5) Dream Telepathy: The Dangerous Technological Developments and Shadow Consequences of a Science of Consciousness

"If there ever could be a doomsday device, this one certainly ranks right at the top of the list." What are the dangerous technological and shadow consequences of a science of consciousness? Pardon my alarm, I have feared the need to sound it now for over 20 years. This blog addresses our need to reject a science of consciousness in favor of a spiritual/transpersonal solution to our current crises.

My rejection of a science of consciousness refers to our increasing capability to create a nonlocal technology that would allow us to directly affect our brains neuro-chemistry and the symbolic formation of cognition--images, words, ideas--that reduce films like the "Matrix" to scenes out of "Alice in Wonderland." If my thesis is correct (and I hope that I am wrong), we are rapidly approaching a time when the greatest mind-control device ever known will soon become a reality. It is this possibility that I have referred to as the coming dangerous technology of the 21st century and the shadow consequences of a science of consciousness. I have also referred to it as the tendencies of the evil sorcerer, as opposed to that of the seeker of enlightened knowledge, in my "Libido's Casino" blogs.

It was in May of 2003 when I realized that running from my shadow was no longer an option. I had been asked to review John Horgan's edited book "Rational Mysticism: Dispatches from the Border Between Science and Spirituality" (2003) New York: Houghton Mifflin Company for the journal "Anthropology of Consciousness." Since I knew or was familiar with many of the people interviewed by Horgan, I gladly accepted this opportunity. The tranquility of my spring afternoon, reading Horgan's book at an outdoor cafe in Omaha, Nebraska, was shattered as I read in horror his interview with Michael Persinger in chapter 5 titled, "The God Machine." Before me was a candid, almost flippant, discussion of all the fears that resulted in my ceasing research on a science of consciousness in 1990.

Michael Persinger believes he's created a device capable of implanting beliefs and commands in our brains that "seem to come straight from God." This device "consists of eight electrified magnets, or solenoids, that encircle the head and deliver computer controlled electromagnetic pulses to specific regions of the brain" (Horgan: 92, 2003). Persinger believes his device triggers microseizures that cultures throughout the world have associated with a variety of mystical experiences and our anomalous cognition. But the real horror was Persinger's discussion of his 1995 paper titled "On the Possibility of Privately Accessing Every Human Brain by Electromagnetic Induction of Fundamental Algorithms" in which Persinger declared (in a quote):

"scientists are on the verge of deciphering the 'algorithms' by means of which brains process information. Once scientsts achieve this feat, they will be able to monitor and to control human thoughts remotely with electromagnetic signals--or as Persinger put it, 'to influence directly the major portion of the approximately six billion brains of the human species without mediation through classical sensory modalities" (Horgan: 100, 2003).

I knew exactly what this meant (see my blogs on David Bohm's holistic physics, etc) and found no reassurance in Horgan's calm reflecion that, "such a technology could also be harnessed for insideous purposes" (Horgan: 96, 2003). This confirmed all of my worst fears, and in a language as somber as a judge sentencing someone to be executed, came the acknowledgement that this stimulation of the brain is so subtle we are unaware of its influence, which, says Persinger, is "the real mind control" (Horgan: 96, 2003).

I do not share Persigner's speculative glee as he told Horgan, "Just think of the practical impact" of a device that can implant beliefs and commands that seem to come straight from God. "That's the highest motivation there is. People will die for this" (Horgan: 96, 2003). The frightening reality is, and not in the way Persinger intended, is that if there ever could be a doomsday device, this one certainly ranks right at the top of the list. Persinger added: "The key to perfecting this mind-control technology, is finding the code or language whereby brain cells store and transmit information" (Horgan: 96, 2003). Our only saving grace is that there is still time to avert the creation of this technology, or to prepare ourselves for its creation, since deciphering the neural code is a problem so difficult that many scientists believe it is beyond our ability to understand. But I would not bet on it. We said the very same thing about the technology that led to the hydrogen bomb and many other horrors that are now an everyday reality.

I offer this warning. If you value freedom do whatever you can to resist creating this new 21st century technology and the technological science of consciousness--and any similar perspective that is not guided by spiritual or transpersonal values.

Reference

Horgan, John. (2003). Rational Mysticism: Dispatches from the Border Between Science and Spirituality. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.