I mean that we might have a complete, consistent, and unified theory of physical interactions that would describe all possible observations.” Not only did this not happen, but I posit that it is unlikely to happen. As I write this, physicists are still struggling to explain newly discovered dark matter, dark energy, and the very surprising accelerating expansion of the universe (or, is it a change in the supposedly constant velocity of light?).
To my mind, the most shocking example of a brilliant man saying something truly silly is a quote from A. A. Michelson, after he showed that there was no aether, but before the discovery of relativity and quantum mechanics. Expressing the spirit of his time, he said, ”The most important fundamental laws and facts of physical science have all been discovered, and these are now so firmly established that the possibility of their ever being supplemented in consequence of new discoveries is exceedingly remote.”4
I believe that these “end of physics” statements are not only untrue, but misleading and logically impossible. The hubris of brilliant and famous scientists is still with us today. The issue is very important, because it shows what terrible trouble we can get into if we are totally lacking in awe, wonder, or spiritual questioning.
Great visionary scientists such as Einstein, Newton, and John Archibald Wheeler had no such lack. At ninety, Wheeler was still asking, “How come the universe?” In his writing, Einstein said that we “use our intellect to solve difficult problems, but the problems themselves come from another source.”
We may well ask: Will there be an end to mathematics? To biology? To history? Will the human mind withdraw from science? Does curiosity ever achieve completion? I think not. A thousand years from now, our current views of physics will seem as primitive as the phlogiston theory seems to us today. (In the eighteenth century, phlogiston was believed to be an element that caused combustion or was given off by anything burning; the notion has long since been discarded.)
Ancient spiritual and philosophical teachings with their roots in India and Tibet assert that consciousness has existed since the beginning of time. However, this consciousness has been unrecognized because of our ignorance of our own true nature. This seemingly radical idea of nonlocal connections is finding increasing acceptance in the data of modern physics, of all places. Thus, it seems appropriate to begin Chapter 1 by discussing the ways in which contemporary physics shows that there are “nonlocal” connections called quantum interconnectedness — that is, an instantaneous spanning of space and time. In Chapter 1, I also relate these data to similar ideas from Buddhism and other ancient mystical teachings, all of which claim that “separation is an illusion.”
Remote viewing is an example of nonlocal ability. It has repeatedly allowed people to describe, draw, and experience objects and activities anywhere on the planet, contemporaneously or in the near future.5 Although we do not yet know how this works, there should no longer be any doubt that most of us are capable of experiencing places and events that appear to be separated from our physical bodies by space and time. In Chapter 2, I present the evidence from remote viewing experiments — my own as well as my colleagues’ — showing the reality of these psychic abilities. Then, in Chapter 3, I describe how you can discover these abilities in yourself and incorporate them into your life, including detailed exercises from our remote viewing workshops. The practice of remote viewing may reveal more to you than simply what’s in a paper bag in the other room; it may reveal the nature of your limitless mind — who you really are.
I explore precognition in Chapter 4, including what I consider to be the most important scientific fact from psychical research: It is no more difficult to describe an event that is to occur in the future than to describe an event occurring at the present moment — casting into doubt our understanding of causality itself.
Chapter 5 describes the data and techniques that people use to intuitively diagnose illness. Psychic diagnosis goes beyond the doctor who can make a correct “snap” decision as soon as she sees the patient; here we describe the ability to diagnose illnesses without ever seeing the patient! In Chapter 6, I present the most recent research data on the efficacy of distant prayer and distant healing (categorized as “Distant Mental Influence of Living Systems,” or DMILS). Whereas Chapters 2, 3, 4, and 5 deal with the inflow of information from the world, Chapter 6 examines the outflow of healing intention.
Finally, in Chapter 7 I talk about the relationship between remote viewing and spirituality, and how such understanding can fill us with love and free us from fear. I describe the practice of self-inquiry as a way to move beyond our thoughts, out of conditioned awareness, and into a more spacious, peaceful way of life. I have often said that in my past work I was a psychic spy for the CIA and found God — just one of those so-called unintended consequences. (Our program at SRI provided valuable information to almost every branch of the U.S. intelligence community during the Cold War with the Soviet Union.) In this last chapter, I share my experience of how this research led me to philosophical and spiritual teachings that have transformed my consciousness and changed my life in unexpected and rewarding ways.
Limitless
M I N D
To see a World in a Grain of Sand And a Heaven in a Wild Flower, Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand And eternity in an hour.
— William Blake
All of life begins on the edge. The first cellular membranes began at the ocean’s edge, drying out and being covered with foam, cooling and warming. The edge is a place of opportunity, whether it be a seacoast or an airport. In remote viewing experiments, we find that edges — where land meets water, for instance — are among the easiest locations to see psychically.
The edge further represents a place of change and spaciousness. Port cities at the water’s edge have always been a source of information, excitement, and new possibilities. I am grateful to live near beautiful San Francisco, on the far edge of the continent. The mystic, however, knows that he or she is always on the edge (or any other place of his or her choosing) — in consciousness. It doesn’t matter where one’s physical body happens to be; when we find ourselves truly on the edge, there is an opportunity for an event, a spiritual teacher, or a friend to pry loose the fingers of limitation one by one and set us free.
In this book, I describe remote viewing in detail — a process in which you can quiet your mind and inflow information from anywhere in the world. I also discuss distant healing, in which you can outflow your intentions to heal or relieve the pain of a distant person.
We begin at that still place — on the edge — between the inflow and the outflow. This is a quiet mental place where nothing at all is happening except the experience of loving awareness in the present moment, in the now. This archetypal feeling of non-separation from all of humanity and nature is what Jesus called “the peace that passeth understanding.” Although I have successfully used ESP to spy on the Soviets during the Cold War — even to forecast changes in the silver commodity market — it is exploring states of peaceful, loving awareness that makes the study of psychic abilities interesting to me today. As a physicist, I am also deeply interested in our nonlocal nature.
Sir Arthur Eddington was one of the premier astrophysicists in the early twentieth century. He wrote extensively about both the origin of the cosmos and his personal journeys into the peaceful, meditative realms — what he describes as “glimpses of transcendent reality.” Sir Arthur writes:
If I were to try to put into words the essential truth revealed by the mystic experience, it would be that our minds are not apart from the world; and the feelings that we have of gladness and melancholy and our other deeper feelings