A Reader Q&A

What Happens When We Compare Spiritual & Physics Dimensions of Reality?

New Age Spiritualists really want to equate the two, much to the chagrin of Physicists.

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A Reader Asked:

READER: Hello! After two hours of research, this is the only article I found that made any attempt to define a “dimension” as it is discussed here [in the article below]. However, I’m still a little confused so I was hoping I could ask a few questions.

The article mentioned is:

READER: Firstly, I’d like to just point out an observation that the word “dimension” here seems to mean something entirely different than what it means in string theory or any other field. “In physics and mathematics, the dimension of a mathematical space is informally defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify any point within it.”

Our Response:

Right. Spiritual dimensions do not align with dimensions as defined by physics. I made a brief comment on that early in the article you saw (linked above). I will expand on that here in response to your question.

One reason for the misalignment is the limitations of our 3D human language. “Words” put boundaries around things to materialize them, so we can understand them with our materialistic 3D mind. This both expands and limits our understanding of realities beyond 3D. The best we can do with words is to point to spiritual (non-physical / non-materialistic) realities and hope the listener gets it.

Most nonduality speakers don’t even try to describe anything beyond our direct experience (“what is happening now”) of material reality. They say it is simply impossible to speak of (and then scientifically understand) non-physical realities as anything other than subjective illusions created in our minds.

A second issue is that our physics is 100% based in the 3rd Dimension (materialism and physical reality). So the dimensions described by physics must meet or approach the mathematical logic of 3D reality to become a “theory”. And then they need to pass verifiable physical experiments to become “fact”.

We built all science on empirical evidence, which means physical evidence. Even scientific understandings of emotions and thinking processes must be physically measurable.

Spirituality does not have those kinds of limitation, although it is still limited to the boundaries of 3D language. The key criterium for spirituality is direct experience. That, of course, can differ from one person to the next, which makes spirituality a kind of wild west of anything goes, compared to science.

I am not a physicist or mathematician, but perhaps the language of mathematics can penetrate beyond what human minds can normally comprehend. The 1st through 4th math dimensions, as shown in this image, makes sense to me.

Trying to visualize a 5th point beyond length, width, depth, and time is pretty tough, however. The additional dimensions in quantum physics are derived mathematically and are difficult to test because they are only a fraction of the size of an atom — far below any tools we have, including the Large Hedron Collider.

We can do it mathematically. But we still do not know if what mathematics comes up with is the same as what spiritualist come up with. Different versions of quantum “string theory”, for example, require 10, 11, and 26 dimensions.

See, for example, physicist Michio Kaku’s interview on Are There Extra Dimensions (⬇️) (on YouTube):

And this History of the Universe documentary, “Where Are All The Hidden Dimensions’ (⬇️):

This video attempts to visualize what extra dimensions in physics might look like (⬇️):

In some ways, physics is in its infancy compared to how spirituality understands multiple dimensions.

At some point physics may expand more toward the wild west openness of spirituality. Or spirituality may become more constricted to match the models that physics and science come up with. This latter option sounds more like religion to me, which is not attractive.

For example, one big difference is that in most of the cosmological models defined by physics, each dimension as discrete and different (based on a new point of definition). Some physicists see this as a phase transition, like the change of water from liquid to ice to steam. But each is still very distinct.

The dimensions of spiritual cosmology are less discrete (although that depends on the teaching). Instead, they are often described as a continuous band. Because of that, nowadays, most spiritual teachers agree that there is no set number of dimensions, nor solid lines between them.

This allows each spiritual teacher to divide up the universe differently, creating their own “logical” set of dimensions. And these often contradict one another. Even the same teacher will contradict themselves when they look at the dimensions from a changed perspective. This is what I try to understand in the article linked above.

The spiritual dimensions beyond 3D have laws (or structures) that enable behaviors, experiences, and ways of knowing that are impossible in 3D reality. Because of that, 3D physics may never know anything beyond our 3D reality. (3D reality has its unique advantages, but that is a different topic.)

3D reality is like one of the colors in a rainbow. It is strongest at its core, and it fades into the next color (or dimension) on its edges.

That is where quantum physics is. It is on one of the edges of 3D. It is exploring areas beyond our normal 3D perception. Astronomy and cosmology may be on the other edge of 3D reality — again beyond our normal perception. One is at the smallest edge, and the other is at the largest edge.

For perspectives from scientists like Michio Kaku who are working on the edge, checkout this YouTube channel:

Some scientists who are working in these edge areas are making discoveries that come closer to the analogies and metaphors used in spiritual teachings about reality. There is still a sizeable gap between those who are at the extreme edges and most researchers who are in the middle core of humanity’s beliefs and experiences.

But it is at those edges where new knowledge and innovation will expand the core of 3D reality and move the entire 3D frequency band to a new level (or color?). That is something that many spiritualists seem to want. But it can only happen if the stable core does not resist the innovative edge, which is a common problem.

It is also those edges of knowledge that seem to overlap with New Age spiritual descriptions of reality. The problem is that New Age spiritualists treat these theories as “facts” that justify their beliefs or truths. Some physicists seem to support those notions, while other consider it “quantum mysticism” and “quantum quackery”.

READER: What you’re calling a density needs only one coordinate (frequency) to define, so all possible densities would lie in a singular mathematical dimension.

Good point. Again, from a 3D perspective: as I understand it, what we see is a frequency’s manifestation in form (includes objects, thoughts, and emotions). As I understand it, the same particle will manifest as different forms in different dimensions or densities of consciousness. So what we see as a table in 3D is a different form in another dimension.

On the other hand, the word “frequencies” is also a kind of analogy. It is a way of describing variations in the “universal ether” so that our 3D human minds can understand it. If you are familiar with the Seth/Jane Roberts material, he tries to describe this using terms like “units of consciousness” (CU’s) and “electromagnetic energy units” (EE units). For me, that is the hardest part of the Seth material to understand — and I am a huge Seth fan.

READER: However, the properties you’re describing point towards something different. These “dimensions” are sequential, with a definite starting point (1D) and some sort of suprema (to use a calculus term), and the elements of these realms are frequencies. The structure this describes is what physicists, mathematicians, optometrists, music producers, and radiologists call “frequency bands.”

So, why call them dimensions instead of frequency bands? I’ve been struggling to reconcile the dialects for some time, and I’d appreciate any insight into why these terms were chosen and what precisely they mean in New Age ideology.

Yes, you are right. That would make sense. “Frequency bands” are an analogy and is how many New Age teachings I have come across describe the dimensions. They also make them sequential (like the colors in the rainbow example). I don’t know who first started using the word “dimensions” in a spiritual context, but I know that Seth/Jane Roberts used it along with “planes” and “fields” of awareness in the mid-1960s.

I think the reason “dimensions” is preferred over “frequency bands” is because it implies (or contains) so much more than energy. Dimensions are energy appearing as forms. So, while a table is a particle-wave-frequency appearing as a table within the range of 3D frequencies, it is also so much more than that.

See this more recent article about frequency waves as a spiritual Theory of Everything:

But there are dimensions that can never be understood by any algebra, whose basis rests upon emotional equations that can never be solved, or even approached from your system. These emotional equations however form effects that oftentimes react within your system. And your own emotional explosions appear transformed into mass within one such system. — Seth/Jane Roberts, The Early Sessions, Book 3, Session 101 October 28, 1964

Thanks for your question. That was fun. I hope this response was helpful to you and others. Of course, if I knew more about physics, I might have answered it differently. 😄

Related Resources

• (1) I created the table below ⬇ for an article on Earth’s ascension from 3D to 4D/5D. I include it here to show several perspectives on the spiritual dimensions of reality. It only covers 3D, 4D, and 5D, but I think it is clear enough. On this table, Rudolph Steiner (1861–1925) comes closest to a physics understanding of multiple dimensions. The others are very different.

For more on the spiritual dimensions, see my article ‘The One Most Complete Guide to the Spiritual Dimensions of Reality’, in which I try to sort out many of the varying definitions and issues that I have come across on this topic.

• (2) Einstein’s Spirituality — People oriented to New Age spiritually often quote Albert Einstein to give their beliefs greater validity. Such quotes can be false or re-written from what he originally said. An author (cited below) wrote the following based on his personal notes from conversations with Einstein. It shows the spiritual side of one of the most famous physicists of all time.

The basic laws of the Universe are simple, but because our senses are limited, we can’t grasp them. There is a pattern in creation. If we look at this tree outside whose roots search beneath the pavement for water, or a flower which sends its sweet smell to the pollinating bees, or even our own selves and the inner forces that drive us to act, we can see that we all dance to a mysterious tune, and the piper who plays this melody from an inscrutable distance — whatever name we give him — Creative Force, or God — escapes all book knowledge.

I like to experience the Universe as one harmonious whole. Every cell has life. Matter, too, has life; it is energy solidified… The whole of Nature is life, and life, as I observe it, rejects a God resembling man.

Man has infinite dimensions and finds God in his conscience. [A cosmic religion] has no dogma other than teaching man that the Universe is rational and that his highest destiny is to ponder it and co-create with its laws.

The genuine scientist is not moved by praise or blame, nor does he preach. He unveils the universe and people come eagerly, without being pushed, to behold a new revelation: the order, the harmony, the magnificence of creation!

If we want to improve the world we cannot do it with scientific knowledge but with ideals. Confucius, Buddha, Jesus and Gandhi have done more for humanity than science has done. We must begin with the heart of man — with his conscience — and the values of conscience can only be manifested by selfless service to mankind.

Religion and science go together. As I’ve said before, science without religion is lame and religion without science is blind. They are interdependent and have a common goal — the search for truth.” — Albert Einstein, from “Einstein and the Poet: In Search of the Cosmic Man” (1983) by William Hermanns, based on conversations with Einstein in 1930, 1943, 1948, and 1954.

• (3) Similarly, Max Planck, the “father of quantum physics” said…

“Science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature. And that is because, in the last analysis, we ourselves are a part of the mystery that we are trying to solve.” ― Max Planck in ‘Where is Science Going?’

• (4) ⬇ This interview on Closer to Truth discusses the logic behind Multiple Universes from a String Theory approach. Multiple Universes, as described in the video, are similar to Multiple Dimensions.

• (5) ⬇ This documentary from the PBS NOVA series provides a great introduction to the history of Quantum Physics/Mechanics, ending with the Multiple Universes Theory. (Note that it does not discuss String Theory.)

• (6) To see a collection of my Interactions with Readers & Others articles, see:

• Note that the articles in that collection are behind the Medium paywall. For paywall-free access to my articles, go to www.AlanLew.com, linked below.

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