Next week I am heading off to California to present a summary of our research into heart rate variability correlation and entrainment at the Science & Nonduality Conference. This will be the first time the results of our research project have been formally presented and I am excited about sharing what we have discovered.
Let me explain the title of the conference. Nonduality is a way of understanding consciousness and orignates from Advaita Vedanta, which is a school of Hindu philosophy and religious practice, and one of the classic Indian paths to spiritual realisation. It's origins probably date back thousands of years. The key idea in a nondual understanding of consciousness is that consciousness is primary to the material world. This is the exact oppsite of what most people believe in our modern, technically developed world. The assumption is that the material part (the brain and nervous system) give rise to consciousness. In a nondual understanding it is assumed that pure awareness (consciousness) manifests the body, brain and all other objects that appear in our experience. Such an understanding explains a great deal about why we suffer and how love is our primary experience and a definition of who we are. If you are interested in the nondual approach have a look at the Science & Nonduality website which has lots of free articles and videos - also take a look at the work and videos of Rupert Spira who explains it all very clearly and concisely.
So the conference is an annual meeting of people who are interested in the bridge between a nondual spiritual philosophy and modern science. Scientists, mathematicians, theologians as well as those in the healing therapies attend. I am presenting a talk called 'Experimental Evidence for Nonlocal Heart Entrainment in Loving/Bonded Relationships'. Nonlocality, or a distant non-sensory communication would be strong evidence for a connected, nondual consciousness because it is very hard to explain such communication in conventional scientific terms. I will present a summary of what we have found, discuss some possible mechanisms and then seek others to reproduce and replicate our research. If the heart rate variability correlations are then proven to exist and can be shown to be caused by some form of heart entrainment at a distance, then this will radically challenge the current brain-centred models for consciousness.
I will write another blog when I get back and let you know how I get on.
Bye for now...Peter