On October 26, we moved further in Chapter 2 of The Holographic Universe, the current book Quantum Leap Book Club is discussing on our weekly show. The author is Michael Talbot.
My particular focus was on pages 48 and 49 titled “Undivided Wholeness of All Things”. The reader is given information about the concept of wholeness according to David Bohm. This section expresses some deep scientific views. I personally recognized an obvious connection with our personal lives and our current world. I feel a sense of celebration that science can now validate what many of us have felt in our hearts about interconnectedness.
Bohm believes it is meaningless to view the universe as made up of parts. He uses the comparison of a water fountain spraying water into the air and though separate sprays, the water cannot be separated from its source. He also uses the comparison of an ornate carpet with intricate patterns and the fact that there is no way one pattern can be separated from another.
“Holomovement” is a key concept in David Bohm`s interpretation of quantum mechanics and his overall worldview. It brings together the holistic principle of “undivided oneness” with the idea that everything is in a state of process or “becoming“. For Bohm, wholeness is not a static oneness, but a dynamic wholeness-in-motion in which everything moves together in an interconnected process. “Holomovement” is by nature unknown and undescribable.
Bohm considers an electron is a name given to one aspect of the holomovement and he expands on Einstein’s theory that space and time are part of a whole. Bohm believes that everything in the universe is part of a continuum and a seamless extension of everything else. Consider where you are sitting in your room. Your furniture, light from your lamp, your carpet and yourself are all the same things according to Bohm. We are connected even to the oceans and the stars in the universe. Definitely food for thought and inspiration of adjustments we can potentially make in our own lives.
These thoughts are “food” for pondering. Bohm explains that things can be part of an undivided whole and still have unique qualities. He again goes to nature to demonstrate. As a river rushes forward, small whirlpools and eddies form. It is impossible to determine where each begins and ends and clearly are not separate from the river.
To quote from the book, “Bohm believes that our almost universal tendency to fragment the world and ignore the dynamic interconnectedness of all things is responsible for many of our problems in science, in our lives and society.”
We take precious minerals from our earth and treat health issues of our bodies as parts without considering the whole. We attempt to handle issues of society such as crime, poverty, addiction without addressing society as a whole. Bohm warns us that continuous fragmenting the world into parts could lead to our extinction.
This is a strong message and an invitation to take action as individuals to ensure our approach becomes a recognition of “The Undivided Wholeness of All Things”.
Joyce Mollenhauer cohost of QLBC