HOPESTAR
INCLUSIONALITY
Many strands of modern science have revealed the illusion behind the sense of self that most of us adhere to. For example, we know that every cell in the human body is replaced within seven years, so there is no continuity of matter in the organism we identify with. Similarly, quantum physics has revealed that matter to be an illusion in itself - that what we are is nothing more than vibrating patterns of energy, sometimes appearing as particles, sometimes as waves. When we get down to it, there is nothing there.
With their Santiago Theory, two Chilean neuro-scientists, Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela, suggest that 'we bring forth the self just as we bring forth objects. Our self, or ego, does not have any independent existence but is the result of our internal structural coupling.' For systems scientist and writer Fritjof Capra, this is the 'crux of the human condition', because 'when we look for an independent self within our world of experience we cannot find any such entity.' Transpersonal psychologist Stanislav Grof accepts that on a reductionist level we are 'Newtonian objects, highly developed biological thinking machines', but from a holistic point of view, 'we are also infinite fields of consciousness that transcend time, space and linear causality.' Medical scientist Larry Dossey believes that our 'most erroneous assumption is that we are separate individuals'. Psychologist Susan Blackmore maintains that 'conscious sensation comes too late to play any useful role in actions' and describes the ego as 'nothing more than a construction, created by language'.
With his theory of Inclusionality, Alan Rayner has introduced a new conception of space which brings with it a new understanding of self and how we relate to each other: 'The logical trap that leads humanity to war with itself can be avoided by becoming aware of the visual illusion of 'independence', and feeling the receptive space that permeates within, through and around everything. This loving feeling of 'inclusionality' or 'spatial togetherness' transforms our understanding of the nature of self, as having both local and non-local aspects, and so enables us to move from the logic of one or other to the logic of one with other.'