Some Reflections on the Wholeness of Reality

Many people of to-day are looking for meaning and a better understanding of themselves, of life and the world. Books are written and read, seminars and retreats are carried out. The picture has many facetts. Unfortunately - all this scerieous work give a rather confusing picture. Is it possible to find a more common platform - a platform or framework with a better contact with reality, common sense and observed phenomena in the different fields?

During the last 10 years or so I have given much time to get a better understanding of myself, society, universe and existence. How may the «model» be that can «explain» all the different observed phenomena in biology, cosmology, psychology etc.? Out of these studies that are documented in the books mentionned below, some ideas have emerged that may be my contribusion to a framework for similar studies. It seems to me that a comprehencive model should consider some central observations and reasoning:

- «Something» cannot emerge out of «nothing» without reason. We experience now the existence of ourselves and the world. Consequently, at «the beginning» there must have been someting - we call it the Origin. It was original in the sense that it existed without having come into being. And all that existed without having come into being was «part of» the Origin.

- As we cannot imagine that the Origin can disappear, the Origin exists even to-day - may be in an altered form.

- If there is something to-day that has come into being - that has a beginning - it has in some way or another emerged from the Origin. Science tells us that the universe with all within it has a beginning. Consequently the universe and all within it has emerged from the Origin.

- Of two reasons we assume that all that has emerged from the Origin has at least something from the Origin within it: As someting cannot emerge out of nothing, all that has come into being, has something (or all of it) from the Origin. And secondly: No-one can create something that in its very nature is different from itself. Consequently, all existing «things» - matter, energy, live, psyche, consciousness etc. have at least aspects of the Origin within it. There must with other words be a connectedness between the Origin and all that has come into being.

- The connectedness between the Origin and what has come into being lets me assume that (1) the totality form a wholeness without contradictions and (2) that there in this wholeness is some sort of common «vibration» and therefore some sort of «harmony».

- What may exist to-day as aspects of the Origin? I propose the following candidates:

As there is an ongoing development from the Big Bang to our days, energy seems to be a strong candidate, as no movement can exist without energy.

I propose consciousness as another candidate thereby contradicting mainstream science saying (without any documented research) that consciousness is a product of matter and energy. What is superior - matter or consciousness? We know that matter on Earth existed before consciousness. On the other hand consciousness has through its aspect intelligence to some extent been able to understand matter and to manipulate its very nature. Can the «product» - conscious life - be superiour to its source - matter and energy? My conlusion is therefore: Consciousness seems superior to matter.

- Can we find other candidates as aspects of the Origin? Time? Space? Information? Time is an idea, no existing «entity». Movement is on the other hand something real. Time exists only as idea in our heads. (It seems to me that this has cauced some truble to modern physics. They use movement to mesure time. Now, movements are influenced by certain phycical conditions, such as acceleration and gravity. Concequently time - as one understands it - is influenced in the same way: Time may for instance be slowed down. Concequently time depends on time!)

It seems not clear that the four-dimensional space that we are accustomed to, is origin as we understand this notion. Information seems on the other hand to be more interesting, as it seems to be a central aspect of consciousness. Can consciousness be conscious without information in it? Does information make consciousness conscious - or better: Does information make potential consciousness conscious? Are we with other words unconscious, but potential conscious when we are in dreamless sleep? I suggest we are.

As a result we have found three aspects of the Origin: Consciousness, information and energy. With other words: The Origin has the ability to experience and to act consciously.

Concequently, our human consciousness seems to be an aspect of the Origin's consciousness. And so does consciousness whereever it may be found. (This may throw some light on the connectedness or unity with the universe or God etc. that some persons happen to experience.)

On the other hand we can say: As we belong to the universe, our qualities belong to the universe. Therefore, consciousness and intelligence are qualities belonging to the universe.

We said that the Origin cannot disappear, and that our consciosness has come from the Origin's consciousness. Does this mean that our own consciosness cannot disappear? This may open the door to many socalled paranormal phenomena.

In addition to this more general reasoning there will be some more spesific claims that a realistic and comprehencive model should meet. I think of all well-documented phenomena within all scientific fields (and combination of fields) such as cosmology, physics, biology, psychology, and parapsychology. (The reason for the latter is that a number of paranormal events are real. Unfortunately our western science and culture refuse to acknowledge them and corresponding scientific evidence and to take the consequences. A comprehencive understanding of existence seems impossible without taking these phenomena in account as they seem to be central bridgebuilders between religion and science.) In addition some other phenomena such as special states of consciousness and the «Cosmic fields» registered on 11. Sept. 2001 and reported in the Newsletter No. 80 should be considered.

Lem, Johan. Langs erkjennelsens Grenseland. (Along the Border of Insight). Aquarius Forlag 1998.
Lem, Johan. Kan Vitenskap og Religion Forenes? (Can Science and religion be Unified?). Aquarius Forlag 1999.