“Using the metaphor of ‘virtual reality,’ Richard Thompson weaves a tapestry of theory and research integrating body, mind, and spirit that can be understood by scientists and laymen alike. A joy to read and ponder.”
—Gary E. Schwartz, Ph.D., Prof. of Psychology, Medicine, Surgery, Neurology,and Psychiatry, University of Arizona, author of The Afterlife Experiments and The Living Energy Universe
“Maya is an invitation to a big game hunt in which the big game is no less than the universe itself and the hunt does no harm to any creature. Instead this book generates an enhanced appreciation for the complexity, depth, and value of life. The author has a knack for adventure and guides us through the far reaches of science and even into fringe phenomena while helping us to stay oriented to the key question: is there something behind and prior to this great panorama of amazing effects that has priority over them? He has written a marvelously contemporary, courageous, and creative exploration of metaphysical dualism that leads us toward a Ground Reality that makes possible the whole range of virtual realities from the most utilitarian and ordinary to the most bizarre and improbable. Richard L. Thompson keeps us interested right through Maya, from start to finish, and awakens the sense of wonder that the world’s great classical philosophers recognized as the transforming experience in which religion and philosophy, indeed all wisdom, begins.”
—Gene R. Thursby, Ph.D., Prof. of Religion, University of Florida
“Maya: The World As Virtual Reality is a wakeup call for all who are curious and wonder about where they have come from and what overall meaning might be attached to their existence—the role of the “extended mind” and consciousness: its implications and consequences. In a brilliantly developed, highly original synthesis, Richard Thompson, a poly man, presents his virtual reality model in a plausible, highly readable, step-by-step, clearly thought-through form. Rather than merely skirting the fringes of paranormal phenomena, he probes deeply and dares to incorporate the enigmatic and sometimes intoxicating foreign body known as psi data into the latest advances of physics, medicine, and other branches of science. Maya is a mind-tweaking, titillating, transformative read. . . . For those who digest its meanings, life will never be the same.”
—Berthold Schwarz, M.D., psychiatrist and author of Psychic-Nexus
Maya: The World As Virtual Reality is difficult to put down, once opened. In an age when quantum physics, artificial intelligence and cognitive sciences are grappling for an understanding of the relationship of matter and consciousness, Richard L. Thompson delivers cutting-edge insight and logic. Grounded in a broad appreciation of both historical and modern physics and philosophy, Maya: The World As Virtual Reality draws on current scientific research as well as real-life phenomenal experiences to extract the often overlooked purport of virtual reality.
Penetrating deep into the mysteries of life itself, Thompson invites us to open our minds to the possibility that life as we know it on planet Earth may indeed be an appropriated stage on which embodied conscious beings undergo systematic but virtual, not actual, experiences. Written to accommodate readers of all categories, this text is a must for anyone wanting to learn not only about themselves as conscious living entities, but also about the world that surrounds them. Highly recommended.
—Elli H. Widolf, Ph.D. candidate University of Tasmania,
B Soc Sc, B Ant St (Hons), Dip Hol Diag