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Papers by Rose+Croix Journal

Rose+Croix Journal, 2024

This paper describes a group music program facilitated for residents in memory care at an Ontario... more This paper describes a group music program facilitated for residents in memory care at an Ontario, Canada retirement home with the goal of awakening the musical memory of seniors with dementia. The program equates with the practices of evidence-based music therapy and the principles and psycho-social goals of Person-Centered Care and Adlerian group therapy. The quasi-mystical artistry involved and Adler's recommendations for facilitators and therapists are seen as integral to reinvigorating the individual self that has been hidden in those with dementia. Anecdotal evidence from this study confirms past findings of Oliver Sacks along with recent medical studies that music therapy should be considered an essential adjunct to other forms of therapy for memory care in both institutional and private settings.

Rose+Croix Journal, 2024

Shakespeare (1564-1616) experienced the alchemical marriage or inner communion of the mystics and... more Shakespeare (1564-1616) experienced the alchemical marriage or inner communion of the mystics and great poets. Consistent with the hero-child and Carl Gustav Jung’s (1875-1961) Process of Individuation, Shakespeare discovered his better Self, “The Fair Youth” of the early sonnets who inspires the glorious plays. “The Dark Lady” of the later sonnets equates with the personification of Shakespeare’s shadow side. Further, “The Phoenix and the Turtle” poem reveals in allegory Shakespeare’s portrayal of the perfect inner marriage that leads to the birth of “The Hermetic Child” of the Alchemists and Rosicrucians. Music and the spoken word’s overtones of the harmonic series coupled with the brain’s neuroplasticity and pattern-recognizing abilities provide a modern scientific framework for understanding this inner union and healing. As such, the sonnets, poems, and plays are vehicles for the allegorical ideal inner wedding. The healing capacity of sound, particularly of words and music, invites further application and study.

Rose+Croix Journal, 2024

Bioluminescence refers to the fascinating phenomenon of light emission from living organisms. By ... more Bioluminescence refers to the fascinating phenomenon of light emission from living organisms. By contrast, biophotons are internally generated photons that are continually released as surface emissions. Some disorders (such as diabetes, hemiparesis, protoporphyria, or a common cold), and even cerebral intention/relaxation (brain activity/meditation), appear to affect ultra-weak photon emission (UPE), as reported in medical literature. The popularity of bioluminescence imaging (BLI) has skyrocketed over the past decade, which has been incredibly helpful to the advancement of the field of biomedicine including neurology, oncology, virology, and immunology, with the use of instruments made possible by BLI technology. The need for easyto-use, low-cost, broadly accessible, and transportable nucleic acid diagnostic tools was brought into sharp focus by the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19 virus) pandemic. One low-cost and efficient method for detecting viruses in saliva is a bioluminescence test. Ultra-weak photon emission (UPE) spectroscopy is a non-invasive, organic technology that can aid in the diagnosis of a variety of diseases or stress/mood issues related to reactive oxygen species (ROS) or free radicals. Long-term meditators have been shown to experience a variety of physiological and biochemical changes, and it is hypothesized that these changes may have an effect on free radical activity. This paper presents an overview of recent developments in bioluminescence imaging (BLI) and its potential uses in a wide range of sectors, with a special emphasis on human health and the diagnostic use of bioluminescence in a variety of applications. Future research into UPE and alternative therapies is recommended, particularly in the context of Rosicrucian techniques that involve the mind-body connection.

Rose+Croix Journal, 2024

This paper pays special attention to the interfacing of the field of universal consciousness and ... more This paper pays special attention to the interfacing of the field of universal consciousness and our personal brain in relation to a potential afterlife and postulates a toroidal event horizon workspace of the brain that allows a symmetric 4-Dimensional (4-D) to 3-Dimensional (3-D) quantum information flux and holographic personal memory integration. The geometry of a 3-D brain, embedded in a 4-D realm, may explain the phenomena of functional brain binding, qualia, intuition, serendipity, synchronicity, extra-sensory perception, and other well-established parapsychological phenomena. Brain function is conceptualized as guided by the Zero-point Energy (ZPE) Field (ZPF)–derived pilot waves that support consciousness, even in the absence of neuronal activity, such as in Near-Death Experiences (NDE). The brain’s toroidal organization exhibits quaternionic dynamics and thereby allows an opening to 4-D geometry and, consequently, to universal consciousness and the ZPF. This personal holographic workspace, that is associated with but not reducible to the brain, collects active information in a “brain event horizon,” as an internal and fully integral model of the self. At death or transition of our material body, this personal mental knowledge domain dissociates from the body, yet it is retained because entangled and meaningful quantum information can never be destroyed. In NDE, this uncoupling is only temporal, but reveals universal consciousness in a fully transparent manner, since in this condition non-neuronal information processing is preserved. This preservation occurs through fractal semi-harmonic frequencies, from the ZPE field, that reflect an entangled personal register of each conscious being. The proposed concept, therefore, contradicts the tentative and promissory materialist solution to the mind-body problem. Instead, it substantiates the notion that the brain can act as a kind of “receiver” by filtering (sub)conscious states through holographic resonance with universal consciousness through specific coherent oscillation domains in the body. Yet, it is recognized that our self-consciousness can also act as a damping filter for information from this universal knowledge field. The latter aspect of a “dual filter theory” is apparently perturbed at states of modified brain function such as NDE, deep meditation, and use of psychomimetic drugs, that all expose us to an unknown cosmic perspective. The presence of a mental, field-receptive, resonant workspace, might be termed our “supervening double” (or “soul,” not implying religious doctrine), and provides an interpretation framework for widely reported but poorly understood transpersonal conscious states. These may even imply that death can be conceived as a transition to another state of existence, yet we realize that all of us already belong to such an eternal domain in our present lives. Therefore, the present model may imply the potential for the survival of individual consciousness, qualifying conscious individuals as designated survivors and eternal beings.

Rose+Croix Journal, 2024

This paper is about the search for the possible meaning of how the holographic principle is relat... more This paper is about the search for the possible meaning of how the holographic principle is related to Aristotle's notion that "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts." This quest will follow two paths: one secular-scientific and philosophical-and the other, initiatic, more mystical. The two paths, eventually coming together in their various interpretations, intend to show that the two worlds are far from incompatible. The intellect and affect are two universes which, far from being antagonistic, are linked and should be better investigated in order, for example, to make science and spirituality compatible.

Rose+Croix Journal, 2024

This paper is an analysis of the motto of the Ancient and Mystical Order Rosae Crucis (AMORC): "T... more This paper is an analysis of the motto of the Ancient and Mystical Order Rosae Crucis (AMORC): "The greatest tolerance within the strictest independence." Its central meaning is studied as a part of Traditional Knowledge. The analysis focuses on philosophical principles that are understood in the light of some elements of the corpus litterarum of AMORC, focusing on publications from its leaders, known as imperators, while also looking for a transdisciplinary dialogue beyond the borders of the Order. It is concluded that the realization of the motto requires a complex process of self-development, and also that freedom is not doing what you want, but rather it is a right that involves responsibility for the construction of a better world for all.

Rose+Croix Journal, 2023

This paper compares and contrasts two myths to include a Christian metaphor of Creation and a Hin... more This paper compares and contrasts two myths to include a Christian metaphor of Creation and a Hindu cosmogony myth. The research explores how the Genesis story from Christianity (part of the Western Tradition) and the cosmogony myths from Hinduism (part of the Eastern Tradition) may have perpetuated unconscious values and beliefs resulting in perceptual blind spots (scotomas) that may limit humanity's evolution of consciousness.

Rose+Croix Journal, 2023

This paper offers an overview of soul, first in terms of historical models as delineated by five ... more This paper offers an overview of soul, first in terms of historical models as delineated by five distinct soul theories, then as a phenomenological account of soul as an experiential reality, followed by research in Near-Death Experiences (NDE). Finally, the paper offers a comparison of traditional historical accounts with NDE research in order to draw conclusions about the nature of soul in esoteric theory as seen from a contemporary perspective. What makes esotericism interesting is not its historicity nor the fact that past human beings had unique, unusual, or non-ordinary ideas or experiences, but rather that the gnosis evident in those traditions represents a fundamental human capacity for transformation and spiritual illumination. What makes esotericism meaningful is this capacity that we all have for greater awareness.

Rose+Croix Journal, 2023

The unity of the cosmos is revealed through understanding and experiencing vibrations and cycles.... more The unity of the cosmos is revealed through understanding and experiencing vibrations and cycles. Here we demonstrate a new way to help the mystical seeker unfold and understand the vast range of vibrations, and at the same time understand their commonality in simple terms when taking part in meditations. We expand upon the foundations of the Cosmic Keyboard built on harmonics, to provide a unified means of representing numerically many decades of vibrations and cycles in a simple, unified picture. In this new view, the regions we can and cannot directly sense are both clearly explained with examples. This new unified view is enabled by using a common measure of time: the second. In this approach the conventional dichotomy in the unit of measure between fast vibrations and slow cycles is resolved by simply measuring them all in the same unit of time, for which we use the familiar second. The result is a new kind of hourglass, not built on falling sand, but on the findings of recent science, which reinforce the teachings of mysticism in a way that is unified and understandable. Finally, a simple, new symbol is provided to combine the results of both scientific and mystical perspectives of the new hourglass that can be easily remembered and used in daily thought.

Rose+Croix Journal, 2023

This paper presents a brief transdisciplinary approach to employing Modern Experiential Learning ... more This paper presents a brief transdisciplinary approach to employing Modern Experiential Learning Theory and Kolb's Learning Cycle to understand both William Shakespeare's (1564 c.-1616) use of universal allegory in his sonnets and especially Sonnet 8 and his play The Merchant of Venice and Jacob Boehme's (1575-1624) visionary writings. Both writers sought to articulate finding one's place in life and the cosmos, what Alfred Adler (1870-1937) referred to in German as gemeinschaftsgefühl. This search for a better self is deeply evidenced by a feeling of Divine oneness as well as a strong connectedness with others.

Rose+Croix Journal, 2023

For the renowned German mystic Jacob Boehme (1575-1624), the principle of love or divine harmony ... more For the renowned German mystic Jacob Boehme (1575-1624), the principle of love or divine harmony is the triumphant result of a Cosmic process whose building blocks originate in desire, will, pain, and anguish. Boehme's cosmology begins with the Ungrund or "Bottomless Nothingness" which desires and wills to become something but suffers anguish and frustration when there is no outflow to bring about this harmony. This is Boehme's First Principle of the Divine Essence, or Light, a principle which he calls "wrath" or "fiery anger," which can be related to disorder. Boehme's Second Principle of Light arises where he sees a spark igniting and transforming the fiery anguish into harmony and light; be it in the microcosm of one's own spiritual seeking, or in the macrocosm of an expanding universe. Boehme's "spark" is shown here to be in accordance with Big Bang cosmology and the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Boehme's Third Principle of the Divine Essence sees the visible world as a dynamic interplay of these two opposing principles. Boehme is clear, the divine Christ light is available to all, regardless of outer religious affiliation.

Rose+Croix Journal, 2022

H. Spencer Lewis’s Self-Mastery and Fate with the Cycles of Life remains one of the Rosicrucian O... more H. Spencer Lewis’s Self-Mastery and Fate with the Cycles of Life remains one of the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC’s most enduringly popular publications, both among Rosicrucians and those outside the Order who appreciate its systematic approach to planning the hours, days, and years of our lives. This paper explains the mystical astrology that formed the basis for Lewis’s book. It also demonstrates astrology’s fundamental role in his life’s work, particularly and most publicly during his intense years of seeking before making contact with the Rosicrucians in France and during the early years of his AMORC leadership. In addition, this document delves into twentieth-century Rosicrucian and American history to unravel this old Rosicrucian mystery: why did H. Spencer Lewis, a practicing astrologer who gave astrology a central role in AMORC’s formative years, disavow astrology in Self-Mastery and Fate with the Cycles of Life? This paper seeks to discover the truth behind the mystery of why Lewis denied astrology in his book on cycles. Along the way, it presents strong evidence to suggest the most plausible solution to this nearly century-old secret and summarizes the factors that most likely explain why Lewis denied astrology in his book. As this paper demonstrates, a combination of personal and professional challenges led Lewis to disavow astrology in Self-Mastery and Fate out of a desire to protect the Rosicrucian Order from further legal, financial, and reputational challenges.

Keywords: H. Spencer Lewis, Astrology, Mystical Astrology, Self-Mastery and Fate with the Cycles of Life, Rosicrucian history, AMORC, American Rosae Crucis, Cromaat, Evangeline Adams, cycle of seven, planetary cycles, planetary hours

Rose+Croix Journal, 2022

Research on Sebastian Franck (1499-1543) has so far mainly focused on the topics "Sebastian Franc... more Research on Sebastian Franck (1499-1543) has so far mainly focused on the topics "Sebastian Franck as a historian" or "Sebastian Franck as a critic of theology," while Gnosticism in the philosophy of the radical reformer has received less attention. Since the beginning of the new millennium, the interest in a certain movement of Gnosticism, namely Hermeticism, has increased however. This paper examines the question of the parallels in content between Gnostic representatives such as the Carpocratians, the Ebionites, and Sebastian Franck. Irenaeus of Lyon is used as a source for the Carpocratians and the Ebionites. Substantial similarities can be found in the fragmentary reports of Irenaeus on the Carpocratians and Ebionites and the teachings of Franck. The parallels between the Carpocratians and Franck can be identified in the concept of the Divine, the tripartite nature of the soul, and the doctrine of salvation. Unlike orthodox Christianity, both Franck and the Carpocratians believed in the self-salvation of people from their sins. Through the discovery of their spirit, all people can access the abilities that Yeshua had in his incarnation. The rejection of both the doctrine of original sin and the doctrine of grace is what Franck has in common with the Ebionites. However, the doctrine of grace would not make any sense for the Carpocratians either, as, according to their conviction, the soul is redeemed by the enlightenment of the spirit.

Rose+Croix Journal, 2022

This paper deals with the "magic" of the Carpocratians, who, according to Irenaeus of Lyon, belie... more This paper deals with the "magic" of the Carpocratians, who, according to Irenaeus of Lyon, believed in the Platonic tripartite nature of the soul. The Carpocratian approach to philosophical magic is probably derived from Neoplatonic ideas popular during the first centuries of the Common Era. The Carpocrations, a second-century Christian Gnostic group, believed Yeshua was a soul personality like all other people, but because of his "spiritualization," he reached the state of the "philosophical magician." He did not lose his memory while "staying with his Father" (while he was in the eternal sphere before his next incarnation) and, according to Irenaeus, despised the creators (angels) of the world during the ascension of the soul, a Hermetic and Neoplatonic notion. In addition, as the Christ, Yeshua overcame all emotions and passions. That is, according to the Neoplatonic tripartite nature of the soul, he overcame the emotional part of himself in favor of the spirit. This ascent gave him magical abilities such as healing and prophecy. The Carpocratians believed that each soul can achieve what Christ achieved. Ceremonial and heavenly magic was practiced by the Carpocratians, but their main goal was to achieve the complete spiritualization of the soul or the attainment of Christ Consciousness. To analyze Carpocratian magic, it is useful to use the theories of other magicians like Agrippa von Nettesheim or Iamblichus, because their ideas improve our limited understanding of the text by the Early Church Writer Irenaeus whose basic interest in the Carpocratians was heresiology. Finally, this analysis of how magic was applied by the Carpocratians could contribute to a better understanding of their philosophy.

Rose+Croix Journal, 2022

Through the Arabs and a blossoming Islamic culture in eleventh-century Islamic Spain, classical G... more Through the Arabs and a blossoming Islamic culture in eleventh-century Islamic Spain, classical Greek philosophy, accompanied by new ideas on science, astronomy, mathematics, and love, was flowing back to a France that had lost this knowledge in the centuries following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. This included the mystical philosophy of Plotinus, who attests to "the love of beauty that exalts the poet as an authentic profession for reaching that height above the actual and the particular where we stand in the immediate presence of the Infinite ." This artistic way of the heart towards such a spiritual state had definite appeal for the first Provençal poet and troubadour, the cultured, but cavalier Guilhem, IX Duke of Aquitaine and VII Count of Poitou. New Saudi-Arabian scholarship and the forgotten but recently republished work of musicologist and historian John Frederick Rowbotham describe the presence of popular Arabian minstrels or raouis, who were welcomed in homes across the Iberian Peninsula with their inspiring songs of love, nobility of purpose, and defence of womanhood. These Arabian minstrels struck a meaningful chord with this first troubadour. In view of the ongoing power struggle between the Church and the Royal Courts across medieval Europe, it is concluded that, with the call to arms by Pope Urban II and the Latin Church for a crusade against the Muslims to retake Jerusalem, this powerful nobleman and the Court of Poitou effectively took over this popular Arabian practice and refined it into an art form suitable for the Royal Courts and nobles. This created the troubadours whilst simultaneously keeping alive a mystical tradition that had long honoured the spiritual feminine and "the love of beauty that exalts the poet.

Rose+Croix Journal, 2022

The aim of this paper is to offer a possible solution to one of the most interesting enigmas of a... more The aim of this paper is to offer a possible solution to one of the most interesting enigmas of antiquity: the identity of the Beast of Revelation, hidden behind the number 666. It provides a new approach, developed based on the similarities found between Revelation 13:18 and John 21:24, obtaining a paradoxical result (a relationship between the Divinity of the Old Testament and the identity of the Beast), that may have interesting religious and philosophical implications.

Rose+Croix Journal, 2022

This paper describes the experience of building a psychological technique based on a dialogue bet... more This paper describes the experience of building a psychological technique based on a dialogue between Traditional Knowledge and psychology. The project, developed through a participatory research method, was carried out from April 2020 to September 2021 in an online environment during the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil. The technique presented here emerged in an educational context as preparation for students who were part of a training program in Transpersonal Psychology from 2017 to 2019. In the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the process was adapted and expanded for an online approach and opened to the general public on Facebook and Spotify. One goal of this study was to provide the foundation for the refinement of the Transpersonal Meditation Technique (TMT) in ways that might provide for the development of an effective therapeutic tool for mental health professionals. This approach could prove to be most useful during times of widespread crisis where person-to-person contact is restricted.

Rose+Croix Journal, 2021

The way in which natural environmental stimuli can maintain or increase health is not fully under... more The way in which natural environmental stimuli can maintain or increase health is not fully understood. This paper suggests that an essential aspect of the medicinal effect is due to stimuli that encourage a psychological state termed "flow" in relation to individuation (or maintenance of a self), and that creative reflection on nature is a transformative practice as defined by author Michael Murphy. A synthesis of current ideas from the literature on environmental psychology and self-development can provide a cyclic model that offers an interpretation of a fundamental reality behind integral and transformative practices. This paper also explores the question of why and how it is important to develop a linkage between an individual's inner constructs and outside stimuli to maintain health. A theoretical explanation is offered with an example of reflection that illustrates how linkage can occur and how it may generate flow. The major research on the relation of natural environmental stimuli to human health is discussed, and the work of theorists that supports the development of a model based on a synthesis of their ideas is examined. This model was not explicit in any of their work, but it contains aspects that they all share. In this paper, concepts of environmental psychology are placed into the wider context of human health and the natural environment with an example using the artistic process. The development of an artist's work after the initial vision is discussed from ideal to real. To demonstrate a reflective cycle of self-development that maintains health and that is perpetuated by flow between mental constructs and outside stimuli, it is necessary to identify what those constructs are and how the cycle works on them in a transformative manner. The author's model allows individuals to become more conscious of this process, and in so doing, to resolve any previously unconscious biases or barriers to flow states. Synthétiser les concepts : augmentation sous-jacente du flux, de l'auto-développement et de la réflexion, et son application au processus créatif Daniel Harris, MRes Résumé On ne connaît pas tout à fait la manière dont les stimuli environnementaux naturels peuvent entretenir ou augmenter la santé. Cet article suggère qu'un aspect essentiel de cet effet est dû à des stimuli qui encouragent un état psychologique appelé « flux » relié à l'individuation (à savoir, la prise de conscience de soi), et que la réflexion créative sur la nature est une pratique transformatrice, ainsi que Michael Murphy l'a remarqué. Une synthèse des idées actuelles de la littérature sur la psychologie de l'environnement et sur l'auto-développement, peut fournir un modèle cyclique qui offre une interprétation d'une réalité fondamentale sous-jacente à certaines pratiques intégrales et transformatrices.

Rose+Croix Journal, 2021

This introductory paper provides supportive evidence that the Shakespeare plays were written duri... more This introductory paper provides supportive evidence that the Shakespeare plays were written during periods of profound harmony when the Divine or Infinite Mind resonated with that of the author to be born in him as the "fair youth" and "the better part of me" of the Sonnets, as originally proposed by R. M. Bucke. Several of the Sonnets are explicitly supportive of this interpretation and are mentioned here. According to Poet Laureate of the time John Dryden: "Shakespeare was naturally learned; he needed not the spectacles of books to read Nature. He looked inwards and found her there." Shakespeare Sonnet 8 is shown here to refer poetically to the harmonic or overtone series in music and mathematics investigated by Pythagoras and surely known to the Shakespeare author, along with Boethius's theory of the music of the spheres. Superstring theory "speaks" the same musical language. Resonance and a holographic universe may be the key to understanding Nature and her human offspring. Such correspondences give us the opportunity to appreciate another formulation of physical reality that is as mathematically valid as our familiar 3D, space-time universe. Actuality, where the universe's real physical processes take place, is then seen to be on a distant 2D surface like a hologram. If we follow Shakespeare's example and enter into the universal rhythm of Life, we may also "[find] her there." Shakespeare en harmonie avec la nature et avec le rythme universel de la vie-Naissance de « La Belle Jeunesse » des Sonnets par Christopher Eriksson, PhD Résumé Cet article fournit la preuve, par le biais de références étayées, que les oeuvres théâtrales de Shakespeare ont été écrites au cours de périodes d'harmonie profonde où l'Esprit Divin, Infini, résonnait avec celui du poète, faisant naître en lui la « Belle Jeunesse » et « le meilleur de moi » des Sonnets, ainsi que l'a, pour la première fois, proposé le psychiatre canadien du XIXe siècle Richard Maurice Bucke. De nombreux Sonnets, mentionnés dans cet article, sont explicitement favorables à cette interprétation. Selon le « poète lauréat » John Dryden (1631-1700), « Shakespeare apprenait instinctivement, il n'avait pas besoin de lire des livres pour comprendre la nature. Il tournait son regard vers son for intérieur et la découvrait ». L'article démontre que le Sonnet 8 se réfère à la série harmonique, en musique et dans les mathématiques, étudiée par Pythagore et que Shakespeare certainement connaissait, ainsi qu'à la théorie de Boèce sur la « musique des sphères ». La « théorie des supercordes » « parle » le même langage musical. La résonance et un univers holographique peuvent être la clé pour comprendre la nature et sa

Rose+Croix Journal, 2021

A diadem is a crown or cloth headband that is worn as a sign of royalty. The diadem of Vlad III D... more A diadem is a crown or cloth headband that is worn as a sign of royalty. The diadem of Vlad III Dracula of Wallachia as depicted in the Ambras Castle portrait contains symbolism of humanity’s precise knowledge of the planetary orbits and conjunctions of Earth and Venus. This astronomical knowledge was likely known as early as the third or fourth millennia BCE. There are historical implications for the crown’s symbolism in the foundational mythic claim of the
Hungarians, that as a people, they are direct descendants from the biblical King Nimrod and modern Freemasonry’s similar claim of descent from Nimrod, whom they revere as their first Grandmaster, as told in The History of Freemasonry, Its Legendary Origins by Albert Gallatin
Mackey. Further historical context regarding King Nimrod is provided by a late second or early third century book of Clement of Alexandria. Clement’s text provides additional details about King Nimrod and attributes to him specific astronomical knowledge that was symbolized in “a
crown [that] came down to him from heaven.” It is proposed that Nimrod’s crown and Dracula’s diadem are the same in kind and encode the same astronomical phenomena. It is thus further argued that the diadem indicates Vlad III’s connection to the Western Esoteric Tradition and its use of primordial symbols, a knowledge that is universal among initiates.

Rose+Croix Journal, 2024

This paper describes a group music program facilitated for residents in memory care at an Ontario... more This paper describes a group music program facilitated for residents in memory care at an Ontario, Canada retirement home with the goal of awakening the musical memory of seniors with dementia. The program equates with the practices of evidence-based music therapy and the principles and psycho-social goals of Person-Centered Care and Adlerian group therapy. The quasi-mystical artistry involved and Adler's recommendations for facilitators and therapists are seen as integral to reinvigorating the individual self that has been hidden in those with dementia. Anecdotal evidence from this study confirms past findings of Oliver Sacks along with recent medical studies that music therapy should be considered an essential adjunct to other forms of therapy for memory care in both institutional and private settings.

Rose+Croix Journal, 2024

Shakespeare (1564-1616) experienced the alchemical marriage or inner communion of the mystics and... more Shakespeare (1564-1616) experienced the alchemical marriage or inner communion of the mystics and great poets. Consistent with the hero-child and Carl Gustav Jung’s (1875-1961) Process of Individuation, Shakespeare discovered his better Self, “The Fair Youth” of the early sonnets who inspires the glorious plays. “The Dark Lady” of the later sonnets equates with the personification of Shakespeare’s shadow side. Further, “The Phoenix and the Turtle” poem reveals in allegory Shakespeare’s portrayal of the perfect inner marriage that leads to the birth of “The Hermetic Child” of the Alchemists and Rosicrucians. Music and the spoken word’s overtones of the harmonic series coupled with the brain’s neuroplasticity and pattern-recognizing abilities provide a modern scientific framework for understanding this inner union and healing. As such, the sonnets, poems, and plays are vehicles for the allegorical ideal inner wedding. The healing capacity of sound, particularly of words and music, invites further application and study.

Rose+Croix Journal, 2024

Bioluminescence refers to the fascinating phenomenon of light emission from living organisms. By ... more Bioluminescence refers to the fascinating phenomenon of light emission from living organisms. By contrast, biophotons are internally generated photons that are continually released as surface emissions. Some disorders (such as diabetes, hemiparesis, protoporphyria, or a common cold), and even cerebral intention/relaxation (brain activity/meditation), appear to affect ultra-weak photon emission (UPE), as reported in medical literature. The popularity of bioluminescence imaging (BLI) has skyrocketed over the past decade, which has been incredibly helpful to the advancement of the field of biomedicine including neurology, oncology, virology, and immunology, with the use of instruments made possible by BLI technology. The need for easyto-use, low-cost, broadly accessible, and transportable nucleic acid diagnostic tools was brought into sharp focus by the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19 virus) pandemic. One low-cost and efficient method for detecting viruses in saliva is a bioluminescence test. Ultra-weak photon emission (UPE) spectroscopy is a non-invasive, organic technology that can aid in the diagnosis of a variety of diseases or stress/mood issues related to reactive oxygen species (ROS) or free radicals. Long-term meditators have been shown to experience a variety of physiological and biochemical changes, and it is hypothesized that these changes may have an effect on free radical activity. This paper presents an overview of recent developments in bioluminescence imaging (BLI) and its potential uses in a wide range of sectors, with a special emphasis on human health and the diagnostic use of bioluminescence in a variety of applications. Future research into UPE and alternative therapies is recommended, particularly in the context of Rosicrucian techniques that involve the mind-body connection.

Rose+Croix Journal, 2024

This paper pays special attention to the interfacing of the field of universal consciousness and ... more This paper pays special attention to the interfacing of the field of universal consciousness and our personal brain in relation to a potential afterlife and postulates a toroidal event horizon workspace of the brain that allows a symmetric 4-Dimensional (4-D) to 3-Dimensional (3-D) quantum information flux and holographic personal memory integration. The geometry of a 3-D brain, embedded in a 4-D realm, may explain the phenomena of functional brain binding, qualia, intuition, serendipity, synchronicity, extra-sensory perception, and other well-established parapsychological phenomena. Brain function is conceptualized as guided by the Zero-point Energy (ZPE) Field (ZPF)–derived pilot waves that support consciousness, even in the absence of neuronal activity, such as in Near-Death Experiences (NDE). The brain’s toroidal organization exhibits quaternionic dynamics and thereby allows an opening to 4-D geometry and, consequently, to universal consciousness and the ZPF. This personal holographic workspace, that is associated with but not reducible to the brain, collects active information in a “brain event horizon,” as an internal and fully integral model of the self. At death or transition of our material body, this personal mental knowledge domain dissociates from the body, yet it is retained because entangled and meaningful quantum information can never be destroyed. In NDE, this uncoupling is only temporal, but reveals universal consciousness in a fully transparent manner, since in this condition non-neuronal information processing is preserved. This preservation occurs through fractal semi-harmonic frequencies, from the ZPE field, that reflect an entangled personal register of each conscious being. The proposed concept, therefore, contradicts the tentative and promissory materialist solution to the mind-body problem. Instead, it substantiates the notion that the brain can act as a kind of “receiver” by filtering (sub)conscious states through holographic resonance with universal consciousness through specific coherent oscillation domains in the body. Yet, it is recognized that our self-consciousness can also act as a damping filter for information from this universal knowledge field. The latter aspect of a “dual filter theory” is apparently perturbed at states of modified brain function such as NDE, deep meditation, and use of psychomimetic drugs, that all expose us to an unknown cosmic perspective. The presence of a mental, field-receptive, resonant workspace, might be termed our “supervening double” (or “soul,” not implying religious doctrine), and provides an interpretation framework for widely reported but poorly understood transpersonal conscious states. These may even imply that death can be conceived as a transition to another state of existence, yet we realize that all of us already belong to such an eternal domain in our present lives. Therefore, the present model may imply the potential for the survival of individual consciousness, qualifying conscious individuals as designated survivors and eternal beings.

Rose+Croix Journal, 2024

This paper is about the search for the possible meaning of how the holographic principle is relat... more This paper is about the search for the possible meaning of how the holographic principle is related to Aristotle's notion that "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts." This quest will follow two paths: one secular-scientific and philosophical-and the other, initiatic, more mystical. The two paths, eventually coming together in their various interpretations, intend to show that the two worlds are far from incompatible. The intellect and affect are two universes which, far from being antagonistic, are linked and should be better investigated in order, for example, to make science and spirituality compatible.

Rose+Croix Journal, 2024

This paper is an analysis of the motto of the Ancient and Mystical Order Rosae Crucis (AMORC): "T... more This paper is an analysis of the motto of the Ancient and Mystical Order Rosae Crucis (AMORC): "The greatest tolerance within the strictest independence." Its central meaning is studied as a part of Traditional Knowledge. The analysis focuses on philosophical principles that are understood in the light of some elements of the corpus litterarum of AMORC, focusing on publications from its leaders, known as imperators, while also looking for a transdisciplinary dialogue beyond the borders of the Order. It is concluded that the realization of the motto requires a complex process of self-development, and also that freedom is not doing what you want, but rather it is a right that involves responsibility for the construction of a better world for all.

Rose+Croix Journal, 2023

This paper compares and contrasts two myths to include a Christian metaphor of Creation and a Hin... more This paper compares and contrasts two myths to include a Christian metaphor of Creation and a Hindu cosmogony myth. The research explores how the Genesis story from Christianity (part of the Western Tradition) and the cosmogony myths from Hinduism (part of the Eastern Tradition) may have perpetuated unconscious values and beliefs resulting in perceptual blind spots (scotomas) that may limit humanity's evolution of consciousness.

Rose+Croix Journal, 2023

This paper offers an overview of soul, first in terms of historical models as delineated by five ... more This paper offers an overview of soul, first in terms of historical models as delineated by five distinct soul theories, then as a phenomenological account of soul as an experiential reality, followed by research in Near-Death Experiences (NDE). Finally, the paper offers a comparison of traditional historical accounts with NDE research in order to draw conclusions about the nature of soul in esoteric theory as seen from a contemporary perspective. What makes esotericism interesting is not its historicity nor the fact that past human beings had unique, unusual, or non-ordinary ideas or experiences, but rather that the gnosis evident in those traditions represents a fundamental human capacity for transformation and spiritual illumination. What makes esotericism meaningful is this capacity that we all have for greater awareness.

Rose+Croix Journal, 2023

The unity of the cosmos is revealed through understanding and experiencing vibrations and cycles.... more The unity of the cosmos is revealed through understanding and experiencing vibrations and cycles. Here we demonstrate a new way to help the mystical seeker unfold and understand the vast range of vibrations, and at the same time understand their commonality in simple terms when taking part in meditations. We expand upon the foundations of the Cosmic Keyboard built on harmonics, to provide a unified means of representing numerically many decades of vibrations and cycles in a simple, unified picture. In this new view, the regions we can and cannot directly sense are both clearly explained with examples. This new unified view is enabled by using a common measure of time: the second. In this approach the conventional dichotomy in the unit of measure between fast vibrations and slow cycles is resolved by simply measuring them all in the same unit of time, for which we use the familiar second. The result is a new kind of hourglass, not built on falling sand, but on the findings of recent science, which reinforce the teachings of mysticism in a way that is unified and understandable. Finally, a simple, new symbol is provided to combine the results of both scientific and mystical perspectives of the new hourglass that can be easily remembered and used in daily thought.

Rose+Croix Journal, 2023

This paper presents a brief transdisciplinary approach to employing Modern Experiential Learning ... more This paper presents a brief transdisciplinary approach to employing Modern Experiential Learning Theory and Kolb's Learning Cycle to understand both William Shakespeare's (1564 c.-1616) use of universal allegory in his sonnets and especially Sonnet 8 and his play The Merchant of Venice and Jacob Boehme's (1575-1624) visionary writings. Both writers sought to articulate finding one's place in life and the cosmos, what Alfred Adler (1870-1937) referred to in German as gemeinschaftsgefühl. This search for a better self is deeply evidenced by a feeling of Divine oneness as well as a strong connectedness with others.

Rose+Croix Journal, 2023

For the renowned German mystic Jacob Boehme (1575-1624), the principle of love or divine harmony ... more For the renowned German mystic Jacob Boehme (1575-1624), the principle of love or divine harmony is the triumphant result of a Cosmic process whose building blocks originate in desire, will, pain, and anguish. Boehme's cosmology begins with the Ungrund or "Bottomless Nothingness" which desires and wills to become something but suffers anguish and frustration when there is no outflow to bring about this harmony. This is Boehme's First Principle of the Divine Essence, or Light, a principle which he calls "wrath" or "fiery anger," which can be related to disorder. Boehme's Second Principle of Light arises where he sees a spark igniting and transforming the fiery anguish into harmony and light; be it in the microcosm of one's own spiritual seeking, or in the macrocosm of an expanding universe. Boehme's "spark" is shown here to be in accordance with Big Bang cosmology and the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Boehme's Third Principle of the Divine Essence sees the visible world as a dynamic interplay of these two opposing principles. Boehme is clear, the divine Christ light is available to all, regardless of outer religious affiliation.

Rose+Croix Journal, 2022

H. Spencer Lewis’s Self-Mastery and Fate with the Cycles of Life remains one of the Rosicrucian O... more H. Spencer Lewis’s Self-Mastery and Fate with the Cycles of Life remains one of the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC’s most enduringly popular publications, both among Rosicrucians and those outside the Order who appreciate its systematic approach to planning the hours, days, and years of our lives. This paper explains the mystical astrology that formed the basis for Lewis’s book. It also demonstrates astrology’s fundamental role in his life’s work, particularly and most publicly during his intense years of seeking before making contact with the Rosicrucians in France and during the early years of his AMORC leadership. In addition, this document delves into twentieth-century Rosicrucian and American history to unravel this old Rosicrucian mystery: why did H. Spencer Lewis, a practicing astrologer who gave astrology a central role in AMORC’s formative years, disavow astrology in Self-Mastery and Fate with the Cycles of Life? This paper seeks to discover the truth behind the mystery of why Lewis denied astrology in his book on cycles. Along the way, it presents strong evidence to suggest the most plausible solution to this nearly century-old secret and summarizes the factors that most likely explain why Lewis denied astrology in his book. As this paper demonstrates, a combination of personal and professional challenges led Lewis to disavow astrology in Self-Mastery and Fate out of a desire to protect the Rosicrucian Order from further legal, financial, and reputational challenges.

Keywords: H. Spencer Lewis, Astrology, Mystical Astrology, Self-Mastery and Fate with the Cycles of Life, Rosicrucian history, AMORC, American Rosae Crucis, Cromaat, Evangeline Adams, cycle of seven, planetary cycles, planetary hours

Rose+Croix Journal, 2022

Research on Sebastian Franck (1499-1543) has so far mainly focused on the topics "Sebastian Franc... more Research on Sebastian Franck (1499-1543) has so far mainly focused on the topics "Sebastian Franck as a historian" or "Sebastian Franck as a critic of theology," while Gnosticism in the philosophy of the radical reformer has received less attention. Since the beginning of the new millennium, the interest in a certain movement of Gnosticism, namely Hermeticism, has increased however. This paper examines the question of the parallels in content between Gnostic representatives such as the Carpocratians, the Ebionites, and Sebastian Franck. Irenaeus of Lyon is used as a source for the Carpocratians and the Ebionites. Substantial similarities can be found in the fragmentary reports of Irenaeus on the Carpocratians and Ebionites and the teachings of Franck. The parallels between the Carpocratians and Franck can be identified in the concept of the Divine, the tripartite nature of the soul, and the doctrine of salvation. Unlike orthodox Christianity, both Franck and the Carpocratians believed in the self-salvation of people from their sins. Through the discovery of their spirit, all people can access the abilities that Yeshua had in his incarnation. The rejection of both the doctrine of original sin and the doctrine of grace is what Franck has in common with the Ebionites. However, the doctrine of grace would not make any sense for the Carpocratians either, as, according to their conviction, the soul is redeemed by the enlightenment of the spirit.

Rose+Croix Journal, 2022

This paper deals with the "magic" of the Carpocratians, who, according to Irenaeus of Lyon, belie... more This paper deals with the "magic" of the Carpocratians, who, according to Irenaeus of Lyon, believed in the Platonic tripartite nature of the soul. The Carpocratian approach to philosophical magic is probably derived from Neoplatonic ideas popular during the first centuries of the Common Era. The Carpocrations, a second-century Christian Gnostic group, believed Yeshua was a soul personality like all other people, but because of his "spiritualization," he reached the state of the "philosophical magician." He did not lose his memory while "staying with his Father" (while he was in the eternal sphere before his next incarnation) and, according to Irenaeus, despised the creators (angels) of the world during the ascension of the soul, a Hermetic and Neoplatonic notion. In addition, as the Christ, Yeshua overcame all emotions and passions. That is, according to the Neoplatonic tripartite nature of the soul, he overcame the emotional part of himself in favor of the spirit. This ascent gave him magical abilities such as healing and prophecy. The Carpocratians believed that each soul can achieve what Christ achieved. Ceremonial and heavenly magic was practiced by the Carpocratians, but their main goal was to achieve the complete spiritualization of the soul or the attainment of Christ Consciousness. To analyze Carpocratian magic, it is useful to use the theories of other magicians like Agrippa von Nettesheim or Iamblichus, because their ideas improve our limited understanding of the text by the Early Church Writer Irenaeus whose basic interest in the Carpocratians was heresiology. Finally, this analysis of how magic was applied by the Carpocratians could contribute to a better understanding of their philosophy.

Rose+Croix Journal, 2022

Through the Arabs and a blossoming Islamic culture in eleventh-century Islamic Spain, classical G... more Through the Arabs and a blossoming Islamic culture in eleventh-century Islamic Spain, classical Greek philosophy, accompanied by new ideas on science, astronomy, mathematics, and love, was flowing back to a France that had lost this knowledge in the centuries following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. This included the mystical philosophy of Plotinus, who attests to "the love of beauty that exalts the poet as an authentic profession for reaching that height above the actual and the particular where we stand in the immediate presence of the Infinite ." This artistic way of the heart towards such a spiritual state had definite appeal for the first Provençal poet and troubadour, the cultured, but cavalier Guilhem, IX Duke of Aquitaine and VII Count of Poitou. New Saudi-Arabian scholarship and the forgotten but recently republished work of musicologist and historian John Frederick Rowbotham describe the presence of popular Arabian minstrels or raouis, who were welcomed in homes across the Iberian Peninsula with their inspiring songs of love, nobility of purpose, and defence of womanhood. These Arabian minstrels struck a meaningful chord with this first troubadour. In view of the ongoing power struggle between the Church and the Royal Courts across medieval Europe, it is concluded that, with the call to arms by Pope Urban II and the Latin Church for a crusade against the Muslims to retake Jerusalem, this powerful nobleman and the Court of Poitou effectively took over this popular Arabian practice and refined it into an art form suitable for the Royal Courts and nobles. This created the troubadours whilst simultaneously keeping alive a mystical tradition that had long honoured the spiritual feminine and "the love of beauty that exalts the poet.

Rose+Croix Journal, 2022

The aim of this paper is to offer a possible solution to one of the most interesting enigmas of a... more The aim of this paper is to offer a possible solution to one of the most interesting enigmas of antiquity: the identity of the Beast of Revelation, hidden behind the number 666. It provides a new approach, developed based on the similarities found between Revelation 13:18 and John 21:24, obtaining a paradoxical result (a relationship between the Divinity of the Old Testament and the identity of the Beast), that may have interesting religious and philosophical implications.

Rose+Croix Journal, 2022

This paper describes the experience of building a psychological technique based on a dialogue bet... more This paper describes the experience of building a psychological technique based on a dialogue between Traditional Knowledge and psychology. The project, developed through a participatory research method, was carried out from April 2020 to September 2021 in an online environment during the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil. The technique presented here emerged in an educational context as preparation for students who were part of a training program in Transpersonal Psychology from 2017 to 2019. In the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the process was adapted and expanded for an online approach and opened to the general public on Facebook and Spotify. One goal of this study was to provide the foundation for the refinement of the Transpersonal Meditation Technique (TMT) in ways that might provide for the development of an effective therapeutic tool for mental health professionals. This approach could prove to be most useful during times of widespread crisis where person-to-person contact is restricted.

Rose+Croix Journal, 2021

The way in which natural environmental stimuli can maintain or increase health is not fully under... more The way in which natural environmental stimuli can maintain or increase health is not fully understood. This paper suggests that an essential aspect of the medicinal effect is due to stimuli that encourage a psychological state termed "flow" in relation to individuation (or maintenance of a self), and that creative reflection on nature is a transformative practice as defined by author Michael Murphy. A synthesis of current ideas from the literature on environmental psychology and self-development can provide a cyclic model that offers an interpretation of a fundamental reality behind integral and transformative practices. This paper also explores the question of why and how it is important to develop a linkage between an individual's inner constructs and outside stimuli to maintain health. A theoretical explanation is offered with an example of reflection that illustrates how linkage can occur and how it may generate flow. The major research on the relation of natural environmental stimuli to human health is discussed, and the work of theorists that supports the development of a model based on a synthesis of their ideas is examined. This model was not explicit in any of their work, but it contains aspects that they all share. In this paper, concepts of environmental psychology are placed into the wider context of human health and the natural environment with an example using the artistic process. The development of an artist's work after the initial vision is discussed from ideal to real. To demonstrate a reflective cycle of self-development that maintains health and that is perpetuated by flow between mental constructs and outside stimuli, it is necessary to identify what those constructs are and how the cycle works on them in a transformative manner. The author's model allows individuals to become more conscious of this process, and in so doing, to resolve any previously unconscious biases or barriers to flow states. Synthétiser les concepts : augmentation sous-jacente du flux, de l'auto-développement et de la réflexion, et son application au processus créatif Daniel Harris, MRes Résumé On ne connaît pas tout à fait la manière dont les stimuli environnementaux naturels peuvent entretenir ou augmenter la santé. Cet article suggère qu'un aspect essentiel de cet effet est dû à des stimuli qui encouragent un état psychologique appelé « flux » relié à l'individuation (à savoir, la prise de conscience de soi), et que la réflexion créative sur la nature est une pratique transformatrice, ainsi que Michael Murphy l'a remarqué. Une synthèse des idées actuelles de la littérature sur la psychologie de l'environnement et sur l'auto-développement, peut fournir un modèle cyclique qui offre une interprétation d'une réalité fondamentale sous-jacente à certaines pratiques intégrales et transformatrices.

Rose+Croix Journal, 2021

This introductory paper provides supportive evidence that the Shakespeare plays were written duri... more This introductory paper provides supportive evidence that the Shakespeare plays were written during periods of profound harmony when the Divine or Infinite Mind resonated with that of the author to be born in him as the "fair youth" and "the better part of me" of the Sonnets, as originally proposed by R. M. Bucke. Several of the Sonnets are explicitly supportive of this interpretation and are mentioned here. According to Poet Laureate of the time John Dryden: "Shakespeare was naturally learned; he needed not the spectacles of books to read Nature. He looked inwards and found her there." Shakespeare Sonnet 8 is shown here to refer poetically to the harmonic or overtone series in music and mathematics investigated by Pythagoras and surely known to the Shakespeare author, along with Boethius's theory of the music of the spheres. Superstring theory "speaks" the same musical language. Resonance and a holographic universe may be the key to understanding Nature and her human offspring. Such correspondences give us the opportunity to appreciate another formulation of physical reality that is as mathematically valid as our familiar 3D, space-time universe. Actuality, where the universe's real physical processes take place, is then seen to be on a distant 2D surface like a hologram. If we follow Shakespeare's example and enter into the universal rhythm of Life, we may also "[find] her there." Shakespeare en harmonie avec la nature et avec le rythme universel de la vie-Naissance de « La Belle Jeunesse » des Sonnets par Christopher Eriksson, PhD Résumé Cet article fournit la preuve, par le biais de références étayées, que les oeuvres théâtrales de Shakespeare ont été écrites au cours de périodes d'harmonie profonde où l'Esprit Divin, Infini, résonnait avec celui du poète, faisant naître en lui la « Belle Jeunesse » et « le meilleur de moi » des Sonnets, ainsi que l'a, pour la première fois, proposé le psychiatre canadien du XIXe siècle Richard Maurice Bucke. De nombreux Sonnets, mentionnés dans cet article, sont explicitement favorables à cette interprétation. Selon le « poète lauréat » John Dryden (1631-1700), « Shakespeare apprenait instinctivement, il n'avait pas besoin de lire des livres pour comprendre la nature. Il tournait son regard vers son for intérieur et la découvrait ». L'article démontre que le Sonnet 8 se réfère à la série harmonique, en musique et dans les mathématiques, étudiée par Pythagore et que Shakespeare certainement connaissait, ainsi qu'à la théorie de Boèce sur la « musique des sphères ». La « théorie des supercordes » « parle » le même langage musical. La résonance et un univers holographique peuvent être la clé pour comprendre la nature et sa

Rose+Croix Journal, 2021

A diadem is a crown or cloth headband that is worn as a sign of royalty. The diadem of Vlad III D... more A diadem is a crown or cloth headband that is worn as a sign of royalty. The diadem of Vlad III Dracula of Wallachia as depicted in the Ambras Castle portrait contains symbolism of humanity’s precise knowledge of the planetary orbits and conjunctions of Earth and Venus. This astronomical knowledge was likely known as early as the third or fourth millennia BCE. There are historical implications for the crown’s symbolism in the foundational mythic claim of the
Hungarians, that as a people, they are direct descendants from the biblical King Nimrod and modern Freemasonry’s similar claim of descent from Nimrod, whom they revere as their first Grandmaster, as told in The History of Freemasonry, Its Legendary Origins by Albert Gallatin
Mackey. Further historical context regarding King Nimrod is provided by a late second or early third century book of Clement of Alexandria. Clement’s text provides additional details about King Nimrod and attributes to him specific astronomical knowledge that was symbolized in “a
crown [that] came down to him from heaven.” It is proposed that Nimrod’s crown and Dracula’s diadem are the same in kind and encode the same astronomical phenomena. It is thus further argued that the diadem indicates Vlad III’s connection to the Western Esoteric Tradition and its use of primordial symbols, a knowledge that is universal among initiates.

In a single volume, Arnold Mindell brings together psychology, physics, math, myth, and shamanism... more In a single volume, Arnold Mindell brings together psychology, physics, math, myth, and shamanism – not only mapping the way for next-generation science but also applying this wisdom to personal growth, group dynamics, social and political processes, and environmental issues. Beginning with a discussion of cultural impacts on mathematics, he presents esoteric but plausible interpretations of imaginary numbers and the quantum wavefunction. In this context he discusses dreams, psychology, illness, shape-shifting (moving among realities), and the self-reflecting Universe – bringing in not only shamanism but also the Aboriginal, Greek, and Hindu myths and even sacred geometry from the Masonic orders and the Native Americans. The book is enriched by several psychological exercises that enable the reader to subjectively experience mathematics (counting, discounting, squaring, complex conjugating), physics (parallel worlds, time travel), and shamanism (shape-shifting). Much of the book is a journey through non-consensus reality (NCR) – the world of imaginary numbers, complex wave functions, virtual particles, and individual subjective experiences such as dreams, feelings, emotions, telepathy, fleeting thoughts, fantasies, sudden intuitions, and near-death experiences (all termed " dreams " in Mindell's parlance). In various cultures, the NCR experience has been associated with the etheric or astral body, the shadow reality, the dance, the Ka. It is in NCR that ghosts, virtual particles, or anything else can exist, since nobody can disprove them, and space and time are experienced nonlinearly (" time flies " or " time is dragging "). In contrast, consensus reality (CR) is based on collective agreement and scientific authority. From several vantage points, Mindell makes the case that CR is not the only reality. First, he notes the profound roles that culture play in mathematics and thus in physics – specifically, in the aggregate that one perceives. With powerful examples including cultures that value sons more than daughters, he presents the concept of " discounting " or marginalizing. Proposing that numbers represent only an interaction between the counter and a CR, he also suggests that simply choosing a physics experiment helps determine the outcome. Thus, our counting co-creates the " objective " (CR) Universe. As Mindell contends, however, reality is CR plus NCR, that which we count plus that which we marginalize. Citing Gödel's proof that no axiomatic mathematical system can prove its own consistency and completeness through (CR) deductive reasoning – and its implications for physics – Mindell bolsters his case for a reality greater than CR alone. Examples pervasive throughout the book associate imaginary numbers with NCR and complex numbers with a CR + NCR awareness field. Mindell further observes that scientific theories themselves are not totally objective but are based on CR terms and concepts, can be CR verified (by experiment), are consistent with other (CR) known laws of physics, and marginalize phenomena that we are not ready to observe. Echoing the anthropic principle, he notes that the physical universe can never be known