On science and spiritual awakening for skeptics
Science is only one way to know things, and it’s been very good to us as a species. Spirituality is another way to know things, and they do best when they are integrated.
I started this website because I was a scientist, a skeptic, and an agnostic when I had a spiritual awakening. I didn’t understand what was happening to me for several years. I hope I can alleviate this experience for other people.
Photo by David Clode on Unsplash
"One has been endowed with just enough intelligence to be able to see clearly how utterly inadequate that intelligence is when confronted with what exists. If such humility could be conveyed to everybody, the world of human activities would be more appealing."
Albert Einstein, 1932 letter to Queen Elizabeth of Belgium
Scientists have spiritual awakenings too. In fact, one of my favorite kundalini experts Gopi Krishna, and one of my favorite scientists Christopher Langan have both been quite adamant that spirituality and advanced intellectual endeavor are inextricably linked.
This article is for psychics training in scientific disciplines, scientists undergoing spiritual awakenings, scientists researching spiritual awakenings, or anyone who wants to use the scientific tools of logic and skepticism to enhance their spiritual progression.
Science and skeptics
We live in a society which aspires to scientific ideals and methods but rarely applies them correctly. I want to be very clear here: there is no conflict between an active engagement with direct spiritual experience and the ideals of science, and skepticism.
Let me join a chorus of the world’s leading scientists and skeptics in saying that cognitive exploration sometimes takes one further than expected.
Christopher Langan: the man with the highest measured IQ has been overt about his experience of samadhi and clearly speaks about spiritual concepts and his awareness of the metaphysical structure of reality.
Einstein: was not religious, but frequently expressed his awe of the supra-individual order he comprehended in the cosmos, he did not believe it could be understood.
Newton: is a paragon of the scientific method, one really can’t argue with his results, yet he had active investigations into alchemy and religion which were largely private during his lifetime.
Mark Twain: experienced and investigated precognitive dreams and synchronicity while remaining skeptical of religion and other forms of organized thought. (He’s still one of my favorite skeptics.)
In short, no apologies. One can be a scientist and a skeptic and open-minded about spirituality. In fact, open-mindedness is a hallmark of the tribe. I have absolutely no patience for anyone who claims to be a scientist and cannot allow for the possibility of the unknown.
Science and spiritual awakening
In the Western world, the widespread dissemination of yoga, recreational drugs, and meditation techniques have catalyzed spiritual evolution in under-prepared and under-supported individuals.
It is naive in the extreme to believe that there is not an order or a pattern to spiritual awakening. We believe in fractals, chaos theory, and the intricate complexities of DNA. Do we really think that consciousness has less intelligence?
But it’s not only spiritual techniques that catalyze awakening. The higher cognitive processes of advanced science are highly conducive to spiritual awakening when applied and apprehended. In fact the discipline of rigorous scientific skepticism bears very little difference from the discipline of zen. Both decry belief, espouse personal experience, and respect others experience and beliefs without ascribing to them.
When a spiritual awakening is catalyzed in a scientist, the person undergoing the awakening can be very distressed. The apparent schism between the ideals of science and the direct experience of spirituality can be heartbreaking. The divide between the divine and the anomie of the Western world can be unnecessarily destructive on the psyche when it is finally appreciated. More damaging, is the cognitive dissonance in returning to everyday life and career in an unsupportive and frankly inquisition-like atmosphere.
I think it is absolutely critical for all human beings to develop a clear rational sense for what can be measured, what can be shared experience, and what is the common subjective landscape of a spiritual awakening and consciousness shifts.
Our subjective experience does not have to agree, but that doesn’t mean we can’t talk about it more rationally, holistically, and with greater humility.
Science and spiritual awakening for skeptics conclusion
I make no apologies for my work in integrating science and spiritual awakening. This work is sorely needed. Science and skepticism was never meant to be close-minded, only rational. Spiritual awakening is a common result of high-end scientific thought. We must be able to bridge these two nomenclatures and experiences in order to progress. Furthermore, our science must become more conscious if we are to survive as a species.
