Last week I dropped a grenade on my LinkedIn wall when I posted “there’s no such thing as a stressful environment”.

Turned out not everyone agreed.

And one chap in particular posted back to trot out different scientific studies which he said proved the complete opposite.

Now, before I go on, I want to say this:

I’m not having a go at this guy. 

I often write about the idea that our experience is caused by our circumstance.  And even though I happen to think this is true, I’m not naïve enough to forget that this idea is so left-field that it might as well come straight from the Twilight Zone.

So I understand why some people scratch their heads, strongly disagree or defend their position when I say this.

Science is one of these defences.

Today I want to address the notion that science has all the answers.

And the reason I want to address this is because I don’t think it does.

I’m saying this despite studying a cocktail of Maths, Double Maths & Physics for my last two years at school.  Then going onto the delights of Maths & Mechanical Engineering at university.

i.e. I was knee-deep in all things science for years.

But I don’t see science as some sort of holy grail.

Far from it.

Science often gets things wrong.

For instance, scientists used to think that drinking mercury was the way to live forever.  They also thought the sun went round the earth.

Just the other week the BBC reported that the discovery of a new ring of galaxies was baffling science boffins because its make-up drove a coach & horses through one of the most foundational principles of astronomy.

And anyone who thinks there are scientific truths today which won’t be proved false in the future has well & truly got their blinkers on.

So the idea that science is the way to determine what is and isn’t true is suspicious as the very least.

But it goes much deeper than this.

See, all science is at the mercy of the instrument used to investigate that science.  Until you know the nature of these instruments, you can't trust their conclusions.

I don’t mean instruments like test tubes, pipettes or Large Hadron Colliders.

I mean the instrument through which every single piece of science is perceived.

You could call this instrument the mind.  You could call it awareness or consciousness.

It doesn’t really matter what you call it. 

What matters is this:

Until you understand it, the science is incomplete.

It’s a bit like putting on a VR headset then doing a bunch of experiments.  None of your experiments are telling you anything about the real world because they all take place within the VR world.

Same with science today.  All science today takes places in consciousness.

Aha!  I hear the noble scientists cry.  Science can tell us about the mind and consciousness too!

Well actually no. 

It can’t.

Science can’t tell us about consciousness because it takes place in consciousness, just like jumping into VR world won’t tell you anything about the VR headset (even if you know you're wearing it).

Bottom line for me is this:

Science is part of the conversation, but it’s not the end of the conversation.

Not by a long stretch.

And, more to the point, there is truth outside science. 

The simplest, quickest way to start seeing some of this truth for yourself?

By tapping into what science can’t experience but which we, as humans, can.

And the way to do this is to stop looking outwards and to look inwards instead.

I once heard the writer and guru Rupert “The Spiralizer” Spira say this:

All scientists eventually become mystics

Perhaps a mystic like The Spiralizer would say that.

But he’s got a point.

It’s exploring questions like “Who am I?”, “What is the nature of consciousness?” and “Where does my experience come from?” which leads to a deeper, personal, experiential and more useful understanding of life and the nature of reality.

Turns out it’s also questions like these which point the way towards happiness and fulfilment.

And that’s because happiness and fulfilment don’t come from the outside world.  Any washed up billionaire will tell you that.

They come from looking in the other direction.

For help, guidance and further exploration, here's where to go:

https://waitinglist.followingfulfilment.com

That’s all for today.

 - Tom