The Silent Pulse

by George Leonard

Back in print with exciting new content from one of the leading spiritual theorists in the world, The Silent Pulse uses quantum physics to explore how the human body and mind are made up of rhythmic waves and how measurable vibrations touch us emotionally and creatively. George Leonard takes readers on a search of self-discovery and a journey into the limitless possibilities of human potential.

Drawn from scientific theory and research, particularly from modern quantum physics, The Silent Pulse is a major contribution to understanding fundamental human paradoxes and possibilities uncovered through the personal experiences of ordinary and extraordinary people. With a compelling synthesis of theoretical physics, brain research, evolutionary theory, social psychology, and studies in consciousness, along with leading-edge findings about rhythms, light, perception, and alternative realities, The Silent Pulse captures a poetic beauty within a true adventure story.

Chapters

The Way of Rhythm and Harmony

The Rhythms of Relationship

Flesh, Spirit, and Emptiness

Personal Identity and the Inner Pulse

The Playground of Reality

Perfect Rhythm

Intentionality and Power

Genres: Spirituality, Nonfiction, Self Help, Music, Philosophy

224 pages, Paperback

First published August 9, 1977

About the author

George Burr Leonard (b. 1923) was an American writer, editor, and educator who wrote extensively about education and human potential. He was President Emeritus of the Esalen Institute, past-president of the Association for Humanistic Psychology, President of ITP International, and a former editor of Look Magazine. He was also a former United States Army Air Corps pilot, and held a fifth degree black belt in aikido.


Leonard was a co-founder of the Aikido of Tamalpais dojo in Corte Madera, California. He also developed the Leonard Energy Training (LET) practice for centering the mind, body, and spirit. Leonard died at his home in Mill Valley, California on January 6, 2010 after a long illness. He was 86 years old.

Reviews

[J.D. Steens · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book begins with promise. While at the molecular level everything is rhythm and electricity, each of us has a personal rhythm that reveals our unique self. All living things have a electromagnetic field. Each of us, Leonard writes, is "a radio transmitter" and we give off information that signals our secrets or our real intent so that we can't fool others. We have a self identity, but it's one that lives in balance with the world around us, rather than dominates it. Leonard thereby argues for a middle ground between stereotypes of the east (no self) and the west (all ego).

From here, Leonard leaps to our identity with the rhythm of the universe itself. Each of us he says is a holoid. Everyone is a fragment of the universe and everyone is the center of the universe (each being is the universe from a unique point of view). From this, the author concludes that we must work together harmoniously, yet he also sidesteps what that really means (e.g., life and death in predator-prey relationships is a harmonious relationship). Leonard says that we can harvest our transformative powers and suggests that we can even bend metal with our minds or that women can increase breast size with positive thinking. O.J. Simpson and Arnold Schwarzenegger are used as examples of athletes who operate in perfect rhythm ("in the zone"). Leonard says that the "perfect move already exists" and our task is to merge our self with it.

The personal rhythm discussion makes more sense than the discussion of the identity with the rhythm of the universe. It could be that some feel a different beat.

[Adam Arsenault · Rating 5 out of 5]

"As Mendelssohn pointed out, music cannot be expressed in words, not because it is vague, but because it is more precise than words. A great musical performance is actually an exercise in the accurate and exquisite communication of emotions. Music is not rote. For the audience to feel the emotion in a musical phrase, the performer must also feel it, in mind, body, and spirit. Exaggeration, seductiveness, falsification, become immediately apparent to any discerning listener."

"In aikido, we are taught that when we become fully aware of and take responsibility of our own center, then our center becomes one with the center of the universe. Does this tend to make us domineering, self-centered? Far from it. Realizing that I am the center of the universe makes it easy for me to realize that you are too, and that there are space and time enough for you and me and all other beings. It is likely to be the person without awareness of a center who is belligerent, acquisitive, selfish—one who pushes for dominance or mere "

[Raysha Letchman · Rating 3 out of 5]

very enlightening and some great meditations. Interesting perspectives.

[Aleysha Khairudin · Rating 2 out of 5]

feel like reading a biology textbook at first so it took me a very long time to finish it

[Wenting Liu · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for everyone!

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

The fact that it's still in print tells you how good it is. From the 1970s. If you like "The Holographic Universe", this is about the pulse of the universe, fascinating blend of science and amazement. Easy to read.

[Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Discover the rhythms inside yourself, the universe, and each other. I loved this book. I expect any musicians and music lovers will find resonance in his chapters on that subject. Leonard combines science, thought, and consciousness to create a wonderful little book.

[Pam]

09/01/08 bought from Books-A-Million

[Janice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm fascinated with metaphysics, and found the content to be meshing with other things in my awareness.

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating human possibilities that we generally overlook.