Experiments at Burning Man Test the Science of Collective Conscience

Terence Newton, Staff Writer
Waking Times

“The universe looks less like a big machine than a big thought.” ~Dean Radin

To bridge the gap between material science and the science of consciousness and spirit, a paradigm must shift occur, and eventually it will, thanks in large part to the efforts of pioneers who are testing new theories in how the mind shapes the physical world.

On the cutting edge of exploration of the mind-matter connection are individuals like Rupert Sheldrake, who has elaborated on his theory of ‘morphic resonance and morphic fields,‘ some as-of-yet undetectable quality of the ether which allows for instinctual and instructive information to be passed on between generations of insects and animals.

Looking evermore for verifiable signs of a ‘field consciousness,’ or as some refer to it, a ‘noosphere,’ the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) conducted an experiment in 2012 and 2013 at the Burning Man festival in Nevada to detect what effect a highly concentrated and focused collective conscience might have on physical matter.

The working hypothesis of the study was that,

“…mind and matter are complementary aspects of a more fundamental, holistic reality….These two aspects of nature may appear to be quite different from one other when examined separately, but from a broader perspective they may be seen as part of an intimate relationship by virtue of being connected to, or part of, the same “substance.” Based on this proposed relationship, when minds experience a period of unusually high collective coherence… then perhaps matter will also show a period of high coherence.” [Source]

Furthermore,

“The underlying hypothesis in studies of this type, dubbed “field consciousness” experiments, is that mind and matter are complementary aspects of a more fundamental, holistic reality. As an analogy, the idea is that subjective mind and objective matter may be like heads and tails on a coin. These two aspects of nature may appear to be quite different from one other when examined separately, but from a broader perspective they may be seen as part of an intimate relationship by virtue of being connected to, or part of, the same “substance.” Based on this proposed relationship, when minds experience a period of unusually high collective coherence, such as during the burning of the man, then perhaps matter will also show a period of high coherence.” [Source]

To test this hypothesis in real-time, random number generators (RNGs) were set up in various locations around the festival, and their data charted against key moments of concentrated intensity. The project ultimately looked for synchronicity (a meaningful event at a specific time), which is what they found at the peak of the festival, when some 50,000 plus participants were intently focused on the burning of a giant man in effigy.

During this particular moment, all RNGs exhibited significant deviations from randomness at precisely the moment when the effigy was ignited, leading to a greater hypothesis about whether or not collective concentration can affect, or is affected, by real-world events.

During the 9/11 attacks, similar findings were demonstrated by the Global Consciousness Project.

“The Global Consciousness Project (GCP) uses electromagnetically-shielded computers located throughout the world that generate random numbers.  In its 13-year history, these computers show statistically significant deviations during global events that affect humans.” [Source]

The GCP’s research showed highly anomalous deviations from randomness during the most significant moments of the infamous terror attacks, such as when the second plane hit the tower as millions of people watched live on TV from around the world.

The implication here is that when public consciousness is unified, it can have real-world impacts, presenting a basis for further investigation of precognition and the non-tangible connection between mind and matter.

Final Thoughts

Bringing this down to the micro level, it is widely understood that engaging in positive thoughts and belief systems can un-quantifiably improve one’s individual life, suggesting the outer world is indeed malleable, bending to the power of human thoughts and directed attention.

Given the implications of such an important new understanding of the power of the human mind, it’s startling to witness such collective dis-ease over politics and international events, leading to the question of whether or not we are collectively digging ourselves ever deeper into negative outcomes by allowing our consciousness to be diverted onto the most disturbing aspects of human experience.

Read more articles from Terence Newton.

About the Author

Terence Newton is a staff writer for WakingTimes.com, interested primarily with issues related to science, the human mind, and human consciousness.

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This article (Experiments at Burning Man Test the Science of Collective Conscience) was originally created and published by Waking Times and is published here under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Terence Newton and WakingTimes.com. It may be re-posted freely with proper attribution, author bio, and this copyright statement. 

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