MATTER, MIND AND THE NATURE OF ULTIMATE REALITY
Idealism - the philosophy that consciousness (or mind as the activity of consciousness) is the primary or fundamental feature of reality.
Materialism holds matter to be the fundamental substance in nature, and all things, including mental states and consciousness are results or by-products of material interactions, without which they cannot exist. The material world is all there is so whatever meaning it has, it IS that meaning because it's not pointing to anything else.
This concept directly contrasts with analytical Idealism, where mind and consciousness are first-order realities from which matter and material interactions are derived. They do not have existence in and of themselves. That is, it does not stand out from consciousness with its own independent reality.
Likewise, the separate personal entity that most of us have come to identified with, does not exist as an independent agency in its own right. It is a cultural conditioned believe, underscored and fed by the materialist worldview*. It creates the very convincing illusion of being a separate and limited self that needs to be fulfilled. It is not rooted in truth or in our direct experience of reality.
What we call our individual selves are forms of manifestations of nature, - of one field of phenomenal subjectivity that underlies all nature or one could say consciousness. What we call a person, is a particular way nature is expressing its potential. As such we are purely nature in motion. The activity of consciousness.
We do not exist as cut-off agencies that inhabit a seemingly meaningless world, we are that world in a particular form or manifestation. We are something nature is doing through us . . . which intrinsically has its natural value in the recognition of what that is. And as such, we hold a new sense of Self, a new appreciation for the core of our being.
* Seeing oneself from this higher perspective liberates us from the demands of the separate entity or an ego that constantly needs to be uphold, and its existence, re-affirmed or aggrandised. The symptomology of this is very pervasive in our culture - the frenzy to which social media and our modern lifestyle serves this compulsion today is evidence of its underlying emptiness or non-existence.
Through self-enquiry, (Atma Vichara) it demands of us a clarifying exploration into the deep believe and habitual activities of the ego identity that is the driver of the fragmented human condition.
In conclusion, we've been served by the incredibly simple-minded idea of a reductionist materialist viewpoint which has critically undermined humanity's trajectory towards true meaning and purpose. But when we enrich our vocabulary a bit, what now emerges from this is a movement towards an understanding that is more sophisticated.
Modern western philosophers, scientists and physicists are now discussing whether basically, everything is matter-like or mind-like. Is everything, including human consciousness, ethics, dreams and so on made of stuff and therefore ruled by physics. Or is matter essentially a by-product of mental metaphysical activity?
Let’s examine this through the rigorous analysis and dialogue between CERN scientist Bernardo Kastrup and non-dual teacher, Rupert Spira. It is significant how they both come to the same understanding of the nature of reality through different avenues and principles.
Is everything made of matter or consciousness?
If non-duality is true, what does it mean for us?
In final conclusion, the foundation of materialism doesn’t require empirical evidence to be dismissed because it's internally contradictory and does not explain our direct experience, - which is our point of reference as to what reality is and ultimately, life’s meaning.
Prof. Tarnas's disenchanted world can be compared to the nihilism that materialism has brought about in our cultural believe systems. Our failure to respond to the current crisis threatening all humanity and most other forms of life is symptomatic of this nihilism. 20th century philosophy went down the path of materialism and we now have finally arrived at a pivotal turning point in trying to re-interpret the intrinsic meaning of the world.
To find balance. The world that we've inherited from the scientific revolution is one that is separated from the depth of awe and wonder that was known by our ancestors through living harmoniously with nature. This disenchantment has left us with a hunger for spirituality, purpose and meaning.
Meaning is the holy grail in psychology. It relates to life's purpose. If you can find meaning in what you're going through, you integrate it in your life. We develop a mature relationship with it. It has to be grounded on a believe that is substantiated, that life and the world has intrinsic meaning in and of themselves, and not only the meaning we want to project onto it.
The human endeavour has two values, one of the collective and one of the individual. Human beings need and are wired for story. We are a story-telling species. Our psyche is wired to that trajectory. So from that perspective of having a story, a narrative that maps out a direction, that gives meaning to our lives is necessary for human development, but in recognising our true nature as pure consciousness or self-aware being, we can aspire to live a more virtuous life in our choices and actions through this body/mind as its vehicle. To rely on our moral capacity for ethical discernment to meet life’s challenges. And to uphold our higher truth as one engages in life towards the renewal of a holistic world view.
"The way mind makes meaning shapes reality . . . your ecology of knowledge is basically to create wisdom". Meaning and purpose is embedded in reality itself. As manifestations within consciousness it is embedded in the cosmic itself, embedded in the earth itself and that we human beings are expressions of the earth, of the cosmos. And ultimately we come to realise we are spirit, or consciousness having a human experience, manifesting our own reality, – no matter the circumstances we find ourselves in.
