The Self-Aware Universe by Amit Goswami (1995) Paperback

by Amit Goswami

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Genres: Science, Philosophy, Spirituality, Nonfiction, Physics, Psychology, Metaphysics

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First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Amit Goswami is a nuclear physicist and member of The University of Oregon Institute for Theoretical Physics since 1968. Dr. Goswami is a revolutionary in a growing body of renegade scientists who in recent years have ventured into the domain of the spiritual in an attempt both to interpret the seemingly inexplicable findings of their experiments and to validate their intuitions about the existence of a spiritual dimension of life.

He became best known as one of the interviewed scientists featured in the 2004 film What the Bleep Do We Know!? , the recent documentary Dalai Lama Renaissance , and stars in the 2009 documentary The Quantum Activist .

Please visit www.AmitGoswami.org for the latest events and information.

Reviews

[Stewart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goodreads or Firefox "ate" my review, which I spent half an hour on. I am not going to write another one.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

If Amit could define what consciousness is there would be, to quote Darth Vader, "No Conflict".

But perhaps that is the final, ultimate rub. What IS consciousness? Can you measure it? Can you show me the math behind it? Well, not yet anyway. Can you deny it exists? Of course not. So we say that consciousness exists because we know it exists, without proof, without measure, without quantifiable and repeatable results. In my day we called that circular logic, not science.

That his discussion of quantum mechanics is rock solid should come as no surprise since he is the author of the books used by most colleges to teach college level quantum mechanics. So far, so good. But then he proposes what appears to be the final paradigm shift required to explain it all, and it is based upon the circular logic common to every single religion. Matter is not the foundation of everything, Consciousness / God / Mind is the foundation of everything, and this shift explains the current inconsistencies seen in the behavior of the "very small". How can electrons be in two places at the same time unless we are watching, in which case it can only be in one place at a time? Where does the electron go when it jumps levels, and how can it be that it does not travel the intervening distance but instead pops from one place to another? How can we continue to say a theory is solid if experimental data point to the fact that something is clearly missing?

This book, as well as his movie "The Quantum Activist" point to what I BELIEVE to be true. It points to the belief I have had for some time now. Reality IS space-time-consciousness. Not some white bearded jealous god on a cloud making rules, but Everything, without exception, right Now. So, I believe this. I think it is true. But even for someone who believes these things I found that as I read this book I kept waiting for him to lay out the proofs.

It is hard to take, crossing the streams... melding belief and science, adding the heady and fragrant spice of mysticism to quantum physics, turning it all upside down and noticing that if you do, it is explained but not necessarily with proof. So, I believe it and I agree, and yet I find myself fussing and kicking and looking for the data.

A great book, highly recommended, and one that will leave you doing what I am doing. Asking the questions and finding your own way. And isn't that one of the fun parts of being here?

[Rama Rao · Rating 5 out of 5]

A journey through consciousness and physical reality

This book is a conscious effort by the author to provide a link between the physical reality and consciousness. The first half of the book presents conceptual part of quantum physics in which he discusses the uniqueness of quantum world and how it differs from classical reality. The introduction to quantum physics is very well presented. The second half of the book discusses as how consciousness figures in the depiction of reality, and in the process, he proposes a new and alternative interpretation of idealistic monism to explain quantum phenomenon. He is best known for his role as a commentator in the 2004 movie "What the bleep do we know?" starring Marlee Matlin (1).

It is well known that quantum reality does not reconcile with classical reality. Classical reality assumes matter (electrons, atoms, molecules, living species, planets, stars, and galaxies) are real and exist independent of observers or the method we employ to observe them; thus, classical physics is dominated by this objectivity. Secondly determinism; the idea that it is possible to predict completely the motion of all material objects if initial conditions such as position and velocity are known. Thirdly, the cause leading to the effect in the cause-effect relationship of classical reality is due to certainty that an action lead to certain effect. In quantum physics the behavior of quantum objects is probabilis¬tic and strict cause-effect description of the behavior of a single object is impossible. Fourthly, the principle of locality is that all material influences occurring in spacetime must be local, and the information can travel in space at a finite velocity, and not faster than the speed of light. The assumption of locality that all inter¬actions between material-objects are mediated via local signals is crucial to the materialistic view that objects exist independently and separately. Fifthly, materialism depicts that matter and energy are fundamental and all other phenomenon are secondary. The epiphenomenalism is a principle in which all mental phenomenons are explained as secondary to matter by suitable reduction to antecedent physical conditions. Thus consciousness is assumed by the objectivity of science to be a secondary, a part of living being, perhaps an advanced living species. The subject and objects in classical thought are two different things, and God and consciousness do not appear in any mathematical formula, but consciousness appears in physical interpretation of reality. In quantum physics the collapse of wave function upon observation by a conscious observer mixes subject and object, and there is no distinction between the two. Consciousness is without experiences and it is devoid of an object or a subject

The strangeness of quantum world may be summarized as follows; a quantum object can be at more than one place at the same time because of its wave property, and it cannot manifest in classical spacetime reality until we observe it as a matter (wave function collapse). A quantum object possesses both wave and particle (matter) nature but they are complementary properties. Quantum uncertainty prevents the momentum and the position to be determined precisely because of Heisenberg uncertainty principle. This is not measurement problem but a quantum physical problem since it is mathematically proved that the product of the position and the momentum is equal to or greater than Planck's constant. A quantum object ceases to exist here and simultaneously appears over there by quantum jumps and we cannot say it went through intervening space. A manifestation of one quantum object caused by our observation simultaneously influences its correlated twin object, no matter how far apart they are in the universe, by quantum entanglement. The behavior of quantum objects is probabilis¬tic and strict cause-effect description of the behavior of a single object is impossible. Instead, we have statistical cause and statistical effect when talking about a large group of particles. To understand quantum reality in the classical world physicists use a schema of interpretation; this depends on the philosophy or school of thought. Copenhagen interpretation postulated largely by Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg and Max Born is commonly used.

The author claims that there is a monistic alternative to material realism where mind and matter are integral part of one reality, but reality is not based on matter alone. He observes that the existence of objective reality independent of consciousness is absurd and believes that the universe is "self-aware" and that it is consciousness itself that creates the physical world. It is outside of spacetime, non-local, all pervading and All-in-One unitary being. It is the consciousness that is the ultimate reality; the immanent and transcendent are within consciousness He attempts to convince the reader that monistic idealism provides a paradox-free interpretation of quantum physics that is logical, coherent, and offers explanation for mental phenomenon such as; self-consciousness, free-will, creativity and extrasensory perception, and finally provide a role for spiritual side of existence. In his discussion about artificial intelligence he questions how mind can be treated like a machine and free will as an illusion. Roger Penrose argues that computer like algorithmic reasoning is insufficient for the discovery of physical and mathematical (theorems) laws. Then where does mathematics come from if we operate like a computer? Mathematical truth is not ascertained by mere use of an algorithm (a systematic procedure which is strictly a logic based approach) for solving a problem. Consciousness is required to comprehend the mathematical argument to be convinced of its validity, and elucidate the emerging physical concepts. Therefore consciousness must exist prior to algorithm and mathematics.

To explain the role of consciousness quantum physics, he cites von Neumann's work; the state of a quantum system (here it is mind) undergoes change in two separate ways. The first is a continuous change in which it spreads as a wave, becoming a coherent superposition of all the potential states allowed by the situation. Each potential state has a certain statistical weight given by its probability wave ampli¬tude. A measurement introduces a second discontinuous change in the state, and the state of superposition that exists in multifaceted potentia is reduced to one actualized facet. Some physicists view the selection process is random, but according to the idealist interpretation, it is consciousness that chooses the outcome. The intervention of the nonlocal consciousness collapses the probability cloud of a quantum state. Since this outcome is a conscious experience, we choose our conscious experiences yet remain unconscious of the underlying process. It is this unconsciousness that leads to the illusory separateness, the identity with the separate "I" of self¬-reference (rather than the "we" of one consciousness). The book provides significant number of references to other works such as; Vedanta (Hindu philosophy), Buddhist and Western philosophical thoughts and how they are related to his monistic interpretation. This book is highly recommended.

[Leticia Mooney · Rating 4 out of 5]

You might be surprised to learn that I have only just finished reading this book, the beginning of which was over twelve months ago. There's a very good reason for this: It's pretty heavy going. The Self-Aware Universe is a book about quantum physics, and as such if you are not trained in physics then you will need to grapple with some pretty intense new terminologies, concepts, and ways of thinking. For advanced readers, it's a good chance to stretch your brain.

Even if you are familiar with quantum physics, you will still need to take time to digest it. In my case, the long, slow digesting was entirely intentional. Well, except for mid-year this year when I felt that I didn't have the intellectual capacity to give it the attention that it deserved.

The Self-Aware Universe gives us an impressively argued case for eliminating material realism in the sciences in general, and in physics in particular. In its place, the author argues for the introduction of a monistic idealism, and does so on the basis that it resolves the paradoxes that exist in material-realism-based quantum mechanics. In the other half of this book, the author goes on to demonstrate how mystical writings throughout time have given us indications of what quantum mechanics is only now learning, and goes on - impressively - to show us how a monistic idealism as a framework can unite the spiritual and the scientific. The reason is because where material realism sees consciousness as arising from physical things like the brain, the monistic idealist sees matter as emerging from consciousness. It's a framework in which consciousness comes first. Well, as first as you can in a tangled hierarchy.

Of course, the staunch atheist, being grounded firmly in material realism, will be unable to grapple with this notion despite its having been demonstrated, argued and proven, insofar as you can prove a quantum concept. Therefore, if you are a hardline atheist, you'd get as much benefit out of this as you would going to church. However, if you are primarily a material realist but have an open mind and are willing to be challenged, then please read this book.

The Self Aware Universe is, In my opinion, essential reading for anyone who seeks to better understand quantum mechanics, or their own relationship with the world. In fact, Goswami does a lot of good in his work: Not only does he manage to make the difficulties of quantum mechanics obtainable with a little bit of effort, but he also manages to discuss many of the hard-to-understand and hard-to-reach elements of a Millenia of mystical writings by bringing the two together. While this may sound like a lot of difficult things all jumbled into one magnificent basket, the truth is that the understanding of quantum mechanics you will reach will allow you to better understand the mystical writings themselves. That alone is of enormous benefit to the curious and philosophical reader.

While a great number of people will skip over this book, it has the potential to dramatically change how people see the world. It is also perhaps one of the more remarkable, rigorous and scientific works at the bleeding edge of scientific knowledge: A place of which science has, through its institutionalised perspectives and academies, become both intolerant and afraid.

If you read this work, I hope that you end it in as great a state of excitement and joy at the possibilities as I did.

[Kenneth Bachmann · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure where to begin. Like so many of the books on my shelf that have been written by scientists, notably physicists, the promise of a meaningful synthesis of quantum theory, quantum mechanics, and the science of consciousness leave readers deeply disappointed. These authors consistently seem to promise far more than they are capable of delivering. In this particular case, and I leave open the possibility that my mind could change since I have only read about 60% of this book so far, my first observation is great pity for the students who must have endured the author's lectures. Since he was a physicist, I would imagine that he may have been able to reasonably teach basic features of physics satisfactorily. In fact, the first part of this book seems to give a decent introduction into quantum physics. However, once he steps into the realm of psychology, behavioral sciences, and consciousness, watch out. Obviously he is well read, and has a library full of literature to which he can refer as he touches upon these areas and tries to link them to the collapse of quantum waveforms. The problem is that from chapter to chapter he cooks up psychological and/or neuroscience stews--hobo stews--in which he reaches into his pantry and throws anything of possible relevance into the mix. His explanations may have hints of logic to them, but there is never a shred of empirical support. Thus, like so many of hs colleagues that aim to do the same thing, he offers the promise of scientifically sound support (based on his scientific credentials) to propositions that are not much more than his own mythology.

Maybe he will write a chapter or two toward the end of the book that, in fact, will manage to demonstrate (preferrably empirically but maybe even with incontrovertible logic) the connection between the quantum world and consciousness and show unequivocally how, as he proposes, consciousness is the ground state of all reality. AAt this point, assuming he is able to do that, the chapters between his early exposition about quantum physics and those possible latter chapters are nothing more than very sophisticated bullshit.
OK. Now that I've finished the book, my review stands. The last chapters were abject failures if their aim was to provide linkage between quantum science and consciousness or spirituality. I'm not sure what exactly was the point of any of the chapters apart from the initial ones on quantum physicis.

[Kitap Yakıcı · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author, famous/infamous for his appearance in the film What the Bleep Do We Know?, begins with a fascinating premise-that the only metaphysical interpretation of quantum physics that accounts for all data is monist idealism. This monist idealist interpretation of quantum physics is akin to the worldview of Advaita Vedanta, in which there is, absolutely speaking, one fundamental reality-Mind/Conciousness (the Sanskrit word is Atman or Brahman, depending on whether one approaches it from the perspective of the individual or the whole). This nondual, nonlocal fundamental reality is apprehended dualistically as the subject of experience (the noumenal world of the individual mind) and the object of experience (the phenomenal world of individual objects). Goswami's most interesting thesis is that the quantum level of mind is that empty silence wherein free choice and novel creativity occur, whereas the classical level of mind is the conditioned chatterbox that operates on habit and repetition; this "two truths" approach allows his model to include and transcend the insights of behaviorism, etc.

As I said, this is a fascinating interpretation, and one that resonates with the philosophical-religious worldview that has been called the perennial philosophy. Alas, this book is not as well written as I would have liked; sometimes the parables he relates don't connect meaningfully to the material at hand and at other times each paragraph seems only slightly related to those preceding and following. As well, the prose is often stilted and occasionally even embarassing (although, in his defense, he is a professor of physics and not creative writing). He only spends 1/3 of the book developing his thesis, a big mistake when you are rocking the boat so thoroughly. Another problem with this book is that the last 1/3 is a completely unnecessary (in my opinion) application of this interpretation to the spiritual path. There are scores of better books on the religious/spiritual practice of nondualism, so why bother? Is it to give the imprimatur of science to something that had previously been merely religious, and therefore suspect? Or is to fill pages?

In short, Goswami's book expresses an interesting idea, although it is not always an interesting read.

[Ximena FT · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I’ve read. If you have read books from Joe Dispenza, Michio Kaku and other spiritual luminaries then this book is for you. Having had ample experience with meditation, yoga and therapy this book confirms much of what I already knew. It’s nice to understand the mechanics of the metaphysical experiences that I’ve had. This helps me to explain them more easily to friends and family, to be able to put concrete words and potential theories about what might be happening behind the scenes. Definitely worth the read. Mild warning though, you kind of do need to have a basic understanding of quantum physics at least knowledge of the uncertainty principle and some of the paradoxes as this author does very little to explain them in a manner that a beginner could understand. Maybe go read Michio Kaku’s book “The Physics of the Impossible” before coming to read this.

[Katie Curlee Hamblen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Want to change the way you think about everything? Well, here you go.

[Noah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was intrigued by this book as soon as I learned about what it was about in Peace Is the Way: Bringing War and Violence to an End by Deepak Chopra. The book's main theme is pretty simple: the fundamental building block of reality is not matter (atoms or energy, e=mc2) but consciousness. The results of quantum physics experiments can only be explained by the existence of a conscious observer outside of spacetime, namely the one universal consciousness, or as some people call it, God.

Because of the conditioning that I've had particularly in the sciences, painstaking going through and explaining everything using the actual results of experiments in quantum physics was helpful for me to be able to overcome limiting beliefs about the nature of reality and my ability to shape it.

What drove me to read it at this time was a desire to reconcile the overwhelming evidence that consciousness creates reality with my inability to understand how, if that is the case, why I cannot instantaneously change reality--why we do not see dream-like changes ala Inception happening on a daily basis. I have experienced instantaneous changes in reality as a result of my thoughts, but it still happened in a way that conforms to the normal rules of classical physics. I do not have the ability to make supernatural things happen, but if reality is simply consciousness, why not?

The book answered that question for me. I can't fully articulate the ideas in the book (seek out an interview with the author for that), but I think I understood them. The authors go into detail to explain the illusion of separate consciousnesses and all of the other questions that arise for people operating in a materialist paradigm.

I feel satisfied that yes, the building block is consciousness, but that doesn't mean the laws of physics go out the window, they are part of the creation that has its own existence. I will be exploring his other books to learn more about the practical implications of what it means to live in a world where consciousness creates the reality we live in.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quantum physics and consciousness. 70% of this book was explaining quantum physics and how it translates into the brain-mind. Tangled hierarchies and all. The rest of the 30% was integrating concepts of psychology and monistic idealism into the first 70%. I got lost in chapter 14 and really struggled to make connections to the earlier material covered. For the remainder of the book, I accepted I couldn’t make the connections and just internalized the message.

A few powerful take aways:

The fourteenth-century Kabbalist Moses de Leon, probably the author of the Zohar, which is the primary sourcebook for Kabbal-ists, wrote: "God ... when he has just decided to launch upon his work of creation is called He. God in the complete unfolding of his Being, Bliss and Love, in which he becomes capable of being perceived by the reasons of the heart... is called You. But God, in his supreme manifestation, where the fullness of His Being finds its final expression in the last and all-embracing of his attributes, is called I." P52

…for we are all one consciousness: hurting another is to hurt one's self and vice versa. Loving another is loving one's self. P261

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not yet convinced Here's a dilemma: Most psychologists are materialists and consider thoughts and consciousness to be epiphenomena. An epiphenomena is one that occurs parallel to the phenomena under study. It's there, but psychologists can't measure it like behavior, or treat it like a physical object. It's ephemeral, and undescribed. Materialists deal with matter, and thoughts aren't that. Whatever thoughts may be, they are not something that materialists are comfortable with examining.
 
Quantum physics presents a picture of reality that is very different than the one   presented by classical, Newtonian physics. Although quantum physics was born over a century ago, some scientists cling to the materialism that grew out of pre-quantum, Newtonian physics. This works well for describing reality most of the time, but occasionally it biases what we consider possible, or restricts our methods of inquiry.
 
Quantum physics has called traditional materialism into question, and Amit Goswami questions materialist explanations of consciousness as well. Quantum physics proves that observers can't be separated from observations. Before an observation is made, little can be said about atomic particles--they only exist as probability waves. Only when observation collapses a probability wave, creating a measurement, can anything certain be said about particles. This finding has baffled many and continues to do so. Goswami believes it implies that consciousness is a force in nature. As such, consciousness is unitary in nature, however people experience themselves as individuals and only occasionally become aware of the One that they are expressions of. For hundreds of years religious mystics have sought direct experience of the One through prayer, meditation, fasting, sitting vigils, etc. For mystics, direct experience constitutes proof. For scientists, experimental results are required.
 
Goswami provides no experimental proof. He doesn't even suggest an experimental path to test his theory. Physicists critical of String Theory acknowledge its elegance, but complain that it lacks testability. Goswami's theory is likewise elegant but lacking testability. He suggests that proof may come through paranormal research, but much of that research is highly controversial. Too many paranormal-leaning scientists have accepted results that stage magicians have easily refuted. In the end, Goswami's ideas are more suggestive than explanatory. I'd recommend another book with a more convincing explanation of consciousness, but I haven't found it yet.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

The thesis of this book is that consciousness is the ground of all being and our self-consciousness is That consciousness. Down with matter! Up with brains! Or, well, at least the ‘quantum brain-mind’ as Goswami puts it.

Matter versus mind is one theme explored in depth in this book. Is consciousness epiphenomena of matter/the brain or is it more fundamental and the brain is merely its worker bee, its interpreter of the rest of the explicit universe springing forth from… consciousness?

Wait a second. How can there be just one consciousness yet multiple selves? This is another theme explored in depth. Our self-consciousness is part of a tangled hierarchy of processes interacting in overlapping ways as the potentia in the sub quantum level becomes explicit and real. The duration of this tangled hierarchy of processes give us the impression that we are in fact a separate being from The overall being, which is beyond explicit reality’s subject-object split. That we are observing it is more illusion than reality. It is true and irrelevant.

What is more Godless—a universe of matter or one with consciousness at the root? It is clearly the former, but it is an ironic matter of fact that most theists today are “hard objectivists” meaning they believe or at least operate in their lives as if matter were the ground of all being and logic and rationality are the only guidelines.

How to incorporate the obviously practical principles of science and being rational into this “idealist” world view? This is another topic of coverage in the book—classical physics and rationality in the explicit world are by no means discounted in Goswami’s thesis. Indeed as a physicist, his viewpoint ‘merely’ places physics and rationality within a wider context. He sees science and religion working in tandem—the former in objective studies both theoretical and practical and the later in subjective and meaningful dissemination of this objective material.

He cites many sacred texts, heavy weight scientists and mystics in this book. Some of the harder “coherent superposition” quantum physics topics were are, but he always does a great job summarizing this info as he integrates into a wider context infused with meaning that includes related subjective personal and historical stories as well as examples.

[Abner Rosenweig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goswami's introduction to the idealist interpretation of reality via quantum mechanics is very good at times. The problem is that, with three authors, the book's voice varies widely throughout, resulting in a frustratingly discontinuous reading experience. There are times when the explanations of quantum theory are very good. There are also times when the book resorts to cheap narrative gimmicks to explain "intimidating" physics topics, for example, and these attempts at novelty feel patronizing and obnoxious.

At times, the book remains humble and qualifies its assumptions and speculations with words like "if" -- "if this is right." Many lesser books simply make assertions about quantum theory that are totally unfounded, leading to wild woo-town junk writing. The book should have gone further in its caution, acknowledging other interpretations and their potential validity, but Goswami clearly has a bias toward idealism. "I trust my intuition that the idealist interpretation of quantum mechanics is the correct one" (145). The author's intuition may be right, but rather than assuming based on intuition, it would be preferable if the author focused on how modern science suggests that idealism is the correct interpretation.

Overall, this is a passable intro to the return of idealism through quantum mechanics, but I'd recommend something else, written by an author who doesn't play games with readers by interjecting tasteless narrative gimmicks.

[Nicholas · Rating 4 out of 5]

The books main argument is against "material realism" and in favor of a more holistic approach to reality in which our individual consciousness is responsible for creating external phenomena.This aim is achieved by invoking the Copenhagen Interpretation which is an outdated concept that wasn't even taken seriously at the time is was proposed as it was unable to explain what happens when conscious observation is absent, but here we have god collapsing the the "wave packet" of information to keep it all rolling along.
Anyway if you ignore this glaringly obvious flaw you can invent any number of quasi religious theories that sound plausible to those with a predisposition to megalomania or manic depression, who buy this type of literature in the hope that its some kind of key to untold power or a way out of some sort of personal hell.The number of authors mining this dubious vein of iron pyrite is increasing daily but if you want to add yourself to the heap you could do worse than read this at least its got a decent potted history of quantum physics and the author is quite congenial.

[Steve Payeur · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave this book five stars because of the importance I perceive the subject matter has, not necessarily that every aspect of the book was perfect, but it was very good at what it set out to do, which is close to my heart - another reason for the rating. It set out to unite science and religion, approaching from many angles with appropriate-depth explanations of many facets from quantum physics (a main staple of the book) through consciousness, perception, religion, where our sense of self comes from, ethics, morality, and more. I would recommend it, but that also shows my bias. Putting the personal axes away that I normally grind, it has a lot of science, but very few - if any - equations. It explained some things well that I know well, and revealed many new ideas that I was not familiar with. It does think about being scientifically rigorous, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have a lot to offer.

[Doug Dillon · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this instance, the book cover really does tell the story--All of Existence looking back at itself. Goswani and his co-authors put forth the concept that consciousness is indeed the basis for All That Is. Building on the extensive work already done in Quantum Physics, the authors help give readers meaning and purpose to their existences. This book effectively links mind and body in such a way as to establish a joyful connectivity between all things.

Clearly written, the authors entice readers with good chapter titles like, “The Nine Lives of Schrödinger’s Cat”, “In Search of Quantum Mind”, and “Spiritual Joy”. Carefully constructed illustrations and a useful glossary help readers make their own connections with the concepts being addressed. Great end notes and the bibliography add scholarly depth and an excellent index makes for easy reference while reading and after.

[Katie Sibley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Self-Aware Universe by Amit Goswami is a book for thought. Given, it gave me plenty of headaches and deep consideration into the world around me and the reality or illusion of it all, I thoroughly enjoy this book. It delves deep into the ideas of quantum physics and mechanics, monistic idealism, consciousness and the way that all of these things play into our lives and into what is actually happening around and inside of us at all times, on both a micro and macro level. Though it may be a long read given the possible difficulty of comprehension, when you go slow and take the time to digest the thoughts and ideas, it leaves you with an entirely new worldview. I loved this book for its alternative ideas and theories, paradigm shifts, and paradoxes. It made me slow down and consider everything around me in a new way.

[Janice (JG) · Rating 5 out of 5]

So, the thing we're looking for is the thing that is doing the looking... interesting dilemma. Goswami uses the first half of the book to explain some basic physics and quantum theory. It is the development of quantum physics, he says, that has given us a means to discuss something science has avoided up til now -- what is consciousness? I was hanging on by my fingernails trying to wrap my head around physics and quantum physics explanations and examples for several chapters, but the end result was a very convincing argument: rather than consciousness existing within physical reality, physical reality exists within consciousness. And quantum physics explains how that can happen.

But if you want to know the answer, you'll have to read the book.

[Fred Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Challenging, intriguing, fascinating. Try watching "What the bleep do we Know" first.

[Luc Vors · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually modeled a character in one of my books after Amit Goswami. Amazing insights in this book.

[Maison Elliott · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[Rosemary Schwartz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the info in this book went over my head, but all in all, I really enjoyed it.

[Gloria Lesher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not since Dr. Fritjof Capra’s “The Tao of Physics” has a book by a physicist had such impact on my worldview as Dr. Amit Goswami’s book, “The Self-Aware Universe: How Consciousness Creates the Material World.”

Dr. Goswami begins by describing the bizarre realities of the quantum world: a quantum object, such as an electron, can be at more than one place at the same time—it doesn’t manifest in space-time reality until we observe it. When a quantum object is observed, it can mysteriously jump from one spot in space to another, and also affect a correlated twin object, no matter how far apart they are. So where does a quantum object exist when it “jumps” from one spot in space to another? Dr. Goswami says it exists in the transcendent dimension of reality. A transcendent dimension!

I’m the first to admit that a purely material, physical world is ultimately a dead world, devoid of meaning or significance. I don’t want to live in such a world. The material realist worldview, which presumes only physical matter is real, means that I have no soul, and that my consciousness dies with my body. How depressing.

Dr. Goswami posits instead a worldview of monistic idealism, where consciousness is the basic element of reality, and matter is secondary. The “monistic” part of this worldview means that reality is one unitary organic whole with no independent parts.

That means my soul is like a single drop of water in an ocean. The idea is a little unsettling, because it deprives me of my sense of being an individual; yet it also gives me what I secretly yearn for anyway—the certainty that I am connected with and one with the divine life-force and intelligence comprising the entire universe.

Individual separateness is an illusion, says Dr. Goswami. He links physics to psychology when he brings up Carl Jung and says that the Swiss psychiatrist discovered empirically that there is a transpersonal collective aspect of our unconscious operating outside space-time (Jungian synchronicity). This collective unconscious is the same one that allows out-of-body experience to occur. People do have mystical experiences that fail to correspond to consensus reality.

Thus, without some form of realism and consensus, Dr. Goswami admits, science is impossible. He explains our brain-minds function as part of a unitive consciousness, and that’s how we arrive at consensus reality. How does unitive consciousness split itself into a subject that experiences (the “I” of the human self) and objects that are experienced? The individual self-experience, or ego, he says, arises in the mirror of memory. The highest levels of consciousness are ego-less.

Becoming aware of our common bedrock of consciousness may be humanity’s salvation—saving us from self-destruction via nuclear annihilation and the wrecking of our natural environment. Communication technology (the Internet) is helping to gather humanity together. At higher levels of consciousness, rigid thoughts and beliefs fall away, replaced by a more enlightened worldview: “I am not separate from my neighbor.”

This is an uplifting book. Although it’s daunting to slog through the science, I recommend it. Dr. Goswami has made quantum science more accessible to the lay person through his stories, metaphors and gentle humor.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author writes for New Scientist magazine and is a good presenter of scientific information to a non-specialist audience. In this book, he shows this same skill of explaining some surprising (and under-reported) experimental results from the sciences of physics, neurobiology, and experimental psychology. He does a little less good a job explaining philosophical arguments which start with the ancient Greeks up through modern times. For someone who has not previously studied these things, this might be a bit overwhelming. Much of this book is a review of science and philosophy so the author can build his groundwork in order to present his case. To add to his encyclopedic knowledge of western science and philosophy, the author is also knowledgeable about Buddhist and Hindu beliefs which I enjoyed learning about. The author's own scientific background is a quantum physics and his penchant for precision results in a rather dense text which many readers, particularly those who are unaccustomed to technical or philosophical texts, will find difficult to follow. As for the author's principle theory, that consciousness precedes reality (is the true ground of being). This conclusion is interesting, provocative, and has some agreement with other modern writers, but I find the evidence that he presents in this book, is less than convincing. The author suggests, as did Nikola Tesla, that at some point, for science to progress, it needs to unify its objective study of the external world with what now is considered by most as the subjective spiritual, internal world. The author points out that his theory accounts for all of the phenomena that current Western science ignores (e.g. Out-of-Body Experiences, Telepathy, Remote Viewing) because it does not fit their current paradigm. He points out, and I agree, that a truly "Objective" scientist cannot ignore data that does not fit his theory. When this has happened before in history, it necessitated a paradigm shift. For example, to understand atomic spectra required the development of quantum theory. The reader who will most enjoy this book is one who is interested in the nature of consciousness and especially in the concept promoted by Carl Jung of the universal unconsciousness. Put in another way, it has been said that the total number of consciousnesses in the universe is One! That every person's soul is a Spark of the Creator / Source / God. That we are eternal souls occupying a temporary body experiencing life so God can better know himself and enjoy his creation. If this does not sound crazy to you, I suggest you read the "Law of One" books, a channeled work from highly evolved E.T.'s who explain try to explain the nature of reality, as best they can, given the limits of human language and experience. Spoiler Alert, the Law of One is largely consistent with Amit Goswami's view as expressed in this book.

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

IS OUR SENSE OF “SEPARATENESS” AN ILLUSION?

Amit Goswami is a retired professor of physics from the University of Oregon, where he served on the faculty from 1968 to 1997.

He wrote in the Preface to this 1993 book, “I needed to restore my spirit of inquiry note the meaning of the universe and to abandon the mental compromises I had made for career motives… Just about the time of my personal crossroads, Fritjof Capra’s book ‘The Tao of Physics’ came out… it did touch me deeply… At last, I had found the focus of my inquiry into the nature of reality… I intuited that the key issues are most directly confronted in the problem of how to interpret quantum physics. This is what I set out to investigate.” (Pg. x)

In the first chapter, he explains, “During the past four hundred years, we have gradually adopted … materialism dogmatically, despite its failure to account for the most familiar experiences of our daily lives. In short, we have an inconsistent worldview. Our predicament has fueled the demand for a new paradigm… that will integrate mind and spirit into science. No new paradigm, however, has surfaced. This book proposes such a paradigm and shows how we can develop a science that embraces the religions of the world… The centerpiece of this new paradigm is the recognition that modern science validates and ancient idea---the idea that consciousness, not matter, is the ground of all being.” (Pg. 1-2)

He outlines, “The alternative that I propose in this book is monistic idealism. This philosophy is monistic as opposed to dualistic, and it is idealism because ideas … and the consciousness of them are considered to be the basic elements of reality; matter is considered to be secondary… this philosophy posits that everything (including matter) exists in and is manipulated from consciousness… This reformulated picture of the brain-mind enables us to understand our whole self entirely in harmony with what the great spiritual traditions have maintained for millennia.” (Pg. 10-11)

Later, he adds, “According to monistic idealism, the consciousness of the subject in a subject-object experience is the same consciousness that is the ground of all being. Therefore, consciousness is unitive. There is only one subject-consciousness, and we are that consciousness…. Why, then, in our ordinary consciousness, do we feel so separate? This separateness, insists the mystic, is an illusion.” (Pg. 51)

He argues, “Perhaps the most … insidious, assumption that we absorb… is that of the material world of objects existing out there---independent of subjects, who are the observers… Naturally we project that the moon is always there in space-time, even when we are not looking. Quantum physics says no. When we are not looking, the moon’s possibility wave spreads, albeit by a miniscule amount. When we look the wave collapses instantly; thus the wave could not be in space-time. It makes more sense to adapt an idealist metaphysic assumption: There is no object in space-time without a conscious subject looking at it.” (Pg. 59-60)

He explains, “The experiment by Alain Aspect and his collaborators directly shows that when two quantum objects are correlated, if we measure one (thus collapsing its wave function), the other’s wave function is instantly collapsed as well… The technical name for signal-less, instantaneous action at a distance is nonlocality. The correlation of quantum objects observed in Aspect’s experiment is a nonlocal correlation. Once we accept quantum nonlocality as an established physical aspect of the world in which we live, it becomes easier within science to conceive of a transcendent domain outside the manifest physical domain of space-time.” (Pg. 61)

He accepts the existence of ESP and telepathy: “why has telepathy not yet been recognized as a scientifically plausible discovery? One reason… is that the data on extrasensory perception (ESP) are not strictly replicable---only statistically so… The most important reason for the skepticism about ESP, however, may be that it does not seem to involve any local signals to our sense organs and hence is forbidden by material realism.” (Pg. 131)

He suggests, “The idealist interpretation thoroughly recognizes this dynamic aspect of the past---that the interpretation of what we see changes with our conceptual notions, like a myth… We can as easily suppose that the universe that collapsed into physical space-time reality is the one with the possibility of the evolution of the greatest number of intelligent, self-aware beings on billions and billions of planets throughout the expanding universe.” (Pg. 142)

He asserts, “You may ask, Is there any evidence at all that the ideas of quantum mechanics apply to the brain-mind? There seems to be at least circumstantial evidence… We can… posit that thought has an archetypal component… So, mental phenomena such as thought seem to exhibit complementarity… Additionally, there is plenty of evidence of discontinuity---quantum jumps---in mental phenomena, especially in the phenomenon of creativity.” (Pg. 162-163)

He summarizes, “I have proposed a new way of looking at the brain-mind as both a measuring apparatus and a quantum system. Such a system involves consciousness as the collapser of the system’s wave function, explains, cause-effect relations as results of the free choices of consciousness, and suggests creativity as the new beginning that every collapse is. The groundwork follows for explaining how this theory accounts for the subject-object division of the world and eventually for the personal self.” (Pg. 173)

He continues, “According to the outcome of the collapse of any and all quantum systems. This must include the quantum system that we postulate in the brain-mind…. Our consciousness chooses the outcome of the collapse of the quantum state of our brain-mind. Since this outcome is a conscious experience, we choose our conscious experiences—yet remain unconscious of the underlying process. It is this unconsciousness that leads to the illusory separateness… the basic mechanism is called ‘tangled hierarchy.’” (Pg. 175) He adds, “our consciousness is the consciousness of the Being that is beyond the subject-object split. There is no other source of consciousness in the universe.” (Pg. 187)

He goes on, “In ignorance we identify with a limited version of the cosmic subject; we conclude, I am this body-mind. As the real experiencer… I operate … from behind the veil of the tangled hierarchy of my brain-mind’s systems. My separateness… emerges only as the apparent agency for the free will of this cosmic ‘I’… The separate self, however, is only a secondary identity for consciousness because the nonlocal, creative potency of consciousness and the versatility of the quantum mind never completely disappear. They remain present in the primary quantum modality of the self.” (Pg. 192-193)

He concludes, “You have, in this book, the basic idealist schema of self-exploration beyond ego. Is it religion or is it science?... the idealist program is indeed a religion in this sense. However, in all major religions there are dualistic tendencies… the idealist scheme must go beyond all religions, creeds, belief systems, and teachers… here, finally, is a psychology of liberation.” (Pg. 269)

This book will be of great interest to those studying “spiritual” interpretations of mind/consciousness.

[Christopher Selmek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Please note that this is a science book. From the big eye on the cover, you think it's going to say something about ancient religions or metaphysical philosophy, but the vast majority of this book consists of very technical explanations of quantum physics experiments that I can't quite follow. He introduces his topic with the dry metaphors of a science teacher doing his best to make the subject interesting, but I am legitimately impressed by everything that he knows.

After demonstrating that physical phenomenon can be influenced by the subjective awareness of the experimenter, which I believe was the conclusion of the first half of the book, Goswami then delves into human psychology. Again I feel that his conclusions make sense, but much of what he says goes right over my head. He essentially explains that there are two physical systems at work inside the human brain, one of which relies on classical physics and one that accesses quantum leaps of imagination. The third part of the book begins to cite ancient Hindu and Christian concepts to demonstrate that this knowledge has always been accessible. There really is only one baseline universal consciousness from which we all draw our unique mental states.

I have read a lot of books that say we are all one, but always in a hopeful, optimistic way. This is the first book I have read that demonstrates it scientifically - we are all actually one. The physical reality that we perceive is actually projected from the universal awareness, and material realism is only one element of that. Goswami refers to his new philosophy as monistic idealism, and says that work in this field is only just beginning. I would be interested in reading more about this new way of doing science and philosophy at the same time, especially if he kept the science to a minimum.

[Steve Barrera · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Consciousness is the agency that collapses the wave of a quantum object, which exists in potentia, making it an immanent particle in the world of manifestation." This simple and powerful idea is at the heart of this book, in which physicist Amit Goswami proposes a monistic idealist interpretation of quantum mechanics, and connects science with mysticism and religion. He explains the physics in simple terms for the layperson, with ample figures to help with understanding. His proposed theory does away with the paradoxes of quantum physics which arise when a purely materialistic theory is applied. It also reintroduces meaning and morality to existence, huge problems for materialistic science to grapple with and a major reason for the rift between science and religion, a rift which is so damaging to society. Goswami attempts to heal this rift with his new approach to science which acknowledges the reality of consciousness. He explains his philosophical approach with reference to past philosophies, and cites experimental results which support his view. He goes into dense discussions of the experimental data and how best to interpret it, but also has light-hearted mock encounters with historical philosophers to provide background. I first read this book years ago; it was a real eye-opener for me, and the beginning of a lifelong study of spirituality. I have since read most of Goswami's other works, all of which have been illuminating. This book is a must read for anyone serious about understanding the nature of reality, and their place in the Universe.

[Justin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't recommend this book unless you are prone to looking at the universe in a spiritual light. The author has attempted to use the inherent mysteries of the quantum world to suggest that everything is connected in a wonderful conscious mashup with purpose and spirit - I suspect that this is a uniquely human emotional interpretation of the universe rather than a window into some heretofore unperceived aspect of reality. Don't let the fact that Goswami is a trained physicist fool you into thinking that he has some answers.

[Bo Garner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the first part of this book. It did a great job of explaining how quantum mechanics redefines classical reality. It really made me think about the inter connectedness of all beings and how physics can be used to prove this concept. Wonderful and thought provoking. I really enjoyed how he even discussed Zen. A practice near and dear to my heart.

The second half, however, was much less science and more speculation. Too much talk about mystics, etc. I feel for the author though. Trying to explain why the concept of self arises is a tough one no matter how smart you are.

[Kasey · Rating 4 out of 5]

The idea that consciousness conforms to the laws of quantum physics was purely fascinating. However, the author starts by giving an overview of the basics of quantum physics which I found confusing and hard to follow. Fortunately, I was already familiar with most of the concepts but if this had been one of my first books on the subject, I would have been very frustrated. Once he got into the theoretical part, however, the book became much more compelling.