Author's Note

C H A P T E R 2  (cont)

Thought Is the Basis of Activity

What is this reservoir of energy and intelligence that Dr. Hegarty and millions of other people experience twice a day during Transcendental Meditation? And where is it located?

Let's analyze it step by step, starting with thought.

Thought is the basis of activity: The design of a building begins with the thoughts of an architect; a legal brief begins with the thoughts of an attorney; a smooth-running household is based on the thoughts of a homemaker.

The clearer, more creative, more intelligent the thought, the more successful is the architectural design, the legal brief, the family's day.

What can make thought more intelligent and more powerful?

The way to make thought more powerful, according to Maharishi, is through contact with the reservoir of energy and intelligence deep within the mind, contact with the source of thought.

Thought: Energy and Intelligence

What is the source of thought? All day, every day we think innumerable thoughts. From the moment we wake up in the morning to the time we sleep at night, the mind is constantly thinking thoughts:

"Ten minutes to get the kids to school."

"I wonder who won the game last night?"

"Michael needs the computer file."

Is there anything common to these thoughts -- and all the different thoughts that we think?

Yes -- energy and intelligence.

• Energy -- because all thoughts move; one thought follows another. This movement implies energy.
• Intelligence -- because the energy takes a particular direction.

This means that all thoughts express some degree of energy and intelligence. And all day, every day, you are constantly thinking thoughts. That means you are constantly generating impulses of energy and intelligence.

What is the source of all this energy and intelligence? From where do thoughts arise?

While it is true that the stimulus for a particular thought may be a book or a conversation or a movie, the fact is, thoughts -- impulses of energy and intelligence -- arise from somewhere within us, from somewhere deep within the mind.

Where?

The Source of Thought

As we discussed earlier the mind can be

• Very noisy and excited
• Quiet and settled
• Perfectly settled and silent

As the mind settles down it naturally grows in creativity, intelligence, and energy. The deepest level of the mind is the field of maximum energy and intelligence.

It's here that we locate an unbounded reservoir of pure energy and creative intelligence. It is from here that all thoughts arise. This is the source of thought.

The source of thought, Maharishi says, is the field of pure consciousness, a "self-referral" level of awareness where consciousness is open only to itself -- awake to its own full potential. It is silent, yet ready to function with maximum dynamism, clarity, and orderliness.

Transcendental Meditation is a simple, natural procedure -- requiring neither concentration nor control -- for refining mental activity and directly experiencing the source of thought.

Transcendental Meditation and Science

What does science tell us about this experience? From research in physiology and biochemistry, we learn that Transcendental Meditation reduces stress and anxiety and promotes a longer, healthier life. From psychology we learn that intelligence grows, memory improves, and learning ability increases.

And from the integration of modern physics and Transcendental Meditation, we learn something else: We learn of the deep connection between human beings and nature.

We learn that the source of intelligence within each of us is the same as the source of the intelligence within nature, and that we have access to the unlimited creativity and intelligence of nature within our own consciousness. We learn what it means to unfold full mental potential -- and use it.

To understand this connection between ourselves and nature, we first need a little background in physics.

Modern Physics Discovers the Unified Field --
And What It Means to You

Physics investigates nature. We are a part of nature. So what can physics tell us about nature that can help us understand our own potential?

To consider this, first we'll review recent developments in physics and then relate them to ourselves.

Observe nature -- a maple tree, a galaxy of stars, or an atom -- and you observe the display of nature's intelligence. Everywhere in nature there is perfect orderliness, unfathomable energy, unlimited creativity, and infinite organizing power.

What is its source? Physics tells us that nature is structured in layers, that within the molecules are atoms, and that within atoms are subatomic particles. The deeper the layer, the greater the energy and organizing power.

The quest of science has always been to uncover deeper levels of nature's functioning and ultimately to discover the common source of the tree, the galaxy, the atom -- the very source of the universe.

The Four Fundamental Forces of Nature

Forty years ago the basis of the universe was seen to be the four fundamental forces in nature and theso-called "matter fields." (The four forces are electromagnetism, which accounts for such things as electricity and chemical reactions; the weak force, which is responsible for such phenomena as radioactive decay; the strong force, which holds the nucleus of an atom together; and gravity, which keeps objects earthbound and planets in orbit.)

These force and matter fields constituted everything in the universe. Recently, physicists have uncovered even more powerful, more unified levels of nature. For example, at the level of "electro-weak unification," the electromagnetic force and the weak force become one. (See Unified Field Charts)

Discovery of the Source: the Unified Field

Now, the source of all the force and matter fields in the universe has been glimpsed by modern science in the supersymmetric unified quantum field theories of physics. It is called the unified field of natural law. It is a field of pure energy and intelligence, which underlies everything in creation and which is responsible for all forms and phenomena in the universe.

According to physics the entire universe emerges from the "self-interacting dynamics" of the unified field. And it is the unified field that gives rise to all the laws of nature that govern the entire universe.

Difficult to picture? Here's an analogy: The unified field is like the sap within a tree. The sap, while colorless and formless itself, is nonetheless the source of the fragrant, red flower; the shiny, green leaf; the leathery, brown stem. The sap permeates the entire tree, manifesting itself as flower, leaf, and stem. In the same way, the unified field underlies and pervades the universe. It is the basis of the infinite energy, creativity, and intelligence displayed in nature. It is the basis of everything in the universe, including ourselves. Now, what does that mean to you?

Displaying the Creativity and Intelligence of Nature in Your Life

The unified field deep within nature is a field of unlimited energy, creativity, and intelligence. The source of thought deep within every individual is also a field of unlimited energy, creativity, and intelligence.

Is there a connection between them? Yes.

Maharishi states: "Modern physics has recently glimpsed the unified field of all the laws of nature. Since ancient times the unified field has been described by Vedic science -- a complete science of consciousness -- as the field of pure consciousness, the field of infinite energy, creativity, and intelligence underlying man and nature. Through Transcendental Meditation, pure consciousness -- the unified field -- can be enlivened at the source of thought deep within the mind of every human being.

"This means that we can display the infinite creativity, intelligence, and dynamism of nature in our own life. This is our natural birthright."

---

John S. Hagelin, Ph.D., a member of an elite group of scientists who are at the forefront of research in unified field theories, agrees.

Dr. Hagelin is an expert on supersymmetric unified quantum field theories and has published over 90 papers on the subject in leading physics journals. Dr. Hagelin received his doctorate in physics from Harvard and has conducted research at two of the top laboratories in the world for advanced particle physics -- the European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN) in Geneva, Switzerland, and the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) in Palo Alto, California.

Since 1976 Dr. Hagelin has studied Maharishi's descriptions of pure consciousness in the light of modern physics. Recent advances in quantum physics, Dr. Hagelin says, provide "substantial evidence that the unified field and pure consciousness are not two separate fields, but one and the same."

As Chairman of the Department of Physics and Director of the Institute of Science, Technology and Public Policy at Maharishi International University in Fairfield, Iowa, Dr. Hagelin is a recognized world authority on unified field theories and a pre-eminent scholar in the dynamics of human consciousness.

"It is clear that the unified field is ultimately the origin of all attributes in the universe," Dr. Hagelin says. "Any property of existence -- electric charge or color charge -- must have its dynamical origin in the structure of the unified field itself.

"The properties of intelligence, dynamism, and self-interaction can also be located in the structure of the unified field, suggesting a link between the unified field and the 'ground state,' or most fundamental state, of consciousness.

"When one examines the properties of the unified field in detail, one discovers all the properties of pure consciousness."

---

What Does All of This Mean?

It means that the full potential of your mind is the same as the total potential of nature's intelligence. It means that you have the innate capacity to use and display the unlimited energy, creativity, and intelligence of nature in your own life.

And for this you only need to restore the natural connection -- through Transcendental Meditation -- between the thinking mind and the source of thought, between the active mind and the unified field. When you make this connection, you grow in creativity and intelligence, reduce stress and fatigue, and enjoy greater happiness and more progress and accomplishments in your life. You gain the support of nature for everything you do.

---

"Being able to go to that silent place within me and experience the unified field every day has unlocked an incredible storehouse of creativity," says Chris Boas, a third-year law student at the University of San Francisco Law School. "Since I've been meditating, good ideas just seem to come easily. I feel that there's no end to what I can accomplish."

Chris is studying intellectual property and technology licensing -- "high technology law." He's been practicing Transcendental Meditation for 12 years.

"The main requirement for success in law school is to be able to think clearly under pressure. People who do well here are those who handle that pressure, especially during final exam time. Since I've been meditating, my mind is relaxed and alert, and I can think through things clearly and logically, even under pressure. I retain information more easily, and I can access it more quickly whenever I need it."

To a student entering law school, Chris says, "Transcendental Meditation makes education enjoyable. Many people find the first year of law school to be a painful experience or, at least, a chaotic one. Transcendental Meditation allows you to enjoy the process. It expands the potential of your mind to take in new information and improves your ability to use it. It also increases your self-confidence. Instead of feeling like you have to compete with everybody else, you'll feel like you have a lot to give to everybody else."

---