Introduction
It is somewhat sobering to consider how easy it is to take reality for
granted. We operate under tacit
assumptions as to its nature, having direct effects on our behavior, sense of
self, and worldview yet so often we take these assumptions at face value.
Reality 101 was designed as a primer and course on the natures of
reality, consciousness and psychospiritual transformation. It utilizes an interdisciplinary orientation integrating a
wide range of material drawn from philosophy, quantum physics, chaos theory, and
psychology as well as nine of the world’s great spiritual traditions.
In Part I, a variety of contemporary approaches to understanding the
relationship between the constructs of reality and consciousness will be
considered. Our journey begins with
a brief sojourn into Western philosophy for a glimpse of three historic
positions on the fundamental nature of reality.
These positions will suggest there is an irreducible interdependence
between reality and consciousness. Contemporary
quantum physics will substantiate this relationship demonstrating that simply
being conscious-of-something affects it, thereby removing the illusion of
boundaries between the observer (consciousness) and the observed (reality).
With this illusion surrendered, a single complex dynamical system, a
single universal process become visible.
We will come to see that this process is self-directed and self-similar
at all orders of magnitude in certain key ways. Using the lens of chaos theory we will identify this process
as a fractal.
With philosophy, physics, mathematics, consciousness studies, and
psychology, we will observe countless expressions of this fractal process,
representing all aspects of reality and consciousness.
These findings will suggest that existence is a transformation process
emerging from nothingness as a volitional energetic field/state in which
thresholds of increasingly complex interrelationships and potentials
self-organize. This process ultimately produces what we typically consider
“individual consciousness.” We
will discover the latter is likewise also well modeled as a volitional energetic
field/state in which increasing thresholds of potential and interrelational
complexity self-organize. Because
reality and consciousness are so interrelated, at all orders of magnitude, they
cannot be operationally separated and appear to reflect alternate aspects of a
single complex dynamical system.
Within individual consciousness, the self and universe emerge as the
poles of our (interrelationally defined) experience.
We will come to see that psychological development operates through: a)
the internalization and contextualization of increasingly complex self/universe
interrelationships; b) the increasing awareness of the implicit potential these
relationships express; and c) the release of attachment for lower order
expressions of potential (in the form of repetitive interrelational patterns)
through the awareness and expression of higher order or more complex potentials.
In
Part II we will consider the relationship between our findings and the
perennial understanding of spirituality and spiritual development.
We will suggest that, to the extent individual consciousness experiences
the ultimate universal process and/or the pure universal potential from which it
emerges, it accesses its ultimate nature and is spiritually transformed.
As the awareness of potential is implicit at all thresholds of
psychological growth, we will see that all successful developmental transitions
are, to the extent they reflect awareness of implicit potentials, spiritually
transforming. In considering
how cognition, or our way-of-knowing, changes in association with spiritual
development, we will use the term psychospiritual.
In this section, we will uncover significant similarities between the
models of existence explored in Part 1
and the beliefs of many of the world’s great spiritual traditions including
and to some extent predating the ancient Egyptians.
In discussing multiple traditions simultaneously, we have to acknowledge
at the outset, the complexity of the task.
It is probably most important to note that the content of each tradition
provides issues regarding translation that relate to cultural mindsets and the
implicit biases of practitioners. There
is often much resistance to comparison, especially with regard to the meaning
associated with ultimate states of consciousness.
For these reasons we will restrain ourselves from comparing ultimate
states except when absolutely pertinent to our discussion.
Rather we will focus directly on the nature of reality, consciousness and
psychospiritual development.
Through a variety of
orientations and traditions we will come to see that our understanding of
reality mimics our understanding of consciousness in that both reflect
variations of a single dynamical and hierarchical process.
We will refer to this hierarchy of interrelational processes, as a holarchy
because each process, operationally speaking, is a whole in itself and embedded
within the greater whole. At
the same time each reflects an particular order of magnitude of potential and
interrelational complexity. Within the holarchy of existence, each order of
magnitude participates in the emergence of the next.
The process is therefore self-directing and produces self-similarity at
all orders of magnitude. As such it
demonstrates the key qualities of a fractal.
We will describe this complex system in three ways: process,
content and context. The
patterns of interaction, within and between thresholds, reflect reality’s process.
The dynamical interrelationships existing in each moment are realities contexts;
while the fundamental meanings consciousness derives from each interrelationship
or set of interrelationships, form the contents of subjective reality.
We will focus most of the time on how content and context express
universal process.
While reflecting what is ostensibly one of many alternative views on the
subject matter, my hope is that this work will equip one with the necessary
background to seek out other positions and then draw one’s own conclusions.
My main direction is to have fun with the material. Think of it as an adventure. Consider your own beliefs as you
read each section. At the end of
each chapter you will find a reading list and several questions for focusing
your thoughts. Because we will move
from topic to topic far too quickly, I recommend you follow up by reading at
least some of the books listed in each reading list.