Subtle Energies and Uncharted Realms of the Mind
An Esalen Invitational Conference
July 2 - 7, 2000

Conference Overview
George Leonard

1) To give constructive feedback on each other’s work
2) To brainstorm how to do public relations for these fields
3) To discuss the possibility of an anthology coming out of this conference
4) To speculate about a new explanatory scheme for psi and subtle energies

To invigorate creative thinking about a new paradigm that would explain the phenomena of psi and subtle energies, Leonard turned to his book The Transformation, which addresses the nature of social evolution.

During the social upheavals of the 1960s and 70s, when The Transformation was written, Leonard astutely saw the potential for applying Thomas Kuhn’s academic work on scientific paradigm shifts to the larger nature of societal evolution (even though Kuhn felt uncomfortable with this application). In his book, Leonard noted that when a society undergoes a full-blown paradigm shift, the most respectable perceptions of reality change.

Interweaving quotations from Kuhn’s original work with his own observations about paradigm shifts, Leonard pointed out that:

1) After a scientific revolution, scientists respond to a new and different world, even with the same instruments. Scientists ask new questions, never before asked, because entirely new vistas have been opened up, entirely new ways of looking at the world have been discovered.

2) One book can change the whole ball-game by creating a ripple effect that filters out into mainstream thinking. Leonard offered several examples of this, including Isaac Newton’s Principia and Benjamin Franklin’s Experiments and Observations on Electricity.

3) The old paradigm must be producing anomalies for the new paradigm to break through. Leonard noted that Dean Radin and Helmut Schmidt’s work on retro-causality is a prime example of information that could tip the scales towards a broad-reaching paradigm shift.

4) A new paradigm does not explode on the scene full-blown at first. Its early formulations are rough and incomplete. The solutions it presents are often far from perfect. As an example of this, Leonard refreshed everyone’s memory of the famous Copernican shift of the 16th and early 17th centuries. In the 16th century, the geo-centric cosmology of Ptolemy was failing in its own application. That recognition was a pre-requisite for Copernicus’ proposal of a heliocentric system. But Johannes Kepler’s work, coming almost one hundred years later, was necessary to complete the paradigm shift. Copernicanism was not accepted for a full century after the theory was first put forth. Thus, a paradigm shift moves through a number of stages before its triumph is assured.

5) Victory of the new paradigm depends upon charisma. The paradigm has the future in its bones. It is neater and cleaner, more elegant and parsimonious. Its success stems from both its academic power and the charismatic appeal of its proponents.

6) A new paradigm provides a compelling vision of reality and sets a course for the work of normal science. It assures progress. Leonard summarized his comments by calling upon the conference participants to brainstorm openly about a new paradigm, even if they are wrong. Esalen conferences are an opportunity to speculate imaginatively and dare boldly without fear of judgement. In response to Leonard’s visionary introduction, the co-convener of the conference, Marilyn Schlitz, pointed out the daring nature of the conference agenda itself. The planners intentionally brought together two separate fields, subtle energies and psi, in order to see if new visions might emerge that interweave them.

Schlitz also put forth a few questions that the conference participants might inquire about:

1) What are retro-causal effects and how might we account for them?
2) How is it that proximity is necessary in some healing practices, such as acupuncture, but not in others, such as long-distance prayer? Should we necessarily assume that a signal (e.g., a prayer for healing) will diminish over a great distance?
3) What is the difference between expectation and intentionality, and how do these forces of the human mind influence the healing process?

Russell Targ added that the interface between science and spirituality is also central to these fields, particularly considering that many scientists are now publishing books about their spiritual experiences.

Lastly, Elizabeth Targ closed the opening evening by calling on the group to use its own collective intention to do something positive and healing during the course of the week.