(SCIENCE) ANCIENT WISDOM AND MODERN SCIENCE-The Gap Narrows
HUMAN ENERGY FIELD -- SCIENTIFIC THEORIES
"A human being is a part of the whole, called by us the Universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest- a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and of a foundation for inner security." -- Albert Einstein, N.Y. Post, November 28, 1972.
"If we do not expect the unexpected, we will never find it." - Heraclitus

We are products of our western scientific heritage. This has hindered our growth into full awareness that we are much more than we seem. Now, as science expands into new theories, there will be the discovery of new phenomena. We may not be able to explain the phenomena with the existing theories. New theories must be postulated to cover all of the knowledge. New experiments must be designed and performed until we get agreement between experimentation and new mathematical proof. Then the new theories may be accepted as physical laws. When we finally incorporate these new laws into our daily life, we will begin to see ourselves differently.

The present scientific view of reality currently supports the idea that we are composed of energy fields, and presents a holographic view of the universe. In this universe all things are interconnected.

Still, we continually tend to depict the universe as a huge mechanical system, running according to Newton's laws of motion. These laws held firm the ideas of absolute time and space. Everything could be described objectively. Even though Newton doubted his original theory before his death, the Newtonian laws ruled our thinking from the late 17th through the 18th, and the 19th century.

Much of our basic lives is still managed by this outmoded system of thought. Everything is still quite linear. But now. approaching the turn of the century, is science ready to embrace new perspectives, theories, and realities?
The science and art of medicine that was initially one, and then split into two, are now approaching reunion. The healing science that became traditional medicine and alternate medicine is slowly becoming the healing sciences. The history of this topic is extensive -- extending back thousands of years.

5000 years ago, ancient spiritual tradition of India spoke of a universal energy called prana. This universal energy is the source of all life. Yogis work with this energy with breathing techniques, meditation, and physical exercise to produce altered states of consciousness and longevity.

3,000 years ago, the ancient Qigong masters in China were practicing their meditative discipline to balance and invigorate the human energy field. They called this vital energy that pervades all forms, both animate and inanimate, Qi The Qi is the vital energy of the body; while gong means the skill of moving this Qi and working with it. Practitioners use mind control to move and control the Qi to not only improve health and longevity, but also to enhance awareness, psychic powers, and spiritual development.

The Kabbalah, the Jewish mystical teachings written about 538 B.C., calls these energies the astral light. Later on, Christian paintings and sculptures show a halo around the head of Christ and other spiritual leaders. Similarly, we see this halo on statues and paintings of Buddha, and also see energy or light coming from the fingers of many of the gods of India. In fact, there are references made to the phenomenon of the human energy field (HEF) or the aura of the body, in 97 different cultures, according to John White in his book "Future Science."

The study of the human energy field (HEF) owes a debt of gratitude to Luigi Galvani, an Italian physiologist whose experiments in the 1700's led to the discovery that electricity may result from chemical action. This marked the first time science recognized that electricity might exist as waves capable of traveling over distances. Before this discovery, only static electricity was recognized and described.

In the early 1800's, Michael Faraday and James Clerk Maxwell proposed a new type of physical electromagnetic phenomena that could not be described by Newtonian physics. This lead to the concept of a field, which was described as a condition in space that has the potential of producing a force. Each charge creates a disturbance or a condition around it, so that the other charge, if present, feels the force. Thus their Field Theory; the concept of a universe filled with fields that create forces that interact with one another.

Our Newtonian world of solid concrete objects is surrounded and permeated by a fluid world of radiating energy. It is constantly moving and changing; an ocean of dancing, spinning, flashing particles of light, energy, and information. Our linear way of thinking, seeing, and expressing needs to expand to accommodate this new reality.

It is time for a new paradigm, or model, of science, reality, and consciousness. It is time to bridge the gaps between science and alternate science, physics and metaphysics, and the external scientific experiment and the inner personal experience. This may well begin with the unification of the concepts of mind, energy, and consciousness. Using our minds to study energy, we may simultaneously define consciousness as one and the same.

Recently, in a lecture for the International Society for the Study of Subtle Energies and Energy Medicine, Dr. Larry Dossey recounted an old story:

"There was once an argument among the gods over where to hide the secret of life so that men and women would not find it. One god said: Bury it under a mountain; they will never look there. No, the others said, one day they will find ways to dig up mountains and will uncover it. Another said : Sink it in the depths of the ocean; it will be safe there. No the others objected, humans will one day find a way to plumb the ocean's depths and find it easily. Finally another god said: Put it inside them; men and women will never think of looking for it there. All the gods agreed, and so that is how the secret of life came to be hidden within us."