A human being is a part of the whole that we call the universe, a part limited in time and space. And yet we experience ourselves, our thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest - a kind of optical illusion of our consciousness. This illusion is a prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for only the few people nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living beings and all of nature.
Albert Einstein
There are three main reasons why this site was created:
1. To create meaningful dialogue about spiritual and ethical issues.
2. To encourage myself and others to turn off the senses and look within.
3. To create a database of scientific and spiritual knowledge for everyone.
Rather than taking a particular viewpoint on any issue this site is dedicated instead to an overall theory of self that allows us to apply scientific rigor to the most elusive spiritual and ethical questions. In short this theory claims that the individuated sense of self can be described in terms of electrophysiological patterns whose source is infinite and all inclusive. The ramifications of this theory are vast. It facilitates the completion of the first objective by providing a standard by which opinions, feelings, and actions can be assessed: the expansive self. Usually the biggest hurdle in debate is that it is difficult to even begin having a cogent discussion since the meanings of words and images are different for everyone. The theory of self addresses this kind of relativism and various other problems of consciousness and personality. It is also important to note that people who hold onto narrow, exclusive identities are inevitably less happy and less fulfilled than those who learn to identify with others by disrupting established thought patterns. Fostering a more expansive identity can only do a person good.
The five senses continuously draw nervous energy away from the spine and brain. According to the theory of self this continuous flow of energy creates patterns of thinking that identify the self with the body rather than its infinite source. By stopping the flow of nervous energy into the senses and directing it inward toward the intuitive centers of the spine and brain the infinite substance of self is experienced and a person is saturated with an overall sense of well-being.
Of course it isn't enough to say that something accords to some theory of self. Religions and other sources of authority often expect us to accept their assertions without providing the means to test their claims. Hopefully this site will attract sincere truth-seekers who will test this theory as the ascetics of all faiths have done for thousands of years- through sense-introversion.