Merging Into the World's Body

the first feeling as I cast myself into the world's body
is: panic and pandemonium
then: the children are scared and whimpering
then: quiet mumbling by powerful men making plans
then: the women are comparing notes
then: the dogs are barking because they are alone
then: the winds are blowing madly and leaves are falling in the spring
then: birds are chirping because they are glad for the sun
and as I go farther, I feel the earth about to give birth
the cramping is beginning, the discomfort grows
and: she is happy!
and: the angels are here, very close!
and even so: horses are ripping grass to the left, then the right
under that noise is:
green and under the green is:
water at peace and:
air molecules swarming
and inside that movement is: raw excitement
then: I feel the pleasure of being alive
then: the exquisite pleasure of being
and through it all:
a private amusement
we are in chaos
and we are unable to escape the gravity-pull of gratitude
it's what makes us smile
the origin experience: of tiny smiles turning to full foolhardy grins
and: falling farther in I feel the wide-waking sleep
the coming birth has the power to expel particles like us
with a force we cannot fathom
far from the nest: into new home places
the feel of new homes we cannot anticipate
and: now I am stunned
with this experience of welcome
and can go no further tonight

copyright by Penney Peirce

Question of the Week: Hmmmmm. . .
Does the prevalence of plugged-into-iPod-young folks have anything to do with the elimination of music programs in our schools? Do we NEED music to develop our brains in a holistic way?

The New Science of Consciousness
One of my colleagues, Laurie Nadel, PhD, has written a series of thought-provoking articles. This is an excerpt: "Much has been written about 'the physics of consciousness,' which applies the quantum theories of subatomic physics to attempt to explain mental phenomena, including intuitive perception and synchronicity. Such sophisticated interpretations are helpful to those who understand quantum mechanics, but those in the vanguard of the new science believe that, ultimately, physics cannot explain mind — including its intuitive aspect — because mind cannot be quantified, physically observed, and reduced.

For example, Bell's Theorem of Nonlocality is often cited by New Age teachers as an explanation for the occurrence of intuitive phenomena in which no sensory-based precedents are apparent. Bell's Theorem states that two electrons that are joined and then separated from each other will vibrate at the same frequency even when they are in different locations. Many people who teach New Age philosophy cite this as scientific evidence for the belief that minds, too, can vibrate at the same frequency when physically separated.

However, physicist John Stewart Bell, who developed his theorem in 1964, did not intend for his theorem to be applied to mental phenomena. In an interview published in Psychological Perspectives, Bell said, 'I was never so ambitious as to assume that such a comprehensive description would also cover the mind. There is clearly some fundamental difference between mind and matter. If science is sufficiently comprehensive at some point in the future to discuss both those things intelligently at the same time, then we will learn something about their interaction.'

The majority of those working in the hard sciences (physics and chemistry) would challenge Bell's open-mindedness, because they are committed to the positivist, objectivist, and reductionist model of reality. The new science, on the other hand, rejects the use of quantum physics to explain the mind because it does not believe that everything can be explained in physical terms. That belief is, in itself, a revolutionary idea. In looking at mind in all its complexity as a biological fact, the new science asks us to reexamine our own thoughts, feelings, values and beliefs, and to take them seriously as agents of change. Dr. Sperry believed that "the new beliefs are a way out of our human predicament.'"

The History and Future of Time
I found this article, by Adam Hill and Dr. Peter Storey, called The History and Future of Time. Thought you might enjoy a few excerpts; I have edited a bit for simplicity. "In recent years physicists have arrived at new possible concepts of time. One theory proposed by Cumrun Vafa is that of ‘Hypertime’ which proposes that there is more than one time dimension in the universe. The second theory is proposed by Julian Barbour, in which time does not exist at all but is purely a construct of the psyche. Before explaining these recent theories, the concepts of Newtonian and Relativistic time are described to give a background.

Newton was the first scientist to ever properly define time. Aristotle believed time to be motion as this was how it was perceived; the motion of the sun and stars across the sky. Plato believed that time was not real, but a mental creation, that the world was really a timeless domain of pure and perfect Forms which occupy the realm of eternity. Galileo was the first scientist to record time as a quantity through his experiments with the pendulum. The laws that Newton laid down defined ‘absolute, true and mathematical time, of itself, and from its own nature, flows equably without relation to anything external.’ Newton believed time to be a separate entity from space which could be measured with unlimited accuracy.

The next major advance following Newton’s incorporation of time into the laws of physics was made by Einstein in his general theory of relativity. At the end of the nineteenth century scientists using Newton’s laws were finding that strange things were happening when they were applied to light signals and material bodies. Einstein solved these problems by disposing of the concept of ‘absolute time’. Einstein put forward a model of the universe in which space and time were a united entity and formed a four-dimensional existence in space-time; one time dimension and three space dimensions. Einstein had destroyed the ‘common sense’ perception of time and brought about a much stranger and alien concept in which everyone had their own ‘now,’ and clocks could run faster or slower depending on how they moved.

For many years physicists have been adding extra dimensions to the universe – in addition to the common three space and one time dimension – in attempts to simplify the laws of physics and unify them in a single theory. The general consensus today is that there are eleven dimensions; the additional seven are spatial dimensions curled up so small that they are invisible to us. More recently Cumrun Vafa of Harvard has increased the total to twelve by adding an additional dimension of time.

The use of higher dimensions was first instigated by the mathematicians Kaluza and Klein in the 1920’s. By adding a fifth dimension they achieved the combination of gravity and electromagnetism. Superstring theory, developed in the 1980’s, required nine dimensions of space and one of time. In 1995 Edward Witten of Princeton and Paul Townsend of Cambridge added one more spatial dimension to unite the multitudes of string theories into M-Theory. Most recently Vafa added his additional time dimension, bringing the total to twelve, to create F-Theory.

Another modern theory which has been fielded in recent years does away with time as a physical entity altogether. ‘Physicists struggling to unify quantum mechanics and Einstein’s general theory of relativity have found hints that the Universe is timeless,’ says Julian Barbour, a theoretical physicist from Oxford. Time is now completely remiss from the description of the universe as there are no paths to be traced just multiple possibilities, where each possibility is a point described by a probability. Hence there are many versions of ‘now’. The ‘now’ that is experienced as an instantaneous state of the universe is just the state which has the highest probability of occurring. The past becomes a set of consistent events for which the probability of occurring was high relative to the other potential states. (This) theory harks back to the ancient argument that time is purely an invention of the human consciousness, a form of ‘temporal dizziness’.

In each case there are interesting arguments and consequences. Modern physics still does not have a complete grasp of the concept of time and only through further research into this area will it be obtained."

A Brief Interview with Penney Peirce about Intuition Development

When did you first recognize your intuition? Was your young life guided by intuition?
I can't say I was intuitive in any special way as a child growing up in the Midwest. But I do feel I've been a spiritual detective all my life—looking below the surface for the hidden dynamics of life. When I was young, I didn't believe that germs made people sick, or that surgery was the only solution for disease. There must be deeper causes. . . For years I wouldn't say the word "God" because I didn't know what it meant—I couldn't believe God was an old man on a throne in the sky. I mused about why wars were fought over religion, and decided I would find the core truths in every religion—and THAT would be what I would believe!

It helped that I grew up with a strong connection to nature and communicated with my many pets telepathically. I also spent hours alone looking out from bluffs, hilltops, and tree branches, or next to streams in the woods. At the same time I was enthralled with art, drew endlessly, had inexplicable urges to write poems, and kept a journal since age seven. I also began remembering my dreams quite early. So something was at work! It would have been nearly impossible back then to decide, "I'm going to be a professional intuitive when I grow up," so somehow, by zigzagging away from things that bored me, and toward things that lit me up, I have arrived at a goal I didn't know I had!

For instance, I studied interior design in college, but got sidetracked by a small course on the "Psychology of Spaces," something like what feng shui is today. This rang my inner bells, and I decided to pursue "environmental design"—the closest thing I could come to what I thought I wanted. This led me to California Institute of the Arts, and an experimental program in "Social Design," which was taught by a team of psychologists, sociologists, urban planners, and various kinds of designers. We did projects like: redesign the elevator so people will talk to each other inside, or redesign the funeral, and we looked at questions like "What affect does advertising have on mass consciousness?" This taught me about working with patterns and "design thinking." All this was great preparation for becoming an intuitive.

What lead you to become a teacher and author of intuition?
Life practically swept me into Marin County in the mid-1970's, when the consciousness movement was blossoming. I studied clairvoyance development in earnest, and worked as a corporate art director until my department was closed. At that point a freelance design business ensued, which let me get my feet wet as an intuitive reader and teacher. I joined The Center for Applied Intuition, started by Dr. William Kautz, a scientist at SRI International. The Center then sent me to Japan to teach and counsel. I have worked there annually now, since 1984. After many years of training people in intuition development, I decided it was time to write, and wrote three books in three years.

What or how do you see when you give a reading to a client?
I used to be more visual. Over the years I've shifted to auditory, then tactile modes, and now I receive impressions of abstract patterns of knowledge all at once over my entire body. I feel the other person's life as though it were my own—even physical symptoms or sensory emphases like acute hearing or smell. The I have to describe this vision and process as articulately as I can. So I have become very empathic; I call it "conscious communion." When I finish the session I come back to my own body and persona, and forget what I've just been merged with—I just leave it out there.

How can people begin to open to their intuitive senses?
The most important thing is to pay close attention to the body, and the subtle expansions and contractions connected with various choices, opportunities, or people. It also helps to develop all the senses, work with symbol interpretation, and dreams. When you see similarities, intuition opens. When you stay real, in the moment, and in the truth, your intuition remains open as well. We're all intuitive, but we tend to gloss over the guidance we receive that way because it's so subtle.

Intuition and Business
In the not-too-distant future, corporations will have professional intuitives on staff, much like kings and pharoahs in ancient cultures had viziers, astrologers, and dream priests who provided vital information about the unseen factors influencing their success. Soon it won't seem odd at all that an empath, like the beautiful Star Trek intuitive, might be consulted about the strategy for making a major new investment or how a cash flow problem should be solved. Even today, in Asian cultures, it is not at all uncommon for businesses to consult with psychics about such things as timing on new marketing campaigns or the feng shui in their office complex.

In the future, executives will hire the services of proven teams of expert intuitives. These councils will conduct intuitive readings on specifically designed sets of questions, posed independently to each individual intuitive. The intuitive insights will then be merged into a consensual report, comprised of the common findings and the most tantalizing new angles for problem-solving. Intuitives will shed light on the underlying hidden agendas interfering with growth, help define accurate vision statements, solve personnel problems, assess prospective business partnerships, identify market trends, pinpoint timing, projected sales figures, create and double-check strategies, and help facilitate painless conflict resolution.

Intuition and perception training will be much more accepted in the corporate arena soon. Businesses will have to change the way they think, from purely linear perception to holographic knowing, to keep up with the changes in the world’s consciousness. In the near future, upper and lower echelon business people will meet in cross-disciplinary groups, use intuitive methods to align their minds and hearts into a singular focus, ask specific questions of the “group mind,” and receive highly useful, appropriate data that is mutually empowering to each person, to the business, to its clients, to the environment and society as a whole.

Solving Problems Before They Materialize
As executives acknowledge the interrelatedness of the internal, invisible, process-oriented part of life and the external, visible, results-oriented part of life, they will consider new, softer solutions to problems. They will assume that nipping an unhealthy energetic pattern in the bud is a highly efficient way to maximize productivity. It will be common sense to deal with potential problems at the feeling and emotional level, before they erupt into physical breakdowns in the manufacturing plant.

For example, a friend of mine was involved with a company that had a serious cash flow problem, threatening its very existence. The four founding partners, all men, were polarizing and a bitter battle was brewing. Two became controlling and dominating and planted their spears; two became victims and tried to preserve themselves, ready to leap to whichever side looked more promising. They spent money they didn’t have to bring in outside consultants who helped them develop better communications and new strategies. But nothing worked.

In the end, the company succumbed to a hostile takeover by the most domineering partner, in which almost all the employees were let go, and several of the partners were cheated of their rightful due. Had these men been open to the view “from the inside out,” they would have seen that the company was designed as an arena for them to work out the unconscious problems they each had due to bad relationships with their fathers, and thus to their own, and others’ authority. A talented “corporate therapist” or expert intuitive might have been able to help them find a way to support each other, and thus to save the company, which they erroneously thought existed only to manufacture a product and give them money.

In the near future, when we’re able to hold the paradox of the mutual inclusiveness of the world of spirit (non-form) and matter (form), 20 people won’t need to be severely shocked by the loss of their livelihoods, and the industry won’t need to lose a potentially innovative company, all because of the polarized egos and limited perception of four men. In the corporation of the future, hopefully “love” in business won’t be an oxymoron, and we’ll be able to speak directly about “intuition” and “spirit” without having to allude to these vital components of life through palatable and inventive semantics such as “business ethics,” “integrity in the workplace,” the “spirit of cooperation,” or “flying by the seat of your pants.”

Prayers for the Earth
If you're interested, you might check out this website for the annual prayer vigil for the earth in Washington DC, Oct 20-21.

Celebrate the 15th Anniversary of The Prayer Vigil for the Earth!

Where people of diverse faiths, cultures, backgrounds and ages come together to practice peace with self, peace with others, and peace with the Earth with One Mind, One Voice, One Heart and One Prayer.

The host tradition is Native American, joined by spiritual leaders and representatives from major faiths, spiritual beliefs and anyone who wants to be part of this magical, exhilarating and peaceful experience.

Each year, a sacred fire burns continuously in the center of a circle of tipis, African and Christian alters, a Jewish sukkah, a Tibetan stupa and other religious traditions' symbols. There is a labyrinth, a Prayer Grove, a children's activity area and other offerings.

Prayers and ceremonies are continuous for 33 hours concluding midday Sunday, October 21.

The Buckminster Fuller Challenge
Any scientists and great thinkers out there? Want to put your mind where your mouth is and start creating the future we all want? Check out this interesting site: The Bucky Fuller Challenge.

"If success or failure of the planet and of human beings depended on
how I am and what I do ... How would I be? What would I do?"
— Buckminster Fuller

Buckminster Fuller's prolific life of exploration, discovery, invention and teaching was driven by his intention "to make the world work for 100% of humanity, in the shortest possible time, through spontaneous cooperation without ecological offense or disadvantage of anyone".

Fuller coupled this intention with a pioneering approach aimed at solving complex problems. This approach, which he called comprehensive anticipatory design science, combined an emphasis on individual initiative and integrity with whole systems thinking, scientific rigor and faithful reliance on nature's underlying principles.

After decades of tracking world resources, innovations in science and technology, and human needs, Fuller asserted that options exist to successfully surmount the crises of unprecedented scope and complexity facing humanity – he issued an urgent call for a design science revolution to make the world work for all.

The Buckminster Fuller Challenge seeks submissions of design science solutions within a broad range of human endeavor that exemplify the trimtab principle. Trimtabs demonstrate how small amounts of energy and resources precisely applied at the right time and place can produce maximum advantageous change.

Solutions should be:

• Comprehensive — a clear demonstration of holistic systems thinking.
• Anticipatory — projectively tracking critical trends and needs; identifying and assessing long term consequences of proposed solutions.
• Ecologically responsible — reflective and supportive of nature's underlying processes, patterns and principles.
• Verifiable — able to withstand rigorous empirical testing.
• Replicable — capable of being readily undertaken by others.
• Achievable — likely to be implemented successfully and broadly adopted.

The Benefits of Daydreaming
The more we try to be super-smart, on top of things, focused on outcomes, and mindful, the more we probably need to space out and daydream. As I get older and humorously bemoan the loss of short-term memory — I realize there is a new rule: you can only remember to take 2 things with you as you walk out the door to the car — I also realize that my inner imaginative life is pulling on me to pay attention elsewhere. There are moments now where I "wake up" out of my focus on the computer and my to-do list because my "under-consciousness" is trying to tell me something. I'm humming an odd song whose lyrics have a message, I'm thinking about an old friend from twenty years ago who embodied a certain courageous behavior that I want to increase in myself, I'm seeing images of a house by a quietly flowing river with trees and realize that may be the kind of place I want to buy.

Far from being an escape from "reality," my sense is that daydreams take us deeper into our process of seeding and fertilizing the next levels of our manifestation process; we're working on what's next, which must be created in its blueprint form first, then gradually pop into reality. I may not always know, in my conscious mind, what's best for me. As the Rolling Stones said, "You can't always get what you want. . ." I do believe, because I've seen it happen so many times, that the soul knows how to create anything, anytime, and knows just what needs to come next to propel us into our next level of growth — even if we are depressed, dull, bored, unmotivated, or stuck in bad habits. Our clues about what the soul is creating next come from paying attention to those sub-surface fantasies, images, desires, and daydreams.

Part of daydreaming may be processing experiences we didn't even know were important, finding the insight from a life lesson we're not quite consciously aware of yet. We may run down several tracks of possible ways of handling situations. Your inner 5-year-old wants to cuss out the annoying person or blow up his car, while your wise adult part wants to practice forgiveness and open your heart with some generosity. You live through several potential scenarios, testing them out.

Sometimes when we space out or leave our body, and it appears that "nobody's home," we're actually expanding to higher dimensions of the self where there is greater perspective, wisdom, collective knowledge, contact with our life purpose, and clarity about what and how to manifest the next part of our destiny. We are not being lazy; we're doing research, gestating, organizing at a very subtle level.

As part of intuition development, and dreamwork, I think bringing the stuff of daydreams into conscious recognition is an amazing, fascinating, and productive practice. If you can be more aware of what the deeper You is working on, the everyday conscious You can get in line with it, keep an eye out for opportunities, and act more purposefully. Creating new things will take much less effort and new things will suddenly occur. Imagining new realities and possibilities will be second-nature; we won't feel trapped by the last reality we created. You'll become a great opportunity-maker and problem-solver.

As you watch your daydreams, pay particular attention to your habit of looking at fear-producing, worst-possible-scenario realities. Sometimes those "dreams" show you simple data about what you don't want to do, what might happen without full attention. Other times, the fear sucks your attention and you become obsessed with worry and preoccupied with drama. Then all the positive visions are blocked. It's helpful to say to yourself: What am I paying attention to in my "under-consciousness" right now? What am I making myself aware of? Why is this information coming to me right now? Remember: it's just data and is not meant to scare you into inactivity. It's meant to put you in touch with your unlimited creator-self.

The most important bit is that, though daydreaming is fun, the ability to physically ground those visions is just as much fun. One feeds the other. Escaping from "reality" is actually impossible, since everything is real at some level. The real deal is to explore the realities you WANT to experience, for fun and learning. And just because you can!

Art by Jill Perry, www.jillperry.com

Penney on Streaming Radio: Discussing Intuition
Just wanted to let you know that I'll be a guest on Umar Hameed's streaming radio show, Breakthroughs, based in Baltimore at 1370am WVIE, from 10am-11am ET, Saturday Oct 6. You can listen to it live.