Table Of Content1
The Great Field
Soul at Play in a Conscious Universe
John James, Ph.D.
The Great Field
Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
James, John
The great field : soul at play in a conscious universe / John James. — 1st
ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references. ISBN: 978-1-60415-015-5 (pbk.)
1. Transpersonal psychology. 2. Consciousness. 3. Energy psychology.
I. Title.
BF204.7.J36 2007
110—dc22
2007034485
Copyright © 2007, John James
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without prior written
permission from Elite Books, with the exception of short excerpts used with
acknowledgement of publisher and author. © 2007 John James.
Typeset in Cochin Printed in USA First Edition
Typeset by Karin Kinsey
Cover design by Victoria Valentine
1098765432 1
An investigation into the nature of the universe and
its implications for the human soul
The concept of a Great Field inherent in every aspect of the universe
provides a framework to enrich our understanding of particles and stellar
systems, of our brains and our beliefs. It is capable of forming a conceptual
basis for a unified cosmology that would help to clarify all creation and
give meaning to the conflicts that so damage our species. The theory of the
Great Field is a theory for our times.
v
Acknowledgments
In a book of this breadth and complexity one cannot possibly
acknowledge all the people who have influenced one’s life or the gradual
growth of this the book. What began as a thesis for a Graduate Diploma in
Transpersonal Psychology grew over the next five years into a book. I
would like to thank my two partners at the Crucible Centre for their
involvement in every aspect of its evolution, my wife Hilary James, and
our partner Marg Garvan. Also, Dr. David Wright, Ron Perry, Prof.
Tony Baker, and Prof. David Russell, who supported and advised us at the
Centre while the clinical research and writing was in progress. Many
friends and students have given their feedback and comments. It should be
said that some parts of this book are extremely dense and not always easily
read. The choice was mine whether to write a very large book with full
descriptions of experiments and client processes, or to keep it short,
relying on the imagination and good sense of the reader to re-imagine and
skim and skip as they need. So much information is now available on the
Web that not everything needs to be spelled out in full. Among the many
readers I would particularly like to thank are Lloyd Fell, Jane Warnock,
Liz Taverner, Brian Johnson, and Norman Franklin. In particular, I thank
Ruth Ammann for introducing me to Dawson Church, my publisher.
In the ocean of the Heart love opens its mouth
And gulps down the two worlds like a whale.
Heart from the Heart’s wordless mysteries!
Understand what cannot be understood!
In man’s stone-dark heart there burns a fire
That burns all veils to their root and foundation.
When the veils are burned away, the heart will understand completely.
Jalal-ud-Din Rumi1
1 Harvey, Andrew, The Way of Passion: A Celebration of Rumi, Berkeley, 1994, **.
vii
Contents
Illustrations xii
1. Introduction 1
2. The Organic View 9
The Hundredth Monkey 10
Morphic fields and synchronicity 12
Scientists prefer physical contact 16
A universe of signals: nothing is ever alone 20
Information exchange is instantaneous 26
The role of genes: a willing tool waiting for an instructor 28
3. The Physical View 34
Finding answers to the paradox: quantum theory and 35
beyond
Who said space was empty? 41
The four horsemen: Bohm, Bell, Benton, and Aspect 44
The Great Field 52
4. The Implications of the Field for Biology 59
Thoughts affect proteins and energy fields create form 59
So, who conducts the orchestra? 66
Coherence creates a qualitative difference 72
The Vishnu Paradox 76
Replication is both coherent and unpredictable 82
Expansion and contraction 90
5. Our Heart Brain and the Cerebral Brain 97
The three earlier brains 97
Differences between men and women 99
The deep structure of the brain would be holographic 101
Our other brain: the heart 105
Limiting the heart-brain 109
viii
The fourth brain of transcendence 110
The potential is ours only when coherence is undamaged 114
When the forebrain connects with the heart, we are granted
intuition 119
6. What Constitutes the Great Field? 126
Individuality within the constraints of coherence 129
An ever-expanding warehouse of information 132
Definable aspects within the field 134
We may be projections from the Field 141
When the Field gives us all we need: isn’t this Love? 146
How can we be a victim? 149
There is no plan, so what of good and evil? 151
Is human consciousness of benefit to the universe? 154
Other universes with different laws 158
Can the future determine the past? 162
7. Therapy and the Field 165
It seems humans have always had some knowledge of the
body’s energy systems 168
The fields of the human body 171
We are socialized to turn reality into illusion 173
Duality in the human field: Tarzan v. Jane 177
Disguising our contradictions creates shadows 180
8. Soul is Our Personal Aspect in the Field 185
Soul with a million definitions 185
Experiencing soul 188
Soul in our energy system 195
9. The Soul Incarnates 198
We are created in the whisper of the soul 200
The soul is present in the womb 203
Soul is affected by death in the womb 208
The manner of our birth changes soul 213
ix
From the Void to emptiness: soul is replaced by ego 216
10. The Nature of Soul 220
Coming back or not: reincarnation 220
Karma accumulates in the soul 223
Souls are not on a journey 226
No emotions, no judgment, no suffering 229
Separation from soul 233
Creation of opposite fields 237
Grouping of soul-fields 241
Only through service can we change soul 244
11. Return to Eden 248
What is our goal if not our enlightenment? 249
Can therapy help us get there? 253
Peak experiences: meeting the Field unexpectedly 257
If it’s a mission, it’s impossible 260
We are the consciousness of the Earth 263
Appendix 1: Possible Scenario for the Creation of Matter out of the
Great Field 266
Appendix 2: Summary of the Psyche that had been Applied to the Great 268
Field
Permissions and Acknowledgments 271
x
