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A SUBSTANTIAL
NEW WAY OF THINKING
Author: Dr
Michael Ellis © 2005
Correspondence: mindquest@ozemail.com.au
We shall require a substantially new
manner of thinking if mankind is to survive.
- Albert Einstein
Introduction
Nowadays, there is a
new science in thinking, in terms of quantum
theory, systems theory and process physics.
Information is a very valued commodity.
Patenting genes is a perfect way of controlling
information, whether to create winning racehorses
or superhuman beings.
Ephemeral wisdom has
taught us, that we are part of the land,
sky, oceans and earth. Now it seems everything
can be owned for the sake of economic rationalism
and the profit motive.
Although Gaia, the planet
Earth, is a biosphere supporting all of
life as a self-maintaining homeostatic system,
the human beings on it are becoming alienated
from the process and are destroying it.
The Earth is out of balance. Failsafe manoeuvers
have not worked and inconceivable degradation
is occurring despite our vast inventive
minds.
New systems of politics
and democracy do not address this essential
picture because they do not look at the
nature of life itself.
In this era of post-modernistic
pluralism there seems no common ground in
a world where religions clash and terrorism
is rife.
Religion is seen as
a compartment separate from science.
Each person has their
own fundamental path, or way, which they
guard with ultimate religiosity. It impels
their mundane and secular vocation as Islam
impels Osama Bin Ladan and Christianity
impels George Bush.
However, the essence
of religion is faith or belief and according
to Professor Benson, of Harvard University,
belief is hard-wired into our very beings
and brains. He gives the example that in
medicine the placebo response makes up at
least 30% of the efficacy of a drug.
The question is to
what extent does intent, expectation, and
belief effect even empirical data in science.
Recent research at the Institute of Noetic
Sciences in California has suggested that
expectation plays a major role in experiments.
It is this essential quality of the human
spirit which enables us to choose the kind
of future we want!
The key to change and
a positive future for humanity, I believe,
is to recognise what we all have in common
rather than what separates us. Despite the
multitude of differences in the human family
in terms of beliefs, religions, cultures,
races, genetic tendencies, occupations and
habitats, we all possess life and innate
goodness. This life that we have as human
beings pre-supposes conscience and consciousness,
and propels us in our search for truth whether
it be through science or the humanities.
Our brains are part of the vulnerable, expressive,
creative, beautiful, exquisitely formed
human being.
The brain as a quantum
organ
The brain is a quantum
organ, which can enable the human being
to become infinitely creative and resourceful.
The brain of the current species Homo sapiens
evolved with its large neo-cortex less than
a hundred thousand years ago. The previous
species was Homo erectus or Neanderthal,
which, in fact, co-existed with Homo sapiens
until about 40,000 years ago. Due to the
Ice Age Neanderthals were not able to adapt
to changing circumstances and perished (New
Scientist).
The brain has more neuronal
connections in it than there are stars in
the universe. This enormously complex evolving
process, which the brain represents, is
an expression of the last frontier for the
evolution of humanity, namely, the leap
into the higher levels of consciousness
and awareness.
The ephemeral and esoteric
teachings of spirituality or the ancient
wisdom of humankind all deal with the way
we construct reality and the way we bring
our lives into oneness with the universal,
process of life itself. They are, in total
expressing a meta religion, or a new paradigm.
In a way, they express
how we can ultimately become one with reality.
To do this authentically would have enormous
implications for politics, economics and
all the sciences, bringing into the many
specialties in universities and work, a
new way of thinking and being.
Indeed, Ouspensky, in
his book, Tertion Organum, hit on this essential
ingredient in the early twentieth century.
In his book, the fourth way of logic was
based on what he termed a higher level of
consciousness. It was not just a new way
of thinking but a deeper more noetic way
of perceiving and relating. Since the time
the book was written, the concept of the
new paradigm has been widely discussed.
The Paradigm Shift
Thomas Kuhn defined
Paradigm Shift as what is considered peripheral,
moves to centre stage.
Vlakev Havel, former
president of Czechoslovakia has said "without
a global revolution of human consciousness,
nothing will change for the better in the
sphere of our being as humans and the catastrophe
towards which this world is headed be it
ecological, demographic, social or the general
breakdown of civilization will be unavoidable".
Science has built a
picture of the universe, which up until
now has been considered as materialistic.
When we look at the consciousness movements,
we see that within western society in particular,
the aim is to fill the gap left by the vacuum
caused by the separation between inner and
outer experience and also between God and
the machine -and the separation of mind
and body, a concept called Cartesian Dualism.
We need to create depth,
resonance and meaning in our lives by focusing
on bridging the gap between reason and belief,
intellect and intuition in order to create
a cosmology and spirituality more integral
to the human frame of reference. We need
to seek to reconnect ourselves with the
essence of life.
There are almost as
many belief systems as there are human beings.
Professionals seeking the solutions to world
peace, social disintegration and environmental
problems, often seem despondent. The solution
to them depends upon their specialty and
this could be psychological, economic, theological,
environmental, bio-genetic manipulation
or humanistic. The question is, what is
the common denominator? Ten percent of the
population suffer from genetic bi-polar
depression according to the psychiatrists
and yet it would seem common sense to say
that if we create a dysfunctional environment,
we get dysfunctional responses.
What we do have in common
is life and consciousness - and we need
to understand life, as being an interconnected
synergic matrix of reciprocal maintenance
and connectedness. We have finite bodies
but infinite minds, which have the power
to realise a new world of hope, creativity
and sustainability.
The system tries to
deny that we human beings have a soul. It
entraps us in world models of economic rationalism,
and is centered in materialism and classical
Darwinism, the selfish gene, the biomedical
model and the rational ordering of society.
The system forgets about
our consciousness, (transpersonal experience)
our hearts and our beliefs. As an African
spiritual teacher has said. "A civilisation
without rites of passage has a sick soul."
In such a situation -
- There are no elders
or mentors (they are all out making money),
- The youth are violent
or without hope,
- The adults are bewildered.
This is exactly our current status quo!
I think we need a global
revolution which comes from the heart and
soul of each individual.
The perception of
the true nature of things
Buddhism shows that
consciousness is defined as the perception
of the true nature of things or true reality
and that consciousness is imminent in the
universe and is inseparably connected with
all phenomena and matter, just as the mind
is inseparably connected with the body and
spirit.
Five per cent of the
adult population of North America have had
an NDE or near death experience. In his
book Recollection of Death, Cardiologist
Michael Sabom, details several independently
confirmed auto-scopic experiences. He concluded
that none of the standard explanations is
adequate to account for the accuracy brought
back from out of body. The subjects reported
that they could see details of their surroundings
that they could not have perceived by means
of their physical senses. Psychologist,
Kenneth Ring, after conducting a survey
amongst twenty-six NDE's assessing changes
in attitude, concluded that after these
experiences individuals tended to express
a greater appreciation for life and more
concern and love for their fellow human
beings.
It would seem from these
illustrations that mind does have an integrating
role beyond that of the matter in the brain
although in normal circumstances matter
and mind are inextricably interlinked.
Stanislav Grof in his
talk in Beyond the Brain, 1990, stated that
through transpersonal experience there is
access to new information not through ordinary
channels. There are two forms of learning
- learning through observation, analysis
and synthesis, and learning in state of
being or direct experience. Grof talks about
three kinds of experiences. First is the
ability to become objects or living entities
encompassing the whole range of phenomena
within the universe. An example of this
category is provided in the successful research
of remote viewing at Stanford Research Institute,
California. Second is the ability to transcend
linear time so that all past and future
events can be experienced with all sensory
modalities. These non-ordinary states of
consciousness would include conception,
birth, ancestors, collective racial memories
and past life experiences. Third is experiences
which take you into realms that this culture
does not consider to be objectively real,
because they transcend space and time. They
would include the collective unconscious
and archetypes. This also includes such
phenomena as channeling, spirit guides,
universal mind and cosmic consciousness.
Stanislav Grof uses these three categories
as his form of cartography for psychic exploration.
Everything is connected,
Our linear vision of
reality reduces things to the extent that
we view phenomena as if they were isolated
events unconnected with anything else. We
seek for short-term gain and do not realise
that
- everything is connected,
- the loss of one item
diminishes everything exponentially, (like
the loss of the Brazilian rainforests
affects the lungs of the planet creating
destructive climate changes),
- things work together
synergistically, (the sum is more than
the individual parts)
- nothing is really
predetermined and foolproof - in the cloud
chambers, the position of an electron
is a probability - nature is enigmatic!
The way we think of
things is determined by our belief systems
and in our society we are brought up with
the predominant linear belief system which
is materialistic, positivistic and scientific.
This means that we live in a world in which
the objective reality can be defined by
experimentation and where our subjective
experience does not impinge on the reality
defined by science outside us. Cartesian
dualism defined originally by Descartes
makes a distinction between the mind and
the body. A thinker observes but is not
involved directly, just as God has become
Deus Ex Machina.
The dawning of a paradigm
shift is upon us. Can we make the jump to
the realisation that a new era and a new
millennium implies the evolution of consciousness
above everything else?
Thomas Kuhn defined the new paradigm as
being an extension of the science that we
already know and therefore come to know
only in terms of new science. However, the
term, the new paradigm is now commonly used
as an expression of new ways of thinking.
This is how the term is used in this article.
The new paradigm
places consciousness as the pivotal core
of the universe.
The Lotus Sutra was
the final teaching, taught by Shakyamuni
Buddha, or Guatama Buddha. The Lotus Sutra
was a distillation of the 84,000 teachings
attributed to Shakyamuni Buddha. Nichiren
Dai Shonin who was born in February 16 1222
came to the conclusion that the Lotus Sutra
was the ultimate teaching of Shakyamuni
Buddha. In particular he followed the systemisation
of Buddhist teachings by the great teacher,
Chih-che during the Sui Dynasty (6th century)founder
of the Tientai School of Buddhism who was
teacher to the Emperors of China and established
a platform of ordination devoted to the
teachings of the Lotus Sutra at Mount Hiei
in China.
This ultimate truth
expressed by Nichiren Dai Shonin has been
compared to a tree
(or common ground ) from which all the other
teachings of Buddhism emanate as secondary
teachings or branches.
In our contemporary
world of diversity it is very difficult
for people to accept a common ground which
binds all teachings and all information
together.
Nichiren Daishonin says
in On Attaining Buddhahood:
Life is indeed an
elusive reality that transcends both the
words and concepts of existence and nonexistence.
It is neither existence nor nonexistence,
yet exhibits the qualities of both. It is
the mystic entity of the Middle Way that
is the reality of all things. Myo is the
name given to the mystic nature of life,
and ho to its manifestations. Renge, the
lotus flower, symbolizes the wonder of this
Law. Once you realize that your own life
is the Mystic Law, you will realize that
so are the lives of all others
This transcendence of
existence and non existence. and fusion
with the abiding essence and common ground
of all Humanity and life was also expressed
in the Islamic mysticism of Jalal ad-Din
Rumi the great Islamic Persian sage and
poet mystic,
What is to be done,
O Moslems? For I do not recognise myself.
I am neither Christian, nor Jew, nor Gabr,
nor Moslem.
I am not of the East, nor of the West, nor
of the land, nor of the sea;
I am not of Nature's mint, nor of the circling
heaven.
I am not of earth, nor of water, nor of
air, nor of fire;
I am not of the empyrean, nor of the dust,
nor of existence, nor of entity.
I am not of India, nor of China, nor of
Bulgaria, nor of Saqsin;
I am not of the kingdom of 'Iraqian, nor
of the country of Khorasan.
I am not of this world, nor of the next,
nor of Paradise, nor of Hell.
I am not of Adam, nor of Eve, nor of Eden
and Rizwan.
My place is the Placeless, my trace is the
Traceless;
'Tis neither body nor soul, for I belong
to the soul of the Beloved.
I have put duality away, I have seen that
the two worlds are one;
One I seek, One I know, One I see, One I
call.
He is the first, He is the last, He is the
outward, He is the inward;
I am intoxicated with Love's cup, the two
worlds have passed out of my ken;
If once in my life I spent a moment without
thee,
From that time and from that hour I repent
of my life.
If once in this world I win a moment with
thee,
I will trample on both worlds, I will dance
in triumph for ever.
A religious faith empowers
us with humaneness, spirituality and love
for all humanity . It transcends all barriers
and expresses the oneness of all things
and all peoples.
This in direct contradiction
to, for example, science, which seeks to
analyse and quantify dispassionately without
the intuition. Science observes from the
outside and sees perfection accruing from
an emergence of new properties, as for example
in psychology and psychoanalysis which see
perfection coming from an integration of
conflicting impulses. Of course great scientific
discoveries come from creative leaps of
consciousness but the result still distances
the role of human consciousness in the scientific
process.
It is the ability of
the human being to integrate darkness and
light, yin and yan, and existence and non-existence,
positive and negative, which create the
'middle way' or path.
The experience of enlightenment
is not simply a passive experience of heightened
reality and perception but an active participation
in a process of transformation.
We need to see the whole
universe as a biological self-referential
process constantly interacting and balancing
and modulating like a mighty ocean of infinite
myriads of creations of possibility evolving,
defining and re-defining to higher orders
of expression.
The phenomenal reality
of the universe with its vast spaces interspersed
with galaxies and matter is defined by this
biological self-referential framework, which
are noetic currents of streams and threads
of life. In other word, the whole universe
is alive. Another way of expressing this
is to say that human beings are quantum
waves on an ocean of possibilities.
Chih-che during the
Sui Dynasty (6th century).founder of the
Tientai School of Buddhism defined life
like a mirror. As regards our individual
lives, the mirror of my life will reflect
all the phenomenal changes which occur either
subjectively or within my objective experience.
The mirror, in the kaleidoscopic forms and
colours, feelings and emotions which represent
my life, is forever changing as my life
changes in the blinking of an eye. These
changes come from the subtle essence of
the mirror itself or the ocean of possibility,
which represents simultaneously my destiny
embedded within my karma. The total mirror
with the images of my life and its reflective
capacity is a hologram of the total universe.
The direct experience
of reality
In science, our current
system of thought precludes us from a direct
experience of reality as thought is considered
subjective, and therefore, unscientific.
There is huge division between the truths
implicit in art, music and literature, and
the empirical data of science. However even
in science, especially in quantum physics,
the consciousness of the observer influences
the outcome of the experiments.
In process physics it
is understood that science has attempted
to impose an infrastructure on the universe
in order to make sense of it. This would
even apply to Einstein's theory of relativity.
In this sense we impose our human intellect
and perception on the universe expecting
it to behave in certain ways. It was Goedel,
through his theorem, who attempted to create
the equation that saw the universe as a
biological unfolding entity, without the
intermediary of human intervention.
What this means is
that it would seem very difficult for us
to have direct knowledge and understanding
of the universe because of our humanness
unless we have access to the perennial traditions
of humanity.
The seamless point of
focus between the manifest and noetic is
the integrating, overarching law of life
itself, which is implicit in every atom,
elementary particle and blade of grass.
Global Mind Change
Willis Harman in the
book Global Mind Change talks of three metaphysical
perspectives. One is materialistic monism,
where matter gives rise to mind, which is
the current state of play. An alternative
metaphysic is dualistic, where there are
two different kinds of different stuff in
the universe, one being matter energy and
the other being mind. This is an expression
of Cartesian dualism. The third metaphysical
perspective is transcendental monism, where
mind gives rise to matter.
We all have an interest
in creating a better world. Because of over-population,
irreversible destruction of living and non
living resources, pollution, environmental
destruction, loss of biodiversity, the ozone
layer depletion, the green house effect,
climate change and vast inequities and poverty
in the world, in our hearts we would like
to see a more sustainable, caring and integrative
world.
Many solutions include
democratic reform, decentralisation of the
government, conserving the environment,
telling people about the real aspects of
what is going on, creating a healing culture
and combating the alienation and loneliness
which is so common in big cities and with
single people.
Quantum Reality -
Creating the Reality we choose.
How does the living,
growing body read the language of atoms
in the DNA ? Is there not memory and intelligence
even at this level - and do not our brains
but further manifest this consciousness
in a self-reflective way.
The new theories in
quantum physics as applied to consciousness
enable us to see how we are waves of potentiality
on a quantum ocean of probability.
Quantum physics defines
all phenomena in terms of wave-forms or
particles. Heisenberger defined the Uncertainty
Principle, where if we define the wave or
velocity of the electron then we cannot
define its position as a particle. Observation
however leads to a collapse of the waveform
into a material or particle phenomenon.
In this new science
it is the consciousness of the observer,
which creates and collapses the observed
reality. In a sense according to this argument
the Uncertainty Principle of Heisenberger
gives rise to the certainty of the reality
which we collapse as we perceive it.
Each of us as has been
described by some exponents of the holographic
paradigm as having a quantum resonance field
around us, which resonates with the surrounding
living and non living bio-fields as an interaction
creating the reality which accurately reflects
our patterns and karma and even destiny.
Thus once a critical
mass of higher consciousness in human beings
is reached it would be able to express a
new art and a new science on this planet
which can lead to people leading long fulfilling
lives in complete harmony with the environment.
This would occur because of the overwhelming
change in the interconnecting overarching
morphogenic field.
The key to this form
of transformation is based primarily on
faith or belief combined with the access
of ultimate truth or realty within! Herbert
Benson the founder of the Mind Body Institute
at Harvard University has said that the
brain is hardwired for belief. Our very
survival depends on our belief systems.
The power of belief
is such he says, as to contribute 30-60%
of the effect of a pharmaceutical drug.
In double blind trials the so-called placebo
effect or belief in the drug is always taken
into account. Herbert Benson uses the power
of belief for his patients in order to recapture
times when they were in a state of health
and wellness. He calls this state remembered
wellness.
In double personalities
we sometimes find that one personality has
for example a diabetic complaint whereas
the other personality is fit and well. The
instant change from the healthy personality
to the diabetic personality instantly brings
on the physiological parameter of diabetes.
As this process is instant it is evidently
a quantum phenomenon as the biochemical
and physiological processes travel at a
finite speed.
Every second our physiology
and metabolism is changing and we completely
change all the cells in our body in twelve
months so that nothing within our bodies
remains constant as we are interchanging
all our atoms with the environment all the
time.
To access the core of
memory, which brings us back home to the
very essence of universal reality is a challenge
because of the ever changing nature of all
phenomena. Even our mental and social circumstances
continue to change, as do the atoms, molecules,
DNA, organs and systems of the body. The
aim of the living process is to maintain
some kind of equilibrium and constancy within
this milieu.
The state beyond knowing
and beyond the zero point field of information
within the context of the conscious universe
is in fact pure consciousness. This state
or essence is ingrained in the core of stars,
the fragrance of roses, the mystery of a
full moonlit night and in all the heartfelt
expression of religious yearning and devotion.
Faith and wonder
Faith and wonder are
therefore two of the keys to accessing the
ultimate of life or higher consciousness
within.
In any meditative process---
It is the practitioner's love, compassion,
devotion to service and intent that can
elicit the unseen assistance of the universe.
(Professor William Tiller Professor Emeritus
Stanford University)
Have you ever had one
of those days where everything happens in
harmony and with what seems surprising coincidences?
You are able to find the car parking spot
in an impossible situation or the traffic
lights go green so that you are able to
get to your destination very quickly. You
may have been thinking of a friend you have
not seen for years and they suddenly appear
in your life through a letter or phone call.
You know you are in tune and your mind seems
to reach out and be in harmony and rhythm
with everything around it. Somehow you and
your environment are one and your life itself
is part of a song or line of dance within
the context of deeper strands of wholeness.
What is happening is that we are expressing
a complex fusion between our life and the
life of the greater whole expressed as a
fundamental wholeness. Heightened awareness
creates these kinds of phenomena showing
that all life is connected and interlinked.
The universe does
not forget
David Hawkins also says
that the universe does not forget.
"There are many
sides to the question of Karma but every
choice of who and how to be is a choice
of great consequence. Reports of near death
experiences confirm that we shall eventually
have to accept responsibility for every
thought, word and deed we beget and re experience
exactly whatever suffering we have caused.
It is in this sense that we create our own
heaven and hell. The universe holds its
breath as we choose instant by instant which
path to follow; For the universe the very
essence of life itself is highly conscious,
every act thought and choice adds to a permanent
mosaic our decisions ripple through the
universe of consciousness to affect the
lives of all."
Do our genes predetermine
our future? Are the causes we create the
product of early childhood experiences and
choices we make at critical times of our
lives or even from previous lives?
Left to themselves instinctual
qualities are drives for survival. It is
the quality of awareness in the neo cortex
of the human brain, which distorts these
life giving attributes to a preoccupation
with death and suffering. When nature exists
on an unconscious level it tends towards
balance, for example; the biosphere of the
planet earth is balanced in terms of oxygen
content, salinity of the seas, temperature
of the oceans, and the ground-work of trillions
of bacteria which maintain a living crust
to the planet. The planet in this respect
maintains an integrating meshwork for the
maintenance of life in all its forms.
Integrating heart and
mind or living heart and brain we are able
to consciously survive in an integrative
way without allowing the fight for survival
based on the sympathetic nervous system
and inflammatory processes to predominate.
By modifying our perception and understanding
on the nature of reality our instinctual
drives do not predominate to create unnecessary
suffering in the lives of ourselves, or
others.
Learning is the way
we make sense of our psychosocial and ecological
environment. Learning is dependent on the
neo cortex which re-maps and reconfigures
itself at two critical points in early human
development, namely in the first 12 months
of life when the brain loses half its neurons
and in adolescence when further moulding
occurs. This shows how critical, loving,
nurturing parental caring is important in
order to prepare the child for a happy future.
Many studies have shown deprivation in early
and adolescent years produces unhappiness,
delinquency and illness in later life.
The question is can
forms of psychosocial intervention later
in life change a negative balance? The answer
is that the brain is enormously plastic
and so is capable of constant change.
As human beings we have
untold hidden qualities and faculties -
especially the quality of creativity, compassion
and enlightenment. As human beings we are
impelled to love and nurture our children,
families, and communities. When we bring
out this state we are fulfilling the role
of compassion. Doctors or nurses fulfill
this role professionally.
It is an indictment
on ourselves that in the past 15,000 years
human kind especially mankind has spent
more time killing each other than nurturing
each other. The biological drives for survival
in key individuals like kings, emperors,
secular leaders and religious leaders consistently
seem to have taken precedence over the collective
needs of human beings.
Even today we are still
confronted with the same issues where the
collective needs represented by true democracy
are rarely expressed.
We should be expressing
our true power and awareness of enlightenment,
which then will raise the collective creative
energy of human kind to a high level enabling
the awareness of our interconnectedness
with all life and the facility for cooperation
between all human beings. Enormous collective
guilt and anger and fear is inherent within
the collective unconscious of human kind.
These impurities and accretions of toxins
within our collective awareness are the
seeds for enlightenment.
We are constantly exposed
to brain washing and imprinting every day
of our life from the words of our families,
peers and communities to the brainwashing
of the media and advertising. This kind
of imprinting moulds the structure and neuronal
networks of the brain to create a consensual
reality dependent on the culture we live
in and the predominant imposed belief systems.
Belief plays an enormous part in our lives
in creating our reality.
Within a more enlightened
humanity what openness of dialogue could
occur unimpeded by differences in personality
and ego, what friendships and genuine camaraderie
would occur, what genuine common ground
could be produced where the openness of
dialogue leads to new ways of thinking and
new technological systems with the creation
of sustainable infrastructures for collective
survival. This would be the making of new
Gaian systems for ecological balance unimpeded
by political needs for short term gains
as it would be considering only the need
for the common good and well-being for not
only the individual but also for the society
and the environment.
Challenge, control
and commitment
Research into successful
businessmen in large companies has found
that their basic orientation is towards
challenge, commitment and control. Sir Professor
Michael Marmot found in his famous Whitehall
Study that a sense of control or mastery
of ones life was crucial for well-being
and the prevention of illness. In his study
he evaluated the incidence of cardiovascular
disease in top civil servants and those
in the lower echelons and found the latter
had a much higher incidence of heart disease.
He found the missing or X factor in this
puzzle to be control over ones life.
Challenge, control and
commitment are key factors in determining
success in life.
Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe said:
"The moment one commits oneself,
then Providence moves too. All sorts of
things occur to help that would never otherwise
have occurred. A whole stream of events
issues from the decision, raising to one's
favor all manner of unforeseen accidents
and meetings and material assistance which
no man could have dreamed would come his
way.
Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin
it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic
in it."
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