A Theory of Everything
In mid 2004, just weeks after leaving the corporate world and while travelling in Thailand, I experienced my first epiphany. An epiphany, the way I define it, is a sudden, powerful, and often life-changing realisation that someone experiences in an otherwise ordinary moment. It is a flash of extreme inspiration in which a previously worrying concern suddenly makes perfect sense.
At the time, while riding a wave of intense emotion which is difficult to fully explain, I wrote How to Find the Purpose of Your Life. This was the first (extremely tentative) step on what I knew would become a journey of discovery.
Since then I’ve adopted The Triangular Theory of Consciousness - a phrase coined by Dr Ian Weinberg in ‘Quantum-determinism – an Integrative Model of Holistic Consciousness’. Published in Quantum Leap, Sygma Books, 1998.
Layman’s Summary: All themes of knowledge can be summarised. Imagine the tip of a pyramid as being the core teachings of any particular discipline. The discerning thinker genuinely seeking wisdom accepts all the proven peaks (even if contrary to personal beliefs) and amalgamates all these nuggets of understanding into a life paradigm. This approach leverages the results/outcomes of all prior research, learning and understanding, and is a skill very difficult to master, since we most often require proof before embracing or believing anything. In embracing all these peaks, a new paradigm is created, which then becomes simply another peak to be added to an ever-expanding life paradigm.
The outcome of this method of disciplined thinking has paid handsome dividends, and I’ve enjoyed a number of subsequent epiphanies, but none to compare to the first.
Until today.
Over the past few weeks (actually ever since my 41st birthday) I’ve been woken at around 3:00 every morning with the most profound thoughts about what’s wrong in the world and what can be done to improve things. I’ve been keeping notes, many of which didn’t really make sense at the time. But I awoke again this morning with another profound epiphany.
Allow me to try and explain.
A Theory of Everything is traditionally an ultimate, all-encompassing explanation of nature or reality. It tries to explain how life works. My criticism of all previous theories I’ve seen have been that they are of no earthly use to the average man-in-the-street. They might withstand the test of scientific or philosophical debate, but they cannot help us make sense of life in this messed up world.
My requirement for a Simple Theory of Everything is essentially a framework in which anything can be explained. Any current challenge facing us in the 21st Century should be explainable within one simple paradigm.
It’s now been revealed to me a way to explain our current world problems, as well as anything which fits into any of the following categories:
- Geopolitics
- Global economics
- Philosophy
- Science
- Philanthropy
- Ancient and modern history
- Religion, spirituality and enlightenment
- Metaphysics
- Technology
- Purpose and meaning
- East and West
- Evolution
- The future
This theory is simple, easy to understand and seems to make perfect sense in every test I’ve run.
Over the next few weeks and months I’ll be testing this theory with friends and family. If it withstands their skeptical scrutiny I can sense a book coming on. Watch this space…
Related
My Big TOE. This trilogy has come closest to meeting my criteria of a simple theory, but cannot explain what we can expect in future.
Quantum Gnostics. With the convergence of the spheres of science, philosophy and spirituality there emerges a new informed belief. This was one of the early articles that started the thought process of combining key learnings from every discipline.
The Quantum Bible. An integration of various religious beliefs and texts.
“Science and religion are two windows that people look through, trying to understand the big universe outside, trying to understand why we are here. The two windows give different views, but they look out at the same universe. Both views are one-sided, neither is complete. Both leave out essential features of the real world. And both are worthy of respect.
“Trouble arises when either science or religion claim universal jurisdiction, when either religious dogma or scientific dogma claims to be infallible. Religious creationists and scientific materialists are equally dogmatic and insensitive. By their arrogance they bring both science and religion into disrepute.” – Science and Religion as Partners, Freeman Dyson
Wait, There's More!
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Comments (5 comments)
Hi Michael,
“Any current challenge facing us in the 21st Century should be explainable within one simple paradigm.
“I believe I’ve now found a way to explain anything which fits into any of the following categories…”
This sounds very similar to the background story about how Hubbard ended up writing Dianetics
Eamonn / November 17th, 2007, 8:49 am
There is no doubt that thousands before, and thousands more will reach the same point of ‘knowingness’. However, my theory is a little different to anything I’ve seen previously, since it does not propose a solution.
My concern with all previous solutions is that they stem from a single individual who has a particular mindset, or paradigm - this is how cults have formed in the past.
My theory starts with the premise that all of collective humanity is God/Source (or whatever you want to call it) and that each individual possesses only a part of the solution. Only when we denounce separatism, which in itself is a significant challenge, can we start defining a solution. In essence, every human on planet earth needs to bring their piece of the jigsaw puzzle to the table. Until then, we will chase from solution to solution, never reaching a meaningful outcome.
Dianetics (and every other methodology/thought process/religion/mindset) are not THE solution, they are a part, albeit an important part, of the total solution we really need. Only when every competing belief system comes together with the dogmatic elements of their philosophies removed, will we reach a solution.
Michael Haupt / November 17th, 2007, 9:36 am
Okay.
When I read what you had written, it was just that it reminded me of what I had earlier read. Actually, it was in connection with a book prior to Dianetics, called Excaibur:
[from http://www.religionfacts.com/scientology/history.htm ]
In 1938, Hubbard discovered what he believed to be the common denominator of existence, which was: SURVIVE. In a philosophic work entitled “Excalibur,” Hubbard wrote:
I suddenly realized that survival was the pin on which you could hang the rest of this with adequate and ample proof. It’s a very simple problem. Idiotically simple! That’s why it never got solved. Nobody has ever looked at anything being that simple to do that much. So what do we find as the simplicities of solution? The simplicities of solution lie in this: that life, all life, is trying to survive. And life is composed of two things: the material universe and an X-factor. And this X-factor is something that can evidently organize, and mobilize the material universe.
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[from: http://www.xenu.net/archive/oca/burks.html ]
As I remember “Excalibur”, it started - in the introduction only - with a king who got all his wise men together and told them to prepare and bring to him all the wisdom of the world contained in 500 books. In the course of time, they succeeded, and the king was very pleased and said so. Then he told them to go away and cut down these 500 books into 100 books. It took them a bit longer this time, but they did it and came back and insisted all the wisdom of the world was contained in these 100 books. He said, “Now, do it over again, and bring it to me in one book.”
This was quite a trick, but they did it, and came back some years later and they had, indeed, reduced all the wisdom of the world into one book.
Then he really gave them an assignment. He said, “Now go away and bring to me all the wisdom of the world in one word.”
What was the one word? I don ‘t know how many times we argued, Ron and I, to discover what this one word was. It may have been the creative fiat, it might have just been the word “Be”, it might have been the word “Survive”. I don’t think we ever settled it. But the book “Excalibur” from there on had to do with survival.
“““““““““““““`
Sounds interesting what you are working on.
Eamonn / November 17th, 2007, 10:24 pm
Thank you - your dialogue is certainly helping.
I agree with the need to trim things down. Nowadays we get too caught up in trying to ‘prove’ everything we come across, instead of simply looking for a self-evident truth. This is the challenge for most authors today: their entire book is taken up with proving their thesis. Under the burden of proof, we’re unable to extricate ourselves from detail so that we can look at the bigger picture.
While I suspect that summarising a philosophy into a single word or phrase does that philosophy an injustice, I would replace ’survive’ with ‘conscious creation’. ‘Survive’ is a reactionary word, and I believe we are all potential Gods, or Creators. We have allowed ourselves to be influenced (by various forces and factors) and in so doing have created the reality we’re currently experiencing. With a change of focus we can consciously create a new reality.
Where my theory differs from others, is the requirement for a Group Consciousness. Many individuals (including Hubbard) have learned the skill of creating their own reality - this is a phenomenal achievement. The next phase in man’s evolution is to realise that individually we are simply a small part of a meta jigsaw puzzle: include and transcend.
If you’re interested in delving deeper, contact me by email and I’ll send a presentation I’ve just completed.
Michael Haupt / November 18th, 2007, 8:27 am
Hi Michael, I like to read about people who have ‘epiphonies’, it makes me feel quite normal.
I also see you posted this on my birthday last year. (Caught my eye).
I too have written a couple of books based on ‘my’ epiphonies, but published them as ‘giveaways’ because I believe that to be the course ‘directed’ by the said ‘epiphonies’.
Hope that makes sense.
Good luck.
Pete.
Pete Moring / September 12th, 2008, 1:31 pm
What do you think?