Arjun Walia – “Matter”: it’s what atoms and molecules are made up of. On the physical material level, it’s what all physical objects are made up of; it is everything that surrounds us and anything that has mass and volume. When scientists attempt to gain a better understanding of the nature of our reality, matter is what they look to. However, when scientists observe matter at the smallest possible level, they are left with more questions than answers. This is thanks to the fact that a tiny piece of matter, like a photon, or an electron, can exist in multiple possible states (as a “wave”) even though it is one single particle… which makes absolutely no sense.

“We choose to examine a phenomenon which is impossible, absolutely impossible, to explain in any classical way, and which has in it the heart of quantum mechanics. In reality, it contains the only mystery.” (1) Richard Feynman, a Nobel laureate of the twentieth century

It is important to consider the notion that our physical material world might be guided by non-physical properties, such as consciousness, and this idea is best illustrated by what is referred to as the double slit-experiment.

In this experiment, tiny bits of matter (photons, electrons, or any atomic-sized object) are shot towards a screen that has two slits in it. On the other side of the screen, a high tech video camera records where each photon lands. When scientists close one slit, the camera will show us an expected pattern, as seen in the video below. But when both slits are opened, an “interference pattern” emerges – they begin to act like waves. This doesn’t mean that atomic objects are observed as a wave, they just act that way. It means that each photon individually goes through both slits at the same time and interferes with itself, but it also goes through one slit, and it goes through the other. Furthermore, it goes through neither of them. The single piece of matter becomes a “wave” of potentials, expressing itself in the form of multiple possibilities, and this is why we get the interference pattern. Continue reading →