The imprinting and transmission of mentally-directed bioinformation

In the January 1996 issue of MISAHA, Savely Savva reviews the research of Jacques Benveniste on homeopathic solutions and the "memory of water", after which he notes: "the water molecule as well as the near molecular interactions in pure water were studied for more than a century and no carries of memory in terms of observable physical parameters or hysteresis was found at this level up to now. The question is what or whose memory keeps the homeopathic solvent..."

In the case of intent-modified adjuncts, the question is not only one of memory, but of the very substrate that could make such mind-matter interactions possible in the first place. While homeopathy still allows us to think in classical terms such as structural defects and lattice energy, (Callinan), we are still quite reluctant to think of mental content in quantitative ways. If homeopathy has a lesson to teach us, it is that water forms an ideal medium for the amplification and detection of subtle effects. Indeed, water and aqueous solutions have also been a prime target for those studying mental intent (see above). But while homeopathic potency displays some degree of dose-effect dependence and sensitivity to ambient electromagnetic fields (Burlakova 2000, Callinan), are there similar quantitative correlations to be observed in the case of intent - and if so, what conclusions can we draw about its substrate?

We know that large distances (in the thousands of kilometers) do not appear to significantly reduce the effect size of laboratory experiments: studies have shown that the Raman spectra of tap water can be influenced by external Qi from a distance up to 1900km (Lin & Savva, 1996); this effect disappears gradually within a couple of hours. Similar distances have been used to test the effect of waiqi on the polarization angle of a He-Ne laser, the dynamics of a syngas system, the radioactive decay rate of Am241, the UV spectrum of solutions of salmon DNA, K2Cr2O7 salt and fluorescein dye and the EPR spectrum of AgBr (Lin & Savva, 1996; Lu & al, 1993; Yan & al, 1988; Li & al, 1988); significant changes in the UV absorption of de-ionized water were recorded under the influence of external Qi emitted by Yan Xin over a distance of 10,000 km (Lu & al, 1993);

IR spectrophotometry studies conducted by Schwartz & al (Schwartz, 1990) on sterile water samples placed in the proximity of Therapeutic Touch practitioners demonstrated statistically significant changes compared to control samples; however, the hypothesis that the time of exposure correlated with the intensity of the effect was not confirmed. On the other hand, some healers (see Estebany, Chase) clearly indicated that the effectiveness of an adjunct increased as they held it for prolonged periods of time. Since IR changes reflect only physical, hydrogen bonding alterations (which are temperature-dependent), whereas UV spectrum and healing properties of treated water have both been shown (Vogel, Dean - see section II) to occasionally withstand distillation, one might wonder whether we are witnessing the effects of two different intent-imprinting mechanisms. These effects also seem to decay with time, lasting from several days up to three years (Dean - section II ).

We know that water treated with a magnetic field has proven equal to, if not better than, intent-imprinted water at stimulating plant growth (Benor p152, 330); also, that the IR absorption spectra, surface tension and crystallization patterns are similar for both types of water treatment (Benor p152-3). Alfred Stelter described German engineer Grunewald's 1920 studies on a healer (Johannsen) who could do simple PK feats like depress an evenly balanced scale (similar gravitational effects are documented in Savva, 2000). As Grunewald studied the magnetic field in his hands, he noted that the field grew weaker just before the act was performed, and increased immediately after; also, by means of iron filings spread over glass plates, he photographed the magnetic centers around the healer's hands, and found that at times they seemed to lie outside the hand area, as if the field had been projected out temporarily (Benor, p 127). Unusual magnetic signatures have also been found by Wu & al, who used a zero-magnetism lab to demonstrate significantly higher (up to 105nT) signals during Qi emission by qigong practitioners compared to the controls (Lin & Chen, 2001). Significant increases in electromagnetic emissions (biophotons in the IR to UV range) have been frequently measured in the proximity of healers and even common subjects during the task of mental concentration (Sidorov, 2001)

In addition to the data presented above, there are countless studies (Oschman, 1997) demonstrating striking parallels between the effects on biological systems of external qi/therapeutic touch and non-ionizing, non-thermal exogenous EM fields: these include accelerated bone repair (1; Lin & Chen 2001; McGee & Chow, p166; Laycock); stimulation of nerve activity for pain relief, seizure control and post-stroke rehabilitation (1; 2; Lin & Chen 2001; McGee & Chow, p 89; Adams); enhanced soft tissue wound healing through de-differentiation and proliferation of adjacent cells (1; 2; Laycock; Benor p 203; Wirth, 1990); suppression of inflammatory responses in osteoarthritis (1; Lin & Chen 2001); enhancement of motor nerve regeneration and sensory nerve sprouting (1; Laycock; Lin & Chen 2001; Benor p 398,409; McGee & Chow, p169, 172, 191); bone marrow stem cell division and increased leukocyte activity (1; 2; Lin & Chen 2001; Yamamoto Y. & al, 1996a; Kataoka, T & al, 1997; Kataoka, T & al, 1997; Higuchi, Y & al, 2001; Benor p210, 356, 357; McGee & Chow, p166, 167); and winding/unwinding of DNA in solution (Lin & Savva, 1996)

At first glance, it would seem that most of the studies listed above point toward electromagnetic fields as good replicators of intent in mind-mediated effects. Indeed, we have argued before (Sidorov, 2001) that, under special conditions, resonant brainwaves may entrain the body's perineural system to deliver healing frequencies to diseased tissues, or become coupled to the Schumann resonance and thus transmit distant healing effects to the target. But even accepting the Schumann resonance as a non-dissipative mechanism of information transmission, we are still faced with the enigma of mental interactions that cannot be attributed to EM fields - such as the effects on internuclear and gravitational forces described above. The question we have to ask ourselves then is this: does focused intent produce both magnetic vectors (responsible for some of the observed properties, such as surface tension and IR spectrum changes) AND another type of non-local effect acting below the symmetry-breaking level of the four fundamental interactions - perhaps reflecting the existence of Kaluza-Klein-type compactified dimensions as a possible arena for universal holographic entanglement?

One of the most fascinating studies that might help answer this question is the "Phantom DNA Effect" first observed by Gariaev and Poponin in 1992 (see Gariev, 1992; Poponin). While measuring the vibrational modes of DNA in solution (using a laser photon correlation spectrometer), they noted that, when the DNA was removed from the scattering chamber, the autocorrelation function looked distinctly different from what they expected - which would be the same as before the sample had been inserted. As long as the space in the scattering chamber was not disturbed, this unusual effect could be observed for as long as a month. The authors' conclusion is that this phenomenon represents a new field structure being excited from the physical vacuum. The fact that this vacuum substructure associated with the DNA molecule can be coupled with conventional electromagnetic fields (laser beam) provides us with the first opportunity to study such "subtle energies" in a scientific, quantitative fashion.

This leads to the following question: could it be that a healer's focused intent to imprint a physical device acts as a coherent EM signal analogous to the laser beam, causing a deformation in the object's vacuum substructure? This could function as an "excited state" of the adjunct, which could then interact with the healee's electromagnetic field to produce the desired effect, almost analogous to a holographic set-up. The time-degeneration observed almost universally with such adjunct effects could be a function of the natural relaxation in the quantum-holographic substructure (QHS) strain. (Note: a somewhat similar mechanism has been suggested by Benford & al. in order to account for the holographic information encoding observed with Dela Warr images - see articles reviewed in this issue.)

Taking the analogy further, one could start to look at psychometric data (Jaegers, 1999; McMoneagle p113) in terms of QHS strains imposed by various actions and environments on the object being studied, and which could easily by identified by an operator who is fluent in the "sub-sensory" signatures carried by common acts. This could also provide an initial corroboration of the "relaxation" conjecture, by testing the relative sensitivity of a series of operators to actions performed over increasingly distant time intervals. Although it's possible that such strains vanish asymptotically (ie are never entirely lost, in effect providing a complete history of the object), it's also interesting to note that sometimes a "wrong reading" can be transmitted from one RV operator to the next (or to an entire group!) (5), suggesting that the "freshest" mental interactions leave the most pronounced imprints.

Is it conceivable that one day we'll be able to measure such subtle parameters in intent-imprinted objects? Moving from the subjective detection of such effects to their objective quantification would allow us to breach an important barrier in our current understanding by laying the foundation for a new set of "comutativity rules" with respect to the predictable application of mental intent to the physical world. Perhaps new technology such as the "Comprehensive Analyzer of Matter Properties" proposed by Kaivarainen (in this issue) could be used to detect changes between control samples and samples imprinted by healers, or between DNA solutions both before and after exposure to the laser beam (as per Gariaev protocol above).

While such subtle energy phenomena are generally considered anathema in most scientific circles (especially medicine), some very promising research is coming from the area of psychotronic farming, which employs radionic principles and techniques to promote sustainable agriculture approaches (Kelly 1997; Diver and Kuepper, 1997). Some of this work has been funded or conducted in cooperation with county extension agents and Farm Bureau workers, such as the large-scale experiments conducted in Pennsylvania, Arizona and California in the 1940 and '50. Today, thousands of farmers in the US and abroad are using these techniques

Peter Kelly, an electronics engineer who was the first president of the US Psychotronics Association, and who worked extensively on such applications, describes research that has been done on simple organisms such as corn borers, in which the pattern corresponding to the organism is transposed electronically and fed back 90 degrees out of phase; as the opposite wave forms cancel out, he claims, the "borers literally dissolve", leaving only "a wet smear" onto the ear of corn. This, he reports, has been observed with simple life forms such as bacteria and organisms in their larval stage, which "go back to their native materials, like water and basic energy"; in more complex forms, he believes, one is more likely to have some remnants of the original structure.

If these experiments can be replicated successfully, they would present us with some truly outstanding research possibilities - especially with respect to oncology. Spiritual healing literature abounds with reports of tumors, warts, and other diseased tissues "disappearing" under the effect of directed intent (8; Dimitriou; Benor p 167, 183, 409; McGee & Chow p 68, 50; Chen & He, 2001). Moreover, one could make a successful arguments that most of these lesions represent lower levels of organization than the healthy tissue surrounding them (malignant tumors, in particular, are typical examples of reverse differentiation). While nothing in the alternative healing literature could be met with more skepticism than such reports of instant "disappearance", here we have, for the first time, a possible mechanism in support of such claims.

EXPERIMENT 1: What we propose is that cancer cell cultures be tested in controlled protocols similar to the one described by Kelly, then compared to the effects on healthy cells and tissues. Electron microscopy and biochemical studies performed at various stages of "treatment" could also be useful in identifying whether the dying cells undergo the known processes of degeneration, or there is evidence of unexpected metabolic products. (Note: unusual biochemical processes have been demonstrated in patients doing Bigu, an intense form of medical qigong aimed at "dissolving" tumors while engaged in a 7-21 day meditation practice during which nothing is taken by mouth except water - see conference ref. )

Recent work on DNA information coding (Birshtein & al) suggests that "genome genetic and regulatory wave information is recorded at the polarization level of its photons" and is enacted both instantly and non-locally throughout the organism. The authors argue that the genome operates like a "complex multi-wave laser with adjustable frequencies", able to produce light and radio waves which regulate the biosystem's space and time organization. This complex background is the basis for the correct expression of genetic material (peptide codes) during embryogenesis and adult life, accounting for the elusive self-regulation and specificity of DNA function in various tissues and under various conditions. Statistical analysis using the Zipf-Mandelbrot law reveals that DNA non-coding sequences, which account for 95-98% of the genome, have more in common with natural languages and demonstrate more long-distance correlations than coding sequences; this, according to the authors, is a strong indication that non-coding areas are the basis for one or more biological languages and represent "a strategic informational content of chromosomes". Various solitons (optical, acoustic, conformational, rotable-oscillating, etc) excited in these polynucleotide areas, and transmitted over large distances significantly exceeding the hydrogen-bond length, "become the apparatus for continual (non-local) reading of context RNA sequences on a whole". Given that the expression (onset) of oncogenes and retroviruses such as HIV is known to vary widely among individuals and be largely context-specific, the authors suggest that external artificial modified fields may, in the future, help us modulate this apparent cellular context (environment) and thus keep such noxious genetic material dormant for indefinite periods of time. Experimental work has already been carried out, demonstrating the successful transfer of genetic information from a donor biosystem to an accepting one via high-frequency electromagnetic fields fed repeatedly through the optically-active donor biosystem and then delivered over a long period of time to the receiving biosystem in its early developmental stages. Hybrids created through the irradiation of eggs and seeds with such "genetically loaded" fields showed very specific mixed characteristics that were transferred to the next generation without need for further irradiation. An interesting suggestion made by the authors is that phenomena such as cellular apoptosis might be connected with an abnormal compression of photons by cell nuclei, which are accumulated to a maximal value and then destroy the nuclei. Since apoptosis has been demonstrated in waiqi-treated cancer cultures, and an increase in biophoton emission is often observed during "qi state" (Lin & Chen 2001; Chen & He, 2001; Sidorov 2001), this idea may offer useful directions for future studies.

As far-fetched as this research might seem from the point of view of orthodox molecular biology, it certainly provides strong support and an intriguing potential mechanism to previously unexplainable (but well documented) healing phenomena such as qigong, acupuncture, homeopathy, guided imagery and therapeutic touch. Even conventional western medicine is well aware that we all carry malignant cells in our bodies at all times, and that the onset of clinical cancer can very often be correlated with a stress-related trigger. So far, this has been attributed to a decrease in overall immune function known to occur when the organism is placed under stress. But if that were the only type of mental influence at work, it would be hard to explain the role of guided imagery in treating specific conditions (see below). Medical qigong tradition, and in particular the cancer-fighting philosophy of Master He's 5-elements qigong, has long argued that "imbalances" in the local qi levels (known to include both energetic and informational components) are responsible for the onset of clinical illness. There are numerous studies (4) indicating that mental imagery can bring about very specific, significant physiological and biochemical changes: these range from oxygen supply in the tissues, thermal changes and blood glucose levels to galvanic skin response and the firing of single motor neurons. In addition, a study conducted by Achterberg and Rider on training patients in cell-specific imagery of either T lymphocytes or neutrophils demonstrated statistical correlations with the type of imagery employed (4). This suggests that the connection between mental intent and physiological regulation at the tissue level is much more specific than previously assumed on the basis of several simple neuro-endocrine cascades.

As we proposed in an earlier paper (Sidorov, 2001), the specificity of guided imagery (either as such or as part of qigong practice) may be the result of unique windows of frequency (solitons) which correspond to specific "actions"; these are originally excited at the level of the cerebral cortex, then travel along neural and perineural pathways to the distal organs and tissues where the effect is to be exercised. It is possible that the act of concentration on complex sensory modalities of one target (ie the vividness of imagery) entrains larger areas of the cortex into this coherent wave pattern, and thus translates into a more powerful, laser-type signal (it has often been observed that the effectiveness of imagery is correlated with its vividness, or the ability of the patient to "tune into it"). But how does the signal "stick" to the affected area, and not to others? Gariaev's contextual holographic paradigm offers a possible answer to this question: it is not that the brain-engendered soliton travels only to the affected tissue, but rather that the locally disturbed contextual architecture provides a responsive environment for the modulating effects of the signal - in other words, the pathologic equilibrium is less stable than that of healthy tissue, and thus more easily modified. (It is interesting to note, in this context, the phenomenon of "qi striking" that commonly takes place during qigong meditation, whereby a patient focusing only on overall "emptiness" or purification/restoration of a healthy state, suddenly notices pain in the diseased areas; the pain is often very intense, wave-like (pulsating), and vanishes as soon as the meditative state is ended. Traditional explanations view this as "qi striking the energy blockage", with the pain diminishing as the blockage is eliminated over weeks or months of practice. Alternatively, we could postulate that the abnormal contextual holographic "architecture" leads to an increase in the local perineural resistance, which in turn leads to an accumulation of charge and the depolarization of local pain fibers under the continued input of "circulating qi", or mentally-pumped laser-like solitons.)

One other experiment that appears to provide support (as well as promising research directions) for this model is described by Daniel Benor in his book, Spiritual Healing (p. 159). In a study conducted by Dr. Glen Rein with Leonard Laskow (a physician and healer), they compared the magnetic patterns (obtained with a flux-gate magnetometer) when various states of consciousness, or various thoughts, were evoked. There were distinctly different patterns when the subject:

1. opened his "crown chakra"

2. asked that Spirit flow through him

3. tried to inhibit tumor cell growth by entering an "unconditional loving state"

4. tried to inhibit tumor cell growth by focusing on a "return to natural order state"

All patterns were markedly different from a normal state of consciousness. The first action produced a very sharp onset, equally sharp dissipation, and lasted only 8 seconds. The second tracing was uniquely different from the other types, and was characterized by sharp, frequent peaks in the negative direction. Finally, the difference in the biological response on the tumor cell cultures was mirrored by the magnetic signature between the last two trials - with the last one producing robust effects, while the third causing only weak, non specific patterns.