Stem cell pioneer Robert Lanza has been on the frontier of cloning and stem cells for more than a decade, so he’s well-acclimated to controversy. But his book “Biocentrism” is generating controversy on a different plane. Does all this make a difference in daily life, or how you see the world? Take a look at the free sample of “Biocentrism.”
Does The Past Exist Yet?
Experiments suggest your past isn’t set in stone.
An interview with the author of Biocentrism, a book that Nyogen Roshi (the last authorized disciple of Taizan Maezumi Roshi, the foremost Zen master of the twentieth century) describes as mirroring his experiences in the practice of zazen as closely as anything he has encountered in a modern writer.
Excerpt from the interview with Robert Lanza featured in “Science and Nonduality”
The world, it turns out, isn’t the hard, cold place we imagine waking up to in the morning. We scientists are only beginning to pierce the surface of reality.
What came first, you or the universe? The answer is not only unsettling, but suggestive of something both mysterious and inescapable: that you’re the template for the universe and the laws of nature themselves.
We go to and fro our little affairs on an insignificant little planet orbiting an insignificant little sun. Scientists tell us that the universe doesn’t care if we—the little creatures who inhabit this earth—are alive or dead. But there’s a problem with this view—a big problem.
BEYOND BIOCENTRISM: Rethinking Time, Space, Consciousness, and the Illusion of Death
Host Paul Kennedy has his understanding of reality turned-upside-down by Dr. Robert Lanza in this paradigm-shifting hour. Dr. Lanza provides a compelling argument for consciousness as the basis for the universe, rather than consciousness simply being its by-product.
“… Robert Lanza’s work is a wake-up call to all of us”
—David Thompson, Astrophysicist, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
“The heart of [biocentrism], collectively, is correct…So what Lanza says in this book is not new. Then why does Robert have to say it at all? It is because we, the physicists, do NOT say it–or if we do say it, we only whisper it, and in private–furiously blushing as we mouth the words. True, yes; politically correct, hell no! Bless Robert Lanza for creating this book, and bless Bob Berman for not dissuading friend Robert from going ahead with it…Lanza’s remarkable personal story is woven into the book, and is uplifting. You should enjoy this book, and it should help you on your personal journey to understanding.”
—Richard Conn Henry, Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University
“It is genuinely an exciting piece of work…and coheres with some of the things biology and neuroscience are telling us about the structures of our being. Just as we now know that the sun doesn’t really move but we do (we are the active agents), so it is suggesting that we are the entities that give meaning to the particular configuration of all possible outcomes we call reality.”
—Ronald Green, Eunice & Julian Cohen Professor and Director, Ethics Institute, Dartmouth College
“[Biocentrism] takes into account all the knowledge we have gained over the last few centuries…placing in perspective our biologic limitations that have impeded our understanding of greater truths surrounding our existence and the universe around us. This new theory is certain to revolutionize our concepts of the laws of nature for centuries to come.”
—Anthony Atala, renowned scientist, W.H. Boyce Professor, Chair, and Director of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine
“Having interviewed some of the most brilliant minds in the scientific world, I found Dr. Robert Lanza’s insights into the nature of consciousness original and exciting. His theory of biocentrism is consistent with the most ancient traditions of the world which say that consciousness conceives, governs, and becomes a physical world.”
—Deepak Chopra, Bestselling Author, one of the top heroes and icons of the century
“It’s a masterpiece…combines a deep understanding and broad insight into 20th century physics and modern biological science; in so doing, he forces a reappraisal of this hoary epistemological dilemma…Bravo”
—Michael Lysaght, Professor and Director, Center for Biomedical Engineering, Brown University
“Now that I have spent a fair amount of time the last few months doing a bit of writing, reading and thinking about this, and enjoying it and watching it come into better focus, And as I go deeper into my Zen practice, And as I am about half way through re-reading Biocentrism, My conclusion about the book Biocentrism is: Holy shit, that’s a really great book!
—Ralph Levinson, Professor, University of California, Los Angeles
“I downloaded a digital copy of [Biocentrism] in the privacy of my home, where no one could observe my buying or reading such a “New Agey” sort of cosmology book. Now, mind you, my motivation was not all that pure. It was my intention to read the book so I could more effectively refute it like a dedicated physicist was expected to. I consider myself to be firmly and exclusively entrenched in the cosmology camp embodied by the likes of Stephen Hawking, Lisa Randall, Brain Greene, and Edward Witten. After all, you know what Julius Caesar said: Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” I needed to know what the other camps were thinking so I could better defend my position. It became necessary to penetrate the biocentrism camp.
The book had the completely opposite effect on me. The views that Dr. Lanza presented in this book changed my thinking in ways from which there could never be retreat. Before I had actually finished reading the book, it was abundantly obvious to me that Dr. Lanza’s writings provided me with the pieces of perspective that I had been desperately seeking. Everything I had learned and everything I thought I knew just exploded in my mind and, as possibilities first erupted and then settled down, a completely new understanding emerged. The information I had accumulated in my mind hadn’t changed, but the way I viewed it did— in a really big way.”
Source: Wired.com
“The answer to the universe is biology — it’s as simple as that,” says Dr. Robert Lanza, vice president of research and scientific development at Advanced Cell Technology.
A New Theory of the Universe: Biocentrism builds on quantum physics by adding life to the equation.
The American Scholar
A new theory asserts that biology, not physics, will be the key to unlocking the deepest mysteries of the universe.
WIRED.com
How biology is central to constructing a more complete and unified theory of the Universe
The Scientist
Rethinking Time, Space, and the Nature of the Universe.
Most Influential Psychologist of All Time
―American Psychological Association
SCIENCE 207; 543 (1980)
Lanza (with Skinner & Epstein)
Performed the World’s First Heart Transplant
New England Journal of Medicine 307; 1275 (1982)
Lanza (with Barnard & Cooper)
JAMA 249; 1746 (1983)
Lanza (with Barnard, Cooper & Cassidy)
American Heart Journal 107; 8 (1984)
Lanza (with Barnard, Cooper & Boyd)
Developed Polio Vaccine
J. Supramol. Struct 182;33 (1979)
Lanza (with Salk)
Robert Lanza featured on Barbara Walter’s
ABC Special “Live to be 150. Can you do it?”
The quest to unify all of physics into a “the theory of everything” has inspired a host of ideas. Now a pioneer in the field of stem cell research has weighed in with an essay that brings biology and consciousness into the mix.
MSNBC.com Cosmic Log
Biocentrism (theory of everything) from Greek: βίος, bios, “life”; and κέντρον, kentron, “center” — also known as the biocentric universe — is a theory proposed in 2007 by American scientist Robert Lanza. In this view, life and biology are central to being, reality, and the cosmos. Biocentrism asserts that current theories of the physical world do not work, and can never be made to work, until they fully account for life and consciousness. – From WIKIPEDIA Read More
Dr. Robert Lanza selected for the 2014 TIME 100 list of the hundred most influential people in the world, along with Beyoncé, Hillary Clinton, Pope Francis, Vladimir Putin, Robert Redford, and other artists, pioneers, leaders, titans and icons.
The Biocentric Universe Theory: Stem-cell guru Robert Lanza presents a radical new view of the universe and everything in it.
Discover Magazine
The Biocentric Universe Theory: Stem-cell guru Robert Lanza presents a radical new view of the universe and everything in it.
Discover Magazine
All human knowledge is relational. “Discordant opinions,” said Emerson “are reconciled by being seen to be two extremes of one principle.”
Stem cell pioneer Robert Lanza has been on the frontier of cloning and stem cells for more than a decade, so he’s well-acclimated to controversy. But his book “Biocentrism” is generating controversy on a different plane. Does all this make a difference in daily life, or how you see the world? Take a look at the free sample of “Biocentrism.”
Dr. Robert Lanza selected for the 2014 TIME 100 list of the hundred most influential people in the world, along with Beyoncé, Hillary Clinton, Pope Francis, Vladimir Putin, Robert Redford, and other artists, pioneers, leaders, titans and icons.
Robert Lanza selected as one of the top “World Thinkers 2015” by Prospect Magazine. The thinkers were chosen for “engaging in original and profound ways with the central questions of the world today,” as well as for their continuing significance for “this year’s biggest questions” (in economics, science, philosophy, cultural and social criticism and in politics).
In his papers on relativity, Einstein showed that time was relative to the observer. This new paper takes this one step further, arguing that the observer creates it. The paper shows that the intrinsic properties of quantum gravity and matter alone cannot explain the tremendous effectiveness of the emergence of time and the lack of quantum entanglement in our everyday world. Instead, it’s necessary to include the properties of the observer, and in particular, the way we process and remember information.
Picture of Robert Lanza at Hazy Moon
Both science and religion appear to be honing in on a deeper reality, one totally ignored by most people until now.
Picture of Robert Lanza and Barbara Walters
Picture of Robert Lanza
Picture of Robert Lanza
Everyone knows that something is screwy with the way we visualize the cosmos. Theories of its origins screech to a halt when they reach the very event of interest — the moment of creation, the “Big Bang.”
We suppose ourselves to be a pond; and if there is any justice, it must approach upon these shores. But there are consequences to our actions that transcend our ordinary, classical way of thinking.
In Star Wars, the bars are bustling with alien creatures. But where are they all? Despite half a century of scanning the sky, astronomers have failed to find any evidence of life.
It appears increasingly likely that our universe is not a closed system and that science may not be playing with a full deck.
If we could see before the first single-cell organism, and after the last man and woman, only you would remain — you, the Great Face behind, that consciousness whose mode of thinking that contains the world.
Why out of all of existence do you get to be, say, just a plumber or a hairdresser — followed by nothingness for the rest of eternity.
Picture of Robert Lanza
Picture of Robert Lanza from Wired Magazine
We think of time and consciousness in human terms. But like us, plants possess receptors, microtubules and sophisticated intercellular systems that likely facilitate a degree of spatio-temporal consciousness.
Where did it all come from? Why are we here? Switching our perspective from physics to biology undoes some of the biggest “facts” we’ve been taught about the world.
Can life really be reduced to the laws of physics, or are we part of something more noble and triumphant?
An amazing set of experiments suggest that events in the future may influence things happening in the world now. The past, present and future are inseparably entangled.
A long list of scientific experiments suggests our belief in death is based on a false premise. This article provides five compelling reasons why you won’t die.
Evolutionary biology suggests life has progressed from a one dimensional reality, to two dimensions to three dimensions, and there’s no reason to think the evolution of life stops there.
All human knowledge is relational. “Discordant opinions,” said Emerson “are reconciled by being seen to be two extremes of one principle.”
Life is more than just the dance of atoms described in our science textbooks. We’re all ephemeral forms of an individuality greater than ourselves, eternal even when we die.
We dismiss dreams because they end when we wake up. But whether awake or dreaming, you’re experiencing the same bio-physical process.
The contemplation of time and the discoveries of modern science suggest that the mind is the ultimate reality, paramount and limitless.
Einstein believed he could build from one side of nature — the physical, without the other side — the living. But he was a physicist, and as such, missed what was outside his window.
Ideally, our concepts of nature and God should adapt to our evolving scientific knowledge. Relative to the supreme creator, we humans would be much like the microorganisms we scrutinize under the microscope.
New experiments suggest part of us exists outside of the physical world. We assume there’s a universe “out there” separate from what we are, and that we play no role in its appearance. Yet experiments show just the opposite.
It seems natural that someday we’ll make machines that’ll think and act like people. However, for a machine or computer there’s no other principle but physic, and the chemistry of the atoms that compose it.
What happens if we project our current scientific knowledge into the future? A new scenario suggests the evolution of a new concept of God.
Experiments suggest life cannot be destroyed. According to Biocentrism, consciousness can’t be extinguished in a timeless, spaceless world.
We’re taught that the universe can be fundamentally divided into two entities: ourselves and that which is outside of us. But you’re not an object — if you divorce one side of the equation from the other you cease to exist.
Life is a flowering and adventure that transcends our ordinary linear way of thinking, an interlude in a melody so vast and eternal that human ears can’t appreciate the tonal range of the symphony.
We take physics as a kind of magic and think everything just popped into existence one day out of nothingness. But we’re living through a profound shift in worldview, from the belief that life is an insignificant part of the physical universe, to one in which we’re the origin.
We’re about to be broadsided by the most explosive event in history. But it won’t be rockets that take us the next step. Sometime in the future science life will finally figure out how to escape from its corporeal cage.
What sustains us in and above the void of nothingness? We can’t see the laws that uphold the world, and that if they be removed the Universe would collapse to nothing.
Did you ever wonder why people like Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson didn’t fare any better than you or I despite all their money, fame, and access to people of wisdom? The answer lies in your own backyard.
Biocentrism unlocks the cage Western science has unwittingly confined itself. By allowing the observer into the equation opens new approaches to understanding everything from the tiny world of the atom to our views of life and death.
The Biocentric Universe Theory: Stem-cell guru Robert Lanza presents a radical new view of the universe and everything in it.
Discover Magazine
Source: Msnbc.com
Robert Lanza, vice president for research and scientific development at Advanced Cell Technology, sets forth his view on the quest for a unified cosmic theory in “A New Theory of the Universe,” an essay appearing in The American Scholar.
I spent a couple of years rolling pennies and eating canned spinach and pasta while I tried to understand the universe.
From Wikipedia: The h-index measures both the productivity and impact of a scientist or scholar. A value for h of about 12 might be typical for advancement to tenure (associate professor) at major [US] research universities. A value of about 18 could mean a full professorship, 15–20 could mean a fellowship in the American Physical Society, and 45 or higher could mean membership in the United States National Academy of Sciences. According to Hirsch (who put forward the h-index), an h index of 20 is good, 40 is outstanding, and 60 is truly exceptional.
“…his mentors described him [Lanza] as a “genius,” a “renegade” thinker, even likening him to Einstein.”
“Robert Lanza is the living embodiment of the character played by Matt Damon in the movie Good Will Hunting. Growing up underprivileged in Stoughton, Mass., south of Boston, the young preteen caught the attention of Harvard Medical School researchers when he showed up on the university steps having successfully altered the genetics of chickens in his basement. Over the next decade, he was to be “discovered” and taken under the wing of scientific giants such as psychologist B. F. Skinner, immunologist Jonas Salk, and heart transplant pioneer Christiaan Barnard. His mentors described him as a “genius,” a “renegade” thinker, even likening him to Einstein.”
