The Power of Thought: A Consciousness Experiment

I've discovered an amazing experiment that proves the power of thought.

This experiment will give you visual proof that your thoughts affect the physical world. In this experiment, you will control and affect the motion (and speed) of an object.

The Experiment

Take a white sheet of paper about 24 inches square (unlined paper is preferable. Grab a sheet of paper from your printer). Draw a circle as large as this paper will permit and then draw a horizontal line through the center of the circle. Mark the left end of the line "A," and the right end of the line "B." Now draw a vertical line through the circle. Mark the top of the line "C," and the bottom of the line "D." Your drawing should look similar to this:

Take a lead pencil and attach a string about 8 inches long. At the end of the string, tie a small weight, about the size of a quarter. Now then, for the proof.

Place the paper on a table, and hold the pencil above the paper, so that the pendulum will be just above the center of the paper, where the lines intersect. Now think of the line AB, but do not move; in a few minutes the pendulum will swing back and forth along the line AB. Now think of the line CD; the pendulum will stop swinging back and forth and will begin to swing up and down along line CD.

Now take your thought off the lines entirely and fix it upon the circle. As you think about the circle, move your eyes around the circle. The pendulum will begin moving in a circular motion!

Now then, begin thinking that the pendulum is swinging faster and faster, that you can hardly stop it. The motion will become so fast that you can hardly see it go. Then, begin thinking that the pendulum will not move at all—that something is the matter with it. It will stop! Once you begin thinking that the pendulum will not move, it will slow down, and stop moving entirely.

It's uncanny.

This experiment was first used in the 1920's by Charles Baudouin of the Jean Jacques Rosseau Institute in France to demonstrate the power of thought to his students. I discovered it by reading a book written by Charles Haanel. Haanel writes:

You may think this is will power. It is nothing of the kind. In fact, if you *will* the pendulum to move, it will not budge; you must think of the result, not upon how it is accomplished.

In his experiments, M. Baudouin found that the higher the intelligence the student possessed, the more rapidly did he secure results. Those students who were more or less deficient in mentality were very slow, and in some cases results were almost negligible.

A Couple of Tips/Comments:

• The hardest part about this experiment is finding a small weight to attach to the pencil (using string). I ended up using a tin container (about the size of a quarter) that held dental floss from a hotel.
• Make sure the string is long enough (about 8 inches). I measured 8 inches before I tied the weight to the string and the string to the pencil.

• Do not focus on making/forcing the pendulum to move. Focus on the lines. Think about line AB. Move your eyes from point A to point B. Continue doing this until the pendulum moves. You can speed up the movement by moving your eyes faster (and your thoughts), back and forth between points A and B.

• When switching your thoughts from line AB to line CD, the change in the pendulum's movement is not instantaneous. It takes a small amount of time for the motion to switch. Same when switching from circling motion to no motion at all. This is mirrored in everyday life. Usually, our thoughts do not *instantly* manifest. However, as we continue thinking the same thought over and over, the results appear.
• Repetition and emotion seem to make things appear faster in the physical world. The more a thought is repeated (and the more emotion is placed behind a particular thought), the faster the results appear. At least, this has been my experience.

Your Turn

Go conduct the experiment. It's fun, and it takes less than 10 minutes. Have fun, and let me know your results. Post a comment if you complete the experiment.

Steve Pavlina runs an excellent personal development blog, which I "accidentally" discovered 5 weeks ago. Steve writes about subjects that many people would "tiptoe" around, or avoid writing about altogether. Many of his articles are controversial and thought-provoking, and I enjoy reading them.

Steve writes about his personal explorations with consciousness, and discusses the nature of reality, entrepreneurship, productivity, how intentions manifest, health, goal-setting, discipline and metaphysics—among many other subjects.

Must Reads from Steve's Blog…

The Law of Attraction

In this article, Steve tackles some tough questions relating to the Law of Attraction such as…

• What happens when people put out conflicting intentions, like two people intending to get the same promotion when only one position is available?
• Do children, babies, and/or animals put out intentions?
• If a child is abused, does that mean the child intended it in some way?
• If I intend for my relationship to improve, but my spouse/partner doesn’t seem to care, what will happen?

How Intentions Manifest

Steve discusses how intentions manifest in the physical world, and how we receive confirmation of our intentions.

Why Do Intentions Take So Long To Manifest?

If we live in a universe that responds to thought, then why don't our thoughts instantly manifest? Steve answers this question brilliantly and provides 5 reasons why this occurs. He also explains how our subconscious beliefs can sabotage our intentions.

Subjective Reality
Subjective Reality Q & A

In these 2 articles, Steve discusses subjective reality and answers commonly-asked questions such as…

• How can I know that subjective reality is real?
• How many subjective realities are there?
• Why do I identify with this particular body and not someone else’s?
• But what if I don’t believe that I am consciousness? What if I believe I am a physical body with a mind?
• So if I were to believe in something that didn’t exist or that wasn’t possible yet, it would actually begin to manifest in the physical universe?
• What about the physical laws of science? Can I break them?

The True Nature of Reality (Podcast)

This is a great podcast. In this audio recording, Steve answers the following questions…

• What kind of reality do we actually live in? What are its capabilities?
• Do people, places, and objects still exist when you aren’t perceiving them?
• How can you manifest more of what you want and less of what you don’t want?
• What assumptions have you made about reality that are totally unprovable and may in fact be wrong?
• What are the limitations of the Law of Attraction, why do they arise, and how do you work around them?
• Why might subjective reality be a more accurate model than objective reality?
• What are the practical consequences of a subjective belief system?
• If you’re stuck in an unhappy situation right now, why are you stuck, and how do you change it?

Cause-Effect vs. Intention-Manifestation

Steve discusses how cause-and-effect is really intention-manifestation. Most importantly, he points out that we often sabotage our own success because our intentions are not clear, and we have negative thoughts towards that intention.

If you want to achieve a goal you’ve set, the most crucial part is to DECIDE to manifest it. It doesn’t matter if you feel it’s outside your control to do so. It doesn’t matter if you can’t yet see how you’ll get from A to B. Most of those resources will come online AFTER you’ve made the decision, not before.

If you don’t understand this simple step, then you will waste a lot of time. Step 1 is to decide. Not to ruminate or to ponder or to ask around and see whether or not you can do it. If you want to start your own business, then decide to make it so. If you want to be married and have a family, then decide to attract a mate. If you want to change careers, then decide to do so.

It blows my mind that people think that something else has to come before the decision. People waste months trying to figure out, “Is this goal possible?” And this makes a lot of sense to do so if you’re at a certain level of consciousness. But all you’re really doing is creating delay, and you’ll simply manifest evidence to suggest that the goal is both possible and not possible. You think doubt in your head, you find doubt in the world.

Steve Pavlina is doing brilliant work by helping people improve their lives—and better understand themselves and the universe. I think his blog is a real gem, and I hope you find it useful too.

In this video, Mike Dooley gives a very passionate speech about thought and consciousness to a local Toastmasters' group.

For those who are unaware, Toastmasters is a business organization that helps people develop public speaking skills. Toastmasters sponsors public speaking contests and holds monthly meetings.

From the magazine, Natural Awakenings,a free alternative health magazine that I picked up at Whole Foods…

Most people today lead excessively nature-separated lives. Some doctors believe that this disconnect leads to poor mental health. Ecopsychologists believe that reconnecting people with nature will improve mental health. Anyone who's experienced nature—whether in open backcountry or a sunny backyard, whether in the context of sea or stars—knows how nature renews and re-creates us.

So maybe traffic, concrete and skyscrapers really are driving us crazy. Polluted inorganic environments may well be contaminating our heart, mind and spirit. A 2004 study even suggests that kids who engage with nature are less apt to have attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADD). And a Univeristy of Michigan study found that people with views of nature from home are happier."

This is a good reminder to spend more time outdoors. Interestingly, we can find scientific evidence for "ecopsychology" in the field of harmonics and physics. The resonant frequency of the Earth's electromagnetic shield is referred to as The Shumann Resonance, and although this frequency varies, it's around 7.8 Hz. Apparently this Earth frequency has extremely beneficial effects on living organisms, including humans.

According to a site about electromagnetic frequencies…

The Schumann Resonances are quasi-standing electromagnetic waves that exist in the Earth's 'electromagnetic' cavity (the space between the surface of the Earth and the Ionosphere). So long as the properties of Earth's electromagnetic cavity remains about the same, these frequencies remain the same. Presumably there is some change due to the solar sunspot cycle as the Earth's ionosphere changes in response to the 11-year cycle of solar activity.

Depending on your point of view, living beings either evolved in this natural electromagnetic environment or were created with Divine Intelligence to live in harmony with it. One thing is certain: Since life began, the Earth has been surrounding all living things with this natural frequency pulsation. Many experts believe that the wide spectrum of artificial man-made EMF (electromagnetic frequency) radiation masks the natural beneficial frequency of the Earth.

Electropollution may cause us to feel more stressed, fatigued and "out of balance." Laboratory research has shown that exposing living cells to the Schumann Resonance had the effect of "protecting" them from ambient EMFs, allowing the cells to increase their immune protection, and decrease the absorption of depression-inducing chemicals.

[This connects with the "ecopsychologists" who believe that people often develop depression, mood swings and mental problems when they spend too much time indoors.]

Some researchers believe that by producing a 7.83 Hz pulse with a field generator (Schumann device), we can counter the effects of the irritating man-made fields. [Man-made electromagnetic fields are produced by radiation from power lines, cell phones, microwaves, and most technology. According to scientists, depending on where we live, we spend a large amount of time existing in 50 and 60 Hz power fields.] By replicating the Earth's natural rhythm, we may be providing ourselves (at least in our immediate vicinity) with a more healthy environment."

Even more interesting…

The Schumann Resonance lies within the alpha range (human brain waves are normally in one of four states–beta, alpha, theta, or delta). Alpha waves range between 7-12 Hz. This is a place of deep relaxation, but not quite meditation. In Alpha, we begin to access the wealth of creativity that lies just below our conscious awareness—it is the entry-point that leads into deeper states of consciousness.

Endorphins are naturally generated in the alpha state, and we feel more relaxed. Perhaps this explains why we feel better after spending time outdoors.

I subscribe to an email newsletter on "metaphysics/consciousness/quantum physics/law of attraction" that I look forward to receiving each week. The author does a fantastic job of writing highly useful, highly interesting content.

Since I publish a blog, I realize how tough it is to continually provide good content on a regular basis (especially when you have so many other projects/events occurring in your life). As a result, I greatly appreciate people who provide good content because I know it requires a substantial amount of time and energy. So, a very big thank you to this author.

In the most recent issue of this person's newsletter, he included some fascinating studies about plants. These studies demonstrated that—like everything else in the universe—plants are conscious…in effect, they have a "mind" and respond accordingly.

– Begin excerpt –

A series of experiments carried out in 1966 demonstrated conclusively that plants are capable of intelligent thought processes when a researcher, Cleve Backster, an expert with lie detector equipment, connected a lie detector to a Dracaena plant, also known as a "Dragon tree". He wanted to see how long it would take for the leaves to react when he poured water on the plant's roots.

In theory, a plant will increase its conductivity and decrease its resistance after it absorbs water, and the curve recorded on graph paper should have gone upward. But in actuality, the line that was drawn curved downward. When a lie detector is connected to a human body, the pen records different curves according to the changes in the person's mood. The reaction of the dragon tree was just like the undulation of human mood swings. It seemed that it was happy when it drank water.

Cleve Backster also wanted to see if the plant would have any other reactions. According to past experience, Backster knew that a good way to elicit a strong reaction from a person is to threaten that person. He then thought of burning the leaves that were connected to the lie detector. With this thought held in his Mind, and even before he went to fetch a match, a strong positive curve rapidly appeared on the graph paper of the lie detector equipment.

When he arrived back with a match, he saw that yet another peak had appeared on the curve. The plant had perceived that there was a good chance that it could be burned, and through the lie detector exhibited the emotion of fright.

If he showed less inclination to burn the plant, the reactions of the plant as recorded by the lie detector were not so strong. If he merely pretended to take action to burn the leaves, the plant had almost no reactions whatsoever.

The plant was therefore fully capable of distinguishing true intentions from false ones.

In a further experiment, Cleve Backster decided to test how well a plant can recognize things as well as people. To do this he selected six students, blindfolded them and asked them to draw lots. One of the choices was to uproot one of the two plants that were present for the experiment and to destroy it by treading on it. This person was to carry out this alone, and none of the other students knew who had actually drawn this task. By proceeding in this manner only the remaining plant would know the identity of the murderer of the other plant. The murder of the plant was thus perpetrated.

The remaining plant was then connected to a lie detector and each of the students was asked to walk by the remaining plant that had witnessed the murder of the other plant. The plant showed no reactions to the five students who had not been involved with the destruction of the other plant, but when the student who had murdered the other plant walked by, the remaining plant that was connected to the lie detector showed an extreme reaction on the lie detector recording paper.

The plant was able to identify the exact person responsible for the destruction of its friend and show emotions of fear that it might also be subjected to the same fate.

This demonstrates extremely well that plant life, like all life and indeed everything in the Universe is an inseparable aspect of the same infinite Mind, Consciousness and intelligence of The Source, The First Cause, of God.

Human beings, still totally steeped in the material world and personal ego assume that because a plant does not appear to have a physical "brain", or a mouth or any other apparent animal characteristics that they are "unintelligent" or simply "inanimate". Nothing in fact can be further from the truth.

The human brain is not the real Mind any more than physical parts of a plant or a mineral are real Mind even though they share the same Energy and are observable at the level at which they can be perceived.

All Mind is focused within its own Energy plane, in the case of plants the plane of the plant Mind, but at the same time because everything in the Universe is an inseparable aspect of everything else in the Universe at a quantum level, then all aspects of the infinite Mind are capable of instant communication through the individual Mind and the Universal Mind.

– End excerpt. –