A Brief Overview
Hello Friends!
Ever since I was quite young, I have had a keen interest in what have been called the Four Greatest Questions of Life:
Who am I?
Where did I come from?
Why am I here?
Where am I going…especially after I die?
Pursuing answers to these Great Questions has been a major sideline passion for most of my life, and has led me to some incredibly exciting and transformational discoveries, based on objective realities, which have profoundly and positively impacted my understanding of our origin, the primary purpose of this life, keys to real happiness, and our ultimate destiny.
At the urging of many friends, over many years, I am now in the process of writing a review of what I’ve learned on this Journey.
As I am doing so, I am also producing a series of short Audio and Video messages on which I am sharing some of what I am writing.
As I release them, I have been posting them here on this site and broadcasting the links to a growing group of listeners.
The majority of the feedback I have received, is that the info is interesting, illuminating, compelling and encouraging…as it certainly has been for me!
With my best,
Mark DeMatteo 🙂
Here is my 7-Part, Great Questions Quest Video Series, which provides a Summary of what I have learned on this Journey of almost 40 years.
It also builds context regarding the other info I am sharing here.
If you’re new to the Group, I would recommend you check them out first!
Origin and Purpose of the Great Questions Group
A Comprehensive Introduction
(Copyright, 2020, Mark Edward DeMatteo)
Prefer to Listen?
Origin & Purpose of the Great Questions Group, Preface
Origin & Purpose of the Great Questions Group Pt 1
Origin & Purpose of the Great Questions Group Pt 2
Preface
Hello Friends…again! 🙂
What you are about to read is an introductory overview of an amazing personal journey I have been on now, for a major portion of my life…and remain on till this day.
It is an outgrowth of a keen intellectual, emotional and spiritual curiosity I have had ever since I was quite young.
An interest which centers on perhaps the most fundamental questions regarding this life and existence…especially what happens to us after we die.
In particular, I wanted to know whether there was any objective evidence which might provide valid answers to these questions.
And if so, then what kind of answers might that evidence provide?
Initially, this was simply an endeavor I pursued for myself personally and therefore, the results were not necessarily something I ever intended to share with anyone else.
However, over a period of time, I actually was able to find a substantial amount of evidence which did indeed begin providing accurate answers to those Great Questions.
And as those answers came together, they furnished me with a growing awareness of something quite extraordinary:
The certainty of the eventual and perhaps imminent arrival of an entirely New Order of Reality and Existence–one so totally and profoundly altered and improved, that it is virtually beyond our comprehension.
Furthermore, that there are in fact specific Keys, which we need to become aware of and use properly, to not only gain access to this new reality, but also to enhance our experience there once we arrive.
Not surprisingly, these discoveries began to radically alter my perception of this present world and my understanding of the main purpose behind this current existence.
They also gave me a tremendous sense of hope, excitement and anticipation for the future, and transformed the way I saw my own life, my priorities, and what I was truly living for.
Moreover, I knew that the significance of these findings obviously went way beyond just my own individual life, for their scope is universal, and they will ultimately impact every person on this planet…in fact, literally every single person who has ever lived!
Consequently, I soon felt compelled to begin sharing some of what I was learning with others as well.
Because my profession provided me with the opportunity to speak quite frequently, I was able to begin passing on small portions of what I was learning to a variety of different audiences.
And as I did, I watched it have the same transformational impact on them, as it was having on me.
In fact, it wasn’t long before I actually began receiving requests to talk specifically on this topic.
Often I heard comments like eye-opening, uplifting and life-altering.
Additionally, I would frequently hear folks exclaim something like: “Mark, you SO need to tell more people about this! You ought to pass this on to as many folks as possible!”
Furthermore, many of those I talked to wanted to know more—what else I had learned on this Journey–and I received an almost continuous request for the rest of the story.
So after hearing these appeals for quite a while–a number of years in fact–I finally decided that I would begin a specific endeavor to create a comprehensive review of my Journey.
Besides, initially sharing some of what I was learning with a fairly wide audience, had also allowed me to accomplish something else of importance: Cross check and confirm my findings.
For while the evidence I had found seemed certain, and the answers it pointed to clear, in the back of my mind, I still wanted to make sure I wasn’t somehow off-base on any of the conclusions I had been led to.
And all this preliminary exposure had indeed confirmed that my answers were accurate and my conclusions correct, and this only underscored the need to pass them on.
So…I am now in the process of writing a review of this Journey–which I also call my Great Questions Quest–to share with those who are also interested in this topic.
The challenge is, after 35+ years of this continuing pursuit, there is now perhaps more information than I may be able to share…even over the remainder of my lifetime!
Therefore, I have decided to produce a Mainstream Review first.
This Great Questions Quest, has been much like a long and fascinating voyage exploring a great river.
Though there has been a primary theme and direction to it, there have also been many sideline studies which have contributed valuable pieces to the overall picture of reality which has come together.
However, because my main objective is to arrive at and share an initial portrait of this truly unique and extraordinary Future Reality, along with the Keys to accessing and maximizing it, we will presently only glance into the various tributaries–some briefly and some a bit more extensively–which I have investigated while on this Grand Journey.
Then at some point, I trust we will have the opportunity to come back and examine further what I have learned from each of these diverse areas of study.
Additionally, once I decided to produce this review, I also began reaching out and connecting with quite a number of other folks who are also interested in this topic, and want to know more about what I have learned.
Consequently I am developing a rather extensive and growing community of people which I now refer to as the Great Questions Group.
As I am writing, I am also taking portions of the material and recording brief audios to share with this group.
Once produced, I post them on this low-key online Educational Forum, Great Questions Group @ www.MarkDeMatteo.com along with any other info related to this endeavor.
I then also take the links to those new audios, and email them out to all the people who are a part of the Group…a community, by the way, which anyone who shares our interest is welcome to be a part of.
Now before we actually get rolling with this Comprehensive Introduction, please bear a few things in mind for me…
First, that this is a work in progress and most importantly, a labor of love…so please be kind, patient and forbearing with the Laborer! 🙂
Next, that even after all this time, I still don’t pretend to have all the answers–and I am now convinced that nobody does! However, I do have a “truckload” more than I used to…and they have changed my life and eternal destiny!
Also, that my purpose here is not to try to impress you with my writing skills or eloquence–as I have only a modest degree of either–but rather to simply pass on this remarkable information in as straightforward and understandable manner possible.
Then, to please remember to be patient with yourself, too! This can be somewhat surprising and even astonishing information, and for most of us, it can often take some time to adequately absorb, process and understand it…as it certainly has for me!
And finally, that I am not trying to sell anyone on this evidence or the conclusions it points to…but rather just offer it for your consideration, as it holds unparalleled implications for all of us.
Folks, we all have a brain and we all live in the same world, and intuitively, we all know the way things in this world work. So all I’m recommending is that you simply take the information I’ll be sharing and check it out for yourself…and then decide what you want to do with it.
In the end, each of us is responsible for taking care of our own Ultimate Future.
This is the main theme which continues to grip my soul and steadfastly motivates me to persist on this Great Questions Quest for myself…and my prayer is that it will for you, too!
So now, let us begin…
Part 1
For as long as I can remember, I have always been quite amazed and intrigued by the reality of this existence: What exactly is this incredible phenomenon called life and what is it really all about?
Perhaps you, like me, have wondered about what have often been called the Four Great Questions of Life:
Who am I?
Where did I come from?
Why am I here?
Where am I going–especially after I die?
Though there are indeed, many important questions we will ask ourselves over the course of our lives, these are undoubtedly some of the most significant, for they deal with such key issues as our origin, our meaning & purpose in life, and our ultimate destiny.
Personally, I was taught a basic Christian (Roman Catholic) belief system in my early life, as a way to perhaps answer these questions.
This, of course, included the idea of God and the possibility of an afterlife in Heaven.
And while I was drawn to these concepts and the comfort and hope they gave, I still had many unanswered questions.
Furthermore, I have always had a strong scientific interest, for I found that science was simply the attempt to understand and define the way things around us work.
Yet I often found myself having difficulty trying to integrate some of what I was learning in science with what I was being taught in regard to my religious beliefs.
Then, when I was 15, my family moved overseas to the middle east with my Dad’s work and we lived in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for a total of 7 years.
Personally, I spent the first 3 of those years attending an international boarding school in Rome, Italy, finishing up my final years of High School.
While it was certainly a great experience on many levels, one of the main things it did was open up an entirely new world to me, as I had the opportunity to encounter many new cultures and belief systems.
This was especially true in Rome, as there were students there from many different parts of the world.
Since I was curious, whenever the opportunity presented itself, I loved asking others how they went about answering those Four Great Questions….and particularly the last one: What do you think happens to you after you die?
The various answers I heard, were normally quite interesting and usually even seemed plausible to me, although they were often quite different from my own personal beliefs.
And while I enjoyed learning about all these new perspectives, it also created a substantial amount of confusion within me.
For after considering them all even briefly, I quickly realized that though there were a few common themes and similarities running through many of them, there were also some very pronounced differences.
Furthermore, and perhaps even more significantly, no one seemed to be able to validate what they believed, with anything beyond some very subjective and superficial evidence.
This certainly applied to me as well, for I couldn’t really prove what I believed, either!
Consequently, in light of this apparent lack of supporting evidence, I kept wondering if any of these answers were really true.
Interestingly, another unique idea that I also had presented to me during this time, was that all of these various answers were each, equally valid, and therefore, all I had to do was to personally choose any one that seemed to work best for me and I’d be good to go.
However, while intriguing, in this case also, the proponents of this perspective could not provide any real evidence to support this position either!
As such, my multi-cultural exposure left me more than a little confused and not being sure of what to believe…and even if it really mattered, anyway.
Yet in spite of all this uncertainty, my interest in those Four Questions continued to grow, for it was during this time that I was also seeing ever more clearly just how important this topic was…and why.
To begin with, it was becoming quite apparent that this was a subject with a universal scope.
Living and traveling internationally had also taught me that people, at a core level, are all basically the same, and we all have a single, common, emotional condition we are all seeking–and that condition is Happiness.
Fundamentally, we are all simply trying to be happy…right?!
We may have widely varying ideas as to how to find it, but when we boil it all down, regardless of who we are, where we live, or what we do, happiness is the one primary objective we would all like to achieve and maintain in our lives.
I had already figured out that I certainly did!
However, the more I reflected on it, and asked others about it too, the more apparent it became, that it would be difficult, if not perhaps downright impossible for any of us to be truly happy, when we have no idea what the answers to those four fundamental questions might be.
The main reason for this, no doubt, is the simple fact that this life has a pervasive, underlying inadequacy woven into it.
Specifically, it is riddled with perplexing inconsistencies.
There is joy, yet sorrow; love, yet hate; beauty, yet ugliness; health and well-being, yet sickness and disease; youth with vigor and strength, yet old age with frailty and weakness; pleasure, yet pain; harmony, yet strife; wealth and plenty, yet poverty, hunger and need; charity, yet greed; compassion and freedom, yet tyranny and oppression; good, yet evil; peace, yet war; life and yet, of course, death…just to name a few!
I wasn’t alive long before I began to become aware of these stark and dramatic contrasts, and I’m sure you weren’t either.
This has always been a strange and puzzling reality to me–why should our world be filled with these inconsistencies?
In fact, the more I reflected on it, the more it seemed like there was something wrong with it–something unnatural…almost as if this world has somehow been wounded.
Moreover, I also quickly realized, that while most of us desire and will pursue the positive sides of these contrasts, at least some of the negative aspects were inevitably going to touch our lives–whether we want them to or not–and that their impact would consequently create significant roadblocks to any of our efforts toward achieving an overall, lasting happiness.
And even if we could somehow manage to keep most of these deficiencies away from our own lives, there will still always be others suffering from the effects of them somewhere, and that is enough to taint the complete happiness of anyone with even just a slight bit of compassion in their heart for their fellow man.
Yet undoubtedly the most significant and devastating of these inadequacies, is the one we unfortunately, cannot evade…the simple fact that we all eventually die.
Folks, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that we are all mortal and therefore, terminal.
The death rate is still 100%…so nobody gets out of here alive!
At some inevitable point in each of our futures, our body will cease functioning and our life here on earth will end.
Furthermore, the amount of time we actually have before we reach that inevitable point is often quite uncertain.
This fact became readily apparent to me the year after I graduated from the school I had attended in Rome, when one of my classmates, a young man named Matt, was killed by a drunk driver back here in the US.
He and I were both about 19 at the time, and I had never known anyone that well, who was that young, that had died before.
This event drove home the reality that, not only will we ultimately die, but that we can do so at any moment–that our lives are in fact, also quite fragile and tenuous and as such, tomorrow is promised to none of us!
Following on from this, I also became far more aware of just how temporary literally everything in this life truly is.
Folks, I can remember reflecting on this with a clarity I’d never had before and thinking to myself, Now wait just a minute, Mark! Time out! What is really going on here with this life?!
I mean, what if I try to live the best one I am able, and things turn out even better than I expect: For instance, say I am able to stay healthy. I become prosperous. Maybe even rich and famous. Consequently, I am able to do many, if not most of the things I want to do–including some that are meaningful and significant.
Additionally, I am able to develop and keep some strong, lasting friendships., and finally, am also able to find a perfect soulmate and have a beautiful, loving family.
Yet even if I somehow were able to achieve all this–and perhaps even more–in the end, how long would it all last? 80-90-100 years…maybe?
And even if I did make it that far, I wondered about the overall quality of those final decades.
I had already been around enough older people to realize the obvious fact that, even at best, our final years will not be experienced with the same degree of health & vigor as we had in our youth, but rather through a continual and irreversible decline.
Now, please don’t misunderstand, I’m certainly not saying that I no longer valued any of those qualities and characteristics in that ideal life I just mentioned, or that I wasn’t still interested in the possibility of living at least a portion of such a life if I was able…for I no doubt was.
It’s just that I now began to wonder how satisfying it would actually be.
For even if I were somehow able to achieve such a life, it would no doubt still be touched–if not perhaps occasionally gripped–by at least some of the negative aspects I mentioned earlier, and finally, by the universal certainty of death.
Therefore, I knew that at least some of these deficiencies would be major obstacles to my achieving any kind of true and lasting happiness.
This brought me face to face with a rather simple, yet unfortunate conclusion: Since this life is temporary and filled with inadequacies, any happiness I might find in it will be the same–both brief and limited!
Consequently, I had to come to terms with the fact that I desired a level of happiness that this life simply could not provide.
This realization did two significant things within me:
First, it began creating in me a growing sense of dissatisfaction with this current existence, for I was seeing ever more clearly that it would never ultimately be able to fulfill me.
Second, it also began stirring within me, a growing sense of longing for something beyond just this temporary, limited, reality.
As such, I found myself wondering about the possibility of an afterlife–a place where there might be something more and maybe something better.
A realm perhaps, where there were no inadequacies and there was some kind of permanence–what I had often heard referred to as Heaven, or Paradise, if you will.
As I’ve previously mentioned, I had already learned about this idea through my religious teachings as I was growing up, and it had always remained in the back of my mind.
However, in the glaring reality of my friend’s sudden and untimely death, the possibility of such an afterlife came right up to the forefront of my thoughts again and I began considering it more seriously than I ever had before.
Matt had been a living, breathing, vibrant young man with plans and hopes for the future, who had only barely begun his life, and suddenly he was gone…or was he?
That was the main question I kept asking myself: Where is he?
Matt’s body had quit working, but what happened to him, the person?
Was he really just gone or did he actually have some kind of an immortal soul or spirit that went someplace else?
And if so, where was this someplace, and what was it like?
Personally, I have always found it interesting that most of the religious systems I have encountered, all seem to incorporate some concept of an afterlife in their beliefs.
These ideas have always been intriguing to me, for some of them–including the one I was raised in–not only do include the possibility of going someplace better–as in a Heaven, they unfortunately, also include the possibility of going someplace worse–as in a Hades or Hell.
Additionally, most also include the idea of something longer–in other words, the concept of an eternity–a reality having an everlasting duration.
As folks which live in a time-bound existence, it is hard for most of us to wrap our brain around the idea of endless time or an altered reality where there is no time as we now know it.
But regardless of how well we are able to, one thing is certain–an eternity would last far, far longer than even our longest lives here on earth!
Folks, I have always found this entire concept of an afterlife to be quite compelling, for even the remotest possibility of it actually being true, holds extraordinary implications, not only for my own future, but in reality, everyone else’s, too.
Yet, I had often wondered if the whole notion had any real basis in fact, or was it all just wishful thinking …and was there any way that I might be able to find out?
So, it was right around this time that I made a decision that would ultimately have profound impact on my future:
I decided I was going to study this topic: Specifically, this phenomenon called life and the reality of this existence.
I wanted to see if I could find any kind of objective evidence which might provide accurate answers to those Four Great Questions I’ve already referred to.
In particular, I was interested in Question #4, as wanted to know what happens to us after we die.
Why? Well, because I knew one thing was certain–eventually, I was going to find out what was next, so it just seemed reasonable to me to consider this topic in advance.
And as I did, I also came up with several additional questions I wanted to research:
- Does an afterlife actually exist?
- If so, what is it like?
- Is it the same for everyone?
- Does everyone just automatically go there? (or)
- Are there any conditions to getting in?
- If so, what are they?
- Can we know if we have adequately met them?
- What happens if we don’t?
While I had no idea if I’d find answers to any of these questions, it still made perfect sense for me to at least try.
For the way I saw it, since I already knew I wouldn’t find the level of happiness I wanted in this present life, I figured I might as well invest a portion of it seeking evidence of a future life, where perhaps I could.
And if I searched, and found none, then I wouldn’t have really lost anything, except some time and effort.
However… if by chance I did find evidence of an afterlife, and maybe even found some answers to the additional questions I just mentioned, the knowledge gained would be of unparalleled significance.
And furthermore, if this knowledge perhaps indicated that there were indeed conditions for gaining access to that afterlife, and this awareness allowed me the opportunity to meet those conditions in advance, to ensure I gained entrance into that afterlife when I died, the return on my investment of time & effort would be matchless.
Finally, since I knew the clock was ticking, and I was now more keenly aware than ever of the uncertainty of my number of days ahead, I figured it would be wise to make this research project a priority in my life and get to it sooner rather than later.
And folks, this is precisely what I did!
After our 7 year tour overseas came to a close, my family and I returned here to the US in the summer of 1982–I was 22 at the time.
Shortly thereafter, I started this new project, which I soon began referring to as my Great Questions Quest…
Before long, this pursuit became a major sideline interest in my life, and has remained so now for over 35 years.
Part 2
At the outset, there were several things I decided to do to set the stage for my studies:
First, I took all the various religions, philosophies and belief systems I had learned about–including my own–and mentally set them off to the side.
Next, I actually did the same thing with some of the scientific theories I had been taught.
See, I had also gained a far better understanding of the major difference between firm scientific laws and the various theories promoted by some scientists.
The scientific laws I had learned about were simple, proven and easy to understand.
On the other hand, some of the theories I had been taught, were not so clearly proven or understood.
Right now, let me give you just one well known example, to show you what I mean:
I would imagine that probably everyone has heard of the Big Bang Theory. It is the most popular current explanation for the origin of our Universe and everything in it.
The general idea is, if you go back to the beginning, all of the space, time, matter and energy that now exist, were once contained within a single ball-like object which then exploded and ultimately led to the Cosmos we now have.
While I had learned about some types of evidence that seem to support this idea, the theory on the whole, consistently strained my common sense!
For I had to honestly ask myself, when have I, in the real world in which I live, ever seen any kind of an explosion actually produce an increase in structure and order?
I couldn’t think of any.
When I ask other folks the same question, they couldn’t come up with any, either.
What’s more, not only had I heard highly educated and credentialed scientists emphatically declare this theory to be true, I had also heard other scientists, who were equally as highly educated and credentialed, which stated just as emphatically, that there was no way some kind of a Big Bang could possibly account for the vast variety of complex ordered systems we now see in operation everywhere in this Cosmos…and particularly here on Earth!
So I knew something wasn’t adding up here either.
Therefore, I decided that I was going to set this theory–along with a few others I had been taught–off to the side as well.
Now, I wasn’t going to disregard any of these belief systems or theories…but neither was I going to buy into any of them blindly or naively any more–regardless of who had taught them to me!
Main reason was, I realized that just because I sincerely believed something, that didn’t automatically mean it was true.
Why? Because belief alone does not validate anything.
Even if there were many, many other people sincerely believing the same thing too, all our combined belief didn’t make it true, either.
The real key is, what evidence is that particular belief based on?
For if there is no actual evidence supporting it, then it is not a valid concept, no matter how many people may believe that it is!
And personally, I no longer wanted to wonder if I was actually “just pretending” or “playing make believe” with some of the belief systems and theories I had been told were true, but had never really been given adequate evidence to support them.
Instead, I decided that I was going to use my own mind and try to take an accurate and objective look at the real world around me and see what it might be trying to tell me.
I felt like if I could perhaps find some pieces of tangible evidence that pointed to what was really going on in this world, then I might be able to begin putting together an accurate picture of the true nature of this existence.
And if perhaps that picture filled in sufficiently, then I figured it might just provide me with some valid answers to those 4 Great Questions.
And valid answers to those questions–regardless of what they pointed to–would at least give me something to believe in that was based on facts and not just fantasy.
In other words, if I could find out what was real, then that’s what I wanted to align my beliefs up with, because then I would be believing in something that was not just make believe, but was actually true.
Next, I chose a primary guideline that I wanted to follow throughout the course of this project, and that guideline was Simplicity…I wanted to keep things simple!
For everything else being equal, I figured the simpler I could keep things the better.
Interestingly, I wasn’t far along on my Journey when I learned about what is called the Principle of Parsimony, which is basic to all science and philosophy.
This principle, which is also known as Occam’s Razor, tells us that, given a set of possible explanations, the simplest explanation which fits the evidence, is the most likely to be correct.
Thankfully, the simplest explanation is also, usually, the easiest to understand…so I figured this guideline should serve me well in my Quest!
Next, since I knew I wanted to be able to take an honest and objective look at the true nature of the world around me, I decided that the best way to begin to do so would be through science.
For as I mentioned earlier, I already knew that science was simply a method of study through which we attempt to understand and then define the way things around us work…and I had become fascinated by it.
Fortunately, as I reflected on just precisely how I was going to apply science to my studies, I was led to develop something which proved to be a tremendous asset to me throughout the entire course of my Journey.
Over a period of time, I selected a set of 5 very basic, but well-proved scientific laws, and then put them together to create what turned out to be a very simple, yet powerful, personal Examination Tool.
Here are the Five Laws:
- Cause and Effect
- Conservation (1st Law of Thermodynamics)
- Decay (2nd Law of Thermodynamics)
- Information (what it is and where it always comes from)
- 4 P-Factors (conditions required to temporarily overcome the Law of Decay)
And folks, this new tool became a real game-changer for me.
For with it, as I would soon find out, it was as if I now had an extraordinary pair of potent, X-Ray Glasses in my possession.
And when I put them on, the penetrating, laser-like light of those 5 Laws would provide me with a crystal-clear picture of the true nature of every aspect of this physical universe I chose to investigate.
So…at this point, with all the various religions, philosophies and theories laid aside–but not forgotten, a guiding principle of simplicity in place, and equipped with my new Examination Tool, the stage was set and I was now ready to begin my studies.
As I did, I decided I would start off by taking a basic look at our Universe.
While I was curious about so many different aspects of this reality we live in, I figured the best place to start would be to examine the main framework within which everything else exists.
My thought was, if I were better able to understand what our overall Universe really was and where it actually might have come from, then this would probably provide me with an important first piece of that accurate picture of reality I was hoping to put together.
And furthermore, if it did, it seemed likely to me, that this understanding might also shed some significant preliminary light on the true nature of everything else contained within this Universe.
So initially, here’s what I did:
I knew our Universe consists of three basic parts: Matter, Space and Time.
Since Space and Time are a little more intangible, I decided to start with Matter, as I figured it would be the easiest to investigate.
All Matter in the Cosmos–which by the way, is essentially just another term for our Universe–is made up of these amazing little building blocks called atoms.
From the moment I first learned about them, I have always been fascinated by the reality of their existence–what they are, where they came from, how they work, why they contain so much power, and why they continue to exist.
While I had already heard various theories regarding their possible origin, I now took a fresh look at the nature of the atom, in the light of the 5 Laws of my Examination Tool.
And folks, when I did, what I found was extraordinary!
Summarizing here just briefly, after only a relatively simple investigation of the components, structure and power continuously operating within the atom, those Laws revealed clear objective evidence which pointed me to only one logical conclusion: The atom is a manufactured article.
Therefore the origin and continued existence of the atom, must be the result of some kind of an Intelligence…in other words, an unseen Mind.
And furthermore, in order to account for all the countless atoms which must make up all the seemingly boundless matter in the Cosmos, this Mind must be exceedingly vast and have capabilities and resources on an unimaginable scale.
In fact, in light of this apparently limitless ability, I knew it could be completely rational to apply the highest concept we have of the word God to this Mind!
So…I was amped!
For right out of the gate, and far more simply and easily than I would have ever imagined, I had found a remarkable first piece of the type of evidence I was looking for.
And as I had anticipated, this evidence did indeed provide me with an initial, compellingly significant, foundational part of the reality picture I was hoping to put together.
For I now knew that at least the material part–the matter part–of this entire Cosmos was a product of design and that therefore, there must also be a Designer.
Not surprisingly, this new awareness had an immense impact on me for it began to illuminate my understanding as to the true nature of this overall existence.
And as I had also expected, it additionally began to shed some accurate preliminary light on probable answers to those Great Questions which I was seeking.
So at this point, I was really motivated to continue–for I now knew that there was actual evidence which could be found, and therefore, since I had already found one piece, it seemed likely that I probably could find another, and then another…and perhaps many, many more!
Moreover in light of the profound implications of just the first piece of evidence I had discovered, I now began to sense an underlying theme of design opening up around me, almost everywhere I looked…and I was excited to see if my further studies would validate this.
Interestingly, even the 5 laws themselves, as I was becoming more familiar with them through actual application, were also seemingly confirming this same impression.
So there was no doubt I was eager to continue my pursuit.
As I did, I next took a look at the two remaining basic components of our Cosmos: Space and Time.
Then, I moved on to Stars, our Solar System and then the Earth itself, with a number of the unique conditions and systems that exist and operate within it.
Finally and perhaps most extensively, I explored the incredibly complex Living Systems that inhabit this planet.
I began with the biomolecular structure and operation of a single-celled organism and progressed ultimately up to the 3 pound human brain, which has been referred to as the most complex physical system in the entire known Universe.
And no matter where I looked or what I chose to examine, each time I did so through the objective lens of those 5 Laws, the obvious, logical conclusion I was consistently brought to, was that each of these various objects and systems were not only the product of design, but were actually being continuously sustained in order to maintain their ongoing existence!
Bottom line was, everywhere I looked, I saw more and more clear evidence of this vast, unseen Mind.
And folks, I was amazed–for in some ways, it was as if my eyes were being opened and for the first time I was beginning to really see what had actually been there all along!
Furthermore, much to my delight, all this additional evidence had indeed filled in a substantial portion of the “Reality Picture” I was trying to construct, and what was coming together, was no doubt extraordinary!
And as anticipated, just that initial part of the Picture, had also provided me with at least the first answer to one of the Great Questions, Where Did I Come From?, for I now had evidence, that I too, am a manufactured article and therefore, am also, a product of this Designer.
Finally, and as I had also hoped it might, even just this first answer, did indeed provide me with an initial degree of that deep-seated kind of happiness I was longing for.
For I now knew that neither I nor the Universe were here by accident, and therefore, it stood to reason that there probably was a purpose for us both!
And this awareness gave me a sense of future hope I didn’t have before.
So now, I really began to reflect on the profound reality of the existence of this Designer…this Mind.
As I did, it occurred to me that the whole complexion of my pursuit had just dramatically changed.
See, up to this point, the focus of my studies had been primarily about the pursuit of evidence–looking for facts and knowledge.
And while I knew this key aspect would always remain, I now realized I’d also be adding an exciting new dimension to my Quest…and that new dimension would be a relational pursuit!
For I now knew that there was actually a Someone there…a Person.
And wherever there is a person, there is normally, always the possibility of interacting with them.
Consequently, I soon found myself wondering what this Person might be like…and if it might even be possible to actually connect with them in some way.
This prospect was particularly appealing to me, as I have always been fairly outgoing and enjoy meeting new people, connecting with them when appropriate, and even occasionally building a new friendship.
Over the years, I have had the pleasure of interacting with a lot of really fine people in this way–many of whom have enriched my life and have also allowed me the privilege of learning a great deal from them.
Now however, I was being presented with the astonishing opportunity of elevating this relational pursuit up into an entirely new realm, as I would henceforth be attempting to reach out to a Person who was obviously of a far greater order of being than anyone else I had ever interacted with before!
(And as an important note, let me just mention right here, that for ease and clarity of expression, it was around this time that I began referring to this Mind as a He or Him when necessary.
Although I was already wondering if this Person might actually be well beyond earthly male & female gender as we now understand it, my religious background had taught me that God referred to Himself in this way, and unless my studies proved otherwise, I figured at this point it would be reasonable to simply refer to this Mind in the same way.)
Though I had no idea at the time, if it would even be possible to connect with this Person, I knew just the prospect of potentially doing so–even if it were only on a very limited level–would no doubt be extraordinary.
For one thing, it seemed certain that an intellect of this magnitude would surely have answers to any and all questions worth asking–including the remaining 3 Great Questions–and this alone would most assuredly make any attempt worth the effort!
But even beyond this, the thought of actually getting to know this Person, and of developing some type of a relationship with Him–perhaps even a close one–as I continued to reflect on it, not only became very intriguing to me, but also…quite alluring.
***This concludes part 2 of this Comprehensive Introduction. Part 3 will be released in near future.
