Quantum and Kala

By Bill Russell

Kala is an ancient Polynesian concept implying that everything is connected. Shamans employ this belief when they exchange wisdom and information with entities such as animals, plants, stones and people at a distance. Kala underlies the shaman's awareness that all is alive, aware and responsive. Even in modern times, Kala permits dowsers to locate underground water sources and lost objects. Through this Kala web of interconnectedness, everything communicates with all else; it must communicate to hold the structure of the universe together. Everything knows it's place and the location of everything else through Kala.

Quantum physics laboratory demonstrations substantiate the Kala concept. Because of our Western scientific diehard fixation on objective reality perception, physicists are shocked and bewildered by such revelations. Most of them sweep "quantum weirdness" under the rug, out of mind. One world famous physicist advised his graduate students to not think about the seemingly incomprehensible aspects of quantum physics or they would "go down the drain into a blind alley from which nobody has yet escaped." But these are just the kind of places that shamans dare to explore.

Quantum physics is the study of the physical and energetic nature of matter at the realm of subatomic particles, the building blocks of atoms: protons, neutrons, electrons and photons. Examined from this close-up perspective, reality is quite different from the way we perceive it at our ordinary, everyday level. Perceiving these submicroscopic details are lost in the overwhelming size of our macroscopic world perception.

To illustrate some features of the submicroscopic world, let's look at a simple quantum physics laboratory demonstration, the famous "double slit experiment." In Fig.1 we have, at the left side of the sketch, a source of subatomic particles, a kind of gun that randomly shoots out subatomic particles, one at a time. In front of the gun is a barrier plate with a narrow vertical slit. Behind the barrier, on the right hand side of the sketch, is a photographic screen. The gun is not very accurate. Some of the particles it shoots miss the barrier. Some hit the barrier and are blocked from reaching the photographic screen. Occasionally, a particle will pass through the slit, hit the screen and leave a little black dot. Obviously, a vertical black line will build up on the screen after a period of time.

Now, let's repeat this experiment but replace the barrier with one that has two closely spaced narrow vertical slits, as illustrated in Fig.2. After a period of time, we would expect to see two vertical lines of dots appear on the photographic screen. But we don't see two lines. To our astonishment we find several parallel vertical lines of dots. Think about this.

This experiment is open up various interpretations, revelations and perplexities for physicists, but there is one clear conclusion that is quite disturbing to them:

AS A PARTICLE PASSES FROM THE GUN TO THE PHOTOGRAPHIC SCREEN THROUGH A BARRIER SLIT, IT HAS TO "KNOW" WHETHER THE BARRIER HAS ONE OR TWO SLITS TO DETERMINE WHERE THE PARTICLE CAN FALL ON THE SCREEN. CONCLUSION: THE PARTICLE IS CONSCIOUS.

Physicists wonder how a subatomic particle, without a brain or sense organs, can possess such awareness. For a shaman, the answer is obvious. It's because of Kala: all is communicating information about everything to all else.

A definition of consciousness from my dictionary is "awareness of surroundings." Physicists wonder about the limit of a particle's awareness. Every material thing from viruses and bacteria to people, animals, mountains, oceans, clouds etc. is composed of subatomic particles. Therefore, everything possesses consciousness and has the potential to "know" a shaman's focused intent.

The double slit experiment stirs many speculations. Perhaps the brain does not generate consciousness. Maybe it's an organ that utilizes the consciousness of nature in the way that the eye makes use of light and does not generate it.

Could the implied vast networking of consciousness possessed by the building blocks of matter be the reason that physical forms exist? Perhaps each particle knows its appropriate place to occupy within a physical form. Could this organizational format be related to a shaman's concept of spirit?

Let's consider a shaman's practical uses of the Kala concept. I will refer to the skills of Judith Jubb. I have witnessed her shamanic abilities to receive from and send information to persons, places and things both in the laboratory and in the field. In a physics laboratory, she has demonstrated her ability to communicate with water to alter its surface tension, as indicated on a tensometer instrument. Also, in the laboratory, with the aid of a spectrometer, she has demonstrated the ability to control the radiation several frequencies of infrared energy from her hands while in a meditative state.

In the field, I have observed Judith Jubb "see" a symbolic or real pattern of colored light surrounding a person that relates to the nature of certain bodily conditions. Personally, she has dramatically relieved pain for me through her focused intent from over a thousand miles away.

These few examples illustrate the ability of a talented shaman to receive and transmit information in ways not available to us through our ordinary ways of thinking about the nature of reality. The shaman, however, understands the concept of universal consciousness and it potential uses. Through the Polynesian concept of Kala, their word for universal consciousness, the shaman is able to extend human potentials for bringing health and harmony to all and everything.

If you want to learn more about the double slit experiment and quantum phenomena read "The Dancing Wu Li Masters" by Gary Zukav.

As a research physicist Bill Russell was on the faculty of the Pennsylvania State University in the 1960's -70's. During his career, he worked in research laboratories at Westinghouse, IBM and also NASA. Bill is an herbalist and shaman brought up in the Pennsylvania German tradition. He has Hawaiian Huna training with Serge King spanning 20 years. His Field Guide to Wild Mushrooms of Pennsylvania and the Mid Atlantic has received wide acclaim. He is a popular speaker and gives lectures and workshops around the country.

For more information contact e-mail: shaman8@verizon.net