Episode
Mind Over Matter
- Published
- Jul 27, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 315
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://gregreese.substack.com/p/mind-over-matter
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Summary
Materialism is the view that the universe is a lifeless machine composed of particles of matter governed by physics. This belief excludes consciousness and non-physical phenomena, which are then labeled as pseudo-science. This materialist view began falling apart in the early 20th century with Planck’s discovery of the quantum of action, and with the work of Heisenberg, Bohr, and others. Physicist Henry Stapp argued that the quantum conception of matter, where physical reality is mid-way between classical matter and mind, provides a coherent framework for the causal power of the mind, a process you can find described thousands of years ago in the East. In the Taoist Neidan practice, the body is made a cauldron to transform the spirit within. Jing, essence, is transmuted into Qi, vital energy, which is then transmuted into Shen, spirit. This energy can then be transmuted into the neidan, inner elixir, and nourish the spirit. Or it can be made into leifa, thunder magic, which is projected outward to affect the weather, or to exorcise and heal people. The qigong tradition has developed a modern version of neidan called, waiqi, where a practitioner directs cultivated energy from their own body toward another person. In the Yoga tradition, the Taoist jing and qi are known as ojas and tejas. Swami Sivananda wrote that this energy is purified and transformed into a higher divine energy through meditation, breathing and gratitude. The third chapter of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras advises that mastery of yoga leads to various supranormal powers, such as being able to comprehend the language of all living beings, and realizing any desire, and warns that these powers should be viewed as side-effects, and not the goal. Both Vedantic and Buddhist traditions claim that experienced realit…