How Understanding Quantum Physics Helps Me Appreciate the Power of Our Mind
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I was six years old when I asked my older brother, “Who created us, and what are we here to do?”
When I was eleven, I asked him, “If God created us, then who created God?”
Now, I’m almost 50 years old, and I’m still wondering about those same questions. I’m still searching for the answers.
In reality, whether it’s devout religious followers, logical believers in the exact nature of science, or New Age believers who mix science and religion, no one knows the truth.
For me, however, the secret lies in understanding how the world works through Quantum Physics. In Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself, Dr Joe Dispenza explains this complex subject in layman terms. I’ve summarized as best I can:
Newtonian Law—Mind has no control over matter
Descartes proposed that while the study of matter or the atoms that make up our physical bodies and everything in the universe belongs to the realm of science, our mind and everything unseen falls under the domain of religion. Isaac Newton, the most famous physicist in history, then crystallized this thinking by proving that all atoms are made of solid stuff. The Newtonian universe was like a machine governed by a set of laws. In it, we could determine, calculate, and predict everything. Energy was an outside force, separate to matter, which could only change the physical state of matter when applied to it. Our minds had no control over events.
Quantum Physics— Energy and matter are related
Einstein then undermined the entire foundation of Newton’s work and ushered in the new era of quantum physics by declaring that time and space were relative, not absolute as scientists had believed before the introduction of his theory of relativity. Thus, energy and matter were related and interchangeable.
Other scientists like Planck, Bohr, and Heisenberg used newer technology to study the workings of the subatomic world. It was the birth of quantum physics—the study of matter and energy at nanoscopic levels.
They found that quanta (the smallest form of energy) form atoms, which form molecules, which form objects; everything seen is made up of these quanta particles. However, these quanta particles do not behave according to the principles of Newtonian physics, making them a series of probabilities.
These scientists then observed that light was the force holding all the quanta particles, atoms, and molecules together—that all forms of matter are made up of solidified light. This light behaves both like a wave, when bending around a corner, and like a particle, when travelling in a straight line.
At the subatomic level, atoms are not solid, but rather 99% energy or particles. Nothing is fixed or solid. Matter appears as a wave of probability in one moment, as a solid particle the next, and then disappears into nothing and reappears at another location. The universe was no longer fixed, but movable swirls of energy instead. Events were now controllable and changeable.
Observer Effect— Our thoughts do matter
Electrons exist simultaneously in an infinite array of possibilities and probabilities in an invisible field of energy. Only when an observer focuses attention on any one location of any one electron does that electron appear.
A particle can only manifest in reality, in space and time, when we observe it. At the subatomic level, energy responds to our mindful attention and becomes matter. We can influence an event insofar as our thoughts can influence the movement of energy.
The Quantum Field—we are all interconnected
The “quantum field” holds all probabilities, which we then collapse into reality through our thoughts (consciousness), feelings, and state of being. The quantum field consists of invisible potential energy that can organize itself from energy to subatomic particles to atoms to molecules, and on up the line to everything.
Everything–humans, stars, galaxies–is connected to this invisible energy in a place beyond space and time. This concept is known as quantum entanglement. According to this theory, when two particles are linked in some way, they will always remain so. The universe, our thoughts, and everything else is interconnected.
Law of Attraction— Our energetic being must match the potential
The law of attraction states that when we change our electromagnetic signature (the unique, identifiable energy we radiate) to match one that already exists in the quantum field, our body will be drawn to that occurrence. The quantum field responds not to what we want, or to our thoughts alone, but to who we are. Our thoughts send an electrical signal out into the field. The feelings we generate magnetically draw events back to us.
How we think and how we feel co-produce a state of being, which generates an electromagnetic signature, which in turn influences everything in our world. If our intentions and desires haven’t produced consistent results, we’ve probably been sending an incoherent, mixed message into the field. We’re thinking one way and feeling another way. And when the mind is in opposition to the body (or vice versa), the field won’t respond in any consistent way.
I spent the whole of 2016 listening to bestselling writer Tim Ferriss’ podcast and reading his blogs. I arrived at a summer writing course in Paris to find he was one of the students, as he was a friend to the writing tutor, Rolf Potts.
Synchronicity—signs from the universe
When small coincidences start occurring, such as a friend calling just when we are thinking of them intently, or starting a diet and exercise plan only to find ourselves sitting next to a personal trainer on the plane, these are called synchronicities. Carl Jung coined the term. Synchronicities are signs and directions thrown our way by the universe when we are vibrating at the same level and have faith that the universe will respond to our electrical charge or thought.
I enjoy listening to podcasts and am thinking of starting one. In the past few weeks, several incidents have occurred related to podcasting. First, my son’s friend is in the country on a month-long holiday and he’s an expert in podcasting and can help me set it up. Then, I receive an email from someone who wants to interview me on their podcast, which I do and enjoy very much.
A Reality Without Senses—Be present
The quantum field is a multidimensional reality that exists beyond our senses, beyond time, beyond space, and beyond our bodies. To be able to create and match the probabilities we must be in the present; we must actually shift our thoughts away from our physical environment.
I’ve found that the more time I spend thinking and being deliberate about solving a problem, the harder a solution is to find. I spent a few hours in a marketing meeting trying to brainstorm ideas on how to launch a new campaign, and we came up with nothing special. I went home early, ran for five kilometers, and started writing when suddenly I had a great idea on how to launch our new concept.
Change your thoughts, change your life
The new science of quantum physics paves the way for us to create meaningful change in our lives. When we change our thoughts, making them focused and coherent, and let our feelings and actions match them, then we can change our behavior and our life.’
We are connected to a universal intelligence. We are interconnected with everything. However, our past and patterns have such a strong hold on our present thinking that we lose faith in ourselves and this intelligence. We lose that connection.
When we change our thoughts based on our new perceptions, we change our actions. And thus, we change our experience itself—our reality.