972; Coleman, 1974) make a distinction between psychic phenomena and unitive spiritual conditions. Coleman notes that some spiritual masters use psychic powers, but relate to them quite differently than those who rely on them as important keys. This paper follows the precedent that has been set: to focus on the more significant aspects of the experience.

Ineffability The literature is consistent in the assertion that what is being studied is more than, or different from, the usual consensus psychological functioning, and there is also considerable agreement (Pribram, 1978; Ferguson, 1978, 1980 a& b; Green and Green, 1977; Wise, 1974; Clark, 1976) that the conditions studied are ineffable. Tart (1975) considers them ineffable only in that they are state specific: they make no sense to those in other states and communicate clearly to someone else in the same state. Walsh, Elgin, Vaughan and Wilber (in Walsh and Vaughan, 19,80) note that the assertion of ineffability may be reasonable if we remember that language is conceptual and hence may result in category error when applied to nonconceptual material. For the same reason, Eddington and Heisenberg also found it impossible to fully conceptualize the fundamental nature of reality. Zukov (1979) points out that we have a si milar problem with defining such words as "happiness" and any word in which we do not share the experience.

118

Once the ineffability of the transpersonal has been established, everyone in the field proceeds to talk about it, and they appear to communicate meaningfully.

Universal Ground may be Consciousness or Will

In the literature, there seem to be two emphases in regard to the ineffable ground: 1) awareness as a substrait process and 2) directionality or universal willing as an ultimate beginning. In the literature of transpersonal psychology, the emphasis on awareness and consciousness is predominate (Chiba, 1960;

Dean, 1965; Ornstein, 1976; Deikman, 1974). Tharthang Tulku (1976) expresses the general position quite clearly: In the West, . . . it seems that when anyone talks about "mind," it is "mind-sensing" that is meant - relating mind to a series of perceptual processes such as seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching, and conceptualizing. These are six types of "sense_ consciousness" through which we perceive ourselves as a complex of thoughts, feelings, expectations and physical sensations. Further, our cognitive images, interpretations, and concepts support an inner quality of very subtle, subjective "feeling-tones" which represent an accumulation of certain residues, memories, and conditioned habit patterns to which we react positively, negatively or neutrally. Beyond this level of perceptual processes and interpretations, which corresponds roughly to the "subconscious" and which is always experienced by a subject, there is a more pervasive substratum of consciousness termed kun-gzhi in Tibetan, which is a kind of intrinsic awareness which is not involved in any subject/object duality. . . . Mind itself has no substance. It has no color and no shape. It has no form, no position, no characteristics, no beginning, no end. It is neither within nor without; it cannot be discovered as this or that thing; it is not mixed together with other things, yet it is not apart from them. This mind cannot be discovered, invented, destroyed, rejected or accepted. It is beyond reasoning and so-called logical processes, beyond time and beyond all existence. (pp. 42-43)

119

Two transpersonal representatives of the emphasis on willing and/or directionality are Assigioli (1974) and Bailey (1936, 1942). Bailey (196Q) says that the energy of will is the most potent energy in the whole scheme of planetary existence. . . It holds all things together in life. It is, in reality, life itself. (p. 715)

In another place she says:

The disciple knows or is learning to know that he is not this or that, but Life Itself. He is not the physical body or its emotional nature; he is not in the last analysis .., the mind or that by which he knows. . . . He begins to realize himself as the soul. Then later, comes the awful "moment in time" when, pendant in space, he discovers that he is not the soul. What then, is he? A point of divine dynamic will, focused in the soul and arriving at awareness of Being through the use of form. He is Will, the ruler of time and the organizer in time, of space. ... (p. 107)

Although this study includes both characterizations of the ineffable, neither seems to fit very well. There appears to be something additional, which neither touches. It is hoped that, if this is the case, the research will make the additional element more explicit.

Relation of Personal Identity

There is a great debate among transpersonal psychologists about the relation of the personal identity to what transcends it. There are many generalized statements (Alpert, 1971 ; Lilly, 1972; Walsh, Goleman, Kornfield, Pensa &

Shapiro, 1978c; Green and Green, 1980) of the experience of an organism- environment field envisioned by Watts (1963) and described earlier in this work.

These are accompanied with various degrees of dissolution of personal identity.

There are frequent reports (Tart, 1972; Watts, 1963; Green and Green, 1977) of a vivid awareness of the mutual interdependence between one's own thoughts,

120 feelings and behavior and the thoughts, feelings, and behavior of the environment. Gerard (1964), Crampton (1977), and Assigioli (1965) picture the human identity as three-fold: a conscious, a subconscious, and a superconscious. The personal vehicles become increasingly synthesized as expressions of the superconscious self when the superconscious becomes synthesized with the Self in a nonpersonal universal sense. For Fingarette (1972), there are many Selves; these Selves reincarnate as subselves (ordinary humans) which themselves have no real separate identities. Tart (1975) sees identity as fleeting attachments of the "this is me" sub-system to a variety of information. He finds no stable sense of identity, either personal or a "Higher Self," though there may be a number of relatively permanent identifications. Daly King (1963) agrees with Tart that there is no "lower" or "higher" permanent Self, but insists that one can be created through certain training and practice. This researcher has no preconceive d belief about the nature of identity. The research itself will show the positions of those interviewed on this subject. It is hoped there might be a consensus among them.

Are Mystical Experiences Generated Internally? A closely related issue, first discussed by William James (1910), reintroduced by Armor (1969), is whether mystical experiences are an extension of the individual's perception and are, therefore, generated internally, or whether these are excursions into a realm that is extant and universal, though contacted rarely. Tart (1975) notes that either hypothesis will more or less fit the observed phenomena. Deikman's (1966) experience is that regardless of the position one takes on this issue, the feeling of awe, beauty, reverence, and humility are

121 characteristics of the experience itself. The question of epistemological validity of that experience may have less importance than was initially supposed. In this study, the question of reality will be bracketed automatically by the research method (phenomenological). The issue is irrelevant; the important issue seems to be, "Does it work?" and that is discussed below.

One meditation study which has bearing on both these issues is by V. F.

Emerson (1976), the report of which is entitled, "Can Belief Systems Influence

Neurophysiology?" It appears that they can and do. Some Yogis have succeeded in training their bodies to function according to their beliefs. They can go away from the world to the point that there is no response of Beta waves to sound, touch, shock, or other stimuli. On the other hand, Zen monks have succeeded in training their bodies to function according to different beliefs about the nature of reality. The monk never leaves the world, and the world is always new: the Beta waves function with no habituation to repeated stimuli.

Neither of these responses are available to the Western subject who has a different consensus reality. A pragmatic approach to reality systems is thus presented as a possibility. Given a certain belief system about the nature of reality, the functioning fully within that reality, what are the effects? It is then possible to choose how one will constitute reality on the basis of the effects rather than on some conditioned habituation or philosophical argument about the nature of reality.

Kaplan (1978) in his Harvard doctoral dissertation shows that the epistemological foundations of esoteric knowledge of Eastern Spiritual Masters is based upon this pragmatic criteria. The Eastern yogin claims that by following certain "recipes" or operational sequences, one can

122 discover that nature is much greater than what man can perceive through ordinary senses. Religious beliefs and practices are of value to the degree that they are conducive to attainment of the goal. This is an instrumental view of religion, and essentially equates the function of a religious belief to that of a hypothesis.

In order for this pragmatic criteria to be effective, one must take the position of desiring to obtain a goal (say, some kind of relation to God, or the Ultimate). Insofar as that is true, it is not applicable to this study because it does not involve the usual goal orientedness. However, the experience studied can be compared to other transpersonal experiences, and a choice can be made about how one will constitute reality on the basis of the results.

East/West Topologies

The next issue of importance is how this transcendent experience is related to Western psychology. Many transpersonal psychologists have attempted answers. Ram Dass (1970) correlates different Western approaches with the chakra system of Hinduism: Freud is concerned with the second chakra

(sex); Adler is concerned with the third chakra (power, ego, and control of the environment); Jung is concerned with the fourth chakra (Buddha's compassion). He says there are no Western counterparts to the fifth, sixth, and seventh chakras. Ken Wilber (1980a) also orders Western therapies according to which dichotomy (in which level of Mind) they address. He earlier saw them all as facets of a multilevel manifestation (1975). In the transpersonal band of therapies, he makes a distinction between the position of Transpersonal Witness which is related to the plateau experience, and the position of Mind, which is nondual. This is the same distinction which has been made in the Introduction between relating to and being field. There is

123 no longer a Transpersonal Self, which is doing the witnessing, but the primary duality between subject and object collapses, and with it the dualism between past and future, life and death. Starting from a background in biofeedback, Elmer and Alyce Green (1977, p. 186, 301) divide human experience into different domains of self-regulation. Beginning to be in charge of Field One (dependence on, or independence from the external environment, per Witkin, 1977), the person then trains to be in charge of Field Two (the environment inside the skin). She/he then extends control to the central nervous system which is Field Three. Once people are not totally bound by these three fields, they can begin te explore the planetary Field of Mind. In the Greens' analysis, Freud limits himself to the first two fields, Jung includes the planetary Mind as do Assigioli (1965) and Bailey (1936). From the perspective of split brain research, Gowan (1978) hypothesizes that altered states are any state where the left side of the brain is in abeyance. The ordinary consciousness is an unusual state, not maintained for long periods. He places right hemisphere functions in a taxonomy: If the right hemisphere function is mediated by the left, it gives rise to syntaxic (creative) products like the higher jhanas of Buddhist wisdom, samadhi, plateau and peak experiences, and ortho-cognition (a concept which orients one to a larger view of reality, as the Copernican view did over the Ptolemaic). If the right hemisphere expresses directly, it gives rise to parataxic (artistic) creativity like art, myth, dreams, and archetypes. If it is unable to be expressed by either hemisphere, it is outletted in somatic fashion by automatic writing, hypnotism, trance, and in extreme cases, schizophrenia.

124

Since none of these sources speak of acting Field or allude to it, these schemes are not specifically useful in placing this study. In a general way, however, comes closest to Wilber's position of Mind and with the Greens' planetary Field. This placement is not strictly accurate because it is not a developmental condition; but, at this point a more accurate placement is not available.

Conclusion

In summary, transpersonal psychology interrelates Eastern and

Western psychologies with findings from contemporary physics, insofar as they are applicable to transcendent experience. The experience of acting transpersonal field and Field is more akin to the plateau experience than the peak experience, but does not involve the duality of the plateau. All the transpersonal experiences are to some degree ineffable, but this has not stopped communication about them by transpersonal psychologists. Most writers emphasize the consciousness and Mind as a substrate process, some emphasize a Universal Will and directionality. Acting Field includes components of both and another unarticulated element. There is considerable diversity about the place and permanence of identity with regard to the transcendent. It is not clear at this point if there is a specific position on that issue required by acting

Field. The question of reality of these phenomena beyond the experience of them by human persons is bracketed for both methodological and philosophical reasons. This does not preclude the use of pragmatic criteria in choosing how one is to live.

Transpersonal experience has been placed in several different topologies, all of which distinguish it from pathological phenomena. Since none of these are familiar with acting Field, it is not included.

125

Although acting Field has similarities to some of the states studied ;n transpersonal psychology, the literature shows no descriptions of the entire condition studied here.

Ontology Group

There are three studies which have been done by people who have direct experience of the condition studied here. One (Goldenberg, 1981) speaks of secondary effects which are not directly applicable to this particular study. The other two (Myers, 1977; Seagal, 1981) use some of the results of taking the position of acting Field.

Myers' (1977) dissertation entitled Empathy: a Spectrum of

Sharing, from the California School of Professional Psychology, studies three interrelated forms of empathy. The phenomenological study focuses on predominately the cobiotic aspect of empathy. There is a

... pervading experience of being, in the sense of actively involved in and not separate from, and participating in a life which in part can be visually registered around, between and within oneself and the other. One has the experience of living this life in common with the other. ... Although one still experiences a distinction between himself and the other person, one does not experience a separation. (p. 28)

Myers distinguishes cobiotic empathy from osmotic empathy and imaginative empathy. In osmotic empathy, the therapist participates in the pathos of the client's emotional life. They resonate together in an organismic responsiveness in which a certain obscuring of the normal I-you distinction occurs. A degree of osmotic empathy appears to be required for successful client-centered therapy. In imaginative empathy, one imagines placing oneself in another person's shoes and seeing the world through his eyes. It has a strong cognitive component.

126

Five specific characteristics of predominately cobiotic empathy marked out by Myers are: {1 ) experiencing oneself to be actively, directly, and inseparably participating in a life or "energy" which in part is experienced as an active field around and , to some degree, through both people; and that is experienced by the empathizer as transfusing and being related to, but more fundamental than, either his or the other's physical /mental /emotional conditions.

(2) .., because of one's participation in this apparently more fundamental life or "energy" certain aspects of the other's physical/ mental /emotional condition are directly experienced in or around oneself;

(3) . . . the experience is naturally occurring. It is not "produced" by the empathizer in the sense that he uses his mind or emotions to create the experience ...[there is an] acknowledging and following the two peoples' participation in a life or "energy" that is already active. (p. 137-138)

Empathy is usually seen as a passive experience in which one becomes aware of the other's situation. In predominately cobiotic empathy, this is not the case.

(4) . . . there appears to be the possibility not only of gaining knowledge of the other's situation, but also effecting a change. This capacity for action as well as knowledge appears to be the result of the fact that the empathizer- is not just observing and contemplating the other's situation , but actively participating in a life which is related to, but more fundamental than, the phenomenal aspects of their situation. (p. 142)

(5) . . . there appears to be a possibility for a type of experiencing that goes beyond, or encompasses more than, empathy. ... It appears to differ from empathy in that there is no longer the experience of the situation being .,. dichotomized into person specific aspects - mine and yours. There is just the experience of living a wholeness in which that type of dichotomy is not inherent . . . this "one living" does not necessarily include the experience of the mine/yours dichotomy, but it can. (p. 143)

127

Research into acting Field explores more fully these findings, particularly the conditions which "lie behind" the final two points.

Sandra Seagal's dissertation (1981) develops a tripartite (AUM) psychological model of a human being through which she analyzes the voice for its predominate components. Learning styles, problems, and job appropriateness can be very successfully diagnosed from voice analysis alone, as was reported in Brain/Mind Bulletin (Ferguson, 1982a) and Leading Edge

(Ferguson, 1982b).

The position of the therapist-examiner is of key importance in this analysis: 1)

The position requires that the therapist-examiner empty him/herself of the dominance of usual references from the mental, emotional, and sensory worlds, being willing to let go of past referencing and risk being present in the moment. 2) The approach is to radiate active empathy. One radiates out to another what is needed.

The primary tool is (consciously) living joy. This dynamic energy has the potentiality for activating itself throughout the other. This energy reflects as a quality which lives throughout, creating , a syntony, or possibly even a symbiosis between examiner and client. (Seagal, 1981, pp. 75-76)

3) One must act with one's entire instrument

... along the lines of refinement, focus, directionality, precision, integration, openness, balance, harmony, etc. Then one becomes able to nuance/ adjust oneself so as to resonate to the client/other that which may be needed. (p. 75-76)

The third part of the Seagal Voice Analysis is assessment of a spirit/nature balance. the spirit side of this balance is related to a "deeper need" of a "deeper identity,"

which was defined by the project members as: "That generic potential which mediates transcendent growth beyond the personal, allowing man to experience/live the inner connection between his own nature and the universal nature of the cosmos" (p. 116). 128 The spirit side is also seen as related to attunement to a directional impulse that uses the person for its expression, and at the most concrete level is related to a movement/action that serves life, that serves the group rather than the personality. The AUM psychological mode, the voice diagnosis that is made possible by it, and the training of the therapist-examiner all occurred as a result of acting Field. The very nature of that living is expressed through these practical tools. They may turn out to be a better expression of acting Field than any phenomenological analysis of how it appears to consciousness.

Summary of Literature Review

Because of the encapsulation within the epistemology of a superempiricism, Western psychology seldom takes mystical experience seriously in any form. It is, by and large, considered pathological in spite of empirical studies to the contrary. Social and perceptual psychologies study the organism-environment field, but they limit their vision in line with the prevailing epistemology. Within the stance of humanistic psychology, the transpersonal dimensions could be theoret ically included, the climate has been conclusive to ignoring the trans personal dimension. According to metaphysics based upon Buddhist ontology, acting Field cannot be the way it is experienced, although the other forms of connecting field are legitimized and described at length. From the immutable Tathagata, nothing new is possible. All creativity arises out of the three worlds which originate co-dependently. There is no directive creativity outside of those three worlds, so by the very nature

129

of the ontology, acting Field cannot be an expression of the Void of Tathagata. It not possible to quicken or activate in the actinic mode, but only to remove obstructions to what immutable is (receptive mode).

The situation is not much different in Christian mysticism, only for different reasons. There is strong doctrinal prohibition against the unity of creature and creator in any mystical experience; so, almost all descriptions are of the relating to type. Human nature in the Christian world is not capable of creating out of the void (the way God is said to create) as long as the soul is incarnated in a human body. Therefore, in this view, also, the actinic mode is impossible.

The science and consciousness research relies heavily on the Buddhist experience of being Field and relates this to contemporary field theory in physics.

There seems to be an unarticulated presupposition from Christianity that it is impossible for human beings to create out of nothing, and the Buddhist doctrine of co-dependent origination seems for the most part in line with the findings of physics at this time. John Cobb (1979) has suggested that the distinction Eckhart makes between God and Godhead is fruitful in understanding the relationship between the Buddhist void and the Christian God. He says: When I came to understand increasingly what it was that Buddhist scholars were talking about, I recognized it as what Whitehead was talking about when he talked about creativity. This is something very different from what Whitehead was talking about when he talked about God. What he was talking about when he was talking about God was much more like Yahweh than it was like the void out of which, from which, Yahweh created. (p. 17)

From this perspective acting Field might be possible for the physics and consciousness group, but so far no experience of this sort has been reported.

130

The Taoist has no doctrinal prohibitions against being Field. He does speak of the Tao as being creative, so there seem no metaphysical barriers to the possibility of acting Field. In practice, however, the writings recommend, and speak only of the receptive mode. It is beyond the scope of this paper to determine the reason for this.

Transpersonal psychology draws on the above traditions and positions.

A great deal of energy is spent resolving the conflict between the super- empirical Western psychology and all the mystical traditions. Since acting Field is not a part of any of these traditions, it would have been surprising if it had. been discussed.

The research done by the Ontology Group is quite limited. It

comes from within a small group of those who are actively exploring acting Field though they do not call it by any specific name. There is really not a large enough body of literature to be considered significant at this time.

Several different conclusions could be drawn from this state of the literature: 1) Acting Field is not real as it stands. It can become real in the various current ontologies by reducing the experience to fit within the categories of the various systems; i.e. , pathology for the Freudian, a Siddhi, an expression of the Formless World in Buddhism, or a modern heresy in orthodox

Christianity.

2) Acting Field is real as a human experience, but since it has not been described, it must be a very unlikely occurrence, an anomaly which can be set aside without further attention.

3) Acting Field is real as a human experience, and marks the beginning of new possibilities for mankind which will become increasingly

131 common over time. A new ontology is created by the action which is in line with the changing world. For the purposes of this study, the question of the reality of acting Field will be bracketed by the phenomenological method which is chosen to some extent because of this problem. Ashok Gangadean (1931; has suggested that the root of mental illness, not only of people but of cultures, lies in ontocentrism (holding one's ontology as the only true ontology). Anything that does not fit into the mental constructs of that way of living the nature of reality can't be a bona fide experience. He suggests that all experience be left to stand the way it is, without attachment to it, or judgment about its reality. One then lives without a set of presuppositions abou t what is possible and real. In line with this, acting Field will be described with as little interference from reality paradigms as possible.

Chapter 3

METHODOLOGY

The purpose of this chapter is to indicate how the method chosen is the most appropriate one available for the data studied and to show how that method was explicitly applied. Adequate appraisal of the results will be discussed as well as the issues of validity, reliability, and significance of the research.

Choice of Method

One of the basic methodological foundations of science, no matter upon what metaphysical foundations it is based, is that the methodology be appropriate to the material studied and the nature of the questions being asked. A preliminary palpitation of the material that is being called "acting

Field" reveals the following situation:

(1 ) There is no way to directly observe acting Field. The data studied is only directly observable when the observer is also acting Field.

However, in acting Field, there can be no observer in the strict sense of uninvolved witness, because there is no duality between the observation and the action, or the action and the context. The field can be observed, as occurs in relating to field, but in order to study acting Field, one must have an actor. An actor's awareness of the experience is in itself an effect of the action, and his report is based on that. His report is already one step removed and, therefore, not a direct observation of the actual action. Therefore, it does not appear to be possible to directly observe acting Field in a way which would make traditional empirical research feasible. 132

133

(2) Acting Field is not directly measurable. Some of the effects may eventually be measurable, but not enough is yet known abut them to design effective experiments.

In a preliminary study, this researcher twice attempted to set up simple repeatable experiments involving acting Field in the context of a particular piece of music. She found it was not possible to repeat an action or control all the variables that were involved. In one case, a predetermined way of living was prescribed. When the participant listened to the music and the actor began to attempt to function in the prescribed way, a Field action began to occur, but it would not comply to the prescription. The experimenter finally quit trying to steer the action and went along. In the discussion which followed, the participant shared that she had come carrying a problem that had occurred earlier in the day and that somehow in what we had done with the music, a resolution had occurred. The action had spoken to her need, not the research design. Field action which changes continually, perhaps by its very nature, is not measurable or repeatable.

(3) Fields usually function as preverbal contexts for the concrete phenomena which are usually studied by psychology. The field context is almost never made explicit in those studies although other contexts sometimes are made explicit in phenomenological research.

(4) Since the existence and' the nature of the material to be studied here are not well-known in psychology or to the general public, it seems important to focus on, the quality and structure of the experience rather than premature measurement of a little known quality.

Given these four characteristics of the material to be studied, what method seems most suitable? As shown in Chapter 2, the most

134 common professional psychological metaphysic is the sensory-empirical. Freudian thought also borrows heavily from this metaphysic. The phenomena under scrutiny cannot be studied fruitfully by using a root metaphor (Pepper, 1970) which denies the existence and/or importance of the phenomena. It also cannot be studied if the process of reducing it to sensory verifiable/falsifiable data eliminates that which is particularly characteristic of the phenomena in human experience. Most psychologists accept the empiricist metaphysical metaphor uncritically, unaware that theirs is one metaphysical construction among others. In it, the mechanical model has been used as a metaphor to organize life meaningfully. This root metaphor has it limitations and, therefore, fails in the test of comprehensiveness (Pepper, 1970).

The rationalist metaphysic is equally unsuitable for similar reasons: the transpersonal field is not a product of thought as has been shown by the preliminary descriptions; neither is it a product of emotions. So, the rationalist cannot categorize the transpersonal field within currently available concepts. Since it is not currently measurable or predictable by means of mathematical equations, it cannot be considered rational in the way some interpretations of quantum mechanics might be considered rational. For a rationalist, if something is not rational, the tendency is then to consider it irrational and, therefore, of no consequence. Therefore, we are in no better position than with the simple empiricist tradition.

A phenomenological, intersubjective approach can provide an intermediary, tentative position that is usable. The assumption is being made that all verbal processes imply some sort of ontology and, therefore, some interpretive metaphor. The phenomenological position will be

135

treated as an "heuristic" device, as a tool of communication and not an absolutely established basis of truth. No foolproof criteria of truth seem to be available by which to establish a totally reliable relation between linguistic constructions, linguistic metaphors, and reality. Given this apparent state of affairs, it seems wise to put on linguistic expressions and methodological systems rather like clothes, using what is appropriate for the present situation.

In this dissertation, what seems. most appropriate is a broadly empiricophenomenological approach which includes all awareness and not only ordinary sensory experience. There will be no initial presupposition regarding the objectivity or the subjectivity of aspects of that broad empirical experience. It appears initially that the categories, subjective and objective, may not fit an implicate order field. That field may be both or neither. There is also no requirement set out by the researcher that the structures brought out in phenomenological reductions need necessarily to be universally applicable to all humans all the time. That would have to be decided on the basis of the evidence of extensive testing. It is for these reasons that the rational idealism often associated with phenomenological research will also be held in abeyance.

Amedeo Giorgi (1975a) describes phenomenology as:

... the study of the structure, and the variations of structure of the consciousness to which any thing, event, or person appears. It is interested in elucidating both that which appears and the manner in which it appears, as well as in the overall structure that relates the "that which" with its mode or manner. This description is as general as it is because phenomenology wants to exclude nothing that can appear and on the other hand, include only that which in fact appears precisely as it presents itself. This strict point of departure is adhered to because man can only speak of that which appears to someone's

136 stream of consciousness or experience. The minimum condition for the study of anything is that it be present to someone's consciousness. (p. 83-84)

In phenomenological psychology, the basic point of departure is the Lebenswelt (lived world) of everyday experience rather than a theoretical hypothesis about the nature and causes of behavior and experience (Giorgi, 1970b). The purpose of the method is to

"help the phenomenon reveal itself more completely" (Keen, 1975, p. 41) than is ordinarily possible. This is the method of choice when little is known about a phenomenon as is the case in this situation.

This method of research does not require phenomena which are repeatable or measurable. In fact, the phenomenological method challenges traditional empirical hypothesis that measurement is a suitable tool for research of the more particularly human aspects or "higher" aspects of humanity (Hycner, 1976). Giorgi (1971) also addresses the issue.

For the human sciences, it is not necessary that a phenomenon be duplicated identically (even if that were possible) but simply that its essential theme can be identified through its varying manifestations. To demand that the essential theme of a phenomenon and its manifestation be constant is an unnecessary reduction that not only does violence to the phenomenon but also prohibits a correct understanding of it because the various ways it manifests itself also sheds light on its essential nature. (p. 24)

Phenomenological research also meets a requirement of the researcher that psychology as a science must include the observer consciously in the research rather than surreptitiously. Sardello (1971 ) and Giorgi (1975b) concur in that requirement.

This method is particularly suitable because of its recognition of horizon, the context or background out of which a theme or figure emerges. As Hycner (1976) points out:

137 ... though similar [horizon], cannot be exactly equated to figure/ground phenomenon of the Gestaltists because they tend to speak of figure and ground as exteriorly related to each other. Horizon on the other hand is concerned with the interpenetration of the figure and ground and how an alteration of the horizon alters the meaning of the theme or figure. . . . Vi hat becomes essential then, in psychological research, is that when trying to make explicit the meanings of a phenomenon that we understand and be able to make explicit the horizon which forms the context of this phenomenon and its interrelationship with the phenomenon. (pp. 50- 51)

The phenomenological method most suited to this present context appears to be the empirical phenomenological reflection. First made precise by Colaizzi (1973), empirical phenomenological reflection has advantages over both individual phenomenological reflection with its limitation to one subject and the phenomenal study, in which a plurality of subjects provide description, but where there is a minimum of reflection on the data. Empirical phenomenological reflection usually involves a plurality of subjects plus detailed phenomenological reflection on the data to reduce it to essential structures shared by the subjects as they present themselves to the researcher.

Research Design

The general design of this research was: 1) Presuppositions related to the research made as explicit as possible (on-going process); 2) One or more in-depth interviews with selected people; 3) Transcription and the explication of descriptions given to participants for them to check the "fit" with their experience; 5) Maintained dialogue with participants until a mutually satisfactory condensed description was produced; 6) On the basis of cor;pleted descriptions, compiled master list of significant themes expressed by the three final

138 participants; 7) Created a summary experience which was corroborated by the participants. What follows will be an unfolding of this design.

Presuppositions Phenomenological research requires that the researcher be aware of as many presuppositions brought to the arena of the work as possible. In traditional scientific psychological research, primary assumptions on which the research is based are not made explicit. So it is not possible to place that research within the horizon or context in which it was generated. It may not be possible to make all the presuppositions explicit, but as Giorgi says (1970a,), the attempt is important. The task provides the material which must be bracketed (consciously set aside) during the interviews and while explicating the data, in order to allow the experience of the person to come through as free from researcher contamination as possible. The process of bracketing is somewhat similar to bracketing of counter transference by the psychotherapist in the therapist/client relationship (Orenstein, 1980). It is fairly easy to be aware of assumptions which contrast to the general consensus, and this researcher holds several of those. Other presuppositions became conscious in the course of reducing the data, trying to share the research with others, and discussions with committee members. It was sobering to see presuppositions change several times in the course of the research due to experiences of acting Field. In returning to the reduction of the data, new themes became evident that had not been noticed before. The presupposition that the chancing Field could be briefly captured, began to be somewhat

13 9 undermined. Presuppositions held during most of this study are listed at the end of

Chapter One.

Participants

Those who work with the researcher are called participants because they are partners in the research; they do not function as passive subjects to which the experiment is done. The research process is actually a dialogue between co- researchers.

Number of participants. The decision to include three participants was based upon suggestions from both the committee advising this research and other phenomenological researchers' experiences. It was felt that less than three people could produce a structure of experience so unique that the results would not have sufficient significance. It was the experience of the researchers that a much larger number would produce only minor variations on a basic theme.

Selection of participants. Four criteria for selecting persons to participate were used: 1) They had to consciously act transpersonal Field part of the time and work on their own personalities from that position; they had to be relatively able to function from the actinic mode when it is appropriate. They had to be aware enough of those experiences that detailed nuances were apparent to them. Participants were chosen through evaluating their own field activity and their manner of speaking of Field which showed the mode of Field operation they worked from and whether or not they worked from an encapsulated position.

14 0

(2) They had to be capable of communicating their experiences in a detailed, lucid, understandable way. Given the inherent difficulties in formulating and communicating mystical experiences in general, above average verbal skills were seen as a requirement. It was preferable that the participant have had training in detachment from mental content so that they had clearer access to that content and awareness of its usual distortion and vagueness. This would help eliminate some of the objections that introspective data is not a reliable report of an experience. Some kind of meditative experience could provide the requisite training. A short conversation on the subject of

Field activity would give indication as to whether a prospective participant met this criteria.

(3) The participant had to be in a position to work with others while acting Field.

They had to be able to see or sense the Field activity in another person.. For these purposes, therapists who worked with clients while acting Field were ideal participants.

Not only did they meet this third requirement, but the vocabulary they tended to use would bridge to the psychological community. In talking to a perspective therapist, the manner they sense/saw the activity in a client indicated their ability in this area. The researcher and therapist were able to check their respective perceptions of another person's activity together. The Field activity of the therapist and the researcher would also be apparent to both.

(4) They had to be willing to talk to the interviewer in depth about these experiences. This included spending the time to go over the experiences until both were satisfied with the description. In this admittedly difficult area to communicate, time and patience were

1« 1 required. There also had to be a willingness for the synopsis of the interview to appear in the dissertation. Disappointingly, one highly qualified perspective participant met all the criteria but this final aspect.

Perspective participants were contacted by telephone or interviewed where they were discovered. They were told about the nature of the research, and if, by mutual agreement, they were selected, they were given a rough statement of the basic research questions: What is your experience of acting Field? What is your experience of acting on your own personality from Field? What is your experience of working from Field with someone else's personal problem? This gave them an opportunity to prepare themselves for the interview. An appointment was made and a location for the interview was selected by the participant. In two cases, the interviews were held in the participant's home, while the third selected a place which was not her home but where she felt "at home."

There were one man and two women. The ages were 39, 52, 69. All three were married or had been married and had two or three children. All three were Caucasian from middle socioeconomic backgrounds. There was an additional pilot study done with a single man in his early 30s, but the experience reported was not sufficiently full to include in the final study.

The Interviews

Pilot study. The purpose of the pilot study (which was done before the three interviews) was to become as comfortable as possible with the demands the phenomenological research style puts on its researcher. The participant had certain experience that appeared from

14 2 initial questioning to be acting Field, and also had experience conducting phenomenological research. As a result of this pilot study, the questions asked were altered slightly and prefaced by a statement outlining what ways of connecting Field were not of interest to the researcher.

Three principal interviews. At the beginning of each interview, there was a period of "tuning" to the other, a sense of establishing or reestablishing a trusting, open relationship which would facilitate communication about something deeply important to each of the participants. The researcher knew one participant very well, one to some degree, and the third only slightly before the interviews. In each case, this period went smoothly and a sense of trust and mutual cooperation was established. Two factors were important here: one, the rooms the participants had chosen were rooms in which they and others were accustomed to acting Field, and two, by acting Field together prior to beginning to discuss the experience, the usual discomforts and distances of personal unfamiliarity disappeared very quickly.

In the two cases where the participant was not well-known to the researcher, the audio taped interview began with a few Questions about background pertinent to the study. This was done so that the interviews might unfold more meaningfully for the researcher and the study, within the context of the lived-world of the participant.

Throughout the interviews, the researcher attempted to bracket, or set aside, as many of the personal filters as were conscious and face who was in front of her in terms of the participants' own categories and expressions of their lives. She put attention on following, being with,

I L:3 and entering into the participant's living as much ass possible, remaining completely naive about it. The motto was, "Assume you know nothing; ask about anything you experience that isn't expressed."

The initial interviews were about two hours in length. In the case of there was another two-hour interview after the initial transcription and explication. This was the first major interview that had been done, and it became obvious that there were many unfinished trains of thought and much researcher unclarity about the intent and meaning of some of the descriptions given. There were short, recorded telephone conversations with the other two participants regarding unclarities that showed up after transcription of their interviews.

The research questions. After the initial warm-up period, at a suitable point, the following statement was read to each participant and then given to them to look over.

There are three common ways to connect with the transpersonal. I am looking for others. The three common ways are:

(a) To think about, believe in, philosophize about that which is beyond.

(b) To look at, observe, relate as an "other." This is common in mystical experiences and meditation. There is a striving to become more united with that which is beyond.

(c) To be in, to be absorbed by, to go along with, to be carried in without a sense of determining the direction of the action. To have no separation from that which is beyond. It may no longer feel as beyond. A "wu wei," a doing-not doing. It is a doing because of participation and a not-doing in the sense of in some way directing or creating the action. Do you connect in any ways different these?

from

144 Do you use this in any way to affect your personality?

Do you use it in any way in your work with others?

The initial statement was designed to orient the participant to the general subject. Then there were short definitions of three ways of connecting Field that were not being studied. In this way, the actual type of Field experience being looked for was left conceptually undefined and open-ended. The participant was free to fill the void with his/her own unique experience. 1

Other questions asked during the interview were of three sorts: attempts to comprehend clearly what was being said, attempts to check out experience that was not verbalized but seemingly a part of what was being communicated, and facilitating questions aimed at aiding the participant to become more precise and concrete in the description.

Processing the Data

Transcribing. The first interview was transcribed completely verbatim, with all its pauses, with all its hesitation sounds and half finished words that were rephrased. With the other interviews, there was a mild form of editing so that the transcripts read smoothly. They were much easier to read and comprehend, and the researcher felt that the sense was not changed in the process. When the transcripts were submitted to the participants, no one wanted to alter the transcript itself, although two participants did change parts of the synopsis which

1 The format of this way of constructing the question follows Myers (1977).

145 were literal passages from the transcript. Those will be discussed in step six.

Phenomenological reduction. 2 The following six-step procedure was used in reduction of the data. This method is the procedure outlined by Giorgi (1975a; 1975b) and refined by Hycner (1976) for use at California School of Professional Psychology,

San Diego, California.

Step 1. The transcript (protocol) was read through in one sitting while listening to

the audio tape. This was done in the same spirit of bracketing and

openness in which the interviews were done. The situation was

reentered and, insofar as possible, relived again in the new

context.

Step 2. The protocol was reread again, slowly, and each point of transition in

meaning was delineated. These natural meaning units were all

considered relevant to the study because acting Field involves the

whole being.

Step 3. Each meaning unit was interrogated with the following question: What

does this unit tell me about the experience of acting Field' The

units were then systematically interrogated with the following

additional questions: What does this unit tell me about the

experience of acting Field to affect one's

2 The format of this section and the next follow Zucher (19,82).

146

personality? What does this unit tell me about the experience of acting

Field in work with others? Many units responded only to one of the three

questions. A short answer to the questions was written in the wide margin

which expressed the theme of that unit. The motto was: "When in doubt

about meaning, ask the participant." Step 4. The units were sorted according to theme. Each

group of themes were reread together and a statement of the "theme of

the theme" was prepared. Redundancies were eliminated, and the themes

were sorted into families of related themes. The units were recorded as a

literal condensation of the participant's report. Due to the nature of the

material, a large number of the statements were at the level which is

usually prereflective.

Step 5. Guided by the families of related themes, a mind map (Buzan, 1976) was made

to enable the researcher to articulate the felt organization of the whole of

the themes. (See Appendix F for copies of the mind maps. ) Using the

mind map, the verbatim transcript, and the list of meaning units, a

synopsis was created which included all the families of thernes. As much

as possible, succinct verbatim statements were used, which would retain the life of the original and express the essence of the theme.

147

Step 6. Verification. The original audio-tape was played again, and then the

synopsis was read to see if the life of the original carried through

into the synopsis and if the synopsis reflected what the researcher

experienced the person to be communicating in the interview. A

few changes were made.

Then the synopsis in semifinal form, a list of as yet unresolved unclarities, and the verbatim transcript were submitted to the participants for them to check whether they felt the synopsis accurately reflected what they experienced when acting Field. The response was different in each case.

M.M. did not wish to reread the original protocol. He made several minor changes in the synopsis, mostly to improve his grammar. The rest were technical points he felt he had not expressed clearly enough. They did not alter the thematic content. At that point, satisfaction with the synopsis was reached by both parties.

Taped telephone interviews were conducted with LG.. and SS., who lived in another geographical area, about the questions that were synopsis, and nothing of the transcript. It was agreed that the synopsis, revised on the basis of the telephone interview, would be submitted to them for final approval. The revised synopses were delivered by the researcher who went over them with the participants in detail. It became clear that S.S. had not carefully read either the transcript or the first synopsis and wished to change several large passages. Her experience had changed, and she felt she had not been refined enough, that her expression was also too colloquial to tell still unresolved. At that point, neither wished to change much of the

148 accurately what she experienced. She also shared additional experiences. The session turned into a two-hour in-depth interview, the key part of which was recorded by hand by both persons. On the basis of that interview, a new synopsis was then made, which satisfied both parties. L.G.'s experience had also changed, broadened and clarified since the initial interview. She felt, however, that the synopsis had reflected accurately her experience at that time. Since her experience changed continually, she could never make a definitive statement and decided to leave it as it stood. The three approved synopses appear in Chapter Four.

Phenomenoloaical Reflection: Reflection should not be confused with speculation: The former stays within the confines of the given, thoughtfully penetrates it and comes up with a deeper understanding; whereas the latter takes off from the given and considers numerous possibilities. In this view, method in psychology is a movement from one type of language, naive everyday language, to another type, which is psychological language: a second order expression mediated by reflection. (Giorgi, 1973, p. 6)

The phenomenological reflection was done in the following four steps. Step 1. A revised list of themes was made on the basis of the approved synopses of all participants' experience. The three synopses were read in one sitting, and the lists of themes contemplated in order to allow significant meta-themes to emerge. The meta-themes might be considered prereflection although the participants were aware of many of them. The nature of acting Field apparently facilitates awareness on a

149 prereflective level in this case, superaccnscious rather than subconscious. A master list meta-themes was developed which included significant subthemes from each of the three participants. No theme was included unless it appeared as a subtheme in all three synopses. The goal was to pick out what really mattered to these people about the experience, as seen through the contact with this researcher. Thirty-four meta-themes were selected which represented the collective experience of acting Field at that time.

Step 2. The meta-themes were, in turn contemplated and

interrogated with the question: Is there a natural whole? Sets of paradoxes began tc emerge. The researcher was guided at this point by the phenomenological rule that one must be true to the phenomenon as experienced by the observer in a specific space-time context even if it contradicts both the logic and past accepted theory. She was reminded of a statement by Zukov (1979) when writing about the significance of contemporary physics.

The extraordinary importance of the Copenhagen Interpretation lies in the fact that for the first time, scientists attempting to formulate a consistent physics were forced by their own findings to acknowledge that a complete understanding of reality lies beyond the capabilities of rational thought. (p. 63)

pattern through which these meta-themes express a

150

She was also reminded of the studies earlier in phenomenological research by

Merleau-Ponty. Giorgi (1970a) describes the quality well:

... by adopting a descriptive approach, MterleauPonty unveils behavior as the ambiguous phenomenon that it is, and he implicitly challenges the criteria to full clarity that we have been taught to expect about phenomena. (p. 183)

Once the meta-themes were organized in terms of paradoxes, it became clear that

some of the paradoxes could be dissolved by looking at them another way. The

researcher becan to wonder if the paradoxical quality had been superimposed by

her mind.

Shortly after this period, her participation in Field activity deepened and altered

appreciably. On returning to the data, the paradoxical patterns were

no longer apparent. The significance of several of the meta-themes changed and

were reformulated more clearly using the same quotations. Again, the data were

interrogated regarding the possibilities of a natural pattern. What struck the

researcher was that

this was one simple way of being-in-the-world. All the descriptions

were attempts to verbalize how that

plays cut. The data was not linear, and any presentation that was linear would

necessarily be an arbitrary order. The order didn't matter very much. The three

research questions blended together in such a way that the results from each could

not be separated. For example, how one worked with others

151

and self were similar if not identical. Therefore, the data were organized

in a way which lead the reader into the experience, and then rounded it

out.

Step 3. A summary was created from the meta-themes documented in Step 2 (a

summary of summaries). In keeping with the facts that the data presented

no particular order of their own, the summary was

meta-themes. The composite picture was developed in terms of the

background of literature surveyed in Chapter 2, in order to produce a

larger integration and perspective on acting Field.

Step 4. Finally, the lists of meta-themes with their representative quotations and the

summary were sent to the participants for corroboration. They were asked

to verify whether their words had been correctly represented by the meta-

theme and whether the summary was an accurate (though limited)

description of their verbalized experience at that time. They concurred with

the results, though pointing out again that their words could not capture

the fullness of acting Field. At this time, each participant signed and

returned a consent form authorizing use of the synopsis and summary of

their interview in the completed dissertation and any further publications. A

copy of this form can be found in Appendix C.

organized differently than the documentation

152 Methodological Problems in, the Appraisal of Results

The three methodological problems discussed here are problems for the general field of transpersonal psychology. They will, however, be discussed primarily in terms of this study.

Polar Relationship of Objects and Wholes Experimental psychology usually presupposes that empirically discrete sense objects are the basic given, i.e. , fear of snake behavior, Wechsler Intelligence Test results for A. B. , the effects of eye movements on alpha rhythm, or patient C's stomach ulcer. In being precise about this given, the objects are differentially named and operationally defined. If we push beyond the usual level of preciseness and continue to differentiate, smaller and smaller units of meaning are discriminated until one approaches an atomism; often the mind refuses to step beyond this atomism. When the atoms dissolve into more refined levels, it is no longer possible to discriminate sharply between a context and the object. The more precise we are, the more we come to see that we pick out or abstract meaningful operational actions, qualities, or aspects from an experiential whole which includes much more than what is named. Words and objects are abstracted from the whole (Bois, 1978) When this process was studied, gestalt psychologists discovered that object experience was imbedded in a context. Later researchers (Hampton-Turner, 1970; Pearce, 1977) point out that the meaning of an event or object is always in relation to the context or matrix in which it exists. The object, quality, or operation does not make sense

153

except within this context or ground. Before abstraction, the object and ground form a whole.

As Alan Watts (1963) points out, even individual men are an abstraction from a whole; they are made up of cells which are also an abstraction; and these are composed of individual entities called subnuclear particles, which are also an abstraction. Though

Watts doesn't say so, nobody knows for sure if subnuclear particles are objects or just foci of a field, a whole.

One does not usually focus on the field or matrix itself (Combs, 1976). When, as in the example above, one focuses on the precise experience of discrete objects, breaking them down into finer and finer abstractions, the awareness of the interrelatedness of object and ground increases to the point of total integration or synthesis. When one focuses on the whole [and fields are wholes (Mey, 1965) ], the analytical tools necessary for description of objects as objects per se become inoperable. Analysis itself requires differentiation of objects. The limits of this analytical method have been reached. From the analytical position, nothing meaningful can be known about a whole field or ground, only objects within it which can be differentially qualified. The idea of a whole, or a unified Field, itself is not meaningful because nothing can be said about it without focusing on some aspect which can be shown to be different from something, else.

If we pursue precision to its limit, we are left with silence. This is another kind of basic given, perhaps a polar opposite to the discrete object with which this discussion began. Richard Hycner (1976) starts from this given when he says,

The only way to be true to the phenomena is silence. Any conceptualization breaks the wholeness

154 and in some way misrepresents the phenomenon. (1980)

In this researcher's view, this is generally true of human experience, yet if we remain only with the silence, we have no way to communicate our knowing of a whole when we do have a sense of it. In the impulse to communicate our experience, we talk about it, and this requires abstraction and conceptualization of objects, qualities, events, and operations, no matter how global. Phenomenological studies on subjects like wonder

(Hycner, 1976), time (Heidegger, 1963), or empathy (Myers, 1977) have resulted in attempting to retain the interrelatedness of the whole . These studies engender an impulse to be more precise, to quantify and predict on the basis of material abstracted.

This takes the focus back to the objects of empirical psychology.

To recap: If one starts with discrete objects and pursues precision to its limit, the end is a whole about which you can say nothing. If you begin from the whole, and wish knowledge about it, the living wholeness must gradually be misrepresented as objects and ground until one has come full circle and is faced with the discrete date of experimental psychology. Stopping the cycle at any point appears to have no more than arbitrary justification if one desires both wholeness and knowledae.

Rules for Experience Are Different from Rules for Using Concepts

The problem is insoluble as long as we use solely linear tools. Many find experience whole in the first place. If we can allow our verbal, analytical, and emotional process to quiet their propensity to name and compartmentalize, we can live and acknowledge that we live whole. From that silent position, we can then express, even though

155 our expression will be a partial representation. The problem is riot limited to such encompassing experiences as fields. In talking about quantum physical principles, Zukov says: All states of being are indescribable. It is a common misconception (literally) to mistake the description of a state of being for the state itself. For example, try to describe happiness. It is impossible. We can talk around it, we can describe the perspectives and actions that usually accompany a state of happiness, but we cannot describe happiness itself. Happiness and the description of happiness are two different things. Symbols and experience do not follow the same rules. (Zukov, 1979, p. 271)

Martin Buber shows how the differences in rules can be handled in such a way that a mitigated knowledge is possible and yet experience is not violated:

Knowledge: as he beholds what confronts him, its being is disclosed to the knower. What he beheld as present he will have to comprehend as an object, compare with objects, assign a place in an order of objects, and describe and analyze objectively; only as an It can it be absorbed into the store of knowledge. But in the act of beholding it was no thing among things, no event among events: it was present exclusively. It is not in a law that is afterward derived from the appearance, but in the appearance itself that the being communicates itself. . . . In the expression of the law it is locked in the It form of conceptual knowledge. Whoever unlocks it and beholds it again as present, fulfills the meaning of that act of knowledge as something that is actual and active between men.

But knowledge can also be pursued by stating "so that is how matters stand; that is the name of the thing; that is how it is constituted; that is where it belongs. 11 What has become an It, is then taken as an It, experienced and used as an It, employed along with other things for the project of finding one's way in the world, and eventually for the project of "cer.guering" the world. (Buber, 1970, pp. 90-91)

If we respect the differences between the rules for symbols and the rules for experience and still wish to express our knowing of encompassing human experience, we must then live what is present

15 6 attentively. If we believe there can be such a thing as temporary, heuristic knowledge of wholeness, we must then abstract from the primary data and conceptualize out of that more limited wholeness. We must focus on the interrelated parts of that whole in order to describe these the best we can, knowing the difference in rules will create a distortion.

We must pick out what we judge is important at the time. We decide; we interpret; we must select (Bois, 1978; Korzybski, 1958; Newsman, 1978). Even our individual languages have built in selection devices by their very structure (Whorf, 1956; Bandler and Grinder, 1975). All description involves these limitations. They present less problems for such items of experience such as cars, vegetables, and elephants than for psychological subjects like happiness (above), insightful experiences (Crisler, 1977), or at-homeness (Buckley, i971).

Most of our vocabularies have originated as an attempt to express the usual sensory experiences. We who speak English tall-, about psychological experiences using terms which were originally sensory terms in the Greek (Sanders, 1967). They, and later the Romans, began to use these sensory terms metaphorically to speak of mental and emotional experiences. The original analogical nature of the words has been lost to us, perhaps through familiarity of usage and familiarity with the "inner life"; we do not think of such words as "cognition" or "theorize" as analogies. In areas where there is yet no standard vocabulary, the analogical nature of the description is more obvious.

This is true today in "states of consciousness" research. Our vocabularies in this area do not yet meet our rising., social needs (Henry Miller, 1941; Green and Green, 1977). As Whorf has shown,

15 7 when new group needs arise, new linguistic systems of communication are worked out

(Whorf, 1956). Psychology is beginning to develop a vocabulary to talk about states of consciousness under the rubric of transpersonal psychology. The most difficult states of consciousness to symbolize linguistically seem to be those subtle and encompassing states which appear relatively formless to the consciousness. These general modes of consciousness usually function as ground rather than figure. In the attempts that have been made to symbolize encompassing states, difficulties abound for both the writer and the reader; for example, in Martin Heidegger's

Being and Time (1963), notorious for its stretching of words. Rudolph Otto's Idea of the

Holy (1960) and Martin Buber's I and Thou (1970) are other classical examples of phenomenological descriptions which have great impact just because they attempt to bring to the foreground that which had previously functioned as context. Not only do new analogies have to be made from existing vocabularies, but one must be particularly cognizant of the difference between the experience itself and the description. In the area of formless states, it is particularly easy to confuse the idea of the experience with the experience itself. For this reason, in mystical traditions there are many warnings against describing, as was shown in the literature review. Some researchers think communication of these subtle states impossible. Muller (1978) has developed a communication technique of radiating the quality being described while speaking the words. Ordinary and metaphorical vocabulary are chosen which fit the experience as closely as possible while one is living and radiating the quality of which one is speaking. The words are "backed" by a

15 8 demonstration of what one desires to express. Others, trained in this communication system, can follow the living, even though the vocabulary may be somewhat misleading, by putting their attention more or, the quality expressed than on the words. To a greater extent, the quality will carry even through writing. In this way, the seeming ineffability of these encompassing states can be bypassed. This, of course, presumes that the perceptive abilities of the listener or reader are refined to the degree necessary for the subject at hand. If that requirement is met, the method of communication can be used for all field descriptions.

There is, however, a special difficulty with descriptions of acting Field; there is a necessity of making a pseudo-object of acting by naming it. Even though this process of symbolizing movement is misleading, historically it has produced important changes in our ways of being involved in the world. Hegel successfully conceptualized historical movement by the concept of progress. Whitehead did the same with Process philosophy. The concept of force in physics is a useful reverse analogy from the experience of human will (Jammer, 1974). These concepts have been important in the development of human consciousness. Acting Field may also have its importance in changing how we are involved in the world. At the same time, it is imperative to recognize that words or concepts in this case, at least, are used as tools, not objects

(Wittgenstein, 1953). This is especially true of conceptualized acts. To know an act, one has to act, not look at a concept of acting or think of acting. As Buber reminds us, we must be cautious to use descriptions as heuristic devices only. Those describing a presence acting from Field do so out of the living, and

15 9

thus attempt to express, using words as tools to facilitate communication of a formless activity. Even though temporarily "Iocked in the !T," to use Buber's terms, there is a disservice done to that active living if we take the description as an it, and use it for doing other things, i.e., for thinking one knows about what is being described and using it, rather than unlocking the description and beholding the activity again as a functioning present.

From an analytic view, there can be no descriptions of implicate order experiential Field However, one is not limited to the analyticnominalistic mode of thought. Meaningful descriptions of encompassing Field can be made if one does not violate the differences between rules of symbolism and rules of experience. The experience can be carried through the symbolism if both listener and speaker are properly trained and attentive.

Deep Conceptual Understand is Dependent

on Adequate Personal Training

This is a methodological issue of general concern in transpersonal psychology.

It is discussed at length by 'Walsh, Elgin, Vaughan, and Wilber (in Walsh and Vaughan,

1980) in an introductory text to the field. They note two philosophical issues which are relevant here.

The first is adequatio (adequateness) which states that the understanding of the knower must be adequate to the thing to be known (Schumacher, 1977). Closely related is the concept of "grades of significance." The same phenomenon may hold entirely different grades of meaning and significance to different observers with different degrees of adequatio. Thus, for an animal, a particular phenomenon may be merely a colored object (which it is), to a savage it may represent only marked paper (which it is). For the average educated adult it may be a book (which again it is) that makes patently ridiculous claims about the nature of the world, while

160 for the physicist it is a brilliant treatise on relativity, revealing new insights and depths to reality. In each case the phenomenon remained the same, but its level of meaning and significance was a function of the capacity and training (adequatio) of the observer. The facts themselves do not carry labels indicating the appropriate level at which they ought to be considered. Nor does the choice of an inadequate level lead to factual error or logical contradiction. All levels of significance up to the highest are equally factual, equally logical, equally objective. The observer who is not adequate to the higher levels of significance will not know that they are being missed. (Schumacher, 1977, p. 45)

As discussed in the literature search, "grades of significance" have been researched in Conceptual psychology and found to be operable rather generally. The example given was a study on the game of chess. The principle applies also to consciousness research: that only through personal training does the average person become adequate to the knowledge that is of concern in this discipline.

This claim then, is no different in principle than the claim that scientific research is best judged by those with appropriate scientific training, only the type of training is different. (Walsh, Elgin, Vaughan, and Wilber in Walsh and Vaughan, 1980, p. 45)

This researcher has been asked what the value of doing this research is, if it can only be judged by those with adequate experience. Number one, it can be of value to those who do have the requisite experience. Number two, it can be used by those who [lave different specialities within transpersonal psychology, but who may not have the expertise to evaluate its finer peints. This is like the use of principles of chemistry in the field of biology. Like research in chemistry, research in a specialized area of transpersonal psychology may be useful in many practical ways to those outside transpersonal psychology, even though those using the results may not have the requisite training to evaluate the entire research project.

161 Reliability

Reliability in statistical empirical research is generally defined as the consistency of a test. The question is asked, "Will it give the same results in different contexts?" In phenomenological research with human subjects, one does not expect the phenomena to be duplicated identically (even if that were possible). As Zucher (1982) points out,

It is assumed that the thematic elements which emerge from other researchers' approaches to the same phenomenon will bear a kinship to one another. The clear delineation of methods and presuppositions is therefore essential to maintaining continuity of different phenomenological approaches to the same phenomenon. (p. 44)

In phenomenological research, the point is not to repeat the experiment exactly, but to bring into bolder relief little investigated phenomer:a. The research might then become the basis for formulation of statistical research designs. Although there is no measure of reliability established in phenomenological research, the corroboration of a significant number of findings with the phenomenological research done by Myers (1977) on empathy and by Hycner (1976) on wonder and by Maslow (1964) on peak experiences indicate some degree of reliability.

Validity

Validity in phenomenological research is meant to

be the extent to which the themes presented are an accurate reflection of the experiences of the participants involved. (Orenstein, 1980, p. 43)

The effect of expectation and belief on descriptions limit the validity of phenomenology itself. The degree of conviction which accompanies an experience or belief is not necessarily a guide to its validity ('Walsh, 1978b, p. 16). This is not only true of phenomenology, but of

1 6 2 any scientific enterprise at the level of its basic formulation. Theories can only be falsified, never proved. There is no foolproof criteria for validity of any "higher" human experience.

Limited validity can, however, be established by a close agreement between the experience of the participant and the results of the phenomenological reduction and reflection. Both the synopsis of the interview and the general summary were sent to the participants who were asked to comment on how well the results reflected their experiences. The fact that the participants concurred easily with the statements points to the accuracy of the results. There was, however, a general agreement that the results did not reflect the fullness of the experience or what made it effective. That seems to be beyond both language and the method of research. The summary was given to several others who act Fieldwise at least to some extent, all of whom felt the themes represented their experience, insofar as it could be described. Each pointed out other themes which they felt should also be included. This is an indication that a larger sample needs to be interviewed for a more complete description.

Significance

In phenomenology, there is no standard procedure for establishing whether the findings are due to some random variation in the data being used. The fact that others who act Fieldwise, reading the summary results recognized the elements of their own experience, is some indication that the themes have more than a chance relation to each other.

163

The additional fact that over half of the meta-themes were familiar from the literature of transpersonal psychology and both Eastern and Western mystical traditions, indicates a higher than chance significance of those findings. The other meta-themes appear to be new phenomena.

No phenomena which appears to be new can be handled by standard measurement methods. General Systems theorist Magoroh Maruyama (1980) discusses the theoretical implications of conceptualizing heterogeneity for general systems research.

• Assumption of Normal Distribution is often used in order to "simplify" [biological and social processes]. Also the assumption enables the researcher to ignore the nature of variables. . . . Variations become expected accidents and abnormalities which need no explanation nor play any important role.

On the other hand, independent-event models ... are merely the other side of the coin. ... The studies of individual differences usually end up making category groups within which there is a mean and a Standard Deviation. (p. 191 )

General systems research is attempting to include heterogeneity per se, through the development of morphogenic causal loop models. "There is a generation of patterns of mutually beneficial relations among heterogeneous elements which raises the level of the sophistication of the system" (Maruyama, 1980, p. 190). When studying new phenomena, statistical significance is irrelevant. The point is, that it is a variation and that variation may raise the level of sophistication of the system.

Chapter 4

RESULTS

Introduction

The purpose of this chapter is to present the results of this research. The presentation will be divided into two sections.

The idiographic aspects of the research will be presented through three synopses of interviews with people who act Fieldwise at least part of the time. Each of them has professional training in psychology as well. The individual interviews are included because the way a phenomena manifests in the context of a specific life sheds light on its nature. The individual expression is as important as the generalization.

The nomethetic aspects of the research will be presented as a master list and a summary of metathemes which appear as subthemes in all three synopses. The goal was to pick out what really mattered about the experience to all three people. In reflecting on the metathemes which were presented by the material, it became evident that they must be organized in some fashion. The discussion of this process appears in

Chapter Three. The final overall impression (which will be presented here) is that all the metathemes are attempts to verbalize one unitary way of being-in-the-world, as it plays out in different space/time aspects. Any way of organizing them linearly is arbitrary because the data are not linear, but a whole. Consequently, the items are numbered rather than titled. 164

165 The purpose of the summary which completes this chapter is to reconstruct the phenomena as a whole, and in effect, give a summary of the summaries. It does not imply that all possible characteristics of acting Field have been included, only those discussed by the participants at the time interviewed.

Section 1

The taped interviews from the three participants were reduced by means of the phenomenological reduction method outlined in Chapter 3. The reduced data was presented to each participant to be sure the synopsis reflected their experience of acting Field as well as they could express it at that time. A short biographical statement precedes the approved synopses as they appear in this section. They represent the idiographic (individualized) expression of acting Field. When read evident. There is such a great number of differences that the researcher will not comment on them, but let each expression speak for itself. The bracketed numbers in the text are references to metathemes in Section 2 indicating that the material immediately preceding the brackets was used to explicate a particular metatheme.

Participant L.G. Ever since she knew about the word "psychology" and what it meant, L.G. has been interested in it. She has been a psychologist most of her life. She was the one her teenage friends used to call up and say, "What'll I do about this," and "Oh, I feel so terrible." She

together at one sitting, the differences of expression become very

16 6 figured she'd better get trained because she was just running instinctively.

Psychology was her undergraduate major, and she has been a licensed

Marriage and Family Therapist since 1974. She received a Ph.D. in Psychology in

June, 1981. She and another MFCC have a Television series on infant and child care in the Los Angeles area. She has two children of her own.

L.G. has been working in an ontology group with Martin Muller since 1975.

Contrast between previous experience and living field. Before 1974 or 5, 1 walked around completely oblivious of this particular set of things. Then I sat in class with M. for years without having any kind of feeling other than being a sponge. I appreciated what was going on, and I felt an action with the music. Cut as far as being a participant, forget it. Then I had my first experience of beyond whatever it is that I knew before. My experience was so very different from that time, that I say I went from sleep to waking up. It was a jolt and very surprising [5.2].

Field is radiant or radiation. There is a direct experienceawareness that I am not just "skin-in." The skin used to be the edge of what I considered me. Now I know that's not so. I know there is something beyond that, that's still me. When I am not connected to the field, it feels very close around me [2.1 ], not very radiant. Radiating begins as a tension and feels skin-in at first. As it expresses, it becomes all- encompassing through me, around me, from me ??? When

167

I'm consciously working (or sometimes it works by itself) it feels more alive, or fuller or larger. When I live field-A1 and my mind isn't working, there is a radiation that comes through me. Actually, it looks like the whole world is a giant radiation, me included

[5.3]. The barrier is gone that is usually there when I live skin-in or from my mind which stops that action from happening. The radiation includes the body; it includes everything. It's around and through [7.3]. There is a direct experience of connecting that is, among other things, sensory.

Field-A. When my intention is to do that, the sensation is that there's a physical sensation at the top of my head, almost like a tingle, and there's an openness or an awareness (hands are out at the sides of the head) of being skin-out. I see from a higher place. If something very stressful is going on, the activity that goes on in the solar plexus stops and becomes more heart centered. The movement of energy shifts from absorption to radiation.

Movement to field-A is a nonmind intention. One doesn't do it by thinking yourself field-A. It's not a mind thing [6.31. It's not an emotional thing [7.3]. It's an intention. I don't know how to say it better than that. It comes from whatever it is that is not my mind that still operates when my mind is doing something different. It is a connection with the Field, allowing the Field to work through me instead of trying to grab something [1.21. The first time it happened was

lln field-A, the locus of awareness is shifted to the Field with a focus through a point localized in the top of the head designated as "A". See also footnote 2 on centers.

16 8 when I gave my mind a song to sing or something else to do. The natural impulse that was a part of me could participate in the way it knew how to participate. It goes on independent of brain activity (1.2;

6.3; ?.3J.

The brain and the Field operate independently. I can run the brain without the field. And I can run the brain in the field. Then the field can run itself without the brain.

I don't get a whole lot of times where the field is without the brain except in the

group with the music going on [8.2]. Now the brain is bored and it's just off someplace else.

In the beginning, there was an efforting, a trying to make all the pieces of information, or bits of experience, that I had fit. It was in my mind that there had to be a magic combination of fit so that "it would work," whatever that meant to me. Since I didn't know, my mind was having a wonderful time doing that and not getting any place. I have a very clever mind. Now f know its a getting out of the way. I figured out it wasn't a doing. I had to give my mind something else to do so that the natural impulse that was a part of me could participate in the way it knew how to participate [1.3;. In the beginning, the hard part was dropping all the stuff that I usually use to control my world. It was a very conscious dropping. It wasn't an accident. I can repeat it. Living the field without the

brain had a trueness, a wholeness that simply wasn't present before [8.2]. 1 was "one with." I was (stretching arms way out to sides). It was allowing the Field to work through me instead of trying to grab something [1.3; 6.3]. It was very simple. Instead of my mind trying to figure out things, I was whole. Now the mind is just quiet at those times. It has no collection function. An

169 experience is an experience. The only thing I remember when I have been sitting with

the music is that I have been sitting with the music, very alive [8.1; 8.21. It is the simplest thing I'd ever ..

There are other times that I listen with my mind and am also out in the Field because there is some information that can be passed. Information is passed better both field and mind. The mind accesses information. It collects but there is no judgment quality. I can talk (9.3; 9.4]. When I do my work in my office and I'm a therapist, much of the time it's field-A with the mind. When it feels appropriate, the mind is not there.

There are other things that seem too hard to be Field with. They are just mind.

Sometimes I am at a party and people have been drinking a lot and it's just real hard to be Field. Part of it is, I feel like I'm getting drunk by being "out." I am there with my mind, you know to be entertaining, to be entertained. It's a mental function. The mind assesses; it pidginholes; it judges. It forms impressions and stores for new combinations

- especially storage [8.11.

Experience of Field without brain. This sound's so corny. I

feel lit. It's like being a giant Christmas tree or something [5.3]. I feel lit. I feel as alive as I ever feel. I am active. When I say "active," I mean present: a full aliveness [5.2]. It's timeless [8.3] and there is a vague sense of tuning going on. Before that, I may have come from scatteredness. It's like all of my cells are facing twelve different directions.

Then I sit down to work, or we are in the group, and I can tune a certain amount of that - align it. When the music is on and h1. does it with us, he tunes a whole bunch of stuff

170 that I have no way of getting to. It's like turning a radio onto a station.

Field as (metaphorically) changing sizes. When I really connect with field-A, I have a sense of being taller than I am. It feels like a more subtle, almost physical body, but not physical at all. It is an envelope. It's not the etheric or mental bodies. I am looking out of my eyes from a higher place, whatever that means to me. It's where I am accessing the vision from. It's not necessarily related to what is going on outside. There is a distinct awareness that I have changed my mode of thinking of myself from skin-in to out (with her hands in the air around her head). It includes the whole thing. When I live skin-in, the old position I used to do all the time and don't do much any more, I feel smaller [2.1]. As a physical experience, when I am living field-A and stand up, I feel taller than my usual skin-in position. At the same time, I feel the field is more active or larger, but that is not quite accurate. When I work with someone, sometimes the Field gets yardstick and say, when they come in they are two feet wide and when they leave they are four feet. It's a metaphor, but it's fairly concrete in terms of my experience. They do change perceptibly. The change in size is accompanied by a very apparent change in their ability to look at what they are dealing with.

To live Field is an objective position. To live Field and to be from that in one's daily life gives an objective position that assists in being centered within the situation that you face so that the hysteria bigger. When I say "bigger" it's a metaphor. I wouldn't use a

17 1 that usually prompts people to come into therapy becomes not a part of what is going on. You get to watch the things that are happening and relate to them in a joined manner that's not so upsetting. It's clearer, more objective.

Difficult to express in words. It's always a chore to try to explain to people who have never seen us before what it's all about. S.S. calls it conscious empathy. I don't have a word for it. First of all, there is no way to describe what is going on in words; the words are always smaller right away [10.11. It's true of your description of "being in." As I read that, that seems smaller than what is going on. It's a direct experience, and it's different every time. But it's enough the same so that I know what it is [6.41.

Sees fields around other people. It's something I see around other people.

There are two kinds. One is sparkley and one is steady [ 9.1 ]. They look different. The steady one is almost like a pavement which is hot and there's moisture on it, and there's a kind of shimmer stuff going on. The sparkley one has more (moves hands back and forth rapidly, pronating and supinating wrists) .., sparkles. There are people who vary. It's either turned off or turned down, or they're not connected with it. I can tell by an almost sensory (you know, five senses) kind of experience [9.1]. Sometimes it's visual, in terms of seeing that kind of radiation. It's alive. There are people who one sees who feel very.

~ dead, or dull. Many have a steady emanation. There aren't too many people who are sparkley. It's more present the more people work along the lines !vi, suggests, or along whatever lines they can figure out. Since my perception of people is better, I see

17 2 more [9.1 ]. Occasionally, I see one as active out on the street, or nearly as active, as some of the people who work with i0. But generally, no.

Feels fields tactually. Sometimes, if I happen to walk past one of those with a particularly strong field, I feel it. I feel it tactually, kind of like walking through a warm fog. I don't smell it; I don't taste it; I don't hear it.

Field spoken of is not the aura or psychic phenomena. It's not the aura. It's not colored to me anyway [9.2]. It's my experience that I don't have any experience with being a psychic. It's not something I do, but it seems like a different set of skills or talents. I don't know exactly how it is different because f don't do it. But I have watched

SS. have both abilities. I have watched one leave and the other one come in. When she was very psychic, she was able to say whole bunches of interesting things, detail, wise, about people. Very impressive. She could understand that this and that created this. And as that left, there was a more universal quality. There was not so much attention to the details, a shift to the action: how one could use it to move through so there was a kind of resolution that happened [9.2]. In this second position, there is more of a participation. It has nothing to do with being a channel or receiving like that. something I participate in in group, and sometimes when I am by myself. I call on my group in my work when I am "alone" [4.5b] because I don't feel I am really alone. When I let myself tune in to what is, there is a sense of company, of presence [4.5a], or other

Does not feel alone when by herself.

Acting from Field is

17 3 presences. When I am running around like an idiot, shopping and cooking like I was yesterday, I am alone. Period [4.1].

No separation from things. In field-A, when I look from a higher place, the normal separation of being at things (being in reaction to things) leaves and there is a with that. At the same time, I feel the Field is more active, and there's no separation from things so it doesn't even matter [4.6]. There is a division. I mean, I still know I'm not the chair, but that knowing is a brain kind of thing. But the experience is joined. It's not a brain kind of knowing [4.1 ]. It feels like there is a joined knowing and a learned separation [2.2; 4.1 ].

In my first experience, MI. asked me to come up and put my hand on his. There was a sensory feeling, of having the energy from the Field and beyond coming through and out of my hand, to join his hand. It definitely was an energy.

It was even visible, because the boundary between his hand and my hand left and there was a kind of joining cellularly. The skin had boundaries, but the usual boundaries one sees around the fingers weren't there. It was a very subtle kind of difference, but it was real. On the level of visual real, it was real.

Nonseparation from a client. Later, a client came to me who was as scattered as I have ever seen a person. And that was a visual, sensual experience that I had nothing to compare with, because I had never seen anything quite like it. I was getting, nowhere with the tools I had from the old bag. I thought to myself, "Listen, you only have an hour; why don't you try something different." So, I dropped everything I knew and went to field-A. The first thing was a reception by my body of her physical state. I was having the direct

174 experience in my body of something chemical, and that was what I was knowing at the same time. I kept saying to her, "Have you taken any drugs?" [4.4] What it was, was that she was a very drug sensitive person, had been at the dentist earlier in the morning and had had an incredible amount of tooth work and God knows how many shots of Novocain, which had made her totally haywire on the physiological level and on the psychological level she was feeling crazy. It started an hour after she left the dentist. I sat her in a straight-backed chair and said to her, "This is art experiment. Would you be at the top of your head, close your eyes, and I'd like you to be quiet for a few minutes." Then I did the best I could with field-A, with as much as I could manage. And I watched her scatteredness just get kind of real calm. And about five minutes later, she opened her eyes and said, "What have you been doing?" And I said, "It's a process I know. Why?" And she said, "Well, I feel about 200% better" [7.2].

Then I tried an experiment with her putting her own hands on different centers 2 to see which one worked best for her to keep that happening for her. This center was terrible; this one was great, etc. 1 said, "Why don't you try this" (one hand on the heart above the middle of the ribcage and one hand on the top of the head just in front of the midline). And she said, "Oh, that feels real good." I said, "Call me tomorrow, and every time you feel like you're going off again

2Nine centers of awareness are located in well-defined zones in each person. Each has its own general radiation. Not to be confused with the chakras. For description and location of A, U, and 1% ,11, see Muller (1978), pages 118-151.

17 5 put your hands there." She had to do that for about three days until that stuff got out of her body [6.5].

The nonseparation is not like psychosis. In my ordinary day, I live field-A when it's possible, when I remember. Lots of times there's no separation. I've seen crazy people, and they are nonfunctional in their position in the world. That's not the position I live. I am a mother and a wife and a therapist, and I live in the world in a very functional manner [3.1].

Initially, clients experienced in one of two positions. When a person comes in, they usually have one of two positions they take when they are dealing with another person. One is at the other person where they want to analyze the person or that kind of thing. The other way, they are in reaction to and they hate this; they love that; this is wonderful; this is terrible. There is a very large defensive reaction.

Therapy changes the other position to a with. As one connects the Field more, lives that more, there is a with that happens instead of an at or reaction to. The information is there, the words are there, There is an objective dealing with whatever needs to be dealt with

3.11. This cannot happen in the at or reaction to positions.

What happens when I am field-A with clients, there is more of a directness about the appropriate thing to say to help them see more clearly their situation, and to take a different position [3.?.;. They can, on occasion, find their own answers in the clearness of the space that's created by me. When I start to work Fieldwise, it is as if the but they are not hysterical. It eliminates the hysteria,

basically.

17 6 field expands and joins the other field and they join what is there. A fullness and aliveness is more present in the room [3.2]. If they are receptive to what is going on in the room, then they start picking up what is going on, too. There is a response in them. I see it in their behavior. It's the difference between being dead and narrow and being out and alive [10.3].

Sometimes, when a client comes in in their ordinary state and is not working fieldwise, there is a narrowness about them, in terms of their orientation [7.1]. It almost seems sensory. As we work, the feeling in the room shifts, and they occupy more space.

It feels like a physical presence. And also their processes of dealing with whatever they are trying to deal with get wider [7.1]. Sometimes, I don't even have to say anything and they make connections that come from the combination of them getting wider, joining whatever is in the room, participating with me, and me participating with them [10.2].

Often, the resolution happens within the coming together of the two people sitting there [3.2]. It's knowing how to proceed, how to be, what position to take. Often, I just sit there, field-A, and let them talk, and a knowing just happens. I say I get it from

Left Field [8.4] . (That's my joke for people who don't know what I'm talking about. They think I'm talking about baseball.)

From Field is different from ordinary insight therapy. It isn't insight, it's outsight.

Insight is going in, and recombining and acknowledging whole bunches of things. The other is like going outside. It's a huge shift in position of personal relation [6.11. inside is like taking just a little teeny step.

The

17 7

Different from Rational Emotive Therapy. I know how to do

Rational Emotive Therapy. The rational emotive mind stuff is still very personal. It does not include anything larger. And it is still very much self-serving. When I go field-A, there is more included in that.

It's more valuable to more people than just myself. It's not how to save my hide or how to come out winning. When I'm inside, when I am in my solar plexus, I'm skin-in. I don't include more. sometimes, it does include more people, but from the skin-in position, I am just saving my own face. When I go out, it's clearer. It's being in what would serve the most in the situation with all the people included, and whatever else seems appropriate in that space [5.11. It's beyond humanistic. It's serving life rather than serving myself

[4.2].

Effect of working on own self is a joining with. When I'm upset, I am usually in my solar plexus. It's a physiological feeling in my stomach. There are no solutions from that place, and I know that. I know that If I remember to live field-A, everything simplifies, and I know what to do rather than having to try to figure it out [6.11.

One Saturday, I had to work with a group of new people where a group had lived an especially full, concrete Field life the night before. Vie had been to the grocery, and I left my children off with the groceries on the way. They were supposed to put them away. We had all kinds of perishables. The living from the night before carried all the way through my meeting with these new people. When I walked in the house after the meeting, I was very with. There was just no separation. I walked in and saw the groceries. I had them come down to the kitchen and said, "You really need to look at how you are relating. That's not very aware of you not to take care of this [6.2].

17 8

I'd like you to go up to your rooms and just consider what it is that's going on." It was all very even. There was no hysteria.

I put away the groceries, and we had a wonderful talk about being in a house in a more conscious manner. That's a whole lot better than what I have seen myself do in the past, which is get in their scene and just screaming and making them feel terrible.

They don't learn anything from that. They learned a great deal from the other. The with had to do with understanding, knowing the most appropriate way to proceed that would create the best kind of results [6.2]. That was a joining process not a screaming at and having them not get what it was - other than their mother was hysterical.

Sense of being a sample of humanity. I have a real sense of being one of a sample. What I do serves my sample - those who function like I do. There are other people like me out there, working on the same things I am, and when I figure out how to do it in a more clear manner, there is somehow a helping of them going on. I have a sense it's not just on a direct contact level, like teaching them, but the sense is not clear

[4.3]. When there is nothing else to keep going on for, that will do it.

Participant S.S.

S. S. lives in Los Angeles. She was a teacher for seven years in the Los

Angeles City Schools. She was a teacher, school psychologist, a mental health consultant; and now is a psychologist in private practice for the past thirteen years. She has been a student of and worked with Martin Muller for eight years and trying to blend the two.

179 S.S. received her PhD from International College in 1981 and is currently diagnosing learning styles, problems and strengths from voice analysis alone. As reported in Brain/Mind Bulletin, January 25, 1982, and Leading Edge, February 22, .1982, she can diagnose the individual orientations of seventy students or workers in one day, prescribing the instructional methods and learning and working environments most effective for each. She has three adult children. Personal empathy. Personal empathy is subjective empathy. One can absorb the other person, often in one's body [5.1]. That often can be very disturbing to the person who is empathetic (depending on what is absorbed from the other). Being "in" is very limited. I feel tiny. It does feel awful sometimes. See, if I go inside you (from my inside to your inside), oh, I feel things. I can communicate from my limited inside to your limited inside [4.1 ] . In relation to absorption, it would be the usual position of empathy, i.e., passive [5.1].

Radiating empathy. In the radiating position, I have to "come out." The whole person is radiating, not just a part [5.11. One may be aware, let's say, of the subjective feeling of sadness, but one doesn't feel sad himself. He may know the inside is sad and depressed, but when radiating actively out with a person, the client may have a kind of directivity and radiance that can be shocking to both the client and the examiner. One radiates to the other what is needed [3.2] . If the client is depressed, one radiates joy, etc. I

There's lots of stuff there [8.2). It's more emotional:

the old way.

180 usually work from a specific center; J but primarily, it's an experience that's hologramic. In the first place, it's whole, and in the second place with a center. Actually, you don't radiate to the other so much as you radiate with the other.

There is a nature side and a spirit side. In the usual position of empathy, people are more on the nature side. I mean, it is personal empathy, a more subjective empathy. One can absorb the other person. The other way of empathy is more spirit related, which is a radiating position. It is a more directed attunement. The directivity comes from outside the person. It uses the person for it's expression [1.2]. It works spontaneously.

On being present. The transpersonal is present, much more present than the more familiar references of mental-emotional-sensory. The latter are not quite to the point [2.2]. They are in the second place beyond the core, but not very far beyond. The transpersonal feels so present. It feels absolutely not beyond. It's hard to express because the come from beyond. Being present doesn't have parameters. It's unbounded, free; there's an openness. You can breathe [2.1; 5.2). There's an eternal quality in it [8.3]. One requirement is for the participant to empty. It's as if one were to be cleansed, to let go of past referencing, to risk being present in the moment, to move from one direct experience to another [8.3].

word "transpersonal" feels like it might

3See footnote 2 in this chapter and Muller (1978).

18 1

On participation. I don't feel being, absorbed by the Field, but rather a participation with. It is the opposite of absorption. It's a radiation. Participation is a with that is a spontaneous, direct movement out with another.

Doesn't see auras. I don't see auras. I'm talking about emotions, i.e., moody, when I say astral. I was told that I was clairvoyant and clairaudient. If I was both clairvoyant and clairaudient, what I experienced was a kind of intuitive correlation. I intuitionally. Now I think the intuition is somewhat more refined,

1. The content is less substantial or personally

referenced;

2. The past is not the point;

3. There is a capacity to pin-point much more specifically what is

needed in the moment rather than an interest ing psychic fact;

4. The focus is in the action needed in the moment [9.2]. probably not synonymous; but, when I was first talking, I used them that way: soul to mean Field and Field to mean soul and both of them to mean transpersonal. I was not distinguishing that. I see a difference now. When I talk about types of clients I work with,

I think I am talking about soul. I've changed as I've gone through this.

Field registers as consciousness of soul. One of the ways it registers with me has to do with the consciousness of soul. Like with

did not see and hear in a phenomenological way. I just knew

perhaps "higher." The differences between then and now seem to be:

Use of the words "field" and "soul". 18 2 you, I experience that there is an active soul. How I know that, I can't say, except there's something else there. 1', is invisible, but it's totally present. And I can contrast that with somebody else where it's just not there. I can say G. is gigantic, and it's not your body, which is tiny. Soul is big. It goes way beyond our bodies. There's no end to it. It's like we could be sitting anywhere in space somewhere. It's not bound by anything.

I'd like to bring in living models to a university class, one group where it's there and one group where it is not there and say, "Can you sense anything different between this group and this group?" I can't believe people can't see/sense this, but maybe they can't.

I have to see that.

In the Field, she is not aware of her body. I am not aware of my body at all. The

Field involves everything (the room, the tape recorder, the questioner, etc.). It involves everything and (it's so difficult), yet it involves nothing [4.6]. I sound like a Zen Buddhist. I don't mean to be difficult. I feel connected to my body holistically, not in aspects [4.6]. I feel present. I can't say I feel a lot of energy in the different parts of my body (points to parts), but if you ask me to focus on a certain place, I'll do that for you. So I would say the reason I know I am in my body is that I feel present. I don't feel beyond anywhere. I am very much here with you. That's the only way that I know that my body is here. I know it's very different with L., whose body is involved. I would say her connection to the sensory world is much more apparent to her than mine. I don't have that gift, you might say.

Field expression is not from the subconscious. I think the fact that I can express to you in this way shows that the Field life is not

183 the prerational primitive consciousness. There is a consciousness involved. This, I assume, was not there in the primitive. There are two things at play when I am talking.

One, there is an unconscious function working. Either the subconscious or superconscious can talk to you through a conscious structure. (I hope it's the superconscious! ) The consciousness is a support [9.31.

I think this material is from the superconscious because it is impersonal, more objective, more clear. It doesn't destroy the person. You know, some of those urges that come up from the unconscious can be overwhelming. They are like tidal waves. This

(the Field) is very helpful. It is very positive. I am not even talking about the use of the word to mean positive-spirit. It is positive in the sense that it is objective, clear, impersonal, open, new, fresh (3.1; 5.2].

The Field is objective rather than subjective. When I use the word objective, I don't mean sensory phenomena that is completely open to verification by anyone. What I mean is that it doesn't use the mental, emotional., and sensory worlds for its base. It uses them as supports [7.3]. But it doesn't use them primarily - in the first place [7.3]. I know it's not enclosed in the subjective because it works with other people.

You know it has some objectivity because when you play it with the other instrument

(with the other person), it seems to work. This means the other person responds. There is an echo in the other person [1C.3]. The echo may not include the verbal at all. You know it because of that echo. You wouldn't know it otherwise. Otherwise, you do it by yourself subjectively.

Echo signaling objectivity occurs in two ways. There are tv-x kinds of echo. In one way, there is a response from the Field that is

I 1 8 4 apparent. It's a wholistic experience so you might say it's seen, heard, felt, experienced all at once [10.3]. There may or may not be the concomitant words to go with it.

Sometimes the words are poor. But if you keep talking to the person, the words begin to match the fact that the field is "echoing."

In the other way, sometimes I sense that the Field is not responding, but I have a sense that there is a response and that the them a bit, they begin to live what they are saying in a more real way and then the Field responds. In another instance, you may ask somebody to share an experience that they think was in some way Field related, and they shared; but, the Field is not showing. If you ask them to do it again more truly, sometimes the Field will be there. In the first case, they may have just repeated the experience verbally, while in the second, they were living again as they told it. In living it again, the Field will respond. The experience of "something else" - love current. It's hard to tell what it is that "comes out" when I register "outside." I can tell you what it's not. I have no judgments, and I feel quite empty. There are no references [4.1; 10.11. It's a love current. There's a kind of love that is not personal that goes out. With it goes a deep appreciation for the human condition and a deep wish/desire to participate in that life in a way that would be of service [4.2; 4.3]. For me, the heart is empty, but directed. Some people experience the direct radiation as a laser beam; I don't. For me, it's a kind of global participation; however, there is a specificity within that [5.3].

person is not living and saying it in the right way. If I work with

So, in one way or the other, there is an echo.

185 Actually, there are two kinds of experience. One is holistic and is definitely directive. The more global participation doesn't have any attributes. The specific directivity has no attributes either, but it has a definite action/ movement within it.

Functioning from the Field is constantly improvisational. When you are with a client and do something, you may think you can use a technique. Put the moment you start, everything is open to modulation; total improv . . . no scripts. It's not known to me what is going to happen. It's fresh. You can't hold it [6.4]. You just play it like music. You don't do anything but play it. You don't self-reflect. It's active from the Field; it's not passive [6.3]. I can't tell you how to work from here. There is no "how." Like you open your mouth and the words come out, and I don't mean that as a passive thing [6.1]. It's a risk, in a way. It's a giving position. The thinking of it, the doing of it, and the action all happen at once. You may know it as you begin to speak. It takes time to say it [6.2] . I just open my mouth, and the material comes out. It's like I know things, and I don't know how I know them. It has nothing to do with acquired information [6.1]. The closest thing in familiar language is intuition. It may come down to the intuition; I'm not sure it starts there [8.4].

What's known is not acquired information stored in memory. It seems to use the mental, emotional, sensory world for its expression, but the knowing is from somewhere else. I wouldn't know it from those references. There's no way I could know that. But this something else seer-,s to know, translates it through the mental, emotional, and

186 sensory apparatus (which you could call the personality) , and something comes out [8.4]. Instead of memory, it seems as if there is something more sharp. In place of memory, if you can trust this process, there is a greater focus that comes in, a greater capacity and a more precise capacity to assess, formulate, and take action [8.1j. It is as if the mental, emotional, and sensory functions are honed in the process of playing the Field [7.1]. You just express, and you can't hold it. Like music, you play it and it's gone. You would never want to hold it. Sometimes, I am participating with somebody and inn the moment, and just for a moment, my mind looks at what I am saying and says, "Ah, that's interesting." But, it rarely does that [9.4]. But, when it does that, I could maybe remember what came up because the mind for a moment has gone in and has been an observer. But for the most part, I can't tell you at the end of the day what happened during the day. There is very little or no memory involved. You don't look back on your day to examine it and judge it [8.1; 9.4]. Instead of remembering many facts, I tell you what you need to know now. I can begin to put it into words when you ask me. Sometimes, I don't even know I have the words until you ask me. I would think I can't say one thing, and yet, because it is real alive, if you do ask me, I do have words. I am always surprised. Like I am surprised right now that I have so many words to give you. I have gone through this so many times. Shocking! Now I think, "My God, this is working!" It's amazing. And if I do things I need memory for, it's there. Sure the memory works [8.1]. I don't have to worry about it. Like I don't worry if the sun comes up. It's there.

187

Some aspects come from outside the brain. When I'm doing what may be from outside the usual brain, I experience surprise because the material seems new to me.

That's one of the checking points - it's new or seemingly new. From the usual mind, I car) recall something from the past - acquired knowledge. In the other situation, there is never repetition. You create tools and techniques in the moment, and then you have to put them down. The tools are secondary; they are born in the moment. You have to create new never the same [6.4].

Seeing the Field. When I say I see it, I do see it. I see it with my eyes. I sense it with my antennas - not my sensory. It has no color; it has no texture; for me it has no - for me, it has nothing. It's not seeing in the regular way of seeing, but like an artist sees things other people don't see. They absolutely see them. it's a different kind of consciousness [9.11. When I see the field around someone, it's present and the personality may or may not be integrated with it. I don't see it around everyone.

Hearing the quality of the field in the voice. I can hear the

Field as a harmony in the voice, a harmony that is not just a personal harmony [9.1].

There are two kinds of balance: one where the voice is closed and one where the voice is open. In the closed one, it might be like C E G, those notes in the voice and that's all.

When it's open, there is a qualitative balance and harmony with resonance. It's not a balance and a harmony that you'd say was closed, but a triad that is resonating all over the place. There is a larger instrument somewhere. If you have a piano, it's resonating down at the bottom and up at the music all the time. It's

188 top. In the universe, it's everywhere. For me, it's like (I need to use a symbol) if the Field is working through the personality, you have this large resonance coming through a balanced and harmonized instrument.

With the Field, there's a group life, a "we." With Field, there's a group life. I never feel alone. Because I don't know any better, I could say it is like a

"we" [4.5b] . I lost feeling like a person so many years ago, I don't know that I ever did feel like one person. I feel like a croup [4.5a] and I feel something around as a group

[4.Sb]. I feel connected to something larger. It feels very silly to say, "My name is S." It always did feel silly, but I didn't know that. I didn't talk to anyone about it. No one would believe that.

Work from the Field with three types of clients. I have four main different types of experiences in working with people. In some people, the field is not apparent. I can't find a soul connection. I think the field is there, it's just not present.

In the other three, I'd say the field is more present. In the first case, I think the soul may not be active. The person comes essentially with personal references, with personal ways of looking at things, with subjective material. Their experience is limited.

In the second case, I experience the field as a presence. It's rot integrated with the personality, however. It's obviously two conditions rather than one. You just know it because the field is not coming all the way through. There is a radiance and there is the beauty of that condition, but the person doesn't experience it. You can tell that they don't; but, you can also experience that it's there.

189

If I just forget my eyes and listen with my ears, I can hear it in their voices. I can hear that it's not coming out. Usually, I am not decide to just put the voice on tape, I would hear it. The third type of person that I see has a balanced and harmonized instrument, and the soul is just waiting to "come on stage," if I could put it that way. In this case, there are still two conditions that are not integrated. You have a very well integrated personality that may be exhausted from its good integration. You would sense in their voice, for example, a lot of balance and harmony, but it sometimes has fatigue in it. Sometimes, you'd think the person was ninety, and they are twenty-five. This person I would train to face the personal life from this other place (the Field). There is a fourth case, where the Field and the personality are integrated, and there is wholeness. I wouldn't do anything here as a psychologist. There would be nothing psychological to do. I won't go into the other possibilities now. With the third person, I would train her. In the case of the person who has problems with the personality, I would work transpersonally with what is disturbing the integration. And the first person who has to become broader, I would just be broader. I see the play of these four at this point and am open for more.

Work with people who come only with personal references. They are limited in their experiencing, perception, and interpretation of life. I bring them another dimension. I take it and broaden it, or show them that what is going on in them is an aspect of something deeper. I try to bring them behind the play of what is apparent [1.1]. They are separating hearing and seeing; it's just one experience. P Lit

19 0 always dealing with what is apparent, you know, on the level of the first impulse. "I feel upset." And they keep feeling upset. So I train them to begin to go back behind - to unfold what is behind their desires, what is behind their thoughts, to unfold what is behind their sensation. I use that a lot. It's always remarkable with people that there is something behind [10.2]. I use a lot of techniques. I work to play the centers in a concrete way, and they begin to get a sense that there is something behind. I may work with all the centers. In that group of clients, the heart is active in many of them, but often in a more nature-related way. I work with the heart along more spirit-related lines. They relate better to others but they don't necessarily become aware of the field. They become more able to love, and they become able to organize their lives better because they get a sense of the directivity in the heart. Even after all that, I still experience in many of them that the Field is not active.

Work with those in which the Field is active and the personality is not integrated. With these persons, the field is present, but it is somehow not integrated.

With the first group, it's not present In the second group, it's present whether they know it or not. When you speak to them from that larger place, there is a response in them. I always feel wonderful with those people. I wish they would feel as wonderful with themselves as I feel with them. I feel very light, a very natural quality. There is a feeling that the personality and the presence are not coming together. They don't quite communicate with one another. They don't quite come through. I see/sense/know that the person is not happy. If they were to experience the other part, there would be a bloom of a kind. When it comes through, the person

19 1 experiences their life differently. I look at what is not helping, what may be disturbing the integration. Then I do supportive work with the personality. I always work transpersonally.

I use a particular guided fantasy very frequently. They do a visualization of a mountain top and being there and choose one of the down to the valley to the group and get a sense of the purpose of the life of the group, then internalize the group. From there, I have them go out into the world seemingly alone to live their reason for being on earth. From that visualization, I can see where the integration is botched up. I may use it like a Zen meditation, over and over again, from the A, to the U, to the MI 4 until it works.

With the balanced person whose soul is ready. With the balanced person, I think of one person who is sort of archetypal of this type. She was weary of always seeing life from the personal referenced side the nature side. The personality may be tremendously refined; it may be spending morning, noon, and night refining, arranging, purifying, and qualifying the concrete life. They have done the best job anyone can do from that position [1.3]. The person may be devoted, an incredibly efficient worker and responsible. They would be willing to do the same impeccable job for anyone no matter if they were the President or in the ghetto. That's a clue. That's a soul quality. The person may be incredible, but joyless, tired, weary, and thinking of killing themself. There is something wrong. That life has qualities of that experience and internalize it. Then I have them go

4For A, U, and M, see Footnote 2 in this chapter.

19 2 too much stuff in it. It is crowded. The soul is ready to live through the personality [1.31.

I would work with this person in silence much of the time, more radiating or with music, not much explanation. It would be almost reverential. It would be more simple in a way. I would not want them to talk too much about their families, problems, etc. I would train them to face their personal life from this other place, always. When I worked in silence with this person I have in mind, she began to become aware of something in the room. One day, she pointed to the centers, one-by-one all of them and said pointing around, "There is something out here in the room, and it comes out through these places in my body. What is that?" She had come to that awareness on her own while we worked in silence. I had said nothing about anything to her [7.2].

Works on self by working with others. I don't take too much time to work separately on my own instrument because I am working on it all the time with my clients.

I am really working twelve to fourteen hours a day with people, and I am adjusting myself all the time. In the supportive work I do from the Field, I adjust myself to play from whatever center seems most appropriate [4.4]. I might play the m of the A and see what response I get from that, whether to stay there or whether to go higher. I see where there is the greatest response and try to live from there. From there, you can hear people differently. They see differences in themselves; they feel more themselves, and they move themselves. I may have to change where I am coming from to fit their changes [4.4; 6.51. I don't always succeed. I try to maintain a specific directivity along certain lines, and that takes a

19 3 great deal of total energy. And what is required is always different. I can't say I work fourteen solid hours a day making these adjustments, because I can't. Cut I know that I am to do it, and I try to do it [3.2;. Sometimes I'm tired and sometimes it's harder than others.

Participant M.M.

Born in Switzerland, grew up in a family that maintained a home for children in poor health. The home became a school where, from the age of nine, he was exposed to an environment dealing with problems of psychology, pedagogy, and health.

In the University, he studied under Piaget, Baudoin, and others, graduating with the equivalent to a masters degree in the United States. Then he sought and studied all he could find in Hindu and European mystical lore and occultism to broaden his traditional training.

M.M, began teaching in Switzerland in 1941. By 1943, he was maintaining a home where people came to him for help and training. Working along rather classical lines at that time, he oriented the individual toward the deeper self. From 1948 to 1960, he developed a new approach which he began to write about.

When he and his wife and two children came to California in 1968, he not only left the mountains he loved to live in, he left all classical approaches to psychology. After settling near San Diego, he began working with groups of psychologists, people in therapy and people searching for a new mode of being. The writing about the technical training begun in Switzerland was refined, translated, and published in 1978 as Prelude to the New Man: An Introduction to the Science of Being.

194

Wholeness. The approach to wholeness is usually linear [1.3]. So people speak of a lower self and a higher self (the one behind) . :,;e have to reach the higher personality. We have to be the higher personality. What is missed in this proposition is that the awareness of the so-called "higher personality" is much more whole than the awareness of the personality with the small "I." These are not two different wholes. The small "I" covers ground that is within the awareness of the higher "I." The higher aspect sees as a whole; the personality is included [2.1]. That means everything including the function of the personality will be experienced and expressed differently, according to the greater whole [1.3].

In the experience when you are the whole, there are ways of acting in which there is no ego. But then the level implied is not subjected to time and space. For usual consciousness, this is idle talk. I mean, you cannot participate in that untrained. It is not possible. I'm afraid that, for instance, on the psychological level, you deal always with a sort of separated identity. Beyond identity there is something, but it is, let us say, a still greater whole [4.1]. It is not a fading of identity.

Comedian and mask: Different types of consciousness. Consciousness belongs to your personality. Consciousness is centered around the acceptance of the sense of

"I." It's a typical function of the persona (mask). Now, when you start finding who is behind the mask, the proposition is different. When you are yourself again (the real one - the Comedian behind his mask), you don't speak the same way. In the image of comedian and mask, consciousness as it is known, is a mask function.

195

In using words, I have to make a difference between consciousness which applies to what is known on personality level, and another type of consciousness. But if I say "consciousness," it is confusing. So I say awareness. The awareness that deals with the whole is not the sequential awareness of the mind [8.1]. The mind, being obviously part of the whole, can be trained to function as part of the whole instead of being only part of the persona. But that means retraining the mind. That retraining can only be done from the one behind - not by the mind itself [9.3]. On the level of the mind itself, if you have an incomplete functioning, whatever this functioning proposes will be according to itself - incomplete.

Taking the position of comedian. If you are identified with the personality, and you look into the unknown field of what stands behind, you look at it according to data from personality level. When you explore what is behind, you have to be that. As language goes, you say your real self is behind the mask. You do not explore Self. you are Self, that means the proposition of exploring behind the mask involves you being the one behind, and you have to take that position [2.2].

When the comedian deals with another comedian, there is no more duality in the relation of the mask (that means the personality) and the real self (whatever that is).

That means you have one continuum of action that involves comedian and the mask in one action. Ideally speaking, this is what is supposed to be on the scene in mankind.

The comedian plays in the theatre, and there is only one action. There is no duality of the personality and something hidden behind.

196

You cannot be anything inn the whole without assuming responsibility. You are a responsible actor. The actor is creative [3.2 ). That is to say simply, that he is a creator

[6.4]. The mask is only as mask. Anybody can use that mask. In a troupe of actors, masks can be interchanged; actors cannot be. Something else can be lived through a mask. Depending on what is needed in a given character, you'd assign that role to a certain actor rather than another one because one is more gifted in that kind of shading than the other.

Field is a function of the one behind. In one way of looking, you can originate a specific action. Now, you can look at the specific actions as polarized minor fields within the whole [4.63. Then you have the aspect of several fields. But the several fields stem from the whole and are dealt with as expressions of that whole. The

Field is a function of the one behind.

When I speak of the one behind the mask, I am speaking of something other than field which is still directly related to the field. You can look at Field simply as Field; you can look at Field as presence. It makes a difference.

Field includes electromagnetic and other physical fields. The encompassing Field includes electromagnetic, gravity, particle, and morphogenic fields; and it is much more than that. It's much more than anything I have read about to date.

The closest expression would be the physicists when they say the particle is an event in the dynamics of the whole. That means the operation of the particle depends on the dynamics of the whole. Now Field involves the dynamic of the whole. That would be the closest approximation I can give.

there is only one

universal Field. But then, within that whole Field,

19 7

You have to realize you come from a society that doesn't know about the Field.

Of course, science says any object has different types of fields. This is known; and if there are such concrete fields as electromagnetism, gravity, etc., finer fields have a good chance to be present, too. These finer fields are around and through. Field awareness is nothing new in itself, but people have not assimilated the fact that when you meet somebody, you feel an effect of the field of that somebody in your own field. The current social paradigm does not allow for that yet.

Point in Field used for orientation. In human awareness, there is always a center point, symbolically speaking, that represents "!," "ego," the being, whatever it is.

In old images, the being radiates a field; or currently, the Field makes the being appear

[5.3]. But human awareness has usually the need of putting an individual somewhere. If one uses only the Field, some people get disoriented. They need a point, a symbolism, as it were. For example, in a circle, one would need a point in the circle. Somebody has to be there. so we call it Presence. The one behind the mask is Presence. His/her awareness is field awareness (i.e., encompassing the whole). The primitive image of godhead is somebody.

Personality as a product of the whole. This talk about the whole and the personality is not new. Let's go back to Patanjali, somewhere between 11,000 and 200

E. C. He says that the Atman, which in our example is the so-called Real Self, is projecting itself in the mind substance. So the mind makes a picture of Atman. The Atman is conscious. The mind, having the picture of the conscious

19 8

Atman, believes itself to be that conscious Atman. Actually, the mind is not conscious; it is only a function used by the one behind the mask.

The whole personality is a product of the field. This is why psychosomatics5 works. In physics nowadays, they accept the dynamics of the whole for subatomic physics. They are not yet ready to do that in the whole field of physics. For us, the evidence of the whole producing or manifesting the particle (or so-called material world) is obvious. I know it runs against biologists who say, "No, the body is built another way."

Their paradigm takes into account only such that does seem to behave that way. But those functions are caught within a larger whole. In the larger whole, there are other aspects that bring along those biological functions. This relates to what we call psychosomatics.

Functions linked with dynamics. I link function with dynamics. A given function has a certain effect in general dynamics. Let us say, here is a pool of still water. Then I add water from a hose to the pool. The water coming from the hose may be the same water as is in could say the way the water functions from the hose produces a certain type of movement. The energy from the pump is going to show as water movement. I would call that a function.

Mind is function; emotion is function; sensory is function. Now let us take away the shapes and accept them purely as function.

SThat field of activity that covers the dynamics that relate psyche (soul) with the soma (body), or that part of that. Example: a psychological disturbance can trigger a physical illness.

the pool. Nevertheless, it does create a movement in the pool. So we

19 9

There is no reason why we should limit these functions to certain aspects only. If, for instance, you come into a room, you have an overall impression. You register the whole of it, but the sensory abstracts only what is already known from the room. There is no reason whatsoever to abstract those particular aspects and say, "This is the sensory."

YOU register a much more extended sensory awareness [9.1 ]. When we take the sensory as being a function of the whole, there is no reason to stop the function at what is known. You instantly register unknown propositions from around and in yourself that are not registered by consciousness because consciousness does not know to handle them.

In the image of the comedian and the mask, the consciousness, as known, is a mask function. It's part of the usual sensory. If you have a sensory that is not limited to the mask, that means that it is an instrumentation that goes deeper than the mask [9.11.

But actually, for us, technically speaking, the one behind the mask is still part of the persona.

There is a conceptual problem. We have to realize that every description is given according to a certain paradigm in which it makes sense. Change the paradigm and we have to use other modes of description. In descriptions made for Western countries, there is the double image of ego, a lower and a higher self. There is also a double image of the soul: the perishable soul and the nonperishable soul. Vie definitions. If you ask me how I experience ego, I can tell you: if I work in time and space, the ego appears; if I work out of time and space, there is no ego [8.3]. So, what is ego? I am talking about the

work differently, which means

we have little to do with those

200 sense of ego, which is the sense of identity that allows you to say "I" however deep.

There are modes of living in which that sense of "I" is not needed. It is a very objective experience. When the experience goes on, the awareness does not require a me or a you. The action does not require that, and one is action-situation oriented. One deals with the dynamics of what is going on here. We deal with Being life; but Being life as seen from a personality implies an identity; an object. It's what defines somebody. When one deals with Being life, one does not deal with the personality as known. It does not mean the personality is excluded. In the whole, everything is included, but according to the whole, not according to the personality (which necessarily implies a limiting abstraction).

Stepping in from the whole is a proposition most people don't understand. They are so much ego-centered that being a whole is inconceivable, except conceptually.

Even if they state, "I am the whole," or "I" is still implied [1.2]. Ninety-nine and ninety-nine one-hundredths percent of the people cannot deal with a condition in The condition beyond ego is extremely precise. The condition behind or beyond the sense of identity is extremely precise. You don't lose yourself in a kind of vacuum You might better understand if you see "I" not as an object, but as a function: a function that may be needed under certain circumstances and may not be needed in others. If the function, i.e., the personality, looks at what stands behind, it gets confused. It gets only data according to the limited personality. The result is those propositions that are vague, misty, lost. When the which I is not implied or the dimension (order of life) in which the i5 not implied.

"I"

201 personality is not trained, its propositions about this subject are bound to be vague. The larger condition is much more precise. globality of awareness [3.1]. You are much more aware of modalities when working than when you are conscious on the usual level. If you have a scientifically trained mind, a discipline has been followed to exacting, not less. A mathematician needs only his mind trained; in spiritual training, you use all the functions available always. Any technical movement requires them all.

"We" is obvious in the condition of the whole. The "us" we speak of is precise. It is very real, but basically there is no memory involved. There is no form involved as known on the conscious side [8.5; 8.11. That means we could say that it is totally nonconscious (meaning superconscious) . Yet, that is not completely true. The consciousness does participate; but the consciousness does not generate it. When you objectively follow what you really live and then look at the sensory perception, the emotional perception, and the mental perception, don't expect everything to be reducible to those [4.5a]. The sense of "we" becomes naturally obvious when other ways are used.

Channeling position is dangerous. When you take the position of allowing the

GREATER WHOLE to work through you, you person. It is the usual position of channeling. You cannot be you ("I," ego, or whatever you is) by channeling. If you channel, you don't accept the responsibility for what you do.

On the other hand, the position of I do that is creative [3.2]. If you are channeling, you

It is not a train it that way.

The discipline required in this field is more

are still the

202 cannot say, "I am That," because the action goes through. In our perspective, channeling is dangerous. In our experience, channeling has generated catastrophes.

Typical channeling is what a medium does when he/she is working. I expect people to take more responsibility than that. In channeling, you are still the small, personal "I," and you look upwards and hope something comes through. Usually in that position, the dangerous point is that you don't make a difference between projections of desires and really something else which might happen. This depends on how clear you are, technically speaking.

Psychotic condition of faded identity is different. Freud and I speak about two different propositions when we speak of a condition without the "I." Freud speaks of a condition that refers to the personality. I am speaking of a condition that is referring to what is behind the mask. There is a big difference, which also implies two very different types of awareness: the ordinary consciousness and the awareness of the whole that is not sequential. The identity beyond usual identity is not a fading of identity. I agree with

Freud, this fading is very dangerous [3.11. between what I call supraconscious (above consciousness) and subconscious (below consciousness). Psychologists have spoken of the unconscious, and usually accept it as a whole. Here, I mean two different functions. The one that is more related to the mask awareness that is more related to the mask is the subconsciousness. The awareness that is more related to the one behind the mask is the

Supraconscious and subconscious.

There is a big difference (personality) aspect in its usual state is the subconsciousness.

The

=C3 sup raconscicusness. In order to mark out their different qualities, I use the term polarity.

What is more related to mask has a negative polarity; the one behind the mask is more positive polarity. In awareness, the play of the two polarities together gives what is called consciousness.

Differences between positive and negative polarities. Being aware of polarities implies training to know what is at work. Reading in books is definitely not sufficient. Verbal definition does not help. Books cannot describe the real life behind.

I cannot remember having come across books making specifically the difference. That does not mean it was not made; it just means it was not told.

There are practices, exercises, you can do to become more readily sensitive to the difference. For instance, you can look at somebody at eye level. You might be drawn up; you might be drawn down. Drawn up means there is an action coming from up going down. Going down means there is an action coming from down going up. It is related to what we call a symbolic condition which happens to work close to physiology. When you are drawn up, you are drawn toward the positive polarity; when you are drawn down, you are drawn toward the negative polarity.

Some people differentiate them intuitively. There are bit of Yogi training. Ida and pingale, yin and yang can be accepted as being aspects of the play of polarities.

Another exercise is to go with the finger from the top of the head to the nape of the neck on the midline. Practice tells when the attention goes down and becomes submerged in the subconscious

psychologists who do make a difference, especially if they have a little

204 activities coming up. You have to watch very closely where you feel that the person is losing control; where she/he becomes just immersed in the activity. That means she/he is driven by instinct, or whatever you want to call that. If the lack of control comes up past eye level, that means the objective side is under impulses from the subconscious, the instinctive side. And that means that the person is not in control. Given the right conditions, mental balance can be lost. There is an average control that is acceptable.

When that control is lost, then it's a delicate situation because of the danger of losing mental balance. If those people indulge in psychic adventures, they might easily lose their balance. There is not enough positive presence which gives mastery of the situation.

Field can be seen with or without polarities. You can look at Field the positive way; man as a being is a positive being, so positive polarity dominates. This is the superconscious. So the Field as it is usually seen is seen positively. You can see it without polarities, simply as Field. Or you can look for nature components in the Field, because nature has a life in itself.

The one who is aware does not need senses. Perception is typically the use of something through which you have the "ception." That means its mediated. In direct life, you have no mediation; the one who is aware does not use senses, and does not need them for awareness. Senses are only tools. When I speak to you, I need them.

Otherwise, I couldn't speak. In this perspective, I use the personality (the senses, the emotions, the mind) as tools, typically in order to express, typically not in order to "reach up" [1.3].

20 5

With Field awareness, you have te realize there is one requirement: you have to be able to "see" without projection of anything. I have to say that in quotes because

"seeing" is an aspect of livance. You don't need any image because an image is a way of representing which is based on memory or references from the past. Any image is based on past references. The livance-based "seeing" is without images. What you

"see" you "see" now, without any need of any reference. A reference means linking to the past.

Range of sensory function can be extended. Sensory is an instrumentation that covers a certain range of activity, and we simply say the comedian is behind that. If we look at it symbolically, the comedian is a person by itself, so we have a double personality: the person of the comedian and the mask. This would mean that we have actually only one instrumentation that is seen as two because the usual senses are geared only for the lower, more concrete aspects. If you are aware differently, your tool aspect covers a much wider range. And here we have a difficulty because if someone knows only the lower range of the persona, that somebody might be confused by what we say. It seems to be contradictory. Actually, it is not; it is simply a matter of range and kind of conventional use of the term "personality" that covers only one aspect.

Clairvoyance and telepathy are part of the mask. Clairvoyance and telepathy deal with known references. Clairvoyance sees colors, shapes, and all sorts of forms.

This is dealing with what is already known by sensory perception except that it is a more refined condition.

two personalities, a concrete one and an abstract one. They are

206

It is part of the extended mask [9.2]. It is part of the sensory function which has been refined to some extent.

As far as the average goes, from what I see around nowadays, most people involved with psychic phenomena are on the nature side [9.2]. That refers to the past: symbolically speaking to the Atlantean period. But besides man's history, it refers to the subconscious be retrained. With that kind of functioning, one cannot even comply with the prerequisites of the first initiation. There are lots of persons with authority today who are unable to tell the difference between negative and positive polarity. That means they do accept as spiritual whatever is out of the ordinary, indiscriminately. This is dangerous.

Livance is a fullness of life. Livance doesn't go along any the usual three functions (sensory, emotional, and mental), and you call that fullness of life, then you have given the word "life" a very limited meaning [5.2]. Livance is a new word to which you can give a content somewhat different from the words that are already know. You can hear it in relation to a fullness of life that you experience, an encompassing awareness that goes beyond those three usual ways. And anybody experiences an awareness that goes beyond [2.1]. It's a wholeness, a fullness of life in which the known modes (sensory, emotional, mental) can be present or not present.

Whether your mind understands it or not does not affect the fullness of life. The difference, if any, stands in the mind not in the fullness. power. In spiritual

training and initiation, the psychic function has to paradigm. If you simply speak of,

"I live this," "I live that," with

207

Action, being creative, is new; making description difficult. The action, being creative, starts in the now. Now is new; it's not from the past. This is the main problem with verbalizing. By definition, you use words that have gained meaning in the past, and you are supposed to respect that meaning [8.1; 10.11. If something is not from the past, to express it with references which are from the past means you are going to miss a lot of points.

I don't see it according to mind's understanding. It is utterly different from any referential system that is usually used. So I cannot speak of it. When you ask a question, you ask according to your system of references. Action is not core according to that system (or any system) . So, I am very embarrassed, because I cannot answer that way.

I would have to translate it into a referential system and the translation is poor because there are missing dimensions in it. The translation is reductionist because you ask me to express in modes that don't contain those dimensions. This problem can be altered if you bring out the ability to listen through the words. Words are carriers of meaning. The meaning is the life aspect, if you want. You can hear a word with your concrete mind knowing it is only a carrier, and your attention is on the meaning behind. That means you join the life, the wholeness behind [10.2].

You cannot do a phenomenological study of what is lived if you want to respect the condition of wholeness. Most people don't respect this condition. So they reduce the fullness of what is lived to the limits of the paradigm they are using, and then wonder why it is not effective [ 10.1 ]. Of course, we can make abstractions from what is being lived in order to answer your question, but we can never tell

208 what makes the procedures or dynamics effective. It is not possible to tell; there are no words. It cannot be enclosed in any known paradigm [10.1 ]. It is not verbalizable in its fullness. We can give hints, or a few pictures, like a map; but it will not be the territory.

Action does not originate from the mask. It would be a distortion from the livance even to describe a field as "being activated." When you observe somebody, and then see the field activated, it does not mean that the consciousness has activated the field. It simply means that with the intensity of the life, what is usually not seen becomes little by little seen. So you may say, "The field is activated," simply because what sees becomes sensitive to what is there. It does not mean that the field was inactive before. We could say certain zones of the field or heights or levels of the field have increased activity to make it more concrete. Consciousness does not trigger field action. It's obvious that the effort known on the mask level is not here. !t does not work that way. The field action does not result from the mask effort. It's a purposeful action, not a purposeful effort [7.3]. The mask might be involved. For example, if you work with acupuncture needles which touch the concrete body, your concrete side is obviously involved. But the action of the one who plants the needle is not an action which originates from the mask. There is no action in the sense most people mean by the word, "action." When you plant the needle, you don't say a word. You don't need to have social intercourse. There is no need to be energetic in the physical sense either. The action does not start from the personality [7.3].

209

If you take the symbol of the comedian, the field, and the personality, the action starts from the comedian. Now, whether the real one is only that or more than that is another story. But let's take it that way. So the action does not start from the personality, but from the comedian, obviously, like any normal action (5.11.

The doer aspect: movement is in creation. I say to somebody, "Do this. Don't ask how; just do it." I have done it with a group of psychologists. They laughed at me heartily. It was fun for them, because you have to know first in order to do. Now, I remember three years later, one of the psychologists suddenly realized it was possible

[6.1 ]. The sequential mode of acquired knowledge requires that you acquire knowledge first and this allows you to do. In the field in which we work, it is not so. It's the Doer aspect. In the doer aspect, the movement is in the creation, the Doing. In Doing, you see, you know, and you do simultaneously. There is no sequential aspect [6.4]. Dewey's learning by doing could be a reduced aspect of that: if you do something, and then analyze it, you know how to do it. In what I am speaking of, there is much more involved.

I could relate it to the symbolism of the Indo-European roots, Bd and Kr. Bd is related to Buddha, buddhi, and relates to knowledge and wisdom. Kr is related to activity: creation. You find it in Christ, creator, creating and in the Hindu Kriya Yoga, for instance. In the present time, there is a shift from Bd to Kr which is symbolized by the shift from acquired knowledge to the Doer.

Acquired knowledge is typically mask. In the Bd aspect, you have to learn first.

Academic training is to learn first, then practice, and finally you are able to do this.

It is assumed this is how things

41 0 work. When you are no more the mask, but the one behind (you are IT, really, and the mask has acknowledged it), then you can take the position of the Doer. In that case, when you face the evidence that some action is to be done, you simply do it [6.1]. You see what is to be done, you know the modalities, and you do it simultaneously.

Evidences are not discussed by your mind.

Doer does not involve self-reflexiveness. I hesitate to put a label on the Doer in terms of any system, because when we do it, we just do it. There are no considerations whatsoever, in terms of "Am I relaxed? Am I under stress?" You just do [6.3]. When you speak of effortless or something like that, I cannot understand. Seen from the personality, it may be effortless or not effortless, or whatever. Frankly, I don't care. I mean by that, there are no personal consideration. We are situation oriented, or action oriented on that situation [5.1]. Our concern, if we speak of concern, is in that situation- action. The sense of reflexiveness is not needed. The elation, "I am doing well," for instance, is completely beside the point. The concern is not on "me" acting; the concern is on the situation [9.4). You are situation centered and this completely changes the whole psychological frame [6.3].

In living whole, we work with mankind. In living the whole, we don't just work with another person; we deal with that whole being. This implies a lot more than personality. Let's make it more precise. Any action on that level deals with the whole of mankind, or mankind as a whole [4.2]. If you happen to deal with somebody or a group in front of you, on that level, that group is simply symbolic of a human

211 condition [4.3]. The personal aspect as usually seen from a small point of view is not important. If it has to be involved, you have to assume a position in which you use an identity.

Dealing with the comedian behind the mask. I can come out with two aspects if you use the symbol of mask and comedian. One aspect would be the comedian dealing with the other comedian; the other aspect would be the relation between the comedian and the mask. You can adjust the mask so the comedian can use it; you can also adjust the field. But there is a third proposition which is to adjust the comedian (that means the "I" aspect within that field). To help the comedian establish a better relation, implies an action with the comedian, the field, and the mask. Actually, any adjustment takes all three into account. And it is possible to work on the comedian alone, or the field alone or the mask alone or any combination.

Working with Field alone. Apart from an initiate, I don't know anybody who can adjust the field alone at this time. It has not yet come out. There are symptoms showing that something is going in this direction, i.e., awareness of the field. It will become greater and greater. Mow, awareness in the field exists in very limited ways: psychic sensing and clairvoyance, for instance, are a limited use of this awareness.

Working on the mask alone. Typically, conventional medicine is working on the mast-, alone. If one adjusts only to what shows on the apparent level, that means the physical symptoms, posture, expression, body chemistry, and so on, one adjusts the mask only on the level of the mask. Now, do the same action starting from the field (and that

21 could include chemotherapy) and you would be surprised at the difference in effect. If one adjusts the mask for the sake of the mask itself, actually one adjusts according to a concept or a general idea.

Working to adjust the mask so the comedian can use it. I deal with somebody in a class, for instance; I see that somebody striving to reach a certain point. Now, when we act in class, that certain point is already here. I mean I see it; it's already working. What

I do is help make the connection between that and their linear consciousness [1 .11 .

Seen from my side, you are trying to become what you obviously show already.

According to what shows fieldwise, you have to adjust the action so the mind can participate in a way. The adjustments are what I call modalities. As an adjustment goes on, you have to take different shades, different steps. One step might work in a given direction for five seconds, another for ten minutes. But they do change. You can't adjust according to a concept or a general idea. On the average, if the mask is devised in a general kind of way, there is a general kind of "best possible position." The best possible position might not be adequate for the one using the mask because the one using the mask is not the average image. It rarely is the average image, if ever.

Modalities don't follow a system. Modalities are the way you act, the forms you use, the shades in the forms, and so on. You know them directly as you do it, always clearly. You do not depend on measurements, devices, gadgets, or tests.

Simultaneously, when you do it, you see the shades needed [6.5]. In my experience, I realize that most people don't realize what that means. those who become, let

213 us say, introduced, do the same. They act, let us say, in therapy. They become aware of lots of shades that play as they act. You don't follow a system; you follow the dynamics of the moment. The dynamics change constantly, and you adjust to those changes instantly, too [6.5]. If you follow a system, you cannot do that. Adjusting the changes might be a little like playing an instrument, say the piano. You are unskilled, and your finger hits a note beside the one you wanted to hit. You are aware that the note ought to be modified according to the tune, so you modify it.

Knows and does simultaneously. You have to change as the dynamics change.

You know simultaneously as you move the modalities. As far as effect is concerned, there might be a slight delay because of the delay of your awareness. I know ahead of time. For me, it is not ahead of time; it's as the work is going on simultaneously. But seen from the outside, it looks like being ahead of time. Consciousness working in time and space takes time to adjust, which accounts for the delay [6.2].

I can give you an example. In acupuncture, I can plant a needle. The needle at a certain place is supposed to give a certain effect, and there are places that are neutral according to maps established a long time ago. Our experience is different; the needles work according to the one who plants them. They have more or less effectiveness according to the one who is behind them. Because the awareness she/he has as she/he sets the needle in, she/he is going to trigger the type of life the needle will have. You can plant the needle with no effect. But then you can awaken an effect as soon as you are part of the action. You step in. You have to stand behind what you

214 do. That means you will transmit through the needle what You can give of your own life.

This is what makes the needle alive. Traditional acupuncture does net see it that way.

One who works is aware from all three levels. If we act, i.e., plant a needle, in order to have a certain effect, we have to take into account who is behind, and with that

"who" there is the field, and there is the personality. This is going to determine which points of the body we are going to use, and in those points, exactly what plays. This implies that the one who plants the needle is aware and working from all three levels involved. When I say, "You have to know what you do," I mean the awareness of all three levels is clear. Otherwise, there is no reason to plant a needle within a millimeter, or even closer, of "the point."

When you live all three elements of the condition works, you can give some input in the conditions, in what I call modalities. You can give different shades to the overall action. That means, as the needle is working, you can trigger shades of action that go within the action of the needle without moving the needle. This is possible because of the oneness in participation.

There is a precise awareness. It does not necessarily translate in mental terms.

You can simply go with the needle along the place that is needed, (running his thumbnail slowly along his arm near the wrist) . There is a knowledge that doesn't go along verbal lines. For both the patient and the one who plants the needle, it's related to all three aspects of the ones behind, and a correspondence between each. On that level, there are no words. There is the field of the one who

as the needle

21 5 practices and the field of the patient (stretches his arms to the sides beyond his head and notes that his arms are too short to demonstrate).

Here you have a life knowledge that is not intuition, which is a kind of duality.

The intuition, you sense something there (points over his shoulder). In this situation, there is not "there." You live that situation whole. There is no duality whatsoever [8.4].

Now, if you happen to have some abilities to modify shades within the personality, you modify shades, using modalities.

Living the effect of action in the other body. The correspondence between the two comedians and the two fields includes the personality. Now, there is a tricky point.

When all three awareness' are present [4.4], the one who plants the needle lives the effect of the needle in the other body. I do say lives; it's not a representation. You live- see the chance and after awhile, when the needle is no longer effective or levels out, you can take it out.

When I say "live," it is not "live the other," which is a duality. I do say "live," which is a oneness. You have to make a difference because these situations do exist.

Some people can live somebody else as a duality. When you live a oneness, there is just that one condition. That doesn't mean you have a confusion or a vague sense of identity, which is a personality problem [4.4].

Testing a result before proceeding. This is what I call sounding. If I have options and want to know which way of proceeding works best, I sound one and see the response. These ways imply certain technical points. If you cannot respond at that moment, maybe you can at another moment, so I cannot use that procedure now; I

217 swim in a certain surrounding or are the product of a surrounding we can call mind substance. Why not:' I have trained my tool ( in this case, the mind) to sense the mind substance and to see what degree of fineness or coarseness is involved in a given functioning. The chitta has become objective for me: sensory. I mean "objective" literally; as evident as any object around for usual sight, like a lamp, for instance.

Being aware of when using the brain and when not using it. What I have to say might look weird: I am fully aware of the difference of an awareness using the brain, whichever hemisphere, and when not using the brain. The quality is different [8.2]. For those who have experiences in awareness, it would be describable. There is a definite quality that makes the brain action more concrete. Going through the brain there is some freedom lost. It's like a stiffening agent, let us say like calcium in a plant. It's much freer without the brain [8.2', . I know the descriptions of right and left hemispheres. These are secondary descriptions. They have their value, but they are not involved in what we speak of. It's true that when you express from the comedian through any spoken word, you need the brain [8.1]. As you work with aspects that are beyond what you call the concrete mind, you might use the right hemisphere more often than the left one.

However, this is not entirely true, because what you bring out from the comedian can be absolutely rational and logical. What is coming from the comedian would probably show more or less equal use of both hemispheres [8.1 ]. The use of both hemispheres would be from what is synchronizing, over-arching the two hemispheres. I am not speaking of the Corpus Collusum, the neurological bridge between hemispheres.

218 For me, the physical aspects are simply reflections of other aspects. As seen before, the body and the personality are products of the field.

The whole lives a quality until the mask is aware. In order to train a tool, you have to hold the livance a certain way. You could say it emits a vibration. You hold it this way until the persona tunes in and is able to response. [7.1]. Remember, the livance is not subjected to or limited by the persona. It is a dynamic activity that is difficult to put into words because it definitely implies another type of awareness. You know what you do. In simplified version, you subject that part of your consciousness you want to work with to a certain quality of life. You do this steadily every day, not constantly all day long, but repeatedly until the consciousness adjusts. It works with any mask, not just this one.

Section 2

The previous section presents the individualized, contextualized experience of three people acting Field as they are able to express it in English. The purpose of the present section is to present the results of phenomenological reflection on the three interviews and to generalize the themes presented into a collective pattern that is not dependent on the specific personal context. These generalized themes (metathemes) are articulated in categories used by an English-speaking transpersonal psychologist.

Metathemes The metathemes are organized in clusters that are loosely related. These clusters are numbered, but there is no attempt to

219 conceptualize the relationship within the cluster. It could be done many ways, and the reseacher felt that conceptualization at that level of abstraction would just create an added burden to an already complex organization. Since the data present no particular order of their own, the units are set up to lead the reader into the phenomena and then round it out.

Each metatheme is accompanied by a quotation from each of the three participants. There are three reasons for including the quotations. One, it is hoped that the three examples will increase the understanding of the prereflective structure that is being set forth. Two, it may be easier to identify a theme in one manifestation than in another and having the quotations together may aid understanding. Three, showing the three quotations of three different experience levels, documents the claim that acting

Field does not require having reached some specific level of spiritual Mastery.

1.1 What is being searched for is already working behind what is apparent.

L.G. When I give my mind a song to sing .., the natural impulse that was part of me could participate in the way it knew how to participate.

S.S. I show them [the first type of client] that what is going on with them is an aspect of something deeper. I try to bring them behind the play of what is apparent.

MM.. I see somebody striving [in class] to reach a certain point. Now, when we act in class, that certain point is already here. I mean I can see it. We connect that and their linear conscious

ness.

1.2 Directivity of the Field has an authority of its own which does not derive from personal intent.

L.G. One doesn't do it by thinking yourself field-A. It's not a mind thing. It's not an emotional thing; it's an intention. It comes

220

from whatever it is that is not my mind when my m ind is doing something different. . . . It goes on independent of brain activity.

S.S. This (radiating empathy) is a more directed attunement. This directivity comes from outside the person. It uses the person for its expression.

M.M. Stepping in from the whole is a proposition most people don't understand. They are so much ego-centered that being a whole is inconceivable, except conceptually. Even if they state, "I am the Whole," an "I" is still implied.

1.3 Striving does not activate field.

L.G. I figured out it wasn't a doing. . . . In the beginning, the hard part was dropping all the stuff I usually use to control my world. . . . It was allowing the Field to work through me instead of trying to grab something.

S.S. The personality may be tremendously refined, may be spending morning, noon, and night arranging, purifying, qualifying the concrete life. . . . The person may be incredible, but joyless, tired, weary, and thinking of killing themselves. There is something wrong . . . the soul is ready to live through the personality.

M.M. The approach to wholeness is usually linear. .., We have to reach the higher personality. 1';%e have to be the higher personality. What is missed in this proposition is that the awareness of the so-called "higher personality" is much more whole than the awareness of the personality with the small "I.". .. That means everything including the function of the personality will be experienced and expressed differently - according to the greater whole.

I use the personality (the senses, emotions, the mind) as tools - typically in order to express -- typically not in order to reach up.

2.1 The personal (mental, emotional, sensory) is included in the transpersonal which is not confined. L.G. (With hands in the air around her head.) There is a distinct awareness that I have changed my mode of thinking of myself from skin-in to skin-out. It includes the whole thing. I have a sense of being taller than I am, it feels like a more subtle, almost physical body, but not physical at all. When I live skin-in . . . I feel smaller. There is a direct experience - awareness that I am not just skin-in: the skin used to be the edge of what I considered me. Now I know that's not so. I

221 know there is something beyond that that's still me. . . . When I'm not connected to the Field, it feels very close around me. When I change my mode of thinking from skin-in to skin-out, it includes the whole thing.

S.S. [The mental, emotional, physical] are in the second place - beyond the core - but not very far beyond. . . . The transpersonal feels so present. It feels absolutely not beyond. It's hard to express because the word "transpersonal" feels like it might come from beyond, but I would say it is so present that there is no separation [from the mental and emotional and physical]. Being present doesn't have any parameters. it's unbounded and free. You can breathe.

You can hear it [the word "livance"] in relation to a fullness of life that you experience, an encompassing awareness that goes beyond those usual three ways [mental, emotional, and physical] . Anybody experiences an awareness that goes beyond.

The awareness of the so-called "higher personality" is much more whole than the awareness of the personality with the small "I." These are not two different wholes. The small "I" covers ground that is within the awareness of the higher "I." The higher aspect sees as a whole; the personality is included.

2.2 That which is not-the-personal is experienced as more primary to the participant than the personal (oraanismic).

L.G. I still know I'm not the chair, but that knowing is a brain kind of thing. But the experience is joined. It's not a brain kind of knowing. It feels like there is a joined knowing and a learned separation.

S.S. The transpersonal is present, much more present than the more familiar references of the mental, emotional, sensory. The latter are not quite to the point.

M .M. If you are identified with the personality, you look into the unknown field of what stands behind, and you look at it from the data of the personality level. . . . When you explore what is behind, you have to be that. . . . Your real self is behind. You don't explore Self, you are Self. You are the one behind, and you have to take that position.

22 2

3,1 The position beyond ego is objective, functional, helpful, precise. It is distinguished from emotional problems of the personality: hysteria, uncontrolled subconscious and "weak ego."

L.G. In my ordinary day, I live field-A6 when its possible, when I remember. Lots of time there's no separation. I've seen crazy people, and they are nonfunctional in their position in the world. That's not the position I live. I am a mother, wife, and a therapist, and I live in the world in a very functional manner.

As one connects the field more, lives that more, there is a with that happens instead of an at or reaction to. The information is there, the words are there, but they are not hysterical. ... There is an objective dealing with whatever needs to be dealt with. . . . What happens when I am field-A with clients, there is more of a directness about the appropriate thing to say to help them see more clearly their situation and to take a different position.

S.S. I think this material [Field expression] is from the superconscious because it is impersonal, more objective, more clear. It doesn't destroy the person. You know, some of those urges that come up from the subconscious can be overwhelming. They are like tidal waves. This [the Field] is very helpful. It is very positive .., in the sense that is objective, clear, impersonal, open new, fresh.

Nil. N1. The condition behind or beyond the sense of identity is extremely precise. You don't lose yourself in a kind of vacuum. . . . If the function ["I"] looks at what stands behind, it gets confused. It gets data only according to the limited personality. The result is those propositions that are vague, misty, lost. The larger condition is much more precise. It is not a globality of awareness.

The identity beyond the usual identity is not a fading of identity. I agree with Freud, this fading is dangerous. ... Freud speaks of a condition that refers to the personality. ... I speak of a condition that is referring to what is behind the mask. The subconscious is related to the mask - superconscious to the field.

3.2 When acting Field, there is a sense of responsibility for what is done.

L.C.. When I start to work fieldwise [with a client], it is as if the field expands and joins the other field, and they join what is

6See foot 1 in Section 1 of of this chapter.

223 there. A fullness and aliveness is more present in the room. If they [clients are receptive to what is going on, then they start picking up on what is going on, too. There is a response in them. . . . Often, I just sit there field-A and let them talk. . . . Often, a resolution happens [with the client] within the coming together of the two people sitting there. It's a knowing . . . how to be, what position to take. S.S. When [the examiner] radiates activity out from Field with a person, the client may have a kind of directivity and radiance that can be shocking to both the client and examiner. [Examiner] radiates to the other what is needed. ... I try to maintain a specific directivity along certain lines and that takes a great deal of total energy. . . . I can't say I work fourteen solid hours a day making these adjustments, because I don't. But I know that I am to do it, and I try to do it. . . .

M.M. You cannot be anything in the whole without assuming responsibility. You are a responsible actor. The actor is creative.

When you take the position of allowing the Greater Whole to work through you, you are still the person. It is the usual position of channeling. . . . If you channel, you don't accept the responsibility for what you do. . . . On the other hand, the position of I do that is creative.

4.1 Condition beyond ego ______7

: one can differentiate circumstances when this is occurring.

L.G. When I am running around like an idiot shopping and cooking like I was yesterday, I am alone, period.

[in field-A$] there is no separation from things. . . . I still know I'm not the chair, but that knowing is a brain kind of thing. But the experience is joined. It's not a brain kind of knowing. It feels like there is a joined knowing and a learned separation.

S.S. When I register the "outside," . . . I have no judgments and I feel quite empty. There are no references.

Being "in" is very limited. I feel tiny. . . . See if I go inside you (from my inside to your inside), oh, I can feel things. I

flavor.

8 See footnote 1 in Section 1 of this chapter.

Does not imply a duality, though the words seem to convey that

224 can communicate from my limited inside to your limited inside. . .

M. M. In the experience when you are the whole, there are ways of acting in which there is no ego. But then the level implied is not subjected to time and space. For the usual consciousness, this is idle talk. . . . On the psychological level, you always deal with a sort of separate identity. Beyond identity there is something, but it is, let us say, a still greater whole.

4.2 There is a natural movement to benefit the whole as contrasted to the benefit for separate individual person. L.G. When I'm inside, when I'm in my solar plexus, I'm skin-in. I don't include more. . . . I'm just saving my face. . . . When I go out, it's clearer. It's being in what would serve the most in the situation with all the people' included, and whatever else seems appropriate in that space. It's beyond humanistic. It serves life rather than serving myself.

S S. There's a kind of Love that is not personal that goes out. With it goes a deep appreciation for the human condition and a deep wish/desire to participate with that life in a way that would be of service.

M.M. In living the whole, we don't just work with another person, we are dealing with the whole being. . . . Any function on that level [living the whole] deals with the whole of mankind, or mankind as a whole.

4.3 Experiences being unified with humanity in some way that is more than a collection of individuals. In some unspecified way, what affects one affects the others. L.G. I have a real sense of being one of a sample. What I do serves my sample - those who function like I do . . . working on the same things I am. When I figure out how to do it in a more clear manner, there is somehow a helping of them going on ... not on just a direct contact level (like teaching them), but the sense is not clear.

S.S. There is a kind of love that is not personal that goes out [of the empty heart]. With it goes a deep appreciation for the human condition and a deep wish/desire to participate with that life in a way that would be of service.

1 N 1. M. Any action on that level [living the whole], deals with the whole of mankind, or mankind as a whole. If you happen to deal with somebody or a group in front of you, on that level, that group is simply symbolic of a human condition.

225 4.4 When working with another person, there is one condition that is lived. There is not a duality. Nevertheless, there is no confusion at the level of personal identity.

L.G. [With a woman client] . . . I was having the direct experience in my body of something chemical . . . that was what I was knowing at the same time. And I said to her, "Have you taken drugs?"

S.S. [With a client] In the supportive work I do from the field, I adjust myself to play from whatever center seems most appropriate. . . . I see where there is the greatest response and try to live from there. From there, you can hear people differently. The see differences in themselves; they feel more themselves, and they move themselves.

M.M. When all three awareness' are present [comedian, field, and personality], the one who plants the needle lives the effect of the needle in the other body. I do say lives, it's not a representation. . . . When I say "live," it is not "live the other," which is duality. I do say "live" which is a oneness. . . . When you live a oneness, there is just that one condition. . . . That doesn't mean you have a confusion or vague sense of identity, which is a personality problem.

4.5 a When regarded from Field, the one talking experiences him/herself as being multiple as compared to being single ("I" is plural) . L.G. I don't feel that I am really alone when I let myself tune in to what is; There is a sense of company, of presence.

S.S. With the field, there is a group life. I never feel alone because I don't know any better, I could say it's like a "we." I lost feeling like a person so many years ago. I don't know that I ever did feel like one person. I feel like a group.

N1. M. The "us" we speak of is precise. It is very real, but basically there is no memory involved. There is no form involved as known on the conscious side . . . the consciousness does participate, but the consciousness doesn't generate it. ... The sense of "we" becomes naturally obvious when other ways [beside sensory, emotional, and mental perception] are used.

9See footnote 2 in this chapter and Muller (1978).

226

4.5 b Acting Field is most commonly spoken of as a group or dyadic situation, but the presence of other people is not always required. Because L.G. did not verbally separate the conditions 4.5 a (a sense of being multiple rather than single) and 4.5 b

(being involved with a group of people), the two items are numbered contiguously. L.G. Acting from the Field is something I participate in, in group and sometimes when I am by myself. I call on my group in my work when I am "alone."

S.S. I use a guided fantasy in which . . . I have them [clients] go down to the valley to the group, get a sense of the purpose of the life of the'group, internalize the group, and then go out in the world, seemingly alone to live their reason for being on earth. v

I am working twelve to fourteen hours a day with people, and I am adjusting myself all the time [from the field].

MI. 1M. If you happen to deal with somebody or a group in front of you, on that level [the Whole], that group is simply symbolic of a human condition.

4.6 Sense of unified field including everything.

L.G, In field-A, when I look from a higher place, the normal separation of being in reaction to things leaves and there is a with that. At the same time, I feel the field is more active, and there's no separation from things, so it doesn't matter. ...

S.S. The Field involves everything (the room, the questioner, the tape recorder, etc.) . It involves everything and . . . yet it involves nothing. I feel connected to my body holistically, not in aspects.

M, .N!. In one way of looking, there is only one universal field. But then, within that whole field, you can originate a specific action. Now, you can look at the specific actions as polarized minor fields within the whole. . . . But the several fields stem from the whole and are dealt with as expressions of the whole.

5.1 As a way of orienting, the direction is out as compared to in.

L.G. When I'm inside, when I am in my solar plexus, I'm skin-in. I don't include more. Sometimes it does include more people, but

227 from the skin-in position, I am just saving my own face. When I go out, it's clearer. It's being in what would serve the most in the situation with all the people included, and whatever seems appropriate in that space. . . .

S.S. Personal empathy is passive. One can absorb the other person . often in one's own body. . . . In the radiating position, I have to "come out." The whole person is radiating, not just a part.

M. M. Seen from the personality, it may be effortless or not effortless. Frankly I don't care. I mean by that, that there are no personality considerations. We are situation centered or action oriented on that situation.

If we take the symbol of the comedian, the field and the personality, the action starts from the comedian .., obviously ... like any normal action (not from the personality) !

5.2 The sense of being more alive.

L.G. MN/ experience was so very different from that time [first time living Field] that I say I was asleep to waking up. It was a jolt and very surprising.

I feel as alive as I ever feel. I am active. When I say active, I mean present: full aliveness.

S.S. The transpersonal is present, much more present than the more familiar references. . . . Being present doesn't have parameters. It's unbounded, free; there's an openness. You can breathe. It's fresh.

N1. M. If you simply speak of, "I live this," "I live that." with the usual three functions (sensory, emotional, mental) and you call that fullness of life, then you have given the word "life" a very limited meaning.

5.3 Sense of radiating Field.

L.G. Radiating begins as a tension and feels skin-in at first. As it expresses, it becomes all encompassing through me, around me, from ? me ??? .... Actually, it looks like the whole world is a giant radiation, me included.

I feel "lit." It's like being a giant Christmas tree.

S.S. Some people experience the direct radiation ]of the heart] as a laser beam, I don't. For me, it's a kind of global participation, with a specificity within that.

228 M. M. In the old images, the being radiates a field or field makes the being appear. currently the

You could say it [the livance] emits a vibration. You hold it this way until the persona tunes in, and is able to response. . . . It works with any mask, not just this one.

6.1 The participants don't know how to do before they begin.

L.G. If I remember to live Field-A, everything simplifies, and I know what to do rather than having to try and figure it out. . . . It isn't insight; it's outsight. Insight is going in, recombining and acknowledging whole bunches of things. The other is like going outside. It's a huge shift in position of personal relation.

S.S. I can't tell you how to work from here [Field]. There's no . "how." Like you open your mouth and the words come out, and I don't mean that as a passive thing. . . . It's like I know things, and I don't know how I know them. It has nothing to do with acquired information.

I say to somebody, "Do this; don't ask how; just do it." One psychologist realized it was possible. . . . Academic training is to learn first, then practice, and finally you are able to do this. It's assumed this is how things work. When you are no more the mask, but the Ore behind (you are IT, really, and the mask acknowledges it), then you can take the position of the Doer. In that case, when you face the evidence that some action is to be done, you simply do it.

6.2 When participants do, they know simultaneously what they are doing. L.G. When I walked in the house ... I was very with. There was just no separation. I walked in and saw the groceries. I had them [her children] come down to the kitchen and said, "You really need to look at how you are relating. That's not very aware of you not to take care of this, etc. . . . That's a whole lot better than what I've seen myself do in the past. . . . The with had to do with understanding knowing the most appropriate way to proceed that would create the best kind of results. That was a joined process not a screaming at. ...

S.S. The thinking of it, the doing of it, and the action all happen at once. You may know it as you being to speak. It takes time to say it.

229 M. M. You know simultaneously as you move the modalities. As far as effect is concerned, there might be a slight delay of your awareness. I know ahead of time. For me, it is not ahead of time, it's as the work is going on - simultaneously. But seen from the outside, it looks like being ahead of time. Consciousness working in time and space takes time to adjust, which accounts for the delay.

6.3 The focus is on what is going on, self-reflection is unnecessary, beside the point.

L.G. Going field [-A] is not a mind thing. . . . It was a connection with the field. . . . It was allowing the field to work through me, instead of trying to grab something. . . . I gave my mind something else to do, [so] the natural impulse that was a part of me could participate in the way it knew how to participate. It goes on independent of brain activity.

S.S. [With a client and do something] It's not known to me what is going to happen. ... You don't do anything but play it. You don't self-reflect. It's active from the field; it's not passive.

M. M. There are no considerations whatsoever, in terms of, "Am I relaxed, Am I under stress?" You just do. . . . Our concern, if we speak of concern, is in that situation-action. The sense of reflexiveness is not needed. The elation, "I am doing well," for instance is completely beside the point. The concern is not on "me" acting; the concern is on the situation ,.. that changes the whole psychological frame.

6.4 The transpersonal [Field or comedian] is constantly creative.

L.G. [Acting Field] It's a direct experience and it's different every time. But it's enough the same so I know what it is.

S.S. When you are with a client, you may think you can use a technique, but the moment you start, everything is open to modulation: total improv .., no scripts. . . . It's fresh. You can't hold it.

You have to create new music all the time. It's never the same.

M. MI. You [the comedian] are a responsible actor. The actor is creative. That is to say simply, he is a creator.

it's the Doer aspect. In the Doer aspect, the movement is in the creation, in the Doing. In the Doing, you see, you know, and you do simultaneously. There is no sequential aspect.

23Q 6.5 When living from Field, working with someone, you have to follow every movement and do what is needed at each point, without following a system or a general idea of what is to be done.

L.G. [The first time she tried field-A with a client for about five minutes, and the client felt better] . . . I tried an experiment with her putting_ her own hands on different centers to see which one worked best for her to keep that [feeling better] happening for her. [After she did that] . . . I said, "Why don't you try this" (one hand on the heart and one on the top of the head), and she said, "Ch, that feels real good." ... She had to do that for about three days until that stuff got out of her body.

S.S. [Living from the field through the center where there is greatest response] with a client . . . they see themselves differently; they feel more themselves, and they move themselves. I may have to change where I am coming from to fit their changes.

N1. M. Modalities are the way you act, the forms you use, the shades in the forms, etc. You know them directly as you do it, always clearly. You do not depend on devices . . . or tests. ...

[In making adjustments.] Simultaneously, when you do it, you see the shades needed . . . you don't follow a system; you follow the dynamics of the moment. The dynamics change constantly and you adjust to those changes instantly, too.

7.1 The field changes the personality.

L.G. Sometimes, when a client comes in in their ordinary state and is not working fieldwise, there is a narrowness about them in terms of their orientation. . . . As we work, the feeling in the room shifts, and they occupy more space. It feels like a physical presence. And also their processes of dealing with whatever . . . gets wider.

S.S. It's like the mental, emotional, and sensory functions are honed in the process of playing the field.

M. N1. Let's say my tool [personality] doesn't make sense of a certain quality of life. I live that quality until the tool adjusts and I have made the sensory perception of that life. . . . In order to train a tool, you have to hold the livance a certain way. You could say it emits a vibration. You hold it this way until the persona tunes in and is able to respond.

231

7.2 A movement starts from the field and moves to the more obvious. L.G. I said to her, "Would you be at the top of your head, close your eyes, and I'd like you to be quiet for a few minutes." Then I did the best could with field-A, with as much as I could manage. And 1 watched her scatteredness just get kind of real calm .., about five minutes later she opened her eyes and said, "What have you been doing? ... I feel about 200% better. "

S.S. When I worked in silence with the person I have in mind, she began to become aware of something in the room. One day, she pointed to the centers, one-by- one, all of them, and said, pointing around, "There is something out here in the room, and it comes out through these places in my body. What is that? I had said nothing about anything to her.

M.M. If you live a certain quality of life . . . and there is a response in the field around and through the other person .., a structuring begins. . . . If we work that way, a person has a tendency not to be aware because it's supraconscious, then become aware in a different way, a very refined way that is different from what is usually known. This affects the known consciousness which becomes, little by little, more limber and begins to adjust. The movement starts from the less obvious to the most obvious, not from the most obvious.

7.3 Field action is not produced from the personality.

L.G. One doesn't do it [act Field] by thinking yourself field-A. It's not a mind thing. It's not an emotional thing. . . . The first time it happened was when I gave my mind a song to sing or something else to do, so the natural impulse that was a part of me could participate in the way it knew how to participate. It goes on independent of brain activity.

S.S. What I mean is that it [Field activity] doesn't use the mental, emotional, and sensory worlds for its base. It uses them as supports. but it doesn't use them primarily in the first place.

M.141. Consciousness does not trigger field action . . . the effort known on the mask level is not here. . . . The field action does not result from the mask effort. it's a purposeful action, not a purposeful effort. . . . There is no action in the sense most people mean by "action." . . . You don't say a word ... no social intercourse . . . not energetic in the physical sense. . . . The action does not start from the personality.

232

8.1 Participants describe situations where there is no memory involved. They are able to differentiate circumstances when memory occurs. L.G. It [the mind] has no collection function [at these times]. An experience is an experience. The only thing I remember when I have been sitting with the music is that I have been sitting with the music, very alive.

I am there [at a party] with my mind, you know, to be entertaining, to be entertained. It's a mental function . . . . It forms impressions and stores for new combinations ... especially storage.

S.S. In place of memory, if you can trust this process, there is a greater focus that comes in, a greater capacity, a more precise capacity to assess, formulate, and take action. . . . Sometimes, I am participating with somebody and in the moment, just for a moment, my mind looks at what I am saying and says, "ah, that's interesting." But it rarely does that . . . the mind has gone in for an instant as an observer. But for the most part, I can't tell you at the end of the day what happened during the day. There is very little or no memory involved. You don't look back on your day to examine it and judge it. . . . If I do things I need memory for, it's there. Sure memory works.

M.M. It [the "us" we speak of] is very real, but basically there is no memory involved. There is no form involved as known on the conscious side.

The awareness that deals with the whole is not the sequential awareness of the mind.

It's true when you express from the comedian through the spoken word, you need the brain. . . . What is coming from the comedian would probably show more or less equal use of both hemispheres.

8.2 Participants describe an experience of Field without the brain involvement. They can differentiate circumstances when this is occurring. L. G. I don't get a whole lot of times where the field. is without the brain except in the group with the music going on. ... Living the field without the brain had a trueness, a wholeness that simply wasn't present before. . . . The only thing I

233 remember when I have been sitting_ with the music is that I have been sitting with the music, very alive.

S.S. To participate [from Field] is to empty. It's as if one were to be cleansed. To let go of past referencing. To risk being present in the moment. To move from one direct experience to another.

There is a lot of stuff in there [when going inside] .

M. P:?. I am fully aware of the difference of an awareness using the brain, whichever hemisphere, and when not using the brain. The quality is different. . . . There is a definite quality that makes the brain action more concrete .., some freedom is lost. It's like a stiffening agent, let's say like calcium in a plant. It's much freer without the brain.

8.3 Experience of timelessness.

L.G. When I say "active," I mean present: full aliveness. It's timeless.

S.S. There is an eternal quality to it [being present].

M.M. [f I work in time and space, the ego [a sense of identity however deep] appears; if I work out of time and space, there is no ego.

8.4 There is an intuitive-like knowing which is more whole (unmediated) than intuition.

L.G. Often, I just sit there field-A' and let them [the clients] talk, and a knowing just happens. I say I get it from Left Field [baseball analogy].

S.S. The closest thing in familiar language is intuition. It may come down to the intuition. I'm not sure it starts there. ... It seems to use the mental, emotional, sensory world for its expression, but the knowing is from somewhere else. I wouldn't know it from those references. There's no way I could know that. But this something else seems to know, translates it through the mental, emotional, and sensory apparatus (which you could call the personality), and something comes out.

M. M. Here you have a life knowledge that is not intuition, which is a kind of duality. In intuition, you sense something there (points over his shoulder). In this situation, there is not "there." You live that situation whole. There is no duality whatsoever.

234 9.1 Sensory function is not limited to what usual enclosed consciousness expects.

L.G. [The Field] is something I see around other people. There are two kinds. One is sparkley and one is steady. . . . I can tell by an almost sensory (you know, five senses) kind of experience. . . . Since my perception of people is better, I see more.

S.S. When I say I see it [Field], I do see it. I see it with my eyes. I sense it with my antennas, not my sensory. It has no color; it has no texture. . . . It has no nothing. It's not seeing in the regular way of seeing but like an artist sees things other people don't see. . . . It's a different kind of consciousness.

I hear the Field as a harmony in the voice, a harmony that is not just a personal harmony.

M.M. When you come into a room, you register the whole of it, but the sensory abstracts only what is already known from the room. ... When we take the sensory as being a function of the whole, there is no reason to stop the function at what is known. If you have a sensory that is not limited to the mask (using the mask, comedian image) that means it's an instrumentation that goes deeper than the mask.

9.2 If there are psychic abilities, they are used in an active, nonpersonal way.

L.G. It's not the aura. It's not colored to me anyway. . . . I have watched [S.S.] have both abilities. I have watched one leave and the other come in. When she was very psychic, she could say whole bunches of interesting things, detail, wise about people. . . . She could understand that this and that created this. As that left, there was more a universal quality . . . not so much attention to details, a shift to the action, how one could use it to move through so there was a kind of resolution that happened.

S.S. I was both clairvoyant and clairaudient, what I experienced was a kind of intuitive correlation. I did not see and hear in a phenomenological way. I just knew intuitionally. Now .., the content is less substantial or personally referenced. The past is not the point. There is a capacity to pin-point much more specifically what is needed in the moment rather than an interesting "psychic" fact. The focus is in the action needed in the moment.

M. P:-1. Clairvoyance and telepathy [are] . . . dealing with what is already known by sensory perception except that it is a more refined condition. It is part of the extended mask. . . . From

235 what I see around nowadays, most people involved with psychic phenomena are on the nature side. This deals with the past . . . subconscious power.

9.3 The mind can be trained to acknowledge and support Field activity.

L.G. There are times that I listen with my mind and am also out in the field. . . . Information is passed better (through] both field and mind. . . . The mind accesses information. It collects, but there is no judgment quality. I can talk.

S.S. I think the fact that I can express it to you this way ... shows there is a consciousness involved .., that I assume was not there in the primitive. . . . Either the subconscious or the superconscious can talk to you through a conscious structure. (I hope it's the superconscious! ) The consciousness is a support.

M.M. The mind, being obviously part of the whole, can be trained to function as part of the whole, instead of being only part of the persona. But that means retraining the mind. That retraining can only be done from the one behind - not by the mind itself.

9.4 There is a nonjudging, noncomparing cognition which can be used.

L.G. There are times that I listen with my mind and am also in the field. . . . The mind accesses information. It collects, but there is no judgment quality.

S.S. Sometimes, for a moment, my mind looks at what I'm saying and says, "Ah, that's interesting." But it rarely does that. ... You don't look back on your day and examine and judge it.

M.M. The elation, "I am doing well" .., is completely beside the point. The concern is not on my action, the concern is on the situation.

10.1 Ineffability.

L.G. There is no way to describe what is going on in words . . . the words are always smaller right away.

S.S. It's hard to tell you what it is that "comes out" when I register "outside." I car tell you what it's not. . . . I have no judgments, I feel quite empty. . . . There are no references.

236 M. M. It's not possible to tell, there are no words. It cannot be enclosed in any known paradigm. It's not verbalized in its fullness. . . . You cannot do a phenomenological study of what is lived if you want to respect the condition of wholeness. ... People . . . reduce the fullness to their paradigm .., and then wonder why it is not effective.

The action, being creative, starts in the now. Now is new; it's not from the past. This is the main problem with verbalizing. By definition, you use words that have gained meaning in the past, and you are supposed to respect that.

10.2 Ineffability can be over come by going behind what is apparent. L.G. Sometimes, a client comes in in their ordinary state and is not working fieldwise, there is a narrowness about them, in terms of their orientation. It almost seems sensory. And we work, the feeling in the room shifts. . . . And also their processes of dealing with whatever they are trying to deal with get wider. Sometimes, I don't even have to say anything, and they make connections that come from the combination of them getting wider, joining whatever is in the room, participating with me and me participating with them.

S.S. I try to bring them [people with only personal references] behind the play of what is apparent. They are always dealing with what is apparent . . . on the level of the first impulse. . . . I train them to begin to cc behind - to unfold what is behind their desires, what is behind their thoughts, to unfold what is behind sensation . . . . It's always remarkable with people that there is something behind.

Nt.Mi. The problem [of ineffability] can be altered if you bring out the ability to listen through the words . . . you can hear a word with your concrete mind knowing it is only a carrier, and your attention is on the meaning behind. That means you join the life . . . the wholeness behind.

10.3 The experience is communicable by entrainment: Living it together from Field. L.G. When I start to work fieldwise, it's as if the "field" expands and joins the other "field" and they join what is there . . . a fullness and aliveness is more present in the room. If [the client] is receptive to what is going on . . . there is a response in them. I see it in their behavior. It's the difference between being dead and narrow, or being out and alive.

237 S.S. When you play [field activity] with the other instrument (the other person) it seems to work. . . . There is an echo in the other person.

There is a response from the field that is apparent. It's a wholistic experience . . . seen, heard, felt, experienced all at once.

N1. M. When you live a certain quality of life, you see that quality of life in the field around and through the other person. You see the response. If there is no response, it is too early. The person is not ready for it. If there is a response, what we observe is that there is a certain structuring that is being done

beyond consciousness (superconscious).

Explanation of the Summary of Metathemes

Though it is impossible to reconstruct experience of acting Field from descriptions of it, it is possible to reconstruct the current conscious phenomena through which it has been communicated to the researcher. The participants seemed to be primarily interested in ascribing acting Field from its conscious transpersonal side rather than a personal side, although that is sometimes included. The purpose of this summary is to synthesize the salient metathemes enumerated above into a composite whole. In order to underline the fact that the linear order of metathemes is arbitrary, the interrelation will be presented in a different sequence than outlined above. The summary will be organized in light of the material presented in the literature review.

In the spirit of acting Field, the reader is cautioned to regard the following description as a heuristic device only, not the experience. If the attention is placed on the quality of the living which the words are attempting to carry, it is possible to unlock the description and behold the activity again as a functioning present. This is the way to derive the greatest benefit from this research.

238

The reader is also cautioned not to take the presented description as an exhaustive compilation of all the prereflective structures involved in acting Field.

Summary of Metathemes

The experience of acting Field registers in the ordinary consciousness in several ways identical to peak experiences. There is a sense of timelessness, ineffability, and a heightened aliveness. There is a sense of wholeness, being unified in the environment, in humanity, and with a client.

Like the plateau experience and mystical Christian and Buddhist reports, there is a natural movement in daily activity, to do what would benefit the entire situation, not just meet one's own needs. This inclusive activity is ongoing, not an occasional burst. In this ongoing condition, there are occasions when ego function (or sense of identity) is not necessary. The focus is on what is going on, so there is no need for self-reflection. The "I" may be experienced as plural.

Like certain Zen Buddhist descriptions, the position "beyond ego "10 is objective (that is, outside mental, emotional, and sensory references) precise and helpful to others. It is clearly distinguishable ego. If a personal identity is needed, it functions relatively without problems or self-concern. If there are psychic activities, they are secondary, used only from the Field.

The transpersonal field is experienced as more primary, basic, true than the body, the emotions, the thoughts, and the abstract mind.

from emotional fusion, hysteria,

uncontrolled subconscious, and weak

10Beyond in the sense of ego and more. It is not meant to imply a dualism.

239

The personal functions, though limited, are included as expressions of the unconfined whole. There are occasions when the brain does not appear to be involved. However, the mind, ordinary consciousness, and the senses can be trained to register and support the field activity. There is a nonjudging, noncomparing cognition which can be used. Direct knowing, not mediated through intuition or thought is possible. This does not involve past references.

Up to this point, themes are similar to those found in the psychological and mystical literature. Those following seem to be specific to this mode of functioning and have not been previously described.

Even though a direct intuitive-like knowing occurs, it is not a precondition to acting Field. The knowing happens simultaneously with acting Field; one does not have to know how first. In fact, one cannot know first, in the sense of following a system or an idea. Instead of relying on memory or past experience, the moment is fresh, new, creative. The Field action does not repeat itself; it is constantly creative. This creativity does not come from anything mental, emotional, or sensory.

The movement starts from the Field and moves to the more obvious and psychologically familiar. Striving, emotional desire, searching with the mind, and mental willing do not actuate transpersonal field. What is being searched for is already working behind what is apparent. The directivity of the Field has an authority nevertheless, a sense of responsibility for the action that occurs. (it is not something "coming through" you.)

of its own that does not derive from personal intent.

There is,

240

The actinic mode requires fieldwise action. One major difference between actinic mode and other modes is that the action is out, rather than going in or toward the "inner" or trying to read the "inner" (by manipulating the environment for oneself or being receptive to it). There may be a sense of radiating with others and the environment. There is no personal isolation (or meditative absorption alone). The experience is communicable by entrainment, or living, sharing Field. So, the apparent ineffability can be overcome by connecting to the living the words are attempting to express.

Chapter 5

SUMMARY

The purpose of this research has been to provide a clear preliminary

description of acting Field, establishing as many characteristics as possible at

this time, and to place this way of functioning in a context appropriate both to

the qualities which emerged from the research and the spirit of the times.

Characteristic metathemes of acting Field were brought into relief in

Chapter 4. The first section of this chapter will be confined to discussion of the relation of these metathemes to other related research and descriptive literature.

In the second part of the chapter, specific recommendations will be made for further research.

Conclusions

This section is broken down into seven related topics. First, the findings in Chapter 4 will be brought into relationship with other closely related research.

The same kind of discussion about closely related mystical literature will follow.

General corroboration's of specific physics and consciousness findings will then be followed by a comparison of phenomenological descriptions of schizophrenia and acting Field. The results which have not previously been reported in literature or research will be spelled out within the context of these conclusions.

From that perspective, actinic mode is more sharply brought into relief. This section ends by pointing out where and in what ways the research results are limited. 241

242

Relationship of Findings to Closely Related Research

This section will correlate the metathemes with similar phenomenological research. Three such studies are detailed.

Myers. Five specific characteristics of predominately cobiotic empathy were marked out by Wayland Meyers (1977). Refer to page 125 of this work for more detail on Myers' study. All these findings were corroborated by this study, although there was only minor support for item two. Myers' results are tabulated below with related metathemes from the current study.

Cobiotic Empathy

(1 ) Participating in an active field around and through both people . . . being related to but more fundamental than the other's physical/mental/ emotional condition.

(2) Because of (1), certain aspects of the other's physical/mental/emotional condition are directly experienced.

(3) The experience is not produced by the empathizer. (He does not use his mind, or emotions to create the experience. ) Acting Field

2.1 The personal is included in the nonpersonal field.

2.2 That which is nonpersonal is more primary.

4.6 Unified Field including everything. Myers' study does not include this broad a scope, but broader than one individual.

4.4 The condition of working with another person is not a duality.

1.2 Directivity of Field has an authority of its own which does not derive from the personal aspect.

7.3 One does not produce the Field activity from the personality.

243 Cobiotic Empathy Acting Field

(4) Not only the possibility 7.1 The field changes the of gaining knowledge of personality. the other's situation, but also effecting charge. This is possible because there is active partici pation in a more funda mental life.

Though all of Myers' findings were supported by metathemes from this study, only nine out of the thirty-five total metathemes were involved. The Myers study could be situated as a subset within the larger context of this study. We could say that experiences of predominately cobiotic empathy are aspects of acting Field which have the most clearly empathetic elements. Even though the terminology is different, they are apparently dealing with the same general way of functioning.

In the course of discussion of his results, Myers asks, "How can I know predominately cobiotic empathy is not a group imagination?" This is an important question because those interviewed all have similar training and somewhat similar ways of describing their experiences.

The results of this study provide at least one answer to that question.

When acting Field, the three participants described situations where there were responses by people who did not know anything about

(5) Possibility of experience encompassing empathy. The situation is no longer dichotomized, but a living wholeness which can but does not necessarily include the mine/yours dichotomy.

4.1 Condition beyond ego: Participant can tell when this occurs.

4.4 When working with another person, there is one condition that is lived. There is no confusion or, the level of personal identity.

24 4 what was going on and were not trained in the way the participants were. L. G, describes a physiological change in a drug sensitive woman, a new client who knew nothing of what she was doing (see p. 174). S.S. describes an echo in various centers in a woman whom she had told nothing of what she was doing

(see p. 192). M.M. speaks of sounding to see the response before proceeding

(see p. 215). These responses, when they come from people who have no conceptual information about acting Field, constitute some proof that what is occurring is not group imagination.

Hycner. After reading the compiled results of the metathemes in Chapter

5, it occurred to the researcher that there were some striking similarities between those results and the results of Richard Hycner's (1976) phenomenological study of wonder. Hycner's results are tabulated below and wherever possible are correlated with metathemes from this study. Those findings which are not supported by this study are often aspects of other ways of connecting field or other modes specifically not included in this study. Those will be noted when appropriate. Items are listed in the order of Hycner's results.

Most of his findings that are not mentioned in this current study are at the beginning of his list.

Wonder Ground of normal experience: ongoing usual experience was broken into by the experience of wonder and returned to the same ground.

Unexpected: participants were surprised by the experience, had no intention of having the experience.

Acting Field

Not mentioned: no dichotomy between normal, or usual and acting Field. It is not a peak experience but a life style. Not mentioned: again, this is not a peak experience. Common to relating to experiences.

245 Wonder

Object of wonder had a radical otherness.

Fascination: irresistibly drawn to object of wonder.

Sense of being taken by something stronger than oneself. No control over it.

Powerful impact. Openness. Acting Field

Contradicted: acting Field is a with rather than a dichtomizing like relating to.

Not mentioned: a dichotomy common to relating to experiences.

Contradicted: Wonder shows a receptive mode quality. In acting Field, though the personality is not in control, there is a sense of being in charge. (See 1.2.)

L.G. reported on the powerful impact of her first experience.

2.1 Personal (mental /emotional /sensory) is included in the transpersonal which is not con fined. S.S. cites openness specifically.

Overwhelming . Not mentioned: experiences described more from Field than personal side. Ineffable. 10.1 Ineffable.

Noncognative: the participants 8.1 Memory required for did not want to think and did not think.

Nonattached being: Not the personality, but "someone" was beyond themselves responding. For the moment, they were viewing their actions from a totally nonpersonal perspective, more primitive or basic.

Paradoxes: experienced many paradoxes without contradiction. No need to reconcile them. analytical thinking is suspended. The mind does not process all the time, 246 Wonder Acting Field

Nontask oriented: no goal 11.3 Striving does not in the experience. Not activate the field. expected to get anything from the experience. 4.2 There is a natural movemoment to benefit the whole contrasted to benefit for separated person. (These items apply but the emphasis is slightly different than Hycner's). Lived space: The body is not 2.1 The personal (mental/ held in but seemed able to emotional/sensory included expand beyond the physical in the transpersonal which limits to include the object. is not confined. 5.3 Though the primary quality of radiating is not mentioned, the experience of body is somewhat parallel. Sense of Unity. 4.6 Sense of unified field that includes everything. Hycner includes less but, the sense of a smaller unity is there.

Peacefulness: a sense of Partially contradicted: be-ing instead of being-for-some- sense of purpose, but not purpose. purpose is not on the personal level.

1.3 Personal striving does not activate the field.

No sense of lack.

Marked absence of fear! anxiety.

Not directly mentioned, but 5.2, sense of aliveness, includes it.

Not directly discussed, but is implied by 5.1: direction out rather than in. Acting Field overrides personal and emotional condition. Interpersonal: a heightened Not mentioned: The experience sense of meeting in personal does not focus on the personal relationships. to the personal. There is a sense of being unified on another level, however, in 4.3.

247 Wonder

Lived time: immediate spontaneous transformation of consciousness to orient on the present. Not aware of previous activities nor concern for the future. No concern for time.

Ending the experience: the experience was definitely over and there was a return to usual consciousness.

Recall of wonder is wondrous. Acting Field

8.3 Experience of timelessness.

Although not mentioned directly, the unconcern about past and future are included in 6.2, 6.4, and 6.5.

Not mentioned: not a peak experience, but a style of life.

Not directly mentioned: concerned more to continue acting Field than recall, but it can be lived again. S.S. gives example.

Twelve of the thirty-five metathemes (34$) in this study were clearly parallel to those found in wonder. Four additional ones were somewhat less directly related. On the other side, half (50%) of Hycner's findings were directly related to acting Field. This semimatch probably indicates that the experiences of wonder and acting Field are related but not identical, having certain elements in common and certain differences. Hycner was describing a peak experience, not an ongoing lifestyle. Several of the themes cited were characteristic of the relating to way of connecting field and the receptive mode. Personal satisfactions are not stressed by the participants in this current study which may account for the reasons some qualities of the personal situation were not mentioned.

Maslow. In Appendix A of Religions, Values, and Peak Experiences, Abraham Maslow (10,64)

itemizes the findings of his

248 phenomenological explorations tabulated below with shortened descriptions, correlated with metathemes for this study.

Peak Experiences

(1 ) Whole universe perceived (non-theoretically) as integrated, unified whole. into peak experiences. They are and wherever possible

Acting Field

4.6 Sense of unified Field including everything.

(2) Nonevaluating, noncomparing cognition. Figure and ground less sharply differentiated.

(3a) Perceives external objects as more detached from human concerns (particularly private, selfish concerns). Can see world as an end-in-itself rather than something to be used, something to be afraid of, or reacted to in a personal self-centered way.

(3b) Somewhat godlike, superhuman perception, lifting us to heights so we can see and perceive in a higher than usual way. 9.4 There is a nonjudging, noncomparing cognition that can be used.

2.2 That which is not-thepersonal is experienced as more primary to participant than the personal.

4.2 Movement to benefit the whole as contrasted to benefit for separated individual person.

6.3 Focus on what is going on. Self-reflection is unnecessary.

8.4 Intuitivelike knowing that is nondual.

L.G. Described field-A as coming from a higher place.

9.1 Sensory function is not limited to what usual consciousness expects. 249 Peak Experiences

(4) Perception can become relatively egotranscending, closer to being unmotivated, impersonal, desireless, detached, not needina or wishing.

(5) The experience is felt to be self-validating, highly valuable. It justifies not only itself, but living itself.

(6) End experiences rather than means to an end. They are worthwhile in themselves.

(7) Characteristic disorientation in time and space, even lack of consciousness of time and space.

(8) World is experienced as good and worthwhile; never experienced as evil or undesirable. Bad thinas in life are accepted more totally than at other times.

(9) Sees evil as a product of limited or selfish vision and understanding. Because of that, understanding rather than blame, condemn or disappointment or shock.

(10) Fusion of facts and values, i.e., people not only exist, but are also sacred; the world not only exists, but is also sacred. Acting Field

4.1 Condition beyond ego: can tell when this occurs.

1.3 Position beyond ego is objective, functional, helpful, precise. It is distinguished from emotional problems.

Not mentioned, but implied by 1.1 and 2.2.

Not mentioned, but acting Field seemed to be regarded as an end by all participants.

8.3 Timelessness.

Not mentioned. Wholeness is not dichotomized into good and evil.

Not mentioned. Acting Field is from wholeness. Any personal aspect 250 Peak Experiences

(11) B-Cognition is more passive, receptive, humble than normal perception; ready to listen, able to hear.

(12) Emotions like wonder, awe, reverence reported. Peak experiences can be so wonderful they can parallel experience of an eager, happy death.

(13) Dichotomies, polarities and conflicts of life tend to be transcended and resolved, both in world and within self.

(14) Fear disappears.

(15) Immediate effects or aftereffects in which the person is changed forever, or lesser effects that could be called therapeutic.

(16) Peak is like visiting a personally defined heaven from which the person returns to earth.

(17) Tendency to move more closely to a perfect identity, or to his real self - to become more a real person. Acting Field

Not mentioned. This is receptive mode. From a personal perspective, it would probably be true of participants, but they report from perspective of Field in actinic mode.

Not mentioned. May be true from a personality perspective, but they report from Field perspective and don't mention emotional reactions.

2.1 The personal (mental/ emotional I/ sensory) is included in the transpersonal, which is not confined.

4.6 Sense of unified Field.

3.1 The position beyond ego is objective, functional, helpful, precise. It is distinauished from emotional problems.

Not mentioned directly but implied in examples of working with self and others.

251 Peak Experiences

(18) Feels himself more than at other times to be responsible, active, the creative center of his own activity. More self-determined.

(19) Persons with clearest, strongest identities are those most able to transcend the ego, or become selfless, or relatively selfless.

(20) Becomes more loving and more accepting, so he becomes more spontaneous and honest and innocent.

(21) He becomes less an object, less a thing living, under the laws of the physical world, more a psyche, more subject to the laws of what people have called the "higher life."

(22) Becomes less selfish

(23) During and after a peak, people feel lucky, fortunate, graced. Have a feeling of gratitude.

(24) Dichotomy or polarity between humility and pride tends to resolve by fusing them into a unity. Acting Field

3.2 A sense of responsibility for what occurs which doesn't stem from personal action. Maslow's #18 is a partial application of this.

3.1 The position beyond ego is objective, functional, help ful, precise. It is distinguished from problems of personality: hysteria, uncontrolled subconscious, and "weak ego."

4.2 There is a natural movement to benefit the whole as contrasted to benefit for the separated individual. See especially S.S. Spontaneity implied by 6.4.

2.2 That which not-the-personal is experienced as primary to the participant rather than the personal (organismic) . Also implied in 2.1 and 4.3.

6.3 The focus is on what is going on, self-reflection is unnecessary.

4.2 Movement to benefit the whole rather than separated individual. 252 Peak Experiences

(25) Glimpse of what is called "unitive consciousness," a sense of sacred glimpsed through a particular instance of the secular, or worldly.

Acting Field

4.6 Sense of unified Fielcd including everything. The sacred aspect is not mentioned specifically by anyone except S.S., but it underlies the attitude of each participant.

As with the Hycner study on wonder, there is not one hundred percent inclusion of the qualities of either experience in the other. Fourteen metathemes can be correlated to nineteen out of Maslow's twenty-five items. In five cases, the metatheme was more general than Maslow's item. Conversely, there were five of Maslow's items which were more general and covered more than one metatheme.

The fit is closer than with the Hycner study: 76% of the qualities of Peak

Experiences are aspects of acting Field. Of the seven items not mentioned or implied by the participants of this study, one was specifically ruled out because it described the receptive mode. One was characteristic of peak experiences more than an ongoing way of life. Five involved dichotomized experience; three of those were seen from the personal half of the dichotomy which was ruled out as the relating to way of connecting Field. On the basis of this information, it could be concluded that acting Field is a Peaklike experience which is ongoing and does not involve radical dichotomy.

There are twenty-two metathemes (63%) which were not included in

Maslow's description of peak experiences. This clearly indicates that acting Field involves a great deal more than peak experiences, while including those qualities.

253 Mystical Literature Corroborates Many Findings Buddhist, Taoist, and Christian Mystical writings speak of characteristics similar to many of the metathemes. This is supporting evidence that the experiences symbolized by those metathemes have broader human significance than (and not limited to) a group of Californians in the twentieth century. Since the relation between acting Field and Buddhism is complex, all the metathemes will be tabulated with a representative Buddhist example where available. There are not so many parallels and half parallels between acting Field and either Taoism or Christian mysticism so only the applicable metathemes will be listed for those writings.

Buddhism. Only a few references in Buddhist literature are cited for a metatheme. This listing is not meant to exhaust the references available for an item. If no Buddhist reference is mentioned, there are none to this researcher's knowledge.

Buddhism Acting Field

1.1 The same is said to be 1.1 What is searched for is the case for Dharmadhatu already working behind [Dharmafield], but one what is apparent. must strive to reach it in Buddhism. (Takasaki)

1.2 Not mentioned. 1.2 Directivity of the Field has an authority of its Fields are not characterized own which does not derive by directivity. Personal from personal intent. intent is recognized: con sciousness is to be directed toward enlightenment. (Ratna)

254 Buddhism Acting Field

1.3 Striving is seen as counter- 1.3 Striving does not activate productive. Wu Wei [non- the Field. action] is a nonstriving position. (Blofeld) •

Striving for enlightenment is encouraged. (Govinda) 2.1

Sense of Absolute Self functions in daily routine. (Fourth Rank)

Unity of consciousness and plurality of world are not in proportion. (Fifth Rank)

Stillness and action are but one body in reality. Personality is not a separate aspect. (Yan-hsein)

Personal consciousness is both identical and different from alaya [ground of consciousness in thusness]. (Lankavatara Sutra) 2.1 The personal (mental, emotional, sensory) is included in the transpersonal which is not confined. 2 2 The sphere of the formless 2.2 That which is not-the is reached in which differ- personal is experienced entitation and duality fade as more primary to the away. There is a shift in participant than the the platform on which to personal (organism). situate the plurality of things. From this new position, "jump off the 100-foot pole" into inter penetration [return to the world]. (Tung-shan)

Vrajadhatu [diamond realm] of original knowledge is more basic than the "three worlds."

The wholesome and unwholesome functions of peripheral consciousness must be balanced before one can return to the "original face." (Abidhamma)

255 Buddhism

3.1 Mental illness and drug states distinguished from enlightenment as "pseudokensho." (Sekida) 3.2 Not mentioned.

4.1 Wisdom means that your stillness of mind is not disturbed by any thought of that stillness, your purity is unmarred by any thought of purity . . . and enter into pairs of opposites without being stained or dependent on either. (Hui Hai)

4.2 Goddhisatva vow

Prajna [wisdom] must be accompanied by karuna [ compassion] . (Ratna ) Acting Field

3.1 The position beyond ego is objective, functional, helpful, precise. It is distinguished from emotional problems of the personality: hysteria, uncontrolled subconscious and "weak ego."

3.2 When acting Field, there is a sense of responsibility for what is done that does not stem from personal action.

4.1 Condition beyond ego: can differentiate when this occurs.

4.2 Natural movement to benefit the whole as contrasted to benefit for 256 Buddhism

4.3 Not mentioned. 4.3 This does occur in the A.A. Baily work which is based on Tibetan Buddhism in England.

4.4 Not mentioned. 4.4 It is implied by Yan-hsien and others, i.e., "Stillness and action are but one body in reality" and the waves are not separated from the ocean analogy in the Lankavatara Sutra.

4.5a Not mentioned. 4.5a

4.5b Not mentioned. 4.5b Much Buddhist practice is an inward directed attention. Outward circumstances are deprived as in the Second Category. Acting Field

Experiences being unified with humanity in some way more than a collection of individuals. In some unspecified way, what affects one affects all.

When working with another person, there is one condition that is lived. There is not a duality. Nevertheless, there is not confusion at the level of personal identity.

When regarded from Field, the one talking experiences being multiple as compared with being single.

Acting Field is most common in the presence of other people.

4.6 Dharmadhatu, is the absolute Field of pure thusness. Gharbadhatu is the absolute conceived as the womb of all phenomena. They form a whole. (Ratna)

The above are the basis for co-dependent origination of all phenomena. (Nagarjuna)

257 Buddhism

5.3 Though abiding in the Dharma, we emit an effulgent radiation that penetrates the universe. (Hui Hai)

Arupadhatu is a formless field of Radiant beings and radiance. (Abidhamma)

Sambhogakaya: body that is boundless, spacelike, formless from which the nonverbal teaching (Dharma) is transmitted to others. (Ratna)

6.1 Not mentioned

Actually in Buddhism, Prajna (intuition) must come before doing.

6.2 Not mentioned.

6.3 Wisdom means that stillness is not disturbed by any thought of your stillness, and your purity is unmarred by any thought of purity. (Hui Hai)

In the First and Third Categories, no reflection of the consciousness of the self occurs.

6.4 Not mentioned.

From one line, the only creativity is in the "three worlds." ( Naaarjuna)

Another line, category of creativity neither fits nor does not fit. (Hui Hai) Acting Field 5.3 Sense of radiating Field.

6.1 The participants don't 258 Buddhism

6.5 Not mentioned.

7.1 Not mentioned.

7.2 Not directly mentioned, but it could be said of Sambhogakaya in transmission of the Dharma.

7.3 Not mentioned.

Buddhist position is not clear here. All causal activity is said to be generated in the "three worlds." Dharmadhatu isn't said to be caused or active or changing.

8.1 Third Category: no reflecting action of the consciousness; notice nothing, feel nothing, see nothing, but not vacant. Can say nothing about.

8.2 Not mentioned.

It is possible this could be occurring in 10th Oxherding picture, Third Category, and Third Rank.

8.3 When memory and reverie are cut off, the past and future cease to exist. (Blofeld) Actina Field

6.5 When living from Field and working with someone, you have to follow every movement and do what is needed at each point without following a system or idea of what is to be done.

7.1 Field changes the personality.

7.2 A movement starts from the field and moves to the more obvious.

7.3 Field action is not produced from the personality.

259 Buddhism

Third Rank: total loss of reference . . . disappearance of a platform on which to situate the plurality of things [which includes time] . 8.4 Prajna [translated both wisdom and intuition] is a knowing by becoming that. (Takasaki's commentary on the Ratna)

9.1 Not mentioned.

9.2 Goleman cites many examples: Tibetan Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche treats divination as nothing special but something resorted to only in great need.

9.3 Not directly mentioned. Perhaps acknowledgement of prajna would be that kind of training.

9.4 With radiance comes a brilliant, clear state of mind. Every phenomenon is perceived without evaluation or attachment. (Blofeld)

10.1 The word is far from the substance of the matter, and in the substance, the word does not exist. (Vimilikirti Sutra)

10.2 The wordless is carried in the midst of the worded. One who speaks "words" through inspiration Acting Field

8.4 There is an intuitivelike knowing which is more whole (unmediated) than intuition.

9.1 Sensory function is not limited to what usual, enclosed consciousness expects.

9.2 I f there are psychic abilities, they are used in an active, nonpersonal way.

9.3 The mind can be trained to acknowledge and support Field activity.

260 Buddhism Acting Field

speaks from a superior level, a level of synthesis of "word" and "nonword." (Tsao-shan)

10.3 Not mentioned. 10.3 The experience is communicable by entrainment, living it together from the Field.

Of all the comparisons done, more metathemes (51%) are described by the Buddhist literature than any other source. This

Buddhist experience than any other source studied. There are, however, a significant number of differences (seventeen metathemes).

Taoism. Only those items will be listed here which are primarily characteristics of Taoism before it became synthesized with Buddhism to form

Chan Buddhism.

Taoism Acting Field

1.3 Wu Wei: A man of superior 1.3 Striving does not activate virtue is nonacting and the Field. makes no intentional effort yet acts. (Suzuki on Lao Tzu)

4.6 The Tao cannot be cut 4.6 The sense of unified into pieces for measure- Field includes every ment . . . or logical thing. analysis. . . . What is infinite cannot be measured by the finite. (Suzuki)

would indicate that more aspects of

acting Field are part of the

261 Taoism

6.3 The wise man acts but does not take credit for himself. (Suzuki on Lao-Tzu)

6.4 Tao is and yet becomes continually. It is transforming. Its very being is becoming. (Lao-Tzu)

The Tao never acts and yet through it nothing is undone. All things create themselves. (Chung-yuan)

7.3 The wise man realizes the Tao is back of all his doings. His acts are nonpurposive. (Suzuki on LaoTzu)

10.1 The Tao that can be tao'd is not the Tao. (Mai Mai Sze)

You cannot catch the Tao. . . . When you go through these descriptions you are tempted to imagine that the Tao is nonexistent. (Suzuki) Acting Field

6.3 The focus is on what is going on. Self-reflection is unnecessary.

6.4 The transpersonal Field is constantly creative.

7.3 Field action is not produced from the personality.

10.1 Ineffability.

Christian mysticism. Because of the dual language required by dogma, even apparently applicable experiences are expressed in dual language. this researcher suspects there are many more actual correlaries than show up in the written documents.

Christian Mysticism

2.1 The Lord united with his creature in such a way that they have become two who cannot be separated from one another [spiritual marriage]. (St. Theresa) 262 Christian Mysticism

Thoughts should be on God. One should not think of images or ideas longer than necessary to fulfill obligations and duties. (St. John of the Cross)

2.2 Experiences of God bear 2.2 no resemblances to any knowledge or feelings about God that he might have had before meeting God. (St. John of the Cross)

6.3 One must achieve this unself- 6.3 consciousness by means of transformed knowledge. This ignorance does not come from lack of knowledge but rather it is from knowledge that one may achieve this ignorance. (Meister Eckhart)

8.1 St. John of the Cross lists 8.1 all the benefits derived from forgetting natural thoughts and supernatural thoughts and knowledge of the memory. Acting Field

That which is not-thepersonal is experienced as more primary to the participant than the personal.

The focus is on what is going on. Self-reflection is unnecessary.

Participants describe situations where there is no memory involved.

8.4 The Lord appears in the 8.4 There is an intuitivelike center of the soul, not knowing which is more through an imaginary but an whole (unmediated) than intellectual vision. . . . intuition. This [is] instantaneous communicatiorn of God to the soul. (St. Theresa)

Summary. Within the writings of Buddhism, Taoism, and Christian mysticism can be found descriptions of many of the experiences reported in the metathemes of this study. This is further evidence that there is at least some significance to the findings of this study, when significance is determined by the presence of a human characteristic through time and in other cultures.

263 Corroboration of Science and Consciousness Research Certain theoretical formulations in the hard sciences have found experiential support in a number of the metathemes of acting Field. The presence of this experiential evidence supports the hypothesis that people are capable of experiencing what was previously thought to be only theoretical.

Physics research. Preliminary characteristics of acting transpersonal field and Field were said to be consistent with the characteristics of particle physics and those characteristics were tabulated on pages 110-111. This characterization was born out in tote by the more detailed research for acting Field. The transpersonal field was not described alone in the detailed research, so no evaluation of it is possible at this time. It could be concluded that aspects of contemporary field physics provide a serviceable metaphor for the communication of the practically ineffable experience of acting Field. Experiential parallels to certain theoretical formulations were explicitly expressed by certain of the metathemes.

Theoretical Formulations Acting Field

It is widely assumed that the 2.2 That which is not-the force fields would remain even if personal is experienced all compound matter were to be as more primary to the dissolved into them as radiation participant than the or other wave forms. ... personal (organismic). Therefore, the fields may be thought of as being real in a sense that is superior to the physical world. (Kunz, 1963, p. 16)

264 Theoretical Formulations Nothing can exist or happen except that which the fields, by their proper nature allow. . . . All creatures including humans are incessantly adjusting not only to the mechanical and chemical changes, but also to electromagnetic field forces and other, no doubt, as yet unknown. (Kunz, 1963, p. 20)

All these phenomena [sculptural shapes] take their rise field vibration. They have, therefore, originated in vibration and are in some measure its specific effects. Vibration produces a multiplicity of effects or is polyergic. (Jenny, 1967, p. 147)

It is through the generative and sustaining vibrational field that the entire complex comes into being. This complex whole is omnipresent. There is no parcellation, no patchwork; on the contrary, what appears to be a detail is utterly integrated with the generative action and merely acquires the semblance of an individual. (Jenny, 1967, pp. 98-99)

Nonphysical fields affect physical dimensions. (Tiller, 1978) Acting Field

7.3 The field action is not produced by the personality.

7.1 The field changes the personality.

7.2 The movement starts from the field and moves to the more obvious.

7.1 The field changes the personality.

7.2 The movement starts from the field and moves to the more obvious.

4.6 There is a sense of a unified field including everything.

4.5a When regarded from Field, the one talking experiences him/herself as being multiple as compared to being single ("I" is plural).

7.1, 7.2, and 7.3 above.

From these findings, it may be possible that causative factors in the psychological and physiological person might be found in the field rather 265

Entrainment. /'s mentioned in the Science and Consciousness section of

Chapter 2, it was hoped that the research would make the dynamics of entrainment more evident. One participant, S.S., described her experience of echo in a fairly detailed manner, but the others were less explicit. Metatheme

10.3 brings together the experience of the participants regarding the communication aspect of the entrainment. There was not enough focus on the subject to establish the dynamics of the process in much detail. The research does, however, indicate that some form of nonphysical rhythmic communication plays a major part in acting Field.

Morphogenic fields. During the process of phenomenological reflection, this researcher became aware that metatheme 4.3 (Experiences being unified with humanity in some way that is more than a collection of individuals. In some unspecified way, what affects one affects the others.) could be a report of the activity of a morphogenic field. Plant biologist, Rupert Sheldrake (1981) has hypothesized that

... all systems are regulated not only by known energy and material factors but also by invisible organizing fields (formative fields). . . . Whenever one member of a species learns a new behavior, the causative field for the species is changed, however slightly. If the behavior is repeated long enough, its "morphic" resonance affects the entire species.

(Ferguson, 1981, p. 1 )

As greater numbers of that species express that behavior, an enrichment of the formative field occurs. Its edges become blurred by the statistical variation in the behavior (Sheldrake, 1982). The reports of the participants listed under metatheme 4.3 indicate that they may be

2 66 aware of morphogenic fields involving humanity. This could be explained by

Sheldrake's hypothesis.

Acting Field and Schizophrenia

In the search of the literature of Western psychology, empirical studies were cited which differentiated mystical experience in general from mental illness in general. Chapter 4 of this study provides additional support to the studies which indicate that mystical experience per se is not mental illness and in many cases may result in increased mental health. This was the experience of all three participants, both with themselves and with their clients.

Reports in the literature search were confined to the general issue. With the results of the research in hand, specific comparisons can be made between phenomenological studies of persons classified as schizophrenic and the experience called acting Field. Two such studies will be reported here, one done by Wilson Van Dusen (1958) of Mendicino State Hospital, Talmadge, California, and one by R. D. Laing (1965) who was, at the time of writing, director of

Langham Clinic, London, and was doing research into families with the Tavistock

Institute of Human Relations, as a Fellow of the Foundations Fund for Research in Psychiatry. These studies were selected because they include descriptions of nonschizophrenics for comparison purposes. This is particularly useful since there is no generally agreed upon definition of schizophrenia.

In order to point up differences and similarities as sharply as possible, the material will be presented in a brief, tabular form. In order to compare positions on exactly the same points as raised by Van Dusen and Laing, the material in the column acting Field will be drawn

267 both from the metathemes and the individual interviews. A more detailed exposition does not seem appropriate in this context, however, it could be considered a worthwhile study in itself.

TABLE 1. Van Dusen (1958) compiled in tabular form compared to Acting Field. Pathology is not in voidness itself, but in the way of reacting to voidness.

Schizophrenia

Blank apathy which enlarges to fill life space.

Difficult concentrating over periods of time.

Momentary blankness which is fought.

Caught by the gaze of another and lose sense of direction momentarily. Tao and Zen

Void periods acknowledged and used.

Enters the void and drifts welcoming it. Feeling the solution is there if I could think clearly enough. Acting Field

Often there may be no references when acting Field, but full aliveness, no apathy.

In the context of the Field, one can be quite present without thinking or drifting. Other Western Loss of meaning. Lost in void for years. Feeling nothing for very brief periods of time. In helplessness one waits. One's own will cannot find the way out. Field action is nothing to the personal will or mental or emotional knowing. Drop time and forget time has been dropped.

Loss of memory. Lose thread of conversation, realize after several moments you are in your own fantasy.

Forget what you were going to say. In the void there are no words, no actions, no answers.

One may not remember while in the void. Time and space, explicate order actions, words are not always needed.

Sometimes memory is not needed. When he (patient) touched his nose, he exists for a moment, feeling himself to be there. Fill the void by actions and objects. Dissolve into the night of the void and come out into the day a little changed. The duality between void of Field and oneself is dissolved. One feels being present without need of actions or objects. Tries to remember what others have asked him so he can ask himself those questions and answer them, filling the void. Tries to find answers to what is wrong to fill void. Fear of unknown, nothingness, nonbeing of death. Tries to keep mind centered to VAN DUSEN: continued

Schizophrenia Other Western

If lie didn't fear he Is productive. would be productive.

Void is interpreted as a Void is explained away a force destroying the ego. variety of ways from the ego.

Tao and Zen Acting Field

Deliberately enters void with Emptiness is always present expectation of productive, in the action which is creative result. creative.

Emptiness is of supreme Lives in the active emptiness, value. It can be trusted. identifying as that and facing whatever is called for.

TABLE 2: LAING (1965) compiled from The Divided Self and compared to Acting Field.

Laing's Unembodied (SchizoidSchizophrenic)

Laing's Embodied

Acting Field

Body felt as an object among objects. Self is separate.

Always somewhat detached from the body. Does not feel substantial.

No integral base. Body felt as a field activity within larger fields. Self is a variable focus within those fields.

Identification includes the body, but not limited to it. Concreteness is increased presence of a whole.

Increasingly encompassing fields function as base. Self and body together form a "live" object, independent of world.

Feels life, substantially in terms of the body. Identified with it.

Body is the base.

Self-identity is a vacuum or void threatened with extinction by the world.

Self is outside of activity. Identity and automomy based on body.

Body and needs motivate activity. Identity is a function which can be called upon when needed as a focus in a field.

Actinic mode includes implicate order activity as well as explicate activity of self, body, and needs Self felt as omnipotent and free in fantasy only. The more indulged, the weaker in actuality. Power and freedom limited by confines of self-body unit. The more completely the encompassing directivity, love, and freedom are expressed, the more definite, strong, creative is personal expression. Seeks to remain undefined. LAING: Continued

Laing's Unembodied (SchizoidSchizophrenic)

Laing's Embodied

Acting Field

Self's relation to other is always one removed as protection of unsure ground. Self's relation to other is from sureness of one's own ground, so can lose self, temporarily. ' Relation is direct joining: meeting life with life. There is nothing to lose. Personality identification is irrelevant, but can be used. Self is an isolation.

Self is in dialectical relation.

Self as a changing function is shared without confusion. Preoccupied with fantasies, thought, memory which cannot be expressed to others or be directly observable.

Never spontaneous or immediate.

Depersonalizing in sense of turning others into objects, killing the life. Preoccupied with using and thoughts of directly observable objects and expressions about them.

Can be spontaneous and immediate.

Completely involved in the personal life. Preoccupied with expressing through the observable, that which cannot be expressed or observed by usual senses.

Most always spontaneous and immediate.

Depersonalizing in sense of identifying with the nonpersonal life while expressing it through the personal. No continuity of self in time, so no sure continuity of self. No sense of beginning and ending with the body. No reliable timeless continuity either. Continuity of self in time, beginning when body begins, ending when body dies. Sense of continuity beginning before this particular spacetime, body-field focus and continuing afterward. Rigid exterior to protect void interior. Flexible exterior over welldefined interior. Exterior and interior not clearly distinguished. Quality of flowing directed flexibility.

LAING: Continued

Laing's Unembodied (SchizoidSchizophrenic)

Laing's Embodied

Acting Field

Use of mind to create interior fantasy life more satisfying than sense objects. Use of mind to observe, analyze and combine sense objects and ideas of sense objects. Use of mind to formulate and express nonformed life in sense object context. Unconventional thought patterns. Disconnection's for which there may be no conscious reasons. Underlying logic can be followed by the emotionally sensitive. Conventional thought patterns often following Aristotelian logic. Functions by logic of general consensus. Illogic attributed to emotion. Unconventional thought patterns often following multivalued logic, consciously. Can be translated by following the life that is being expressed. Self seeks to transcend the world. May try to express omnipotence of grandiose images, which are inappropriate in the context. Self seeks to confine itself to the world and express only within the limits of the separated self-body or with aggregates of self-bodies. Transcends and encompasses world, yet expression is recognized to be necessarily limited to a time-space context and is, therefore, appropriate. Redraws demarcation between self and other-object at unconventional places in order to protect self. There is always a demarcation.

Self/body-other dichotomy Self-object demarcations are conventional. There is always separation.

Self-body/other dichotomy Relative demarcations only. They change depending upon the need and context. No absolute separations.

Self-body-other no dichotomy/no confusion

273 Given the results of these tabulations, it seems strange that experiences of acting Field which are so different from those described as schizophrenic could be confused with schizophrenic experience. Yet, this researcher has been asked several times, "How do you know acting Field is not schizophrenia?" In taking the question seriously, it seemed important to understand how the question could arise in the first place. It seems to gain most of its force and seriousness in the context of a hidden assumption that life is basically material and consciousness is built as a phenomenon entirely dependent upon that materiality, usually called an "organism." On the basis of that ruling assumption, any claim on the part of experience to the contrary will be rejected out of hand as impossible. Claims of nonegoic unified Field experiences and those not entirely dependent on an organism for their production are accounted for in various ways that preserve the basic assumption: i.e. , it is mentally ill; it is archaic and superstitious; it is prescientific (meaning it is not empirically provable by the traditional five senses or argument to the contrary can be seriously considered until the underlying selective presupposition is consciously acknowledged. If the basic assumption is acknowledged, then one can look at the issue pragmatically: what is possible, what can occur in experience and in mental and emotional growth, and in physical health, in environmental harmony, if different assumption are seriously acted upon? From the point of view of the participants in this study when they are acting Field, life has a trueness, a wholeness, an alive, free creativeness that

and therefore unreliable evidence). No

amount of experiential evidence

'174 does not occur when the enclosed organismic consciousness is assumed. There is a live current that is not personal and organismic, but which respects and includes the personal. There is an ability to radiate what is needed with another.

There is a sense of wholeness of a unified humanity and a respect for that, at the very least rather than a sense of separate organisims building a unity. They sharing that wholeness with others in a way that is appropriate for them. The presence of schizophrenia in the world as a serious problem in personal function is not questioned. However, a schizophrenic does not do what is being done by these participants. There are some superficial similarities which could be confused if one lumps any experience that does not fit the basic assumption of a material substrait into the category of mental illness. Beyond that, as the tabulated material shows, the experience of acting Field drawn from those participating and schizophrenia are as different as are schizophrenia and the usual Western embodiment as an organism.

Findings not Previously Reported

The findings of this study which have not been previously reported in the related research and the literature review are set forth here. To this researcher's knowledge, there is no precedent for these metathemes. In so far as that is true, it may indicate a new way of functioning that is developing. All the metathemes not listed here were mentioned in at least one of the studies cited earlier in this chapter. Many of them were cited by three or more of those sources.

The following metathemes appear to be reported for the first time:

275

1 .1 What searched for is already working behind what is

apparent;

4.5a When regarded from Field, the one talking experiences being

multiple as compared to being single ("f" is plural);

4.5b Acting Field is most common in the presence of other people

(implied by Myers cobiotic empathy but unstated ) ;

5.1 As a way of orienting, the direction is out as compared to in;

6.1 The participants don't know how to do before they begin;

6.2 When participants do, they know simultaneously what they are

doing;

6.5 When living from Field and working with someone, you have to follow

every movement and do what is needed at each point without

following a system or idea of what is to be done;

7.2 A movement starts from Field and moves to the more obvious;

10.3 The experience is communicable by entrainment, living it

together from the Field.

There were three other metathemes which were mentioned only by Mlyers. As stated earlier, all of his findings were supported by this

276 study. Those three metathemes are listed below and are also indications of what could be considered a new way of functioning that is described in this study.

1.2 Directivity of Field has an authority of its own which does not

derive from personal intent.

4.4 When working with another person, there is one condition

that is lived, not a duality. There is, nevertheless, no

confusion at the level of personal identity.

7.1 The Field changes the personality.

This researcher considers these twelve findings the most significant in the study. Unlike some research which is aimed at establishing universal qualities of human functioning, this research was aimed at making evident little known ways of functioning so that they can become available to more people. Once a way of functioning is known to be possible, ways to make it more available can be found.

Actinic Mode Further Defined

The actinic mode was described in the Introduction as a Field based mode in which the direction is out from the implicate order into the explicate order.

Metathemes which at this point appear to be the most important characteristics of actinic mode are listed below:

5.3 Sense of radiating field.

5.1 As a way or orienting, the direction is out as compared to in.

7.3 Field action is not produced from the personality.

277

7.2 A movement starts from the field and moves to the more obvious.

1.2 Directivity of the Field has an authority of its own which does not derive from

personal intent.

3.2 When acting Field, there is a sense of responsibility for what occurs which

does not stem from personal action.

9.3 The mind can be trained to acknowledge and support Field activity.

6.3 The focus is on what is going on, self-reflection is

unnecessary, beside the point.

4.5b Acting Field is most common in the presence of

other people. 4.3 Experiences being unified with humanity in some

way that is more than a collection of individuals. In some unspecified way,

what affects one affects the others.

10.3 The experience is communicable by entrainment, living it together from the

Field.

7.1 The field changes the personality.

4.2 There is a natural movement to benefit the whole as contrasted to benefit for

the separated individual person.

4.4 When working with another person, there is one condition that is lived.

There is not a duality.

278

There is, nevertheless, no confusion 3t the level of

personal identity.

6.5 When living from Field, working with someone, you have to

follow every movement and do what is needed at each

point, without following a system or idea of what is to be

done.

This listing should not be taken as definitively exhausting the possible characteristics of the actinic mode. As the relation between actinic mode and acting Field become clearer, other statements may need to be added.

In order to avoid confusion with certain characteristics of the receptive mode, it is important to make a distinction between being aware of an active field in the receptive mode and acting from an active field in the actinic mode. It is basically a matter of shift in the locus of function.

Limitations of Research Results

The results of this research appear to be limited in five different ways.

They will be discussed in this section. Even though there are obvious limitations, this does not nullify the positive results that have come out of the research.

The first limitation is a challenge that no phenomenological research can be done legitimately on this kind of experience. One participant, M.M., flatly said,

"If you respect [acting Field], you cannot do phenomenological research (or any other qualitative or quantitative research) on it." From this view, research violates the wholeneEs of the field, because it couches it in terms of some paradigm

27 9

or theory, which by its very nature is limiting. This objection in effect calls into

question the possibility of any research on the implicate order.

It must be acknowledged that this study does contextualize the experience in terms of twentieth century transpersonal psychology, particularly the aspect of it which conceptualizes a unity between physics and consciousness.

There is an apparent limitation imposed here if one is misled by taking the language to stand for the experience in any kind of one-to-one relationship. If the concepts are seen only as a way of drawing attention to something, then the wholeness is not necessarily violated by studying it. In the very act of pointing it out, the experience is removed from the realm of the nonexistent for those who follow the study.

The second limitation was apparent to the researcher when she submitted the results of the phenomenological reflection to others who have experience acting Field. They agreed that those metathemes mentioned did describe their experiences, but each mentioned other characteristics which they also would want included. The researcher's own experience included characteristics of acting Field which were not mentioned by the three participants, or only one of them. Since she had set up the methodological limitation that only those characteristics experienced and described by all three participants would be included, certain items significant to the researcher were not included. Until the results were circulated, she considered those additional items personally idiosyncratic. Following circulation of the results, it became apparent that more extensive interviewing should be done in order to include a broader range of metathemes.

280

An objection to the above proposal was offered by M.M.'s position that no matter how many aspects were listed, the whole can never be described, and what makes acting Field effective will not be touched upon, this discourages the above urge to attempt comprehensiveness.

Another limitation is not confined to this particular subject matter. There are difficulties inherent in giving a clear and full description to any nonverbal experience. Steven Orenstein (1980) found the same to be true in his study of the rolfing experience. He notes that descriptiveness is not only limited by the constraints and limitations of the English language, but also by a lack of familiarity with the structure of nonverbal experiences.

The final limitation that will be brought out here is the frustration inherent in doing research on something that is constantly changing. For instance, results that seemed fairly complete when seen from the 1981 context when the interviews were done, seem somewhat obsolete in 1982 as this is being written. The more time passes and the more new possibilities unfold, the more limited the results of this study seem to' be. Formulations of a certain aspect become obsolete even when that aspect itself remains important. For example, there have been three very different formulations of acting Field over the period of three years of this study. As the experience matures, the relationship to it changes. There seems to be no reason to believe that there is any final mature formulation that can eventually be reached.

It has been helpful to look at these limitations in the light of the experience of another researcher in the phenomenological method, Amedeo

Giorgi (1975a). He says,

281 The practicing researcher, when confronted with phenomena that are worthy of being researched but in fact are not because of philosophical biases or lack of adequate methodology, sees possibilities for opening new vistas of research in a new movement, and will very likely take such a risk. History has shown that the scientist's research may even contribute to the elaboration of the unfinished philosophical concepts he draws upon. (p. 83)

Recommendations for Further Research

On the basis of the conclusions outlined in this chapter, this researcher has four recommendations for further research.

The findings of this study do not clearly establish the relationships between being Field and acting Field. This may have been, in part, due to unclarity in the research questions. If the third paragraph of the research statement leading to the specific questions was reformulated, further research might be done which would show more clearly what the relationship is.

Because all the relevant themes have evidently not emerged, it is recommended that further research be done using the same design (with the above clarification) and including more subjects. Because of the changing nature of acting Field, a repeat at a later time might also produce a wider breadth of metathemes.

It appears that useful information would also be obtained if longitudinal studies were done (perhaps over a period of five years) on people who act Field and compare with a matched sample in the general population. From the information obtained so far, it seems likely that maturing may be more rapid in those acting Field.

The implications for therapy on the basis of the findings should be unfolded. Because the Field is apparently a more potent producer

282 of change than the mental, emotional, or physical factors, specific research focused primarily on therapy done acting from Field seem in order. Two other dissertations (Myers, 1976; Seagal, 1980) include discussions of therapy in the conclusions and appendices, but there is no full study of therapy from Field position.

REFERENCES

284 REFERENCES

Alexander, F. Buddhistic training's and artificial catatonia. Psychoanalysis,

1931, 19, pp. 129-145.

Allport, G. W. The psychologist's frame of reference. Psychological Bulletin, 1940, 37, pp. 1-28.

. Personality: A psychological interpretation. New York: Henry Holt, 1937, chap. 8. Summarized by the author in The individual and his religion. New York: P.MacMillian, 1950.

Alpert, R. Be here now. San Cristobal, New Mexico: Lama Foundation, 1971.

Amma. Dhyan-yoga and Kundalini yoga. Ganeshpuri, India: Shree Gurudev Ashram, 1969.

Armor, T. A note on peak experiences and transpersonal psychology. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1969, 1 (1), pp. 84-90.

Assagioli, R. The act of will. New York: Viking, 1973. Republished, New York: Penguin, 1974.

 Psychosynthesis. New York: Penguin, 1965.

Baily, A. From intellect to intuition. New York: Lucius, 1932.

 White magic. New York: Lucius, 1934.

 Esoteric psychology. Vol. 1; New York: Lucius, 1936.

 Esoteric psychology. Vol. 2; New York: Lucius, 1942.

 The rays and the initiations. New York: Lucius, 1960.

Bandler, R. and Grinder, J. The structure of magic. Palo Alto, California: Science and Behavior Books, 1975.

Bateson, G. Steps to an ecology of mind. New York: Ballantine, 1972.

Bentov, 1. Stalking the wild pendulum: On the mechanics of consciousness. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1977, pp. 80-87. Bettelheim, B. Children of a dream. New York: Macmillan, 1969.

Beyer, S. The Buddhist experience: Sources and interpretations. Encino, California: Dickenson, 1974.

Binswanger, L. Being in the world. New York: Basic Books, 1963. 285 Blair, L. Rythms of vision. New York: Warner, 1975.

Blofeld, J. The Zen teaching of Hui Hai on sudden illumination. New York: Samuel Weiser, 1972.

. The tantric mysticism of Tibet. New York: Causway Cooks, 1974.

Bohm, D. Quantum theory as an indication of a new order in physics: Part B, implicate and explicate in physical law. Foundations of Physics, 1973, 3 (2), pp. 139-168.

. Implications of holographic cosmology. Seminar at Philosophy, where are you? conference held at Dominican College, San Rafael, California, July 2, 1979a. Tape available through Reminding, 505 Tamalpias Avenue, Mill Valley, California.

. Philosophy of the implicate order. Paper read at Philosophy, where are you? conference, Dominican College, San Rafael, California, June 29, 1979b. Tape available per preceding reference.

Bohm, D, and Hiley, B. On the intuitive understanding of non-locality as implied by quantum theory. Foundations in Physics, 1975, 5, pp. 93-109.

Bohm, D, and Welwood, J. Issues in physics, psychology, and metaphysics: A conversation. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1980, 12, 1, pp. 25-36.

Bois, S. The art of awareness (3rd ed.). Debuque, Iowa: W. C. Brown, 1978.

-1 Boss, N 1. (Psychoanalysis and daseinanalysis] (Ludwig B. Lefebre trans. ) New York: Basic Books, 1963.

Boucouvalas, M. Transpersonal psychology: A working outline of the field. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1980, 12, (1), pp. 37-46.

Boulding, K. E. The image. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1956.

Bower, M. Family therapy in clinical practice. New York: Jason Aronson, 1978.

Brown, D. P. Buddhist meditation and Western cognitive psychology. Address to Blaisdell Institute conference, What is sanity? Concepts of mental health in Buddhist and Western psychology. Claremont, California, June 13, 1981. Tape available through Blaisdell, 143 E. Tenth Street, Claremont, California.

286 Bruner, JS. Beyond the information: Studies in the psychology of knowing. New York: W. Norton, 1975.

Bruyere, R. Integrating spiritual healing and modern science. Address to Mandala holistic health conference, San Diego, California, August 3, 1980. Tape available through Mandala Holistic Health, Del Mar, California.

Buber, M. [I and thou] (Walter Kaufmann, trans.). New York: Charles Schribner's Sons, 1970.

Bucke, R. M. Cosmic consciousness. New Hyde Park, New York: University Books, 1961, 1972.

Buckley, F. M. An approach to a phenomenology of at-homeness. In Giorgi, Fischer, and Von Eckartsburg (Eds.), Duquesne studies in phenomenological psychology (Vol. 1). Pittsburg: Duquesne University Press, 1971.

Bugenthal, J. F. T. The search of authenticity. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1965.

. Being levels of therapeutic growth. In P. Walsh and F. Vaughan (Eds.), Beyond Ego. Los Angeles: J. P. Tarcher, 1980.

Butterworth, E. Unity of all life. Los Angeles: Science of Mind Publishing House, 1977.

Buzan, T. Use both sides of your brain. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1976.

Byer, P. A personal view of nonverbal communication: Theory into practice . Journal of the School of Education. Columbia State University, June, 1977.

Capra, F. The Tao of Physics. New York: Bantum, 1975.

Chang, Chung-Yuan. Creativity and Taoism: A study of Chinese philosophy, art, and poetry. Julian Press, 1963. (Reprinted by Harper and Row, New York, 1970.)

Chiba, T. On proper consciousness, (Koyu-ishiki). Psychologia. 1960, 3, pp. 65-72.

Christian, J. L. Philosophy: An introduction to the art of wondering (3rd ed.). New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1981.

Clark, W. H. Mysticism as a basic concept in defining the religious self. Advances in altered states of consciousness (Vol 1) (T. Barber, Ed.). New York: Psychological Dimensions, 1976.

287 Cleary, T. Saying and doings: Pai-chan. Los Angeles: Zen Center, 1979.

Cobb, J. Why Whitehead? Claremont California: Process Studies Center, October, 1979 (mimeographed).

Colaizzi, P. Reflection and research in psychology. Debuque: Kendall-Hunt, 1973.

Combs, A., Combs, A., and Richards, F. Perceptual psychology (2nd ed) . New York: Harper & Row, 1976.

Condon, W. S. An analysis of behavioral organization. Sign Language Studies, 1976, 13, pp. 285-318.

Conze, E. (trans.). [Buddhist wisdom books: Containing the diamond sutra and the heart sutra (4th century A.D.).] London: George Allen and Unwin, 1958.

Crampton, M. Psychosynthesis: Some key aspects of theory and practice. Montreal, Quebec: Canadian Institute of Psychosynthesis, 1977.

Crisler, R. 0. Insightful experiences: A phenomenological study. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, California School of Professional Psychology, San Diego, California, 1977.

De Bary, W. T., Chan, Wing-Tsit, and Watson, B. Sources of Chinese tradition (Vol 1). New York: Columbia University Press, 1960.

Dean, S. Beyond the unconscious: The ultra conscious. Psychologia, 1965, 8, pp. 145- 150.

Deikman, A. Deautomatization and the mystic experience. Psychiatry, 1966, 29, pp. 324- 338. Reprinted in R. Ornstein (Ed.), Nature of consciousness. New York: Viking, 1974.

Bi-modal consciousness. Archives of General Psychiatry, 1971, 25, pp. 481-489.

. The meaning of everything. In R. Ornstein (Ed.), Nature of consciousness. New York: Viking, 1974.

Demys, K. CM (consciousness-matter interactions) quantum theory: The beginning of a quantum psychology. Journal for the Study of Consciousness, 1972, 5, (2), pp. 239-242.

Dispanet, B. Quantum mechanics and consciousness. Scientific American, November, 1979.

Dumas, J. P. (Tibetan Buddhist of the Karma, Kargyu Pa school.) Private conversations, Encinitas, California, February 28, 1982.

288 Dumoulin, H. S. J. A history of Zen Buddhism, P. Peachey (trans.). New York: Pantheon Books, 1963.

Eckhart, M. [Meister Eckhart] (R. B. Blakney, trans.). New York: Harper & Row, Harper Torch Books, 1941.

Eddington, Sir. A. Letter in Nature, 1941, 148, p. 141.

Einstein, A. [Aether and relativity theory] in Perret and G. R. Jeffrey (trans.), Sidelights on relativity. London: Metheun, 1920. Reprinted in S. Sambursky (Ed.), Physical thought from the Presocratics to the quantum physicists. New York: Pica, 1975.

Emerson, V. F. Can belief systems influence neurophysiology? In T. Barber (Ed.), Advances in altered states of consciousness (Vol. 1). New York: Psychological Dimensions, 1976, pp. 317-330.

'Eschbach, H. Instruct-or in psychic phenomena, J. F. K. University, personal interview, Orinda, California, July, 1979.

Evans-Wentz, W. Y. Tibetan book of the dead (3rd ed.). Preface by C. G. Jung. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1967.

Fadiman, J. The transpersonal stance. In R. Walsh and F. Vaughan (Eds.), Beyond Ego. Los Angeles: J. P. Tarcher, 1980.

Ferguson, M. Karl Pribram's changing reality. Human Behavior, May, 1978, pp. 28-33.

• Special issue: Prigogine's science of becoming. Brain Mind Bulletin, May 21, 1979, 4 (13).

. The acquarian conspiracy. Los Angeles: J. P. Tarcher, 1980.

• (Ed. ) Special issue: A new science of life. Brain/Mind Bulletin, August 3, 1981, 6(13).

• Seagal technique uses voice tones to diagnose traits. Brain/Mind Bulletin, January 25, 1982a.

• Businesses use voice analysis, harmonics to show profile. Leading Edge, February 22, 1982b.

Fingarette, H. Karma, psychoanalysis and the inner self: Self in transformation. New York: Basic Books, 1963. Reprinted in D. Struhl and J. Struhl, Philosophy now (3rd ed.). New York: Random House, 1972, pp. 107-114.

Floyd, K. Of time and mind: From paradox to paradigm. In J. White (Ed.), Frontiers of consciousness. New York: Julian, 1974, pp. 258-280.

289 Frank, J. Persuasion and healing (rev, ed.). New York: Schocken, 1974.

Frank, L. K. Projective methods for the study of the personality. Journal of Psychology, 1939, 8, pp. 386--4i3.

Frankl, V. E. [The doctor and the soul] (R. Winston and C. Winston, trans.). New York: Alfred T. Knopf, 1955.

Freedman, A. M., Kaplan, H. I., and Sadock, B. J. Modern synopsis of comprehensive textbook of psychiatry, I I (2nd ed.). Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins, 1976.

Fremantle, A. and Augen, W H. The Protestant mystics. New York, New American Library, 1964 (p. 98).

French, A. P. Disturbed children and their families. New York: Human Sciences Press, 1977.

Freud, S. General introduction to psychoanalysis. New York: Garden City, 1943.

. Totem and taboo. Complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud (Vol. 13) (Standard ed.). London: Hogarth, 1955.

. Obsessive actions and religious practices. The complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud, (Vol. 9) (Standard ed.). London: Hogarth, 1959.

Funk and Wagnalls. The desk "standard" dictionary of the English language. New York: Funk and Wagnalls Company, 1953.

Gangadean, A. The Buddhist dialectic and holistic therapy. Paper presented to Blaisdell Institute conference, What is sanity? Concepts of mental health in Buddhist and Western psychology. Claremont, California, June 12, 1981. Tape available through Blaisdell Institute, 143 E. Tenth Street, Claremont, California.

Gebser, J. [The foundations of the aperspective world] (K. L eidecker, trans. ) From Ursprung und gegenwart (Vol. 1). Stuttgart: Deutsche, Verlags-Anstalt. (Reprinted in Main Currents in Modern Thought, 1972, 29 (2), pp. 80-88.)

Gerard, R. Psychosynthesis, a psychotherapy for the whole man. New York: Psychosynthesis Research Foundation, No. 14, 1964.

Giorgi, A. Psychology as a human science: A phenomenologically based approach. New York: Harper & Row, 1970a.

Toward phenomenologically based research in psychology. Journal of Phenomenological Psychology, 1970b.

290 Giorgi, A. Phenomenological and experimental psychology, I. In Giorgi, Fischer, and Von Eckartsburg (Eds.), Duquesne studies in phenomenological psychology (Vol 1). Pittsburg: Duquesne University Press, 1971, pp. 6-16.

. A human scientific paradigm for psychology. Paper presented at symposium on reconceptualizing psychology as a science, American Psychological Association Convention, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, August 30, 1973.

• An application of phenomenological method in psychology. In Giorgi, Fischer, and Murray, (Eds.), Duquesne studies in phenomenological psychology (Vol. 2). Pittsburg: Duquesne University Press, 1975a, pp. 82-103.

• Convergence and divergence of qualitative and quantitative methods in psychology. In Giorgi, Fischer, and Murray, (Eds.), Duquesne studies in phenomenological psychology (Vol. 2). Pittsburg: Duquesne University Press, 1975b, pp. 71-79.

Goffman, E. Frame analysis: An essay on the organization of experience. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1974.

Goldenberg, L. A phenomenologically based study of children linking behavioral parameters to the Seagal voice type indicator. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, International College, Los Angeles, 1981.

Goldstein, K. Human nature in the light of psychopathology. New York: Schocken Books, 1963.

Goleman, D. The Buddha on meditation and states of consciousness: Part 2, a topology of meditation techniques. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1972, 14 (2), pp. 151-210.

• Meditation and psychic phenomena. What is Meditation? (J. White, Ed.). Garden City, New York: Doubleday-Anchor, 1974.

• Varieties of meditative experience. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1977.

Goleman D., Walsh, R., and others. Meditation: Aspects of research and practice. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1978, 10 (2), pp. 113-120.

Govinda, Lama A. The psychological attitude of early Buddhist philosophy and its systematic representation according to Abhidhamma tradition. London: Rider, 1969.

Gowan, J. C. Altered states of consciousness: A taxonomy. Journal of Altered States of Consciousness, 1978, 4(2), pp. 142-156.

291 Greeley, A. and McCready, M. Are we a nation of mystics? New York Times Magazine, January 26, 1974.

Green, E. and Green, A. Beyond Biofeedback. New York: Dell, 1977.

. Fields within fields within fields. Keynote address, Transpersonal Psychology Conference, Alisomar; Monterey, California, June 28, 1980.

Haley, J. Strategies of psychotherapy. New York: Grune and Straton, 1963.

Hall, C. and Lindzey, G. Theories of personality (chap. 6). New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1957.

Hampden-Turner, C. Radical Man. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Schenkman, 1970.

Harman, W. Address to Humanistic Psychology section of the annual convention of the American Psychological Association, 1981. Reprinted by the Institute of Noetic Sciences, San Francisco, California, 1981.

Heidegger, M. [Being and time] (J. Macquarrie and E. Robinson, trans. ). New York: Harper & Row, 1963.

Herbert, N. Where do parts come from? Unpublished paper available from C. Life Institute. Box 261 , Boulder Creek, California, 1978.

Herrigel, E. Zen and the art of archery. New York: Vintage, 1971.

Holmes, E. Science of mind (rev. ed.). Santa Monica, California: Devorss, 1938.

Horner, f. The early buddhist theory of man perfected: A study of the Arhat concept and the implications of the aim of perfection in _religious life (traced in early canonical and post canonical Pali literature) . Amsterdam: Philo Press, 1975.

Hunt, V. Scientific research on psychic phenomena at UCLA Department of Kinesiology. Address to Mandala Holistic Health Conference, San Diego, California, August, 1980. Tape available through Mandala Holistic Health Association, Del Niar, California.

Husserl, E. Die krisis der Europaeshen wissenschaften und die transcendentafe phanomenologie. The Hague: Nyhoff, 1954.

Hycner, R. The experience of wonder: A phenomenological sketching and its implications for therapy. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, California School of Professional Psychology, San Diego, California, 1976.

292 Inayat Kahn, Pir Vilayat. Spiritual dimensions in counseling. Seminar, San Francisco, California, October 25-26, 1980. Tapes available through the Sufi Order, Huzur Labak, 27 Overhill Road, Orinda, California.

James, 4'J. A suggestion about mysticism. Journal of Philosophical Psychology and Scientific Methods, 1910, pp. 85-92.

Jammer, M. The philosophy of quantum mechanics: The interpretations of quantum mechanics in historical perspective. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1974.

Jenny, H. Kymatic: Wellund schwingunden mit ihrer struktur und dynamic, with parallel trans. as Cymatics: The structure and dynamics of waves and vibrations. Basel: Basilius Presse, 1967. Josephson, B. Science and consciousness. In Brain/Mind Bulletin, November 5, 1979a. Address at international colloquim, Cardoba, Spain; fall, 1979.

Josephson, B. and Ramachandran, V. S. (Eds.) Consciousness and the physical world. Elmsford, New York: Pergamon,1979b.

Jung, C. C. [Psychology and alchemy] (R. F. C. Hull, trans.) Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, Bollingen Series, 1955a.

. (Ed.) Man and his symbols. London, Aldus Books; and Garden City, New York, Doubleday, 1964.

. Letters Adler, G. (Ed.) Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1973.

Jung, C. C. and Pauli, W. The interpretation of nature and the psyche Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, Bollingen Series, 2, 1955b. Justa-Smith, Sister. The influence of enzyme growth by laying on of hands. Dimensions of Healing Symposium Proceedings. Los Altos, California: Academy of Parapsychology and Medicine, 1972. Kaplan, P. M. Toward a theology of consciousness: What are the implications of the new religions for the Christian seeker and Western theology? Revision, 1978, 1 (1), pp. 34-41.

Kapleau, P. Three pillars of Zen. Boston: Beacon Press, 1967. (Rev, ed., Garden City, New York: Anchor-Doubleday, 1980.)

Keen, E. A primer in phenomenological psychology. New York: Holt, Reinhart, & Winston, 1975.

293 King, D. The states of human consciousness. New York: University Books, 1963.

Koffka, K. Principles of Gestalt psychology. New York: Harcourt, Brace, & Jovanovich, 1935.

Kornfieid, J., Walsh, R., and others. Meditation: Aspects of research and practice. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1978, 10 (2), pp. 113-134.

Korzybski, A. Science and sanity. Lakeville, Connecticut, International Non-Aristotelian Library, 1958.

Kreitler, H. and Kreitler, S. Cognitive orientation and behavior. New York: Springer, 1976.

Kuhn, T. S. The structure of scientific revolutions. Chicago: The University Press, 1962.

Kunz, F. L. The reality of the non-material: The consequences when life and man are put in the new context of field physics. Main Currents in Modern Thought, 1963, 20, (2), pp. 16-23.

Laing, R. D. The divided self. Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England: Penguin Books, 1965.

Lana, R. Assumptions of social psychology. (Century Psychology Series). New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1969.

Landsman, T. Positive experience and the beautiful person. Address given at Southeaster Psychological Association, Roanoke, Virginia; April, 1968.

Lao-tzu. [The way of life according to Lao-tzu] (W. Bynner, trans.). New York: Capricorn Books, 1962.

Lawrence, N. and O'Conner, D. (Eds.) Readings in existential phenomenology. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1967.

Lee, P, and Metzner, R. Editorial note. In A. Watts, Individual as man/world. Psychelelic Review, 1963, 1 (1), p. 55.

Leonard, G. The silent pulse. New York: Dutton, 1978.

LeShan, L. What is important about the paranormal? In R. Ornstein (Ed.), The nature of consciousness. San Francisco: 4"J. H. Freeman, 1968. (Reprinted in LeShaun, The medium, the mystic, and the physicist. New York: Viking, 1974.)

. Physicists and mystics: Similarities in world view. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1969, 1 (2), pp. 1-9.

294 LeShan, L. The mystic, the medium, and the physicist. New York: Viking, 1974.

Leuba, J. H. The psychology of religious mysticism. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner, and Co., 1929.

Lewin, K. A dynamic theory of personality. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1935.

. Defining the field at a given time. Psychological Review, 1943, 50, pp. 292-310.

. Field theory in the social sciences. Cartwright, New York: Dorwin, 1951.

Lewis, C. S. Surprised by joy. New York: Harcourt, Brace, and World, 1955.

Lilly, J. Lecture at Kairos seminar on mysticism. Palm Springs, California, February, 1972.

Lilly, .I. Center of the cyclone. New York: Bantam, 1973.

Livingston, D. Transcendental states of consciousness and the healthy personality: An overview. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Arizona, 1975.

London, I. D. Psychologist's misuse of the auxiliary concepts of physics and mathematics. Psychology Review, 1944, 51, pp. 266-291 .

Lu, K. Y. The transmission of mind outside the teaching. London: Rider, 1974.

Mai-Mai-Sze. The Tao of painting. New York: Bollingen Foundation (2 vols. ) 1956. (2nd ed., 1 vol., Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1963.)

Maruyama, M. Casual meta-types in social and biological theories. Systems science and science: Proceedings of the 24th Annual Meeting of the Society of General Systems Research with the American Association for the Advancement of Science, January 7-10, 1980, pp. 190-194.

Maslow, A. Religions, values, and peak experiences. New York: Viking, 1964.

. Theory Z. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1969a, 1 (2), pp. 31-47.

. Various meanings of transcendence. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1969b, 1 (2), pp. 56-66.

295 Maslow, A. The further reaches of human nature. New York: Viking, 1971.

• The plateau experience: A. H. Maslow and others. (S. Krippner, Ed.) Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1972, 4 (2), pp. 107-120.

Merton, T. The silent life. New York: Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, 1957.

• The wisdom of the desert. New York, New Directions, 1970

Metzner, R. Ten classical metaphors of transformation. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1980, 12 (1), pp. 47-62.

Mey, H. [Field-theory: A study of its application to the social sciences] (D. Scott, trans.) New York: St. Martin's, 1972. (German ed., 1965.)

Miller, H. The wisdom of the heart. Norfolk, Connecticut: New Directions, i941.

Motoyama, H. An electrophysiological study of Prana (ki). Tokoyo: International Association for Religion and Parapsychology, Monograph (vol. 4, No. 1) 1978a.

• Science and the evolution of consciousness: Chakras, ki and psi. Brooklyn: Autumn, 1978b.

Muller, M. Prelude to the new man: An introduction to the science of being. Del Mar, California: Santa Fe Associates, 1978.

• Lectures at calesthenics. (Mimeographed transcript of lecture.) Rancho Santa Fe, California: October, 1980.

Murphy, G. Personality: A biosocial approach to origins and structure. New York: Harper, 1947.

Murphy, M. Education for transcendence. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1969, 1(1 ), pp. 23-28.

Myers, 4"y'. Taped interview of discussion on empathy between Martin Muller and the author, 1976.

• Empathy: A spectrum of sharing. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, California School of Professional Psychology, San Diego, California, 1977.

Nagarjuna, A. [The heart of interdependent organization, with commentary by the author] (L.. Jamspal and P. Della Santini, trans. from Tibetan.) Journal of Department of Buddhist Studies, University of Delhi, India, 1974, 1, March, pp. 18-32.

296 Naranjo, C. The domain of meditation. Psychology of meditation, with R. Ornstein. New York: Viking, 1971. (Reprinted in What is meditation? J. White, Ed. Garden City, New York: Doubleday-Anchor, 1974, pp. 15-29.

Neisser, U. Principles and implications of cognitive psychology. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman, 1976.

Nesbett, R. E. and Wilson, T. D. Telling more than we know: Verbal reports on mental processes. Psychology Review, 1977, 84, pp. 231-59. -

Newman, J. W. Release your breaks. New York, Warner, 1977.

Orenstein, S. The rolfing experience: A phenomenological investigation. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, California School of Professional Psychology, 1980.

Orne, M. On the social psychology of psychological experiment. American Psychologist, 1962, 17, pp. 776-783,

Ornstein, R. The psychology of consciousness. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman, 1972; and New York: Penguin, 1972.

. Nature of human consciousness. New York: Viking, 1974.

. Biofeedback and self-control. Altered states of consciousness: Advances in human potentialities. (T. Barber, Ed. ) New York: Psychological Dimensions, 1976.

Osscini, A. Kurt Lewin e la psicologia moderna. Roma: Armando Armando Editore, 1972. Verbally translated by Debora Sloan.

Otto, H. Personal communication with researcher, La Jolla, California, spring, 1979.

Otto, R. [The idea of the holy] (J. W. Harvey, trans.) New York: Oxford University Press, 1960.

Patanjali. [The yoga sutras of Patanjali] (C. Johnson, trans. and interpretation. ) London: Stuart and Watkins, 1970.

Pauli, W. Quoted by W. Heisenberg in [Wolfgang Pauli's philosophical views] In K. Leidecker (trans.), Main Currents in Modern Thought, 1961, 17 (3), pp. 51-54.

Pearce, J. C. Crack in the cosmic egg. New York: Julian Press, 1971. . Magical child. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1977.

Pepper, S. C. World hypothesis, a study in evidence. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California: University of California Press, 1970.

297 Polyani, M. Personal knowledge. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1958.

Pribram, K. Languages of the brain: Experimental paradoxes and principles ______in neuropsychology. Monterey, California: Brooks/Cole, 1971.

. Psychology, science, and spiritual paths: Contemporary issues. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1978, 10 (2), pp. 93-113.

. The mind/brain issue and scientific procedure: An admission of spiritual values in scientific study. Address to Philosophy, where are you? conference, San Rafael, California, June 29, 1979a. Tape available through Reminding, 505 Tamalpais Avenue, Mill Valley, California.

. The implications of holographic cosmology for physics and consciousness. Workshop with D. Bohm during Philosophy, where are you? conference, Dominican College, San Rafael, California, July 2, 1979b.

Pam Dass. Baba Ram Dass lecture at Menninger Foundation. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1970, 2 (2), pp. 91-140.

. Personal correspondence with Christopher Alsten, Encinitas California.

Ricoeur, P. Philosophie de la volunte' (Vol. 1). Summarized in English in H. Spiegelberg, The phenomenological movement (Vol. 2, 2nd ed.). The Hague: Martinis Nirhoff, 1965.

Rosenthal, P. Experimenter effects in behavioral research. New York: Appleton- Century-Crofts, 1966.

Roszak, B. Science and parascience: A selected bibliography. Berkeley, California: Graduate Theological Union Library, 1978.

Royce, J. R. The present situation in theoretical psychology. Handbook of general psychology. (B. Wolman and C. Englewood, Eds.). New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1973, pp. 8-21.

Sardello, R. J. The role of direct experience in contemporary psychology: A critical review. Duquesne studies in phenomenological research (Vol. 1) (A. Giorgi, W. Fischer, and R. Von Eckartsberg, Eds.). Pittsburg: Duquesne University Press, 1971, pp. 30-49.

Sarfatti, J. The physical roots of consciousness. The roots of consciousness (J. Mishlove, Ed.) New York: Random House, 1975.

Satir, V. People making. Palo Alto, California: Science and Behavior Books, 1972.

298 Saunders, J. Lectures on Plato studies. Graduate School of Philosophy, University of California at San Diego, 1967.

Schumacher, E. F. A guide for the perplexed. New York: Harper & Row, 1977.

Schumacher, J. The new monadology: An essay in philosophical physics. Troy, New York: Philosophy Department of Rensselear Polytechnic Institute, 1979a. (Mimeographed)

. A new place for persons: The debate between Bohm and Sarfatti. Troy, New York: Philosophy Department of Rensselear Polytechnic Institute, 1979b. (Mimeographed)

Schwartz, J. Auric vision for everyone. Review in Brain/Mind Bulletin, April 7, 1980.

Seagal, S. Voice awareness training: a diagnostic tool which links sound to education, psychology, science, and the arts. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, International College, Los Angeles, California, 1981.

Sekida, K. Zen training, methods and philosophy. New York: Weatherhi I I , 1975 .

Sheldrake, R. A new science of life: The hypothesis of formative causation. London: Blond and Briggs, 1981.

. Small group discussion including researcher at the invitation of J. Cobb, Center for Process Studies, Claremont, California, May 20, 1982. Tape available through Center for Process Studies.

St. Ignatius. Spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius. Seminar by R. Barnhouse at Dominical College, San Rafael, California during Philosophy, where are you? conference, July 3, 1979.

St. John of the Cross. [Collected works of St. John of the Cross] (K. Kavanaugh, O.C.D. and 0. Rodriquez, O.C.D., trans.). Wdashington, D. C.: ICS Publications, Institute of Carmelite Studies, 1973.

St. Teresa of Avila. [Interior castle] (E. A. Peers, trans.). Garden City, New York: (Image Books) Doubleday, 1961.

Stace, W. The teachings of the mystics: Selections. New York: New American Library, 1960.

Sutich, A. The emergence of the transpersonal orientation, a personal account. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1976, 8 (1), pp. 5-19.

Suzuki, D. T. (trans.) [The lankavatara sutra]. London: Routledge, 1956.

299 Suzuki, D. T. Essays in Zen Buddhism, second series. London: Rider, 1958.

• Introduction to the Texts of Taoism. (Legge, Ed.) New York: Julian Press, 1959, pp. 1-45.

Suzuki, S. Zen mind, beginner's mind. Weatherhill, 1970.

Swann, I. To kiss the earth goodbye. New York: Hawthorne Books, 1975. Takasaki, J. [A study on the Ratnagotravibhaga (uttaratantra): Being a treatise on the Tathagatagarbha theory in Mahayana Buddhism] (Serie Orientale, Vol. 33). (Estremo Oriente, Ed.) Roma: Instituto Italiano Per 11 Medio, 1966.

Tart, C. (Ed.) Altered states of consciousness. New York: Doubleday, 1972.

 States of consciousness. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1975.

Tharthang Tulku. A view of mind. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1976, 8 (1), pp. 41-44.

Thomas, L. E. and Cooper, P. Incidence and psychological correlations of intense spiritual experiences. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1980, 12 (1), pp. 75-85.

Tiller, W'. Energy fields and the human body. In J. White (Ed.), Frontiers of consciousness. New York: Julian, 1974.

. Preface to H. Motoyama, Science and the evolution of consciousness. Brooklyn: Autumn, 1978.

Trubb, H. Heilund aus der bege nung, ein auseinandersetzung mit der psychologie C. G. Jungs E. Michel and A. Sborowitz, Eds.). Stuttgard: Ernst Klett Verlog, 1952.

Trungpa, C. Meditation in action. In J. White (Ed.), Meditation in action. Berkeley: Shamballa Publications, 1969.

Van Dusen, IN. Wu wei, no mind, and the fertile void in psychotherapy. Psychologia, 1958, 1, pp. 253-256.

• Hallucinations as the world of spirits. Frontiers of consciousness (J.White, Ed.). New York: Julian, 1974.

Vaughan, F. Awakening intuition. Garden City, New York: Anchor- Doubleday, 1979.

• Personal communication with researcher at Transpersonal psychology conference Alsomar, Monterey, California, June, 1980.

300 Verdu, A. Dialectical aspects in Buddhist thought. (Studies in Sino-Japanese Mahayana Idealism. International Studies, East Asian services. ) University of Kansas: Center for East Asian Studies, Research Publication, No. 8, 1974.

Walsh, R. Initial meditative experiences, part 2. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology. 1978a, 10 (1), pp. 1-28.

. Psychology, science and spiritual paths: Contemporary issues. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1978b, 10 (2), pp. 93-112. -

. Meditation research: An introduction and review. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1979, 11 (2), pp. 161-174.

Walsh, R. and others. Meditation: Aspects of research and practice. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1978c, 10 (2), pp. 113-134. -

Walsh, R. and Vaughan, F. (Eds.) Beyond ego: Transpersonal dimensions in psychology. Los Angeles: J. P. Tarcher, 1980.

Walker, E. H. Consciousness and quantum theory. In E. M. Hettel and J. White (Eds.), Psychic exploration: ______A challenge for science. New York: C. P. Putnam, 1972.

Watson, L. Lifetide. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1979, p. 148, pp. 220-284.

Watts, A. This is it and other essays on Zen and spiritual experiences. New York: Pantheon, 1960.

• The individual and man/world. Psychedelic Review, 1963, 1 (1), pp. 55-65.

• Selections from in my own way: An auto-biography, 1915-1965. In T. Barber (Ed.), Advances in altered states of consciousness (Vol. 1). New York: Psychological Dimensions, 1976, pp. 339-410.

Welch, G. Working out, 1976. Unpublished diary entry, September, 1976.

• Working out, 1979. Unpublished diary entry, November 21, 1979. White, J. (Ed.) Frontiers of consciousness. New York: Julian, 1974. Whitehead, A. N. Process and reality. New York: NtacMillian, 1929.

301 Whorf, B. Language, thought and reality: Selected writings of Benjamin Lee Whorf (J. B. Caroll, Ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: M.I.T. Press, 1956.

Wigner, E. P. The place of consciousness in modern physics. In C. Muses and A. Young (Eds.), Consciousness and reality. New York: Outerbridge and Lazard, 1972, pp. 102-132.

Wilber, K. Psycholiga perennis: The spectrum of consciousness. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1975, 7 (2), pp. 105-132.

. Spectrum of consciousness. Wheaton, Illinois: Theosophical Publishing House, 1977.

. The Atman project. Wheaton, Illinois: Theosophical Publishing House, 1980a.

 The pre/trans fallacy. Revision, 1980b, 3 (2), pp. 51-72.

• Ontogenic development: Two fundamental patterns. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1981, 13 (1), pp. 33-58.

Wilhelm, R. (trans. into German). [The I ching] (3rd ed.) (C. Baynes, trans. into English). Bollingen Series XIX. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1950.

Wise, C. Jr. A meditation on meditation. In J. White (Ed.), What is meditation? Garden City, New York: Doubleday-Anchor, 1974.

Witkin, H. Cognitive style in personal and cultural adaptation. Heinz Werner Lecture Series (Vol. 11). Worcester, Massachusetts: Clark University Press, 1977.

Wittgenstein, L. [Philosophical investigations] (G. E. M. Anscombe, trans. ) New York: MacMillian, 1953.

Wolff, F. Lectures on physics and consciousness. University of Humanistic Studies, San Diego, California, June, 1980.

Wolman, B. (Ed.) Handbook of general psychology. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1973.

Wordsworth, W. The prelude: An autobiographical poem (1850 version). (Reprinted in A. Fremantel and W. H. Auden, The Protestant mystics.) New York: Mentor Books, 1965.

Wortz, E. and others. An investigation of soviet psychical research. In C. Tart, H. Puthoff, and R. Targ (Eds.), Mind at large: Institute of Electronic Engineers Symposium on the Nature of Extrasensory Perception. New York: Prager, 1980, pp. 233-260.

302 Zeucher, D. The mentor/ protege relationship: A phenomenological inquiry. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Professional School for Humanistic Studies, San Diego, California, 1982.

Zeuchner, R. Specialist in Chan/Zen Buddhism, Los Angeles Zen Center. Private conversation, Los Angeles Zen Center, February 14, 1982.

Zukov, G. The dancing wu li masters. New York: William Morrow, 1979.

APPENDICES

304

APPENDIX A

ACTING FROM FIELD IN A THERAPY SITUATION

Background

New client. Robert, 24-year-old male, single, intelligent, athletic.

Presenting situation. Unclear sense of direction, purpose in life. Has been told by female friends that he is nonresponsive emotionally. Is going to school, developing scientifically and rationally, and feels unfulfilled, unrest, wanting something more. Went to Roman Catholic Parochial school and served as an acolyte as a young adult. Consciously rejects rigid, and now to him meaningless, faith. Feels guilty that he is sinful, evil for not responding to the feelings of women.

The Session

Robert's voice kept you at a distance with a sort of superficial hardness and artificiality. Very polite, he expressed nervousness both in his voice and actions. He was concerned about expressing himself because he saw me in a position of authority.

I asked him if he ever, connected with something meaningful in his church. He thought a bit, and I felt his heart soften. Yes, he said when he was serving mass. A quality of gentle devotion was prevalent for a moment. I drew his attention to it, and at the same time lived it strongly myself in the way he lived it. The intensity and pervasiveness of that quality increased in him as he felt his expression reinforced. He did not register discomfort, but mild surprise.

He did

305 not back away from or close off his feeling, but he did not enlarge verbally on his experience. I left it alone, respecting the obvious need for protection and distance at that point.

A bit later, when he was still unrelaxed and verbally distant, clearly not able or willing to share what he was really feeling or living, I asked if he were willing to do an exercise with space. He seemed eager and anxious to please, saying yes. I asked him to see the papers and cover on a stool in front of him. Then I asked him to imagine they were not there, but that the stool was empty. He looked at me instead of the stool and nodded that he had done that. Then I asked him to imagine that the space where the stool stood was empty, the stool being gone. Again looking at me, he nodded. Then I asked him to imagine the walls and the roof of the house gone, and there was no confinement of structure around us. When he did that, the sense of confinement around him began to ease and soften. I asked him then to imagine that all the houses and trees and telephone poles were gone, so he had only a sense of seeing the earth in any direction as far as he could see. As he did that, I felt a large expansiveness, and I noticed him soften and relax. Before that, I felt confined by the situation we both were in; but with the last two steps, I felt that confinement ease, and I was more comfortable as well. I was aware of enhancing that sense of freedom by consciously living my own usual freedom more intensely throughout my field. I didn't decide to do that from my mind, but from a deeper aspect which was not emotional either. It was in that same way that I had found myself introducing the exercise on space. I never thought about it as possible, appropriate, or not

306 appropriate. As I introduced it, I realized that for some reason it was appropriate, and I would see how that was so as I proceeded. At that point, I asked him to situate himself as a point of consciousness from where he had been doing this exercise and then let the body and chair disappear as well as my body and chair so that there was empty space where they had been. There was a little hesitancy I could sense, a little confusion. I held myself steady in the emptiness of allowing that myself, and I could presently feel a letting go and a sense of nonsolidness in both of us. I was aware mostly of field actively playing with both of us without fear, hesitation, or confinement. Then I suggested he see in place of the rug, and the curved earth, just empty space. I was immediately aware of a deep silence, peace, and a large, free field, not as unlimited as I was aware was possible, but indefinitely free. Something in me said that was enough, not to go further, so we sat in silence there at that point. Presently, I looked at him. I hadn't directly looked at him since we had let the walls go, but had felt him another way. He was settled in himself, soft, relaxed, and quiet. His eyes were gentle and unguarded, and when he spoke, his voice sounded true. There was no front. I asked him how he was. He said, "More comfortable, more like me. I am not so uncomfortable with you anymore either." I told him I didn't feel a sense of separation between us like I had before, and I felt more comfortable, more myself also. I had the sense he was concerned about being as close to me as he felt, so I spoke about the closeness we were living not being an emotional closeness, or any other kind of a personal closeness, but something of a completely different sort. There was no reed to be concerned about

307 my being personally attracted or involved with him. The oneness had nothing to do with the usual kinds of closeness. There was further trust and relaxation because he sensed that I lived completely what I said when I said it.

At this point, the quality of gentle devotion which I had noticed when he had spoken of serving mass was much stronger. I noticed that it played as much around his body as seeming to come from it, and I put my attention on that quality and lived it as fully and expansively as I was able to in the circumstances. There was an immediate nonverbal response of increased radiation that I would see/feel around him. This kept increasing as we sat there talking a little about what was happening, about his awareness of what was going on.

He seemed completely comfortable with it, as if it was something he did everyday. I asked him if he had felt like this before. He said yes, a few times when he was alone. For him, it had no relation to anything he had been in contact with in parochial school. He felt he had some connection when he was two to three, but the bridges had been destroyed. I asked when he remembered them being destroyed, and he said one of them had gone when he was in eighth grade and had asked the nun what our purpose for being here was if God was all powerful, knew everything, and controlled our actions and our lives. She sent him to the priest, who said he needed confession and to light some candles. He felt guilt for having asked the question, even as he asked it, and more so after having been considered sinful for it.

I again took him back to the clear, devoted heart life which continued to play around and in him. Perhaps devoted, is not accurate, as there was no emotion, only gentle, fine, goldlike quality

30 8

that one could sense radiating out in all directions, particularly to the sides of his body for a great distance. I could not see it, in the normal sense of seeing, and it wasn't brassy like an aura of gold. He was not at all emotional, in fact, would have been uncomfortable expressing emotion. He was not uncomfortable at all. As we focused on it, the intensity of his living it increased, and I asked if he felt a radiation. He said yes, he was aware of it both inside and outside his body. We were talking about his concern about his purpose for being here and how that might be approached at this point. I tested the possibility that a sense of direction might come from very high. Nothing responded. In testing, I lived that high direction myself, but without bringing it completely forward, tugging a little at radiating it more tangibly. There was no response. I then focused on expressing a fine, clear directiveness through the radiating heart that was in front of me. There was an immediate response, not only by a reinforcement through and around him, but consciously. A little later, he said, it comes from above into the soul, and gestured with his hands to show me how it was. He said he felt more of a sense of direction, but didn't know exactly what to do with it. I had not said anything about increasing a sense of direction before or when I lived it. We talked about his having to work with that to make it more tangible before he would get the hang of working with it in a particular case.

At that point, I had thought to stop. I then heard myself say, psychologist mind said, "Oh, that is a long shot, and not likely, don't bother with that." And I found myself going on anyway. I taught him how to open his awareness to include the peripheral vision as well as

"Lets try an experiment," and I knew what

I was going to try. My

30 9 the central vision, while at the same time keeping the central vision sharp. He followed that very quickly. Then I demonstrated how to look "with" someone, rather than looking

"at" them as a separate object. He did it immediately. I told him that was how I had followed him, and his living, and that he could follow me that way too. I wanted to live something with him and wanted him to put his attention on following me. I told him I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't, but I just wanted to experiment. He was interested in the experiment, but not from the compliant polite attitude he had shown earlier.

I sat quietly facing him about ten feet away and put my attention in an open position on the life that was nudging me to allow. I had to quiet my emotional sense of inadequacy to do what I began to do. I recognized that as one of the ways I am not true to what the situation demands. I finally shifted myself to a position of trust and let my mind quit guarding the radiating life that was wanting to come forward. I was conscious of a shift in the quality of the room. It became more empty again, as when we had done the space exercise. I found myself adjusting, lifting the density of an emotional holding

(whether in him or me I did not know). The quiet returned and deepened. This time, I went on, and freed the edges, allowing a more expanded sense of life to play. I became aware of a slight shift in the quality of my usual sense of that, and realized that a slightly different way of playing the same thing had been added. My consciousness recorded that he had not only responded but had begun to live it himself. There was no sense of confinement to the room, the place, or a particular time. I felt a sense of reverence toward what was in front of me, its refinement and its delicacy, its very aliveness. There was

31 0 really nothing going on but empty, free space, totally open, and yet this very fine, really indescribable beauty, although there was no tangible object in which one- could see beauty. The beauty was there without any kind of object. It was just in the emptiness we shared. After a while, I asked him what his consciousness was aware of. He said, he wasn't too sure, but what he was sure of was that I was completely open. In the past, there were shreds of closedness, but now I was totally open before him.

I told him, as far as I knew, one could not be aware of that unless one was in some way living that openness oneself. He was unaware of the beauty and the agape in its extreme delicacy that I was aware of. I described my additional awareness' to him, and we spoke a little of the differences between agape and three more usual kinds of love.

He told me of women friends saying he did not respond to them when they expressed positive feelings. He felt he took them into himself and put them somewhere

(and he motioned to his right shoulder), but he didn't feel it was the time to respond. We talked a bit about when it would be the right time to respond, and he had no clues. He did know that there would be a time, but there was no sense of when at first.

I found myself wanting to increase his sense of purpose and direction at this point. I found myself saying, come down from about four feet over you head and through your heart. Never mind that this doesn't make any sense to your mind, just do it. And he did.

31 1

His whole way of being changed. There was a sharp, strong, decisiveness that went very well with his strong body and manner. Yet, the front, or cover to his softness had not been replaced. They played together. The silent stillness was there, but incorporated in a very moving concern. The sense of strength was extremely powerful. I didn't sense him living that over in his chair and me watching. I sensed that happening, and we lived it. He sat motionless, looking at me with his elbows on his knees, and I had an extremely strong sense of a very strong line from about four feet over his head to his head. His eyes were directed, determined, but not harsh or demanding or arrogant. He said nothing for a long time. I had a sense that a lot inside and around him was rearranging. Later, when I asked him if my perception was correct, he said yes. After awhile, I told him, the bridge he needed he had rebuilt, now in his adult awareness. He acknowledged that.

Then, he was able to say with clear assureness that he would be able to return love to someone in the not too distant future. He was not now in touch with the appropriate person. Now that he was aware of soul quality, he realized that he had a purpose related to that and she would share that with him. In the meanwhile, he did not want to hurt others and asked how to respond to them without shutting them out and still not get involved. I noted that I had shown him earlier how by the way I related to him, not emotionally, but "from the field around." I demonstrated for him how it felt to be responded to from the usual personal way, and then moved back to the more open, clearer way. He followed and nodded. He said, "the emotional way is more

312 enclosed." I could see him get uncomfortable when I played the emotional way with him, and he acknowledged it.

In closing, I asked him if there was anything he had come with that had not been finished. First, he said, "Well, I came wanting you to give me an answer. Now I know I have to answer it myself, and I see how to begin to go about it." Anything else? He hesitated, acted a bit confused, shook his head, and sat very still. Suddenly, I found myself responding to that silent emptiness we had shared earlier. He was asking to live that with me some more, by initiating it himself!

313 APPENDIX B

DEVELOPMENTAL STRUCTURE: WILBER AND ZEUCHNER

Ken Wilber (1981) divides developmental structures into basic and transitional structures. His developmental series of basic structures is shown in Figure 4. Basic structures such as physical body, emotional-sexual aspects, and representational mind, remain when development moves on. Transitional structures, such as moral stages and stages of self are transition-replacement structures, which disappear as the next stage takes over. The first eight developmental stages of Wilber's Study are based on the work of Piaget, Werner, Arieti, and Baldwin. The final two stages are condensed from Hindu and Buddhist psychological systems.

As he says, there is no one stage or combination of them in which the self or ego is said to be perfected. The stages themselves are devoid of self, or a sense of personal "me-ness," and yet, a self-awareness is present in most of the stages. The reason for this, he suggests is:

... that each of those basic structures is inherently without self-sense, but in the course of development, a self-system emerges and takes as its successive substrates a basic structure of consciousness. In a sense, the basic structures form rungs of a ladder upon which the self-system then climbs; matter to body to mind to subtle to casual to spirit. As the self "steps up" each higher rung of the ladder, it generates a set of transition-replacement structures, i.e., those structures that are not a permanent part of the ladder but rather are temporarily generated by the self at each rung in the ladder and thus necessarily discarded (replaced) at the next rung. ... This is similar to the Buddhist notion of the five skandhas . . . . the physical body, sensation-perception, emotion-impulse, lower cognition, and higher cognition. Each . . . serves as a substrate of the self-sense. When the self-sense

314 passes through and beyond the kandha-structures, and thus ceases to exist in itself, the result is . . . a selfless radiance, in which the skandhas continue to function but without the distortions of personalization. (Wilber, 1981, pp. 41-42.)

(35 yr.-)

(28 yr.-)

(21 yr.-)

11-15 yr

6-8 yr.

15 mo.-2 yr. 6 mo.-12 mo. I mo.-6 mo.

Prenatal-3 mo.

Prenatal

Causal Subtle Vision-Logic

Reflexive-Formal Mind > "

Rule/ Role Mind

Rep-Mind

Phantasmic

Emotional-Sexual Senson perceptual

Physical Sunvata-Ta ( rhata

315 The developmental structures of self-sense are thus transitional structures, which cease to exist in themselves once the transpersonal developmental structures are entered upon (see Figure 4). Subtle, Casual, and Sunyata-Tathata represent the transpersonal. According to Robert Zeuchner, at the Los Angeles Zen Center, the Zen Buddhist conception is exactly the reverse of Wilber's.

Physical Sensorioperceptual Emotional-Sexual

Vision Logic Subtle Causal

316 Both schemes seem to show a developmental sequence from different points of view. One is the increasingly expanded development of personal structure, while the other is expressed in terms of the goal toward which those processes are oriented. It is this researcher's position that, for the purposes of this study, these schemes are not in contradiction. They are both developmental schemes into which relating to, being, and differentiating from field can be fitted. For simplicity's sake, Wilber's model is used in the discussion in Chapter I, with the understanding that, what is said would apply equally to Zeuchner's model.

317

APPENDIX C

DEVELOPMENT OF CONSCIOUSNESS: COVINDA

From The Psychological Attitude of Early Buddhist Philosophy and Its Systematic Representation According to the Abhidhamma Tradition. By Lama Anagarika Govinda, Rider and Company, London, 1969, pp. 90-95.

A condensed description of Govinda's diagram will be limited to those aspects relevant to the text. Givonda' intention in developing the diagram for Western readers includes a much wider scope.

Figure 6 The Structure and Development of Consciousness

318

The outer edge of the circle represents the zone of utmost differentiation of consciousness, while the center represents the common point of unity in which there is no differentiation of consciousness. The heavier radial lines, marked with an alphabetical letter, indicate the incisions of birth and death, which are two sides of the same process. The width of the sector ;indicates the experience value of the sector not the length of the life, which is irrelevant. The width indicates the mental horizon or range of consciousness formed by the accumulated and digested experience within that one existence.

The curve marks the course of individually centered consciousness through the three layers of consciousness: the subliminal, the subperipheral, and the peripheral. Moving through the subliminal range of "not yet being fully conscious," the lifecourse of existence proceeds through the subperipheral stage of imperfect, dreamlike consciousness to the peripheral zone in which consciousness becomes reflective and the will individually decisive. In the peripheral zone, an individual becomes what it is by differing from others.

However, if the differentiating is understood as the most essential element and is raised to the idea of absolute egohood, disharmony and suffering follow. After attaining the periphery, the experience of suffering leads to the understanding of life and the selfish will turns into the will of liberation. There is a psychological change of direction marked near point K on the periphery of the diagram.

Western psychology concerns itself primarily with the peripheral layer and occasionally, as in depth psychology, with the subperipheral layer. During the outward thrust of the curve in the peripheral layer, the subperipheral is entered in the dream state. After the reversal

319 toward unity, the subperipheral is entered in the meditative state and directed by the peripheral will toward unification. Harmony is achieved by connecting the surface with the depths. The consciousness becomes less differentiated, but differs from the amorphous, self-centered indifferent unity at the other end of the curve. It becomes a conscious unity including all the forms and forces of life accumulated in its experience and stored as subconscious memory. When it is freed from attachments to that experience, it consciously reenters the subliminal zone and knows its past lives. Supramundane consciousness then becomes available whereby unlimited relations become possible.

320 APPENDIX D

From: "Buddhist Meditation and Western Cognitive Psychology"

Speech given by Daniel P. Brown, Ph.D., at Conference, "What is Sanity? Concepts of Mental Health in Buddhist and Western Psychology," sponsored by Blaisdell Institute, Claremont, California, June 12-14, 1981. Tape transcript is available. The lecture incorporates ten years research from Harvard Medical School.

STAGES OF MEDITATION MAHAMUDRA YOGA SUTRAS VISUDDHIMAGGA

Comparison of stages of Bkra Rnam Patanjali Budhaghosa Meditation and cognitive Regal Tibet: India: Hindu S.E. Asia: Mahayana Theravadin Psychology Buddhism Buddhism

STAGE I MIND AS LIGHT PRELIMINARY ETHICAL Photonlike Wavelike PRACTICES

1. Generation of faith; attitude change.

2. Formal study; intra- Four Notions Restraints , Ethical psychic transfor- (dubzhi). (yamas). Training mation. (sila)

3. Sensory/behavior regulation;

Uninterrupted awareness training.

STAGE II

PRELIMINARY MIND/BODY TRAINING

1. Training bodily Body isolation Postures 321 STAGES CF MEDITATION

STAGE II (Continued)

Calming mental chatter, associative thinking.

3. Rearrangement of mental continuum.

Deconstruction of thinking.

STAGE III

CONCENTRATION WITH SUPPORT

1. Concentration training; Decategorizing.

2. Internalization; rearrangement of image.

3. Recognition of various patterns of all sense modalities from the seed.

Stopping mind (gross perception).

MAHAMUDRA YOGA SUTRAS VISUDDHIMAGGA

Speech isola- Breathing. tion

Mind isola- Sense with tion drawal. Discontinuous Continuous momentariness transformation of same thing.

322 STAGES OF MEDITATION

MAHAMUDRA YOGA SUTPAS VISUDDHIMAGGA STAGE IV

CONCENTRATION WITHOUT SUPPORT

1. Tuning in subtle perception

2. Recognizing the subtle flow

3. Collapse of ordinary observer, restructuring of perspective

STAGE V

INSIGHT PRACTICE

1. High-speed search of subtle flow; eradication of self; derealization.

2. High-speed search of gross mental events; shift on perceived duration

Holding fast Samadhic Beginners to subtle upport Samadhi cognition (suksoulscum) (se Rimba) Discontin Continuous uous vibration of *immediate *tanmatras events Sabhija Letting go ( i hod pa) (Point of divergence of the system)

323 STAGES OF MEDITATION MAHAMUDRA YOGA SUTRAS

STAGE V (Continued) and frequency of events of subtle flow; arising only full event in slow motion; quick flashing. 3. Analysis of mind- Middle path. moments and their succession; the *Discrete problem of per- flashes. ceived time/space interconnected ness of all potential events. nondissolution

White light

VISUDDHIMAGGA (clear comprehension) .

Psychic powers; raptures; white light.

White light.

Unspreading Dissolution Yoga.

Unity

*Transformation of one substrate. Unity: unity of manifest cosmos (prakrti). Unspreading Dissolution. Yoga unity.

Above experiences described the same in all forms STAGE VI ADVANCED INSIGHT

1. Equanimity of inter- One/taste Cause and effect related events;

analysis interaction of special events 324 STAGES OF MEDITATION MAHAMUDRA YOGA- VISUDDHIMAGGA PATANJALI

STAGE VI (Continued)

Path: return of mental Nondissolu- All inter- Supreme still content from changed tion, actions of ness. locus of awareness. manifest COSMOS. Fruit: mind as cosmos. Three Buddha- Rain cloud Fruition of bodies. Samadhi. enlightenment. 3. Review.

Return of ordinary mind incorporating results, change of language.

Above is a stage model of enlightenment, showing different methods to

reach the same enlightenment point result in different results in the incorporation

of that point. The stages are comparable.

Nonstage enlightenments (i.e., Zen) do not follow this outline.

325 Quick and Stage Models of Enlightenment

Show Parallels with Studies in Cognitive Psychology

Stage Models High-Speed Signal Detection Studies

Deconstructivist dismantle percep- Large series of experiments which tion, show that immediately after stimulus occurs, it appears to unfold in time.

Quick Models High-Speed Signal Detection Studies

There are no stages, enlighten- Large series of experiments which ment occurring suddenly, show mind processes things simultaneously or parallely.

STAGES OF MEDITATION APPLIED, TO COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

STAGE I (Western Psychological Methods) Therapy; behavioral modification; attitude awareness; radical changes in personality.

Reciprocal inhibition awareness of inner speech. (Vagatski)

STAGE II Inner speech turned out. ( Vagatski )

STAGE III 1a) Break down categories of perception. (Broner: New Look) ab) Stop object constancy. (Info studies)

326 STAGES OF MEDITATION APPLIED TO COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

STAGE III (Continued) 2) Stop perceptual synthesis (above studies in information processing).

STAGE IV High-speed temporal information processing studies: substrait of ordinary perception is temporal.

C. W. Erickson: points in subtle flow called psychological moments.

Studies on point of observer.

STAGE V High-speed search tasks. Target x on T scope; flash above duration then speed up for speed of registered awareness. Derealization of awareness studies.

Yogic studies show quickened perception speed.

Bloc's Law of Psychodynamic, "Total energy in system constant. Amcunt of luminance and perceived duration of events is inversely proportional to each other."

Speed of events increasing: Duration decreasing. Luminance increases.

Current Harvard studies to determine if Yogic awareness beyond time structure follows Bloc's Law or law of modern physics: Physicist, David Bohm: implicate order (a-casual or systems causality) .

STAG` VI No studies, no theory.

327

APPENDIX E

WAVES AND VIBRATIONS: JENNY

Photographs of results from Hans Jenny's (1967) experiments with waves and

vibrations.

328

Diaphrams are covered with finely powdered moss

and subjectecd to specific tones.

330

APPENDIX F

MIND MAPS

This appendix consists of three mind maps used to organize the phenomenological interviews in a nonlinear manner as they felt to the interviewer. The mind map tool outlined by Tony Buzan (1976) was an aid in getting a sense of the whole as a preliminary to the phenomenological reduction.

334

APPENDIX G,

CONSENT FORMS

The following consent form was used with participant L.G, and S.S., and with

Robert, the client described in Appendix A.

Consent Form

I give my consent to the publication of a synopsis of interviews conducted in relation to a dissertation on THE TRANSPERSONAL EXPERIENCE OF ACTING FROM FIELD.

If you give you permission by signina this document, any verbatim transcript or parts of it may be included in a future publication such as a book or journal. It is understood that all identifiable information will be withheld.

Date Signature of Participant

Signature of Researcher

M.M, requested that the text of this form be modified as follows: I give my consent to the publication of a synopsis of interviews conducted in relation to a dissertation on the TRANSPERSONAL EXPERIENCE OF ACTING FROM FIELD. I understand that if I give my

335 permission by signing this document, any verbatim transcripts quoted in this dissertation or parts of it may be included in future publication such as a book or journal. It is understood that all identifiable information will be withheld.