Consciousness Isn't Made In The Brain, It's Being Channeled: A Theoretical Physicist Calls For "Scientific-Spirituality"

Growing up, schools taught us that it’s the electrical activity in our brains is what makes us conscious, sentient beings. But what if that is completely backwards?

Emerging theories out of theoretical physics and complexity science are beginning to paint a very, very familiar picture. A picture that ancient spiritual practices have long taught: consciousness is the source of physical reality and everything in between.

One of these trailblazing theories comes from theoretical physicist Dr. James Glattfelder, whose interview with the Asencia Foundation attempts to do the once-thought impossible: bridge grounded science with mystical spirituality.

A Whole New [Scientific] World?

Conventional science has long run into the dead-end alley of what’s called the “hard problem of consciousness”. Simply put, current physics and biology cannot explain qualia or how subjective experiences can originate from brain neurons firing.

This challenge has ignited many scientists to call for a new age of post-materialism, arguing for a revolution of the scientific method to include consciousness and subjective experiences as part of our process of understanding reality. Emerging research in the fields of information theory and psychedelic studies continues to build momentum for this cause.

Transitioning into this new post-materialist world, Glattfelder argues for one principle that unites us all: consciousness itself underlies the nature of reality and exists in a universal field throughout the cosmos.

He states that the brain does not generate consciousness; rather, the brain picks up consciousness from this universal field like a radio signal and transmits it.

A Co-Creating Reality?

The term “co-creating reality”, where an individual’s thoughts and actions affect everyone else, has often been ridiculed by rationalists for its new-age spiritual roots and lack of credibility.

But Glattfelder ties it back to physicist John Wheeler’s theory called the “participatory universe” where reality does not exist in a definitive state until it has been observed [by consciousness].

He cites that quantum realms do not function logically or predictably. Rather, it behaves like a field with infinite potential and only “collaspses” into a measurable, defined state through conscious observation.

This theory parallels with the wave-function collapse, which essentially states that until you look to measure a particle, it is not in one place - it's in a superposition of all possible places.

A “Fringe” Science Idea?

While mainstream physicists scoff at the idea that consciousness has a role in collapsing the wave function, the truth is more nuanced. The measurement problem - the unresolved puzzle of why and how quantum possibilities reduce to one actual outcome - remains one of the deepest mysteries in physics.

Acclaimed scientists like Eugene Wigner and Roger Penrose have proposed that consciousness may be fundamental to this measurement problem process.

In this view, Glattfelder integrates the participatory model of reality - one where observation doesn’t just reveal the world but helps create it. Consciousness becomes primary, and matter is secondary.

While this doesn’t mean every thought magically alters the universe, as some New Age interpretations claim. Rather, it suggests that at the most foundational level, reality and consciousness are intertwined.

A Universal Computer Program?

The idea of a universal program that generates multiple realities has been entertained in films such as The Matrix.

Instead of Hollywood scripts, Glattfelder draws evidence from computational theory and complexity science to suggest this: The universe may be a software program, encoded by simple universal laws, that generates infinite realities and complex behaviors.

In this view, the Newtonian aspects of space and time are not vital and rather, they are superficial properties of a deeper computational process of this program. Space and time may appear to be real on its surface, but it’s merely information woven together by complex algorithms of entanglement of quantum fields.

To put it practically, our physical world may be just the symptom of a deeper information-driven cosmos where consciousness acts in between the “created” and the “creator”.

Science with Spirituality?

Against typical norms, Glattfelder draws connections between modern science and the insights of mystical practices.

Science has long dismissed the subjective experiences of people undergoing miraculous, spiritual experiences. Whether that be spontaneous healings, outer body experiences, and other parapsychological phenomena. Why? Because conventional science cannot explain them. But that does not mean that these anecdotal evidence hold no value.

Through these deeper states of consciousness - whether reached through meditation, shamanic trance, or psychedelics - people of all faiths and ethnicities have universally claimed one major theme: Everything in the universe is connected by an omniscient intelligence that the mind can access beyond space and time.

This universal theme of the one consciousness is taught in spiritual traditions such as:

• Christianity

  • “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made.” - John 1:1–3

• Vedanta (Hinduism)

  • “He sees all beings in the Self, and the Self in all beings; he does not hate anyone.” - Bhagavad Gita 6:29

• Sufism

  • “I was a hidden treasure, and I loved to be known. So I created the creation, that I might be known.” - Hadith Quds

• Kabbalah

  • “He is the Know-er, the Object of Knowledge, and the Knowledge itself. Everything that exists emanates from Him and returns to Him.” - Book of Creation

• Taoism

  • “There is a thing confusedly formed, born before heaven and earth. Silent and void it stands alone, unchanging. It is ever present and never weary. It is the mother of all things under heaven.” - Tao Te Ching

• Buddhism

  • “All phenomena are like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a shadow... so should one view them.” — Diamond Sutra

Glattfelder argues that all experiences should be acknowledged as valid. This is where science can not only validate biophysical equations for neural activity of consciousness but also give grounded meaning to ALL spiritual practices and their views on reality.

As Glattfelder eloquently states, “We need a modern version of idealism — a scientific spirituality — to bring meaning back into our worldview.”

Consciousness and the Biofield: Post-Materialist World of Healthcare

This broader movement in post-materialist science has profound implications for the field of biofield science — an emerging discipline exploring how this invisible field of energy and information influences our health, all of which is directed by consciousness.

Mounting evidence for biofield therapies, such as Reiki, demonstrates that these practices can generate positive health outcomes that are distinct from and better than placebo (Zadro 2022).

So, if consciousness truly underlies reality, then these biofield therapies may represent some of the most direct ways we can tap into this foundational fabric of existence for healing purposes.

If this is the case, biofield science may be one of the most important frontiers in the post-materialist world of healthcare.

So What's the Takeaway?

If consciousness is fundamental, then every thought, feeling, and intention carries weight in our cosmos. You are not a spontaneous accident of scientific laws; rather, you, a conscious sentient being, stand as the bridge between the realities of what’s possible and what’s impossible.

With this Scientific-Spiritual view on life, Glattfield inspires us to look for a deeper sense of responsibility for understanding our planet, our fellow beings, and the mystery of existence itself.

Watch the full interview here.