Reality Unveiled

“In Reality Unveiled Ziad Masri integrates the best of science and spirituality to provide a coherent explanation of the workings of the Cosmos that resonates with truth, and provides answers to one’s deepest questions.”

―Miriam Knight, Publisher of New Consciousness Review

Reality Unveiled: The Hidden Keys of Existence That Will Transform Your Life (and the World) by Ziad Masri, Awakened Media LLC, 2017 is a thought provoking book that deals with subjects like: God-dess seeks us as we seek God-dess, the material world is an illusion, consciousness alters reality, science and spirituality are compatible, unconditional love is God-dess’ nature and our goal in life, and how reincarnation works. Although much of the material is not new, when it is presented in Masri’s convincing way, it has a transformative effect on those who read with an open mind.

Masri explains the limited vision we have of the universe and how there is much more than meets the eye. He expertly combines scientific and spiritual perspectives to form a more complete picture of a nonphysical universe projected from a transcendent dimension. The universe rests on Cosmic Consciousness, which comprises everything, and we are its parts. Everything is interconnected and conscious.

“Becoming more aware of how the world works on an energetic and spiritual level raises your consciousness, which then allows you to tap into a higher level of functioning. And when that happens a shift in perception takes place, and you suddenly see the world through an empowering new lens.” (3) Masri presents some concepts that I’ve been skeptical of, but he presents them with such convincing evidence that I am now open to them, and they enhance my perspective.

As I do, he advises, “As with anything new, take what resonates with you and leave the rest.” (4) We are not presenting a dogma that must be totally accepted. Always trust your own inner guidance foremost. Masri continues:

While you should be discerning and not accept anything just because I (or anyone else) said it, it’s just as important to be willing to openly examine your own beliefs. Are they truly yours? . . . If we’re honest, we often find that many of the things that we believe to be true, and seemingly self-evident, are actually a product of conditioning and not necessarily self-discerned truths. (4-5)

In Universalist Radha-Krishnaism: A Theological Perspective, I point out:

Beliefs come and go. Do not cling to them, because faith does not depend on belief. Beliefs are like the furniture of faith: they can be reorganized, replaced, or set aside. Some beliefs develop faith more than others. Devotees need not believe the unbelievable, such as accepting the fantastic stories of the Puranas as literal history. They also need not accept outmoded beliefs of the past such as uncritical acceptance of a guru’s teachings. Religious thought develops in a progressive evolutionary way. (53)

“Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.–Albert Einstein . . . there is a staggering amount of scientific evidence that proves that the reality we perceive with our senses is actually a highly convincing illusion. (9)”  Thus science confirms the Vedic teaching that the material energy is illusory. Science and spirituality are reaching a common understanding.

From an empirical scientific viewpoint, “When we realize that virtually everything we currently believe about the nature of existence comes from trusting our senses, and yet those very senses can only detect an infinitesimally small portion of reality, we become open to questioning if we actually know the nature of reality at all.” (11) Thus scientists are forced to reassess the nature of reality.

Indeed, the body is showing us only what it is programmed to see, much like a computer can only show us what it is programmed to display. And yet we have been trying to use what it shows us as “proof” of the nature of reality. Do you see the faulty logic at play here? 

We’re using the very thing that is programmed to show us only a tiny aspect of reality as proof that this tiny aspect of reality is how things are or that this is all there is. (12)  

The science developed by Copernicus, Galileo, and Newton “came to be known as ‘classical physics,’ and it looks at external reality as solid, stable, and machinelike in its predictable behavior. 

“This science is still taught in schools and is accurate for describing the physical world that is visible to the naked eye, which is why most people think it’s the only science in which we can have faith. But when we examine the subatomic world, we find that all the rules of classical physics become completely and utterly violated.” (13-14)

Quantum physics has created a revolution in science that is embraced as a liberating new paradigm by some and resisted as a threat by others. It belies the empirical/reductive/materialist perspective and opens a transcendental basis for the universe. “If quantum mechanics hasn’t profoundly shocked you, you haven’t understood it yet.”—Niels Bohr (13) 

“Study quantum physics beyond a cursory level, and you’ll reach the inescapable conclusion that the reason physical particles behave in such a strange way is because they’re not physical at all.” (18) There is no physical, material world. It is “is all a very convincing illusion being projected from a ‘dimension’ completely outside time and space.” (20)

“I regard consciousness as fundamental. I regard matter as derivative from consciousness. We cannot get behind consciousness. Everything that we talk about, everything that we regard as existing, postulates consciousness.”–Max Plank (21) The consciousness from which the universe is derived is the Cosmic Consciousness that pervades all and is all. It is the Ground of Being.

“In fact, the inescapable conclusion from all of these scientific discoveries is that ‘separation’ is the biggest illusion of all. In reality, quantum physicists have discovered (much to their shock) that everything is connected as one thing that is merely appearing to be many things.” (22) This corresponds to the Vedic teaching that the One became many and yet remains One simultaneously. As Masri affirms:

[I]t’s all One thing—an ocean of energy that collapses into seemingly separate forms that we call stars and planets and animals and trees and human beings, giving them the temporary illusion of solidity and separation from their purely energetic source. But they always remain one with one another and their source. (23)

The solution to escaping the prison of perception is to let go of the idea of separation, regardless of how real your senses are telling you it is, and to think more in line with what modern science (and . . . also ancient spirituality) tells us reality actually is. This can essentially be captured in one idea: Unity. Everything is unified. Everything is One. Separation is the true illusion. (25)  

What a welcome view of life. Rather than isolated, alienated individuals in a strange world, we are one with all. Rather than separate from nature, we are an integral part of it called to nurture rather than dominate it. Rather than separate from and needing to compete with other people, we are are connected with all and our wellbeing is connected with theirs encouraging cooperation rather than competition.

“When we meditate or pray in concert, we can create what’s called ‘energetic coherence.’” (27) “As the peak of one wave overlaps with the peak of another, they amplify each other,” (16) in the same way, our thoughts and prayers can amplify each other to produce powerful, positive changes in the world as has been shown in numerous experiments. For example:

In 1978, a scientifically controlled study was conducted on a group of 7,000 expert meditators. The group meditated together for a period of three weeks, focusing on thoughts of love and peace. Incredibly, it was found that during this period, there was a significant drop in global crime rates by an average of 16 percent. Global suicide rates and automobile accidents were also reduced. Most astonishing of all, there was a 72 percent reduction in global terrorist activity! (26)  

“[I]n the mid 1990s Dr. Masaru Emoto, a Japanese scientist, decided to see whether thoughts, words, and music could have any effect on water.” (28)  As logical, rational human beings, we’ve always been taught that inanimate objects and elements can’t change their form based on thoughts and words. This is impossible in a Newtonian version of the world. The water is supposed to exist distinctly apart from us. It is supposed to have its own separate existence, and it is not supposed to be alive in any way to respond to thoughts and words like humans can. And yet, the evidence is as clear as day. It does respond. “In fact, it responds more directly and beautifully than any one of us could have ever imagined by changing its very structure to reflect the energy of the words or thoughts.” (34) 

This confirms the benefit of thinking or saying a prayer, mantra, or blessing before drinking a glass of water. It clearly has a purifying effect that is especially important since so much of our water is contaminated. It also shows that even an inanimate object like water has a certain awareness.

“[As] physicist Tim Folger describes in his article Quantum Shmantum: ‘Despite the unrivaled empirical success of quantum theory, the very suggestion that it may be literally true as a description of nature is still greeted with cynicism, incomprehension and even anger.’” (38) Many scientists follow what may be called a materialistic, atheistic religion of Scientism that is no more open to having its beliefs challenged by new facts than other fundamentalist religions.

Whether you are a scientist or a religionist, “The question to ask is: Are you willing to open up to the possibility that most of what you’ve believed to be true up until now will ultimately be accepted as self-evidently false, with a truer picture of reality replacing those outdated beliefs?” (39) This is the position of essence seekers such as Bhaktivinode Thakur whom we follow. We welcome new ideas from all quarters that shed light on the truth since, “unquestioned blind faith can disempower us and leave us susceptible to control.” (39)

“All matter originates and exists only by virtue of a force which brings the particles of the atom to vibration. I must assume behind this force the existence of a conscious and intelligent Mind. This Mind is the matrix of all matter.”—physicist Max Planck. (40) Again, this Mind is Cosmic Consciousness, which “is the matter—i.e., the illusion of separation exists not only between all matter itself but also between all matter and its Creator. . . . We are one with the Creator in a very literal sense, as we are an inseparable part of the infinite, intelligent consciousness that not only brings forth physical reality but also makes up its very fabric.” (40)    

Richard Conn Henry, professor of physics and astronomy at Johns Hopkins University [declares]: “Get over it, and accept the inarguable conclusion. The universe is immaterial—mental and spiritual.” 

Keep in mind that this is a scientist talking. Scientists have long been believed to be at odds with spirituality. And yet more and more of them are being forced to accept the inescapable conclusion that everything is mental; everything is aware; everything is spiritual at the fundamental level. There is only One Mind here, appearing to be many. There is only One universal intelligence manifesting as seemingly living and nonliving matter with a separate existence unto itself. As Einstein reminds us, it is all merely a very convincing illusion. (41-2)

Masri asserts, “There is actually mountains of scientific proof that demonstrates how everything is conscious and therefore alive, aware, and intimately connected to everything else, acting more as an interconnected conscious being rather than as a bunch of separate and distinct things ‘out there; in some objective reality apart from its Creator.” (42) Another way to look at this manifestation is as the Universal Form described in the Bhagavad Gita. The universe is the body of God-dess with all the parts forming an interconnected whole being, and yet the whole is more than the sum of the parts.

In Universalist Radha-Krishnaism: A Theological Perspective, I also state, 

We affirm God-dess’ goodness and deny the ancient ideas that matter is essentially evil. We also reject the traditional concept of matter lacking any activity or feeling. Because actual entities are dipolar, they all have a physical aspect, but none entirely lack psychic qualities, although usually these qualities are negligible. Thus, being physical does not negate having mind-like qualities. (71)

“Dr. Cleve Backster . . . describes more than three decades of fascinating research with plants, food cells, bacteria, and human cells . . . [using] a polygraph machine (lie detector) to see what would happen.” (43) His research showed that everything is highly aware and has a mind without the necessity of a brain or an evolved humanlike consciousness. “And so what is the mind? It is the universal consciousness that we’ve been talking about. . . . scientific results show, far from what we’ve been taught to believe, everything is conscious and aware.” (44-5) Dr. Backster said,

[I]f you pray over your food, being thankful for it and feeling a sense of love, then it somehow accepts its role as providing sustenance for you, . . . That puts into new scientific light the religious and spiritual teachings that tell us to pray before we eat. . . . It‘s not that we should be thankful that we are being given sustenance by a Creator separate and external to us, but rather that we should be thankful and loving because everything we interact with is ultimately interconnected as One Mind or One Spirit, being illusory projections of the One energy that many people label as “God.” That is, the entire physical realm of living and nonliving things is the direct extension of the nonphysical realm of pure, infinite consciousness that is the Creator. We, and everything else we interact with, are not separate from the Creator but the expressions of the unified consciousness that the Creator uses to experience Itself. There is only One appearing as many. All separation is merely illusion, even between us and the Infinite Consciousness that is the Creator. And we have the science to prove it. (47-8) 

This brings to mind the Christian idea of communion being the body and blood of Christ and the image of the snake eating its tail. Since everything is a manifestation of the Cosmic Consciousness, when a new creature is manifested, its food is also manifested from the same source, and we have one part of the One eating another part of itself. Because even plants are aware and afraid of being killed and eaten, vegetarians and vegans are also engaged in killing and pain. Being prayerful and respectful of this sacrifice mitigates it by acknowledging the divine gift of life and can transform it into a sacramental act.

“Possibly the most incredible and directly verifiable proof of what happens after death comes from children who remember their past lives.” (51) Much research has been done on this subject verifying the accuracy of these memories. Hypnosis and near death experiences have also been used to show that reincarnation is a fact. Not only that, but “modern science . . . verifies the existence of other energetic realms that spiritually or religiously would be called the spirit world.” (58)

Spirit souls travel to this spirit world after death where they share common experiences. “We must understand that time doesn’t exist in the spirit realm in the same way as it does on the physical plane. . . . Practically speaking, this means that we often spend what would seem to be hundreds of years in the spirit realm in between lifetimes, but we can then choose to incarnate into a physical body only nine months after our last body died.” (60-61)

And so at some point, we (with the help of our guide) decide that it’s time again for another physical incarnation. Here we are taken to a life selection place where we are given the choice of one of several bodies and lives that we can choose to live. We are given the opportunity to see the major events that will occur that will test us in each of the potential lives while keeping enough hidden so as not to dissuade us from difficult but potentially beneficial lives from the spiritual sense. (62)

I have always had difficulty believing I chose this life with these parents and experiences. However, “Not only are we getting the data from thousands of people who are in a state of hypnosis and therefore accessing unconscious memories but also all of them are saying the same thing regardless of their backgrounds and beliefs. This point cannot be overstated.” (63) Therefore, I am now more open to the idea that I chose this life.

The purpose is simply to have the opportunity to learn the lessons that we failed to learn in all of our previous lifetimes so far. And the lessons center on nothing more than love, kindness, forgiveness, and compassion. . . . As such, the life that we choose will by definition include certain difficult trials and tribulations to induce the lessons we failed to learn in previous lifetimes. (63)    

We’re not victims, unlucky, or being punished. Remember, “we, with the help of more evolved beings, set it all up this way for a very specific purpose. . . . keeping this ultimate reality in the back of our mind can be very helpful and prove to be a self-empowered way to live life.” (64) Acceptance of our circumstances as a voluntary learning experience is a freeing perspective.

“Yes there have been crashed craft, and bodies recovered. We are not alone in the universe; they have been coming here for a long time.” – Dr. Edgar Mitchell (69) This is my conclusion as well based on personal experience, study of ancient history, and modern accounts. Masri confirms, “the existence and involvement of a multitude of civilizations from beyond our planet. Not only are we not alone but also our ‘visitors’ have been with us for millennia.” (70)

He reminds us that based on, “what quantum physicists now understand about the universe, we’ll remember that not only is matter fundamentally an illusion but so is time and space. For any advanced civilization that discovered this, it would mean the ability to travel seemingly unimaginable distances in extremely short periods of time, using technology that could warp time and space at a quantum level.” (71)

One of the best pieces of evidence for the presence of extraterrestrials on earth is the Great Pyramid. “Even today, thousands of years after the Great Pyramid was built, we are still very far away from being able to create a comparable structure using the most modern available technology.” (73)

“Whoever built the Great Pyramid was clearly not from here. They had vastly advanced knowledge of Earth and space as well as a very superior understanding of mathematics, technology, and building techniques that are light years ahead of ours.” (75) This is also true of other ancient megalithic structures.

In addition, “nearly every ancient civilization that we know of has depicted contact with extraterrestrials in their art.” (76-7) “Artistic evidence from more recent history abounds, and it is truly remarkable.” (80) “What are the odds that every culture across history has ‘imagined’ spaceships and that they’ve imagined them to look the same way?” (81)

Modern photographic evidence from around the world shows that 

the vast majority of these spaceships look exactly like the ones depicted in historical art. So there we have our modern-day picture proof of what these old civilizations must have been witnessing firsthand and recording on the walls of their caves, on their metals, and in their paintings and tapestries. In my view it’s clear that it’s not merely coincidence that they all drew similar objects in the sky despite being separated by incredible geographic and temporal distances. They were simply reporting what they saw. (87-8)  

In 2013, Paul Hellyer, the former defense minister of Canada, testified in front of former members of the US Congress in a citizen hearing on UFO disclosure.

During that hearing he unequivocally stated: “UFOs are as real as the airplanes over our heads.” He also incredibly testified that government reports have been issued, confirming that at least four extraterrestrial species have been visiting the Earth for thousands of years. The fact that they’ve been visiting for thousands of years corroborates astronaut Edgar Mitchell’s claims, as well as all the historical evidence we’ve seen so far, ranging from the impossible technical achievement of the Great Pyramid to historical art depicting our space visitors to an African tribe that has had impossibly precise astronomical knowledge for thousands of years that they say was given to them by beings from a distant star system. (94-5)

And here we come to one of the biggest secrets and governmental cover-ups of all. Namely, not only have various extraterrestrial races been visiting Earth for thousands of years, but also the world’s major governments at the highest levels have secretly been in physical contact with many of them right here on Earth. And if this one is too difficult for you to believe, there is proof via a multitude of insider whistleblower testimony, (95)

Masri gives a beautiful theological exposition that is in agreement with my Universalist Radha-Krishnaism:

Assume, if you will, that there exists an infinite Being. There is nothing outside this Being because it is literally infinite. So it is everything and it is One thing simultaneously. It is inherently non-dual. And in non-duality there is no subject and object. There is only Beingness. Assume also that the nature of this infinite, non-dual Being is pure love. But because nothing else exists for this Being to express that love, it is unpotentiated love that is in a state of pure, infinite potential.

So this Being decides that it wants to experience its full potential, and to do that, it splits itself into an infinite number of sub-selves. With that, the universe is born. From undifferentiated formlessness, differentiated form has come forth—and with it duality. Now we have subject and object. We have this and that. 

But this universe (of seemingly endless differentiation and separation of infinite elements and beings) cannot actually be apart from or outside of its Creator because, by definition, that Creator is infinite. What could exist beyond the limits of infinity when it has no limits by its very definition? And so it’s the illusion of separation and duality that has been born within this universe. Each seemingly separate element or being now has its own distinct point of view, its own distinct “life” that seems to be apart from its Creator, but in reality, this separation and duality is only illusory. The whole thing is by design because the Creator wants to experience itself from an infinite number of perspectives and experience its true nature (love) in an infinite number of ways. (100-101)

In Universalist Radha-Krishnaism: A Theological Perspective, I explain,

God-dess sympathetically experiences human happiness and pain out of pure love. As devotees develop love of Radha-Krishna, they learn to sympathetically experience their bliss more intensely than individuals experience bliss separately. God-dess creates infinite beings for infinite new loving relationships. We appreciate God-dess’ love being active as well as passive; it is as important that God-dess wills the good of the individual spirits as that he-she is affected by their happiness and distress. (59-60)

Individual spirits share God-dess’ spiritual nature but live in material nature until they are ready to fully enter the spiritual realm. The more people learn to experience God-dess and live responsibly, the faster they evolve to spiritual maturity. God-dess uses her-his attractiveness to entice all beings to the spiritual world to experience full existence. (68)

As Masri further reminds us:

Remember that the whole physical and nonphysical universe is the “body” that the Creator uses to experience itself from an infinite number of perspectives. The Creator’s ultimate reality is pure love and so the whole experience is geared toward growing more and more into the experience of pure, unconditional love. . . . So the whole meaning of life and the universe itself is to learn the meaning of love in the difficult classrooms that the illusion of duality provides. (105)

By Its very nature of being unconditionally loving, the Creator has created reality in such a way as to give all of Its aspects (i.e., us) free will. Therefore, we aren’t forced to express love. (107) 

In Universalist Radha-Krishnaism: A Theological Perspective, I also assert, “Individuals’ innate function is to love Goddess, but philosophically speaking, they possess free choice in everything. So in this regard too, they are free to please God-dess by submitting to manifestations of spiritual energy or to experience the manifestations of elusive material nature.” (100-101)

Addressing the question of evil, Masri says,

If we understand that we are truly all One, then this naturally includes all the negative, evil, and dark aspects in the universe. Since nothing can exist outside the One Infinite Creator, by definition it is all included. Of course, what makes this easier to understand and accept is to realize that evil is ultimately an illusion because it is spawned by nothing but separation consciousness, which is itself illusory, as the reality is that there is no separation. Remember that this is all a grand stage where we get to play out the dance of separation and duality. (109) 

I put it like this:

One objection to the idea of a deity whose “body” is the universe is that it implies that all values, both the good and the evil, are within God-dess, which is true, but not in a sense that compromises divine goodness. As a point of logic, wholes do not necessarily share the characteristics of their parts. God-dess is related to any non-divine creature as whole to part. Indeed, this is a basis of Radha-Krishnaism’s view that we are fragments of the divine, not the whole of it.

God-dess’ goodness is not diminished if a fragmentary individual neglects the good of others through indifference or harmful intent. Yet, God-dess’ goodness allows the suffering and wickedness of individuals to enter Goddess’ experience. God-dess sympathizes with sufferers and grieves for lost opportunities to create good. Those who inflict suffering on others are punished by the laws of karma and/or the state.

God-dess feels the contrast between what could have been and what is. The “what is” is not solely determined by God-dess but is left, in part, to the individuals; God-dess and individuals co-create. Thus, there are tragic and sublime aspects of divine love. (73)

Masri clarifies, 

The various teachings make it clear that the law of karma is very real. Basically, this is a universal law that says that what you put out is what you get back. So if you decide to take the negative path and hurt others, then you will suffer greatly for your choices in a multitude of ways and across subsequent lifetimes. . . . The evil deeds meet their own consequences through the very laws on which a just universe is built. What you put out is what you get back. (110) 

However,

[I]t is understood that everyone eventually ends up in the same place. All beings eventually end up reuniting with the Creator, and no one is left out because the Creator is by definition all-inclusive and not separate from the creation. . . . You cannot say that God loves unconditionally while also saying that God judges and punishes. (116) 

Masri informs us:

As it turns out, some modern astronomers have discovered the existence of a 25,920-year orbit that our entire solar system makes around a neighboring brown dwarf star (a star that is very difficult to see even with advanced telescopes). By measuring the effects of gravitational pull, they have discovered that our sun likely exists as part of a binary star system (i.e., two suns orbiting each other). (126)

This is similar to the teachings of Sri Yukteswar regarding the yugas as well as the Mayan calendar. This ancient knowledge shows how advanced these civilizations were. We must ask where did they get the knowledge from. Was it extraterrestrials?

As Masri says, “[W]hat we do in the illusion is always secondary to how and why we do it. . . . If we try to fight injustice with hate, we only add fuel to the fire and can never bring about the lasting meaningful change we desire.” (140) The goal is to become unconditionally loving like the divine. Therefore, we best work at transforming ourselves and transforming others by our example rather than coercion.  Compassion for all is an appropriate response as we manifest our true spiritual nature.

“The ultimate reality is that we are already whole and complete. . . . We are Spirit having a temporary human experience.” (142) Therefore, we need not be anxious about life or our salvation. Looking within and cultivating our innate love is the path of natural devotion.

There’s nothing you have to prove to deserve love. You’re already there, at the finish line, behind the illusion. Your only role is to be a conduit of experience to the Infinite Self that you truly are, which wishes nothing but to experience itself from an infinite number of perspectives and to expand from this experience. (142-3) 

And so, to conclude and bring everything together, when you let go of attachment to your desires—knowing they won’t bring true fulfillment—and accept (even embrace) the negative or dark aspects of yourself and others, then you can go through life having what you want while also living out your deeper purpose and evolving your consciousness to make the shift to a higher plane of existence. (156)

Masri claims, “I didn’t write about these subjects merely from a theoretical perspective. On the contrary, I have had the most profound blessing of directly experiencing a glimpse of this higher reality and therefore know, beyond mere belief, it exists.” (185) I can make a similar claim, and if you apply the teachings in your life, you can have a similar experience that will allow you to know too. 

Masri covers a wide range of topics in a well written manner that challenges the reader’s beliefs to open to a new level of understanding. While I may not agree 100% with everything he says, I feel this book is quite compatible with Universalist Radha-Krishnaism and complements it well. Try it and see if it doesn’t expand your understanding of truth.

About the Author:

Ziad Masri is an author and entrepreneur who has taken the road less traveled. Driven early in life by the seemingly conflicting desires of worldly success and deep spiritual fulfillment, he set out on a 15-year journey of self-discovery. During this period he achieved business success while continually exploring ancient spirituality, non-mainstream science, and mystical practices to find the deeper meaning of life and the universe. Emerging with a profound understanding of the hidden truths of reality, he is now on a mission to help people transform their lives—and the world—by guiding them to rise above their limited sense of self to live a deeply meaningful and awakened life.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 5th, 2019 at 12:36 pm and is filed under Jungle Dispatch and tagged with science, spirituality. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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