Is this world a hologram?

Physicists use the term holography for relationships between certain mathematical theories of gravity and lower-dimensional theories. This does not establish that everyday life is a projection created by our minds. The reflection below uses a hologram as a spiritual metaphor for how memories and beliefs shape our experience. See Maldacena’s original paper.

A question about reality and perception

Regardless of whether the universe is a hologram, I want to talk about whether the world I live in is real. Astronomers estimate that the universe is about 13.8 billion years old. The first stars formed later, after the early universe had cooled; their exact starting time is still being studied. NASA’s universe overview. NASA’s first-star timeline.

Stars form when gravity gathers and compresses gas and dust until conditions allow nuclear fusion. Their later evolution can leave white dwarfs, neutron stars or black holes and return material to space. They do not simply appear when stellar energies collide or disappear into nothing. The universe also changes and expands over time. NASA’s guide to stars.

The body as a camera: a meditation metaphor

This meditation teaching compares the body to a camera and memories to pictures. It is a way of reflecting on how past experiences influence us, rather than a literal account of how the brain stores every sensory event.

And I've been living in a world of photographs after storing them in my brain.

In this teaching, a “mind world” means the personal interpretations and attachments through which we experience life.

The invitation is to notice how those interpretations can differ from person to person.

So why don't we know that?

The hologram image offers a way to ask how much of our experience is shaped by familiar stories and expectations. Questions about our essence or identity belong here to spiritual reflection. This metaphor does not establish that the physical universe is an illusion.

“Waking up” as a spiritual aspiration

The following first-person passage expresses the author’s spiritual beliefs in a “universe mind” and an “eternal world.” Its language of returning before birth and living forever is religious or spiritual language, not a scientific finding or a promise of biological immortality.

The only way to wake up from the hologram is by changing my mind.

I have been living in a virtual reality created since I was born, so it's time for me to go back and start over again before that point where everything started.

Although my hologram was created when I was born, that doesn't mean I have to end with my death. If I can go back to before the star came out and become the universe's mind again, then I will be able to live forever in the eternal world. This is the original return to the mind of the universe.