by Don MacGregor
My spiritual path through life has taken a number of twists and turns. I went to a dry Presbyterian Sunday school until age nine – when my father started to take me swimming instead! At school, science fascinated me and I ended up teaching science in a secondary school for thirteen years. The big life questions (such as “What’s life about?” “Is there any deeper meaning?”) came up for me as a result of serious mental illness my wife had in her twenties. In addition to the health service, we tried various complementary therapies and began to look at the spiritual side of things. We became ‘New Agers’ in the early 1980s and I studied Theosophy and the Ageless Wisdom teachings via writers such as Helena Blavatsky and Alice Bailey. Through a combination of circumstances too lengthy to mention here, we were then catapulted into evangelical charismatic Christianity with a strong interest in healing, and I went on to be ordained priest in the Anglican Church. Then we both discovered mystical Christianity, and meditation and contemplative prayer. By which time, I needed to make sense of my own scientific, religious, mystical and esoteric understanding and work out a theology that I could live with to make sense of it all, trying to create a synthesis.
That synthesis happened around the idea of consciousness. In recent years, many scientists have been studying consciousness, trying to work out a feasible explanation - but with little success. What is it? We know we have it, but we don’t know why or how we are able to ponder. And yet our consciousness seems to be growing, changing, evolving. The famous physicist, Sir Roger Penrose says, “My position on consciousness demands a major revolution in physics... I’ve come to believe that there is something very fundamental missing from current science... Our understanding at this time is not adequate and we’re going to have to move to new regions of science.”[1]
Many other physicists find consciousness an intractable problem. Edgar Witten is a professor of mathematical physics at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey. In 2004, Time magazine stated that Witten is widely thought to be the world's smartest living theoretical physicist. He says, “I have a much easier time imagining how we would understand the big bang, even though we can’t do it yet, than I can imagine understanding consciousness.”[2].
The Nobel-prize winning quantum physicist, Erwin Schroedinger, also has views on the fundamental nature of consciousness. He said,
“Consciousness cannot be accounted for in physical terms. For consciousness is absolutely fundamental. It cannot be accounted for in terms of anything else.”[3]
So scientific research has made little progress with consciousness, even though it has been trying for many years. Basically, scientists can’t get a hold on consciousness, it’s as if it exists outside of the known laws of the universe and reality as we know it – and maybe it does!
So I want to begin by painting a picture of this reality we live in, as it is known today. Forgive me if you know all this. We live in a world in which there is a dawning understanding that the nature of reality is actually very different from the way that we have always understood it. Slowly, there is a downward trickle from the scientific world, saying that we inhabit an existence composed of energetic information fields, not solid matter. One neurophysiologist, Mary Schmitt, has expressed this well in an essay entitled "If all is consciousness, what then is my body?" In a playful way, she describes first the way the body looks under an electron microscope, in the range of a millionth of a centimetre. She says:
“In that domain, the body appears more like a vast sea, inhabited by many types of creatures. Ocean caves (pores of the skin) seem to be inhabited by various sea creatures (bacteria): nerve cells of the inner ear look like sea anemones; and the taste buds as beautiful flower arrangements... Sea snakes piggybacking giant sea lions are actually muscle tissue with nerve fibres running along the surface – and on and on.
The body at this level is still seen as solid matter, real, though strange. But going to a much greater magnification still, about one hundred millionth of that size (i.e. 10-14cm for the mathematically minded), we come to a domain where all solidity is gone. At this level, if we could magnify this much, we would see each atom of which the body is made. The simple model of an atom, the one we were taught at school, is of a central nucleus, surrounded by electrons whizzing in orbit around the nucleus. If we take that model, and could enlarge the nucleus of the atom to the size of a speck of dust, the electrons are in orbit hundreds of yards away (considering them as particles and not waves for the moment). In between is nothingness, emptiness. She makes the delightful and sobering point that if we could get rid of all the emptiness within our atoms, we could fit on the head of a pin with room to spare! An amazing thought - all the seemingly solid stuff of which we are made is actually nearly all emptiness, and could fit on the head of a pin.
Going further still, she enlarges the magnification to the sub-atomic level within the atomic particles, leptons, quarks, muons, gluons, photons, neutrinos and now the famed Higgs boson - the so-called ‘elementary particles’. When I was at school in the 60s, there were three – electrons, protons and neutrons. There are now 61 known particles, and still they look for more… At that sub-atomic level, it becomes difficult to refer to our bodies as made of "matter" at all. Mary Schmitt says,
“The hundreds of subatomic portions of the protons and neutrons of the nucleus, such as leptons, mesons, quarks, though spoken of as particles, are not so much ‘entities,’ as intelligent, vibratory patterns of interacting, communicating energies. Some of these so-called ‘particles’ can go backward in time, go in and out of existence.
This is what we are made of; this is the nature of the reality of our bodies: we are essentially vibratory patterns, interacting, communicating energies, at a more subtle level than was ever imagined only 50 years ago, and even time and space are not fixed. At this level, we begin to see connections between matter and mind, or consciousness. You and I are not separate, we are all interconnected. Our energy fields reach out way beyond our bodies. We interact with each other at subconscious levels all the time. You know yourselves that you can pick up the ‘vibes’ of another person, without them saying anything. Sometimes you only have to walk into a room to know there is something heavy going on. Our energy fields interact with each other. And this, I believe, is the medium by which much energetic complementary healing works.
If we continue magnifying, we get down to the unimaginably small (10-33 cm), the length called Planck's constant, named after Nobel Award winning physicist, Max Planck. Planck’s constant seems to be as small as nature wants to go. It reflects the size of quanta, the packets of energy in the quantum theory. This was discovered by Max Planck in 1899, which shows how long it takes for scientific knowledge to filter down into general awareness. Mary Schmitt expresses this level of reality. She says:
“At this point, we can no longer speak of space or time, or even of manifest reality... We are in the realm of ‘The Unified Field’... I am one with all that is in the timeless domain of infinite complexity but utter simplicity.”
Now that is what spiritual traditions have been saying since time immemorial, that there is only One, that we are one with the All, that our consciousness is an aspect of the divine One consciousness that sustains everything in being. The wonder of it all is that, at this time, and in this cultural and spiritual moment, science is beginning to say the same thing.
There is a big change going on. For many years, conventional science has taken the perspective of upward causation, which says that matter is the building block of all things – that life, mind and consciousness arise from the building blocks of matter as it becomes ever more complex. So, in the beginning, atoms combined to form molecules, which reacted in ever more intricate ways until eventually organic life emerged, and gradually, over the eons, it became increasingly complex. Brain tissue developed to coordinate the living matter, and consciousness emerged within that evolved brain. We are all very familiar with this conventional view, it is part of the backdrop to western society.
However, a new paradigm has emerged in scientific thought. It has come from the world of quantum science; this strange, minuscule world where sub-atomic particles behave in ways that defy conventional science and thought. This new paradigm says that the prime mover in the universe is not matter, but consciousness. We are all a part of that consciousness and the world of matter arises from the collapse of quantum energy waves into quantum particles, brought about by the effect of consciousness on them. So consciousness brings matter into being.
In the world of quantum mechanics, sub-atomic particles are not really particles at all – they exist as waves of potential. An electron, for instance, exists not in one location, but as a wave of possibilities. This is known as the Uncertainty Principle, by Heisenberg – the location of any particle is actually uncertain. What brings about the actuality of an electron from all the potential, possible locations is being observed.
To give an analogy, it is a little like rain forming from water vapor in the air. Water vapor is invisible and is everywhere, but when the conditions are right, it condenses into visible, individual droplets, which we see as clouds. Similarly, when the conditions are right, energy waves become individual particles that we can see and feel. But what causes them to become particles is being observed. Here’s a quote from a physics professor, Amit Goswami:
“Before observation, the electron does spread all over space, but only as a wave of possibility. Observation brings about the collapse of the possibility wave into an actual event.”[4]
To it put another way, consciousness brings about reality. The physicists say that sub-atomic particles are observed into material existence. In order for an energy wave to collapse and become a particle, it has to be observed. This discovery is what has brought about a turn-around in some scientific thought, although it has taken about 80 years to percolate down from academia. Basically, this quantum insight says that if there is no consciousness in the beginning, then particles would never have come into existence and the material world that we live in and are part of would not exist.
So, in the new understanding, it’s consciousness that is the starting point. Consciousness is prime, it is Mind before Matter. Put simply, the universe does not seem to exist without a perceiver of that universe. So, in this view, consciousness is the underlying matrix in which everything is held. This is revolutionary stuff, and with any new thought, there is considerable resistance to it. Many scientists, stuck in the rational materialist paradigm, call it ‘woo-woo science’, but that is simply a way of dismissing it so that they don’t have to consider what is a perfectly respectable theory and deserves proper attention.
In 1944 Max Planck said as much:
“As a man who has devoted his whole life to the most clear-headed science, to the study of matter, I can tell you, as the result of my research about atoms, this much: “There is no matter as such!” All matter originates and exists only by virtue of a force which brings the particles of an atom to vibration and holds the most minute solar system of the atom together… We must assume behind this force the existence of a conscious and intelligent mind. This mind is the matrix of all matter”[5]
The secret of good science is to have an open mind! So, consciousness is no longer seen as a phenomenon popping out of the brain, but as the ground of being, in which all material possibilities, including the brain, are held in potential. The ‘Ground of Being’ is a term that has been used in Christianity for many years as a description of the divine. It is also in Hinduism, Taoism, and in many other religious traditions. Basically it is the idea of a divine presence from whom this reality emanates and in whom it is sustained... It has taken 100 years for science to catch up with the idea that this divine matrix could be a reality. But scientists have got nowhere in finding out what consciousness is. It lies outside the realm of material reality, it does not fit with current scientific paradigms.
Another point is that it would seem that there are no individual consciousnesses; there is only one consciousness, of which we are all a part. There is only one vast field of consciousness in which the universe exists, which holds it, and us, in being. Our consciousness is all one. Physics Professor Amit Goswami again:
“You and I have individual thoughts, feelings, dreams, etc., but we don’t have consciousness, let alone separate ones; we are consciousness. And it is the same consciousness for all of us… Consciousness is the ground of being; we cannot turn it off.”[6]
Another analogy may help here – a glass of water is but a part of the water present on the planet. It has been part of the oceans, it has been vapor in the air, clouds in the sky, rainfall to the ground, water in the streams and rivers. It is part of the water of the earth. Yet it is only a glass of water, contained, still, but of the same essence as all the water of the planet. Released from the glass, it will again become part of the ocean or the air, or the clouds. It is all one water, there is no such thing as a water. So it is with consciousness – there is only one.
So from physics we learn that there is a universal field of consciousness that acts on the energetic information fields to bring matter into being as the reality that we know – and that includes our physical beings as part of that reality. This consciousness is what holds everything in being, sustains the whole thing. The entire universe is a projection of consciousness. Thus everything in this reality has a form of consciousness, in order that it can exist. From atom to planet, it is all part of the One consciousness. Each individual atom, person or planet will have its own measure, its own type of consciousness, from a rudimentary atom’s right to exist, to a massive planetary awareness.
The further spiritual insight is that this One consciousness is aware, it is active, it has further levels of being at higher vibrations than this reality, and that its nature is love. Science can’t measure love or consciousness. But we know that it is love that is the way to growth and higher ways of being. This is not human sentimental love, this is the divine power that creates. The spiritual philosopher, Ken Wilber, puts forward the idea, and I think this fits well with where we are today, that love is the driving evolutionary force behind this reality. It is a force that brings things into further and deeper relationship. Electrons and protons were brought into relationship to form atoms, which then related to each other to form molecules, and so on. Eventually, this driving evolutionary force formed organic compounds into living beings, with sexual relationships, and love has driven forward this ever deeper, more complex relationship structure. Love is an evolutionary force. And we are part of it - we co-create via our own thoughts and emotions. We contribute our part to the whole. Even gravity, as a force of attraction, comes under the rule of Love.
As Anglican priest, all this reflects my understanding of the God to whom I relate. Tieing it in with quantum theory, I understand God as the compassionate consciousness from which everything emanates and which holds everything in being. We exist within that compassionate consciousness and have the potential to awaken into our true nature. When we awaken into an awareness of this divine compassionate consciousness of which we are a part, we begin to realise that we are one with all that is. This is termed as attaining the state of unitive consciousness, non-dual consciousness, or, in Christian terms, Christ consciousness. This is the sort of thing that I go deeper into in my book, Blue Sky God: The Evolution of Science and Christianity. This, I believe, is also the aim of the Christian journey, to awaken to Oneness with the divine.
Before I retired, I was a vicar in charge of five churches out in the wild West of Wales. How did I go about conveying any of this to the congregations? I have to relate my new way of seeing to the old terminology of Christianity, because I believe that the path that Jesus was really teaching was a path of transformative love and surrender, by becoming aware of the One Life, the compassionate consciousness of God, in which he existed and was part of.
Kingdom of God
The thing that Jesus talked about more than anything was the kingdom of God - something that was both nearby and within us. A new way of being in relationship with God. This is the state of unitive or non-dual consciousness, or Christ consciousness. It is an opening of the heart-mind, expressed in the Bible as moving from flesh to spirit, putting on the mind of Christ, being made in the image of Christ, or being transformed by the renewing of our minds.
More recently, the global shift has been expressed as humanity going through its first initiation, or awakening the heart centre, the Christ within. This is what Jesus called the kingdom of God: a higher vibrational level of consciousness, a different lens through which to view reality, a new way of being for the whole of humanity. It is seeing from oneness, viewing from a position of knowing that we are all in this together, we are all interconnected and therefore must act with good will towards each other if we want to survive on this planet. The current Covid-19 pandemic has brought this awareness very much alive, encouraging individual responsibility and compassion towards others, a move from being self-centred towards selflessness.
I do believe that Jesus was the first wisdom teacher of the path of transformative love in the west. He reached the place where he saw reality from a state of oneness, from divine interconnectedness. He was saying these things 2000 years ago at the beginning of the Piscean age - love your neighbour and even love your enemy - but it has taken until now for the potential to begin to come about. We are now, at the beginning of what is called the Aquarian age, in the midst of a global shift of consciousness, an evolution to a new way of being together, to seeing from oneness.
So, for me, the idea of God as compassionate consciousness seems to be able to bridge the gap between science and spirituality, and gives a huge big tick to the Christian meditative and contemplative practices as a way to transcend the ego and become awakened to the presence of the One in whom we live and move and have our being. But before this can become an accepted view, there’s a whole ingrained traditional view that has to move aside in Christianity - the same as there is in all the traditional religions - so that we can see a path to follow that is at the heart of all true faiths, the path of transformation of the heart. Because that is what I believe Jesus truly taught. In recent years, much work has been done to rediscover the importance of meditation, stillness, letting go, centering and becoming aware of the compassionate consciousness of God in whom we exist. That is what Christianity is about – human transformation of the heart and mind.
The Revd Don MacGregor is a retired Anglican priest living in St David’s, Wales. He was a science teacher for 13 years before ordination, and his Christian journey has moved from evangelical and charismatic to mystical and esoteric with aspects of contemporary holistic spirituality, and an emphasis on meditation and contemplative prayer. His passion is to find a new way forward for Christianity which incorporates twenty-first century science and worldviews. He is also an active member of the World Community for Christian Meditation, CANA (Christians Awakening to New Awareness) and PCN (Progressive Christian Network).
[1] Lazslo, Erwin, & Dennis, Kingsley (Eds.), 2012. The New Science and Spirituality Reader. Rochester VT: Inner Traditions, p.53
[2] Edgar Witten, professor of mathematical physics at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey
[3] Schroedinger, Erwin. 1984. “General Scientific and Popular Papers,” in Collected Papers, Vol. 4. Vienna: Austrian Academy of Sciences. Friedr. Vieweg & Sohn, Braunschweig/Wiesbaden. p. 334.
[4] Goswami, A., 2001. Physics of the Soul. Charlottesville (VA): Hampton Roads Publishing Co. p.21.
[5] Braden, G., 2000. The Isaiah Effect: Decoding the Lost Science of Prayer and Prophecy. London: Hay House UK Ltd. p.110
[6] Goswami, A., 2001. Physics of the Soul. Charlottesville (VA): Hampton Roads Publishing Co. p.30.