Christmas: What Are We Celebrating?

Christmas: What are we Celebrating?
12/14/2007

We say we are celebrating the birth of Christ. But that story is about something that happened more than 1000 years ago. So what? As a physicist, I wonder if these ideas of good, evil and redemption have any connection with our understanding of the universe we live in. I believe they do, and I will explain the basis for my belief here.
Let's start with the physics. By now physics accepts that the speed of light is the ultimate speed limit. Nothing goes faster than that. We on earth are essentially isolated from other stars and whatever planets they may have. Time is the barrier. Suppose the inhabitants of some planet on a distant star decide to send us a message. It will take so long for the signal to reach us from them that neither we nor they will still be alive when their signal arrives here, or our answer reaches them. There is simplicity and freedom in that. The universe is unbelievably complicated. Fortunately, the speed of light and the great distances between our planet and the rest of the universe provides an impenetrable wall. We don't have to care about all that complexity.
Or do we? There are always stories about miraculous healing, about people who seem to “know” things about people who are not present, about ideas which seem to come from nowhere at just the right time. By now studies in epigenetics have produced well-documented examples of these phenomena. For example, professional energy healers modified the brain waves of the people who received the healing without physically touching them. Does the speed of light have anything to do with such events? Are these events consistent with physics as we understand it? Physics is about understanding our universe. These events happen. In our private lives, we take all that for granted. Even physicists do. If physics wants to pretend such events do not exist, it is hiding from reality. If it is there, physics must make sense of it. Do these events violate the limitation of the speed of light?
Recent experiments within physics have raised this question. Physicists are experimenting with “entanglement.” As always, they find the simplest possible way to demonstrate the phenomenon. Suppose, during an experiment, a pair of particles, an electron and an anti-electron, are created. The two particles fly off. Perhaps the electron happily becomes part of some complicated molecule buried deep under a mountain while the anti-electron travels great distances in empty space for billions of years. Those two particles are very far apart. Now suppose the anti-electron comes in contact with an ordinary electron and, in a flash, it annihilates. According to the laws of the universe, both the electron and its partner live and die together. The laws do not allow only one of them to exist. The numbers do not add up. Therefore the electron, wherever it is, must disappear when its partner annihilated. How does the electron know? Is the information carried by light? Recent experiments have demonstrated that the partner electron does disappear, and that it disappears before light has time to reach it. We say the two particles are entangled.
In more theoretical areas, physicists ask questions about the most fundamental building blocks of the universe. These theories consistently find that there must be dimensions beyond the ones we see with our eyes. However there is disagreement about how many such dimensions there are or what they “are.” Does the limitation of the speed of light apply to these other dimensions?
I suggest that there is a direct connection between these ideas and Christmas. In other words, these theoretical ideas apply directly to humans. I propose that the concept of evil corresponds directly with the entanglement that the physicists have demonstrated. The Buddhist concept of karma fits entanglement very well, and virtually all alternative healing methods acknowledge the importance of eliminating memories of terror and trauma remaining from previous lives. The CDC has actually published the statement that disease is 80% due to remembered trauma.
We take for granted that, as people age, it is inevitable that they will gradually weaken and die. Virtually all religions that our immortal souls come to our lives with a task. They disagree about the tasks, however. Let us accept that we agreed to do a task. We also have loving memories of those who, having finished their tasks, quickly died. The beauty and purity of the young enchant all of us. We say they are youthful. Suppose quantum entanglement causes the weakening associated with age. Our universe understands we need a certain amount of time to mature and raise our children. It gives us this. The young are generally healthy. However, after this time has gone, we are all confronted with the entanglements, the memories, fears, and anger about the past. The website www.newmedicine.ca, provides a good example of a well-qualified physician who discovered that he could cure his own cancer and the cancers of others by eliminating the stress associated with past trauma. He found he could cure his own prostate cancer by letting go of his grief over the death of his 17-year old son. A professional oncologist, he used the same methods to heal his patients. The ancient concept of karma applies perfectly here. I propose that karma is just another word for quantum entanglement.
If we take this hint seriously, it suggests that living indefinitely requires that we become sensitive to these entanglements and we systematically eliminate them. The universe cannot do this for us. We are the only ones who can. The universe can only present them to us in the gentlest possible fashion. However, it is up to us to resolve them. Forgiveness is key.
Surrender is another key word. Individualism is the great American ethic. However, our bodies are designed to keep us healthy. They know how. Therefore it is not appropriate for us to argue that, as we age, the body has failed to keep us healthy. It makes no sense for us to act as though we can single-handedly control our health. The body knows what is right and appropriate. In the presence of the ancient entanglements, the body cannot – will not – remain healthy. I suggest that we surrender the idea that we can totally control our lives. In its place, I suggest a point of view that emphasizes partnership: partnership with our bodies, with each other, and with the universe. If we can offer to our bodies the unique services that we can provide as a partner, our bodies can do an extraordinary job of helping us recover our health and achieve our goals.
What matters to you? I propose that the dimensions postulated at the basis of the quantum universe are simply the ways of connecting together all the most important parts of your life: your loves, your expectations, your fears, your pleasures, your relationships, your habits, and so on. Imagine the complexity of the geometry that you and your body have constructed! As a baby and a youth, this geometry is virtually perfect. However, as you age, the lines begin to warp, the angles begin to move, and the geometry loses its perfection. We experience this as weakness and disease. The ancient traumas corrupt this perfect geometry. Once the traumas are gone, your task is to repair your own geometry. I studied complex geometrical drawings. Others do it by producing music, dancing, or doing something deeply healing.
I suggest that Christmas is about the birth of Christ. This is the birth of our sacred partnerships with our bodies and with the universe. This is worth celebrating. The universe has a lot to offer. Walking on water is only the beginning. How about immunity from disease? How about athleticism at age 120? How about becoming a professional tennis player at age 85? How starting two new businesses at age 73?
Does that sound absurd? Just watch the people who are doing it now! How about you? Are you ready to celebrate?