The Meaning of Universal Awareness: A Rational Foundation

Universal Awareness: A Theory of the Soul was published by the author in 2011 (CreateSpace, self-publishing). A revised edition was published in 2022 (KDP Publishing). The Meaning of Universal Awareness: A Rational Foundation is a condensed version of the second edition and comprises a comprehensive description of the theory, new ideas, and a wider consideration of moral and ethical implications. All presented in 100 pages, with the general reader in mind and in friendly, non-technical language!

The idea of universal awareness in some form has an ancient lineage, but in recent years it has become a subject for serious discussion amongst philosophers and scientists, as well as ‘New Age’ writers and devotees of certain religious and quasi-religious systems of thought. The evolution of the author’s Theory of Universal Awareness began with a series of existential questions such as, ‘Why was I born the person I am and not someone else?’; ‘If something had happened to prevent me from being born, would I still have been born, but as someone else?’; ‘Have I lived before?’; and ‘What happens to me when I die?’ The search for answers to these questions has proceeded in a strictly logical and rational manner, keeping within the boundaries of current scientific knowledge and without reliance on any supernatural or paranormal ideas or entities.

The principal conclusion of this search is non-controversial. The composition and structure of the universe enable it to be aware of itself and its activity at certain extremely rare and minute locations in space and time, hence the assertion that ‘awareness of being’ is a property of the universe and the term ‘Universal Awareness’. It is an emergent property in the sense that it just happens because the universe is made that way and it does not fulfil any intrinsic purpose or intent. We refer to these 'rare and minute locations' as ‘sentient beings’, specifically what may be the most complex object in the universe, their brain and nervous system. Currently, the only ones we know about are on our planet, though it seems likely that they exist elsewhere in our universe.

Rational thinking and science inform us that the person we are aware of being only lives once, with no previous existence or afterlife. But our awareness of being itself, sometimes called our ‘soul’, is a property of the universe, something the universe does.

As we explore the meaning of Universal Awareness, fascinating implications reveal themselves, including clear and unequivocal answers to those existential questions that stimulated this quest. These are both exciting and disturbing. They include answers to other long-debated questions such as, ‘How come I was born at all, given the myriad circumstances required for this event?’; ‘Am I the same person over time?’; and ‘Why am I only ever aware of being one person?’. There are also huge implications for how we think about the great moral and ethical dilemmas we face, and issues such as the obvious unfairness of life. In The Meaning of Universal Awareness these are considered in further detail than previously.

Finally, a consideration of the progression of Universal Awareness over time, based on the history of our species, reveals some remarkable possibilities. From this perspective we see that extraordinary events happen at these tiny locations where the universe is structured to be self-aware, some that occur nowhere else, and how, figuratively speaking, the universe tends to become increasingly self-aware and behave in ways that preserve and expand its self-awareness. But always strictly within the laws of science!

I am confident that you will find The Meaning of Universal Awareness a fascinating and thought-provoking read.