Dreamed Up Reality: Diving into the Mind to Uncover the Astonishing Hidden Tale of Nature

by Bernardo Kastrup

A strong and growing intuition in society today is the idea that our thoughts create our own reality. Yet it seems obvious that, try as we might, our lives are not quite what we fantasize. Is the intuition thus wrong? Through a rational, methodic interpretation of meditative insights, the validity of which is substantiated with a compelling scientific literature review, the author constructs hypotheses that reconcile facts with intuition. Mesmerizing narratives of his expeditions into the unconscious suggest an amazing possibility: just as dreams are seemingly autonomous manifestations of our psyche, reality may be an externalized combination of the subconscious dreams of us all, mixed as they are projected onto the fabric of space-time. Perhaps the laws of physics are an emergent by-product of such synchronization of thoughts. Through computer simulations, the author explores the implications of these hypotheses, with conclusions uncannily reminiscent of observed phenomena.

Genres: Philosophy, Psychology, Nature

218 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 16, 2011

About the author

Bernardo Kastrup is the Executive Director of Essentia Foundation and Founder/CEO at AI systems company Euclyd BV. His work has set off the modern renaissance of metaphysical idealism. He has a Ph.D. in philosophy (ontology, philosophy of mind) and another in computer engineering (reconfigurable computing, artificial intelligence). As a scientist, Bernardo has worked for the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and the Philips Research Laboratories (where the 'Casimir Effect' of Quantum Field Theory was discovered). He has also been creatively active in the high-tech industry for almost 30 years, having founded parallel processor company Silicon Hive (acquired by Intel in 2011) and worked as a technology strategist for the geopolitically significant company ASML. Most recently, he has founded AI hardware company Euclyd BV. Formulated in detail in many academic papers and books, Bernardo's ideas have been featured on 'Scientific American,' the magazine of 'The Institute of Art and Ideas,' the 'Blog of the American Philosophical Association' and 'Big Think,' among others. His most defining book is 'Analytic Idealism in a Nutshell: A straightforward summary of the 21st-century's only plausible metaphysics.' For more information, visit www.bernardokastrup.com.

Reviews

[N N · Rating 4 out of 5]

Application of rational thinking to a purely subjective exploration of the underlying nature of reality, centred around several experiences with altered states of consciousness. A very strong and persuasive refutation of the positivist, materialistic world-view, proposing a possible mechanism whereby consciousness may be responsible for producing the material reality of the senses, which the author calls 'consensus reality'. It is not an artful book; the subject is approached in a very matter-of-fact manner (no pun intended), so the text rather lacks a sense of wonder, adventure and discovery that might accompany such a radical proposition. No polemical grandeur here - but the ideas themselves are revolutionary and long overdue (not that mainstream science is likely to take notice any time soon), so nothing will prevent open-minded readers to jump up, ruffling their hair, as Pierre Delalande would have it. Chapter 12 provides a rather brilliant model (not to be skipped, despite the author's deceptive suggestion) of how chaos is introduced into the godlike order of the 'conscious' universe, and how the positivist world-view is almost pre-programmed to gain currency and become dominant. There is also the almost throw-away but perfectly rational explanation (in just a couple of sentences) of the validity of magic and of why it is no longer apparent in the 'consensus reality'. Incidentally, the author is careful not to mention the word 'God' once, although everything in the book naturally argues against the atheistic delusion.

[Nour Elhuda Zuraiki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read all of Kastrup’s books (made reviews for them too) I don’t like to spoil the content of this book because it’s rather more appealing when you unravel it yourself, if you are ready to travel the dream of reality (in whatever that means) then be ready and have a safe journey. I highly recommend it.

Whenever I read Bernardo, there’s rather a smile on my face the whole time, in this book he takes us rather into a personal journey where he experiences a different states of consciousness (more specifically, highly altered states of consciousness). There were times where I could relate having had similar experiences but never managed to get my head around their origins and how I got into those experiences in the first place. Kastrup is so good at articulating a phenomena that seems so abstract and hard to comprehend and translating it into reality in the most logical, scientific and rational analysis, the challenge in this book was accepting that a subjective exploration can provide new knowledge about the true nature of reality.

[William A Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoughts that awaken.

I practice Vajrayana Buddhism, or try to. I find his work casts that practice in a new light, one that, paradoxically, causes me to "reframe" it, yet makes the practice more compelling and meaningful.
I do object to his use of "fell swoop" in chapter 11 (loc. ~1560). "Swoop" would better convey his meaning. Apart from that, I have nothing but praise and admiration for his writing and work. It has enriched my life and practice.

[Calvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read The Doors of Perception by Huxley recently, hoping to get a good picture of altered states of consciousness. Kastrup does a far better job in his account of four different experiences in this volume. I had already read his later works and philosophy and was surprised by how much of a punch this earlier book packs.

[Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

We r living in a world of mind. One mind (maybe lonely and so fragmented into different egos?)

The more we rely on certain stories, the more our perception bends to confirm those stories

We r lower level fractals of a larger fractal pattern

There is one mind with temporary egos

There are eternal individuated selves

This a dream of the Source, a shared illusion with regularity reinforced by experience

Intention brings elemental thought patterns to organize, but the mind by default may have a non stoppable creative process, so without intention the mind will wander gaga. A pleasant but potentially ineffective(?) experience

The Source

The Pattern

You cant confirm in consensus reality the things you have experienced in the altered state because your perceptual apparatus is different

The events in a psychedelic experience feel like memories . Perhaps because your life and experience is a lower level unfolding of a higher level fractal pattern

We dismiss our personal direct subjective experience as revelatory of truth for one mediated by the senses and reason, validated by consensus reality

Only the fragmentation of the One consciousness can take us from order to chaos (differentiation, creativity, individual things?

[Felipe Álvarez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating read. I really enjoyed reading the experiences of the author.
His cellular automata metaphore of reality was brilliant as well.
I think that anyone interested on exploring ideas about the ultimate nature of reality will like this book.

[Peter Stephan · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's always a difficulty in rating non-fiction. On the one hand, there's the enjoyment of it and on the other hand, the actual value of the content. I found this book very entertaining. He describes his psychedelic journey into his own mind in a very captivating manner, it definitely kept me engaged. I also find it laudable that he tries to find new ways for science to progress in hitherto unexplored avenues. However, as in his book "More than Allegory", he tends to get too personal. I find this is his biggest downfall considering his goal of being scientific. So here I am, trying to figure out if this is a two or three star review. If this was fiction, I'd probably give it four stars. His little mini-stories, as in the first chapter, are poignant, and those found in More than Allegory stick with me to this day. All in all, I almost feel like he doesn't quite know what he wants to go for. As it is however, it's just a collection of ideas and experiences, a guy pointing his finger to something, saying "look at this". I'm left wondering if any of his other works go beyond the "I took acid and this is what happened" shtick, but considering the similarity of the two books I've read by him, I doubt it. He's the guy you meet at the party that has some interesting ideas about consciousness. I just wish he was more focused in his books. I think he should either go for fiction or an actually organized non-fiction book. As it is, it's too meandering for my taste. Two stars.