Fragment 46

In this "Fragment" I want to examine another theory on how magick works, and end with a tribute and plea for another dear, departed friend. To begin, let us examine the theory of Morphic Resonance. I want to state that I am not endorsing the theory; only examining it, like when I examined Evans-Wentz's theory of vitalism. Before examining the theory I want to give some preliminary remarks on the modern genesis of the theory. The theory of Morphic Resonance has a long history under different names, but to begin I am only going to examine the modern theory that begins in the twentieth century. I will have more to say on the history of the theory later. The great modern champion of the theory of Morphic Resonance and its inventor is the rebel scientist and biochemist Rupert Sheldrake. Sheldrake claims that the theory of Morphic Resonance was inspired by reading the works of Thomas Kuhn on paradigm shifts. I mention this because msde a trip to India to study Indian philosophy and religion. Sheldrake claims that he had developed the theory before the trip. As we shall observe later the theory of Morphic Resonance has a long history under different names. The theory of Morphic Resonance has been used by many occultists to explain how magick works. Peter Carroll is probably the best known of modern occultists to use the theory. It is the basis of Chaos Magic Theory (C.M.T.). Biut, the theory goes back much further than Carroll. It can be found in the works of Dion Fortune, H.P. Blavatsky, etc. Let me take a brief diversion here. In my opinion Chaos magic has deep debts to Dion Fortune that are not acknowledged. I know Carroll likes to claim A.O. Spare as a major influence, but I think Dion Fortune was a bigger influence. One that Chaos magic has not acknowledged. Fortune has had a wide and deep influence on modern occultism that is not acknowledged. So Carroll is not alone in ignoring his debts to Fortune. Dion Fortune deserves better, and shall be the subject of a future "Fragment". Back to the theory of Morphic Resonance. So what is the theory of Morphic Resonance? The theory posits that objects and activities have a collective memory: the Morphic field. An object's activities are determined by its past activities. Let us use a simple example to help make the theory pellucid. The example being one drops a marble and it falls down towards Earth. For the theory of Morphic Resonance the reason why this happens is because that is the habit of matter on Earth. It is a habit matter has gotten into. It is not because of an occult force like gravity. In simple terms everything in the cosmos functions the way it does is not because of immutable laws, but out of habit. The Morphic field is where the information is stored and carried, this is what makes the marble fall to Earth. It is because of repetition that has formed a habit pattern that has been built up over a long time. Thus according to the theory the so-called natural laws can be changed. There is no immutable law that objects have to fall towards Earth. The reason why objects function the way they do is because of ages of repetition by predecessors. Natural law is like building up a habit, the more the activity is repeated, the more likely it shall diip action the same way. This is the function of the Morphic field. Let's use rivers as an analogy, to help explain the theory. Why do rivers flow in the direction and course that they do? The answer is that the waters over the decades or centuries have worn a groove into the landscape, thus creating a riverbed that the subsequent waters follow. But rivers do change their course. Rivers change their course when the volume of water (energy) is increased enough to overflow the banks of riverbeds. The overflowing water then cuts new channels. So far so good. The more the action is repeated over time the stronger the habit grows, like a river cutting a groove in the Earth. In other words it is a lot easier to change the course of a river that has not had time to cut a deep groove into the Earth. It would take a lot of energy to change the course of the Colorado river in the Grand Canyon, but even the Colorado river in the Grand Canyon could change course if the volume of the water (energy) was high enough. So when a river overflows a channel can be cut, and the river changes course. This theory works well in the psychology of habits and addictions. When we want to break a habit or an addiction we must increase the energy flow in a different direction, and we must lessen the amount of energy that goes into the habit or addiction. To go back to our river analogy. To consciously change the course of a river, and create a new channel, one must both build dams and dig a new channel. A lot of work must be done. It takes a lot of energy to redirect an activity that has created a deep groove, whether it is psychology or physical. I am sure the perceptive reader has already connected how the theory of Morphic Resonance and magick can be connected. But if there are any lingering doubts I want to give a few quotes that should dispel any confusion, before returning to the subject. We shall start with quotes from Peter Carroll, one of the founders and advocates of Chaos Magic. All quotes are taken from his book "Liber Kaos": "In order to explain C.M.T. (Chaos Magic Theory) it is necessary to introduce a concept which can be dignified with the old name "Ether". It is no more possible to say what matter and energy are. All we can do is to describe its behavior or say what it does. Ether acts as through it were a form of information emitted by matter that is instantaneously available everywhere and has some power to shape the behavior of matter. It appears to be broadly analogous to what have been called morphogenetic fields or non-local effects in physics.`` Let us now jump ahead to Carroll's principles of CMT. "The first principle of CMT is that all matter emits ether and that this carries or consists of information about the matter which emitted it.... The second principle of CMT is that all matter is non-local in space. It is instantaneously everywhere." As an interesting side note modern physicists think they have proved that the cosmos is non-local meaning strict determinism has fallen like the proverbial domino's it was modeled after. Back to Carroll: "The third principle is that ether has a shaping effect on the behavior of matter having an affinity or similarity with the matter that emitted, tending to make the behavior of the new similar... It is the coupling between matter and ether that gives rise to the so-called physical laws and physical constants in the universe. These arise on a purely chaotic and arbitrary basis. but become more reliable and uniform through repetition." Carroll goes on: The fifth principle is that mental events being material structures, are capable of emitting and coupling with the ether. Thus for example under the right conditions a thought or visualization of some phenomenon can create an etheric pattern which couples with that phenomenon to modify its behavior." Let us now turn to Dion Fortune from her book "The Cosmic Doctrine" Before going to the quote I must inform the reader that when Fortune speaks of atoms they are not the atoms of the physicist, instead they are a more primal and metaphysical individual. Now to the quote: "Within the limits of the rays and circles the newly built atoms would cannon and rebound for aeons before any coordination would be induced among them. But as chance would govern the occurrence of the two or more moving parallel to each other, and draw yet more into the orbit of their activity, so that more rebound would give place to the ordered recurrence of influence, and therefore to definite paths." I could also quote from Edgar Cayce and H.P. Blavatsky, but I think the reader has gotten the idea that Morphic Resonance and occultism have been connected for a long time. It should be clear how the theory of Morphic Resonance can explain how magick works. The magickal working is the device that generates enough power to create an altered situation, or a new paradigm. The magickal working could be a ritual, visualization, meditation, etc. It is easy to observe this working on a psychological level. The question remains: does it work on the physical level, can we reverse the law of gravity? I do not have an answer. As I said at the beginning of this "Fragment" I am only examining the theory not endorsing it. Let us now move to the tribute to my dear, departed friend: Cory (Corydon) Crawford. which shall be followed by a plea. Unlike the previous friends I have paid tribute to, Cory was not completely unknown by a larger public. I must qualify this statement. It is Cory's family that had some notoriety. Cory came from a Hollywood acting family. The best known of was his brother Johnny Crawford, one of the stars of the old T.V. show "The Rifleman''. Cory was 15 years younger than his brother Johnny even though Johnny was closest in age to Cory. I met Cory near the end of Grammar school. The teacher seated us next to each other. I found out later that everyone else that had sat next to Cory had asked to be mover, but that was not the case with me. We were both very troubled young people and became instant friends. We very soon became best friends. Cory was very smart for his age. He had a love for Napoleon and the Napoleonic era. Both of us were interested in military affairs. As I said Cory was very troubled and got me into a lot of trouble that he seemed to avoid. Nothing serious, just childish pranks. Cory should be on the list of my remarkable men but I but we were separated in Middle school. His father put him in a Catholic boarding school, and I never saw Cory again. I feel cheated. Over the years I only had a few passing thoughts about Cory. I assumed he had done well in life, after all his family was very successful, but one day I began thinking about Cory and realized he had not done well in life. I remembered what a troubled soul he was, so I began to do some research and found out he had died in 1992. I tried contacting his family, but his family refuses to talk about him. I am sure I know how he died, but the family would not even tell me that. So the plea is if anyone knows anything about the life or death Cory please contact me. I think about and miss my old friend. He is one of the few people I look forward to meeting in another life, where hopefully I shall not be cheated out of his presence. Corydon (Cory) Crawford 1960-1992 may we meet again.