WHAT IS REALITY?

Oct 4, 2016 | Published Books & Articles

by Ervin Laszlo (Author), Deepak Chopra M.D. (Foreword), Stanislav Grof (Introduction), Kingsley L. Dennis (Editor)

Ervin Laszlo’s tour de force, What is Reality?, is the product of a half-century of deep contemplation and cutting-edge scholarship. Addressing many of the paradoxes that have confounded modern science over the years, it offers nothing less than a new paradigm of reality, one in which the cosmos is a seamless whole, informed by a single, coherent consciousness manifest in us all. 

Bringing together science, philosophy, and metaphysics, Laszlo takes aim at accepted wisdom, such as the dichotomies of mind and body, spirit and matter, being and nonbeing, to show how we are all part of an infinite cycle of existence unfolding in spacetime and beyond.

Augmented by insightful commentary from a dozen scholars and thinkers, along with a foreword by Deepak Chopra and an introduction by Stanislav Grof, What is Reality? offers a fresh and liberating understanding of the meaning and purpose of existence.

 

Table of Contents 

PREFACE
FOREWORD by Deepak Chopra

EXCERPT

“… there’s every reason to value highly a profound thinker like Ervin Laszlo. His new map of reality encompassing cosmos and consciousness aims to change our core beliefs, which in turn will change how we lead our daily lives… reality has brought us to a fork in the road. One signpost says ‘consciousness is the source,’ the other signpost says ‘matter is the source.’ By investigating the deepest mysteries of reality, Ervin Laszlo indicates which road to choose. And with his description of the new map of reality he inspires us the courage to actually take it.” 

From the foreword by Deepak Chopra

INTRODUCTION BY STANISLAV GROF
PART ONE: THE NEW MAP

1.Cosmos

Paradigm Shift

The Waning of the Classical Paradigm

The Nature of the New Paradigm

The Map of the Cosmos

Basic Tenets

The Deep Dimension in Classical Philosophy and in Modern Science

Postscript: Is the Deep Dimension a Hologram?

2. Consciousness

The Conventional Theory

Challenges of the Conventional Theory

Near Death Experiences

Out-of-Body Experiences

Remote Viewing

Channeled Experiences

Instrumental Transcommunication

Alternative Conceptions

The Map of Consciousness

Postscript: The End of Dualism

3. Existence 

Survival

Existence After Death

Existence Between Lives

Existence Prior to (Re)Birth

The Map of Existence

Existence, Birth, and Death: The New Definitions

Appendix: An Experienced Case of Transcommunication

Postscript: Rebirth and Reincarnation in the Traditional Cultures

PART TWO: EXPLORATIONS OF THE NEW MAP
  1. The New Map in Physics

The Physics of Oneness Nassim Haramein

The In-Formed Cosmos Jude Currivan

The Holographic Theory of Reality Allan Combs and Stanley Krippner

  1. The New Map in the Study of Consciousness

A New of Reality Based on Consciousness Stephan A. Schwartz

The Deep Roots of Consciousness Ede Frecska

The New Map of Consciousness and the Neurosciences Nitamo Federico Montecucco

  1. The New Map and the Nature of Existence

Existence Beyond the Body: The Tibetan View Tulku Thondup

Existence Beyond the Body: The Shamanic View Na Aak

Existence Within and Beyond the Body: The Mystical View Jean Houston

Existence and the Intelligence of the Cosmos: Insights from a Psychedelic Communion Christopher M. Bache

  1. Wider Horizons

The Tao, Consciousness, and Existence Dr. & Master Zhi-Gang Sha

The New Map of Reality: Who Are You Really? John R. Audette

Conscious Agency for Planetary Wholness Kingsley L. Dennis

Laszlo’s Map of Reality and the New Human Consciousness Gary Zukav

Seeking Syntony with the Intelligence of the Cosmos Alexander Laszlo

PART THREE: MEANING
  1. In Search of Meaning

Purpose in Nature

The Argument from Coherence (1): The Coherence of the Physics of Universe

The Argument from Coherence (2): The Evolution of Coherent Systems

Searching Deeper

  1. The Vision of the Ultimate Meaning

Cosmic Purpose and the Evolution of Consciousness

The Visionary Scenarios

AFTERWORD

Meaning and Purpose in Laszlo’s Map of Reality and in the Wisdom of Traditions

Shami Desai

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

 

NOTES

 

AUTHORS' BIOGRAPHY

 

 

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTES ON THE CONTRIBUTORS

 

 

INDEX

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Ervin Laszlo spent his childhood in Budapest. He was a celebrated child prodigy, with public appearances from the age of nine. Upon receiving a Grand Prize at the international music competition in Geneva, he was allowed to cross the Iron Curtain and begin an international concert career, first in Europe and then in the United States.

At the request of Senator Claude Pepper of Florida, he was awarded United States citizenship by an Act of Congress before his twenty-first birthday.

Laszlo received the Sorbonne’s highest degree, the Doctorat en Lettres et Sciences Humaines, in 1970.

Shifting to the life of a scientist and humanist, he lectured at various American universities, including Yale, Princeton, Northwestern, the University of Houston, and the State University of New York.

The author, co-author or editor of ninety-one books, which have appeared in twenty-four languages, Laszlo has also written several hundred papers and articles in scientific journals and popular magazines.

He is a member of numerous scientific bodies, including the International Academy of Science, the World Academy of Arts and Science, the International Academy of Philosophy of Science, and the International Medici Academy.

Laszlo received the Goi Peace Award in 2001, the Assisi Mandir of Peace Prize in 2006, the Polyhistor Prize of Hungary in 2015 and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 and 2005. He was elected member of the Hungarian Academy of Science in 2010.

Laszlo is founder and president of the global think tank The Club of Budapest and Founder and Director of the Laszlo Institute of New Paradigm Research in Italy.

Reviews

“There is a growing realization that our view of the world and the nature of consciousness is not merely a matter of personal philosophy, but is also a critical factor in our survival as a species. Our age has suffered greatly from the deadening effects of the grim ideology of materialism. In contrast, the resplendent vision of the new map of teality offers a new dawn of hope, meaning, direction and purpose.”

Larry Dossey, MD
Author of One Mind: How Our Individual Mind is Part of a Greater Consciousness

“This book will be read by this and future generations with awe. It is the equivalent of a twenty-first century Copernican Revolution, setting the stage for a convergence in mind and in reality of all facets of the Cosmos and the Biosphere we Homo sapiens call home. A work of sublime synthesis and feeling; articulated with many life-times of wisdom.”

Michael Charles Tobias
President, Dancing Star Foundation

“Laszlo’s new map of reality provides real hope for the planet at a time of imminent crisis and encourages all of us to wake up to reality in order to play our part in this new era of shared consciousness. Dr Laszlo’s insights offer us a new way of thinking about our place in the universe and a new multi-dimensional approach to the way we view science and the search for truth. This book provides a blueprint for all readers to re-discover the potential of the human mind to solve problems and invites us to join together on an evolutionary journey in order to live “as if everything is a miracle. .”

Mirela Sula
Chief Editor, Global Woman Magazine

“Ervin Laszlo, preeminent philosopher of our time, has pioneered in his many books and activism a new path for humanity beyond our current crises of limited perception and understanding. As an inspired educator and political activist, he has guided the lives of millions, including myself, to become active agents of ethical change beyond reductionism, materialism, GDP-fetishism, mindless consumerism and narrow-minded sectarianism. This book does indeed succeed in providing a new map of reality, for millions of aspiring global citizens to see beyond today’s conflicts, ideological and religious factions, grounding our spiritual and instinctive vision of wholeness, the inseparable oneness of our human family with all life on this planet.”

Hazel Henderson
President, Ethical Markets Media, author of Building a Win-Win World; Paradigms in Progress

“In his compelling latest book, What Is Reality?, Dr. Ervin Laszlo … offers a cogent and cohesive framework from which emerges, with justifiable confidence, an enlarged empirically-driven comprehension about the nature of reality. His stimulating forward-looking analysis provides invaluable insights into the greatest questions of human existence. His reasoning is well-positioned on the frontier of breakthrough knowledge, which predictably may ultimately transform science itself as it reluctantly parts company with the last remaining vestiges of the embattled materialist model of creation. For lay persons probing life’s really big questions, this book is highly recommended reading. For mainstream scientists looking for a sound basis to adopt a post-materialist view of reality, look no further than the brilliantly crafted arguments Dr. Laszlo offers in this gem of a book.”

Raymond A. Moody, Ph.D, M.D., Author of Life After Life

Latest Publications

The New Paradigm in Cosmology – The Book

The New Paradigm in Cosmology – The Book

The New Paradigm in Cosmology – New eBook Release by the Laszlo Institute and the AITIA Institute! This book compiled and edited by Richard Blum is based on the second Online Global Symposium of The New Paradigm Symposia Series sponsored by the AITIA Institute and the Laszlo Institute of New Paradigm Research.