Please note: this is part 3 of a multi-part blog on embodied consciousness. (see BMS 1: Consciousness, and BMS 2: Frequency, and BMS 3: Field-Matrix)
Intro
In the next 2 sections of my blogs on consciousness, we will delve into the fascinating science behind the concepts of heart-brain coherence, heart rate variability, and the unified or zero-point field as well as how they are not only interconnected but also essential for our overall well-being and optimal functioning. As always our journey begins and end with consciousness.
Consciousness is a subject we all talk about, yet none of us can adequately define it. We differentiate between living and non-living things by whether something has ‘it’, yet science is at odds to say exactly what that ‘it’ is. In fact, in Western science, we draw a distinct line between mind/consciousness and matter (the things of the world), mostly because we can quantify matter, but mind is highly problematic and ever elusive. Biology and conventional physics can only study the matter aspect of things so they have little to say on this subject.
When looking for answers we often rely on one of four sources who have really grappled with this extensively: Eastern Mysticism where they’ve been studying this for thousands of years; Indigenous shamans, who have explored altered states of consciousness through psychoactive plant medicines; psychology/psychiatry who have mostly studied the mind and personality in dysfunction; and quantum physics, where, for the past 100+ years scientists have been struggling to explain the bizarre behavior of life at the subatomic and cosmic levels. Over the years these quantum physicists have begun to use the language of Eastern mysticism to articulate their findings, often coming just short of outright saying consciousness is the driving force of the universe.
“Consciousness is a fascinating but elusive phenomenon. It is impossible to specify what it is, what it does or why it evolved. Noting worth reading has been written on it.” ~ Anil Seth, Being You: A New Science of Consciousness
Physicists speak a language all their own, a language of mathematical formulas and experimental equations. In her book, The Field, Lynne McTaggart says that in interviewing these scientists she had come up with analogies and metaphors that could translate their latest discoveries into a language that laypeople could understand. She goes on to explain that scientists tend to work within the constraints of their individual fields and don’t stray much beyond that to look at how all the pieces interconnect into a universal paradigm. So, over the years she and others like her have made these cutting-edge discoveries accessible using examples and metaphors to simplify science so we can understand. I will be relying heavily on a number of these translators.
Fields As Lines-of-Force
Fields were a new idea in science that emerged in the 1840s with Michael Faraday, who was the first to articulate the concept of fields, seeing them as forces that produce matter.
Fields are invisible influences that can act at a distance, such as the electrostatic fields between charged surfaces or magnetic fields between magnets. Faraday believed that these fields were spatial patterns with lines-of-force through which energy flowed. James Clerk Maxwell later showed that light is an electromagnetic phenomenon, leading to the unification of electricity, magnetism, and light. This has transformed science and technology, as many of our modern technologies rely on electromagnetism.
Years later, Albert Einstein confirmed this idea, stating that matter is produced by fields and energy, not the other way around. Fields and energy are now considered the most fundamental principles in physics, with matter being explained in terms of fields and energy. This shift in perspective has led some to believe that materialism has transcended itself in modern physics.
The concept of fields in physics can be difficult to understand because modern textbooks often focus on equations and calculations instead of explaining what fields actually are. Fields are used to explain many aspects of nature, but science still grapples with understanding what they truly are or how they relate to consciousness.
Fields are fundamental principles in nature that explain how things interact. They are regions of influence in space where certain properties can create patterns and affect processes within that region. This concept can be traced back to Faraday, who originally likened fields to agricultural fields that are cleared for farming. A field isn’t just a passive area, it’s a region of activity. Simply put, fields are regions of space in which things are influenced by energy.
History – The Quantum Shift
At the turn of the 20th century, physicists like Max Planck and Albert Einstein upended centuries of established science and gave birth to the brand new field of Quantum Physics. Their research and mathematical formulas, aided by technological advances, made the study of the unfathomably small possible. Planck’s research in theoretical physics in the early 1900s marked the beginning of quantum mechanics. Building on, though often at odds with Plank’s ideas, in 1905 Albert Einstein published four groundbreaking papers introducing his theories on light, energy, and relativity.
The ideas that came out of their work defied logic and the Newtonian (mechanistic) laws of physics. At the infinitely small quantum level, reality behaves very differently than it does in our ‘normal-scale’ world. Quantum Field Theory, for example, is an area of theoretical physics that combines elements of quantum mechanics (Max Plank) with those of relativity (Albert Einstein) to explain the behavior of subatomic particles and their interactions via a variety of force fields.
They had discovered that electrons spinning around the nucleus of atoms don’t behave as the classical models taught. These were not ‘billiard balls’ whirling around a nucleus. When the scientists wanted to measure electrons’ location, the electrons would collapse into particles, but when they wanted to see their movements they acted like waves. Not only that but physicists couldn’t say what path they took or even that they traveled from point A to B. The electrons seemed to phase in and out of reality and smear themselves into shell-like ‘quantized’ layers surrounding the nucleus. Additionally, the scale boggled their minds. They discovered that atoms are mostly composed of vast amounts of empty space comprising minuscule protons, electrons, and neutrons that are simultaneously matter and energy.
As the 20th century progressed quantum physicists continued to make discoveries that upended classical Newtonian Physics, each one more radical than the next.
“All matter originates and exists only by virtue of a force … We must assume behind this force the existence of a conscious and intelligent Mind. This Mind is the matrix of all matter.” ~ Max Planck
The Field-Matrix
Today, this Quantum Field is referred to by a myriad of names. Its study is one of the hottest topics in scientific research with investigations from various, somewhat conflicting, avenues of inquiry. The names reflect the area of study from physics and metaphysics to biology to psychology. As you might imagine they don’t all agree that what they’re researching is the same thing. The image that comes to my mind is that of the three blind men touching and describing different parts of an elephant.
You may hear it referred to as:
Quantum Field – a physical field that governs the behavior of quantum particles and is described by quantum field theory.- Unified Field – a theoretical field that unifies all fundamental forces of nature into a single field.
- Morphogenic Fields – hypothetical fields proposed by biologist Rupert Sheldrake, believed to govern the development of form and behavior in living organisms.
- Morphic Fields – a type of field proposed by Rupert Sheldrake that connect living organisms within a species, allowing them to share collective memory and behavior.
- Zero Point Field – a field of energy that exists at a minimum energy state or “zero-point energy”, believed to be the ground state of the universe.
- Planck’s Field – a hypothetical field that governs the behavior of particles at the Planck scale, where quantum effects become dominant.
- Higgs Field – a field that permeates all of space and endows particles with mass through the Higgs mechanism in particle physics.
- Divine Matrix – a term coined by author Gregg Braden to describe a field of energy in which all things are interconnected and influenced by consciousness.
- Living Matrix – a concept that describes the interconnected network of energy fields that govern biological processes and health in living organisms.
- or simply, The Field – a generic term often used to describe a theoretical field of energy or information that underlies and connects all of existence.
I struggle with which term to use here because, as I stated in Chakras & Transformation, language IS metaphoric. Each of these is problematic for different reasons. I have been leaning toward the Divine Matrix. Unlike all of the field names, Matrix connotes a lattice of interconnections versus a void of empty space, and Divine implies a superconsconscious intelligence permeating that webwork. On the other hand, Divine can also carry charged religious implications, while Matrix immediately brings to mind the now-classic SciFi movie that has entered the global lexicon and shifted perceptions of reality, but ultimately is just a fictional movie. This is why language is so critical, it conjures a spell of subconscious imagery conveying layers of both intended and unintended meaning. I will probably cycle through a mix of several but am leaning towards The Field-Matrix.
“For a number of decades, respected scientists in a variety of disciplines all over the world have been carrying out well-designed experiments whose results fly in the face of current biology and physics. Together, these studies offer us copious information about the central organizing force governing our bodies and the rest of the cosmos.
“What they have discovered is nothing less than astonishing. At our most elemental, we are not a chemical reaction but energetically charged consciousness. Human beings and all living things are a coalescence of energy swimming in a field of energy inextricably connected to every other thing in the world. This pulsating energy field is the central engine of our being and our consciousness, the alpha and the omega of our existence.” ~ Lynne Mctaggert
Body Matrix
For its first 80-years, modern physics was defined by two completely separate systems. Quantum physics explained the world of the microscopic and macroscopic (subatomic and celestial). Newtonian physics continued to define our everyday world, and never the twain should meet. Only in the last 50 or so years have scientists begun to challenge that dogma, most, not by choice but because their research forced them outside the establishment. They were at first ostracized despite their academic accomplishments and acclaim. Only later, as others confirmed their findings have they been vindicated. We are, right now, living through a revolution in physics as more researchers begin to blur the edges between these two worlds.
Our bodies are composed of 70-trillion cells working in concert. Using a purely mechanistic worldview, scientists cannot adequately explain how the human body seamlessly coordinates all of its functions. How does each cell know exactly what to do and how to do it? What’s more, nerve impulses and chemical reactions happen too slowly to account for the biological functioning of life. Our nervous system relays information at a rate of 2 and 200-mph, which is much too slow to account for the nearly instantaneous communication required for a high-level athlete or dancer to perform with the precise coordination as well as all of the physiological functions that support that.
“The Morphogenic Field was first articulated in the early decades of the 20th century and became an extremely useful concept by which to explain a wide range of developmental phenomena. Over several decades the field concept was elaborated and refined by embryologists who devised brilliant experiments to substantiate its existence… By the 1980s an increasing number of scientists began to critically reexamine the morphogenic field concept and it underwent a second renaissance.” K.E. Thorp, Morphogenic Fields: A Coming of Age
This blog sets the stage for the next blog on Cohenernce, where we will explore how this quantum field phenomenon is central to Heart-Brain Coherence. BMS 3 and 4 lay a foundational understanding for what follows as we explore the dynamics and shape of consciousness.
FIELD-MATRIX EXPLORATION:
This simple exploration is designed to provide a tangible experience of the Field-Matrix phenomenon.
- Seated with eyes closed: on a cushion or chair
- Bring your awareness to your breath as it enters and leaves your body
- Allow your breath to become slightly deeper
- Feel the breath expand and contract the body
- Notice what holds. Relaxing with each out-breath
- Allow yourself to feel breathed
- Do you find it easier to inhale or exhale?
- Allow yourself to focus on the direction of ease, expanding the breath in that direction.
- On the next breath, suspend the breath in the direction of ease. Don’t hold it, just let it pause.
- Breathe normally.
- Repeat this suspension several times. Then return to normal breathing.
- Find the point where it’s easiest to extend the Suspension / Stillness / Space
- Become aware of the Space within the Stillness and the Stillness within the Space.
- Feel for the Stillness / Space evenwhile breathing
- Explore!
Disclaimer:
The information featured on this site is provided for information and education purposes only and is not intended to replace the advice of your doctor or health care provider on medical and/or health-related issues.
You should not use the information on this site for diagnosis or treatment of any health problem or as a substitute for medication or other treatment prescribed by your physician or health care provider.