"The scientists’ religious feeling takes the form of a rapturous amazement
at the harmony of natural law, which reveals an intelligence of such superiority
that, compared with it, all the systematic thinking and acting of human beings is
an utterly insignificant reflection."
– Albert Einstein
What we believe to be true is not always so. In the 17th century, it was commonly
held that the earth was the center of the universe, and that the sun and heavens
moved around it. Near the end of his life, Italian scientist Galileo Galilei was
forced to stand trial under suspicion of heresy. He knew science had advanced far
enough to discredit the church’s flat-earth position, so he changed the way he interpreted
Holy Scripture. Facing inquisition, Galileo was forced to recant his views that the
sun was the center of the solar system, and he spent the last nine years of his life
under house arrest. It took more than 350 years before the church officially expressed
regret for the incident. That was only 15 years ago.
While the Roman Catholic Church moved much more quickly to remove scientific theories
from scripture, religion continues to shape the day-to-day reality of many people.
Some believe that those with highly developed psychic powers are doing the work of
the devil, despite the fact that intuitive abilities are an innate part of being
alive. Others believe that human beings on Earth are the only intelligent life in
the universe, despite the fact that scientists have discovered more than 70 other
solar systems and suspect there may be billions in our galaxy.
You don’t have to be religious to have an unshakable belief
that seeing is believing. We are all taught what to believe. Some of us just grow
up more suspicious of what we have been told.
Change is never comfortable. That is why some incredible advancements in quantum
physics are not screaming across the front pages of newspapers and magazines. If
the greatest breakthroughs in our time were reported in the mainstream, it would
radically alter our "same old, same old" way of life.
But make no mistake about it, change is happening like never before.
Many scientists now agree that it may be pointless to explore subatomic building
blocks that make up our universe, because the universe seems to be a single, undivided
whole in a state of constant flux. Their findings suggest that we live on the skin
of this whole universe, a membrane that keeps stretching and expanding. Many scientists
now agree that our universe is not at all what we see, but a space containing eleven
parallel dimensions. Many agree that the consciousness or energy of an observer directly
affects matter.
Such findings seem to directly support the power of prayer – as well as the validity
of telepathy between people, and between us and other species. Ever wonder why people
in a variety of locations can get the same idea at the same time? Why two unrelated
people can dream the same dream at night? The fact that we are all part of the same
fabric of the whole explains the hundredth monkey theory.
This understanding that reality is a "whole" is the basis behind holistic
principles. When Edge Life magazine adopted the subtitle "A Holistic
Journal" in December 2005, it did so because of a sense that this is how things
operate. All things metaphysical and spiritual are holistic. Alternative healing
is holistic. And I suspect that new findings by quantum physicists will continue
to support this perspective.
What we don’t know yet is how our "normal" day-to-day world will be
different when a majority of us have accepted these new findings as gospel.
When that day comes, probably in the very near future, we will realize that changes
like the tragedy on 9/11 and the bombing of Pearl Harbor pale in comparison to what
is taking place. It literally will be as if humanity’s eyes open up for the first
time – observing itself for the first time.
When we realize that none of us is separate from the other, our interpersonal
relationships will change. When we acknowledge that our thoughts not only affect
our personal health, but have a direct effect on each other and on our environment,
it will change our being. And when we innately know that human life is holistic,
connected to the whole, it changes how we are as a species.
When my grandfather was born, he never dreamed a man would walk on the moon. I
can only imagine what possibilities exist in our lifetime. I encourage you to open
yourself to possibilities. It will change you, and me.
