The Immaterialism of Reality
What I think is ‘most real’ cannot be answered as a concrete this-or-that assertion. While I like to claim that I am deeply spiritual, I don’t do near as much practicing as I’d like. Gnosticism most closely resembles my beliefs, though I cannot proclaim to be gnostic. I’d like to say wholeheartedly that I make no distinction between things we can physically sense and things we cannot physically sense. I’d like to say this because I believe there is more than we perceive. However, I am still egotistical and very connected to my body.
With that said, I think that non-physicality is more real because it implies answers to things we cannot explain. An example would be how planetary retrogrades can explain shifts in moods by changing gravitational pulls. Or, the gut instinct people get about things. Emotion is not physical. And what about dreams and dejavu? Thought is not physical, but it is thought and emotion that propels us.
When I was younger, my favorite philosophers were the transcendentalists. I admired the solace they found in nature and simplicity. Ralph Waldo Emerson is regarded to have “strongly believed the individual must have the courage to look into his own heart for spiritual guidance and trust his intuition” (Merdut). This quote exemplifies my own belief of immaterialism. It is not through material riches that one receives wealth and inner peace. If one has less material objects to distract their mind from contemplation and intuitive listening, one can operate on a more efficient level. It will also create more room for other people. If more people were minimalists, the oceans wouldn’t be filled with plastic.
Furthermore; Emerson says that “once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen” (Merdut). This claim ties into non-physicality being more real because of metaphysics. I understand metaphysics to work like gravity. Everything has its own gravitational field because everything emits a frequency. These frequencies either have a positive charge or a negative charge. Just like protons and electrons, they are attracted to their same kind. Thus, the Law of Attraction. The Law of Attraction claims that if you think positive thoughts – as if you already have what you want – you will literally attract it. This effect is certainly not physical.
Therefore, I think science can discover ultimate reality. I think reality can best be explained metaphysically. After all, the way we view the world rests on an agreed perception. Like how Aldous Huxley showcased in “The Doors of Perception,” our image of ourselves and our world is only a construct that is stubborn, yet fragile. I contribute this to be the reason why religions war with each other – each is a threat to their perception of reality.
I think Gnosticism coincides with metaphysics. The value they place on individual self-determination is in accordance with the Law of Attraction. And it is inevitable that by improving oneself, one’s environments are improved. Positivity begets positivity. And since a gnostic purpose is to leave the physical world be rejoined with the “True God,” there must be another world – and it only makes sense for it to be non-physical. People cannot perceive it, because we are sensational. We are designed to feel things with our bodies, not our spirits.
Thus, I do believe in an existence more real than this one. While I was researching psychedelic plants for a research paper, I came across several things that can be used to support this claim, the most interesting being the entheogenic properties of dimethyltryptamine (DMT). It is referred to by Rick Strassman (author of “DMT: The Spirit Molecule”) as the spirit molecule. The accounts from the users clearly demonstrate this. The experience is described to be one of a breakthrough into some sort of cosmic, other-worldly space. All accounts declared the space to be inhabited by some sort of entity that communicated with them visually. From the visuals, the user’s felt profound mental and emotional clarity.
The prevalence of natural psychedelics in the Americas and their molecular similarity explains the transcendent religious qualities of indigenous Amerindian cultures. Both scientific and religious aspects of psychedelic plants prove the existence of a state that is non-physical, though nonetheless real. The entheogenic qualities of these plants could very well be where the concept of heaven was originally derived from. If heaven is a place of, first, judgment, then forgiveness, and finally peace, it is akin to the psychedelic experience. Medicinally, the substances heal emotional discontent by making a user hyper-aware to their emotions and providing mental clarity by destructing stubborn perceptions. Medicinally, it is an unpleasant experience that can produce cognitive dissonance. Nothing was ever fixed by ignorance.
My claim could be disputed as drug-induced delusion. Though I would contend that a lack of physical explanation inevitably leads to such doubt. Furthermore, we know that when a person dies, their spirit goes somewhere. Energy cannot just dissipate. Wherever it goes, it is not in a physical form. The same concept can be applied to DMT experiences, though to a lesser extent. Ultimately, a good reason to think about reality and the afterlife is to find whatever coincides most with one’s intuition and peace. As long as someone can justify their beliefs on their own contemplation, reasoning, and researching, anything goes. It’s their spirit that is at stake, not someone else’s cognitive dissonance.
Works Cited
Merdut, Flavial. “23 Ralph Waldo Emerson Quotes to Become more Self-Reliant.” Goalcast, 30 July 2018, www.goalcast.com
Lin, Tao. “DMT: You Cannot Imagine a Stranger Drug or a Stranger Experience.” Tao of Terrence, Vice, 5 Aug. 2014, www.vice.com.