Who am I ? What is reality?- An attempt to find answers.

WHO AM I? Am I that 'something', I believe in? Have you ever been astonished by such a thought? Such thoughts would have surfaced in the minds of many of us who have elevated their degree of natural awareness.

       Since long back my curiosity drive kept on pushing me to give an attempt to find an answer to it, especially before sleeping. Hence, I decided to go a little deeper into this. Well, I am not a sage to swim deep down this ocean, but I can create ripples to give a small attempt to find out who I am and what the reality is, as per my capacity. Here, I found something which has changed the way I perceived everything. Before you read, please take a disclaimer note in an account that these findings are achieved in my own ways. You have an absolute right to agree or disagree with it.

       Definitely, many of us are well aware that, we are not the name we wear till the time we are alive nor the clothes. Things we have in our external life or anything which is not chosen by us, like our birthplace, family in which we are born, our richness, poorness, the religion we belong to or our caste, etc. Going further, we can differentiate our personality traits, feelings, emotions from ourselves. These are experienced separately in our minds and have a changing nature. It reacts to the external and internal conditions. Something deep down exists, which is beyond our cognitive horizon.
    What is that? Let us go deeper.

       By looking at this paramount question mentioned in the title line from the point of view of physics, we can achieve liberation... Yes, that is the right word.

       We are aware that on an Einstein (bigger) scale, the observable universe exists to a great extent. Billions of Stars, Galaxies, Stardust and many other celestial objects are a part of the known universe. We, tiny humans, came into existence as a by-product of the universal activities that had happened billions of years ago, which includes the death of a sun-like star before the sun came into existence, 5 billion years ago. Creation of a carbon layer during the destruction of that dying star, the supernova shock wave that threw the building block elements towards our (then) baby sun, later on, which become the basis of DNA , is the building block of any species on the earth, including mankind. All this cannot be ignored if we want to give a serious attempt to find an answer to such a complicated question with a simplified realistic approach.

       We came to know that our physical body is made of stardust. Lest not be egoistic then because even the ant and the amoeba are made up of the same material. So, are we the stardust only? Then why is there a difference between stone, a starfish and an intelligent human?

Let us explore these questions by entering into the physiological dimension; there is a certain limitation to the objective approach of physics when it comes to probing into a question that is subjective in nature. E.g. how do we know, that we know?

       During the process of evolution, the human race has developed five senses to survive as a species. The perceivable picture of the surrounding is a result of the information provided to the brain by senses to which our brain gives meaning. This is how we say that we know, isn't it?

      But the problem here is, even if the brain receives similar signals directly without the happening of an external event, it responds in the same way. I hope many of you have experienced virtual reality games. I recommend you to experience the most thrilling one.  You will experience that your adrenaline will still rush even when you are well aware of the (fake) virtual reality. The brain doesn't care what you are aware of. When we experience a dream, it gives us a similar experience to reality, a 3-dimensional world that exists inside the dream. We can feel, run, stop, even dream in a dream. We can do everything without using the logical sense, a complete deceptive reality, but our body feels everything isn't it?

       During open brain surgery, the same thing happens, when the brain is stimulated with electrical signals directly without using the senses. The patient perceives that the same event is happening in reality and responds with body movements. These examples indicate that our cognitive reality is not purely absolute as we think of it. The mental image of ourselves is not a fact but possibly a deceptive illusion. Why does this happen and how? Does it mean only your brain is really you?

     Here, another important question might have occurred in the minds of some of the brainy people that if the brain can get deceived, then the surrounding we are experiencing is as absolute as we are originally experiencing it or it is full of illusions  We need a deeper sense of understanding to find the answer to it.
                                                                  (Representation of how does our brain create illusions)

 Let us go ahead with the surprising finding made by a beautiful branch of science called quantum physics.

     Stephan Wolinsky wrote in his book named 'The dark side of the inner child'. The purpose of the nervous system is to organize the chaos. What does he mean by this?

         An Austrian Physicist Ervin Schrödinger who was awarded Nobel Prize in 1933, once stated that “Consciousness cannot be accounted for in physical terms. For consciousness is absolutely fundamental. It cannot be accounted for in terms of anything else.” 

      What these two great people on earth actually say is taking us closer to the answer to our primary question.

Before we go ahead, let us know what makes humans able to think. The root of physical brain development is notably found in the process of human evolution. Some Primates were fortunate enough to get evolved as Homo sapiens and became you and me today. We can question our existence because of the developed frontal Cortex in our brain; no other species are equipped with such a big frontal cortex so far. This area of the brain in our forehead gives us the ability to think, imagine and explore possibilities.

      The quantum physics clearly showed us that the fundamental particles by which the world has been made (you, me, trees, chemicals, stars) are behaving surprisingly. This is a world-changing finding and it challenges the reality. Here, let me recommend you to observe the double-slit experiment for better and necessary understanding.         
                              (Representation of how does solid electron create a wave-like interference pattern on receiptor)

      If we mention the findings of this experiment in simple words, the particles like electron, proton  behave like a wave, when we are not observing it; but it behaves as solid particles when we observe it. Has this been proved by physics? Is there sufficient evidence supporting this? The Mobile you are using, the computer and almost every equipment will stop working if these findings are not the fact, that's it.

      But how can this happen? I can see the table in its solid form which is made up of the same particles. It is still there as a solid table even when I am not looking at it, right? That's how Einstein shouted that "the moon is still there even when I am not looking at it". Today he might have changed his opinion.

       Let us remember what we have learned in the beginning, the brain can know by using its senses; the senses provide data to the brain and it gives meaning to it. Here the form in which the data is reaching to the sense is possibly in a waveform but our nervous system perceives it as a solid object! 

     Does it mean everything we see is a wave in actual? You, me, the car, the moon?

     But I am seeing all this as a solid reality.

     I found this amazing to explore. Here this question becomes absolutely subjective.

The reality we are experiencing is totally our own way of giving meaning to the information we receive. Psychological awareness and memory play this game. Without the foundation of memory, the world will not exist for us no matter how much information our brain has received. Memory in itself is a collection and has saved a bunch of manipulated information, the manipulation done by our own brain. So your view of yourself is a part of this, which is not you but your own belief of you.

         When we mix up psychological, physical, physiological findings, we become sure of something is spooky to us, things are not as real as we perceive it. Let us go deep down into the world of consciousness where we will find the possible answer.

 

 Physics has a theory called (electromagnetic) field theory, the overall predictions made by this theory are, and the possibility of finding the particle in the electromagnetic field (which is surrounding the particle) is, everywhere. Every possibility in this world already exists in the field of possibilities, every event that has happened or has not happened, anything which can be imagined or which cannot be imagined, does exist in the field of possibilities. We, the sapiens, have been able to explore in this area, are so fortunate. Actually, we ourselves are the waves of possibility, which is trying to find the wave of possibility or as the great scientist Michio Kaku famously said "a physicist is an atom trying to know an atom''.

       So who are we in reality, finding the answer to this question?

       The same question was explored by great sages on earth earlier too in the eastern world when the west and the birth of physics, mathematical and logical sciences had not happened separately. The ancient sages considered all these as one and tried to explore various dimensions of this question. Once Erwin Schrödinger himself stated, “Our Western science has cut itself off from an adequate understanding of the Subject of Cognizance, of the mind. This is precisely the point where our present way of thinking needs to be amended, perhaps by a bit of blood-transfusion from Eastern thought.”

       In many cultures, the sages called their findings as liberation. Today the westernized mental blocks make us completely ignorant of these studies presented by the great sages, which is unfortunate. Whatever can be predicted by logic is right, it is not the right mindset, and many dimensions of quantum mechanics are yet to be explained by logic. The logic has its limitations in validating the findings on the basis of the set principles of satisfying sensational perceiving, especially when it studies the nature of reality. Even 100 years after the birth of basic questions on particle's behavior, we struggle to provide a definite answer to it with observable logic. Therefore, many great scientists have said that there must be a role of conscientiousness in the play. 

     Consciousness is something we cannot explain in words but it is something that exists everywhere, like a WiFi. It doesn't appear but works when you have a device which has a mechanism to utilize the waves of WiFi. It is not perceivable to senses but flows everywhere, in the same manner as the omnipresent field of possibilities. Sages may have named their findings of omnipresent consciousness as per their culture by using the available words at that time.

       How did they find the answer? By meditating and exploring into the deepest self which might have made them able to internalize this knowledge and achieve enlightenment. Further to which some of them tried to guide the general public as per their capacity, and called this spiritual development. They also tried to set an ultimate goal of achieving liberation. This is the very right way to live life well. To be the life but stay detached by developing the understanding of the fundamental knowledge that you are a part of the omnipresent force and exist as a possibility. How amazing this knowledge is!! Everyone has a different level of realization. This, we can call spiritual stamina. Some people are experts in it and some have just entered. Only knowing the whole game does not make us an expert player. It is only possible by internalizing the knowledge and   by its practical application.

       After exploring the questions and possible answers to it, we can conclude that the reality itself is questionable and the human race may not be able to find the final answer to this as they are a part of it. The subject itself becomes an object and that is where a great physics problem arises -  'the observer effect', the act of observing something to understand its nature essentially changes its true nature as the observer becomes the part of the system to be measured...

     

     To explain it easily, let us go to the movie you like the most. When we enjoy the movie in a theater, we experience emotions and feelings. Sometimes we react and respond, we can also walk out of the theater and re-enter into it any time, as we know that the movie is separately located outside us. But what if you start realizing that you are sitting in the theater and are a part of the movie, your every action is a part of the play. The whole movie is projected by the consciousness, realizing this doesn't mean that you can control the movie, but you can obtain a feeling of liberation and enjoy the movie the way it is happening with you, since it is separate from you. Also, it does not mean you can escape from it, but you become liberal and play your part more peacefully.

                                     (Representation of Plato's cave experiment- recommended to read)

       Possibly, our existence in this universe is as same as explained in the example above. We are the possibility that cannot be separated from consciousness waves and we are perceiving the universal possibilities through consciousness waves which are the almighty energy frequencies that are present everywhere in the universe. Ultimately, we are that possibility which is everything and present everywhere.