Quantum Physics, Consciousness, and God

​ We see that the world is neither black nor white, but rather it is the possibility of both.  And, it is we who choose how to view it.

I don’t pretend to know much about Quantum Physics, but I’m fascinated by the idea that studying the smallest parts of our universe might tell us something about space, consciousness, God and ourselves. 

Consider what I’m about to say very carefully.  When we get down to the Quantum level – in the area of atoms and protons and such – we find that they behave as if they were conscious.  They can detect when they are being observed and alter how they act as a result of the observation.  This phenomena is often explained by the “double slit experiment” ; one of the most famous exercises in Quantum Physics. 

There used to be a big debate in the scientific community about whether light is a wave or is it made up of particles (matter).  Now, we learn that it can be both.  And, whether it exhibits as a wave or a particle depends on if it is observed and measured.  Even more astounding is the idea that this dual property of wave and particle is also found in matter, meaning that all matter can also be measured as a wave.

Equally puzzling but just as real is the fact that sub-atomic particles can instantaneously communicate with each other from great distances away and alter how they act.  If one particle is spinning left, then the partner particle will spin right.  If these paired particles are separated – by millions of miles – they will continue to spin in consort, even if they have to change to do so.  For example, if particle A changes and begins spinning from right to left, then particle B - which can be hundreds or millions of miles away - will instantaneously begin spinning from left to right in order to stay in sync. 

A recent book on Quantum Physics by Philip Ball explains how the universe is really a series of probabilities.  In the book, Ball talks about how the world is made up of “ifs” and there are more ifs than there are answers   Here’s an example.  Scientists can calculate the probability of where a particle may land, but they don’t really know because – until it is measured – the particle is a wave of energy.  And it is only in the measurement, that the wave of energy become a mass – a particle.  Think about that for a moment.  Everything is a wave of energy until it is viewed and only then - as a result of the observation - does the mass appear.

What I take away from Quantum Physics is this:  We humans sometimes think  we have it all figured out, but we don’t.  Are atoms conscious?  Can they talk to each other through space and alter time?  How can matter be a ray of energy that only becomes a mass when observed? 

​After taking my little excursion into the world of Quantum Physics, I ran into the below quote from the Bhagavad Gita which floored me.  This quote – written hundreds of years ago – can be seen to describe the world through Quantum Physics prism.

The wise see that there is action in the midst of inaction,
and inaction in the midst of action.
Their consciousness is unified,
and every act is done with complete awareness.

When a man has let go of attachments,
when his mind is rooted in wisdom,
everything he does is worship,
and his actions all melt away.

God is the offering. God
is the offered, poured out by God;
God is attained by all those
who see God in every action.

Perhaps, through the study of Quantum Physics we get a different glimpse of the hand of God.  We see that the world is neither black nor white, but rather it is the possibility of both.  And, it is we who choose how to view it.
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