The Physics of God: Unifying Quantum Physics, Consciousness, M-Theory, Heaven, Neuroscience and Transcendence

by Joseph Selbie, Goswami Amit, Amit Goswami (Foreword)

Setting aside the pervasive material bias of science and lifting the obscuring fog of religious sectarianism reveals a surprisingly clear unity of science and religion. The explanations of transcendent phenomena given by saints, sages, and near-death experiencers—miracles, immortality, heaven, God, and transcendent awareness—are fully congruent with scientific ?

discoveries in the fields of relativity, quantum physics, medicine, M-theory, neuroscience, and quantum biology.

The Physics of God describes the intersections of science and religion with colorful, easy-to-understand metaphors, making abstruse subjects within both science and religion easily accessible to the layman—no math, no dogma. This intriguing book:
Pulls back the curtain on the light-show illusion we call matter.
Connects string theory’s hidden brane worlds to religion’s transcendent heavens.
Reveals the scientific secret of life and immortality: quantum biology’s ?

startling discovery that the human body is continuously entangled.
Demonstrates the miracle-making power of our minds to effect instantaneous physiological changes.
Explains how the intelligent observer effect confirms our high spiritual ?

potential.

Compelling and concise, The Physics of God will make you believe in the unity of science and religion and eager to experience the personal transcendence that is the promise of both.

Genres: Science, Philosophy, Spirituality, Nonfiction, Religion, Physics, Audiobook

210 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 18, 2017

About the author

Selbie makes the complex and obscure simple and clear. A dedicated meditator for over forty years, he has taught yoga and meditation throughout the US and Europe. He has also been an avid follower of the unfolding new paradigm of science—with groaning bookshelves to show for it—and he is known for creating bridges of understanding between the modern evidenced-based discoveries of science and the ancient experience-based discoveries of the mystics.

Author and lecturer, Joseph studied ancient Western cultures at the University of Colorado and ancient Eastern cultures at UC Berkeley. He has had a keen interest in ancient history since grade school. He has taught and lectured on the principles of Eastern philosophy for over thirty years.

Selbie has also authored, The Yugas, a factual look at India’s tradition of cyclical history, and a sci/fi fantasy series, The Protectors Diaries, inspired by the abilities of mystics.

Selbie is a founding member of Ananda—a meditation-based community and spiritual movement inspired by Paramhansa Yogananda. He lives with his wife at Ananda Village near Nevada City, California.

Reviews

[Tandava Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The first gulp from the glass of natural sciences will turn you into an atheist, but at the bottom of the glass God is waiting for you.”
— Werner Heisenberg

I love that quote—one of many from scientists and saints throughout the book—and I think it captures well the overall theme. This is an excellent book for anyone on either side of the science/spirituality divide who wants to find a bridge between the two. This bridge isn’t a personal concern for me, but it was definitely fun to see it explored in such a clear and accessible way.

At a high level, I think what was most interesting for me was to see how symmetrical this supposed divide actually is, by looking at the most extreme discoveries on each side. If a non-physicist, non-mathematician were asked to prove all the—honestly pretty crazy—things that quantum physics talks about, they would obviously fail before they could even start. Even knowing that it’s been done, I personally can’t imagine how some of this stuff is even in the realm of what I consider to be “math.” It’s just ridiculous. But enough really brilliant people who can do this sort of thing have confirmed it that I’m willing to accept that it makes sense somehow.

The thing about spirituality is that it’s the exact same situation. To people who know as little about it as I know about quantum physics, it sounds patently ridiculous. But the people who do deeply understand spiritual laws can use them to prove spiritual truths. The mere fact that the average person sitting down to meditate for the first time doesn’t immediately have a vision of God doesn’t disprove God’s existence any more than the fact that I wouldn’t be able to understand quantum mathematics without undertaking years and years of study first.

But what happens in The Physics of God is that Selbie takes these extremes so far that we realize they actually, miraculously, meet up in the end, in a recognition of consciousness as the true basis of reality. Marvelously done, and well worth a read.

[Ambika Gupta · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most amazing book I have ever read. Extremely thought-provoking. How the author has articulated complex discoveries in the fields of relativity, quantum biology, medicine, neuroscience, M-theory, and quantum physics was commendable, even a layman can understand and make sense of what is written. The quotes of Saints and Sages for me were like arguments in the courtroom, trying to connect the dots of science and spirituality, and stories of Near-death experiences were evidence to back the arguments. I believe everything read with the right mind can give you a lot of interpretation.

I believe in spirituality, stillness, meditation, and manifestation. So everything made sense to me, and it strengthened my faith. Those who reject spirituality and want a more scientific approach, well, I'm not a physicist. For me, Quantum mechanics is as difficult to understand as, for you to feel the presence of supreme authority or a High energy i.e god during meditation. One day of physics will not help me understand complex science and one day of mediation cannot make you feel the presence of God. It requires patience and perseverance.

Passion and inquiry are required in both spiritual science and scientific materialism to discover the truth underlying miracles. One cannot sit in the center and judge whether or not God exists. I respect science for the efforts it is making in understanding the true nature of the local three-dimensional D-brane universe.

With the same patience and perseverance, the author attempted to teach complicated science without the use of algebra, numbers, or charts. Though there is still a lot of room for improvement, as some topics demand more in-depth examination. But, altogether, I'm glad I chose this book.

Until I come across something more insightful, I believe it will be in my top five books.

[Dolf van der Haven · Rating 2 out of 5]

No doubt, the author has a way to explain quantum physics in a very accessible manner. He did a great job explaining David Bohm's work again (I read Bohm's Implicate Order before, which is densely written...).
What this author does not succeed in for me is to effectively link the findings/theories of quantum physics to the experiences of various saints/sages/near-death experiencers. It's all too much "it looks the same, it feels the same, so it must be the same", which is possible, but not accompanied with any shred of objective proof or even an attempt to make it likely to believe.
So the premise of the book (showing that findings of quantum physics and those of saints/etc. are the same and therefore proof the validity of the latter) is stil based on what you decide to believe, not on objective facts. Which is a pity. There is too much jumping to conclusions going on, a sudden equation of the underlying implicate order with consciousness (without even defining the latter), as well as simply rejecting alternative explanations because they don't fit the message the author wants to bring across.
Don't get me wrong: I am not one of those materialistic scientists that the author so despises. I do believe that consciousness is the foundation of the universe. I just don't like the unscientific approach this author takes to try and make that believable while twisting both science and religion.

[Darren Smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not good. Selbie's hypothesis is based almost entirely on third-party anecdotal evidence that can neither be proved nor disproved (though he tries hard to suggest that patterns in the accounts support this as fact/evidence). There are other aspects of the book that make you scratch your head as well. It is unfortunate as I wanted this book to be engaging and insightful.

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

**4-4.5/5**

Really good! I liked how he took time to first establish the facts in each chapter and then talk about how those facts could serve as proof of his own theories/opinions/arguments about heaven and the afterlife. I also enjoyed his humor when explaining the denser scientific material and the time he took to break down as far as he could to make it understandable.

The chapter on Near Death Experiences (NDEs) was interesting and I saw some nit picks of that, but in all honesty his inclusion of NDEs only adds to the possibility of heaven being an actual place, and the facts and reality that he included before that can at least be given credit to create some more thought around the possibility. I wasn't bothered so much by that at all. It was really thought provoking in all honesty.

I wasn't really big on chapter 8 "Ye Are Gods" because it was the chapter that was most centered around religion and less on actual, scientific findings.

Other than that I really enjoyed this book a lot. I read a chapter a day so I didn't overwhelm myself with the science and I think that helped the digestion and appreciation of the material.

[Cristina Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author has a wonderful gift of making an esoteric, complex academic subject accessible to a curious reader. Who would of thought these a compendium integrating some of the most important theories of our time would be such a fun read? Highly recommended.

[☾ · Rating 5 out of 5]

(4.5/5) It is a very good book, it explains in a simple way many theories of physics related to a possible theory that he calls the energeticverse, which is where everything comes from. Several ideas were new to me like the one about crystals, which I hadn't heard before. I think it's a good book, plus it kept me glued to reading endlessly, and few books manage to capture my attention like that.

//

Es un muy buen libro, explica de forma sencilla muchas teorías de la física relacionadas con una posible teoría a la que el llama el energiverso qué es de donde todo surge. Varias ideas fueron nuevas para mi como la de los cristales, la cual no había oído antes. Creo que es un buen libro, además me mantuvo pegada a la lectura sin cesar, y pocos libros logran captar así mi atención.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a profound look at the universe, matter, energy, ourselves and all that exists. It's thought provoking and possibly life changing no matter what your beliefs (or nonbeliefs) are. Fascinating experience!

[Vincent · Rating 3 out of 5]

5 stars for presenting and asking the right questions, 2 stars for jumping into aloof projections about what NDE or transcendent experiences mean and generating more aloof explanations. This book is a good read and we absolutely should get more author writings that combat religious scientific materialism with philosophical or spiritual scientific inquiry. Transcendent experiences and scientific gaps exist, the door must stay open in order for progress to happen.

[Matt Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author attempts to bridge the gap between science and religion, specifically spirituality and transcendence. He does this through first-hand accounts of near-death experiencers, the intelligent observer paradox, multiple personality disorder, and many more. His focus is on quantum mechanics concepts such as string theory, and more accurately, holographic string theory. The book is difficult to wrap your head around, I had to put it down after every chapter to stop and think about what I had just read. If you enjoy philosophy, religion, and science, this book is fascinating and I highly recommend it.

[Gail · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow - this is a mind-blowing book. For anyone who has had the slightest taste of a transcendent experience, it is amazingly affirming. Basically, not only does science, since Einstein and more and more up to the present time, not refute the possibility of God, heaven, life after death, and more - it describes realities that positively support those foundational transcendent ideas of world religions. You learn about quantum physics, string theory, the intelligent observer phenomenon, the energy-verse, how people with multiple personality disorder not only change behavior but physical characteristics of their bodies, and how these discoveries support many experiences of saints, mystics, yogis, and near-death experiencers.

[Chris Haley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mind-bending book that explores the boundaries of science and the implications for the divine. Without a deep scientific grounding, it was hard for me to distinguish between scientific theories and personal speculation. But it was a fun journey nonetheless.

There is an element of "the God of the gaps" in his writing, the idea that if we cannot explain it, it must be God. But he also goes beyond those arguments, making his case for a higher power as the best possible explanation given the available evidence. For me, there are no conclusions to be found here - it merely furthers my realization for how little I understand of the universe.

[Prabhakar · Rating 4 out of 5]

The workings of Consciousness are just as lawful as the workings of gravity. It is only because science has yet to understand those higher laws, known now only to men and women with direct transcendent experience, that scientific materialists dismiss the results of those laws as impossible..... This is quote from the book which summaries the book.
The Kindle price is very high so rated 4 instead of 5.
Oshi had said that there only consciousness, but scientists can not measure it.
Very true.
If your mind is open about learning about multiple religious thoughts and intermingling of science, this is a book for you.

[Scott Mitts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal book. Worth the read and re-read.

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

The hypothesis and concepts are very interesting. This book exposed me to a lot of ideas which I had not heard of and for those two reasons it gets two stars. However, make no mistake the spiritual assertions in this book are not grounded in science. The author claims to be a physics but gets fundamental concepts in physics incorrect. For example, the claim that the double slit experiment requires an "intelligent observer" is incorrect. When physicists refer to the need for observation they are referring to observation by the Universe, that is, any interaction with the universe which could be as simple as a photon interaction. As long as the particle going through the slits interacts with the universe in some way the wavefunction will collapse to particle behaviour because the state of superposition is an extremely delicate one.
Other parts of the book may extraordinary claims about multiple personality disorder (MPD) which provide no citation to any credible literature. I challenge you to find any credible documentation in the literature showing an MPD patient manifesting scars and moles for some of their personalities and not others. This book is a spiritual book and that's fine. The problem I have is when they claim to be backed by Science without providing evidence of this or grossly misrepresenting the Science.

[Matthew Marcinowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly fascinating read, even after personally precluding it with The God Delusion, that aims to debunk extreme scientific materialism. I love that Joseph incorporates quantum and string theory facets like the Intelligent Observer Paradox and the holographic principle to soften the blow for someone like myself, who doesn’t currently identify with spirituality in any way.

If I were to belch a gripe, I’d say I was a little taken aback that, after spending 8 chapters building up the case for the ‘The Physics of God’, Selbie openly admits that he has not achieved a transcendent state through stillness and inner absorption. This wouldn’t be an issue at all if he treated the topic as theory as opposed to undeniable fact. I’d equate this to your everyday Christian trying to convert someone without themselves never having known or experienced God.

Nevertheless, it’s a minor gripe. Selbie is definitely onto something here and I fully intend to delve deeper into the discussion.

[Dalaina May · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the physics part of the book, and I am open to the author's conclusions. However, his conclusion did not necessarily follow the science. It was one of several possible explanations. I did appreciate the author's ability to explain complex science in a way that was easy to understand even for someone not trained in the field of physics.

[Briscli · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an incredibly stimulating read. The author does a brilliant job of unraveling the layers of quantum physics to facilitate understanding. I loved this book!

[Alejandro Ceron · Rating 4 out of 5]

La Física de Dios de Joseph Selbie es un libro que, a través de descubrimientos científicos trascendentales, pretende explicar la existencia de Dios y de un mundo bidimensional compuesto de energía, en el cual se encuentra el entendimiento supremo de las cosas.

Resultó una lectura entretenida, pero, al tiempo, de cuidado, porque se explican términos de física y matemáticas con los cuales no estoy familiarizado. No obstante ello, la explicación que realiza el autor sobre los mismos resulta ser práctica y, a la vez, clara, por lo que agradezco haber aprendido sobre temas ajenos a mi área del conocimiento.

En tal sentido, a grandes rasgos, lo que manifiesta el texto tiene que ver con que hay aspectos que la ciencia y la física, a través de sus teorías, no se han podido explicar. Para el autor, esa circunstancia acontece llanamente porque la ciencia no es capaz de elucubrar aspectos que no pueden ser evidenciados con la razón, sino que, más bien, aparecen de la abstracción de la conciencia.

Explica que la física cuántica y la teoría de cuerdas son dos áreas que permiten explicar el por qué de la existencia de un mundo de energía. En efecto, señala que el mundo no está compuesto por materia sino por energía y, por tal, la física cuántica permite evidenciar que la materia se vuelve tal solamente cuando existe un observador inteligente que le da forma a la energía.

En lo que hace a ese respecto, señala que los cuerpos y el mundo “real” es una especie de holograma que se proyecta desde el mundo de la energía, el cual es bidimensional. En ese sentido, tal aspecto permite entender fenómenos tales como los milagros, la telequinesis y las experiencias cercanas a la muerte. Dice, por ejemplo, que los milagros se producen por personas o sabios que pueden abstraerse del mundo real y, por tanto, pueden cambiar lo que se proyecta en este.

Respecto de la muerte, da a comprender que esta no existe. Cuando alguien muere, la energía que compone sus cuerpos vuelve al mundo de la energía, del cual proviene, y, por tanto, vuelve a hacer parte del entendimiento supremo. Por ello, las personas que han tenido experiencias cercanas a la muerte dicen que, cuando mueren, sienten una tranquilidad absoluta; comprenden todo aquello que los rodea; sienten que vuelven a estar en el lugar del cual salieron.

Me pareció interesante el análisis que hace de un pasaje bíblico que señala que los seres humanos están hechos a imagen y semejanza de Dios. Lo que siempre se ha señalado es que esa referencia tiene que ver con el cuerpo del ser humano. Recuerdo que las clases de religión del colegio siempre tenían esa conclusión. En esta ocasión el autor comprende que la imagen y semejanza tiene que ver con el espíritu o, más bien, con la energía que compone nuestros cuerpos, pues, para él, esa energía viene precisamente del entendimiento absoluto de las cosas y, cuando se muere, vuelve y se une a éste. Es decir, somos seres creados de parte de la energía Divina proveniente de Dios.

El autor habla también sobre las personas que sufren de alteración de múltiples personalidades (se que el nombre científico no es ese, lo siento), para señalar que, según el análisis realizado por científicos, cada vez que la persona cambia de personalidad, cambian también los rasgos físicos del individuo. Eso me parece impresionante. Indica que, por ejemplo, de una personalidad a otra, puede cambiar hasta el iris de los ojos, o la forma de la voz. Resultaría interesante ahondar al respecto.

Las citas que realiza sobre muchos físicos, matemáticos, religiosos, textos sagrados son muy ilustrativas sobre lo que pretende explicar.

Así, pues, considero que fue un texto que bien valió la pena leer. De esas lecturas que enriquecen y que dan mucho que pensar. Afianza, además, mi forma de pensar respecto de Dios. Considero que existe un Dios, creador de todo lo que vemos y entendemos; que es un Dios bueno y para nada vengativo, como a veces lo pintan en las religiones; que nos otorga el libre albedrio, lo que nos permite actuar en la forma en la cual consideremos, pero que, por medio de la razón o la conciencia, siempre sabremos cuáles actos son buenos y cuáles no; un Dios que se da cuenta absolutamente de todo lo que hacemos, nunca para juzgarnos (de pronto el análisis hecho en el libro es cierto y como hacemos parte de la energía divina, pues de allí salimos, Él sabe todo lo que pasa); un Dios que, cuando te le acercas, puedes tener la relación de mejor amigo, pero cuando te alejas, igualmente está pendiente de ti por si lo necesitas; un Dios que nos cuida, no de la muerte, porque esta es una causa natural de la vida, sino de no sucumbir ante el mal.

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

AN EASTERN RELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVE ON UNIFYING SCIENCE AND RELIGION

Author Joseph Selbie wrote in the Introduction to this 2018 book, “There is---and can only be---ONE reality. Those versed in the science of religion, and those versed in the science of matter, simply use different methods to explore the same reality… Spiritual scientists discover its properties through rigorously controlled transcendent experience and call it ‘Reality.’ How to UNIFY the findings of science and religion, however, is not immediately obvious, thus the need for books like this one. The two approaches… use very different languages… Many people in science and many people in religion fervently deny that THEIR reality could have ANYTHING to do with the other… Yet, if we look deeper… we can find a surprisingly clear unity of science and religion. In this unity we discover that the explanations of transcendent phenomena given by enlightened saints and sages---miracles, life after death, heaven, God, and our ability to attain personal transcendent awareness---are matched by explanations of material phenomena given by scientists in the fields of relativity, quantum physics, medicine, string theory, neuroscience, and quantum biology. In my decades-long exploration, I have come to appreciate that the findings of science and religion and the findings of the science of matter---together---combine to give us the most complete view of reality: what I think of as the physics of God.” (Pg. 18)

He recounts the famous ‘two slits’ photons experiment of quantum mechanics, and comments, “WHY… did the photons behave differently? Nothing had changed. The ONLY difference in the two experimental setups was that the passage of the photons through the slits had been measured by an INTELLIGENT OBSERVER.” (Pg. 28) He continues, “The need for an intelligent observer is not the only hole in the argument for scientific materialism. When we look to the findings of the disciplines that deal most directly with life and consciousness, such as medicine and neurobiology, we find many more such holes.” (Pg. 30) He adds, “Yet another hole in scientific materialism’s belief system is evidence that information can be exchanged from one mind to another. Oddly enough, some of the evidence comes from the CIA… The CIA’s Stargate program ran for more than 20 years. The program was abandoned in 1995 because the data gathered by its remote viewers was not CONSISTENTLY reliable enough to make it useful as an intelligence-gathering method—yet it WAS inconsistently valid.” (Pg. 32)

He states, “The science of religion is a collection of disciplines, usable by anyone, which, when performed with determined focus and intention, inevitably result in personal transcendent experience. From personal transcendent experience come the revelations that give meaning to all religions. The disciplines that bring personal transcendent experience deserve to be considered scientific because they provide consistent and repeatable results when practiced to perfection.” (Pg. 37)

He observes, “There are clear similarities between the experiences described by those having near-death experiences and the descriptions and transcendent experiences given by enlightened saints and sages. Those who achieve perfect stillness and inner absorption… have the same empirical results.” (Pg. 54)

He explains, “The primary difference between the science of religion and the science of matter is in the discovery process: the science of matter’s view of reality is based on the repeatable and consistent findings of PHYSICAL experiments; the science of religion’s view of reality is based on the repeatable and consistent findings of TRANSCENDENT experience.” (Pg. 56)

He points out, “Why is the Higgs field important for us to understand? Because it demonstrates that even mass… the property that appears to give one object more ‘substance’ than another, is simply due to the interactions of the atom’s energy with the energy of an invisible field: energies interacting with energies. Everything we perceive, from the seemingly solid world around us to the very sensation of weight, is energy. Matter is, genuinely, a light-show illusion… it isn’t what it seems.” (Pg. 66)

He suggests, “The energy-verse is also, I believe, the location of the heavens of all religious traditions; where we live after death; where angelic beings dwell. The essential qualities of the energy-verse---that it is nearly infinite, that it exists ‘beyond’ the physical universe, and that it contains only non-material, two-dimensional, high-frequency vibrating energy, matches uncannily well the description of the heavens, or luminous ASTRAL regions, given by hundreds of saints, sages, and near-death experiencers.” (Pg. 78-79) Later, he adds, “the energy-verse is an ocean of energy out of which our bubble universe forms. The energy-verse contains the information, the hidden properties, the holographic template that makes our physical universe form as it does. Nor does creation take place once only; rather, the energy-verse constantly creates the physical universe. Without the holographic mechanism of creation, the universe would wink out of existence.” (Pg. 102)

He asserts, “The holographic principle… states that the information determining the behavior of the three-dimensional volume of space we call the universe is ‘pasted on’ to the ‘boundary’ between our three-dimensional universe and a two-dimensional brane…. [which] results in the colossal three-dimensional holographic projection we call the universe. One’s first encounter with the idea that the universe is a holographic projection can engender bemused disbelief or outright skepticism. The holographic projections with which we are familiar tend to be fuzzy and insubstantial, whereas the world we know is both finely detailed and solid… [But this], however, does not negate the possibility that it is a holographic projection.” (Pg. 98)

He recounts, “I have come to understand from my personal experiences in meditation that my life-changing experiences with hallucinatory drugs was in fact an unusually enhanced experience of my own life force---my sacred energy body. Today, by using techniques that increase my awareness of my own energy body, such as meditation… I can experience that surpassing state of awareness---which I discovered accidentally through drugs---through much more reliable, consistent, and lasting means.” (Pg. 107)

He asserts, “There is no inevitable, preprogrammed, hard-coded destiny in our genes; outside influences, such as behaviors, and even our thoughts and feelings can substantially alter gene activation and gene expression.” (Pg. 114)

He says, “Physical death is the withdrawal of the invisible organization of energy from the physical body. When the template-like holographic energy-body is withdrawn, the physical body loses its coordinated entangled coherence with its holographic energy body… and the physical body decays into lifeless atoms and molecules.” (Pg. 125) Later, he adds, “Our energy-body is the source of our life-energy, our feelings, our likes and dislikes, our motivations. The energy-body is the source of most of what we think of as ourselves. It is constantly, dynamically, and integrally US.” (Pg. 127)

He states, “We are left with the fact that an intelligent observer is---somehow---integral to the formation of matter.” (Pg. 138) He suggests, “Consciousness is the crux of the physics of God: it is in consciousness that science and religion come together, and it is through an understanding of consciousness that we can reconcile the apparent conflicts between them. Acceptance of consciousness as the foundation of the cosmos, however, does not come easily.” (Pg. 144) He summarizes, “Science and religion find their common ground in consciousness.” (Pg. 149) He acknowledges, “The leap to embrace consciousness… is the leap that nearly everyone finds the most difficult to make… embracing the need for an ephemeral-seeming CONSCIOUSNESS in order for the cosmic light show to exist at all demands a vastly greater imaginative reach.” (Pg. 175)

He concludes, “The saints and sages add to the discoveries of modern scientists a breadth of vision that science has yet fully to achieve… The testimony of the saints and sages does not counter the findings of science; it enlarges upon them. The workings of Consciousness are just as lawful as the workings of gravity. It is only because science has yet to understand those higher laws… that scientific materialists dismiss the results of those laws as impossible.” (Pg. 180-181)

This book will be of keen interest to those seeking reconciliation between “Eastern” religious views and science.

[Haur Bin Chua · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The first gulp from the glass of natural sciences will turn you into an atheist, but at the bottom of the glass God is waiting for you.
- Werner Heisenberg

I find it very difficult to rate this book. It’s a good attempt to bridge the realm of scientific materialism and spirituality. Today in the scientific world, the more we know, the more we are aware our ignorance. Similarly, our understanding of spirituality barely scratches the surface beyond personal and historical experiences.

Hence with the many blind spots, it’s really hard to be able to effectively piece the puzzle together to unravel the true picture. Nevertheless, the book provides some interesting theories that I have not heard or thought of before.

Classical physics creates clear distinction between energy and matter. However, as we go beyond the atomic level into the quantum state, we realised that energy and matter are essentially the same thing; a particle can exist as a wave and vice versa. This has been proven by the double slit experiment where a photon can exhibit both characteristics of particle and wave. Also, discovery of quantum entanglement proving that information can travel faster than speed of light further supporting that our universe is non local. At this level, science becomes unexplainable and even mysterious. The scientific community has since accepted this quantum weirdness and moved on. But what is inferred from all these is that we are not merely matter but balls of energy as well.

The author’s hypothesis is that our world is a vast energy verse, where our observable physical world is merely a hologram projection from the spiritual dimension. The spiritual realm is out there and we are able to transcend into it through meditation, near death experience or even certain drugs. He validated the theory with spiritual experiences of saints, sages and near-death experiencers, as well as his own brush with transcendence.

As a person who is both spiritual and scientific, I find the hypothesis that the existence of a spiritual dimension which imprints itself unto the physical dimension compelling but at the same time can easily be branded as pseudo-science.

I guess the mystery of creation falls beyond our understanding. Whether one believes in God or not, science is still too blunt a tool to prove it definitively. As such, it still ultimately requires a leap of faith.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” Proverbs 3:5-6

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whoa. Mind blown. I listened to this in one sitting on a road trip. I wouldn’t recommend that. This is a LOT to unpack.

You know Maslow’s hierarchy of needs - top tier - self-actualization? This is like somewhere above that level. Lots of extremely interesting concepts. Not sure I buy them all, and I’m not going to take the time to look up these studies.

Selbie does a great job of dumbing down a lot of these physics principles for the layman, although I still struggled to follow some of it.

My biggest takeaways from this book:
- Science in and of itself is like a religion
- Science cannot prove or disprove everything
- There are a lot of close-minded scientists
- Crazy things happen that are inexplicable

If you’re looking for very specific proof of existence of the God that you worship, don’t come looking here. Selbie merely believes there is proof of a God and that you can reach transcendence through any religion - just pick one. I think he leans toward the eastern ones. According to him there are many heavens and hells, although hell is rarely mentioned. We are all already living in those realms. Our spirits live there, and we are merely in our bodies in order to participate for a short period of time in this realm.

As a Christian, a lot of this just doesn’t resonate with me, but it gets you thinking, and I appreciate the crazy mental trip I took today along with the physical road trip. I want to read more about near death experiences and multiple personality disorder now.

The most important thing I think anyone can take away from this book is that when it comes to God, there will never be 100% indisputable, scientific proof. And that’s ok. Then what would faith be for?

[Larry Gottlieb · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book contains what may be the best explanation of physics in lay terms, as well as how physics is relevant to human experience. Mr. Selbie offers clear, highly readable descriptions of how 20th century physics helps illuminate extra-ordinary experience, the experience of reality outside the bounds of our common understanding of the world and of ourselves. He also helps readers understand how that physics demolishes scientific materialism, the belief that all things can or will be explained by science. The book is an enjoyable read and kept my interest throughout.

The Physics of God is weighed down by an overdose of quotations from other writers and thinkers, especially as it pertains to the author’s effort to connect the two words in the title, physics and God. His description of modern physics is too involved to hold the attention of the average reader. He builds his case that any intelligent person will look at the scientific data and his interpretation thereof and will conclude that God has resumed a rightful place in science after being banished by scientific materialism. In this book, the reader finds no room for interacting with the material and doing some wondering of his or her own.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book brought me to tears. It gave me so much hope. I’m very much a person that likes to unify spirituality and science. This book started off a bit slow and I wasn’t optimistic about it at first. However, I kept reading on and I am so glad I did. It is one of my absolute favorite books. I learned that the slower parts were necessary to understand the bigger messages the author was trying to convey. He talks about different scientific theories and how they correlate with and support an existence after bodily death. This is everything I had been looking for to use science to show evidence of a Heaven and afterlife. The author has a great way of explaining things. I learned so much about M theory, string theory, theory of relativity, biology and dna, space and time, etc. I could go on and on. This is definitely one of my favorites and I want to read more like it!

[Wendy Slater · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very thorough discussion of the similarities between physics, the essence of religions, and the experiences of the mystics and sages.

I would not suggest this book for a beginner or someone who has little knowledge of physics and specifically quantum physics. I have a background in the study of college physics, biology, biochemistry, etc. ( studied the subjects about 35 years ago), and I found parts of the book too dense. The book was riddled with references to concepts that had been explained earlier in the book~I found this a little confusing.

I felt that too much information was getting crammed into a single book. Perhaps, it would have been better as a 2 volume book.

I will reread it again at a later date after I have synthesized the info provided in the book. Overall, it was interesting.

[Samuel · Rating 2 out of 5]

For a long time, I have been grappling with the question of crafting the language of how I can relate what I read from several other books on topics having to do with quantum theory (such that I can share my newly found insight more aptly with others) Joseph Selbie's book fits the bill! He provides a clear description of the difficult concepts of quantum physics such as nonlocality and entanglement, the need for an intelligent viewer, and the dimensions and branes posited by M-theory. Even more importantly to me, he has penetrated the deeper meaning and significance of these important subjects. This book serves as an excellent introduction to those like me who are curious but not 9 to 5 scientistic!

[OJB · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was a lot of interesting science in here, and much of it was quite well explained. There were also some interesting stories and anecdotes concerning religion and alternative beliefs. My problem was how the author took various facts, anecdotes, and speculation and assembled them into a narrative which suited his aims. There were also several situations where the "facts" were wrong, or at least an extreme interpretation or opinion on a real theory. If you take this book too seriously you will be hugely mislead about the reality of phenomena the book covers. So accept it for what it is: a good explanation of some difficult physics, some interesting speculation on fringe subjects, and an attempt at connecting reality with the supernatural. But don't take it too seriously!

[Sohaib · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book provides an acceptable overview of certain physics concepts, but ultimately falls into the realm of pseudo-intellectual nonsense. Selbie, lacking expertise in both physics and academic religious studies, merely draws from his experience with university-level science courses. He criticizes genuine scientists for their belief in 'scientific materialism' and promotes the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda. These teachings, which Selbie romanticizes, include a mix of Buddhism and Hinduism elements such as meditation and reincarnation, presented as the 'science of religion.' He posits that everything originates from the 'energy-verse,' a term he coined, and supports his pseudoscientific claims by misinterpreting various religious scriptures.

[J. L. Friday · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read An End to Upside Down Thinking 12 months ago and finishing the year out with The Physics of God felt like the perfect bookend. Tmk it’s the Observer Effect and NOT the Intelligent Observer Effect (no intelligence/consciousness required, but correct me if I’m wrong).

However, aside from that minor irritation and other biases, it’s an easy to read primer for various potential connections between metaphysics and observable, measurable reality — and maybe a stark reminder for materialists that there’s still magic out there waiting to be discovered. Or maybe within, depending on your perspective.

[Lucretia Apperloo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book for the 52 books in 52 weeks 2023 challenge prompt: A book you meant to read last year.
I received this one for my birthday in March of last year, started it, and never finished it. It's a bit heavy and goes really deep, which I usually love, but for some reason, gave up on it last year. So, I picked it up again this month, and boom, done! Reading this one alongside Living Untethered by Michael A. Singer was crazy wild! They both say a lot of the same things!

My biggest takeaway from this book is that one doesn't have to believe in either religion OR science. When you dig deep enough, they clearly support one another.