Is the truth already out there?
Most people reading this blog might have had a psychic experience, spiritual awakening, or both. For those who feel that society has no framework to accept these experiences or help them, the reason is that their experiences are not validated by a materialistic and reductionist scientific worldview that suggests the universe is fundamentally made of matter or particles.
Shamanic and spiritual systems support a different model of reality. They propose that alongside a material realm, there is a non-material realm where all things are connected. From South America to Africa, Asia to Australia, most, if not all, indigenous people believe in a spirit or life force that connects all things, a dimension that transcends spacetime. In this model, psychic experiences and spiritual awakenings make sense. Clairvoyance and precognition could occur as there might be ways to transcend time. Telepathy could exist because all people are connected. Experiences of oneness are possible as there is a dimension that unites all things. However, this is not the prevailing view of the scientific establishment, so there is no system in place, via public education, health, or welfare, to help someone through these experiences, leading to unnecessary suffering. Health practitioners often misdiagnose those undergoing a spiritual awakening because the field of health is governed by a materialist worldview, where consciousness is seen as an emergent property of biology. Changing this worldview seems impossible, but is it really true that scientific inquiry does not support the idea of an interconnected universe?
The Declassified CIA Document
The “Analysis and Assessment of Gateway Process” is a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) declassified document produced by the U.S. Army in 1983, authored by Lieutenant Colonel Wayne M. McDonnell. It was intended to provide a comprehensive and scientifically grounded evaluation of the Gateway Experience technique developed by the Monroe Institute, a method for expanding human consciousness. The document explores potential military and intelligence applications of the Gateway technique.
In the introduction letter, Colonel McDonnell states:
“You tasked me to provide an assessment of the Gateway Experience in terms of its mechanics and ultimate practicality. As I set out to fulfill that tasking, it soon became clear that to assess the validity and practicality of the process, I needed to do enough supporting research and analysis to fully understand how and why the process works. Frankly, sir, that proved to be an extremely involved and difficult business. …I found it necessary to delve into various sources for information concerning quantum mechanics to describe the nature and functioning of human consciousness.”
Later, he writes:
“The universe is composed of interacting energy fields, some at rest and some in motion. It is, in and of itself, one gigantic hologram of unbelievable complexity. According to the theories of Karl Pribram, neuroscientist at Stanford University, and David Bohm, a physicist at the University of London, the human mind is also a hologram that attunes itself to the universal hologram by the medium of exchange, thereby deducing meaning and achieving the state we call consciousness.”
Further on, he notes:
“The concept of the universe which at least some physicists are now coming to accept is identical in its essential aspects with the one known to the learned elite in selected civilizations and cultures of high attainment in the ancient world. Whether it’s the stylized labyrinth once popular in the Hellenic world, the spiralized version of the Hebrew Tree of Life or its Hindu counterpart, or the Chinese Spiral Through The Fourfold Powers, the ultimate meaning is the same. Mystics the world over, it seems, have perceived the universal hologram in the same spiral form and have incorporated that intuitive knowledge in their religious writings from antiquity to the present.”
To explain some of their results, McDonnell had to remodel the universe from being based on material substance to one based on energy. In this holographic theory of the universe, on some level, everything is connected. For human consciousness to expand, it had to transcend physical reality; in his words, it was ‘superior’ to it. Reality could not exist without consciousness.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7e4g3/found-page-25-of-the-cias-gateway-report-on-astral-projection
The 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics
The 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded jointly to Alain Aspect, John F. Clauser, and Anton Zeilinger for their experiments with entangled photons, establishing the violation of Bell inequalities and pioneering quantum information science. Their groundbreaking work played a crucial role in quantum mechanics, particularly in understanding quantum entanglement. This phenomenon, where two quantum particles become interconnected and the state of one instantly influences the state of the other regardless of the distance separating them, has significant implications for understanding the nature of reality.
Quantum entanglement suggests that particles can influence each other instantaneously over vast distances, implying a deeper level of interconnectedness in the universe, where separation by space doesn’t equate to disconnection. Traditionally, it was assumed that for one object to affect another, it must do so through direct interaction or a field traversing space. Entanglement challenges this, suggesting aspects of reality not confined to the classical limits of space and time. Entangled particles behave as if they’re part of a unified system rather than separate entities, regardless of the space between them. This indicates a layer of reality operating under rules different from those of the macroscopic world we perceive. Entanglement raises questions about the nature of cause and effect. The instant correlation between entangled particles seems to occur without any causal link as understood in classical physics, suggesting a need to rethink causality. The instantaneous nature of quantum entanglement suggests that time might not be as linear and absolute as it appears in classical physics. This leads to speculations about time being an emergent or flexible property rather than a fixed backdrop.
Implications for Spiritual and Psychic Phenomena
The phenomenon resonates with spiritual and philosophical concepts of oneness and unity, suggesting that at a fundamental level, everything in the universe is interconnected. The strangeness of quantum phenomena challenges the materialist view of the universe, proposing that the foundational building blocks of reality are not solid objects but probabilities and relationships. The Nobel prize winners, through their successful experiments, also suggested that there could be a break in causality and that time may not be linear. In this temporaly non-linear universe, precognition can also make sense.
I picked these two examples because they are supported by mainstream and established institutions, the CIA and the Nobel Prize committee. It seems that there is evidence to support the idea that the universe is interconnected and this evidence has been around for a long time. One of the many huge conclusions that this alternative model of reality would mean is that both psychic phenomena and spiritual awakenings could be real phenomena.
Once we accept this, various sub-models and ideas postulate what could be connecting everything. Some suggest energy, some suggest everything is information or that we are in a hologram or simulation, and some suggest that consciousness is fundamental. Whatever it may be, I believe that the universe is most likely non-local, and we are all connected.
Resistance to This Model of Reality
The system we live in may be resistant to accepting the idea of a non-material reality for several interconnected reasons, including maintaining established power structures, economic interests, ideological coherence, and the preservation of social order.
For the scientific community, the materialist paradigm provides a coherent and consistent framework for understanding reality, grounded in empirical observation and rationality. Introducing non-material concepts could create philosophical inconsistencies and conflicts within the existing worldview. This shift would require a re-evaluation of established scientific theories, educational content, and public policies, leading to confusion and resistance among those invested in the current system.
Although materialistic science has brought us technological breakthroughs, it does not answer fundamental questions. For example, it cannot explain consciousness or the 95% of the universe that is split between dark matter and dark energy. This means science cannot explain the source of what is observing reality (ourselves) nor the vast majority of the universe itself. This suggests that our current models of physics are far from complete and new models are needed. Though speculative, it could be that a fundamental non-material substance like consciousness could explain both. If consciousness is fundamental to reality, then our bodies do not create consciousness; rather, we could be part of a greater consciousness from which our individual consciousness emerges. Maybe dark matter and energy are only revealed to us as our consciousness grows and expands. Maybe spiritual awakening is not just a spiritual experience but a multidimensional one, revealing phenomena and higher forms of consciousness that we cannot normally perceive.
However, even if psychic or spiritual awakening could be empirically suggested to exist, entrenched blocks in the system remain. In 1995, statistician Jessica Utts, then at the University of California, Davis, reviewed classified government research on psychic phenomena, particularly in the context of “psychic spying” or remote viewing. Utts concluded that the statistical evidence for psychic functioning was strong enough to merit further research into understanding how these abilities might work, rather than continuing to debate their existence. She wrote:
“At this stage, using the standards applied to any other area of science, the case for psychic functioning has been scientifically proven. It would be wasteful of valuable resources to continue to look for proof. Resources should be directed to the pertinent question about how this ability works.”
What other reasons exist that make it hard to accept these ideas?
It is much easier to ascribe value to what can be seen, touched, tasted, or heard than to what is perceived to be intangible. Whether due to evolutionary, psychological, cultural, or other reasons, this preference for the tangible has become entrenched in our system.
Established institutions derive their authority and legitimacy from the materialist paradigm, which supports industries that rely on the production, consumption, and control of physical goods and services. Accepting a non-material reality could undermine the authority of these institutions by challenging the foundational principles upon which their power is built.
Will this change?
Rather than a collective conspiracy, I see this as individuals and gatekeepers who fear change, rocking the boat, losing their jobs, or being ridiculed. However if we look at the world around something seems to be shifting. This established order seems to be cracking. Many around the world are realising, even without spiritual or psychic experiences, that there is something fundamentally wrong with our system and that all these scientific breakthroughs and advancements are not bringing us the promised utopia. As people look for alternative models, value is being found in the intangible (again), for example connection to the environment, community and to the self. In fact I would argue that what is missing to any new social-political model of society is the idea that all things are interconnected. As we share our experiences of psychic and spiritual phenomena, knowledge and wisdom of a different model of reality is spreading exponentially. This is a new form of collective awakening and over the next few years is just going to keep on growing. The scientific underpinning is probably already here.
Sameer, thank you for your interesting post.
You said near the beginning of it ...
"From South America to Africa, Asia to Australia, most, if not all, indigenous people believe in a spirit or life force that connects all things, a dimension that transcends spacetime."
And at the end ...
"As people look for alternative models, value is being found in the intangible (again), for example connection to the environment, community and to the self. In fact I would argue that what is missing to any new social-political model of society is the idea that all things are interconnected."
Yes, I agree and consider where the established, materialistic view came from was when humans started living in individual lodgings a…
This is very important thing to take this calmly, when you have some improvements for the "modern science", coming from mystical beliefs. Another thing is when you are being misunderstood about this - then, maybe, you talk too much, and you are not aware of the accompaning physical processes of being slightly more efficient in something useful and material/emotional etc. You should concentrate on what is visible.
I watched one video of this CIA gateway system - not completely, but somewhat jumping over parts. It was about achieving something psychic with some tapes of sound.
I did not see enough considerations about dharma and karma, which, for me, are the most legitimate basis for enlightenment and possible powers reached through that. I do not trust the systems, which are not directly based on conceptions of dharma, even if they are otherwise buddhist-influenced.
It's interesting, when the science reaches closer to approve some spiritual traditions, but one should not forget that to understand buddhism, the extrasensory perceptions and other powers are not so important as the law of Dharma itself, where the protective power of your surroundings is…