Materialism greets infinity
exploring handshakes between science and mysticism
Introduction
The biggest, most important thing we can do is to realize the power of intention. As a species, we completely underestimate not only the power of the mind, but the very definition of Mind. Our minds are not confined to our brains.
We amuse ourselves with the movie The Matrix. But beyond mere entertainment, while the film enthralled us, leaving us with uneasy feelings that all is not as it seems, some dare ask the questions we fear to ask. Elon Musk and others seriously wonder if we live in a simulation. Some thinkers place the odds at 50%.
So if we were to assume, if only for a moment, that any of these things were possible, then we are obligated to wonder what might actually be possible if they were true.
Consciousness is the stuff that intention moves.
The holographic universe
The inexorable motion that is compelling the cosmos of mysticism and quantum physics to connect, much like the relentless merging of galaxies, is endlessly uplifting. For me personally, the journey began with Michael Talbot’s “A Holographic Universe”.
First published in 1992, Michael Talbot is able to effectively communicate the startling and converging theories of physicist David Bohm, a protege and esteemed contemporary of Einstein, and renowned Stanford neurophysiologist Karl Pribram. Their independently derived theories that the mind and the universe are constructed holographically was my first scientific exposure to the excitement of cutting edge physics shaking hands with esoteric mysticism. “Most mind-boggling of all are Bohm’s fully developed ideas about wholeness. Because everything in the cosmos is made out of the seamless holographic fabric of the implicate order. He believes it is as meaningless to view the universe as composed of “parts,” as it is to view the different geysers in a fountain as separate from the water out of which they flow.”
I am not here to debate that consciousness does or does not exist outside the human body, as in the essay Decapitating Consciousness. While I can understand the perspective Epstein puts forth, I don’t find it relevant. My own essays on consciousness are typically unambiguous: consciousness permeates the very fabric of the universe.
Consciousness and simulation
The merging of subjective experiences and objective observations brings along with it unfolding research into the nature of time, space and consciousness.
When we consider consciousness as something bigger than our individual thoughts and brain, it can lead us in the direction of fascinating and perhaps uncomfortable questions. For example, if we make the ‘larger, pervasive consciousness exists’ assumption, we might ask, as has Elon Musk has, if we are living in a simulation.
The current assault on reality began with a 2003 paper by Nick Bostrom. In it, the University of Oxford philosopher laid down some blunt logic: If there are long-lived technological civilizations in the universe, and if they run computer simulations, there must be a huge number of simulated realities complete with artificial-intelligence inhabitants who may have no idea they’re living inside a game — inhabitants like us, perhaps.
These beings might imagine themselves real but would have no physical form, existing only within the simulation.
If computer-loving aliens truly exist, Bostrum argued, “we are almost certainly living in a computer simulation.” And then people like Tyson and Musk found their minds blown. — Mach
Research may show us that the holographic model holds its images intact regardless of scale, right down to the “pixelated chunks” referred to below.
Physicists have proposed experiments that could yield evidence that our world is simulated. For example, some have wondered if the world is inherently “smooth,” or if, at the smallest scales, it might be made up of discrete “chunks” a bit like the pixels in a digital image. If we determine that the world is “pixelated” in this way, it could be evidence that it was created artificially. A team of American and German physicists have argued that careful measurements of cosmic rays could provide an answer. — NBC News
Mystical mythology
The following myth is not one of the mystic’s official entries into some kind of battle of equivalencies. Instead, let’s examine the perspective of a mystic and note some of the similarities.
The way the story goes is that consciousness existed before the existence of physical beings. But, not all consciousness was equal. There were levels or grades, somewhat based on maturity and realizations.
And so one day, a group of younger ‘souls’ are hanging out and one of them says, “Hey, I just discovered this thing called dreaming. Let me show you how it works!”
Pretty soon, these young enthusiasts are dreaming away. One thing leads to another and it’s not long before they start dreaming of things in common. “Hey, did you see that odd looking thing that I just saw?”
After comparing notes for a while, they start seeing each other as well. Pretty soon they are learning to create things while in the dream or simulated state. They are able to ‘intend’ strange lights and colors and forms into existence. After a while, much like a Sim World, they start creating things that have staying power, things that can be replicated and even improved. As time goes on, the games become more fun and ever more immersive.
It is within this increasingly immersive experience, that we pick up Edgar Cayce’s story.
There’s been growing concern in the Heavenly Realms. While immature, the young creationist’s influence is increasing and their returns back to reality have diminished to the point of stopping altogether. Reality, for them, has become something else entirely.
Meanwhile Elder Brother, the very first soul, is fretting. His youthful siblings have clearly lost themselves. He approaches his Father and shares a plan to enter the dream state himself. Father is reluctant to sign off out of concerns that Elder Brother will himself get lost. He finally grudgingly consents as long as Elder Brother stays incorporeal. Dip your toe in the pool, but don’t submerge.
Well, it doesn’t work. At least not the first time. Elder Brother (identified as Amilius by Edgar Cayce), is just corporeal enough to be visible, but he is not persuasive enough to convince anyone that he knows what he’s talking about. The souls lost in the immersive experience remain quite satisfied in their dream world. After all, all their dreams come true.
When Plan A fails, turn to Plan B. Elder Brother, after a great deal of back and forth, gets permission to fully incarnate. And in doing so, Father’s fears are eventually realized: Elder Brother gets lost in the submersive experience himself, this time as Adam.
And so begins the sojourn of Elder Brother. He enters a series of lives trying to improve his ability to recall his purpose and to also experience a sufficiently deep realization that enables him to help lead his lost brothers and sisters back. To show them ‘The Way’.
After many lives of improving his game, Cayce identifies the life in which Elder Brother eventually succeeds as the life he led named Jesus.
Amilius was the first expression of Divine Mind (the Logos); the Christ-soul before his incarnation into a physical body (corresponding to Genesis 1). He was the entity Cayce identified as living in the lost civilization of Atlantis who redirected the process of human evolution by creating a more appropriate physical form for the influx of souls to incarnate into rather than incarnating into the ape-like human form which souls had entangled themselves in. The first wave of souls (known as “the sons of men”) became entrapped in the physical plane accidentally through their misuse of free will. These events gave rise to the legend of the “fall of the angels.” The second wave (“the sons of God”) consisted of those souls led by Amilius (the Christ-soul) who voluntarily became entrapped in flesh as Adam in order to assist the first wave. — Source
Scientific theory touches the timeless hands of myth
We discover with Joseph Campbell the common creation myths, ranging from the Pima Indians to the Bible to the Upanishads.
BILL MOYERS: Genesis 1: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep.”
JOSEPH CAMPBELL: This is the song of the world, from a legend of the Pima Indians: “In the beginning there was only darkness everywhere, darkness and water. And the darkness gathered thick in places, crowding together and then separating, crowding and separating.”
BILL MOYERS: “And the spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters, and God said, ‘Let there be light.’”
JOSEPH CAMPBELL: This is from the Hindu Upanishad: “In the beginning there was only the great self, reflected in the form of a person. Reflecting, it found nothing but itself, and its first word was, ‘This am I.’” — Source: Bill Moyers
When we compare myth with emerging science, additional commonalities emerge, including the mystical legends pointing out the very things science is examining:
- Struggles with the true nature of reality;
- Confusion with self-awareness;
- Dark ‘veils’ which hide or obscure deeper levels of consciousness or awareness;
- Deeply immersive experiences that hint at things like simulated reality;
- Wrestling with the question of, “How would I know if I was actually in a dream?”;
- Grappling with the notion of self-realization;
- Holographic implications, found in ancient sayings such as “As above, so below,” attributed to an aphorism associated with sacred geometry, Hermeticism, and the Tarot, and derived from a passage in the Emerald Tablet (variously attributed to Hermes Trismegistus or Pseudo-Apollonius of Tyana). Also found in the New Testament’s Lord’s Prayer: “On earth, as it is in heaven”. — Source: Wikipedia.
Eternity isn’t some later time; eternity isn’t a long time; eternity has nothing to do with time. Eternity is that dimension of here and now which thinking in time cuts out. — Joseph Campbell
