Institute of Noetic Sciences

{{Short description|American non-profit parapsychological research institute}}

{{redirect|Noetics|19th-century tutors of the University of Oxford|Oriel Noetics}}

{{redirect|IONS|the international maritime organization|Indian Ocean Naval Symposium}}

{{Infobox organization

| formation = {{start date and age|1973|06}}

| abbreviation = IONS

| founder = Edgar Mitchell

| purpose = Study of purported paranormal phenomena

| headquarters = Petaluma, California, US

| website = https://noetic.org

}}

The Institute of Noetic Sciences{{efn|{{IPAc-en|n|oʊ|ˈ|ɛ|t|ɪ|k}}{{Cite Dictionary.com|noetic}}}} (IONS) is an American non-profit parapsychological{{cite book|last=Xiong|first=Jesse Hong|title=The Outline of Parapsychology| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ILFPvE352LEC&pg=PA56|access-date= 25 April 2015|date=2009-11-09|publisher= University Press of America| isbn= 9780761849469| pages=56– | via= Google Books}} research institute. It was co-founded in 1973 by former astronaut Edgar Mitchell,{{cite web| last= Pfeffer| first= Elizabeth| url=

http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_14444989 | title = Stars aligned: Astronaut's mission seeks to answer life's big questions| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20160304200730/http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_14444989 |archivedate=2016-03-04| work = Contra Costa Times| date = 21 February 2010| accessdate = 8 May 2015}}{{cite news| last= Allen| first = Mike| url= http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/2013/9/17/space_explorer_touches_down_this_weekend.htm | title = Space explorer touches down this weekend in Southwest Virginia| work = hispanicbusiness.com| publisher = The Roanoke Times| date= 18 September 2013| accessdate= 5 October 2013| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20131012050457/http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/2013/9/17/space_explorer_touches_down_this_weekend.htm |archivedate=October 12, 2013 }}{{cite web | url= https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1910599_1910685_1910665,00.html | title=40th Anniversary of the Moon Landing; Edgar Mitchell | publisher= | work= Time | date=July 16, 2009 | access-date=October 7, 2013 | last= Kluger| first= Jeffrey | page=17}} the sixth man to walk on the Moon, along with investor Paul N. Temple{{cite web| url= https://noetic.org/blog/ions50-series-from-paul-temple/| title = IONS50 Series: From Paul Temple, Chairman of the Board| date = January 16, 2024| website = noetic.org| publisher= Institute of Noetic Sciences| accessdate= October 22, 2024}} and others interested in purported paranormal phenomena, in order to encourage and conduct research on noetics and human potentials.{{cite web| url= http://www.biogenesis.com/corporate_information.html | title= Company Information | website = BioGenesis.com| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20090605210243/http://www.biogenesis.com/corporate_information.html |archivedate= 2009-06-05 }}{{cite web | url= http://www.noetic.org/about/history.cfm | publisher= Institute of Noetic Sciences| title= About: History of the Institute of Noetic Sciences| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20061203013528/http://www.noetic.org/about/history.cfm |archivedate= 2006-12-03 }}

The Institute conducts research on topics such as spontaneous remission,{{cite book | last= McTaggart| first= Lynne| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=79ZWoymp2VsC&q=noetic+science | title = The Intention Experiment: Using Your Thoughts to Change Your Life and the World| publisher = Simon & Schuster | place= New York| year= 2007 |isbn= 978-0743276962 | via= Google Books}} meditation, consciousness, alternative healing practices, consciousness-based healthcare, spirituality, human potential, psychic abilities, psychokinesis and survival of consciousness after bodily death.{{cite web | url= http://www.noetic.org/research/programs.cfm | publisher= Institute of Noetic Sciences| website= noetic.org |title= Research: Programs from the Institute of Noetic Sciences| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20070513104943/http://www.noetic.org/research/programs.cfm |archivedate=2007-05-13 }}{{cite news| last= Vieten| first= Cassandra| url= http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cassandra-vieten/what-is-noetic-science_b_287779.html | title = What Is Noetic Science?| work = Huffington Post| date= 21 September 2009| accessdate= 6 October 2013}} The Institute maintains a free database, available on the Internet, with citations to more than 6,500 articles about whether physical and mental health benefits might be connected to meditation and yoga.{{cite book | authorlink= Dean Radin| last=Radin| first= Dean| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ngETfEp8cSoC&q=noetic+ | title = Supernormal: Science, Yoga, and the Evidence for Extraordinary Psychic Abilities| publisher = Random House| place= New York| year= 2013 |isbn= 9780307986900 |via= Google Books}}

Headquartered outside Petaluma, California, the IONS is situated on a {{convert|200|acre|ha|adj=on}} campus that includes offices, a research laboratory and a retreat center (originally the campus of World College West).{{cite web | url= http://www.noetic.org/about.cfm |publisher= Institute of Noetic Sciences| website= noetic.org |title= About the Institute of Noetic Science| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20061130073352/http://www.noetic.org/about.cfm |archivedate=2006-11-30 }} Researchers associated with it include Dean Radin and Rupert Sheldrake.

History

File:EdgarMitchellByPhilKonstantin.jpg, co-founder of the Institute of Noetic Sciences]]

Edgar Mitchell has reported that on his return to Earth, after the 1971 Apollo 14 Moon landing, he had an experience comparable to savikalpa samādhi.Truman, Sarah E., [http://ascentmagazine.com/articles.aspx%3FarticleID=195&page=read&subpage=past&issueID=30.html Samadhi in Space – an Interview with Apollo 14 Astronaut Dr. Edgar Mitchell] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150519025410/http://ascentmagazine.com/articles.aspx%3FarticleID%3D195%26page%3Dread%26subpage%3Dpast%26issueID%3D30.html |date=2015-05-19 }}, ascent, Fall 2007. Retrieved 7 May 2015. "The experience in space was so powerful that when I got back to Earth I started digging into various literatures to try to understand what had happened. I found nothing in science literature but eventually discovered it in the Sanskrit of ancient India. The descriptions of samadhi, Savikalpa samadhi, were exactly what I felt: it is described as seeing things in their separateness, but experiencing them viscerally as a unity, as oneness, accompanied by ecstasy" He also says that he conducted ESP experiments with earthbound friends during spaceflight.{{cite web | url = http://www.cabinetmagazine.org/issues/5/esp.php | title = Private Lunar ESP: An Interview with Edgar Mitchell }} In 1973, along with investor Paul N. Temple and some others,Mitchell, Edgar, The Way of the Explorer, GP Putnam's Sons, 1996. "I wish to thank those who had faith in an idea that led to the founding of the Institute of Noetic Sciences: Henry Rolfs (deceased) and Zoe Rolfs, Richard Davis, Judith Skutch Whitson, Paul Temple, Phillip Lukin (deceased), and John White. And to those who came a bit later to carry the idea further: Osmond Crosby, Brendan O'Regan (deceased), Diane Brown Temple, and Willis Harman." Mitchell co-founded the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS). It was founded as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in 1973.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2013-05-09 |title=Institute Of Noetic Sciences - Nonprofit Explorer |url=https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/237236986 |access-date=2022-11-29 |website=ProPublica |language=en}} Willis Harman served as president from 1975 until his death in 1997.[https://books.google.com/books?id=N8duPr8xowcC&dq=%22Willis+harman%22+SRI&pg=PA273 The new business of business: sharing responsibility for a positive global][http://jhp.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/37/2/6 Willis Harman, 1918-1997]{{Cite web |url=http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/money-print-your-own/892 |title=Weaving possibilities for a New Era |access-date=2009-10-19 |archive-date=2011-06-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608154626/http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/money-print-your-own/892 |url-status=dead }}

The word noetic derives from the Greek nous, meaning "mind or ways of knowing."Murphy, Michael and Stephen Donovan, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZE95AAAAMAAJ&q=noetic+science The Physical and Psychological Effects of Meditation: A Review of Contemporary Research With a Comprehensive Bibliography, 1931-1996] Institute of Noetic Sciences, Petaluma, CA (1997), p. 282. {{ISBN|9780943951362}}. Writing in The Huffington Post, the Institute's director of research pointed to philosopher William James' 1902 definition of the word as:

... states of insight into depths of truth unplumbed by the discursive intellect. They are illuminations, revelations, full of significance and importance, all inarticulate though they remain; and as a rule they carry with them a curious sense of authority. ...

The Institute figures prominently in The Lost Symbol, a 2009 work of fiction by best-selling author Dan Brown.Brown, Dan, [https://www.amazon.com/The-Lost-Symbol-Dan-Brown/dp/1400079144#reader_1400079144 The Lost Symbol], Random House, New York (2009). {{ISBN|978-0307950680}} Twitter postings on the day before the book's release led Institute director Marilyn Schlitz to purchase the book and read it in one sitting. She told NPR that she found ten experiments conducted by the real-world Institute referred to in Brown's fictional account. NPR reported that after its publication "traffic to [the institute's] website ... increased twelvefold", applications for membership increased and "journalists from places like Dateline NBC — not to mention NPR ..." were seeking interviews with Schlitz.Hagerty, Barbara Bradley, [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113676181 Woman Reads Dan Brown Novel, Discovers Herself], NPR, 12 October 2009. Retrieved 6 October 2013.

The Institute confers the Temple Award for Creative Altruism,[https://archive.today/20131008013654/http://www.csbsju.edu/News/Global-Lecture-Series-2013.htm Political author, social activist to speak at SJU] College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University "Campus News" web page. 25 September 2013. Retrieved 6 October 2013.Youngs, Betty B., [https://books.google.com/books?id=bGJ0d-txkioC&dq=Temple+Award+for+Creative+Altruism&pg=PT271 The House That Love Built: The Story of Linda & Millard Fuller, Founders of Habitat for Humanity and the Fuller Center for Housing] Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Charlottesville, VA (2007). {{ISBN|978-1-57174-546-0}}[https://web.archive.org/web/20111205122919/http://www.marymount.edu/newsEvents/eventDetails.aspx?Channel=/Channels/Site+Wide+Content&WorkflowItemID=c624ddcd-6cc6-4017-abdb-6266ab696b50 Distinguished Visiting Professor: Bill Milliken, Communities in Schools Founder], Marymount University Campus News and Events webpage. Retrieved 6 October 2013, biennially.[http://noetic.org/about/grants-and-awards/ IONS Grants and Awards web page] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130807204357/http://noetic.org/about/grants-and-awards/ |date=2013-08-07 }}. Retrieved 6 October 2013. The $25,000 award fund is divided among recipients selected by an independent jury.

Research

Projects sponsored by the Institute include a bibliography on the physical and psychological effects of meditation and yoga, and a spontaneous remission bibliography. The Institute has also conducted a number of parapsychological studies into extra-sensory perception, lucid dreaming, telekinesis, and presentiment.{{Cite web|url=http://www.bohemian.com/bohemian/08.25.10/feature-1034.html|title=Entangled Atoms: Dean Radin's research suggests that all separation is illusory|access-date=August 31, 2010}}

According to The Roanoke Times, the Institute is "... devoted to exploring psychic phenomena and the role of consciousness in the cosmos."

The Roanoke Times also noted that co-founder Mitchell's assertions "... have often been criticized by skeptics." Told "your research goes into a number of territories that are regarded with skepticism in some circles", Mitchell replied:

That's what's fun about it. We're breaking down barriers and finding things. That's what science is all about: new discovery. ... There's nothing that we have done or have demonstrated that doesn't have good science behind it. Skeptics be damned.

The Institute is listed on Stephen Barrett's Quackwatch website, for its research on fringe topics.{{cite web|last=Barrett|first=Stephen|title=Questionable Organizations: An Overview|url=http://www.quackwatch.org/04ConsumerEducation/nonrecorg.html|publisher=Quackwatch|access-date=14 October 2013}}

Documentaries and publications

In 1994, TBS broadcast a three-part, six-hour documentary based on work at the Institute, entitled The Heart of Healing and narrated by actress Jane Seymour.McVicar, Nancy, [http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1993-10-26/lifestyle/9310220907_1_spiritual-healing-biofeedback-alternative-medicine More Than Medicine] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150610211420/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1993-10-26/lifestyle/9310220907_1_spiritual-healing-biofeedback-alternative-medicine |date=2015-06-10 }}, Sun-Sentinel, 26 October 1993. Retrieved 6 October 2013.[https://books.google.com/books?id=0Ns5AQAAIAAJ&q=Noetic Heart Healing] Turner Publishing (1993)

Since 2009, the Institute has published a semi-annual bulletin, The Noetic Post.{{Cite web|url=http://noetic.org/library/publication-newsletters/|access-date=September 21, 2010|title=Newsletters - IONS Library - Institute of Noetic Studies|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101127145826/http://noetic.org/library/publication-newsletters/|archive-date=November 27, 2010}} From 2003 to 2009, it published a quarterly magazine, Shift: At the Frontiers of Consciousness.{{Cite web|url=http://www.noetic.org/library/publication-magazines/|access-date=September 21, 2010|title=Magazines - IONS Library - Institute of Noetic Studies|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101127145941/http://noetic.org/library/publication-magazines/|archive-date=November 27, 2010}}