14.
Why science can no longer ignore mind
NOTE:
This is an excerpt from the book The
Least You Should Know About Life.
So far, science has attempted to ignore the connection between mind
and matter, even denying such a connection. This goes back to the emergence
of modern science, which took place in medieval Europe. At that time,
the intellectual life was dominated by the Catholic Church which claimed
that its doctrines were infallible. One such doctrine stated that the
Earth was the center of the universe, with the sun and all the stars
revolving around it. When early scientists made discoveries that contradicted
this world view, they were severely persecuted by the Church. One scientist
was burned at the stake for his “heretical” views.
This persecution caused science to distance itself from religion, and
the two institutions divided the territory between them. Scientists
adopted the view that religious belief took place in the mind and the
difference between religious beliefs – at the time Europe was
deeply divided by the split between Catholics and Protestants –
proved that the mind is entirely subjective. Instead, scientists strove
to develop science into an objective activity, meaning that it was not
influenced by the subjectivity of the human mind.
The scientific method is based on conducting experiments that are not
influenced by any subjective factors. Thus, the results of such experiments
are believed to be unaffected by the opinions or beliefs of the scientist.
When a scientist is making an observation, he or she is looking at a
phenomenon that exists independently of the scientist and which is not
affected by the observation. This claim to objectivity is the cornerstone
of materialistic science, and some scientists believe in it with the
same fervor as many religious people believe in their infallible doctrines.
This explains why most scientists ignored the fact that Einstein raised
questions about the division of the world into a subjective sphere –
what happens inside the human mind – and an objective sphere—what
happens outside the mind.
This also explains why most scientists have ignored the fact that a
new science, quantum physics, has completely undermined the claim that
scientific observations are unaffected by the mind of the scientist.
Quantum physicists took Einstein’s theories and developed a new
science about the world of subatomic particles. They soon made discoveries
that even Einstein found it hard to accept, and the most stunning discovery
of quantum physics is that there is no separation between mind and matter.
Scientists have continually discovered deeper layers of reality. If
you start at the level of the senses, you see a myriad of different
forms and materials. Yet all of the many forms you see are made from
a limited number of molecules. There are many types of molecules, yet
they are all made from only 108 different atoms. Even atoms are not
– as was once thought – the final building blocks of matter.
Atoms are made from even smaller entities, called subatomic particles.
At first, scientists thought there were only three such particles, namely
protons, neutrons and electrons. Yet quantum physicists have discovered
many more subatomic particles, and no one knows for sure how many are
waiting to be discovered.
Scientists have developed various ways for studying subatomic particles,
including using some of the largest and most expensive scientific instruments
ever built, normally called particle accelerators. In the beginning,
quantum physicists thought that studying a subatomic particle was just
like studying the moon. Scientists were observing an actual phenomenon
and their observation had no impact on the phenomenon itself. Yet they
soon discovered that at the level of subatomic particles, this assumption
was incorrect.
Quantum physicists discovered – and numerous experiments have
proven this fact – that when you observe a subatomic particle,
your observation is a product of what is called “the entire measurement
situation.” This situation involves three elements, namely the
subatomic entity, the instrument used and the mind of the scientist.
In other words, it is impossible to make an observation of a subatomic
particle without having your consciousness influence what you see. The
reason is that you are not seeing an objective phenomenon that existed
before you made the observation. When you make the observation, you
are actually co-creating the phenomenon you see. You are bringing a
subatomic particle into manifestation, and your consciousness is part
of this process.
This discovery was a major shock to the scientific community, yet it
has largely been ignored. Or it has been “contained” by
saying that this phenomenon only applies to subatomic particles and
not to other fields of science. Yet if the human mind can influence
the fundamental level of matter, how can one claim that any aspect of
science – or matter – is beyond being influenced by the
mind?
After all, any scientific theory begins in the mind of a scientist and
no scientific observation has practical applications until it is interpreted,
which also happens in the mind of the scientist. The logical conclusion
is that the world view of the scientific community can have a major
impact on what scientists choose to investigate and how they interpret
their observations. Thus, can one truly claim that science is objective
as long as it refuses to consider how the scientific process itself
is influenced by the mind? Quantum physics has invalidated the claim
that science can ignore the mind and still claim to be objective.
What do the findings of quantum physics mean for your quest to answer
the fundamental questions of life and improve your life experience?
For starters, it means that science has now proven that the mind is
one of the major players in the drama called life. Thus, if you want
to truly improve your life, you need to understand how the mind works
and how it interacts with the material world. Take note that the level
of subatomic particles is the most fundamental level of the matter universe,
meaning that all matter is made from subatomic particles. The discoveries
of quantum physics raise the question of whether any human activity
– including science – is unaffected by the mind. If consciousness
can interact with the most fundamental level of matter, what is to prevent
consciousness from influencing every aspect of the matter universe,
including the more gross level that can be detected by the physical
senses? Maybe subatomic particles really do form a mirror that reflects
back to you whatever conditions your mind projects upon it. This idea
will shortly be examined in more detail.
15.
How energy becomes matter
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© 2007 by Kim Michaels |
