MIND-BODY-SPIRIT
We Are the Field: Shaping Collective Coherence
ming together ²FDQKDYHDFKDUJHGSK\VLRORJLFDOH̆ HFW1RWUDLQLQJ required, just rhythm. When people move or sound in time with one DQRWKHUWKHLUERGLHVEHJLQWRDOLJQ KHDUWUK\WKPVV\QFKURQL]HHPR - tional states smooth out, and a deeper sense of connection unfolds 5XL]%ODLVHWDO *RUGRQHWDO ,Q one striking study, participants in large-scale rituals — like coordinated marching in stadiums — were more likely to cluster together and cooperate when WKHLUPRYHPHQWVDQGDURXVDOOHYHOVZHUHV\QFKURQL]HG -DFNVRQHWDO 7KHERG\LWVHHPVNQRZVKRZWRKDUPRQL]HHVSHFLDOO\ZKHQ we do it together. This phenomenon, often called social coherence , highlights a lasting reality: our bodies are relational by design. Under the right conditions, WKH\UHVSRQGWRHDFKRWKHUE\WXQLQJPLUURULQJHYHQKDUPRQL]LQJ Group coherence, it turns out, isn’t just poetic for feeling close; it’s SK\VLRORJLFDO D ELRORJLFDO UHDOLW\ $QG UHFRJQL]LQJ WKDW PLJKW RSHQ
BY RUSLANA REMENNIKOVA
:KDWUHDOO\KDSSHQVLQWKHVSDFHEHWZHHQXV",QDSUHYLRXVDUWLFOH ,ORRNHGDWKRZVRPHWKLQJVXEWOH\HWSRZHUIXOVHHPVWRHPHUJHZKHQ two people come together with receptivity, intention, and emotional attunement ( 1HZ'DZQ0DJD]LQH -XO\$XJXVW 8VLQJVSH - FLDOL]HG LPDJLQJ , REVHUYHG D VXUSULVLQJ SKHQRPHQRQ 7KH HQHUJ\ ¿HOGDURXQGDSHUVRQWKHVRFDOOHG KXPDQELR¿HOG , doesn’t stop at WKHVNLQ,WFDQVWUHWFKLQWRWKHUHODWLRQDOVSDFHIRUPLQJDVKDUHG¿HOG WKDWYLVLEO\VKLIWVZLWKHPSDWK\FRQQHFWLRQDQGUHVRQDQFH,PDJLQH the way a mother’s calm presence can soothe a crying baby, or how a TXLHWFRQYHUVDWLRQZLWKDFORVHIULHQGFDQEULQJFRPIRUW,FDOOWKLVWKH LQWHUSHUVRQDOELR¿HOG , and it suggests something profound: human connection isn’t just emotional or symbolic — it may be energetic, WDQJLEOHDQGHYHQPHDVXUDEOHOLNHDMRLQWSXOVHRUUK\WKPWKDWÀRZV between us.
the door to a new kind of conversation about how we can relate, regulate, and perhaps, heal — literally together. At the same time, studies of large- scale group meditation have uncovered FRPSHOOLQJRXWFRPHV'XULQJPRPHQWV RI V\QFKURQL]HG SUDFWLFH HVSHFLDOO\ GXULQJ JOREDOO\ RUJDQL]HG HYHQWV re- searchers observed measurable drops in crime rates, violence, and even emer- JHQF\FDOOV 2UPH-RKQVRQHWDO The causes are still debated, but the SDWWHUQV DUH GL̇ FXOW WR GLVPLVV &RXOG IRFXVHGFROOHFWLYHLQWHQWLRQKDYHH̆ HFWV that ripple beyond the individuals par- ticipating? Some researchers think so. They suggest
Let’s take this one step further here with a bigger question: What if the en- ergetic connection between two people isn’t the end of the story, but just the beginning? Could groups of people, through communal meditation, ritu- DO RU HYHQ FRPSDVVLRQ FUHDWH D ¿HOG strong enough to ripple outward and support healing on a larger scale? Think of communities gathering for collective prayer, friends joining in a healing circle, or millions participating simultaneously in global meditation HYHQWV OLNH WKH ,QWHUQDWLRQDO 'D\ RI Peace. Or consider a meal train orga- QL]HGE\QHLJKERUVDQGIULHQGVIRUDPRP
that when thousands of people align their minds and hearts simulta- neously, a collective resonance begins to arise. One emerging theory is WKDWV\QFKURQL]HGQHUYRXVV\VWHPVDQGFRKHUHQWELR¿HOGVPLJKWFUH - ate a kind of collective energetic environment, with emergent prop- HUWLHVH[WHQGLQJRXWZDUGOLNHZDYHVLQD¿HOG %RQG ; Chialvo, ; 0XHKVDPHWDO Outside the lab, collective coherence has been practiced for millen- QLDMXVWXQGHUGL̆ HUHQWQDPHV,QVDFUHGULWXDOVKHDOLQJFLUFOHVDQG FRPPXQDOFKDQWVFRKHUHQFHLVQ¶WPHDVXUHG LW¶VPDGH,W¶VFXOWLYDWHG not for data, but for meaning. The synchrony of voices, movements, or silence helps form what many traditions call a container D¿HOGRI VKDUHG DZDUHQHVV VWURQJ HQRXJK WR KROG JULHI WUDQVPXWH VX̆ HULQJ or invoke the sacred (Bourguignon, 1993 7KHVHSUDFWLFHVRIWHQGLV - missed as symbolic, may in fact enact a sophisticated form of energetic alignment and regulation ( :LQNHOPDQ Science is only beginning to approach what ritual traditions have ORQJHQDFWHGDVOLYLQJSUDFWLFHVWKDWFUHDWHVSDFHIRUEHFRPLQJ,QULW - uals, healing circles, and communal chants, coherence is invited, nev- er forced, but allowed to emerge. The synchrony of movement, voice, or stillness creates what anthropologist Victor Turner called a limin- al space, a threshold where ordinary structures loosen, and break- throughs become possible. Coherence, as rituals remind us, is not VRPHWKLQJZHHQJLQHHU,W¶VVRPHWKLQJZHHQWHU²WRJHWKHU²ZKHQ control gives way to a co-created being.
during pregnancy, each sharing a meal but also an act of care that cre- DWHVDWDQJLEOH¿HOGRIVXSSRUWDURXQGKHU6LPLODUO\QHLJKERUKRRG block parties and mutual aid networks quietly weave webs of connec- tion and intention, strengthening the social fabric. What started as a study of one-to-one resonance now opens the door to a more radical idea: human beings, when attuned together, might generate coherence across entire communities — even global QHWZRUNVRILQWHQWLRQ'UDZLQJIURPELR¿HOGVFLHQFHV\VWHPVWKHR - ry, and research on social entrainment, we explore a bold possibility where the space between us might not just connect, but become a cru- FLEOHFDWDO\]LQJHYROXWLRQ Collective Coherence in Research and Ritual ,Q UHFHQW \HDUV VFLHQFH KDV EHJXQ WR FDWFK XS ZLWK ZKDW PDQ\ wisdom traditions have long sensed — that an energetic awaken- ing occurs when people come into sync, bridging the emotional and SK\VLRORJLFDOLQDXQL¿HGUK\WKP6WXGLHVIURPLQVWLWXWLRQVOLNHWKH +HDUW0DWK ,QVWLWXWH VKRZ ZKHQ JURXSV PHGLWDWH WRJHWKHU RU SUDF - tice steady, heart-focused breathing, their heart rhythms begin to align. This isn’t a metaphor — it’s measurable. Scientists track this DOLJQPHQWXVLQJDPDUNHUFDOOHGKHDUWUDWHYDULDELOLW\ +59 DVXE - WOHUK\WKPWKDWUHÀHFWVKRZZHOOWKHERG\EDODQFHVVWUHVVDQGFDOP :KHQ+59SDWWHUQVEHJLQWRV\QFKURQL]HDFURVVSHRSOHLW suggests a deeper process at work — something collective, rhythmic, and pro- IRXQGO\KXPDQ 0F&UDW\ And it’s not just meditation that brings us into sync. Research shows even simple group activities — like singing in unison or drum-
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PATHWAYS—Fall 25—9
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