What is Reality?
Quantum Physics
Questions the Nature of Reality
"What we call reality is simply a theory and internalized mental model which is at bottom a way of looking at the world, rather than a form of absolutely true knowledge of how the world 'really' is. However we view it, we can't get around the fact that we are participating in creating our experience of the universe."
~~ From Paul Levy's provocative essay on quantum physics and reality
Dear friends,
What is reality? In the intriguing essay below, intrepid explorer Paul Levy
tackles the bizarre worlds of quantum physics to show us that reality
truly may be in the eye of the beholder. If you are ready to stretch the
edges of your beliefs about our world and universe, these compelling
words are sure to inspire in you rich ruminations which could expand
your awareness of the infinite possibilities available to us all.
Note: The below five-page essay has been edited for brevity. To read the full, 30-page essay on Paul Levy's website, click here. Published and edited with Paul's permission.
In discovering the quantum, physics has indisputably encountered consciousness. Quantum physics is pointing out, in unequivocal terms, that the study of the universe and the study of consciousness are inseparably linked, and that ultimate progress in the one will be impossible without progress in the other. The discovery of the quantum nature of our universe is a seismic, tectonic shift in the very foundation of physics and the roots of our scientific worldview, a change so momentous that it can literally transform the course of human history.
The
founders of quantum physics, people such as Niels Bohr, Werner
Heisenberg and Erwin Schrodinger famously argued that quantum physics is
first and foremost a new way of thinking. Quantum theory is
teaching us that implicit in our very thinking are certain flaws and
misperceptions that, unseen and taken for granted, unnecessarily limit
our ability to apprehend the nature of nature, including our own.
Quantum
physics is the most subversive of all the sciences, having created a
"reality crisis" in the field of physics such that the very idea of
"reality" itself has been undermined. Physicists have, in
their attempts at grasping its implications, lost their grip on reality,
finding nothing to hold onto. Exploring the farthest reaches of the
outside micro-world brings us right back to our inner selves.
One
third of our economy involves products based on quantum mechanics –
things such as computers and the Internet, lasers, MRI's, DVD's,
microwaves, mobile phones, silicon chips, semiconductors,
superconductors and nuclear energy. And yet, even with the huge impact
quantum physics has had on all of our lives, this effect is
infinitesimally small compared with what it will be when more of us
recognize and internalize the implications of what it is revealing to us
about the nature of reality as well as of ourselves.
This
is the deep philosophical question that begs to be answered – what does
quantum physics mean? And do we use the discoveries of quantum physics
for the betterment of our species, or to destroy ourselves? Quantum
theory reflects back to us that the choice is truly ours.
Quantum physics forever shattered the idea of there being an objectively existing world. It is ironic that physics, long considered the most "objective" of all the sciences, in pursuing its dedicated quest to understand the deep nature of the material universe, has dispelled the very notion of an objective universe. Quantum theory has opened up the door to a profoundly new vision of the cosmos, where the observer, the observed and the act of observation are inseparably united.
In
quantum physics, we are no longer passive witnesses of the universe,
but rather, we unavoidably find ourselves in the new role of active
participants who in-form, give shape to and in some mysterious sense
"create" the very universe we are interacting with. In essence,
consciousness has entered into the physics laboratory, and physicists
are not quite sure what to make of this.
Coming
to terms and facing up to the intrusion of consciousness into their
hallowed halls is forcing physics to come to terms with questions of
meta-physics, which for most physicists is not what they signed up for. Quantum
physics is itself the greatest threat to the underlying metaphysical
assumptions of "scientific materialism," a perspective which assumes
that there is an independently existing, objective material world that
is separate from the observer.
The
quantum revolution has revealed that the classical worldview was
something that existed entirely within the minds of a certain strain of
European humanity that became reified into an orthodox creed and held
the mind of modern humanity in a prison of its own making, as if
humanity had become spellbound.
Physicists
themselves haven't fully comprehended and don't quite know what to make
of what they have unwittingly stumbled upon. They have been forced to
wrestle, not just intellectually but emotionally, existentially and
spiritually with their own discoveries in the quantum realm. Quantum
theory has pushed its adherents to the very edge of the unknown, both
out in the world and within themselves. In trying to understand nature,
physics is helping us discover our own nature.
In
re-visioning our idea of the world we live in, we change our perception
of the possibilities available in our world, thus opening up previously
unimagined pathways of creative and effective action. "Objective
reality" is now an unexamined implicit assumption, an idea in our mind.
What most of us call objective reality is simply an interpretation of
data whose meaning is agreed upon by the majority, what can be called a
"consensus reality."
Quantum theory brings the question to the fore: Are we discovering reality, or creating it? And if we are, at least in part, creating what we call reality, what are we creating it out of? According to our subjective experience the world certainly seems real enough, apparently contradicting what quantum physics is telling us about the world’s lack of inherent, objective reality. In the overwhelming majority of cases, the world behaves “as if” it has an independent reality, which furthers our visceral belief in objective reality. Yet objectivity itself is a recent human phenomenon.
The
Scientific Revolution was a deepening of our powers of reason, a
flowering of human creativity and a breakthrough for humanity, helping
us to explore our world in ever-more profound and ingenious ways. From
another point of view, the Scientific Revolution was also the onset of
a particular form of madness. It started as a new worldview that was
revolutionary in its power; yet it contained a subtle error that
solidified into a widespread delusion which has over time profoundly
enabled the collective psychosis that our species finds itself in.
An
essential feature of this madness is the severing between the subject
and object, the observer and the observed, as if the scientific
imagination thought that in its intellectual examination of the world,
it wasn't part of, participating in, and thereby affecting that which it
was investigating. Seeing the world as separate from ourselves
has become the prevailing and institutionalized worldview of “the
academy,” a viewpoint that takes the heart, soul and “magic” out of the
world, reducing it to a dead, inanimate, insensate domain.
This
was done in pursuit of the ideal of objectivity, which was gradually
elevated to the level of an absolute truth about the nature of reality.
This approach worked remarkably well when it came to dealing with the
macroscopic world, enabling unprecedented levels of control to be
exerted over the physical world. But an unseen cost was being incurred
by the human spirit. Increasingly enthralled by science's ever-growing
achievements and technological wizardry, few questioned whether these
very advances might at the same time be leading humanity astray from
essential aspects of the true nature of our being, slowly dehumanizing
our species in the process.
In
contrast, quantum theory implies that immaterial factors having more of
the nature of images and ideas are the blue-print for our universe,
actually in-forming and shaping the evolution of the universe as a
whole. It is as if the universe itself is conspiring with us to help us
awaken to its, and our nature, and quantum physics is the theoretical
and experimental "instrument" for this deeper insight to reveal itself.
Seen as a symbol crystallizing out of the dreamlike nature of reality,
quantum physics is revealing to us that we don't live in the
mechanistic, Cartesian world of classical physics, but rather, inhabit
an enchanted world not separate from our mind's creative imagination.
What
we call reality is simply a theory and internalized mental model which
is at bottom a way of looking at the world, rather than a form of
absolutely true knowledge of how the world “really” is. It is
important not to conflate reality with our theories, not to confuse the
map with the territory. Our best models are no more than aids to our
imagination, by no means are they complete reflections of the nature of
reality.
Quantum physics has raised the question, is the ever-evolving universe like a work of art in progress, making up its laws as it goes along? The idea that the laws which inform the functioning of reality spring into manifestation out of nothingness fully formed is a nonsensical, preposterous idea. As one quantum physicist comments, "The laws of physics were not installed in advance by a Swiss watchmaker." They must have somehow come into being.
The
central and all-encompassing role of the observer in quantum mechanics,
what has been referred to as the "magic ingredient," is the most
important clue we have regarding the construction of the universe. The
universe gives rise to meaning-establishing observer-participants, who,
in developing the ideas of quantum mechanics, grant a meaningful
existence to the universe. The construction of the universe is
such that the observer is as essential to the creation of the universe
as the universe is essential to the creation of the observer.
In
a world without a built-in purpose, quantum theory "promotes" the
observer to the definer of reality and generator of meaning, which is
essentially a creator of distinctions, a primordially creative role. However we view it, we can't get around the fact that we are participating in creating our experience of the universe.
Quantum
physics is riddled with paradox to its core. Thinking
"quantum-logically," we are able to hold paradox in a new way; instead
of needing one or the other viewpoint to be true, in a higher form of
logic, we can hold seemingly contradictory statements together as both
being true simultaneously. This gives new insight into how what may
appear to be contradictions at one level can be part of a deeper
consistency and completeness from a higher, more inclusive level.
As
renowned quantum physicist John Archibald Wheeler once said, "The
universe gives birth to consciousness, and consciousness gives meaning
to the universe." The emergence of consciousness in the universe is as
epic and epochal an event in cosmic history as the first big blast of
its materialization in the supposed big bang. In this process of
self-cognition, the universe is able to turn back upon itself so as to
explore its nature via its various life forms.
In
such a self-referential cosmology whose nature is a self-generating
feedback loop of pure creativity, we are dreaming up the universe, while
at the same time the universe is reciprocally dreaming us up. The
seemingly subjective and objective realities interblend and co-create
each other. As observers, we are participants in the genesis of the universe.
Without observers, there is no existence. The observer is both a result of an evolutionary process and, in some sense, the cause of its own emergence. In other words, mind-boggling as it is to contemplate, we may be "observer-participants" playing a role in the genesis of the cosmos in this very moment. We live in a universe that is capable not only of harboring life, but of cultivating life which is intelligent enough to ask about its origins. In our observing and reflecting upon our universe we are actually changing the universe's idea of itself. Through us, the universe questions itself and tries out various answers on itself in an effort – parallel to our own – to decipher its own being.
Quantum
physics has discovered that there are no elementary particles, no
fundamental "building blocks" of reality. "The atoms or elementary
particles themselves form a world of potentialities or possibilities
rather than one of things or facts." They are not located in time or space but in an abstract realm.
Subatomic
objects don’t exist as things, but rather, as events, as happenings, as
dynamic ever-changing interactive psycho-physical processes. What these elementary entities “are” and what they “do” are inseparably intertwined. The
aspects of nature represented by quantum theory are converted from
elements of “being” to elements of “doing,” which basically replaces the
world of material substances with a world populated by actions, events
and processes.
In
the quantum world, there is no "place" for matter, in the same way that
in the classical world there is no "place" for mind. Classical physics'
theory of a world of matter is converted by quantum physics into a
theory of the relationship between matter and mind. Unveiling a great
mystery, quantum physics is pointing out that the ultimate nature of the
universe is more mind-like than matter-like.
The
quantum universe can be properly conceived of only as an intricately
interconnected dynamic whole. Our universe is an emergent universe in
which the whole is greater than the sum of any of its parts can even
imagine. An emergent global property can feed back to influence the
individuals who produced it in an interlocking, creativity-generating,
self-sustaining and life-supporting feedback loop. Thus individuals and
groups can begin to consciously tap into the energy that makes up the
quantum realm – the zero point energy of creation itself – in a way
which changes everything.
Our
nonlocal universe's spooky action-at-a-distance is an expression of the
fundamental, indivisible wholeness of the universe, which is radically
different from classical physics' previous conception of the universe as
composed of separate parts. At the quantum level, there is the
radically new notion of intrinsic unbroken wholeness, a seamless
interconnectedness among all of the universe's seemingly separate parts.
At the quantum level, the universe is "one" with itself.
Quantum entities exist in a realm of potentiality, in what is called a state of "superposition," which is to say they hover in a ghostly state between existence and nonexistence, existing in all possible states up until the moment they are observed. Not existing in space-time, their appearance in space-time at the moment of observation is a quantum event in which an atemporal process manifests in time. Everything ultimately exists in a state of open-ended potential.
In
the transition from the random uncertainty of the quantum realm, where
particles ceaselessly spring into and out of existence, to the seeming
solidity and orderly certainty of our everyday world, the question
naturally arises, where is this boundary between the quantum world,
where things don’t actually exist in a real way but in a state of
potentiality, and our everyday world, where things at least appear to
exist in a solid-seeming way?
Quantum
theory implies that the whole universe – including ourselves – is
recreated and recreating itself anew every nano-second based on how we
are dreaming it up. What we experience is not external
reality, but our interaction with what our minds construe to be an
external reality. Quantum reality is not subjective, just as it is not
objective. The quantum dimension is the bridge, the intermediate realm
between the subjective mental realm "in here" and the seemingly
objective world "out there," somehow coupling the two.
Rather
than the quantum realm being illusory, quantum physics points out that
the appearance of the macroscopic, conventional world can be likened to a
holographic optical illusion
produced by the interaction of our sense faculties with quantum
reality. Behind the apparent solidity of everyday objects lies a world
of open-ended potentiality.
It
is not that the deeper reality is veiled and we can't know it; rather,
there is no deeper, independent reality based on our ordinary
conceptions of what this means. The further we descend down the quantum
physics rabbit hole, the more magnificent the plumage of this very
strange quantum bird. In the quantum realm we never end up with
things, but always with interactive relationships. At the quantum level,
being and knowing, perception and reality, epistemology and ontology
are inextricably entangled.
The
viewpoint that is emerging from the cutting edge of quantum physics is
that, instead of being an epiphenomenon of matter, consciousness is the
ontological ground and driving force of the process of reality itself.
Max Planck, the first person to propose the quantum nature of light and
one of the first architects of quantum theory, commenting on what the
new physics was revealing to humanity, famously said, "Mind is the
matrix of all matter." Consciousness is in some mysterious fashion
creating the "stuff" of the material world.
The
discovery of the quantum observership-based nature of reality
represents the first rupture in the armor of the classical chrysalis
that has long encased the human mind and fettered the human spirit,
tightly holding it in a state of slumber dreaming of a deterministic,
clockwork cosmos. Irreversibly awakening out of its somnambulistic
trance, humanity is going through an evolutionary metamorphosis in which
it is unfurling its iridescent wings of creative imagination as it
flies into the open-ended space of previously undreamt possibilities,
releasing itself into the luminous imaginal sky of freedom.
KEY POINTS
- There is no objective reality independent of an observer.
- The observer affects what is observed by the mere act of observing.
- Quantum entities exist in a multiplicity of simultaneous potential states (called a superposition).
- There is no independent quantum entity separate from its properties. Its properties are a function of our observation.
- The act of observation is the very act which turns the potentiality of the quantum world into the actuality of the seemingly ordinary world.
- The universe is a seamless, undivided and instantaneously interconnected whole. Each part of the universe is interrelated with every other part.
- An expression of this wholeness is the universe's nonlocality, in which every part of the universe is related to and in communication with every other part.
- The laws of physics are not written in stone, but are mutable.
- The quantum universe is not separate from consciousness; rather, it is an expression of consciousness. Mind and matter are no longer seen as separate.
- Quantum physics literally changes and transforms our mind, as it introduces a new way of thinking. It helps us see the world differently.
- Quantum physics shows us how we are playing a key role in the creation of our experience, as well as in the genesis of the cosmos, in this very moment.
- Significantly altering Descartes' famous principle, "I think therefore I am," quantum physics would instead say, "I choose therefore I am."
Note: This essay has been edited for brevity. Read the full, 30-page essay on Paul Levy's website. And explore his highly praised book Dispelling Wetiko: Breaking the Curse of Evil. A pioneer in the field of spiritual emergence, Paul Levy has a private practice assisting others who are also awakening to the dreamlike nature of reality. Read a similarly beautiful and thought-provoking short essay by Prof. Charles Tart title, "Who Am I?". And don't miss an excellent exploration into the holographic nature of the universe from the heart and mind expanding Transformation Course.
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Hyperdimensional Science
Top Secret Projects Bend Concepts of Reality
"Just skimming through these papers gives an idea of how incredibly sophisticated
the science in these areas has become."
the science in these areas has become."
Dear friends,
In my research into this topic, I've learned about above top secret programs which for many years have been researching what many would consider science fiction, including invisibility cloaking, extracting energy from the quantum vacuum, and warp drive, i.e. faster than light travel, including using wormholes to travel to other planets and even other dimensions.
Amazingly, there is now strong, verifiable evidence to show active scientific research in all of these areas. Ample evidence suggests that these projects are far more advanced than most would imagine. One group in particular has shined a powerful light into these shadowy programs.
The Federation of American Scientists [FAS] is a nonprofit organization founded in 1945 by scientists who built the first atomic bombs during the Manhattan Project. As stated on their website, "[FAS] provides science-based analysis of and solutions to protect against catastrophic threats to national and international security. Specifically, FAS works to reduce the spread and number of nuclear weapons, prevent nuclear and radiological terrorism, [and] illuminate government secrecy practices." Through this respected organization, the scientists who brought us into the nuclear age have done their best to keep us from destroying ourselves with their discoveries.
Steven Aftergood, director of the Government Secrecy Project at FAS, has long been working to pull back unhealthy veils of secrecy through many hundreds of FOIA (Freedom Of Information Act) requests. His invaluable work has revealed how claims of "national security" at times are used to drape a cloak of secrecy around activities which actually endanger citizens not only of the US, but of the world. What has been revealed through the documents he has obtained is breathtaking.
On August 15, 2018, Aftergood submitted an FOIA request to the Defense Intelligence Agency [DIA] "for information concerning a copy of the list that was recently transmitted to Congress of all DIA products produced under the Advanced Aerospace Threat and Identification Program contract." The list mentioned was sent to many key members of Congress, but received no press coverage. The response he received, dated Jan. 16, 2019, is mind boggling.
The DIA released a list of titles for scientific papers on 38 government projects of a highly advanced nature. You can find the list on this webpage. Number 7 on the list is "Invisibility Cloaking." Number 8 is titled "Traversable Wormholes, Stargates, and Negative Energy." Number 11 is "Antigravity for Aerospace Applications." Number 14 is "Concepts for Extracting Energy from the Quantum Vacuum." Number 19 is "Warp Drive, Dark Energy, and the Manipulation of Extra Dimensions."
The full papers for three of these are available at the links below:
Invisibility Cloaking by Ulf Leonhardt, Chair in Theoretical Physics, University of St. Andrews
Traversable Wormholes, Stargates, and Negative Energy by Eric W. Davis, Earthtech International
Warp Drive, Dark Energy, and the Manipulation of Extra Dimensions by Richard Obousy, Eric Davis
Just skimming through these papers gives an idea of how incredibly sophisticated the science in these areas has become. For a fascinating 2005 interview with Eric Davis, author of two of the above papers, see this webpage. A separate paper by Davis titled "Teleportation Physics Study" is available on this page of a U.S. Department of Defense website.
The paper on wormholes and stargates is particularly fascinating, as it describes a feasible method for traversing interstellar distances using our current understanding of quantum processes. Using the procedures described, he states, "explorers could spend all day investigating the remote spacetime location and then return home through the stargate in time to have dinner with their families."
Why is all of this not being reported in the mainstream media? Why has this astounding list of hyperdimensional science studies been given to members of Congress, but not made widely available to the public? Why did it take Steven Aftergood's FOIA request to get this information released at all? Could it be that powerful people and organizations don't want us to know how far they have gone towards interstellar travel and much more?
For answers to these questions, explore our collection of accounts of award-winning journalists who describe how major, breaking stories they tried to report were shut down by their media bosses. And then take a look at the witness testimony of numerous high-ranking officials about their personal involvement with a major cover-up around UFOs and ETs. For those who want to know, the information is out there. Please help spread the word, so that we can all make more educated choices in our lives and prepare ourselves for mind-boggling explorations into the unknown.
With best wishes for a transformed world,
Fred Burks for PEERS and WantToKnow.info
Former White House interpreter and whistleblower
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What you can do:
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- Explore our excellent collection of news articles which question the very nature of reality.
- Investigate an inspiring and informative online lesson on UFOs in the free, heart and mind expanding Insight Course.
- Explore inspiring ideas on how we can work together to create a new paradigm.
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www.WantToKnow.info - Reliable, verifiable information on major cover-ups
www.weboflove.org - Strengthening the Web of Love that interconnects us all
Subscribe here to the WantToKnow.info email list (two messages a week)www.momentoflove.org - Every person in the world has a heart
www.personalgrowthcourses.net - Dynamic online courses powerfully expand your horizons
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