Matter and mind through the ontological perspective of Idealism and the nature of ultimate reality, questioning the reductive materialist viewpoint in order to enliven a new paradigm of thinking, doing and being in the world.
sculpture - Antony Gormley
When the self is relieved of all limitations superimposed upon it by thought, it is revealed as pure awareness. When the world is relieved of all superimposed limitations, it is revealed as pure being. These two are identical and we are that.
MATTER, MIND AND THE NATURE OF ULTIMATE REALITY
Idealism - the philosophy that consciousness is the primary 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. Hence it concludes 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 conditioned believe, underscored and fed by our cultures' 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 or agency of consciousness.
Seeing oneself from this higher perspective liberates us from the demands of the separate entity 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 believe and habitual activities of a fictitious separate self that is the driver of the fragmented human condition.
• In each moment, we are immersed in a field of undifferentiated matter from which our senses gather bits of information. The outside universe we perceive doesn’t exist as such. Through a series of electrical and chemical reactions, we perceive, filter, and collect data, then curate an experience for ourselves and others based on this information set. Whether we do this consciously or unconsciously, by the mere fact of being alive, we are active participants in the ongoing process of creation.
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 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.
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 a bit more sophisticated and grounded in reality.
These fundamental truths which analytical idealism points to are also reflected in the non-dual understanding which originated from Indian philosophy that investigates and explores the nature of reality.
Installation: OPEN - Olafur Eliasson
The mind, a kaleidoscope of thinking and perceiving, colours infinite being and makes it appear as the world.
"Changing the world by changing the way you experience the world".
– OLAFUR ELIASSON
NON-DUAL UNDERSTANDING
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 in living harmoniously with nature. This disenchantment has left us with a hunger for spirituality, purpose and meaning.
From the human perspective, 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. 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 question of duality and non-duality goes to the heart of all of our experiences. It is essentially a question about whether we find the right reasons for making wise choices instead of settling for a limited compromised outlook in which we feel unbeholden to any higher sense of who we are and what we are worth. It inspires a spiritual redefinition of individuality, our participatory authentic expression within the whole gestalt. As individuals we can value our differences regardless of nationality, gender, ethnicity, creed or religion, and yet still recognise ourselves as integral to a whole that belongs to us as much as we belong to it.
"The way mind makes meaning shapes reality . . . your ecology of knowledge is basically to create wisdom". As manifestations within consciousness it is embedded in reality, the cosmic itself, the earth itself, and we are expressions of that.
In recognising our true nature as the one infinite indivisible being that we all share, we can aspire to re-orchestrate all aspects of our lives in alignment with this new understanding through the body/mind as its vehicle, an alchemical vessel. As spiritual beings having a human experience, we hold a different energy, - a proponent of the spiritual arts so to speak.
As David Bohm's profound body of work teaches us; - "true creativity must reach beyond the boundaries of our entire framework of thinking in order to discover something not bound by that". We are the artist.
In that way our lives become a work of art in progress.
The real work of the artist is a way of being in the world.
We can use these tools of duality and explore its whole palette of colours to create an eternal masterwork of the supreme human art, that of transcendence; - making meaning out of chaos, beauty out of sorrow where our stories becomes the very reason for its vitality.
