Posted on 02/12/2006 9:37:11 PM PST by TBP
"Consciousness is the singular for which there is no plural," wrote the scientist Erwin Schroedinger. Schroedinger, famous for his theoretical disappearing cat, was one of the pioneers of quantum science.
Lately, I've been contemplating the idea, if I understand it correctly (I am emphatically NOT a scientist), that things in a quantum Universe are essentially wavicles -- potentially, at least, in several places at once, achieving locality only when observed. Only when we focus on them do they show up in a specific place called here.
The essential principle is that there is an observer consciousness that is the overriding force in the world, that we all live in that consciousness and that it reveals itself through each of us. It is only when it acts as us that the quantum wave of all things collapses and it settles into an "objective" reality, all other possibilities being discarded in this experience.
Well, isn't God like that? God is everywhere. God is Omnipresent. "There is no spot where God is not," as we often say in New Thought. Yet when we go into treatment and focus on a specific aspect or quality of God, it shows up right here. The nonlocal becomes local, as the scientists say, the only difference being that it is also simultaneously local to everyone else and in different ways.
Ultimately, of course, the observer and the observed are the same thing, but the Universe is set up in such a way as to be able to observe itself. Were it not set up in this way, it could never collapse the wave of potential and nothing would then occur, according to Dr. Amit Goswami, one of the scientists featured in the movie What the Bleep Do We Know?. There would be no choices made, thus there would be no resulting actions. The continued unfolding of the blessings of God requires an observation and an observed to interact and get the show on the road.
In his book The Self-Aware Universe: How Consciousness Creates the Material World, Dr. Goswami produces a scientific case for the idea that consciousness drives what manifests in the world. He makes his case by means of quantum physics, but the ideas he discusses comport closely with New Thought.
Goswami defines consciousness as "the ground of being (original, self-contained, and constitutive of all things) that manifests as the subject that chooses, and experiences what it chooses, as it self-reflectively collapses the quantum wave function in the presence of brain-mind awareness."
The idea that consciousness is "original, self-contained, and constitutive of all things" and that it "manifests as the subject that chooses and experiences what it chooses" will be quite familiar to New Thoughters. This is quintessential New Thought philosophy.
Goswami discusses the quantum wave -- the existence of objects in a field of potentiality -- and the experiments that have shown that particles such as photons, even when separated by massive distances, can "communicate" and act in the same way instantly, defying the theorem that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light. These particles have been shown to be able to be in more than one place simultaneously, until observed, at which time, a choice having been made, they collapse their quantum wave and concretize into a given state which is perceived.
Does the same thing happen for people? An experiment in which people who had established a mental bond were locked in metal boxes and one was stimulated to test his response showed that the other partner responded in essentially the same way, showing that these quantum properties apply also to macro objects such as people.
This is why that which is known anywhere in consciousness is known everywhere in consciousness. That is why treatment (scientific prayer) said anywhere works right where the person is who is being prayed for.
According to Goswami, Rene Descartes got it slightly wrong when he wrote "Cogito, ergo sum." ("I think, therefore I am.") It should be "opto, ergo sum" ("I choose, therefore I am.")
In New Thought, we say that it is all about choices. We are always at choice, and the choices we make determine what happens in our lives. It's not what we want, but what we choose. Our choices are revealed by our expectations. When our choices don't work for us anymore, in the words of A Course in Miracles, we simply "Choose Once Again." As we make new choices, new circumstances follow. The formless shows up in new forms, the nonlocal takes on new locality.
The process of creation is a quantum event continually unfolding as and through you. Will you choose to direct it and make your life what you desire it to be?
Passing thought:
Doesn't that imply that the nodal rate of all matter must be uniform across all space/time in order for the system to work? Otherwise people on earth could be viewing Mars while the Martians could be viewing a dark spot where earth is supposed to be at the same universal moment.
The point being, that if the entire universe blinks out at the same universal moment and re-assembles the next moment, what's to prevent someone from projecting themselves across the landscape during the blinktime and re-appearing elsewhere in the universe as simple as stepping off a curb? Like stepping through the Moebius.
If there were no time/space on the other side, there would be no physics to prevent that. But consciousness, desire and will would have to be there. And for any practical purpose, wouldn't that also appear to be bi-location if a person just kept blinking back and forth at such an incredible speed?
But then again, speed would have nothing to do with it, if they were concurrently living in their townhouse on Tau Ceti, in the County of Cetus,the Whale. Right, RightWhale?
Two interpretations: One, the entire universe is recreated every instant, commonly believed, two, that our perception of the world is rebuilt 30 times a second, each consciousness running at its own rate and phase angle, independent of others, also commonly believed.
From a Google search:
The Energetic Matrix Church of Consciousness (EMC2)
Jennifer Hadley is a fully licensed Spiritual Therapist. A Religious Science Practitioner at the Agape International Spiritual Center
Here's a bunch of 'em
From Frequently Asked Questions About Practitioners and Spiritual Counseling
What is a Religious Science Practitioner?
Trained in the art and skill of Affirmative Prayer
(Spiritual Mind Treatment)
Helps people meet challenges and grow in spiritual understanding
Committed to living, demonstrating and practicing Spiritual Truth
Applies the principles of Science of Mind in his or her own daily life
How is a Practitioner Licensed?
Completed four years of courses, a written exam and oral boards
Professionally licensed by the United Church of Religious Science
It stands for "Religious Science Practitioner." The title is mentioned in an earlier article by the same writer at http://www.iam-spirit.com/0502_practice.html
It stands for "Religious Science Practitioner." The title is mentioned in an earlier article by the same writer at http://www.iam-spirit.com/0502_practice.html.
Have you seen a movie called, "What The Bleep Do We Know?"
It's an interesting little movie on the subject available at Blockbuster or on the net.
I saw "What the Bleep" twice in the theatre and own the DVD. Very interesting movie.
Dr. Goswami is quoted in the article and it refers to the fact that he was one of the scientists in "What the Bleep."
BTW, if oyu haven't read Goswami's "The Self-Aware Universe: How Consciousness Creates the Material World" you might find it very interesting.
Oops-just skimmed article. I went to some Course in Miracles classes at the local Unity church-very bright people.
God draws a distinct difference between himself and the created universe:
Rom 1:25 For they changed the truth of God into a lie, and they worshiped and served the created thing more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
My wife and I used a qutoe from the Course on our wedding invitations (changed from singular to plural): "Love, which created us, is what we are." That was very popular.
I hvae a saying from the Course in my living room, calligraphed:
I am here only to be truly helpful.
I am here to represent Him who sent me.
I do not have to worry aobut what to say or what to do
Because He who sent me will direct me.
I am content to be wherever He wishes,
Knowing He goes there with me.
I will be healed
As I let Him teach me to heal.
Hey, 101st, my mother-in-law is in Unity. Where was yours?
I started in Tampa. Then I moved across the bay and went to some in a town called Port Richey.
OOPS dogma to mock=dogma some use to mock
Thanks for this link. It looks interesting.
Maybe we constructed the veil, the 'ring-pass-not' for good reason.
I'm going to make myself a nice cup of hot chocolate and some raisin toast.
Glad you like it. Tomorrow I'll post the link to an older issue. You might enjoy some of the articles there too.
I know some folks in the Clearwater Unity through INTA.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.