The Limits of Science

 

Science is an incredible tool for uncovering how GOD's Law's manifest at the physical vibratory level.  But it does have some inherent limitations when being applied to certain spiritual questions and realities.

 

Inherent Limits

 

Science is based on observation and experiment.  This careful approach to understanding the nature of physical reality has been applied by scientists with great success when focusing on the outer physical material world.  But, it isn't so easy to do when focusing on the inner spiritual worlds.  When studying the outer physical world, we can invent all kinds of clever physical instruments to measure and test the material universe.  But you can't use "physical" instruments to measure and test "non-material" worlds and experiences. This is because the vibratory rate of the spiritual realms are too high for the physical instruments to "see". Thus, the instruments simply don't register anything about these non-material worlds.  In a way, it's similar to trying to "see" ultraviolet radiation with our eyes, when human eyes simply do not register that particular frequency of the electromagnetic spectrum.

 

So the problem is: "How can one observe spiritual realities with physical instruments and physical senses so that we can carry out objective scientific investigations of spiritual subjects?"  And the answer of course is: "You can't."  So what can we do?  The only option left to us is for each one of us to investigate these inner spiritual realities using the only "laboratories" currently available to us - the laboratory of our own inner consciousness.  But this causes a huge problem: our investigations have ceased to be "objective", and have now become "subjective".  This is because each person's experiences will vary at least a little from everyone else's experiences and there is no way for a independent third party objective observer to "objectively" measure them.  So how do we sort out all the variations of experience from person to person?  And how do we account for the immense variety of spiritual experiences and their unique interpretations from person to person. And how do we sort out how our spiritual beliefs and cultural expectations, as well as various assumptions or inclinations that may color our experiences and their subsequent interpretation? And how do we deal with the possibility that there might be a negative force that deliberately tries to cause us to misinterpret valid inner spiritual experiences - a force that may even have the ability to create counterfeit "spiritual" experiences to throw off our investigations. In other words, how do we take into consideration the possibility of an intelligent "evil" force that tries to make our investigation more difficult and dangerous?

 

Answer: Apply the Scientific Method Using

the Inductive Method of Logic

 

One approach is to use the inductive method of logic to apply the scientific method to comparing and averaging all of the various spiritual experiences out there, and to look for common patterns.  Gradually in this way we can begin to better understand the various categories of spiritual experience and gain greater insight into them.

 

Also We Can Study the Lives

& Teachings of the Great Ones

 

Another approach is to study the teachings of the great spiritual leaders like Jesus, the Buddha, Quan Yin (Kuan Yin), Krishna, etc, with a completely open, inquisitive mind - a mind that accepts that spiritual realities may be real, but that we need to sort out the facts from the fictions which arise from the distortions that have been introduced to their teachings over the centuries by well meaning, but sometimes misinformed believers.

 

Plus there's Always

Direct Experience

 

And still a third approach is to begin meditating and praying and living a life based on spiritual values and see how we feel inside.  What is our own experience in the "laboratory of our inner consciousness"?  Do we experience greater inner peace?  More creative inspiration?  Greater insights into working successfully with others?  More compassion and caring? In this way we can begin to prove to ourselves through our own direct experience whether the teachings of Jesus, the Buddha and Krishna "ring true" for us.

 

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More Articles on Science and Spirituality:

 

Welcome to Science & Spirituality

 

The Limits of Science

 

We Are Beings of Light!

 

Evolution and the Teachings of Jesus

 

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Copyright 2019 Bill Gaum, All Rights Reserved