Science and Mysticism

Mainstream science says that the universe is made of matter and energy.  We are saying that it is made of matter, energy and consciousness. – Edgar Mitchell

All matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration. We are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively. There is no such thing as death, life is a dream, and we’re the imagination of ourselves. – Bill Hicks

I remember a conversation that took place with a student of one of my yoga classes in the early eighties.  I had recently returned from a three-month stint at the ashram in India.  I was babbling on about the importance of “consciousness” and she stopped me to ask, “Consciousness of what?”  I don’t remember exactly how I replied because it seemed so obvious to me that I was talking about awareness itself regardless of any particular object.

Consciousness in and of itself is a hard concept for many of us to grasp.  Like any valid concept it points to something real beyond the word, beyond the symbol.  It refers us back to the immediacy of experience.  We have no experience, no knowledge, no thought nor emotion without being conscious of it.  Consciousness is a primary ingredient of any experience, even a scientific experiment. 

I just recently returned from the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) conference.  IONS takes the study of consciousness seriously and supports research based on this new paradigm of a conscious universe.  This includes Dean Radin’s research on parapsychology, Bruce Lipton’s on epigenetics, Lisa Rankin’s on a more holistic approach to medicine, J. Ivy’s use of poetry to open new awareness, new findings and theories in physics, as well as traditional wisdom as presented by Toltec teacher Don Miguel Ruiz and West African Priestess Luisah Teish.  The basic idea is that scientific methodology and the mystical methodologies of consciousness exploration can compliment each other.  The overall energy of the presenters and participants was so high that I kept slipping into states of meditative ecstasy. 

There are different ways of approaching the study of consciousness.  The yogic or mystical approach is the most direct.  Its methodology is to dissociate from mental and sensory objects to experience a state of transcendent oneness.  Unfortunately, this approach is so entirely beyond the scope of ordinary scientific endeavor that the two cannot be connected.  This might be best illustrated by the experience of Dr. Eben Alexander who had a spontaneous mystical experience facilitated by a seven-day, near death coma.  Dr. Alexander went into a reality of beauty, joy and unconditional love that completely overwhelmed his mind.  Because such experiences are beyond our usual realm of perception they are often relayed in terms that seem nonsensical.  They’re not so much nonsensical as non-sensory.  Materialist pundits such as Bill Maher have gone out of their way to mock certain elements of his description of his experience.  Mockery and demeaning however are simply the techniques of bullies who fear that their territory might be in threat. 

Another approach is that of Radin’s who does serious research on parapsychology, i.e. the effects of consciousness upon matter and energy.  Actually it goes beyond that to evidence the existence of a collective mind-energy which influences our experience.  There is serious evidence that telepathy (mind to mind communication across space and time), remote viewing, psychokinesis, etc. actually exist.  Unfortunately this area of research is underfunded and subject to ridicule from establishment bullies.  It seems to pose a serious threat to the Newtonian-Cartesian paradigm. 

Yet another approach is neuro-psychological.  We can study the effect of spiritual practices on brain functioning and human behavior.  Multiple studies have shown the positive effects of meditation practices on brain functioning.  Unfortunately this leaves out the essential ingredient of consciousness.  True meditation is about recognizing and resting in consciousness itself.  However we can measure to a certain extent whether meditation practice has a positive effect on psychological development.  There is a great deal evidence to support this.  Meditation practice “catalyzes development” in the words of Roger Walsh MD.  It improves health, slows aging and supports cognitive functioning.  Unfortunately many people think that meditation is something difficult and foreign.  Meditation is really about enabling us to relax into our own essential being. 

Thinking can be difficult and even exhausting at times.  Meditation is simply disconnecting from thought in order to reset and reboot our mental and physical energy.  As Richard Miller, Ph.D. suggested, perhaps we should divest of this whole mystique of “meditation” and simply talk about “resting in being.”  Unfortunately, whatever words we choose there is an enormous room for misconception.  Being is so simple, so present, so easy to overlook that we often miss it in our everyday preoccupations.