The term “quantum physics” is derived from the latin word “quantus” meaning “how much” and Greek word “physika” which means “of nature”.

The term metaphysics is derived from the Greek words “meta” which means “beyond” and “physika” again meaning “of nature”.

Together they attempt to ask the same question;

“How much is still beyond our understanding of what we now know of nature?”

Quantum mysticism is a term that has been used to refer to a set of metaphysical beliefs and associated practices that seek to interconnect mystical world-views to quantum mechanics and its scientific interpretations. Both metaphysics and quantum mechanics are looking for the “fundamentals of Reality, one starting from the inner spiritual realm, the other from the outer physical realm.

Research in the field of quantum physics indicates that we may understand reality and the interconnection of all things from a logical scientific perspective. Mysticism however tends to imply that while we may experience all the phenomena in the world as manifestations of the same ultimate reality, the true nature of that reality cannot be empirically understood or defined. The maxim in the opening line of the Tao Te Ching ; “The Tao that can be expressed is not the eternal Tao”, affirms the mystic belief that the true nature of reality transcends our intellectual concepts and defies explanation. Mystics say that the nature of existence can be seen, but it cannot be grasped, which is exactly what the physicists say about the nature of atomic particles.

Quantum physicists attempt to explain how everything in the Universe, in all dimensions of life and reality consists of “quanta”, of “potential energy”, as the vibratory nature of atomic particles. Mystics attempt to explain how everything in the Universe, in all dimensions of life and reality consists of “prana”, of “Qi (or Chi) energy” as the vibratory nature of reality.

Therein lays the main stumbling block on the road to harmonizing physics and metaphysics. Physicists believe that you can understand and explain reality; Mystics believe that if you can explain it then you don’t really understand it.

Quantum mysticism, by attempting to view these two seemingly contradictory views as being reconcilable, seeks to establish that both paths must logically lead to the same destination.

For many the term “metaphysics” is synonymous with the term “science fiction”. For those who are not familiar with the fundamental concepts of physics the theories of quantum mechanics seem no less fantastic. The idea that we may exist in an infinite number of universes, where an infinite number of possible actions may result in an infinite number of outcomes, seems to be so incredibly improbable that the human mind, in order to maintain its sanity, cannot accept it as possible, which may explain the fundamental experience behind the concept of the Shamanic Ecstasy.

The role of the shaman is to be “the vision seeker” for the community. It is the role of the shaman on his shamanic journey to travel beyond the realm of the material, into the realm of the immaterial, into other Universes, in order to encounter the people, animals and spirits that inhabit other realms of the Universe. While on this journey, to those viewing from the journey from “the outside” the shaman seems gripped by an incomprehensible madness, while the shaman on “the inside” is experiencing a different reality, separate and distinct from the perceptions and experiences of the one from which he has traveled.

The mystic and the physicist arrive at the same conclusion; one starting from the inner realm, the other from the outer world.

The harmony between their views confirms the ancient Indian wisdom that Brahman, the ultimate reality without, is identical to Atman, the reality within.