QUANTUM PHYSICS

AND EVOLVING CONSCIOUSNESS

(The following discussion is based on David Bohm's theory of the 'Implicate Orde
r', developed in the 1980s in order to explain the strange behavior of sub-atomi
c particles. The central underlying theme of Bohm's theory is that there is a un
ifying reality which underlies physical reality called the 'implicate order'. T
his 'order' unifies the totality of existence so that nothing is separate from a
nything else).
________________
Today, we can venture into a discussion of quantum physics and its relationship
to consciousness because much has been written about this in recent decades, and
also because analogies taken from the physical world can often help us understa
nd the spiritual world. This is because the principle "as above, so below" is un
iversally true, whether we perceive it to be so or not.
Since the 1920s, the field of quantum physics has catapulted us forward in our u
nderstanding of the physical world. It has taken some physicists to the edge of
this world, to the place where the physical interfaces with the spiritual. One
area of quantum physics in which this is true involves the creation and destruct
ion of sub-atomic particles. It is because of the inherent mystery at this level
, of things coming into and going out of existence, that we can explore the fert
ile ground of present knowledge and ask broader questions regarding being and no
n-being - spiritual questions arising out of this mystery.
Within quantum physics, it is understood that in a vacuum - a space that has, as
much as possible, been emptied of both matter and energy - that some background
energy still remains. Out of this background energy, particles continually emer
ge and disappear.1 Some of these particles have a 'virtual' reality - a reality
that is similar to that of 'real' particles, but different from them in the len
gth of time that they exist.
Virtual' particles appear out of the 'nothingness' of the vacuum and disappear b
ack into it again after such a very short time in existence, that one could almo
st say that they did not exist at all. 'Virtual' particles can also become 'real
' particles, becoming measurable and lasting longer, depending on how much energ
y is added to the vacuum.2 Also, both virtual and real particles can change into
other particles before they disappear from existence.
The fluidity of this landscape of sub-atomic particles is like the foam frothing
on a turbulent sea. However, the seas of the earth are something we know and ha
ve ideas about. We observe their tides, their wave-patterns, and foam. What we
don't know is where sub-atomic particles - the constituents of the 'quantum foam
' - go when they are not 'real' or even 'virtual', or what the generating force
is for this turbulence.
This is a serious question. Some physicists define the vacuum state as a state o
f nothingness. However, it has also been defined as a state of being which appea
rs on the physical level to contain nothing, but which plays an active role in d
etermining which particles emerge from it and become 'explicate' or real. The 'i
mplicate order' can be seen as both a physical and metaphysical construction - t
he name for a vast Intelligence which contains all things within itself and whic
h 'en-folds' or 'un-folds' these things so that they emerge into the reality we
experience as real.
The 'implicate order', should it exist, would appear to have the capability of c
reating separate particles which appear to us as real (un-foldment), and also of
reabsorbing these particles (en-foldment) so that they disappear into it and be
come part of the background again. Whether we are talking about muons, electrons
, pions, or positrons, there are a number of questions that arise out of this fo
cus:
Why do certain particles arise then disappear?
Why do they change into other particles?
Is there a guiding Intelligence that is continually creating physical matter out
of background nothingness?
Is the Implicate Order something close to what we think of as God?
The view that nothingness is filled with something, though not something we can
see or measure, takes us from the realm of the physical into the realm of the sp
iritual. From a spiritual perspective, we may be seeing our own future - the fut
ure of consciousness. For there is an analogy that can be made between the way s
ub-atomic particles operate - the way they come into and go out of existence - a
nd the way individual consciousness has the potential for operating as it evolve
s. For example, we can hold the possibility that individual consciousness, like
sub-atomic particles, has the capacity to 'un-fold' and 'en-fold' as particles d
o - hovering between being and non-being, and that this dual awareness is the re
sult of an evolving awareness, a consciousness infused by Divine 'breath'.
II.
Divine 'breath' is the infused life of God as it affects all beings. It is not r
estricted to any particular belief system, tradition, or religion. Sacred 'breat
hing', which is the experience of Divine 'breath', does not just involve taking
in air, but rather taking in the higher frequencies of Light. Such breathing con
tains within itself both the capacity to individualize consciousness, and also t
o return it to the state of non-duality.
The infusion of Divine breath involves a process analogous to inhaling and exhal
ing on the physical plane but with this qualification - that the pulsations of L
ight which polarize and unite consciousness between time and eternity, between f
orm and formlessness, do not necessarily alternate in time in the way that inhal
ing and exhaling do. Rather, they may be considered to be ponts of reference on
a continuum, both ends of which can remain in consciousness. Also, in contrast
to the physical act of breathing which is within the awareness of every creature
, the awareness of Divine breath is not automatic within human consciousness at
the present time. Rather, it corresponds to a consciousness that has developed
a capacity to attune to the higher frequencies of Light.
For such a consciousness, the inhalation pulse of 'sacred breathing' brings cons
ciousness into a state of self-discernment - one in which the individualized sel
f becomes a unique expression of the Infinite. The exhalation pulse, by contrast
, brings consciousness into oneness with the Universal - with that which is All.
In the latter state, individualized identity disappears, and, like a drop of wa
ter in the ocean, becomes part of the All.
Divine breath is the origin of life in the Universe. It is the gift of the Moth
er/Creatrix/God who infuses life with Light and brings consciousness into awaren
ess of being both a self and also merged within a greater Unity. The role of D
ivine intention is that consciousness on all levels, the human as well as the su
b-atomic, will come to realize itself as unified so that matter and consciousnes
s will no longer be separate. Though such movement is only in its beginning stag
es at this time, the purification of the earth and of individual consciousness w
ill accelerate this process, bringing the fruits of sacred breathing to each sou
l who seeks the light, as naturally and inevitably as physical breathing takes p
lace today. In this way the un-folding and en-folding aspects of reality will u
ltimately be realized.
The means to the deepening experience of Divine breath are purification and puri
ty which allow the greater incorporation of light within the cellular structure
of the body. These awaken the capacity to see and feel the Divine behind individ
ual physical life, as well as the capacity to feel One with All. As a model for
this dual experience, quantum physics illustrates in the behavior of the tiniest
sub-atomic particles, life's purpose and the purpose of consciousness, down to
the smallest dimensions of physical reality.