The Source Theory

Imagine a world where every person is a fragment of one consciousness, and life is designed to help the fragments integrate back into the source consciousness. How would morality, suffering, and human behavior fit into that system?

TLDR: Life is not about being good. Life is about self-acceptance. Some fragments return to the Source quickly. Some remain for countless lives. Some return to the Source despite mistakes; some stay separated despite goodness. Return depends on inner resolution, not external measures. Ultimately, every fragment matters because it is the Source experiencing itself.

Disclaimer: I do not believe in what people call ‘the soul’. In the same way cockroaches are just animals, humans are also just animals, albeit with a more developed consciousness. This is simply a thought exercise.

Overview

In this theory, we explore a thought experiment in which all life is conceptually treated as part of a single consciousness, which we call the Source (you may interpret this metaphorically, as either god, or as the interconnected network of living systems). Every person, animal, and living being is then imagined as a fragment of this Source, experiencing the world from a different perspective.

Life under the source theory is not about being judged by a god, earning divinity points via good deeds or being punished forever in an afterlife. Life is a chance for every fragment with the ability to learn and reflect, to do so. The goal is returning to the Source, fully resolved and at peace with the self.

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1. Each Life Is Independent

• Every life begins as a blank slate.

• No memory, skill, or moral “baggage” from past lives carries over.

• Each life is a chance to live, act, and learn.

• Success or failure is judged only by how the fragment feels at the end of that life.

2. Judgment Comes From Within

After death, a fragment decides its own outcome based on self-reflection:

1. Self-perceived failure: The fragment feels it did not live well or is not at peace → rebirth to try again.

2. Self-perceived completion: The fragment feels it lived well, helped others, and is at peace → return to the Source.

3. Cannot judge: The fragment cannot evaluate its life, due to mental or cognitive limits → neutral absorption into the Source.

Moral mistakes or blind spots do not prevent liberation. What matters is honest self-realization and acceptance.

3. Rebirth Is a Chance, Not Punishment

• Rebirth is not hell; it is continued learning.

• Good people may be reborn if they die with unresolved feelings.

• Even small progress counts. Liberation depends on inner resolution, not perfection.

4. Life Is Separation from the Source

• Living is a temporary separation from the Source.

• Each life spreads the Source into fragments. Before birth, each fragment exists as part of the unified Source; the act of being born is what separates it into an individual consciousness.

• Returning to the Source is reunion and the end of separation.

5. Procreation

• When a fragment creates a child, either a new fragment OR a rebirthed fragment of the Source becomes that child.

• When a fragment creates a child, whether a new fragment or a rebirthed fragment of the Source, the parent fragment is given an opportunity to guide and nurture another part of the Source. Raising children is therefore not only a way of contributing to the ongoing cycle of life and experience but also a practice in empathy, reflection, and self-understanding, helping the parent fragment integrate more fully.

6. Why the World Feels ‘Hellish’

Over time, fragments who leave life with unresolved struggles can create ripple effects that impact others. Their actions, whether intentional or not, can generate harm, conflict, and stress in the world. This, in turn, makes it more challenging for new or rebirthed fragments to find resolution, creating a feedback loop: unresolved fragments contribute to a harsher world, which increases the likelihood that future fragments will also experience struggle and remain unresolved.

This process emerges naturally from interactions between fragments and their environment, not from metaphysical forces. The cumulative effect is not punishment, but a world that feels increasingly difficult and chaotic as unresolved patterns compound.

Unresolved fragments can also affect the natural environment through their actions: overconsumption, over-extraction, neglect, or exploitation can degrade ecosystems, which then creates additional challenges for future fragments who rely on the same environment. In this way, unresolved struggles ripple outward, shaping both social and natural systems, and influencing the conditions that subsequent fragments inherit and must navigate on their path toward integration.

7. Forgiving and Caring for Others Is Self-Forgiveness

Compassion is both natural and necessary. Biologically, it helps us survive and connect; spiritually, it helps fragments integrate and move closer to the Source. Research shows that helping others and practicing empathy improves emotional well-being, reduces stress, and strengthens social bonds, linking these actions to observable benefits. Likewise, learning to forgive yourself strengthens your ability to forgive others. Acts of empathy, understanding, and kindness, toward both the self and others, help fragments feel whole and move closer to reunion with the Source.

8. Self-Deception vs. True Peace

• Feeling at peace is not the same as lying to yourself.

• True peace comes from honest reflection: acknowledging mistakes, forgiving yourself, and feeling integrated.

• Self-deception may feel like peace, but life naturally reflects unresolved parts until the fragment truly integrates.

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“What’s Macro is Micro”

I believe in an ideology known as “what’s macro is micro,” where the smallest patterns echo across the vastest scales. Neurons in our brains form complex networks to transmit signals, while galaxies cluster in vast cosmic webs due to gravitational forces. Both systems exhibit branching and interconnected patterns. Blood vessels and river networks also show branching structures that efficiently transport fluids across space. While these patterns arise from very different processes, studying them shows how nature repeatedly produces branching, spiraling, and networked structures across scales.

Building on the idea that patterns repeat across scales, we can imagine the Source and its fragments as water, flowing and cycling through the world. In this analogy, every drop mirrors the journeys of fragments, rising, falling, and returning to the ocean, just as each life moves through separation, experience, and reunion.

The Source Theory: A Water Analogy

Imagine the entire ocean as a single, unified consciousness: the Source. Every drop of water that rises into the sky through evaporation is like a fragment leaving the Source to live a life. Each drop experiences the world separately, falling as rain, flowing through rivers, nourishing life, or getting trapped in lakes and ice.

Some drops return quickly to the ocean, fully reintegrated, while others linger longer, cycling again and again until they have experienced enough to feel complete. Over time, the drops that remain in the cycle concentrate, creating turbulence and rough waters, just as unresolved fragments make the world feel more difficult and chaotic.

When a drop finally flows back into the ocean, it is no longer separate. It is fully integrated, part of the whole once more. Similarly, when a fragment lives fully, forgives itself, and accepts its life, it returns to the Source: the unified consciousness from which all fragments came.

In this way, life is a cycle of separation, experience, learning, and return. The world’s joys and hardships, the growth of empathy, and the need to forgive others all exist to help each fragment integrate and reunite with the Source.

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References

Scientific Articles and Preprints

Vazza, F., and A. Feletti. 2020. “The Quantitative Comparison Between the Neuronal Network and the Cosmic Web.” Frontiers in Physics. doi:10.3389/fphy.2020.525731. 

Kurz, Wolfgang, and Danny Baranes. 2025. “AI‑Assisted Geometric Analysis of Cultured Neuronal Networks: Parallels with the Cosmic Web.” SciPost Physics Proceedings. 

Psychological Research on Self‑Compassion

Neff, Kristin D. 2003. “Self‑Compassion: An Alternative Conceptualization of a Healthy Attitude Toward Oneself.” Self and Identity 2 (2): 85–101. 

Neff, Kristin D. 2011. “Self‑Compassion, Self‑Esteem, and Well‑Being.” Social and Personality Psychology Compass 5 (1): 1–12. 

Neff, Kristin D., and Colleagues. Various Years. Self‑Compassion Research. Self‑Compassion.org.