Testing the Field Nature of Consciousness: A Pilot Test

Abstract

Researchers are exploring consciousness as a field permeating the world around us, rather than just a feature of human experience. If consciousness is a field, then one should be able to affect others by acting from the field of consciousness. This study used a random-assignment, double-blind design to probe effects of nine students practicing the Transcendental Meditation technique on the subjective experiences and physiological patterns of another student also practicing Transcendental Meditation. For 12 recording sessions, the group (sender) either practiced the Transcendental Meditation technique or read a textbook. When the group was meditating, the individual (receiver) reported more settled meditation experiences, and they exhibited higher alpha EEG power, a correlate of deep meditation experiences. Effect sizes for all measures were large. This was a pilot study to identify markers of field effects of consciousness. Future research could replicate these findings with a larger sample size, modify the distance between the sender and receiver, explore EEG synchrony between the senders and the receiver, called hyperscanning or collective neuroscience, and explore differential effects between friends, family, and strangers to test social influences. This design could meaningful probe the nature of consciousness.