The Message That Comes From Everywhere · 76 Science and Religion that covers the truth. In Eastern religion, it is really a central teaching, that the physical world is an illusion,

The Message That Comes From EverywhereExploring the Common Core of the World’s Religions

and Modern Science

by Gary L. Beckwith

First edition 2001

Published by:The Harmony InstituteP.O. Box 242Jonesville, VT 05466www.theharmonyinstitute.org

© Copyright 2001 The Harmony Institute. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America. Library of Congress Card Number: 2001086010ISBN: 0-9701125-6-4

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Table of ContentsPreface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Part One The Message of the Past:

The Common Core of the Ancient Religions1. Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

The Story of the Blind Men and the Elephant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17What is Religion? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17The World’s Religions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19The Common Core Ideas and the Message Behind Them . . . . . 20

2. How the Religions Describe God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21One God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21God’s Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24God is Everywhere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27God is Love . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28God is Male and Female. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29God is Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

3. What Religions Tell Us About the Soul. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33The Existence of the Immortal Soul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33God Inside Us . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

4. Spiritual Knowledge — A Goal for Followers of All Religions. . . . . 43Truth is Accessible to Us . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43Meditation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49The Middle Way . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

5. Other Similarities and Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53Unity in the West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53Unity in the East . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55Moral Codes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56Everything is Sacred . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57The Only Way, the Only Saviour, and the Only God . . . . . . . . . 58Trilogy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60The Breath and the Soul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61Detach From Possessions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62Have No Fear. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62Available To Anyone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63Love Everyone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63A World of Illusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64Buddha and God. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65Reincarnation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66Rejection of Native Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67Unity — Not a New Idea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Summary of Part 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71


Part Two The Message of Today:Modern Science and Society Echo the Whispersof the Ancient Religions

6. Science and Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75Modern Physics and Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Review of Religion’s View of Reality and Illusion . . . . . . . . . . 75Modern Physics’ View of Reality and Illusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76Modern Physics Confirms the Existence of God. . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Psychology and Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84Coincidence or Psychic Ability? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84The Conscious and Subconscious Minds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88Hypnosis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89The Incredible Story of Edgar Cayce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92Psychology and Healing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94The Inner Child . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95Scientific Evidence of the Soul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96The Search for Truth is One . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

7. The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi Library. . . . . . . . . . . . 99Brief Bible History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99The Essenes and the Dead Sea Scrolls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101The Gnostics and the Nag Hammadi Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103The Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105The Essene-Gnostic Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

8. The Message In Our Everyday Lives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109Teachings You Can Find Just About Anywhere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

We Are All One . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110Namasté. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111God Within, Christ Within . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112The Power of Visualization and Affirmation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113We Are Eternal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115Live in the Moment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118Follow Your Heart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119Nothing to Fear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120Look Within . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

The Worldwide Spiritual Awakening. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121New Age Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123The Environmental Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123Interfaith Dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124New Religious Movements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125Prophecies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128


9. The School of Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131Why Are We Here?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131knowing and Knowing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133UNlearning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134Homework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134Guidance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Books. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137Going to “Church” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139Workshops and Seminars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140Choosing Guidance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

Some Universal Teachings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14210. Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

A Prayer for Any Day and Every Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

Bibliography and Suggested Reading List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

Order Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165


Special thanks

to Forrest, Kit, Stephen, Mikey, Ted, Nancy, John, Steve, Tamar,Don, Quinn, Mitzi, Dan, Gael, Slayton, Russ, Michael, Yeshe,Randal, Marleen, Mom, Dad, Grandpa, Jodi, Stefan, Jacklynn,and Amy, who in most cases were unaware that they werehelping me write this.

to Dr. Fritjof Capra for allowing the use of his quotations.

to Uri Geller for allowing the use of his drawings.

to Amy Beckwith, Vince Reh, Jennifer Karp Adrian, Juan Schoch,and Barry Wilson, for their time and help in making this book areality.

and to all the great spiritual masters of the world, for helpingbring light to the earth in all times.


Chapter 6: Science and Religion

The purpose of science is to study our world — the physicaluniverse, the human experience, and all of nature — and provideconclusions that add meaning to our lives and help us makedecisions. Science is insatiable; once a particular conclusion isreached, it is time to move on to the next. It seems almostinevitable that someday science will start to tackle the spiritualquestions of life. One could argue that science will never reallyachieve its ultimate purpose until it starts to tackle the questionsof God, the existence of the soul and other spiritual matters. Inthis section, we find that this time has definitely begun, and theresults are coming in now.

Science has many disciplines, and such results would not betruly valuable unless the various branches were reaching similarconclusions. The two branches we primarily investigate arephysics, the study of the physical world, and psychology, the studyof the human mind.

Modern Physics and ReligionBoth religion and science have much to say about the

physical world. But do they agree?

Review of Religion’s View of Reality and Illusion

While the teachings discussed in Part 1 can be found in everyreligion, some are ignored by the mainstream, and only focusedon by smaller “mystical” or “metaphysical” sects.

Recall that one common mystical idea is that what we call“reality” is an illusion. The mystical sects of all religions tell usthat our five senses only give us a limited view a greater, infiniteReality. It is the Reality of our inner self, our true Self, which iseternal and present everywhere. The soul does not die, and istherefore much more “real” than the body which is just atemporary vehicle for the soul. It is a common belief among themystics that both time and space are part of the illusion, the veil


76 Science and Religion

that covers the truth. In Eastern religion, it is really a centralteaching, that the physical world is an illusion, and it is the taskof the spiritual seeker to see things the way they really are.Likewise, Western mystics know that there is a deeper reality,behind the veil of illusion.

Modern Physics’ View of Reality and Illusion

Science has been studying this “thing” called physical reality,assuming that it is the only real thing there is, and trying to findmeaning in it. No one can deny that science has done an excellentjob investigating physical reality. Scientists are constantlystretching the boundaries of this investigation in every direction— further out, in studying outer space, and further in, to thesubatomic world.

The premise of science is that the physical world is real. Butrecent discoveries in physics are changing the way we viewreality. Modern physicists are beginning to discover what themystics have known for centuries — that what we see with oureyes is actually an illusion.

Atomic physicists study matter. For something to be calledmatter, it must be a physical object, made up of atoms. Virtuallyeverything we see and feel is matter.

Probing deeper into matter, atoms are made up of protons,neutrons, electrons, and empty space. Physicists study thesubatomic particles of atoms because they are the buildingblocks of matter and reality.

Before we investigate these building blocks, we mustconsider that they are actually only a tiny portion of physicalreality. It is quite enlightening when you realize how much ofwhat we see is really empty space. Everything — solid objects,water, and even air — is made up of atoms. The amazing thingabout this atom, which determines the hardness, thickness, color,and virtually everything about all we see, is that it is almostcompletely empty space!

Consider that the tiny atom is made up of a tiny nucleus inthe middle, and even smaller electrons spinning around thenucleus, just as planets orbit the sun. Everything between thenucleus and the electrons is empty space. How much of an atom


The Message That Comes From Everywhere 77

is empty space? In his book The Tao of Physics, nuclear physicistDr. Fritjof Capra explains that if an entire atom were the size ofan average room, the nucleus would be too small to see with thenaked eye, and the electrons are even smaller! The rest is emptyspace. If an atom was as large as the biggest dome in the world,St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome, the nucleus would only be as largeas a grain of sand.1 Again, the rest is empty space. Just think —the ocean, rocks, the Liberty Bell, even your own body, and yourown brain, is almost completely empty space!

It should be noted that while we call it “empty space,” it’sonly because we have no better name for it. Compared to thenucleus and electrons, little study has been made of the emptyspace, even though there is much more of it. It may be better tocall it “the unknown,” than empty space, because we reallyknow little about it. One could theorize that the empty space isnot empty space at all, and that in fact it is God. It truly iseverywhere, and while it is not a physical thing, it is in allphysical things, and the religions say the same about God.Perhaps this is an overly simplistic view. But even if theunknown empty space is God, we are still forced to wonderabout the physical components of the atom for many reasons.

Scientists believe in and study the minuscule particle we callthe atom, and rightfully so. They strive to understand what it ismade of. When we view the nucleus of an atom, we findsubatomic particles called protons and neutrons. In the 1970s Iwas taught in high school that protons and neutrons were thesmallest things there are. Since then, it’s been discovered that theprotons and neutrons are further made up of quarks. This wasone of the major discoveries of our time.

Why is it so important to keep probing deeper into matter todiscover the smallest building blocks? Because the more youknow about the building blocks, the more you know about thebuilding. If we can discover something about the smallestparticles that make up everything we see, maybe we will, ineffect, discover something about the nature of reality and whowe are.

1. Fritjof Capra, The Tao of Physics.



Until scientists reached the quarks, every building block theydiscovered conformed to certain standards — they were allphysical objects, but they just got smaller and smaller the deeperthey probed. When they reached the quarks, everythingchanged; the quarks are not normal physical objects. They existas “abstract probability waves.”1 They are the raw material foreverything we see (except of course for the 99.99% empty space),but they exist as waves, not as simple hard objects.

Think about this for a moment. We are used to looking atobjects and thinking that they are solid, but their solidity isactually an illusion. Not only are the objects almost completelyempty space, but even the rest of it — the .01% that’s left — is notreally solid either. Quarks reveal to us that the universe is notmade up of tiny things that make up larger things as wepreviously thought; instead everything “appears as acomplicated web of relations between the various parts of thewhole.”2 Quarks confirm what the religions have been telling us— that what we see with our eyes is an illusion in the truest senseof the word.

Capra tells us that as the scientist begins to study this, hestops feeling like he is studying something external to himself.He feels a certain connection to what he is studying. He is nolonger studying a foreign object, but instead he’s studyinghimself. In other words, Capra and many other modern physicistsare beginning to realize the oneness, the unity, of the Universe.

Unfortunately, it usually takes decades for the masspopulation to fully realize discoveries made by physicists in alaboratory. Hopefully, with books like The Tao of Physics, theInternet, and modern forms of communication, we can cut downon this lag time.

Clearly, in the ultimate reality, everything is very differentthan what we see. We think we are looking at a table or a car, andin reality it is virtually all empty space, filled with a mysteriousnothingness that is everywhere and connected to everything. Thetiny particles that make up the illusion we see are in fact notparticles. This is exactly the same thing the mystics of thereligions have been telling us for centuries — that physical realityis an illusion.

1. Ibid.2. Ibid, p. 57



Capra’s book is truly a landmark and should be read byanyone who doubts the spiritual nature of things. Below aresome relevant quotes from this book:

“... mystical thought provides a consistent and relevantphilosophical background to the theories of contemporaryscience.”

Tao of Physics, p.25

“This book ... attempts to suggest that modern physics goesfar beyond technology, that the way -- or Tao — of physicscan be a path with a heart, a way to spiritual knowledge andself-realization.”

Tao of Physics p.25

“The basic oneness of the universe is not only the centralcharacteristic of the mystical experience, but is also one of themost important revelations of modern physics. It becomesapparent at the atomic level, and manifests itself more andmore as one penetrates deeper into matter, down into therealm of subatomic particles.”

page 130-131

“In modern physics, the question of consciousness has arisenin connection with the observation of atomic phenomena.Quantum theory has made it clear that these phenomena canonly be understood as links in a chain of processes, the end ofwhich lies in the consciousness of the human observer.”

page 300

“In contrast to the mystic, the physicist begins his study ofthe essential nature of things by studying the material world.Penetrating into even deeper realms of matter, he has becomeaware of the essential unity of all things and events. Morethan that, he has also learned that he himself and hisconsciousness are an integral part of this unity. Thus themystic and the physicist arrive at the same conclusion; onestarting from the inner realm, the other from the outerworld.”

page 305

Dr. Capra is perhaps the first physicist to focus primarily onmaking these ideas known to common people. Another excellentintroduction to this subject is The New Story of Science, by RobertAugros and George Stanciu, written in 1984. These views are notrare among modern physicists, or strange ideas held by a few.



Rather, there is now agreement among many, if not most, of theworld’s greatest physicists, that our view of the materialisticworld has changed significantly in the last century. Unfortu-nately, most of us non-physicists haven’t heard yet, and those ofus that have don’t know exactly what to do about it. This isfinally changing.

Modern Physics Confirms the Existence of God

As today’s physicists are beginning to see that physicalreality is not the ultimate reality, it forces us to wonder what isthe real reality. The conclusion that many are coming to is clear:There is a mysterious “energy” or “force” pervading the entireUniverse. This “energy” is in everything there is. It is not aphysical object, like an atom, or an electron. It is something thatthe observer is mysteriously connected to, or a part of.

It is enlightening to hear the most prominent physicists in theworld talk about a mysterious energy. And it is even moreenlightening to hear them try to name it. Because of the strangeconnection to the energy that they feel when they are studying it,they often call it Mind, Consciousness, or even God.

This concept hit the physics scene nearly seventy years agoand continues to grow among the world’s greatest scientists. Itbegan with Eddington, Jeans, Max Planck, Einstein, Shrodinger,Neils Bohr, Heisenburg and other great physicists of the 20thcentury. This trend clearly is one of the most significant events inthe history of humankind.

Below are quotes from some of the most prominentphysicists of our time, and a few from spiritual leaders toreinforce this unity.

“The material world ... is in reality a Spiritual world. Theonly real world is the Spiritual world ... The truth is that notmatter, not any physical thing, but Mind is the central fact ofthe Universe.”

J.B.S. Haldane, physicist, Oxford University



“The nearest approach we have made thus far to theUltimate, in our analysis of Matter and of Energy, indicatesthat the Universal Reality is Mind.”

K.F. Mather, geologist, Harvard University

“Physics in the twentieth century has gradually replacedmaterialism with the affirmation that the mind plays anessential role in the universe .... The Old Story contained onlymatter and physical laws; the New Story of science mustcontain matter, physical laws, and mind.”

R. Augros and G. Stanciu1

“God is the Unifying Principle of the Universe.”Robert A Millikan, physicist, Pasadana Institute of Technology

“The basic tenet of materialism is that all reality consists ofmatter, a view fairly tolerable at the end of the last century.But much has happened in the meantime that discredits thisview.”

Physicist Henry Margenau2

“Transformation of the scientific viewpoint is particularlystriking in twentieth century quantum physics. ... What weperceive with our five senses is not ultimate reality. Forinstance, the inertness and solidity of matter are onlyillusions.”3

“The Universe begins to look more like a great thought than agreat machine.”

Sir James Jean, Cambridge, Princeton

“The baseball and the bat are mostly empty space. Theirsolidity is an illusion.”4

Timothy Ferris, physicist

“It was not possible to formulate the laws of quantummechanics in a fully consistent way without reference to theconsciousness.”

Eugene Wigner, physicist5

1. R. M. Augros and G. N. Stanciu, The New Story of Science, p.72. Ibid, p.xv3. Living Religions, p. 194. Timothy Ferris, The Creation of the Universe. (video) PBS5. The New Story of Science, p.6



“This world has no separate existence; it exists only in ourimagination.“

Sri Rama

“I maintain that cosmic religious feeling is the strongest andnoblest incitement to scientific research ... The most beautifuland profound emotion that we can experience is thesensation of the mystical. It is the sower of all true science ... ahuman being is part of a whole. He experiences himself, histhoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest --a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. ... Our taskmust be to free ourselves from this prison by widening ourcircle of compassion to embrace all living creatures, and thewhole of nature in its beauty.”

Albert Einstein1

“Something Unknown is doing we don’t know what — thatis what our theory amounts to ... Modern physics haseliminated the notion of substance ... Mind is the first andmost direct thing in our experience ... I regard Matter asderived from Consciousness.”

Eddington

“No theory of physics that deals only with physics will everexplain physics. I believe that as we go on trying tounderstand the universe, we are at the same time trying tounderstand man. Today I think that we are beginning tosuspect that man is not a tiny cog that doesn’t really makemuch difference ... but rather that there is a much moreintimate tie between man and the universe than weheretofore suspected ... the physical world is in some deepsense tied to the human being.”

Dr. John A. Wheeler

“Western science, long a bastion of religious skepticism, isnow confirming that there is far more to life than the materialworld that we touch and see with our normal senses ...Quantum physicist David Brohm suggests that the universeis multidimensional. The dimension that we see and think ofas ‘real’ is the explicate order, but behind it lies the implicateorder, in which separateness resolves into unbrokenwholeness.”2

1. Living Religions, p. 202. Living Religions, p. 17



“The theory of relativity has ... unified the great laws which,have won a proud place in human knowledge whichphysical science holds today. And yet ... this knowledge isonly an empty shell. It is knowledge of structural form, andnot knowledge of content. All through the physical worldruns that unknown content, which must surely be the stuff ofour consciousness. We have found a strange footprint on theshores of the unknown. We have devised theories, one afteranother, to account for its origin. At last, we have succeededin reconstructing the creature that made the footprint. Andlo! it is our own.

Arthur Eddington, physicist, Cambridge University

“All this, the object-world that we call ‘this,’ is made up ofThought.”

Manu-Smrti, the oldest living law book of the world, Hinduism

“There is no conflict between science and religion, betweenthe physical sciences and the science of spirituality. Bothhave the identical aim of discovering truth and helping manto grow mentally, physically, and spiritually, and achievefulfillment. But each by itself is insufficient and helpless. Thecombination today of the spiritual energies of these twocomplementary disciplines in the life of man will producefully integrated human beings, and evolve a complete humancivilization for which the world is ripe and waiting.”

Swami Ragananthananda1

“What a thrill it is to discover that the scientist too can believein the existence of the spirit!”

Wilder Penfield2

“I believe in God ... who reveals Himself in the orderlyharmony of the universe. I believe that Intelligence ismanifested throughout all nature.”

Albert Einstein

1. Science, Society, and the Scientific Attitude (lecture) Bangalore Univer-sity.

2. Wilder Penfield, Mystery of the Mind. Princeton University Press1975, p. 85



Psychology and ReligionEach branch of science studies a different aspect of nature, so

their approach, language, and focus varies, just as it does withthe religions. When we peel away these barriers, we find thatphysics is not the only branch of science that echoes the messageof the religions. As with physics, new discoveries in psychologyare causing people to contemplate some of the fundamentalquestions of our existence.

The last chapter ended with quotations coming from some ofthe most respected physicists in the world. Several referred to themind as the “central fact of the Universe,” or the “ultimatereality.” Webster’s dictionary tells us that psychology is thestudy of the mind, so it should be an important link in our study.

The physicists tell us that mind is the center of the universe.But the world doesn’t seem “unified” like they say, and ourminds seem to exist in our heads, not everywhere. Are thereperhaps aspects of our minds of which we are not aware? Thecutting edge of modern psychology reveals that we have onlybegun to understand the capabilities and aspects of the mind.

Coincidence or Psychic Ability?

For centuries, the conventional wisdom has been that themind is essentially the same thing as a brain. We assume that wehave tapped most of the abilities of our minds. Cutting edgescientific research shows us that both of these assumptions arefalse.

If mind = brain, then it would be impossible to knowanything that was not either learned or directly experienced. Itwould be impossible to know what someone else is thinkingunless they told you. It would be impossible to “feel” that thephone is about to ring, or even know who is calling. We allexperience “coincidences” like these that surprise us, but we aretaught to pass them off as chance events, inevitable in the myriadof experiences we have. Every once in a while, one will happenthat is so outrageous that it almost couldn’t be a coincidence, buteven then, we still manage to pass it off as one.

If we were to prove that these are not coincidences, but trueevents where something is communicated to our minds, then



this would surely show us that we have much to learn, and thatour minds are in fact more than just our brains. Even if it wereshown that one single person had this ability and could prove itin a laboratory, we would know there is a vast world of psychicability that needs to be investigated. More than that, it wouldshow us that there is a part of us that is beyond the physical bodyand brain.

The coincidences we experience seem small and are easy topass off because we do not know of any such laboratories orscientific studies that show psychic abilities to be real. But suchstudies have been conducted and the evidence is quiteconvincing.

Science demands proof and evidence, and we must go beyondtelevision talk shows that feature psychics who have seen thefuture. We must go to laboratories in universities wherestandardized and recognized scientific methods are used.

It is not very often that the scientific method has been turnedtowards the question of psychic ability. Many scientists areafraid to engage in such activities because they may be labeled asa “wacko.” Still, some open minded scientists have been willingto see what happens when we study the powers of the mindobjectively.

One such study was conducted at Stanford Research Institute(SRI). Researchers conducted simple “bullet proof” experimentswhere one subject is locked in a soundproof room, and anothersubject draws or chooses a “target” drawing on a piece of paperin another room. Several varieties of this experiment wereconducted, all with extreme precautions taken to prevent thesubject from knowing what the target was. Virtually all theexperiments showed that the subject was able to describe (orsometimes draw) the target with amazing accuracy.

It’s clear that the experiment was a success when one simplylooks at some of the drawings the subjects made. Here are just afew.



In another study at Davis University, the StatisticsDepartment used statistical formulas to calculate the possibilitythat results like these are mere coincidence. Their conclusionsstate simply that they could not be coincidences:

“...These evaluations were commissioned by the AmericanInstitutes for Research (AIR) at the request of Congress andthe Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The purpose was toassess the validity of psychic functioning and its potentialapplications...“...Using the standards applied to any other area of science, itis concluded that psychic functioning has been wellestablished. The statistical results of the studies examined arefar beyond what is expected by chance. Arguments that theseresults could be due to methodological flaws in theexperiments are soundly refuted. Effects of a magnitudesimilar to those found in government-sponsored research atSRI and SAIC have been replicated at a number of labora-

Target

Response

Target

Response

courtesy of Uri Gellerwww.urigeller.com

Target

Target

Response

ResponseTarget



tories around the world. Such consistency cannot be readilyexplained by claims of flaws or fraud...“...There is little benefit in continuing experiments designedto offer proof, since there is little more to be offered to anyonewho does not accept the current collection of data.

Jessica Utts, Division of Statistics, University of California, Davis

If a person knows what is on a piece of paper in anotherroom, then either their mind “reached” into the other room, orthe person who was looking at the picture expanded their mindto “send a message.” Either way, the mind has to “stretch”outside of the body. Or better yet, maybe the mind is a universalthing that already exists everywhere, and the subject just knewhow to tap into this aspect of the mind. This is exactly what thephysicists are telling us.

Another study was conducted in the 1930s by WilderPenfield. He discovered by accident that when a patient wasconscious during brain surgery and parts of his brain werestimulated, he would vividly remember long forgottenmemories. At first Penfield was amazed, but then he studiedhundreds of patients and was able to map many areas of thebrain and their functions. He was able to apply electrodes tovarious parts and turn them on and off. For example, he couldapply a certain type of electrode to the speech part of the brainand the person would not be able to speak. No matter what hedid, the patient was always able to report during or afterwardsan awareness of being blocked in these areas.

When he tried to find the location of the mind, he was unableto. His studies led him to conclude that the mind was not locatedanywhere inside the brain, and that while the brain is the organof sensation, feeling, and memory, it is not the organ of intellector free will.1 He said, “There is no place in the cerebral cortexwhere electrical stimulation will cause a patient to believe ordecide.” His lifelong study of the brain led him to the conclusionthat the mind is something beyond the brain.

1. The New Story of Science, p. 24-30



“Expecting the mind to be found in some part of the brain, orin the whole brain, is like expecting the programmer to bepart of the computer ... The mind may be a distinct anddifferent essence from the body.”

The New Story of Science, p. 34

Penfield’s quest to better understand the brain, and theresearch done at Stanford and Davis Universities both tell us onething: the mind is not the same as the brain. And they confirmwhat modern physicists are discovering — that the mind is muchmore than the brain; in fact, it pervades the entire universe. Thisis a confirmation of what the religions have been telling us —there is an aspect of us that is much more than the body; there isa part of us that is connected to, or a part of, the entire universe.

The Conscious and Subconscious Minds

One of the great advances of modern psychology is thediscovery of the subconscious and unconscious minds. Psychol-ogists will speak in terms of the conscious, unconscious andsubconscious minds, but for the most part, there is littleagreement as to what they are exactly. There is agreement thatthe conscious mind is your waking mind, or “what you arethinking about” at the moment. There is much less agreement onthe differences concerning the subconscious and theunconscious. Because of this, and to save ink, this book will usethe word “subconscious mind” to refer to both the sub and unconscious parts.

What exactly is the subconscious mind? It is that aspect ofour mind of which we don’t have direct awareness. It controlsour breathing and heartbeat, through the involuntary nervoussystem, and it stores our past memories as well. We call itsubconscious because we know it’s there, but we can’t access it aseasily as we can our conscious mind; it is below the surface.

For example, you know it is easy to access your consciousmind because it takes no effort to report what you are thinkingabout or what you see and feel at this moment. But if someoneasked you to report what you had for breakfast two weeks ago, itwould not be easy. Still, this information is stored somewhere,and with some effort you can remember facts like these.



Likewise, we have little or no awareness of the mechanism thatcontrols our heartbeat or breathing rate. But we know that witheffort, anyone can control these processes. Because our pastmemories and many body functions are not in our consciousawareness, but are there “somewhere,” we call it the subcon-scious mind.

Psychologists lately are fascinated with the subconsciousmind. With new tools and techniques, they have found it to be avast storehouse of information, and an incredibly powerfulaspect of our being. Not only does it control our heart rate, but itcan also affect how we think and feel about ourselves. Onepowerful tool that psychologists have used to discover andutilize the subconscious mind is hypnosis.

Hypnosis

This subconscious mind houses a memory of virtuallyeverything that has ever happened to us in our entire lives. Brainsurgeons have found that if certain parts of the brain aretouched, details of age-old memories can arise1 that can’totherwise be accessed. It’s too bad that you have to be in brainsurgery and have the doctor touch your brain to access yoursubconscious mind.

Luckily, that’s not the case — brain surgery is not the onlyway to contact the subconscious mind. Hypnosis, by definition,is a way to contact and communicate with the subconscious.While in a hypnotic state, people are able to access long forgottenmemories vividly. With self-hypnosis, people can trainthemselves to access the depths of their own minds withoutassistance from paid professionals. Several books on self-hypnosis are available in bookstores and libraries; some arelisted in the suggested reading list at the end of this book.

Giving commands to your subconscious mind duringhypnosis is so powerful that you can actually overcome what isnormally thought impossible. For example, some doctors nowuse hypnosis instead of anesthesia for surgery. Women have

1. First discovered in 1933 by Wilder Penfield, and further discussed in his book, The Mystery of the Mind, 1975, Princeton University Press



been able to stay awake (actually in the hypnotic state) andwatch the cesarean birth of their children. While no pain is felt,no drugs are needed for anesthesia, and therefore no drugs enterthe baby’s body.

In short, hypnosis is a branch of psychology that shows usthat we can access parts of our mind that we normally can’t. Andif there is an aspect of our minds that is the “universal reality,” asthe physicists (and religious mystics) say, then it must bethrough contacting these deeper parts of our mind, withpractices such as hypnosis, that we can realize this universalreality.

While most psychologists acknowledge that hypnosis is real,many people outside the scientific community haven’t beenconvinced. People think that hypnosis is when subjects are toldthey are a duck, and they quack around on the stage. When thisis one’s only exposure to hypnosis, the real power of hypnosis ismissed. And while many people don’t think hypnosis is evenreal, it has long been scientifically proven.

One way it has been proven is with the study of brain waves.If you view the brain waves of a person in their normal state, youwill see a certain type of brain waves. And if you view the brainwaves of a sleeping person, you will view a different type ofbrain waves. For a long time, it was thought that these were theonly types of brain waves, and the existence of hypnosis wasthen open for debate. But it was then discovered that whenpeople are in the state of hypnosis, that they emit a third anddifferent type of brain waves. And when these brain waves areexperienced, the amazing benefits of the hypnotic state can beutilized. This discovery of the new types of brain wavesessentially ended the question of the existence of hypnosis, and itopened the door to a world which we are only beginning tounderstand.

But what exactly does hypnosis and psychology have to dowith the unity of science and religion? Could it be possible thatwhat we learned in the scriptures has any connection to whatpsychology students learn in their classrooms? Let us look alittle more closely at the subject of brain waves.

It has been determined that the brain emits minute electricalimpulses that can be detected with painless sensors, and viewedwith an EEG machine. The impulses are measured in pulses persecond (cps). Current research tells us that there are actually four



different states of awareness, or consciousness, and each isassociated with its own cps. The four states have been giventhese names:

beta: 14 cps or more. This is the normal “waking” stateyou are probably in now.

alpha: 7-14 cps. Hypnosis, meditation, and heavy day-dreaming.

theta: 4-7 cps. Light sleep.

delta: 3-4 cps. Deep sleep.

It used to be thought that if a person was awake, they wouldalways be in the beta state. We now know of the existence of thealpha state, which is associated with the breakdown of the wallbetween the subconscious and conscious mind. This is when aperson is awake, but their body and mind are completelyrelaxed, and the brain waves actually change.

It is quite interesting that the brainwaves associated withdeep meditation (a religious practice) are similar to those of thehypnotic state (a scientific practice). If we take a look at what thespiritual world is telling us about meditation, they are telling usthe benefits — reduced stress, a better sense of well being, afeeling of wholeness. And if we look at any of the many books onthe benefits of self-hypnosis, we find almost the same benefits.Could it be that people practicing self-hypnosis (science/psychology) and those practicing meditation (religion) arereaching the same state, but using different words to describe theprocess, and using slightly different methods? Does it not seemthat hypnosis and meditation are extremely similar practices thatshow an important link between science and religion? This is yetanother example of how two seemingly different fields of studycan teach the same lessons, but use their own language andterminology. Unfortunately, this language barrier preventsmany of us from seeing the parallels. But if we are aware of thelanguage barrier, and we try to see through it, we are given agreat reward.

While we have been discussing hypnosis and psychology inrather theoretical terms, let us move now to a specific exampleand tell a true story of how hypnosis can and does havepowerful uses.



The Incredible Story of Edgar Cayce

One of the best examples of how psychology and hypnosisare connected to religion and spirituality is the case of EdgarCayce. His story is true and documented by countless newspaperarticles from his time, as well as books and personal accountsfrom people who knew him.

Edgar Cayce’s life began as a somewhat typical person, untilhe was taught self-hypnosis as a last ditch effort to cure him of anunexplained illness which damaged his vocal cords and left himspeechless. The doctors spoke to him under hypnosis, and heanswered back in a clear voice, giving a detailed diagnosis of hiscondition, and suggestions for treatment. When he returned tonormal consciousness, he could not speak again, but thesuggestions were followed and he got well. So far, this seemedlike a fairly common application of hypnosis — accessing thesubconscious mind to find buried or deep information that canhelp the subject. Psychologists and hypnotherapists still usehypnosis like this today.

But Edgar didn’t stop there with his use of self-hypnosis. Hecontinued the practice even after his throat was cured, and soondiscovered that he could enter the hypnotic state and provideuseful suggestions for other people as well. It wasn’t long untildoctors in his area were bringing their toughest cases to him, andhe would enter the self-hypnotic state and diagnose the problemwith success. In 1910, the New York Times carried two pages ofheadlines and pictures in which he was declared the “World’sMost Mysterious Man,” and soon newspapers all over thecountry wrote about him. People with incurable diseases werecoming from far distances to get a reading, and follow histreatment suggestions. Even though this process was mysterious,Edgar was not regarded as a witch doctor or fortune teller, andhe was using a scientifically accepted method.

The cures usually involved some combination of a change ofdiet, an herbal remedy, and a change in attitude towards life.Sickness was seen as an opportunity to learn and grow. It wassoon found that the patient didn’t even have to be in the roomwith Cayce. All someone had to do was tell Edgar the name ofthe patient and where he or she lived. Edgar would then enter



the hypnotic state and be able to give a concise diagnosis andtreatment.

Everything changed when a curious person asked Edgar foran astrological reading. Towards the end of the session, he saidsomething that was completely unexpected — he made areference to reincarnation, telling the subject he had a previouslife. When he returned to his normal state, and people told himwhat he said, he was distraught. Being a devout Christian, hehad been led to believe that reincarnation was a false belief. Still,everything that came out of his sessions worked so far. Beingperplexed, he decided to go back and read the Bible and try tocome to a conclusion. After intense study, he concluded thatreincarnation can be accepted in terms of the Bible, and isactually a useful tool in spiritual development. In furthersessions, he reported much about the soul and other spiritualideas.

Edgar didn’t write any books himself, but all of his sessionswere recorded (on paper) and many books have been writtenbased on these documents. One important idea that he discussedin his sessions is that there is a special, non-literal, way ofreading the Bible. The key to this special way is to understand allthe characters, towns, and cities, not as external to you, butrather as aspects within you, or parts of your personality.

The life story of Edgar Cayce, and his experience with self-hypnosis is really only one example of how the study ofpsychology leads to the spiritual realm. The story shows us thatthere is more to us than skin and bones. In order for Edgar toreceive information about other people while in hypnosis, therehas to be something beyond the brain, beyond the cells in ourbodies, that connects us to the entire universe. People who havestudied Edgar’s life say that when he was in the hypnotic state,he tapped into the “Universal Mind.” This is none other than thesame Universal Mind that the physicists are recently describing,and mystics have talked about for centuries.



Psychology and Healing

The field of healing is changing so quickly that it’s hard tokeep up. New drugs, new treatments, new discoveries, and newstudies are reported daily. One of the most significant trends inthese reports the focus on self-healing.

There are hundreds of books today on self-help, whether it befor medical or emotional problems. Several scientific studieshave shown that people with terminal diseases can live longer ifthey learn to meditate, relax more, practice self-hypnosis, changetheir diet, and have a different attitude on life. These types oftreatments are used with or without traditional treatments likedrugs and surgery, but always seem to have a measurable affect.They show us that we have a power within us that is greatlyuntapped. Many doctors are recommending them to patients,sometimes even prescribing them.

To view the cutting edge of any industry or field of study, itis often useful to go to a good bookstore and just browse throughthe titles of a section. When you see several books written on thesame subject, you can figure there’s something to it. Anyone whobrowses the Psychology or Self-help section in a good book storetoday will find there is a revolution going on in the psychologyfield. Below is a short list of books (only those written by doctors)that I found in just one or two bookstores.

• Healing the Child Within by Dr. Charles Whitfield M.D.• Recovery of Your Inner Child by Lucia Capacchione Ph.D.• You'll See It When You Believe It by Dr. Wayne Dyer• The Magical Child Within You by Dr. Bruce Davis M.D.• Energy Within by Dr. Richard Chin M.D.• To Discover Your Inner Story by Dr. David Feinstein Ph.D.• Dance of the Selves, Uniting the Male & Female Within by Dr. Lorreta

Ferrier Ph.D.• Finding the Fountain of Youth Within Yourself by Dr. Shad Helmstetter

Ph.D.• You and Your Grown Up Child by Dr. Howard Halpern Ph.D.• The Discovery of the Power of Self-Hypnosis by Dr. Stanley Halpern

Ph.D.• Closer to the Light by Dr. Melvin Morse M.D.• Life After Life by Dr. Raymond Moody Jr. M.D.• Inner Joy by Dr. Harold Bloomfield Ph.D.• Love is the Answer by Dr. Gerald G. Jampolsky M.D. and Diane V.

Cirincione



• The Tao of Time by Dr. Diana Hunt Ph.D.• The Magic Power of Self Imagery Psychology by Dr. Maxwell Maltz

M.D.• Different Drum, A Spiritual Journey Toward Self Acceptance, True

Belonging, and New Hope for the World by Dr. M. Scott Peck M.D.• Beyond Medicine, the Facts About Unorthodox Treatment and Psychic

Healing by Dr. Hans Hozler Ph.D.• The Search For the Real Self by Dr. James Materson Ph.D.• The Power of Your Subconscious Mind by Dr. Joseph Murphy D.R.S.,

Ph.D., D.D., L.L.D.• Finding the Calm Within You by Dr. Keith Sedlacek M.D.• The Complete Book of Self Hypnosis by Dr. John Yates M.D. and Eliz.

Wallace• Living Beyond Fear by Dr. Jeanne Segal, Ph.D.• Peace, Love, and Healing by Dr. Bernie Siegel M.D.• Journey of the Heart by Dr. John Welwood, Ph.D.• An Action Plan for Your Inner Child by Dr. Laurie Weiss, M.A.• Healing From Within by Dr. Dennis Jaffe, Ph.D.• Love, Medicine, and Miracles by Dr. Bernie Siegel M.D.• Astrology and the Tarot by Dr. A. E. Thierens Ph.D.• Parapsychology by Dr. Richard S. Broughton Ph.D.• Recovering the Soul: A Scientific and Spiritual Search by Dr. Larry

Dossey M.D.• The I That Is We by Dr. Richard Moss M.D.• Channeling by Dr. Katherine Ridall Ph.D.• Healing States by Dr. Albert Vilaldo Ph.D. and Dr. Stanley Kippner

Ph.D.

Obviously, interesting patterns are developing in the medicaland psychology fields. Many doctors are coming out andblatantly talking about spiritual matters in scientific terms.Beyond that simple conclusion, the book titles reflect a fewtrends now very prevalent:

• Self Healing• Hypnosis and Self-Hypnosis• The Inner Child

The Inner Child

A complete discussion of the inner child is beyond the scopeof this book but it is obvious just by reading the book titlesavailable today that there is a new concept of the inner child.



The inner child is seen as part of the subconscious mind —like past memories, it is there, but it takes effort to contact andutilize it. Psychologists tell us that it has useful informationabout us, including memories of pain we felt as children, oftenthat was not completely processed at the time.

The subject of the inner child is another example of howreligion and psychology are coming together. When we compareit to two of Jesus’ most famous sayings, the connection is clear:

“The Kingdom of God is within you.”

“Unless ye be as little children, ye will not enter the Kingdomof God.”

The key words in these two statements are within and child,and Jesus is saying that the inner child is somehow connected tothe Kingdom of God. It is no coincidence that Jesus spoke of theinner child two thousand years ago, and psychologists aretalking about an inner child today.

Scientific Evidence of the Soul

We’ve seen how all the religions tell us we have an eternalsoul that survives death. But is there any scientific evidence forthis? Unfortunately it’s not easy to set up experiments to test thistheory, but there is data to consider.

Some people have actually been clinically dead for severalminutes and have lived to tell about it. The scientific data toconsider in this situation is the hospital reports of their condition,and the personal accounts of what happened during the timetheir bodies lay dead. The hospital reports are clear: on severaloccasions, people definitely died. It was not a case of a doctorreporting the death prematurely. In some cases, there was noheartbeat or brain activity for a half hour or more.

What are people’s personal accounts of these experiences?The similarities are remarkable. Virtually everyone whoexperiences a “near death experience” (NDE) reports a feeling ofleaving the body, and being able to see their body from anexternal viewpoint. Most people report a feeling of peace andeventually coming to a light.



Another thing to consider is that there are many accounts ofpeople contacting their deceased loved ones through trainedpsychics. Often the psychic can relay information from the deadrelatives that could not possibly be known unless contact wastruly made. When we hear these stories it’s easy to pass them offas trickery and not even investigate their validity. But if we openour minds, there’s a lot of evidence that is difficult to ignore.When we take into account the other psychic abilities that havebeen clearly demonstrated in scientific laboratories, perhaps it’snot so difficult to consider this also to be true.

There are many books available today which scientificallyinvestigate NDEs and psychic contacts. Kenneth Ring, PhD, isone author who has done extensive research into NDEs. A trip tothe library or bookstore is recommended for anyone who wishesto investigate this interesting subject.

The Search for Truth is One

People in all branches of study are searching for truth. Themystics search for the truth with faith and spiritual practices.Psychologists and physicists use the scientific method. Physicists(and astronomers) search the outer world. Psychologists searchthe inner world of the brain and the mind. All are arriving at thesame place.

This “place” where everyone is arriving is called knowledge ofthe unity of the universe. This is the exact same knowledge, thespiritual knowledge, that the religions tell us we can choose toseek, as described in Chapter 4. Physicists find the UniversalMind and know that they are connected to it. Psychologists studyself-healing, the inner child, hypnosis, and psychic abilities, andfind the mind has latent powers that somehow connect us to theUniverse. Mystics tell us to look within and find our onenesswith God. It is all the same — a message for any of us to hear.

But beware! Mystics warn us that it is a trap to say, “I knowthat we are all one and I’m one with God,” and think that we’vefound the holy grail. The words mean nothing to us until webegin to search ourselves. There is a difference between knowingand Knowing. To really Know, we need no medical degree, nomillion dollar grant for subatomic particle research, and no



lifetime membership in an esoteric cult. We only need an openmind, and a desire to learn.

The religions and sciences are some of the best places to turnfor assistance. But any single place to find knowledge has itsgaps, missing pieces, and even traps. Each religion came at acertain time and was perfectly shaped for the people that itneeded to help or teach. But in many cases they are difficult forus to understand today, and some of the original teachings of thereligions have been lost or changed. Likewise, it is often difficultto keep up-to-date with modern science and its terminology.

As religions were tailored to their times, new informationcoming to us today, in our language, and focusing on theteachings that are relevant to our world. They give us new waysto understand and integrate the teachings of the ancient religionsinto our lives, which can give us insight and fulfillment.Whatever source of teachings are being used, be it ancientreligion, modern science, or new age philosophy, it is importantto remember that no single teaching is the only correct one.

The ancient religions have told us of the spiritual nature ofthe universe. Modern science is confirming this. In the nextchapter, the two are somewhat combined, as we find the moderntool of archeology has been used to dispel some of the miscon-ceptions of the religions. Recent discoveries and translations ofancient Christian and Hebrew texts are shedding new light onthe origins of these religions, and the very teachings that theycontain.


Documents

The Message That Comes From Everywhere · 76 Science and Religion that covers the truth. In Eastern religion, it is really a central teaching, that the physical world is an illusion,