Mysticism

Lore & Background

The term 'mysticism' has ancient Greek origins with various historically determined meanings. Derived from the Greek word μύω múō, meaning 'to close' or 'to conceal', mysticism came to refer to the biblical, liturgical (and sacramental), spiritual, and contemplative dimensions of early and medieval Christianity. During the early modern period, the definition of mysticism grew to include a broad range of beliefs and ideologies related to 'extraordinary experiences and states of mind'.

Reader's Guide

Mysticism is a generic term that joins together separate practices and ideas which developed separately. It has been defined in many ways, and its meaning has changed through the ages. The term has become a popular label for 'anything nebulous, esoteric, occult, or supernatural'. Because of its Christian overtones and the lack of similar terms in other cultures, some scholars regard the term 'mysticism' to be inadequate as a useful descriptive term. Other scholars regard it to be an inauthentic fabrication, the 'product of post-Enlightenment universalism'. Broadly defined, mysticism as a way of personal transformation can be found in a number of religious traditions, including Christianity, Judaism, Sufism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and the broad collection of traditions known as Western esotericism. The idea of 'union' does not work in all contexts; for example, in Advaita Vedanta, there is only one reality (Brahman) and therefore nothing other than reality to unite with it. Dan Merkur notes that union with God or the Absolute is a too limited definition, since there are also traditions which aim not at a sense of unity, but of nothingness, such as Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite and Meister Eckhart.

Did You Know?

• The term 'mysticism' is derived from the Greek μύω, meaning 'to close' or 'to conceal'.
• Until the sixth century, the practice of what is now called mysticism was referred to by the term contemplatio, c.q. theoria.
• In the 13th century the term unio mystica came to be used to refer to the 'spiritual marriage', the ecstasy, or rapture, experienced when prayer was used to contemplate God.
• William James stated that 'in mystic states we both become one with the Absolute and we become aware of our oneness.'

Early Pioneers and the Seeds of Connection

The intellectual roots of quantum mysticism stretch back to the 1920s, when foundational figures in quantum mechanics showed personal curiosity about Eastern spiritual traditions. Werner Heisenberg and Erwin Schrödinger, two of the discipline's principal architects, both expressed interest in Hindu mysticism. However, as historian Olav Hammer observed, Schrödinger's engagement with these ideas never led him down the path taken by later figures like David Bohm or Fritjof Capra. Biographer Walter J. Moore described Schrödinger's dual interests in physics and mysticism as "strangely dissociated," suggesting they occupied separate mental compartments. Yet Wigner's work was primarily philosophical, and by the late 1970s he had abandoned the consciousness-collapses-the-wave-function position entirely.

The New Age Synthesis and the Fundamental Fysiks Group

The transformation of quantum mechanics into a vehicle for spiritual speculation accelerated dramatically in the early 1970s. Authors like Arthur Koestler and Lawrence LeShan published works suggesting that parapsychological phenomena might find explanation within quantum theory, planting seeds in a culture hungry for scientific validation of mystical experience. From this milieu emerged the Fundamental Fysiks Group, a collective of physicists who openly embraced quantum mysticism, parapsychology, Transcendental Meditation, and various Eastern mystical practices. The work found a large non-scientific readership. Together, the Fundamental Fysiks Group and Capra's book are widely credited as major catalysts for the rise of quantum mysticism as a pseudoscientific framework.

Modern Manifestations: From Chopra to Cinema

By the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, quantum mysticism had evolved into a recognizable genre of popular spirituality. brought these ideas to a broader audience, produced by the Ramtha School of Enlightenment founded by channeler J.Z. The film featured Fundamental Fysiks Group member Fred Alan Wolf and was criticized for misusing the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, the observer effect, and principles of biology and medicine.

Scientific Rejection and the Language of Dismissal

Within the physics community, quantum mysticism is uniformly regarded as pseudoscience, and the terminology used to describe it reflects deep discomfort. The field is frequently labeled "quantum quackery" or "quantum woo," terms that underscore the perceived gap between legitimate quantum mechanics and its mystical appropriations. Physicist Murray Gell-Mann coined the phrase "quantum flapdoodle" to capture what he saw as the misuse and misapplication of quantum physics to unrelated topics. Critics argue that the movement relies on "coincidental similarities of language rather than genuine connections" to the actual mathematics and experimental results of quantum theory, effectively "hijacking" a rigorous scientific framework for metaphysical purposes. Harvard historian Juan Miguel Marin offered a nuanced historical observation, noting that the term "mystical" was used by quantum physics founders themselves—both to argue for and against introducing consciousness into the theory—suggesting the boundary between legitimate philosophical speculation and pseudoscience was never as clean as later critics implied. Still, the consensus among quantum mechanics experts remains firmly that the mystical interpretations have no scientific standing.