The About page of Thomas Campbell’s
web site begins as follows: “Tom Campbell began researching altered states of
consciousness with Bob Monroe (Journeys
Out Of The Body, Far Journeys,
and The Ultimate Journey) at Monroe
Laboratories in the early 1970s where he and a few others were instrumental in
getting Monroe’s laboratory for the study of consciousness up and running.
These early drug-free consciousness pioneers helped design experiments,
developed the technology for creating specific altered states, and were the
main subjects of study (guinea pigs) all at the same time. Campbell has been
experimenting with, and exploring the subjective and objective mind ever since.
Trained as a physicist, Campbell worked for twenty years on developing US missile defense systems before devoting his time to writing and speaking on consciousness. Campbell has not had an NDE, but his perspective on consciousness is based on his out-of-body experiences, which began as he worked with Bob Monroe. My Big TOE is an awesome book, which I found rich in compelling insights.
Campbell writes: “Any credible conception of reality must include subjective experience that can consistently and universally lead to a useful (measurable by anyone) functionality. The biggest picture must cover everything―everything objective, everything subjective, everything normal, and everything paranormal.
“The logic of causality can say nothing about the beginnings of its own system because those beginnings lie outside that system―beyond the reach of its own causal logic. Once we realize the causal logic that gives us science also limits our understanding of the larger reality (and its beginning), we are free to begin exploring the larger truth. Each dimension of reality has its own rules that define its objective science. Additionally, each dimension of reality experiences the next higher (less limited) dimension as subjective and mystical.
“You cannot access understanding and wisdom that is beyond what the quality of your consciousness can naturally support. Every individual unit of consciousness must develop in its own unique way, powered by the free will that drives its intent.
“The one thing most modern physicists agree on these days is that what we generally take for our local 3D time ordered causal reality is merely a perceptual illusion. Some sixty years after quantum physics destroyed the widely accepted material foundation of physical reality, what lies behind this persistent perceptual illusion remains as mysterious as ever to a traditional science trapped in the little picture by limiting beliefs.
“Real personal science requires real, verifiable, measurable, objective results. Here, the word ‘results,’ at the most basic level, refers to significant, continuing verifiable progress toward the improvement of the quality of your conscious being, the evolution of mind, the growing-up and maturing of spirit. Why? Because that is the nature of the reality we live in. You will see that the physical nature as well as the spiritual nature of our reality is straightforwardly derived from the natural process of consciousness evolution.
“Truth is absolute, but how to discover it, and express it within your being, must be personal. Spiritual growth, improving the quality of your consciousness, is about changing your attitude, expanding your awareness, outgrowing your fears, reducing your ego, and improving your capacity to love. To succeed, you must change your intent and modify your motivation.
“One method of accomplishing an assessment of subjective inner space is through meditation. Meditation lets us experience the invisible background of consciousness. Each individual will naturally extract from their meditation what they need for their next step.
“Individual consciousness is a subset of absolute consciousness. Pay careful attention to the choices you make throughout your day. Examine your motivations and intent relative to those choices. By an act of your will, modify your intents to be more giving, caring, loving, and to be less self-serving. Shift the focus from you, from what you want, need and desire, to what you can give to, and do for, others. In the same manner, change where and how you invest the energy that follows your intent in your relationships and interactions with other people.
“This is not about what I believe about reality. This is about a model of reality based upon my experience and research. If it makes you feel better, I don’t believe any of this stuff either. I either know it as fact (knowledge), or regard it as the most likely possibility or best hypothesis thus far (based on the scientific data available to me as of this writing).
“The actual differences between descriptions of the same absolute truth are―after differing language, cultural, and religious modes of expression are removed―much smaller than you would likely imagine. This is because all spiritual paths converge on the same absolute truths by means of reducing ego and fear, which are the primary generators of confusion and divisiveness.
“The most important question is: can these two assumptions (the existence of consciousness and the process of evolution) deliver the goods? Can they provide a logical foundation broad enough and solid enough to support a comprehensive model of reality?”
Thomas Campbell, My Big TOE (Theory of Everything): A Trilogy Unifying Philosophy, Physics, and Metaphysics (Lightning Strikes, 2003).
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