Since the dawn of Quantum Spirituality (the belief that quantum mechanics proves a conscious observer is necessary to create reality), the New Age business has spiked worldwide. But even after 2012, when aliens didn't arrive and the poles didn't shift, spirituality remains the alternative for the major religions.

Having lived in Sedona, AZ. (the New Age capital of America) for over 20 years, I have experienced believers ironically using science as proof of their faith. Quantum Spirituality became the new doctrine through books and movies such as "The Tao of Physics," "What the Bleep Do We Know," and "The Secret."

These publications share a central idea that the invisible world creates the physical world. This inversion is what I call "repackaged religion for the information age." I speculate it might be the last gasp of dualism in its metaphysical death throws before A.I. makes the Metaverse reality. I believe all spiritual and religious claims, from heaven and hell to physics-breaking miracles, are the evolutionary dreams of the genes.

Substance dualism, or Cartesian dualism, most famously defended by René Descartes, argues that there are two kinds of foundation: mental and physical. This philosophy states that the mind can exist outside of the body, and the body cannot think. Substance dualism is important historically for having given rise to much thought regarding the famous mind-body problem.

Where religion bullies believers into submission by threats of cosmic punishment, New Age thought uses scientific jargon to manipulate and mystify minds into a state of adult-child wonderment. They are selling the Dream State.

False hope sells. It is a multi-billion dollar industry because it gives humans psychological candy to relieve death anxiety. Social media has self-appointed gurus who claim to be connected to alien races while babbling pure uncut pseudo-scientific nonsense. Some even claim that Einstein believed in the New Age doctrine of "create your reality," which is about as valid as claiming Mother Goose stories are non-fiction. Einstein is misquoted consistently in New Age publications to stuff science into New Age fantasy. 

From 'Quantum Mysticism: Gone but Not Forgotten:

"The debate of consciousness in quantum theory began around 1927 when Einstein accused Neils Bohr of introducing a mysticism incompatible with science. He adamantly opposed any subjectivity in science. He disagreed with Bohr's view that it is unscientific to inquire whether Schrodinger's cat in a box is alive or dead before an observation is made. Einstein devoted much of his later life to searching for elements of reality to make quantum mechanics a theory based on realism which is the belief that reality exists independently of observers." [Source}

American particle physicist Victor Stenger, who wrote extensively on the misconceptions of quantum spirituality, states:

"No compelling argument or evidence requires that quantum mechanics plays a central role in human consciousness or provides instantaneous, holistic connections across the universe. Modern physics, including quantum mechanics, remains completely materialistic and reductionistic while being consistent with all scientific observations."

Then you have science historian Michael Shermer who states:

"The gap between subatomic quantum effects and large-scale macro systems is too large to bridge. There is no micro-macro connection. Then "what the bleep" is going on here?"

Despite the overwhelming evidence that the objective world exists independent of human brains, spiritual dreamers refuse to accept the "reality" of the matter (pun intended). This denial evokes compassion because the world is unfair and, at times, brutal. Genocide, war, crime, and poverty are realities no one wants to accept. Metaphysical dissociation is an easy out.

Because quantum mechanics requires education to understand its vocabulary, most New Age seekers accept the claims based on authority alone. How do you ask quantum woo teachers critical questions if you don't know the science? This is why people like Deepak Chopra get away with bamboozling their audience. Rather than addressing the scientific community, they exploit a novice audience. That way, they can sell their woo without question.

In the "quantum woo" world, you have rogue teachers playing the part of the "lone genius rejected by the intellectual materialists" who are promoting pseudoscience. The funny thing about this is religion and metaphysics have been notorious for snubbing their noses at the scientific method since its conception. But science becomes magically legit when they find a study they can twist to fit their etheric narrative.

Unfortunately, believers miss the broader perspective that humans have been bamboozling humans with religion for eons. Spiritual people are more interested in feeling good than in asking tough questions. This gullibility is understandable because they seek healing and acceptance in their spiritual pursuits. They WANT to believe, which puts them at a disadvantage.

It is embarrassingly easy to discredit teachers such as David Icke, Drunvulo Melchizedek, David Wilcock, and the countless millennial spirit channelers who promote New Age fantasy. They throw a bunch of scientific theories into a bucket, followed by absurd claims stemming from one basic assumption—that quantum mechanics proves a conscious observer is necessary to create reality. Once you debunk that claim, the rest of the house of cards comes tumbling down.

Let me simplify this. I am not a quantum physicist, but I understand one simple fact: Quantum experiments such as the Observer Effect reflect data on quantum levels. That is about as micro as you can get. What happens on a quantum level falls apart when you apply it to the macro level of human brains and pickup trucks.

The moon doesn't disappear when you're not looking at it — it's that simple!

To emphasize, no legit scientist with an actual degree would present advanced terms to a secular audience. These quantum teachers of flapdoodle give a whirlwind of theories (presented as facts) to a layperson's audience that could not possibly begin to comprehend their claims without a proper education in several scientific fields.

David Icke may be the best example of this duping with his 10-hour seminars where he makes the case that shape-shifting reptiles rule the world and matter is an illusion created by human consciousness. He is oblivious that the earth has been here for 4.6 billion years and human brains just showed up a few seconds ago on this evolutionary timeline. But hey, why not find a theoretical theory on 'time' and make up a story that history itself is an illusion?

From Skeptico entitled "What the (Bleep) Were They Thinking?"

"The premise of the film is that quantum mechanics proves a conscious observer is necessary to create reality. The conclusion is we literally create reality with our thoughts."

"Unfortunately, the theory of quantum mechanics does not say this. The filmmakers are confusing the theory of quantum mechanics with an interpretation of quantum mechanics. This is an explanation to help understand what might be going on, but it is not part of the theory because it is not falsifiable: it cannot be tested in such a way that, if it were false, it would fail the test (without falsifying the whole of quantum mechanics, and therefore all the other interpretations too)?

"To falsify this interpretation, you would have to see what would happen without a conscious observer monitoring the experiment. But that's Catch-22: you need a conscious observer monitoring the experiment to see what happens. You can't look at the experiment without looking at it so no one can ever know if this interpretation is true. Even if it were true, extrapolating to "we literally create reality by our thoughts" is applying reductionism to an absurd level."

And then you have David Albert, a professor of physics at Columbia University who was featured in "What the Bleep Do We Know" who stated publically post-production:

"I was edited in such a way as to completely suppress my actual views about the matters the movie discusses. I am, indeed, profoundly unsympathetic to attempts at linking quantum mechanics with consciousness. Moreover, I explained all that, at great length, on camera, to the producers of the film ... Had I known that I would have been so radically misrepresented in the movie, I would certainly not have agreed to be filmed."

Dualism, the belief in the separation of spirit and matter, body and soul, is a persistent dream that believers refuse to give up even in the light of facts presented by modern neuroscience, evolution, physics, and psychology. I believe this stubborn wishful thinking is due to several things:

The idea that "God creates reality" is at the core of most religions and the New Age is just the updated version with some who are channeling aliens from other dimensions. They believe they are important enough for an advanced alien race to talk through their heads. Nothing different than a preacher giving his flock a message from God inspired by the Holy Spirit . . . you know, the "God told me this morning" business.

Of course, the proper use of positive thinking can help achieve goals, but the delusional use of thought can trap a person as they await their dreams to magically come to them. Brain plasticity and epigenetics suggest brain change is possible, but it doesn't leap to absurd notions that we create physical reality with our thoughts.

The profound irony is that the way life works is the other way around:

Reality creates consciousness, and consciousness creates the dream state. Consciousness will usurp the very God that created it—biology. It will weave a deceptive web of grandiosity to keep its illusory self-image alive. It is the realm of Lucifer. The human being becomes trapped in its inner world, combing the mirror to comb its hair.

To suggest that human thought creates the objective world is to deny the facts of evolution and the true occult magick of the natural world. It requires a tremendous amount of wishful thinking and ignorance to assume an exalted metaphysical position. We are amazing creatures, but we have limits and weaknesses. An authentic initiate knows this — that's where they get their power — from a direct and honest assessment of reality. A rock is a rock. The sky is blue. Water is wet. Everybody dies. The cycles of nature are evident and require no delusion of conscious thought to help it along.

Objective reality creates human thought, not the other way around — that is where the facts lead, and you can prove it yourself with a dash of honest exploration. The natural world requires no belief, no props, and no magical thinking. It is self-evident, reliable, and reproducible, and it does this all by itself, with no "intention" required.

— Zzenn