A closer look
Russian esoteric philosopher P.D. Ouspensky gained widespread fame in the early twentieth century by mathematically trying to prove the existence of mysticism, arguing that spiritual enlightenment was just the cognitive ability to perceive the fourth dimension. He theorized that human beings are essentially trapped in a three-dimensional slice of reality, and that mystical practices could expand human consciousness enough to see time as a physical, spatial construct. While this sounds like a deeply profound metaphysical breakthrough, he basically just took the emerging theories of non-Euclidean geometry and slapped a heavy coat of spiritual paint on them to make himself sound like a magical physics genius. His lectures were wildly popular among wealthy socialites who wanted to feel intellectually superior, proving that if you wrap basic spiritual concepts in enough confusing math jargon, you can successfully market mysticism to secular science snobs
