International speaker on Biocommunication, Cleve Backster returned to the show to share details of his years of research related to electrical responses in plant life, human cells and living foods. In various situations, these substances have shown reactions on such tests as the Galvanic Skin Response when hooked up with electrodes, he said. For example, he noted that plants seemed to sense intent, and would show an electrical reaction to the mere thought that someone was planning to burn one of their leaves. Backster surmised that the plant is somehow reacting to images it is receiving, in a type of "primary perception," that comes before other senses.
He suggested that plants are sentient and have the equivalence of memory and discrimination. He cited a test of growth rates in three groups of plants, in which the tester spoke to each group differently. The results showed the praised group had the highest growth rate, the ignored had average growth and the disliked group had the lowest growth.
In his tests of eggs, he found that one egg reacted to another egg being shaken. Yogurt cultures also showed similar results, he said. Backster named the Gaia hypothesis, that the world is one large living entity with self regulating capability, as being related to the phenomena he has uncovered. He will be one of the featured speakers next week at the Living the Field Conference in London, which is exploring consciousness research.