Quantum Mechanics, the New Physics, and Odinism

By Phil AOR

First published in ORB 201, Summer 2006

If the title of this article leaves you feeling puzzled, please take a second to compose yourself. Like the game of chess, the basics of Quantum Mechanics are quite easily explained, although a more detailed study might well involve years of dedication. Put simply, Quantum Mechanics is the scientific observation of sub-atomic particles. A sub-atomic particle is anything smaller than an atom – an electron, for example.

As I’m sure everyone is aware, everything in the universe as we know it is comprised of atoms – the air we breathe, our bodies, and the earth beneath our feet. The way in which these atoms are arranged depicts the shape and form of what we see around us every day. This is generally the level we understand things to be, and unless we have studied science in any depth, this is really all anyone needs to know on the subject.

Yet those physicists who wish to understand more about our world and the seemingly infinite cosmos have taken to studying Quantum Mechanics in an attempt to unravel the mysteries which have vexed the greatest thinkers for all of man’s self-conscious existence.

The two men most popularly noted for their studies into Quantum Mechanics are David Bohm (a physicist, born December 20th 1917 in Pennsylvania), and Karl Pribram (a neurologist, born February 25 1h 1919 in Vienna). Now I am fully aware that being of Jewish descent, these men are not of our blood, but their intelligence is undisputed and as far as this article is concerned, their faith and ancestry has no bearing on their scientific research.

Both of these men came to the conclusion that the study of atomic particles was by no means a cut and dried, black and white affair. Scientists, for the most part, are a logical bunch, and like very much to be able to prove things in a strictly controlled environment. The behaviour of electrons, for example, is peculiar to say the least. One experiment involved what scientists call positronium. The positronium atom is composed of an electron and a positron (a positron is an electron with a positive charge). Basically, what happens in this experiment is that the electron and the positron collide and annihilate each other (being polar opposites), and decay into two quanta of light, or photons, which then travel in opposite directions.

According to Quantum Physics, no matter how far these particles travel, when measured they will always be found to have identical angles of polarisation. (Polarisation is the orientation of the photon’s waveform as it travels away from its point of origin.)

This is where it gets interesting, and where science is forced to make way for something else entirely. As these photons are travelling away from each other at the speed of light, they are somehow maintaining contact with each other regarding their angle of polarisation. But if nothing can travel faster than light – as far as we know – then they must be communicating in some other way. A way that modern science can not fully explain.

The way Bohm, Pribram and other men and women with the ability to ‘think out of the box’ explain this phenomenon is that the two photons are not actually communicating in the general sense of the word. They are not communicating
because they are still a singular entity. The only way these two particles could be so in tune with each other’s actions, they believe, is if they were part of the same consciousness.

Preceding this experiment, in Pribram’s earlier neurological studies, he could detect no specific area of the brain where memories are stored. Lab rats, for example, could still complete tasks which required the use of memory even with vast amounts of brain tissue removed. Just as every cell in the body contains the DNA of the complete whole, it is now thought by some that every thought permeates every cell of the body. The obvious exception is individuals with damage to the brain, but that is assumed to be more of a transmission problem than the fact that there are some ‘missing memories’.

Further than that, it has also been proven in numerous studies that not only do we store our own biological information in our DNA, but that of every single one of our ancestors who came before us, including their thoughts and emotions. Hypnotists touch on this theory during past life regression therapy, for example. And in the wider picture, it is believed that in every particle there is the `DNA’ of the entire universe.

Under hypnosis, randomly chosen subjects from all walks of life have talked of previous lives in other bodies, opening up serious studies on reincarnation. Dr. Joel Whitton, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Toronto Medial School is one man who has used hypnosis to gather evidence relating to the topic of being re-born. We all remember from our school years the lesson that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only converted from one form to another, and yet the possibility of the energy of a living entity being `re-born’ into another living entity is one that many Westerners cannot bring themselves to believe.

Straying slightly from the scientific viewpoint, yet ultimately finishing up at similar conclusions, are the shamans, mystics and spiritual healers. Almost all cultures have them, from the Native American Indians to African tribes to the Buddhists of the Far East. Yet Western man is traditionally void of such practices, at least in our more recent history. The reason for this is our modem non-primitive outlook. Our stressful lifestyle, our immediate surroundings and our materialistic belief systems drown out any sense of spirituality.

Cast your mind back a few years. When the Christian-inspired Roman army departed England’s shores, they left behind great stone cities, yet the Pagan Saxon invaders chose to live in huts made of wood. Were our Germanic ancestors uncultured and devoid of intelligence as the Church and media would have us believe, or did they better understand the fact that man’s thoughts cannot soar when encased in concrete or stone? Consider this if you live in the city and work in an office.

Disregarding any personal thoughts on various other cultures, it is apparent that those most able to access the sub-conscious mind are those that live amongst Nature. The idea that the sub-conscious mind can reach across the imagined boundaries of space and time is one that our `cultured’ minds find so hard to comprehend, but unknown to most people, there is serious scientific study on this very subject. Let us not forget that Odin himself used these techniques to transcend his physical self and make a journey into another world/dimension.

Let’s go back to the positronium experiment for a moment. The theory that the two photon particles were somehow communicating without there being any physical way of achieving this is hard for most people to grasp. The best way to explain the phenomena of the possibility of a singular consciousness between apparently separate entities is this: Imagine you are dreaming. You are in bed, fast asleep, and in your dream – which for all intents and purposes feels absolutely real to you – you are sitting at a diner table. Around you are your friends, family and other usual items such as chairs, tables etc. You look over at the person sitting opposite you. Except they are not opposite you because they are you. So is everything in the room. Because it is your dream, you are just as much the person sitting opposite as you are yourself. This concept of `oneness’ is initially a strange one, yet it is a concept which almost every other civilisation, at some point in their history, has pondered upon.

Of course, if we can imagine ourselves as a humble dining room chair (and remember, in our dream state we are that humble wooden chair) then how hard is it to become something else? A wolf, a bear or an eagle, soaring through realms of infinite sub-conscious. Stories of berserker warriors now seem so much more feasible, do they not?

The fact that our myths and legends and the new sciences share some kind of intimate connection just goes to show that somewhere there is a primal truth just crying out to be stumbled upon. Unfortunately there is a problem.

We have all heard about the Buddhists, the Aboriginal Tribes of Australia, and countless other peoples who use meditation, magic, narcotic plants and rhythmic drumming to travel into other worlds, but those of European descent who have an inkling to follow such paths have often never heard of Odinism. For this, we have many things to blame, not least Christianity.

The purpose of this article is not to attack Christianity or Christians, but to help awaken our folk to the pursuit of knowledge. To those of sound judgement, the constant cries of ‘Thou shalt not!” which are so often emitted from the mouths of Bishops and Priests across our Middle-Earth should immediately set the alarm bells ringing. A religion forcibly imposed and which hampers knowledge and spirituality whilst extolling the virtues of the meek and blatantly stupid will do nothing to help our people unshackle themselves from the tight confines of our current mental state. Only the man who believes nothing is impossible shall gain anything from his studies, regardless of the subject material.

A German ethno-psychologist by the name of Holger Kalweit who has studied shamanism from many cultures and who actively researches NDE’s or `Near Death Experiences’ reports that many of the subjects he has observed have a similar view point on life after death. Variations occur according to beliefs and customs, but one thing is clear; myth and folklore are not purely bed time stories. They are most certainly cryptically encoded secrets of the cosmos.

Another man, Swedish mystic Swedenborg (born 1688) went a step further than most in his search for knowledge. Not only was he schooled in the sciences, an excellent mathematician, an astronomer, writer, inventor and speaker of nine languages, he also made regular journeys to the spirit world. By middle age he had become an expert on meditation techniques. In one revelation he explained how we are all connected in cosmic unity. He filled almost twenty volumes relating to his experiences, and on his deathbed was confident that we would all eventually be aware of another existence besides than the one in which we currently live.

References to reality as a`web’ are also common. We all know of our own Web of Wyrd, but other cultures have described something similar, with the Indian concept of rnaya being one such example.

The most important thing to remember, however, is that we have a culture of our own which can provide all the knowledge and spirituality we require. Inside all of us, according to many mystics and scientists alike, is all the information in the universe – the macrocosm in the microcosm, or as William Blake put it, “…a world in a grain of sand…”. We just need the belief and tools to access it. Obviously the belief is down to the individual, but the tools belong to Odin and the Gods. We should take aboard as much knowledge as we can and in doing so we can grow as a people and finally shake off hundreds of years of mental imprisonment. There really has been no better time than now to gain this knowledge – not since the despicable destruction of the ancient library in Alexandria as part of the attempted annihilation of Pagan wisdom and philosophy has there been such a huge amount of information amassed in one place. The vast quantity of information and bookstores available to those who have access to the internet is a dream come true for those who seek knowledge.

It was this adventure – this search for knowledge – which I myself set out upon approximately nine years ago. It has led me along many paths, not least the path of Odinism, and I continue to be astounded every step of the way. It is my sincere hope that those reading this will also take the path of learning, and most importantly, believe everything and believe nothing! Like the image our World Tree, one tiny bit of information can sprout a myriad of new branches, each leading in a new direction yet all pointing towards the light.

As a final note, this article was somewhat inspired by the book, `The Holographic Universe’ by Michael Talbot. It is not a book on Odinism, but there are parallels which are infinitely fascinating.

Hail Odin, who drank from Mimir’s Well, and hail the folk who follow in his footsteps!