Healing and Morphic Fields – Rupert Sheldrake Interview
Interview: Healing and Morphic Fields – Rupert Sheldrake explains Healing Fields
Rupert Sheldrake, controversial biologist (and our next Darwin), talks about how Morphic Fields relate to Healing. Interviewed by Elma Mayer, founder of Now Healing, at Esalen, California, in 2013.
Please excuse the shaky camera work! I was super nervous, talking to one of my heroes!
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Sheldrake corroborates many of my pet ideas and experiences – and without any bribery, threats or pleading from me! Of course, that corroboration is not surprising, since so much of Now Healing was born under the influence of his theories. But still, it’s thrilling to know that Sheldrake wouldn’t bat an eye at my far-out claims, he just takes them as a matter of course, supporting my position and probably yours too, in the process. Thanks, Rupert!!! (Please note: I do not mean to suggest that Sheldrake is endorsing Now Healing – only that his comments back up what we do.)
“Knowing how things work isn’t necessarily that helpful. Finding what does work is what really matters, however we explain it,” says Sheldrake, in the video above.
Yes indeed, agreed! Now Healing teaches people to set aside questions like “How” or “Why” – because those questions are misdirections, for our purposes. They belong to a different field, like the field of science or the field of research or the field of medicine. Those are all wonderful, valuable fields. But that’s not what we are about, here. We do not do research, science or medicine, when doing Now Healing. We do Wholeness. Healing is making Whole.
“There can be a restoration of (self-healing, strength and vitality)… through coming into contact with a larger field…” says Sheldrake. His examples of larger fields include spirit, and social fields.
The essence of Now Healing is that we do not “do healing” from our local self. Instead, we Align with the “larger field” of Healing, and Life, and Infinite Self – it’s much easier and more effective that way.
Another particularly useful and effective “larger field” is the Now Healing Space, which I’ve defined as a Morphic Field of Alignment with Wholeness. Both of these “larger fields” are essential to “doing” Now Healing.
“At every level, the fields have a kind of self-healing capacity. One of the things fields do is maintain their integrity against disturbances and stresses,” says Sheldrake.
True dat! If we were to indulge in a bit of anthropomorphism, we could say that fields “want” to heal. Somehow, inherently, they “want” to be Whole, both in themselves, and also Aligned with ever-larger fields as parts of larger Wholes. I guess that’s why this kind of healing is so darn easy! All you have to do is locate where there is disconnection or distortion, and then Align it, and voilà, Wholeness happens.
Interrelationships of Morphic Fields – beyond Similarity
Sheldrake points out the nested hierarchies of fields within fields, each one a Whole, and simultaneously a part… of a greater Whole. But are there are other kinds of interactions too – not just hierarchical up-and-down levels, but lateral, side-to-side interconnections?
Sheldrake says similar fields resonate with each other. But in my experience, even very dissimilar fields influence each other, sometimes with a resonant enhancing effect, but also, often with a distorting and weakening effect. (I did not get a chance to discuss distortion, as opposed to resonance, with Dr. Sheldrake; but that’s OK, because it’s a great excuse for me to pester him with yet more questions!)
When Morphic Fields are similar, it makes their resonances easier to observe in nature. Sheldrake shows this resonance again and again, throughout his research. For instance, he shows that Telepathy works better between people with strong connections, like mothers and daughters, or good friends. That may be true for a general study on Telepathy in untrained telepaths. However, in my experience, similarity or pre-existing close connection are not necessary for field interaction. If Morphic Resonance can happen over great distance and time, then why not over great mental or archetypal or morphological distance?
Interrelationship and entanglement happen between in far-flung areas, without regard to logical type or proximity of classification. That’s why, when we look for disconnects in Now Healing, we scan the entire universe(s) without prejudice or pre-existing assumptions about where those disconnects will be found. Interrelationships are infinite. It’s not just that matter influences mind, or that space influences time. It’s not just apples and oranges… it’s apples and arrows and the Wilhelm Tell Overture, PCs, the Beatles, Adam and Eve, Johnny Appleseed, the sun and the moon and the apple tree, the Lord is good to me, the apple of my eye, the apple falling on Newton’s head, gravitational waves in the curvature of space-time, and the as-yet-undiscovered Apple Nebula which will be listed in the Morphological Catalogue of Galaxies in the year 3033.
Those distant resonances may be beyond the strict definition of “morphic” – but they still in-form each other.
Sheldrake’s concept of Morphic Resonance is a beautiful and liberating interpretation of field interactions on all levels, in nature and culture, and everything. It supports and in-forms the evolutionary leap that is happening in Healing, as we Align – or Resonate – with larger fields.
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9 Comments
I have been enthralled by Prof. Sheldrake’s work since the seventies. His theory of Morphic Resonance seems a reasonable explanation for a number of phenomena not easily amenable to everyday scientific explanation (and not inconsistent, incidentally, with cutting-edge science, such as Quantum Mechanics). I find it pleasant that Sheldrake’s formulation seems to play a role in bridging the scientific community and Eastern Philosophy (and mysticism in general). My experience with my patients and clients is that there is a lot more “going on” than simple technique and apparent explanations. Things like “intention” and “energy dynamics.” A good place to end this might be to note that after my first two Reiki “attunements,” my patients noted my immediate greater facility in back adjusting, which I found exhilarating.
As a holistic practitioner and psychotherapist—for some twenty-five years–I’d like to “chime on” on this topic, if I might.
There is a great deal which is not satisfactorily explained by the Newtonian-Aristotelian Model of science…. such as extrasensory experiences, not easily explainable healing experiences and the phenomenon of love for one’s child.
One might well cite Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and, e.g., Chiropractic, which frequently have profound effects on the body (and mind), yet some effects are not easily or adequately explained in the usual terms, e.g., by Nervous System distribution and activity. The “Debunkers” (often very mean-spirited characters, who exhibit a staunch refusal to acknowledge most ANYTHING which “lies outside the pale” of orthodox medicine and orthodox science), are quick to criticize figures like Dr. Sheldrake—and yell “Pseudoscience!!” “Quackery!” or “Vitalism!!” despite the fact of many phenomena which simply do not comport with the hidebound, “standard, traditional model” which the intended debunkers continue to pig-headedly—and peevishly–embrace. A good place to view some of this junk is the website “quackwatch.net.”
I will add that there is important work which has established that the there is considerable “cooking of the books” in the scientific community, so the “Pillars of the Scientific Community” who keep ranting about rigorous research methodology (such as “double-blind” and peer review standards) could well be accused of hypocrisy, as they are—to a considerable extent–about a “double standard.” One might also wish to recall that some tenets of science, such as the Cholesterol Theory basis of atherosclerotic heart disease, have been largely refuted, and some practices such as the routine excision of the tonsils with the onset of tonsillitis, have gone the way of the horse-drawn buggy. I.e., the “idols” of science and medicine have often been de-throned.
A problem with many “hard-nose” scientists (and behavioral psychologists) is their failure to acknowledge that virtually anything which is not readily quantifiable/measurable even exists…things such as human compassion, certain kinds of healing, ESP phenomena, the ability to occasionally transcend one’s physical and familial endowment, artistic and psychological creativity, and “self-realization” experiences (what Abraham Maslow termed “Peak Experiences”). Incidentally, Dr. Maslow brought into being a new tradition many of us have joyously heralded in the psychological field, that of the “Third Force” or “Humanistic Psychology” (which has morphed somewhat into “Transpersonal Psychology”). In the view of many of my colleagues, this tradition—anticipated by figures like Carl Jung and Carl Rogers, from the early to middle twentieth century—stands “head and shoulders” above both Psychoanalysis and Behavioral Psychology.
One can also cite some major examples in which the Scientific Orthodoxy in inconsistent with critical thinking and genuine research methodology, such as Cancer theory and treatment, and the hypothesis that AIDS is caused by the HIV pathogen. In the case of the former, nearly a century ago, Dr. Otto Warburg proposed an alternative—very legitimate—theory of cancer genesis (never refuted), which most oncologists have chosen to ignore, as they pursue the usual surgical, chemotherapy and radiotherapy monstrous protocols. In the latter case, some critics have insisted that this—what virologist Dr. Peter Duesberg calls a “harmless passenger virus”—has not even been isolated (and Koch’s Hypothesis absolutely mandates this before one may establish an etiological connection between a disease and a pathogen).
A fair amount of content in the scientific community clearly is strong akin to religious doctrine-dogma, and has been based on NOTHING LIKE critical inquiry and solid research design and peer review. I might briefly remind you that this has also been characteristic of topics in the field of historical research, about which the Powers that Be (and Mainline Media, which are frequently complicit) refuse to be moved. To select but one example, there is considerable evidence that the supposed assassin of President Kennedy had nothing whatever to do with the murder, yet the media still glibly refers to him as the perpetrator…which, fifty years later—is mind-boggling and terribly upsetting.
One might also want to reflect on the important role played by breakthroughs in modern physics over the last century, such as Relativity Theory, Quantum Mechanics and String Theory, which have had a terribly profound impact on demonstrating the inadequacy of Newtonian Physics (especially in the “macro” and “micro” areas of the universe).
And, yes, there have been in-roads healing traditions such as Chiropractic and Acupuncture (“energy medicine” traditions such as Reiki and Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) too) have enjoyed, because they WORK, even though the exact mechanisms of their actions may be only incompletely understood. One might argue that the critics “haven’t a clue” in a number of ways. They have truly “missed the boat,” as we have progressed in the fields of healing (and science in general), and not infrequently have exhibited an uncivil—even vicious—attitude which speaks ill of them…and I would argue establishes a serious doubt about their bona fides of integrity and scientific legitimacy.
Still, please do not interpret this as my support for anything less than rigor in research and in complete integrity in dealing with one’s clients-patients. There IS a fair amount of “quasi” or “pseudo” science about…stuff that has no real foundation…or is very unbalanced (or “way out there”) in its approach. I recall a conversation I happened to have with am affable fellow at a Los Angeles train station some ten years ago. He was excited about the prospect of establishing a joint practice with me. When I inquired about his credentials, he related that he’d had an experience on a beach, and was now a fully qualified Reiki master. Yow!! I could only stand for a moment in amazement…as I’d had a full regimen of Chiropractic and psychotherapy training, and several Reiki initiations (“attunements”) over about twenty years…and this dude had apparently been “touched by an angel,” let us say, and was rendered an “instant healing master.”
I have been enthralled by Prof. Sheldrake’s work since the seventies. His theory of Morphic Resonance seems a reasonable explanation for a number of phenomena not easily amenable to everyday scientific explanation (and not inconsistent, incidentally, with cutting-edge science, such as Quantum Mechanics).
I can personally testify this works. For sometime, I’ve been able to see past and future iterations of a person as well as the person in The Now. If someone has some trauma, mental or physical, the present trauma can be ‘softened’ and replaced by a combination of the past ‘undamaged component’ and the future healed body or mind part.
Nice to meet a fellow like-mind 🙂
Makes perfect sense to me. Everything is all of livingness, and since everything lives,all is interrelated. In this case, all modalities are combined so that the healing can actually take place in a single moment. Since there really is no such thing as Time, it resonates wsith every cell in my multidimensional bodies!.. WOO-HOO!!!!!!!!!
So…just…WOW! The casualness with which Elma just puts one of the great minds of our time in front of us for a stunning little “chitty-chatty” is a testimony to her amazing aplomb. Then there’s Dr. Sheldrake’s laser-like super-hint for all of us who are wanting to get better and improve in our lives delivered without any hyperbole or dogma. So delicious! This is one of the 90,000 reasons I just love Elma and I’m thrilled she’s my buddy. Love the Mayer/Sheldrake combo!
That was really interesting. Of course, aligning the field of the various organs is something we do in Now Healing. When he said that spiritual healing usually resonates with a larger field than the individual, I was reminded of when we “align with wholeness”. The whole idea is very exciting.
The theory of morphic fields is brilliantly conceptualized by RS. (I love his accent!) On the other hand – the realization that all is interrelated on the level of energy is far from being new. ALL serious esoteric writings explain this in numerous ways for millennia. Which I am sure you are aware of, right?
I love Now Healing especially the concept of energy shifts. On the other hand – Now Healing is by far not the only energy medicine modality that conceptualizes morphic fields. In fact all other modalities do, modern or ancient (such as Reconnective Healing, Matrix or Taoist Healing etc. etc. just to scratch the scratch on the surface).
Nevertheless, the morphic field concept fits nicely with the dynamics of immediate (i.e. independent of time and space) energy shifts of Now Healing. Good work Elma!
I had a visceral eureka moment when I heard the part about healing happening via coming into contact with a larger field. So simple, so clear, so obvious, now, but I’d never conceptualized it quite that way before! Thanks for this, and all your brilliant and inspiring work, Elma!
Very difficult to understand thro, this VEDIO.