Einstein’s Spirituality and Intuition
By A.B. Scott-Hill, B.E. (Elect). Cant.
Like most of the rest of the world, I have always had the highest respect for Einstein, probably the greatest scientist the world has ever known, but I somehow wrongly thought he did not believe in a creator/God. We naturally wish to turn to those amongst us who exhibit genius, particularly scientists, to better explain the world around us. So, fired up with watching a recent TV series on Einstein, I decided to do a little research on his spirituality, or lack thereof. In no time at all, I found quotes of his that quickly settled the question. Einstein was a person who deeply believed in a creator/God, i.e., he was a highly spiritual person albeit not religious in the conventional sense of supporting any particular faith.
Two of my favourite Einstein quotes expressing his spirituality and his awe of God, are:
“Everyone who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the Universe – a spirit vastly superior to that of man, and one in the face of which we with our modest powers must feel humble.”
“The scientist’s religious feeling takes the form of a rapturous amazement at the harmony of natural law, which reveals an intelligence of such superiority that, compared with it, all the systematic thinking and acting of human beings is an utterly insignificant reflection.” [Ref.1]
What’s more, I recently came across a letter written by Einstein to an old student friend IIse Rosenthal-Schneider, in which he discussed cosmological universal constants. He said, “The real [true fundamental constants] are genuine numbers which God had to choose arbitrarily, as it were, when He deigned to create this world.” [2]
The search lead to a wonderful find – four interviews with Einstein, by Dr. Hermanns [3], who was initially Einstein’s fellow Berliner and then his fellow exile. Hermanns was a sociologist and poet with strong mystical leanings but only a rudimentary understanding of physics. The following are extracts taken from the book “Einstein and the Poet: In Search of the Cosmic Man”, by William Hermanns. (The extracts are those taken from an internet article by Biologist Lois Isenman, see Reference 1.)
Hermanns wrote that he constantly pushed Einstein to acknowledge his inherent mysticism. He succeeded in getting Einstein to agree that there is a vital force or energy in creation. Einstein was willing to associate energy with what are generally thought of as spiritual concepts as evidenced by the following quotes:
“I believe that energy is the basic force in creation. My friend Bergson calls it élan vital, the Hindus call it prana. The whole of nature is life, and life, as I observe it, rejects a God resembling man. I like to experience the universe as one harmonious whole. Every cell has life.“
“Matter, too, has life: it is energy solidified. Our bodies are like prisons, and I look forward to be free, but I don’t speculate on what will happen to me.”
“The truly religious man has no fear of life and no fear of death – and certainly no blind faith: his faith must be in his conscience. Then he will have the intuition to observe and judge what happens around him. Then, he can acknowledge that everything unfolds true to strict natural law, sometimes with tremendous speed.”
“Indeed, it is not intellect, [which means book knowledge and empiricism for him], but intuition which advances humanity. Intuition tells man his real purpose in this life… I do not need any promise of eternity to be happy… my eternity is now. I have only one interest: to fill my purpose here where I am. This purpose is not given to me by my parents or my surroundings. It is induced by some unknown factors. These factors make me part of eternity. In this sense I am a mystic…”
Hermanns described a key moment in his interview:
Einstein leaned forward,
“… it is not a religion that teaches that man is made in the image of God – that is anthropomorphic. Man has infinite dimensions and finds God in his conscience. This religion has no dogma, other than teaching man that the universe is rational and that its highest destiny is to ponder it and co-create with its laws. There are only two limiting factors: first, that what seems impenetrable to us is as important as what is cut and dried; and: second that our faculties are dull and can only comprehend wisdom and serene beauty in crude forms, but the heart of man through intuition leads us to greater understanding of ourselves and the universe.”
“Isn’t truth inherent in man?” I interjected. You once told me that progress is made only by intuition, and not by the accumulation of knowledge.”
“It’s not as simple as that,” replied Einstein. “Knowledge is necessary, too. An intuitive child couldn’t accomplish anything without some knowledge. There will come a point in everyone’s life, however where only intuition can make the leap ahead, without ever knowing precisely how. One can never know why but one must accept intuition as a fact.“
Einstein, is by no means the only scientist down the ages to express both the importance of intuition in achieving important science breakthroughs and not knowing how this happens. Many others have said this, and some have gone even further – to the extent of saying that they were not responsible i.e., it came to them in a flash, or by inspiration. Among those who denied responsibility, are some of the greatest scientists on earth. The following are but a few. Others are detailed in my book. (My book also explains the likely methodology unwittingly used by scientists, to successfully gain inspiration.) [4]
- Newton after an apple fell on his head,
- Francis Crick discovered DNA (together with James Watson), Crick while moving molecular templates around,
- Demitri Mendileev, who discovered the Periodic table of the Elements,
- and Heisenberg, who formulated the basic principles of quantum physics.
If one finds this surprising, it is even more surprising to find that there is evidence within esoteric literature teachings that the cause of such inspiration is from scientists and guides who have passed over. The following extract is one taken from the book, “Life in the World Unseen” by Anthony Borgia, [5] a clairaudient medium.
According to Borgia, the medium, Monsignor Benson (the discarnate, formerly a Catholic priest), says that some scientists that have passed, seek to transmit (telepathically) to earth the discoveries that they have made that will help it. Also Benson claims that the earth world has the spirit world to thank for all the major scientific discoveries that have been made throughout the centuries. In fact, the spirit world is far ahead of earth, so far that, “certain discoveries are withheld until a time when they would not be misused by unscrupulous people.”
I find it fascinating that so distinguished a scientist as Einstein directly linked intuition with his own spiritual beliefs. Other great minds have recognised the importance of intuition. Steve Jobs is reputed to have said, “Intuition is more important in intellect”. If intuition has been of such immense importance to mankind throughout the ages one would think that scholars would have spent more time and energy in trying to come up with some explanation as to how it works and why. However, this does not seem to be the case. Intuition is apparently non-physical or only partly so as it interacts with the brain, rather like thought, except that inspirational thoughts seem to arrive from outside the brain. Many seekers of information have described the phenomenon in which a casual opening of a book reveals the exact page where the desired information is to be found. This is so common, it is called “the library angel.” There is even an organisation called, “The Centre for Applied Intuition”, whose aim is to use volunteers who have a special aptitude to gain inspiration to help mankind. Efforts of gifted members have already attained worthwhile medical break-throughs, and more are expected as outlined on their website http://appliedintuition.net/center-for-applied-intuition/
Could it be that intuition is really just another form of mediumship since information/knowledge is obtained directly from a non-physical source similar to the most common form of mediumship namely contact with those in the afterlife for verification of survival. Whats more, remote viewing, clairvoyance, Instrumental Transcommunication (ITC), and dowsing are further variations of this ability to obtain information directly from non-physical sources. All of these phenomena would be excellent topics of study for anyone seeking to understand intuition and its role in mankind’s evolution.
By A.B. Scott-Hill B.E. (Elect). Cant.
(Author of the book, “The Paranormal is Normal (The Science Validation for Reincarnation, Your Immortality and the Paranormal) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M5CXRHA)
References
[1] – https://www.simpletoremember.com/articles/a/einstein/
[2] – “The Constants of Nature” by John D. Barrow, Pg. 35
[3] – http://intuition-indepth.articlespot.co.nz/
[4] -“The Paranormal is Normal (The Science Validation for Reincarnation, Your Immortality and the Paranormal)” by A.B. Scott-Hill , Pgs. 66, 271- 292, See: https://www.theparanormalisnormal.com/
[5] – From the book, “The Afterlife Unveiled: What the Dead are Telling Us…”, by Dr Stafford Betty, Loc, 920, Kindle Book.