Ullman believes that some aspects of psychosis can also be explained by the holographic idea. Both Bohm and Pribham have noted that the experiences mystics have reported through the ages - such as feelings of cosmic oneness with the universe, a sense of unity with all life, and so forth - sound very much like descriptions of the implicate order. They suggest that perhaps mystics are somehow able to peer beyond ordinary explicate reality and glimpse its deeper, more holographic qualities. Ullman believes that psychotics are also able to experience certain aspects of the holographic level of reality. But because they are unable to order their experiences rationally, these glimpses are only tragic parodies of the ones reported by mystics.

For example, schizophrenics often report oceanic feelings of oneness with the universe, but in a magic, delusional way. They describe feeling a loss of boundaries between themselves and others, a belief that leads them to think their thoughts are no longer private. They believe they are able to read the thoughts of others. And instead of viewing people, objects, and concepts as individual things, they often view them as members of larger and larger subclasses, a tendency that seems to be a way of expressing the holographic quality of the reality in which they find themselves.

Ullman believes that schizophrenics try to convey their sense of unbroken wholeness in the way they view space and time. Studies have shown that schizophrenics often treat the converse of any relation as identical to the relation. For instance, according to the schizophrenic's way of thinking, saying that "event A follows event B" is the same as saying "event B follows event A." The idea of one event following another in any kind of time sequence is meaningless, for all points in time are viewed as equal. The same is true of spatial relations. If a man's head is above his shoulders, then his shoulders are also above his head. Like the image in a piece of holographic film, things no longer have precise locations, and spatial relationships cease to have meaning.

Ullman believes that certain aspects of holographic thinking are even more pronounced in manic-depressives. Whereas the schizophrenic only gets whiffs of the holographic order, the manic is deeply involved in it and grandiosely identifies with its infinite potential. "He can't keep up with all the thoughts and ideas that come to him in so overwhelming a way," states Ullman. "He has to lie, dissemble, and manipulate those around him so as to accomodate to his expansive vistas. The end result, of course, is mostly chaos and confusion mixed with occasional outburts of creativity and success in consensual reality." In turn, the manic becomes depressed after he returns from this surreal vacation and once again faces the hazards and chance occurences of everyday life.

If it is true that we all encounter aspects of the implicate order when we dream, why don't those encounters have the same effect on us as they do on psychotics? One reason, says Ullman, is that we leave the unique and challenging logic of the dream behind when we wake. Because of this condition, the psychotic is forced to contend with it while simultaneously trying to function in everyday reality. Ullman also theorizes that when we dream, most of us have a natural protective mechanism that keeps us from coming into contact with more of the implicate order than we can cope with.

The Holographic Universe Michael Talbot, HarperCollins Publishers, 1991

More ta come

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