Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol" and Noetic Science.

Dan Brown’s new book “The Lost Symbol” arrived at my house on the release date.  I was not able to get right to it since I was finishing up reading “Wicked”.  Finally I was able to pick up the book and started perusing the pages.  For me, reading a Dan Brown book is like going on an adventure and doing it with one of my favorite characters.  Dr. Robert Langdon did not disappointment me and neither did the book. This adventure led me through our nation’s capitol and was filled with intrigue on every page.  This book contains all the necessary elements to make it a good thriller.  There was murder, secrecy, tattoos, Masons, Capitol Rotunda, unforgettable characters, and Noetic Science.  I know a little about a lot of things but knew nothing about Noetic Science.  This led me on a little side adventure.

Let's start off with where noetic comes from. We are all used to the word and its meaning when we say "science". Noetic comes from ancient Greek word nous, which means, intuitive, or inner knowing; is about as close a translation as one can get. But is it truly a science, or more closely a philosophy.

Noetic Science looks into our consciousness to find out how we use reason, intuition, feeling and the senses. It looks at how many of us do not use these to their full potential. Delving into our consciousness, our soul and finding ways to see how it relates to the physical world. Haven't we all heard the saying "gut feeling" or "women's intuition" when being asked to trust our instincts. Or how about something happens and you say to yourself "deja vu".

Noetic Science looks at how we can explore and develop this level of consciousness. One Way on doing this for ourselves is through meditation. Many believe as children we are more in touch with our inner selves. We are more attuned to our subjective consciousness. That as we get older we stop using that ability and it lays dormant.

The Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) was founded in 1974 by former astronaut Edgar Mitchell and industrialist Paul Temple, headquartered in Petaluma, California. IONS research and education cover three areas: worldwide transformation, consciousness and healing, and extended human capacity. The institute host retreats, seminars, workshops, and educational activities. One can tour the campus once a month, if so inclined.

I know some people just do not go in for this type of stuff. For me I have long felt that there are things unknown and one of those is the power of our subconsciousness. Before you put this on the back burner think for a minute if you have ever had something happen, that inner voice saying don't do that. When I was a kid I had many cases of deja vu and other things happen too me. But one I remember that was told to me and stuck with me for years. I heard a story of a friend, of a friend who lived in New York and she would walked home from work. She always took the same route every time she headed home. There was a park she would cut through because it saved her time and the park was in a nice area so she never worried. It was early evening when she got to the park, and for some reason she stopped. Her gut feeling was saying, tonight go the long way something bad is in the park. So she took the long way home. Then next morning she heard that a woman had been killed in the park at the time she would have been walking through. I know many of us have had similar situations and feelings. I always tell my daughter trust your feelings and intuition. If something isn't right and your gut is telling you to leave then leave.

So now I leave you to either explore or ignore the possibilties of what Noetic Science is delving into.