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Cleve Backster (CB): The initial observation that happened on February 2nd, 1966, involved a dracaena cane plant I had back in the lab in Manhattan. I wasn't particularly into plant culture; it's just that there was a going-out-of-business sale at a plant store on the ground floor of the building I was in, and the secretary bought a couple of inexpensive plants for the office. One was a rubber plant and the other was this dracaena cane. I had done a satura- tion watering of these plants—putting them under the faucet and watering them until water ran through completely—and I was curious as to how long it would take the moisture to get to the top. I was especially interested in the dracaena because the water had to climb a long trunk and then to the end of these long leaves. I thought if I put something that measures resistance at the end of a leaf—the galvanic skin response section of the polygraph, and I had those sitting all over the place because we were running a school—a drop in resistance should be recorded on the paper as the contaminating moisture arrived between the electrodes. That, at least, is the cover story. I'm not sure if there was another, more profound, reason. It could be that somebody at another level of con- a Weeeaot sciousness was nudging | gay wsawie «"Cormpiracy Theney™ me into doing this. I don't know. But curios- | ' ity about watering seems to have worked out as a | j reasonable explanation a | -| | f | iz of why I did it. iz] i Next, I noticed some- | | | thing on the chart that |} | ' RF: resembled a human |! H } response on a poly- |/ | ' | E hal graph. In other words, Po the contour of the pen |' | | fe —_ tracing was not what I mar 1-7 .' would expect from saacien |S ieee ‘ | water entering a leaf, but instead what I would ] expect from a person 1 | | “te taking a lie-detector test. + s Lie detectors work on Kombucha culture tracing, 2002 (from the principle that when people perceive a threat to their well-being, they physiologically respond in predictable ways. If you were conducting a polygraph as part of a murder investigation, you might ask a suspect, "Was it you who fired the shot that was fatal to so and so?" If the true answer is yes, the suspect will fear getting caught lying, and elec- trodes on their skin will pick up the response to that fear. So I began to think about how I could threaten the well-being of the plant. First I tried putting a neighbouring leaf in a cup of warm coffee. The plant, if anything, showed what I now recog- nise as boredom: it just kept trending downward. Then, at 13 minutes 55 seconds of chart time, the imagery entered my mind of burning the leaf I was testing. I didn't verbalise, I didn't touch the plant, I didn't touch the equipment. The only new thing that could have been a stimulus for the plant was the mental image. Yet the plant went wild. The pen jumped right off the top of the chart. I went into the next office to get matches from my secretary's desk and, lighting one, made a few feeble passes at a neighbour- ing leaf. I realised, though, that I was already seeing such a satu- ration of reaction that more change wouldn't be noticeable any- way. So I tried a different approach: I removed the threat by tak- ing the matches back to the secretary's desk. The plant calmed right back down. Immediately I understood something important was going on. There were no alternate explanations. There was no one else in the building, nobody else in the lab suite, and I simply wasn't doing anything that would provide a mechanistic explanation. From that split second, my consciousness hasn't been the same. My whole thought process, my whole priority system, has been devoted to looking into this. 2r ran through completely—and I was EXPERIMENTS IN ATTUNEMENT would take the moisture to get to the top. CB: After that first observation, I talked to scientists from dif- d in the dracaena because the water had ferent fields, trying to get them to explain to me within their disci- | then to the end of these long leaves. I plines what was happening. It was totally foreign to them. So I : that measures resistance at the end ofa _ started to design an experiment in greater depth to explore what I esponse section of the polygraph, and I soon began to call "primary perception". c the place because we were running a DJ: Primary perception? nce should be recorded on the paper as CB: I couldn't call what I was witnessing extrasensory percep- ve arrived between the electrodes. tion, because plants don't have most of the first five senses to start ‘over story. I'm not sure if there was with. This perception on the part of the plant seemed to take reason. It could be that somebody at place at a much more basic, or primary, level. Thus the name. Anyway, what Cleve Hackney TV Fiewing of Rombechs Cultare ; S007 anaes « “Conepiracy Theory Joly 14,002 emerged was an im Im o2.30 experiment in which ot ‘ a ,. en BF Ie 4 in| H “ ‘ i bncheadeabe, share aperal I arranged for | | H 1 ] Gold were elecroies shrimp to be dropped automati- cally at random intervals into sim- mering water, while recording the reac- tion of plants at the other end of the lab. DJ: How did you tell whether the plants were respond- ing to the death of the shrimp or to your emotions? CB: It is very very hard to elimi- Kombucha culture tracing, 2002 (from Cleve Backster's book, Primary Perception) nate the intercon- nection between the o their well-being, they physiologically experimenter and the plants being tested. Even the briefest asso- ys. If you were conducting a polygraph ciation with the plants—just a few hours—is enough to let them igation, you might ask a suspect, "Was it become attuned to you. Then, even though you automate the iat was fatal to so and so?" If the true experiment and leave the laboratory, and even though you set a will fear getting caught lying, and elec- time-delay switch for random intervals, guaranteeing you are ick up the response to that fear. entirely unaware of when the experiment starts, the plants will ut how I could threaten the well-being of remain attuned to you, no matter where you go. utting a neighbouring leaf in a cup of At first, my partner and I used to go to a bar a block away, and if anything, showed what I now recog- after a time we began to grow suspicious that the plants were not kept trending downward. Then, at 13 responding to the death of the brine shrimp at all, but instead to ut time, the imagery entered my mind of the rising and falling levels of excitement in our conversations. sing. I didn't verbalise, I didn't touch the Finally, we came up with a way around this. We had someone [uipment. The only new thing that could else buy the plants and store them in another part of the building the plant was the mental image. Yet the we didn't frequent. On the day of the experiment we went to the jumped right off the top of the chart. holding area, brought the plants in, hooked them up and left. This fice to get matches from my secretary's meant the plants were in a strange environment, they had the pres- ade a few feeble passes at a neighbour- _ sure of the electrodes, they had a little trickle of electricity going ‘jh, that I was already seeing such a satu- through their leaves, and they'd been deserted. Because they were re change wouldn't be noticeable any- not attuned to us or to anyone else, they began "looking around" t approach: I removed the threat by tak- for anything that would acquaint them with their environment. the secretary's desk. The plant calmed Then, and only then, did something so subtle as the death of the brine shrimp get picked up by the plants. 42 = NEXUS www.nexusmagazine.com AUGUST — SEPTEMBER 2004