In 1991 Capra co-authored Belonging to the Universe with David Steindl-Rast, a Benedictine monk. Using Thomas Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions as a stepping stone, the book explores parallels between new paradigm thinking in science and in religion; the authors posit that, together, these new paradigms offer remarkably compatible views about the universe. Energy itself is also a form of movement in the form of waves and particle vibrations. Clearly, the dance of elements in our universe never stops! Lesson 3: Eastern wisdom has known reality is oneness and dynamism for millennia.

Leon M. Lederman, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist and current Director Emeritus of Fermilab, criticized both The Tao of Physics and Gary Zukav's The Dancing Wu Li Masters in his 1993 book The God Particle: If the Universe Is the Answer, What Is the Question? [9] When stable, atomic particles give birth to matter as we see it in our everyday lives. But they’re never still. They keep oscillating rhythmically. Patterns of Connection: Essential Essays from Five Decades (2021) is a personal account of the author's intellectual journey, documented by a series of essays together with extensive commentaries that interweave the essays and provide historical and philosophical context. Capra, Fritjof (1989). Howling with the Wolves. Werner Heisenberg, from "Uncommon wisdom: conversations with remarkable people". Toronto; New York: Bantam Books. http://www4.westminster.edu/staff/brennie/wisdoms/uncowisd.htm According to the preface of the first edition, reprinted in subsequent editions, Capra struggled to reconcile theoretical physics and Eastern mysticism and was at first "helped on my way by 'power plants'" or psychedelics, with the first experience "so overwhelming that I burst into tears, at the same time, not unlike Castaneda, pouring out my impressions to a piece of paper". (p.12, 4th ed.)So what did I get out of reading Capra? Not much. He had some chapters on Hinduism and Buddhism that I understood since I had been in both religions. I saw where he was coming from in regards to his comparisons. But then Capra brought up a vague notion of karma, and I, personally, do not believe in karma. Perhaps the way he sees karma is not the way that it was taught to me by these religions, which end up sounding much like Christianity in that if you do what is wrong you will end up in some hell, and yes, Buddhism and Hinduism both have hells. I think the idea of karma developed over time, as it was not mentioned in the early Vedas that I am aware of, as I had looked, and when it finally was, it was vague. Then one day, a new Upanishad is written and, well, th

David Diamond, Fritjof Capra (2007). “Theatre for Living: The Art and Science of Community-based Dialogue”, p.169, Trafford Publishing That's what I said before reading extensively in physics and cosmology and before watching so many charlatans and the honest but misguided people duped by them try to sell Woo-Woo in place of solid science. I wish I had not written the review above, but I'll let it stand as mute warning to be careful of lay interpretations of science. And a Medical Doctor like Dr. Robert Lanza or a New Age/Alternative Medicine guru like Depak Chopra is not a particle physicist. Their pronouncements on quantum mechanics are no more valid than mine would be if I suddenly set out to perform delicate surgery. However, it is not without its critics. Jeremy Bernstein, a professor of physics at the Stevens Institute of Technology, [7] chastised The Tao of Physics: [8] At the heart of the matter is Mr. Capra's methodology – his use of what seem to me to be accidental similarities of language as if these were somehow evidence of deeply rooted connections. Thus I agree with Capra when he writes, "Science does not need mysticism and mysticism does not need science but man needs both." What no one needs, in my opinion, is this superficial and profoundly misleading book.Scientists learn from observing the outside world, Buddhist practitioners need introspection. Yet, somehow, both end up with a similar vision of the world. How is this possible? The Taoist master Lao Tzu also taught that there’s an energy that pervades and unites everything, such as the Hinduist Brahman and the Buddhist Dharmakaya. He called it the Tao, or “the way”. Most physicists assume this growth will go on forever, but others say it will slow down one day and maybe even begin to contract. In either case: its movement is never going to stop. Movement is a fundamental rule for all entities big and small, from planets to subatomic particles. Eastern religions discourage rationality. They say we should find knowledge by intuition, through which we might learn to perceive immeasurable truths.

In the early part of the 21st century, a new text was discovered, called the Nei-yeh (lit. Inward training), which dated to roughly the same period of the Laozi and Zhuangzi texts. The Nei-yeh is a manual for personal betterment, largely through meditative practices, and much of the more obscure language in the foundational texts can now be deciphered as references to this work. This discovery has further destabilized the belief that there is any real separation between philosophical and religious Taoism, since the fundamental distinction, that philosophical Taoism does not partake in or advocate monastic-type practices, has now been effectively disproven. [8] Name [ edit ] Uncommon Wisdom (1988) describes dialogues and personal encounters between himself and the thinkers who helped to shape the theme of The Turning Point. It has been published in 16 editions and 12 languages. Victor N. Mansfield, a professor of physics and astronomy at Colgate University who wrote many papers and books of his own connecting physics to Buddhism and also to Jungian psychology, [4] complimented The Tao of Physics in Physics Today: [5] [6]When carbon (C), Oxygen (o) and hydrogen (H) atoms bond in a certain way to form sugar, the resulting compound has a sweet taste. The sweetness resides neither in the C, nor in the O, nor in the H; it resides in the pattern that emerges from their interaction. It is an emergent property. Moreover, strictly speaking, is not a property of the chemical bonds. It is a sensory experience that arises when the sugar molecules interact with the chemistry of our taste buds, which in turns causes a set of neurons to fire in a certain way. The experience of sweetness emerges from that neural activity." The highest spiritual state one can achieve in Hinduism is liberation. It happens when you are able to feel this unity and constant movement. However, liberation is not something you can achieve using rationality. You can only develop your perception through the practice of yoga and meditation. Capra later discussed his ideas with Werner Heisenberg in 1972, as he mentioned in the following interview excerpt:

Due to these many equivalents, modern physicists now agree that everything in the universe connects, quite literally! Lesson 2: Movement and change are consistent behaviors of the universe and all matter that’s in it. Until 1905, there were 2 theories about light. Newton had declared it was made of small photon particles while Huygens had observed light could behave like energy. In the end, they were both right in light of Einstein’s theory. The Tao of Physics brought the mystical implications of subatomic physics to popular consciousness for the very first time. Many books have been written in the ensuing years about the connections between quantum theory and the ideas of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoism, but Fritjof Capra’s text serves as the foundation on which the others have been built—and its wisdom has stood the test of time. Its publication in more than twenty-three languages stands as testimony to its universal applicability and its enduring significance.Buddhists also believe in the oneness of everything, or Dharmakaya, as the way to enlightenment. This is because most of our negative feelings come from seeing ourselves as separate from the rest of the world. Moreover, modern physics has revealed that if you observe something at a quantum level, you’ll connect with it, becoming someway part of the scene. In quantum mechanics, there’s no such thing as an outer observer! I joined the Vedanta Society in early 2000s, and a man named Dave DeLuca came to the temple in San Diego and gave a lecture on The Four Yugas. He had a section in it where he talked about Quantum Physics. Much like Capra’s book, he used the teachings of Quantum theory as a way to compare it with Hinduism. I liked his lecture so much that obtained his lecture and still have it. It wasn’t the comparison to Hinduism that I liked, but the way physicists saw the nature of reality. (I didn’t last in Vedanta, but that is another story.) When we say ‘science,’ we usually refer to the basic mechanics of how reality functions on a macroscopic level. From this point of view, space and time are separate entities which are easy to measure, as are matter and energy. The Systems View of Life (2014), co-authored with Pier Luigi Luisi, offers radical solutions to twenty-first century challenges by focusing on the connected world and examining life through its inextricably linked systems. [ clarification needed]