The Power of Eight: Harnessing the Miraculous Energies of a Small Group to Heal Others, Your Life, and the World by Lynne McTaggart, reviewed by Haley Steinhardt
The push-pull between science and spirituality has been a near-constant conversation for millennia. Years ago, the world’s foremost scientific minds fought to be accepted by the religious “powers that be” in their homelands, facing imprisonment or even death for positing ideas outside of the accepted truths of the day. Today, much of the science versus spirituality dialog has been simplified to a question of faith versus proof—this in spite of prominent figures like Albert Einstein and Carl Sagan expressing their openness to the connections between the two.
Lynne McTaggart’s new book, The Power of Eight: Harnessing the Miraculous Energies of a Small Group to Heal Others, Your Life, and the World, is dramatically changing this conversation. If you’re familiar with Lynne’s other books (i.e., The Field, The Intention Experiment, The Bond), you’ll know that she has made it her life’s work to explore human potential, the power of thought, and the human energy field. In her newest work, The Power of Eight, Lynne shares her journey of discovery as she moves from research of large intention experiments to an exploration of whether the observed effects also applied to smaller groups of eight to twelve.
As the book unfolds, we follow Lynne in her evolution from skeptic to believer. Thanks to her rigorous adherence to scientific principles, the participation of respected scientists all over the world, and repeated measurable results, Lynne found herself in the position of proving that prayer works:
Both the Power of Eight circles and the global experiments were revealing something more, something central about human consciousness and its ability to trespass over the boundaries of objects and other people, even the borders of space and time. We’d repeatedly demonstrated that the human mind has the ability to operate non-locally, move through walls and over seas and continents, and change matter thousands of miles away.
Lynne’s surprise at the results of her scientific study of focused intention is perhaps only surpassed by her surprise at what happened next. Lynne found that those sending healing through these intention experiments began to experience profound transformations in their own lives:
At some point, I began to acknowledge that the group-intention experience itself was causing big changes in people: changing individual consciousness, removing a sense of separation and individuality, and placing members of the group in what can only be described as a state of ecstatic unity. With each experiment, no matter how large or small—whether the global experiments or the Power of Eight groups—I observed the same group dynamic, a dynamic so powerful and life-transforming that it enabled individual miracles to take place. They healed long-standing serious health conditions. They mended estranged relationships. They discovered a renewed life purpose or cast off workaday jobs in favor of a career that was more adventurous or fulfilling. I recorded hundreds if not thousands of these instantaneous miracles in participants’ lives.
The Power of Eight shows the world that caring for “the other” is caring for oneself. In a world of self-help advice, this book reveals that when you turn the attention from yourself and intend healing for someone else, you receive healing in return.
“This story is about the miraculous power you hold inside of you to heal your own life,” Lynne says, “which gets unleashed, ironically, the moment you stop thinking about yourself.”
Lynne’s book is a powerfully convincing account of the scientific study of the power of human intention. Beyond that though, it stands out as a lighthouse in the fog to curious minds everywhere. It invites all who are questioning, all who are grasping for clarity around their place in this grand universe, to find a scientific “home” of sorts for their spiritual quest.
Bridging the gap between science and spirituality is a dance we’ve long tried to learn, but finally we have a partner in Lynne McTaggart, who has mapped out clear steps for us to follow to our destination. Now any of us can follow along, watch Lynne’s own mind change, then tap into a Power of Eight group ourselves to experience these phenomena firsthand.
The Power of Eight stands at the outpost as we cross the border of doubt and disbelief into the realm where faith meets proof. This book is required reading for anyone who has been searching for a physical anchor for their spiritual experiences. It paves the way for future generations of seekers to push the boundaries of their beliefs ever further, breaking the glass ceiling of spiritual discovery.
