Since its founding in 1973, the Institute of Noetic Sciences has supported research and education on consciousness and human potential. For 20 years, through innovative sponsored projects and publications, the Institute has served as a catalyst for creative, pioneering inquiry and for thoughtful reflection on some of the critical issues and opportunities of our time.

Today, the mission of the Institute is evolving. While our research and publications programs continue to break new ground, a third dimension of our work is equally important—the development of opportunities for individuals to become more active as members. Through member groups, our international and regional conferences, a membership directory and other opportunities for study, networking and exchange, we hope to foster an increasingly effective partnership with members.

Our new emphasis on membership participation reflects a simple conviction. As important as continuing scientific or scholarly inquiry is the everyday application of what we already know about consciousness and human potential—to transform our lives, relationships, organizations and communities. In this task, members are the innovators and leaders, and we seek ways to support their efforts and learn with them.

Research, publications and membership are three equally important dimensions of the Institute's mission. Each informs the others, and contributes in unique ways to our building together the world of our visions.

The First Decade

To put the growth of the Institute in perspective, it is useful to think about the world twenty years ago. In 1973, personal computers had not been invented. The Soviet Union and United States were still locked in a relationship of mutual assured destruction. Richard Nixon was President of the United States. Around him, the Watergate scandal was widening; it would soon lead to his resignation and help precipitate a profound loss of confidence and trust in leadership. The Club of Rome's study Limits to Growth had raised, for the first time among the general public, questions concerning the sustainability of unchecked economic and industrial growth. Outside the "counterculture", few people were interested in consciousness research. The Aquarian Conspiracy was still seven years from publication. And the energy crisis was awakening us to just how vulnerable our economy and lifestyle were . . .

In this context, Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell founded the Institute of Noetic Sciences to undertake a deeper exploration of human consciousness, and to help map a territory that few yet even knew existed. Initially supported by a very small group of deeply committed individuals, the Institute sponsored studies on a variety of exceptional human abilities and raised questions concerning the adequacy of existing scientific paradigms for the study of consciousness.

Research was the cornerstone of the Institute's mission, and sponsored projects during the Institute's first decade of activity included: remote viewing research by Harold Puthoff and Russell Targ at Stanford Research Institute (now SRI International); research on anomalous interactions between consciousness and matter by Robert Jahn and Brenda Dunne at the Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research laboratory in Princeton University's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences; research on the use of visualization as an adjunct therapy for terminally ill cancer patients by O. Carl Simonton and Stephanie Matthews-Simonton at the Cancer Counseling and Research Center in Fort Worth, Texas; an invitational conference on human consciousness research that brought together more than 30 leading researchers and scholars; a public conference, In Pursuit of Wellness, at the University of California at San Francisco, which highlighted the new field of psychoneuroimmunology and other emerging areas of mind-body research.

During these early years, resources to support the Institute's programs were scarce and it was difficult to generate the institutional presence and momentum needed to reach large numbers of people. Yet by the end of its first decade, the Institute had begun to establish an international network of scientific and professional colleagues, the Institute of Noetic Sciences Newsletter reached some 2,000 members, and both a core staff and Board of Directors—with Paul Temple as Chairman—had been assembled. The critical mass necessary for organizational growth and broader outreach were in place.

The Second Decade

During the last ten years, the Institute's membership has grown from 2,000 to—as of this writing—more than 31,000 individuals. During the same period, the Institute's research programs matured and its publications program expanded.

During the 1980s, the Institute developed research programs in several major areas. The Inner Mechanisms of the Healing Response program seeks to identify the parameters of an innate healing system through studies in psychoneuro-immunology, spontaneous remission, spiritual healing, and bioenergy medicine. The Altruistic Spirit Program was designed to illuminate the nature and dimensions of creative altruism, while the Meditation Research Program aims to foster a deeper understanding of meditation in scientific terms and to explore the potential significance of meditation for the individual and society. The Emerging Paradigms in Science and Society program focuses on rethinking the fundamental assumptions that shape science, our social institutions and the global economy.

As the scope of our research expanded, our publications program grew to complement it and to serve the needs and interests of members more effectively. Members have always been concerned with understanding and integrating both the changes taking place in their personal lives and the changes occurring more broadly in society. Our publications have both tracked and helped lead change as the specific focus for members' interest has varied. In the 1980s, our Newsletter became the Noetic Sciences Review as members sought a more thorough and thoughtful exploration of the implications of consciousness research for health, education, business, spirituality and other areas of everyday life. At the same time, the Noetic Sciences Bulletin was created to facilitate member-to-member networking, and our mail-order catalog An Intelligent Guide was introduced to help members identify and acquire books and tapes in subject areas covered by the Institute. Selected research reports are also now available to members through a newly established monograph series.

The Institute has also published or helped to publish a variety of books that have helped introduce the general public to consciousness research, mind-body health and related fields. Included in that list are: Psychic Exploration by Edgar Mitchell; Health for the Whole Person by James Fadiman, James Gordon and Arthur Hastings; Higher Creativity, Global Mind Change and Creative Work by Willis Harman; In the Footsteps of Gandhi by Catherine Ingram; Waking Up by Charles Tart; Drawing the Light From Within by Judith Cornell; The Home Planet by Kevin Kelley; The Feminine Face of God by Sherry Ruth Anderson and Patricia Hopkins; Spontaneous Remission: An Annotated Bibliography by Brendan O'Regan and Caryle Hirshberg; and The Heart of Healing by the Institute of Noetic Sciences with William Poole.

While Institute members have always been interested in the relationship between emerging forms of inner awareness and the changes taking place in society, it is only recently that we have come to fully appreciate the degree to which "inner" and "outer" work must go hand in hand. The central question for most of our members has shifted over the years from "What are the changes that are occurring, and how do they affect me?" to "How can I pursue my personal development without losing all touch with the world as I know it?" and, more recently, to "How can I more fully integrate my personal quest with service to fellow humans and the planet?" In recognition of this shift, a third dimension of our mission has evolved to complement research and publications—membership education and participation.

New Emphases

Twenty years after the founding of the Institute, we live in a much different world than we did then. The Soviet Union has disintegrated, as has our trust in leadership and our faith in many of our social institutions. It has become commonplace to note that we live in an era of transformative global change, though we can only speculate about the consequences of much that is occurring in the world today. Personal computers are everywhere, and interest in consciousness research and human potential is burgeoning—on June 6 of this year, four of the top ten titles on The New York Times bestseller list were concerned with noetic topics. Recognition of the need for a profound reappraisal of our values, beliefs and practices is growing.

As new needs and opportunities have emerged in the world, the Institute has responded with new initiatives. We now view the daily life of the individual as the central force in the changes occurring in society, and seek to serve and support members more fully. Consequently, our educational effort has broadened to include a variety of ways for members to participate with us in exploring and understanding the changes taking place in the world—and to enrich their own lives through inquiry, dialogue and action. Two recent initiatives are our annual international conference and increasing support for member study groups.

Our annual conference, held for the first time in 1992, offers members an opportunity for participatory learning, networking, and celebration. The first conference, Global Mind Change—From Vision to Reality, was held in Santa Clara, California, and drew over 1,400 participants. Our second conference, The Heart of Healing: Exploring the Spirit and Practice of Wholeness (co-sponsored by the Fetzer Institute), took place near Washington, DC, and involved almost 1,800 participants. Both conferences gave members an opportunity to hear thoughtful presentations on critical issues, to work with leading teachers and researchers, and, most importantly, to meet one another and share their personal stories and common visions. We discovered that when members of the Institute come together, a special magic results—the magic of discovering shared purpose, the magic of creating new partnerships, the magic of synchronicity. As one participant commented, "It was wonderful to be around so many people who believe that there is a better way to do things. It made me sure that I am not alone."

Most existing social institutions do not support the growth in awareness—and the corresponding shifts in identity—that an increasing number of people around the world are experiencing. As a result, we are witnessing a proliferation of self-help groups, study circles, salons, and other small, intimate groups that serve as crucibles for both personal change and social innovation. Such groups give participants an opportunity to tell their stories—as one coordinator of an Institute member study group observed, "For some, this group is a safe place to talk about experiences they've never talked about, to put names to experience"—and provide a deeply nourishing sense of connection. They help weave the fabric of community and create networks of mutual support. Emphasizing democratic processes (rather than reliance on experts or authorities), they promote collaborative inquiry and local action.

The Institute's expanding network of member groups is one expression of this broader trend. More than 125 member study groups are now active, in 40 states—plus Washington, DC—and four other countries. In living rooms and libraries, church halls and community centers, members and their friends come together regularly for networking, community building, study, and play. Participants are finding that individuals and small groups can be potent agents of learning and change, particularly the kind of change that involves exploring the fundamental values and beliefs that shape our experience and institutions. As Stephanie Mills observed in an Utne Reader report on the burgeoning popularity of study circles and salons:

The Institute deliberately avoids any attempt to control the activities of local groups. Member groups are self-organizing, self-directed, voluntary associations of members and friends. Settings are usually relaxed and highly interactive, involving presentations and experiential exercises that engage both the mind and heart. Beyond the personal benefits to participants, they may have a broader cultural significance hard to measure. As David Bohm in his book On Dialogue observed:

This year, we have a special opportunity to encourage the development of study groups in relation to The Heart of Healing, a six-hour television documentary on the role of the mind and spirit in healing. Co-produced by the Institute of Noetic Sciences and Independent Communications Associates, Inc. (InCA), the series will air on TBS Superstation in October. In approaching this broadcast, we found ourselves asking: Does television programming reflect cultural values, or does it actively lead and shape them? The answer may depend, in part, on how we as viewers relate to what we see on television. Television can best serve as a transformational medium if we critically examine the ideas it presents in relation to our own experience, or if we join with others in actively exploring their implications for our lives, organizations or communities.

When Healing and the Mind with Bill Moyers aired on PBS in February, thousands of IONS members participated in study groups to reflect on the ideas presented. This fall, the premiere of The Heart of Healing again creates a context in which members and other viewers can undertake a deep collaborative exploration of healing and wholeness. Using a Viewing Guide to The Heart of Healing that the Institute has developed, thousands of people will come together in study groups to explore "the heart of healing" and its implications.

Imagine hundreds of thousands of people actively engaged in thinking about the nature of healing, asking what healing really means in their lives, relationships, communities or organizations. Imagine a groundswell as people talk more openly about our innate self-healing capacities, and as they engage their health care providers in a new healing partnership . . .

Imagining, exploring and helping to realize such possibilities may be one of the most important contributions the Institute of Noetic Sciences can make.