Science and the Akashic Field: An Integral Theory of Everything [Paperback]

Ervin Laszlo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 14, 2007

Presents the unifying world-concept long sought by scientists, mystics, and sages: an Integral Theory of Everything

• Explains how modern science has rediscovered the Akashic Field of perennial philosophy

• New edition updates ongoing scientific studies, presents new research inspired by the first edition, and includes new case studies and a section on animal telepathy

Mystics and sages have long maintained that there exists an interconnecting cosmic field at the roots of reality that conserves and conveys information, a field known as the Akashic record. Recent discoveries in vacuum physics show that this Akashic Field is real and has its equivalent in science’s zero-point field that underlies space itself. This field consists of a subtle sea of fluctuating energies from which all things arise: atoms and galaxies, stars and planets, living beings, and even consciousness. This zero-point Akashic Field is the constant and enduring memory of the universe. It holds the record of all that has happened on Earth and in the cosmos and relates it to all that is yet to happen.

In Science and the Akashic Field, philosopher and scientist Ervin Laszlo conveys the essential element of this information field in language that is accessible and clear. From the world of science he confirms our deepest intuitions of the oneness of creation in the Integral Theory of Everything. We discover that, as philosopher William James stated, “We are like islands in the sea, separate on the surface but connected in the deep.”

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A seminal book from one of the best thinkers of our time. Ervin Laszlo charts the ­frontiers to which science is inexorably headed. In years to come people will look back at the amazing foresight of this work.”
(Peter Russell, fellow of the Institute of Noetic Sciences and the Findhorn Foundation and author of From Science to God )

". . . Laszlo's new book is a provocative overview and a masterful synthesis of knowledge at the frontiers of cosmology, physics, neurobiology, and consciousness studies. . . . provides strong support for the idea that finally we have a common unifying concept for science and spirituality."
(Christian De Quincey, Ph.D., Shift, Mar-May, 2005 )

". . . will be of aid to those students interested in utilising modern science to explain the subtle and unseen."
(The Beacon, Mar-Apr, 2005 )

". . . highly empirical and impressive . . . manages to reveal the connectivity of a wide range of established principles . . . . expands the mind to the point that readers will exit this changed."
(New Age Retailer, Trade Show Issue 2005, Vol. 19, No. 4 )

“Ervin Laszlo presents readers with a tour de force, nothing less than a theory of everything. This book introduces such provocative concepts as the 'A-field' and the 'informed universe,' making the case that a complete understanding of reality is woefully lacking without them. Readers of this book will never view the universe in quite the same way again.”
(Stanley Krippner, Ph.D., professor of psychology, Saybrook Graduate School, and author and co-editor of Varieties of Anomalous Experience )

“Over the last 30 years, Ervin Laszlo has consistently been at the forefront of scientific inquiry, exploring the frontiers of knowledge with insight, wisdom and integrity. With Science and the Akashic Field he takes another quantum leap forward in our understanding of the universe and ourselves. This enthralling vision of mind, science, and universe is essential reading for the 21st century.”
(Alfonso Montuori, Ph.D., California Institute of Integral Studies, and author of Creators on Creating )

“It is rare indeed that a revolution in thought can open our eyes to a new universe that transforms our inner experience as well as our relationships with others and even with the cosmos. Martin Buber did it with I and Thou. Now, Ervin Laszlo, one of the most profound minds of our generation, has given us a great gift in this readable book that explores how we are connected to each other in fields of resonance that penetrate to the deepest levels of being.”
(Allan Combs, Ph.D., professor of psychology, University of North Carolina at Asheville, and author of The Radiance of Being )

“In this impressive and transformative work Laszlo brings the reader into an integral worldview for our time. The reader who encounters this book will be irrevocably transformed and will henceforth experience the world through a global lens.”
(Ashok Gangadean, Ph.D., professor of philosophy, Haverford College, founder-director of the Global Dialogue Institute, and author of The Awakening of the Global Mind )

“In a visionary way based on profound knowledge of modern science, Laszlo creates a genuine architecture of human and cosmic evolution. He provides the bridge between all the different puzzle-stones of science and unifies them in a most remarkable and bold ‘integral theory of everything.’”
(Fritz-Albert Popp, Ph.D., director of the International Institute of Biophysics and editor of Recent Advances in Biophoton Research )

“This is one of the most important books to be published in the last decades. Ervin Laszlo’s Science and the Akashic Field has the power and coherence to explain the major phenomena of cosmos, life, and mind as they occur at the various levels of nature and society. In demonstrating that an information field is a fundamental factor in the universe, Ervin Laszlo catalyzes a radical paradigm-shift in the contemporary sciences.”
(Ignazio Masulli, Ph.D., professor of history, University of Bologna, Italy, and coauthor of The Evolution of Cognitive Maps )

“Laszlo’s book opens the way toward a great synthesis. Whoever reads Laszlo’s book witnesses the greatest awakening of the human spirit. Not since Plato and Democritus has there been such a transformation in the history of thought!”
(László Gazdag, Ph.D., physicist and professor of Social Sciences, Science University of Pécs, Hungary, and author of Beyond the Theory of Relativity )

“In his admirable 40-year quest for an integral theory of everything, Laszlo has. . . presented a coherent global hypothesis of connectivity between quantum, cosmos, life and consciousness."
(Zev Naveh, Ph.D., professor emeritus, Israel Institute of Technology, and author of Landscape Ecology )

"Science and the Akashic Field provides the pioneering scientific answer to . . . fundamental questions our species faces at this critical time in human evolution.”
(David Loye, Ph.D., former research director of the Program on Psychosocial Adaptation and the Future, UCLA School of Medicine, and author of An Arrow Through Chaos )

“Science and the Akashic Field . . . . offers humanity the perspective of more peace and security, not as an idealistic goal but as a reflection of reality.”
(Jurriaan Kamp, editor in chief of Ode Magazine and author of Because People Matter )

“. . . Ervin Laszlo’s brilliant new work, Science and the Akashic Field, surpasses previous explorations. . . . This is a 'make-sense-of-the-complex' opus, accessible to every reader.”
(A. Harris Stone, Ed.D., founder of The Graduate Institute in Milford, Connecticut, and author of The Last Free Bird )

“This is a solidly grounded vision of our cosmos, with perspectives that are wide and deep and have profound implications for all of us.”
(Henrik B. Tschudi, chairman of the Flux Foundation, Oslo, Norway )

“If you ever wanted to hold the universe in your hand . . . . You can hardly do better than join cosmologist Ervin Laszlo in the ultimate quest: for a theory of everything.”
(Christian de Quincey, Ph.D., professor of philosophy, John F. Kennedy University, editor of Institute of Noetic Sciences’ IONS Review, and author of Radical Nature: Rediscovering the Soul of Matter )

“Ervin Laszlo is, arguably, the most profound thinker alive today.”
(Lady Montagu of Beaulieu, First Ambassador of the Club of Budapest )

"Decoding GUTs, WIMPs, and The Big Crunch, Ervin Laszlo brings the ancient Indian concept of akasha into the new millennium and convincingly details how science is turning this metaphor into a viable scientific theory.”
(Spirit of Change, March-April 2005 )

". . . lends credance to our deepest intuitions of the oneness of life and the whole of creation."
(Share Guide, Sept-Oct 2005, Issue #81 )

“This important work unifies the realms of science and consciousness in a truly integral ‘theory of everything.’”
(Ralph Abraham, Ph.D., professor of mathematics, University of California, and coauthor of Chaos, Creativity, and Cosmic Consciousness )

"With extraordinary intellectual clarity, Laszlo provides a vision that links the best of modern science to the wisdom of the great spiritual traditions."
(Stanislav Grof, M.D., Ph.D., president and founder of the International Transpersonal Association and author of The Holotropic Mind )

"Laszlo easily and ably presents the scientific case in terms everyone can understand. There is an extensive bibliography of technical journals for those who wish to know more."
(W. Ritchie Benedict, New Dawn )

From the Back Cover

NEW SCIENCE / PHYSICS

“This important work unifies the realms of science and consciousness in a truly integral ‘theory of everything.’”
--Ralph Abraham, Ph.D., professor of mathematics, University of California, and coauthor of Chaos, Creativity, and Cosmic Consciousness

“A seminal book from one of the best thinkers of our time. Ervin Laszlo charts the ­frontiers to which science is inexorably headed. In years to come people will look back at the amazing foresight of this work.”
--Peter Russell, fellow of the Institute of Noetic Sciences and the Findhorn Foundation and author of From Science to God

“With extraordinary intellectual clarity, Laszlo provides a vision that links the best of modern science to the wisdom of the great spiritual traditions.”
--Stanislav Grof, M.D., Ph.D., president and founder of the International Transpersonal Association and author of The Holotropic Mind

Mystics and sages have long maintained that there exists an interconnecting cosmic field at the roots of reality that conserves and conveys information, a field known as the Akashic record. Recent discoveries in vacuum physics show that this Akashic Field is real and has its equivalent in science’s zero-point field that underlies space itself. This field consists of a subtle sea of fluctuating energies from which all things arise: atoms and galaxies, stars and planets, living beings, and even consciousness. This zero-point Akashic Field is the constant and enduring memory of the universe. It holds the record of all that has happened on Earth and in the cosmos and relates it to all that is yet to happen.

In Science and the Akashic Field, philosopher and scientist Ervin Laszlo conveys the essential element of this information field in language that is accessible and clear. From the world of science he confirms our deepest intuitions of the oneness of creation in the Integral Theory of Everything. We discover that, as philosopher William James stated, “We are like islands in the sea, separate on the surface but connected in the deep.”

ERVIN LASZLO, holder of the highest degree of the Sorbonne (the State Doctorate), is recipient of four Honorary Ph.D.s and numerous awards and distinctions, including the 2001 Goi Award (the Japan Peace Prize) and nominations for the 2004 and 2005 Nobel Peace Prizes. He is a former professor of philosophy, systems theory, and futures studies in the U.S., Europe, and the Far East and founder and president of the international think-tank the Club of Budapest as well as of the General Evolution Research Group. The author of 75 books, translated into 20 languages, he lives in Italy.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Inner Traditions; 2nd edition (May 14, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594771812
• ISBN-13: 978-1594771811
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #76,876 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #67 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Physics > Quantum Theory

More About the Author

Ervin Laszlo, twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, is editor of the international periodical World Futures: The Journal of General Evolution and Chancellor-Designate of the newly formed GlobalShift University. He is the founder and president of the international think tanks the Club of Budapest and the General Evolution Research Group and the author of 83 books translated into 21 languages. He lives in Italy.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

108 of 114 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Protoscience or science fiction? Intriguing either way, June 21, 2005

By 

Todd I. Stark "Cellular Wetware plus Books" (Philadelphia, Pa USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Science and the Akashic Field: An Integral Theory of Everything (Paperback)

When I was in college, I picked up Ervin Laszlo's "Introduction to Systems Philosophy," and it was one of the most fascinating things I'd ever read. He was not addressing repeatable experiments to verify predictions of specific experimental phenomena. He was trying to come to realistic grips with something we all experience though we had no scientific models at the time to cover it. He was trying to describe how wholes relate to interacting parts.

Whether a result of his observations or just cultural evolution, it is now relatively commonplace to accept, under the banner of various different terms and theories, that complex systems have their own properties distinct from those of their individual parts. The simple rules followed by individual ants lead to something unexpectedly interesting when there are hundreds of thousands of them forming colonies.

I think it is in this spirit that Laszlo's recent work should be first considered. He isn't trying to come up with a way to predict particular experimental phenomena, as far as I can tell, he is trying to capture larger patterns of empirical evidence with greater generalities. His respect for science and mathematics and his undeniable brilliance distinguish this effort from most of what you might find in the "Speculation" or "Metaphysics" section of the local bookstore.

The general notion that Eastern and Western cosmologies contain different perhaps complementary visions is hardly revolutionary any longer, nor can it be credited (entirely) with any particular scientific progress, unless you are going to say that new metaphors are all there is to building new theories. That would ignore the equally great significance of the epistemic values and social processes unique to the scientific tradition, as well as the unique aspects of Eastern cosmology, which are not just or primarily some sort of "New Physics."

His brilliance and credentials don't seem to protect Laszlo in many reviewer's minds from guilt by association with the many books that have made silly attempts to describe Eastern cosmologies in Western terms and vice versa. This is a shame.

Nor do they protect him from legitimate criticism that this is not quite science. It is probably better called protoscience, or science-philosophy.

While Laszlo is careful with evidence and analysis once he has granted the existence of phenomena based on experience, he has somewhat different criteria in selecting the legitimate domain of phenomena than most physicists would share, and very different than most psychologists would share. Psychologists spend a lot of time trying to understand perceptual and cognitive illusions and distortions that can lead to experience being misinterpreted.

The skeptic would probably say that some of what Laszlo is using as the base for his theories is better explained in psychological terms rather than physical terms. However that would miss the underlying point that looking through a different lens makes different evidence look valuable, and leads to different modes of explanation.

Looking through a different lens does not eliminate the need for explaining all of the relevant phenomena, but it can sometimes make different phenomena seem relevant. Like many intellectuals before him, Laszlo is looking at both physical and human phenomena through an "interconnectivity" lens and seeing something different from mainstream science. And he is careful enough and clever enough that if the human phenomena he assumes are real ... are really real ... then his theory is something much more interesting than just idle speculation.

Yes, this might be "mind candy" in a sense, since it is as much speculation and philosophy as science, but it is intellectual mind candy that follows most of the rules that make for good theory, if his assumptions and evidential base are valid. And that makes it a fascinating read for many of us, even if it strays from mainstream science.

332 of 377 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very nice mind candy, February 24, 2005

By 

grouper52 (Silverdale, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Science and the Akashic Field: An Integral Theory of Everything (Paperback)

This is an interesting little bit of mind candy I saw in a metaphysical bookstore while on a trip. It made the wait in the airport and the flight home go very quickly, and it really is rather entertaining and thought provoking.

This is an ambitious undertaking, trying in one fell swoop to present, as the author says, "An Integral Theory of Everything". What Laszlo does here is present a number of anomalies from the fields of physics (cosmology and quantum physics), biology and "consciousness research", and then he tries to explain all these anomalies with the theory of an "Akashic Field" in which this and perhaps infinite other universes are embedded. This Akashic Field contains and is the source for not only all matter and energy, but for consciousness as well. Heady stuff, but it is not a rigorously "hard science" presentation, rather one that is approachable even by people with little exposure to scientific thought. And yet he then makes it even more approachable: he nicely divides the book into chapters of varying scientific difficulty, so that the true novice can still read the book and follow the essence of his argument merely by skipping the slightly more rigorous sections and chapters. It is a thoughtful touch that he pulls off quite nicely.

I've had more than a passing interest in this field for several decades now. I trained as a biologist and microbiologist who ultimately went into psychiatry after med school, with an initial interest and emphasis on Transpersonal Psychology and "consciousness research", even training for three years with Stan Grof, whose work is mentioned in the book. I'm also an amateur astronomer with some education in physics, and probably would have gone into physics if my math skills were better when I went back to school after a six year hiatus. I've also practiced Eastern religions for twenty years, and am familiar with the teachings about things "Akashic". So, many of the things discussed in the book are quite familiar to me.

This background has not only made the book a bit more interesting to me than it might be to others, but it has also put me in a position to be a bit more critical of some of its claims. Here are my criticisms of this otherwise highly entertaining book.

First, I'm afraid the reviewer here that has been flamed so badly as "not helpful" for criticizing some of the science behind Laszlo's claims is largely correct; it is often not very rigorous science at all.

Lazlo also seems to have fallen prey to the annoying push by those in this field to become "The Great Prophet of the New Paradigm". Ever since this "new paradigm" and "paradigm shift" stuff came out of Kuhn's writings in 1962, every narcissistic scientific rebel wants to be the special new savior who overthrows the existing order and leads us to some utopian scientific promised land. It is certainly possible that someone eventually will, but somehow I doubt it's going to be these folks who have written in this field for decades.

Reading this book I also found myself annoyed by another tendency I have noticed in those who are attracted to this field; the desire to avoid the acknowledgement of God, and the active avoidance of the use of that term even when appropriate. It is sad to watch the New Age mental gymnastics that the author goes through when finally, through his own search and reasoning, he finds himself up against the Ultimate Mystery, merely one more theoretical level removed from the mystery people have referred to as "God" for millennia. His explanation for what almost anyone else would call "God" is, of course, the "Akashic Field", sort of a cosmic "Gaia Hypothesis" on steroids. A belief in both science AND God is not only possible, but pretty common: and yet not for these folks. It's as if people in this field will simply do anything to avoid saying the word "God", and it seems to keep things on a far less profound level in the process. Hence my response that this is merely very nice "mind candy". When you are staring IT in the face, why not just humble yourself and speak of God?

I'm reminded of a great quote from Robert Jastrow's "God and the Astronomers":

"For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries".

Or, as Neem Karoli Baba said, "It is better to see God in everything than to try to figure it out".

Flame away!

54 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well Beyond Mind Candy, February 27, 2005

By 

Paul S. Triolo "sledjhammer" (Washington DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Science and the Akashic Field: An Integral Theory of Everything (Paperback)

Laszlo has done an amazing job of pulling together the pieces of what in the end is a pretty well thought out "theory of everything." His language is precise and lucid, and makes sense of a great body of scientific research, unexplained phenomena, and things that are for many intuitive insights. A key element, which Laszlo touches tangentially on in the course of the book, is the relationship of elements of his central thesis to ancient wisdom traditions, etc. I was struck by the fact that much of the conclusions that Laszlo comes to from a "scientific" approach have long been part and parcel of, for example, Buddhist thought and cosmology. Indeed, almost every conclusion that Laszlo comes to has a counterpart in Buddhist philosophy, from reincarnation to impermanence. For the practicing Buddhist, most of the book is quite readily accessible, and criticism directed at the book by those with a scientific bent suffers from the usual symptoms. Scientists want "proof" and "repeatability" before they can accept anything, they want years of study and peer review, and articles published in Nature, etc. The problem with this approach is that it dismisses other types of equally valid experiences, and ones which many scientists are typically manifestly unqualified to assess. Buddhist monks trained for years in the rigors of mind training, meditation, and the cultivation of mindfulness and insight, are capable of directly experiencing the type of reality that Laszlo describes...let these critical scientists duplicate this rigorous training process before rendering judgement on such matters. And scientists should also show a little humility, if one had polled the scientific community a two hundred years ago, the accepted wisdom on a host of matters at that time, would now appear quite laughable, but would have been as staunchly defended as some paradigms today...bravo to Laszlo for being such a visionary....