Before I delve into the details, let me begin with a caveat: This review has no details on the cast or their performance. What the Bleep do we know? is a long running vignette interspersed with interviews and enactments that tries to elucidate the whacky-yet-thought provoking and unexplored realms of Quantum Theory.
It presents you with mind-boggling questions that will change the way you think and act. It is an eye-opener that keeps you pondering about your own potential. It is anything but a movie but called so owing to its semi-dramatic content. To keep things simple, we’ll refer to it as a movie.
What is Quantum theory?
Quantum theory is a physical theory that states that certain properties occur only in discrete amounts or quanta. A quanta is the smallest discrete quantity of some physical property that a system can possess. Essentially, Quantum mechanics is a branch of quantum physics that accounts for matter at the sub-atomic level. It is a more fundamental theory that provides accurate and precise description to phenomena (often regarded as anomalies or the unexplained) that other scientific theories fail to explain. To a lay man it is a theory that explains ’’how small is too small.’’
What drew me to this movie was its intriguing title ? What the Bleep do we know? which I mistook for some explicit standup comedy. Being a big fan of George Carlin, such perversion is imminent when presented with titles like these. Well, now back to the review.
The movie, like its title, opens with a couple of inquisitive questions:
’’Do all realities exist simultaneously? Is there a possibility that all our futures exist side by side?’’
’’Have you ever seen yourself through the eyes of someone else that you have become and looked at yourself through the eyes of the ultimate observer?’’
Before you pass this off as pseudo-spiritual or mad-scientist mumbo-jumbo, ask yourself these questions and am sure you’ll be hooked.
This movie is enlightening in many ways. An interesting scientific fact that comes to light (at least for me) is that the brain cannot differentiate between what it sees in its environment and what it remembers, because the same neural nets keep firing. This sparks off another inscrutable question ? What is reality? Is reality what we see with our brain or what we see with our eyes?
Our brain process 400 billion bits of information every second but we’re only aware of 2000 of those! But our awareness of those 2000 bits is just about our environment, our body and time. That means the brain is receiving reality all the time but yet we haven’t integrated it ? rather, we haven’t taken the initiative to integrate it. What that means is that when we put together all our experiences by combining those bits of information, we create our own realities. This sure sounds weird but isn’t that possible?
We are chained by the laws of physics that determine all the properties associated with our very existence.
Who created them?
We are bound by those principles since we believe they’re true. Have we ever doubted if there is a different dimension to our existence? What if we break out of these shackles of doubt and explore the infinite possibilities that surround us? That, in essence, is What the Bleep do we know?
What does Quantum mechanics imply to our lives?
Quantum mechanics is the science of possibilities which is exact opposite of the classical science that we know and believe - a paradigm shift, if you will. It says what is happening inside of us can profoundly influence what is happening outside. There is an incredible potential that resides within us but we are unaware of them. That’s why we live the same ? some call it wretched ? life everyday; keep getting the same jobs, same relationships et cetera, over and over again.
We have been conditioned in such a way that we create the same realities over and over. We have been conditioned to believe that we have no control of our lives and that the external world is our reality. We are so conditioned that we believe only what is possible that our conditioned brain matches patterns of information - that we are so used to - to create the same realities over and over again. We are unaware of the options and potentials that exist around us that could profoundly change the way we look at life.
This movie is all about individual human consciousness. The concept is illustrated well in this story: When Columbus’ Armada landed in the Caribbean, none of the natives could see the ship even though they existed on the horizon. They had never seen nor believed that such things existed. So, when the shaman noticed ripples in the ocean, he got suspicious and went out to the shore everyday to see the ripples until they became vivid and emerged as a real ship. When he made the other natives believe that such ships did exist, they also got to experience his reality.
Messages from Water
When eminent Japanese scientist Dr. Masaru Emoto examined water molecules from the Fujiwara dam that was blessed by a Zen Buddhist monk, he could see crystals taking shape in them. Dr. Emoto photographed the water crystals and pursued his experiments till it became evident that water was reacting to our thoughts, intentions and emotions. Since our body - and the earth in general - are composed mostly of water, think about the amazing possibilities that exist within us! If our thoughts alone can do so much to water, imagine what it can do to humans that are composed of 90% water!
It is time to play God!
The movie tells us to create our very own realities by believing in the possibilities that envelop us. It says that science and spirituality are no different modes of thought as they converge at the same point putting back the power in humans. There exists God-like creativity in the humans and it takes a bleep of a lot of conditioning and reconditioning to achieve that.
Create your day; create your own life in the process of creating your own universe. Break away from those shackles that restrict your consciousness and start believing in yourself by realizing your potential.
Where the Bleep do I go from here?
The more we learn about quantum mechanics the more intriguing and mysterious it becomes.
As one of the interviewee puts it: ’’Modern materialism strips people of the need to feel responsible and often enough, so does religion. But, if you take Quantum mechanics seriously enough, it puts the responsibility squarely in your lap and it doesn’t give answers that are clear-cut and comforting. However, it does say that the world is a very big, mysterious place. Mechanism is not the answer but is not going to tell you what it is, because you’re old enough to decide for yourself.’’
I?ve watched this movie 5 times and yet I haven’t understood it completely. However, I am sure the next time I watch it and come back to read this review, my perception of this whole thing would have reached a higher level.
So, that pretty much explains what it?s all about. It is in every individual’s initiative to transcend the classical paradigms and start creating their own, fresh, new realities. It is time for us to put these pieces together and figure out the purpose of our very existence. Your life will never be the same after watching this movie. Isn?t it about time for us to discover how deep the rabbithole goes?