You Are the Universe: Discovering Your Cosmic Self and Why It Matters

I found very little evidence in this book that would convince a skeptic that its claims are true. Nothing was said about experimental violations of Bell's inequality in the 1980s, proving local objectivity does not exist, or the more recent experiments based on the Wigner's friend paradox, which go even further by proving non-local objectivity doesn't exist either. Highlighting the consequences those experiments would have provided some very powerful evidence pointing to consciousness-based reality. (Hint: reality is either objective or subjective, so if those experiments proved reality isn't objective, then it must be subjective.) But Instead of using solid experimental evidence, the authors relied on a lot of hand waving and worn-out anthropic arguments; e.g., the universe seems tailor-made for humans, therefore humans must have tailored it.There are numerous scientific errors scattered throughout the book. One glaring example concerns gravity. The first chapter correctly notes that the key to understanding general relativity is to realize that gravity is not a "force." (Gravity defines geodesic paths through space-time, and the only way a "force" arises from gravity is by preventing an object possessing mass from following a geodesic path defined by gravity.) And yet immediately after the statement that gravity isn't a force, gravity is described in the same chapter as "one of the four forces of nature" (a common refrain found in the popular-science literary genre). The book goes further down this rabbit hole by lamenting that theoretical physicists have failed thus far to unify gravity with the other three forces. (Hint: if gravity isn't a force, then how could anyone "unify" it with "other" forces?)The list of scientific errors and false assumptions goes on and on. Concerning the big bang, the authors assume this was an event of utter chaos and maximum disorder. How do they know this? Where is their evidence? If there truly was a "Big Bang" event, it could not have been like a huge July Fourth fireworks explosion. Logic dictates the initial stages of universal expansion had to be incredibly smooth and orderly, which points to an initial state of zero or near-zero entropy. Because otherwise, how could entropy have continually increased over the past 14 billion years or so from an initial state that was already maximally disorganized and chaotic?Other common fallacies found in popular-science literature were regurgitated throughout this book. As those fallacies mounted up and the resulting paradoxes became untenable, the authors immediately jumped to the conclusion that since the prevailing physicalist paradigm can't properly account for reality, then humans must account for it. In other words, if A can't explain it, then it must be B. The problem with that argument in this case is that A and B aren't collectively exhaustive, so it's possible neither of them are true.Despite the fact that both Idealism and Non-Dualism may be legitimate, this book is not at all convincing, and it needs to go much further in order to prove its case.

Here's a science book that is of urgent interest to non-scientists, because it can change the way we live by helping us change the paradigm with which we see the world. Throughout Deepak Chopra's career, he has believed that many aspects of everyday life need to be re-examined. He was proved right when he argued for the mind-body connection thirty years ago, at a time when mainstream medicine either rejected or ridiculed the idea that our thoughts influence our bodies.Mainstream physicists might reject or ridicule the concept that our thoughts influence the cosmos, which is the main theme of this book, but the book was written with physics professor Menas Kafatos, so the science is solid. You Are the Universe means what its title says. The reality we inhabit is shaped by our own experience, and if there is such a thing as another reality apart from our raw experience, we will never know it. And what would it even mean to say reality can be independent of experience? Such a radical thesis puts the physics establishment on notice, using its own methods. The book outlines the key mysteries that physics hasn't solved, such as what came before the big bang, which is like asking what happened before the beginning of time. Chopra and Kafatos are bold enough to broach forbidden and politically incorrect questions like whether there is design of the universe (while strictly distancing themselves from any religious view, especially Intelligent Design).What surprised me is how deep the unsolved mysteries go and how credible a human universe actually is. In the tradition of quantum physics, as the authors point out, physical reality was radically revised, and some of the pioneers of quantum physics seriously doubted the things we take for granted about existence--matter, energy, space, and time--are even remotely like what our common-sense ideas of them are. Solid physical objects, for example, turn into clouds of energy at the quantum level before dissolving into probability waves and finally vanishing into the quantum void. The fact that the universe was born out of nothing--the quantum vacuum--opens the way for describing the pre-created state in many ways.Chopra and Kafatos touch on some of the current theories in physics as well. They point out that modern physics theories provide descriptions that are based on arcane mathematics, such as superstring theory, and which have almost zero empirical evidence to prove the case one way or the other. The same holds true for the fashionable multiverse theory, which theorizes trillions of alternate universes that will never be seen or measured. The authors argue that the pre-created state of existence is consciousness, the source of not only everything physical but everything mental as well. While the idea of a conscious universe may not be new, even among some highly-respected cosmologists, but I don’t believe the case has been made anywhere else so thoroughly and so closely directed at personal transformation.Despite the presence of Chopra's name, this isn't a spiritual book. It is highly readable pop science that exposes the hidden presumptions behind subject-object based knowledge, so that the role and presence of consciousness is recognized for what it is. The authors conclude with a plea for a new paradigm based on this reality that can save the planet and open the door to the next step in human evolution. Higher consciousness won't become widespread, they say, until we absorb a deep yet simple truth. Everything in creation is an activity in consciousness, and we humans sit at the center of a universe tailored to our awareness. We are thus co-creators of our own reality, at this very moment. It's an inspiring and an empowering message, that feels more relevant and urgent than ever.

Dr. Chopra hit his peak with Quantum Healing and How to Know God. You Are the Universe goes on and on about scientific nonsense while really saying absolutely nothing. The entire book can be summarized as "You are the universe because you have consciousness." Disappointing. And yet, I keep reading. I recognize that Chopra is attempting to add new ways of thinking about science and metaphysics; there are sound points to ponder about energy, time, and eternity if you can get past the unnecessary detail.

Deepak Chopra and Menas Kafatos have written a masterpiece in 'You Are the Universe.' This highly readable and infinitely intriguing book, offers a roadmap to our very existence. It combines spirituality with hard science, and addresses the pertinent questions about our very reason for being. What is our purpose, why are we here, what role do we play in the cosmos; these are important questions that are thoughtfully explored in this book. The material presented here is perhaps the most important and enlightening that you'll ever read.