There are so many words and terms I’d like to help introduce into everyday language during my performance in this earthly theater, or what could be referred to as my “lifetime.” We are witnessing a phase of human existence for which we have no recorded history. So much information is easily available; the only thing you have to know is what to ask. The trouble is, how do you know what to ask? As they say, you don’t know what you don’t know, so even framing questions can be discouraging. What is very clear is that worlds are colliding in this realm we call reality. It takes great courage and conviction to share a perspective that mainstream knowledge fears and devalues. The frustration of trying to relay both a message and its profundity becomes a millstone that sinks the truth to depths few have the energy to swim down to meet. But if we want to truly know ourselves, bridging science and spirituality and narrowing the gap between common knowledge and academia is a mission that must be undertaken. We have to start somewhere. So let’s start with defining two words: morphic and resonance.
The word morphic, with its root morph (to change or transform), has various meanings across multiple disciplines, including biology, mathematics, computer science, and medicine (think body dysmorphic disorder). Most commonly, though, it refers to having a specified shape or form.
The term resonance has so many references that it practically merits a blog post of its own. Here, from Wikipedia, are the many uses and applications of resonance. “From old French resonance (French résonance), from Latin resonantia (“echo”), from resonō (“I resound”). It can refer to an exchange of information and a mimicking of the action of one source or another such as two tuning forks of the same frequency, some distance apart from each other, with one being activated and the other vibrating simultaneously without having been struck directly. As a noun, its use is seen in physics as “the increase in the amplitude of an oscillation of a system under the influence of a periodic force whose frequency is close to that of the system’s natural frequency.” In music, as “an increase in the strength or duration of a musical tone produced by sympathetic vibration”. In electronics, “it is the condition where the inductive and capacitive reactances have equal magnitude.” In neuropsychology, limbic resonance is the idea that the capacity for sharing deep emotional states between individuals arises from the limbic system of the brain.[1] These states include the dopamine circuit-promoted feelings of empathic harmony and the norepinephrine circuit-originated emotional states of fear, anxiety, and anger.[2]
The concept was advanced in the book A General Theory of Love (2000), and is one of three interrelated concepts central to the book’s premise: that our brain chemistry and nervous systems are measurably affected by those closest to us (limbic resonance); that our systems synchronize with one another in a way that has profound implications for personality and lifelong emotional health (limbic regulation); and that these set patterns can be modified through therapeutic practice (limbic revision).[3]
And finally, in sociology, “resonance is a kind of relationship to the world, formed through affect and emotion, intrinsic interest, and perceived self-efficacy, in which subject and world are mutually affected and transformed.”
Do you get it? Does it resonate with you?
The premise of a morphogenetic field is a concept proposed by British biologist Rupert Sheldrake. It suggests that there are non-physical, informational fields that shape the development and behavior of organisms. These fields are thought to contain a blueprint or a formative template that guides the growth, organization, and behavior of living systems.
Alfred Rupert Sheldrake, PhD (born June 28, 1942) is an English author and parapsychology researcher. He proposed the concept of morphic resonance and that “memory is inherent in nature” and posits that “natural systems inherit a collective memory from all previous things of their kind.” Sheldrake also proposed that morphic resonance is responsible for “telepathy-type interconnections between organisms.” While his conjecture lacked mainstream acceptance upon its initial introduction, considering the advancements in collective awareness of the quantum field and the interconnectedness of all things, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to dismiss Sheldrake’s experience, intelligence, and resume. He has worked as a biochemist at Cambridge University; he was a Harvard scholar; and a researcher at the Royal Society. He was also a plant physiologist for the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in India.
I first heard about Rupert Sheldrake in September 2014 while listening to the Joe Rogan Experience. This interview blew my mind and planted seeds that would take a couple of years to sprout into the garden you’re walking through now. Click here to listen to that podcast in its entirety.
According to his theory, every organism has a morphogenetic (or morphic) field that impacts all antecedently similar organisms and shapes, and organizes, and stabilizes the form that the organism takes. A non-physical field that gives rise to form… sit with that for a minute.
Sheldrake wrote his book A New Science of Life during a year and a half he spent in the Saccidananda Ashram of Bede Griffiths, a Benedictine monk who was active in interfaith dialogue with Hinduism. Published in 1981, the book outlines his concept of morphic resonance, of which he has said:
“The idea came to me in a moment of insight and was extremely exciting. It interested some of my colleagues at Clare College—philosophers, linguists, and classicists were quite open-minded. But the idea of mysterious telepathy-type interconnections between organisms and of collective memories within species didn’t go down too well with my colleagues in the science labs. Not that they were aggressively hostile; they just made fun of it.”
He has authored nine books and numerous articles and papers, but the three that best explain his theory are the aforementioned A New Science of Life (1981), The Sense of Being Stared At (2003), and Science Delusion (2012).
Sheldrake was actually stabbed by a man during a lecture in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The man told a reporter that he thought Sheldrake had been using him as a “guinea pig” in telepathic mind control experiments for over five years. Sheldrake suffered a wound to the leg but fully recovered. His attacker was found guilty, but mentally ill.
Key points about morphogenetic fields:
- Informational Blueprint: Morphogenetic fields are believed to contain information about the form and structure of organisms. This information influences the development and organization of biological systems.
- Non-Physical: Unlike traditional biological explanations that rely solely on genetics and biochemistry, morphogenetic fields are non-physical, as in you can’t see them and they’re not perceivable with our five senses. Sounds a little human biofield-esque to me.
- Collective Memory: Sheldrake’s theory suggests that these fields have a collective memory, meaning that the experiences and adaptations of past generations can influence the development of future generations.
- Role in Evolution: Morphogenetic fields propose a mechanism for the inheritance of acquired characteristics, and yes, this challenges the traditional Darwinian view of evolution based on genetic mutations (isn’t it about time we started thinking outside that box?)
It’s important to note that the concept of morphogenetic fields is still highly debated within the scientific community, similar to the way years ago some insisted the earth was flat and the center of the universe… TEDx actually removed a 2013 talk that Sheldrake gave in Whitechapel, East London, from the TEDx YouTube channel and placed it instead on the TED blog, accompanied by cautionary framing language called for by the TEDx advisors. What are we so afraid of?
