Quantum Physics and Spirituality: Changing at the Speed of Choice

Many are awakening to the light of a new day, the dawning of a higher realization, the illumination of advanced knowledge. Since much that was once considered metaphysics has, through science, entered the realm of physics; since much that was considered magic is now mundane; and since much that was believed impossible is now the ordinary; it is only natural to believe that such evolutionary processes will continue, perhaps at an exponentially accelerated rate. Throughout the recorded history of this world age, the vast majorities seek the status quo, the homeostatic balance, the security of the familiar. It is the courageous, visionary, risk taking souls; those unencumbered by tradition, ego attachment, or institutional values; those who believe in something seen internally and who do not need the beliefs of others to determine their own; that create the bridges between cyclical redundancy and real change. The concept of cyclical redundancy relates to the continuous attempts to improve upon existing systems, modalities, technologies – without breaking through them to completely new and evolutionary levels. For instance, how many centuries will we attempt to improve upon the hierarchical, power based, egoic systems of business, government, and religion before we throw them out altogether and start with something new? This does not mean a few people occasionally discussing such possibilities, working on them secretly, and then gradually, after hundreds or thousands of years, introducing them following a natural disaster or catastrophic event. This means gaining widespread acceptance by the masses pursuant to the normality of evolutionary change. Quantum physics and spirituality, both separately and when combined, increasingly point to possibilities well beyond the range of normal human considerations. When consulting the history books, which themselves are often filtered to reflect controlling biases, we encounter ongoing examples of such worldwide resistance to evolutionary change. Whether considering transportation, communication, medicine, religion, nutrition, tools, weapons, etc., this point appears difficult to deny. In the medical and pharmaceutical industries, when a cutting edge technology threatens to replace existing products or services, it is challenged, resisted, and slowed down in the courts as long as possible for bottom line reasons, while patients and insurance companies pay the price with their health and resources. When visionaries around the world, whatever the source of their vision, saw the horseless carriage as a step forward in transportation, the masses rejected, ridiculed, and discarded the idea as foolish or insane. What of air travel, and then space travel? What would have happened if those believing in these possibilities were influenced by the masses and discontinued work on their ideas? On the other hand, what would have happened if the masses had naturally embraced such possibilities, supported their research and development, and were regularly oriented to continuous evolutionary change, rather than tradition and the maintenance of the status quo? What if faith was extended beyond its application to religion to the concept of galactic evolution as an ongoing, natural occurrence? What if the conditioned and perceived needs of our minds for understanding, categorization, and control were replaced by an acceptance of the awareness of whatever exists –whatever our current ability to comprehend it? Imagine how rapidly we could evolve if, as a race, we were investing our energy into such growth, rather than into remaining the same while calling it progress. Consider the effects from those times when we have done so more so than others. Now consider how quantum physics and spirituality might combine to provide evolutionary insights into our field and our lives. Quantum physics is a branch of science that deals with discrete, indivisible units of energy called quanta as described by the Quantum Theory. There are five primary ideas represented in Quantum Theory: rn1. Energy is not continuous, but exists in small but discrete units.1rn2. The elementary particles behave both like particles and like waves.2rn3. The movement of these particles is inherently random.3rn4. It is physically impossible to know both the position and the momentum of a particle at the same time. The more precisely one is known, the less precise the measurement of the other is.4rn5. The atomic world is nothing like the world we live in.5 While at a glance this may seem like just another strange theory, it contains many clues pursuant to the fundamental nature of the universe and is more important than even relativity in the grand scheme of things (if any one thing at that level could be said to be more important than anything else). Furthermore, it describes the nature of the universe as being much different than the world we see. As Niels Bohr said, "Anyone who is not shocked by quantum theory has not understood it.6 Researchers in the field of Quantum physics are talking about "the Planck scale" - named after Max Planck. The Planck scale corresponds to incredibly small distances (or equivalently, incredibly large energies). According to Wikipedia “It may, in fact, be a fundamental aspect of the universe. In terms of size, the Planck scale is unimaginably small (many orders of magnitude smaller than a proton). In terms of energy, it is unimaginably 'hot' and energetic. Is the Planck scale domain a seething mass of virtual black holes? Is it a fabric of unimaginably fine loops or a spin foam network?"7rn rnCould this then be the fabric of the universe? What does this mean? Stuart Hameroff M.D. - Director of the Center for Consciousness Studies: it means that empty space is not empty. There is something there. If we go down the scale in the emptiness eventually we come to a level "the fundamental level" of space - time geometry. Here we find information - a pattern - "the planck scale" which has been there since the BIG BANG. rnFred Alan Wolf, Ph.D.: “There is no empty space. When we go down - down - down - there are vibrations - stuff popping - invisible connections – entanglement”. rnJohn Hagelin, Ph.D.: "It is like a thought wave - invisible state OR quantum wave function spread over space and time. “not a wave of matter" - but wave in what? In a universal ocean - an ocean of pure potentiality - a unified field - superstring field that of which we are all made of." rnWhat once was thought to be empty space in the universe - in between stars and planets - is in fact energy in small packets called quarks and leptons surfing on an ocean of pure consciousness. When we go down the scale from the DNA to the molecules to the atom to the sub-atomic particles to the smallest particles we find energy sitting on top of the UNIFIED FIELD - an ocean of universal consciousness, from which we emerge, and within which we are all connected. rnBeneath the level of energy itself exists this sea of universal consciousness. The field at this level is not exactly "energy" anymore, nor is it empty space. It is best described, physicists realized, as a field of information. To put it another way, the undifferentiated ocean out of which energy arises appears to be a sea of pure consciousness, from which matter emerges in clustered localities here and there. John Assaraf, in his book “The Answer,” wrote “Everything in the physical world is made out of atoms. Atoms are made out of energy. And energy is made out of consciousness.”8rn rnSo, consciousness is what the universe is made of, matter and energy are just two of its forms. rnUpon this sea of universal consciousness, within which we are all one; and across the field of universal energy emerging from it in clusters and also connected to it, within which we are all interconnected; it becomes easier to understand how, through this universal consciousness, humans are all part of the same whole, and how, through the universal energy field, are all interconnected and can share energy and information freely. What quantum physics has now explained through science helps us better understand what spiritualists have been suggesting for millennia – that we are one (universal consciousness beneath the energy field), that we are all interconnected and can freely share energy and information among ourselves (universal energy field sitting upon the sea of universal consciousness), and that the evolution of our own individual consciousness will help create the future of the universe (through the fact that our individual consciousness is a part of the universal consciousness). Throughout recorded history, spiritual teachers, religious groups, healing practitioners, shaman, and others have spoken of the oneness of being, and the interconnectedness of all things. Among such sources, the philosophy of Buddhism may most effectively illustrate these principles in colloquial terms. rnIn the early 1960s, Alan Watts said that Buddhism has more in common with psychotherapy than with religion. By that time, western psychologists such as Karen Horney and Erich Fromm had been students of D. T. Suzuki at Columbia University, and the book Zen Buddhism and Psychoanalysis had been produced from a workshop attended by nearly fifty psychologists and psychiatrists from the United States and Mexico. More recently, Fritjof Capra, David Bohm, and other scientists have suggested that Buddhism has more in common with Quantum Physics than with religion. Many books exist, for technical, spiritual, and general audiences alike, which draw the same comparisons between the new discoveries in science and the writings of ancient Buddhists. It is interesting to note that current "cutting edge" psychotherapists today look to the science of quantum physics and the spirituality of Buddhism for conceptual models as well as experiential practices which they believe offer the most efficient direction and effective means for constructive growth for their clients. Such researchers are not suggesting that one religion is better than another, or even that the value of Buddhism for this purpose lies within religion at all; but rather that the INFORMATION contained within quantum physics and Buddhism, when combined, offers evolutionary insights into the future of health and healing practices. Hard core scientists and religious leaders continue rejecting such notions, referring to them as “new age,” “delusional,” or “unfounded,” denying the experiences of scientists, philosophers, and spiritualists over thousands of years. Is it time to believe that sources other than those reflecting our current limitations might be pointing to something beyond them? Must we struggle through millennia of resistance to higher truths before accepting that many such unproven principles and processes exist on many levels? If you lived in the 1700s, would you believe in the horseless carriage, space travel, the fact that an entire library of books can be stored on a tiny chip the size of a postage stamp, or the existence of an internet across which people can share letters, photographs, music, and videos worldwide? If ideas related to such possibilities had been discussed during this historical period, how would they have been received? Is it time to begin realizing that information technology, although a temporarily useful tool and external model pointing to naturally occurring internal processes, will soon be viewed as a distraction, detouring humanity from true advancement, which occurs through self realization? Are you ready to consider that, rather than using cars, trains, and planes to travel across our cities, countries, or planet we will soon be able to travel anywhere by directing our consciousness to place us there? When this happens, our current foci on energy conservation, fuel efficiency, and re-engineering will seem pointless. Imagine that all of the methods currently being utilized for human communications, including our increasingly faster laptops, cell phones, internet, video conferencing tools, etc. will all be replaced by telepathy and intuition (processes requiring no external devices or technologies), making use of knowledge which has existed naturally within us across the ages? Is the medicine of the future a fully non-invasive one which will recreate subatomic particles of vibrating light to replace damaged cells and restore health without the need for surgeries and medication? Could this same natural process relieve psychological and emotional symptoms? On a preventative level, if such a process naturally eliminated physical and emotional tension, if this prevented capillaries from dilating under stress and allowing plasma proteins to leak in and around the cells (causing death or disease of the cell), then many of the potential physical and emotional dis-ease conditions would never develop. Is it time to believe that sources other than those reflecting our current limitations might be pointing to something beyond them? 1 In Search of Schrödinger's Cat pages 41 and 43.rn2 Lectures on Physics page 1-1.rn3 In Search of Schrödinger's Cat page 66.rn4 In Search of Schrödinger's Cat page 156.rn5 In Search of Schrödinger's Cat page 174.rn6 In Search of Schrödinger's Cat page 5rn7 The Answer by John Assaraf and Murray Smithrn8 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planck_scale: last visited 12/6/11rn9 Body-Centered Psychotherapy, The Hakomi Method, Ron Kurtz, LifeRhythm.rn10 Constructive Living, David K. Reynolds, University of Hawaii Press, (on Morita and Naikan);rn11 Trances People Live, Stephen Wolinsky, Bramble Co.rn12 Quantum Consciousness, Stephen Wolinsky, Bramble Co.