Scientific Mysticism
‘Scientific Mysticism’ is a term coined past Michael Whiteman, a British-born South African mathematician and mystic. (This article may live read together alongside the article on Whiteman’second life together with thought.)
Introduction
The term ‘scientific mysticism’ appeared equally a championship inwards the trilogy, Old too New Evidence on the Meaning of Life,i 2 3 past Michael Whiteman. Volume One was entitled An Introduction to Scientific Mysticism.1 Whiteman aimed to convey mysticism into the field of science equally an entity that is ‘open-minded, rigorously tested, rationally coherent, as well as illuminating.’ane ‘Mysticism’ hither is defined equally:
the written report of everything non-physical, including the other worlds as well as their archetypal governance, besides every bit our spiritual bodies, the facts too their human relationship beingness known by the self-testify of straight observation as well as non past reasoning or speculation.iv
This indicates empirical scientific discipline, sharing territory with psychical enquiry. Yet Whiteman drew a distinction between ‘psychical’ as well as ‘mystical’ feel. The one-time includes the study of purportedly not-physical events, the latter extends to states that have a sense of higher significance as well as ultimates, openness to guidance, transformed existence, too orientation to the perceived beginning of the Right together with Good.
Whiteman was familiar alongside Vedic, Sanskrit, Pali, Greek together with Biblical Hebrew, too quoted extensively from ancient texts. He regarded nearly electric current translations every bit inadequate because the authors lacked psychical too mystical experience. His revolutionary commentary, also his translation of ‘The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali’five combined alongside canonical Buddhist texts, one 2 3 five present striking parallels with refinements of mod idea.
Whiteman’s line of work as a professor of applied mathematics provided a base of operations in physics for his scientific mysticism. Another base of operations was extensive personal experience in psychical in addition to mystical states. His methods rested on observation, conceptual analysis together with insight, inward tune alongside Edmund Husserl’sec phenomenology.6 This aims at gaining face up-to-face self-prove too detailed precision, shedding the common ‘cloak of ideas’. Science inward Whiteman’second utilisation is not an practise inwards theorizing.
Potentiality too Actualization
A key to Whiteman’s scientific mysticism is the thought of potentiality too actualization. This had been developed past the physicist Werner Heisenberg,vii who saw that a physical ‘happening’ comes about through an occasion of observation, as well as that this ‘happening’ is open to physical description. But what governs the happening is not open to physical observation; at best it can live given mathematical facial expression. So behind a physical consequence ane has to recognize what Heisenberg called ‘an objective tendency or possibility, a “potentia” in the sense of Aristotelian philosophy’. And the governing potentia, the ‘argue’ for something to hap, is abstract inwards a physical sense; y'all tin can’t lay it inwards a test metro.
Whiteman concurred that exclusively transcending logical substructures, potentialities, merit the term ‘reality’, as opposed to appearances. Appearances come up into existence exclusively on an occasion of observation, in addition to will live actualized differently for different people.
Whiteman wrote, ‘nothing specific tin be actualized without the integration of “subjective” too “objective” factors, not inward succession, simply on the second of actualization.’i An observer who is freed in or so style from the physical land will actualize for himself things that are beyond the accomplish of ordinary physical sensing. This is the starting time of psychical together with mystical perception.
Whiteman wrote, ‘The deviation betwixt i “Earth” too another so depends upon the country of life inward which the observer happens to be settled.’three An individual’sec perceiving results from integration of objective potentialities together alongside his ain subjective potentialities, including subconscious elements. Whiteman believed the potentiality-actualization principle operates in the mental sphere of every individual: idea together with images are actualizations in consciousness of an individual’second ‘thought-picture sphere’, equally he called it, which includes memory together with imagination.i
Actualization of Psi Phenomena
Whiteman saw telepathy resulting from the interaction or resonance between the thought-image spheres of individuals. The interaction is not actualized at the physical grade, as well as and so transfer of data occurs independently of physical infinite as well as fourth dimension. Clairvoyance is resonance between the potentiality-sphere of a physical object or issue in addition to the idea-picture sphere of an individual, resulting in the actualization of impressions in the individual’sec thought-ikon sphere. Once again, resonance or interaction happens independently of physical space in addition to time, non existence physically actualized. Psychokinesis may live regarded as a reverse clairvoyant interaction; potentialities unremarkably linked inwards just about way to an private outcome inward physical actualizations.
Potentiality-actualization relationships should non live seen as static; potentiality-fields continually alter or train, and take feedback loops, although not inward physical time. This will touch the effect of future physical events, which helps to explain how precognition happens. Whiteman saw precognition equally actualization inward an private’sec thought-picture sphere of developing potentiality-fields that may bear upon time to come physical events. The private may even intervene inward the physical actualization of these events by altering the potentiality-fields, and so allowing prevention of a precognized consequence from happening.one Even if potentiality-fields are time-ordered, resulting inwards a succession of events actualized inward the physical Earth, the ordering is not fixed inwards the fashion a road map is fixed. They are accessible inward states of physical detachment, too so let express change as well as the practice of costless will.
Out-of-torso Experience
Whiteman defined mysticism as ‘the study of everything non-physical, including the other worlds ...’ As simply discussed, potentiality-fields take the capacity to deliver different spaces or worlds of physical in addition to non-physical actuality, depending on the country of the observer. Without this agreement, mysticism cannot get to brand feel. Direct feel of ‘the other worlds’ occurs mainly inwards out-of-body feel, which Whiteman preferred to term ‘separative’ experience, since there is ordinarily awareness of a body of approximately form.
The commonest type he termed ‘chief separation’, inwards which at that place is no awareness in the physical torso, fifty-fifty though what appears to be the physical body can be viewed. In ‘secondary separation’ the physical torso is nether more or less level of conscious command, simply principal awareness lies inward some other organism seemingly non located inwards the infinite of the physical trunk, together with the 2 bodies are quite independent. In ‘third separation’ the physical torso is normally nether consummate control, just in that location is total awareness of beingness inward a different bodily class despite the locations of the ii bodies seeming to live the same. Difference between the two bodies may live radical, such every bit ane existence male too the other female. For Whiteman, the highest mystical experiences were more often than not of this type.
Whiteman noted that such not-physical feel, in terms of reality-impression together with intensity, may reach from appearing weak to seeming even more existent together with meaningful than in physical life. At its virtually powerful, termed by him mystical, ‘Everything in such states, spatial characteristics included, is known every bit if inward archetypal unchanging grade, as well as is thence startlingly more than existent (rationally-objective, ever-acquaint) than the derivative as well as shifting forms of the physical world.’1 He saw a demand ‘to distinguish betwixt what is deceptive or illusory together with what has the character of confront-to-confront objectivity too truth which we draw by saying that a matter is existent.’i This requires setting upwardly a numerical scale, which he called a General Index of Reality.
Index of Reality
This index covers a range from ordinary dreaming (aught rating) to what is experienced equally spiritually releasing amongst a high grade of reality, namely mystical experience (high rating). The Index properly relates to separative experience. Features scoring inward the Index include continuity of memory between physical together with not-physical experience, complimentary observation, power to compare accurately alongside physical too not-physical states, awareness of essence too tangibility, communication of idea with others, and a feeling of transcendence of physical life.
The General Index does non include reports of observing physical things during a separative feel. Regarded past nearly people as veridical (corresponding to reality), these observations could take been made by clairvoyance or remote viewing, in addition to make non necessarily mean that something somehow separated from the physical torso to brand the observation. As Whiteman stated, whatever claimed physical supporting evidence merely has ‘chiefly propaganda value for the uninformed or sceptical, who make not realize that separation is non established past them, just who may thereby be induced to have the “interior” testimony as having some bearing on “scientific fact”.’one
Whiteman’second Index mightiness look of limited value to touchstone parapsychology, where a useful scoring organization should place experiences that rate amend than dream, hallucination or just about grade of pathology. In Whiteman’sec Index the management of ranking is towards mystical feel, which is hardly looked for inward parapsychology, fifty-fifty shied away from. The society of ranking is: undeveloped, borderline, psychical, pre-mystical, mystical. Out of a possible 16 points, experiences reaching half dozen to viii points range as ‘psychical separations’, scoring on criteria listed two paragraphs to a higher place. Further requirements of ‘mystical’ place were noted inwards the Introduction, in addition to demarcate ‘mystical’ from ‘psychical’. Yet in the eyes of a physically-fixated investigator, the mystical requirements would indicate reduced reality rating, since ‘reality’ means ‘like physical feel’. For Whiteman this was a primal mistake; higher reality tin only hateful ‘different physical experience’.
Other Spaces
All separative feel, physical-similar or transformative, was considered past Whiteman to hap inwards spaces other than physical, although often and then like to what is presented physically every bit to live mistaken for it. He called it ‘duplicate physical’ infinite. He wrote:
If one is taken into a ‘psychic’ infinite when non familiar with such states, or amongst fixed ideas nearly them, as well as if the phenomena resemble physical ones closely... at that place may be a stiff persuasion to think that the objects are being observed physically; and this applies even to possible duplicate presentations of the observer’s physical body inwards its actual state of affairs.i
‘Fixed ideas’ assume at that place is alone one ‘real’ infinite that tin live manifested, namely the physical world. H5N1 fixed idea will contribute to the potentialities governing a separative feel, too lead to the actualization of a physical-like ‘duplicate’ scene. Yet as person free of the constraints of one-grade thinking, Whiteman wrote of an ‘inexhaustible variety’ of appearance inwards other spaces. Naturalistic conditioning may all the same event in ‘fantasy influences’ in undeveloped states, notwithstanding highest development leads to ‘perfectly acceptable forms of transcendent unified beauty’, where ‘the environment, correspondingly, are distinguished by the character of the light, and reach inwards intelligible grapheme, perfection of beauty, depth of glowing heart lineament, unitive freedom and sense of blending amongst other minds, as the highest condition, which is that of Mystical Form Liberation, is approached.’ In these descriptions, Whiteman states,
‘I’ and ‘me’ make non correspond the familiar consciousness of self inward the physical personality, or, inward fact, for anything that tin can be known inwards an ordinary physical state of listen. To sympathize what is meant, the characteristics of the merged ordinary self must be ruled out.4
One power enquiry how ‘other spaces’ are related to the physical in addition to, if at all, to each other. In states classified by Whiteman as third separation, the non-physical body holds much of the focus of attention but does non appear to live spatially apart from the physical torso; ‘the locations of the 2 bodies look the same, inward spite of differences in their course as well as/or size in addition to peradventure too in their environs.’one This seems to check amongst a view widespread inward spiritist circles that unlike ‘levels’ of feel in addition to being all coincide spatially but have dissimilar ‘vibration frequencies’, so in that location is no contact or communication between the various states except through exceptional mediating weather. Whiteman did include ‘interpenetrating spaces’ in a detail prepare of ‘facts of experience’,1 only he did not acquaint the thought of interpenetrating spaces equally roughly variety of cosmological system; he was disposed to go on to systems of facts, not constructs of theory.
Skills, Cycles
Whiteman was confident virtually discovering the underlying logic inwards phenomena, beingness convinced that behind any detail observation at that place is an intelligible construction ‘operative inwards and analysable out of the total feel’.viii He did non take Kant’second idea of the unknowability of things-inward-themselves.eight Instead, in that location is ‘intellectual or perceptual cognition which transcends inward a certain clear as well as unmistakable manner the onward urge of time, the rigid apartness of spatial objects, too the apparent isolation of the private heed inward its country of fixation on bodily impressions. It is a country of release. Fixation existence overcome, the mind opens out into universality’.8 We cannot reach this country, he believed ‘without psychological as well as spiritual faculties of attending, sentence, purposiveness together with self-discipline’, based on 3 ‘foundational skills’ named Active Recollection, Continuous Recollection, and Faith + Obedience.one (The rootage of these skills inwards his ain life is reported inward Michael Whiteman.)
Active Recollection aims to recollect or recover the meat in what is perceived, ‘and thence the attainment of objective insight together with free’.i Husserl termed it the phenomenological epoché or stoppage, ‘the necessary performance which renders pure consciousness accessible to us’.ane It is termed samādhi or sati inwards Indian literature.five Continuous Recollection is ‘the freely stabilized earth of liberate at which Active Recollection has been aiming.’1 Obedience is not a country of subservience only orientation to ‘the transcendent Source of Right too Good.’i It operates inward conjunction amongst Faith inward this transcendence.
The iii foundational skills were structured into a iv-function arrangement known since ancient times too appearing inward modern contexts inwards learning theory, Freud together with Jung. Described every bit the 4 creative functions, these are ‘purposive effort, deciding on agency, putting into practice, as well as a nearly undercover maturing of 1’second skills inwards outcome’.3 In ancient texts they are represented as 4 stages inward the passage of the Sun, ascension inward the east, zenith inwards the S, down to earth inward the west, as well as hole-and-corner inwards the north.xiii This corresponds alongside aspiration (due east), assessment (southward), action or manifestation (W), fulfilment or not-attachment (N); it besides corresponds respectively with Faith, Obedience, Active Recollection, Continuous Recollection.one
Whiteman placed bang-up importance on this bicycle having its opposites or ‘counterfeits’ of self-will, self-satisfaction, automaticity, complacency, which may atomic number 82 to a corresponding wheel of ‘stresses’ of decease-feeling, shame, pain, fright. This in turn may lead to ‘inner contests’,ane 2 three which hopefully overcome these spiritual deficiencies.
Physics and Psychology
In his search for underlying logic, in addition to for universality, Whiteman converted his ‘psychological’ wheel into a xvi-bend issue arrangement, alongside the aim of integrating it alongside a ‘physical’ 16-flexure issue organisation derived from three infinite in addition to three time dimensions. He noted that iii of the creative functions – effort, agency, together with maturing – are composite, containing 2 ‘get-go principles’ of core together with being, equivalent to potentiality in addition to actualization. In plough, centre in addition to being each accept 3 constituents, termed by him ‘hypostases’, pregnant underlying, irreducible causes. The 3 hypostases of nitty-gritty were seen equally use, means, cease. The hypostases of existence were actuation, becoming, manifestation, the three-phase construction of creation called inward Upanishadic philosophy the Great Stride of Vishnu.ane So, for example, ‘deciding on way’ combines ‘way’ (gist) first off amongst ‘actuation’ (existence), so with ‘becoming’ (being), together with last with manifestation (beingness). The tertiary quarter, West, brings prior causes into manifestation purely every bit ‘existence’ as well as then lacks an ‘core’ hypostasis.
This analysis allows the development of a issue system in psychology, in addition to and then the prospect of comparing amongst a number organization in physics.i ii three From these number systems Whiteman intended to render ‘a clear-cutting explanatory arrangement... equally, for instance, the basic laws of mechanics are exhibited before whatsoever problems are tackled’.2 The hypostases of gist were numbered 1 = function, ii = agency, iii = end. The hypostases of being were numbered six = actuation, 5 = becoming, iv = manifestation/grounding. So, for instance ‘East’ tin live expressed as the combination xvi (enthusiasm), fifteen (inspiration), 14 (intention). Combining the numbers one to vi results inwards sixteen subfunctions, in agreement with ‘fifteen + one kalās, stages inwards whatsoever creative act, as recognized inwards the Upanishads’.3
The physical number organization was derived from the iii space too 3 time dimensions. One time dimension lies in potentiality-fields alongside a fourth dimension-ordered, space-similar face noted to a higher place inward connection alongside precognition. Another fourth dimension dimension or part involves the processes leading to physical actualization from fourth dimension-structured potentiality. Finally in that location is physical clock-fourth dimension; it is the exclusively time-dimension that is measurable. Combining the 6 dimensions yields a 16-crimp number organization like the psychological subfunctions, ‘inward such close correspondence alongside the formulations of quantum theory that at that place is an obvious invitation to exhibit the ii as aspects of an integrated agreement of the Earth’.9
Space does non allow a tabulation of the physics/psychology correspondences, or how they were derived. The correspondences, nevertheless, satisfied Whiteman’s sentiment that to explain what nosotros feel is to
admit a subjective wheel, such every bit mystics, many theologians, in addition to roughly psychologists take admitted. This bicycle, in its nigh consummate grade is sixteenfold, and parallels just what may be called the ‘world cycle’ (equally it appears inward Quantum Field Theory) inwards every mode, piece manifesting itself in every form of homo experience. This is a class of potentiality which is discernible, in addition to indeed can be lived by the individual in an enormous diverseness of ‘altered states of consciousness’...three
Whiteman’second Scientific Mysticism was a revolutionary try to discern and characterize this potentiality.
John Poynton
Literature
i. Whiteman, J.H.G. (1986). Old together with New Evidence on the Meaning of Life: the mystical earth-sentiment too inner competition. Volume 1, An Introduction to Scientific Mysticism. Gerrards Cross: Colin Smythe.
ii. Whiteman, J.H.chiliad. (2000). Old together with New Evidence on the Meaning of Life: the mystical globe-opinion together with inner competition. Volume ii, Dynamics of Spiritual Development. Gerrards Cross: Colin Smythe.
iii. Whiteman, J.H.thousand. (2006). Old as well as New Evidence on the Meaning of Life: the mystical globe-view in addition to inner contest. Volume iii, Universal Theology too Life in other Worlds. Gerrards Cross: Colin Smythe.
4. Whiteman, J.H.M. (1961). The Mystical Life. London: Faber together with Faber.
v. Whiteman, J.H.G. (1993). Aphorisms on Spiritual Method: the ‘Yoga Sutras of Patanjali’ inward the low-cal of mystical experience. Gerrards Cross: Colin Smythe.
half dozen. Husserl, east. (1931). Ideas: General Introduction to Pure Phenomenology (trans. westward.R. Boyce Gibson). London: Allen & Unwin.
vii. Heisenberg, west. (1959). Physics as well as Philosophy: the revolution inward modernistic scientific discipline. London: Allen together with Unwin.
viii. Whiteman, J.H.M. (1967). Philosophy of Space too Time together with the Inner Constitution of Nature: a phenomenological written report. London: Allen as well as Unwin.
9. Whiteman, J.H.1000. (1977). Parapsychology too physics. In Wolman, B.B. (ed.) Handbook of Parapsychology. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.
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