by Gregg Braden
Today we have the same opportunity. We don’t have to be saints to make a difference. There’s an interesting distinction that makes our current choices different from those of our past. The scientific studies show that the more people there are who embrace a new belief, the easier it is to anchor that belief as a reality. (As mentioned in Part II, the “square root of one percent” equation simply demonstrates how many people it takes to begin the change.) While Buddha, Jesus, and the other masters may have been the first to accomplish what they did, their examples proved to be the catalysts that opened the door for others to do the same. Even Jesus himself suggested that future generations would do what looked miraculous to the people of his day.
There have been many years and many people that have followed the lead of such visionaries, and the momentum of what they offered is the advantage that we have over the visionaries of our past. Today we know that we can heal our bodies and live to an advanced age. We know that love, appreciation, and gratitude are the life-affirming qualities that infuse our bodies with vitality and our world with peace. And we know that with the knowledge to upgrade what we say to the Divine Matrix, relatively few people can make a big difference.
So what do we do with such knowledge? What happens if one person decides on a new response to an old and hurtful pattern? What occurs if someone chooses to respond to “betrayal” or “violated trust,” for example, with something other than hurt and anger? What do you think takes place in a family when one member begins to watch the six o’clock news without feeling the need for revenge or to get even with those who have wronged and violated others? What happens is this: That single individual becomes a living bridge—both the pioneer and midwife—for every other person with the courage to choose the same path. Each time someone else makes the same choice, it’s a little easier because another person did it first.
As we discovered earlier, the key to their success is that in order to do so, they must transcend the things that hurt them without getting lost in the experience. In other words, Martin Luther King, Jr., couldn’t bring a stop to hate by hating. Nelson Mandela couldn’t have survived more than two decades in a South African prison if he had despised those who imprisoned him. In the same way, it’s impossible to end war by creating more wars. We’ve seen a powerful example of precisely this principle in our inability to find peace in the 20th century. Bottom line: In a universe that mirrors our beliefs, it’s clear that angry people can’t create a peaceful world. We’ve tried, and the instability of the world today is the evidence of where our efforts have led.
In our examples of those who have changed the cycles of oppression from within the oppression itself, two powerful patterns emerge:
1. The choice to see beyond the hate originates from within the same system that spawns it, rather than being imposed upon the system from an outside source.
2. The people who make such a choice become the living bridge for those people they love the most. They find their truest power by living their truth in a system that doesn’t support their beliefs at the time.
What a powerful model! Holographic consciousness provides for a change made anywhere in the system becoming a change everywhere in the system. Even with six billion–plus people now sharing our world, we all benefit to some degree from the choices of peace and healing that are held by just a few. I can say that with certainty because we’ve witnessed this principle at work. Through our knowledge of the Divine Matrix, we now have everything we need to embrace our power to create and apply what we know to the great challenges of our time.
Whether we’re choosing peace in our world or within our families, healing in our loved ones or in ourselves, the principles are precisely the same. In our analogy of the universe as a consciousness computer with feelings, emotions, beliefs, and prayers programming reality, it makes perfect sense that we would have an instruction manual that highlights the steps of reality making. And we do: Through the ages, the most enlightened masters have shared it with us in bits and pieces. The keys in the next section, drawn from their teachings, are designed to lead us step-by-step through the sequence of logic and actions that’s been proven to create change.
While there are certainly other keys, this time-tested sequence has been effective during history, as well as in my own experience. For that reason it’s offered here as an abbreviated “how-to” manual for upgrading our programs of reality and changing the world.
20 KEYS TO REALITY MAKING
Here are the keys that encapsulate the highlights of this book. Individually, they’re interesting. Collectively, they tell a story—our story—a reminder of our power to create. The keys may be considered as the software that our consciousness computer uses for reality making … our code of change. And as with any code, the keys are in a sequence for a reason. Simply put, just as we need to have all the ingredients in place before we begin to bake a cake, our keys to reality making work only if each step of the process is understood and available to us when we need it.
When I think about understanding these keys, I’m reminded of a powerful sequence of knowledge described in the mysterious third book of the Kabbalah, the Sepher Yetzirah. In the step-by-step instruction describing how the universe was made, the book’s unknown author invites the reader to consider each step of creation one at a time. In doing so, the reader gives each one the consideration of its own place of power. “Examine with them, / And probe with them,” the text says of the ancient instructions. “Make [each] thing stand on its essence.”5
Similarly, I invite you to consider the following sequence of keys individually. Allow each its own merit as a powerful agent of change. Work with it until it makes sense to you. Together, these steps can become your code for changing the world and yourself.
20 KEYS OF CONSCIOUS
CREATION
Key 1: The Divine Matrix is the container that holds the universe, the bridge between all things, and the mirror that shows us what we have created.
Key 2: Everything in our world is connected to everything else.
Key 3: To tap the force of the universe itself, we must see ourselves as part of the world rather than separate from it.
Key 4: Once something is joined, it is always connected, whether it remains physically linked or not.
Key 5: The act of focusing our consciousness is an act of creation. Consciousness creates!
Key 6: We have all the power we need to create all the changes we choose!
Key 7: The focus of our awareness becomes the reality of our world.
Key 8: To simply say that we choose a new reality is not enough!
Key 9: Feeling is the language that “speaks” to the Divine Matrix. Feel as though your goal is accomplished and your prayer is already answered.
Key 10: Not just any feeling will do. The ones that create must be without ego and judgment.
Key 11: We must become in our lives the things that we choose to experience as our world.
Key 12: We are not bound by the laws of physics as we know them today.
Key 13: In a holographic “something,” every piece of the something mirrors the whole something.
Key 14: The universally connected hologram of consciousness promises that the instant we create our good wishes and prayers, they are already received at their destination.
Key 15: Through the hologram of consciousness, a little change in our lives is mirrored everywhere in our world.
Key 16: The minimum number of people required to “jump-start” a change in consciousness is the √1% of a population.
Key 17: The Divine Matrix serves as the mirror in our world of the relationships that we create in our beliefs.
Key 18: The root of our “negative” experiences may be reduced to one of three universal fears (or a combination of them): abandonment, low self-worth, or lack of trust.
Key 19: Our true beliefs are mirrored in our most intimate relationships.
Key 20: We must become in our lives the very things that we cho
ose to experience in our world.
Almost universally, we share a sense that there’s more to us than meets the eye. Somewhere deep within the mists of our ancient memory, we know that we have magical and miraculous powers within us. From the time of childhood, we fantasize about our ability to do things that are beyond the realm of reason and logic. And why not? While we’re children, we have yet to “learn” the rules that say miracles can’t happen in our lives.
The reminders of our miraculous potential are all around us. In Part II, I suggested that the “anomalies” of quantum particles could be something more than simply “strange” and “spooky” behavior. I asked if the freedom that these particles have to move in space-time is really showing us a freedom that might be possible in our lives. Intentionally, I’ve waited until now to answer that question. Following all of the experiments and research, along with the demonstration of those who have transcended the limits of their own beliefs, I believe that the answer is yes.
If the particles that we’re made of can be in instantaneous communication with one another, exist in two places at once, live in the past as well as the future, and even change history through choices in the present, then we can, too. The only difference between those isolated particles and us is that we’re made of a lot of them held together by the power of consciousness itself.
The ancient mystics reminded our hearts, and modern experiments have proven to our minds, that the single most powerful force in the universe lives within each of us. And that is the great secret of creation itself: the power to create in the world what we imagine in our beliefs. While it may sound too simple to be true, I believe that the universe works in precisely this way.
When the Sufi poet Rumi observed that we’re afraid of our own immortality, maybe he meant that it is actually the power to choose immortality that truly frightens us.
Just as Christopher Logue’s initiates in the Introduction discovered that all they needed was a little nudge to get them to fly, perhaps all we require is a little shift to see that we’re the architects of our world and our fate, cosmic artists expressing our inner beliefs on the canvas of the universe. If we can remember that we’re the art as well as the artist, then perhaps we can also remember that we’re the seed of the miracle as well as the miracle itself. If we can make that small shift, then we’re already healed in the Divine Matrix.
Keep walking, though there’s
no place to get to. Don’t try
to see through the distances.
That’s not for human beings.
Move within, but don’t move
the way fear makes you move.
— Rumi
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
T he Divine Matrix is a synthesis of the research, discoveries, and presentations that began with a small living-room audience in Denver, Colorado, in 1986. Since that time, many people have crossed my path and provided the bridge of experience that led to the powerful and empowering message of this book. Often they participated in ways that they are not even aware of! While it would take an entire volume to name everyone individually, these pages are my opportunity to express my thanks to those whose efforts have directly contributed to making this book possible.
I am especially grateful to:
Every one of the really great people at Hay House! I offer my sincere appreciation and many thanks to Louise Hay, Reid Tracy, and Ron Tillinghast for your vision and dedication to the truly extraordinary way of doing business that has become the hallmark of Hay House’s success. To Reid Tracy, president and CEO, I send my deepest gratitude for your support and unwavering faith in me and my work. To Jill Kramer, editorial director, many, many thanks for your honest opinions and guidance; for always being there when I call; and for the years of experience that you bring to each of our conversations.
Angela Torrez, my publicist; Alex Freemon, my copy editor; Jacqui Clark, publicity director; Jeannie Liberati, sales director; Margarete Nielsen, marketing director; Nancy Levin, event director; and Rocky George, audio engineer extraordinaire—I couldn’t ask for a nicer group of people to work with, or a more dedicated team to support my work! Your excitement and professionalism are unsurpassed, and I’m proud to be a part of all the good things that the Hay House family brings to our world.
To Ned Leavitt, my literary agent: Many thanks for the wisdom and integrity that you bring to each milestone we cross together.
Through your guidance in shepherding our books through the publishing world, we have reached more people than ever before with our empowering message of hope and possibility. While I deeply appreciate your impeccable guidance, I am especially grateful for your friendship and your trust.
Stephanie Gunning, my first-line editor and friend … many thanks for your dedication and skill, and for the energy that you embody in all that you do. Most of all, thank you for helping me to take the complexities of science and find the words to share them in a joyous and meaningful way. I am amazed at how you always ask just the right questions, in just the right way, to lead to the clearest choices.
I am proud to be part of the virtual team, and the family, that has grown around the support of my work over the years, including Lauri Willmot, my favorite (and only) office manager. You have my admiration and countless thanks for being there always—and especially when it counts! To Robin and Jerry Miner of Sourcebooks, many thanks for sticking with us over the years and for creating great events and such a beautiful presentation of the material that supports our programs. To M.A. Bjarkman, Rae Baskin, Sharon Krieg, Vick Spaulding, and everyone at The Conference Works! … my deepest gratitude for all that you do to help us share our message with such beautiful audiences throughout the country.
To my mother, Sylvia; and my brother, Eric … thank you for your unfailing love and for believing in me. Although our family by blood is small, together we have found that our extended family of love is greater than we ever imagined. My gratitude for all that you bring to each day of my life extends beyond any words that I could possibly write on this page. Eric, audio/visual engineer and technical guru extraordinaire, a very special thank-you for your patience with the many, varied, and often challenging venues that we find ourselves working in. While I am proud to share our work together, I am especially proud to be your brother in life.
To the one person who sees me at my very best, and my very worst, Kennedy, my beloved wife and partner in life. Thank you for your ever-present love and unwavering support, and for your patience with our long days, short nights, and long-distance good mornings. Most of all, thank you for all that you do to keep us strong and healthy, and for helping me keep my promise to be at my best, always! Your words of encouragement always come at just the right time, and in ways that you could never know!
A very special thanks to everyone who has supported our work, books, recordings, and live presentations over the years. I am honored by your trust and in awe of your vision for a better world. Through your presence, I have learned to become a better listener, and heard the words that allow me to share our empowering message of hope and possibility. To all, I remain grateful always.
ENDNOTES
Introduction
1. “Come to the Edge” is a poem by Christopher Logue written in 1968 for a festival in honor of the 50th anniversary of the death of the French poet Guillaume Apollinaire. The poem is found in Christopher Logue, Ode to the Dodo: Poems from 1953 to 1978 (London: Jonathan Cape, 1981): p. 96.
2. The Expanded Quotable Einstein, Alice Calaprice, ed. (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2000): p. 220.
3. John Wheeler, as quoted by F. David Peat in Synchronicity: The Bridge Between Matter and Mind (New York: Bantam Books, 1987): p. 4.
4. David Bohm and F. David Peat, Science, Order, and Creativity (New York: Bantam Books, 1987): p. 88.
5. David Bohm, Wholeness and the Implicate Order (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1980): p. 62.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid., p. 14.
8. Michael Wis
e, Martin Abegg, Jr., and Edward Cook, The Dead Sea Scrolls: A New Translation (San Francisco, CA: HarperSanFrancisco, 1996): p. 365.
9. Glen Rein, Ph.D., Mike Atkinson, and Rollin McCraty, M.A., “The Physiological and Psychological Effects of Compassion and Anger,” Journal of Advancement in Medicine, vol. 8, no. 2 (1995): pp. 87–103.
10. The ancient Vedic traditions suggest that the unified field of energy is an infinite field of energy that underlies the infinitely diverse universe. Website: www.vedicknowledge.com.
11. The ancient Hsin-Hsin Ming (Verses on the Faith Mind) is attributed to Chien Chih Seng-ts’an, third Zen patriarch, in the 6th century. This particular quote is from the English translation by Richard B. Clarke and illustrated by Gyoskusei Jikihara, Hsin-Hsin Ming: Seng-ts’an Third Zen Patriarch (Buffalo, NY: White Pine Press, 2001).
12. Ibid.
PART l
Chapter 1
1. Dean Radin in a special-features commentary with the producers of the 2004 motion picture Suspect Zero, directed by E. Elias Merhige (Paramount Studios, DVD release April 2005). The plot of the movie revolves around the use of remote viewing for criminal investigation. For 15 years, Radin has conducted experimental studies of psi phenomena in academia and industry, through his appointments at institutions that include Princeton University, the University of Edinburgh, the University of Nevada, and SRI International. He is currently a senior scientist with the Institute of Noetic Sciences, an organization whose charter it is to explore “the frontiers of consciousness to advance individual, social, and global transformation.”
