Friday, April 19, 2013

I am you, and you are me



Science and religion both attempt to answer similar questions innate to the human experience, and both claim to have the correct answer. However, they both have their limitations. Science can only go so far based on what it considers as proof cannot always be measurable or observable. Religion is also limited in the fact that those who chose to subscribe to religious beliefs close off their minds to new and alternative concepts of the world. Since the beginning of time, mankind has always been in search of knowledge and the truth. Nevertheless, there have been those who are so indoctrinated into their belief system that their minds do not possess the capability to grasp new possibilities.  On one hand we have science, which enables us to explain and comprehend new concepts of the universe, and on the other hand, we have religion, which uses faith as an external source for information about the truth, without the chance for change and adaptation.


It is my personal belief that all of the great spiritual leaders of the past would not endorse religion. I feel they would have no clue as to what it is. Our concept of religion is a man made concept used to control the masses, conceal knowledge, and generate massive profits. The spiritual leaders written about in our holy books preached about love, compassion, and spirituality; not centralized religion and going to church every Sunday.


For ages, religious prophets, philosophical thinkers, ancient writings, and psychedelic drugs have been saying that the entire universe is “One” (One as in one single consciousness) and that our entire concept of “reality” is just an illusion. In The End of Faith by Sam Harris, the author argues that science will one day be able to answer spiritual questions and explain mystical experiences. On page 43 of his book, Sam Harris states that:

“Science will not remain mute on spiritual and ethical questions for long. Even now, we can see the first stirrings among psychologists and neuroscientists of what may one day become a genuinely rational approach to these matters—one that will bring even the most rarefied mystical experience within the purview of open, scientific inquiry. It is time we realized that we need not be unreasonable to suffuse our lives with love, compassion, ecstasy, and awe; nor must we renounce all forms of spirituality or mysticism to be on good terms with reason” (Harris, 2005).

Recent developments in quantum physics are doing just that. These discoveries are opening the door that connects science and spirituality that once remained closed and guarded by religious leaders and scientists alike.

Quantum Physics

Quantum physics is a particular domain of science that, unlike regular Newtonian physics, studies and attempts to understand how everything in the physical, perceivable world comes into existence (Malin, 2012). It is basically the study of reality starting with the subatomic level of the world. Quantum physics is profoundly complex and take time to comprehend and wrap one’s mind around. The famous Danish physicist and philosopher, Niels Bohr, who made some of the foundational discoveries to understanding quantum physics and atomic structure and later received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922 for these discoveries, once said, "If quantum [physics] hasn't profoundly shocked you, you haven't understood it yet” (Pais, 1991). Scientists haven’t been able to completely explain everything that’s going on in the subatomic world of particles, but they have figured out where all physical things in the entire universe stem from.  Quantum physics attempts to break down physical things into their simplest and untainted for in order to discover the source from which they are made (Anonymous, 2012).


If one takes just a quick look at intellectual nature of what quantum physics is and what quantum physicists do, it seems to be extremely complex and monotonous. However, when the fundamental conclusions of quantum physics are combined with what the ancient sages, mystics, philosophers, and religious prophets have been saying for millennia, not only is it profoundly shocking like Niels Bohr’s stated, but it can become at catalyst to change human thinking and their view of reality and the world around them.

We are One

Our culture has programmed people so that individual differences stand out. When someone looks at another person, they immediately make judgments about them. One may see the other person as smarter, dumber, richer, poorer, older, or younger; but the fact of the matter is that people immediately place others into categories and treat them accordingly based on the category they’ve been placed in. Humans innately see others as separate from themselves and focus on the ways in which they are separate. However, a dramatic part of human experience is being with another person, and suddenly realizing the ways in which they are similar to one’s self. After having an experience like this, people begin to realize that which is inside of one person is the same as that which is inside of another person. They begin to realize that which is within themselves and that which is within others is indeed One, and that there truly is no “other”.  Quantum physics has done nothing but prove this fact. If one tries to break down their consciousness (in the way a quantum physicist would break down a particle) in order to understand what it is that makes up their consciousness, they will come to the conclusion that it is their thoughts that make up their consciousness. This leads to the question “Who is it that is aware that [I] am thinking?” One may think that the simple answer to that question is that “I am aware that I am thinking,” however, it isn’t that simple. If it is ourselves that is aware that we are thinking, then that must mean we are separate from ourselves in order to make that observation, which obviously isn’t that case. This leaves only one other option, our consciousness must be a part of something greater than itself, or as famous write and speak David Icke would say:

                “We are droplets in an infinite ocean of consciousness and when you place a droplet back in the ocean where does the ocean start and the droplet end? They don't. They are all One. Everything is One and was always One. I am you, you are me, I am everything and everything is me. We have just forgotten and been manipulated to forget” (Icke, 2011).


I believe that Sam Harris would agree that all human conflict stems from the fact that humans see themselves as separate from one another. The only things people ever talk about anymore are our differences. The mainstream media, politicians, and religious institutions seem to only focus on the things that make us different from on another instead of focusing on that which brings us together and reveals our true nature as the loving and compassionate creatures we are.  Almost all, if not every great religious or spiritual prophet knew this and perhaps this is where they drew their conclusions about The Golden Rule – treat others as you would treat yourself. What would happen to the arms industry if every human being on Earth realized that we’re all One? How could anyone justify bombing and killing something that they see as themselves instead separate from themselves?

Quantum Physics and Buddhist Philosophy


H.H. The 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, Tenzin Gyato, explains in his book The Universe in a Single Atom: The Convergence of Science and Spirituality, that there is a distinct connection between science and spirituality, and that they have a distinct ability to unite the human race. In traditional Buddhist teachings, the Theory of Emptiness states that all things and events are dependent upon one another and are in some way interconnected. Both Buddhism and quantum physics demonstrate that the world we know is not what we perceive it to be with our 5 senses, and that us and everything that exists is connected in some way, somehow. In the book, His Holiness cites one of David Bohm’s observations: 

“…if we examine the various ideologies that tend to divide humanity such as racism, extremely nationalism, and the Marxist class struggle, one of the key factors of their origin is the tendency to perceive things that inherently divided and disconnected. From this misconception springs the belief that each of these divisions is essentially independent and self-existent.”

Bohm’s statement is an extraordinary one. He is able to understand the relation between quantum physics and science as a whole, and he is also able to expand his analogy to the entire world. Perhaps if human’s were not so quick to judge, segregate, and isolate each other, we would be able to come to gather and have a much greater respect for the human race a whole, but conquering the ego is no simple task. This comparison of Buddhism and quantum physics is very interesting because it has the capability to motivate those who find solidarity in faith, and those who find the truth through facts. Both schools of thought recognize the extreme importance of perception.

Conclusion

Most people often get caught up in the hustle and bustle of their own lives to the point that they fail to realize the fact that their entire existence transcends both space and time. The horrors and evil of this world are not independent of ourselves and depend completely upon misunderstandings tracing from the innate human need to separate itself from the world around it. Whether you belong to spirituality or science, both ideologies call for an immediate re-examination of The Self.


The ego is what holds people back from realizing their Oneness with the universe.


Bibliography


Anonymous. (2012, December 8). Quantum Physics. Retrieved from Abundance and Happiness: http://www.abundance-and-happiness.com/quantum-physics.html

Harris, S. (2005). The End of Faith. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.

Icke, D. (2011, December 31). It's Time To Wake Up. Retrieved from DavidIcke.com: http://www.davidicke.com/headlines/58493-its-time-to-wake-up-we-are-all-one

Malin, S. (2012). Nature Loves to Hide: Quantum Physics and the Nature of Reality, a Western Perspective. World Scientific.

Pais, A. (1991). Neils Bohr's Times, In Physics, Philosophy, and Polity. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

15 comments:

  1. Up on the mountaintop


    I climbed up to the mountain top
    I was sore tired and worn
    My feet were bleeding and my lungs ached
    My mind was traumatized from the carnage way far below

    As i stepped onto the plateau
    The air was sweet crisp and fresh
    The sun toasty warm on the face while dancing in the shadows of the pine trees
    A babbling brook, softly singing in the distance gentle and serene

    And i as i looked around I saw them one and all
    Gandhi and Jesus
    LaoTzu and Buddha
    Mohammed and Krishna
    Teresa and Gibbs
    Schweitzer and Einstein
    Chief Joseph Crazy Horse and Wovoka
    The giants of my reach
    The caliper of my aspiration

    And yet below us all
    The trials and tribulations cyclic in its repeated insanity
    And I painstakingly contemplated my ledger as I rose and pondered
    with the dues I paid do I deserve nirvana?

    I am not above nor below any before
    By trial and error I have been humbled as I let go
    The maker encased within us infinite good and bad
    And the skin is the choices we choose in freedom

    The path for one and all the same
    Dao is beyond heaven and hell
    Who are we to question when the answer resides within?
    Between finite parameters, the truth is infinity

    When the source is the nameless one
    A path of inspiration to do good deeds
    Cut and bruised by the pragmatics of ‘reality’
    How can any of us rise above when we’re entangled in the web?

    Up on the mountaintop
    Does not guilt stain the gold
    For by reaching do you do not condemn
    Time is water flowing to its own rhythm

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  2. Are you related to, or a disciple of Depak Chopra, who is himself the famous disciple of P.T. Barnum?
    Because you both sound suspiciously alike in your twisted, convoluted babblings regarding quantum physics.
    A MAN ASKED LORD BUDDHA
    "I WANT HAPPINESS." (without a question mark, that is a statement)
    LORD BUDDHA SAID FIRST REMOVE "I" THAT'S EGO. (but...but, then who's asking the question if not I?)
    THEN REMOVE "WANT" THAT'S DESIRE. (but, YOU want - desire - that I remove "want"?)
    SEE NOW YOU ARE ONLY LEFT WITH HAPPINESS. (no I'm not...I'm not here!)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. by removing "I" Buddha does not mean that you do not exist but that you no longer identify as a separate independent individual and see yourself as interconnected with all. Wanting is a condition of not accepting/ being at peace with what is, which doesn't mean you can not change(we constantly change) but that you not focus on something that is not at this moment possible and therefore suffer(not a state of happiness).

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    2. it is interesting to connect desire to romanticism's "the sublime", in short, while pondering existence and planning our future, while writing poetry or having dreams in life, we often have too large expectation, or better yet, we expect a perfect infinity where all the answers lie, that's wrong and a great impediment to our freedom and happy, meaningful life; also the argument regarding "who is aware that I am thinking" is wrong, of course I am aware that I am thinking, prior to my writing this here you weren't even aware I existed... the whole idea about understanding and empathy is great but it does not need suspiciously strange ontological theories

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  3. the light is there for everyone to see and though one may shrug off the dismay of the blind,ignorant and the all-knowing inside their little cave, and then instead leave the cave to discover so much and then have the compassion to return to the confinement, the obtuseness of the dark to instead tell others in the cave that light is out there, just beyond the cave but alas so many prefer to live in darkness, in smug cynicism and hence they cuddle into their blindness and consider themselves enlightened...and they contemplate their idiocy as brilliancy....

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  4. "Your souls are as waves on the sea of the spirit; although each individual is a distinct wave, the ocean is one, all are united in God."

    - Abdu'l-Baha, (Paris Talks, p. 83)

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  5. Science and religion are in total agreement; they are inseperable. Check out www.bahai.org for details.

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  6. This post reminds me of a class I took in college. There are a lot of interesting thoughts here.

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    Replies
    1. George Harrison knew this. Countless others are aware of this oneness. Hopefully the light can encompass all of ear
      th's human inhabitants.

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  7. Hi People!

    I invite you to check the work of Nassim Haramein.
    He has recently proposed a new theory of the Unified Field that's mind blowing.
    Everything's is based in geometry.
    It will change the world :)
    I invite you to look for more information in the following webpage:

    http://resonance.is/


    Even Mainstream media is giving him a little bit of attention:
    http://markets.cbsnews.com/cbsnews/news/read?GUID=24131644

    All the best for you people!!!! :)


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  8. Thank you for posting this, it touches me and draws together things I have read and heard but not felt until now.

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  9. Joel S.Goldsmith teaches this very well in -a parenthesis in Eternity. i believe it also.

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  10. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  11. "Your palaces are hospitals built amid cemetaries" Jon Balance.

    ReplyDelete