By observing a mundane phenomenon such as an apple falling from a tree, Newton discovered gravity, a fundamental property within the Universe that became the catalyst for a new era of scientific inquiry. Similarly, some of the greatest scientific discoveries were made by individuals whose keen powers of observation, of the trivial and the ordinary, allowed them to draw back the veil of reality and peek behind the curtains into the inner workings of the Universe. Just as an apple falling towards the Earth is representative of the same fundamental principles that guide the entire material Universe, it is similarly possible, by observing the mundane phenomena at work within your own conscious mind, to intuit some of the deeper principles that operate within Consiousness as a whole.
In the Universe out of Nothing, I discussed how the scientific approach has reached its limits in its understanding of Reality. The Big Bang theory is able to trace the history of the Universe all the way back to a time when the entire Universe and its contents were compacted into a single infinitely dense object about the size of an atom. Yet, how this single point of material reality came into existence out of Nothing , is something that continues to baffle scientists. This is because Science, in its quest to discover and define reality, made an erroneous assumption which limits it from providing a more holistic understanding of the nature of reality. The assumption Science makes is that reality is fundamentally objective. In other words, regardless of whether there is a conscious subject to observe it, the material Universe continues to exist. And so there seems to be a great divide between scientific reality and the personal realities we find ourselves living in. Because the personal realities we experience are primarily subjective.
The Dual Nature of Reality
The universe thus appears a paradox. Reality itself seems dual in Nature. There is Material Reality which appears in the form of our Universe, galaxies and planets, the Earth, living organisms, elements and compounds, molecules, atoms and electrons. Our own bodies are part of this material reality, our bones, muscles, organs, tissues, cells and DNA. The brain itself is an organ made up of a highly complex network of synapses that fire electrical impulses that further trigger chemical reactions within it. But that is as far as our objective experience of reality goes.
There is another face of reality that is purely subjective and this is Conscious Reality. It is the reality of our minds, the one we find ourselves predominantly living in . This is the version of reality that feels intimate, real and extremely personal. It is the reality within which we exist as individuals rather than organisms and within which we create relationships that are guided by emotion rather than physical laws.
Science, in its attempts to understand Consciousness, divided Material existence into two categories: the living and the non-living. Living organisms fall within a spectrum ranging from the simplest bacteria to vastly more complex human beings. Living things are objects in the material world which are subject to all the physical laws of the Universe and yet have the capacity to display 'intelligence', to create new organisms of their kind, adapt within their own environments and evolve in design. Non-living objects however, are objects that display none of these capacities and are basically simple and elemental.
What this approach implies is that, Consciousness is the product of the biological structure of living organisms and intelligent life. Non-living things, because of the very fact that they do not demonstrate any intelligent qualities cannot possibly produce Consciousness. The second implication of this approach, is that if Consciousness is a product of only a subset of objects within material reality, it cannot possibly have any bearing on the laws and principles that guide material reality itself; instead, it should be subject to material laws and must obey them. Its a case of the chicken and the egg. Because the current scientific understanding is that reality is material and that this material Universe is what produced both non-living and living organisms, and that biology is responsible for consciousness, it follows that material reality is the source of all consciousness.
While this is the accepted assumption, ask any scientist how this "consciousness" suddenly came to be in a Universe that was unanimously non-living, billions of years ago, and very few may even attempt an answer. The fact is no one knows. And so whether you ask: how that single point of matter that caused the Big Bang appeared out of Nothing, or whether you ask: how Life and Consciousness suddenly appeared in a purely material and inanimate Universe, you will receive the same blank stare. But perhaps, this blank stare means something.
The Properties of Thought
When observing your own consciousness and the various conscious phenomena that occur within your own mind, something becomes very obvious. The first is that thought has no material properties. It has no mass of its own and occupies no space whatsoever. It is capable of traveling at inifinite speeds (instantaneously) and is not restricted by distance. You can experience a thought of the street you live on and of the hotel you stayed at in the Dominican in the same amount of time, equally effortlessly. Your physical distance from each location is irrelevant to your ability to experience a thought about either of them. So, thoughts are not limited by the speed of light.
Thought is also unrestricted by time. You can experience a thought of the past and of the future, you can travel anywhere within time using thought. Thought is also unaffected by gravity or any material force. Whether you are standing on the Earth or on the moon, are sitting in a chair or on a roller coaster, thought occurs and can be experienced unimpeded by any of the forces at play. Therefore, Thought is not subject to any of the laws of the Material Universe. Now, you may argue that if someone were to take a sledgehammer to your skull, the blunt force may impede your ability to think. But what I am talking about right now is not the biological abilities of the human brain and how it ties into Consciousness. Yes, such a force may end your particular experience of thought, but the Thought itself remains unaffected.
Let me pause briefly to first define Thought and how I intend to use the word in this context. Thought is any event within Consciousness. Therefore, Thought events may come in various forms such as - Intention, Imagination, Abstraction, Perception, Emotion, Intuition and Reason. I will investigate each Thought form in greater detail in future articles. But for now, it will suffice to say, that any way in which we can experience ourselves consciously (as well as sub-consciously eg. dreams) would consitute Thought.
So in returning to the discussion on the properties of Thought, it becomes evident that it has no material reality and is not subject to any material laws. The reason why we can even imagine such concepts as time travel, unicorns, alternate dimensions and God is because Thought is not restricted by the physical laws of the Universe. But if the scientific perception of reality were true ie the physical Universe is all that exists, how can Thought operate independently of this reality?
Before the Bang
This very simple observation is immediately accessible to anyone who considers it. And this simple observation points to a Reality that is much greater than the existence of our physical Universe. Whereas, science assumes that Consciousness emerged somewhere along the way from the physical Universe, the truth is in fact the opposite: Our entire physical Universe was born as a result of a single event within Consciousness - from a single Thought.
That vast abyss of Nothing before the Big Bang was Consciousness itself. What created that single infinitely dense point of matter that exploded to create our physical Universe, was the Thought of a single infinitely dense point of matter.
Viewing Consciousness in this way revolutionizes the way in which we see ourselves and our thoughts. No longer are we simply forms of intelligent matter experiencing a finite existence, at the whims of an inanimate Universe. Rather each one is an expression of Consciousness creating realities from moment to moment. Every Thought event we experience has the capacity to create and shape our Universe and our circumstances. Every one of us is a conscious Creator of reality.
