Blog # 52--Does The Universe Exist?

Practically every person on Earth assumes the Universe and everything in it is real. Scientists base their research on this assumption, and religious leaders adapt spiritual teachings to fit their perspectives of reality. However, recent research continues to cast doubt on the beliefs of both groups.

Lisa Zyga wrote an article called “No Big Bang? Quantum equation predicts universe has no beginning,” which appeared February 9, 2015 on the Internet website Phys.org. Her article is based on research by scientists in Egypt and Canada who collaborated to devise a new theory to explain what the Universe is and how it works. The research is far too complex for this writer to describe for a lay audience, but their results offer interesting and potentially provocative conclusions.

In summary, the new theory says the Universe has no beginning or ending, existing eternally. Since a majority of scientists have assumed the veracity of the Big Bang theory as to the origin of the Universe, such a conclusion must raise their shackles considerably. All religions and cultures throughout history have developed their own creation stories, and their credibility is also at stake.

As I wrote in my book “It’s a Secret, So Pass It On: a Toolbox For Life,” I experienced an explosion of awareness that showed me three stories, all of which are variations on the same theme. One was a scientific explanation for what happened once the Big Bang occurred, changing a dense singularity into a vast Universe. Another was the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis of the Judeo-Christian Bible. Our individual conception and development from a fetus onward also follows the same basic story line. Does this new research discredit my book?

Not at all. When I had my explosion, I broke through the barrier of the beginning of time to see the “stillness and darkness before time began,” as author C. S. Lewis eloquently described in his book “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.” This insight proved to me there is an eternal existence which preceded any notion of an exploding universe. It also pointed out how finite concepts like births and deaths, beginnings and endings, have no meaning in eternity.

I knew I had to perform two opposite functions while writing my book. One, I had to correct misperceptions many people have about themselves and their world and expose them to concepts that are consistent with the notion the Universe is real but are unknown to them. Then I had to remind them of the possibility everything we perceive with our bodily senses is an illusion.

Scientists keep looking for the original building blocks of the Universe. They assume the Universe is real when devising their research. They look for particles within particles to see what came first. But after each success finding smaller and smaller particles, the same question follows: is this the beginning, or did something else precede it? That’s two interesting questions, but a third question must also be asked: what if the Universe began as nothing?

Can something evolve from nothing? We will undoubtedly assume so since we believe the Universe is real. But if it came from nothing, then a logical conclusion might be that the Universe is an illusion that we all agree to believe is real. Psychologist Carl Jung called this the “collective unconscious,” a stereotype we all accept as real.

Could we all be guilty of self-deception? This possibility is becoming more likely with each passing year. Of course, our egos attack any theory or proof that discredits what we want to believe. Many scientists fear a loss of credibility and livelihood if their work is based on false pretenses. Many religious leaders attack scientists and others who appear to minimize the value of their teachings. It may take many hundreds of years before a majority of people adapt to infinite rather than finite concepts.

I wish to assure both groups that they are still important in the grand scheme of things. There may be no way to prove an absolute, eternal truth while constrained by the limits and distortions of a three-dimensional model. But there also is no way to prove that present assumptions by the general public are correct either, especially since we can’t always trust our ability to see, hear, smell, taste and touch accurately.

Everyone shares part of the truth. Perhaps if we put our collective heads together for the betterment of all concerned, we will discover the world that awaits us once we let go of our three-dimensional crutch. I believe it is far more beautiful, loving and exciting than anything we experience on Earth.

Certainly, scientists will have to adapt their understanding to fit the new model, and religious leaders will have to figure out which of their teachings are consistent with the new model and which need to be adapted. Neither group need lose faith in themselves and their beliefs just because a few adaptations are required.

Do we want to know the realities of our eternal existence and who we really are, or shall we continue to settle for limited beliefs that soothe us with their repetitiveness? That is something we must all decide for ourselves.

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