Consciousness as a Fundamental Force - Science and Meditation
Traditionally, science has viewed consciousness as a byproduct of brain activity—a complex computation of neural processes. But despite advances in neuroscience, we have yet to pinpoint how or where consciousness arises. No experiment has definitively explained how neural activity translates into subjective awareness—what philosophers call the "hard problem of consciousness."
Erwin Schrödinger, one of the pioneers of quantum mechanics said the following:
“Consciousness cannot be accounted for in physical terms. For consciousness is absolutely fundamental.”
There is also an unresolved contradiction between quantum mechanics and classical physics that deeply challenges the materialist view.
The Quantum-Classical Divide
Quantum mechanics describes the strange behavior of particles at the smallest scales—where uncertainty, entanglement, and observer effects dominate. Classical physics, on the other hand, governs the large-scale world we experience, following predictable, deterministic laws. Scientists have not yet been able to explain how the two connect.
Some of the key paradoxes include:
Wave-Particle Duality: Particles behave like waves until measured, then collapse into a definite state.
Quantum Entanglement: Two particles can be instantly connected across vast distances, seemingly violating relativity.
The Measurement Problem: Classical physics assumes an objective reality, but quantum mechanics suggests that observation or measurement influences existence itself.
Despite attempts to reconcile these contradictions, no single theory unites both. Some scientists argue that consciousness might be the missing link, though it remains a controversial idea in the scientific community.
Physicist Max Planck, the father of quantum theory said:
“I regard consciousness as fundamental. I regard matter as derivative from consciousness. We cannot get behind consciousness. Everything that we talk about, everything that we regard as existing, postulates consciousness.”
Could Consciousness Be the Key?
If consciousness is fundamental rather than a byproduct of the brain, it could help explain why observation affects quantum states. Some interpretations of quantum mechanics, like the von Neumann-Wigner hypothesis, propose that consciousness itself causes wave function collapse—bringing the physical world into definite existence.
If reality is fundamentally shaped by awareness, then the paradoxes of quantum mechanics may not be contradictions, but reflections of a deeper truth.
This aligns with spiritual and philosophical ideas that consciousness is not something we have, but something reality emerges from, including you.
This is speculative. But still fully open to discover subjectively when you examine your own mind closely, that you do not have experience. But rather you are experience. And consciousness is one and the same source (or to put in Star Wars-terms “The force”), experiencing it self through us.
Good analogies for this can be to think of consciousness as the ocean, and every individual or life as waves. The ocean takes the form of waves, but it is also much vaster then each wave. And the waves are inseparable from the ocean. Another analogy can be to think of consciousness as gold. We are gold ornaments such as necklaces or a ring. They have their own form, but they are still only gold at it’s source.
Meditation: Exploring Consciousness Firsthand
Everything we know, everything science discovers, everything we experience is perceived through consciousness. No measurement, experiment, or conclusion can exist outside of it. As astronomer Sir Arthur Eddington famously put it:
“The stuff of the world is mind-stuff.”
The only thing we can be absolutely certain of is our own awareness—the direct experience of I am. Everything else is filtered through this lens. This is why meditation, the practice of turning inward and quieting thought, is one of the most direct ways to explore consciousness itself.
Unlike external scientific methods, meditation does not seek to measure consciousness but to experience it directly. By silencing the constant stream of thoughts and anchoring our awareness into the present moment, we begin to perceive the nature of awareness itself—not as an abstract concept, but as something immediately present and undeniable.
Neuroscientist Sam Harris, who bridges meditation with scientific inquiry, states:
“Consciousness is the one thing in this universe that cannot be an illusion.”
If consciousness is the foundation of all reality, then exploring it firsthand might be deepest truth we can access.
