Posts Tagged ‘universe’

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What is the universe?  It seems like I’ve been asking this question for just about as long as I’ve been looking up at the night sky.  Standing under the jewel-like starry nights, profound questions such as these seem to naturally arise, and I think in part it was these kinds of questions that led me as a child to want to become a professional astronomer.  As I’ve taught astronomy to students of all ages over the past twenty years, I’ve found that I’m not alone in asking these kinds of questions.  Nearly everyone I’ve ever spoken to about the universe has thought along similar lines: “What is all this?  Where do I fit in the big picture?  Who am I?”  Even in the midst of our modern lives and busy schedules, these kinds of questions have a way of slipping through the cracks of our everyday consciousness during our quietest moments. Our curiosity about ourselves and our place in the universe is very natural, and our ability to ask these kinds of questions and wonder about them is part of what makes us human.

A few years ago, it occurred to me that if I were asking these kinds of questions about the universe, then perhaps others might be as well, and so I made of list of all the people I would to approach for their views on the universe.  As I began conversing and having profound and transformative discussions with them, I noticed something very peculiar happening to me.  Bit by bit, so much of what had seemed so certain to me about the universe began slipping away.  The universe, it was turning out, was much, much more mysterious than I had initially thought, and it was leaving me with quite a conundrum.  Here I was, supposedly an expert on the universe as a professional astronomer, and yet after I began asking these kinds of questions, I found myself less and less able to say exactly what the universe actually is!

For example, modern physics holds that the entire universe (including ourselves) is made up exclusively of energy and matter, interacting in various ways to create the world we live in.  Yet in talking with various spiritual practitioners and indigenous elders about the universe, it seemed that very important nonphysical and yet undeniably real aspects of the cosmos were missing from our modern scientific view of it.  So it became increasingly clear that the universe is not just matter and energy but also has a profound spiritual dimension to it as well.  And yet this spiritual dimension is not separate from the material world we interact with on a daily basis.  The two are inextricably intertwined: matter and spirit, spirit and matter. We need both, because we live in a world that is both of these and so much more.

One of the results of asking these kinds of questions and interviewing people from all different fields and walks of life about the universe was my new book Cosmic Conversations www.cosmicconversations.org.  The other result was an appreciation that the universe is not only more complex than we think, but much more mysterious as well. How can the cosmos be matter, mind, energy, spirit, consciousness, love, truth, and all the other qualities we’ve discovered through our sciences, spiritual traditions, and personal lives?  To answer big cosmic questions such as these in a meaningful way, we need to ask more than a few experts and professionals – we need to start asking these questions ourselves.  “What is the universe for me?” is one of the most meaningful explorations we can have, because it begins to tie together our physical, moral, spiritual, outer, and inner lives together into one coherent whole.  Asking these kinds of questions of ourselves and those around us is one of the ways we make meaning of our world, how we find our place in the cosmos, our larger purpose, our higher values, and the truth of our deeper nature.

After a while, asking these kinds of ‘cosmic questions’ not only bring us clarity about what we believe about ourselves and the world, they also begin to slowly unravel what we previously thought we knew about who (and what) we thought we were.  This unraveling can be delicious, because as we begin to wrestle with the truth, untangling the myriad of knots that we find in ourselves, we begin to find that we are much more than we ever thought we were, and much more than we ever thought we could be.  We find ourselves drawn ever deeper into the mysteries of life, deeper into the mysteries of our inner depths, deeper into the starry cosmos, for at the mysterious center of things, we finally come home to discover that all these are one.

About Stephan Martin….

Stephan Martin, M.S., is an astronomer, educator, and writer who has taught astronomy and physics at colleges and educational centers across the U.S. for over twenty years. Currently Assistant Professor of Astronomy at Bristol Community College in southeastern Massachusetts, he is active in exploring and promoting interdisciplinary approaches to exploring the universe.  His current research and writing focuses on the transformative potential of the insights of modern science and their integration into personal experience and everyday life. He continues to lead innovative and learning programs in educational, holistic, and nontraditional learning settings that explore the innovative results of modern cosmology with the insights and practices of the world’s spiritual and indigenous traditions. He frequently lectures and gives presentations on astronomy and the wonders of the night sky at observatories, planetariums, and other popular venues, and has published a wide variety of articles on a multitude of topics that range from technical scientific research to academic papers in philosophy and humanities to popular-level articles on science education and everyday spirituality.  His new book, Cosmic Conversations, is a collection of interviews with scientists, spiritual teachers, indigenous elders, and cultural creatives on the topic of “What is the Universe?” His website is: www.cosmicconversations.org.

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Recently, I interviewed Tom Campbell about his work researching altered states of consciousness with Robert Monroe at Monroe Laboratories in the early 1970s where he and a few others were instrumental in getting Monroe’s laboratory for the study of consciousness up and running. These early drug-free consciousness pioneers helped design experiments, developed the technology for creating specific altered states, and were the main subjects of study all at the same time.

I’m pleased to present this interview with Tom Campbell to you here on The Bohemian Blog…

Kala: Hi Tom, Welcome to Explore Your Spirit with Kala’s Bohemian Blog, a pleasure to have you here.  You were involved with researching consciousness in the early 1970′s with Robert (Bob) Monroe at the Monroe Institute.  Regarding the topic of consciousness, some levels of consciousness are described as “altered states”.  Can you explain this term as well as-  How you define consciousness and altered states?

Tom: “Altered states of consciousness” refer to various states of awareness.  “Altered” implies that they are qualitatively different than one’s awareness in physical reality.  Consciousness has four attributes:
1 it takes in data (information)
2 it has memory
3 it processes the data (sorts, analyzes, and compares, etc)
4 it is self modifying (it evolves)

Kala: You’re a physicist (my favorite type of scientist) as I find that physicists have the most expansive and open of minds and can see the greater good, bad and all the levels in between. For the past 20 years, you’ve worked developing missile defense systems.  In this level of consciousness, how do you see our world at large, the big picture overview?

Tom: This reality system is an elementary school.  Fear, belief, and ego dominate the landscape, unconditional love is in short supply.  Most of us are doing the best we can with what we have and understand.  It’s a wonderful  place to grow up.

Kala: Robert Monroe spoke of you in his book Far Journeys referring to your scientific research and experiences.  In your research, what are some of the most life altering and mind expanding results that you’ve uncovered?

Tom:
1 The only thing that is fundamental is consciousness – all else is virtual
2 Consciousness is a self modifying evolving digital information system
3 The consciousness system is finite and imperfect
4 Physical reality is a virtual reality
5 There are many virtual reality frames and we exist in several of them
6 Physical and non physical are not fundamental – it is only a matter of perspective (Next level of relativity theory: there is no fundamental reality frame)
7 Evolution criteria, Love, and spiritual growth are all defined in terms of entropy a measurable quantity
8 Three databases define all that is likely to happen, all that did happened and all that might have happened but didn’t (these are called the Akashic records in Hindu theology)
9 There is no such thing as an objective reality – all reality is interpreted. Light, energy, energy bodies, guides, chakras, oversoul, higher self, Reiki symbols, acupuncture technique, Ouija boards, pendulum oracles, I Ching, etc. are all metaphors/tools – consciousness is the only active ingredient.
10 The paranormal is perfectly normal
11 Quantum Mechanics is derivable from first principles
12 Physics and metaphysics become one understanding
13 Metaphysics, philosophy and theology all become transparent and one can easily see and derive the threads of Big Truth that run through them. These are just the tip of the iceberg.

Kala: Your book, My Big TOE is described as …”unifies science and philosophy, physics and metaphysics, mind and matter, purpose and meaning, the normal and the paranormal. The entirety of human experience (mind, body, and spirit) including both our objective and subjective worlds, are brought together under one seamless scientific understanding”.  The vision statement of why I created The Explore Your Spirit with Kala Show, was to connect the scientific and spiritual arenas to each other, as I believe that a deeper understanding of the cosmos can occur when scientists work with mystics and compare notes, research and experiences.  Do you see this happening in the 21st century?

Tom: Maybe – we haven’t turned the corner yet.  However now that there is a scientific theory  that unites both perhaps some progress will be made.  One can only hope.

Kala: In your title, My Big TOE, “TOE” is an acronym used in the physics community that stands for “Theory of Everything” and is described in conversations as the “Holy Grail” for physicists.  How close have you come in your work to this theory and finding the metaphorical grail?

Tom: It is done.  The theory is complete – I and others continue to search for Big picture experiences (physical and spiritual) that are not fully explained by this theory and have found none yet – physical details will come later as scientists compute the logical conclusions in their own fields.

Kala: Is My Big TOE the first book of your trilogy. Tell us about the other books to come…

Tom: My Big TOE is the name of the trilogy.  The three books are Awakening, Discovery and Inner Workings.

Kala: You’re the Keynote Speaker at the Monroe’s Institute’s 22nd Professional Seminar, which will be held in March, 2010. What is the agenda for this event….

Tom: The agenda has not been determined yet, however the theme of the 22nd Professional Seminar is “Consciousness: The Endless Frontier”

Kala: Who is Tom Campbell, the man behind the research? How has following this life path allowed you to “Explore Your Spirit”?

Tom: It has allowed me to understand what spirit is, how we are connected to it, its purpose, and how the evolution of spirit works.  It is so much easier to learn and grow when you understand what is going on and why it is going on.  Everything is clear and makes good sense.  That being said, spiritual growth does not take place within the intellect – change must be at the being level.  I would not trade this path I have been on for anything.

Kala: I knew Laurie Monroe and her desire to continue the work being done at the Monroe Institute and I was involved with the Rhine Research Center for several years. Where do you see scientific research on consciousness, the mind/body/spirit and the metaphysical and paranormal going in the future? It’s always been a struggle to get mainstream science and universities to support what they consider to be alternative theories. Do you see this changing or evolving?

Tom: The fundamental beliefs upon which science is based is part of the problem.   Science wants/demands consciousness to be physical — to be constrained by the little picture rule-set – to be reduced to physical causality.  It doesn’t work that way – that is illogical. The subset cannot contain or explain the superset. Science is doomed to fail at taming the paranormal and must be relegated to “observing phenomena” that exits beyond their control until they change their fundamental beliefs.  Also in my books I introduce the psi uncertainty principle (a part of our rule set just like gravity) that requires a certain amount of global (as opposed to local) uncertainty to exist around psi events in order to maintain the integrity of our physical reality frame (learning lab).

Kala: If you could summarize your work into a few sentences, what do you wish you could explain to humanity about consciousness?

Tom: It’s all about growing up and becoming love – that is your purpose – evolving the quality of your consciousness; and the larger consciousness system will support you in achieving that purpose to the extent that you allow it.

Kala: Tom, thank you for your time with this interview. We look forward to having you on The Explore Your Spirit with Kala Show for a more in-depth interview soon.

Tom: My pleasure Kala.  Discovery of fundamental truth is good – sharing that truth with others is even better.  Much Eastern philosophy, western mysticism, science, and theology supports this theory.  The ideas I present have been known and understood from prehistoric time to today.  What I bring to the table is that others describe, I derive.  Where others explain using poetry and metaphor, I explain in terms of contemporary science. It is not that I have discovered something that has never been experienced before, rather that I have explained what has been intuited for millennia in terms of the logic of western science.

More info about Tom Campbell…
Tom Campbell began researching altered states of consciousness with Bob Monroe (Journeys Out Of The Body, Far Journeys, and The Ultimate Journey) at Monroe Laboratories in the early 1970s where he and a few others were instrumental in getting Monroe’s laboratory for the study of consciousness up and running. These early drug-free consciousness pioneers helped design experiments, developed the technology for creating specific altered states, and were the main subjects of study (guinea pigs) all at the same time. Campbell has been experimenting with, and exploring the subjective and objective mind ever since. For the past thirty years, Campbell has been focused on scientifically exploring the properties, boundaries, and abilities of consciousness.
During that same time period, he has excelled as a working scientist, a professional physicist dedicated to pushing back the frontiers of cutting edge technology, large-system simulation, technology development and integration, and complex system vulnerability and risk analysis. Presently, and for the past 20 years, he has been at the heart of developing US missile defense systems and presently works for NASA.  Tom is the “TC (physicist)” described in Bob Monroe’s second book Far Journeys and has been a serious explorer of the frontiers of reality, mind, consciousness, and psychic phenomena since the early 1970s. My Big TOE is a model of existence and reality that is based directly on Campbell’s scientific research and firsthand experience. It represents the results and conclusions of thirty years of careful scientific exploration of the boundaries and contents of reality from both the physical and metaphysical viewpoints. The author has made every effort to approach his explorations without bias or preconceived notions. There is no belief system, dogma, creed, or unusual assumptions at the root of My Big TOE.  By demanding high quality repeatable, empirical, evidential data to separate what’s real (exists independently and externally) from what’s imaginary or illusory; Campbell has succeeded in logically deriving a scientific general model of reality that explains the normal and the paranormal, physics and metaphysics, body, mind and spirit. More info at: www.my-big-toe.com

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