The Eleven Enlightening Principles of Biocentrism

The fact of awareness, of perception, is not only fundamental to all we know or ever hope to know, it is also exceedingly peculiar, both in fact and in origin.

Since knowledge is science’s sine qua non, and perception is the only way to acquire knowledge, consciousness ought to seem more basic to our understanding than any neural methodology or subsystem. After all, if human consciousness contains fundamental biases or quirks, these could color everything we see and learn. So we’d want to know about this before proceeding further to our countless information acquisition methods, whether they be color and sound classifications or taxonomies of life forms. Consciousness is the root. It’s more fundamental than your computer’s hard drive. In this analogy, it’s rather like the electric current.

Moreover, experiments since the 1920s have unequivocally revealed that the mere presence of the observer changes an observation. Treated then and now as an oddity or inconvenience, this phenomenon strongly suggests that we are not separate from the things we see, hear, and contemplate. Rather, we—nature and the observer—are some sort of inseparable entity. This simple conclusion lies at the heart of biocentrism. But what is this entity? Unfortunately, since consciousness has only been studied superficially and largely remains a mystery, the amalgam that is “consciousness + nature” is equally enigmatic—in fact, more so.

However, as a result, the very word “consciousness” may seem out of place in science books or articles, despite the fact that, as we’ll see, most famous names in quantum mechanics regarded it as central to the understanding of the cosmos. And that’s before its somewhat newly acknowledged role not just in revealing what we observe, but creating it.

The above is an excerpt from Dr. Robert Lanza’s book “The Grand Biocentric Design”, in which you will also find the following definitions for your consideration:

First principle of biocentrism:

What we perceive as reality is a process that involves our consciousness. An external reality, if it existed, would by definition have to exist in the framework of space and time. But space and time are not independent realities but rather tools of the human and animal mind.

Second principle of biocentrism:

Our external and internal perceptions are inextricably intertwined. They are different sides of the same coin and cannot be divorced from one another.

Third principle of biocentrism:

The behavior of subatomic particles—indeed all particles and objects—is inextricably linked to the presence of an observer. Absent a conscious observer, they at best exist in an undetermined state of probability waves.

Fourth principle of biocentrism:

Without consciousness, “matter” dwells in an undetermined state of probability. Any universe that could have preceded consciousness only existed in a probability state.

Fifth principle of biocentrism:

The structure of the universe is explainable only through biocentrism because the universe is fine-tuned for life—which makes perfect sense as life creates the universe, not the other way around. The “universe” is simply the complete spatiotemporal logic of the self.

Sixth principle of biocentrism:

Time does not have a real existence outside of animal sense perception. It is the process by which we perceive changes in the universe.

Seventh principle of biocentrism:

Space, like time, is not an object or a thing. Space is another form of our animal understanding and does not have an independent reality. We carry space and time around with us like turtles with shells. Thus, there is no absolute self-existing matrix in which physical events occur independent of life.

Eighth principle of biocentrism:

Biocentrism offers the only explanation of how the mind is unified with matter and the world by showing how modulation of ion dynamics in the brain at the quantum level allows all parts of the information system that we associate with consciousness to be simultaneously interconnected.

Ninth principle of biocentrism:

There are several basic relationships—called “forces”—that the mind uses to construct reality. They have their roots in the logic of how the various components of the information system interact with each other to create the 3-D experience we call consciousness or reality. Each force describes how bits of energy interact at different levels, starting with the strong and weak forces (which govern how particles hold together or fall apart in the nucleus of atoms) and moving up to electromagnetism and then gravity (which dominates interactions on astronomical scales such as the behavior of solar systems and galaxies).

Tenth principle of biocentrism:

The two pillars of physics—quantum mechanics and general relativity—can only be reconciled by taking observers, us, into account.

Eleventh principle of biocentrism:

Observers ultimately define the structure of physical reality—of states of matter and spacetime—even if there is a “real world out there” beyond us, whether one of fields, quantum foam, or some other entity.

We would say, clearly, something to ponder over a cup of coffee, or two, or three….

From the mind-boggling and hugely eye opening book The Grand Biocentric Design (pp. 195-197) by Lanza, Robert; Pavsic, Matej.