Quantum Mechanics and the Freedom to Change
By Denise Gibb
Has the topic of quantum mechanics made its way onto your dinner party conversation list yet? When I first heard the term quantum mechanics I pictured a team of ruggedly handsome mechanics sporting white lab coats, spinning spanners, and astounding me with intelligent conversation about all things mechanical. A far cry from my local mechanic whom telephoned me last week to say, “It's stuffed love. Ya need a new one.”What?! A new car?” I screamed into the mouth piece of the phone.
Needless to say my mechanic wasn't referring to a new car. He meant a new ‘thingy-me-bob’ for my car; the name of which escaped me and continues to do so. The price of which, however, convinced me the new part was forged from rare particles found only on the moon and manufactured by an army of diminutive robots from Mars.
Jokes aside, quantum mechanics, by its simplest definition, refers to a bunch of scientific principles that govern matter and energy. Quantum mechanics, however, is the new kid on the scientific block because it challenges some of the established pillars of scientific theory.
Until 1925, the current world view was everything is made of matter. That is, everything can be reduced to the basic particles of matter, the building blocks of life if you like. Under a microscope the basic building blocks are made of atoms, and atoms make molecules, molecules make cells, and cells make the brain for example. Therefore, the ultimate cause, or spark of life, is always the interaction between the basic building blocks. In other words, the predictable interaction or activity’(energy) generated by the basic building blocks determines the action, shape and form of the object. That means what we humans think of as our ‘free will’ does not really exist. It is merely what science calls an epiphenomenon - a by-product of the activity (energy) generated by the basic building blocks of our human form. We have no control over reality.
Enter the new kid on the block - quantum mechanics.
Recent developments (1982 onwards) in quantum physics shone ‘scientific’ light on the existence of ‘free will. In other words, ‘something’ in addition to the activity (or energy) moving upward and outward from our cells allows us to self-determine our reality. Physicist Amit Goswami, from Calcutta University, and many others like him, refers to this ‘something’ as a level of consciousness that sits outside of time and space. To put it another way, the ‘something’ is beyond the principles currently understood to govern matter. In other words, quantum physics suggests that cells can affect one another's behaviour on a molecular level without exchanging any measurable signals or energy through space and time as per the known Laws governing physical matter. Quantum physicists refer to the new waves of cellular behaviour (energy) as transcendent potential.
Don't reach for the smelling salts just yet if you're finding the science droll. Transcendent potential has ignited the curiosity of physicists worldwide, compelling them to search for the biochemical links between consciousness, mind and body.
One such physicist, Candice Pert, author of ‘Molecules of Emotions: The Science Behind Mind-body Medicine, posed questions such as are our minds and bodies distinct from each other or do they function together as part of an interconnected system? Why do we feel the way we do? How do our thoughts and emotions affect our health? Based on her ground breaking research in quantum physics, Candice investigated how the chemicals inside our bodies form a dynamic information network, linking mind and body.
For me, Caroline Pert's research explained why the repetition of positive affirmations often fails to affect change in a person's life. Candice Pert suggests we experience what we believe is possible because our brain matches patterns that already exist within ourselves through conditioning. We are emotions and emotions are us.
If your childhood experiences, for example, have taught you that’ bad things always happen to me’ any incoming information from a challenging situation is likely to be matched to the’ bad things always happen to me information pathways in your brain, reproducing what you know to be your reality.
Conversely, if your childhood experiences have taught you that’ good things always happen to me, any incoming data from a challenging situation is likely to be matched to a positive information pathway in your brain, reproducing what you know to be your reality - good things always happen to me’.??Creating positive, happy experiences means making adjustments at the bimolecular level. It means learning to reroute incoming data onto new positive information pathways in the brain. The question is how? Quantum mechanics suggests changes to reality can be made by harnessing transcendental potential.
Elaine Smitha, author of “If You Make the Rules, How Come You're Not the Boss? Minding Your Body's Business draws on similar theories from quantum mechanics. In her book, Elaine helps readers to understand how beliefs affect your ability to deal with life; how your body eavesdrops on your conversation and how sickness or unhappiness can be an instrument in a belief.
Both Elaine Smitha and Caroline Pert discuss ways to harness transcendental energy in order to gain a new understanding of ourselves, and how our emotions and thoughts affect our lives.
The irony is that those with strong spiritual beliefs have, for centuries now, been using prayer, connecting rituals and meditation as a means to harnessing transcendental energy in order to bring about positive changes in their lives. Quantum mechanics simply sheds new ‘scientific’ light on how the mind-body-soul connection shapes our health, wealth and happiness on a bimolecular level. It's a fascinating dimension to explore.
Needless to say my mechanic wasn't referring to a new car. He meant a new ‘thingy-me-bob’ for my car; the name of which escaped me and continues to do so. The price of which, however, convinced me the new part was forged from rare particles found only on the moon and manufactured by an army of diminutive robots from Mars.
Jokes aside, quantum mechanics, by its simplest definition, refers to a bunch of scientific principles that govern matter and energy. Quantum mechanics, however, is the new kid on the scientific block because it challenges some of the established pillars of scientific theory.
Until 1925, the current world view was everything is made of matter. That is, everything can be reduced to the basic particles of matter, the building blocks of life if you like. Under a microscope the basic building blocks are made of atoms, and atoms make molecules, molecules make cells, and cells make the brain for example. Therefore, the ultimate cause, or spark of life, is always the interaction between the basic building blocks. In other words, the predictable interaction or activity’(energy) generated by the basic building blocks determines the action, shape and form of the object. That means what we humans think of as our ‘free will’ does not really exist. It is merely what science calls an epiphenomenon - a by-product of the activity (energy) generated by the basic building blocks of our human form. We have no control over reality.
Enter the new kid on the block - quantum mechanics.
Recent developments (1982 onwards) in quantum physics shone ‘scientific’ light on the existence of ‘free will. In other words, ‘something’ in addition to the activity (or energy) moving upward and outward from our cells allows us to self-determine our reality. Physicist Amit Goswami, from Calcutta University, and many others like him, refers to this ‘something’ as a level of consciousness that sits outside of time and space. To put it another way, the ‘something’ is beyond the principles currently understood to govern matter. In other words, quantum physics suggests that cells can affect one another's behaviour on a molecular level without exchanging any measurable signals or energy through space and time as per the known Laws governing physical matter. Quantum physicists refer to the new waves of cellular behaviour (energy) as transcendent potential.
Don't reach for the smelling salts just yet if you're finding the science droll. Transcendent potential has ignited the curiosity of physicists worldwide, compelling them to search for the biochemical links between consciousness, mind and body.
One such physicist, Candice Pert, author of ‘Molecules of Emotions: The Science Behind Mind-body Medicine, posed questions such as are our minds and bodies distinct from each other or do they function together as part of an interconnected system? Why do we feel the way we do? How do our thoughts and emotions affect our health? Based on her ground breaking research in quantum physics, Candice investigated how the chemicals inside our bodies form a dynamic information network, linking mind and body.
For me, Caroline Pert's research explained why the repetition of positive affirmations often fails to affect change in a person's life. Candice Pert suggests we experience what we believe is possible because our brain matches patterns that already exist within ourselves through conditioning. We are emotions and emotions are us.
If your childhood experiences, for example, have taught you that’ bad things always happen to me’ any incoming information from a challenging situation is likely to be matched to the’ bad things always happen to me information pathways in your brain, reproducing what you know to be your reality.
Conversely, if your childhood experiences have taught you that’ good things always happen to me, any incoming data from a challenging situation is likely to be matched to a positive information pathway in your brain, reproducing what you know to be your reality - good things always happen to me’.??Creating positive, happy experiences means making adjustments at the bimolecular level. It means learning to reroute incoming data onto new positive information pathways in the brain. The question is how? Quantum mechanics suggests changes to reality can be made by harnessing transcendental potential.
Elaine Smitha, author of “If You Make the Rules, How Come You're Not the Boss? Minding Your Body's Business draws on similar theories from quantum mechanics. In her book, Elaine helps readers to understand how beliefs affect your ability to deal with life; how your body eavesdrops on your conversation and how sickness or unhappiness can be an instrument in a belief.
Both Elaine Smitha and Caroline Pert discuss ways to harness transcendental energy in order to gain a new understanding of ourselves, and how our emotions and thoughts affect our lives.
The irony is that those with strong spiritual beliefs have, for centuries now, been using prayer, connecting rituals and meditation as a means to harnessing transcendental energy in order to bring about positive changes in their lives. Quantum mechanics simply sheds new ‘scientific’ light on how the mind-body-soul connection shapes our health, wealth and happiness on a bimolecular level. It's a fascinating dimension to explore.