Winged Serpent

The ancient people of Central America were known to worship a kind of creature that looked like a winged serpent. The Mayans called it 'Kukulkan'; the Aztecs referred to it as 'Quetzalcoati'. It was considered the chief deity of their time.

According to Mayan legend, their ancestors were visited by a fair-skinned, blonde hair being who taught them agriculture, astronomy, mathematics and medicine. As a result, their culture and civilization advanced tremendously and this being, who had the ability to change forms, was highly honored and regarded as divine by the ancient people, who worshipped and gave him the title of 'Kukulkan', the feathered serpent.

One of the greatest Mayan centers of the Yucatán peninsula in Mexico was Chichen Itza where the famous El Castillo or temple of Kukulkan stood. 

Here among the well-preserved ruins can be found carvings and sculptures of the Mayan god, depicted with feathers and wings, revered and respected by these Meso-American people. While archeologists and anthropologists regarded such artifacts to be a mere reflection of the primitive beliefs and cultures of these ancient people, it seems that the worship of this winged serpent creature is not limited to just one single region in the world.

 

Mythological Reality

Most people take for granted things that are considered 'normal' in this world to be what they have grown up with or been taught in school. Whatever falls outside of their perceived knowledge and experiences are relegated as either superstitions, myths or legends.

The advent of computer-generated imagery (CGI) has brought many ancient mythological characters and futuristic sci-fi alien creatures to life on the big screen, entertaining movie-goers and TV viewers with an endless array of extrasensory experience. Of course, the average person relegates these animated beings— heroes or villains—to the realm of imagination and fantasy, not the daily grind of normal life.

But just because we don't see them as a daily occurrence in our lives doesn't mean these things, spiritual or supernatural, don’t exist or are not real. Those who unfortunately did encounter and related their stories of these surreal experiences were either considered deranged, weird or else under the influence of drugs or hallucination.

Yet ancient civilizations and cultures are replete with artifacts, many etched in stones, that defy the logic of learned men and sane intellectuals. Examples include the Sumerians, Egyptians, Aztecs, Mayans, Greeks, and even the Chinese, etc. At first sight such pictorial records discovered in cuneiforms, monuments and stelae preserved through the ages, were deemed extensions and exaggerations of these primitive people's beliefs. However, a shift in paradigm is silently and steadily taking place…

 

Existence and Reality

There is more to this physical world than just the visible three-dimensional space that we can see and traverse in. Quantum physics (or mechanics) helps us grapple with the concept of time which is the fourth dimension, and consciousness or the soul as the manifestation of existence, the fifth dimension if you will, within time and space.

Mankind has struggled to make sense of the reality of existence and its purpose, though before the advent of the scientific age most endeavors were carried out through abstract philosophies, mathematical postulations, logical reasonings, and perhaps wild imaginations. Those who rely solely on their faiths are content to let their scriptures and tenets instruct them what to believe, without ever needing proofs of any sort.

Hopefully, this chapter on the abstract aspect of Physics—which is really an exercise to open up your mind to concepts and possibilities which you would otherwise not have considered nor have knowledge of—will ready you for more challenging topics ahead, some of which will not only be mind-blowing but perhaps shocking and bordering on insanity, if not for this preparatory process. If anything, it's meant to help you cope and connect up the dots on the many mysteries which you might have stumbled upon in the past, but were too confused or afraid to confront you either dismissed them as non-consequential, or ditched them as pure nonsense.

Remember, there are times when science seems stranger than fiction. The question is: when the truth is put forth in your face, will you be able to handle it? Are you prepared to take the leap into unchartered waters?

 

Quantum Entanglement

Quantum entanglement refers to the interaction of a pair or a group of particles; even if the two or more particles are far apart, they can still affect each other. To put it another way—a particle will change its state in response to the quantum state of another particle, regardless of their position (space) or distance.

So even if both particles are at two extremes of the Milky Way, changes in one of the particles will simultaneously affect the other. Now, the Milky Way is about 100,000 light years across which means quantum entanglement can happen faster than the speed of light.

Telepathic twins are known to exhibit a connectedness in their minds and spirits that is instantaneous which defy distances and time differences across the world. Such exchanges have been attributed to extrasensory perception (ESP) or what is known as the sixth sense. In scientific term—quantum entanglement.

Indeed, everything is interconnected to some extent and in some ways, directly affecting or else indirectly influencing each other. Our biological body is made up of particles so it's not too difficult to imagine that there is also quantum entanglement happening between them.

 

Lightspeed

In the early 1900s, scientists still held firmly to the Newtonian view of the world. Then Albert Einstein came along and changed everything with his theory of relativity. He put forth a startling idea—there is no preferred frame of reference; everything, even time, is relative.

When we talk about lightspeed, we are referring to the speed or rate at which light travels in a perfect vacuum. Accordingly, lightspeed in this medium is a constant and is estimated to have a value of 186,000 miles per second.

The world is really a mathematical model, made up of myriads of complex equations. By means of Physics, we can derive the inherent formulas that define this space where matter exists. Einstein's relativity theory invariably deduces that nothing in this material world can travel faster than light. 

What this means is, no object in this dimension that we exist in can be faster than light. Ponder carefully over this sentence and you will realize that its premise rests on the word 'object'. In other words, any 'non-object' or 'non-matter' has the potential to move beyond the framework of relativity and surpass the speed of light.

 

The Fifth Dimension

Now, if every person has his or her own consciousness, then it would seem logical to infer that the whole universe must also possess a consciousness of its own as well.

Romans 8:22
For we know that the whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now.

It would be more correct to say that this world is the aggregate of the collective consciousnesses of every living thing, visible and invisible. Without this consciousness we cannot appreciate the extent of space nor the flow of time that we exist in. We can say it is consciousness which lends meaning to our existence in this world, of which time and space are the expressions of this meaning in our individual experiences.

Again, in quantum physics: The first dimension is a straight line, the second a plane, the third a solid, and the fourth dimension is the third plus time. What then is the fifth dimension? Are you ready for the answer? It is consciousness.

Referencing Einstein's equation: E = mc2, since the soul is a form of energy entity, then it can be equated to consciousness, the fifth dimension which exists in space and time, the fourth.

 

Self-Consciousness

Human beings are conscious not only of the world around them but also of themselves—their activities, their bodies, and their inner thoughts. Self-consciousness then is an awareness of one's existence, expressed in English words like 'I', 'me', 'my', etc., terms that each person uses to refer to oneself. This awareness or consciousness is sometimes referred to as the very soul of a person, manifested in real life as a personality.

Every morning as we wake up and open our eyes, everything that we see and interact with, our brain will ascertain this is the world we live in. This is self-awareness. Practically every person who is alive in this world will have his or her own autonomous awareness or consciousness of the people and things around them. Without this awareness, a person will cease to think or act independently and can only follow mechanically what has been wired or programmed into their being, just like a robot.

Since we have consciousness, our daily schedule offers us choices of many kinds, and life is filled with plenty of unpredictable elements which makes this world a much more interesting yet dangerous place to live in.

Self-consciousness, therefore, allows us to observe this world or space that we exist in, and make our own conclusions based on what we know and experience firsthand.

Cogito, ergo sum—I think; therefore I am (exist)—so asserted the French philosopher, mathematician and scientist, René Descartes. Then again, acknowledging the certainty of one's own existence on the basis of self-perception becomes questionable since we can doubt whether what we think or know to be true. If there is no self to attribute existence, then the cogito fails.

 

Schrödinger's Cat

People who studied or took an interest in Physics might have heard of 'Schrödinger's Cat'. But in case you haven't, here's the brief account: The Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger left his cat inside a gas chamber by accident. During this period, there is a 50% chance that the poison gas might be discharged. So is the cat dead or alive in the end?

Schrödinger's Cat was simply a teaching tool that he used to illustrate how some people were misinterpreting quantum theory. The imaginary experiment was constructed to show that over simplistic misinterpretations of quantum theory can lead to absurd results which do not match the real world. Einstein saw the same problem with the observer-driven idea and congratulated Schrödinger for his clever illustration.

Of course, the basic concept of quantum theory states that any particle is in a superimposed state (decay or non-decay) until verified under observation. Suppose the release of the poison gas is dependent on whether the particle decay or not decay, then the fate of Schrödinger's cat is subject to a 50-50 chance of survival. That being the case, before any observation is made the particle must of necessity be in a superimposed state, meaning the cat too must exist in the duality state of being alive and dead at the same time. Confused already?

Schrödinger's cat could be dead a second ago, then become alive the next second, dead again two seconds later, and alive once more three seconds thereafter, in random overlap until you open the door to check its being, then would this overlapping state come to a complete stop. And until you do so, the cat will go through an endless iteration, like a dice that keeps on rolling without knowing the final number it will end up with. As Einstein remarked:

God does not play dice (with the universe, that is).

Double-Slit Interference

Now what on earth is that? To understand what we are getting into, a little theory is necessary.

Christiaan Huygens, a brilliant Dutch physicist, mathematician, astronomer and inventor, was the first to publish his wave theory of light in 1678, though Isaac Newton thought otherwise. It was not until 1801 when the English physicist Thomas Young did his now-classic double slit experiment that the wave theory of light gained acceptance in the scientific community.

In modern physics, the double-slit experiment demonstrates that light and matter can display characteristics of classically defined waves and particle, and more so the fundamentally probabilistic nature of quantum mechanical phenomena. This is a general class of 'double path' experiment in which a single light wave is split into two separate waves that later combine into a single wave again. Changes in the path lengths of both waves result in a phase shift and create an interference pattern, thus demonstrating the principle of wave–particle duality.

The double-slit experiment (and its variations) has become a classic thought experiment for its clarity in expressing the central puzzles of quantum mechanics. Because it demonstrates the fundamental limitation of the observer's ability to predict experimental results, Richard Feynman, the American physicist, called it—

… a phenomenon which is impossible to explain in any classical way, and which has in it the heart of quantum mechanics. In reality, it contains the only mystery of quantum mechanics.

Now imagine asking the biggest and most fundamental question of all—what is reality? If you take the scientific approach, you'd go down to the smallest, indivisible quantum of matter or energy possible, isolate it as much as you can, and then measure its behavior under every bizarre scenario your mind can come up with. The results should provide a window into reality unlike any other, as it compels the laws of physics to unravel and reveal themselves to you. That's what the double-slit experiment is all about. Really.

Simply put, physicists have discovered that particles will only cohere into particles from its energy form under observation. In other words, the 'substances' before us are only converted from energy into 'solids' at the moment of observation. It may sound incredible but from the standpoint of the quantum world, some physicists have pointed out that the world we live in may have been constructed from energy.

We've discussed about Einstein's mass-energy equation earlier, that matter and energy are interchangeable, and that this fact does not negate or contravene the energy conservation law. Can we then safely state that in this vast universe, matter and energy are engaged in a ceaseless cycle of morphing between one of two states without ever vanishing? If so, what we perceive as real may well rest upon the very act of 'observation' as the deciding factor in determining reality.

Going a step further, is it then plausible to postulate that this world has been created with the end purpose of observation—in the realms of spirit and nature?

Hebrews 11:3
By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen (matter) was not made out of things that are visible (energy).

That's something for us to think about.

 

Mass-Energy Equation

We're all familiar with Albert Einstein's mass-energy equation: E = mc2 where matter (m) or substance can be converted into energy (E). Of course, energy do not vanish but merely changes into another form. A simple analogy is the food we consume everyday which goes into our stomach—it does not disappear but is digested and converted to energy that powers the body. What this implies is the objects we see in front of us can have the potential to transform to some form of energy.

But have you ever wondered that matter and energy may be, just may be interchangeable? Einstein did not say that his formula cannot be written in reverse, which means that mc2 = E is just as valid as E = mc2. This being the case, energy too can transform into matter! So what does that infer? Energy has the ability to materialize into solid objects.

Each stalk of flower, each blade of grass that we see, are they simply energy in materialized forms? The world that we know and live in, could it also be some form of stereoscopic projection constructed by energy itself?

Energy Conservation Law

Newton's Cradle

The law of conservation of energy states that the total energy of an isolated system remains constant; it is said to be conserved over time. What this means is that energy can neither be created nor destroyed; rather, it can only be transformed or transferred from one form to another.

Yet during the process of nuclear fission, physicists discovered that certain micro particles disappeared without a trace, which is both surprising and weird. For no apparent reason, the energy simply vanished without going through any conversion. Has it been transferred into another dimension? If such a dimension exists, that may well explain the phenomenon.

Now, if the energy represented did not vanish but was simply transferred to another space, then the energy conservation law still stands. We are developing a new concept here—the world as we know it isn't what we use to know or suppose; in reality there is another dimension or space which the naked eye cannot see. To enter that dimension will require one to transform into a form of energy, much like nuclear fission.

 

The Fourth Dimension

When we say that the third dimension is a solid, we are referring to this physical world that we live in. I'm sure most people are aware that we exist in a three-dimensional space; this is a fact within the confines of our human understanding.

What about the fourth dimension? When space is infused with time, then as time begins to move—with each passing minute and second—the physical entities within that space will also begin to experience motion and change. If time were to stop, every matter too will come to a standstill.

Thus, we can observe two facts here:

• Time and space are closely related.
• If all matters were to remain motionless throughout space, time will cease to exist. To put it another way, it is the movement of matters in space that renders meaning to time itself.

This is the concept of the fourth dimension.

Therefore, to a person inside the fourth dimension, this world would seem like a movie in constant edit mode, recording every single object at specific times in specific places, with different events happening at different moments. What this means is, if we could enter into this dimension, we would have transcended the limits of the third. In other words, like a movie director we can choose which time frame to view a person's life, from the time of birth to the time of death.

Imagine if you will the following scenario: when we're at home watching a movie, we can choose to watch it from start to finish or simply skip over the bulk of the story and watch the ending. To the characters inside a movie, time seems to progress slowly as the plot develops, but to the viewer in a different dimensional space, he or she can fast forward and see the whole story in a much shorter time span. By now, I trust that you should have a better grasp on the concept of the fourth dimension.

To summarize, people and objects inside the third dimensional space are constrained and restricted by time; to them, time is passing by the minute and second. But to someone inside the fourth dimension, time is irrelevant and has no meaning; the past and the future exist at the same time, just like a roll of film containing both the beginning and the ending of a show. 

In the medical field, it is not uncommon to hear of near-death experiences in which a person would see his or her whole life replayed before their eyes in a flash. Why did these people have such an experience? One possible explanation is they could have momentarily transited from the third to the fourth dimension, which could have happened at the sub-conscious level, or when their soul left the physical body, an out-of-body experience so to speak. The vivid details of every event in their childhood were recalled in an instant, as if a lifetime had been compressed into just a split second.

We'll have more to say when we look at the fifth dimension.

Quantum Leap

The word physics is derived from the Latin word physica, which simply means 'natural thing.' According to the Oxford English Dictionary, physics is defined as:

The branch of science concerned with the nature and properties of matter and energy. The subject matter of physics includes mechanics, heat, light, radiation, sound, electricity, magnetism, and the structure of atoms.

In short, Physics deals with the properties of matter and energy and the relationship between them. It also tries to explain the material world and the natural phenomena of the universe.

The scope of physics is both wide and vast. It not only deals with the smallest particles at the atomic level, but also astronomical phenomenon like the galaxies, the milky way, solar and lunar eclipses, and more. While physics is a branch of science, there are many sub-branches within the field of physics. These include classical, modern, nuclear and atomic physics, as well as optics, acoustics, mechanics, thermodynamics and the hybridized form of astrophysics, biophysics and geophysics.

Our focus and area of interest though is in the realm of Quantum Physics, also known as Quantum Mechanics, which aims at describing the behavioral and advanced properties of nature on the atomic scale. Albert Einstein, the renown physicist who formulated the theory of relativity, one of two pillars of modern physics alongside quantum mechanics, gave his candid take on the latter:

Quantum mechanics is certainly imposing. But an inner voice tells me that it is not yet the real thing. The theory says a lot but does not really bring us any closer to the secret of the Old One. I, at any rate, am convinced that He does not roll dice.

Quantum physics is not an easy subject to explain or understand within a short framework of time. If we could put it simply in terms of what we can relate:

The first dimension is a straight line, the second a plane, the third a solid, and the fourth dimension is the third plus time.

 

Preface

The mere mention of a laboratory usually conjure up images of a facility that provides controlled conditions to study or conduct scientific research, experiments, and measurement. Few realize that the human mind itself is also a virtual laboratory in which ideas are conceived, concepts are formulated and assumptions are ascertained to determine their validity on a constant basis, whether consciously during our waking moments or otherwise subconsciously in our dreams.

Our thoughts are under constant bombardment from the time we open our eyes by the things we see and hear, both in nature and in our interaction with human inventions and agencies—whether neutral or biased. The steady flux of information and disinformation will continue to change and reshape whatever worldview we may have built up over the course of our lives through upbringing or education, from the time we become self-conscious of our existence to its perceived purposes.

Life used to be much simpler and straightforward where black and white are clearly distinct and marked out for us. Or so we thought. The rapid progression of our modern civilization has blurred the lines between what is true and not, right and wrong, and even real and artificial. 'Science is stranger than fiction' has become a byword for our generation, and possibly the last to witness its demise and destruction, if the current technological direction and trend humanity is moving towards is anything but good to go by or surmise.

Despite over 200 years of evolutionistic indoctrination, human by nature—pun intended—is still very much a spirit being with spiritual needs. So even in this age of enlightenment which man claimed to have conquered outer space and developed the most advanced civilization in history, more than two-thirds of the world's people are still engaged in some form of deity worship or primitive beliefs. That there are adherents of UFOlogy and those who believe in alien gods or extraterrestrial beings should also come as no surprise to us in this scientific age.

The proliferation of such information online and in mainstream media has not only created greater awareness and interests in these previously unchartered waters, but also put Christianity under duress to come up with reasonable answers to questions posed by critics and advocates alike on the validity of its tenets of faith and Scripture. The call for relevancy certainly requires an apt but acute response:

Daniel 12:4
But you, Daniel, shut up these words and seal the book until the time of the end. Many shall traverse far and wide and knowledge shall increase.

We are in 'the time of the end' spoken of by the angel with the advent of the internet and international travel. Many are going farther distances and furthering their knowledge of the world they live in. Perhaps it's time Christians take a closer look at familiar scripture passages—it may be that God will remove the scales from our eyes to see the shocking truths which has been hidden all along in plain sight—because our own prejudices and preconceived notions could have thus blinded us.