Quantum entanglement — a cornerstone of quantum mechanics — is one of nature’s most fascinating phenomena. It reveals how particles can remain connected, instantaneously influencing one another across distances. This mysterious connection has profound implications not just for physics, but for understanding life, consciousness, and the mind. As I’ve explored these concepts, both scientifically and personally, I’ve come to see coherence — the mechanism enabling quantum entanglement — as the bridge between nature’s processes and the deeper truths within us.

In this article, I’ll discuss quantum entanglement in nature and how it relates to the brain and mind. I’ll also share how my understanding has evolved, leading me to recognize that perception, when fully embodied, is the gold standard for discovering Truth.

Quantum entanglement, one of the most fascinating phenomena in quantum mechanics, shows up in various natural processes and experiments. Below are six examples of where quantum entanglement has been inferred or observed in nature. However, as we dive deeper into these examples, you’ll notice that quantum coherence is the underlying factor that makes all of these entanglement phenomena possible.

1. Photosynthesis (Quantum Coherence in Energy Transfer)

Photosynthesis is an extraordinarily efficient process, largely due to quantum coherence. Light-harvesting complexes within plants and some bacteria capture photons and transfer energy to reaction centers. This energy transfer involves quantum coherence between energy states, allowing it to navigate multiple pathways simultaneously. Without quantum coherence maintaining these pathways, the energy transfer wouldn’t be as efficient, and the process might collapse into a classical system, drastically reducing efficiency.

2. Bird Navigation (Quantum Entanglement in Magnetoreception)

Some birds, such as European robins, use quantum coherence and entanglement in their navigation. The protein cryptochrome in their eyes is believed to host entangled electron pairs, which are highly sensitive to the Earth’s magnetic field. This sensitivity, crucial for navigation, depends on the coherence of the spin states between the electrons. Without this coherence, the birds would lose their ability to detect weak magnetic fields.

3. Bioluminescence and Chemical Reactions (Spin Correlation)

Radical pair mechanisms in certain biological processes involve quantum coherence between electron spin states. This coherence affects the outcome of chemical reactions, such as those involved in bioluminescence. When quantum coherence between spins is maintained, the reaction pathways stay linked, leading to specific biological outcomes. If coherence breaks down, these linked reactions fall apart.

4. Black Holes and Hawking Radiation

Theoretical models suggest that quantum entanglement plays a role in black hole physics, particularly in Hawking radiation. Particles emitted from black holes are entangled with particles inside, and this entanglement preserves quantum information. The coherence of the system, even across the event horizon, maintains these relationships. Without coherence, the quantum information would be lost, posing challenges to our understanding of black hole physics.

5. Bose-Einstein Condensates

At extremely low temperatures, atoms can form a Bose-Einstein condensate, a state of matter where all the atoms act as a single quantum entity. Coherence in this state allows the particles to exist in superposition and be entangled over macroscopic distances. Without coherence, the atoms would revert to behaving as independent classical particles, and the condensate would cease to exist in its quantum state.

6. Cosmic Phenomena and the Universe’s Early Evolution

Quantum entanglement may have played a role in the early universe, particularly during cosmic inflation. Quantum fluctuations that occurred in the early universe were likely entangled and coherent, influencing the formation of large-scale cosmic structures. These fluctuations, governed by quantum coherence, have left imprints on the cosmic microwave background radiation we observe today.

The Central Role of Quantum Coherence in Quantum Entanglement

As we can see from these examples, quantum coherence is not just a side effect but the core enabling mechanism behind quantum entanglement in nature. Coherence is what maintains the phase relationships between quantum states, ensuring that particles remain in superposition and can become entangled. Without coherence, these systems would fall into decoherence, collapsing into classical outcomes and losing their quantum properties.

In other words, coherence is what makes quantum entanglement possible. It acts as a kind of “tuning” for the quantum states, allowing them to interact in ways that give rise to entanglement. Once the phase relationships are disrupted (decoherence), the system reverts to classical behavior, where entanglement can no longer exist.

Extending the Quantum Concept to Personal Learning: Coherence in My Understanding

I’ve come to realize that my understanding of superposition, coherence, and decoherence is not just a quantum concept — it reflects how I process information in my own brain-mind pattern. When I look at these concepts through my personal lens, they take on new meaning, and this helps me to remember and fully grasp what I’ve learned.

Here’s how I see it:

Superposition in the quantum world refers to different systems holding a certain pattern relationship via their phase vibrations. I see this as akin to how my mind holds different possibilities and ideas simultaneously, keeping them in balance without yet deciding on one outcome or conclusion.

Coherence is like a tuning process in quantum mechanics, where the particles in superposition maintain a stable phase relationship, allowing them to interfere and entangle. In my own mind, coherence happens when I bring order and alignment to these different possibilities — connecting past experiences and previous knowledge with the new information I’m learning. It’s as if I’m tuning my own thoughts into a harmonious state of understanding.

Decoherence, on the other hand, is what happens when this phase relationship breaks down. For me, this represents those moments when I struggle to remember or when my understanding seems to unravel. The breakdown in the connection between past knowledge and present learning makes things harder to grasp, similar to how a quantum system collapses into classical states when coherence is lost.

In this way, I’ve come to understand that my learning process is a kind of quantum coherence within myself. When I try to make sense of new information, I am essentially bringing coherence to my past understanding and connecting it to the present moment. The clearer and more coherent the connection between my past and the now, the better I remember and understand.

Seeing Things in One’s Own Pattern of Reasoning

This insight brings me to an important realization: I tend to understand things best when I see them in the context of my own brain-mind pattern. Here’s how I’ve expressed this before:
“I find that if I understand things in a certain way but try and remember it in terms of another pattern — I tend to forget. So this is how I see it in my own pattern in brain-mind. Superposition is different systems holding a certain pattern relationship via their phase vibration. These different systems hold the relationship in phases between them. So, this is still possibilities and probabilities but with a stable relationship. Decoherence is when this relationship in phases breaks down. But coherence is like a tuning of the quantum particles when in superposition but changing their pattern in phase relationship to emulate coherence. So, coherence has a unique ‘umami taste’ of its own to go into an entangled state in its particles.”

This personal perspective helps me integrate what I learn, by relating it to the patterns of reasoning that work for me. By tuning into this understanding process, much like how coherence allows quantum particles to remain entangled, I can retain and build on the knowledge I gain. The alignment of past learning with new insights is the key to my coherent understanding.

Coherence in Nature and in Learning

Just as quantum coherence is the foundation for quantum entanglement and other quantum phenomena in nature, I have found that coherence also plays a crucial role in my own learning process. By maintaining coherence between my past understanding and the present knowledge I’m absorbing, I create a stable, connected relationship that enables deeper learning and retention.

Understanding quantum coherence, both in the context of the universe and within ourselves, gives us insight into the deeper workings of systems — whether those systems are particles, plants, or our own minds.

But I have moved on since writing this on October the 12 2024. This is how the mind unfolded since Oct 12th:

In this article, I’ll discuss quantum entanglement in nature and how it relates to the brain and mind. I’ll also share how my understanding has evolved, leading me to recognize that perception, when fully embodied, is the gold standard for discovering Truth.

Expanding on this realization, I began to understand that perception — when engaged deeply and with full presence — allows for the direct experience of Truth. Unlike intellectual understanding, which often operates through the filter of thought and abstraction, perception is immediate and unfiltered. It aligns us with the flow of reality, much like quantum coherence aligns particles in entanglement. This unmediated alignment enables us to see things as they are, free from the distortions of preconceived notions or fragmented thinking.

I came to this understanding through moments of profound clarity, where the act of perceiving itself revealed deeper truths about existence. For instance, I noticed how being fully present with an experience — whether observing nature or reflecting inward — dissolved the barrier between observer and observed. This dissolution mirrors the interconnectedness seen in quantum systems, where the boundaries between entities blur, and a unified state emerges. Perception thus becomes the gold standard because it doesn’t rely on interpretation but on being.

As this realization deepened, I began to see how the extended brain-mind operates in a similar manner to quantum systems, transcending linear time. The extended brain-mind allows us to perceive not only the immediate now but also the future as it flows into the present and back into the past. This fluidity between temporal states is not merely abstract; it is a lived experience that brings coherence to our understanding of existence. When the mind becomes tuned to this expanded state, it aligns with the universe’s unfolding, making it possible to sense and even predict future events as they arise from the interconnected web of reality.

This extended perception also reveals how the past influences the present and future, forming a continuous feedback loop. Just as particles in quantum systems remain entangled across space and time, the brain-mind operates within a field of coherence that transcends conventional boundaries. By embracing this expanded state, we can navigate life with greater clarity and purpose, attuned to the flow of reality as a unified whole.

Related Images: