There is every reason to expect that the same methods that gave us a better understanding of galaxies and genes will also shed light on experiences described by mystics throughout history.
Laws change, habits dissolve, new forms and functions emerge whenever an individual or a society learns a new behavior. This is because we are all connected through what Sheldrake calls “morphogenetic fields” — organizing templates that weave through time and space and hold the patterns for all structures, but which can be altered according to our changing thoughts and actions.
The laws of nature are not absolutes; rather, they are accumulations of habits. The law of gravity, for example, is a pretty well-fixed habit, probably owing to the trillions of beings throughout the universe who give it general assent. Yet yogis, swamis, and more than a few Catholic saints report that, in deep meditation or spiritual rapture, [continue reading...]
