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Casey Blood received his Ph.D. in
physics from Case Western Reserve. He served as a research assistant at
Brookhaven National Laboratory and then took up his longtime position as
Associate Professor of Physics at Rutgers University, from which he
retired in 2000; retaining the title of Professor Emeritus of Physics. Our
Physical World, "I am a mathematical (not an experimental) physicist. I have made forays into elementary particles, liquid helium, random numbers, and the theory of gases, and have even taught a few physics-related environmental courses. But my primary area of research has been in attempting to understand the mathematical roots of quantum mechanics and the implications of the mathematics for our view of existence. After receiving tenure in 1976, rather than doing traditional, specialized research in a narrowly defined area, I decided to concentrate on the deepest, interpretive aspects of physics: Do particles exist? Is there an objective reality? What are the chances that quantum mechanics is wrong, or incomplete? Is there a theory underlying quantum mechanics? Does quantum mechanics imply observers 'outside' the physical universe? "In the course of my studies, both scientific and spiritual, I began to question what might happen if we were to assume that quantum physics was the final theory of the physical universe, never to be superseded. And at the same time assumed that the best of the mystics had given us an accurate description of the true nature of existence. Could these two stances, the scientific and the mystical, I wondered, be unified into a single consistent scheme in which each complemented and illuminated the other? The answer, I found, was yes. "Consequently, in 1994, I began to plan seriously to write a book about this unification of science and spirituality. I realized at that time that a deeper knowledge of the functioning of the human brain was necessary for a better understanding of human nature, so I took a year off from physics to study a graduate medical school text in neuroscience. This drove home the point, which the mystics have been making for eons, that we are on automatic pilot most of the time, letting the brain, rather than "us," make our decisions about where we put our attention. When combined with the physics/mysticism connection, neuroscience also gives us a clearer understanding of how and why mystical practices work." Suppose
we try a broad-brush assessment of our modern world. On the plus side,
there have been gains in physical well-being, gains in personal freedom,
and gains in the ability to think more clearly and critically. Because of
increased communication, a wider perspective is available. And there have
been helpful insights and useful discoveries in science. On the minus
side, the gains in freedom, economics, health, and access to ideas are
uneven; the mental pace is too fast; there is too much psychological dis-ease;
there are small pleasures instead of deep satisfaction; there is little
vision; and there are rabidly held beliefs. Because
of the minuses, there are many negative ways in which our world could
evolve. The disruptions caused by terrorists and rogue states could
increase. The global economic or energy systems could collapse. The
majority of people on the planet could subscribe to the materialistic view
that more stuff is better. Friendship could wane and loneliness
increase. How
do we avoid these negative outcomes? What positive visions can we
substitute? And how do we bring these visions into being? The answers lie
in a healthier form of religion and in the spiritual art of personality.
Before we can accept these answers, however, we must be persuaded that
there is something beyond this apparent physical world, something that
implies more to life than me first. My
field of expertise is physics (I was on the Rutgers physics faculty for 30
years), so I will outline how physics can help to break the grip of
materialism—the belief that this physical life is all there is. This
approach has the advantage that it uses the language and wisdom specific
to our time to corroborate and extend the insights of ancient and modern
mystics. After establishing that physics supports the existence of the
nonphysical world of the mystic, we will briefly describe the spiritual
art of personality and the mystical society of the future. PHYSICS To
see what insights physics has to offer, we must see how it works. Physics
uses experiments and mathematics to gain an understanding of the physical
universe. A simple example, first done by Galileo around 1600, is to
carefully observe falling objects. A little experimenting shows that
(neglecting air resistance) all objects fall at the same rate—a
remarkable "universal" law! More detailed experimenting shows
that if one object falls for twice as many seconds as another, it will go
4 times as far—exactly 4 times as far; or, if it falls for 3
times as long, it will go 9 times as far, etc. Around the same time that
Galileo was experimenting, Kepler found by observation that planets
followed exact elliptical orbits around the sun. These
two investigations established a large part of the paradigm of physics:
(1), perform experiments or make observations that are as numerically
exact as possible, and then (2), find simple mathematical formulas that
agree as closely as possible with the results. Because of this
methodology, in which mathematical theories are checked many times and in
many ways by exact numerical comparison with experiment, the theories of
physics can be trusted to a very high degree. A
third idea in the paradigm of physics is that of generality and unity. In
the 17th century, Newton discovered a very general theory for treating the
motion of objects. It was general enough that it included Galileo's and
Kepler's results as special cases, and it could explain many, many other
observations as well. Newton's mathematical theory (he had to invent
calculus before he could discover his theory) unified physics, with each
particular problem—falling objects, planetary motion, how strong a
bridge has to be, the generation of electricity, the shape of a wing that
allows an airplane to fly—being a special case of the general theory. Newton's
mathematical "model" of the physical universe was deterministic;
once the universe was set in motion, the future—including our thoughts
and actions—was determined forever. But even though Newton's model did
(and still does) extremely well at describing our daily world, it didn't
properly describe all the attributes of matter. For example, it predicted
that an infinite amount of energy should radiate from the white-hot
filament of an incandescent light bulb. And it had no explanation for why
neon atoms emit red light of a certain wavelength. To explain these and
other results, the scientists of the early 20th century had to discover
quantum mechanics. Quantum
mechanics does extremely well at predicting the properties of the physical
world. For example, it predicts exactly how much light the white-hot
filament of a light bulb emits. And it gives the exact color (wavelength)
of the light emitted by a neon atom. In fact, there are an enormous number
of observations that quantum mechanics accurately predicts, and there are no
known instances where quantum mechanics fails! Because of this
unqualified success, because of the incredibly large numbers of
experiments (many millions) that have been done to check it, and because
of its amazing unity and very tightly interlocking internal consistency,
we can surmise that the essential ideas in quantum mechanics will
never be superseded. Thus we can use quantum mechanics to deduce something
about the fundamental nature of existence. What
are the essential ideas of the quantum mechanical view of the physical
world? The first concerns the nature of matter. In Newtonian physics, the
physical world is made up of particles—atoms, electrons, photons, etc.
But in quantum mechanics, the world is made up of waves—similar
to water waves or light waves or sound waves. The second, and more
important essential idea, concerns how many (potential) realities there
are! As we said, the world is deterministic in the mathematics of
Newtonian mechanics; there is only one possible version of physical
reality. But in the mathematics of quantum mechanics, there are many
possible versions of reality! One example of this is the famous
Schroedinger's cat thought experiment; in it, the cat (in the math at
least) can be both dead and alive at the same time. So
we have this strange situation: quantum mechanics never gives wrong
numerical answers, and yet—violating the simplest observation—it
predicts many versions of reality instead of the single one we perceive.
How are we to deal with this awkward fact? The traditional response in
physics is that, because we perceive a single version of reality,
there must be only a single version of reality. More specifically,
physicists assume there is an as-yet-undiscovered Newtonian-like
theory of particles underlying quantum mechanics. But there is
absolutely no evidence this is true; and in fact the evidence points
the other way. So we are consistent with physical theory if we assume
there really are many versions of reality, all coexisting together! This
has enormous consequences. Since only one version of reality is seen but
many are present, there must be something that perceives only that
one version. This "something" must be outside the phsyical
universe. Because it is nonphysical, it presumably survives the death
of our physical body. One could call it our soul, if you like. So
what do we have here? At the very least, we see that science does not show
that religion is just a childish way of thinking. But we see further that
if the extremely successful theory of quantum mechanics is taken at face
value, then there is a virtual proof of the existence of a nonphysical
world akin to that spoken of by the mystics! Thus there is nothing in
science that prohibits us from seeing the world from a spiritual point of
view. And so we are free—at least in this sense—to begin the spiritual
quest. THE
SPIRITUAL QUEST: Traditional Religion Where
to begin? One possibility is in traditional religion. The positive aspects
of traditional religions are their sense of community and care for
humanity. But when you really want to pursue the spiritual path, their
ideology and methodology are usually insufficient. Why? Most religions
have historical roots related to specific figures—the Jewish prophets,
Jesus, Muhammad—who saw from a much wider and more accurate perspective
than ordinary people. But after the prophets died, their followers, who
didn't have real insight, codified their prophet's view. This lessened the
power of the original vision through each generation, until now the
different religions have rigid doctrines that are often at odds with each
other—and with the perspective of a thoughtful person. So it is usually
difficult for the modern person to ground their search in a traditional
religion. THE
SPIRITUAL QUEST: Reading A
more helpful beginning is to read; read from the great mystical
traditions—the various branches of Buddhism, the Jewish prophets and the
Kabbala, the Sufi poets, especially Rumi, the best of the Christian
mystics. But as you read, remember three things. The first is that, as we
said above, virtually all the traditions lose their truth as they
age. Second,
remember that there are many different paths in religion. Eventually, they
all converge to the same place. But each of us starts from a different
place and has different inclinations. So as you read, be aware of the
different points of view of the various paths. There are devotional paths,
intellectual paths, compassionate paths, paths of social reform, paths
that emphasize the group experience, paths that emphasize the monastic
approach, active paths, passive paths, introspective paths, paths where
answers are given, paths where you must figure most of it out yourself,
paths that emphasize the role of the teacher. Look for these differences,
and see which of the paths agree with you. Third,
in reading about all these different approaches, you must learn to trust
your own judgement. In fact, trusting yourself is one of the goals of
spiritual development. At
the same time as you read, it is good if you can find a group centered
around a true teacher. Because you gain strength, encouragement and joy
from them, it is an enormous advantage to be associated with a group that
has a dedicated but balanced orientation. PRACTICES:
Breath Reading
helps, but what you really need is to do practices, for the spiritual life
is more experiential than conceptual. I will give a practice or two here.
The first is: As you go about your daily life, simply be aware of your
breath. The reasons why this works are beyond the scope of this article. Be
aware that, in spite of the simplicity of stating it, this practice is a skill.
It will take a long time before you remember to do it often; think in
terms of months and years, rather than days or weeks, for learning this
skill. In the meantime, don't disparage yourself because you don't
remember, or because you get tired of doing it. This basic practice can
carry you very far along the path. It will help you become aware of the
nonphysical, mystical world. And it will also reduce the tensions that
severely limit your freedom and sap your creativity. THE
SPIRITUAL ART OF PERSONALITY
There
are two parts to the life of one on the path. The first is one's
relationship to God (or—if you don't like the concept of God—one's
relationship to the nonphysical world of the mystic). And the other is
what you do in this world. The breath practice is aimed primarily
at the first part, the inner world, although it certainly helps in the
outer world. The spiritual art of personality is more pointed towards the
second part, although in the end it is absolutely essential for one's
relationship to God. The
raw material we have is our selves. The personality of this self includes
our habits, our aspirations, our desires, our fears, our perception of how
others see us, our strengths, our interests, and so on. The goals of each
self are creativity, friendship and freedom from that which limits us. Our
personality should help us towards these goals rather than hindering us
(by giving in to habits or being directed more by fears than aspirations,
for example). Education
in the spiritual art of personality
(which goes well beyond morality training and the surface personality) is
of the utmost importance in our present world. For as we look at the
world around us, we see that most of our problems, from individual to
international—insensitivity to others, a narrow perspective, greed,
corruption, intolerant fundamentalism, wars, and so on—are caused by
"defects" in the personalilties of those involved. PRACTICE:
Personality
Become
aware of personality, yours and others—what defines it, shallower and
deeper levels, what motivates people at various levels, how fears and
habits get in the way of creativity, friendship and freedom. But don't
become critical of others, and be easy on yourself. Also, as
with all practices, keep this in perspective. Don't obsess on it, don't
become introspective, don't gossip. Keep in mind the gentle rhythm of the
breath. PRACTICE:
Controlling Anger This
is a more specific practice than the last one. Suppose you often get angry
(most of us do this more than we realize), and that you have decided this
is a habit that wastes your energy and attention, a habit you would rather
be without. To start the process of getting rid of anger, choose one hour
a day and do not outwardly express anger during that time. Do this, at the
same time each day, for thirty days. This
practice is difficult: We forget. We rationalize our right to be angry. Or
we feel that anger is not really under our control; it is brought about by
the events in our lives. But our anger is under our control. And we
can, with practice, remember. So just stay with the practice for the full
thirty days and you will see some progress. When
you're doing the practice, be easy on yourself; don't run yourself down.
It's just very difficult to break mind-sets. If the practice doesn't agree
with you, if it is inducing too many negative thoughts, give it up. There
are many other practices to try. There
are a number of other "negative" personality traits one can use
the same technique on—procrastination, negative views of yourself, etc.
There are also other, positive, ways to affect the personality. If, for
example, one concentrates on strength of will—or insight, friendship,
compassion, wisdom, subtlety, true inner beauty or strength, and so
on—for, say 10 minutes a day, you will begin to develop this quality.
The concentration will somewhat automatically stay with you throughout the
day, and you will begin to see how to develop that trait in a practical
way. Whatever you concentrate on, you become. THE
MYSTICAL SOCIETY OF THE FUTURE
Finally,
consider the potential for society in a spiritual or mystical sense. It is
difficult to comprehend. Think of your highest moments of intimacy,
friendship and creativity, and imagine what life would be like if everyone
were in that state—and even higher states—much of the time. The
friction, the negativity, and the fears of our society would fall away and
be replaced by the joy of existence. There would still be sadness, but it
would not unduly weigh us down. Mysticism
would not be a belief; it would simply be the milieu in which we lived.
Its practice would not be separate from ordinary life, as religious
practice often is now. Experience
would be emphasized—not the reading, reasoning, and repetition which is
a part of many religions—but true experience: the experience, before you
die, of what awareness is like after you die; or the experience of knowing
Great Beings, or even of being aware of God. There
would be little dogma, and no Bible or other absolute authority, but there
would be a wealth of poetic, insightful writing that the student could use
for guidance. Teaching and advice for students would be available, but
there would be no compulsion towards a particular belief in this mystical
religion, for compulsion does not lead to a proper appreciation of the
truth. There
would be no strict applies-to-all code of conduct—about diet, dress,
drinking, or even pacifism, for example (although there would certainly be
mutual respect for each other). Such a code, especially at more advanced
levels, would run counter to the goal of developing truly magnificent wise
beings who are powerfully self-sufficient, compassionate, and capable of
deep friendship. The
practices and outer forms of mystical religion would not remain the same
from one time and place to another. Why? Because in each time and place,
there is a mind-set that severely limits the world view of all those who
are not mystics, and so the practices and outer forms must be tailored
toward dissolving the blockages specific to the times. Finally,
the mystical religion of the future would be natural. The mystic's domain
is the nature of existence, all of existence, so how could
mysticism not be natural? |
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