Abstract

The beliefs we hold in the deep, and mostly unconscious, reaches of our mind exert a powerful influence over our perception of reality. The article explores the power of personal and cultural narratives and outlines the mechanisms by which the narratives shape our reality. The dominant scientific narrative, based on the notion that ‘what is real is what is measurable’ is challenged and a new definition of reality proposed. This new definition embraces current scientific thinking, yet expands it in a way that allows a genuine synthesis between scientific rigor and spiritual realization to emerge.

Introduction

This article has grown out of an effort to address certain well-known but oft ignored ambiguities in the foundations of modern science. The aim has been to
reconcile modern science with persistent accounts of spiritual realities beyond mind and matter. It has been the premise of the work that both science and spiritual traditions are right in essence yet incomplete in their understanding of reality.

The preliminary conclusion has been that it is no longer meaningful to view reality as existing independently of our perception of it. Reality has revealed itself as a fluid state of never-ending unfoldment, representing a point of tension between pure being and phenomenal experience through which the mystery of life is gradually unveiled.

The purpose of this particular article is to shed light on the impact, the dominating cultural narratives has on shaping our reality. By cultural narratives are meant the stories we tell ourselves about who we are and why we are here. The narratives come in many shapes. Some are religious in nature, others scientific, yet others political and some are a mix.

Narratives are important for the obvious reason that the dominating narrative sets the overall agenda. In the present context I seek to dig deeper in relation to the nature of the narratives. My aim is to show the mechanisms whereby the narratives influence reality in subtle ways, in order to highlight their significance. Not just as political factors (which they are) but as existential and spiritual factors that shape our perception of reality.

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Open PDF document: On The Nature of Mind Created Reality and the
Significance of Personal and Cultural Narratives