Mysticism and Quantum Conflicts? -- Not really

Many of what I consider to be the leading thinkers from a cross-disciplinary perspective have shown we need to integrate the insights of mystical religion with the knowledge being derived from quantum insights. Perhaps they are different language for the same phenomena. However, the real issue, seems to me, is the question of consciousness in physical science and philosophy, since there is no explanation for it outside of the "mystical" explanations or "promissory science or materialism".
If we are to believe the research from physicists like Bernard Haisch (The God Theory) , Amit Goswami (multiples--but see God is not dead), or Mani Bhaumik (Code Name God) or science writers like Laszlo (Quantum shift in the Global Brain) or Braden (The Divine Matrix), or McTaggert (The Field), then we have to begin the discussion of what is the relationship of consciousness to materiality in all the various forms in which it is daily encountered (feelings, perceptional qualities, communication nuance, etc). Several researchers have had their work in non-locality, hierarchical entanglement, and discontinuity repeated multiple times with the same result. These three concepts appear linked to our material reality, but are effectively inexplicable in Newtonian physics. Hard data supports the existence of these "concepts" or "hypotheses". Thus they move beyond the realm of the incorporeal hypothesis and into the realm of working data with predictable testable results.
Astrophysicist Haisch, one of the co-developers of Newton's f=ma formula (which had previously been assumed to be true, but not provable), concluded the Zero Point Field (existing outside energy and matter) existed and provided a link to consciousness. Theoretical nuclear physicist Goswami concluded based on the three concepts and the research showing they are part of our physical world, that consciousness is the underlying structure similar to what physicist David Bohm had theorized decades earlier. Bhaumik, co-developer of the eximer laser concluded that without discontinuity effects, observed in semi-conductors, that there could be no contemporary technology.
The scientists I've mentioned are only a few of the huge number of scientists from a plethora of disciplines all concluding the same thing. Consider Measuring the Immeasurable, a compendium of various authors coming to the same conclusions from medical, physical, and social sciences. These are not hypotheses in the traditional sense of theory only. These conclusions are based upon replicated studies providing data that is anomalous with Newtonian physics and materialistically based biological concepts. (Hopefully I have not distorted your meaning or intention of hypotheses?)
All three of these above concepts have been the point and descriptions of mystical training and religious expression for millennia whether the system is a monotheist system (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), a philosophical system (various branches of Mahayana Buddhism and so Taoists), or religiously based self-exploration systems (various branches of Hinduism).
As a footnote story: It is said that two early Greek philosophers were arguing about how the earth, if it were independent of the heavens, was able to be suspended. The first philosopher asked the question and the second one answered: It is suspended on the shoulders of Atlas. The first then asked, if that's true how is Atlas suspended? The second philosopher paused and said, on the back of a turtle. He then paused for a moment and added to the first philosopher, you don't need to ask, it's turtles all the way down. There are a couple of points here. The first is that challenging the prevailing wisdom and dogma-that the earth was not separate from the heavens, carries with it a series of culture maintaining questions. The second point is that, some people, in support of the existing culture will ignore the problems with their own beliefs and expect someone else's theory to have all the answers, even if theirs does not. Thus the prevailing culture is reinforced even if the new theory works better (see Thomas Kuhn-- The Structure of Scientific Revolutions).
As a result, when I spoke of insights of quantum physics validating the mystical concepts, my argument was based upon the understanding presented by physical science experiments over the last 4 decades, from multiple disciplines, demonstrating things that the mystics have discussed, and depending on whom you believe performed, for thousands of years.

Consciousness in the Reenchanted Reality

US Astronaut Edgar Mitchell wrote an article entitled "Consciousness in the Reenchanted Reality" which appeared in Science and the Reenchantment of the Cosmos by Ervin Laszlo. Dr Mitchell's writes, "The attributes of quantum mechanics that set it apart from Newtonian mechanics are entanglement, quantum correlation, coherence, and non-locality". This observation is very similar to the writings of Dr. Amit Goswami, a theorectical nuclear physicist, whose work was mentioned in an earlier blog.

The idea of quantum correlation is worth discussing in the current time, since recently I have received emails on writings which seem to be struggling with this concept. At the most basic level quantum correlation describes a situation where two extremely small components of matter, for instance photons-although atoms have been experimentally correlated, are linked together, entangled, in such a manner so they share information. Experimentally it has been shown that once they are correlated they are able to be moved apart to distances that exceed the ability of the speed of light, the basic upper limit of rate of travel in the existing material universe, to transfer information.

Information transference becomes important because at this level the correlated items maintain the existing relationship and properties until one of them is changed, and then the other item seems to know about the change because it reflects the appropriate information. For instance, Dr. Goswami (The Self-aware universe, p. 120.) discusses collapsing the wave function of 2 correlated photons via use of a polarization filter. When the first wave collapses via observation through a particular filter the second photon responds to the filter used on the first photon. Physicist Dr. Mani Bhaumik (Code name God, p. 172. ) describes a similar situation with entangled or correlated photons which have no unique properties because they are correlated. When one of the photons is queried about its condition the other photon responds with the complementary property. In both situations the photons respond instantly regardless of distance or time apart. These aspects have been called "quantum wierdness" because they are at odds with our normal everyday experiences of the macro- or Newtonian -world.

What this means to faith appears to be, that faith which links us all together and exists as a function of our being sentient knows no time or distance either. What are the implications if faith is also a wave in the sense of material objects possessing a wave function like the photons above? Because we are all linked we must be able to share each others observations and experiences of the world, given the correct situation. Sometimes this happens through inadvertent circumstances, like a heavy emotional experience, or at other times purposefully like entering an altered state of consciousness through hypnosis or meditation or prayer. Perhaps it is this ability to contact a common experience and sense of the world that allows for creating a global community. Maybe there is only one faith, but many ways to understand it?

Consciousness, cells, and wave collapse as faith outcomes.

Earlier today I was thinking about the links and relationship of quantum physics and the macro-world. According to Dr. Goswami, there are three aspects of quantum that do not work well in the macro world of Newtonian physics: discontinuity, non-locality, and tangled hierarchy. The idea of tangled hierarchy is the most difficult to conceptualize and still develop some meaningful examples for non-physicists like myself.

As I understand the tangled hierarchy concept, there is no distinction between subject and object. This is exemplified in the observation (and requirement?) that there must be an observer present to collapse the possibility wave into material phenomena. A tremendous amount of research exists to support this concept and the observations which generate the data appear consistently from experiment to experiment. This much is relatively clear for me and I think I “get it” when it comes to the big picture.

As challenges go my most difficult to understand is how the set of possibilities collapse to form the universe we live in. If there is a relationship between the quantum aspects of our universe and the macro-world which is built on the foundation of the quantum materials then what or when or how or whatever happened to collapse the universe into what we know today? How could the possibilities collapse without someone to cause the collapse while the observer could not exist until after the collapse occurred? How could the universe collapse without having an observer present to cause the collapse? So no matter what happens there is an antecedent occurrence which makes the outcome possible, but the antecedent is a consequence of the prior event so it is always a matter of a never ending hierarchy just like the chicken and egg problem.

Dr. Goswami explains as best I understand it, that the observer is the first complex cell that developed and had a consciousness. This part that a cell had consciousness, is not difficult to understand given the work of Dr. Bruce Lipton and his research on cell membranes and consciousness. They fit together well. However, I’m hung up in between the collapsing of the possibilities and the creation of the cell. Still this is where consciousness as the underlying structure of the universe began to make itself felt. So when the cell developed and stabilized it was possible for consciousness to impact the universe in a material form into specific outcomes. This caused the infinite number of possibilities to manifest as a single form that we have as the universe today.

We know, according to this model, that consciousness is the underlying and causal property of the universe. Evidence, anecdotal and inferential, indicates consciousness has not stopped interacting with the consciousness that we bring to the events of our lives. Consequently, our activity in describing a limited number of the infinite potential outcomes represents faith which drives the collapse of the possibilities. To describe specific results amidst the vast number of potential outcomes is the expression of having faith that someone can change his or her world in a particular direction.

Each of our religions attempts to help us get to the point that we can exercise faith and describe a limited outcome to the future events. Ideally if we all worked together we could collapse the possibility waves into one where peace and love are the outcomes. The challenge for us is to not specify how that outcome has to happen – just that it will happen.

Faith powers quantum possibilities

Quantum physics and Hindu philosophy are being linked in the USA by the work of physicist Dr. Amit Goswami. And it is receiving increasing attention. This is both interesting and not surprising for me as an instructor of world religions and a student of mysticism. When I talk about world religions with my classes, I have always maintained that mysticism is the one aspect of all religions that show a true commonality and conceptual framework. The mystic realizes that a point exists where there is no distinction between God (consciousness) and the mystic.

Dr. Goswami describes this relationship through multiple books, with each getting better as his own understanding of the topic and the philosophy integrate. As a Christian trained theologian, I am very impressed with the integration he provides. As a “student” of Sri Aurobindo, I find his perspective not altogether different from what I have experienced in some of my own mystical encounters. The point that Dr. Goswami makes about “tangled hierarchies” was difficult for me to understand until I realized that this was what Jesus referred to when he talked about God as a father and people as children and the relationship between them. We make demands on each other and then allow the “other” to respond to the demand exactly like a child with a parent. This can occur because the "other" contains an infinite and all inclusive set of possibilities

Frequently authors will discuss the philosophy of Buddhism and its approach to understanding the mind and the links with the possibilities beyond. Unfortunately, there is seldom a reference to which variation of Buddhism is being presented. (Sometimes I wonder if there is even an awareness on the part of the authors that there are various branches to Buddhism, call them denominations if you will.) Linking Hindu insights and Buddhist concepts Dr. Goswami’s focuses on possibilities that exist in the ‘nothingness” of the Void or nirguna (attribute less) in Hindu practice. This is a place or no place of possibilities waiting to appear through the activity of the tangled hierarchy calling into existence a specific outcome.

It is the relationships (3) of the tangled hierarchy, self, consciousness, us, that causes one of the infinite possibilities to collapse into the material world. Seems to me that this is where faith occurs and guidance provided by religion or spirituality or whatever it might be called ends. Faith allows me to “dance” with the possible outcomes in the same manner as Watson described in Gifts of Unknown Things.