The Morphic Field

Picture credit: Lakshmi Ambady

“The atoms or elementary particles themselves are not real; they form a world of potentialities or possibilities rather than one of things or facts.” ― Werner Heisenberg.

The concept of a Morphic Field comes from the work of biologist Rupert Sheldrake, who proposed the idea of Morphic Resonance, a process where patterns, behaviours, and information are transmitted across time and space through non-physical fields. These fields are thought to connect members of a species or group, allowing a shared knowledge to emerge without direct interaction even at times. This field of information exhibits a memory- like pattern. It is like a blueprint of the structure of the habit of nature that guides development of certain traits to repeat itself. Just like matter tells space how to curve and space tells matter how to move, and how the magnetic field shapes iron filings and electric fields shape particle behaviour, the same way morphic fields shape biological, social and psychological patterns. So, it’s a field of spacetime that influences the formation of like patterns. A memory of the form of the past acting out in the present.

But how does this happen? This idea is as spooky as quantum mechanics and yet it occurs. In plants, animals and humans. According to Sheldrake, when something happens repeatedly it becomes easier for it to occur again. When a species learns a behaviour, it becomes easier for others of the same species to learn it too. When a biological form evolves, it becomes easier for future organisms to develop the same form.

As embryos develop, cells don’t rely only on DNA to know where to go or what to become. The morphogenetic field tells cells how to form tissues, organs and structures. This is how a fertilized egg with identical DNA in every cell grows into a body where cells specialize into heart, liver, eyes. Experiments have been conducted where if a group of rats learn to solve a maze in one part of the world, the rats somewhere else may learn the same maze faster even if they have never been exposed to it because the learning has entered the morphic field of the species. Similarly, a school of fish move in coordinated patterns because of a shared field of behaviour. Birds fly and migrate in a certain formation. And we all know when it comes to human beings, a doctor’s son is likely to become a doctor rather than a lawyer.

The question now arises- How does this field influence trauma? It has been proven by the science of Epigenetics that stress, diet, experiences affect the face of trauma and can change chemical markers on DNA. These changes influence behaviour and stress responses in the next generation. Or one can say a biological memory field passed forward. Hence once a behaviour exhibits and a field appears, the system keeps repeating because the body remembers via gene pattern. We already are aware of our repetitive brain and how the brain locks patterns into habit networks. So, in the language of the morphic field- more repetition means stronger resonance and stronger field. Biophysics shows that cells communicate by electric currents through exchange of electrons. Hence living organisms have organ and tissue patterns guided by electromagnetic organization.

Now when trauma sets into a family system, patterns of heightened stress responses, survival behaviours and attachment distortions emerge. The system and its members keep repeating the patterns and a strong field is created. An angry father (who is essentially a traumatized child deep inside) will raise a hypervigilant and anxious child, an absent mother will raise a child who is a perfectionist. A family that avoids conflict creates a field of silence. A family that expresses love through sacrifice creates a field of over- responsibility and people pleasing. Children inherit this field and trauma begets trauma. Biochemical signals, epigenetic changes, nervous system patterns, relational styles and emotional climates tend to repeat and become dominant information patterns in a family system. This creates a self- reinforcing domain producing similar behaviours and responses. And this is why we tend to behave like our parents because we grew up inside their emotional, behavioural and relational field. Your body will predict the world through the patterns our parents’ bodies taught us. If multiple generations lived in fear, the brain inherits a bias towards danger. If past generations lived in war, forthcoming generations inherit a bias towards loud noise or anxiety. The field expects a pattern, so the body enacts it. We all carry unsolved stories within us without knowing the story.

But when one person heals through somatic work, their nervous system shifts, gene expression changes, patterns stop repeating. The old field weakens and a new one starts to strengthen. That person becomes the pattern interrupter. And that’s why many times healing can feel heavy also in the beginning because you are dealing with an emotional residue of an entire field. But this field need not be your destiny. Every boundary, every moment of awareness reshapes this old pattern. And when you heal, the morphic resonance of the entire lineage changes course.

Our brain and our bodies are shaped by what happened before us, what was repeated around us and what our families unconsciously reinforced. The morphic field is here, within you and around you. Holding the unfinished stories of life itself. You have the choice, the power and the force to rewrite a new script. To change the charge of this field. So that your child enters a brand-new domain free from the burdens of the past. So that your child simpy does not become another you.

May The Force Be With You.

“Anything that has not worked for you – your anger, depression, misery – you should not pass it on to your children. This is one vow you must take”- Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev.