The Long Read—Physics, Genetics and Consciousness
The compartmentalisation of disciplines of knowledge has particularly affected the development of genetics and biotechnology, which have become isolated from more general principles known to fundamental physics. Moreover, modern theories of genetics and biotechnology have developed without any clear understanding of their relationship with consciousness. Yet consciousness is the defining characteristic of living organisms. Many of our previous substack.com and hatchardreport.com articles have examined the interaction of human consciousness and genetics from a number of angles. This article will develop a glimpse into a needed overarching scientific theory of life and approach to personal health that includes consciousness.
To place consciousness in a theory of life we have employed a threefold criteria of investigation:
Scientific Approach — Personal Experience — Traditional Knowledge
Scientific Approach: In addition to the rigour of logic, number and the paramount importance of evidence, a scientific approach often employs an expectation that principles already known to science are likely to play a part in understanding the phenomenon of consciousness.
Personal Experience: Consciousness is our constant companion. Our keen observation of ourselves and our personal experience is prime evidence of the functioning principles of consciousness.
Traditional Knowledge: Cultural and philosophical knowledge that has stood the test of time or is well integrated with personal experience can be a rich source for modelling and understanding consciousness.
The current article is extending conclusions reached in our previous substack articles. In these we have found that agreement of all three of the above criteria is a good test of credibility.
Physics has uncovered universal laws which operate at every point in time and space, linking every material particle and force field into a single framework. Physical theory is formulated as a set of rules or laws governing all interactions, transformations and states of distinct entities and fields. Physical laws have well known and highly verified universal properties which find parallels with the functioning of consciousness which should directly affect our understanding of the role of genetics. These include:
Hierarchical structure
Physical law requires that macroscopic processes must be tied back to foundational structure at smaller time and distance scales right back to pre-geometry. Genetic theories lack this requirement, hence they are of necessity incomplete or isolated from fundamental principles. For example quantum cosmology describes the emergence of the universe itself as the result of the interplay between observer, observed, and crucially the observer-observed relationship, which can be quantified as interplay of conscious information gathering and utilising systems. Yet genetic principles lack an understanding of this foundational role of consciousness.
Paramount role of the observer.
Consistent theories of physics cannot be formulated without accounting for the effect of an observer. In our article “The modern age cannot be an age of biotechnology” we outlined six ways that consciousness enters into physical theory. We inferred that consciousness is primary and matter secondary. To support this, our three-fold criteria of knowledge could be invoked as follows:
Consciousness plays a fundamental role in physical theory
We personally experience that our decisions and thoughts initiate action
Many traditional sophisticated philosophies, such as the Upanishads for example, recognise universal consciousness as the basis of existence.
Consciousness is largely dismissed by biology as an unexplained epiphenomenon, whose impact is ultimately merely contingent on genetics rather than causal. This bias is inconsistent with physical theory, personal experience and traditional understanding. It is also inconsistent with the known fact that mental states influence physiology and vice versa.
At a deeper level it is inconsistent with a study published in 2023 in Brain, Behavior, & Immunity entitled “Transcendental Meditation practitioners show reduced expression of the Conserved Transcriptional Response to Adversity“ which found that a TM group showed lower expression of a pre-specified set of CTRA indicator genes when compared to controls. The study confirms that mental practices such as transcendental meditation can alter genetic expression in specific and predictable ways. In other words the mind-body interface can be modulated from the side of consciousness.
Quantum principles
These include:
Wave-Particle Duality whereby particles can behave as both waves and particles
Superposition whereby a quantum system exists and evolves in multiple states simultaneously in an abstract probability space until measured when its wave function collapses to a specific state.
Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle whereby pairs of properties like ‘momentum and position in space’ or ‘time and energy’, cannot be known with perfect accuracy.
Quantum principles have not found a place in genetics, yet it is certain that they must play an essential and critical role. Taken together, wave-particle duality and superposition provide a close fit with the intimate coexistence of our physiology and mental states. Thoughts evolve in an abstract space and find expression in actions and physiological function. Fear is accompanied by a racing heart, relaxation by high skin resistance, etc. The close relationship between mind and body is aptly described as two sides of one coin.
Taken together superposition and the Heisenberg uncertainty principle raise deeper questions, they shake any idea that solid material substance is the ultimate causal reality of existence. They point to a deeper abstract reality of life. The philosophy of Yoga explains that this deeper reality is a unified wholeness behind material substance. Ancient Yoga texts teach that physiology and material substance can be controlled by consciousness through a highly specified procedure known as sanyama which develops human abilities latent in the mind-body complex.
Energy states
Particles and fields described by physics have excited energy states or levels, they also have a ground state of least excitation, often referred to as a quantum vacuum. This fundamental concept does not find a parallel in genetics. Traditional descriptions found for example in the Bhagavad Gita outline states of consciousness. In particular the Gita identifies a least excited state of consciousness which is accessible to personal experience named atma (the Self). In our article “Part Two The Long Read: Twenty Reasons to Completely Reject Biotechnology Experimentation : Consciousness-Based Alternatives“, we reference multiple studies recording physiological parameters and greatly improved health outcomes across multiple conditions associated with experiences of a least excited state of consciousness. The effect sizes of these results are not minor, they dwarf the impact of many pharmaceutical approaches to specific conditions. They are free of adverse effects and beneficially impact a very broad range of conditions. This points to a formative role of consciousness in physiology, genetics and immunity.
Macroscopic quantum coherent states Under certain conditions microscopic particles or atoms can condense into the same lowest energy state and act as a single matter wave such as that found in superfluids and superconductors. These can exhibit properties which appear to defy classical restrictions on mobility like gravity and electrical resistance. Similarly, living organisms have a macroscopic identity with properties that go beyond those of their microscopic components.
The central void at the heart of genetics relates to the support of our 37 trillion cells for a single unique conscious identity. How this happens is largely unknown to genetics, but it is known that our immune system acts to preserve our unique personal genetic identity. For example the immune system works to reject transplanted organs and repair DNA damage. Yet gene editing of life forms is proceeding in the absence of any fundamental understanding of the risks to immunity and identity.
Conservation principles
Energy, linear momentum, angular momentum, lepton number, baryon number and electric charge are all conserved quantities. In physics, these quantities cannot suddenly disappear without a trace. Popular modern social and psychological ideas about human consciousness assume that thinking occurs in a private space separate from our genetic makeup, and that thoughts can dissolve without trace or consequences. The fact that thoughts have physical counterparts in our physiology, negates the misleading notion that isolated individuals are free to do whatever they want without reference to physical reality.
Reciprocity principles
Newton’s third law states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Interactions, and by implication thoughts, have consequences. Nothing occurs without subsequent ripple effects. Traditional ideas about karma (literally action) suggest a moral framework to human existence, a concept shared by most religions. The failure to link genetics with consciousness has led to value-free assessments of the viability, risks and consequences of genetic editing. The Covid pandemic is the best illustration. Our World in Data estimates thirty million excess deaths worldwide during the pandemic, yet there is little outcry about the likely biotech lab origin of Covid, the high rates of adverse effects of biotech Covid vaccines, or the question of responsibility or culpability.
Non-Locality
Quantum mechanics provides further evidence that actions have lasting consequences. It shows that physical reality is non-local. The evidence for non-locality is the existence of instantaneous effects from apparently local actions on distant systems. Entangled particles exhibit correlations that are stronger than any local realistic theory can explain. Multiple experiments have verified this to a very high degree of certainty. In essence, quantum entanglement shows that past interactions create enduring relationships whose effects and consequences can reappear in new locations in the future.
The physical complexity of large entangled systems is beyond our comprehension and the scope of current mathematical models. Einstein described quantum entanglement as ‘spooky action at a distance’. He thought it counter intuitive and doubted its reality. But reflect for a moment that the concept is not at all alien to our consciousness. We form relationships as a result of personal interactions and events that endure and have consequences in the future at different times and places. This is an entirely everyday reality that we easily inhabit. The Korean concept of in-yeon (인연) expresses the thought that this connection endures through lifetimes.
In contrast, biotechnology and genetics have been formulated as entirely local explanations of living systems reminiscent of incomplete classical solid state physics. Such a view is naive, entirely outdated and liable to be highly misleading.
Certainly, genetic fragments are highly mobile. They can transfer genetic information with other genetic systems, but does it go much further than that? Think for a moment about identity cards, if humans can easily set up systems of tracking locations, and events related to single individuals, can we seriously imagine that natural laws don’t do that?
Traditional philosophies of karma suggest that actions have consequences that track through time and place. This suggests a linked up reality employing principles of hierarchy, balance, conservation and entanglement known to physics. The philosophy of Yoga expounded in the Bhagavad Gita asserts that the links and restrictions created through past karma are inherently unfathomable (4:17) but can be dissolved in the grand unity of the ground state of consciousness referred to as the fire of knowledge (4:19).
This can be experienced by those who practice a form of transcendental meditation. Our article The Second Law, Genetics and Human Consciousness discusses how the experience of universal consciousness enables the physiology to maximise its capacity to defy the second law of thermodynamics, the law of universal decay. Instead, unlocking greater order, health and happiness.
Physical fields
Matter types are divided into particles and fields. Research we discussed in our article “The Long Read: What is a Human Biofield“ strongly suggests that consciousness is a field phenomenon which supports the formation of biofields mediated by genetic similarities. The certainty of time series analysis of field effects of consciousness (see here and here) is very high indeed, with probability values as high as p < 0.000000000000003.
My published work on what is known as the Maharishi Effect is part of a much broader research programme involving almost a hundred published studies conducted at multiple institutions looking at the results of significant levels of participation in transcendental meditation and the group practice of meditation.
Despite the foregoing discussions, where we have cited complex physical theories and ideas, transcending itself is disarmingly simple. The technique is easily learned from a trained instructor and effortless to practice. It is not an intellectual endeavour, anyone can achieve it. Experience of the ground state of consciousness is a built-in capability of our nervous system, just as the capacity to sit is contained in the ability to walk.
How can a science of consciousness affect our understanding of genetics?
Public health systems and medical interventions are largely oriented to tackle disease. Genetics describes itself not just as an endeavour aiming to tackle disease, especially inherited disease, but also as a means to transfer higher abilities and physical states attained by a few for the benefit of many. It is a vision which has captured the imagination of the public. The dream of greater beauty, height, health and longevity is very attractive, but it remains a genetic dream that fails to match the disappointing results of biotechnology experimentation.
Taken together the principles explored in this article add to the notion that our genetic system is only able to support the expression of human consciousness because it is highly specified, precise and subtle. We discuss this in detail in our article The Goldilocks Factor in Genetics. We concluded that the stability and function of the genome is sensitive to the finest details of its structure and to any agent of change. In other words, genetic editing risks upsetting the balance of biological systems and organisms to the extent that the survival of life itself is put at risk. We elaborate the evidence for this in our article The Long Read: Twenty Reasons to Completely Reject Biotechnology Experimentation Part 1.
Practically speaking, gene therapy has proved inordinately costly, highly risky and notably ineffective. After 75 years of experimentation, its procedures, which were repeatedly labelled as promising or on the verge of breakthroughs, still haven’t worked. Mistakes have proved to be the norm and they can’t be contained or remediated. Over the past five years millions have died for a lost cause.
Understanding life requires understanding consciousness. Genetics will remain incomplete without understanding consciousness. Our cellular genetic system enables the expression of consciousness, but it doesn’t create consciousness. Crucially, the experience of consciousness does not require an understanding of genetics. Consciousness is fully available to itself without any need for a biotechnologist.
In our writing, we have referenced studies verifying the experience of transcending improves mental and physical health and positively impacts diverse disease conditions. When public participation in transcending passes a critical threshold (around 1%, 1 in a 100) there is a measurable phase transition to reduced crime and conflict that positively impacts the whole collective consciousness. Individual and collective consciousness share a mutual reciprocity of influence. Improve the individual and you improve society, an improved society reflects positively on the individual. This initiates a cross over point which starts to unlock higher abilities of the individual and society. In this way transcending can deliver the vision of genetics without the inherent problems. Implementation of transcending in society through education could initiate a great leap forward. I discuss this phenomenon in great detail in my book Your DNA Diet.
Conclusion
It is a fundamental tenet of science that there is a single reality of natural law. Manmade formulations from the differing perspectives of distinct disciplines have to interlock seamlessly. There cannot be two incompatible realities. Current formulations of genetic theory fail this test when compared to the highly verified results and principles of physical theory, self-referral experiences of consciousness accessible to all, and traditional knowledge about life that has stood the test of time. Wide scale genetic manipulation of food and organisms being carried out by biotechnology is a dead end that has shown itself capable of undermining health and the source of life itself. In contrast there are channels of progress available via a science and technology of consciousness.
In our next article at substack we will examine the process of evolution from the perspective of consciousness.