Do you think it matters what you say and think about others, whether good or bad? Do you believe in the power of prayer or the power of ill-thoughts or curses – what some might call ‘black magic?’ Interestingly Western, Judeo-Christian societies have always accepted the power of prayer, but there has been much less acceptance of the possibility of doing harm to others through our thoughts or our wishes.

The indigenous peoples, however, have always acknowledged that we can help or harm people ‘non-locally,’ whether the distance is in space or time.

There seems to be an entanglement between particles in what is variously called the Akashic Field, the holographic universe or the inforealm, amongst many other labels. Stemming from this work the concept of a field theory of mind and consciousness is gradually gaining ground, with supporting evidence emerging from a variety of scientific disciplines. This provides a very clear description of consciousness as a field, in non-local space, with the brain serving only as a receiver of the waves of information which are stored outside the physical body.

Two Way Radios

To connect with what Dr Larry Dossey terms Era III healing, the non-local mind, the world of the inforealm, of the shamans, we simply need to be sensitive and open enough to receive and acknowledge the waves and the impulses that surround us, omniscient and omnipresent, that we are constantly capable of accessing if we so choose.

For most people, this access is most easily achieved exogenously through plant medicine, or endogenously through experiences such as meditation or ecstatic dance, but many more ways are being recognised, such as holotropic breathwork, hemi-sync sound, NLP, EFT and even simple intention.

The acknowledgement that we are capable of being receivers, downloading information from a universal consciousness, immediately allows the possibility of the mind changing much more quickly and radically than most neurological and psychotherapeutic theories allow. Our neural networks and limbic attractors are capable of tapping into a much wider perception of the world and knowledge base than that which comes solely from a person’s own individual life experience, or indeed that of his therapist.

This gives us the possibility of taking much more responsibility for our own health and wellbeing than we usually assume is possible. It also opens the possibility of healing past lives and karmic wounds, working with and for the ancestors, as well as healing others non-local from us in our current lives. That is the potential, the up-side.

But of course if we are receivers, we are also constant transmitters of information from the brain outwards to the inforealm. Once we start to acknowledge that, then we need to be much more careful about what we say and think as both have consequences permanently stored in the universal consciousness. That is the down-side and is why there has always been a knife-edge in shamanism between service and sorcery, between the curanderos and the brujas.

But at least the indigenous people work with the brujas from a place of intention. In the Western world I believe we frequently project ill-effects onto others, in a kind of unconscious sorcery.

Weapon of Choice

As soon as we talk about someone behind their back, wishing them ill or judging them, we are engaging in this sorcery. If you listen to gossip you are just as guilty as the person who is doing the gossiping, for you are fuelling those negative statements and intentions. Be careful what you say, be careful what you wish for. You may not think you are doing any harm but as soon as you recognise the ripples every thought and every action has in the inforealm, you must also accept the responsibility of being are capable of interfering with others, hurting them through what are known as psychic daggers.

We send psychic daggers when we wish ill on an ex-partner or friend. When we say or even think things like ‘I hate that stupid bastard. I hope he suffers like he has made me suffer!’ Or, ‘She’s so arrogant. I hope she gets fired!’ This energy vibrates into the cosmic consciousness where it is stored and then can be picked up and taken into the recipient’s energy field leading to genuine distress. It is particularly likely to resonate coherently when the two people are still connected by the energy cords that grow within family entanglements or close relationships, romantic or professional.

Perhaps less obviously, without any intention of malevolence, and indeed even with an intention to be of service, as soon as we decide there is something ‘wrong’ with someone and we try to ‘fix’ them, if we don’t have their permission to work with them, we are also engaging in sorcery.

I am aware that this is a contentious statement. Many Reiki healers believe it is fine to send distance healing to people that have not requested it (perhaps because the family or friends of the sick person want to send them healing and have requested it, without asking permission from the sick person). Many Buddhists send healing thoughts to people that have antagonised them in some way, and to people they don’t even know, in a practice known as Loving Kindness or Metta Bhavana. The intention of these practices is undoubtedly benevolent, but if they are being done without the permission of the recipient they are interference in another’s karmic path.

So with power to access the inforealm, comes responsibility. And one of the most simple, yet powerful ways we can access an altered state of consciousness and intend to influence our health non-locally is through ritual, which we’ll discuss next time. Until then, remember to pay attention to your thoughts and actions, and their respective energetic repercussions.