The Quantum Hermetica Part 2: The Principle of Correspondence

Written by Mark Pattini

In the previous blog, we explored the principle of mentalism and how it is explained via physics. There we saw that modern attempts at unifying quantum mechanics with general relativity reveal that space is an illusion generated from underlying entangled quantum information. Corroborating this, we discussed the parallels between modern physics and virtual information processing effects. Lastly, we discussed the identification of consciousness as entangled information under integrated information theory and other approaches. The end result is that spacetime, i.e., physical reality, is emergent from consciousness in a mental universe. If you are interested, check it out here in the last blog.

This is all explained in much more detail in Chapter II of The Quantum Hermetica (TQH), which can be found here. 

However, in this blog, we will explore the second Hermetic Principle, which is the Principle of Correspondence. This principle deals with what is going on behind the "virtual reality" we call the "physical world," namely the world beneath emergent spacetime, and how in turn, it correlates to what goes on inside the physical world.

As explained in TQH, the Principle of Correspondence has two separate but ultimately equivalent expressions: "As Above, So Below," and "As Within, So Without." The former relates the physical world to the higher spiritual "supernatural" realm, and the latter connects the outer physical world to the inner world of the mind. Don't worry; I will explain the equality between these two statements later in this post.

First, "As Above, So Below" follows the idea that our natural world is emergent from some deeper order of reality. If spacetime, "Below," is emergent, then it must derive from something else that it emerges from, "Above." According to physics, and as was explained in the previous blog, spacetime emerges from underlying entangled quantum information. This quantum information, in turn, is described as existing in a sub-spatial domain of reality called Hilbert space, which are the quantum probability waves before they are measured and collapsed.

A documentary by YouTuber InspiringPhilosophy on the physics behind spacetime emerging from inner space.

As this Hilbert space is outside of our spacetime, it matches our definition of a "supernatural" or "non-physical" realm of existence, which is to say that it corresponds (hence the Principle of Correspondence) to the physical world "Below." Oddly, TQH documents how The Kybalion describes this non-physical plane, and it seems to neatly fit how Hilbert space in emergent spacetime theories are treated:

"As was noted in the previous chapter, our spacetime emerges from Hilbert space.1 This is not to say that it emerges from a mathematical abstraction, but rather that it emerges from very real quantum states, which exist in a domain of reality referred to in mathematical terms as 'Hilbert space.' As spacetime emerges from this domain of reality, it can not be described as spatial in the same sense that we speak of things as having a spatial extension, direction, dimensionality, and so forth. It exists beneath all of these things. Yet it can still be called a domain of reality. The world in which these quantum states exists is very real. Interestingly this sort of description matches closely what The Kybalion describes as a 'plane' existing beyond the physical world:

"At the beginning we may as well consider the question so often asked by the neophyte, who desires to be informed regarding the meaning of the word 'Plane,' which term has been very freely used, and very poorly explained, in many recent works upon the subject of occultism, The question is generally about as fellows: 'Is a Plane a place having dimensions, or is it merely a condition or state?' We answer: 'No, not a place, nor ordinary dimension of space; and yet more than a state or condition. it may be considered as a state or condition, and yet the state or condition is a degree of dimension, in a scale subject to measurement.'

Here we see that it is not a 'place' in the classic sense of its being spatial. Yet it is also compared to a condition, yet it is not itself a condition. We will see why it is compared to a condition shortly. However, the description given also seems to describe it as being somewhat akin to a 'place,' even though it is not in the proper sense. This matches very well with the physics notion of Hilbert space existing as a domain of reality, yet not as literal 'space' in the proper sense of the word."

It fits the description given of this spiritual plane of reality, and it also neatly corresponds to physical reality in that it causes the latter to emerge. This matches the description of "As Above, So Below." However, what about "As Within, So Without?"

Here an interesting fact comes to mind. As you may recall from the previous blog, according to the field of quantum cognition, our own thoughts can be modeled as behaving as wave functions in the Schrodinger equation. Only wavefunctions, or at least the quantum probability waves they describe, are what exist in this sub-spatial Hilbert space realm. If this is literally the case, as the lithium isotope experiments mentioned last time imply it is, this would mean that quantum probability waves literally are mental items which encode thoughts and emotions as fundamental information. 

If we extrapolate this observation to Hilbert space at large, we see how the second statement of the Principle of Correspondence meshes with the first. The Hilbert space that is described as being "Above" in TQH (or "below spacetime" depending on what convention of language you use) is also an inner mental space that your personal internal mental space has access to, even if only to a small limited subset of it.   

This "area" or "space" would exist as a collective inner mental space shared by everything and would ultimately span the cosmic mind-simulating physical reality. Thus, the world above is also the inner world, which, by extension, then corresponds to the outer world of physical reality. Thus it becomes apparent that "As Within, So Without" is both describable with physics and is simply another way of stating "As Above, So Below."

A short video on the physics behind the Principle of Correspondence from YouTuber Christian Idealism.

Of course, though, we are not conscious of most of this collective inner mental plane, as our consciousness is, for the most part, limited to our own minds. However, some exceptions exist in the form of documented psi phenomena (we will discuss psi phenomena in a later post). Most of this inner mental plane is located in our subconscious. This forms the basis for what psychologist Carl Jung referred to as the collective subconscious or collective unconscious.

Jung's collective unconscious was first discovered when he compared the dreams of his patients from different parts of the world. Despite coming from different societies with vastly disconnected cultural backgrounds, he noticed that his patients often had the same elements in their dreams, or dreams with content that matched divided material that the patient had no access. A bizarre example of this is given in Chapter III of TQH:

"A very astonishing yet perhaps politically incorrect and crass example of this effect was recorded by Jung from one of his psychiatric patients. This is the famous case of the 'Solar Phallus Man'5. One of his patients had a strange dream with archetypal imagery of God's phallus hanging from the sun, bringing life to the earth by ejaculating on it.

"This story circulated among Jung's colleagues who found this to be humorous. A short time later, the contents of an ancient Mithraic text were published for the first time describing identical archetypal symbolism as in the patient's dream. Furthermore, Jung was quite certain that the patient had never seen this imagery or known of this text before. The only way to account for the contents of the patient's dream was through archetypal material bleeding through into his dream from the collective unconscious."

With just a simplistic materialistic model of reality, the phenomena, as seen in Jung's patient, makes no sense. However, using the framework in TQH, there is a ready explanation for this. Reality is simulated from the collective unconscious, which encodes, among other things, the archetypal Solar Phallus Man imagery in it in a non-local or perhaps better yet extra-local/non-spatial Hilbert space. Meanwhile, the mind of the author of the Mithraic text had tapped into this information behind spacetime in the past. All that was needed then was for Jung's patient to also tap into it in a dream, and the same data then appeared, seemingly mysteriously from both sources. 

Given then that spacetime emerges from this same collective inner mental space, these archetypes sometimes cause events to manifest in physical reality. This is what Jung referred to as synchronicity or meaningful coincidences. In reality, these are not coincidences at all but are instead caused by the archetypal patterns beneath spacetime, causing reality to emerge a certain way. 

Jungian concepts such as archetypes, synchronicity, and the collective unconscious are modern manifestations of the Principle of Correspondence. However, many other exotic paranormal or occult phenomena can be accounted for through it as well. One example is the concept of divination, which can be accounted for using the same mechanism behind synchronicity as a predictive tool. This topic will also be addressed in a future post.

The Principles of Mentalism and Correspondence are perhaps the two most critical Hermetic principles. Though interesting in terms of what they tell us about reality, they only scratch the surface when it comes to paranormal or occult phenomena. However, they are necessary building blocks to explain such phenomena. Having looked at them, we can continue on to more detailed applications.

Looking forward to future posts, we will start to see more substantial and more impressive specimens of occult science on our tour of Quantum Hermeticism. Stay tuned!  

Written by Mark Pattini
[email protected]

References:

1. Sean Carroll, Does Space-time Emerge From Quantum Information? preposterousuniverse.com (May 5, 2015)

2. Sean M. Carroll et al., Space from Hilbert Space: Recovering Geometry from Bulk Entanglement, arXiv:1606.08444 (June 27, 2016)

3. Palmer & Palmer, The Quantum Hermetica, Ch III, p.25 (April 4, 2018)

4. Beck and J. C. Eccles, Quantum aspects of brain activity and the role of consciousness, PNAS 89 (23) 11357-11361; (December 1, 1992)

5. Matthew P. A. Fisher, Quantum Cognition: The possibility of processing with nuclear spins in the brain, arXiv:1508.05929 (August 29, 2015)

6. C.G. Jung, The Structure of the Unconscious, (1916)

7. Palmer & Palmer, The Quantum Hermetica, Ch III, p.30 (April 4, 2018)

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