The Quantum Mechanical World and the Nature of Consciousness

My friend and favorite scientist, Rupert Sheldrake recently gave a talk at the Royal Geological Society in London called, "Is the Sun Conscious?"  This is a wonderful topic and I hope you get a chance to listen to it.  In it he speaks about the work of Alfred North Whitehead, an English mathematician and philosopher from the last century.  Rupert explained that Whitehead proposed a "philosophy of organisms," seeing the whole universe as an organism and stars and planets as organisms, including Gaia, our own planet, as an organism.  This is of course an idea that has gained considerable popularity in our time, following the work of James Lovelock, during the 1960's. 

Rupert explained that Alfred Whitehead also saw crystals, atoms and molecules along with, of course, plants and animals as organisms.  This holistic philosophy of nature treated organisms as self organizing systems with their own goals or purposes.  This is one of the properties of consciousness, having a goal or a purpose.  Rupert went on to say that living organisms or any organism has goals and purposes.  Then he showed how Whitehead used quantum theory to point out how this might work.  I've transcribed this part of Rupert's talk and would like to share it with you now, as my blog this week, because it is such a lovely and simple primer in some of the basics of quantum theory and also of consciousness.  So, here we go.

"Whitehead then went on to point out how this might work using quantum theory, where matter is no longer just stuff, matter is a process.  An electron is a wave, everything in quantum theory is made of waves and waves take time to wave.  You can't have waves in an instant.  Think of a wave in the sea, if you take an infinitesimally thin slice of a wave, it is no longer a wave, it's impossible in terms of a wave.  This is the ultimate reason for the Uncertainty Principle in Quantum physics, because you can't localize waves in space or time.  They are spread out in both. 

Because they are spread out in time, it means that every material thing is a process, and that a material process has a past and a future, because it is spread out in time, and it has a direction in time.  And whitehead used this as a way of approaching the mind body problem.  Normally people think of the mind as the inside and the body as the outside, in the external world.  People talk of the inner life, the mind is within, using spacial metaphors. 

But Whitehead thought that the best way of thinking of mind and body was in time.  The mind is the future pole of the organism, the body is the past pole.  The future pole is concerned with possible actions.  And this is true even with electrons, the spread of the wave equation tells us all the possible things an electron could do.  And when it interacts with something is what people call "the collapse of the wave function."  Of all these possibilities, only one is actually realized.  That's a measurable observable fact, but it is immediately in the past.  It's now a physical fact, and immediately a whole new set of possibilities opens up, in the new wave equation, which are in the future, or the virtual future.  And when the electron decides, or the wave function collapses to one of these things, again, you get something in the past, a material body, like a measurable fact. 

Now, he (Whitehead) thought our minds worked the same way, our minds are principally concerned with possibilities.  Consciousness is an arena of possibility.  And the function of our consciousness is to choose among possibilities.  We all had many possibilities for this afternoon.  And we chose to come here and to be here out of all of the possible things we could have done.  We made that decision.  We brought it into actuality by coming here.  It's now a measurable fact that we are all in this room.  We can be photographed, weighed, measured etc.  And our minds are now opening to new possibilities.  

Now, our habits are generally unconscious and don't require the consideration of possibilities.  Consciousness is about consideration of possibilities in this model.  It gives us a way of thinking about consciousness and what it does."

Isn't that a lovely description?  To me, with this, Rupert harmonizes the quantum mechanical world with the material world.  And he does it through a brief peek into the world of consciousness. 


© Josephine Laing, 2016

Reclaiming Our Connection With Water

In 2010, PBS aired a show called "Next Year Country.  In it, Matt Ryan, a rainmaker from Mount Shasta was called to North Eastern Montana to come to the aid of three families who were experiencing a profound drought.  The situation had become so dire that they were about to loose their farms.  The rainmaker brought large metal pipes and laid them out on the ground moving them from time to time for two weeks.  Then he left.  The drought persisted throughout the rest of the state, but the North East Corner, where the three families lived had heavy rains and an abundant harvest. 

In 1983, Shirley MacLaine, the American Film Actress wrote an autobiographical account of her explorations into the infinite possibilities of life in her book, Out On A Limb.  There in the mountains of Peru, she tells of her experience in calling the weather to change.  Vicki Noble in Shakti Woman speaks of the same phenomena.  This inspired me to play with that energy as well.  And you know what?  It worked.  Standing in openhearted harmony with the beauty and sacred interconnection of all things, while engaging my imagination and holding to my intention, I have engaged my sense of command and parted the clouds or called the rain. 

Last year in my women's circle, we all went out back with some simple dowsing rods and walked around an old abandoned two story brick building.  The dowsing rods swung together and touched every time one of us walked across an irrigation line or water pipe.  It took us a while to realize that that was why our rods were crossing, but then we saw the spigot and the meter.  The rods also swung right where the vetch was growing lushly in the sparse field.  Vetch has deep roots that reach down and pull water up to the top layers of the soil.

My grandfather was a 'Water Witcher.'  Most of the folks in his part of the Midwest didn't want to have anything to do with psychic ability and abruptly dismissed it out of hand.  But somehow, dowsing slipped through the cracks of acceptability.  Using an old forked willow branch, he would hold it in his hands, letting the end that would have been closest to the root zone point out in front of him.  Then he would walk the land.  He would start off for the places where water would likely be, and then he'd move along until the branch dipped sharply down toward the ground and told him the life giving liquid was near.  All the farmers in his section of the country called him to help find a good spot whenever a well was needed. 

As we round the bend into the last months of our rainy season, here in California, where the reservoirs are still low from the last few years of drought, I am wondering how many of us, when we see those big cumulus clouds overhead would prefer not to have it rain today.  Perhaps we just washed the car or have plans for a garden party.  Maybe the new roof is not yet on that house we are building for that young couple with the baby.  Or, perhaps we are thinking how there is still no rain.  'No rain.'  "Not enough to do the trick."  How influential are our thoughts and words?  How deep do these infinite possibilities run?  My experiences have shown me that the subtle energies of nature are willing to join their wisdoms with ours.  But we do need to step into concert with them, open up and ask.  When we do, they respond.  So I invite you to join me in reclaiming our connection with water.  Let's use our imagination to feel and smell,taste, hear, thrill at and call the rain?

© Josephine Laing, 2015

The Women's Spirituality Movement ~ Awakening to a New Era on Earth

Dancing Round the Maypole at Beltane

The Women's Spirituality Movement is percolating up from the fundamental consciousness of our collective human experience. Women the world round are rising. Like sleepy children we are heeding Gaia's morning call and preparing ourselves for a new era on earth. As we stand together side by side in equality, expressing our hopes and dreams, finding our joy and passion, we leave our fears behind and claim our true power. 
 

This power, that we women cultivate in our circles, is not the false power of holding dominion over another, it is the true power of knowing and being ourselves. It is the essence of our soul's calling combined with the loving support and interconnectedness of our sisters in circle. It is from this stance, day by day, household by household that women are claiming our place at the table and changing the world. 
 

We have all seen the horrors of a world lead only from the masculine point of view. War, destruction, mass extinctions and global warming are all left in the aftermath. This doesn't work for anyone, men or women, children or animals, forests, oceans or trees. Like waking from a long nightmare, Gaia is calling the feminine and we women are stepping up to embrace the new day.

Unlike organized religion, the women's spirituality movement is a spontaneous uprising of individual groups of women who gather and meet together to reclaim the divine feminine. We meet in circles and these circles ripple out and create more circles. We dance, we cry, we sing and we share our hearts to find our ground. Meeting regularly in this way, we grow in love and learn how to heal ourselves with forgiveness and understanding. 
 

It is in the crucible of the circle that we begin to realize that our challenges are really blessings as we help each other to see more deeply. In the safe sanctuary of circle we find our voice for self expression. We move beyond oppression and formulate new visions for ourselves, for our families and for our world. It is within the alchemy of the women's circle that we are calling forth a new world view into being. 
 

No one started this movement. There are no rules, there is no one set way of doing a circle. The format, structure, shape and timing are all organically created by the various women within the circle. Time of day, frequency, intention and focus all come into being naturally from within the group. 
 

Most of the women in the circles I've been fortunate enough to be a member of are eco-feminists, meaning that they have concern for the ecology of our planet and believe in the need for full participation of women both in government and the workplace. They see the need for women to be key players in the creation of our culture. Knowing that the personal is the political, they let their lives and choices reflect their values. Aware of the repercussions of pesticide poisoning and the cruelty of factory farming, many of the women in circles are inclined toward organically grown, vegetarian or vegan dietstyles. This holds especially true for the food that is brought to and served within a circle after our ceremonial celebrations are complete. Again there are no rules, but this one aspect seems to be a constant. And, in this way we women are able to include all of our circle sisters in the enjoyment of the wonderful dishes that we bring to share. 
 

Over the twenty or so years that I have been participating in the Women's Spirituality Movement, I've noticed that most of the women in our circles are political or social or environmental activists, often joining or forming one or more of the hundreds of thousands of reform groups that have risen up throughout our world. Tending to home, family, culture and career can be demanding. So the time spent in circle gathering with like minded supportive women is cherished and sacred. And we do create the sacred in our circles. We honor our time together as holy.

When we meet often we will begin by purifying ourselves in some way leaving behind the troubles of the day. This can be as simple as hugs from everyone. Or maybe we will sprinkle a few drops of the water from a local hot spring over the heads of each woman as she arrives. Perhaps we will choose to use a few grains of cornmeal instead, to do the same. Often, using a bouquet of gathered feathers, we will waft the smoke from the leaves of various smoldering herbs around to the front and the backside of each woman. While doing this, we may whisper words of encouragement and appreciation as she enters the space we've created, acknowledging her beauty and her contribution. The bundled leaves of sage, cedar or lemon grass work nicely for this when held in a hand made ceramic bowl or an abalone shell. Once everyone has been blessed into the circle, it is considered closed. Then we do ceremony together. There may be song, poetry and meditation. Frequently there is an activity. Perhaps we honor the cycles of time. Maybe it is the full moon or the new moon that calls us together each month. Perhaps it is a weekly prayer or meditation group dedicated to peace. Women's circles can be crone groups honoring and holding the wisdoms of women who are in their elder years. Some women's circles meet only once as initiations celebrating the first blood of menarche or the last of menopause. These can be small family events or larger temporary combinations of members from several women's circles.

Some women's circles are educational groups with the members taking turns presenting information about the Goddess cultures of pre-history. Many celebrate the Solstices, Equinoxes and cross quarter holidays in ways similar to those that were prevalent prior to the advent of the Abrahamic religious traditions. Other circles may focus on actions like writing letters for peace or finding creative expression through dance. But the hallmark of the Women's Spirituality Movement is the overarching theme of honoring the feminine mind and worldview and holding our time together as sacred. As we do so, we look to each other for support and validation. This increases our confidence and fuels us forward on our path in our individual lives. We also strongly encourage our intuitive nature and honor our feelings, holding both of these as primary guiding forces in our lives. Our time spent in circle, in the secure embrace of each other's love and support, strengthens and renews us. It helps us to claim our power individually and move forward with it into the world.

If you are not already in a women's circle, they are easy to create. You can put a notice up on the bulletin board of your local healthy food store or at a yoga center. Or simply ask a few friends round to tea and share with them your ideas. See what they would like to offer. Ask each of them to invite two or three more women and set up an initial time, place and date. Most circles meet monthly, some meet weekly. One circle I'm in meets eight times a year, on the two Solstices, the two Equinoxes and the four Cross Quarter Holidays: Candlemas, Beltane, Lamas and Samhain. These are ancient markers for the cycles of time. We celebrate them as “The Wheel of the Year.” They also represent the cycle of life from birth to death. The babe is born and the seed sprouts on Winter Solstice. The pattern for that life is set and in place by Candlemas, February eve. The youth is learning at the Spring or Vernal Equinox. By the “lusty month of May,” young adulthood is reached and procreation is high. Come Summer Solstice adulthood is in full bloom, the seeds for the next generation are set. With Lamas the first harvest bread is shared. The year is ripe and we round the corner into elder age with the fall or Autumnal Equinox. Old age and death come with Samhain or Halloween, as the seed drops to the ground and all appears to be gone as winter's snow sets in. But then with the Midwinter Solstice the babe is born again and the wheel of the year has germinated once more.

Round and round we go,

We hold each other's hand.

Weave our lives in a circle.

Our love is strong.

The dance goes on.

© Josephine Laing, 2014