Punk Science

Inside the mind of God

Tell them you’re not mad: there’s a scientific basis for your faith. Michael Roll, basing his articles on the work of R.D Pearson, wrote “We now know that what has been known as psychic Phenomena and the religion of Spiritualism is a branch of physics … ” (Quantum Physics) The author, Dr Manjir Samanta-Laughton MD, writes about Quantum physics and expands into New Age and Spiritualist Phenomena and beliefs. Read the book, Punk Science, somewhat pretentiously subtitled “Inside the Mind of God”. Its explanations are easy to follow and it makes good reading.

The following is intended to encourage you to read “A work of great synthesis and originality that puts the soul back into science”, as a qualified reviewer puts it. I have merely extracted theories that can be said to relate to Spiritualist phenomena and ideas: Consciousness and the -associated “Physics of non-locality” – relating to God,_distant healing and prayer; String Theory, or the “Theory of Everything” for vibrations, so loved by Spiritualists, mediumship and a possible site for the Spirit World, and a possible alternative for Consciousness: Sympathetic Vibratory Physics together with the Quantum Vacuum of outer space which provide for mediumship, spirit guides, angels, ghosts and another possible site for the Spirit World; Also covered in the book are the Principle of Personal Responsibility and a general philosophy of life – positive thinking and the power of thought.

Quantum Physics arose from the suspicion that scientific observations and measurements affect the observations and measurements that scientists make to prove or refute theories (at the sub-atomic level). The reason? Observers are “conscious entities”, a mixture of consciousness and matter.

At first scientists denied CONSCIOUSNESS could be found anywhere but in mankind. They have gradually realized that it is found in all living things, down to unicellular bacteria and viruses. In fact, even the cells that make up bodies have their own consciousness. An egg is one cell: it becomes a fully grown individual with millions of cells that have a multitude of differing functions. The egg and the subsequent cells all have consciousness of purpose and selfawareness. Punk Science contains a quote by A. Goswami that “Consciousness is the ground of all being”: everything in the universe is consciousness

Neuroscientists investigating consciousness approach from the point of view that Brain =mind= consciousness. They have found that the hippocampus area of the brain, which some have nicknamed the God Spot, is responsible for transcendent experiences, but they have not found the area responsible for consciousness.

The author, arguing from the opposite perspective, consciousness=mind=brain, says that matter (including humans and the human brain) comes from consciousness: there is more to life and humankind than the assorted chemicals that make up the body. The “primordial soup” that was once considered the origin of life on earth in all the experiments to prove it such, has never produced life: amino acids may change, they do so spontaneously all the time, but life does not automatically follow.

According to a much loved law of science, a closed system, such as a body, moves from order to disorder. But a body and all its cells remain ordered until after death when the theory kicks in and the chemicals separate. The author asks you to consider what, in life, keeps the body intact and organized? Whether it is a balance of energy or consciousness with a big C, the given evidence implies the presence of a Creator.

Quantum Physics has the concept that, when a pair of entangled particles (whatever that means) are split up and even separated b some distance, the two individual particles seem to ‘communicate’ with each other as they change their direction of spin at the same time. This is part of the PHYSICSO F NON-LOCALITY,w hich Einsteinf elt was “spooky action at a distance” (a definition of distant healing?!) The mystics of old would not find It so: they would hold it as proof of the ancient spiritual idea that the world is one entity. The author, in fact, does propose the Physics of Non-Locality as an explanation for the phenomenon of distant healing and that of the scientifically investigated and approvedhealing effect of prayer. He(?) says, as healers do, that it is the intent of the prayer or the healing act that is the operative facto. On a lighter note, the author attributes to non-local consciousness Sheldrake’s morphic fields (the mechanism by which dogs know when their owners are coming home)

Punk Science’s author makes STRING THEORY a contender for the Theory for Everything which gives a good explanation and /or alternative for Spiritualists’ much mentioned “vibrations” which, we are told, make up matter and energy in this world and (of a higher frequency) the energies of the next, Spirit World.

The particles which vibrate in the atoms and molecules of the universe are seen as points only because we cannot see closely enough to make out that they are in fact tiny strings/ vibrations (according to the theory). String Theory says these vibrations are the “heart of reality”: strings of different frequencies make up everything in the universe in all three spatial dimensions, and at higher frequencies in many other dimensions – which could be other worlds existing next to ours, but invisible and inaccessible except to (mediums). But does String Theory necessarily contradict Consciousness, a Creator, or a location for the Spirit World?

Physicist John Hagelin makes a link between them ”If consciousness is fundamental to matter; then even super strings must be inherently intelligent”. The link between the vibrations of superstrings and consciousness 1s shown by the production of electromagnetic fields. A person’s aura “reflects his inner thoughts ·, feelings and level of personal development”. But superstrings give rise also to electromagnetic fields suggesting consciousness.

SYMPATHETIC VIBRATORY PHYSICS is a development of String Theory: it says, amongst other things, that vibrations that are similar tend to resonate in harmony and combine to have an additive effect. From this it may be seen that “Like may attract like”, to reword a favorite saying of Spiritualists. It is the reason different people access different types of information from the “Quantum Vacuum” defined below: some attract angelic encounters (Angels, Punk Science states, are scientifically possible, despite differing reports of appearance and function in encounters by different people); others, when meditating, become aware of their spirit guides, showing a response in their electromagnetic field if attached to a galvanometer. Using the same science, that of Sympathetic Vibratory Physics and the QuantumVacuum, Channelling becomes a possible skill.

The author discusses the Quantum Vacuum of outer space in a section of the book entitled “Pretty Vacant”, that is, not quite vacant Vacuums are impossible, there are always particles in “empty” spaces. There are virtual particles there, proved to be there when they become real particles before they revert to the virtual. The Quantum Vacuum of outer space is suggested as a possible site of the Spirit World.

It is the QUANTUM VACUUM which provides an explanation for mediumship: a medium is particularly skilled in extracting that Particular type of information whereas another may get flashes of inspiration from the same source and be called a genius. The mediumship of John Edward is examined and accepted as providing evidence from dead relatives, suggesting that consciousness ng transcends the physical body and survives the physical death. Interest in Quantum Theory, which is the starting point of the book was growing at the time when increasing numbers of New Age people and others were undertaking Personal Development. The author commented “As human beings we are not just at the mercy of fate and genetics: we have an influence on reality”. Spiritualists recognize this in the Fifth Principle, Personal Responsibility.

Punk Science states that it is not our genes that make us human: the much studied fruit fly has fifteen thousand genes, so to account for the differences between the fly and human, it has been estimated that the human genome should have one hundred and twenty thousand genes. Instead it has less than thirty-four thousand. It can therefore, be assumed that “our biology is not our destiny”. It is the individua11s (and also the cell’s) perception of reality that is in true control of its destiny/progress. We know that belief systems shape perception, some beliefs from early age due to environment, others from religions. We can learn from later environments and relationships to change and manage our beliefs and perceptions and therefore, our own biology (and progress).

Spiritualists habitually talk about the importance of thoughts, being living things which have the power to influence events, actions and emotions. Thought has been shown to influence random number generators to an extent that one researcher, recorded in the book, declared was more statistically significant than some drug trials that had been rated “successful”.

The author tells that he was planning to write a book about “aspects of life that are currently deemed unscientific and paranormal” such as energy medicine and Spiritualism before a “visionary experience gave him the insight to write Punk Science. He disputes John Hogan’s view, that science has nothing more to find, with his opinion that “time is right for a change in science … which places consciousness at the very heart of an intelligent universe”. He warns, however, that Einstein’s theories took a while to gain wide acceptance. Spiritualists, though, should be able to accept much of Punk Science.