We Are the Spirit of the Holidays
by Cynthia Nigro, Ph.D. • Durham, NC

No other time of year brings the concepts of peace and goodwill to mind as does the winter holiday season. Streets and shops are festooned with twinkling lights, and jovial music fills the air. Children are entranced by the magical atmosphere, as they anxiously anticipate time off from school, exchanging gifts, and an abundance of goodies!

For adults though, the holidays often elicit feelings of stress. Personal time demands and limited finances leave many of us wondering how we’re going to manage to do all we’d like to do. Contemplating the meaning of the season only makes us realize how very far we are from that ideal. These are not peaceful times, either physically or emotionally. War and political unrest fill the news everyday. Economic struggle is the norm for many and for many more, it is poverty and starvation. Families are separated and nations are pitted against one another.

In spite of all of these very real problems, somehow every year, millions of people are able to get into the holiday spirit. How is it that we are able to transcend our concerns and believe in a better world? In fact, the world actually seems to become a better place. There is more generosity and kindness. Personal desires are often put aside in order to address the greater needs of others, and cheerful and hopeful moods are more prevalent. We are all familiar with the impact one person’s demeanor can have on others. A very negative individual can bring a whole group down, just as an extremely positive person can create more positive energy. But now, it appears that when a number of people join their emotions together, this can have an even greater impact, perhaps reaching throughout the entire world. Explanations for this phenomenon may be found in the mysteries of quantum physics, and the world of the paranormal.

The new physics indicates that while we may all appear to be separate, we really are not. All of the universe and everything in it (including us) is made of the same stuff, packets of energy, vibrating at different frequencies. There is no real definition where one thing ends and the next begins, thus validating the immortal words of poet and philosopher, John Dunne, “No man is an island.”

Another peculiar finding is that reality seems to be dependent on the actions of an observer. When measuring light, for instance, if one is looking for a particle, one finds a particle, if expecting to find a wave, one finds a wave, but one can never observe both at the same time. Without being too technical, this seems to indicate that we, in essence, create our own reality.

Additional information evolved from research conducted at the PEAR (Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research) Laboratory. As its name implies, these studies were implemented to investigate anomalous occurrences, which are often also defined as paranormal. Paranormal is a confusing term for many, as it conjures up images of the supernatural, and topics more appropriate for the horror films of late night TV! In reality, though, paranormal simply refers to that which doesn’t fit into the venue of current scientific thinking, and for which there is no current scientific explanation.

The Princeton studies demonstrated that people could affect the “randomness” of random event generators just by their thoughts. Dr. Roger Nelson, who was part of that research team, later went on to collaborate with scientists throughout the world to create the Global Consciousness Project. He is now the director of this endeavor, which officially began in 1998, and involves collecting and analyzing data from random event generators placed around the globe. Certain events, such as the attack on the World Trade Center, have created statistically significant synchronized reactions in these machines that can not be ignored or dismissed. It appears that when the collective thoughts of the world are centered on the same thing, there is a unified field of consciousness that encompasses all of our spirits (or minds)!

What this implies about the nature of consciousness and the possible capabilities of the human mind is almost beyond comprehension! The mind having an effect on matter is not a new idea, but these findings bring this concept into a whole new dimension.

Every year as we join together, whether it is gathering around our family feast, celebrating at our office gathering, or attending services at our place of worship, just by getting into the spirit of it all, we are able to contribute to the collective energy of the whole. This must truly be what the spirit of the season is about! So, let us all share in the joy of this special time of year, with thoughts of peace and love, and in doing so, create more of these feelings across the planet, and perhaps across the entire universe!

Cynthia Nigro, Ph.D. is a scientist at the Rhine Research Center, in Durham, NC, the oldest institution in the United States conducting scientific research and providing education in the field of Parapsychology.