Your Inner World

“There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come.” -- Victor Hugo

The quest for a single equation that could encapsulate the behavior of all known forces in the universe has been the holy grail of science. Some scientists that draw on the advances in cosmology, quantum physics, biology, and consciousness studies believe that science is now in a position to produce the “theory of everything,” or the theory that astrophysicists Stephen Hawking believes will allow us to know the mind of God.
Let me share a brief progression of this thought. An aging astronomer by the name of Galileo Galilei was taken before the Roman Inquisition in 1633 and tried, convicted, and sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison for espousing the idea that the sun, not the earth, was the center of the solar system. Even though this idea was judged as radical, and diametrically opposed to the position of the church, it forged the way for others to use empirical evidence in the real world to validate ideas that come from our thoughts. However, the real question is where do our thoughts come from and what impact do they have on our real world?
Generations later, Sir Isaac Newton mapped the laws of physics that laid the foundation for modern science, but as scientists reached the limits of the Newtonian worldview; their explorations took them into the heart of the atom where the nature of reality becomes less empirical. Quantum physics, or the study of how the world works on the smallest scale, was used to understand why the world does not behave the way Newton said it would.
Albert Einstein discovered the relationship between physical mass and nonphysical energy and further opened our view of how the world works. Einstein showed us how the two are not only related, but that mass and energy can be transformed into each other. He believed that everything is energy because everything is made of molecules, which are made of atoms, which are made of protons, electrons and neutrons, which are made of nothing but vibrating packets of energy. As scientists continued pursuing their explorations on staggeringly small subatomic scales, they were confounded by some sort of force that appeared to be present even at temperatures of absolute zero, when all know forms of energy are reduced to its lowest level. The quantum mechanical system that encompasses this energy is the zero-point field or the quantum vacuum, a concept first proposed by Einstein and Otto Stern in 1913. According to quantum mechanics, the quantum vacuum is not empty but instead contains fleeting electromagnetic waves and particles that pop into and out of existence.
Danish physicists Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg discovered that the heart of each subatomic particle is not like the organized billiards of the solar system, but were more like packets of possibilities, and their work suggests that reality is made not of solid substance but of fields of potentiality. Strangely, a particle would take on the specific characteristic of a material thing only when it was observed or measured, and that the act of observation influences a particle’s behavior. Every time a scientist looked for an electron, an electron would appear, right where they expected it. Even more bizarre, it was discovered that just the mere intention of measuring particles would still affect the particles.
In physicist Ervin Laszlo’s book, Science and the Akashic Field (akasha is the Sanskrit term for “space”), he proposed that the quantum vacuum is the fundamental energy and information-carrying field found throughout the universe. Laszlo shares a series of experiments conducted by lie detector expert Cleve Backster where white blood cells were taken from the mouths of subjects and cultured in test tubes. In one of the tests, the subject was shown a TV program depicting the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The subject was a former Navy gunner who had been present at Pearl Harbor during the attack and when the face of a Navy gunner was shown on the screen, the man’s face showed an emotional reaction, and at that precise moment, the lie detector needle attached to his culture of white blood cells jumped, even though it was over seven miles away.
These results were duplicated in subsequent experiments, even though the distances were sometimes hundreds of miles away. The explanation is that the particles of the subject’s body were still connected with one another. Scientists labeled this capacity for instantaneous interconnection as “nonlocality.” Einstein used the less non-technical term of “spooky action at a distance.”
Laszlo posits that the Akashic Field consists of a subtle sea of fluctuating energies from which all things arise: from atoms to galaxies, stars, planets, living beings, and even conscious thought itself. This Field essentially helps a universe know how to become a universe, how an acorn becomes an oak, and for you to develop and achieve your potential. It is believed that the Akashic Field literally conveys all the information of life itself and has been referred to as the “Book of Life.” In other words, the laws that govern subatomic particles and solar systems also govern our thoughts and ultimately the results we achieve.
If the recent scientific theory of the Akashic Field is true, then this universal energy field is written with our thoughts and actions, and if it can be accessed consciously, then much of the past and traumatic events we hold in our inner world could be liberated and thus increase the energy for positive potentials realized in our outer world.
So what is the point of all of this? It’s that everything that exists first comes from an idea or thought. Putting it down on paper in the form of goals or verbally stating it through affirmations helps to keep our thoughts centered on an outcome. Our ability to think, be self-aware, and communicate our thoughts and knowledge to others to change our environment is what separates us from other life forms. French philosopher Rene Descartes, and a contemporary of Galileo, declared: “I think, therefore I am.” Our thoughts not only matter, but it is our thoughts that create matter because it focuses the force of energy that has the capacity to manifest reality. This can all be summarized in the statement: “You are what you think about most of the time,” or “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.”
Everything starts with an idea, and your thoughts have the capacity to initiate and change the events and circumstances in your life. No matter the situation you currently find yourself, the secret to proactive change lies in controlling your thoughts. Focused thought is the most powerful force in the universe, and you can change from a debilitating direction by redirecting your thoughts in a more empowering manner. Great leaders have the ability to create resonant energy within their sphere of influence by directing other’s thoughts toward a vision of possibility. In fact, if you don’t think it and intensely believe it, it will never get done. Your outer world is truly a reflection of your inner world.