Science and Consciousness
Quantum Science gives us a more integrated basis for understanding the energies at work in and around the visible physical world
In the last 500 years, science has grown from being the bastard stepchild to the reigning king of socially accepted knowledge. This transformation was built upon its unprecedented success in observing phenomena, formulating laws and harnessing energies in the physical world. In the last century, science has ventured into territories that have stretched our conceptions of what is physical both on the micro and macro level. In addition to creating of some decidedly mystical concepts in quantum and astro physics, scientists have become emboldened to try to answer questions previously reserved for religion and metaphysics. As individuals, we can benefit from the new hybrid of science and spirit if we keep it in perspective from both sides. In order to be true to its own premises, science must stick to its basis in observation and proof or it becomes another form of religious belief. In order to be true to theirs, spiritual seekers have to resist the temptation to 'prove' the existence of Spiritual phenomena by reducing them to tiny particles or parts of the human body.
Spiritual Science is a term that refers to the activity of applying the scientific method of observation, formulation and testing to the personal experience of consciousness/soul/spirit. Because you as an individual, your own intuitions and feelings are both the subject matter and the proof of these experiments, it requires diligence and honesty to be successful. Part of this exploration is finding mental, emotional and spiritual tools that can help you to navigate your inner world and to design experiments with a likelihood of success. As explorers of consciousness we can benefit from the success of the scientific method as a means of discovering truth and inventing ways of applying and testing these discoveries in everyday life.
Science can also impact our inner world by changing our conceptions of what is real. Physical matter used to be conceived as something solid like a rock - now science describes matter more as coherent energy patterns, vibrations and frequencies. Because the physical world is a reflection of consciousness and affects how we view ourselves, these revelations can have a powerful effect on our consciousness. That being said, the word 'individual' expresses an important truth - 'not divideable', the essential unit of consciousness. Each of us has free will so we can choose on a moment to moment basis where to invest our attention and how to act towards each other. All knowledge should be measured by whether it awakens kindness, tolerance and patience or whether it sends us off on a further crusade for physical and mental control and dominance. These new conceptions of science should be kept in perspective as metaphors, ways of describing the symptoms of consciousness, not explanations of it. Each of us is an agent of the Universal - we choose what to believe, how to apply it in our lives and then rinse and repeat.
The basis of the Scientific Revolution of the last 500 years has been the courageous exploration of the physical world based on the rigorous and honest application of fundamental principles. This must be distinguished from Scientific Materialism, an outdated subset of Science from the 18th and 19th centuries that reduces human beings to a set of biological chemistry and neurological reactions and represents the world as a machine running on gears and pendulums. And compounding the error of this atavistic world view is the idea that the success of the Scientific method in solving physical problems can somehow be automatically applied to ultimate questions of the meaning and purpose of life. The idea that Science has the answer to all problems has been called Scientism (though those who practice it are often not familiar with this word). This is not to bring undue attention to a small group of self-contradictory fundamentalists, but to remind ourselves to be aware of the scope of authority that Science should have. Theories such as the big bang or the evolution of species are valid hypothesis, but have not been proven the way that the laws of chemistry or physics have been proven by observation, experimentation and correlation. Reserving judgement and keeping an open mind are just as much a part of applying the Scientific Method as they are part of being a sincere spiritual seeker.
Astrology represents an area of potential convergence between Science and Spirit. To be clear, the primary science behind Astrology is the application of the Scientific Method through observation and experimentation regarding the hypothesis that there is a meaningful correlation between the cycles and qualities of the planets in our Solar System and the events and qualities of human life on planet Earth. Each individual who sincerely wants to test this hypothesis should take the time to design experiments which, if successful, would satisfy their own standard of personal relevance and meaning. There are also areas of significant promise for the application of Astrological cycles to collective events through History, Social Sciences and Public Health.
The other aspect of Astrology that is related to Science is the relatively simple information regarding the cycles of the planets in our Solar System that forms the physical and mathematical basis for the practice of Astrology. Getting to know these Astronomical facts is an added bonus, but is not what proves the essential principles of Astrology. The more essential math behind Astrology (the word 'math' is from the same etymological root as 'mother' and 'matter') is that the person using it has to care enough about understanding the meaning and purpose of their own life and the lives of those they care about that the insight they can get from applying these archetypes will 'matter' enough to them to make it worth learning and proving their value.
More about Living Astrology
The articles below describe individuals who have impacted my own evolution of consciousness by using science to expand our conceptions of the physcial Universe and how it works.
Science Pathfinders