Leo Foresta

Part I: The subtle side of reality

What is reality?

Like millions of other baby boomers in the post war era I was bred on a simple story: material reality is all there is, and science is well on its way to explaining every aspect of it.

At the time that proposition sounded highly credible. After the hardships of the war a lot of people were benefiting from a new kind of prosperity. One that not only ensured there was enough food on the table, but also brought hitherto unseen comfort and convenience to large segments of the middle and working classes in developed countries. Washing machines, vacuum cleaners, plastic wrappings, frozen food, record players, transistor radios, television…you name it. All these home treasures that previous generations couldn’t even have imagined were made possible by technical progress derived from the application of science. Material prosperity was not only an enjoyable novelty; it was becoming the corner stone of human happiness, the ultimate objective of civilised society.

There was still, of course, the different tune of religion. But the religious establishment no longer disputed the pre-eminence of science for matters of “this world”. Religion’s modern narrative was that it dealt with something different, bearing no relation to physical reality. God and his crew were elsewhere, entering the scene only when it was time to decide on eternal reward or punishment. An educated civilised person could adopt the materialist vision alone, or the materialist vision plus the beliefs and moral code of religion as an added option. Both choices were acceptable, and were a personal matter.

As for bizarre phenomena such as clairvoyance, precognition, miraculous healing, and the like, these were not considered serious by normal people, whether atheists or religious. Only eccentrics would devote any attention to such things.

And basically, that was that.

However, everything was to be called into question within a few decades. By the end of the 20th century advances of science and technology were absolutely impressive. But people weren’t becoming happier as they should have according to the narrative of progress. Society was not getting more harmonious. On the contrary it was more aggressive and chaotic. Words hitherto practically unknown like stress, congestion and pollution sprang up in every day conversation. The idea that advanced societies’ way of life had become totally unsustainable was widely accepted. With the obvious contradiction that economic growth was more than ever regarded as society’s absolute priority.

In short, it suddenly looked as if humanity was stumbling into a dangerous trap. This was an unexpected turn of events which triggered confusion and doubts. Was material progress so good after all? Was it really the finality of our lives? Should we trust science without second thoughts? Alternative ideas questioning the bases of society’s mainstream world view started to circulate, initially amongst a very tiny minority, and then a little more widely as we moved into the 21^st century.

Ancient traditions like Tao, Hinduism, shamanism and druidism were being looked at afresh. And a fascinating convergence between such teachings of a distant past and theories of advanced physics – such as quantum mechanics – were brought into light by a new breed of contemporary metaphysicians. Quantum mechanics date back to the early part of the 20^th century, but it took several decades before its consequences for our vision of reality started to become obvious.

In a nutshell, according to modern theories of advanced physics, what happens at the sub-atomic level is a ballet of pure energy and information with no clear traces of firm matter. What we experience at our scale of observation is only a visible manifestation of these infinitesimal flows of energy and information. A bit like a video played on a computer screen which has no other real existence than as digital data on a file. In other words it would appear that we live in a vacuum filled with pulsating energy and information which produce images and other perceptions picked up and processed by the software of our mind [1].

More amazing still is that theories of advanced physics refer to “clusters of probabilities” of events – such as the presence of an elementary particle at a given place and time – as opposed to clearly determined events. And they suggest that potential events depend on the “observer”. As if all of this wasn’t incredible enough, some theories question the irreversibility of time, and even the very notion of time itself.

These views of a universe[2] without firm material existence, arising of elusive flows of energy and information, with potentialities partly dependant on the observer, where time may be no more than a perception, are of course completely at odds with the crude mechanistic representation of visible reality dominant in the Western world.

But they turn out to be quite consistent with the teachings of ancient traditions and with concepts behind non conventional practices in healing, agriculture and other areas. This uncanny rapprochement of old and new, scientific and intuitive has given rise to a large movement of alternative thinking. Free minded people now dare take an active interest in a whole swathe of observations and ideas considered off limits not so long ago. Water memory, near death experiences, remote viewing, distance healing, telepathy, interspecies communication. These and other subjects are at last treated seriously.

However, the establishment remains ostensibly closed to virtually all aspects of alternative thinking. And mainstream scientists, far from being encouraged to explore unconventional areas, are firmly invited to concentrate on theories and models supporting the development of technologies in accordance with the objectives of industry. In other words, to stick to useful concrete stuff, which in the minds of their pay-masters means money making stuff.

Because money drives everything. Business is now what matters in human society. It may be chaotic, increasingly corrupt and divisive, and cause grave collateral damages. But the establishment is solidly behind it. As for ordinary folks, competitive pressures ensure that they keep running like rats with little time for stepping back and looking critically at the big issues of where the world is going, or pondering on the nature of reality. And when not working or playing the social game, ordinary people are diverted from the temptation of serious thinking by a deluge of trivial distractions.

All of this is currently getting more intense than ever before. Over the last few years a number of trends have reached new thresholds, and the mix of financial, social, technological, health and environmental pressures on the vast majority of the population have become close to unbearable. At the same time natural eco-systems worldwide show clear signs of accelerating collapse. In short, whatever way you look the seams are cracking.

How come that mankind which seemed on a path of general progress half a century ago got itself and the planet into such a complete mess? Why are most people so stressed, anxious, and aggressive as soon a vague threat to their perceived interests arises?

Conventional psycho-socio-economic and political analyses fall far short of providing coherent explanations, let alone credible solutions.

In the alternative fringe one sees the global crisis as much more than the failing of a particular system. The issue is humanity’s collective world view and mindset. It is how we think of ourselves in relation to existence, in relation to other humans and other creatures, and how our thoughts, conscious and unconscious, command what we do. And the key to collective mindset is mind control by the global elite. The latter consists of top establishment figures in banking, multinationals, government, academia, religion and the press. Most of these people are probably mere puppets, themselves subject to mind control and ultimately slaves like the rest of the population.

But then who or what is behind the mind control process? Who or what exercises final control? How long has this been going on?

You might be tempted to think such considerations fly too high above your head to be in any way relevant in your every day life. But don’t be mistaken. They are absolutely relevant to every aspect of your life. Including your health, relationships, intimate wishes and fears. Mind control isn’t just any general issue out there, no concern of yours. It is right into your deep being. It drags your energy, it saps your confidence and self esteem and maintains you in a state of egocentric confusion and bewilderment.

The world crisis presently reaching a peak reveals the extent of mind control gripping our lives. In that respect the crisis is good news. It opens our eyes and our heart. We can now seriously search for the way to escape mind control, get free and move into a completely different step of dance with existence. It is not as difficult as you might expect. But it requires the courage to question everything you have taken for granted so far in your life. Attitudes shaped within your family. What you learned through formal education. All beliefs and dogmas in science, religion, the law and mainstream culture that have been literally downloaded in your mind.

To start with, do you have any clear idea of what your “mind” is, and what “reality” is, and what “knowledge” is in relation to reality? The forces of mind control didn’t encourage you to question these obviously fundamental things, did they? But this book will. It is going to take you on an exploratory ride through the subtle side of life. Without any preconceived idea. By means of neutral observations and logical deductions, and mainly with the help of intuition. Along the way it will soon become evident that intuition is far more powerful than the intellect so overrated in Western culture.

[1] Let us leave aside for the moment the question of what “our mind” might be

[2] And possibly several universes

Copyright © Leo Foresta 2014