from dust jacket

When two individual muscle cells from the heart are observed under a microscope, each pulses with its own separate rhythm. Yet when they are moved closer together, they begin to pulse together, perfectly synchronized. And when two women live in close proximity for a time, their menstural cycles move into harmony with each other. Scientists call this phenomenon 'entrainment.'

The fascinating thesis of this book is that each of us has, at the heart of our existence, a silent pulse that can literally beat in synchronization with the universe around us, just as the two muscle cells can pulse together. That, says the author, is what occur at those wonderful moments in peoples's lives (sometimes extending into hours or even days or weeks) when everything seems to go exactly right, when just what we intend seems to happen without effort.

The Silent Pulse explains how and why these moments need not be accidental. The pulse is always there, although we are not usually conscious of it. In fact, that pulse is the basis of our unique personal identity, setting us off from, and at the same time conneacting us with, everything else in the universe. The act of getting in touch with the silent pulse can transform our personal experience and in some way alter the world around us.

George Leonard draws upon physical theory and recent research findings to take you on a journey of discovery-toward some remarkable truths about human nature and capabilities. He also tells moving stories about a variety of people who have experienced the sense of harmony that goes along with the silent pulse. At the end of the book, you will find an appendix describing a number of exercises designed to lead you toward the experience of perfect rhythm. Based on workshops the author has given more than 20,000 people over the past several years, these exercises provide a concrete path for those who want to take the information in this book and put it to use in their lives.

George Leonard was from 1953-1970 a senior editor of Look magazine, writing many articles and supervising issues on such subjects as education, civil rights, and lifestyles. The author of such esteemed books as Education and Ecstacy, The Transfromation, and The Ultimate Athlete, he now writes from his home Marin County, California.

'Book by book, George Leonard's vision grows clearer and richer. Important as his other books are, The Silent Pulse is in many ways his most original and comprehensive. It contains a compelling synthesis of theoretical physics, brain research, evolutionary theory, social psychology, and studies in consciousness. Its illumination of holonomy and identity is a major contribution to our understanding of the most fundamental human paradoxes and possibilities. And -it reads like a marvelous adventure story.'-Michael Murphy

'The Silent Pulse is the best book thus far by a supurb writer. George Leonard's synthesis of leading-edge research about consciousness, rhythms, light, perception, and alternative realities has the accuracy you'd expect from a long-time magazine editor and journalist. But Leonard transcends all categories in this book: It is poetry, science writing, adventure. It is hard to imagine that anyone could read it without being changed by it.'-Marilyn Ferguson

Contents

Acknowledgments
Preface: The Way of Rhythm and Harmony
1. Vibrato
2. The Rhythms of Relationship
3. Flesh, Spirit, and Emptiness
4. What the Senses Say
5. Personal Identity and the Inner Pulse
6. 'Holonomy': The Web of Existence
7. The Playground of Reality
8. Perfect Rhythm
9. Intentionality and Power
10. The Intention of the Universe
11. 'Life Cannot Be Fooled'
Appendix: Toward the Experience of Perfect Rhythm
Index