2023/01/05

New Thought - Wikipedia

New Thought - Wikipedia

New Thought

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The New Thought movement (also Higher Thought)[1] is a spiritual movement that coalesced in the United States in the early 19th century. New Thought was seen by its adherents as succeeding "ancient thought", accumulated wisdom and philosophy from a variety of origins, such as Ancient Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Chinese, Taoist, Vedic, Hindu, and Buddhist cultures and their related belief systems, 

primarily regarding the interaction between thought, belief, consciousness in the human mind, and the effects of these within and beyond the human mind. 

Though no direct line of transmission is traceable, many adherents to New Thought in the 19th and 20th centuries claimed to be direct descendants from those systems.

Although there have been many leaders and various offshoots of the New Thought philosophy, the origins of New Thought have often been traced back to Phineas Quimby, or even as far back as Franz Mesmer. Many of these groups are incorporated into the International New Thought Alliance.[2][3] The contemporary New Thought movement is a loosely allied group of religious denominations, authors, philosophers, and individuals who share a set of beliefs concerning metaphysics, positive thinking, the law of attraction, healing, life force, creative visualization, and personal power.[4]

New Thought holds that 

Although New Thought is neither monolithic nor doctrinaire, in general, modern-day adherents of New Thought share some core beliefs:

  1. God or Infinite Intelligence is "supreme, universal, and everlasting";
  2. divinity dwells within each person, that all people are spiritual beings;
  3. "the highest spiritual principle [is] loving one another unconditionally... and teaching and healing one another"; and
  4. "our mental states are carried forward into manifestation and become our experience in daily living".[5][6]

William James used the term "New Thought" as synonymous with the "Mind cure movement", in which he included many sects with diverse origins, such as idealism and Hinduism.[7]

Overview[edit]

William James, in The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902), described New Thought as follows:

[F]or the sake of having a brief designation, I will give the title of the "Mind-cure movement." There are various sects of this "New Thought," to use another of the names by which it calls itself; but their agreements are so profound that their differences may be neglected for my present purpose, and I will treat the movement, without apology, as if it were a simple thing.

It is an optimistic scheme of life, with both a speculative and a practical side. In its gradual development during the last quarter of a century, it has taken up into itself a number of contributory elements, and it must now be reckoned with as a genuine religious power. It has reached the stage, for example, when the demand for its literature is great enough for insincere stuff, mechanically produced for the market, to be to a certain extent supplied by publishers – a phenomenon never observed, I imagine, until a religion has got well past its earliest insecure beginnings.

One of the doctrinal sources of Mind-cure is the four Gospels; another is Emersonianism or New England transcendentalism; another is Berkeleyan idealism; another is spiritism, with its messages of "law" and "progress" and "development"; another the optimistic popular science evolutionism of which I have recently spoken; and, finally, Hinduism has contributed a strain. But the most characteristic feature of the mind-cure movement is an inspiration much more direct. The leaders in this faith have had an intuitive belief in the all-saving power of healthy-minded attitudes as such, in the conquering efficacy of courage, hope, and trust, and a correlative contempt for doubt, fear, worry, and all nervously precautionary states of mind. Their belief has in a general way been corroborated by the practical experience of their disciples; and this experience forms to-day a mass imposing in amount.[8]

History[edit]

Main article: History of New Thought

Origins[edit]

The New Thought movement was based on the teachings of Phineas Quimby (1802–1866), an American mesmerist and healer. Quimby had developed a belief system that included the tenet that illness originated in the mind as a consequence of erroneous beliefs and that a mind open to God's wisdom could overcome any illness.[9] His basic premise was:

The trouble is in the mind, for the body is only the house for the mind to dwell in [...] Therefore, if your mind had been deceived by some invisible enemy into a belief, you have put it into the form of a disease, with or without your knowledge. By my theory or truth, I come in contact with your enemy, and restore you to health and happiness. This I do partly mentally, and partly by talking till I correct the wrong impression and establish the Truth, and the Truth is the cure.[10][11]

During the late 19th century, the metaphysical healing practices of Quimby mingled with the "Mental Science" of Warren Felt Evans, a Swedenborgian minister.[citation needed] Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science, has sometimes been cited as having used Quimby as inspiration for theology. Eddy was a patient of Quimby's and shared his view that disease is rooted in a mental cause. Because of its theism, Christian Science differs from the teachings of Quimby.[12]

In the late 19th century, New Thought was propelled by a number of spiritual thinkers and philosophers and emerged through a variety of religious denominations and churches, particularly the Unity Church and Church of Divine Science (established in 1889 and 1888, respectively), followed by Religious Science (established in 1927).[13] Many of its early teachers and students were women; notable among the founders of the movement were Emma Curtis Hopkins, known as the "teacher of teachers", Myrtle Fillmore, Malinda Cramer, and Nona L. Brooks;[13] with many of its churches and community centers led by women, from the 1880s to today.[14][15]

Growth[edit]

See also: List of New Thought writers

New Thought is also largely a movement of the printed word.[16]

Prentice Mulford, through writing Your Forces and How to Use Them,[17] a series of essays published during 1886–1892, was pivotal in the development of New Thought thinking, including the Law of Attraction.

In 1906, William Walker Atkinson (1862–1932) wrote and published Thought Vibration or the Law of Attraction in the Thought World.[18] Atkinson was the editor of New Thought magazine and the author of more than 100 books on an assortment of religious, spiritual, and occult topics.[19] The following year, Elizabeth Towne, the editor of The Nautilus, published Bruce MacLelland's book Prosperity Through Thought Force, in which he summarized the "Law of Attraction" as a New Thought principle, stating "You are what you think, not what you think you are."[20]

These magazines were used to reach a large audience then, as others are now. Nautilus magazine, for example, had 45,000 subscribers and a total circulation of 150,000.[16] One Unity Church magazine, Wee Wisdom, was the longest-lived children's magazine in the United States, published from 1893 until 1991.[21] Today, New Thought magazines include Daily Word, published by Unity and the Religious Science magazine; and Science of Mind, published by the Centers for Spiritual Living.

Major gatherings[edit]

The 1915 International New Thought Alliance (INTA) conference – held in conjunction with the Panama–Pacific International Exposition, a world's fair that took place in San Francisco – featured New Thought speakers from far and wide. The PPIE organizers were so favorably impressed by the INTA convention that they declared a special "New Thought Day" at the fair and struck a commemorative bronze medal for the occasion, which was presented to the INTA delegates, led by Annie Rix Militz.[22] By 1916, the International New Thought Alliance had encompassed many smaller groups around the world, adopting a creed known as the "Declaration of Principles".[13] The Alliance is held together by one central teaching: that people, through the constructive use of their minds, can attain freedom, power, health, prosperity, and all good, molding their bodies as well as the circumstances of their lives. The declaration was revised in 1957, with all references to Christianity removed, and a new statement based on the "inseparable oneness of God and Man".[13]

Beliefs[edit]

New Thought
Divinity
Beliefs
Activities
Glossary

The chief tenets of New Thought are:[23]

  • Infinite Intelligence or God is omnipotent and omnipresent.
  • Spirit is the ultimate reality.
  • True human self-hood is divine.
  • Divinely attuned thought is a positive force for good.
  • All disease is mental in origin.
  • Right thinking has a healing effect.

Evolution of thought[edit]

Adherents also generally believe that as humankind gains greater understanding of the world, New Thought itself will evolve to assimilate new knowledge. Alan Anderson and Deb Whitehouse have described New Thought as a "process" in which each individual and even the New Thought Movement itself is "new every moment". Thomas McFaul has claimed "continuous revelation", with new insights being received by individuals continuously over time. Jean Houston has spoken of the "possible human", or what we are capable of becoming.[24]

Theological inclusionism[edit]

The Home of Truth has, from its inception as the Pacific Coast Metaphysical Bureau in the 1880s, under the leadership of Annie Rix Militz, disseminated the teachings of the Hindu teacher Swami Vivekananda.[25] It is one of the more outspokenly interfaith of New Thought organizations, stating adherence to "the principle that Truth is Truth where ever it is found and who ever is sharing it".[26][failed verification] Joel S. Goldsmith's The Infinite Way incorporates teaching from Christian Science, as well.

Therapeutic ideas[edit]

Divine Science, Unity Church, and Religious Science are organizations that developed from the New Thought movement. Each teaches that Infinite Intelligence, or God, is the sole reality. New Thought adherents believe that sickness is the result of the failure to realize this truth. In this line of thinking, healing is accomplished by the affirmation of oneness with the Infinite Intelligence or God.[citation needed]

John Bovee Dods (1795–1862), an early practitioner of New Thought, wrote several books on the idea that disease originates in the electrical impulses of the nervous system and is therefore curable by a change of belief.[citation needed] Later New Thought teachers, such as the early-20th-century author, editor, and publisher William Walker Atkinson, accepted this premise. He connected his idea of mental states of being with his understanding of the new scientific discoveries in electromagnetism and neural processes.[27]

Criticism[edit]

While the beliefs that are held by practitioners of the New Thought movement are similar to many mainstream religious doctrines, there have been concerns raised among scholars and scientists about some of the views surrounding health and wellness that are perpetuated by the New Thought movement. Most pressing is the New Thought movement's rejection of empirically supported scientific theories of the causes of diseases. In scientific medicine, diseases can have a wide range of physical causes, from abnormalities in genes and in cell growth that cause cancer, to viruses, bacteria, and fungi that cause infections, to environmental toxins that can damage entire organ systems.[28][29][30] While it has been empirically supported that the psychological and social health of a person can influence their susceptibility to disease (e.g., stress can suppress immune function, which increases risk of infection),[31] critics allege that mental states are not the cause of human disease, as is claimed by the New Thought movement.[citation needed]

Equally concerning, critics argue, is the New Thought movement's emphasis on using faith and mental states as treatments for all human disease. While it has been supported that the use of relaxation therapy and other forms of alternative health practices are beneficial in improving the overall well-being of patients with a wide variety of mental and physical health conditions (e.g., cancer, post-traumatic stress disorder), these practices are not effective in treating human disease alone, and should be undertaken in conjunction with modern medical therapies that have empirical support.[32] This rejection of scientifically supported theories of disease and disease treatment is worsened by the New Thought movement's assertion that mental states, attitudes, and faith in New Thought are the sole determinants of health.

The New Thought movement has received criticism akin to that levied against the holistic health movement that in claiming that sickness is caused by a person's attitudes, mental states, and faith, it is easy to place blame on patients for not adopting a correct attitude, thought processes, and/or lifestyle.[33] Blame can have powerful psychological effects – with stress and isolation seen in victim blaming being the largest issues that arise and the most concerning in terms of effect on patients' health.[34]

Movement[edit]

New Thought publishing and educational activities reach approximately 2.5 million people annually.[35] The largest New Thought-oriented denomination is the Japanese Seicho-no-Ie.[36] Other belief systems within the New Thought movement include Jewish Science, Religious Science, Centers for Spiritual Living and Unity. Past denominations have included Psychiana and Father Divine.

Religious Science operates under three main organizations: the Centers for Spiritual Living; the Affiliated New Thought Network; and Global Religious Science Ministries. 

Ernest Holmes, the founder of Religious Science, stated that Religious Science is not based on any "authority" of established beliefs, but rather on "what it can accomplish" for the people who practice it.[37] The Science of Mind, authored by Ernest Holmes, while based on a philosophy of being "open at the top", focuses extensively on the teachings of Jesus Christ.[38] 

Unity, founded by Charles and Myrtle Fillmore, identifies itself as "Christian New Thought", focused on "Christian idealism", with the Bible as one of its main texts, although not interpreted literally. The other core text is Lessons in Truth by H. Emilie Cady. The Universal Foundation for Better Living, or UFBL, was founded in 1974 by Johnnie Colemon in Chicago, Illinois after breaking away from the Unity Church for "blatant racism".[39]

See also[edit]

Persons[edit]

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ Dresser, Horatio Willis (1919), A History of the New Thought Movement, TY Crowell Co, p. 154, In England the term Higher Thought was preferred at first, and this name was chosen for the Higher Thought Centre, the first organization of its kind in England. This name did not however represent a change in point of view, and the movement in England has been similar to the therapeutic movement elsewhere.
  2. ^ Melton, J. Gordon; Clark, Jerome & Kelly, Aidan A. New Age Almanac; New York: Visible Ink Press (1991); pg. 343. "The International New Thought Alliance, a loose association of New Thought institutions and individuals (approximately 350 institutional members), exists as a voluntary membership organization [to advance New Thought ideals]."
  3. ^ Conkin, Paul K. American Originals: Homemade Varieties of Christianity, The University of North Carolina Press: Chapel Hill, NC (1997); pg. 269. "An International New Thought Alliance still exists, with offices in Arizona, a periodical, and around 200 affiliated societies, some of which still use the label 'church'".
  4. ^ Lewis, James R; Peterson, Jesper Aagaard (2004), Controversial New Religions, p. 226.
  5. ^ Jump up to:a b Declaration of Principles, International New Thought Alliance, 2008–2009.
  6. ^ Jump up to:a b "Statement of beliefs", New Thought info, 2008–2009.
  7. ^ James, William (1929), The Varieties of Religious Experience, New York: U Virginia, pp. 92–93, archived from the original on 2012-07-09
  8. ^ James, William (1902), The Varieties of Religious Experience, New York: U Virginia, pp. 92–93, archived from the original on 2012-07-09.
  9. ^ "Phineas Parkhurt Quimby". MSN Encarta. Archived from the original on August 29, 2009. Retrieved November 16, 2007.
  10. ^ Phineas, Quimby (2008). "Christ or Science". The Quimby Manuscripts. Forgotten Books. p. 183. ISBN 978-1-60506-915-9. Retrieved 2011-05-08.
  11. ^ "The Quimby Manuscripts". New Thought Library. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  12. ^ "Quimby’s son and defender said categorically, 'The religion which [Mrs. Eddy] teaches certainly is hers, for which I cannot be too thankful; for I should be loath to go down to my grave feeling that my father was in any way connected with "Christian Science." ...In [Quimby's method of] curing the sick, religion played no part. There were no prayers, there was no asking assistance from God or any other divinity. He cured by his wisdom.'" (Dresser, Horatio W., ed. The Quimby Manuscripts. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company Publishers, 1921. - p436). "Christian Science is a religious teaching and only incidentally a healing method. Quimbyism was a healing method and only incidentally a religious teaching. If one examines the religious implications or aspects of Quimby’s thought, it is clear that in these terms it has nothing whatever in common with Christian Science." (Gottschalk, Stephen. The Emergence of Christian Science in American Religious Life. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1973. p. 130). A good composite of both Quimby, and the incompatibility of his ideas and practice with those of Eddy, can be found in these sources: Taves, Ann, Fits, Trances, & Visions: Experiencing Religion and Explaining Experience from Wesley to James. Princeton University Press 1999 (pp 212-218); Peel, Robert. Mary Baker Eddy: The Years of Discovery. Boston: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1966 (chapter: "Portland 1862"); Gill, Gillian. Mary Baker Eddy. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Perseus Books, 1998 (pp 131-146 & 230-233).
  13. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Lewis, James R.; J. Gordon Melton (1992). Perspectives on the New Age. SUNY Press. pp. 16–18. ISBN 0-7914-1213-X.
  14. ^ Harley, Gail M.; Danny L. Jorgensen (2002). Emma Curtis Hopkins: Forgotten Founder of New Thought. Syracuse University Press. p. 79. ISBN 0-8156-2933-8.
  15. ^ Bednarowski, Mary Farrell (1999). The Religious Imagination of American Women. Indiana University Press. p. 81. ISBN 0-253-21338-X.
  16. ^ Jump up to:a b Moskowitz, Eva S. (2001) In Therapy We Trust, The Johns Hopkins University Press, ISBN 978-0-8018-6403-2, p. 19.
  17. ^ "Your Forces and How to Use Them, Vol. 1". New York, F.J. Needham. 1888.
  18. ^ William Walker Atkinson. Thought Vibration or the Law of Attraction. Advanced Thought Publishing. 1906. Full text public domain version online.
  19. ^ "William Walter Atkinson", WorldCat. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
  20. ^ MacLelland, Bruce, Prosperity Through Thought Force, Elizabeth Towne, 1907
  21. ^ Miller, Timothy (1995) America's Alternative Religions, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0-7914-2397-4, p. 327.
  22. ^ Dresser, Horatio, History of the New Thought Movement, 1919
  23. ^ "New Thought". MSN Encarta. Archived from the original on November 2, 2009. Retrieved November 16, 2007.
  24. ^ Houston, Jean. The Possible Human. 1997.
  25. ^ The Home of Truth, Our History
  26. ^ Home of Truth home page. Retrieved on 2007-09-20 from http://thehomeoftruth.org/.
  27. ^ Dumont, Theron, Q. [pseudonym of William Walker Atkinson. Mental Therapeutics, or Just How to Heal Oneself and Others. Advanced Thought Publishing Co. Chicago. 1916.
  28. ^ Cohen, M. (2007). Environmental toxins and health: The health impact of pesticides. Australian Family Physician, 36(12), 1002-4.
  29. ^ Playfair, J., MyiLibrary, & ProQuest. (2007). Living with germs in health and disease. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press.
  30. ^ Tsiftsoglou, A., NATO Scientific Affairs Organization. Scientific Affairs Division, & NATO Science Institute "Regulation of Cell Growth, Differentiation, Genetics in Cancer". (1996). Tumor biology : Regulation of cell growth, differentiation, and genetics in cancer (NATO ASI series. Series H, Cell biology; v. 99). Berlin; New York: Springer.
  31. ^ Friedman, H., Klein, T., & Friedman, Andrea L. (1996). Psychoneuroimmunology, stress, and infection. Boca Raton: CRC Press.
  32. ^ Taylor, S., Thordarson, D., Maxfield, L., & Fedoroff, I. (2003). Comparative efficacy, speed, and adverse effects of three PTSD treatments: Exposure therapy, EMDR, and relaxation training. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 71(2), 330-338.
  33. ^ Gilovich, T. (1993). How we know what isn't so : The fallibility of human reason in everyday life (1st Free Press paperback ed.). New York: Free Press.
  34. ^ Hortulanus, R., Machielse, A., & Meeuwesen, L. (2006). Social isolation in modern society (Routledge advances in sociology; 19). London; New York: Routledge.
  35. ^ Goldberg, P. (2010) American Veda: From Emerson and the Beatles to Yoga and Meditation How Indian Spirituality Changed the West. Random House Digital, Inc. p 62.
  36. ^ "Masaharu Taniguchi." Religious Leaders of America, 2nd ed. Gale Group, 1999. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2008.
  37. ^ Vahle, Neal (1993). Open at the top: The life of Ernest Holmes, Open View Press, 190 pages, p7.
  38. ^ Holmes, Ernest (1926) The Science of Mind ISBN 0-87477-865-4, pp. 327–346 "What the Mystics Have Taught".
  39. ^ DuPree, S.S. (1996) African-American Holiness Pentecostal movement: an annotated bibliography. Taylor & Francis. p 380.

General bibliography[edit]

  • Albanese, Catherine (2007), A Republic of Mind and Spirit: A Cultural History of American Metaphysical Religion, Yale University Press.
  • Anderson, Alan and Deb Whitehouse. New Thought: A Practical American Spirituality. 2003.
  • Braden, Charles S. Spirits in Rebellion: The Rise and Development of New Thought, Southern Methodist University Press, 1963.
  • Judah, J. Stillson. The History and Philosophy of the Metaphysical Movements in America. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press. 1967. Review by Neil Duddy.
  • McFaul, Thomas R (September–October 2006), "Religion in the Future Global Civilization", The Futurist.
  • Mosley, Glenn R (2006), The History and Future New Thought: Ancient Wisdom of the New Thought Movement, Templeton Foundation Press, ISBN 1-59947-089-6
  • White, Ronald M (1980), "Abstract", New Thought Influences on Father Divine (Masters Thesis), Oxford, OH: Miami University.
  • Albanese, Catherine (2016), The Spiritual Journals of Warren Felt Evans: From Methodism to Mind Cure, Indiana University Press.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to New Thought.
Wikisource has the text of the 1920 Encyclopedia Americana article New-Thought.
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2023/01/04

On Dialogue by David Bohm | Goodreads







On Dialogue by David Bohm | Goodreads



On Dialogue Paperback – 2 July 2013
by David Bohm (Author)
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David Bohm is considered one of the best physicists of all time. He also had a deep interest in human communication and creativity. Influential in both management and communication theory in what is known 'Bohm Dialogue', On Dialogue is both inspiring and pioneering. Bohm considers the origin and very meaning of dialogue, reflecting on what gets in the way of "true dialogue". He argues that dialogue, as a radical form of exploration that allows different views to be presented, leads us beyond the impasse of conflict and argument to the forming of new views.

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On Dialogue
David Bohm
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Never before has there been a greater need for deeper listening and more open communication to cope with the complex problems facing our organizations, businesses and societies. Renowned scientist David Bohm believed there was a better way for humanity to discover meaning and to achieve harmony. He identified creative dialogue, a sharing of assumptions and understanding, as a means by which the individual, and society as a whole, can learn more about themselves and others, and achieve a renewed sense of purpose.
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David Joseph Bohm (December 20, 1917 – October 27, 1992) was an American scientist who has been described as one of the most significant theoretical physicists of the 20th century and who contributed innovative and unorthodox ideas to quantum theory, neuropsychology and the philosophy of mind.

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Mind, blown. This was game changing and paradigm shifting. I love books that make me look at something that I thought I had fully understood from a completely different angle. It’s like taking a knockout punch from an angle you just didn’t expect to get hit from to using a boxing analogy. It’s about having dialogues as supposed to discussing things. Interestingly Bohm talked about the link between the word percussion, concussion and discussion – all hitting type activities. A discussion then becoming something that you hit from different angles where as a dialogue being almost a scarf that you put your thoughts on and then wrap between yourself and the other person you are talking to; you don’t pull or tear or hit this scarf. You wear it and take time to digest the warmth of the others' words. You may not agree with them but you stay in the moment and put analysis and point making to one side and take time to really absorb the message the other person is trying to say. It reminded me of Fernando Flores’ quote about the art of listening being about nurturing and growing a figurative flower that grows between you and the other; at the end of each conversation have you listened to the extent that the flower has grown or shrunk? How has the other person who is supposedly listening to you helped this little rose between you grown or shrunk?
Bohm was a physicist that worked with Einstein and come up with lots of other theories related to crazy physics stuff that is way beyond my limited ken but this really hit the mark – yes this could go a long way ... from solving the Palestinian peace process challenge to solving the challenges you may have with your partner.
Here are some of the best bits from the book:
• Bohm talked about communication being like a couple out in the middle of nowhere, lost but each with the same map (language) but on different parts of the terrain (context). They are talking but from different points of view and trying to locate one another in the process.
• “Everything requires attention, really. If we ran machines without paying attention to them, they would break down. Our thought, too, is a process, and it requires attention, otherwise it's going to go wrong.”
• “During the past few decades, modern technology, with radio, TV, air travel, and satellites, has woven a network of communication which puts each part of the world in to almost instant contact with all the other parts. Yet, in spite of this world-wide system of linkages, there is, at this very moment, a general feeling that communication is breaking down everywhere, on an unparalleled scale”
• “The hunter-gatherers have typically lived in groups of twenty to forty. Agricultural group units are much larger. Now, from time to time that tribe met like this in a circle. They just talked and talked and talked, apparently to no purpose. They made no decisions. There was no leader. And everybody could participate. There may have been wise men or wise women who were listened to a bit more–the older ones–but everybody could talk. The meeting went on, until it finally seemed to stop for no reason at all and the group dispersed. Yet after that, everybody seemed to know what to do, because they understood each other so well. Then they could get together in smaller groups and do something or decide things.”
• “‘Is it absolutely necessary? So much is being destroyed just because we have this notion of it being absolutely necessary.’ Now if you can question it and say, ‘Is it absolutely necessary?’ then at some point it may loosen up. People may say, ‘Well, maybe it’s not absolutely necessary.’ Then the whole thing becomes easier, and it becomes possible to let that conflict go and to explore new notions of what is necessary, creatively. The dialogue can then enter a creative new area.””
• PROPRIOCEPTION - “We come back to the realization that the thing which has gone wrong with thought is basically, as I said before, that it does things and then says or implies that it didn’t do them—that they took place independently, and that they constitute “problems.” Whereas what you really have to do is stop thinking that way so that you can stop creating that problem. The problem is insoluble as long as you keep on producing it all the time by your thought. Thought has to be in some sense aware of its consequences, and presently thought is not sufficiently aware of its consequences. In neurophysiology it is called proprioception, about the body.”
• “The object of a dialogue is not to analyse things, or to win an argument, or to exchange opinions. Rather, it is to spend your onions and to look at the opinions. TO LISTEN TO EVERYBODY'S OPINIONS, TO SUSPEND THEM, AND TO SEE WHAT ALL THAT MEANS. If we can see what all of our opinions mean, then we are sharing a common content, even if we don't agree entirely. If we can see them all, we may then move more creatively in different direction …. If each of us in this room is suspending then we are all doing the same thing. We are looking at everything together. the content of our consciousness is essentially the same"
• "If you know a person very well, you may pass him on the street and say, "I saw him." If you are asked what the person was wearing, however, you may not know, because you didn't really look. You were not sensitive to all that, because you saw that person through the screen of thought. And that was not sensitivity.”
• “Thought pervades us. It’s similar to a virus—somehow this is a disease of thought, of knowledge, of information, spreading all over the world. The more computers, radio and television we have the faster it spreads.So the kind of thoughts that’s going on all around begins to take over in every one of us without our even noticing it its spreading like a virus and each one of us is nourishing that virus.”
• “You say I am going to look at myself inwardly but the assumptions are not looked at”
• “If somebody says something to you causing you to react 2 / 3 seconds later a needle jerks - it takes that time for the impulse to work to work its way down from the brain through the nervous system … now the person said something to you 2 /3 seconds ago but you don’t see the connection. You don’t connect it and you say “there is a deep gut feeling which is a sign that I’m justified in being angry” you use the feeling to justify the anger and you say “here is an independent gut feeling which shows that I’m perceiving something. it shows that my anger is right.” Which is a clear indicator of wrongunism.
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April 14, 2014
David Bohm, the author of “On Dialogue,” was apparently recognized as one of the greatest theoretical physicists of the twentieth century. Despite my background in physics, I’d never heard of his contributions to the field, and I’d certainly never heard of his contributions to other fields, including … well, whatever you could call this book. Is it philosophy? Communications? I know it’s not an attempt at literary theory, but some of it seems to resemble it. It fancies itself a visionary way of reimagining and reawakening the power of human communication, but much of it sounds like New Age occultism – spooky and obscurantist, weird and much of it frankly unfounded.

Bohm thinks that following his recommendations will result in a kind of enhanced, unbiased conversation (which he insists on calling “dialogue”) between people that will help foster a common sense of humanity, and that our dialogue with one another has been irrevocably tainted by personal ambition and unexamined prejudices. Because we have these presuppositions, we can only engage in “conversations” (which is somehow very different from dialogue, which is the idealized type of human interaction). How conversation is different from dialogue is never really discussed. The way we can reestablish this most meaningful type of human connection is by letting go of these ambitions and prejudices.

He says that dialogue should ideally begin with no set purpose, no leader, and no hidden assumptions or opinions which will only serve to make you defensive during the course of the dialogue. Now, gentle reader, there is a difference between suspending opinions which might be culturally or religiously biased, which is something I would completely understand doing to open a dialogue fully up, and what Bohm is asking us to do in this book. He seems to want us to sit and listen to absolutely anyone say anything they sincerely believe. But the problem with sincerity is this: it and four dollars will buy you a cup of coffee at Starbucks.

Considering that Bohm is a scientist and is ostensibly on the hunt for something resembling truth about the physical world, this is somewhat disheartening to read. Do I need to suspend my judgments about the absurdity of Holocaust denial when I speak to someone who actually denies historical reality? Or fail to adduce the evidence that the Earth is roughly spherical to a flat Earther while engaged in a conversation with one? For someone who thinks that the scientific endeavor is something other than an utterly futile one, how can someone genuinely think these things? To request that we listen to varying opinions, measure their respective amounts of evidence, and adopt the one that has the most explanatory power all the while maintaining a cool head about those who have very different ideas from our own is a very good idea. Actually engaging people with ridiculous, patently false ideas is another. Not only is it silly, but it’s dangerous. There are some people who should be disabused of their false ideas. In fact, if that’s not the main point of dialogue, it should be one of its major reasons for existing. To say that dialogue shouldn’t be used for the purpose of convincing people of things we know to be true is detrimental to the idea of any kind of human interaction, especially if you believe that some things are true and some things aren’t.

This is mostly a collection of ad hoc work, with only a couple of pieces having been previously published elsewhere. Most of what I spoke about above is found in the first piece, “On Dialogue.” The subsequent pieces serve to expound upon the first in minor, tangential ways, and none of them seemed as egregious as what was set forward in the first piece. If this is the kind of uncritical work that Bohm is known for, I think I can safely bypass his other stuff and regard him for what he is: a physicist who should stick to doing what he knows best.
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Jake
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November 28, 2019
By some strike of fortune I happen to have skimmed part of another one of Bohm’s books and as such I am slightly introduced to his manner of thought - which lets me know I dont know what I am reading. While I have a temptation to speak, I will wait until I have read a bit more of his writings to throughly analyze his thinking. What I can say for now is that his writings appear to convey a deeper underlying philosophical framework on the nature of reality as a whole (yes, that grand) and as such I can say a very limited set of things on this exact book despite that I have an impression that I understand what he is saying.

From an initial impression, it seems that this book is on discovering the nature of truth via open discussion. He seems to believe that fundamentally if people were to talk and listen to one another that all disagreements would be resolved. He further things that innovation in science, politics, technology and whatever have you in social structures comes about from a smooth transition of information between parties. This is not cybernetics.
There is something deeper going on here.
He at times uses words like fragments and references his other books- which makes me believe Im not getting the full picture

Nevertheless there is a truth in his words and an idealistic naïveté which I must elaborate on.

The truth exists in that honest communication would resolve a great deal of issues that we presently have within the world - assuming of course that the parties have the proper information of course. If it were the case for example that congress or some other body of polity were to talk out their disagreements they may be able to find a practical resolution. Of course issues in communication leading to conflict exist not only on the political level but down to our day to day interpersonal relationships. Witha. Country abound in an expanding divorce rate one may for ask how many marriages would be saved for example if the could could simply talk it out?

Which of course leads to where he is, in my view, naive. Can open communication answer all questions and always bring about peace?
This is something im not so sure about. Bohm presents an example of where he thinks communication could have aided a relationship : between Einstein and Bohr.

It is well known by many physicists and historians thereof that Bohr advocated a Copenhagen interpretation of the universe (or one indeterminate) while Einstein stood by a mechanical view of the universe. Einstein, it is said, maintained the universe must be deterministic. He held by the tradition of the western determinist like Laplace- that if all the particles and their forces of the known universe were to be placed on a page - a sufficiently complex mathematician could espouse their history and future.

Bohr stood by that modern quantum mechanics have changed this, and shown it to be incorrect, while Einstein maintained in his classically spinozian way that “God does not play dice with the universe”.


Bohm (an acquaintance of the two- albeit one that was superficial )maps the decay of their relationship as they were unable to reconcile their differences. He suggests- if they were only able to talk it out they would find peace.

Which makes one wonder. Are there times where dialogue breaks down- in where two groups, or two people can no longer speak without fighting and disagreeing fundamentally. What then do we do? He seems to think peace will be find and a truth may come about, I do not think this is always the case. If so there may be hope for such institutions as the American bipartisan state which finds themselves in a whirlwind of conflict. I hope he is correct.

But then again, as I mentioned in the start I don’t truly understand bohm.


This serves to be a thought provoking book and I advocate anyone interested in the nature of communication give it a read

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Morgan Blackledge
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October 11, 2020
This is an oft cited, highly revered classic.

I’ve been meaning to read it for a long time.

And as is the case with so many classics.

It was WAY ahead of its time.

And so.

I can forgive the prolix and groping nature of the text.

And yes.

The core insight of the book is simple and profound.

That being.

There is a form of dialog that lacks agenda beyond connection, communication and honest exploration.

It’s transformative and healing.

It’s the fundament of authentically good therapy.

And when done well, it’s a genuine spiritual practice.

That being said.

Throughout much of this text.

The honest reader may find that they simply have no fucking idea what the actual fuck Bohm is fucking yammering about.

If you’re an educated reader in the domains of behavioral neuroscience, and cognitive psychology, you’re apt to be very frustrated by many of the claims.

Yes it’s an older text.

But frankly speaking.

Bohm was a physicist.

And much of the text deals with psychological and philosophical matters.

While he does an admirable job.

He’s a curious, creative and strong critical thinker.

The insights lack the discipline and clarity of a skillful and trained philosopher or psychologist.

This review is sure to draw ire (if anyone actually reads it).

I’m super sorry if I offend.

And in the high likelihood I’m missing something.

Please straighten me out.

Anyway.

I’m giving it a 3⭐️⭐️⭐️ until otherwise convinced.

Sorry about it 😕

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Blackdogsworld
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March 11, 2018
ผมคิดว่าเนื้อหาที่เกี่ยวข้องกับชื่อของหนังสือจริง ๆ คือ บทที่ 1-2 ซึ่งกล่าวถึงแนวคิดและกระบวนการ Dialouge นอกนั้นเหมือนเป็นการพูดถึงมุมมองของโบห์มในเรื่องความคิดและเรื่องอื่น ๆ ทำให้อ่านแล้ว รู้สึกว่าเนื้อหาไม่ค่อยกลมกลืนเท่าไหร่ และค่อนข้างมีความซับซ้อน ในประเด็นที่เกี่ยวข้องกับธรรมชาติและผลกระทบของความคิดนี้ ผมคิดว่างานของกฤษณมูรติอธิบายได้ง่ายและชัดเจนกว่า อย่างไรก็ตาม มันอาจไม่ใช่จุดมุ่งหมายหลักของหนังสือเล่มนี้ แต่หากมองว่าจุดมุ่งหมายหลักคือการนำเสนอเกี่ยวกับ Dialouge ก็ยังทำได้ไม่ค่อยชัดเจนนักอยู่ดี
책 제목과 관련된 실제 내용은 개념과 Dialouge 과정을 논의하는 챕터 1-2인 것 같아요. 내용이 그다지 조화롭지 못한 느낌 그리고 꽤 복잡하다 이 아이디어의 본질 및 영향과 관련된 문제에 대해 크리슈나무르티의 작품이 더 쉽고 명확하게 설명되어 있다고 생각하지만 그것이 이 책의 주된 목적은 아닐 수도 있다. 그러나 주요 목표가 Dialouge에 대해 발표하는 것이라고 생각한다면 여전히 명확하지 않습니다.
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Phakin
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July 16, 2020
Need more time and more basic knowledge, this book was very tough. Yet I think it was quite interesting despite the fact that I didn't even understand how can "a dialogue" work especially in such specific situation. By the way, Bohm's explanation on the relation between a 'tacit knowledge' and our actions was so touching.

If I say that this book "convinced" me to keep on examining my "self"... Did Bohm achieve his aims?

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Alex Lee
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March 11, 2016
This is a difficult book to classify. Although its written by a physicist, its really about the nature of being a human individual attempting to understand how to fit into the world.

Bohm at times, reaches into a near mystical state, not really scientific but more philosophical and religious when he describes how our expectations characterize our experience. He could be more philosophically explicit, but this may detract from what is already a very succinct text.

By extension these ideas can be related to the way in which groups also reason out ideology.

Nonetheless Bohm suggests using a group calibration of thought in order to bring about awareness as to how our experiential underpinnings force us to view the world in a way that is not our own. We often live our lives according to ideas we got from somewhere else. Sometimes they are misunderstandings that we extrapolate as morals. Other times they are partial ideas adopted from some authority figure in our past. Either way the worlds we construct are often inappropriate or at least misleading as to the full context of where we are and what we are doing. As a result, we are often at the mercy of thought itself -- we live in a world not constructed for us (for our benefit) and yet we constantly construct this world even identifying completely with it for the purposes of finding our place... a place that may not be to our benefit.

Often individuals deal with situations by reacting to their thought and the switching the order of their thinking. Their reactions become justifications for the thought they originally had, even though their justifications are reactionary. This is both the subject of Kant's Critique of Judgement (teleological thinking) and what Nietzsche was attempting to outline in his books about culture. Deleuze in Nietzsche and Philosophy shows more directly how Nietzsche considered culture to be created nearly of completely reactive forces... impulses and ideas that would limit our ability to be active so that we can be in service to a greater null. We become domesticated through out ideas and then cannot create a new world.

Bohm isn't proposing an overman kind of resolution. Instead he believes we should speak with others in a rigid methodology utilizing dialogue in order to come to understand the underpinnings of our reactive assumptions. When we can successfully pull them out we will see how irrational our assumptions are, and we can begin to create a new community. For a community is not founded on imposing will but by the collective synthesis of a completely new common will. When we find where we can identify with one another we will come that much close to healing the world we live in. Especially with politics as it is today and with communication how it is, we do not talk with those outside our group because we seek to enforce the veracity of our ideas. In such a forced presentation no one listens. We lose the ability to be a nation or a whole group and with that loss of communication we lose not only community but our shared lifeworld -- which requires a collective goal for everyone.

Very interesting book. Bohm is equally hard on scientists as they also present teleological thinking when it suits their favorite theories. I heartily recommend this tiny book to everyone!
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Ali
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October 24, 2015
اين نوشته ها به جان نفوذ مي كند. دوست داشتم همه اين كتاب را بخوانند.به هر كس كه ميرسم، با اشتياق ميگويم كه بخواندش ولي جز اندكي عموما توجهي نمي كنند. و اين خود چقدر به مطالب كتاب نزديك است. وقتي خوانده باشيش و ديگران اشتياقت را درك نكنند كه چقدر دوست داري بخوانندش، درد بسيار دارد. اين كتاب كوچك يادت ميدهد چگونه درون خودت سفر كني خودت را خالصانه از منظر يك سوم شخص بنگري و خودت را و نگاهت را به هستي بپالايي. جايگاهت را در هستي مي يابي انگار و ياد ميگيري كه چگونه نگاه كني، بينديشي و خلاق باشي.
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Peter Blok
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September 18, 2018
The book is Interesting because Bohm analyses the way we think, or, to be more precise, the way we think that we think. He introduces the concept: proprioception. That means selfperception. Peoples lack proprioception about the way we think.
He proposes the idea of an open dialogue. This is different from the way most peoples discuss with each other. What we should try to do is to understand each others presuppositions. That is not easy but we could start by trying, over and over again.

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Brandon Lott
19 reviews

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January 23, 2013
Immensely important to the future of humanity. If we can't dialogue ... we will continue a downward spiral in our humanity towards each other and the planet.

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Lothar Schafer 'The Infinite Potential of Quantum Physics' Interview by Iain McNay
Author of 'Infinite Potential' and 'In Search of Divine Reality' talks about 'What Quantum Physics reveals about how we should live our lives.' Retired Professor of chemistry he spent a large part of his life in a laboratory looking at quantum-chemical computations and electron diffraction studies of molecular structures. He says, "You need to first understand the order of the universe and your place in it - you can't find happiness in your personal life if you are not living in harmony with the universe. The constituents of real things are found not to be real - these findings show that the quantum phenomena make it possible to establish a new covenant between the human mind and the mind-like background of the universe - one that provides a home again to the homeless and meaning to seemingly pointless life. The universe must be assumed to have a moral as well as a physical order, and facts and values derive again from a single source."

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Infinite Potential: What Quantum Physics Reveals About How We Should Live Hardcover – 2 April 2013
by Lothar Schafer (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars 117 ratings






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A hopeful and controversial view of the universe and ourselves based on the principles of quantum physics, offering a way of making our lives and the world better, with a foreword by Deepak Chopra

In Infinite Potential, physical chemist Lothar Schäfer presents a stunning view of the universe as interconnected, nonmaterial, composed of a field of infinite potential, and conscious. With his own research as well as that of some of the most distinguished scientists of our time, Schäfer moves us from a reality of Darwinian competition to cooperation, a meaningless universe to a meaningful one, and a disconnected, isolated existence to an interconnected one. In so doing, he shows us that our potential is infinite and calls us to live in accordance with the order of the universe, creating a society based on the cosmic principle of connection, emphasizing cooperation and community.
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Publisher ‏ : ‎ Crown Publishing Group, Division of Random House Inc (2 April 2013)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0307985954
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0307985958
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 16.1 x 2.82 x 24.23 cmBest Sellers Rank: 721,491 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)1,004 in Physics Textbooks
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Chrys McGlynn
5.0 out of 5 stars Received quicklyReviewed in Australia 🇦🇺 on 13 December 2022
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Good book, well priced.



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Jake
4.0 out of 5 stars Great book and a life changing philosophyReviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 3 February 2020
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This book certainly serves as your end to end explanation of how the world works, and how it all ties together, particularly if you're a curious inquisitive minded individual who's keen on not leaving any stone uncovered on the backend workings of the universe and how quantum physics affects our lives. To adapt this paradigm is really the first step into becoming a new type of human species.

However I was a bit disappointed that Lothar didn't provide more practical methods on how to make the concepts outlined in the book really work for us, from the title I was hoping this book to be more action focused rather than theory and leaving things in the maybe zone.
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Marksteiner
5.0 out of 5 stars A great book!Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 16 January 2016
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Clearly written, with straightforward logic the book is a milestone in our endeavour to transcend the metaphysics of materialism. By explaining his work with 'quantum chemistry' Lothar Schäfer makes it clear beyond any doubt that there is consciuosness even in the smallest particles - atoms and molecules. A great book!

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Harold Webster
4.0 out of 5 stars A good explanation of wave theory but I felt it fell ...Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 25 September 2015
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A good explanation of wave theory but I felt it fell short of the mark as regards direction. I thought that It could have done more to involve the Higgs fields potential in regard to wave and particle relationship and the ability to jump from non mass to mass. From thought to materiality, in effect Creation. The book is well written and the author has managed to keep it at a level that is understandable to the average reader.

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JubbaDaHutt
5.0 out of 5 stars AmazingReviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 1 March 2019
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Really good book so far !
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5.0 out of 5 stars Best book I've read in yearsReviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 4 August 2020
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Absolutely brilliant.
A must read.
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Infinite Potential: What Quantum Physics Reveals About How We Should Live

Lothar Schäfer

3.98
138 ratings17 reviews
A hopeful and controversial view of the universe and ourselves based on the principles of quantum physics, offering a way of making our lives and the world better, with a foreword by Deepak Chopra

In Infinite Potential, physical chemist Lothar Schäfer presents a stunning view of the universe as interconnected, nonmaterial, composed of a field of infinite potential, and conscious. With his own research as well as that of some of the most distinguished scientists of our time, Schäfer moves us from a reality of Darwinian competition to cooperation, a meaningless universe to a meaningful one, and a disconnected, isolated existence to an interconnected one. In so doing, he shows us that our potential is infinite and calls us to live in accordance with the order of the universe, creating a society based on the cosmic principle of connection, emphasizing cooperation and community.

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First published January 1, 2013
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Shwan Raoof
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March 26, 2021
Not so informative; lacks coherence. The central idea is clear that quantum physics' "Schrodinger's" wave function is just a mathematical expression that is void of energy or space (transempirical). But Shafer doesn't in any way explain what other alternative ideas might there be to interpret this phenomenon. And he doesn't also explain why that realm of the "wave function" can resemble the thoughts in our minds, except for the fact that they exist as potentiality. Although I think that thoughts are not potential states since they at least have electrical activity associated with them in the brain even though they're not yet expressed in the outer world as deeds. Many questions pop into mind while reading this book and no answers can be found between the pages.
The book could have been more useful if more theories were introduced or more details were taken into consideration in explaining the realm of potentiality or quantum jumps.
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Tim Laukka
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January 26, 2015
I really enjoyed Lothar's discussion of our potential and how it relates to quantum physics. I also found interesting his thoughts on how the paradigm of Darwinism has impacted our modern society. I am not sure I fully agree with all that he says in that regard, but I do agree that it has had a significant influence on how society thinks about the issues it faces.
While this book is not a faith based book, I also found this book provides some interesting insights into quantum physics application to our spiritual lives and to God. As a member of the Mormon faith I found many of the ideas and concepts presented in this book align with my understanding of God and the universe. It is always gratifying to find elements of your beliefs in unexpected and surprising domains.
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Elizabeth Rains
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December 29, 2020
I read a lot of books about physics, even though I'm not a physicist or any kind of scientist. I believe such books open the mind, and this one shows that the mind, like quantum physics (actually part of quantum physics), can be open to anything possible. In a nutshell, that's what Schafer says: anything possible will happen, and the universe is programmed to make it happen right. So don't fear or fret, just explore the potentialities. They are bound to ultimately be good.
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Tom Cornille
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December 27, 2018
A very good read :) A big, fat fascinating and scientifically based finger pointing at the same moon all the so-called spiritual ones have been pointing at for thousands of years. Or why science is playing catch-up... and having a hard time admitting it despite clear numbers and logic. There may not be a lot to 'know' but there's sure a lot to suspect, with giant implications for all of us.

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Yuezhong Zheng
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March 17, 2015
Not so informative and useful as I expected. I believe there are some other books out there about the connection of quantum physics and human mind that are more fun and useful.

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Madeline
10 reviews

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April 3, 2021
The author expertly explains the quantum world for the lay person and illustrates how quantum science and spirituality are two parallel and consistent ways of understanding the nature of reality. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to better understand these seemingly incomprehensible and intriguing topics. The author’s ideas are an important contribution to help us fulfill our potential and live in accordance with the order of this mysterious and meaningful universe.
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Dena Weigel Bell
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December 31, 2017
Great book! A bit difficult to read at times for non-scientists, but still got a lot out of the information.

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Alan Fuller
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February 29, 2016
"...the quantum phenomena have taught me that atheism is a mistake because it isn’t in agreement with the nature of the world."

"Because of their recent discovery the messages of the new physics have never really been accepted in the public domain."

"Darwin’s biology is, like Newton’s physics, a surface science. It describes the visible phenomena on the surface of reality quite well, but it isn’t able to get to the roots of things."

It is quotes like these that make Schafer's book worth reading. They are supported by the evidence.
When I read Schafer's first book "In Search of Divine Reality," I was looking for philosophical discussions based on quantum physics. He provides plenty of that so I rated the book highly. From those valid discussions he develops ideas of monism, cosmic consciousness, infinite mind and a holistic "One." All is One and One is all. Its a combination of ancient pagan and modern new age beliefs.

If a cosmic consciousness created the universe, then why isn't it also a personal being? Can it be less than, or merely equal to its creation? Does it need us to be able to think?

The book is thought provoking, but you could probably find it on one of Oprah's bookshelves.


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LemontreeLime
3,133 reviews · 17 followers

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October 22, 2013
now I'm an open minded lady, i'll read just about anything. And I picked this up on a whim. Chopra's intro was especially seductive. And Schafer manages to explain some concepts about the movements of electrons that really worked for me, i finally understood a part of high school chemistry that has always eluded me. But towards the end of the book he hammers on about what he refers to as 'Darwinism' and 'Darwinists' as being the worst of the lot in humanity, and all i could picture in my mind was sweet Charles Darwin with his white beard studying worms at the end of his life. I've read so many bios of Darwin, and i suspect that there never was a kinder gentler more interesting man. I could understand what Schafer meant, but I wish he had found a different term. He did make some caveats several times that what HE believes Darwin's 'survival of the fittest' theories have evolved into was not what Darwin intended, and I wish he had gone one step further and taken Darwin right out of the argument. So, interesting, but ended up leaving me dissatisfied by heavy handedness towards the end.
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Maria E
79 reviews · 2 followers

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July 30, 2013
I had a biology professor in college who said that someday science and religion would agree because both in their honest forms were in pursuit of truth.
Lothar Schafer shows how the Darwinian view of man leads human behaviour to atheism, greed and many of the ills people complain about. He talks of how quantum physics shows the world to be connected and promotes cooperation over competition. He states that the ingrained philosophy of man as a disconnected animal, fighting for survival is in direct contrast to the quantum world. If one believes in the interconnectivity of the quantum world then one looks for the power of the universe and tries to align with it. He does not claim any organized religion but it's amazing how many of the world religions talk about bringing one's actions and will into alignment with the divine.

How does your life change if you stop thinking of yourself as a single organism awash in a sea of detritus and think of yourself as a small part of a greater whole which has a purpose of improving?
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