Multidimensional Man Lives in a Multidimensional Reality

By Reynaldo Pareja

Is reality what we see at first glance when we observe something? This might sound as a senseless question. Obviously, what we see is real. Any object that enters in our field of perception is an objective reality that has weight, density; it is also inert or alive.
But are there other levels of reality that are equally valid and real as the level observed at first sight? When we make this question, we realize that it has meaning because science has taught us is that total reality is not the one we perceive at first glance. It suffices to look below its external surface to discover a hidden reality not observable at first glance. One question normally opens the door to other questions. If this is true, one can ask, “Why is it important for me to become aware of those levels of reality if the immediate one is sufficient for my daily performance? How does this question help to clarify why we are designed the way we are?” The latter question immerses us immediately in the field of meaning; the why of things and events. This is another level of personal reality that we must investigate if we want to obtain the full picture of what we claim is real. This is the intention of this essay, to explore the different levels of objective and subjective reality in order to obtain a holistic perspective of ourselves and the world we live in, so that we can accept its diverse levels of reality at the same time that we give it the respect it deserves so that all of us can share and live on Earth, our one country.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Nov 18, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664198012

Reynaldo Pareja

Reynaldo Pareja, PhD en Comunicación y Sociología del École des Études en Sciences Sociales, Paris. Maestría en Comunicación por la Universidad de Cornell, Estados Unidos. Licenciatura en Filosofía y Letras de la Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia. Todos los libros en español del autor se pueden ver y adquirir en: amazonbooks.com

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Copyright © 2021 by Reynaldo Pareja.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 11/11/2021

Xlibris

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CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Introduction

SECTION ONE

THE MULTIDIMENSIONAL REALITY

Chapter 1     Reality: The universe of things verifiable at first glance

We live in a world of things

The direct experience of the world of solids

Differentiation of the density of objects

Chapter 2     Physically reality and the objectively verifiable out there

What we’re not, is out there.

Chapter 3     Physical Reality and its different levels of existence

Inert physical things have an inner non-visible reality

Internal crystals

Beauty behind roughness

The splendor of gemstones

The cubic geometry of the invisible

The magical realms of the caves

Radioactive minerals

The structure of solids

The most intimate structure of matter

Everything organic has another inner reality, not visible

Conclusion

Chapter 4     Reality depends on the affirmation of its existence

Is the un-known real?

Is there anything outside of the affirmation of existence?

Man’s creative power

Chapter 5     The Intimate reality of the organs and brain

The hidden reality in man’s organs

The brain, a complex structure of multiple realities

How do the different parts of the brain carry out this remarkable functioning?

Chapter 6     The Reality of Knowledge

Hearing Knowledge (1)

Smell Knowledge (2)

Touch Knowledge (3)

Taste Knowledge (4)

Visual Knowledge (5)

Conceptual Knowledge (6)

Logical Knowledge (7)

Intuitive Knowledge (8)

Chapter 7     The Reality of the Mind

The Mind: Architect of Knowledge

The Mind: creator of thoughts

Levels of mind expression

The Emotional Mind

The timeless and non-space dimension of emotions

The Ethical Mind

The Moral Mind

Reality of value and moral judgments,

The Spiritual Mind

Typical expressions of the Spiritual Mind

Partial conclusion

Chapter 8     The Multiple Realities of Human Existence

Psychological Reality

Social Reality

Economic Reality

Political Reality

Reality of Creativity

Cultural Reality

Religious Reality

Partial conclusion

Chapter 9     Self-Awareness, Timeless and non-Spatial

The Existential Mind

Existing in space-time dimension

Existing in a community, in a culture and a society

Self-Awareness, the I that has no time, no-space constraints (1)

The Self-Aware - the silent and permanent witness

The I-Witness exists in a timeless, non-space dimension

Partial Conclusion

Chapter 10   The Reality of the Spirit

Introduction

Questions to which the Spiritual Mind seeks answers

Space-time experience

The Experience of Death

Conclusion

Objective-physical reality is Multidimensional

The physical and inner reality of man is also Multidimensional

Bibliography

To my friend, Rodolfo de Roux,

whose academic sharpness,

and moral integrity

have taught me, over and over,

to spare no effort demanded

in the journey of sharing

ideas that can inspire

and stimulate our personal growth.

Acknowledgements

Like all the previous books that I have had the pleasure of writing, this one is not exempt from the reality that a book is not written by the author alone. He brings the raw material, but it is the collective effort of all those involved in its planning, development review, and editing that makes the final version possible.

I would not have written this book if I had not had the unconditional support of my friend Rodolfo de Roux to review the content, Patricia, my wife, making patient observations, and giving me countless free hours necessary to be able to write, correct, and rewrite. My endearing friend, Dario Restrepo (now deceased), collaborated in the review of the Spanish version, polishing the language style that would otherwise have escaped me. He also collaborated with the first graphic ideas for the cover.

Another work colleague of many years, Oscar Viganó, offered the final graphic art of the cover that, combined with the content review, gave birth to the book’s present status. This English version could have not come to life had it not being reviewed and edited by Joe Coblentz, a dear friend whose generosity with me has no bounds, giving birth to the English versions of my books. To each and every one of you, my sincere thanks because you have made it possible for the reader to have this polished version that you are about read. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did while writing the book you now have in your hands.

Introduction

Question: Is reality what we see at first sight?

This may sound like an idle question. Of course, what we see, even for the first time, it is real. Any object that enters our field of perception is one more element of reality. Reality in that sense is objective, measurable, weighty, with density, with the characteristics of being alive or inert, solid matter. The reality of things, at this level, is what we perceive at first glance, and we usually claim it to be so.

But can we be sure it is the complete reality? Can we ask whether there are other levels of reality that are equally valid, equally real like what we observe at first sight? When we ask this question, we realize that it makes sense because, if there is anything we have been learning as science progresses, it is that complete reality is not the thing we see at first, nor is it what we perceive at first glance. When you take the trouble to scrutinize what is beneath its surface, one begins to uncover a whole hidden reality that the observer had not even known existed. To discover these levels is to realize that we should not make premature judgments as to what we consider or claim to be real without knowing its other hidden dimensions, all of which are integral to its total reality. So, it is very healthy and desirable not to make final judgments about what we perceive as objective reality because we should first discover its inner reality, which is often richer and more complex than the outside, visible reality.

One question almost always opens the door to another, and even to another question. If this claim is true, one can immediately ask, if these other levels of reality exist but I cannot see them, how do they integrate into the level of what I see? To what do these non-visible levels of reality point to? Why is it important for me to become aware of these internal levels of reality, if what I do perceive externally is more than enough to carry on with my life?

This last question opens the door to thinking about the meaning for me that things, events, and situations present. It’s another level of personal reality that, it is also necessary to break down if, somehow, we want to get the full portrait of what we say it’s real. That’s the intention of this essay, to walk through different levels of objective and subjective reality, acquire a holistic perspective of ourselves and the world in which we live, who are we and why are we the way we are.

SECTION ONE

THE MULTIDIMENSIONAL

REALITY

Chapter 1

Reality: The universe of things

verifiable at first glance

We live in a world of things

Very few people question the fact that we live in a physical world surrounded by a multitude of things: we see and experience the house or apartment where we have been raised; we see and feel the toys that we have fun with; we see and put on the clothing with which we cover our bodies; we see and use the vehicles in which we move about each day; we see and eat food when we are hungry. We see and embrace our parents, wives, brothers, and sisters; we passionately kiss our girlfriends and lovers; we contemplate daily a barrage of things offered to us by the television. In short, we live our daily lives immersed in a world of things that we call real because they are tangible, visible, and verifiable by any one of our senses or all at once.

For many, perhaps for most of us, this is our universe of Reality. This is the world in which we are born, grow, develop, live, and tell our personal story and die. This reality ends up constituting the bulk of the framework of our existence, a world of things that we deem necessary to survive.

But not everyone perceives reality that way. This is the case of a man who was blind from birth. By not physically seeing things, external reality is not based on what he sees outside of himself. He experiences external reality in a qualitatively different dimension from the one experienced by those that see. What will be his internal image of the size of the Empire State Building or the height of the Prudential Insurance Building in San Francisco? What will be his internal image of the grace and incredible strength of the Golden Gate suspension bridge over San Francisco Bay? In the face of these two realities, the blind cannot experience them, code them, feel them, or talk about them from the same point of view of someone who can see.

The blind man will be able to speak of the sense of length he perceives of the bridge by walking over it, or by sitting in a vehicle that crosses it. To acquire an internal picture of the height of the skyscraper, he would have to go up in an elevator from the base of the building to the top floor. He cannot experience visually the three-dimensionality of the two buildings as a sighted person does every day.

Nor can a blind man have a complete image of what an elephant looks like unless he hears it described by someone who has seen it. He can also elaborate such an image by touching the thickness of its legs, by stretching his arms as high as he can while touching his belly or standing on a ladder to get an experience of its height. He can touch an ear and follow with its contour to feel the form and size; he can touch the trunk of the elephant and follow it upwards from its two front holes to get a mental image how long it is, how strong it feels to the touch. Similarly, to get an internal idea-image-perception of the shape of the mouth, he would have to touch the giant lips, feeling its strong sucking muscles, and inside a soft, skin texture, with thick saliva. To be able to get an image of the size of the tail he would have to follow the long bristles up to the anus from where it starts.

Both the blind man and the seer can build a mental image that visualizes the world of things in which they are immersed. Each one experiences reality in a different manner and perspective. However, the two can and do claim that this world of visible or tangible objects make up the reality outside themselves within which they live, grow, develop, mature, achieve their dreams and die.

The direct experience of the world of solids

The most basic experience of what constitutes reality is perhaps the fact that we can see and touch solid objects.

But this does not happen immediately when one is born. Knowledge of the outside world, before seeing it with some level of clarity and distinction, takes time. Experts in infant development affirm that the newborn takes two to three months before their eyes and brain are developed enough to focus on objects and see when they are moved in front of their eyes. By the age of three months, their long-distance vision is developed. But the first way of knowing objects is through