Introduction

The Emerging, Holistic Worldview

Awakening and Transformation of Consciousness

Reconnecting to Nature

Health and Healing

Socially Engaged Spirituality

The Emerging Worldview

By the early 20th century, cracks were beginning to appear in the mechanical view of the world. Einstein’s theory of relativity, confirmed experimentally in 1919, and the emergence of a radically new quantum physics to explain subatomic phenomena, could not be explained by Newtonian mathematics. Then in 1927, a dagger to the heart of the reductionist, mechanistic paradigm was delivered by Werner Heisenberg, who formulated the Uncertainty Principle of quantum physics, which in essence said that we cannot separate the observer from the observed, contrary to Descartes’ assumption. This set in motion a new transition period of abnormal science, which continues to this day. A new paradigm is emerging, but it has not yet got a name and is by no means recognized yet by the majority of scientists. However, its contours are becoming quite clear.

Characteristic of the emerging worldview is the concept of interconnectedness of all things, consistent with Heisenberg’s principle, which was confirmed experimentally in 1982.  We now know that subatomic particles separated by arbitrary distances in the universe can be in direct contact, even though such instant communication should not be possible according to the theory of relativity which states that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light. New paradigm physicist David Bohm tried to deal with this problem by assuming an “implicate” order in other dimensions beyond our senses, where “hidden variables” determine the “explicate” order, which is the physical universe that we sense, but which in reality is nothing but an illusory hologram or “maya” in the language of the great Indian mystics. He was able to formulate the necessary mathematics, but as yet there is no way to test his theory empirically.

David Bohm’s theory of hidden variables suggests a universe where consciousness is a fundamental component of reality, every bit as important as matter and energy, and not something that magically appeared out of nowhere as a consequence of Darwinian evolution. The emerging view of reality, based on Bohm’s theories, has many parallels in ancient religious beliefs and is found in many diverse spiritual traditions.

• The Holographic Universe
• New Paradigm Thinkers
• Other cultures
• Women's movements

David Bohm

Three foundations of reality