Relation Between Quantum Physics and Spirituality.

Ian Thomson, Ph.D., Physics Department, University of Surrey, talk to the ‘Swedenborg Scientific Association’ on 20th April 2002. ‘Are Quantum Physics and Spirituality Related?’

Ian Thomson in this talk made reference to the works of other prominent physicist such as: Hugh Everett, Ph.D. American physicist; Niels Bohr Danish physicist Nobel Prize in physics in 1922; Werner Heisenberg, Prof., Ph.D., Nobel Prize in physics 1932: Eugene Paul E.P. Wigner, Hungarian American physicist, Nobel Prize in physics 1963: Henry Stapp, Ph.D., American physicist in particle physics: Shimon Malin, Prof. theoretical physicist; Emanuel Swedenborg, a scientist, anatomist and theologian; Chris Clark, U.K. physicist whose research covers science, spirituality and ecology.

In his number 4 slide, he indicated “Related ideas sometimes held; the wave function looks like an idea; Spirit and nature are: different grades of energy, different frequencies, different dimensions, and/or different ‘fineness’ of materials – So the spirit and the quantum are essentially identical.”

From Swedenborg’s revelation, we have a keener sense of the relation and difference of the spiritual and natural. His talk showed there are multiple generative levels within quantum physics (old and new), that help us to understand quantum processes and they correspond to spiritual processes in revealing ways where there are triadic degrees within each level. Spirit and nature are degrees joined like this. He continued to illustrate that spirit is an essential means in the creation of nature, where the natural world is the final effect of causes working in spiritual wisdom that manifest celestial love.

In his slide 10, “Soul acts by the mind in the body” he illustrate how the triadic pattern is repeated: in the soul and in heaven, in the mind (interior and exterior rational, sensory mind), and in the natural world. He continued to elaborate with other quantum theories from slides 11 to 14 to show that quantum physics and spirituality are related.

From the standpoint of a prominent physicist, he concluded his talk by saying that there is a thorough correspondence between functions in quantum nature and functions in the internal and exterior minds and putting what we know of nature and spirit gives more complete picture of each, and their relation.