Electromagnetism and Psi Phenomena

THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR PSYCHICAL RESEARCH VOLUME 86 JANUARY « 1992 NuMBER | Electromagnetism and Psi Phenomena’ ROBERT O. BECKER? ABSTRACT: Certain psi phenomena, such as extnisensory perception, may be viewed as actions at a distance, a concept that requires the passage of coded information across a distance by some force that does not elicit a response from any of the five senses. Electro- magnetic fields have been long postulated to serve this function, However, firm evidence has been lacking, and this. combined with the frequent nonreproducibility of these phenomena, has essentially excluded them from scientific examination. New evidence has indicated that various uspects of such extrasensory perceptions are associated with the condition of the geomagnetic field. A ‘‘quiet’’ field enhances the chances of such phenomena occurring, whereas a “disturbed” field reduces them. This evidence has provided at least a clue to the nonreproducibility, and it has indicated that some aspect of the geomagnetic field may be involved with this action at a distance. A major problem with this thesis ts that neural function is not influenced by magnetic fields of much greater magnitude, However, there is good evidence that information processing in the brain is not solely a neuronal function and that a much more primitive system exists in the brain that operates on the basis of electromagnetic fields. This paper is an attempt to review the new data on the relationship between psi phenomena and the geomagnetic field as well as on the electromagnetic system of information processing and to combine them in a testable hypothesis for the mechanisms involved in producing such psi phenomena. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Certain psi phenomena, such as extrasensory perception and remote viewing, may be defined as the detection of external information directly at the level of consciousness without any preceding sensory stimulus, by-passing completely the sensory organs, Phenomena of this type will be ' This is a revision of the ASPR's Sixth Annual Gardner Murphy Memorial Lecture given at the Hotel St. Moritz in New York City on April 6, 1990. * | wm grateful to Dr. Stanley Krippner for many discussions and for providing a number of bibliographic citations. [| also am grateful to Rhea White for checking references and attending to many details

2 Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research considered in this paper. Although the data presented may be applicable to other psi phenomena, any such application at present would be Speculative. Present neurophysiology is based solely on the “‘neurone doctrine” that holds that all operations of the brain are the result of nerve impulses and their associated process, This requires that the only entry into conscious- ness is through the special senses; therefore, validation of psi phenomena would require a drastic revision of present understanding not only of the mind/brain relationship but of the total neurophysiological structure. Un- fortunately, although unusual events of a Startling nature do occasionally occur, parapsychological phenomena are characterized primarily by a lack of reproducibility and apparent randomness in their occurrence. As a re- sult, these phenomena have been considered to be mystical and imaginary, not fit subjects for scientific study. Concurrent with the early development of radio communications in the first few decades of this century, it was postulated that extrasensory per- ception (ESP) functioned in a similar manner, one consciousness commu- nicating with another via some electromagnetic (EM) field that traveled through space from the transmitter to the receiver. In fact, this idea was the stimulus behind Hans Berger's discovery of human brain waves by means of the electroencephalogram or EEG. Berger himself was involved in a vivid ESP event as the transmitter, and he was convinced of the validity of the phenomenon (Bender, 1963; Berger, 1940). However, the strength of the EEG found by Berger was far too weak to provide a basis for such extrasensory communication, and all subsequent attempts to relate EM fields to psi and parapsychological phenomena were without success (Va- siliev, 1963). Furthermore, it was believed in the carly days of the 20th century that the powerful humanmade radio waves that could be detected by appropri- ate receivers thousands of miles away had no apparent effect upon any living organism. This observation was in keeping with theoretical physical considerations that indicated that the energy contained in such an EM field was far lower than the naturally occurring random atomic oscillations produced by thermal energy in the human body, Therefore, such EM Waves impinging on the body would be lower in energy than this thermal “noise,"’ and they would be not only detected but without biological effects. Finally, the nervous system and brain had been shown to operate not by electricity but by a traveling wave of depolarization in the nerve membrane produced by the movement of charged ions of sodium or po- lassium across @ portion of the nerve membrane itself. The known princi- ples of physics indicated that this movement could not be influenced by even a strong EM ficld. Although a ‘‘nerve impulse’ could be detected electrically, electricity per se, as an actual electrical current, was not involved. Berger's strange electrical waves from the brain were theorized to be simple by-products of the simultaneous discharge of a large number of nerve cells. Therefore, science totally excluded any effect of electrical currents or EM fields on living organisms other than the production of Electromagnetism and Psi 3 shock or heat by high energy EM forces. By the carly 1940s, this concept became the accepted scientific paradigm, and electromagnetic fields were used for power and communications purposes in an unrestricted fashion, with scientists secure in the knowledge that these fields, which had never before been present on the earth, were totally safe. THe DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW SCIENTIFIC PARADIGM: BIOELECTROMAGNETICS However, over the past 30 years, a new scientific discipline has come into being, one that has slowly but effectively challenged this dogma. It has shown that, despite all the theoretical objections, minute electrical currents and very low-strength electromagentic fields do indeed have pro- found biological effects. In the 1950s, this discipline, now termed **bio- electromagnetics,’* was founded on two lines of inquiry into very basic life functions, biological cycles and regeneration. Initially, Frank Brown (1963) of Northwestern University investigated the phenomena of biolog- ical cycles that are not only universally present in all living things but that have also been shown to be essential for life. He unequivocally demon- strated that steady magnetic fields lower in strength than the carth’s gco- magnetic field altered biological cyclic behavior in a significant and re- producible fashion, Brown postulated that the timing signal for biological cycles was derived from the same rhythm of cyclic changes in strength as the carth’s geomagnetic field. Despite the validity of his experiments, his observations were not accepted by science because there was no conceiv- able mechanism by which such low-strength magnetic fields could have any biological effect. A few years later, because of my interest in the mechanisms of wound healing, | began experiments on the remarkable healing phenomenon of regeneration in many animals, particularly in salamanders. Salamanders are capable of regrowing an entire extremity comparable in complexity to 4 human arm or leg following its amputation. Although this process had been shown to be related to the nerve supply, it had also been shown that it was not related to nerve impulses. | postulated that it might be related to the “current of injury” first described by Galvani, and | observed a very low-strength steady (or direct) electrical current (DC) at the site of injury in animals capable of regeneration that was unmistakably different from that in nonregenerating animals (Becker, 1961a). Because the regenerated limb was completely functional and anatomically appropriate to the rest of the organism, | reasoned that this could not be simply a local phenomenon hut must be an expression of some similar electrical system that reflected the organization of the entire body. Looking back through the neurophys- wlogical Iterature, | found that, beginning in the 1930s, several eminent neurophystologists had reported convincing evidence for an organized, extrancural, direct current system in the brain that appeared to control the level of activity of the brain cells themselves (Aladzhalova & Kashtotants,

4 Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research 1960; Caspers, 1961; Gerard & Libet, 1940; Goldring & O'Leary, 1954; oO Leary & Goldring, 1964). | repeated this work and then extended it into the peripheral nervous system. | concluded that the current of injury was the local expression of a larger total-body DC data transmission and control system (Becker, 1972, 1974). The evidence indicated that this system was located, not in the nerve cells proper, but in the perineural cells. The perineural cells actually constitute more than half of the bulk of the brain and accompany even the smallest nerve fibers throughout the body. Ad- ditional studies showed that this perineural DC current was semiconducting in nature ( Becker, 1961b) and that it controlled not only growth and heal- ing but also regulated the ability of the nerve cells of the brain to generate and transmit a nerve impulse (Becker, 1965). Because such semiconducting electrical currents would be sensitive to low-strength magnetic fields, Brown and | collaborated and theorized that the internal control system of all present-day living organisms is a dual system. One portion is the primitive DC electrical system that transmits information in an analog fashion by means of electrical currents and mag- netic fields. The other is the much more complex nerve impulse system that transmits information in a digital fashion. The analog system is in- volved with relating the organism to external electromagnetic fields and controlling the basic functions of growth, healing, and biological cyclic behavior. The digital system provides all senses, and it controls movement and other motor functions. Interest in bioelectromagnetics grew and expanded significantly when it was demonstrated that human bone fractures that had failed to heal could be stimulated to do so by the application of a small DC electrical current (Friedenberg, Harlow, & Brighton, 1971). Later, it was shown that the same result could be obtained by the application of a low-strength, slowly pulsing EM field (Bassett, Pawluk, & Pilla, 1973). While a valid mech- anism of action at the cellular level was never really demonstrated, these applications were accepted by clinical medicine, and eventually their use became widespread. This, in turn, led to further experimentation on the effects of EM fields on living organisms. Despite the fact that physicists and engineers insisted that this was all nonsense, biologists continued to produce evidence for a wide variety of bioeffects from DC currents and EM fields, all with strengths far below those required for shock or heating effects (Adey & Bawin, 1979). Work in bioelectromagnetics was stimulated even more when evidence was obtained indicating that exposure to artificially generated EM fields could have serious health consequences. In the early 1970s, the U.S. Navy proposed building an enormous antenna system in mid-continent to com- municate with submerged submarines anywhere on the globe, using fre- quencies just above and below the electrical power frequency of 60 cycles per second (60 Hz). These frequencies, which are within the extra low frequency (ELF) region of the EM spectrum, were chosen because of their ability to propagate through the earth and oceans. This proposal resulted in Electromagnetism and Psi 5 a public outery over its possible bioeffects, and the Navy was forced to fund an ambitious research program to ‘‘prove’’ its safety. The results were totally unexpected. The oscillating fields, with a strength below that of the average high voltage electrical power transmission line, had sub- stantial impact on the blood chemistry of human subjects (Ad Hoc Com- mittee, 1973). The significance of this observation was not only in the potential hazards it revealed but also in the fact that the strength of this ELF field was many orders of magnitude below the thermal (heat-producing) level. If the effect was real, it not only required a complete rethinking of the established “‘thermal effects only’’ paradigm, but it cast serious doubt on the safety of our entire electrical power system. The controversy finally resulted in a major 5-year research program conducted by the New York State Department of Health on the safety of the electrical power system. The final report, issued in 1987, confirmed the Navy's observations and extended them to include effects on embryonic growth, cell division, the incidence of cancer, and the behavior and functioning of the central ner- vous system (‘Biological Effects of Power Line Fields,"’ 1987). The health effects of our unrestricted use of artificial electromagnetic fields now appear well on the way to becoming the environmental problem of the next decade (Becker, 1990; Becker & Selden, 1985; Brodeur, 1989; Marino, 1988; O'Conner & Lovely, 1988). During the last 20 years, a major advancement was made in the ability to detect and measure extremely low-strength magnetic fields. The discov- ery of the SQUID (superconducting quantum interference detector) mag- netometer revealed that, in addition to the EEG, the brain also produces a magnetic field measurable in space around the head, now called the mag- netoencephalogram, or MEG (Cohen, 1968, 1975; Mortis, 1989; Romani, Williamson, & Kaufman, 1982). The production of such a magnetic field requires that actual electrical currents be flowing within the brain, con- firming the initial reports of Gerard & Libet (1940). Thus, to a certain extent, the functional state of the brain is represented in the external mag- netic field surrounding the head. However, the strength of the MEG is far too low for it to serve as a vehicle for extrasensory communication. The SQUID magnetometer is also capable of detecting the presence of submi- croscopic deposits of magnetic mineral, and it has revealed that a very wide range of living organisms, from bacteria to humans, have a specific deposit of such material associated with the brain (Baker, 1988; Blake- more, 1975; Kalmijn, 1988; Walker, 1984). This is now termed the mag- netic organ, and it has been shown to be able to detect the strength and direction of the earth's magnetic field and to serve as a navigational system in animal migratory behavior. The widespread occurrence of the magnetic organ over such a diverse range of living animals would seem to indicate that it is an evolutionarily ancient structure. All of this work led to a reevaluation of Brown's research on the rela- tionship between biological cycles and the same cyclic pattern in the strength of the earth's magnetic field. This resulted in the discovery that

6 Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research the pineal gland (a small structure buried deep in the brain that is the remnant of the **third eye’’) is another organ that is capable of detecting the tidal variations in strength of the geomagnetic field (Semm, 1988; Semm, Schneider, & Vollrath, 1980). These variations, in turn, regulate the output of a large number of neuroactive substances, such as melatonin, by the pineal gland (Preslock, 1984). The level of melatonin produced by the pineal is directly related to the level of excitability of the brain, result- ing in the sleep-wakefulness cycle and probably most of the remainder of biocyclic phenomena. Normal cycles of alternate rest and activity are an absolute requirement for living organisms, and alterations in the normal cycle have been associated with physiological stress and neurobchavioral dysfunction (Preslock, 1984; Wilson & Anderson, 1990). Brown's (1963) observations were thus validated. These scientific discoveries of the past three decades have gradually resulted in a new paradigm of the nature of life. Living things now may be viewed as basically electromagnetic in nature, possessing an internal, or- ganized, analog-type DC electrical system that regulates the basic func- tions of growth and healing, provides the basic operational level for brain activity, and produces magnetic fields of a specific nature that are detect- able outside the body. The operations of this electrical control system are regulated in part by the magnetic organ and the pineal gland, which detect the status of the geomagnetic field and directly relate the organism to its electromagnetic environment. In this fashion, all living things are inti- mately tied to the natural geomagnetic fields of the earth. This paradigm, however, does not replace the nerve-impulse digital communication sys- tem. Rather, it supplements it with a more basic operational system. Although the validity of these observations is now becoming accepted, the exact mechanisms by which electromagnetic fields and electrical cur- rents of miniscule strength operate at the cellular level are not known. However, in recent years, a number of theories for the mechanism of action have been proposed that are capable of obviating the thermal **sig- nal to noise’’ problem by concentrating the small amount of energy in the field on specific structures rather than total body mass (Blackman, Benane, Rabinowitz, House, & Joines, 1985; Liboff, 1985; Weaver & Astumian, 1990). This subtle relationship between living organisms and clectromag- netic energies is a revolutionary concept that has expanded our understand- ing of the capabilities of living organisms, with far-reaching implications. APPLICATION OF BIOELECTROMAGNETICS TO Pst PHENOMENA The intimate relationship between the carth’s geomagnetic field and living organisms stimulated a reevaluation of the relationship between electromagnetic fields and psi phenomena. Several resulting studies were first reported at the 94th annual meeting of the American Psychological Association mecting in 1986 in Washington, D.C. by four individuals . . 7 Electromagnetism and Psi senting four different laboratories.* Each group reported a statistically siosificast seinioubio between the status of the geomagnetic ficld and various ESP phenomena such as remote viewing and dream ESP content. When the geomagnetic field was quiescent, such events were fur more likely to occur than when the field was disturbed by magnetic storm con- ditions. These correlational studies indicate that all prior a Re in ESP most likely contained a hidden variable, the status of the — s geomagnetic field. This may well account for the lack of reproducibility es psi research, 7 ic cman of great importance can be drawn from these epee First, they support the scientific validity of ESP phenomena. Second, they indicate that this class of psi phenomena ts directly related to electromag- netic forces in some fashion. Finally, by showing that one can introduce information directly into consciousness without involving sensory ps 9 these studies have important implications for our understanding of the ind/brain relationship. Omer a strong tink has been established between psi phenomena and electromagnetic forces, the nature of the link remains unknown, Using radio communication technology as a model, ESP must consist of a trans- mitter, a signal that extends across distance, and a receiver. At this pene! bes can only speculate as to which of these elements ts adversely influence y geomagnetic storms. However, radio technology can serve only as ce broadest frame of reference in this regard. Although it is now evident t - brain function results in the production of an external magnetic field, t MEG, the strength of this field is totally insufficient to serve as a trans- mitted signal over any distance. The extremely faint MEG signal is lost " the general electromagnetic background radiation, both natural and artifi- cial, unless SQUID technology is used. Even if one postulates a receiving capability in the human brain akin to that of the SQUID, ipsa ie would be limited to a few feet at best. It is therefore necessary to postulate some as yet undiscovered property of magnetic fields accompanied My a biological capability to utilize an property for both transmission and re- ion of the informational signal. : *T oamthelent, the findings of these electromagnetism/ESP studies conn be dismissed simply because they do not conform to the present sclenti ic paradigm. It appears that an electromagnetic signal of some sort is ra ated, transmitted over distances, and received directly at the level o of man consciousness by an electromagnetic mechanism the exact nature o ich is presently unknown. oe Occ the deta provide a singularly significant insight into the nature of consciousness. It is well known that magnetic fields, even those of great ituti jati follows: Marsha H. ’ The individual researchers and their institutional affiliations were as ' Adams, Time Research Institute; Erlandur Haraldsson, University of Iceland; Stanley Krippner, Saybrook Institute: and Michael A. Persinger, Laurentian University.

8 Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research strength, have little or no effect upon nerve impulses. Therefore, if con- sciousness is solely the province of the nervous system, such a magnetic signal could not be received at the conscious level. However, recent evi- dence indicates that this is exactly what happens. Therefore, regardless of the mechanism involved, such signals must be received by the primitive analog system, and we may reasonably postulate that this system has a control or integrating center where such signals are received. This indicates the possibility that consciousness, rather than being the sole province of the nerve impulse system, may reside in the primitive electromagnetic data transmission and control system. The concept of the dual nervous system may therefore provide us with explanations for some forms of psi phe- nomena and also with insight into the very basic questions raised by the mind/brain relationship. THE MIND/BRAIN RELATIONSHIP AND BIOELECTROMAGNETICS To explore the concept of the dual nervous system theoretically, we must go back to the Precambrian era in the history of the earth, when the first signs of life appeared, and ask what was the nature of the communi- cation system present in the existing organisms. Classical neurophysiology assumes that such a communication system was based on cells with the ability to generate, transmit, and receive action potentials, cells essentially equivalent to present-day neurons. This would require such a degree of sophistication and specialization appearing de novo as to be highly un- likely. Yet the most primitive organisms must have possessed the most basic attributes of life, such as the ability for self-repair and the alternating biological cycles of rest and activity. An analog type of control system based upon electron flow in a semiconducting matrix and the transmission of information by variations in the DC electrical current flow is, however, not inconceivable. Such a system would not depend upon a high degree of sophistication and could actually reside in the structure of the original “‘living’’ material itself. It would be capable of sensing injury, directing self-repair, and sensing the cyclic patterns in the geomagnetic field. Fur- thermore, the electrical current flow within the organism would produce an external magnetic field of very low strength that would reflect the opera- tions of the internal analog system. This concept of the basic elements of living material is compatible with the “dry state’’ biogenesis theory in which quasi-crystalline, self- organizing structures with semiconducting abilities formed on dry materi- als (Hinton & Blum, 1968). Due to the sun being some two billion years younger and to the specific composition of the earth's atmosphere then existing, the environment of the Precambrian period would have been characterized by much stronger fluctuations and disturbances in the geo- magnetic field than is the case today. Despite its energetic nature, the geomagnetic field still would have reflected the rotational period of the earth and provided the one quasi-static element of the environment re- Electromagnetism and Psi 9 quired for the timing of biological cycles. The geomagnetic field, there- fore, would have constituted the most important environmental factor for these organisms, and its high energy content and strong oscillations at the 8-to-12 Hz Schumann frequency may have left their imprint on the oper- ating control system. In this light, it is interesting to consider that those animals existing today that have well-developed electrosensing ability are maximally sensitive to the same range of frequency (Kalmijn, 1988). It has been proposed that the common ancestor of all vertebrates was electrosen- sitive (Bodznick & Northcutt, 1981). It is not currently known if the Precambrian organisms possessed collections of magnetite akin to the present-day magnetic organ. However, the evidence indicating its evolu- tionarily ancient status appears to make this likely. Therefore, this slightly higher degree of sophistication in magnetic field detection could have added to the innate ability of the semiconducting system. What | have described is an organism capable of the most basic life processes, possessing an internal DC electronic control system, and di- rectly tied to the geomagnetic field. It is reasonable to postulate that with further evolutionary development and the acquisition of multicellularity, this system would have been organized on the basis of specific cells, either as a syncytium or as single cells with intervening tight junctions, both of which would be capable of transmitting DC electrical currents. Anatomi- cally, one would expect there to be a central mass of cells for integration of data. This mass would constitute a rudimentary “*brain,"’ which oper- ates on the basis of the magnetic encoding of information with inflow tracts for sensing of damage and outflow tracts for repair signals. The magnetic organ would have had the same intimate relationship to this “*brain’’ as it does today. Communications between organisms would have been possible on the basis of the generation and reception of electromagnetic fields, even in the absence of the special senses that now dominate human communi- cation inputs. This rudimentary communication system operating on the basis of magnetically encoded information would have been located in the precursors of the present-day perincural cell system, With evolutionary development, this analog system could have given rise to the more complex digital system with the acquisition of the special senses and effective motor control that then permitted the explosion of life forms that characterized the early Cambrian period (Morris, 1989). The primitive analog system, however, was not discarded but was retained in the perineural cell system as the basic substratum for all internal control and communications and the primary system relating all living organisms to the external electromagnetic fields of the environment. There is some evidence that glial cells are the precursors of neurons and that they are capable of information transfer processes (Cornell-Bell, Finkbeiner, Coo- per, & Smith, 1990), More recently, Balaban and his colleagues have reported specific functional changes in neurons resulting from exposure to steady-state magnetic fields (Balaban, Bravarenko, & Kuznetsov, 1990). Most importantly for this thesis, they demonstrated that this effect is me-

10 Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research diated by the glial cells surrounding the neurons; removal of the glial cells causes the disappearance of the functional changes. Somewhere in the evolutionary process what we call consciousness ap- peared. If consciousness is defined as an awareness of the internal and external environment and the ability to respond to changes in these pa- rameters, then consciousness was present in the ‘magnetic brain’’ of the earliest organisms. The development of the special senses required that somewhere and somehow the information they carried had to be inserted into this “‘electromagnetic consciousness" as magnetic information. This concept is supported by some recent studies that have shown that in the auditory system at least, incoming messages in the digital system are converted into specific magnetic fields deep within the auditory cortex of the brain (Hari, Aittonieme, Jaryinen, Katila, & Varpula, 1980; Papani- colau, Baumann, Rogers, Saydjari, Amparo, & Eisenberg, 1990). It may therefore be feasible to postulate that all special sensory inputs enter con- sciousness in the same fashion. The flood of information from these sources is so great that it appears to relegate the more primitive direct messages to the analog system to the lowest level of consciousness. Hence, we presently attribute all consciousness solely to the digital neural system. However, this new paradigm of the dual communication and control sys- tem provides a new frame of reference for the mind/brain relationship. I believe that all of the data I have discussed indicate that consciousness probably resides in the primitive analog magnetic system and that there are two distinct *‘sensory’’ inputs to consciousness. The first consists of the electromagnetic sensory system, which directly enters the magnetic con- sciousness with magnetically encoded external information. The second is the digital neuronal inputs from the sensory nerves and organs of the special senses, which are converted into appropriate magnetic fields within the structure of the brain. It appears feasible also to postulate that the state we call “consciousness” is not only located in the electromagnetic portion of the brain, but that it is ‘‘delocalized,’’ that is, present throughout the entire perineural portion of the brain and not localized to discrete structures or areas such as the various ‘‘centers"’ of the digital neuronal system. This requires that some mechanism for integrating this information be present throughout the entire structure. One such mechanism would be a ‘*scan- ning”* signal common to all parts of the ‘magnetic brain.** Theoretically, the frequency of this signal should reflect the major frequency range thought to have been present in the geomagnetic field at the time of the origin of life, 8 to 10 Hz. It is interesting to consider that this is exactly the frequency range known as alpha, which is revealed when the eyes are closed. However, this does not necessarily exclude other frequencies such as theta (4 to 7 Hz), which is dominant during periods of total sensory deprivation. In any event, it is possible to postulate that information is encoded at even higher frequencies on the basic **scanning’’ frequency. Recent reports (Gray, Konig, Engel, & Singer, 1989) indicate the presence of slightly higher scanning frequencies of about 40 Hz in the visual cortex. Electromagnetism and Psi ia) Gray, Konig, Engel, and Singer (1989) suggest that this frequency may be involved in integrating the multitude of individual visual signals from the retina into the perception of the total object. a The present evidence suggests that psi and parapsychological informa- tion may be encoded in the universal magnetic field arising from the environment and other living organisms, and it may enter Consciousness directly when the inflow of information from the digital system ts reduced and the geomagnetic field is quiescent. This concept not only accommo- dates the existence of such phenomena but also provides a mechanism by which they may be studied in a scientific manner. It also raises a number of interesting questions and indicates directions for further research in neurophysiology and basic physics that may greatly increase our compre- hension of the nature of life and its place in the universe. SPECIFIC QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH First, let us consider the possibility of other presently unknown prop- erties or phenomena associated with magnetic fields that may account for the long-distance communication involved in ESP and similar occurrences. A major problem with science has been its tendency to believe at any given time, the present not excepted, that everything is known and nothing of significance remains to be learned. The defect in this mindset is easily revealed by the history of the development of the present knowledge of electromagnetics, The north-pointing magnetic compass was undoubtedly known to many peoples in prehistory. Lacking knowledge of the earth's magnetic field, it was attributed to such things as rays emanating from the North Star. The fact that the earth was a giant magnet and that electricity and magnetism were two different forces was first described by William Gilbert, physician to Queen Elizabeth I, in his book The Magnet, which was published in 1600. In Gilbert's time, the only kind of electricity known was static electricity generated by friction in certain materials that could cause a mn it . almost 200 years after Gilbert, another physician, Luigi Gal- vani, described a new type of electricity that was a continuously flowing, or direct current, generated by living organisms. Shortly thereafter, Alessandro Volta discovered that two dissimilar metals in a conducting solution also generated direct current. This discovery led to the invention of the storage battery and later to the explosion of electrical technology. Fifteen years later, Hans Christian nanan ware ig Aa _ letely unexpected discovery that when an electrical current Hows | oie, setgietic field is produced in space around the wire. In 1845, Michael Faraday proposed that these magnetic fields carried energy and were related to visible light. In 1864, James Clerk Maxwell published his equations indicating that an entire spectrum of electromagnetic waves could be produced, extending in frequency from zero oscillations per sec-

12 Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research ond to frequencies in the billions of oscillations second, si varying the electrical current flow at the desired rendeacy. Twenty, phd later, Heinrich Hertz proved that Maxwell was correct by producing Hertzian waves from a spark gap and detecting them at a distance by cat . “ers to jump ven another gap many feet away. Less than 20 ars later, Marconi used the same technique i “Ss” _ the Atlantic Ocean. —sS one of these discoveries could have been predicted in adv: each expanded our knowledge in totally tiaeiigentol ways. Ee ieccs further discoveries still to be made in electromagnetism? Certainly there are. Although we know how to generate, transmit, and detect electromag- netic fields and even how to encode information on them with a variety of techniques, we still do not know the real nature of these fields. It is quite possible that, as in Galvani's case, new and unexpected physical knowl- edge can come from scientific studies of the relationships between the magnetic consciousness and electromagnetism. We simply need the cour- age to look. The broader implications of this concept of a link between i fields and living things reveals other thanificant possibilities. k tw known that even from a physical point of view, the geomagnetic field is a strange and complex beast. For example, many times in the geological past the earth's field has reversed itself, the North and South poles changing places. These **magnetic reversals"’ have been related to the simultaneous extinctions of many species of animals of the time—the “great dyings’* of the highest developed types of life, which may have determined the course of evolution (Watkins & Goodell, 1967). The factors that caused these mysterious reversals and the other alterations in the normal magnetic field that were associated with them are simply unknown. In addition, there is theoretical evidence Suggesting that the unique electromagnetic environ- ment at the time of the origin of life may have played an energic role in that very event (Cole & Graf, 1974), Even today, there is evidence that natu- rally occurring perturbations in the geomagnetic field have important bi- ological effects. The sun is subjected to cyclic variations in its activity, the solar cycle, which peaks every 11 years. Magnetic storms occur with greater frequency during the peak periods than during the quict periods, Some years ago, my colleagues and I found a statistically significant re- lationship between magnetic storms and abnormal human behavior (Fried- man, Becker, & Bachman, 1963, 1965). Most recently, Hoyle and Wick- ramasinghe (1990) reported that influenza pandemics caused by genetic shifts in the influenza virus are temporally related to the peaks in the solar cycle over the past century. Although Hoyle and Wickramasinghe (1990) attribute the correlation to another theoretical mechanism, the evidence linking magnetic fields and genetic alterations makes that a more likely one (see Goodman & Henderson, 1988). The possibility that even today the magnetic field within which we exist plays an important role in our health Electromagnetism and Psi 13 and destiny is a perfectly testable theory and easily subject to scientific inquiry. The linkage between consciousness and the geomagnetic field is not a simple one. What we call the geomagnetic field is not just what is produced by the magnetic core of the earth, but it is that field as it is perturbed by such local factors as energetic events occurring on the sun, the solar cycle, and even the position of the moon in relationship to the spatial relationship between the earth and the sun. The magnetic field of the solar system is, in turn, influenced by the magnetic field of the galaxy, which is part of the total field continuum of the universe. Cosmology is at present as much a theoretical science as is quantum physics. We know that the universe is awash in gravitational and magnetic fields, yet we cannot account for more than half of the matter that should be present in “‘empty"’ space. More and more evidence suggests that the organization of the universe is nonrandom, and perfectly respectable theories have proposed that the energy of this organization is magnetic (Lerner, 1988; Peratt, 1990). Even without pos- tulating some undiscovered aspect of magnetic fields, all living things on earth are influenced to some extent by the magnetic structure of the uni- verse. Although these concepts are speculative at present, they can also be subjected to scientific examination, the results of which might have pro- found implications for the nature of life, its origins, and humanity's place in the universe. Many different techniques, such as meditation, yoga, and primitive rituals claim to provide access to some *‘other reality’’ that is not accessed by our five senses. Most of these techniques involve reducing the digital special sensory input, which may make possible the conscious reception of magnetic system imputs that would otherwise be obscured by the flood of information from the special senses. Our concept of ‘‘reality’’ is presently limited to the information provided by our digital special senses. It is possible that our magnetic sense provides our consciousness access to the information encoded in the universal magnetic field, and is this the spec- ulative “‘other reality’’? In any event, in this fashion one may be able to explain the mechanism involved in gaining access to this magnetic con- sciousness as well as the nature of the *‘sensations’’ that are received in these exceptional states. At present, no objective method has been em- ployed to determine if the practitioner of such techniques is actually more sensitive to magnetic field inputs. However, such a study would not be difficult to perform and might yield very valuable information. Apparently not all individuals who try these techniques experience the same result. There is some evidence that electrically **driving’’ the **brain waves"’ at the theta frequency of 3 to 6 Hz assists in the depression of sensory input and possibly in a greater receptivity to ESP phenomena (E. Green, per- sonal communication, 1990). This may be significant in that it might reveal something about the operating mechanism involved in magnetic consciousness. Again, scientific exploration of these possibilities would

4 Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research yield information of basic importance to ou i and brain mechanisms in oranesl ae eee _ Finally, although this concept provides a new frame of reference for viewing the operations of the brain that is experimentally verifiable, such experimentation carries with it more than a modicum of danger. Knowl- edge of the operating magnetic frequencies and the mechanisms of encod- ing information on them would enable those who possessed the knowledge to insert information directly into the consciousness of others without their being aware of it. The “*psychocivilized society’’ envisaged by Delgado (1969) then would be possible, and the likelihood of misuse of this ability would be great. It is an open secret that military and intelligence services of a number of governments have been investigating parapsychological phenomena for the past 20 years. 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