Many modern-day mystics say the physical universe is transparent; physics says even the solid parts consist mostly of empty space

By Jim Hatton

The Mystics throughout the ages have professed that the physical universe is nothing more than an illusion. Many modern-day people who have had a mystical experience claim the physical universe is transparent. How can this be?

Even though every time I try to pass my hand though my “solid” wood desk, my hand stops and the wood does not allow me to move my hand through a “transparent” desk. Is the desk solid or is it an illusion? Not having a mystical experience at the moment, let’s take a look at some interesting phenomena.

Imagine, if you will, a picture projected on a screen. It can be a single picture or even a motion picture. From a distance the picture looks real and solid. But as we move very close to the screen, we notice that the colors start to fade, and even closer, the image it is not solid at all but made up of tiny dots of color. There is even space between the dots.

We can observe the same type of experience with a computer screen or flat-screen television. All the images on the screen appear solid, but close examination reveals that tiny dots of color called pixels form the images. The more and denser the pixels, the more “real” the image seems, the more vibrant and alive.

A computer, which produces the images on the screen, does its “thinking” and all of its calculations using millions of electronic “on and off” switches. Nothing solid at all.

Let’s go back to my wooden desk. Classical physics claimed that my wooden desk was made up of tiny atoms. These atoms had solid little balls in the center and little balls of electrons swirling around the nucleus. There was a lot of space between the electrons and nucleus and even more space between the atoms themselves. Not really solid at all. Modern day quantum physics says that the little balls of electrons and the nucleus themselves are not solid at all. In fact, they “blip” in and out of existence and reappear in another unpredictable spot. They are even less solid than physics once thought.

According to Dr. Deepak Chopra, the latest science says that the entire universe consists of only .002% (.00002) solid matter. The rest of the universe is empty space. (Yes, there is a theory of “dark” matter, but it is not proven as yet).

So, in appearance, the physical universe is made up of solid matter, but in reality, it is empty space. Maybe the Mystics were right?

I think I’ll have to meditate on this idea of illusory matter … oops, my hand just went through my desk.

The World is not broken, Be in Peace …

Jim Hatton is an author, spiritual teacher and speaker. He makes his home in the Rogue Valley, Southern Oregon. Contact him at jim@jimhatton.com.

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