Collective Consciousness: The Ripple Effects of Emotional Contagion

Clinical EFT Therapy Validated as Evidence-Based Practice for Psychological and Physiological Conditions2

A comprehensive scientific review of a therapy called Clinical EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) has been published in a top peer-reviewed journal, Frontiers in Psychology.

It compared the evidence for EFT against criteria published by the American Psychological Association (APA) Division 12 Task Force on Empirically Validated Therapies. Summarizing the results of 56 randomized controlled trials, it found that EFT is highly effective for anxiety, depression, phobias, PTSD, and stress symptoms.

EFT, also known as acupoint tapping or simply “tapping,” is a practice that combines acupressure (tapping on acupuncture points) with elements of conventional psychological methods like cognitive processing and exposure therapy (focusing on distressing memories). Studies show that the addition of acupressure rapidly reduces the emotional triggering that results from disturbing events.

In the past decade, research in EFT has increasingly focused on objective biological markers such as cortisol levels, immune function, brain activity, and gene expression. It has also been used to successfully treat physical conditions including pain, insomnia, and autoimmune diseases.

The results of randomized controlled trials, the gold standard of research, showed EFTs effects to extend beyond the subjective perceptions of stress measured in psychology. The paper’s coauthor and EFT pioneer Dr. Dawson Church observed that, “Self-reporting and subjective change is one thing, but objective change means that independent of what you think or report, there are external positive changes that are measurable.”

The review concludes that Clinical EFT is “efficacious for a range of psychological and physiological conditions. Treatment is associated with measurable biological effects in the dimensions of gene expression, brain synchrony, hormonal synthesis, and a wide range of biomarkers.”

The paper noted several other characteristics of the treatment method. Comparatively few treatment sessions are required, treatment is effective whether delivered in person or virtually, and symptom improvements persist over time. Also, EFT works well as group therapy, which makes it cost effective to administer.

EFT is also unusually safe, with no reports of adverse events in the more than 2,000 study participants. This has led to it being characterized by the US Veterans Administration as a “generally safe therapy.” The paper notes the prevalence of “simultaneous symptom reduction,” where multiple psychological conditions (such as depression and anxiety) and physiological diagnoses (such as pain and insomnia) decline at the same time.

With over 125 studies now published in peer-reviewed journals, Clinical EFT is one of the most-researched treatment methods in the field of psychology. The review paper found it to be a stable and mature method with an extensive evidence base, capable of being used in primary care settings as a safe, rapid, reliable, and effective treatment for both psychological and medical diagnoses.

Just as infectious diseases can spread, emotions too have the remarkable ability to traverse the boundaries between individuals, shaping our collective experiences.

A groundbreaking study spanning two decades and involving 4,739 participants delved into the intricate dynamics of emotional influence (Fowler & Christakis, 2008). The findings revealed a fascinating ripple effect: the happiness of one person has the power to uplift another for up to a year, magnifying joy fourfold.

When a participant experienced a surge of happiness, the likelihood of their friends, spouses, neighbors, or siblings also experiencing happiness increased by up to 34%. Even residing within the vicinity of a contented friend, separated by just a mile, heightened one’s own chances of finding happiness by 25%.

However, the influence of emotions extends beyond the realm of bliss. The contagion of negative emotions casts its shadow, suffusing its dark spell upon our well-being. Having an unhappy friend elevates our own vulnerability to unhappiness by an average of 7%.

This ripple effect extends its grasp to encompass entire communities, from schools to workplaces. In the age of social media, a single despondent post has the capacity to cast a somber hue over the spirits of thousands.

Yet what happens when the collective emotions of millions intertwine? Captivating evidence emerges, hinting at the existence of vast fields of consciousness in which multitudes become united in their shared experiences.

For two decades, the Global Consciousness Project (GCP), an international alliance of dedicated scientists and engineers, meticulously gathered data from across the globe, channeling it into a central repository at Princeton University (Nelson, 2015). Their remarkable findings unveiled a fascinating phenomenon: whenever momentous events captivate the awareness of millions, a harmonious coherence emerges within global consciousness.

Among the events were:

1998: The bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania
1999: The aerial bombardment of Yugoslavia by NATO in an effort to stop the massacre of Serbs
2000: The first visit by the pope to Israel
2000: The explosion on board the Russian submarine Kursk
2003: A global candlelight vigil for peace organized by Desmond Tutu and various organizations
2004: The Democratic Party convention
2004: The Beslan massacre in which 150 hostages died in Russia
2005: The Iraqi elections
2005: The earthquake in Kashmir, Pakistan
2006: The magnitude 6.2 earthquake in Indonesia in which over 3,000 people died
2008: The nomination of Barack Obama as president
2010: The passage of the Obamacare reform act
2010: The Israeli attack on a flotilla of pro-Palestinian activists that killed nine civilians
2010: The rescue of 33 Chilean miners after 18 days underground
2011: A global meditation called by New Reality Group, a group of “physicists and mathematicians that believe our very own consciousness defines our reality”
2013: A global meditation organized by the Peace Portal Activations group
2013: The death of Nelson Mandela
2015: International Peace Day

The diligent researchers of the GCP, guided by their insatiable quest for truth, meticulously assessed the likelihood of these correlations arising solely by chance. Astonishingly, they reported these odds amounted to less than one in one trillion—unveiling a profound interconnectedness that surpasses the boundaries of individual existence.

Scientific evidence reinforces this unified consciousness, beckoning us to recognize the intricate threads that bind us together. Though we often perceive our minds as isolated islands of awareness, enlightened souls such as Carl Jung have illuminated the vast expanse of our “collective consciousness.”

Embracing this awareness revolutionizes our perspective, unlocking new realms of possibility. Through the practice of meditation, we embark upon a transformative journey, deliberately tuning into this universalness of the “one great mind.”

Enveloped in the power of collective consciousness, recognizing that our thoughts, intentions, and actions can ripple through this vast interconnected web, we dissolve the illusion of separation—unlocking the boundless potential within each of us to be catalysts of change in this world we truly share.

References

Fowler, J. H., & Christakis, N. A. (2008). Dynamic spread of happiness in a large social network: Longitudinal analysis over 20 years in the Framingham Heart Study. British Medical Journal, 337, a2338.

Hatfield, E., Cacioppo, J. T., & Rapson, R. L. (1994). Emotional contagion: Studies in emotion and social interaction. Cambridge University Press.

Nelson, R. (2015). The Global Consciousness Project: Meaningful correlations in random data. Retrieved from http://noosphere.princeton.edu/results.html#alldata

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Collective Consciousness: The Ripple Effects of Emotional Contagion

Clinical EFT Therapy Validated as Evidence-Based Practice for Psychological and Physiological Conditions2

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