Hello, I’m Stephen Pirie, Author of “The Dynamics of Gender and Life”
Many years ago during the 90s I read Michael Talbot’s “The Holographic Universe”. The basic message, which aligned with other sources that I was reading at the time, including the interpretations of the experiments in quantum mechanics, was that we exist in a holographic universe.
Physicist David Bohm preferred the term holomovement, in line with his view of the process of unfolding into physicality, and enfolding the possibilities and potential inherent in the meta-physical Implicate Order.
It’s likely there are some or perhaps a great many who are unaware that the core message of all the major religions is that we exist a holographic universe or holomovement. The terminology used didn’t include ‘holographic’ as holograms are a relatively recent discovery, but the intent of the proverbs was, at least for me, quite clear, and unequivocal.
For example, “The kingdom of God is within you”, is another way of saying that you are God-as-you, and as such we are ‘made in His image’ just like a hologram. The Buddhist religion advised “Look within, you are the Buddha”. The same message is echoed in Islam “He who knows himself knows his lord”. In the Hindu Upanishads we read “By understanding the Self, all this universe is known”.
The thing is, as mentioned in Session 2, we’ve had around 2,400 years of believing that we’re fallen, isolated, powerless individuals living in a mechanical competitive survival-of-the-fittest universe. We’ve been habituated to forget that the kingdom, power and potential of God is within each of us. Now, I am not saying I am God - that would be narcissistic, and to be blunt, unbelievably arrogant. Equally it means I am not not-God. From a holographic perspective, we are each imbued with latent God-potentials that can be utilized to varying degrees in everyday life.
I’m reminded of a passage by physicist Henry Margenau
If my conclusions are correct, each individual is part of God or part of the Universal Mind. I use the phrase “part of” with hesitation, recalling its looseness and in-applicability even in recent physics. Perhaps a better way to put the matter is to say that each of us is the Universal Mind but inflicted with limitations that obscure all but a tiny fraction of its aspects and properties.”1
Now the question that begs asking is, why are we not engaging our inner God-given potential?
The answer to that question is remarkably evident in our every day lives.
To illustrate why we are not engaging more of our inner potential, consider the following scenario that I wrote about in my book.
Imagine it’s a really hot day and that you want to walk down to the local mall to do some shopping. Let’s say you decide to grab your credit card, but as it’s really hot and humid, you think “You know what, I’ll walk to the mall without my sticky, sweaty clothes. I’ll just walk in naked.”
What’s likely to occur is that you’ll be ‘pressured’ or influenced by something that the scientists call ‘downward causation’ – which is basically how a collective in the form of a community, the police or angry citizens will impede, restrict or influence you to behave in a socially acceptable manner.
Technically, ‘downward causation’ is how a higher-order system -- the wider community, constrains and guides the lower-order system, you, toward various socially acceptable behaviours.
Now, I say the term ‘downward causation’ is a misnomer because while each person might be influenced to behave as told or as directed, some, despite the threat of being arrested or physically assaulted, will go ahead anyway, and do as they please. In which case, even though unexpected behaviour of a person might have been to some extent influenced by social expectations, their behaviour is not caused by a greater collective, but is instead an example of individual choice. I call that ‘upward causation’ in that the individual causes an upheaval, a shift in the dynamic of some greater collective.
So why do we not engage our potential? Well, that’s simply because we behave in a way that won’t offend the neighbours, or scare the horses. We go along to get along, as has been remarkably evident in the last few years. We are, as is often said, social creatures.
All this relates back to our cultural belief that we’re fallen, powerless, feckless individuals living in a competitive world, and so we do as we’re told.
The degree to which we’ve become disconnected, or forgotten our inner power and potential is demonstrated by the trend in recent years for people to be easily offended. Here’s the thing – to be offended means we are blaming others for our very own choice of emotional response to some jibe, joke, comment or opinion. When we say we’re offended, we’re giving away our power to others – we are allowing others to control our emotions. I struggle to think of a better epitome of the fecklessness that’s become endemic in recent years.
What needs to occur for the great many to remember, or to rekindle their inner potential to achieve their heartfelt desires and to live in peace and prosperity? What needs to occur for those living in abject fear of war and pestilence to remember their God-imbued power to remain safe and well?
It is often said, the truth shall set you free? But will it? Let’s say you’re driving along, and you notice a billboard with THE truth written in big, bold text. Will reading that billboard set you free?
My sense, which I’ll share in the next podcast is that knowing the truth is but a first step, but even then not even a necessary step toward being ‘free’.
Previously:
Session 3 - as above, so below