Each subtle body has a nucleus - which metaphysicists Charles Leadbeater and Annie Besant had described as a "permanent particle" almost a century ago. Leadbeater calls the nucleus of the higher etheric double a "physical-etheric atom". Information about the relevant subtle body is stored in this particle (its composition, frequency, structure and associative memories). In this way the experiences that the subtle body has gone through in this universe are stored or are linked to this nucleus - according to Leadbeater and Besant. The particle is analogous to DNA in the biomolecular body. DNA is referred to as a "bioparticle" in the medical literature and it stores or links vast amounts of information about a particular life-form. Hindu metaphysics describes these particles or nuclei as "bindus" and Tibetan yoga "drops".

The physical-etheric nucleus is transferred to higher energy bodies when the subtle body dies - serving the same purposes as a "black box" flight recorder in an airplane in preserving information about a particular life's experiences. This nucleus is also responsible for the life review in a near-death experience. According to Besant, the permanent particles are used to preserve within themselves as "powers of vibrations" (i.e. different frequencies and waveforms) the results of all experiences through which they have passed. By the end of one's life in the physical body, the permanent particle (or physical-etheric nucleus) would have stored up "innumerable powers of vibration" (i.e. a set of waveforms of different frequencies). The particle usually resides (probably in an electromagnetic well) around the heart region of the physical-biomolecular and lower physical-etheric body.

Plasma Spheres

Bohm, a leading expert in twentieth century plasma physics, observed in amazement that once electrons were in plasma, they stopped behaving like individuals and started behaving as if they were a part of a larger and interconnected whole. Although the individual movements of each electron appeared to be random, vast numbers of electrons were able to produce collective effects that were surprisingly well organized and appeared to behave like a life form. The plasma constantly regenerated itself and enclosed impurities in a wall in the same way that a biological organism, like the unicellular amoeba, might encase a foreign substance in a cyst. So amazed was Bohm by these life-like qualities that he later remarked that he frequently had the impression that the electron sea was "alive" and that plasma possesses some of the traits of living things.

David Cohen reported in the journal New Scientist that "plasma blobs" hint at a new form of life. In 2003 physicists, Erzilia lozneanu and Mircea Sanduloviciu, described in their research paper Minimal Cell System created in Laboratory by Self-Organization, how they created plasma spheres in the laboratory that can grow, replicate and communicate - fulfilling most of the traditional requirements for biological cells. They are convinced that these plasma spheres offer a radically new explanation of how life began and were precursors to biochemical evolution.

Each plasma sphere had a boundary made up of two layers - an outer layer of negatively charged electrons and an inner layer of positively charged ions. The researchers were quick to point out that a distinct boundary layer that confines and separates an object from its environment is an important characteristic of a living cell. Trapped inside the boundary was an inner nucleus of gas atoms - which was surrounded by a luminous sheet. An electric field was present between the boundary and nucleus, within which electrons are accelerated. The evolved sphere appears as a stable, self-confined, layered, luminous and nearly spherical body - much like the "orbs" described in the paranormal literature and discussed below.

Lozneanu and Sanduloviciu describe a rhythmic "inhalation" of the nucleus which mimics the breathing process of living systems and results in pulsations. The spheres could replicate by splitting into two. Under the right conditions they got bigger, taking up neutral argon atoms and splitting them into ions and electrons to replenish their boundary layers. Finally, they could communicate information by emitting electromagnetic energy, making the atoms within other spheres vibrate at a particular frequency. "This is no different from the vibrating diaphragm in a telephone which enables information to be communicated from one point to another," says Cohen. This gives plasma spheres an ability which would be described as telepathic if we did not know how electromagnetic waves worked.

According to Sanduloviciu, these plasma spheres were the first cells on Earth, arising within electric storms, and he believes that the emergence of such spheres is a prerequisite for the evolution of biochemical cells. He says that the cell-like spheres could be at the origin of other forms of life we have not yet considered. "There could be life out there, but not as we know it" he says. Indeed, according to plasma metaphysics, the subtle bodies and orbs (described in the metaphysical and paranormal literature) are plasma-based life forms. The plasma spheres resemble biological cells - with a nucleus, membrane and intelligent motion.

In 2004 (as reported in the Physical News Update by Phil Schewe and Ben Stein) an experiment was conducted where particles in a plasma crystal arranged themselves into neat concentric shells (or rings - from a two-dimensional perspective), to a total ball diameter of several millimeters. These orderly Coulomb balls, consisting of aligned, concentric shells of dust particles, survived for long periods. (Dark matter halos around galaxies also have similar structures.) This structure was described as an "onion-like architecture".

Orbs

Paranormal analyst, Allan Danelek (in his book The Case for Ghosts) says, "One could think of orbs as 'tiny ghosts' moving around a room, their essence being contained within a tiny sphere of pure energy, like air inside a bubble." This description could easily fit into the description of life-like plasma spheres generated in the laboratory by Lozneanu and Sanduloviciu. Furthermore the pulsating plasma spheres would also give readings of a fluctuating electromagnecitc field.

"Nine times out of ten, if a mysterious field is constant and stable, it's artificial; if it fluctuates erratically, it's paranormal." - Joshua Warren, Ghost Hunter

According to the paranormal literature "orbs" are light anomalies that appear on photographs and video as spherical balls of light but as flashes of light to the naked eye because of their rapid speed of motion. They exhibit intentional behavior - suggesting some consciousness or awareness of the environment. Orbs often travel in groups or clusters i.e. they exhibit swarm behavior - also a characteristic of particles in plasma - a characteristic observed by Bohm (see above). Orbs also can dart back and forth rapidly like amoebic life-forms in a Petri dish. The balls can be transparent, translucent or in a bright solid form. These are signature features of magnetic plasma which has the natural property of being able to change its degree of opacity when internal frequencies change. Magnetic plasma would also allow orbs to change their output of light or luminosity.

Looking at these balls in close-up reveals that they possess an onion-like layered structure i.e. they have concentric shells - a signature feature of plasma crystals. Danelek says, "…'true orbs' do not reflect light the same way a dust particle or flying insect does, but are instead generally more opaque and, in some cases, even appear to have rings within them." Experienced ghost hunter Joshua Warren (in his excellent book How to Hunt Ghosts) says, "Often, orbs appear to have a nucleus, just like a cell. The nucleus might be surrounded by 'bands' - concentric circles emerging from it. In fact, it might appear like an onion that's been chopped in half." All these characteristics are almost identical to plasma spheres and plasma crystals generated in the laboratory.

Some believe that an orb is a human soul or the life force of those that once inhabited a physical-dense body. Psychics claim to be able to communicate with them on a regular basis, and ghost hunters encounter them quite frequently in photographs and video. It is thought that they are conscious spirits that have stayed behind because they feel bound to their previous life or previous location for whatever reason - a typical characteristic of "Earth-bound" physical-etheric ghosts.

Interactions with Ordinary Matter

Orbs resemble plasma spheres in many ways. However, while plasma spheres generated in the laboratory are composed of standard particles (i.e. the particles described in the physicists' Standard Model currently), orbs are composed of super (i.e. supersymmetric) collisionless dark matter particles. This allows orbs to pass through objects and walls (just like ghosts).

Dark matter in the physical-etheric universe can only interact with ordinary matter if their energy levels temporarily fall and ordinary matter condenses around them. Warren believes that since ghosts have an electrostatic field, it makes sense that particles from the atmosphere would be trapped in the field. This would form a tiny clump of particles that betrays the presence of the ghost. He says that, based on readings on electromagnetic meters during paranormal investigations, paranormal orbs carry a charge of static electricity. Dr Michael Persinger, a lab-based parapsychologist, and his colleagues demonstrated a link between strong or varying electromagnetic fields and orb activity. Orbs are also said to travel along Birkeland currents (i.e. ley or energy lines). This is another characteristic of their electromagnetic nature - which suggests that they are composed of magnetic plasma which is a good generator of electromagnetic fields and a good radiator of electromagnetic waves.

According to Warren, orbs are most active in the deep infrared region. In 1983, physicist Pierre Sikivie proposed a technique to detect invisible dark matter particles called "axions". His technique called for a high "Q" microwave cavity, permeated by a strong static magnetic field. In the magnetic field, axions were expected to convert into microwave photons. Microwaves are in between the infrared region and radio waves in the electromagnetic spectrum. If ghosts are composed of dark matter particles, it can be hypothesized that they too would generate infrared radiation in the presence of a strong magnetic field and even radio waves which can be received by our radios.

Conclusion

According to plasma metaphysics, (genuine) orbs are the physical-etheric nuclei that are released from dying persons. Most of these nuclei exit-out of our universe through vortexes after the death of the higher physical-etheric body and are absorbed into the next higher energy body in the next universe - most frequently what metaphysicists describe as the "astral body" and the "astral plane or sphere". However, some stay behind because of unfinished business or some psychological attachment to the physical life that just ended. These are the (genuine) orbs that we see in photographs and videos. This conclusion is consistent with the theory of some paranormal investigators that spirits may find it easier to travel from one dimension to another in the form of orbs which can move more easily (than full-blown subtle bodies) through vortexes to another universe.

A number may also get reabsorbed into human embryos to start a new life in this physical-dense universe (i.e. they reincarnate in a physical-dense body). They grow with the embryo and facilitate the morphogenesis of the physical-dense and lower physical-etheric body. As they grow they absorb more energy and particles from the ionized (physical-etheric) environment and eventually become full-blown ovoids with "subtle bodies" inside. In this particular case, the subtle body will be the (higher) physical-etheric body or the "physical-double".

During death, the ovoid contracts into the physical-etheric nucleus (by dispersing its contents) and is released from the dying physical body after traveling through a meridian (which is associated with the lower physical-etheric body) and exits from the head to emerge as an orb with a bright nucleus. Details of this process can be found in the author's book Our Invisible Bodies.

© Copyright Jay Alfred 2007