Science and Spirituality

“Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind.” Albert Einstein

As I struggled with merging science and spirituality together in my life, it helped me to remember the story of the blind men who described an elephant after touching different parts of it. Each of them steadfastly swore that his partial perception was the correct description of the elephant. And so it was—of that one piece of reality. Science and spirituality see different views of the one total reality, but they never need to be foes. If they continue progressing, each may see the entire elephant. Science deals with the material aspects of life—physical measurements, facts, and quantity; spirituality concerns deal with the nonphysical side—ideals, the inner life, and our attitude.

Science has made such great material accomplishments that some of us consider it nearly infallible in many realms. However, credible scientific assessment applies only to physical reality. That’s all it will ever accurately measure. It cannot measure nonphysical reality. For example, no scientific apparatus will ever accurately measure a mother’s love for her child. Scientific instruments can measure heartbeat, breath, and perspiration; they can detect and quantify chemicals released by the body when close to, or thinking about, the object of love. They can even differentiate shifts in brain waves that are associated with these thoughts, and on and on. But these are the physical responses to love and not the underlying reality. Some part of love exists beyond these components.

In the same way, science can measure the physical aspects of God (all parts of material creation), but some spiritual part exists outside this purely physical realm. Science can never measure that part or prove the existence of such non-material reality. However, the scientific process can help evaluate and compare the effectiveness of practical spirituality. If we accept results as proof, we can quantify dramatic life improvements in this results-oriented approach.

If an investigator is open-minded enough to actually try the results-oriented method of practical spirituality, he or she can experience the proof, the living results. When anyone accesses this unsuspected inner reservoir of spiritual energy, they find it opens a dimension that adds additional guidance, values, and power to life that dramatically transforms and elevates the living experience.