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The Miracle of Our Universe: A New View of Consciousness, God, Science, and Reality
Without consciousness there is nothing. Have you ever wondered why and how the world around you came to exist, and whether there might be an afterlife experience awaiting you after our physical bodies die? Might there actually be a God and a heaven of some sort? The hypothesis presented in this book is that our seemingly physical universe of matter and energy is a virtual simulation which is thought into existence by a universal consciousness which we call God.
A reason for a universal consciousness to do such a thing could be to experience and evolve itself through the free will actions of its offspring. This would entail thinking into existence a virtual universe so as to interact with such a universe and each other. Literally everything is consciousness in action, resulting in a gigantic cosmic simulation. We and other creatures are offspring of this God consciousness.
The Miracle of Our Universe explores the forefront of science and spirituality research, Are near-death experiences real? What is the Zero-Point Field? What kind of being could God be? Is there some place that God could have come from? How does the Big Bang figure into this? Is there an afterlife and what could it be like? What is the purpose of life? Is consciousness all there is? Is the Universe a virtual reality? Why is Hell impossible?
A reason for a universal consciousness to do such a thing could be to experience and evolve itself through the free will actions of its offspring. This would entail thinking into existence a virtual universe so as to interact with such a universe and each other. Literally everything is consciousness in action, resulting in a gigantic cosmic simulation. We and other creatures are offspring of this God consciousness.
The Miracle of Our Universe explores the forefront of science and spirituality research, Are near-death experiences real? What is the Zero-Point Field? What kind of being could God be? Is there some place that God could have come from? How does the Big Bang figure into this? Is there an afterlife and what could it be like? What is the purpose of life? Is consciousness all there is? Is the Universe a virtual reality? Why is Hell impossible?
- GenresScienceNonfiction
Audible Audio
Published October 2, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 5, 2024
Preface to say: I barely passed physics. Technically I didn’t pass math but neither did the rest of the class so the curve gave me a B.
With that said, this book may be difficult to understand for someone who isn’t mathematically minded. There is a lot of physics and math to explain different points to which my brain just protested.
But all of that aside I loved that they took science to try and prove the existence of God, past lives, Heaven (thought differently than we think of it). It’s a really interesting book with a lot to wrap your mind around.
With that said, this book may be difficult to understand for someone who isn’t mathematically minded. There is a lot of physics and math to explain different points to which my brain just protested.
But all of that aside I loved that they took science to try and prove the existence of God, past lives, Heaven (thought differently than we think of it). It’s a really interesting book with a lot to wrap your mind around.
May 15, 2024
f you have ever wondered about an after-life or past lives, or just are an agnostic like me and open to the possible existence of a god (who I doubt would have a name since it encompasses the all, would likely have more of sound, possibly like OM) then this book would be of interest to you. I enjoyed The Miracle of Our Universe by Astrophysicist Bernard Haisch and his science-writing and musician co-author, Marsha Sims, for its attempts to explain the existence of god .
Beyond the reference lenses of ZPE--Zero Point Energy--dark energy, anti-gravity, mass inertia, and the quantum physics, I was drawn in by the research science history--Einstein, Heisenburg, Mach, and Hubble (and the protons, quarks and gluons!). I am interested in conversations about consciousness, individual and collective, so I was drawn to the more social science explanations for an existence of a god that became apparent only after longer accounts on science which sought to justify (explain?) their beliefs in a god. For example, the reference to the "Akashic Field" on page 49, comes out of theosophy and is the notion of "a vast database of all thoughts, words, action, and events that have ever taken place anywhere in the world." Theosophical history is filled with big ideas, giant intellects, and attempts at explaining the big religions of the world, defining similarities, and placing them into a kind of collective beliefs effort.
The Miracle of Our Universe is delightful if you have ever delved into the work Edgar Cayce, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, Rudolf Steiner, and Karl Jung's idea of a collective unconscious. The work here also caused me to think again about the inner struggles within the theosophy world concerning Annie Besant, Charles Webster Leadbeater, and J Krisnamurti. My two favorite chapters were "Near-Death Experiences" and "Reincarnation and Past Lives." With respect to reincarnation, this book exposed me to the work of Prof. Jim B. Tucker's program at the University of Virginia. Tucker's group stays on the lookout for children's reincarnation stories. He sends his team out to collect and document what are arguably past life narratives of mostly children younger than 10. The idea that one of his subjects lived a past life, and that past life can be well documented, and it is unlikely the child would have been exposed to the memories he now can recall, definitely give one a moment of pause. Even as fiction, Tucker's work is exciting. As for the work of Haisch and Sims, the flow of the book is uneven, the writing too, but the breadth of what of what they are taking on--the purpose of life--is to be applauded and paid some attention to.
Beyond the reference lenses of ZPE--Zero Point Energy--dark energy, anti-gravity, mass inertia, and the quantum physics, I was drawn in by the research science history--Einstein, Heisenburg, Mach, and Hubble (and the protons, quarks and gluons!). I am interested in conversations about consciousness, individual and collective, so I was drawn to the more social science explanations for an existence of a god that became apparent only after longer accounts on science which sought to justify (explain?) their beliefs in a god. For example, the reference to the "Akashic Field" on page 49, comes out of theosophy and is the notion of "a vast database of all thoughts, words, action, and events that have ever taken place anywhere in the world." Theosophical history is filled with big ideas, giant intellects, and attempts at explaining the big religions of the world, defining similarities, and placing them into a kind of collective beliefs effort.
The Miracle of Our Universe is delightful if you have ever delved into the work Edgar Cayce, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, Rudolf Steiner, and Karl Jung's idea of a collective unconscious. The work here also caused me to think again about the inner struggles within the theosophy world concerning Annie Besant, Charles Webster Leadbeater, and J Krisnamurti. My two favorite chapters were "Near-Death Experiences" and "Reincarnation and Past Lives." With respect to reincarnation, this book exposed me to the work of Prof. Jim B. Tucker's program at the University of Virginia. Tucker's group stays on the lookout for children's reincarnation stories. He sends his team out to collect and document what are arguably past life narratives of mostly children younger than 10. The idea that one of his subjects lived a past life, and that past life can be well documented, and it is unlikely the child would have been exposed to the memories he now can recall, definitely give one a moment of pause. Even as fiction, Tucker's work is exciting. As for the work of Haisch and Sims, the flow of the book is uneven, the writing too, but the breadth of what of what they are taking on--the purpose of life--is to be applauded and paid some attention to.
November 19, 2024
The Miracle of Our Universe provides an overview of God, consciousness and science. The book starts with an examination of near-death experiences, NDEs and these stories suggest that there is more to our existence besides the material world. Haisch states that he is a Christian who believes in reincarnations and that there is no hell. Haisch discusses zero-point fields but it seems to me that he does not connect ZPF to the divine. The book tackles consciousness and argues that God is pure consciousness that permeates the universe. Haisch dabbles into cosmology and argues that the universe had a beginning (the big bang) and that it argues for God to be the first mover of things. Haisch argues that the multiverse is incorrect because the idea that quantum fluctuations caused the big bang is incorrect because it assumes the laws of quantum mechanics existed before the big bang. Overall, the book is well written and it is an interesting topic.
January 9, 2024
A thought-provoking and plausible view of the universe. Although the scientific concepts are complex for the layman, the authors do an outstanding job of making them clear and accessible. The idea that consciousness is all that is real makes perfect scientific sense, but also is a hopeful and empowering concept for our future, not only as humans on earth, but as children of God!
I highly recommend this book!
I highly recommend this book!
March 4, 2024
While it incorporates scientific literature into some of the topics explored, this is book is better described as theological (specifically panpsychism) commentary. Now that that's established, if you are open to exploring a worldview that pushes the fundamental definition of consciousness beyond something exclusive to biological organisms, with regard for our current understanding of both classical and quantum physics, then this book is a great 4/5 read!
March 27, 2024
I can’t get past this books assertion that we are living in a virtual reality. That God is playing the equivalent of a big video game with the universe. There is no evidence for this, and it strains all credibility. This book is a waste of time.
March 12, 2024
Absolutely amazing! Now it’s not the best stylistically and flows a little strangely but the content is so encapsulating that after a few chapters in it does not matter. Incredibly eye opening.
September 21, 2024
Very informative!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews