The origin of Rogers' ideas about energy fields continues to lead to some misunderstandings. In Rogers 1970 book, Rogers introduces the idea of energy when addressing the discovery of electrical nature of living systems. Besides using the examples of encephalagraphy and cardiography as indicators of the electrical nature human beings, she referred to Yale University researchers Burr and Northrop's (1935) research on the measurement of electrical potentials or fields surrounding living systems which formed the basis of their "electro-dynamic theory of life. She goes on to refer to Wasserman's notions of how electrical field theory offers explanations about organismic form and behavior. Even in Rogers (1964) earlier work Reville in Nursing she stated "Man (sic)* is an expression of the life process. He (sic) is a complex electro-dynamic field in constant interaction with other parts of the universe." These early references to electrical fields led many to believe Rogers idea of energy is that of a physical field. Viewing human beings are electrical energy fields, is considered scientifically valid assertion, however after 1970 Rogers no longer referred to energy fields as only a physical field (electro-dynamic). Rogers later recognized the error in describing energy in terms of electrical fields.

[* In Rogers early writings she used the term "man" when referring to human beings. To reflect societal changes in language, starting in 1983 she no longer used the term "man" and began to use the term "human beings." "The Science of Unitary Man" was thereafter referred to as "The Science of Unitary Human Beings"]

The current view is to think of the term "energy field" more as a metaphor signifying the dynamic and unifying nature of human and environmental fields. The fallacy of thinking of energy fields as some form electrical field, or the types of energy field that physics refer to, is that these are types of physical fields. Physical field are in themselves reductionistic. Rogers identified physical fields, social fields, and psychological fields as not being the kind of fields she was referring to because they are parts of some larger irreducible energy field. Rather, physical fields, psychological fields, social fields, are all manifestations of one energy field, just as the human body (a physical field) is just one of many possible manifestation of the human energy field.

The emphasis on energy as a "fundamental unit" also misleads one to think Rogers is referring to quantum field theory. While the presence of vibrating strings, subatomic particles that appear simultaneously as both waves and particles, have properties that support Rogers' postulate of energy field, quantum fields are physical fields and are not the same as the unitary energy fields Rogers is referring to. Nor are representations of energy fields in the form of auras or chakras because these conceptualizations of the human energy field are divided into levels, layers, or parts.

Unitary energy fields are not hierarchical nor do they have any parts. While Rogers never referenced Asian cultures and their various conceptualizations of energy, conceptualizations of energy as ch'i, qi, and pana actually provide an understanding of energy more consistent with Rogers later views on energy fields.

Vidette Todaro-Franceschi's dissertation work on the concept of energy was published as a book "The Enigma of Energy: Where Science and Religion Converge (1999) and presents an excellent overview of the many conceptualization of energy, both scientific and those based in various spiritual and philosophical systems.

4.2 Pattern: Definition

Most people do not apprehend or see energy fields. Like energy fields, Rogers states that pattern is an abstraction and is "not directly observable." What people do perceive are "manifestations of field patterning." Pattern was defined by Rogers (1992) as the distinguishing characteristic of an energy field perceived as a single wave. In other words, everything we experience and perceive is are manifestations of patterning. Since energy is continuously dynamic, and pattern is a manifestation of the energy field, then pattern is dynamic and continuously changing. The term "patterning" reflects the dynamic changing nature of pattern. Pattern is a "distinguishing characteristic" because we perceive differences in pattern. For example, the only difference between me and someone else is how our energy is organized. Everything, color, light. sound, all objects, emotions, even thoughts are forms of energy. What distinguishes one from the other is how its energy is organized. Differences in the organization of energy lead to differences in its pattern.

Each person, or human field is unique, and pattern is what gives identity to the energy field. "Pattern reveals itself through its manifestations." The has been some lack of clarity about the meaning of "perceived as a single wave." Rogers using the phrase to emphasize the unitary nature of pattern, meaning, like energy fields, pattern is irreducible and indivisible and cannot be broken down into parts. Rogers used the analogy of a radio when explaining the notion of "a single wave." She would say, a radio has many channels, each on a single frequency, However, when you tune into a particular frequency (a single wave), a vast diversity of sound (e.g. music) spanning the sound spectrum and sound frequencies beyond the capabilities human hearing can be heard, all on a single frequency or radio wave. And, so it is with human beings. We a all a single wave manifesting a diversity of pattern.

Historical Evolution

The emergence of the postulate may be found in Rogers 1970 text. In the text, Rogers identified five basic assumptions of what became the science of unitary human beings. These assumptions transformed into the four postulates in later writings. Chapter 9 in the text explicates the assumption "Pattern and organization identify man and reflect his innovative wholeness." Some of the original assumptions, including this assumption, are no longer valid. Malinski (1994) pointed out that Rogers replaced the term "organization" because it connoted stasis rather than the continuously changing and dynamic nature of human beings. Pattern and patterning are what is used. In addition, the term "repatterning" was deleted in later writings because "re" conveys the notion of going back, recalling, or repeating something again. While patterns are similar, they are never exactly the same. Pattern is always evolving, always creative and continuously innovative.

What is particularly interesting are Rogers early descriptions about the nature of pattern. Rogers (1970) asserts that "pattern evolves with kaleidoscopic uncertainty coordinate with the nature of the man-environment energy exchange taking place through space-time" (p. 91). The kaleidoscopic nature of pattern signifies the dynamic, rhythmical, continuously changing, and unpredictable flowing motion of pattern. Patterns are continuously changing and viewing them over time reveals their unfolding and transformational nature.

Scientific Support

In addition to Russel's challenge to notions of causality, Immanuel Kant similarly stated that causality is an a priori of thought. These are the prerequisites to be able to think : Time (memory), Depth, Height, Width, Cause and Effect, they are properties of the mind not of the perceived. As such all effects have no cause, any cause has no effect. Just the fact that the one precedes the other makes us think there exists a causal link.

4.3 Openness: Definition

Openness is a characteristic of energy fields. Energy fields are open and extend into infinity. Energy fields have no boundaries, they are not open a little bit, not sometimes open, rather, they are open completely and continuously. Openness is a key postulate because the openness of human and environmental fields is what unifies them as one essential unity. Openness also means that human and environmental fields do not “interact” or “exchange energy, because to interact or exchange means they are separate. Rather, in a unitary universe, because of openness, energy fields are integral with each other. Everything is connected and inseparable with everything else. Boundaries that seem to reflect separateness are just an illusion. If we were able to see beyond the limits of the narrow range of the human light spectrum, we would see the boundary of our skin is not the boundary of human field. Rather, the human field extends beyond the body into infinity.

One of the most difficult aspects of openness is acausality. Acausality is also an aspect of pandimensionality due to the nonlinear and nonlocal features of reality. Rogers' states "in a universe of open systems, causality in not an option" and is "invalid." In terms of openness, if everything is connected to everything else, it is impossible to identify "what causes what." Causality is in essence a human construction, that helps human beings make sense of their world so everything is causing everything else, just like the creation of time. She referenced Bertrand Russell when debunking false notions about causality. Russell stated "The law of causality . . . is a relic of a bygone age, surviving, like the monarchy, only because it is erroneously supposed to due no harm"(from Russell, B. (1953). "On notions of cause, with applications to the free will problem." In H. Feigl and M. Brodbeck (Ed) Readings in Philosophy of Science).

Openness allows for integrality, a mutual process, whereby human and environmental field co-evolve together. Adaptation, equilibrium, homeostasis are not processes consistent in a universe characterized by openness. Change in open systems, move toward increasing diversity, innovativeness, creativity, and complexity in human-environmental field patterning. There is no “stasis” in continuous change. Equilibrium is not possible since there is no reversal or going back. Instead of adapting, open systems co-evolve simultaneously, are always in the process of becoming. Thus, living systems are open system and are characterized by negative entropy or negentropy. Negentropy means living systems, even some nonliving systems, are not moving in the direction of greater disorder, decline, or decay, but rather since open systems are in mutual process with each other, taking in energy, they evolve in the opposite direction toward diversity, innovativeness, creativity, and complexity.

Historical Evolution

Like the postulate energy field, openness has been central to the science of unitary human beings since the very first expressions of the emerging abstract system in Reville in Nursing. While the conceptualization of energy field has evolved, as has conceptualizations of pattern and pandimensionality, the way openness has been conceptualized has not required change. Rather the implications of openness have become clearer within the SUHB. For example, the nature of openness was more fully realized when Rogers replaced “probabilistic” with “uncertainty” when defining the principle of helicy. Rogers originally used terms like “interaction,” “reciprocy,” “stages,” “exchanging,” in 1970, but these terms were later removed from the languaging of the SUHB because they were not consistent with the complete and continuous openness of human and environmental fields.

4.4 Pandimensionality: Definition

Rogers (1980, 1986, 1992) postulated that that reality is pandimensional. Pandimensionality is a "nonlinear domain without spatial or temporal attributes." The idea of a nonlinear domain provides a framework for understanding paranormal phenomena. A nonlinear domain unconstrained by space and time provides an explanation of seemingly inexplicable events and processes. Rogers (1992) even asserted that within the Science of Unitary Human Beings, psychic phenomena become "normal" rather than "paranormal." Dean Radin, director of the Conscious Research Laboratory at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas, suggests that an understanding of nonlocal connections along with the relationship between awareness and quantum effects provides a framework for understanding paranormal phenomena (Radin, 1997). "Deep interconnectedness" demonstrated by Bell's Theorem embraces the interconnectedness of everything unbounded by space and time. In addition, the work of Dossey (2001), Nadeau and Kafatos (1999), Sheldrake (1988), and Talbot (1991) explicate the role of nonlocality in evolution, physics, cosmology, consciousness, paranormal phenomena, healing, and prayer.

Similarly, Rogers' principle of integrality postulates a "deep interconnectedness" of infinite pandimensional human and environmental fields. Within a nonlinear-nonlocal context, paranormal events are our experience of the deep nonlocal interconnections that bind the universe together. Existence and knowing are locally and nonlocally linked through deep connections of awareness, intentionality, and interpretation. Pandimensionality embraces the infinite nature of the universe in all its dimensions and includes processes of being more aware of naturally occurring changing energy patterns. Pandimensionality also includes intentionally participating in mutual process with a nonlinear-nonlocal potential of creating new energy patterns. Distance healing, the healing power of prayer, therapeutic touch, out of body experiences, phantom pain, precognition, dejá vu, intuition, tacit knowing, mystical experiences, clairvoyance, and telepathic experiences are a few of the energy field manifestations patients and nurses experience that can be better understood as natural events in a pandimensional universe characterized by nonlinear-nonlocal human-environmental field integrality propagated by increased awareness and intentionality.

Historical Evolution

Rogers (1980) originally used the term “four-dimensional” when referring to the nature of human and environmental fields. When she first started using the term, it was clear Einstein influenced her thinking. She stated that there are three coordinates of space and time that Einstein synthesized to arrive at a new dimension, the fourth dimension. This new synthesis, space-time, is postulated in the theory of relativity where the whole universe postulated to be four-dimensional. Previous to the 1980 publication, she used the term “space-time.” In 1990, Rogers replaced the term four-dimensionality with “multidimensionality” to reflect advances in modern physics. Physicists were writing a five dimensions and beyond. For example, superstring theory postulates an 11 dimension universe. The term multidimensional was short lived because only 2 years later Rogers replaced multidimensionality with pandimensionality. Throughout the changes in the term used, it is important that the definition remained the same, a nonlinear domain without spatial or temporal attributes. The reason for the change was that multidimensionality conveyed parts or dimensions that were somehow separate which conflicted with Rogers notions of irreducibility, indivisible, and unitary reality. Pan, on the other hand, reflects a union of an infinite number of dimensions. The root meaning of preface "pan" refers to "all;" "involving all of or the union of;" and "whole" (American Heritage Dictionary, 1992, p. 1306).

The change in terminology was first announced in the Rogerian Nursing Science News, a newsletter that was published to members in print from June 1988 until the Fall of 2000. Thereafter, there were a couple of issues published online. In the Winter-Spring 1991 issue (Vol. 3, 3), a small note on page 8 was titled "Eureka: Four-dimensionality evolved into multidimensionality evolved into pandimensionality." The small announcement stated "Dr. Rogers says she finally got it. She is not sure what sparked the idea, but it suddenly hit her one night that "pan"dimensionality is the word that best describes what she has been trying to convey over the years in the Science of Unitary Human Beings. "Multi convey pieces whereas "pan" represents a coming together." Pandimensionality suggests infinite domain that spans and is a union of all dimensions which characterizes the human and environmental field. All reality is postulated to be pandimensional.

Pandimensionality may be the most elusive postulate in Rogerian science. Perhaps our full understanding of pandimensionality is limited because it may be difficult to imagine or visualize a nonlinear domain without spatial or temporal attributes. Rogers admitted that there is difficulty communicating the scope and depth of such a new view of the universe. Humans often find it difficult to imagine "domains" beyond their own three-dimensional experience. Furthermore, our language may also limit one in fully comprehending and expressing pandimensional experiences or describing a pandimensional universe. Some students of Rogerian Science have found it useful to read Abbott's (1984) Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions and Dionys Berger's (1983) Sphereland as way of better understanding the experiencing of a pandimensional universe.

Check out this YouTube video on Flatland as well as other Dr. Quantum videos!! These are ways to understand what Rogers means by pandimensionality . . . Just imgine what would a four dimensional or pandimensional creature would look like if it visited you in what what appears to be our three dimensional world??  A trip through 10 dimensions Part 1 and Part 2 Multiple Dimensions