MODEL.TXT
MULTIDIMENSIONAL REALITY
OR
REVOLUTION IN COMMON SENSE
Copyright, 1991, Joachim E. Wolf
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ABSTRACT
This paper postulates a multidimensional model of the universe,
based on recent developments in physics and biology. We cannot
see the multidimensional reality because our senses are limited
to three dimensions, yet the higher-dimensional environment has
a more substantial reality than our world. This is so because
our three-dimensional world is only a subset of the
multidimensional system. An interrelated set of holistic
principles is developed from transitions between one to three
dimensions. The principles are found to be the same for the
three transitions. Therefore it is assumed that they are valid
for all transitions beyond 3-D. The multidimensional world is
then explored with this holistic logic system. This leads to
common-sense interpretations of quantum physics effects and
provides plausible answers to many unresolved questions, such
as the whole versus parts problem, mind-body interaction, the
inner structure of the human psyche, the beginning of life, and
the creative nature of evolution. Other logical conclusions
lead naturally to key tenets of world religions.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
1. INTRODUCTION . . . . 1
2. LIMITATIONS OF COMMON SENSE . . 1
SPACE-TIME . . . 1
ENERGY-MASS . . . 3
WAVE-PARTICLE . . . 3
TWIN PARTICLES . . . 3
MIND-BODY . . . 4
THE THRESHOLD . . . 4
3. THE KEY CONCEPTS . . . 5
MULTIPLE DIMENSIONS . . 5
THE WHOLE AND ITS PARTS: THE HOLON 8
HOLON EXAMPLES . . . 11
4. THE HOLISTIC UNIVERSE . . 13
GROUP ENTITIES . . . 13
THE TOTAL SYSTEM . . 17
Multidimensional Pyramid 17
Multiple Holons . . 17
All-Entity . . 19
The Nature of Time . 22
The Human Psyche . 23
Multiple Worlds . . 28
Causality . . 31
5. PRACTICAL IMPACT . . . 32
IMPACT ON THE INDIVIDUAL . 32
IMPACT ON SOCIETY . . 34
6. CONCLUSION . . . . 36
GLOSSARY . . . . 37
BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . 37
FOOTNOTES . . . . 39
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1
1. INTRODUCTION
Our common sense is not a reliable basis for correct judgements.
There is no common sense on which all people agree. With time,
major shifts occur in what people believe to be true, resulting
in revolutionary changes in society. Such a shift is now under
way. Scientists are talking about an impending "paradigm shift"
(1)(2)(3), and free thinkers are anticipating a "New Age".
While most scientific people tend to spurn New Age ideas, it can
be shown that both developments are aspects of the same basic
change in human perception of reality.
This paper examines the basis for this revolution, a revolution
that will change our lives profoundly. When we understand its
underlying cause, we can reduce the growing pains involved and
enjoy a better life. One does not have to be a scientist to
understand the issues involved. What is required, is an open
mind, to let go of deeply seated prejudices about the nature of
reality. In this regard, a person steeped in contemporary
scientific thought may even have a disadvantage, since he or she
has spent a lifetime working in a cultural environment where
certain unorthodox thoughts tend to be greeted with derision.
We are not talking about disputing true scientific facts, it is
the interpretation of these facts that is up for discussion.
Through habitual repetition, interpretations are often accepted
as if they were facts, and it is difficult to detect the
difference.
Perhaps the most pervasive unproven scientific belief is that
our minds are the crowning outgrowth of physical matter, that
material came first, and that mind evolved out of it. The
dramatic successes of physical sciences, and the resulting
technology, can easily mislead us to this conclusion. However,
physical sciences are by definition aimed at the physical world,
and to generalize their views beyond physical reality is
scientifically not justified.
This paper attempts to interpret the findings of quantum physics
and other relevant scientific information. The logical
conclusion is that mind is the basis of our reality, and matter
evolves from it, not the other way around. A holistic logic
system is postulated that unifies seemingly disparate concepts
of physical science, psychology, philosophy, and religion.
2. LIMITATIONS OF COMMON SENSE
SPACE-TIME
In our three-dimensional (3-D) space, we have three "degrees of
freedom" to move. We see objects that occupy space exclusive of
each other. We also experience time, as a stream of sequential
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events, only one of which is real in the present. According to
Albert Einstein's theory of relativity, our concepts of space
and time do not agree with actual reality. Our
three-dimensional space and our one-dimensional time are
actually two aspects of a four-dimensional "superspace", mostly
called "space-time". Our senses do not perceive space-time
directly (4), but its existence is well verified through decades
of experiments. In addition to Einstein's relativity theory,
modern physics is based on quantum theory, developed by famous
physicists such as Heisenberg, Schroedinger, Bohr, and Dirac.
Relativity theory focuses mainly on the macro world of outer
space, quantum theory on the micro world of the atom and its
subatomic particles. As relativity theory, quantum physics also
assumes a four-dimensional space in which our 3-D space and time
are blended together (5)(6).
David Bohm, the prominent theoretical physicist at the
University of London, and an associate of Einstein, thinks of
space and time as projections from a higher-dimensional reality
(7). In this more fundamental type of reality, the distinction
that we make between our 3-D space and time is meaningless (8).
Professor Stephen W. Hawking, one of the most prominent
physicists of our age, states: "We must accept that time is not
completely separate from and independent of space, but is
combined with it to form an object called space-time." Also: "In
reality, there is no real distinction between the space and time
coordinates, just as there is no real difference between any two
space coordinates" (9). Fritjof Capra describes the difficulty
faced by us to form an intuitive picture of the four-dimensional
space-time. This applies also to the physicists who have worked
with it for decades and are thoroughly familiar with its
mathematical formalism (10). To our common sense, such a
superspace seems impossible to visualize. Yet we have to get
used to the idea that it exists, and that we are living in it,
here and now.
The German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) devoted much of
his life to the study of epistemology. He concluded that our
way of seeing the world in 3-D space and time is only a human
characteristic, not a characteristic of true reality. We
interpret the true "thing-in-itself" in terms of space and time,
but we do not perceive it directly. "Space and time are not
realities or things existing for themselves, nor are they
qualities or relations belonging to things as such. They are
ways our sensibility has of apprehending objects . . ."
(11)(12). Kant's writings are difficult to follow, but the
message is clear: don't think that your common sense of space
and time gives you a true picture of reality. The German
philosopher Gottfried W. Leibniz made similar observations
earlier (13).
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ENERGY-MASS
Another one of Albert Einstein's conclusions is his famous E=mc2
formula. It states that the mass 'm' of a physical body can be
converted into energy 'E' and vice versa. Mass, to our common
sense, has inertia. It is characteristic of bodies that occupy
space, such as billiard balls. In contrast, energy is
invisible. We sense it only by its effects on physical objects,
such as acceleration, heat, and sound. The fact that energy and
mass are really different versions of the same thing is
difficult for us to visualize, although by now we have become
used to the idea.
WAVE-PARTICLE
Physicists have established without any doubt that light
manifests itself as two different forms in our world. Depending
on the circumstances, it appears either as electromagnetic
waves, similar to radio waves, or as a stream of physical
particles, like microscopic buck shot, called "quanta" or
"photons" (14). The photons have masses, specific locations and
mutually exclusive expansions in 3-D space. On the other hand,
electromagnetic waves are a form of energy, extending in space
and time as fields that can penetrate each other.
For decades, even centuries, physicists have debated how these
two seemingly contradictory forms of light can be reconciled.
Now both views are accepted as valid, and scientists use either
one or the other, depending on the situation (15). The two
disparate, seemingly irreconcilable forms of light represent the
same thing. In fact, this dual nature is not just a
characteristic of electromagnetic radiation, but also of
subatomic particles, the building blocks of matter, such as
electrons and protons (16). Again, our common sense tells us
that one and the same thing cannot have so diametrically
opposite natures, yet there is no doubt about it.
TWIN PARTICLES
The most dramatic and ultimate proof of quantum theory is the
Aspect experiment, named after the French quantum physicist
Alain Aspect. In 1982, he and his research team implemented
successfully the test that had been long in the making, starting
with a thought experiment suggested by Einstein (17)(18)(19).
Very simplified, Aspect and his colleagues created two photons
from the same quantum event and observed them as they speeded
into opposite directions. After they had travelled some
distance with the speed of light, the researchers changed the
polarization for only one of them. (Polarization is the
orientation of the wave that corresponds to each photon.) As a
result, the other photon instantaneously adopted the same
polarization, even though the two were far apart. Relativity
theory tells us that nothing can travel faster than light. So
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nothing could have caught up with the photons after they had
departed. Yet, there is this instantaneous mysterious
communication between them. They are somehow connected in a
realm that is beyond our common sense, although they appear
separated in our world.
MIND-BODY
In addition to the physics examples, we are all familiar with
the Mind-Body dual. It is known as the "psychophysical" problem
and has been concisely formulated by the French philosopher and
mathematician Rene Descartes in his "Meditations", published in
1641 (20). Descartes observed that the world consists of two
basically different substances: mind and matter. Matter
occupies 3-D space, mind does not. He could not explain
satisfactorily how these two substances, mind and matter,
interact, other than through God's intercession. To this day,
scientists are debating this problem. We know that each one of
us is one individual. Yet our common sense cannot tell us how
our two different constituent parts, mind and body, function
together. This is similar to our inability to visualize the 4-D
whole of space and time.
The resolution of this problem was already suggested by Benedict
Spinoza (1632-1677) (21). He saw mind and body as two
attributes of the same substance, "processes of one and the same
thing expressed in two different ways" (22). Still it is
difficult to understand why he thought that "these attributes
are absolutely independent of one another and cannot influence
each other: mind cannot produce changes in body nor the body
changes in mind," as stated in F. Thilly's History of Philosophy
(23).
THE THRESHOLD
The five examples mentioned above mark a line between what is
included in our common sense and what is not. Our common sense
can visualize each of the five pairs. But we cannot visualize
their wholes that combine them. George W.F. Hegel (1770-1831)
explained how for each pair of thesis and antithesis there
exists a synthesis, a whole that transcends the two opposing
parts (24). Our problem is that our common sense cannot see or
visualize the wholes that transcend our 3-D world. The reason
is that our five senses are three-dimensional in nature and thus
are limited to perceiving 3-D reality.
Our scientists have discovered a reality that transcends our
physical existence. It is not that reality is divided into two
realms. It is that human consciousness is able to grasp only so
much of the total reality, the rest exceeds our capacity to
comprehend. As a result, we experience our reality as a
multitude of phenomena, like not seeing the forest for the
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trees. The threshold of our common sense, really of our
conscious mind, is therefore not a hard and fast limitation, it
is subject to evolution. Accepting this is a necessary
evolutionary step. The present situation is similar to the one
in the 17th century when mankind realized that the earth is not
the center of the universe. Today it is a matter of common
sense that the earth rotates around the sun, and that even the
sun is only a speck in a vast cosmos of an untold number of
galaxies. We are now facing again a new dramatic paradigm
shift. This time, the entire physical 3-D cosmos will be
delegated to the outskirts of a far vaster invisible
multidimensional universe with an untold number of worlds.
3. THE KEY CONCEPTS
MULTIPLE DIMENSIONS
We can overcome the threshold of common sense outlined above
with two interrelated concepts. One is that true reality has
more dimensions than three. The other is a full understanding
of the relationship between a whole and its constituent parts.
In this section we will discuss the first point,
multidimensional space, which we shall call " space". We
have only mentioned 4-D space so far, but once one accepts the
idea that reality is not limited to three dimensions, then there
is no logical reason to assume that it is limited to four or any
other number. Also, physicists are reaching to ever higher
dimensional spaces to consolidate existing theories into a
"unified physics" (25)(26). For decades physicists have
predicted accurately quantum physics events using mathematics
with hundreds of dimensions. They have become used to the
successful application of calculations without seeing any
significance beyond that. This, incidentally, was exactly what
Copernicus told his Church superiors about his mathematical
description of the solar system that delegated the earth away
from the center of the universe.
Although we can not experience environments directly, the
great enlightened religious leaders and mystics must have been
able to do so (27). For Buddhism and Hinduism, specifically
Yoga, the primary goal is to attain an ever more transcendent
state of mind, and to perceive directly higher dimensional
realities. In contrast, the Western World has pursued the
development of rational thought. It allows us to understand the
laws that govern reality, without perceiving the reality
directly. So we understand for instance that the earth rotates
around the sun, although we cannot see this directly. In the
same manner it is possible to penetrate reality. We can
learn to understand it, though we cannot perceive it directly.
The following sections of this paper will provide an
introduction to this understanding.
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At the beginning of the 20th century a little book titled
"Flatland" was published by Edwin Abbott Abbott. It may have
been the first attempt to visualize transitions between spaces
with different numbers of dimensions. Abbott described in
humorous detail a world of creatures who live in 2-D space.
They have no third dimension, as we do. Their world is confined
to a two-dimensional surface, such as a sheet of paper without
any thickness. For our discussion we shall modify Abbott's
story. We shall assume that these creatures have the shape of
circular discs with zero thickness, and with a "nose", so that
we know which way they are facing (Fig.1). Let us name them
"2Ds". Being totally flat, and sensing only 2-D objects, our
2Ds don't believe in the existence of a third dimension. Any 2D
oddball who would express such thought would be ridiculed,
because everybody knows of course, that 2-D space is the only
reality there is. If any of us 3-D people would touch their
surface world with our fingers, the 2Ds would see another disc.
They would interpret it as a fellow occupant of their world.
They may call it elephant, or whatever. If they see it the
first time, they think that they have discovered a new species.
The 2Ds do not see the fingerprint pattern, because to them it
would resemble the inner organs of the elephant. If we touch
the 2-D world with the five fingers of one hand, the 2Ds would
see five animals, perhaps they would call our thumb print
Rhinoceros.
Graphics are available under file MULTIX.GIF
(X = 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5).
Figure 1. 2-D world.
Figure 2. Sphere penetrating 2-D world.
If we penetrate the plane with a billiard ball, moving it
through the plane until it leaves on the other side, the 2Ds
would experience the birth, growth, declination, and death of
some phenomenon that constantly changes its size (Fig.2). The
2D population has some philosophers who believe that this
phenomenon did not really die, that it continues to exist in
some mysterious realm that they call 'spiritual', without having
any visible evidence of this in their 2-D world. But most 2Ds
follow the prevailing paradigm of scientific materialism and
ignore such unscientific notions.
Now let us cut a nail into small pieces. We get little
cylinders that we throw on the 2-D plane (Fig.3). Some
cylinders land on their side, the others on their ends. This
event creates great excitement among the 2D scientists. They
investigate this matter and observe that two different kinds of
bodies have appeared in their world, some are circles, the
others are rods. This is, of course, because the cylinder ends
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show up in their plane as circles, and the cylinder sides as
rods. Further research by the 2D scientists leads to their
discovery that it is possible to convert circles into rods and
vice versa, by colliding them against each other. From our 3-D
world we see that some cylinders are being tipped over on their
sides and vice versa. The 2D scientists are agonizing about
this puzzle for decades. Finally they are forced to assume that
the circles and rods are really the same thing that exists in
some 'nonmaterial' form, meaning their wholes do not exist in
their 2-D space. The 2Ds postulate that there must be a 3-D
reality that transcends their world. Sounds familiar?
Figure 3. 3-D cylinders seen from the 2-D world.
David Bohm has suggested another analogy that describes the
quan-tum physics duals (28)(29). Supposed one observes a fish
tank with two TV cameras. One camera views the tank from the
front, the other from the side. Two TV monitors placed side by
side display the two images. A fish facing the front appears
different on one monitor compared with the other. A child too
young to understand the setup, will not even realize that the
two images come from the same fish. In this analogy, as in the
previous one, two separate 2-D aspects of a 3-D object are
observed, and the observer is challenged to form a mental image
of the 3-D object. In the same manner we are challenged to
imag-ine objects of which we see 3-D aspects in our world.
Plato in his famous cave allegory (30) compared the appearances
of our world with shadows that are thrown on a cave wall by the
real things. We as cave dwellers cannot see the real objects
because we cannot look in their direction. We see only the 2-D
shadows of the invisible 3-D bodies, creating the illusion that
the shadows are the real thing.
In our attempt to understand space, it is probably
misleading to assume that the additional dimensions must be
geometrically perpendicular to our three space dimensions. Our
3-D space is probably meaningless in an environment, and
geometric right angles between dimensions have only symbolic
meaning. The term "degrees of freedom" describes the situation
better, meaning possible directions of development that do not
coincide with existing directions. Perhaps it is better to
imagine how our thoughts can take off in directions that have
nothing to do with space and time. We are talking about
expanding our consciousness, so thoughts are a suitable subject
to contemplate.
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THE WHOLE AND ITS PARTS: THE HOLON
To simplify our discussions, we define the term "order" to mean
an environment with a given number of dimensions. A plane has
an order of two. A higher order has more dimensions than a
lower order. The term "transcendent" means "to be of a higher
order" or "to have more integrated dimensions" (See Glossary).
The preceding analogies demonstrated transitions between lower
and higher orders. Simultaneously they provided transitions
between visible aspects and their transcendent invisible
objects. In the same way we are trying to induce the integrated
4-D space-time environment from its aspects: 3-D space and time.
From the observations of waves and particles, we want to
transcend to understand the quanta from which they are
projected, and so on.
The key to this process is a thorough understanding of the
relationship between a whole and its constituent parts. This is
an age-old problem that was already debated vigorously between
Plato and Aristotle. Plato postulated that the phenomena of our
world are only aspects, shadows of invisible real things that he
called "eidos" (31). Aristotle instead believed that the
phenomena of our world are the real things, and that Plato's
eidos were abstractions that lacked true reality in themselves
(32). This debate flared up off and on throughout the history
of the Western World, and it is not fully resolved yet. This
paper attempts to do so, based on our understanding of different
dimensional spaces and transitions between them.
Imagine a cut crystal, say a diamond, and consider only its
form, ignoring its material (Fig.4). The form represents a
whole, while the planes of the crystal envelope are the
constituent parts of the whole form. With this we can easily
make several observations. They will be very useful for
transitions between 3-D and to be discussed later. We shall
call these observations "holon principles" and give each of them
an alphanumeric number HP1, HP2, etc.. The term "holon" was
suggested by Arthur Koestler for the composite of a whole and
its constituent parts (33). We shall discuss later whether the
holon principles derived from this simple example are
universally valid
Figure 4. Crystal form.
HOLON PRINCIPLES
HP1. *The whole has more dimensions than each of its constituent parts.*
In our simple example, the whole crystal form has three, the
parts only two dimensions.
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HP2. *Each part is an aspect of the whole, seen from a lower order.*
When we put our mind into the frame of the 2-D order, then we
perceive each plane as a separate, individual part.
HP3. *The whole encompasses all its parts.*
The 3-D crystal form encompasses all its 2-D side planes.
HP4. *The whole is invisible from the orders of its parts.*
To the 2Ds, the whole crystal is not visible, because they do
not perceive 3-D space. They don't even know about the
existence of their fellow 2Ds in the other planes of the
crystal.
HP5. *The whole is an undivided and homogeneous entity, while its
parts appear as separate individual entities in their order.*
The 3-D space within the whole crystal form is continuous and
homogeneous. In contrast, the parts exist as discrete 2-D
entities.
HP6. *The whole and its parts are one and the same, viewed from
different dimensional orders.*
From the 3-D point of view, we see the whole crystal, and we
consider its surfaces as mere aspects of the same thing. From a
2-D point of view, we have discrete, individual planes. Another
analogy for HP6 is David Bohm's fish-tank with TV cameras. The
important point in holistic thinking is to distinguish carefully
between observations made from different orders.
HP7. *Both the whole and its parts are real, but the whole has a
more profound reality.*
There should be no disagreement that a 3-D form is more
profound than a 2-D plane.
HP8. *The parts are wholes in their own right at a lower order.*
Each plane is an entity of its own in the 2-D order. In turn,
the lines are 1-D aspects of the 2-D planes, yet they are
entities in their own right within the 1-D order. And so are the
points aspects of the lines, but they can also be seen as
entities in their 0-D order.
HP9. *The whole is immanent in each of its parts.*
Our 2-D creature analogy is more representative if we picture
the 2Ds as crosscuts of billiard balls, as figure 2 shows. They
still have 2-D "bodies", but their real self is invisible to
them in 3-D space, as ours is for us in space. Asked about
the location of their real selves, they would say that they are
inside their bodies but transcendent to them. The term used
for inside while simultaneously transcendent is "immanent".
HP10. *A change of any part goes simultaneously with a change of
the whole, and a change of the whole goes with changes in its
parts.*
A change of any crystal plane goes with a change of the whole
crystal form, including other planes. One has to be careful
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here not to assume too easily a cause and effect relationship.
From the lower-order environment of the parts we might conclude
that one part pushes its adjacent parts around, causing them to
change. But, viewed from the higher dimensional order of the
whole, the whole is undergoing a change that is reflected in its
aspect-parts, perhaps without us being able to say where the
change originates. From the whole's point of view, there is no
difference between the whole and its parts (HP6). It makes no
sense to differentiate between a cause coming from a part or the
whole. For instance, when faced with the problem of fitting a
crystal into a non-yielding mounting, it makes no difference
whether one changes the length of lines, the shape of planes, or
the form of the crystal. All goes together simultaneously.
More will be said about causality within a holon in section 4.
It is very important to understand how change is transmitted
within a holon. Suppose one part changes in some way. This is
associated with a corresponding change of the whole. Now, since
the whole is immanent in all its parts, they are all affected,
their inner disposition is changed, affecting their future trend.
The communication between the parts via the whole occurs because
the whole is homogeneous, undivided.
HP11. *It is impossible to perceive simultaneously more than one
aspect of a whole undistorted from a lower order.*
Assume that we take a photo of a crystal, with the camera film
parallel to one of its planes. Only this plane appears with its
correct shape on the photo, all other aspects appear either
distorted or not at all. The 2-D photo is in a lower order than
the 3-D crystal.
HP12. *The holon principles 1 through 11 apply to all dimensional
orders.*
The reader may want to verify each holon principle for the case
that the crystal planes are the wholes and the lines their
parts. Then repeat the same for the lines as wholes and the
points their parts. (Note that points can change only their
positions). Having established that the principles are valid for
all three transitions from 0-D through 3-D, the best assumption
we can make is that they are also valid for all higher
dimensional orders. HP12 is postulated as a reasonable
hypothesis.
HP13. *The holon principles 1-12 are aspects of one master holon
principle.*
The holon can be experienced directly, without passing
sequentially through the principles 1-12 one at a time. This
writer had this experience spontaneously as a young person. It
was impossible to describe the holon directly without braking it
down into discrete, individual principles. Even then, something
is still missing: the homogeneity, the depth, the integrity, the
vitality of the holon. The holon principles are an interrelated
group. A mathematician might be able to formulate a single
expression for the holon, from which the individual holon
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principles can be derived. We shall apply the holon principles
as a "holistic logic" to research the reality.
HOLON EXAMPLES
The holon principles have been stated above using only one
simple example. Other examples are those listed in section 2
for the discussion of common sense limitations. Each pair of
space-time, energy-mass, etc. forms a holon with its respective
whole. As far as this writer can determine, each pair fulfills
the cited holon principles, subject to verification by
physicists and psychologists, thus extending the validity of the
HP's to four dimensions.
An example for holon principle (HP11) is the Heisenberg
uncertainty principle, an important cornerstone of quantum
physics (34)(35)(36)(37). It states (in one of its versions)
that it is impossible to measure both the position and the
momentum of an electron simultaneously. (The momentum is a
measure of motion). Assuming that the electron exists in
a higher order than 3-D, holon principle HP11 makes this same
statement. It appears that the Heisenberg principle is a
special case of holon principle HP11.
The holon principles provide a plausible explanation for the
so-called double-slot experiment that has puzzled quantum
physicists. The experiment is well described in popular
literature (38)(39). We will explain it here highly simplified.
An electron gun shoots electrons against a target screen at
some distance, similar to a rifle practice range. Now we place
a shield between the gun and the target screen. The shield has
two slots next to each other. We shoot only one electron at a
time towards the slots. If we cover one slot, the picture on
the target screen beyond shows the spot where one electron has
hit, as expected. The same thing happens if we cover the other
slot. However, if we leave both slots open, the target screen
shows a broad interference pattern from two electron waves that
come from both slots. We know that electrons can show up as
waves. The surprise is that we get two waves from a single
electron. How can a single electron go through two separated
slots simultaneously? It is like shooting a billiard ball into
two pockets simultaneously.
The answer suggested by holistic logic is that the electron is a
holon with its parts in our 3-D space, but its whole in 4-D
space. Using a 2-D/3-D analogy, suppose two persons observe a
low flying airplane through two widely separated holes in a
roof. As the plane passes in close proximity, both persons take
photos of it simultaneously. Each developed film shows the
airplane clearly and unmistakably. But, if we view both
negatives together, one on top of the other, there is
interference between the two images.
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Similarly, the screen in the experiment shows clear pictures of
a single electron when viewed separately, but an interference
pattern when viewed simultaneously. As the airplane flies by in
the third dimension while we are watching it from two positions
on the 2-D ground, so the electron flies by in the 4th
dimension, while we are trying to figure out how it passes
through both slots arranged in 3-D space. We see only two
different aspects of the electron, not the electron itself.
True to holon principle HP11, no 3-D analogy can accurately
describe all aspects of a 4-D situation. The example does not
convey that the part and the whole are not separated (HP3, HP6),
as the photo and the airplane are. It ignores also that one can
change the whole by changing its part (HP10).
Another holon example may be seen in the colors of a rainbow,
which are integral parts of white light. When white light is
sent through a prism, it fans out into different beams of light
with the colors of the rainbow, from red through violet. White
light as a whole appears physiologically uniform and
homogeneous. In physics terms, it covers a certain frequency
range of electromagnetic waves. Its individual parts, the
perceived colors, have different frequencies and are enfolded in
the white light. If one sends the same colors back through the
prism in the opposite direction so that they merge properly, one
obtains pure white light again. In physiological terms, the
prism provides a transition from the whole (white) to its parts
(colors) and vice versa. White light has two degrees of
freedom: ranges of color and intensity. The individual colors
have only one degree of freedom left: a range of different
intensities. This example suggests also how quantum physicists
"collapse" quantum wave-packages from space into particles
(40), as discussed later under Multiple Worlds, Section 4.
Other holon analogies can be taken from the field of
information. The words on this page represent holons with the
letters of which they are composed; so do the sentences with the
words as their parts, the sections with their sentences, and the
whole paper forms a holon with its sections. A symphony as a
whole transcends its parts, the melodies, and in turn the
melodies are holons with the notes in them. In visual arts, a
painting from a good artist expresses dimensions far beyond the
assembly of its colors on the canvas. One can distinguish the
quality of an art piece by the degree with which extra
dimensions are expressed through its constituent parts, be it
with colors, marble, tones, or words. Thus some modern "works
of art" that are produced through an arbitrary mixing of
elements cannot qualify as real art. Another example of holons
in communication are TV pictures. The electrical signals that
appear in time sequence on the screen represent the separate
parts of the TV picture as a whole.
The reader may want to select his or her examples from the
infinite range of holons in our world, from subatomic particles
up to the myriad of galaxies (41). It is better not to start
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with man-made holons, such as machines or organizations; they
often do not represent true holons. The following sections will
show how the holon principles lead logically and naturally to a
model of the universe that encompasses harmoniously the
seemingly conflicting world views of science and religion, of
Western and Eastern thought, of matter and mind.
4. THE HOLISTIC UNIVERSE
GROUP ENTITIES
The whole of humanity encompasses the characteristics and
capabilities of all humans (HP3). Holistic logic tells us that
the entity of humanity forms a holon with all humans. Therefore
we assume that a humanity-entity exists in space, with much
superior reality and capability than ours. We cannot perceive
it, yet it is immanent in us. Humanity-entity includes all our
characteristics, therefore it has the characteristic of a single
individual that pursues its own interests. It is more
intelligent than the smartest people throughout history
combined. From its environment, humankind-entity perceives
interrelationships and potentials that are impossible for us to
fathom. It is aware of our thoughts, because its consciousness
includes the consciousness of each human (HP3). As it
implements its decisions, it carries us along as we do the cells
of our body.
This does not mean that we are not free as individuals. Moving
along with the humankind-entity is our inborn desire, because
the humanity-entity is immanent in us. The humanity-entity is
our very essence, our source, our root cause. Expressing it is
what we live for. It means unfoldment of our innermost
potentials. The desires of humanity are in our hearts. We want
what it wants, and we are free when we can do what we want.
From the humanity-entity's point of view, it and we are one and
the same (HP6). Humanity-entity's will is our inner drive.
That is unless we confuse some erroneous notions of ours with
the will of our real innermost self. (This is when we begin to
lose our freedom). One must distinguish between independence
and freedom. We depend on humankind-entity for our very
existence, yet we are totally free to express our own true
nature, which is the nature of humankind.
The conscious decisions of the humankind-entity dwell in us
unconsciously and we experience them as instinct, as impulses.
Thus, unless we have cluttered up our mind with wrong ideas, we
can trust our instincts and act spontaneously. Then we take
advantage of the superior knowledge and intelligence of our
inborn humankind-entity. It is like our fingers doing the
bidding of our will. They follow the impulses of our nervous
system, initiated by our decisions. We can say that they act
instinctively, on impulse, spontaneously. Their instincts are
aspects of our conscious decisions. They can trust their
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instincts, because we are vitally interested in their welfare.
We can say the same for our own relationship with
humanity-entity. This does not absolve us from using our mind
and do our best. Humanity-entity depends on us, as we depend on
our fingers to do their job.
A change in any human, for instance from experiences, goes with
a change in the humanity-entity (HP10), and since it is immanent
in all of us, we are all affected through our inner disposition,
the mind of humanity-entity. The transmission from one
individual to the others occurs because the humanity-entity is
undivided and homogenous (HP9). Such interchanges are more
pronounced for people who are closer to each other, because they
form wholes on a more intimate scale. Because of our
immanent interdependence, we carry responsibility for others as
well as for us, whether we are aware of it or not. A drug
abuser hurts us all. On the other hand, positive efforts of a
few can elevate all society, even if their deeds are not known.
The concept of group entities is not new. As mentioned before,
Plato believed that transcendent forms exist from which the
multitude of appearances come into our world (42). The Swiss
psychologist Carl G. Jung (1875-1961) concluded that humans
share one collective unconscious that lies deeper than the
unconscious of each individual (43)(44)(45). He had observed a
surprising similarity between deeply seated ideas of widely
separated peoples. Similar basic concepts exist in the psyche
of all of us, revealed by recurring dreams and subconscious
ideas expressed spontaneously, without prior knowledge that they
are shared by others. Jung called these concepts "archetypes",
which can be seen as the unconscious images of our instincts.
Typical archetypes are "mother" and "hero". He stated: "To my
mind it is a fatal mistake to regard the human psyche as a
purely personal affair and to explain it exclusively from a
personal point of view. Such a mode of explanation is only
applicable to the individual in his ordinary everyday
occupations and relationships" (46). Sigmund Freud had voiced a
similar opinion: "I have taken as the basis of my whole position
the existence of a collective mind, in which mental processes
occur just as they do in the mind of the individual . . ."(47).
Carl Jung claimed that ancestral experiences accumulate as
archetypes in the collective subconscious of humankind.
Individuals "inherit" archetypal propensities much like Plato
saw appearances in our world come from transcendent "eidos". In
holistic logic terms, Jung's collective subconscious is the
consciousness of humanity-entity living in the environment.
Biologists are used to viewing animal societies as entities,
especially colonies of insects such as bees, wasps, ants, and
termites. The British biologist Rupert Sheldrake has generated
much interest in this subject. He postulates the existence of
hidden, nonphysical forms beyond space and time that, he claims,
underlie biological phenomena. He calls them "Morphogenetic
Fields", or "ields" (48)(49)(50). Sheldrake brings a
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multitude of convincing examples for the existence of these
transcendent entities. He describes for instance how beehives
are organized with an intelligence that far exceeds the capacity
of any individual bee. Honeybees maintain the internal
temperature of their nests within 34.5 and 35.5 degrees from
spring through fall. They do this by carefully sealing off all
uncontrolled drafts and by warming the interiors with their body
heat by huddling together, more or less as needed. In hot
weather they carry water into their nest, spread it out, and
enhance its cooling evaporation by fanning air over the water
with their wings. Another example describes the mounds made by
compass termites in Australia. These tall mounds are very
narrow in the east-west direction, but broad in the north-south
direction. In this way they are least exposed to the sun at
noon, when its radiation is most intense.
Sheldrake also reports what appears like a mysterious
communication between members of a species. The communication
occurs although individuals are too much separated for direct
contact. He explains this phenomenon with what he calls
"Morphic Resonance". By this he means that individuals resonate
their information with the transcendent collective ields,
which in turn resonates with other members, unimpeded by space
and time. Sheldrake's ields have the character of our holon
principles. Morphic resonance is the same as holon principle
HP10.
The most widely known anecdotal evidence of morphic resonance
type communication is the so-called "hundredth monkey effect".
The biologist Lyall Watson reported it in his 1970 book
"Lifetide" (51)(52). The event occurred on a Japanese island
where researchers had fed sweet potatoes to monkeys. For the
monkeys this was a new, unknown staple. They liked the
potatoes, but they did not like the beach sand that covered
them. One monkey started to wash the potatoes in the ocean
before eating. This also added a desirable salty taste. After
a certain number of monkeys had copied the technique, it was
suddenly and spontaneously practiced by the entire community, as
if a "critical mass" of potato-washing monkeys triggered this
behavior spontaneously in all their group members. Shortly
after that, monkeys on other islands practiced the same
procedure, although there was no communication between the
islands.
Such mysterious communication was also observed under laboratory
conditions. Rats were put into a maze and had to find their way
out, and later generations did this task with successively
increasing speed. As more rats had become familiar with the
maze, even untrained, genetically unrelated rats showed higher
learning speeds (53).
The ield effects have been even observed with inanimate
objects. Mineralogists know that crystals are often very
difficult to grow initially for a new substance. Once
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accomplished, however, it can be repeated more and more easily,
even on other continents without any known reason (54,55).
Other ield examples include flocks of birds, migrating animal
herds, and schools of fish acting like single entities.
Sheldrake's hypothesis has been tested with positive results.
One test involved Japanese nursery rhymes. British and American
groups who could not speak Japanese were given two rhymes, a
traditional one known to virtually every Japanese, another
nonsensical one composed for the test. After chanting each of
them a given number of times, the old rhyme could be recalled
significantly better than the artificial one (56). Similar
tests were done with Hebrew and Persian words, with Russian
typewriter keyboards, and with the Morse code (57). Results
showed invariably that people who have never been exposed to the
correct versions can learn them much easier than the artificial
equivalents.
David Bohm stated that "the energies involved in ields may be
very similar to the energies that allow subatomic particles to
communicate nonlocally, regardless of space and time," (58) and:
"on some level that is beyond ordinary subjective experience,
the human race may really be one organism" (59). Harvard
biologist Stephen Jay Gould and his collaborator, paleontologist
Niles Eldredge, propose to treat the whole of species as
analogous to individuals, so that the whole of the species homo
sapiens is considered an entity, as John Doe is an entity,
according to Briggs and Peat (60). F. Capra states: "We may say
that groups of people, societies, and cultures have a collective
mind, and therefore also possess a collective consciousness. We
also may follow Jung in the assumption that the collective mind,
or collective psyche, also includes a collective unconscious"
(61).
With these collaborating comments, we shall assume that
entities do indeed exist, more profoundly than the physical
appearances of its members, but invisible to us. Consequently,
Darwin's theory of evolution, even in its present "Neodarwinism"
version (62), would have to be revised. What is thought of as
natural selection through "survival of the fittest", is in
holistic reasoning the expression of the conscious will of the
species-entity that lives in space. The selection of the
best genes from a "gene pool" explained by Neodarwinism is in
holistic terms a projection of activity into our 3-D world
(refer to Causality, Sect.4). It is not that gene selection
does not occur, but it is influenced by the will of an
entity as it appears in our 3-D world. To cite an analogy, we
can explain our body movements by the brain sending commands
through our nervous system, causing appropriate muscle
contractions. We also can say that our body moves because we
decided so. The anatomical explanation corresponds to the
evolution theory of gene selection. Our decision to move our
body corresponds to the species-entity's decision to evolve in a
certain direction. It is important to distinguish the order
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levels from which observations are made (HP6). As the physicist
Paul Davies states in his article (63): "Orthodox Neodarwinism,
while correctly identifying the basic mechanism of evolutionary
change, fails to capture the organizational element that
generates the progressive arrow of time."
THE TOTAL SYSTEM
Multidimensional Pyramid
The holon priciples lead to the assumption that each animal
species has a group-entity that exists in an environment.
We also must assume species-entities for the plants, and we
assume that physical matter is a projection from an whole,
as modern physics suggests. Based on these assumptions, it is
logical that these group-entities are themselves parts of even
higher order wholes, forming holons of unimaginable greatness
and transcendence. One arrives at a single super entity for
the planet earth, as some scientists suggest (64). Then there is
an entity for our solar system, our galaxy, and so on.
Finally there is an ultimate entity that encompasses all that
exists, visible and invisible. We shall call it "All-Entity".
This view of the universe agrees with that of David Bohm, the
physicist mentioned before (Sect. 2). He makes the following
statements: "Physics has shown that the mechanistic order
doesn't fit experience" (65). Also: "the universe is an
undivided whole" (66). Bohm speaks of an "implicate order" and
an "explicate order" of the universe. The implicate order is
the invisible reality from which our visible reality, the
explicate order, emerges. He believes that life and
consciousness are part of the implicate order, and that they are
immanent in what we call inanimate matter.
Multiple Holons
Before we proceed with our journey into the realm, it is
necessary to understand the relationship between multiple holons
that are stacked across several dimensional orders, where the
parts of one holon are the wholes of others, and so on. We
shall call the holon described in Section 3 a "simple holon".
It is useful to introduce the following two definitions.
a.) A "source-entity" is a whole at any dimensional order to
which a part belongs, regardless how many orders are in between.
A source-entity is like any ancestor, no matter how many
generations ago.
b.) A "sub-entity" is any part that belongs to a source-entity,
regardless how many orders are in between, like a descendant
from any ancestor, no matter how many generations ago.
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With these definitions, the following holon principles for
multiple order transitions can be formulated.
MULTIPLE HOLON PRINCIPLES
MHP1 *All holon principles for a simple holon apply also to
multiple holons.*
For instance for HP1: if entity "A" has more dimensions than
"B", and "B" has more dimensions than "C", then "A" has more
dimensions than "C". MHP1 means that we can make statements
about wholes and parts without knowing how many orders are
between them. For instance, we can apply the holon principles
for the humankind-entity and individual humans without knowing
exactly the subdivisions in between, such as different races or
different psychological character types.
MPH2 *Any entity of a higher order is invisible to another
entity of a lower order.*
has been stated already for the simple holon (HP4). For the
sake of completeness, MHP2 points out that all entities of a
higher order are invisible, not just the source-entity, because
they all have more dimensions. For instance we cannot directly
perceive the selves of other persons, as we cannot our own.
MHP3 *The differentiation and separation between sub-entities
increases with the number of orders between them and their
source.*
This is because each additional dimension of a
source-entity provides an additional degree of freedom with
which parts can differ from each other. For instance, the of
one human race-entity differ less from each other than all
humans.
MHP4 *The source-entities of all orders are immanent in a
sub-entitiy.*
This statement is equivalent to HP9, except that it includes
also all source entities of higher orders beyond the immediate
whole. The logical proof of this is similar to the one given
under MHP1. MHP4 says for instance that immanent in a person
are humanity-entity, earth-entity, All- Entity, and whatever
source-entities are in between (see "Human Psyche", this
section.)
MHP5 *A source-entity has simultaneous and direct access to
all its sub-entities at all lower orders, without the need to
pass through the intermediate orders sequentially.*
This is because of its added dimension. For instance we can see
in a crystal form all points, lines, and planes simultaneously
because we perceive in 3-D, the third being the added dimension.
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MHP6 *From a sub-entity's point of view, its source-entities
of progressively increasing orders appear stacked in a
successive sequence.*
For a consciousness to proceed from a lower order to higher
orders, it appears necessary to pass successively from one order
to the next, because each higher order remains invisible before
every upward step. This is in contrast to MHP5, which allows
the source-entity to cross all lower orders in a single step.
MPH7 *Higher order source-entities are more deeply immanent.*
This statement amounts to a definition of "depth of immanence".
The more order levels exist between a source-entity and a
sub-entity, the more deeply immanent it is in an entity.
Psychologically this corresponds to the observation that the
humanity-entity is on a deeper subconscious level than the
inner personal self.
MHP8 *Deeper levels of immanence correspond to lesser privacy.*
This is because the deeper immanent source-entity encompasses
more sub-entities. This principle seems to contradict
experience, because we tend to think that our most private
thoughts and feelings are most deeply immanent. But there is a
difference between individual thoughts. The deeper the
immanence, the more it is shared with others.
All-Entity
We can now make some definite statements about the nature of
reality, beginning with All-Entity. All-Entity is the
source-entity of everything; all other entities in the universe
are Its sub-entities (HP3,MHP1). The entire universe is a holon
with All-Entity being the whole. All-Entity and Its parts are
one and the same, seen from different points of view (HP6).
All-Entity has an infinite number of degrees of freedom (HP1)
(let's skip the philosophical proof to maintain the flow of
thought). It includes in Itself all aspects, capabilities, and
potentials of everything that exists (HP3). For instance It has
all human aspects, but beyond these an infinite number of
others. All-Entity has no individuality, if we mean by
individuality to be different from others. There are no others
on that level to be different from. Being the source-entity of
everything alive, All-Entity is the very essence of life. It
transcends and resolves all differences between entities in the
universe (HP5). Thus All-Entity is ultimate harmony. Love is
harmony between living beings, therefore All-Entity is ultimate
Love.
The lower the order from which All-Entity is viewed, the more It
appears differentiated into discrete individuals (MPH3). All
sub-entities, no matter what order, are equally close to
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All-Entity (MHP5). The dimensions of All-Entity provide a
direct communication path even to the lowest entity. So, while
we are aspects of humankind, we are also direct aspects of
All-Entity. There is no danger of being blocked by some "middle
management" in between. Therefore an individual can influence
its entire species through a "divine spark".
Since All-Entity encompasses everything, Its consciousness is
aware of everything, including every thought and deed. Every
thought and every deed is a direct part of All-Entity. There
simply is no division between All-Entity and us (HP5). A whole
and its parts are one and the same, just seen from different
points of view (HP6). We cannot be separated from All-Entity.
The only separation we may feel is due to our limited minds, our
common sense. Since we cannot be separated from All-Entity, we
are immortal. We shed our body as a tree sheds its leaves.
Fear of death comes from excessive identification with physical
reality, from lack of understanding. Being immersed in
All-Entity does not deprive us of our individuality. Any part
maintains its uniqueness though it is totally merged with its
whole. The different levels of dimensional orders make this
possible (HP7&8).
All-Entity is the root source within us. It is the reason why
we must trust our inner strength, the reason why we are entitled
to self confidence, no matter what our station in life. Since
All-Entity, the essence of life and consciousness, is immanent
in everything, there is no "dead" matter. There is
consciousness in every atom. What we call dead matter appears
so to our senses because we cannot sense the life within it. We
know that the molecules, atoms, and subatomic parts are very
active indeed in their world. This activity must be regarded as
a form of life. Our American Indian friends have always been
closer to this kind of understanding. We have good reason to
appreciate their tradition that has kept these ideas alive.
David Bohm, the physicist mentioned before, says that life is
implicit in what we call inanimate matter (67)(68)(69).
Philosophers had made such statements in the past. G.W. Leibniz
claimed that the same principle of consciousness that expresses
itself in the mind of man is active in inanimate matter, in
plant, and animal (70). The valiant effort by scientists to
determine the beginning of life on earth appears futile from a
holistic point of view, because everything that exists is alive,
period. Also in terms, there is no beginning, because there
is no time as we perceive it, to be discussed in the next
section.
Since reality is immanent in all appearances of our world,
people who believe that our physical world is the only reality
have a good reason to think so. One can point to objects and
claim that they represent all the reality there is, because all
reality is indeed immanent in them. There is no higher reality
outside our world, no "heaven" beyond outer space. One approach
to Yoga enlightenment is to concentrate on an object, perhaps a
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flame, until one senses its inner reality, which eventually
turns out to be the inner reality of everything else. Another
approach is to concentrate on the present moment, because it
contains all reality. Every flower that emerges from its seed,
every birth of any kind, demonstrates the immanence of life.
The closest contact with the ultimate reality is within our
selves, as the great mystics of all ages have proclaimed (71).
Fritjof Capra, nuclear physicist in Vienna and publisher of
several books, draws compelling parallels between the findings
of modern physics and the religious philosophies of the East:
Hinduism, Buddhism, Chinese thought, Taoism, and Zen (72). He
writes for instance: "Modern physics leads us to a view of the
world that is very similar to the views held by mystics of all
ages and traditions" (73).
The above statements fall logically and naturally from the holon
principles. Beyond abstract thoughts they can have a profound
effect on an individual. It is possible to have an experience
of total unity with the entire universe. This occurs apparently
to an increasing number of people. According to Dr. Joan
Borysenko, polls show a surprisingly high and increasing rate of
extraordinary psychological incidences (74). Thirtyfive percent
of the American public are said to have felt very close to a
powerful spiritual force that seemed to lift them out of
themselves. Five percent experienced being bathed in a
mysterious light, such as Apostle Paul on the way to Damascus.
Dr. Borysenko has a PhD. in cell biology from Harvard Medical
School and is president of Mind, Body Health Siences, Inc..
Spontaneous transcendental awakenings have been reported
throughout history (75). The Canadian physician Richard Maurice
Bucke, M.D., published a book in 1901, titled "Cosmic
Consciousness" (76). In it he describes elevated states of mind
and brings fifty examples of specific personalities. Bucke
assumed that humankind is at the verge of developing a new kind
of consciousness, because he observed an increasing rate of
occurrences. The same thought was expressed by W.T. Stace (77).
This is also supported by the "New Age" trend, that is driven by
individual spontaneous spiritual or psychological
transformations (78). Marilyn Ferguson describes the increasing
trend towards enlightening transformation and lists nineteen
"intentional triggers" in her book "The Aquarian Conspiracy" to
(79).
Throughout the discussions in this paper, well known, long
standing philosophical concepts come to mind. One is compelled
to identify the All-Entity concept with "pantheism", the
doctrine that the divine is all-pervasive. This writer feels
uncomfortable with this term, because any theism, pan- or
otherwise, tends to have a certain limiting connotation. The
system described herein is neither theistic nor atheistic.
All-Entity simply IS, and it encompasses everything else that
IS. Any description of reality fails to convey true direct
experience. This applies also to this paper. However there is
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an intuitive knowledge that goes with it and existing
philosophical terms tend to divert attention from this
knowledge. They have attained a reality of their own in the
human psyche, and name recognition of them may be confused with
understanding the underlying reality. The whole is basically
simple, as any whole is, being only a single one. So this paper
will use philosophical terms very sparingly, asking experts to
be forgiving.
The Nature of Time
As already stated, our concept of time does not correspond to
higher reality. Time is an aspect of 4-D space-time (Sect. 2).
Following our holistic logic: past, present, and future are
parts of space-time. They exist in it simultaneously (HP5).
Past, present, and future are present in space-time, now and at
any other moment of our time (HP9). We experience sequentially
in our time what exists actually simultaneously in transcendent
reality. It is like the light spot moving on the TV screen,
going through the picture one point at a time, because the TV
transmission system cannot handle all points simultaneously. Or
it is like driving in a car through a landscape. At any one
moment we experience the immediate environment around the car as
the present event. We do not see the stretch that we have
already travelled, or the one before us. Yet the entire route
exists simultaneously, in parallel, if seen from above. In
fact, the landscape does not only exist behind and in front of
us, but stretches out to all sides. Our decisions are like
turns that we take at intersections, choosing a particular
future course of events out of many possible ones. Instead of a
landscape with features such as trees, houses, etc., the
space-time landscape is composed of probable events, the closest
ones being most probable.
This concept of space-time is emerging from modern science.
John Gribbin describes in his book the hypothesis that many
worlds exist in parallel to, and intersect with ours, with
options to branch out (80). Gribbin also describes the work of
Feynmann, who showed mathematically that subatomic particles can
travel backward in time (81). "Both quantum theory and
relativity theory permit time travel, of one kind or another.
And anything that is acceptable to both theories, no matter how
paradoxical that something may seem, has to be taken seriously"
(82). Capra quotes Lama Govinda about Buddhist meditation
experience: "In this space- experience the temporal sequence is
converted into simultaneous coexistence, the side-by-side
existence of things . . . becomes a living continuum in which
time and space are integrated" (83). David Bohm believes that
time is enfolded in the whole, that time is an aspect of the
implicate order (84) (Sect.2). Professor Hawking talks about
"imaginary time" in his book "A Brief History of Time", with a
well defined mathematical meaning. He suggests "that the
so-called imaginary time is really the real time, and that what
we call real time is just a figment of our imaginations" (85).
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The assumption of an landscape that holds all events,
including the ones that in our view were in the past, would
explain why scientists cannot find where in the brain memories
are stored. They are most likely not stored in the brain,
instead the brain has the function of reading information that
exists in a timeless environment. Photographic memory can
be understood that way, also the reports that people with near
death experiences (NDE's) see their entire lives in an instant.
This understanding of space-time may explain the character of
dreams pursuing a psychological tale with utter disregard of
space and time. Holistic time and space could perhaps also
explain clairvoyance, precognition, and readings of past
reincarnations (86).
Holistic logic tells us also that time has no beginning and end.
The limitations that we perceive in our order do not exist in
higher dimensional orders. A beginning of time implies a
separation from non-time. Separations do not exist at the level
of a whole (HP5). Physicists postulate that space-time runs
back into itself in 4-D space, like the surface of our earth in
3-D space (87). Parts tend to be symbolic for the whole they
represent, because the whole is immanent in the parts. The
celestial bodies are likely to be 3-D symbols of the reality
whence they come. If there is no beginning and end of time,
then it makes no sense to talk about the start of the universe,
such as a "Big-Bang" explosion at "the beginning of time". In
this writer's opinion, the real "Big-Bang" is All-Entity, and
our 3-D physical world is constantly being created out of the
timeless environment. In fact, we are the ones that create
it. It is our limited view of the multidimensional reality that
carves our aspect out it. We are the ones that settle for a
subset of the total. Without us, that narrowing-down to our
reality would not exist. Of course the same goes for cats,
dogs, fleas, etc., with their own worlds.
The Human Psyche
We can draw also some interesting conclusions about our own
psyche. As we have already seen, it includes all source
entities, including humankind-entity and All-Entity, with untold
layers in between (MHP4). They are all immanent in us. We
must assume that there are intermediate entities between us and
the humankind-entity, given the different races, nationalities
and character types that we observe. We can draw a simplified
map of the human psyche that corresponds to holistic thinking
(Fig.5). We shall bypass psychological definitions, such as id,
ego, and superego for the reason given for philosophical terms
(All-Entity, last paragraph). Figure 5 depicts the view from
our own, our sub-entity's position, with all higher entities in
series according to MHP6. From All-Entity's point of view, all
these entities appear in parallel (MHP5). ^L
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-- All-Entity --
|
--- ? ---
|
-- Earth-Entity --
|
--- ? ---
|
-- Animal-Entity --
|
--Humanity-Entity --
|
?
|
------------ Soul ------------
| | | | |
Self Self Self Self Self
| |
Mind Body
Fig. 5. Map of human psyche.
We call the entity of our body and mind the "self".
According to holistic reasoning, our self is in turn an aspect
of a more complex entity of an even higher order. We shall call
this next higher entity our "soul", disregarding existing
meanings implied by this word. The soul must have other aspects
besides the self that we identify with. We may call these the
"multiple selves". The concept of multiple selves is not alien
to psychologists. H. Kohurt, for instance, discussed them in
his paper "The Search for the Self", as reported by Louis Zinkin
(88)(89).
The Soul is immanent in each of the multiple selves as it is in
ours (HP9). Thus each self refers to it as "my soul", although
the soul includes more selves than one (MHP8). Our soul is
within our self, and our self is in our mind and body. This
means of course that our Soul is immanent in our mind and body.
The soul in turn is a part of an even higher order entity
unknown to us. It in turn is part or subpart of the
humankind-entity. This proceeds through entities of higher and
higher order, through earth-entity all the way up to All-Entity.
All are immanent in "us", in our bodies, minds, our Selves, and
our Souls. If we could proceed in our consciousness to peel off
the outer layers of us, one by one, starting with our body, we
would recognize higher and higher entities as our "real I",
eventually experiencing All-Entity as our ultimate true
identity. In this sense, and with the appropriate state of
mind, it is no blasphemy to state that "I am God". This is
exactly the path to enlightenment taught by Yoga, Buddhism, and
other mystic philosophies. They all seek the awakening to one's
innermost reality, which turns out to be the holistic reality of
the whole universe. The ancient scriptures of Hinduism, for
instance, the Vedas, call the innermost personal reality
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"Atman", and the ultimate reality of the universe "Brahman".
The wisdom to be understood and to be experienced is that Atman
and Brahman are one and the same (90)(91)(92)(93).
The described concept of the human psyche provides also an
explanation why long distance runners get their "second wind",
"third wind", etc., until they experience a psychic "high".
They draw on deeper and deeper immanent reserves, thus
experiencing higher levels of their psyche. For the same
reason, frightening experiences can have an exhilarating effect.
The soul dwells in an environment where our limited notions of
space and time do not exist. For the soul, its constituent
selves exist all simultaneously. However to our mind, time
differences do exist, and the selves of the same soul appear in
different time periods of human history. This has been
interpreted as reincarnation, however it is not a matter of the
soul jumping from body to body. It is the creative expression
of life by the soul into many different dimensions, so that it
can grow through experiencing life in a multifaceted way far
beyond the scope of a single self. What we perceive as one
particular incarnation of our soul is one specific aspect of
natural, creative unfoldment into its constituent parts.
Unfoldment occurs at any level, be it the spreading of a
flower's petals, of a tree's branches, different races, or
different selves of a soul. It is only our limited common
sense, our distorted sense of space-time, that prevents us from
seeing the true greatness of our souls as they unfold their
existence into seemingly separate selves, as any holon does.
Our souls do not need to be saved. They are securely imbedded
in the folds of All-Entity, as are our selves. Where time does
not exist, death cannot be.
Dr. Ian Stevenson, Professor of Psychiatry at the University of
Virginia Medical School, has performed thousands of
scientifically documented case studies of apparent
reincarnation. At least five volumes with case histories have
been published by the Virginia University Press (94). The
university's decision to publish this "controversial" material
was based on Dr. Stevenson's impeccable professional credibility
and on an independent in-depth check into the scientific
viability of his studies. A summary of Dr. Stevenson's studies
is given in a book titled: "Reincarnation", authored by Sylvia
Cranston and Carey Williams (95). Dr. Stevenson focussed his
studies on children, because he observed that the
reincarnational recall tends to fade after a certain age. Also,
children's spontaneous recalls are less suspect because they are
less influenced by prior knowledge. Furthermore, children's
stories can often be more easily verified, because witnesses of
their former lives may still be alive.
According to Cranston and Williams, for each case investigated
Dr. Stevenson and his staff taped interviews with an average of
25 people. They checked out documents, letters, medical
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records, etc., and compared character traits between the child
and its claimed former personality. In about 200 cases the
child could point to a birthmark where it claimed to have been
wounded or killed, and the position of the wound could be
verified through witnesses or records of these events. For
instance one boy claimed that he was formerly a Turkish bandit
who took his life when he was cornered by authorities. He shot
himself from below through his jaw. The boy had a huge mark
there, and hair was missing on his scalp where the bullet
supposedly had emerged in his former life. A witness of the
shooting was still alive and verified these details. Other
cases involved people who could fluently speak foreign
languages, although they had never learned them in this life.
It is appropriate at this point to redefine the term "mind". We
distinguish here between "conscious mind" and "unconscious mind"
and we shall define as "unconscious mind" all the mind-substance
in our psyche, up to All-Entity. There are really no divisions.
In any multiple holon there are no divisions between its order
levels. The source-entities and the sub-entities at all levels
are one and the same, only seen from different points of view
(HP6&MHP1). The word "psyche" means then the total of conscious
and unconscious mind.
Holistic thinking leads to the belief in mind over matter.
According to HP10, a change in any part is associated with
changes in the whole and the other parts. Therefore, conscious
thoughts change the self and through it the body. Any intense
and persistent thought pattern does affect the body, positively
or negatively, depending on the type of thoughts. Depending on
how strong and persistent the thought patterns are, they affect
deeper or shallower layers of the psyche, causing more or less
permanent effects on the body.
Therefore the prevailing medical practice of repairing the body
as one would a complex machine appears inappropriate. Instead
the growing trend of a holistic approach to medicine addresses
the whole personality and is likely to be more effective and
less costly in the long run. Of course a change in the body
also affects our mind, as we all experience when we are sick.
The effect in that direction usually happens much faster.
Probably this is because our mind is much more flexible than our
body, the former being less locked into space and time than the
latter. Thus it takes the body longer to change in response to
a new blueprint from the inner self, as seen in our time
perception.
So far we have viewed the hierarchy like the organization of
a corporation, where managers have an open door policy to all
people working for him or her, down to the lowest rank.
However, as everybody knows who has participated in corporate
life, organization diagrams are crude abstractions of how an
organization really functions. In actuality, there is a
multitude of cross-communications and informal working
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relationships. So it is with the hierarchy. Different
levels are not distinctly separated, even seen from below,
because consciousnesses usually grow across them gradually.
Parallel entities melt together to form partial holistic unions,
others disintegrate. Furthermore, part belong to more than one
whole, as individuals belong simultaneously to a family, a work
organization, a church, a club, and (God forbid) to several
partners. While this complicates the issues, the holon
principles still apply to whatever situation one considers.
Also remember that the hierarchical organization appears rigid
only when viewed from the bottom up, while from the top down
everything is one harmonious, homogeneous evolving union (HP6).
Mow, is the reader confused about who he or she really is, the
daily-life-person, the self, the soul, or the entire string to
All-Entity? And how do the multiple selves relate to us? The
answer can be obtained again with our trusty crystal model.
Pointing to one of its planes one can ask whether this is a
plane or whether it is the whole crystal. It depends on our
point of view (HP6). The more we live from our heart, the
deeper we feel the joyful union with the rest of the world, the
more we identify with our higher source-entities (MHP7). Each
individual sets his or her own place by the attitude towards
life, by the scope of mind. The other selves are not separate,
competing entities, viewed from the soul (HP6). Any action, any
thought of our self affects our other selves and vice versa,
whether one is aware of them or not (HP10). It is unconscious
teamwork across space and time.
Learning to open up to and to identify with our inner self and
our soul opens the access to their greater power, potential, and
harmony. This is why deep muscle relaxation exercises used by
psychologists for anxiety desensitization are so helpful. One
puts the conflicting currents of daily life on hold and allows
the soul to do its job: to implement peace and harmony.
Conflicts are seen at this level with a detached, sovereign, and
much more knowledgeable point of view. With some practice, one
can sense answers and suggestions from there. The prerequisite
is, of course, that one accepts the existence of reality to
begin with. This is also the reason why obsessive-compulsive
behavior, such as alcoholism, can be much more effectively cured
if the treatment involves a spiritual approach. Inner conflicts
are already resolved at a deeper level within us, there being a
harmonious whole of opposing parts. It's a matter of opening up
to it.
reality is called "spiritual", but this term has
connotations for many people that do not well reflect the true
nature of reality. Many believe that the spiritual world
lies beyond our world, unreal compared with ours, separated from
us, and only to be reached after death. Holistic knowledge
tells us instead that transcendent existence is more real than
physical reality. Spiritual and physical reality are one and
the same, seen from different points of view. We are living in
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the spiritual world right now, always, dead or alive. It
is better to think in terms of laws of nature that permeate all
reality. Only with this understanding shall we use the term
spiritual here, synonymously with reality.
Multiple Worlds
A holistic model of the multidimensional universe is not
complete without addressing the utter immensity, the
mindboggling and seemingly hopeless vastness and complexity of
it all. If we think that we cannot grasp our physical cosmos
with its myriad galaxies and endless space, wait till you hear
the rest. Imagine that the cells in your body form a society of
living individuals, like a microscopic human society. You are a
single cell and you try to understand all of reality. Through
some communication you may have a vague idea of the organ in
which you dwell. However, to understand the whole body is
impossible. This corresponds roughly to our understanding of
the physical cosmos. Now realize that your scientists have not
even discovered yet that there is a mind associated with the
body, your cosmos. Worse yet, there are other body-cosmoses
with minds in addition to yours, billions of them. And these
live on one relatively insignificant planet, with the entire
universe still beyond, with untold galaxies. This may be an apt
description of our situation. It demonstrates also why we must
not reject the following considerations as unrealistic. What is
possible for one holon, the cell, is possible for any holon,
including ours. If such conclusion is logical, our common sense
is not qualified to reject it just because it is so overwhelming.
Let us revisit our 2Ds. Our crystal has a number of planes with
different orientations in 3-D space. The 2Ds of any one plane
cannot perceive any of the other planes, because they lack a
sense for a third dimension. The crystal in our example is a
rather simple structure. Potentially, there can be an unlimited
number of 2-D aspects of the same 3-D object. Think of a tree.
One can take virtually an unlimited number of different (2-D)
photos of it. Thus one can create an unlimited number of 2-D
aspect/parts of one 3-D whole (HP2). As far as analogies go, it
is not possible to find one that explains all holistic
situations simultaneously. One must combine mentally the
aspect-parts vs. whole relationship of the crystal (HP1-13) with
the aspects of the tree. In other words, for an accurate
analogy, the photos would have to be organically integrated with
the tree (HP6).
So there are potentially an infinite number of parts in the
holon of any entity, and there are potentially an infinite
number of worlds in the holon of any higher order world.
Inhabitants of a lower order world do not perceive the
fellow-worlds of the same order, as the 2Ds in one crystal plane
don't see the other planes. In the same manner, we do not
perceive the other 3-D worlds. They are differently oriented in
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4-D space. Higher order worlds are even much more
diversified. The 4-D world to which we and other worlds belong
is itself only one of many. There are potentially a limitless
number of 4-D worlds, each one having a limitless number of 3-D
worlds, and so on up the hierarchy. All-Entity has an
infinite number of sub-entity worlds at all order levels,
spreading out into more and more diversification at lower
orders.
Another analogy may help to visualize this situation. As
mentioned in Section 3, white light contains a range of colors.
It is possible to choose different colors from pure white light,
corresponding to the infinite number of electromagnetic wave
frequencies that comprise white light. So in the world of
colors, the single whole, white, potentially spawns an infinite
number of "color worlds". This concept applies to every holon
on all order levels.
The multiple world concept is not just an unrealistic play with
thoughts. Quantum physicists are beginning to believe that this
is a correct interpretation of their quantum mathematics. The
subject was first seriously addressed in 1950 by Hugh Everett
who explored the concept mathematically (96)(97)(98). It
appears that multiple worlds are just as real as ours, even
though they are invisible to us. As John Gribbin says: "It
sounds like science fiction, but it goes far deeper than any
science fiction, and it is based on impeccable mathematical
equations . . ."(99). The only reason why some physicists have
difficulty to accept this is that it goes against their common
sense.
We have so much trouble to accept the immensity of multiple
worlds because we imagine them as separate. In reality, they
are aspects of one whole. In reality there are ultimately
no separate entities, there is only one single All-Entity. Our
common sense may not be able to cope with the vastness of the
universe, but the consoling thought is that our inner psyche
can do so. We can trust that it can deal with this because in
its deepest immanence it is identical with All-Entity. We can
compare this with an individual within a nation. As a single
person we could feel hopelessly insignificant, given the total
population of the country. Yet, with some spirit of patriotism
it can be even uplifting to be part of a great nation. We can
adopt a similar attitude towards the entire universe and feel
very good about it.
Holistic logic provides some insight into the creation of the
worlds, ours and others. The camera in our tree analogy stands
for a consciousness that perceives a 2-D aspect of the 3-D
whole. It is the act of taking the picture, of paying attention
to an aspect, which makes that aspect real as a 2-D entity. In
a holon, the potential aspects of the whole become real in the
lower order because some consciousness perceives them. If
nobody looks at a particular aspect of a 3-D object, that aspect
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does not exist as a 2-D entity. By the same token, if nobody
looks at a 3-D aspect of a 4-D object, that aspect does not
exist as an entity in our 3-D world. It is the restricted
consciousness that creates entities at its order level out of
the unlimited aspects of the transcendent whole. As John
Gribbin says: "nothing is real unless we look at it" (100).
This is true for the reality that we experience, and we also
must assume that it is true for other realities that we don't
perceive ourselves. The different realities are "created" by
their inhabitants because they look at different aspects of the
same transcendent whole. The term "real" means here what is
real for us, real in our order. The transcendent whole has
always been and still is real, more profoundly real in its own
domain (HP7). The multiple world idea is really analog to
multiple selves. Holons have the same structure throughout the
universe (HP12). We may assume that our multiple selves live in
different multiple worlds, not just in different time periods.
The multiple-world view of holistic thinking means that we
constantly pick our own reality from an unlimited reservoir of
existing probabilities that are already real in the
multidimensional environment. Our own reality depends on how we
approach the greater, invisible reality around and within us,
which aspects we focus on, individually and as a society. It is
as if we all wear tinted glasses, each person a different color.
We all look at the same objects in space bathed in white
light. However, each one of us sees the same world with a
different color. We hardly realize this, because we are so used
to our own color. Some people see the world in a depressing
blue, while others in a cheerful pink. Certain items are not
even seen at all by some but by others, because our colored
glasses filter out certain aspects. Assuming for a moment that
there are enough colors (which is true in terms of psychological
diversity), there are as many different worlds as there are
people, each picking his or her unique aspect of the world.
To change our world, we must change the color of our own
glasses. Preferably we want to increase the color range until
we see white light. So we want to increase the range of our
consciousness. As we do away with the limitations of our
mindset, we automatically act more in tune with the greater
reality in which we reside. Our world becomes more desirable
for us as well as for others. "You create your own reality",
this is the message repeated tirelessly by Seth in Jane Roberts'
books. He explains in enlightening detail how we can change our
lives by changing our beliefs (101). In fact, Seth's entire
philosophy dovetails coherently with the holistic system
described here. To this writer this is one of the indications
of Seth's authenticity. Without the Seth material, the Multiple
World section and some other parts of this paper would not have
been written with the same confidence. The Seth books provide a
wealth of information for the serious student of reality.
Philosophers have suggested multiple worlds in the past.
Spinoza, for instance, said that God has an infinite number of
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attributes, of which humans perceive only two: physical
extension and thought, humans being themselves of a physical and
mental nature (102). Gottfied Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716)
postulated that ours is the "best of all possible worlds" (103).
The holistic hierarchy described here is reminiscent of
Leibniz's system of monads, which are basically spiritual,
psychic entities positioned in a metaphysical hierarchy (104).
The higher a monad is positioned, the more it represents the
reality of the universe, each from its own perspective. There
is an all-encompassing supreme monad: God. "The source of
mechanics lies in meta-physics", according to Leibniz. He
pointed out that the whole overall system is totally
homogeneous, without discrete steps. The interaction between
monads at different levels, such as the soul and the body, is
due to a harmony preestablished by God, according to Leibniz.
Causality
There are two types of causality. We are used to the type
confined to space and time: if certain conditions exist and
certain events occur at some time, then these cause another set
of conditions and events at a later time. This is the
scientific type of reasoning. It deals with parts on the same
order level, for instance within our 3-D world. We shall call
this type of causal relationship "temporal causation", because
time passes between its cause and effect. The maximum speed
with which temporal causation can occur is the speed of light,
according to Einstein. The other type of causation occurs
between wholes and their parts, between dimensional orders
(HP10). This type was more perceived by the Greek philosophers
(105). We shall call it "holistic causation". In contrast to
temporal causation, holistic causation can cause correlated
events to appear in our world perfectly simultaneously, giving
us the impression that they communicate faster than the speed of
light. This is so because one of these events is not the result
of another in time and space, but both events are the result of
the same "super-event" in space. The super-event may or may
not appear simultaneously in our physical world, depending on
what aspect of the event we observe, depending on which of
the multiple worlds we happen to occupy. Quantum physicists
have indeed observed causation with higher speed than light.
They call it "superluminal causation". The Aspect experiment
mentioned before demonstrated holistic causation. The
polarization of one photon changed instantaneously with that of
its twin photon.
Holistic causation occurs between the soul and its constituent
selves (Sect.4). All selves influence their common soul, and
the soul influences all its selves simultaneously, no matter
where they happen to appear time and space. No temporal
causation exists between reincarnations, unless they meet in
physical life. From the holistic point of view, the prevailing
understanding of karma is misleading. Originally it meant the
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force of creation, wherefrom all things have their life. Later
the meaning was distorted to imply fate, caused by one's own
actions in former incarnations. The original meaning represents
holistic causation. Apparently, with time people lost this
understanding, and the definition of karma deteriorated to the
temporal causation version.
Between our inner self and the sum of our body and conscious
mind is a constant flux of holistic causation. Carl Jung coined
the term "synchronicity" for correlated psychological events
that occur coincidentally, although they don't appear to be
causally related to each other. Such experiences are not
infrequent. For instance one may think of a person and then
meet this person by chance, or one receives the news that the
person has passed away. Jung referred to an extensive
literature on telepathy, extrasensory perception, clairvoyance
and similar phenomena in support of the principle of
synchronicity (106)(107). Another example of holistic causation
are similar experiences that occur frequently to monozygotic
twins. They often feel the same physical pain simultaneously,
even though they may be separated by great distances. In
holistic terms monozygotic twins form one entity.
5. PRACTICAL IMPACT
IMPACT ON THE INDIVIDUAL
Aristotle said that happiness is the goal of human nature (108).
What does holistic reasoning tell us about reaching this goal?
We can say that happiness is a state of harmony within our self
and with the world. The state of harmony exists in the whole of
a holon (HP5). Therefore we want to identify with the whole
that is immanent in us and that unites us with the world:
All-Entity. This discussion is not an attempt to coax the
reader into a religious conversion. Instead it shows how
straightforward, rational holistic logic leads naturally to the
key tenets of major world religions.
The highest form of identification between living beings is
love. Thus one gains happiness through loving All-Entity. This
is exactly what Jesus Christ told us, it is his first
commandment (109). One cannot love the whole without loving its
parts. So one cannot love All-Entity without loving one's
fellow humans. Hence Christ's second commandment, to love one's
neighbor as oneself. This message is perceived as a moral
demand. Holistic reasoning tells us that it is the logically
smart thing to do, smart from an egotistical point of view as
well as from an altruistic one. Thus holistic logic transcends
opposites. The ten commandments revealed earlier to the Jewish
people are in line with the basic commands for love, spelled out
in specific detail, as may have been more appropriate at that
time.
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Hinduism, as mentioned earlier, is based on its ancient Veda
scriptures. Its ultimate aim is to identify with the inner
"Atman", who is also "Brahman" when perceived as the whole of
the universe, our concept of All-Entity. It is the path of
mysticism. A step-by-step description of a mystic path towards
enlightenment is given in the "Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali"
(110).
Buddha, after his mystical enlightenment, taught that the world
of appearances leads us to errors in judgement, with
corresponding unpleasant consequences. According to him, no
permanent security can be found except in the identification
with the ultimate transcendent whole, the "Nirvana". Nirvana
cannot be described in words, "because human language is too
poor to express the real nature of the Absolute Truth or
Ultimate Reality that is Nirvana" (111). Buddhism follows a
mystic philosophy similar to Hinduism, with the difference that
the ultimate whole does not have the theistic connotation.
However, such differences come from the limitations of human
perception and do not affect the principle. Ultimate mystic
union is sought in the Eastern philosophy-religions through
meditation, with a tendency to withdraw from our world of
appearances. This aspect of Eastern thought goes against the
grain of Western thinking. We see our society as antithesis to
introverted withdrawal. However, if meditation is done
correctly, it puts us in an intimate contact with the rest of
the world, as it must, because the whole world is immanent in
us.
Westerners tend to be extroverted and find satisfaction in
expressing their inner potentials. This is totally compatible
with holistic thinking and akin to the Eastern philosophy of
Karma Yoga. In striving for active expression of one's
innermost core, one strives ultimately for identification with
All-Entity that is immanent in us. The challenge is to clear
the channel, one's own psyche, to foster the free flow of the
energy, wisdom, and harmony from within. In each type of
philosophy, Eastern and Western, the individual is encouraged to
overcome the inner blocks and conflicts caused by
misunderstanding of true reality. Holistically, both approaches
should go together.
Eastern philosophies point out, as did Socrates, that our
problems are caused by our lack of understanding, lack of the
right kind of knowledge. There is nothing wrong with physical
reality. There is only inadequate understanding of the
transcendent and immanent laws of nature. A malicious act is
born from the misconception that one can gain an advantage by
hurting somebody else. If we think and act like this, we
emphasize the separation between us and others. This reduces
our inner awareness of the harmonious whole that exists between
us and others, our source-entity. Focusing on the conflict
between sub-entities prevents awareness of the source-entity
(HP4&6). Since our source-entity is immanent in us (HP9&10),
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the conflict blocks our access to our very source of life,
health, and harmony. In this quite automatic way, a person can
create a "life in hell" for him/herself, without anybody ever
passing a judgement. On the other hand, the love that you give
unselfishly emerges in your own heart. It is our mindset that
creates our type of experience, as described under the Multiple
Worlds section. The mindset acts like tinted glasses that
impede access to the whole.
This does not mean that every bad experience is due to some
malicious intent. Challenging experiences can be important
stepping stones for inner growth, set up by the inner self,
without us being conscious of it in our daily life. Inner
growth toward lasting happiness requires that we face our
weaknesses, our conflicting notions that block our way. A firm
conscious decision by a person to go the route towards
enlightenment permeates the inner self and the soul, as any
change of a part does (HP10). The self and the soul then lead
the person via intuitions and impulses, perceived by us as our
will. Depending on the determination of the individual, this
may lead into unexpected challenges. What matters are the
lessons learnt, the blocks purged, the consciousness expanded.
IMPACT ON SOCIETY
Society changes as its individuals change (HP10). As more
people adopt the holistic world view, so does the whole of
society. Each individual added to the new thinkers makes it
easier for others to join, because they are immanently more
motivated via the common whole of society. The validity of
this holistic principle is supported by Rupurt Sheldrake's
studies (Sect.4). Thus we shall see an ever increasing rate of
change towards a holistic world view. A new common sense will
be born. We are getting help along the way. The help comes
from within ourselves, from the holistic harmony that is already
immanent.
With holistic understanding there is less need to subscribe to
any particular brand of religious belief system. People can
feel free to pursue their own path of spiritual growth,
individually or in groups. Social movements such as
environmentalism, human rights, and holistic medicine (112)(113)
represent an awakening to holistic reality. Speaking of
holistic medicine, the condition of the body is holistically
caused by the condition of the | | |
