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The Power of Prayer and Infinite Possibility

Week 5: The Power of Group Intention:

Focused Energy and Connected Hearts

Facilitator Guide

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Week 5: The Power of Group Intention: Focused Energy and Connected Hearts

1. Welcome –

2. Opening prayer

3. Daily Word: Pray for Others

I affirm right and perfect outcomes for all.

The human mind plans the way, but the Lord directs the steps. Proverbs 16:3

4. Inspirational quotes

There is truly nothing more important to true growth than realizing that you are not the voice of the mind; you are the one who hears it. Michael Singer

Spirituality has nothing to do with what you believe and everything to do with your state of consciousness.

Eckhart Tolle

5. Check in – “aha” moments, desire manifestations, seedling updates, concerns,

etc. (Limit to 2 minutes per person.) The week’s material

Prayer is effective for the pray-ers and the prayed-for. Lynne McTaggart

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So, what have we learned so far about the power of prayer?

1. Science has shown that everything is made of energy – which cannot be created or destroyed, only its form changed. The focus of our attention changes reality itself, suggesting that we live in a participatory, interactive universe. The universe and everything in it share a field of energy, which is known by many names.

Charles Filmore said, “Science has opened up a ‘kingdom’ having all the possibilities of the kingdom of heaven taught by Jesus – a kingdom within us to be exercised constructively through our minds under divine law.” Jesus repeatedly demonstrated the ability to affect matter through his communion with the Divine Mind – creating what we call miracles.

2. Prayer is our communion with the Divine. We say, “Our thoughts are prayers,” but it is our emotion – the FEELING in the communication that is actually the prayer – not the words. IN effective prayer, we FEEL as if our desires have already been made manifest and we infuse those feelings with gratitude.

3. The greatest teacher of possibility was Jesus. He used the power of quantum physics to

activate the creative energies of the Infinite. Whether he fed 5000 with a few loaves and fishes, turned water into wine or raised the dead, Jesus never questioned the possibility of these demonstrations - what we call miracles. He knew how the Universe works! And tried to teach his disciples, repeatedly. Knowing is the most powerful state of awareness. It’s where we find peace, sacred serenity. Knowing is being positive – not feeling. It’s knowing with certainty that all outcomes in the physical world are perfect - because they are “co-created, collaboratively manifested and jointly produced to exactly serve the agenda of every soul in every situation in every moment in every place.”

4. Our intention propels the energy that creates our reality. Unity principle: Thoughts have

creative power to determine events and attract experiences. Science has proven science that our mere observation affects energy – both matter and potential (wave-particle duality). 3 We cannot be separate from the infinite creative energy of the Divine. Our error thoughts create the illusion of separation. Intention does not act against anything; rather, it pulls toward it. You receive what you desire for others. Call it karma, the law of attraction or whatever. It’s how the universe works… the Golden Rule. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” You will reap what you sow.

This week we move into the activity of sharing intention – the process of communing from a heart-centered to activate the energy of the universe. A profound resource for this focus is Lynne Taggart’s The Power of Eight: Harnessing the Miraculous Energies of a Small Group to Heal Others, Your Life and the World.

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McTaggart is a scientist who has studied the science of spirituality for almost 20 years. In her first book, The Field, she explained that the “subatomic world seems to overthrow the current laws of biology and physics.” She addressed The Zero Point Field (an underlying quantum energy field and vast network of energy exchange), including research suggesting that the prevailing system of communication with the body is not a chemical reaction, but quantum frequency and subatomic energy charge. In these studies, the human consciousness was able to access information beyond the conventional bounds of time and space. Multiple experiments showed that our thoughts may not be captive to our own minds, but rather capable of traversing other people and things – and actually influence them. The implication: Thoughts are an actual something with the capability to change physical matter. In her second book, The Intention Experiment (2007), Taggart complied all of the credible scientific research into the power of the mind over matter and invited both readers and a consortium of scientists experienced in consciousness research to conduct their own experiments on the power of the mass intention to affect the physical world. From these experiments (using the scientific method of research, including blind studies), she began the Power of Eight groups and healing intentions. Per Taggart, “The most powerful effect of group intention – an effect overlooked by virtually every popular book on the subject – was on the intenders themselves.” She observed “a dynamic so powerful and life-transforming that it enabled individual miracles to take place,” and recorded “hundreds, if not thousands, of these instantaneous miracles in participants’ lives.” These experiments required a focused state of mind using a mass intention to amplify the power of these communal small groups. In several studies, they studied the effects of intention on seed germination, and found amazing results: the seeds grew more on the days of intention - as if the groups and seeds were communicating. McTaggart said they discovered “the power we each hold inside of us to heal our own life, which gets unleashed immediately the moment we stop thinking about ourselves.” So, how does this communication work? We don’t know. Yet. Remember Einstein’s “spooky science at a distance”? Science has proven the phenomenon of entanglement (non-locality), where subatomic particles or electrons or photons are in contact – forever influenced by each other for no apparent reason, over any time or distance, despite the absence of physical force like a push or shove. The effect is instantaneous – and doesn’t apply to anything bigger than an electron. While scientific study of these “events” are relatively recent, the power of group prayer/intention has been utilized for millennia – including the circles of Stonehenge, mystical Christianity (Rosicrucian’s), the Knights of the Round Table, Native American drum circles and Jesus’s 12 Apostles. Group prayer is common in the Bible, though Jesus often went off alone to pray as he communed with Source. The Greek word “eccelesistic” refers to a group of people gathered with a specific, unified purpose, centered into one “body.” Jesus’ group of 12 learned to pray together, then move outward in their teachings. Hinduism refers to a mystic union with all that is.

McTaggart repeatedly referenced the measured positive effects on those praying for others. At the Max Planch Institute for Human Cognitive & Brain Science (Germany), it was found that after one week of

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compassionate meditation, participants were cooperative and willing to help others. Measuring participants’ brainwaves (Brainwave speed is measured in Hertz [cycles per second].), they observed that gamma states were “infectious,” evident in a sense of altruism and connectedness, and the presence of compassion, positive emotions, even maternal love. The pray-ers were changed.

Brainwave levels:

• Infra-Low brainwaves are thought to be the basic cortical rythms that underlie our higher brain functions. Very little is known about infra-low brainwaves. Their slow nature makes them difficult to detect and accurately measure, so few studies have been done.

• Delta brainwaves (.5 to 3 Hz) are slow, loud brainwaves (low frequency and deeply penetrating, like a drumbeat). They are generated in deepest meditation and dreamless sleep. Delta waves suspend external awareness and are the source of empathy. Healing and regeneration are stimulated in this state, which is why deep restorative sleep is so essential to the healing process.

Theta brainwaves (3 to 8 Hz) occur most often in sleep but are also dominant in deep meditation. Theta is our gateway to learning, memory, and intuition. In theta, our senses are withdrawn from the external world and focused on signals originating from within. It’s that twilight state, which we normally only experience fleetingly as we wake or drift off to sleep. In theta we dream, with vivid imagery, intuition and information beyond our normal conscious awareness. It’s also where we access our fears, troubled history and nightmares.

Alpha brainwaves (8 to 12 Hz) are dominant during quietly flowing thoughts, and in some meditative states. Alpha is “the power of now,” being here, in the present, the resting state for the brain. Alpha waves aid overall mental coordination, calmness, alertness, mind/body integration and learning.

Beta brainwaves (12 to 38 Hz) dominate our normal waking state of consciousness - when attention is directed towards cognitive tasks and the outside world. Beta is a “fast” activity, present when we are alert, attentive, engaged in problem-solving, judgment, decision-making or focused mental activity.

Gamma (38 to 42 Hz) brainwaves are the fastest of brainwaves and relate to simultaneous processing of information from different brain areas. Gamma brainwaves pass information rapidly and quietly. The mind must be quiet to access gamma.

Gamma was dismissed as “spare brain noise” until researchers discovered it was highly active when in states of universal love, altruism, and the “higher virtues.” Gamma is also above the frequency of neuronal firing, so how it is generated remains a mystery. It is speculated that gamma rhythms modulate perception and consciousness, and that a greater presence of gamma relates to expanded consciousness, purpose and spiritual emergence.

So, it seems that the collective aspect of praying - connection at a gamma level of brain activity - may be the essential factor in creating profound healing effects. Clearly, something beyond what science understands, much less can measure, is going on at these levels of connection. “Do unto others as you would have them do into you” has a forgotten benefit: You will be blessed as you desire for others! It’s more than a karmic principle. Adding “Thy will be done” (this or something better) removes our attachment and opens the possibilities.

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Discuss: How are the groups of eight (or other number) similar to Master Mind or other prayer groups? How are they different? How are the effects on pray-ers measured – or even noted? Have you noticed any similar effects in your personal prayer life? Connected hearts Did you know: • The heart has its own complete nervous system – the “heart brain” • The heart sends more information to the brain than the brain sends to the heart. • Patterns in the neural system from the heart impulsively affect the brain centers of perception, emotional experiences and self-regulation. The brain responds to the heart! Since 1991, the HeartMath Institute (HMI) has researched and developed reliable, scientifically validated tools and technologies that help people improve their emotional balance, health and performance. HMI also has conducted intriguing research on how the heart's magnetic field radiates outside the body and can affect other people. The HeartMath Institute researches heart-brain communication and its relationship to managing stress, increasing coherence and deepening our connection to self and others. HMI’s scientists also explore the electrophysiology of intuition and how all things are interconnected. According to HMI research, communication between the heart and brain actually is a dynamic, ongoing, two-way dialogue, with each organ continuously influencing the other’s function. Research has shown that the heart communicates to the brain in four major ways: neurologically (through the transmission of nerve impulses), biochemically (via hormones and neurotransmitters), biophysically (through pressure waves) and energetically (through electromagnetic field interactions). Communication along all these conduits significantly affects the brain’s activity. The anatomy and functions of the intrinsic cardiac nervous system and its connections with the brain have been explored extensively by neurocardiologists. In terms of heart-brain communication, it is generally well-known that the efferent (descending) pathways in the autonomic nervous system are involved in the regulation of the heart. However, it is less appreciated that the majority of fibers in the vagus nerves are afferent (ascending) in nature. Furthermore, more of these ascending neural pathways are related to the heart (and cardiovascular system) than to any other organ. This means the heart sends more information to the brain than the brain sends to the heart. More recent research shows that the neural interactions between the heart and brain are more complex than previously thought. In addition, the intrinsic cardiac nervous system has both short-term and long-term memory functions and can operate independently of central neuronal command.

HMI research also revealed that in addition to its extensive neurological interactions, the heart also communicates with the brain and body biochemically by way of the hormones it produces. Although not typically thought of as an endocrine gland, the heart actually manufactures and secretes a number of hormones and neurotransmitters that have a wide-ranging impact on the body as a whole.

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It was later discovered the heart contains cells that synthesize and release catecholamines (norepinephrine, epinephrine and dopamine), which are neurotransmitters once thought to be produced only by neurons in the brain and ganglia. More recently, it was discovered the heart also manufactures and secretes oxytocin, which can act as a neurotransmitter and commonly is referred to as the love or social-bonding hormone. Remarkably, concentrations of oxytocin produced in the heart are in the same range as those produced in the brain.

What else do we know about the heart/brain connection to our well-being? • Different patterns of heart activity that accompany varying emotional states have effects on our cognitive and emotional functions. • Stress and negative emotions produce erratic, disordered heart rhythms and corresponding patterns of neural signals from the heart to the brain that inhibit cognitive function. We don’t think clearly, can’t remember, learn, reason or make effective decisions. • The heart’s input to the brain also reinforces the emotional experience of stress. Positive emotional states have the opposite effect; they facilitate cognitive function and reinforce positive feelings and emotional stability. What is coherence?

According to HMI, “Many contemporary scientists believe it is the underlying state of our physiological processes that determines the quality and stability of the feelings and emotions we experience.” The feelings we label as positive actually reflect body states that are coherent, meaning ‘the regulation of life processes becomes efficient, or even optimal, free-flowing and easy,’ incoherent states include the feelings we label as ‘negative,’ such as anger, anxiety and frustration. “For the brain and nervous system to function optimally, the neural activity, which encodes and distributes information, must be stable and function in a coordinated and balanced manner. The various centers within the brain also must be able to dynamically synchronize their activity in order for information to be smoothly processed and perceived.”

Coherence has several related definitions, all of which are applicable to the study of human physiology, social interactions and global affairs. The most common dictionary definition is the quality of being logically integrated, consistent and intelligible, as in a coherent statement. A related meaning is the logical, orderly and aesthetically consistent relationship among parts. Coherence always implies correlations, connectedness, consistency and efficient energy utilization.

Bottom line: When our body and brain work better together, we feel and perform better. We are at peace with ourselves. The heart isn’t fighting the brain; they share the same state of being. The “fight or flight” response is simply an incidental, temporary state brought on by an emergency – not an ongoing state of stress and anxiety. Coherence is not relaxation (low-energy state), nor does it require lowering of the heartrate.

When the brain and heart are in a state of coherence, we feel calm, balanced, yet energized. This is a responsive state that is conducive to everyday functioning and interactions. We’re “up for” tasks needing mental acuity, problem-solving and decision-making.

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While self-directed breathing patterns can modulate the heart’s rhythm, this is tough for many people. An easier practice is slow breathing. Breathe in for a count of 5 seconds, then breathe out for 5 seconds. This will initiate a shift from an emotional state into coherence.

Per HMI, “When the heart’s rhythm shifts into coherence as a result of a positive emotional shift, our breathing rhythm automatically synchronizes with the heart,” reinforcing and stabilizing the shift to body-wide coherence.

Activity:

Here is HMI’s Quick Coherence Technique

Step 1: Heart-focused breathing

Focus your attention in the area of the heart. Imagine your breath is flowing in and out of your chest area, breathing a little slower and deeper than usual.

Inhale for 5 seconds; exhale for 5 seconds (or whatever rhythm is comfortable).

Heart-focused breathing helps take the intensity out of reaction or feeling such as anxiety or fear, and helps to replenish your energy levels and resilience.

Step 2: Activate a positive or renewing feeling

Make a sincere attempt to experience a regenerative feeling such as appreciation or care for someone or something in your life.

Suggestion: Try to re-experience the feeling you have for someone you love, a pet, a special place, an accomplishment, etc., or focus on a feeling of calm or ease.

Discuss: How does this feel? How easy is it for you to move into coherence? How long does it last?

So, focused heart coherence is “collective amplification and emotional resonance creates a self-reinforcing field of emotional energy that amplifies and increases our true self.”

We are in a higher frequency vibration when our mind and emotions are in resonance with our heart’s core values – our own true self. No energy is wasted on conflict or angst. We know when our moods, attitudes and dispositions are in a lower vibrational state. And hopefully, we recognize the state and intentionally move into a higher vibrational state - using whatever practice (breathing, meditation, prayer, yoga, etc.) “soothes our souls.” (For more information on HeartMath Institute, visit https://www.heartmath.org/.)

Discuss: What does the state of participants’ coherence add to a group intention? How is the energy affected? How does this shared state of being enhance prayer?

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Consciousness: Communion, as one, with Source

Remember that your perception of the world is a reflection of your state of consciousness. Eckhart Tolle

Intention is one with cause and effect. Intention determines outcome. And if you’re stuck and not moving forward, you have to check the thought and the action that

created the circumstance. Oprah Winfrey

So, here’s the BIG question: What IS consciousness? Among the definitions are: • a state of being awake and aware of one’s surroundings • a person’s awareness or perception of something • awareness of internal and external existence • any experience that can be described in words Is consciousness a thing? A place? An illusion? What constitutes this awareness? Is it limited to human beings or do animals have consciousness? The list of questions is endless because we simply don’t know. Given that there is no universally accepted operational definition of consciousness, the attempt to explain it has been underway since we became aware that we are aware. The French philosopher Rene Descartes said, “I think. Therefore, I am.” He believed that the very act of thinking demonstrated the reality of one’s existence and consciousness. He proposed mind/body dualism – that they are separate but interact. The American psychologist William James compared consciousness to a stream – unbroken and continuous despite constant shifts and changes. Sigmund Freud focused on the importance of the unconscious and conscious mind. Science continues to struggle to explain and understand consciousness. To date, there are two prevailing theories. • The Integrated Information Theory (developed by Dr. Giulio Tononi and collaborators at the Wisconsin Institute for Sleep and Consciousness at the University of Wisconsin–Madison) asserts that “consciousness is identical to a certain kind of information, the realization of which requires physical, not merely functional, integration, and which can be measured mathematically. ITT studies the physical properties and processes that underlie our conscious experiences, and it creates a measure of integrated information that forms consciousness. The quality of an organism’s consciousness is based on the level of this integration. The more information from external and internal sources an organism assimilates, the higher its consciousness, which puts man at the top.” (unless dolphins and/or elephants are actually ahead of us).

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• Bernard Baars’ Global Workspace Theory says that we each have a memory bank from which the brain draws information to form experiences of conscious awareness. The central idea of GW theory is that conscious cognitive content is globally available for diverse cognitive processes including attention, evaluation, memory, and speech. The notion of global availability is suggested to explain the association of consciousness with integrative cognitive processes such as attention, decision making and action selection. Also, because global availability is necessarily limited to a single stream of content, GW theory may naturally account for the flowing, ongoing nature of conscious experience. The conscious waking state supports fast, flexible and widespread brain interactions, while unconscious states do not (Baars et al, 2004). As humans, our awareness is always changing and shifting. We “bounce” from focusing on reading a book, to recalling a conversation with a friend, to noticing that it’s raining outside – in a nanosecond. Discuss: Is the MIND the “container” of consciousness? Is the MIND in the brain? Does consciousness reside in the brain? If not, where does consciousness “reside”? How can we account for the verifiable near death experiences (NDE) in which a clinically dead person is able to recall and detail events, specifics and conversations during the time in which the brain was not functioning? Where do ideas come from? Did Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, the Curies and the great inventors access some “realm of information”? According to current belief, there are three aspects to consciousness:

1. Conscious mind/ego – awareness of the present moment and surroundings and some mental functions (fear, joy, hate, etc.)

2. Subconscious mind – includes accessible information we are not aware of, but can access - memories, ideas, beliefs, underlying bias and the emotions attached to them.

3. Unconscious mind – those aspects we are not aware of and can’t be brought to the surface, such as how cells divide, beating the heart or digestion.

Discuss: How do you define consciousness? Is consciousness a field of energy? Is SPIRITUAL consciousness the same as consciousness? Or are they different aspects of the same “thing”? The levels of spiritual consciousness have been defined as: • Higher Self/Superconsciousness

– a heightened awareness that comprehends both material and physical reality – and the energy beyond; a “blissful state” where one perceives all of existence without objective, pure, intuitive and holistic awareness, unclouded by judgement and subjectivity of the physical world.

• Christ Consciousness - The state believed to have been held by Jesus

• Cosmic Consciousness – a state higher than that possessed by ordinary man. As described by Pallab Kakoti, B.S., Physicist, in Understanding the Cosmos and Reality of Life,

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“Cosmic Consciousness is an ultra-high state of illumination in the human Mind that is beyond that of ‘self-awareness,’ and ‘ego-awareness.’ In the attainment of Cosmic Consciousness, the human Mind has entered a state of Knowledge instead of mere beliefs, a state of ‘I know,’ instead of ‘I believe.’ This state of Mind is beyond that of the sense reasoning in that it has attained an awareness of the Universe and its relation to being and a recognition of the Oneness in all things that is not easily shared with others who have not personally experienced this state of Mind. The attainment of Cosmic illumination will cause an individual to seek solitude from the multitude, and isolation from the noisy world of mental pollution.” Charles Fillmore said, “The superconsciousness is the realm of the divine Christ. It has no personal ambition, knows no conditions, but is always pure, innocent, loving tendencies to the call of God.”

The awakening of consciousness is the next evolutionary step for mankind. Eckhart Tolle

Discuss: What level of consciousness is needed to harness the power of prayer and intention with coherent energy? How does a coherent group intention amplify with a higher state of consciousness?

Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness.

Eckhart Tolle Questions? Comments? 7.Meditation 8. Prayer partners How have your prayers been answered, intentions manifested? This week, set a group intention – including the recipient – for healing, prosperity, peace, etc. See page 241 in The Power of Eight book. Begin with the desired result in mind. Assignment:

1. Read the material for Week 6 – The Power of Synchronicity: The Divine Sequence. Print out and complete the Connect the Dots activity.

2. Connect with your prayer partner and prayer group members in heart-centered focus.

3. Record your thoughts, questions and “aha” moments in the week’s journal pages.

4. Continue to monitor your seedling and bring a photo of its weekly growth.

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9. Closing prayer