#1135: Donna Sheehan & Paul Reffell

Global Orgasm is apparently a semi-annual event and takes place everywhere in the world on December 22. It’s for everyone. Why should you participate? “To effect positive change in the energy field of the Earth through input of the largest possible instantaneous surge of human biological, mental and spiritual energy.” Well, as far as New Age mumbo-jumbo goes, I suppose Donna Sheehan and Paul Reffell, the people who came up with the idea, have an even more positive outlook than most. Their reasoning, however, seems to be that orgasms are fine things, therefore it must be able to change the world by interacting with its underlying metaphysical fabric.

“The intent is that the participants concentrate any thoughts during and after orgasm on peace. The combination of high-energy orgasmic energy combined with mindful intention may have a much greater effect than previous mass meditations and prayers.” At least it probably doesn’t have much less effect. “The goal is to add so much concentrated and high-energy positive input into the energy field of the Earth that it will reduce the current dangerous levels of aggression and violence throughout the world.” Yeah, it’s a nice goal, but since wishful thinking is the guiding inference rule, and the premises are incoherent rubbish … well, let’s just point out that violence still exist.

According to Sheehan and Reffell The Global Consciousness Project (also here) in Princeton, New Jersey, apparently runs [not anymore] a “network of Random Event Generators around the world which record changes in their randomness during global events. The results show that human consciousness can be measured to have a global effect on matter and energy during widely-watched events such as the collapse of the World Trade Center towers, large antiwar protests, natural catastrophes, acts of war and mass meditations. Concentrated consciousness has measurable effects.” They don’t link to the evidence, but “[o]ur minds influence Matter and Quantum Energy fields” – yes, it is quantum; it just had to be quantum – “so by concentrating our thoughts during and after The Big O on peace and partnership, the combination of high orgasmic energy combined with mindful intention for peace could reduce global levels of violence, hatred and fear,” which doesn’t even remotely follow even granting the ridiculous premise. But Sheehan and Reffell are utterly unable to distinguish such nebulous musings from evidence- and reason-based inferences, and will probably remain that way.

Diagnosis: At least one hopes they enjoy themselves. It would be so much sadder if they didn’t.