As I wade through all of the writings and findings in the fields of science and spirituality, there is one belief that remains strong in me: there is, at the beginning and at the end, no inherent “self”. This has been the most difficult truth for me to come to terms with; alas, it seems to be the truth that the majority of us have the most problem with accepting. Denying the self, from our individualistic point view, seems to be to deny our very existence.

My belief, and a belief that is the foundation of many spiritual movements, is that there is no true self because we are all made up of the same stuff; the way that our brain perceives the stimuli around it gives us a false sense of individualism. I believe the universe to work as a layered mechanism with space-time, mass and matter and consciousness laying one on top of the other so that the whole of each comes into contact with the whole of both others. To say this is to imply that a rock has as much consciousness as I do; it simply doesn’t have the biological makeup to know it.

I exemplify this point of view when I discuss with my wife and family by taking three separate sheets of paper and holding them flat together between my open palms, moving them slowly against one another. Each sheet of paper represents the three “dimensions” (I use the word loosely) to the universe as I believe it exists: space-time, mass and matter and consciousness. The pool of consciousness that gives us the ability to be aware of the fact that we are aware exists in all things sentient and non-sentient that we see around us.

None of this is meant to take away from the fantastical fact that single-celled organisms managed to evolve into beings with a neurological system that allows them to perceive the world around them and to know it; whether one believes that our awareness comes from a pool or a monotheistic god, there is no denying our biological greatness. It does mean, however, that in order to continue along our path towards the best enlightenment that we can achieve, we have to give up our sense of self innately and begin to realize that everything and everyone around us are as native to our awareness as we ourselves are.

More on the steps you can take as you shift your worldview to help to ease the change tomorrow.

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