A Shift in the Nature of Reality
This service is led by Rev. Lynn Woodland
The findings of quantum physics throughout the twentieth century have introduced mind-boggling paradoxes that are completely changing our previous understanding of matter, time, space and consciousness, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that the physical world cannot be neatly observed, measured and predicted. Physics is proving what many spiritual traditions have taught for years: that there is a reality beyond what we can see and know through the limited perceptions of our physical senses.
To explain briefly, for more than a couple of centuries now, the Newtonian model of reality has prevailed. This view holds that the universe, be it at the macrocosmic level of planets, or the microcosmic level of atoms, is mechanical. In the Newtonian view, the universe is made up of separate components that move and interact in predictable ways that can be observed, precisely measured and expected to behave the same way at every observation.
But over the last century, scientists have shown that the seemingly solid, predictable nature of matter is far more complex and miraculous than we had ever imagined. We now know that, at the subatomic level, matter does not behave consistently. Instead, it shows statistical tendencies to behave in certain patterns and has the potential to change spontaneously in ways that have no clearly apparent physical cause. What's more, at this quantum level, matter can exhibit the qualities of solid, separate particles and the qualities of unified light waves. The way matter shows up has to do with the way it is observed. That is, when the scientist observer is looking for particles, particles are found and have characteristics exclusive to particles. But when the observer is looking for waves, waves are found and have characteristics exclusive to waves. As physicist Fred Alan Wolf writes about this phenomenon in his book, Taking the Quantum Leap, "How matter appears depends on our minds' choices; reality is a Ômatter' of choice."
The phenomenon of two seemingly incompatible realities coexisting, as with matter appearing as particles and waves, is known as the Principle of Complementarity, first formulated by physicist Niels Bohr, an early pioneer of atomic physics. Wolf says, "[Complementarity] taught us that our everyday senses were not to be trusted to give a total view of reality. There was always a hidden, complementary side to everything we experienced." Furthermore, "The more we determine one side of reality, the less the other side is shown to us." In other words, the more we focus on one perspective of reality and hold it to be the only truth, the less we're able to see other perspectives. In fact, perspective itself seems to have an influence in determining the reality that shows up.
This crucial factor of perspective, the power of consciousness in and of itself, is one that has never been taken into consideration in the methods of classical science. Once assumed to have no power to influence when separated from action, consciousness is now proving to be a powerful force. Physicist Helmut Schmidt of the Mind Science Foundation in San Antonio, Texas did extensive research on the power of consciousness to affect matter, using random event generators that produced random patterns such as those produced by radioactive decay. His studies, which have been successfully replicated by other researchers, showed undeniable evidence that mental intention could influence these random patterns, proving that thought alone can influence matter.
Another of the many mind-bending findings of quantum physics shows that at the quantum level, motion doesn't happen in the linear, flowing, point A to point B way we had assumed. Instead, subatomic particles have been observed to "leap" from one place to another, all at once, without passing through the space in betweenÑsomething impossible to explain using the old Newtonian model of reality.
We can no longer even trust time and space to be the known quantities we perceive with our physical senses. In the words of well-known physicist, Stephen Hawking, "[Einstein's] theory of relativity combined time with space and said that both could be warped, or distorted by the matter and energy in the universe.... No longer could we think of space and time as running on forever, unaffected by what happened in the universe. Instead, they were now dynamic quantities that influenced and were influenced by events that took place in them."
Along these lines, Helmut Schmidt in his experiments with random event generators showed that subjects could not only mentally influence random patterns occurring in the present, but could also affect random results that had been collected in the past, so long as these results had not yet been observed. We actually have the power to change the past with our consciousness as long as that past has not been "fixed" in time and space through conscious observation.
It's becoming increasingly clear that the universe isn't simply an assembly of separate particles, planets and entities in set, predictable relationships to one another. Instead, we're finding that all the pieces making up our physical world are dynamic, interrelated and able to affect and be affected by one another. It's impossible, even, to separate ourselves from the whole sufficiently to observe it without our very observations having an impact.
These new truths, by their very nature, must radically reshape how we perceive ourselves, our relationships to one another and how we live day to day and relate to the world around us. Taken out of the realm of science and applied to daily life, these new laws of physics suggest a reality where we have far more power to influence our environment than we've previously known. Our very thoughts have the power to affect the physical world. What's more, movement at the physical level can happen instantaneously, through a "leap" in time and space rather than a linear, mechanical process.
Exercising our power begins with perspective. Just as matter shows up as particles or waves depending upon what the scientist observer is looking for, if we see ourselves as separate and vulnerable beings defined by the boundaries of our skin and the limits of our physical bodies, we find a reality that validates this perspective. Alternately, when we believe ourselves to be unlimited and having power beyond that of our physical interventions, this is the reality we find. We will leap to new levels, or plod through life, according to our expectations.
As we begin to know our own nature as being part of a unified wave of existence instead of separate entities, our desire for power undergoes a shift as well. As separate particles, we're more inclined to seek influence over the world around us through dominance and control. When we live from a perspective of separateness, we see the world as a place to survive in and ultimately master. When we come to know the power of wave energy, we also become aware of our oneness with all that is, since a wave cannot be separated into competing pieces. In "wave" reality, dominance loses all meaning because it requires a separation between the dominator and the dominated that "wave" reality denies.
The Newtonian model is more than a scientific concept. It reflects a long-held collective belief system that humanity has shared and lived by. This belief system defines reality as limited to that which can be observed with our physical senses. It has led us to find our identity in our physicality and define ourselves by the strengths and frailties of the physical body. We have believed ourselves to be separate and vulnerable because our physical bodies are separate and vulnerable. We have believed our power to be limited to our physical interventions. For the most part, our whole way of being in the world, from the way we think to the ways we act and pursue goals, has been geared toward getting from one place to another in a mechanical, linear, step-by-step fashion.
Collectively, we still have relatively little comprehension of the process of "leaping" where change happens instantaneously instead of mechanically. "Leaping" is when we arrive without moving, we create without working, we know without learning. For most of us this seems impossible, too paradoxical to fathom. Yet, these are the paradoxes that we are now finding to be the core nature of reality. This way of viewing All That Is is so radically different that, as it slowly makes its way out of the relative obscurity of physics and metaphysics and filters into mainstream consciousness, it can't help but change us, deeply and fundamentally.
Imagine how different life would be if the intrinsic nature of everything you know to be true, things so solid and certain that you never even think to question them, suddenly shifted? Imagine what it would be like if you knew with certainty that what you think of as "You" isn't defined by your body. There is mounting scientific proof that consciousness is nonlocal, that is, not limited by distance or even time. In other words, it's becoming increasingly evident that our consciousness is not our physical body. And, if the power of our consciousness is not limited by physical constraints, why would it follow that it could be destroyed by the death of our physical body? A trip to any bookstore reveals among the top sellers countless stories and research on near death experiences, offering compelling evidence that life and consciousness exist beyond the life we know only through our physical senses. Imagine what life would be like if you truly knew your "Self" to be essentially beyond harm; that the life of your body did not define and limit the life of your "Self."
While many of us who ascribe to spiritual teachings may think we live according to these beliefs, few of us, including the most dedicated spiritual seekers, actually do. The old model of reality is so ingrained that we continue to act from it even as we fill our minds with spiritual concepts. For most of us, pursuing our spiritual path requires constant diligence; it doesn't come naturally. It's such an effort to trust in what we can't see because we're so conditioned to believe the reality that our physical senses show us. We must constantly put aside what we "know" at the most visceral, cellular level of our being in favor of what we want to believe, what we hope to be true.
When we have true faith in our spiritual teachings, they stop being hard work. When we truly know a different reality, then we don't need to keep fighting our conditioned instincts. We allow our spiritual beliefs to work, and we receive the peace of mind that all spiritual paths promise.
It's significant that science is now verifying concepts that have been a part of various spiritual and metaphysical teachings throughout the ages. Science now fills a role once held only by religion to inspire wonder and provide an unequivocal voice of truth. Science has given us many miracles, from walking on the moon to incredible life-saving technology and when science speaks, we're ready to believe. As science introduces these new views of reality and they slowly trickle into our collective awareness, it signals a wide-scale readiness to assimilate a new perspective. It means that these ideas are no longer just for an esoteric minority. Rather, they are gradually forming a new collective belief system.
Collectively, we're all on the brink of leaping into this new paradigm of reality. Individually, some of us will make the leap sooner and some later. As we make this shift in consciousness and know ourselves to be one wave instead of individual particles, it will matter little who goes first or last as competition dissolves along with separateness, no longer having a place or meaning in the new order of things. As we begin to know and act from this new paradigm, our power increases exponentially. What's more, the whole nature of power becomes something entirely new: the power of consciousness instead of effort, the power of synergy rather than competition and the power of love over fear.
Thank you for coming.
Namaste
For a deeper dive into this journey of consciousness and practical spirituality, consider participating in Rev. Lynn Woodland's Quantum Spirit Unlimited online course of education and ordination, offered on a self-determined tuition basis. For information, see www.quantumspiritunlimited.com. For more on Lynn Woodland's work, see www.lynnwoodland.com.
Rev. Lynn Woodland is a writer, and founder of Miracles of the Spirit. She has spent her entire professional life promoting spiritually empowering alternatives. To learn more about Lynn Woodland's work, visit www.lynnwoodland.com.