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This Simple Idea From Quantum Physics Could Change Your Life with Mel Schwartz

Lace Gilger
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In this episode we discuss how a few crazy ideas from quantum physics might just change your life. We look at how some of the core principles from the hard sciences have huge implications for the way we live, love, and deal with a world of danger and uncertainty. It is possible that the laws of physics hold lessons that could help us redefine our relationship with anxiety and suffering and open the door to possibility? We discuss this and much more with our guest Mel Schwartz

Mel Schwartz is a psychotherapist, marriage counselor, author, and speaker. He is one of the first contemporary practicing psychotherapists to distill the basic premises of quantum theory into therapeutic approaches. Mel is the author of the book The Possibility Principle: How Quantum Physics Can Improve the Way You Think, Live and Love and has been featured in Psychology Today, TED, and much more.

  • How a panic attack led to a chance encounter with a worldview that transformed Mel’s perceptive

  • The Core Principles of Quantum Physics and how they can redefine our lives

  • Reality is not certain, predictable, and deterministic 

  • Uncertainty = possibility, determinism shuts the door to possibility

  • The epidemic of anxiety in our society has to do with our relationship with uncertainty - warding off uncertainty creates stress and anxiety

  • Quantum theory holds the premise that reality is literally one inseparable whole

  • Science confirms the “mystic” belief that everything in life is inseparable 

  • “The myth of separation” - We are no longer separate disconnected cogs 

  • Because all life is interconnected, compassion and empathy makes sense and there is fertile ground for purpose and meaning 

  • You don’t need to be a math wizard to understand how the principles of quantum physics can transform your world view 

  • Arguably the most important scientific discovery that has ever occurred

  • Our thinking has been trained to compartmentalize and separate the world

  • This is not woo woo new age or a spiritual conclusion - this is a fundamental conclusion of hard science

  • Our language shapes how we perceive the world - when we use the language of dualism and determinism we create a lived experience that is reinforces the illusion that we are somehow separate from the world

  • Depression comes from a sense of alienation and alone-ness from Newton's deterministic worldview

  • The Newtonian worldview - the deterministic / mechanistic worldview 

  • Reality is not fixed - its stirring and unfolding 

  • Quantum reality is in a state of potential - always waiting to occur 

  • Let’s take a look at the role certainty and uncertainty play in our lives

  • The need for certainty feeds into a fear of making the wrong decision and traps people in anxiety and fear

  • The fear of the consequences of a decision - the fear of the uncertain - often constrains people

  • Life is like a river - get into the flow of life - you can still navigate

  • Mistakes should not be feared - labeling your experience as mistakes causes you to live in a prison of fear and anxiety

  • Your thoughts are often addicted to seeking certainty

  • Don’t avoid it - embrace discomfort - we must embrace discomfort psychologically and cognitively to grow 

  • Embrace confusion - it’s exciting, its a sign post for growth, it gets you to places you’ve never been before 

  • Embrace vulnerability - its OK to be transparent, its OK to be yourself, its OK to be who you want to be - that’s authentic self esteem

  • As a culture we don’t pursue “authentic self esteem” we pursue “other esteem” - we alter and shape ourselves to elicit approval and recognition from other people. 

  • We’ve been playing from the wrong game plan

  • The way to embrace uncertainty is by shifting your relationship with your thoughts

  • We are imprisoned by our thoughts - they create accompanying feeling and emotions. 

  • You have to develop the method, create the muscle memory - to see a negative thought, see it, accept it, but you don’t have to believe it 

  • Uncertainty = possibility

  • Addiction to certainty = anxiety, fear, stress

  • Ask yourself - what is my thought telling me? How do I know it’s true? How often do I have these thoughts?

  • Old thoughts and limiting beliefs defend their territory

  • Don’t be reactive - be contemplative 

  • If you can’t see the thought or emotion - you become that thought or emotion 

  • Acting strong is acting, and that’s weak

  • What does it mean to really be strong? To be vulnerable. Sharing your insecurities, self doubts, and fears. When you share them you’re not worried about anyone else judging you. 

  • When your relationship with yourself is in tact - thats authentic self esteem - you can’t be judged by anyone else

  • You give other people the power to judge you - and judge yourself based on what you think, they think of you

  • Your thoughts and feelings are the paintbrush on the canvas of your life

  • The way we picture reality is the way we experience reality 

  • Homework: In the course of your day - try to capture the themes of your thoughts and ask yourself, what are they telling you? 

  • Homework: As yourself some larger question - how do you view life? How did you come to your core beliefs about the world? What informs your core beliefs about the world?

Thank you so much for listening!

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