The Disappearance of the Universe
Encyclopedia
The Disappearance of the Universe is a book written by Gary Renard
and originally published by Fearless Books
(2003), and later by Hay House
(2004).
This book records seventeen contacts between Renard and two Ascended Master
s whose last lifetime was in our future, named Arten and Pursah, over the course of nine years beginning in 1992. The recordings were later destroyed. It reflects the teachings of A Course in Miracles
. A sequel called Your Immortal Reality appeared in 2006. In a podcast around late 2006 or early 2007 Renard indicated he had been visited once again, intimating a third book would follow focused on the subject of love.
, the author, was born in Massachusetts
in the United States and worked there as a professional guitar player. During the Harmonic Convergence
of 1987 he heard a calling
and began to take his life in a different direction. At the beginning of the 1990s he moved to Maine, where he claims he underwent a powerful spiritual awakening.
Bestselling author Wayne Dyer
endorsed the book, stating that it is "destined to be one of the most significant contributions to spiritual literature in this century."
teaching, it claims to elucidate the latter's teaching that categoric forgiveness is the key to ontological understanding and escape of a birth-death-reincarnation cycle.
Like earlier teachings such as Christian Science
DU inculcates that the world is fundamentally an illusion of human ego outside, as it were, of an unbroken perfect spiritual reality in unity with God. Rather than stressing understanding as such as the tool to return or put off the illusion, however, DU stresses forgiveness itself as the critical linchpin, based on the idea that all human identities are really one, divided only by a belief in separation, and that all sin and wrong is an outward projection of a subconscious inward guilt at having "left" perfection in sin against God.
To forgive others from this basis is therefore actually to forgive oneself, undo the ego and its seeming separation, achieve atonement
, and put off an unreal universe. Unlike some similar teachings, it argues all individuated human identity is also illusory.
Most of the content revolves around the detail and practice of this teaching, combined with Renard's response to it in friendly casual dialog, but during the course of which Arten and Pursah also touch on related matter such as Gnosticism
, biblical
texts and the Q document, celibacy
, sex
, the virgin birth,
Mary Magdalene
,
and the details of Jesus
' life, the Holy Spirit
, the Gospel of Thomas
and its 3-verse missing apocryphon
,
Paul of Tarsus
and Christian
church history, Buddhism
, Sigmund Freud
and Georg Groddeck
, the panspermia theory, the Oxfordian theory
of Shakespeare's identity,
Mary Baker Eddy
, the 2000 U.S. Presidential election
, Stanislav Petrov
's probable aversion of nuclear holocaust,
and reincarnation
, time
and metaphysics
, though Arten and Pursah contend the earthly details they discuss are illustrative but potential distractions to their primary ontological focus. Worth note in passing is also the claim that his visitors instantly teleported Renard a distance of some 30 miles to illustrate a point of their discussion, a paranormality of the same order as their instant materialization on and disappearance from his couch during the course of their visits, and that Thomas the Apostle
was a Renard past life and Pursah his next and final future human identity.
Gary Renard
Gary Renard is the author of the books The Disappearance of the Universe and Your Immortal Reality , two works whose stated purpose is to reawaken interest in and clarify the core purpose of the 1976 classic spiritual text, A Course In Miracles .In The Disappearance of the Universe, Renard...
and originally published by Fearless Books
Fearless Books
Fearless Books is an independent publisher, located in Berkeley, California, and founded in 1997 by D. Patrick Miller.Fearless Books comprises several divisions, including its Fearless Poetry Series which is run by co-editors D...
(2003), and later by Hay House
Hay House
Hay House is a New Thought and Self-help publisher. It was founded in 1987 by author Louise Hay, when she self-published her books Heal Your Body and You Can Heal Your Life...
(2004).
This book records seventeen contacts between Renard and two Ascended Master
Ascended master
Ascended Masters, in the Ascended Master Teachings is derived from the Theosophical concept of Masters of the Ancient Wisdom or "Mahatmas", though they differ in important aspects...
s whose last lifetime was in our future, named Arten and Pursah, over the course of nine years beginning in 1992. The recordings were later destroyed. It reflects the teachings of A Course in Miracles
A Course in Miracles
A Course in Miracles is a self-study curriculum that aims to assist its readers in achieving spiritual transformation. The book describes a non-dualistic philosophy of forgiveness and includes what are meant to be practical lessons and applications for the practice of forgiveness in one's daily life...
. A sequel called Your Immortal Reality appeared in 2006. In a podcast around late 2006 or early 2007 Renard indicated he had been visited once again, intimating a third book would follow focused on the subject of love.
About the author
Gary R. RenardGary Renard
Gary Renard is the author of the books The Disappearance of the Universe and Your Immortal Reality , two works whose stated purpose is to reawaken interest in and clarify the core purpose of the 1976 classic spiritual text, A Course In Miracles .In The Disappearance of the Universe, Renard...
, the author, was born in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
in the United States and worked there as a professional guitar player. During the Harmonic Convergence
Harmonic Convergence
The Harmonic Convergence is the name given to the world's first globally synchronized meditation, announced by José Argüelles, and which occurred on August 16–17, 1987, which also closely correlated to an exceptional alignment of planets in our solar system, see below .The timing of the Harmonic...
of 1987 he heard a calling
Calling
A game call is a device that is used to mimic animal noises to attract or drive animals to a hunter.Many hunters can be divided into two categories. The first group sits silent, motionless and hidden until a game animal wanders or flies into view. This tried-and-true hunting method takes plenty of...
and began to take his life in a different direction. At the beginning of the 1990s he moved to Maine, where he claims he underwent a powerful spiritual awakening.
Promotion and sales
The book sales at one time ranked in Amazon.com's #2 slot, second only to Harry Potter.Bestselling author Wayne Dyer
Wayne Dyer
Wayne Walter Dyer is an American self-help advocate, author, and lecturer.- Early life :Dyer was born in Detroit, Michigan, to Melvin Lyle and Hazel Irene Dyer and spent much of his adolescence in an orphanage on the east side of Detroit. Dr. Wayne Dyer is a 1958 graduate of Denby High School;...
endorsed the book, stating that it is "destined to be one of the most significant contributions to spiritual literature in this century."
Message
The Disappearance of the Universe is a mix of commentary narrative and edited dialog transcripts over Pursah and Arten's reported appearances to Renard. Endorsing the Course in MiraclesA Course in Miracles
A Course in Miracles is a self-study curriculum that aims to assist its readers in achieving spiritual transformation. The book describes a non-dualistic philosophy of forgiveness and includes what are meant to be practical lessons and applications for the practice of forgiveness in one's daily life...
teaching, it claims to elucidate the latter's teaching that categoric forgiveness is the key to ontological understanding and escape of a birth-death-reincarnation cycle.
Like earlier teachings such as Christian Science
Christian Science
Christian Science is a system of thought and practice derived from the writings of Mary Baker Eddy and the Bible. It is practiced by members of The First Church of Christ, Scientist as well as some others who are nonmembers. Its central texts are the Bible and the Christian Science textbook,...
DU inculcates that the world is fundamentally an illusion of human ego outside, as it were, of an unbroken perfect spiritual reality in unity with God. Rather than stressing understanding as such as the tool to return or put off the illusion, however, DU stresses forgiveness itself as the critical linchpin, based on the idea that all human identities are really one, divided only by a belief in separation, and that all sin and wrong is an outward projection of a subconscious inward guilt at having "left" perfection in sin against God.
To forgive others from this basis is therefore actually to forgive oneself, undo the ego and its seeming separation, achieve atonement
Atonement
Atonement is a doctrine that describes how human beings can be reconciled to God. In Christian theology the atonement refers to the forgiving or pardoning of sin through the death of Jesus Christ by crucifixion, which made possible the reconciliation between God and creation...
, and put off an unreal universe. Unlike some similar teachings, it argues all individuated human identity is also illusory.
Most of the content revolves around the detail and practice of this teaching, combined with Renard's response to it in friendly casual dialog, but during the course of which Arten and Pursah also touch on related matter such as Gnosticism
Gnosticism
Gnosticism is a scholarly term for a set of religious beliefs and spiritual practices common to early Christianity, Hellenistic Judaism, Greco-Roman mystery religions, Zoroastrianism , and Neoplatonism.A common characteristic of some of these groups was the teaching that the realisation of Gnosis...
, biblical
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
texts and the Q document, celibacy
Celibacy
Celibacy is a personal commitment to avoiding sexual relations, in particular a vow from marriage. Typically celibacy involves avoiding all romantic relationships of any kind. An individual may choose celibacy for religious reasons, such as is the case for priests in some religions, for reasons of...
, sex
Sex
In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...
, the virgin birth,
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene was one of Jesus' most celebrated disciples, and the most important woman disciple in the movement of Jesus. Jesus cleansed her of "seven demons", conventionally interpreted as referring to complex illnesses...
,
and the details of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
' life, the Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of the Hebrew Bible, but understood differently in the main Abrahamic religions.While the general concept of a "Spirit" that permeates the cosmos has been used in various religions Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of...
, the Gospel of Thomas
Gospel of Thomas
The Gospel According to Thomas, commonly shortened to the Gospel of Thomas, is a well preserved early Christian, non-canonical sayings-gospel discovered near Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in December 1945, in one of a group of books known as the Nag Hammadi library...
and its 3-verse missing apocryphon
Apocryphon
"Apocryphon" , plural apocrypha, was a Greek term for a genre of Jewish and Early Christian writings that were meant to impart "secret teachings" or gnosis that could not be publicly taught...
,
Paul of Tarsus
Paul of Tarsus
Paul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...
and Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
church history, Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
, Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
and Georg Groddeck
Georg Groddeck
Georg Groddeck was a physician and writer regarded as a pioneer of psychosomatic medicine.-Method:...
, the panspermia theory, the Oxfordian theory
Oxfordian theory
The Oxfordian theory of Shakespearean authorship proposes that Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford , wrote the plays and poems traditionally attributed to William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon. While a large majority of scholars reject all alternative candidates for authorship, popular...
of Shakespeare's identity,
Mary Baker Eddy
Mary Baker Eddy
Mary Baker Eddy was the founder of Christian Science , a Protestant American system of religious thought and practice religion adopted by the Church of Christ, Scientist, and others...
, the 2000 U.S. Presidential election
United States presidential election, 2000
The United States presidential election of 2000 was a contest between Republican candidate George W. Bush, then-governor of Texas and son of former president George H. W. Bush , and Democratic candidate Al Gore, then-Vice President....
, Stanislav Petrov
Stanislav Petrov
On September 26, 1983 the Nuclear Early Warning System of the Soviet Union twice reported the launch of American Minuteman ICBMs from bases in the United States. These missile attack warnings were correctly identified as a false alarm by Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov, an officer of the Soviet Air...
's probable aversion of nuclear holocaust,
and reincarnation
Reincarnation
Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...
, time
Time
Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
and metaphysics
Metaphysics
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:...
, though Arten and Pursah contend the earthly details they discuss are illustrative but potential distractions to their primary ontological focus. Worth note in passing is also the claim that his visitors instantly teleported Renard a distance of some 30 miles to illustrate a point of their discussion, a paranormality of the same order as their instant materialization on and disappearance from his couch during the course of their visits, and that Thomas the Apostle
Thomas the Apostle
Thomas the Apostle, also called Doubting Thomas or Didymus was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He is best known for questioning Jesus' resurrection when first told of it, then proclaiming "My Lord and my God" on seeing Jesus in . He was perhaps the only Apostle who went outside the Roman...
was a Renard past life and Pursah his next and final future human identity.