If you are looking for wonderful inpirations into the area of science related to consciousness, take a look at Edgar Mitchell’s foundation – the Institute of Noetic Science.
The institute of Noetic Science is a nonprofit membership organization located in Northern California that conducts and sponsors leading-edge research into the potentials and powers of consciousness – including perceptions, beliefs, attention, intention, and intuition. The institute explores phenomena that do not necessarily fit conventional scientific models, while maintaining a commitment to scientific rigor.
The word “noetic” comes from the ancient Greek nous, for which there is no exact equivalent in English. It refers to “inner knowing,” a kind of intuitive consciousness – direct and immediate access to knowledge beyond what is available to our normal senses and the power of reason.
The vision for creating the Institute of Noetic Sciences came in 1971. Nations throughout the world had galvanized around the exciting frontier of space exploration. The potential for scientific understanding of our world seemed unlimited to a naval air captain named Edgar Mitchell. He was a pragmatic young test pilot, engineer and scientist; a mission to the moon on Apollo 14 was his “dream come true.” Space exploration symbolized for Dr Mitchell what it did for his nation as a whole – technological triumph of historical proportions, unprecedented mastery of the world in which we live, and extraordinary potentials for new discoveries.
But it was the trip home that Mitchell recalls most. Sitting in the cramped cabin of the space capsule, he saw planet Earth floating freely in the vastness of space. He was engulfed by a profound sense of universal connectedness – an epiphany. In Mitchell’s own words: “The presence of divinity became almost palpable, and I knew that life in the universe was not just an accident based on random processes. . . . The knowledge came to me directly.”Mitchell faced a critical challenge. As a physical scientist, he had grown accustomed to directing his attention to the objective world “out there.” But the experience that came to him in space led him to a startling hypothesis: Perhaps reality is more complex, subtle, and inexorably mysterious than conventional science had led him to believe. Perhaps a deeper understanding of consciousness (inner space) could lead to a new and expanded view of reality in which objective and subjective, outer and inner, are understood as co-equal aspects of the miracle and mystery of being.
The Telepathic Experiment
A telepathic experiment conducted during the Apollo 14 mission in 1971 proved distance is not a barrier. The experiment was not authorized by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), nor was it announced until the mission was completed. Astronaut Edgar D. Mitchell conducted the experiment with four recipients on Earth, 150,000 miles below. Mitchell concentrated on sequences of twenty-five random numbers. He completed 200 sequences. Guessing 40 correctly was the mean chance. Two of the recipients guessed 51 correctly. This far exceeded Mitchell’s expectations, but still was only moderately significant.
After his safe return “home,” Mitchell sought out others who likewise felt the need for an expanded, more inclusive view of reality. They resolved to explore the inner world of human experience with the same rigor and critical thinking that made it possible for Apollo 14 to journey to the moon and back. In 1973, this small group of explorers founded the Institute of Noetic Sciences – derived from the Greek word nous, meaning something close to “intuitive ways of knowing.” Dr Mitchell’s story is told in the book:
The Way of the Explorer: An Apollo Astronant’s Journey…
The mission of these noetic scientists was, and has been, to expand our understanding of human possibility by investigating aspects of reality – mind, consciousness, and spirit – that include but go beyond physical phenomena. They seek to seek to understand the inner world as thoroughly as we have the outer world – based on the premise that what finds expression in the world at large is a reflection of our interior landscape. Today, three decades later, the institute carries out its mission as a worldwide research, education, and membership-based organization in Petaluma, California.
The institute’s work is dedicated to transforming contemporary worldviews on the relationship between consciousness and matter. The implications of our empirical research and community education efforts extend far beyond the laboratory and the lecture hall. Indeed, our work speaks to a shift involving humanity’s deepest knowing and understanding of ourselves and our universe.
Test Your PSI:Blending scientific research with Internet technology, IONS’ Senior Scientist Dean Radin has developed online games that test individual’s psi abilities. By participating in these games, you can help provide data that is used in our research on consciousness.
Blending scientific research with Internet technology, IONS’ Senior Scientist Dean Radin has developed online games that test individual’s psi abilities. By participating in these games, you can help provide data that is used in our research on consciousness.
Visit the website of Noetic Science at:http://www.noetic.org/
http://www.shiftinaction.com/