During the first 50+ years of my life, my ego mind was carefully crafted in the Western tradition. Newtonian physics and Calvinist theology were the basis of my family’s polarized and legalistic worldview, which also became mine. That, of course, continued into my adult life as teacher, therapist and executive director. My keen mind was a steel-trap, carefully organized to remember information in a linear time and space. During my five years with The Ascended Masters’ Foundation, I was introduced to contemplative practices and a larger, cosmic awareness of who I Am and what I Am about. I was also encouraged to explore the world of quantum mechanics.
I wasn’t looking to become well versed in this ‘new’ perspective of what’s really happening and what that has to do with me. My intention was to pry open, to loosen my analytical and linear mind to allow for new possibilities and potentials. I began reading introductory books such as The Dance of the Wu Li Masters (Zukav 1979) and Quantum Mechanics for Dummies (Holzer 2009). For months I resisted the invitation to open to more and different, to let my mind go loose. Finally, a few of the underlying principles began to sink in, to inform my thinking and my awareness of reality.
The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle was first stated in 1927: the position and the velocity of an object cannot both be measured exactly, at the same time, even in theory (Encyclopedia Britannica). You cannot know a particle’s position and trajectory at the same time. My mind still fogs over a bit as I write this, but the essential impact for me lies in idea of ‘uncertainty’. The specific science meant far less than the assault my mind experienced in its sense of safety in certainty. Newtonian physics has laws for everything, I had thought, and everything acts according to those laws. From that perspective, I could predict and manipulate and do all those things that lead to my safety. Now, however, I had to let go of what I thought I knew. I learned that Newton’s physics might be the case in the bigger parts of our world, but not in the sub-atomic areas that are the foundation for my apparent reality. Of course, Buddhists have known this for centuries as one of their basic understandings of the world, that of Impermanence (O’Brien 2018).
Heisenberg also discovered that in the very act of watching, the observer affects the reality that is being observed. In the Observer Effect, the observer and the system being observed became mysteriously linked so that the results of any observation seemed to be determined in part by actual choices made by the observer (Scott 2014). This effect has a psychological correlate. When I observe the world, my thoughts about its possibilities affect it. In every moment and with every thought and emotion I have, I am breathing life into one of two realities: a reality that I dread or a reality that I desire. This beginning foray into what felt like foreign territory allowed me to continue to open to the new teachings and practices from The Ascended Master’s Foundation and others whose teachings are based in expanded consciousness.
More recently, I began reading about the advances in understanding how and why contemplative practices work. As David Vago writes, contemplative neurosciences refer to an emerging field of research. It focuses on the changes within the mind, brain and body as a result of contemplative practices such as mindfulness-based meditation, tai chi, or yoga, corresponding to the field of Energy Psychology.
Finally, I discovered the work of Dr. Joseph Dispenza (2012) and his book, Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself. Dispenza brings together the science of neuroplasticity with the practice of meditation to shift old beliefs and patterns. Davidson and Begley (2012) also speak of the role of neuroplasticity as they offer a way to shift your emotional life. Other Hay House authors such as Bruce Lipton, Deepak Chopra, Gregg Braden and Wayne Dyer are bringing new science to the masses, allowing all to understand how we are as we are and how it is that we can change. Information from cellular biology, epigenetics, neurochemistry, and brain function and memory are now available to support the view that mind, body and spirit are all entwined as part of the whole of our human experience.
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