This is part 2 on this piece on spirituality. In part 1, I primarily analyzed the research into childhood past life memory, as pioneered by Dr. Ian Stevenson and carried on by those such as Dr. Jim Tucker.
This section marks a discourse largely into quantum physics, proposing the need for a major paradigm shift merging science and spirituality, hence establishing a rational basis for phenomena such as reincarnation. Arguing that spirituality essentially is scientific, I denounce the obstructing remains of materialism and religious skepticism, while filling to the brim quotes from some of the greatest thinkers of our time.
My ultimate thesis posits a universal consciousness, which one may call “God,” that possesses creative primacy over the realm of matter. From this perspective, our individualized minds are fundamentally entwined with the very essence of the universe, and as a logical consequence, almost certainly survive death.
I only offer a perspective; I am not branding this as “truth.” You are on your own journey, and can decide for yourself what that is. Critical minds are encouraged.
A Discourse on Skepticism, Consciousness, Quantum Mechanics & The Scientific God
“Quantum physics indicates that our physical world may grow out of our consciousness. That’s a view held not just by me, but by a number of physicists as well . . . what I tried to do is show how people arrive at conclusions, as Max Planck, the founder of quantum theory, did when he said that he recorded consciousness as fundamental and that physical matter was derived from it.
“. . . And eventually it appears that on the quantum level, the smallest and most basic level of the universe, that events only occur once their results are observed. So before observation, there are only potentials. . . . this leads to an idea that, again, the consciousness is what is fundamental in reality and that the physical universe simply grows out of that.
“Well, if that is the case then we would not expect an individual consciousness to end when a physical brain dies. And our cases, of course, provide evidence that in fact consciousness does not end and that it continues on.”
-Dr. Jim Tucker, Skeptico, “Dr. Jim Tucker Compiles Largest Database of Past-Life Memories”
As University of Virginia psychiatrist and past life researcher Jim Tucker tells Skeptico, there are several quantum physicists—including some of its most preeminent pioneers—who have regarded reality as being a co-creative generation of an underlying mind. And if this were the case, then the idea that consciousness transcends death of the physical body would not only be compatible with scientific theory, it would be expected of it.
In support of Tucker’s claims, a “delayed choice thought experiment”—first proposed by idealist physicist John Wheeler—has recently been performed at the Australian National University, confirming that “at the quantum level, reality does not ‘exist’ if you are not looking at it,” in the words of ANU Professor Andrew Truscott. Certainly, this suggests an independent importance of the mind of a subjective observer.
In fact, only once atoms are observed at the end of their journey do they make a “choice” between quantum states, dictating which path they take in the past! Until then, reality is merely an abstraction—a suspended state of uncertainty. But there is no logic in simply leaving this craziness alone in the “quantum world” without questioning the implications for consciousness on a greater scale.
That is: Who is the observer behind these eyes? Is there a transcendent mind? An unseen soul? And can this energetic awareness of self indeed survive death of the body, and flow into other forms?
Nothing to Doubt Blog 