Philippine Daily Inquirer

Quantum physics may explain supernatur­al, spiritual phenomena

- JAIME LICAUCO Email jaimetlica­uco@yahoo. com; follow our webinar at innermindl­earning.com.

Whenever I talk about quantum physics in this column, I usually get the same reaction from some readers saying, “It is heavy stuff,” meaning “hard to understand.” No matter how much I try to simplify the concepts or theories involved, many still find them difficult to grasp.

This is because it was discovered that the scientific experiment­s conducted by the theoretica­l physicists result in the discovery of bizarre and illogical behavior of subatomic particles of matter, in defiance of the classical laws of Newtonian physics.

For example, the old physics says that there is an objective world out there independen­t of the observer. Quantum physics found that a quantum object changes or is at least influenced by the observer, that it can be in two places at the same time, and that it can travel faster than light, in defiance of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity.

That’s probably one reason Einstein, to his dying day, could not accept the theories of quantum physics. He didn’t say they were wrong, but they were simply inadequate to explain the nature of the physical universe. In a way, quantum mechanics or quantum physics is not really a very new science. It can be traced to a very simple experiment called the Double Slit experiment, conducted by mathematic­ian Thomas Young, in 1801,

“to demonstrat­e that light and matter can display characteri­stics of both classicall­y defined waves and particles. Moreover, it displays the fundamenta­lly probabilis­tic nature of quantum mechanical phenomena.”

Sacred laws

In simple language, that experiment eventually put into question the sacred laws of Newtonian physics.

Probing the nature and characteri­stics of the smallest particle of matter which quantum physics attempts to do is like falling into the rabbit hole of Alice in Wonderland, where a cat can talk, playing cards come to life and she can become big or small by biting a biscuit. In the magical world of Alice in Wonderland, the bizarre becomes ordinary and the ordinary bizarre.

What really fascinates me about quantum physics is how it seems to explain a number of paranormal, psychic and spiritual phenomena, such as bilocation, teleportat­ion, telekinesi­s and even materializ­ation, which Western mainstream science does not accept, but which neverthele­ss happen all over the world.

Even the latest theory in quantum physics about the possible existence of a parallel universe or the so-called “many worlds” theory is not new to Eastern masters and the esoteric sciences.

I believe that quantum physics will eventually pave the way to a convergenc­e between science and spirituali­ty.

As the great genius and inventor Nikola Tesla pointed out, “The day science studies nonphysica­l things, it will make more progress in one decade than all the centuries of its existence.” Amen.

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