They usually say something like, "well, for some reason plants grow better for them."

But what is the reason?

This may come as a surprise, but a group of plant researchers, including two California State College at Sonoma, psychology seniors, think they are coming close to some answers and their findings could have some far reaching effects on man's future.

It's a long story, but essentially, according to students Randall Fontes, 27, and Robert Swanson, 26, the researchers think plants respond to human emotions or consciousness, and this response can be tapped for the benefit of man.

In the case of the "green thumber," the researchers think people who say plants do better for him because he gives them "tender loving care" are probably right.

"Experts in the field," says Randall, "have proven that plants respond to care." 

In fact, Marcel Vogel, an International Business Machines research chemist in Los Gatos, with whom Randall has worked for several years, says plants appear to have feelings quite as sensitive as those of human beings. 

He says, for example, some of his experiments have shown that if a person thinks derogatory thoughts about one of his plants or talks to a plant in a derogatory way, while praising some other plant, the first plant can be made to wither to the point of death.

In one experiment, he picked two leaves from a plant and "willed" one to live, while leaving the other unattended. The one given special attention lasted much longer than the other.

By using a galvanometer to measure plant reaction on a graph and placing electrodes to each side of a leaf, another researcher found that when he formed the image of fire in his mind the recording pen bounded off the top of the chart. However, when he actually burned a leaf the reaction on the graph was less, and when he merely pretended to burn the leaf there was no reaction.

Vogel says plants react favorably to being talked to, admired, or touched, and claims anyone can get a plant to flourish and grow in direct proportion to the amount of affection and admiration it receives from its caretaker.

As an example, in a recent article in Harper's Magazine about plant research, Vogel said "love is expressed to a plant as a wish for it to be happy and grow. It is like feeding it energy in the form of psychic food."

Actually, there is nothing new in this as scientists such as Charles Darwin and plant breeders like Santa Rosa’s own Luther Burbank said similar things decades ago.

For instance, Burbank, according to the author of the Harper's article, talked to his plants to create vibrations of love, said he was able to build plants to a form mocked up in his mind, and that plants responded to his mental image, indicating some form of intelligence and transmission of thought. Burbank also was quoted as saying "The secret of improved plant breeding, apart from scientific knowledge, is love."

How do plants react to humans?

For one thing, experiments have confirmed the presence in plants of electric impulses similar to the well-known nerve impulses in man, and these are transformed into motor impulses.

Similarly, Randall and Bob, who work as a team at the college, Vogel and other authorities in the field, think there is an energy exchange between plants and animals.

As an example, while working in the laboratory with leaves of a plant attached to a galvanometer by electrodes, Bob accidentally yawned, and this was markedly recorded on the machine's graph. They then both began yawning, with similar results on the graph.

"This was one experiment that showed us there is an energy exchange between plants and people," says Randall.

Other tests have shown, among other things, that plants react to people being changed from a peaceful to excited state through light or sound. Plants, for example, react favorably to classical music (remember the experiments with cows and music in the barn?) but appear to "cringe" at "acid rock."

Randall and Bob think this energy exchange between plants and human, is more psychic than physical, and can be tapped for the benefit of man.

"People have various levels of consciousness, many of them hidden, and through the use of highly sensitive plants that soon will be developed these levels could be measured.

"Some people have strong personalities, others weak, and some have a lot of energy and others don't, and we are able to sense these and other characteristics, which have an effect on plants.

"If you could measure these characteristics, or talents, or levels of consciousness or whatever you want to call them, you have many possibilities.

'''This could, for example, be especially useful in career selection as you could tell if a psychologist has the ability to help people, a lawyer is good at law, a politician at politics, or artist at art. Many brilliant people or geniuses going unnoticed could be discovered. 

"Similarly, you could measure the negative qualities of a person, such as whether he might be a criminal, have suicidal tendencies, or be an airplane hijacker. I think it will only be a few years before plants are used as a means of finding negative traits." 

Randall and Bob think that the key to this is the fact there is uniqueness to each individual's consciousness (psyche), plants react in a certain way, and this can be measured.

Just as a plant reacts one way to a joyous, loving person, and another to any angry, upset or depressed person, they don't see why it wouldn't also react to more subtle personality traits.

Randall and Bob think first man will develop highly sensitive plants for his own use, but eventually manufacture semi-living crystals sensitive to changes in consciousness.

These crystals, they feel, only await the discovery of the primary sensing source in plants. "There's no reason why the source can't be isolated and manufactured to sense consciousness," said Randall.

With the crystals, they think man not only will be able to very finely measure levels of consciousness such as positive and negative Psychic energy, hut also span time and space.

"In the not too distant future man will have mind actuated machines," says Randall. "He will think at a machine and it will do what he wants it to."

If that seems rather far out, an electronics engineer not too long ago was able to build sophisticated equipment to mentally trigger a device through a plant at considerable distance. In one experiment he set a philodendron on a laboratory bench 2 1/2 miles from his home, and sent a strong emotion to the plant. When the plant received his telepathic message, it triggered a radio signal that turned on the ignition of a car in the laboratory parking lot, starting the motor.

The same engineer has conducted a similar test 70 miles away, and believes it would be successful cross-country, which would determine for the first time whether the energy of ESP travels either at, or faster than, the speed of light.

Along the same line, Randall says He has conducted a telepathic plant experiment of more than 100 miles with Marcel Vogel.

He said he had the plant, a philodendron, in the laboratory at the college and called Vogel in San Jose, asking him to concentrate on the plant, then on his wife. The result was marked deviations on a graph.

Randall thinks that with the development of semi-living crystals and mind-actuated machines, man can harness the energy exchange between himself and plants for many benefits.

"This would be a great boon to the space program, for example, because you could locate a trouble spot in an instant just by thinking at a machine.

"Or, say someone is down at the bottom of the ocean in a submarine. He could communicate his problem instantly using the same type of machine."

Randall and Bob, soon to receive degrees in psychology and India studies, plan to seek masters' degrees and to continue their research. They are applying for private grants for equipment and to support themselves while doing the research. Most of this will be carried on at what they feel is better conditions at Marcel Vogel's summer place on the Russian River.

“This is a brand new field with many ways to go” says Randall. "I guess that's one of the things that makes it so exciting.

Up to now, man has been pretty much centered on the physical world. But, by communicating with plants he will be getting into the more subtle world of what makes him tick.

He’ll be getting inside the nature of all living things and close to the source of life. And to solving all of his problems.

The Play of Light is about the Beauty of Light, of Sound and of Form. As each of these is deeply resonant with the other, the underlying unity that they share is revealed within their dance; and can be realized through direct experience. Within this experience, the mind becomes still and spontaneous Meditation arises. I have developed this technique over a period of 45 years, and this is as effortless and joyful a path into meditation as I am aware of.

Individual and Group sessions are available. Please call or email me, I look forward to sharing this experience with you.

Randall Fontes
R.fontes@comcast.net

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