[Editor’s note: The UK style of spelling and punctuation has been maintained for this section.]
Chapter 1: Body and Mind
For the effects of positive and negative emotions on the heart and immune system, see:
R. McCraty, M. Atkinson, W. A. Tiller, G. Rein and A. D. Watkins, ‘The effects of emotions on short-term power spectrum analysis of heart rate variability’, Am. Journal of Cardiology, 1995, 76, 1089–93
G. Rein, M. Atkinson and R. McCraty, ‘The physiological and psychological effects of compassion and anger’, J. Advancement in Med., 1995, 8(2), 87–105
Janice K. Kiecolt-Glaser, Lynanne McGuire, Theodore F. Robles and Ronald Glaser, ‘Emotions, morbidity, and mortality: New perspectives from psychoneuroimmunology’, Annual Rev. Psychol., 2002, 53, 83–107
For the effects of hostility on the heart, see:
• T. W. Smith, B. N. Uchino, C. A. Berg et al., ‘Hostile personality traits and coronary artery calcification in middle-aged and older married couples: Different effects for self-reports versus spouse ratings’, Psychosomatic Medicine, 2007, 69(5), 441–448
• T. W. Smith, C. A. Berg, B. N. Uchino, P. Florsheim and G. Pearce, ‘Marital conflict behavior and coronary artery calcification’. Presentation at the 64th annual scientific conference of the American Psychosomatic Society (Denver, CO, USA), 3rd March 2006
• P. Pearsall, ‘Contextual cardiology: What modern medicine can learn from ancient Hawaiian wisdom’, Cleveland Clinical Journal of Medicine, 2007, 74 (1), S99–S104
For general information on mind-body medicine, see Deepak Chopra, MD, Quantum Healing: Exploring the Frontiers of Mind/Body Medicine (Bantam, 1989), and Larry Dossey, MD, Healing Beyond the Body (Shambhala, 2001)
For the effect on the brain of reappraisal of a negative situation, see K. L. Phan, D. A. Fitzgerald, P. J. Nathan, G. J. Moore, T. W. Uhde and M. E. Tancer, ‘Neural substrates for voluntary suppression of negative effect: A functional magnetic resonance imaging study’, Biol. Psychiatry, 2005, 57, 210–19
For the effects of laughter on health, see:
• For a general review of the physiological effects of laughter: W. F. Fry, ‘The physiological effects of humour, mirth, and laughter’, Journal of the American Medical Association, 1992, 267(13), 1857–8
• Laughter improves the immune system. Increases found in natural killer cell activity and levels of some immunoglobulins, with immunoglobulin increases lasting up to 12 hours after the laughter in some cases, in L. S. Berk, D. L. Felton, S. A. Tan, B. B. Bittman and J. Westen-gard, ‘Modulation of neuroimmune parameters during the eustress of mirthful laughter’, Alternative Therapies, 2001, 7(2), 62–76
• For the effects of laughter on some hormone levels: L. S. Berk, S. A. Tan, W. F. Fry, B. J. Napier, J. W. Lee, R. W. Hubbard, J. E. Lewis and W. C. Eby, ‘Neuroendocrine and stress hormone changes during mirthful laughter’, The American Journal of the Medical Sciences, 1989, 298(6), 390–96
• For the story of Norman Cousins and his laughter-aided recovery from a serious illness: Norman Cousins, ‘Anatomy of an illness’, New England J. Medicine, 1976, 295, 1458–63. Norman discovered that 10 minutes of genuine belly laughter had an anaesthetic effect and allowed him about two hours of pain-free sleep.
For the physiological effects of meditation, see Paramahansa Yogananda, Autobiography of a Yogi, (Self-Realization Fellowship, 1946), and for the physiological effects and examples of meditation techniques, see Dharma Singh Khalsa, MD, Meditation as Medicine (Pocket Books, 2001)
The report of the effects of TM meditation on children with ADHD featured in the media in March 2006. It was conducted by Dr. William Stixrud, a clinical neurophysiologist, and Sarina Grosswald, an expert in cognitive learning.
Botox is a snake venom that is used in cosmetic procedures to temporarily paralyze some of the muscles of the forehead. Through this paralysis it removes the appearance of wrinkles on the forehead and around the eyes by completely relaxing the muscles.
For the meditation studies on the brain, see:
• G. Pagoni and M. Cekic, ‘Age effects on gray matter volume and attentional performance in Zen meditation’, Neurobiology of Aging, 2007, 28(10), 1623–1627
• S. Lazar, C. E. Kerr, R. H. Wasserman et al., ‘Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness’, Neuroreport, 2005, 16(17), 1893–1897
For the story of the man who visualized a healthy liver, see Carolyn Miller, PhD, Creating Miracles (H. J. Kramer, Inc., 1995)
For creative visualization techniques, see Shakti Gawain, Creative Visualization (Whatever, 1978), as well as Ed Bernd and Ian Pollock, Silva Method (Silva Method Publishing, 2001)
For a summary of 18 individual scientific studies linking suppressed negative emotion and cancer, see: James Gross, ‘Emotional expression in cancer onset and progression’, Soc. Sci. Med., 1989, 28(12), 1239–48
For an early published correlation between personality type and the progression of cancer: E. Blumberg, P. West and F. Ellis, ‘A possible relationship between psychological factors and human cancer’, Psychosom. Res., 1954, 16, 27–86
To see the relationship between Type C personality and tumor thickness: L. Temoshok, B. W. Heller, R. W. Sagebiel, M. S. Blois, D. M. Sweet, R. J. Di Clemente and M. L. Gold, ‘The relationship of psychosocial factors to prognostic indicators in cutaneous malignant melanoma’, J. Psy-chosom. Res., 1985, 29, 139–54
For the positive effects of the release of suppressed negative emotion on cancer, see:
• J. W. Pennebaker, J. K. Kiecolt-Glaser and R. Glaser, ‘Disclosure of traumas and immune function: Health implications for psychotherapy’, J. Consult. Clin. Psychol., 1988, 56, 239–45
• D. Spiegel, J. Bloom, H. C. Kramer et al, ‘Effect of psychological treatment on survival of patients with metastatic breast cancer’, Lancet, 1989, 2, 888–91
• A. L. Stanton, S. Danoff-Burg, L. A. Sworowski, C. A. Collins, A. D. Branstetter, A. Rodriguez-Hanley, S. B. Kirk and J. L. Austen-field, ‘Randomized, controlled trial of written emotional expression and benefit finding in breast cancer patients’, J. Clin. Oncology, 2002, 20(20), 4160–68
For the positive effects on asthma and rheumatoid arthritis, see J. M. Smyth, A. A. Stone, A. Hurewitz and A. Kaell, ‘Effects of writing about stressful experiences on symptom reduction in patients with asthma or rheumatoid arthritis’, J. Am. Med. Assoc., 1999, 14, 1304–27
For the relationship between coming ‘out of the closet’ and HIV and AIDS progression, see S. W. Cole, M. E. Kemeny, S. E. Taylor, B. R. Visscher and J. L. Fahey, ‘Accelerated course of human immunodeficiency virus infection in gay men who conceal their homosexual identity’, Psychosom. Med., 1996, 58, 219–31
For the effects of reducing stress on breast cancer, see:
• B. L. Anderson, W. B. Farrar, D. Golden-Kreutz, C. F. Emery, R. Glaser, T. Crespin and W. E. Carson III, ‘Distress reduction from a psychological intervention contributes to improved health for cancer patients’, Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 2007, 21(7), 953–961
• B. L. Anderson, W. B. Farrar, D. Golden-Kreutz, C. F. Emery, R. Glaser, T. Crespin and W. E. Carson III, ‘RCT of a psychological intervention for patients with cancer: I. Mechanisms of change’, J. Consult. Clin. Psych., 2007, in press
For the story of Brandon Bays and her recovery from a basketball-sized tumor, see Brandon Bays, The Journey (Thorsons, 1999)
Chapter 2: The Power of Faith
For general examples and a description of the placebo effect, see Herbert Benson, Timeless Healing: The Power and Biology of Belief (Simon & Schuster, 1996)
For the study of the placebo and Parkinson’s disease: F. Benedetti, L. Colloca, E. Torre, M. Lanotte, A. Melcarne, M. Pesare, B, Bergamasco and L. Lopiano, ‘Placebo-responsive Parkinson patients show decreased activity in single neurons of subthalmic nucleus’, Nature Neuroscience, 2004, 7, 587–8
For the placebo effect and morning sickness: S. Wolff, ‘Effects of suggestion and conditioning on the action of chemical agents in human subjects: The pharmacology of placebos’, Journal of Clinical Investigation, 1950, 29, 100–109
For the placebo effect and asthma: C. Butler and A. Steptoe, ‘Placebo responses: An experimental study of psychophysiological processes in asthmatic volunteers’, British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 1986, 25, 173–83
For the effect of color on the placebo effect: G. S. Kienle and H. Kiene, ‘Placebo effects from packaging, formulation, color, and size of the placebo’ in ‘Placebo effect and placebo concept: A critical methodological and conceptual analysis of reports on the magnitude of the placebo effect’, Alternative Therapies, 1996, 2, 39–54, cited in L. Dossey, Healing Beyond the Body (Shambhala, 2001)
For history of psychoneuroimmunology, the discovery of the opiate receptor and how neuropeptides and their receptors work, see Candace B.
Pert, PhD, Molecules of Emotion (Scribner, 1997) For summary papers on psychoneuroimmunology and the role of neuropeptides, see:
• C. B. Pert, H. E. Dreher and M. R. Ruff, ‘The psychosomatic network: Foundations of mind-body medicine’, Alternative Therapies, 1998, 4(4), 30–41
• C. B. Pert, M. R. Ruff, R. J. Weber and M. Herkenham, ‘Neuropeptides and their receptors: A psychosomatic network’, J. Immunol., 1985, 35(2), 820s–26s
For the role of neuropeptides as informational substances, see F. D. Schmitt, ‘Molecular regulation of brain function: A new view’, Neuroscience, 1984, 13, 991
For the role of neuropeptides with emotional centers in the brain and in the immune system, see:
• M . R. Ruff, V. Schiffman, V. Terranova and C. B. Pert, ‘Neuropeptides are chemoattractants for human tumor cells and monocytes: A possible mechanism for metastasis’, Clin. Immunol. Immunopathol., 1985, 37, 387–96
• M. R. Ruff, S. M. Wahl, S. Mergenhagen and C. B. Pert, ‘Opiate receptor-mediated chemotaxis of human monocytes’, Neuropeptides, 1985, 5, 363
For bi-directional communication between emotions and immune system, see D. J. Carr and J. E. Blalock, ‘Neuropeptide hormones and receptors common to the immune and neuroendocrine systems: Bi-directional pathway of intersystem communication’ in R. Ader, D. L. Felten and N. Cohen, eds, Psychoneuroimmunology II (Academic Press, 1991)
For neuropeptide approaches to cancer and AIDS, see Candace B. Pert, PhD, Molecules of Emotion (Scribner, 1997)
For the role of opioids in the placebo effect, see:
• J. D. Levine, N. C. Gordon and H. L. Fields, ‘The mechanism of placebo analgesia’, Lancet, 1978, 654–7
• F. Benedetti, M. Amanzio and G. Maggi, ‘Potentiation of placebo analgesia by proglumide’, Lancet, 1995, 346, 1231
• G. ter Riet, A. J. M. de Craen, A. de Boer and A. G. H. Kessels, ‘Is placebo analgesia mediated by endogenous opioids? A systematic review’, Pain, 1998, 76, 273–5
• F. Benedetti, A. Pollo, L. Lopiano, M. Lanotte, S. Vighetti and I. Rainero, ‘Conscious expectation and unconscious conditioning in analgesic, motor, and hormonal placebo/nocebo responses’, J. Neuroscience, 2003, 23(10), 4315–23
• A. Pollo, S. Vighetti, I. Rainero and F. Benedetti, ‘Placebo analgesia and the heart’, Pain, 2003, 102, 125–33
For PET scans of the brain during placebo analgesia, see J. K. Zubieta et al, ‘Placebo effects mediated by endogenous opioid activity on u-opioid receptors’, J. Neuroscience, 2005, 25(34), 7754–62
See also P. Petrovic, E. Kalso, K. M. Petersson and M. Ingvar, ‘Placebo and opioid analgesia: Imaging a shared neuronal network’, Science, 2002, 295, 1737–40, for brain-imaging scans of opioid versus placebo analgesia.
For a thorough summary of the molecular mechanisms of the placebo effect in the brain, see F. Benedetti, H. S. Mayberg, T. D. Wager, C. S. Stohler and J.-K. Zubieta, ‘Neurobiological mechanisms of the placebo effect’, J. Neuroscience, 2005, 25(45), 10390–402
Chapter 3: DNA
For the discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA, see J. Watson and F. Crick, ‘A structure for deoxyribose nucleic acid’, Nature, 1953, 171, 737
For the role played by Rosalind Franklin in the discovery of the structure of DNA, see Brenda Maddox, ‘The double helix and the “Wronged Heroine” ’, Nature, 2003, 421, 407–408
For a great book all about DNA, its discovery, modern applications and genetic technologies, see James Watson, DNA: The Secret of Life (Arrow Books, London, 2004)
For the role of interleukin-2 in recovery from cancer, see:
S. Rosenberg and J. Barry, The Transformed Cell: Unlocking the Mysteries of Cancer (Putnam/Chapmans, New York, 1992)
J. Newman, ‘I have seen cancers disappear’, interview with Steven Rosenberg, Discover, 2001, 22, 44–51
For the effect of touch on memory and mental abilities and therefore growth of the brain, see:
• N. Jutapakdeegul, S. O. Casalotti, P. Govitrapong and N. Kotchab-hakdi, ‘Postnatal touch stimulation acutely alters corticosterone levels and glucocorticoid receptor gene expression in the neonatal rat’, Developmental Neuroscience, 2003, 25, 26–33
• K. A. Fenoglio, K. L. Brunson, S. Avishai-Eliner, B. A. Stone, B. J. Kapadia and T. Z. Baram, ‘Enduring handling-evoked enhancement of hippocampal memory function and GR expression involves activation of the CRF type-1 receptor’, Endocrinology, 2005, 146(9), 4090–96
For the study showing that regular handling is better than handling once, see K. A. Fenoglio, Y. Chen and T. Z. Baram, ‘Neuroplasticity of the hypothalamic- pituitary-adrenal axis early in life requires recurrent recruitment of stress-regulating brain regions’, J. Neuroscience, 2006, 26(21), 5589–5590
• K. A. Fenoglio, Y. Chen and T. Z. Baram, ‘Neuroplasticity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis early in life requires recurrent recruitment of stress-regulating brain regions’, J. Neuroscience, 2006, 26(9), 2434–42
For the study showing a reduction of up to 40 percent of previous growth hormone levels through deprivation of maternal touch, see S. Wang, J. Bartolome and S. Schanberg, ‘Neonatal deprivation of maternal touch may suppress ornithine decarboxylase via downregulation of the protooncogenes c-myc and max’, J. Neuroscience, 1996, 16(2), 836–42; also summarized in E. L. Rossi, ‘Psychosocial genomics: Gene expression, neurogenesis, and human experience in mind-body medicine’, Advances, 2002, 18(2), 22–30
For a summary of research in psychosocial genomics, see Ernest L. Rossi, The Psychobiology of Gene Expression: Neuroscience and Neurogenesis in Hypnosis and the Healing Arts (Norton, 2002)
See also:
• Ernest Rossi, ‘Stress-induced alternative gene splicing in mind-body medicine’, Advances, 2004, 20(2), 12–19
• Ernest Rossi, ‘Gene expression, neurogenesis, and healing: Psychosocial genomics of therapeutic hypnosis’, American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 2003, 45(3), 197–216
For information about nature vs nurture, including examples of the relative roles of genes and the environment in human growth and development, see Matt Ridley, Nature via Nurture: Genes, Experience and What Makes Us Human (Fourth Estate, 2003), and Tim Spector, Your Genes Unzipped: How your Genetic Inheritance Shapes your Life (Robson Books, 2003). These books were also the source of the figures for the differences in genes between humans and other species.
For some of Eric Kandel’s work, see Eric R. Kandel, MD, ‘A new intellectual framework for psychiatry’, American Journal of Psychiatry, 1998, 155(4), 457–69
For general information about the role of the emotional environment in the growth of the prefrontal lobes in infants and children, see Joseph Chilton Pearce, The Biology of Transcendence (Park Street Press, 2002)
For a description of psychosocial dwarfism or nonorganic failure-to-thrive, see L. Gardner, ‘Deprivation dwarfism’, Scientific American, 1972, 227(1), 76–82
For studies on the effect of emotional deprivation and lack of touch on growth hormone levels, see:
• G . Powell, N. Hopwood and E. Barratt, ‘Growth hormone studies before and during catch-up growth in a child with emotional deprivation and short stature’, J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., 1973, 37(5), 674–9
• G. Powell, J. Brasel and J. Hansen, ‘Emotional deprivation and growth retardation simulating idiopathic hypopituitarism: I. Clinical evaluation of the syndrome’, New England J. Medicine, 1967, 276(23), 1271–8
For the reversal of early negative effects in childhood, see T. W. Bredya, R. A. Humpartzoomian, D. P. Cain and M. J. Meaney, ‘Partial reversal of the effect of maternal care on cognitive function through environmental enrichment’, Neuroscience, 2003, 118(2), 571–6
For information about ADHD, see Thom Hartmann, Attention Deficit Disorder: A Different Perception (Underwood Books, 1997)
Although 99.9 percent of our genes are known to be the same, at least three million natural subtle variations exist in the individual genes. These are known as ‘single nucleotide polymorphisms’ (SNPs) and it is believed that they give rise to some of our individuality.
For the effects of stress and worry on wound healing, see:
• E. Broadbent, K. J. Petrie, P. G. Alley and R. J. Booth, ‘Psychological stress impairs early wound repair following surgery’, Psychosomatic Medicine, 2003, 65(5), 865–869
• L. M. Christian, J. E. Graham, D. A. Padgett, R. Glaser and J. K. Kiecolt-Glaser, ‘Stress and wound healing’, Neuroimmunomodulation, 2006, 13(5-6), 337–346
• S. Roy, S. Khanna, P. E. Yeh, C. Rink, W. B. Malarkey, J. K. Kiecolt-Glaser, B. Laskowski, R. Glaser and C. K. Sen, ‘Wound site neutrophil in response to psychological stress in young men’, Gene Expression, 2005, 12(4-6), 273–287
For the effect of hostility on wound healing, see J. K. Kiecolt-Glaser, T. J. Loving, J. R. Stockwell, W. B. Malarkey, S. Lemeshow, S. L. Dickinson and R. Glaser, ‘Hostile marital interactions, proinflammatory cytokine production, and wound healing’, Arch. Gen. Psychiatry, 2005, 62(12), 1377–1384
Chapter 4: The Power of Intention
For research on the infectiveness of emotion, see H. Friedman and R. Riggio, ‘Effect of individual differences in nonverbal expressiveness on transmission of emotion’, Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 1981, 6(2), 96–104
For a summary of Bernard Grad’s research on healing, see:
• Bernard R. Grad, ‘Some biological effects of laying-on of hands: A review of experiments with animals and plants’, Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 1965, 59, 95–127
• Bernard R. Grad, ‘The laying on of hands: Implications for psychotherapy, gentling and placebo effect’, Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 1967, 61, 286–305
For the studies on massage, see:
• M. Hernandez-Reif et al., ‘Natural killer cells and lymphocytes increase in women with breast cancer following massage therapy’, Int. J. Neuroscience, 2005, 115(4), 495–510
• T. Field, M. Reif-Hernandez, M. Diego, S. Schanberg and C. Kuhn, ‘Cortisol decreases and serotonin and dopamine increase following massage therapy’, Int. J. Neuroscience, 2005, 115(10), 1397–1413
• H. J. Hamre et al., ‘Rhythmical massage therapy in chronic disease: A 4-year prospective cohort study’, J. Comp. Alt. Med., 2007, 13(6), 635–642
For the effects of healing touch on enzymes, see:
• J. Smith, ‘The influence on enzyme growth by the “laying on of hands” ’, The Dimensions of Healing: A Symposium, The Academy of Parapsychology and Medicine, Los Altos, CA, 1972
• Toni Bunnell, ‘The effect of “healing with intent” on pepsin enzyme activity’, J. Sci. Explor., 1999, 13(2), 139–48
For the effects on E-coli, see C. B. Nash, ‘Test of psychokinetic control of bacterial mutation’, J. Am. Soc. Psychical Res., 1984, 78(2), 145–52
For the study of using qigong to influence human-cultured brain cells, see G. Yount, J. Solfvin, D. Moore, M. Schlitz, M. Reading, K. Aldape and Y.
Qian, ‘In vitro test of external qigong’, BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2004, 4(5)
For a description of Paramahansa Yogananda’s discussions with Luther Burbank, see Paramahansa Yogananda, Autobiography of a Yogi (Self-Realization Fellowship, 1946)
For a general understanding of and scientific studies on acupuncture, see Richard Gerber, MD, Vibrational Medicine for the 21st Century (Eagle Books, 2000)
For the studies on acupuncture, see:
• F. Liu, T. H. Wang, Y. Zhang, S. Q. Hong and X. B. Song, ‘Impact of acupuncture to IGF-1 expression in spared dorsal root ganglion of cats’, Sichuan Da Xue Xue Bao Yi Xue Ban, 2006, 37(3), 384–386
• Q. Huang, X. Zhou, Y. Ding, J. Peng, W. Zhao and W. Zhang, ‘Impact of acupuncture on NP-1 expression in spared dorsal root ganglion’, Sichuan Da Xue Xue Bao Yi Xue Ban, 2006, 37(3), 381–383
• R. P. Dhond, N. Kettner and V. Napadow, ‘Neuroimaging acupuncture effects in the human brain’, J. Alt. Comp. Med., 2007, 13(6), 606–613
For a summary of qigong research, see K. M. Sancier, ‘Medical applications of qigong’, Alternative Therapies, 1996, 2(1), 40–46
General healing by touch and intention references can be found in Daniel J. Benor, Healing Research, Volume I: Spiritual Healing: Scientific Validation of a Healing Revolution (Vision Publications, 2001)
Chapter 5: Good Vibrations
For a summary of the research into the effects of healing touch and intention on water by William Tiller and others, see William A. Tiller, PhD, Science and Human Transformation: Subtle Energies, Intentionality, and Consciousness (Pavior, 1997)
For the effect of a healer’s hands on the infrared spectrum of water, see S. A. Schwartz, R. J. De Mattei, E. G. Brame Jr and J. P. Spottiswoode, ‘Infrared spectra alteration in water proximate to the palms of therapeutic practitioners’, Subtle Energies, 1990, 1(1), 43–72
The information on Dr. Glen Rein’s research into the effects of human intention on DNA was gained in a personal discussion with him. Some of his work is summarized in William Tiller’s book listed above.
For general information about homoeopathy, Bach flower remedies and vibrational medicine, see Richard Gerber, MD, Vibrational Medicine for the 21st Century (Eagle Books, 2000)
For information about the vibrational solutions of a rock called Aulterra, see work by Kim Dandurand. Kim discovered that a highly paramagnetic rock substance called Aulterra and its vibrational essence produced by succussion in water had healing properties. General analysis showed this to be correct and showed that the rock energized water and food substances that it came into contact with or was held close to. Kirlian photographs also showed a powerful energy field emanating from the rock and from the food supplements that it was held close to. I have personally tested Aulterra and found that holding it close to water and then using that water on cress seeds caused an increase in their rate of growth in a seven-day experiment. For general information about Aulterra and some of the scientific studies, see www.aulterra.com.
For information on paramagnetism and its effects on biology and plants, see Philip S. Callahan, PhD, Paramagnetism (Acres USA, 1995)
For Jacques Benveniste’s scientific paper showing the highly dilute effects of the anti-IgE antibody, see E. Davenas, F. Beauvais, J. Amara, M. Oberbaum, B. Robinzon, A. Miadonna, A. Tedeschi, B. Poweranz, P. Fortner, P. Belon, J. Sainte-Laudy, B. Poitevin and J. Benveniste, ‘Human basophil degranulation triggered by very dilute antiserum against IgE’, Nature, 1988, 333, 816–18
For further scientific evidence of the power of homoeopathy, see David Reilly, ‘Is evidence for homeopathy reproducible?’, Lancet, 1994, 344, 1601–1606
For some digital biology (electromagnetic molecular signalling (EMS)) research by Professor Jacques Benveniste, see:
• J. Benveniste, B. Arnoux and L. Hadji, ‘Highly dilute antigen increases coronary flow of isolated heart from immunized guinea-pigs’, FASEB Journal, 1992, 6, A1610
• J. Benveniste, J. Aissa and D. Guillonet, ‘Digital biology: Specificity of the digitised molecular signal’, FASEB Journal, 1998, 12, A412 (2392)
• J. Benveniste, P. Jurgens and J. Aissa, ‘Digital recording/transmission of the cholinergic signal’, FASEB Journal, 1996, 10, A1479
• Y. Thomas, M. Schiff, M. H. Litime, L. Belkadi and J. Benveniste, ‘Direct transmission to cells of a molecular signal (phorbol myristate acetate, PMA) via an electronic device’, FASEB Journal, 1995, 9, A227
• J. Aissa, M. H. Litime, E. Attias and J. Benveniste, ‘Molecular signalling at high dilution or by means of electronic circuitry’, Journal of Immunology, 1993, 150, 146A (830)
• J. Benveniste, L. Kahhak and D. Guillonet, ‘Specific remote detection of bacteria using an electromagnetic/digital procedure’, FASEB Journal, 1999, 13, A852 (645.22)
For information on digital biology and a full list of Professor Benveniste’s papers, see www.digibio.com
For sending a digitized signal along a telephone line, see J. Benveniste, P. Jurges, W. Hsuch and J. Aissa, ‘Transatlantic transfer of digitised antigen by telephone link’, J. Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 1997, 99(1) part 2, S:175 (705)
For a summary of some of Jacques Benveniste’s digital biology work, see Lynn McTaggart, The Field, (HarperCollins, 2001)
For the effect of music on mice, see F. Angelucci, M. Fiore, E. Ricci, L. Padua, A. Sabino and P. A. Tonali, ‘Investigating the neurobiology of music: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor modulation in the hippocampus of young adult mice’, Behavioral Pharmacology, 2007, 18(5-6), 491–496
For the cast room study, see R. W. Liu, S. Fortuna, D. G. Armstrong, D. R. Cooperman, G. H. Thompson and A. Gilmore, ‘A randomized prospective study of music therapy for reducing anxiety during cast room procedures’, J. Pediatr. Orthop., 2007, 27(7), 831–833
For the bronchoscopic examination study, see N. Triller, D. Erzen, S. Duh, M. Petrinec Primozic and M. Kosnik, ‘Music during bronchoscopic examination: The physiological effects. A randomized trial’, Respiration, 2006, 73(1), 95–99
For the effect of some pieces of music on the immune system, see R. McCraty, M. Atkinson, G. Rein and A. Watkins, ‘Music enhances the effect of positive emotional states on salivary Immunoglobulin A’, Stress Medicine, 1996, 12, 167–75. The music that was found to have the largest immune-boosting effect was called Heart Zones. It was created by the Institute of Heartmath to create a calm but energetic alertness and aid mental and emotional balance.
For the effects of drumming on the immune system, see B. B. Bittman, L. S. Berk, D. L. Felten, J. Westengard, C. Simonton, J. Pappas and M. Ninehouser, ‘Composite effects of group drumming music therapy on modulation of neuroendocrine-immune parameters in normal subjects’, Alternative Therapies, 2001, 7(1), 38–47
The source of information on the studies of music on the heart and on premature babies was the BBC news website. The articles are: ‘Music training good for heart’ and ‘Live music calms premature babies’. To see the articles, I would suggest a Google search of title of the article along with ‘BBC’.
For information about the Japa meditation, see Wayne Dyer, Getting in the Gap (Hay House, 2003)
For Fabien Maman’s research on the effects of sound on cancer cells, see www.tama-do.com
For information about use of sound in healing see www.soundintentions.com
For work on levels of consciousness, see David R. Hawkins, Power vs Force (Veritas Publishing, 1995)
Effects of words on the growth of cress seeds
Below is a summary list of my own research into the effects of words on the height of watercress sprouts over the course of seven days. Each word was written on a label and stuck onto a cup. Water was then added to the cup and immediately used to water six pots of 50 seeds. Each measurement below represents the average seed height of 50 sprouts. The mean figures are therefore an average for 300 seeds.
For photographs of the effects of words, emotions and music on water crystals, see Masaru Emoto, Messages from Water (Hado, 1999) and The Hidden Messages in Water (Sumante Publishing Inc., 2001)
Chapter 6: Distant Healing and Prayer
Distant healing
For the effect of mental activation and calming of targets, see D. J. Radin, R. K. Taylor and W. G. Braud, ‘Remote mental influence of human electro-dermal activity: A preliminary replication’, Proceedings of the Parapsychological Association 36th Annual Conference, 1993, 12–13
For a summary of the research on distant healing, see:
• Elisabeth Targ, ‘Evaluating distant healing: A research review’, Alternative Therapies, 1997, 3(6), 74–8
• Marilyn Schlitz and William Braud, ‘Distant intentionality and healing: Assessing the evidence’, Alternative Therapies, 1997, 3(6), 62–73
For a study of the effect of distant intention on hypertension, see R. N. Miller, ‘Study on the effectiveness of remote mental healing’, Med. Hypoth., 1982, 8, 481–90
For a study of the distant effects on blood, see:
• William Braud, ‘Distant mental influence of rate of hemolysis’, Research in Parapsychology, 1989
• William Braud, ‘Distant mental influence on rate of hemolysis of human red blood cells’, J. Am. Soc. Psychical Res., 1990, 84, 1–24
For the effect of distant healing on AIDS patients, see F. Sicher, E. Targ, D. Moore and H. S. Smith, ‘A randomized double-blind study of the effect of distant healing in a population with advanced AIDS: Report of a small-scale study’, Western Medical Journal, 1998, 169(6), 356–63
For distant intentional effects on fungus, see:
• J. Barry, ‘General and comparative study of the psychokinetic effect on a fungus culture’, J. Parapsychology, 1968, 32(4), 237–43
• W. Tedder and M. Monty, ‘Exploration of long-distance PK: A conceptual replication of the influence on a biological system’ in W. G. Roll et al, eds, Research in Parapsychology, 1980, 90–93
Information about increase in growth rate of rye grass at 500km can be found on an audiotape set by Richard Gerber, MD, Exploring Vibrational Medicine, (Sounds True, 1997)
For a study of distant influence on mental concentration, see W. Braud, D. Shafer, K. McNeill and V. Guerra, ‘Attention focusing facilitated remote mental interaction’, Proceedings of the Parapsychological Association 36th Annual Conference, 1993, 1–11
Prayer
For the effects of prayer on recovery from heart operations, see: Randolph C. Byrd, ‘Positive therapeutic effects of intercessory prayer in a coronary care unit population’, Southern Medical Journal, 1988, 81, 826–9
M. W. Krucoff, S. W. Crater, C. L. Green, A. C. Maas, J. E. Seskevich, J. D. Lane, K. A. Loeffler, K. Morris, T. M. Bashore, H. G. Koenig, ‘Integrative noetic therapies as adjuncts to precutaneous intervention during unstable coronary syndromes: Monitoring and actualisation of noetic training (MAN-TRA) feasibility pilot’, American Heart Journal, 2001, 142, 760–97
For experiments where people praying received as much benefit as the people they prayed for, see S. O’Laoire, ‘An experimental study of the effects of distant intercessory prayer on self-esteem, anxiety, and depression’, Alternative Therapies, 1997, 3(6), 38–53
For the effects of rosary prayer and yoga mantras on breathing and the heart, see L. Bernardi, P. Sleight, G. Bandinelli, S. Cencetti, L. Fattorini, J. Wdowczyc-Szulc and A. Lagi, ‘Effect of rosary prayer and yoga mantras on autonomic cardiovascular rhythms: Comparative study’, British Medical Journal, 2001, 323, 1446–9
For information on Tibetan praying techniques and prayer information from the Dead Sea Scrolls, see Gregg Braden, The Isaiah Effect (Harmony Books, 2000)
Chapter 7: The Nature of Reality
For information on quantum theory and the connectedness of all things, see:
• Jim Al-Khalili, Quantum: A Guide for the Perplexed (Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 2003)
• Will Arntz, Betsy Chasse and Mark Vicente, What the Bleep Do We Know? (DVD), Lord of the Wind Films, 2005
• J. S. Bell, ‘On the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox’, Physics, 1964, 1, 195–200
• A. Einstein, B. Podolsky and N. Rosen, ‘Can quantum-mechanical description of physical reality be considered complete?’, Phys. Rev., 1935, 47, 777–80
• John Gribbin, In Search of Scrödinger’s Cat (Black Swan, 1984)
• Brian D. Josephson and Fotini Pallikari-Viras, ‘Biological utilization of quantum nonlocality’, Foundations of Physics, 1991, 21(2), 197–207
• Euan J. Squires, ‘Quantum theory and the relation between the conscious mind and the physical world’, Synthese, 1993, 97, 109–23
• Gary Zukav, The Dancing Wu Li Masters (William Morrow, 1979)
There are obvious parallels between my description of condensing consciousness and the collapse of the wave function in theoretical quantum physics, also with Bell’s Theorem and the theory of the primacy of consciousness – that consciousness is the basic building block of reality. I have made my own interpretations of the theories, which have led to the simplistic description that I present. Due to the complex nature of the subject, I chose a visibly simple method of describing reality that could be easily understood by most people.
Where I refer to there being ‘nothing there’ in the quantum field, I am referring to there being nothing physical – no physical matter. In actual fact the quantum field is seething with activity as particles pop in and out of existence.
For a metaphysical view, see Jane Roberts, The Nature of Personal Reality (A Seth Book), (Prentice-Hall, 1974) For information on the primacy of consciousness and how consciousness is the building block of reality, see Amit Goswami, PhD, The Self-Aware Universe: How Consciousness Creates the Material World (Tarcher/Penguin, 1995)
For information about chaordic businesses and chaordic management, see Dee Hock, Birth of the Chaordic Age (Berret-Koehler, 1999)
Chapter 8: Experiments in Connectedness
For a good summary of research using random-event generators and for work on ESP, see Dean I. Radin, The Conscious Universe (HarperCollins, 1997)
For a summary of the PEAR Group research at Princeton University, see B. J. Dunne and R. G. Jahn, ‘Consciousness, information, and living systems’, Cellular and Molecular Biology, 2005, 51, 703–14
For the PEAR study on the effect of intention on the robots movements, see R. G. Jahn, B. J. Dunne, D. J. Acunzo and E. S. Hoeger, ‘Response of an REG-Driven robot to operator intention’, Journal of Scientific Exploration, 2007, 21(1), 17–46
For information about decreased crime rate in cities, see Journal of Crime and Justice, 1981, 4, 25–45, and for information about reduced terrorism and international conflict, see ‘Time Series impact-assessment analysis of reduced international conflict and terrorism: Effects of large assemblies of participants in the transcendental meditation and TM-Sidhi programs’, paper presented at the American Political Science Association AGM, Atlanta, Georgia, August 1989, For details of similar scientific studies, see the website of the Maharishi University of Management, www.mum.edu
For information on the charity Spirit Aid, see www.spiritaid.org.uk. The original Spirit Aid event was titled ‘World Energy Day’ and was intended for October 2001. As more people joined the organizing team the name changed and the event was rescheduled for July 2002 in a football stadium.
However, funding challenges led to its taking the form of a 9-day, 24-event festival of peace featuring scaled-down elements of the originally planned event. The festival also included a peace walk up a Scottish mountain (Ben Lomond), a conference, a concert, a peace procession through the city, talks, workshops, a picnic for peace and meditations, and the children of Glasgow made 50 metres of James Twyman’s ‘Children’s Cloth of Many Colors’ where they each wrote a peace message on a small piece of cloth that was then sewn onto the main cloth
.
For information about James Twyman, see www.emissaryoflight.com
For information about Gregg Braden, see www.greggbraden.net
For information about Doreen Virtue, see www.angeltherapy.com
For REG data and information on the Global Consciousness Project, see http://noosphere.princeton.edu/
For a summary of ESP experiments between 1964 and 1993, see Julie Milton, ‘Ordinary state ESP meta analysis’ in Proceedings of the Parapsychological Association 36th Annual Conference, M. J. Schlitz, ed., 1993
For the effect of hypnosis on ESP ability, see R. G. Stanford and A. G. Stein, ‘A meta-analysis of ESP studies contrasting hypnosis and a comparison condition’, Journal of Parapsychology, 1994, 58(3), 235–70
For the effect on ESP of belief, and also the effect of hypnosis, see L. Casler, ‘The improvement of clairvoyant scores by means of hypnotic suggestion’, Journal of Parapsychology, 1962, 26, 77–87. The paper suggests that people block their ESP and clairvoyant abilities because of 1) fears of social ridicule, and 2) early learning that this is not possible, and 3) they may not be prepared to alter their view of themselves or the universe as required by a belief in ESP. If these beliefs are changed to ones that accept ESP and clairvoyancy, then both ESP and clairvoyancy become easier. I also discovered this in my personal unpublished experiments with ESP and the conscious influence of random-event generators, both in 1993. The more I believed that I could do it, the better my results.
Wayne Dyer’s book is You’ll See It When You Believe It (William Morrow, 1989)
For a summary analysis of sheep-goat experiments, see Tony Lawrence, ‘Gathering in the sheep and goats: A meta-analysis of forced choice sheep-goat ESP studies, 1947–1993’, Proceedings of the Parapsychological Association 36th Annual Conference, M. J. Schlitz, ed., 1993, 75–86
Chapter 9: Who Am I?
For a great book discussing the nature of our being see Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now (New World Library, 1999)
For a description of spiritual amnesia, see Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations with God: Book 1 (Hampton Roads, 1995)
Chapter 10: Love, Fear, and Biology
The references for some of this chapter are listed in other chapters, because most of the research quoted is a summary of pieces quoted in previous chapters. For ease I have listed some of the specific sources here again.
For the effect of love on atherosclerosis in rabbits, see R. M. Nerem, M. J. Levesque and J. F. Cornhill, ‘Social environment as a factor in diet-induced atherosclerosis’, Science, 1980, 208, 1475–6
For the effects of a loving environment on the growth of the prefrontal lobes in the brains of infants and children, see Joseph Chilton Pearce, The Biology of Transcendence (Park Street Press, 2002)
The example of the cacti giving up their thorns when they were tenderly spoken to can be found in the book Autobiography of a Yogi by Parama-hansa Yogananda (Self-Realization Fellowship, 1946), which is dedicated to the memory of Luther Burbank.
For studies on the effects of appreciation, care and compassion, as well as anger and frustration, on the heart and immune system, see:
• R. McCraty, M. Atkinson, W. A. Tiller, G. Rein and A. D. Watkins, ‘The effects of emotions on short-term power spectrum analysis of heart rate variability’, Am. Journal of Cardiology, 1995, 76, 1089–93
• G. Rein, M. Atkinson and R. McCraty, ‘The physiological and psychological effects of compassion and anger’, J. Advancement in Med., 1995, 8(2), 87–105
For a summary of the effects of maternal touch on gene expression, see Ernest L. Rossi, ‘Psychosocial genomics: Gene expression, neurogenesis, and human experience in mind-body medicine’, Advances, 2002, 18(2), Winter, 22–30
For the effects of love and intention on DNA, see:
• G. Rein and R. McCraty, ‘Structural changes in water and DNA associated with new physiologically measurable states’, Proc. Society for Scientific Exploration Conf., Austin, TX, June 1994
• G. Rein and R. McCraty, ‘Local and non-local effects of coherent heart frequencies on conformational changes of DNA’, Proc. Joint USPA/IAPR Psychotronics Conf., Milwaukee, 1993
The above references are also cited and summarized in William A. Tiller, Science and Human Transformation: Subtle Energies, Intentionality, and Consciousness (Pavior, 1997)
Chapter 11: Mass Reality
For a metaphysical view of the mass creation of reality, see Jane Roberts, The Individual and the Nature of Mass Events (A Seth Book), (Prentice-Hall, 1981)
For information on the Hundredth Monkey and similar experiments, see Thom Hartmann, The Prophet’s Way (Mythical Books, 1997)
Chapter 12: DNA II
For information on string theory, see Brian Greene, The Fabric of the Cosmos (Allen Lane, 2004), and Stephen Hawking, The Universe in a Nutshell (Bantam, 2001)
Information about cyclic spurts of growth of the brain can be found in Joseph Chilton Pearce, The Biology of Transcendence (Park Street Press, 2002) For information on waves of gene expression in the growth of the central nervous system, see X. Wen, S. Fuhrman, G. Michaels, D. Carr, S. Smith, J. Barker and R. Somogyi, ‘Large-scale temporal gene expression mapping of central nervous system development’, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 1998, 95, 334–9
For information about sounds and harmonics, see www.soundintentions.com
On the Higher Self choosing the genes, there is no contradiction with the laws of genetics and inheritance. I believe that each Higher Self chooses particular genes within the framework of what is possible within such laws. The Higher Self presumably chooses the parents that are most likely to produce the desired characteristics. At the root level, once characteristics are chosen by the Higher Self, the vibrations condense into particles which eventually become the DNA. At the physical, observable, level, the intention of the Higher Self presumably influences the ‘random’ way the genes of both parents mix to produce the unique genetic code of the foetus. Perhaps the randomness in the process of inheriting genes is not so random!
For information about man-made damage to rainforests and to biodiversity, see Thom Hartmann, The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight (Mythical Books, 1998), and the section ‘Earth Changes’ in the appendix of The Prophet’s Way (Mythical Books, 1997)
Chapter 13: Personal Responsibility
Chapter 14: Three Simple Rules
There are no cited references for chapters 13 and 14. However, for teachings and stories of love and kindness I would recommend the works of Gary Zukav and Wayne Dyer, PhD, as well as the Chicken Soup series founded by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen and the Conversations with God books by Neal Donald Walsch.
For an inspirational true story about love, forgiveness and personal transformation, see Immaculée Illibagiza, Left to Tell (Hay House, 2006).