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What is "R - Tech" (Relationship Technology) and Consciousness Processing Technology? What
are the implications for Neurofeedback, Biofeedback, Applied Psychophysiology, the evolution of
science, our individual and collective mental health? August 10, 1994 I had the opportunity to present at the Forum co sponsored by the Wisdom
Society and the Reuben H. Fleet Space Theater and Science Center. The Forum was conceived as
an opportunity to exchange ideas on "The Place of Science and Technology in our Culture". Since I feel that the material that emerged in that presentation may be useful to others and (all things
being relative) I feel the evening went well, I would like to offer this edited version of that talk. We intend to communicate with each other at the highest level we can and to create an atmosphere
that is as conducive as possible to individual and group creative thinking. Together we make up a
kind of mind field (not mine field I hope). If it is true that the learning is the doing, and multi sensory,
multi dimensional awareness is part of the technology of consciousness, perhaps we can practice
these principles as we work together. Then possibly something altogether unexpected, creative may
emerge. May I suggest that as you read this you experiment with me? You will probably be more
comfortable and get more out of this short time together if you scan your body, notice if you are
holding your shoulders up, look for unnecessary muscle tension, breathe normally, deeply and
comfortably. Be aware of all that you can in the room. Loose your belt if it is too tight. Breathing
should be relaxed and deep, and your stomach should be free to move in and out. If you have
eaten or you are tired and feel like taking a nap or even meditating and you close your eyes, be as
aware as you can of what is going on around you and within you. As you are able, please watch the thoughts and feelings that arise inside you (and outside too) as
we work together in a spirit of play. To paraphrase Marshal McLuhan, "Those who think education
and entertainment are two different things probably do not understand either one very well". Parts
of this discussion may be difficult, controversial, even fun. What is most important is to watch your
feelings arise and change. I would like to examine one of the greatest (depending on how you define technology) perhaps the
greatest challenge humanity faces. In October of 1970 one of my best friends died of cancer. Tom was only 41. Afterwards I took a
long weekend at our little country house in Rhinebeck, New York. I had spent a rather dreamy day
sitting by the lake contemplating The Big Picture. Dagne, my wife, suggested that I read a magazine
article entitled "Alpha, The Wave of the Future". I promptly read it because I had learned that she
had an uncanny way of planting very good ideas in my mind at just the right time. During the next twenty four hours I had a kind of classic creative experience. Decades of
contemplation and thought seemed to converge with a euphoric, laser like intensity. It seemed as
though one of the greatest scientific and spiritual stories of our time was creating itself before my
eyes. And I was being invited to immerse myself in an almost unimaginably great work. The next day I entered full time into what has turned out to be an astonishing, scientific art form, a
business and a series of adventures leading me to this discussion here with you. I sold my old
business, and plunged headlong into the strange, paradoxical, controversial field soon to be called
by inadequate terms like Biofeedback, Applied Psychophysiology and Instrument Assisted
Transactional Psychophysiology. I like to think of it as Twenty six years went by like a summer afternoon...a summer afternoon filled with the surprises of
life, like balmy breezes and tornadoes, blue skies and thunderstorms, flowers and fun and fights and
fear and beautiful relationships and heart breaking misunderstandings. All in all, just another day at
the office. The purpose of this discussion is not to focus narrowly on this embryonic, niche, technological art
form that I happen to be devoted to....a science that is about where air travel was in the 1850's
when the implications of a balloon ride set people buzzing the world over. Our goal is no less than to see together a principle or principles which if exercised can transform
our societies including our technology...principles that can lead to wiser, more effective individual
and collective action...and equally important non-action. Some scientists warn us that it may already be too late...the evolution of our self destructive
technology has outstripped the evolution of our cerebral cortex. They feel it is probable that
humanity will get cut off before the crisis in our consciousness can be transformed into
opportunity...and before a whole new evolution in the consciousness of the tribe can take place.
Others say that evolution, that transformation is already under way. But in order to survive, much
less evolve, we must improve our relationship with technology. The following graph is arguably the most important graph I have ever seen. Furthermore, the insight
implied was developed by some British sociologists more than 15 years ago. See Peter Russell's
outstanding book, Global Brain. (insert graph). (insert under graph) From the dawn of history to
now, Agricultural Processing has gradually grown. However, about 1900 the growth of Industrial
Processing in terms of total human work and economic power (doubling every 17 years) exceeded
Agricultural Processing. In 1975, Information Processing (doubling every 8 years) broke through
the growth curve of Industrial Processing. But consciousness Processing including R - Tech
(doubling about every 4 years) is expected to exceed Information Processing about the year 2000.
(end graph insert) We all understand Information Processing, but what in heaven's name does Consciousness
Processing mean? For one thing if we had understood Information Processing early in the game and
invested accordingly, we would be rich. Maybe if we realize that Self Knowledge Technology
(Biofeedback) is the very soul of Consciousness Processing, we can invest enough to make a few
pesos just in time to offset the collapse of social security. A subset of Consciousness Processing
Technology (i.e. the Web and Virtual Reality, etc) goes by the cool new monicher of R - Tech. Trying to think of a metaphor to help people understand Consciousness Processing Technology is
difficult because nothing like it has ever happened before. Just as Information Processing was hard
to understand before it massively changed the world. For about a year I had been grappling with the concept of Consciousness Processing...how to get
my arms around it. I had the insight I was looking for while flying back from Seattle after putting on
a Neurofeedback seminar with Val Brown. I'm not sure whether it was the altitude (flying seems
conducive to meditation to me) or the expresso at the airport, but I love the following model that
came in a flash. See if this way of looking at it helps. Consciousness Processing is like an incredible new kind of
"airplane". It is built out of the material of the Digital Revolution and uses Information Processing as
"fuel". The creators, engineers, pilots and crew of these "airplanes" relate to this technology as
though it had a kind of life force of its own. The Information Processing "fuel" produces almost
infinite energy through the ancient principle of La Via Negativa (elimination of the unnecessary). The super exponentially growing Web is a manifestation of Consciousness Processing Technology.
However, there is already another manifestation of Consciousness Processing Technology even
greater than the Web emerging in the background. It is so immense that it will absorb the Web into
itself like the Web is absorbing electronics, television, radio and computers. As much as the Web is
forcing transformation of the world, annihilating national boundaries (and to some extent privacy)
and empowering the individual, so the new as yet unnamed manifestation of Consciousness
Processing Technology will explode over the world like a Tsunami Wave of Light. Like all
technological revolutions some will see it as a blessing, some a curse. As for me, I see it as a blessing because I am convinced that it's essence will be self knowledge and
self knowledge is an end point. Of course self knowledge is not always pretty. To borrow from
Betty Davis, like aging, it "ain't for sissies". And what we now call Biofeedback and Applied
Psychophysiology will be seen as a critically important evolutionary stage. Now, if that doesn't get your heart started, go ahead and have that double expresso. Biofeedback, especially neurofeedback may be a helpful example as we take on the challenge of
understanding how to have right relationship with technology. And have right relationship with
technology we will...one way or the other! The creationists among us might be more comfortable to substitute the word transformation for
evolution. For me it all merges together, and evolution and transformation are taking place quite
naturally within the creation. Self Knowledge Technology (biofeedback) is simply the use of instrumentation to help people get
to know themselves better, sort of like mirrors or telephones to various parts of the mind and body.
If the signals can be made clear enough, it appears there is no part of the mind/body that cannot be
influenced if not actually controlled. Traditional mainstream medical biofeedback has been growing slowly but inexorably for many
years. Some of you may not realize that brain wave biofeedback is growing much faster than
traditional biofeedback. Remember that when you examine the human energy graph. For those who do not understand how it's done: Sensors placed on the head amplify tiny electrical
signals emanating from the brain and feedback that information, enabling the user to increase some
brain waves and decrease others, etc. The scientifically trained among us will see that you cannot
change the brains electronics without causing changes at the atomic, molecular, brain chemical,
behavioral and psychological levels. I have devoted the last twenty six years to this work because I believe that Self Knowledge
Technology can assist a substantial number of the world population to: 1. Increase the ability to attend. Increasing not only the length of time a person may attend but also
the depth or quality of that attention. So the attention begins to become what I call "profound
attention". Now this may sound like a small, rather obvious idea but it is actually an immense one
because many of the most powerful aspects of the human mind are fixed.....almost unchangeable,
but the attention processes can be changed relatively easily producing extraordinary
results....breaking those mental "ties" that bind up the mind....restricting its vision and dulling its
sensitivity. 2. Enhanced attention increases the clarity of thinking. This includes the reduction of over thinking
or "psychothenia". This in turn leads to: 3. Reduction of fear and inappropriate conditioning which are at the root of the crisis in the
consciousness of humanity, and embody the greatest dangers, inhibiting the opportunities that lie
before us. 4. Finally, if the implications of both ancient and modern science are followed to the end, then a
dynamic of indescribable potential, beauty and power emerges....OBSERVATION AND
ATTENTION CHANGES WHAT IS OBSERVED AND ATTENDED TO. The quality of our
attention has a transforming effect on "what is". The most productive thing we can do may be to
observe with a high quality of attention. Action emerging from that kind of attention appears to be
the most productive possible. The attention itself operates like sunlight and rain on a seed causing
the highest potential to emerge or unfold from the reality that surrounds us - that living possibility -
potential that is in our hands everyday, every hour, every second....now! This instant! I submit that the crisis in the consciousness of our world can be defined as a lack of the capacity to
attend, loss of clarity in thinking, over thinking ("psychothenia"), increasing fear leading to unhealthy
conditioning. In his book "Quantum Reality" Nick Herbert said, "One of the greatest scientific
achievements imaginable would be the discovery of an explicit relationship between the wave form
alphabets of quantum theory and certain human states of consciousness". I assert that
neurofeedback is at least the beginning of that scientific achievement. If Self Knowledge Technology can truly enhance our evolutionary capacity to fix these mental and
physical malfunctions (sort of like agricultural - technology has alleviated the starvation problem
relatively, and electronics has smoothed out communications and information processing) then the
total power of technology combined with other forces seen and unseen may possibly enable
humanity to snatch an unimaginable victory from the jaws of extinction. There are those who say it doesn't matter what we do because at the last minute some outside
agency will save us. I dare say that many reading this piece feel as I do that the transformation of
the way we live in this world is our responsibility, and regardless of how dark the situation looks
sometimes, there is no real choice but to act as though it all depends on us. Even if there is some
kind of outside agency that has the power to help us out, surely its motivation will be increased if
we are doing our utmost to help ourselves. It is a great delight to contemplate the almost unimaginable vastness of our own galaxy, and then to
go beyond that to sense the entire cluster of galaxies of which we are a part, then try to find some
way to wonder at billion galaxies already perceived, scattered like jewels measuring hundreds of
thousands of light years across, throughout the universe. What a playground for the mind if we can
meet the challenge of learning right relationship with each other and technology.....we can be this
responsible but will we?......For heaven's sake--will we? One of the questions I was most puzzled by as a child was why science and religion seem to be so
at odds with each other? Both are supposed to be devoted to the pursuit of truth. Could it be that
there are two great truths that are mad at each other? Or is the schism artificial? Frank Lloyd Wright comforts us when he says "all that is done for the
truth or against the truth in the end serves the truth equally well". Perhaps we have become
polarized by religious leaders who are not open minded enough, and scientists who also focus too
narrowly. The great physicist David Bohm said "The mechanical model of the universe makes nature a means
to an end. It implies that nature is there for us to get whatever we want out of it. I say this model is
not adequate. A part has no meaning except in terms of the whole. The idea of treating everything
as only parts may work in the short run, but it doesn't work when you follow it through." Stephen
J.Gould, the anthropologist, has implied that evolution is a valid theory but survival of the fittest is
only partially true. There is considerable evidence that many of the fittest have not survived. Either
some other dynamic/force contributes to evolution in the main - or you can call it luck. This has
extraordinary implications for the concept that competition is all important. Just as some of the "fittest" do survive, so some of the most competitive do dominate. But many
business leaders feel that competitiveness is overrated as a principle that causes the long term
healthy success of a business, much less as a force or principle for bringing the greatest good to the
greatest numbers, or true excellence, or improved quality of life, or as having very much to do with
compassion, wisdom or those things that most of us believe are good for humanity. We are not
denying competition. We are saying that over-rating it blinds us to even greater, much more
productive possibilities. Competition unchecked doesn't do much for family values. Biophysicist Rupert Sheldrake's theory of formative causation and morphigenic fields may have
much more to do with those changes that have been hitherto attributed to evolution; and by the
same token this type of field theory may be much closer to the truth about what's shaping our
culture than the theory of competition (survival of the fittest) is. Einstein said "the field is the soul governing agency of the particles". If what we think and feel is a
kind of field then what we think and feel is what is creating our society, our culture, our
world....whether it is heaven or hell. And which is it? We have allowed....no let us take responsibility....we have created media which
constantly bombards us.....let's be kind, informs us of the horrors in the world. And that has its
value, but it is also true that stimulating fear and appealing to the lowest and dumbest instincts in
humanity creates anxiety disorders, leads to over - competition, and contributes to unthinking,
rampant consumption...an unnecessary and self destructive orgy that scientists tell us is eating up the
earth. It is a simple, extremely effective marketing principle: the more afraid and insecure we feel, the
more we will try to acquire to quench that insecurity. But does having more really prevent
insecurity? Is it possible to consume less while living better? Look for the Voluntary Simplicity
Movement to explode across the U.S. and the world as the realization sinks in that for most of us
consuming less and living simply is a necessary step to achieving the riches of life we are so hungry
for. As earth can be said to be a hell and getting worse so there are places and people who are
experiencing a kind of heaven on earth.......at least some of the time. This breeds contentment,
peace, the sense that one has enough. The desire to take more leisure time to enjoy the world, to
develop one's mind, to reach out to help others, to work to reduce environmental damage, to
stretch what one has to the limit which means be more efficient....waste nothing. Science is defined as systematic knowledge of the physical or material world. Doesn't this mean
that science is essentially the pursuit of the truth? This means that a science imbued with wisdom - a
true science will understand when to say no....and be able to enforce it. Science has given us the
means to destroy all life on earth. Just because it can be done does not mean it should be done. When we refuse to go through one door, it means we will go through another. Because go we
must. The physicist Freeman Dyson thinks our destiny may be to populate the galaxy. This requires
a science that knows what not to do. What breeds that kind of wisdom? Many creative thinkers feel that the most powerful creative principle is " La Via Negativa". The
negative way. By elimination of the untrue the truth emerges. When asked how he created the
beautiful statue of David out of the block of marble, Michelangelo said, "Oh, David was always
there. I just eliminated the unnecessary marble". OUR ABILITY TO SAY NO MAY ALLOW
SOME OF THE GREATEST YESES OF ALL TIME TO UNFOLD. So then we have to look closely at fear because it is guiding our thinking, our science, our
technology to a very great degree....an extremely dangerous degree. Are people governed by fear fit to populate the galaxy? Fear is a form of thinking. Thought is a material process...some say thought actually is matter
because matter is defined as "energy traveling in a pattern". A further characteristic of thought is that the more energy pumped into it the more it "materializes".
This computer, this presentation, this beautiful airplane I am flying in as I edit this is essentially thick
thought. As we think so we are. Descartes was a catalytic thinker, triggering science's penchant for
the mechanical view of the Universe. He said, "I think therefore I am". Once he walked in to a bar.
The bartender said, "what will it be?...a glass of whiskey?" Descartes answered, "I think not", and
disappeared. Somehow that joke reminds me of a T-shirt which says "God is dead", Nietzsche.
"Nietzsche is dead", God. Of course, I suspect the contribution of Descartes and Nietzsche but scientists are just as funny as
everyone else aren't they? We tend to take ourselves much too seriously don't you think? Now
even the revered Stephen Hawking seems to believe that with the development of String Theory
(the theory of everything) we are almost at the end of the quest to understand the physical universe. So, if we are putting more and more energy into fear, it must materialize. Although fear may have a
place, it seems clear that we must materialize much more than fear thoughts - or put the other way
around - there are certain deep fears in the psyche of the race that we had better not materialize if
we really want to improve the situation here on this earth...much less extend ourselves into the
galaxy. Conversely there are thoughts deep in our hearts, indescribably sublime which can also
materialize. But will we? The suspense is killing me. There is a Chinese curse... "may you be born in interesting times". These must be some of the most
interesting times in all of history. I may err on the side of attempting too much in this piece, but I'm going to take some chances.
Forgive me if I seem too sure of the truth. What I say are merely assertions...working hypotheses.
Oswald Spengler said that "a hypotheses does not have to be absolutely correct as long as it is
useful". He who says he knows probably does not. Let's go exploring together and see what we
can discover. May I remind you to stretch? Please sit comfortably, breathe deeply and naturally, drop the
shoulders, be as aware as you can of all that's going on in the room, and most importantly of what
is going on in you. Watch yourself agree and disagree. Notice emotions arising such as happiness,
sorrow, fear, anger or peace and enthusiasm. Watch these feelings like colors of energy arise and
fall and flow like waves between and around us. When thoughts wander just watch them, and when
you can, come back and join our journey together. If you fall asleep watch that fast moving theta
imagery...insight may occur at the moment that you have a myoclonic jerk (twitch) so whatever
happens, we are taking advantage of it and using it. The quality of our awareness can shape what
goes on much more than anything we say. Some of you may have become interested in the work of the late Dr. David Bohm, especially his
creation of The Dialogues. I think Dave is on to something enormously useful. His notion is that a
group of people can create an environment and a kind of field of mind that allows wisdom to
unfold. The idea behind the dialogues is that when a group uses the tool he called "participatory
thought" skillfully enough, and perhaps even more importantly attends profoundly enough, there can
be an unfoldment of mind that... although often unpredictable....is probably more functional and
intelligent than the sum of the intelligence of all the individuals participating. Unfortunately, true dialogue or "participatory thought" is relatively rare, because when people with
different thinking styles and agendas assemble to work on problems, wrong conditioning, fear,
misguided egoism and anger block the emergence of insight and sense of adventure latent in the
gathering. We tend to sabotage each other, consciously or unconsciously. The quantum, multi dimensional explosion in technology is inevitable. It is obvious that the genie
cannot be put back in the bottle. Unable to slow the growth of technology, we are forced to
develop a far greater sense of responsibility, or probably be destroyed by it. In fact, it is clear that
the growth of technology is increasing exponentially, maybe super exponentially. Computer "brains"
are already inventing self propagating technology, and leading scientists are worrying about the
moral and ethical problems involved in developing new life forms, as well as computers that think
and exhibit virtual feelings and virtual consciousness. (Note the enormous flap over the biotec
tomato for heaven's sake!) I believe it was Roger Penrose who wrote a serious and stunning
treatise on the ethical problem's of teleportation...during that process where is the soul? And what
are the moral and legal implications? Awareness of the "spirit" in tools breeds a far different attitude towards technology. As in the case
of master craftsmen and women, attention to the subtle energy that technology is imbued with
appears to produce a much more symbiotic and healthy relationship with that technology and the
human beings attached to it. The late Edwards Deming is a productivity genius who went in with Mac Arthur to help rebuild
Japan, assisting that great people in learning how to maximize their democracy and free market. I
believe he is the only non Japanese in history to be awarded the highest medal that nation offers. One of his greatest insights is embodied in his use of the term "Profound Knowledge". It means
asking the deepest possible questions about the micro or meta system that you are interested in
improving. An example would be the crisis carburetor manufacturers found themselves in. They
believed they were in the carburetor business so most of them made better and better carburetors
while selling less and less product. The best carburetors the world has ever seen were made by
these companies just before they went bankrupt. Those who had "Profound Knowledge" realized
they were in the business of getting fuel into the cylinder head as efficiently as possible. Therefore,
they entered the fuel injection business early and became fabulously successful. So, we are bringing this kind of questioning to our meta system, our society, indeed our Global
Village...our Global Brain. There is appalling horror going on in many places in the world. For some of us the apocalypse is
here and now. However, I assert that there are many gutsy individuals and organizations, and their
existence implies that there is a kind of awakening emerging in many U.S. and global businesses
and educational institutions. What happens when even a small percentage of those who have enough say to themselves,
"Making more and more for myself seems like a waste of my precious life. I reject the notion that
he who has the most toys when she dies wins. Let me seek out those who want to enter the
greatest adventures imaginable. Individually and together we will apply the skills and power we
have developed in becoming successful, to identifying and working to solve the problems humanity
faces"? It would be a paradigm shift...especially coming out of the "greed is good" Eighties. I say
this shift is underway and is growing at a magnitude and with a force that is unprecedented in the
history of the world. We (or our progeny) shall see if it is too little, too late or just enough and just
in time. A poem from Christopher Fry's play The Prisoner says it beautifully.... The human heart may go the length of God Many species are dying out or are threatened and huge human die offs are a virtual certainty.
Destruction seems to accompany creation. Once we realize that life is inherently insecure and that the only real security lies in the recognition of
that insecurity and in the way the mind is being used, then we have come to a very practical,
Profound Knowledge type of insight. Those who can apply this insight can live in a kind of heaven
whether life goes on for another minute or for a hundred years - whether we as a race last one
more day or are still populating the galaxy and playfully harnessing the energy of black holes a
billion years hence. Many of us have studied the lives of those human beings whose minds have flowered...people who
have actualized their potential. It is particularly interesting to observe the processes and stages a
person goes through as the mind matures. The type of maturity referred to here has nothing to do
with chronological age. Have you noticed how as a person awakens there is not only a greater awareness of life inside but
there seems to be more awareness of aliveness outside as well? Notice how this person becomes more aware and respectful of "spirit" in others. As this process of
waking up progresses, the capacity for Profound Attention increases. This breeds greater sensitivity
and the awareness of aliveness or spirit begins to extend beyond human beings and into the animal
kingdom. Notice how the wisest and most compassionate individuals become aware of and
respectful of the spirits and souls of animals. And if they are meat eaters themselves, do so with
humility and gratitude to those creatures which die to nourish us. Notice how people who are so passionately alive extend their awareness into the plant kingdom,
and begin to care deeply about what happens to trees and plants, and may even begin slipping in
and out of states of consciousness in which they swear they can feel the life force in a stone. Notice how masters of technological art forms like music, painting, carpentry, etc have traditionally
shown great respect for their instruments and tools. Ponder the teaching of the great oriental
carpenters and warriors who will not step over their tool or weapon if it is lying on the ground
because they do not want to offend its spirit. What about the Celtic mythology?...The Arthurian legends and Excalibur...technology which
protected you if the mind and heart were right and hurt you if the mind and heart were not right? Now see our current situations...our love affairs with cars, and houses and planes and T.V. and
movies and computers and all kinds of technology. Doesn't it follow that the same Universal Mind that creates flowers, and babies and solar systems is
creating technology? Only this Mind is using humans as a kind of tool for creating technology, a
material part of the Universe, unfolding as it ought. Notice how respect and affection for another person's spirit usually brings co-operation and
benefits from that person, yet disrespect can cost us dearly, even cost us our life. Do you see where this is going? Profound Attention applied to technology breeds great sensitivity
to the spirit within that technology. As this phenomena emerges technology becomes a kind of
Friend, an Incredible Companion as our own bodies, minds and spirits solve these essential crises
on earth and extend throughout the galaxy and beyond. On the other hand if our awareness and attention is inadequate allowing conditioning and incoherent
thinking to dictate our relationship to technology, then technology may wipe us out. The technology
we built becomes a suicide weapon....our executioner. Many scientists say mankind is doomed, the crisis in consciousness and the technological explosion
has already gone too far. The great sage Lao Tze says, " The gift of prophesy is but the flowery
trapping of the Tao and the beginning of folly". No one knows how this immense journey will end...or if it ever will. Margaret Mead said "Never
doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, its the only
thing that ever has". Chaos and Turbulence theory is profoundly contributing to paradigm shifts occurring in physics,
math, psychology. Essentially, Chaos theory says there are living patterns that simply emerge from
the mind of nature given the right conditions. These are called attractors. They are always the same
and always different. A snowflake, a sea shell, a flower, a human being, participatory thought...
"where two or more are gathered together". Another aspect of Chaos theory is that nature tends to
amplify the small. It's called the butterfly effect. The wind from a butterfly's wings can theoretically
cause disturbances which amplify, and can trigger a storm on the other side of the world. Jim
Crutchfield, a computer scientist studying the sensitivity of chaotic systems has estimated that the
gravitational pull of an electron, "randomly" shifting position at the edge of the Milky Way can
change the outcome of a billiard game on earth. So, perhaps Margaret Mead is right. We are not
too weak and too few to make a great difference. Some types of technology may be offering unprecedented opportunity for human beings to come to
know themselves better including enhancing the ability to watch thought more clearly. If this is true
then technology or the "spirit"(or if it is more comfortable for you, the morphegenic fields Sheldrake
talks about) in technology may be setting the foundation for a self correcting paradigm shift of
infinite value to the unfoldment of life on earth. The fact is many of us feel the most important values in life transcend the material, and so we have a
love / hate relationship with technology because it is so blatantly material. As we helplessly watch
the accelerating development of technology our excitement and hope is mixed with frustration,
sorrow, anger, and fear that technology may be of the devil; and if we don't find some way out it
will not only cost us our lives, worse it will cost us our souls. There is no one among us who would
disagree with the fact that technology has precipitated an incredible crisis in the world even as it has
ended some types of crisis.. Is technology really the problem? Or is it a tool, a kind of mirror, a huge biofeedback instrument if
you will that we have created in order to amplify and reflect the crisis in our consciousness? An
even more interesting question is: Have we accelerated the development of technology in order to
force humankind to transform itself? Is it possible that collectively we have set up circumstances
that are forcing us to either make a great spiritual / evolutionary / transformational leap...or perish?
Crisis means danger and opportunity. Evolution and transformation seems to usually, if not always,
progress based on great pressure. One of the more understandable aspects of the crisis in technology and the consciousness of the
tribe is the dualistic way we view conflict between the spiritual and the material. Most of the
wisdom schools of both the eastern and western traditions point out the danger, the futility, the
immense mistake in dualistic thinking. There is a huge problem that occurs when we allow the brain to settle into the semi-conscious
comfortableness of the corridor of opposites. One aspect of David Bohm's work in physics was to
demonstrate that meaning and matter are one. I believe that the illusion that they are separate is at
the root of this fear, anger, psychic paralysis and dangerous disrespect that we have for the
technology that surrounds us, and yet is forcing us to awaken, like it or not. Sort of like a friend.
Friends don't let friends drive drunk. Are we as a race driving drunk? The Heisenberg principle states that you cannot observe something without changing it. Won't it be
interesting if the magnitude and quality of that observation has a direct relationship to the magnitude
and quality of the change? There appears to be in quantum physics some kind of bridge between the non material essence, or
ground of being, from which material reality emerges and into which it disappears. I am no expert in physics but my understanding is that according to quantum mechanics and field
theory all material things, whether they are automobiles, or human bodies or the brain and nervous
system as we know it, are made up of atoms. These atoms are made up of subatomic particles.
And these subatomic particles are essentially fluctuations of energy and information in a huge void
of energy and information. So then, it seems to follow that the raw material of which everything is
made up is apparently coming from the non material. This line between what is material and non
material may not in fact exist. The stuff of the universe is in fact non stuff. I submit, mind stuff.
Perhaps we can put it this way, all manner of advanced technologies such as computers, television,
radar, radio, fax machines, radio telescopes, etc are possible because science no longer believes
that the atom is a solid entity, but rather that it is information and energy in a void of all possible
states of information and energy. Since we are looking so deeply into the principle of attention, observation and neurofeedback, I'd
like to integrate some comments from a presentation I made to the Society For The Study Of
Neuronal Regulation. None of us really knows exactly how brain wave biofeedback is working. So all of our views are
hypothetical including mine. This hypothesis holds that thought is matter and (like movies) thinking is a material process and an
image making process based on memory. Furthermore, that high order, what I would like to term
"Profound Attention" is probably the most important mental asset a human being can have. Capacity for "Profound Attention" can in many if not most human beings be enhanced. This
enhanced "Profound Attention" carries with it the capability of conscious observation of thought.
The implications of this are that this ability to watch oneself think is the healthiest possible way to
manage and improve the quality of thought. This observation is a kind of "field". Einstein said, "The
field is the soul governing agency of the particles". In this case the particles are thought. The
implication follows that one of the most effective ways in the history of learning to enhance this
"Profound Attention" and improve the quality of thought may be slow wave, relatively synchronous
neurofeedback training. English is only about five hundred years old. As a young language it lacks words to describe much
subtle perceptual and consciousness phenomena, including some of the most important concepts
we hunger to communicate with each other. So often, we must borrow these words from more
mature languages. This hypothesis further asserts that as cartographers of consciousness we must now come to much
more precise definitions of intelligence, thinking, imagery which transcends thinking and attention
etc. in order to clarify what we really want to reach for, what we want to materialize. If the ancients (and many of the modern masters) are correct the problem is that psychothenia (over
thinking) "unconscious" or unobserved thinking is the fundamental barrier to the natural intelligence
and creativity latent in humans; and if it is true that in most "normals" slow wave (ALPHA /
THETA) but mostly mid-range ALPHA training can enhance the ability to profoundly attend to
internal (thought, archetypical imagery, etc) and external phenomena simultaneously, in real time,
then indeed ALPHA / THETA neurofeedback (skillfully managed) is one of the most valuable
educational tools ever developed. Like a compass it can help the mind find its way through the
confusion of too much, and overly conditioned thinking, to Profound Attention, the road less
traveled, the way home. This hypothesis is not prejudiced against fast wave training (SMR / BETA); however, it does hold
that the type of "attention" enhanced by SMR / BETA training should be redefined as a kind of
"seize and hold" attention...a kind or class of attention highly impregnated by thought and very
useful in its own right. This kind of attention is not the "Profound Attention" enhanced by ALPHA /
THETA; it can, however, lead to "Profound Attention". And that should be a goal of advanced
neurofeedback training. Obviously, I could be mistaken about this; however, I strongly believe that
the evidence indicates the essential validity of this hypothesis. I once asked Dr. Les Fehmi to work with me teaching Attention Deficit Disorder protocols, and he
commented, "Who in the world does not have Attention Deficit Disorder?" He was of course
referring to the almost universal deficiency in the exercise of "Profound Attention". "Profound Attention" may be general or focused, and carries with it a quality of depth, or emotional
integration as though one is attending with the heart as well as the brain. The following hypothetical model has considerable appeal to some. Brain cells perhaps in
combination with surrounding glial cells etc., have at least two major capabilities...thinking and
attention. These capabilities produce signals in the range of ALPHA for "Profound Attention" and
BETA for thinking. The kind of attention enhanced by SMR / BETA training is what some are
calling data-capture-and-hold attention. Eventually I believe this kind of attention will be redefined
as a subset of thinking. Therefore, ALPHA training (perhaps other frequencies under different conditions allowing for
individual idiosyncrasies) enables the individual to substantially increase the number of brain cells
that are attending. They are attending to "what is". That is, these brain cells are reflecting (like
smooth water) subtle signals (vibration). One of the most important things they are watching is
thought. This thought is in the form of movie-like images being generated by other brain cells radiating
energy in the form of approximately BETA. In short, ALPHA training can, in at least some people,
enhance the ability to watch thought more clearly. The more clearly thought is attended to, the less
subject to error it is. I believe brain cells (and their field) either are attending or thinking. I am uncomfortable with the
idea that a single brain cell both attends and thinks at the same time; although that may be the case.
Many are sensing that a paradigm shift is occurring in psychology. Some are already naming it the
"Psychology of Awareness". The notion is that awareness itself breeds both optimal mental health and enhanced performance.
This awareness and Profound Attention are the same or inter-dependent. There is no question that these high orders of awareness / attention can be learned without
neurofeedback. Indeed, the biofeedback field unfolded largely from the study of people who had
developed these mind skills without technological feedback as we know it. But these most gifted ones are often quick to see the value of neurofeedback when it is
demonstrated to them. They are also quick to point out how mind - numbing difficult is the
treacherous path to discrimination between high order attention, and thinking one is attending.
Herein lies the awesome potential of brain wave biofeedback. IF NEUROFEEDBACK CAN BE USED TO HELP AN INDIVIDUAL DISCRIMINATE
BETWEEN THOUGHT AND ATTENTION / AWARENESS....THEN IT IS A
TECHNOLOGICAL BREAKTHROUGH AS IMPORTANT TO THE EXPLORER OF THE
MIND AS THE COMPASS AND SEXTANT COMBINED ARE TO NAVIGATION. Over thinking, error prone thinking and inappropriate conditioning are barriers to health and
creativity. Therefore this model integrates the popular notion that almost any neurofeedback training
works as long as it moves the over conditioned brain out of its "parking place". I call this "the steel filings and the magnet principle". Breaking the conditioned patterns apart with
neurofeedback is like breaking a hunk of steel into filings. The brain is better able to reorganize
itself, like the filings, along the natural lines of force of the magnet or attractor, if you will. However, this hypothesis holds that ALPHA training in many subjects goes much further because it
teaches the difference between active, memory based image making, and true relative neural
silence. This neural quietness is essential for the healthy management of thought. Fear is a form of thought and is at the root of most, if not all, psychological disorders. When
adequate masses of brain cells are quieted, fear in general is cut off. This means that attention / awareness deals with fear now, in real time, replacing it with increased
sensitivity to what is....and creative, or as Jung would say, "archetypical imagery". The late David Bohm, was a genius and a physicist, who devoted his incredible talents to the
integration of the physics, and math of consciousness, perception, and those principles by which the
mind naturally unfolds itself. We became friends towards the end and I am still wrestling with all he taught me. But one most
interesting thing is his way of categorizing thinking as types a, b, and c. In my efforts to make it my
own, I changed the terminology to thinking of the first kind, second kind, and third kind...sort of a
play on the movie Close Encounters, because thinking of the third kind implies contact with a high
order of intelligence. Thinking of the first kind is the condition in which a person is lost, not a good thing. The individual is
not aware he is thinking and cannot observe himself think. Therefore contact with "what is" is lost. All that she sees or hears or feels is distorted by this
condition of unconscious over think..."Psychothenia"...usually leading to one form of disaster or
another. Extreme psychothenia would be typified by a panic attack, complete disassociation and
inability to see "what is". Thinking of the second kind is the condition where the thinker begins to watch himself think. This
begins the capability for the thinker to discriminate. The good engineer emerges because he can
reject those thoughts that do not conform to natural law as he understands it. Of course, when his
wife asks him to take the trash out, his ego is activated (fear and panic emerges) and he falls back
into thinking of the first kind. Thinking of the third kind is the highest order of thought. In this condition a kind of quickening of
thought occurs as thought awakens to its own structure. This leads to awareness by the thinker that
his self image or ego is constructed of images based on memory and that he is not who he thought
she was. Further, thought becomes aware of its own limitations. At this point thought stops trying to be all
things. For example, perceiving its limitations, it stops behaving as though it were unlimited. This
produces a kind of shock, and in this shock relative neural silence, greatly enhanced sensitivity and
creative or archetypical imagery emerges. In this silence there is the possibility of "contact" with the
"unlimited". A relatively small group of us became deeply committed to EEG biofeedback about twenty five
years ago. We then struggled with a long period of rejection by the biofeedback community as a
whole, and even worse, enormous frustration because neurofeedback did not work with our clients
as quickly as we thought it should. I believe that Dr. Gene Peniston was enormously productive in helping us to realize that we had
been too impatient. Most of us who became so convinced that neurofeedback was the grand breakthrough it is now
believed to be, did so because we had personally experienced impressive insights and changes
linked to our EEG training. I call this the "primed pump syndrome". We were all tremendously involved in our own mind
explorations...meditation if you will. Therefore, a small amount of training produced a big result.
Most of the clients we trained were not so primed. Therefore, many more sessions over a longer
time period were required. In addition, unconscious fear of the exposure of the image of the me (or ego) as unreal (a kind of
fraud) and the certainty of the need to break free of conditioned behaviors produces a further
obstacle to many, if not most. One of the problems of definition that exists is the confusion over THETA brain waves. It appears that there is healthy THETA and unhealthy THETA. This model holds that unhealthy
THETA relates to a kind of trancelike behavior the result of which is a kind of detachment from
"what is". Walinsky, a psychologist, has written a book entitled, "Trances People Live". These are
generally not good trances. I assert that this dissociative phenomena may be broken out of by
"Profound Attention". Indeed, awareness of any attention to ones own disassociation may be a
prerequisite for breaking through; and prolonged attention / awareness may be the only way of not
falling back into disassociation. Many of us have noticed how Alpha training tends to attenuate the
unhealthy Theta while opening the "window" for the healthy Theta to emerge. On the other hand, "Profound Attention" increases sensitivity to subtle internal imagery such as the
fast moving archetypical insight imagery associated with healthy THETA. ALPHA training prolonged produces the "window". This window appears to be a condition where
healthy THETA emerges, constructed visualizations have enhanced effect, and consciousness -
contaminating repressed psychological material rises up...to be, as it were, burnt up by insight,
energy.....a kind of fire in the mind. SMR / BETA protocols may have greater economic power at this moment. However, the ALPHA
/ THETA protocols are basic to our field. Indeed, Dr. Ferdinand Poirer of the Clinique du
Epilepsie du Montreal used high Alpha (10 hz and above) to achieve excellent results with many of
his epileptic patients. "Peak performers do the basics very well." It is estimated that 65 to 80% of the population are
"Alpha Normals". That is, by closing their eyes and relaxing, they increase Alpha production. In my
opinion these Alpha Normals will come home to "Profound Attention" better by using the compass
of ALPHA/THETA training. Vaclav Havel, president of the Czech Republic, received the Philadelphia Liberty Medal at
Independence Hall on July 4, 1994. I'd like to share some of his poetic wisdom with you: "....The
way out and something else is painfully being born. It is as if something were crumbling,
decaying and exhausting itself, while something else, still indistinct, were arising from the
rubble. The distinguishing features of transitional periods are a mixing and blending of cultures and
a plurality or parallelism of intellectual and spiritual worlds. These are periods when all
consistent value systems collapse, when cultures distant in time and space are discovered or
rediscovered. New meaning is gradually born from the encounter, or the intersection, of many different
elements. This is related to the crisis, or to the transformation, of science as the basis of the modern
conception of the world. The dizzying development of science, with its unconditional faith in
objective reality and complete dependency on general and rationally knowable laws, led to
the birth of modern technological civilization that spans the entire globe and binds together
all societies, submitting them to a common global destiny. At the same time, the relationship to the world that modern science fostered and shaped
appears to have exhausted its potential. The relationship is missing something. It fails to
connect with the most intrinsic nature of reality and with natural human experience. It
produces a state of schizophrenia: Man is becoming completely alienated from himself as a
being. Classical modern science described only the surface of things, a single dimension of reality.
And the more dogmatically science treated it as the only dimension, as the very essence of
reality, the more misleading it became. We may know immeasurably more about the
universe than our ancestors did, and yet it increasingly seems they knew something more
essential about it than we do, something that escapes us. Today, we are in a different place and facing a different situation, one to which classically
modern solutions, do not give a satisfactory response. After all, the very principle of
inalienable human rights, conferred on man by the creator, grew out of the typically modern
notion that man - as a being capable of knowing nature and the world - was the pinnacle of
creation and lord of the world. This modern anthropocentrism inevitably meant that He who allegedly endowed man with
his inalienable rights began to disappear from the world: He was so far beyond the grasp of
modern science that He was gradually pushed into a sphere of privacy of sorts, if not directly
into a sphere of private fancy - that is, to a place where public obligations no longer apply,
the existence of a higher authority than man himself simply began to get in the way of
human aspirations. The idea of human rights and freedoms must be an integral part of any meaningful world
order. Yet I think it must be anchored in a different place, and in a different way, than has
been the case so far. Paradoxically, inspiration for the renewal of this lost integrity can once again be found in
science. In a science producing ideas that in a certain sense allow it to transcend its own
limits. I will give two examples. The "anthropic cosmological principle" brings us to an idea, perhaps as old as humanity
itself, that we are not at all just an accidental anomaly, the microscopic caprice of a tiny
particle whirling in the endless depths of the universe. Instead, we are mysteriously
connected to the universe, we are mirrored in it, just as the entire evolution of the universe
is mirrored in us. The moment it begins to appear that we are deeply connected to the entire universe, science
reaches the outer limits of its powers. With the "anthropic cosmological principle," science has found itself on the border between
science and myth. In that, however, science has returned, in a roundabout way, to man, and
offers him his lost integrity! It does so by anchoring him once more in the cosmos! The second example is the "Gaia hypothesis." This theory brings together proof that the
dense network of mutual interactions between the organic and inorganic portions of the
earth's surface form a single system, a kind of mega-organism, a living planet, Gaia, named
after an ancient goddess recognizable as an archetype of the earth mother in perhaps all
religions. According to the Gaia hypothesis, we are parts of a greater whole. Our destiny is not
dependent merely on what we do for ourselves but also on what we do for Gaia as a whole. If we endanger her, she will dispense with us in the interests of a higher value - life itself. What makes the "anthropic principle" and the "Gaia hypothesis" so inspiring? One simple
thing: both remind us of what we have long suspected, of what we have long projected into
our forgotten myths and what perhaps has always lain dormant within us as archetypes.
That is, the awareness of our being anchored in the earth and the universe, the awareness
that we are not here alone, nor for ourselves alone but that we are an integral part of
higher, mysterious entities against whom it is not advisable to blaspheme. This forgotten awareness is encoded in all religions. All cultures anticipate it in various
forms. It is one of the things that form the basis of man's understanding of himself, of his
place in the world and ultimately of the world as such. The only real hope of people today is probably a renewal of our certainty that we are rooted
in the earth and, at the same time, the cosmos. This awareness endows us with the capacity
for self-transcendence! Politicians at international forums may reiterate a thousand times that the basis of the new
world order must be universal respect for human rights, but it will mean nothing as long as
this imperative does not derive from the respect of the miracle of being, the miracle of the
universe, the miracle of nature, the miracle of our own existence. Only someone who submits to the authority of the universal order and of creation, who
values the right to be a part of it and a participant in it, can genuinely value himself and his
neighbors and thus honor their rights as well. It follows that, in today's multicultural world, the truly reliable path to peaceful co-existence
and creative co-operation must start from what is at the root of all cultures and what lies
infinitely deeper in human hearts and minds than political opinion, convictions, antipathies
or sympathies: it must be rooted in self-transcendence. The declaration of independence states that the creator gave man the right to liberty. It
seems man can realize that liberty only if he does not forget the one who endowed him with
it." In summary. Is there a Crisis in the Consciousness of Mankind? Yes. Is there both danger and
opportunity? Yes. Is technology contributing to the resolution of that Crisis? Yes. (One way or the
other). Is technology forcing us to deal with this challenge? Yes. Does that make technology friend
or foe? Yes. Can the quality of our attention transform our enemy into teacher? Yes. Are these
interesting times? Yes. Are we cursed or blessed? Yes. During one of the many times when my own inner faith had grown weak my wife said to me. "Of
magic doors there is this, you do not see them even as you are passing through." Yes!!!
THE MARRIAGE OF TECHNOLOGY AND CONSCIOUSNESS
R. Adam Crane BCIA, ACN, NRNP
The following chapter is excerpted by permission from Mr. Crane's
forthcoming book. THE TECHNOLOGY OF SELF
KNOWLEDGE
CONSCIOUSNESS PROCESSING
Dark and cold we may be
But this is no winter now
The frozen misery of centuries
Cracks, breaks, begins to move
The thunder is the thunder of the flows,
The thaw, the flood, the upstart spring
Thank God our time is now
When wrong come up to meet us everywhere
Never to leave us till we take the greatest stride of soul folk ever took
Affairs are now soul size
The enterprise is expiration into God
But what are you waiting for?
It takes so many thousand years to wake
But will you wake, for pity's sake? EEG BIOFEEDBACK AS MIND
COMPASS