Richard Roberts's Blog

My inspiration for the spiraling orbs Jon sees in the field of consciousness came from John Edmark's "Blooms" -- 3D sculptures that animate when spun under the correct shutter speed.In Edmark's words, "The bloom’s animation effect is achieved by progressive rotations of the golden ratio, phi (ϕ), the same ratio that nature employs to generate the spiral patterns we see in pinecones and sunflowers." If each of us had something like a spiraling orb of consciousness, wouldn't they exhibit the same naturally occurring geometry of fractals and the Fibonacci rule?Jump ahead in the video below to 2:40. And, imagine this as a round ball, so that it looks the same from any direction. And that it glows with fantastic colors. Trippy.I'd imagine that these "consciousness blooms" would be unique for each of us - in the same way that no two snowflakes are the same. Here's what Venn's more aggressive orb might look like (the same video above shows it spiking out).

photo credit Maxim LubimovMy inspiration for Jon's therapy technique of staring silently into his clients' eyes came from the 2011 experiment, "Measuring the Magic of Mutual Gaze" conducted in coordination between Cornell University and the Laboratoria Art and Science Space, Moscow. This experiment directly explored Tuning In's theme of connected human consciousness as volunteers sat facing one another while having their brain waves measured. Cognitive neuroscientist Suzanne Dikker found "...synchronicty in Alpha waves at right posterior sensors..."Dikker points out that this synchronicity may simply be a result of something mundane, like subjects being in tune with each other’s blinking rates. After all, Alpha waves are associated with concentration and focus and the right posterior sensors best detect brain activity associated with visual processes. Still, she continues to explore connectivity between brains and what in the physical world might mediate that connectivity. The 2011 experiment re-staged in a formal setting performance artist Marina Abramovic's 2010 piece, "The Artist is Present." The piece ran for three months in New York City's Museum of Modern Art and involved 1,500 participants sitting one at a time in silence across from Abramovic, gazing into her eyes. Abramovic describes her experience.

Here are my answers to a few questions Amazon asked me as part of their KindleScout program:Q. Tell us about the cover.A. I wanted to portray how Jon's openness, his complete lack of emotional boundaries makes him blend into the world.Q. What is the inspiration for the story?A. From my own experience. Not that I’m an empath or telepath, but once I quieted my mind and started paying attention to the bizarre coincidences that happen every day, I wanted to write a story that deals with these mysteries and questions surrounding the true nature of consciousness.Q. Is there a message in your book that you want readers to grasp?A. Yes, two main ones. First, we all have these mis-beliefs about ourselves and the world that hold us back (like, "I can't be good at math" or "love's not worth the cost"). And second, don't be afraid to question mainstream notions of reality.

Hi folks,I've been on pins and needles waiting for the first professional review of TUNING IN. The review is in!But first, as you can imagine, there's a real risk in submitting your work for high-profile industry reviews. These reviewers aren't shy about pointing out a book's faults and the Internet makes it so easy for anyone to find the critique. A bad review can sink a book before it's even released.You probably recognize the name Kirkus Reviews. But if not, here's how they describe themselves:"The authoritative voice in book discovery for over 80 years. Kirkus serves book reviews to consumers in a weekly email newsletter and on Kirkus.com, giving readers unbiased, critical recommendations they can trust. Kirkus Reviews magazine gives industry professionals a sneak peek at the most notable books being published weeks before they’re released.So... did Kirkus Reviews like TUNING IN? No, they loved it :)Here are some of my favorite excerpts:"Roberts delivers a commendable series launch...""...moves briskly as it carefully molds its characters""...the book’s most impressive trait is its surprising moments of profundity""Sharp characterizations set the groundwork for future books in this series."PHEW! The reviewers must have been in a good mood when they read it.Here's the full TUNING IN review on their site if you're interested.And, Kirkus featured TUNING IN on their home page: