Reclaiming the Science of Our Ancestors
Bridging the Gap Between Science and Spirituality
Part of my mission with the (Soul)iloquies is to bridge the gap between science and spirituality.
Usually, the field of science believes that all spirituality is quackery, and the spiritual community views science as limitation or illusion. I’ve devoted the last ten years of my life to bridging the chasm separating the two, and I’ve found there are many more similarities than there are differences. I’ve also discovered that science has strayed from it’s original intention- and today’s (Soul)iloquy will help us to reclaim it.
Where Does Science Come From?
Science as we know it dates back to the time of the great philosophers- Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle. In order to understand the original intentions of scientific discovery, we have to understand the mindset of the time.
In Aristotle’s time, the secrets of the Universe were viewed as mysteries to be uncovered and puzzles to be solved. There was a general awareness and agreement that the Universe was mystical, something far beyond our complete comprehension.
After attempting to create a cohesive understanding of the Universe and all its workings through philosophy, the greats hit a block. They discovered that philosophy, or trying to understand what they don’t know by discussing what they do, was not yielding the answers they desired.
Simply pondering the nature of the Universe, in all its wonder, no longer satisfied the ultimate question: Why?
In order to answer this question once and for all, Aristotle, and many of the other great thinkers of his time, did something revolutionary.
They refined the scientific process.
Aristotle and his peers effectively said, ‘We need one man to study the rocks, another to study the stars, another to analyze the weather, one to decipher the ways of the animals, and so on and so forth.’
The premise seems logical: The essence of the Universe must be the sum of all its parts. The scientific process was born from this premise.
From this revolutionary idea, psychology, astrology, physics, biology, geology, meteorology, etc. all took form. In fact, they became the basis of what we now know as the ‘modern sciences’, the studies that seemingly form the foundation for our existence.
Over time, each area of the Universe to be studied became so complex that it needed to be further divided into subspecialties. On and on the divisions of science grew as we tried to study our way to the answers of the Universe.
That was several thousand years ago.
Since then, science has shifted from a way to understand the mysteries of the Universe to a way to define the Universe itself.
What originally began as a way for our human minds to make sense of a seemingly incomprehensible Universe has now shifted to believing that its findings are the Universe.
We now believe in the validity of a premise, or the reality of a phenomenon, based on the scientific evidence we currently have.
We used to say, ‘What an incredible phenomenon or experience. I wonder how that works- let’s see if we can find a way to understand this.’
Now we say, ‘Here is what the science says- let’s use it to determine whether or not this phenomenon is actually happening.’
We have stopped using science as a way to comprehend what we couldn’t previously understand, and we now use it as a way to ignore everything we don’t understand.
Now, I’m not saying science is ‘bad’.
This entire blog, and in fact science itself, was born from an innate desire to understand the workings of the Universe. In that way, spirituality and science have much in common. However, science is no longer used the way it was intended. Instead of serving the Universe, it now strives to dominate the Universe.
For example, look at Reiki.
Look at energy work in general.
There are thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of energy workers in the world. Each practitioner, each Reiki master, could share with you amazing stories of the healings they have experienced, and the phenomena they have witnessed.
And yet, science does not widely recognize energy work as a reality.
We do not currently have instruments, or widely accepted methods, to measure the actual flow of Reiki energy. We have no way to ‘prove’ its existence, and so because of this we say it cannot possibly be. (There are now exciting studies supporting the effects of Reiki healing, but members of the scientific community are quick to attribute these effects to the placebo effect).
Because the process of channeling energy from one person to another does not make sense to the logical human mind, we are quick to dismiss believers as insane.
When Benjamin Franklin, now considered one of the world’s most brilliant scientists, first ‘discovered’ electricity, he was thought to be insane. We now know he wasn’t insane- he had just tapped into a form of energy that no one was aware of.
Electricity was always there, we just weren’t aware of it and did not have the ability to tap into it.
Now, the whole world runs on electricity. We are powered by an energy that was once thought to be untouchable, incomprehensible, and unrealistic. Many people even believed electricity was evil when it first entered their homes.
So what’s my point?
My point is that science does not know everything. How can it, when the field itself was created by beings who themselves had to first be created?
What started as a way to explore the Universe more clearly has now become the perceived creator of our reality.
If we cannot measure it, it does not exist. If we cannot feel it, it isn’t there, and if we cannot see it, it isn’t real.
To me, that feels arrogant. Who are we to assume that this world in which we find ourselves, that this entire Universe in which we live, can be defined and explained by our limited minds and experiments?
Science began as a way to answer the question, ‘Why?’ When we discovered that that question was unanswerable, and to this day remains unanswerable, we turned inside out.
We created a field that has turned into a dictatorship.
This science that once celebrated the wonders of the world now limits them, ignores them, and ridicules them.
Science has the ability to leave us in awe of this Universe. It has the opportunity to expand our consciousness, create a new awareness, and enhance our very basic understand even of the question, ‘Why?’
But instead of magnifying and clarifying the wonders of Creation, science now depletes the magic of the world. In casting aside phenomena that are not yet ‘proven,’ we strip the Universe of its very nature as an ever-expanding enigma.
Science, the way it is practiced now, quite simply strips life of its mystery, its wonder, and its magic.
When we try to take the essence of All That Is and bring it down to the level of the human mind, we lose the essence and are left with a mere thread. Science echoes the truth of the Universe; it explains the most basic and rudimentary principles of life. Science has done amazing things.
And yet it leaves behind the true essence of the very thing it strives to explore.
I am not advocating for science to be abolished. Far from it. What I hope this (Soul)iloquy makes clear is that science and spirituality are not separate entities or disjoint fields.
Each was created for the same reason as the other- to understand the Universe.
Can you imagine what would happen if we combined the intellectual power of every scientific discipline with the wisdom and mystery of all that spirituality encompasses?
Can you imagine a world in which the science and the spirit met as one?
I can.
I see a world in which the mystical experiences of the spiritual feed the playful exploration of a new scientific experiment. One in which the latest scientific findings fuel us with the desire to seek out the next wonder of the world.
I see a time when we both praise the Universe and study it, acknowledge its incomprehensibility and at once strive to comprehend it.
Can you feel the power behind those words? The implications of a world in which science and spirituality come together to create a whole new awareness?
A world in which two disciplines, each created to understand the mysteries of life, come together and accomplish their ultimate goal by supporting one another?
That is the world I have been called to create.
I want to create the world that is both spiritual and scientific. Realistic and wonderful. And if you are here, reading this post, I believe you do too.
So, as always, let’s walk this journey together. Because together, we can bridge the gap.
Xo, Isabel
Tell me in the comments: What is your favorite place where science and spirituality meet?