Virtually all human cultures believe living organisms are fundamentally different from inanimate objects. Living organisms have some kind of soul, spirit, qi, or energy not found among inanimate objects. By the 19th century, natural philosophers named this fundamental difference a “vital spark.” Their theory about life became known as “vitalism.”
But by the end of the 19th century, the reductionist paradigm took hold of biology and medicine. Scientists discovered that living organisms and inanimate objects share common elements. They also obey the same physical laws.
Scientists at this time concluded that life is simply a series of elegant and complex chemical reactions based on classic principles of chemistry and physics. And in one fell swoop, the theory of vitalism was discredited.
Life isn’t just one long, predictable storyline
Quantum physics hit the science world in the early 1900s with thinkers like Max Plank, Albert Einstein, Erwin Schrödinger, and Niels Bohr. This strange new field questioned all the established, classical rules of Newtonian science. And it has brought us back full circle to the idea that living organisms do possess some kind of unique, vital spark.
Quantum mechanics is essentially the study of very small particles and spaces. Scientists also use it to explain and predict cosmic events. Quantum science also describes how fundamental particles can be in a million places at the same time, pass through impenetrable barriers, or possess “impossible,” instantaneous, inter-connections that are maintained over vast times and distances. Perhaps the most startling discovery of quantum mechanics is that our consciousness influences what we can observe of these particles, and even their existence.
Most scientists in the early 1900s believed that quantum mechanics applied only to the sub-atomic fundamental particles that make up atoms and molecules. Then, in 1944, Erwin Schrödinger claimed quantum rules, not classical rules, govern at least some aspects of life itself.
Of course, biologists and medical scientists at the time steadfastly ignored Schrödinger’s claims about the quantum nature of life. In fact, throughout the 20th century, biomedicine continued to consider life as nothing more than the workings of a very complex machine.
But here in the 21st century, scientists are finally starting to study the physiology of ever-smaller biological systems. And they have begun to observe quantum effects in the workings of the human body. Or more specifically, in human enzymes.
Quantum science shows how little medicine really knows about health and healing
You see, enzymes jumpstart biochemical reactions and metabolic processes in the body. They also speed up chemical reactions in the body. And not by a small amount. Enzymes make chemical reactions in the body happen as much as one trillion times faster than predicted by classical chemistry and physics.
In fact, metabolic processes that would otherwise take thousands of years to complete, actually take place continually within milliseconds inside all living cells because of enzymes.
Just how they do it remained a huge mystery until recently.
New research shows several human enzymes work by quantum tunneling. In simpler terms, it means electrons and protons vanish from one position in a molecule and instantly reappear in another place — without ever having to travel through the molecular spaces in-between.
Think of Star Trek’s transporter device — but inside your body. Enzymes appear to use this quantum tunneling to keep cells and organisms alive.
It doesn’t surprise me to learn that enzymes possess these “supernatural powers.” They very literally make cells “go.” Indeed, they make life possible. And remember — all enzymes are made of proteins. So that’s one big reason why it’s so critical to get enough protein in your diet.
For me, these new observations about quantum tunneling in the body confirm that living organisms do have a vital spark. We are not just finite, complex machines.
Schrödinger actually argued that life navigates a narrow path between the classical and quantum worlds, called the “quantum edge.” It seems the old “vital spark” of life, discounted and disparaged for 150 years by modern biomedical scientists, is back on the “cutting edge.”
These recent observations also illustrate the point that energy actually does play a critical role in the biology of living systems. Therefore, they raise the serious possibility that health and healing in the future can bypass drugs, pills, potions, and physical manipulations to go straight to the source of life, in tune with the universe.
To learn more about how to tap into that energy of the universe for its health benefits, read my book about mindfulness meditation with Don McCown called New World Mindfulness.
Also, as always, I will continue to boldly go where no one has gone before, exploring strange, new worlds, bringing you news about the many new natural approaches to health and healing in my Daily Dispatch and Insiders’ Cures newsletter. Stay tuned.
Source:
McFadden, JJ, “It seems life really does have a vital spark: Quantum mechanics,” Q3 Symposium Probing the Implications of Quantum Innovations, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia, February 11, 2016.