| Bastyr University » Give to Bastyr » Bastyr Magazine » Supporting Our Mission | February 9, 2010 |
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Fall: 2004 Vol 2, Number 1
Bastyr Research: Under the MicroscopeThink You’re Telepathic? Research May Soon Prove You Right!Bastyr neurophysiology studies suggest that humans may be capable of being on the same wavelength . . . literally. As reported in the summer ‘04 issue of Bastyr Magazine, an upcoming National Geographic television production will focus on the subject of telepathy and related “psi” research as part of a new series expected to debut on National Geographic Channel in fall 2004. [Ed.: Once the air time is set, Bastyr will announce it on www.Bastyr.edu.] Because Bastyr University—in partnership with University of Washington—has completed some of the most groundbreaking research in this field through the Bastyr/UW Consciousness Science Lab, the producers will be including Bastyr in one of its first episodes. The Consciousness Science Lab is one of only four laboratories around the world involved in such research and is the only one located at a naturopathic medical school. The National Geographic series will report on two studies performed between 2000-2003: Neural Energy Transfer and SynchroDestiny. Film has already been shot featuring the teamwork of Bastyr senior researcher Leanna Standish, PhD, ND, LAc, and research partners Leila Kozak, MS, DipHom (manager Bastyr Consciousness Science Lab), Clark Johnson, PhD, and Todd Richards, PhD (University of Washington and NeuroResearch Associates), with project consulting from Marilyn Schlitz, PhD (vice-president of research, Institute of Noetic Sciences). The Bastyr/UW team tested whether pairs of emotionally bonded participants showed matching (correlated) brain signals even when isolated from each other. While the Neural Energy Transfer study tested pairs who already considered themselves “emotionally bonded,” the SynchroDestiny study recruited experienced meditators trained in a technique called Primordial Sound Meditation, which practitioners say helps to increase a sense of “connectedness” between people, even when physically distant from each other. The ability to present correlated brain signals is interpreted by some as demonstrating the ability to “transfer thoughts,” better known as “telepathy.” In fact, many of the paired participants in both studies reported during the experiments that they either experienced a “telepathic connection” between each other or that their “telepathic connection” was intensified by their meditative practice. Correlated brain signals and telepathy may be related, but the Bastyr/UW studies focused more on the ability to identify similar brain patterns than on the ability to “transfer thoughts.” The Neural Energy Transfer study used state-of-the-art electro-encephalography (EEG) methods and subsequent functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) experiments at UW, using its research fMRI scanner. Funding for this study was provided by the National Institutes of Health/National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine and the Samueli Institute for Information Biology. The SynchroDestiny study tested pairs of participants in three consecutive experiments to investigate if the phenomenon of correlated brain wave patterns could be replicated. Funding for this study was provided by Dr. Deepak Chopra’s Chopra Foundation, the Institute of Noetic Sciences, and the Samueli Institute for Information Biology. Results from both the Neural Energy Transfer and Synchro-Destiny studies showed evidence that correlated EEG and fMRI signals occurred in 15 percent to 30 percent of the participating pairs, depending on the experiment. These results are not only highly significant but also match the results produced in similar experiments at other labs. This research suggests that, under certain conditions, humans may be capable of exerting influence on other living systems at a distance. Such results may have profound implications for future research on the effects of healing intention (“distance healing”) and the understanding of human consciousness and connectedness. Results from these studies were published in the Jan/Feb 2003 issue of Journal of Alternative Therapies, and the April issue of Journal of Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Study abstracts were presented at the 2002 and 2003 Science of Consciousness Conference in Tucson. Read them online: 
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