Homoeopathy, the Vacuum State & the Formative Mind

John Davidson is the author of a series of six books on

Science and Mysticism which look at the natural world from a mystical perspective.
The author is a Cambridge science graduate with a
life-long interest in mysticism.
This article is derived from his
The Secret of the Creative Vacuum: Man and the Energy Dance
8 Copyright, April 1991
John Davidson
www.johndavidson.org

Homoeopathy and Physics

The experimental findings of Dr Jacques Benveniste, some while ago, focused
attention upon how homoeopathic medicines might be working, for there is no dispute
that at the highest potencies no molecules of the active substance actually remain in the
solution.
Most ideas have drawn largely upon electromagnetic memories by the water
molecules, but such theories like all others are yet to be substantiated. However,
physics does tell us of another fundamental field of energy which has been largely
ignored in the study of possible homoeopathic mechanisms. In fact, it has largely been
ignored in the study of all the life sciences and medicine, too. That field is the vacuum
state.
The great treasure hunt currently being enacted by the fraternity of modern theoretical
physicists is to find a Unified Field Theory. That is, a relationship defined
mathematically which unites all the fundamental observable forces of nature. So far,
they have failed. However everyone remains convinced that all the forces of nature can
be explained by reference to just one even more fundmental superforce. This origin of
this intuition is itself of interest, but we must proceed.
To my mind, those theorists who have the greatest chance of succeeding are those who
have greatly simplified the issue. They argue (and I am one of them) that since matter
is comprised of subatomic particles moving about at ultra-high speeds in an ocean of
space or vacuum, that the real field for study should be that of space or vacuum itself.
This is the real unified field of nature that of space itself.
They suggest that the vacuum is really an ocean of ultra-dense energy and that
subatomic particles are, in fact, no more than focuses of activity upon this ocean of
vacuum energy. Atoms, molecules and all objects therefore are thus nothing more than
patterns in space, particular arrangements within the hidden energy of vacuum.

Homoeopathy, the Vaccum State & the Formative Mind

In quantum physics, the vacuum is a dominant structure for study. Here, virtual
particles are thought to come and go, appearing and disappearing with lightning speed
in and out of the vacuum ocean. The vacuum is said to be seething with this constant
activity. This is conventional theory, but it means that the vacuum must be a highly
relevant something. What I (and others) suggest is that actually the very subatomic
particles themselves also arise out of the energy of vacuum, on a continuous basis.
Creation is therefore a continuous show, a continuous projection of a more
fundamental source of energy.
An electron, for example, is described by the sum of its properties mass, electrical
charge, spin, motion, speed and so on. It is not a something possessing these
properties, but these are the properties of which it consists. In other words, an electron
is nothing more than our observations of it. A sort of observational tautology!
In the vacuum state theory, these properties arise simply as effects upon the
three-dimensional (spacial) surface of the vacuum energy ocean. An electron,
therefore, has no more fundamental reality than the gushing end of a hose-pipe.
And if this is true of an electron, then this is also true of all subatomic particles and
thus of the entire physical universe! A stunning thought! The physical universe is
nothing more than a three-dimensional surface phenomenon upon the great ocean of
spacial energy or vacuum.

The Interface of Mind and Matter

NOW space is something we perceive with our mind, something we understand in
our mind. For exmaple, we cannot convey our experience of the colour red (a pattern
in space) to anyone else because it is a subjective experience within our mind. Talking
about it (making noises) does not convey the experience of colour, per se. That always
remains personal and subjective, within our own mind.
Now this is therefore the case with the entire physical universe as well, for it is made
up entirely of our sensory perceptions of it. And all these perceptions are within space.
So space is also within our mind, a part of our mind.
But although we cannot communicate them as they are we do all share our
sensory experience of the physical world. It means, therefore, that somehow, all our
minds are linked at a level beyond normal consciousness into patterning this great
ocean of space into the world we all inhabit. This deeper level of Mind function,
underlying our conscious and subconscious mind, I have called the Formative Mind.
Jung probably had a similar perception in mind when he spoke of the Collective
Unconscious. The vacuum state, therefore, is the interface between mind and matter,
between phenomena observable to our physical senses and the more subtle states of
energy which include our minds.
It also means that Mind is a more fundamental reality than both the body AND the
physical universe. Our individual human minds are not so much a result of bodily
physiology and biochemistry etc., but the body and the physical universe come into
existence as aspects of a deeper level of Formative Mind functioning. The physical

Homoeopathy, the Vaccum State & the Formative Mind

body is thus a part of the Formative Mind, rather than the mind being a result of
bodily processes. This neatly explains all psychosomatic phenomena, for our whole
existence is seen as psychosomatic including just waggling a finger.
This perception of the Formative Mind fits in very well with those physicists and others
who have stated that the fundamental answer to the problems of science must
ultimately be an ontological one. For mans understanding of his own being is
fundamental to the way he perceives the universe whether scientifically,
philosophically, religiously, mystically or in any other way.
This understanding that the vacuum state is patterned both by our mind, from within,
and by the activities of subatomic particles, atoms and molecules from without
underlies many hitherto inexplicable, yet valid, phenomena.
We see this in a general way in all aspects of body-mind function. The currents of mind
and the life force or pranas direct the vacuum to pattern the subatomic particles
comprising the physical substance of our body. It is by such means that our heart beats
or that we can waggle our finger, and all else besides.
Conversely, we can affect our mind by ingesting various molecular substances eating
a meal can change our mood, for example, while consuming alcohol, coffee and other
mind-affecting drugs clearly reaches into the subtle areas of our mental being. And this
dynamic, two-way process is made use of in both homoeopathy and radionics. And
interestingly, more than any other full-scale system of medicine, homoeopathic
symptomology includes the state of mind of the individual.
If the vacuum state pattern which we call a molecule, were to leave a memory of its
pattern behind in the vacuum energy ocean whence it sprang even after all traces of
the molecule have been removed, then we can glimpse a physical-mental basis for
how homoeopathic remedies might be working. Homoeopathy is thus a vacuum state
science, way ahead of the best theoretical physicists of our day. But then, if thoughts
really are subtle things (ie subtle energy patterns) then one waggle of ones finger tells
us that mind and matter must be a part of a vertical spectrum of energies, the higher
or more inward creating or manifesting the more outward. And all these patterns,
subtle or gross, can ultimately be attributed to the activities of the Formative Mind.
This greater Mind is the actuator and creator of all forms.

Benveniste and the Vacuum State

As most readers will be aware, in homoeopathy, a chemical substance is increasingly
diluted with distilled water until, in the highest potency, there is no molecular
substance remaining. According to conventional science, there is no physical basis for
this phenomenon and yet millions of people attest to its efficacy.
Recently, there have even been verifications of this effect from the world of
conventional science. As all homoeopaths must have heard by now, in June 1988,
Britains Nature magazine published the findings of Dr Jacques Benveniste, a highly
respected and well known scientist of impeccable credentials from the French Medical
Research Council laboratory at the University of Paris-Sud. He has shown that

Homoeopathy, the Vaccum State & the Formative Mind

antibodies, part of the bodys immuno-defence system against allergens and microbial
invaders, retain their efficacy even when they have been successively diluted in distilled
water beyond the point at which any molecules of the antibody might remain. This is
the procedure used in the preparation of homoeopathic remedies, a system of medicine
even more widely practised in France than in Britain or America.
Jacques Benveniste thus demonstrated that the effects of the antibody are still
biologically present and active, even when no molecules of the antibody actually
remain in the solution. From an understanding of vacuum state manifestation, it should
be clear what is happening.
Molecules are aggregates or specific configurations of intensely active atoms and
subatomic particles. They are swirling patterns upon the vacuum surface. But their
outward manifestation as what we call molecules is only a surface phenomenon. Like
an iceberg, what appears on the surface is only a fraction of what is going on
underneath. But unlike an iceberg, when the surface phenomenon is removed, the
vibrational patterns which go on beneath the surface, within the formative vacuum
itself, would appear to continue.
And since biological organisms take their form and function out of the vacuum and
more subtle energy fields, these vibrations still affect living systems. The vacuum,
effectively, possesses an inward memory of its outwardly manifested forms.
Dr Benveniste even persuaded colleagues from Israel, Italy, Canada and Paris to repeat
the experiments in double-blind trials and the results seem reasonably clear. Nature
published his paper together with an unprecedented editoral comment inviting readers
to share in their incredulity and emphasizing that there is no physical basis for the
phenomenon. Without an appreciation of physical substance as a continuously created
dance out of the vacuum or spatial state, this would, of necessity, have been their
conclusion.
Here then is the long-awaited acknowledgement by the conservative scientific
fraternity that homoeopathy really works. Something that millions of patients and
practitioners have known for a long time!

The Mind of the Scientist

But ulterior motives lurk as much in scientific minds, as elsewhere, and it was not long
before the New Scientist magazine pointed out that the publication of such an article by
Nature (normally a highly conservative journal) may well have been part of a
pre-planned publicity stunt aimed at boosting sales. For the article in Nature was not
only reported in the national and other scientific press, giving them a good dose of free
publicity, but within a very short time, clearly indicating that their whole plan had been
preconceived, Nature had sent in a team of three experts, (not one of them an expert
in Benvenistes field). The trio consisted of their editor (David Maddox), the magician
James Randi a man dedicated to proving that everything he or the known laws of
science cannot explain must be phoney and Walter Stewart, a single-minded
American scientific fraud investigator. Not a team of objective scientists, but men with
a mission.

Homoeopathy, the Vaccum State & the Formative Mind

These three investigators set about creating an extremely unpleasant inquisatorial

atmosphere in Benvenistes laboratory, (where they were invited guests), finally
pronouncing after only five days examination of five years research and thought, that
Benvenistes results were the result of subconscious selection of data. Given that one
could hardly have chosen a more biased team of experts and conditions of
examination, their conclusions were already predictable from the moment they set out
from home. Their own subconscious mind sets performed the very same trick upon
them of which they were later to accuse Benveniste. A clear case of psychological
projection, observable by every kindergarten psychologist.
There is interesting aspect to the psychology of such situations. Since mind energies
are so powerful, yet being so subtle largely remain undetected below the
threshold of awareness, the negative mental vibrations of such hostile, independent
inquisitors will kill stone dead the subtle and sensitive vibrations of psychic people or
subtle phenomena that they may be investigating.
The subconscious mind and consequently the vibrations or aura of such investigators
seethes with insecurity that its illusory sense of ego or false identity will be found out.
This is exhibited outwardly as intolerance, criticism, anger, fear, suspicion, even
violence, not allowing the other to have their say by trying to talk them down,
continuous repetition of conditioned beliefs as if they were self-evident realities, refusal
to acknowledge the experience and feelings of others as genuine whilst forcefully
promoting their own point of view, justification of such behaviour by stating that, the
truth as everybody knows it to be should be protected from charlatans and so on.
In societies where democracy is not protected by law the result can be imprisonment
and even death, as an enemy of the state. Socrates, Christ and many others have
suffered such a fate. But it arises, always, from a challenge to the unconscious
habituation of deeply ingrained mind patterns and the individuals subsonscious
identification with them. The sense of being and identity is thus unconsciously
threatened. It is the automatic response of a mind scattered into subconsciousness, far
away from its true inner centre and understanding of its real identity.
No-one, for example, but the man with death in his heart and a gun on his shoulder is
surprised that the wild creatures flee his path! But the hunter himself, spreading mental
vibrations of killing wherever he goes, may never come to understand it. Negative and
destructive mind patterns are themselves the most efficacious screen and blanket to the
world of the subtle, as well as to a real awareness of life and consciousness itself.
It is not surprising then, that Benveniste afterwards wrote that the atmosphere in his
laboratory during the visit of this trio was:
A tornado of intense suspicion, fear and psychological and intellectual
pressure, unfit for scientific work.

Never again, he declared, would he allow such an inquiry, when in a spirit of great
openness and furtherance of human knowledge he had made available all his
research notebooks to a team who seem to be been insensitive, arrogant and
self-opinionated intellectual bullies. No wonder so many of the scientific fraternity,

Homoeopathy, the Vaccum State & the Formative Mind

whatever their opinion of the research itself, felt embarrased to be associated with such
behaviour. But let us hope that the nett result will be a wider knowledge of
homoeopathy and Benvenistes work. After all, since homoeopathy really does help
people, why do these scientists want so desperately to knock it?
Regarding their behaviour, Maddox even admitted, We were certainly rude...
impolite. We werent, as most academics would have been, respectful. In particular,
the American fraudbuster, Walter Stewart, caused considerable problems. Stewart has
no manners, commented Maddox, Hes a zealot. As the emotional temperature
rose, so did the pitch of Stewarts voice. Said Maddox, He does have a high-pitched
voice and when hes tense, his voice sounds like a Dalek. We had to tell him to talk
naturally. Tone and quality of voice are deeply indicative of an individuals underlying
unconscious emotion...

Attitude as a Factor in the Energy Equation

The significance of this kind of negative atmosphere to Benvenistes case is this: Most
practitioners of homoeopathy will know that the quality of the remedy is also related
directly to the quality of mind, motive and understanding in the one who prepares it.
The care and comprehension of what is being done are all encoded into the vacuum
state a physical memory. This is actually true in all areas of life.
So an important aspect of the homoeopathic principle is that the mind itself is capable
of creating the same effect within the vacuum energy field as the homoeopathic
dilution process itself.
As we have pointed out, homoeopathic practitioners will note that many of their
remedies are related to psychological symptoms and with the individual mind being
involved in the patterning of the vacuum state, this is what one would predict. The
more subtle the energy field in which the medicine is active, then the more subtle (and
therefore the more mental-emotional) will be its effect.
This is again the same phenomenon as the cook who puts her vibration into the food,
or the vibrational encoding of the motivation of all who have dealt with the foods and
medicines sold in our modern shops and supermarkets. Hence the lack of vibrational,
subtle, vacuum state, nourishment from such products. In this manner, we are all
connected at a mental level. This is a part of the integrated mechanism for the
outworking of all our karmas. The homoeopathic vibration is present in all our foods,
clothing, environment everything.
Indeed, in radionics, homoeopathic remedies are prepared entirely within the vacuum
state. A radionics instrument is often used, but I have a strong feeling that the use of
the machine is no more than an (important) ritual to enable the practitioner to focus
or shape his mind, thus unconsciously creating the desired vibrational impression
upon the remedy.
Reinforcing this suggestion is the observation of Dr Edward Bach, also a homoeopath,
and discoverer of the subtle flower remedy essences. These remedies capture the
vibrational qualities of the flowers and can be an extremely effective form of treatment.

Homoeopathy, the Vaccum State & the Formative Mind

But Dr Bach also pointed out that when one mentally understands the nature of this
vibration, then the same effect can be created in ones mind and body simply by
thinking of the remedy, by holding in mind its qualities and vibrational nature. This
alone re-patterns and re-harmonizes body function.
And this, of course, is the essence of all psychosomatic phenomena. They are real, but
as we have seen, our entire physical existence is psychosomatic a combination of
mind and body, the body being an expression of the Formative Mind.
Interestingly, Benveniste himself observes that there seemed to be unknown factors
affecting his results. Trials worked on some days and not on others. Or they only
worked after procedures that seemed to bear no relationship to the results cold
overnight storage, vigorous shaking and so on. With subtle and mental factors
known to be involved, this is exactly as one might expect For all activity, whatever its
mechanical effect, engenders the mental focusing of the individuals involved, like a
ritual, regardless of the nature of the actual activity itself. This would be especially true
of the vigorous shaking, characteristic of homoeopathic preparation.
In fact, I would actually predict that results would vary depending upon who
performed the experiment, ie. whose mind was actually directly involved. This
phenomenon is well known in highly delicate experimentation and is related to more
than just skilful fingers. It is especially apparent in all biological experiments,
particularly in the world of human healing and medicine as well as in research dealing
with other living creatures, from plants to chimpanzees. The mental content and
atmosphere or aura of the experimenter, doctor or therapist is also of considerable
importance.
Bearing this out is the fact that during the visit of the three inquisitors, seven additional
trials were conducted for their benefit. The first four were completely successful,
embarrassingly so for the Nature team, since they had insisted on somewhat puerile
additional anti-fraud checking procedures. They were white with shock, Benveniste
recalled. They kept saying, extraordinary, flabbergasting, impossible.
But by this time, Benveniste and his team were tired from lack of sleep and emotional
strain. The emotional atmosphere was supercharged. It is not surprising therefore that
the remaining three tests failed. Tiredness, leading to less than perfect technique, the
anxious desire to succeed though mentally out of tune with what they were doing, plus
the overall disturbed and negative mental vibration would naturally influence such
subtle tests.
Indeed, the Nature team remarked (though as a criticism!) on the dedication and team
spirit of the laboratory staff. They said it led to a loss of objectivity. Perhaps they
would have the same complaint of dedicated and caring doctors and nurses.
Atmosphere and the quality of mind brought to bear on any task is of paramount
importance in achieving good results in any sphere of life. And where one is attempting
to measure the subtle vibration of atmosphere itself, how much more important it is.
So it is not surprising that psychic investigator and magician, James Randi, finds that
the world of the subtle evapourates whenever he comes on the scene. But it is at
least in genuine cases his own subtle mental atmosphere which is responsible, not

Homoeopathy, the Vaccum State & the Formative Mind

fraudulent psychics! In the world of the mind, all minds are involved. There is no such
thing as objectivity.
More details can be found in John Davidsons books on Science and Mysticism:
Subtle Energy (1987)
The Web of Life (1988)
The Secret of the Creative Vacuum (1989)
Natural Creation and the Formative Mind (1990)
Natural Creation or Natural Selection? (1992)
One Being One (2010)
www.johndavidson.org

Homoeopathy, the Vaccum State & the Formative Mind