Ever had that moment where you’ve thought, “That’s it! I’ve got it! I understand now!” That is when the penny dropped and you had that Eureka moment. Well, the same can be said of enlightenment.
In Zen, there is something called Kensho, which is basically the moment when you experience ‘minor enlightenment,’ also known as the Eureka feeling. Everything just clicks into place. You understand.
So how do we achieve this? The best thing to do is:
1. Observe and consider the problem you face. Think of ways you could solve the problem.
2. Distract yourself with menial work, everyday tasks and above all do not focus on the problem.
3. Come back to the problem and consider new approaches to solving the problem.
Problem solving, and enlightenment, does not need intelligence, it just needs divergent thinking. To encourage divergent thinking, you need to
· embrace changes to routine, unexpected experiences
· meditate more.
When one experiences enlightenment, or Satori, (feeling awake, awakening, etc.) the process has been ongoing since the minor awakening, or Kensho. The process is the same as above, but enhanced. One is given a problem, they then solve it using the technique and when the person gives the solution, they are told, “Yes you are right/wrong, but don’t stop there.”
Now the science bit. When you have an insight, you experience what Zen thinkers call, sightless seeing. The Visual Cortex causes the brain to ‘blink’ switching off your sight momentarily thus sending alpha waves through your brain which causes gamma waves to erupt in the Anterior Superior Temporal Gyrus (ASTG) in the right hemisphere of the brain.
To encourage your brain to gain insight, you need to experience new things, change routines and meditate. If you do these things, you encourage improvisation, divergent thinking and creativity. This is because the Pre-Frontal Cortex needs to step back, turn itself down and enable the brains wiring, White Matter, to form new pathways, or dendrites. It is a slow process. When you relax the monitoring of your conscious self, the Pre-Frontal Cortex enables you to lower your inhibitions, be creative and improvisational. This is known as Transient Hyper-Frontality. People who are naturally lacking in inhibitions and impulsive tend to be good problem solvers, because they are Hypo-Frontal.
When we meditate, we ‘thicken’ areas of the brain called, Insulas. The Insula helps us process emotions, feel & anticipate pain, gives moral intuition, empathy, guilt, atonement, pride, lust, disgust; feel hunger, cravings, listen, feeling shunned in social settings, decision making, listening & giving an emotional response to music, and judging peoples’ facial expressions. Some professionals believe it is where the body and mind integrate. We also relax the Amygdala, which governs fear and anxiety.
So meditation encourages White Matter to grow and our sensory inputs to be lowered, as well as lowering our monitoring of the conscious self. This means that our brain can ‘think freely’ and enable a feeling of ‘temporary sleep’ in our Pre-Frontal Cortex, even though we are awake. This sensation could also describe a state known as ‘loss of self’ and interconnectedness.
When you consider all these things, the method of problem solving is the same as Satori, Kensho, awakening, & enlightenment. The sensations are the same. When the Eureka moment occurs, one’s eyes are open, as if for the first time. Zen thinkers have been trying to explain this for years, by using koans: a problem that seemingly has no answer, is given to a student, who contemplates and meditates over an answer. There are minor moments, like Kensho, and major revelations, like Satori/Enlightenment.
So when you wish to solve a problem, like how to ease the worlds’ suffering, think about it, leave it, then come back to it. If you wish to cultivate empathy, a listening ear and moral intuition, do the same. When you think about it, it’s kinda spiritual really!
Observe. Distract. Come back.
Sunday, 9 August 2015
The Conscious Universe
The more I look into the idea of the universe being conscious, the more I find the arguments for it quite compelling.
Alot of the arguments stem from the realms of quantum physics and Vedic philosophy. People, including myself, often refer to the double split test in regards to many areas of quantum physics, including the idea of the universe being conscious. Recent double split test results imply the future affects the past, making our idea of time, appearing linear as in past to future, only one possible facet.
Biocentrism also suggests that time is merely a device to assist us and make sense of things. Promoters of biocentrism also perceive consciousness being able to migrate after the death of our bodies, that our consciousness is uploaded to another realm or parallel universe, indicating an afterlife.
Furthermore, some quantum physicists consider the universe to be similar to a brain; the electrical firing between brain cells is similar to the shape of expanding galaxies.
The results of the double split test, indicate a relationship between the observer and observed, questioning the reality we observe, hence biocentrism questioning if time is a concept needed by us to understand, process and learn. So I'm wondering if we are caught in time's web, due to gravity, moreover our movement around a sun. Potentially this could indicate that outside a galaxy, there is no time. Black holes create rotation also and like the one at the center of our Milky Way, keep solar systems in place. Essentially, we are living on a small cog within the gears of our galaxy.
Consciousness, which ostensibly is hard to define, implies awareness. I am conscious of others in my life, my pets and my interactions with them. So if we are consciously aware of the universe, is it fair to say that the universe is conscious of us? And does this mean the universe also needs time to make sense of things?
The curious thing about time, the past and future, not necessarily the present, is the aspect of time lag sometimes referred to as propagation delay. This is the length of time needed for a message, instruction or packet of data, to be sent from sender to receiver, or A to B. The further the distance, the longer it takes. For instance, if NASA sent a message to New Horizons, the spacecraft sent to take pictures of Pluto, they have to take into account a significant delay regarding the craft receiving the instruction. If there are no obstructions in-between, the reception is slightly quicker, as communication travels with light. If any quick response is needed by the craft, the length of time to send it has to be factored in. So messages and information are integral with time, from our perspective.
Consider this; a message only ever exists in the past. For example, as soon as I say something, that moment has gone. You receive the information from that previous moment. Now, imagine that you are 5 million kilometers away, somewhere in space. There will be a delay in you receiving the message. When you receive the message from the past, you then reply. As you reply, our earth has journeyed a day, so the response you send is from your moment which is now in the past. However, to myself it is from the future, even though it's your past. So in a sense, the future and past are interchangeable and 'two sides of the same coin.' It's a little like the light of distant stars that we see, their light has taken years to reach us. That star may have expired, but it has taken ages for us see that light fade. Therefore can we confidently say, all communication exists only in the past? So using this example, when we look at quantum physics' double split test, regardless of whether or not the photon is observed, the photon lands and communicates back to the past telling itself in which state it should use, either as a wave or particle. The past has been affected by the future and vice versa. So again it suggests that past and future are interchangeable, existing at the same time. The question that remains though is why do photons not like being observed?
One other idea that intrigues me is sonoluminescence. This is when light is generated by sound, usually in a bubble. Various gases have been used in the experiment where a bubble is created and sound is used at various frequencies to stimulate a light. The bubble appears to shrink rapidly then expand to almost bursting, and at this point photons are emitted. This process baffles scientists. They do not understand how or why it happens.
If you have ever had a bubble bath, then I'm sure you have noticed how the mix of soap and water creates the bubbles. It may sound strange but bubbles like to be together. If there is an expanse where there are no bubbles, when you place some there, they try to reach the bubbles nearby. Some clusters are happy on their own little island, but most try and find a group to join. So I'm wondering if the universe is similar.
With sonoluminescence, a medium such as water is required, a container and something that generates sound. These three requirements bring forth the light. If the universe is like a bubble and dark matter the possible medium, and sound stimulated it, then the "first light" could have been generated this way. It may well be that the universe, atoms, cells, wombs, et al are all examples of the same process. From whence the sound and container has come from would still need answering though. It may also imply other forces and energies exist outside our universe.
The multiverse theory or the idea of membranes that exist parallel to our universe may point to an answer. The membrane theorists posit that two membranes flex and if they have touched each other, then it may have created our membrane/universe. There could be any number of universes or membranes and speculation over these reflect ideas similar to string theory; the idea that vibrating strings propagate through space and interact with each other being either matter, gravity, etc at a one dimensional level. There also could be a certain amount of dimensions. Some quantum physicists consider there to be 11 dimensions.
So how does all this relate to the possibility of our universe being conscious? We observe the universe and are conscious of it, so can the opposite be said and be true?
I've come to realise that everything is impermanent except the creative flow of the universe. People call this various names according to belief. I am part of this flow. We all change and are part of this change. Some of us don't realise this, sharing a delusion. Quantum physics is slowly realising this as well. Science is gradually proving what the ancients thought thousands of years ago, without the aid of technology. So, although we have changed as the human race; although the world has evolved over thousands of years; although the heavens have seen suns die and born, the creative instinct of the universe has been permanent. It is as if it is conscious and a constant.
The 'first light' of the universe carries a message, possibly created by sound, as in sonoluminescence. We communicate using radio, which is a form of light. So I believe that the universe is indeed conscious and that it communicates. In our little galaxy, time helps us filter the message and understand it. The message is the same in the future as it is in the past. Even more interestingly though is that it is two way communication; it speaks to us and we speak to it, this permanent, creative force.
Here is what I think occurred at the inception of our universe. Two membranes rippled and touched each other. Where they touched, a little of each membrane stuck to each other, forming a bubble. The vibrations of the two membranes stirred photons in to existence, as in sonoluminescence. The universe expanded, then retracted and began to expand again. As it did so, light emerged, photons dispersed and interacted with the sea of quantessence. This sea is an unknown quantity, dark energy and dark matter. Gases and elements formed as the bubble flexed between expansion and retraction. When light came in to being, not only did it help create, it also had a vibration, a message, "live." At this point there were many vibrations and time was created from one of the vibrations emitted by the 'first light.' This vibration was gravity and it began to gather momentum. The vibrational wave resonated outwards and as they travelled, gathered mass from the elements they passed. With mass it slowed down and formed galaxies. Each rotation of each galaxy began to form its own vibration, its own resonance. The sea of quantessence is a medium, like the water used in sonoluminescence. The sea is moving due to its nature, being the same or similar to the membranes. It flexes and moves. And like waves of a sea, grinding shell and stone in to sand, the sea of quantessence does the same with galaxies in our universe. Gravity may attract galaxies to one another, but if a wave of quantessence is approaching, it will push them apart.
In my opinion, our universe is like a fluid and moves as such, rippling like water in a bottle. I also suspect that universes are created by ours flexing against other universes / membranes. It also suggests we may have universes within our own. As for the constituents of the sea of quantessence, I believe it is made of the same thing that is at the heart of every particle, as yet an unknown, undiscovered property which is neither mass, energy or otherwise, yet it is in everything.
Therefore, I believe that all things have a vibration which is a form of communication. Furthermore, this is an indication of consciousness. We have come from this quantessence and it is in us and everything. It enables us to communicate between each other. It also retains information, such as our memories and consciousness that are uploaded when we experience corporeal death. Hence, when we die, our consciousness shifts from this bodily experience to being with the consciousness of the universe. Due to lack of mass it is not restricted by the constraints of time.
This process of creation is inherent in all things and can be represented at many levels, such as the way a cell forms, how a galaxy forms, how a child forms in a womb, how a cell knows what type of cell it is. The memory of creation is downloaded to every thing. The message is, "Live." Plus, we can communicate with it. This is more than likely how faith works; communication between two or more conscious entities seeking to create, change and heal. The communication is not confounded by time, as described earlier, and this is most likely why when you are involved in an act of faith, if you believe and know it will happen, it will indeed happen.
Is the universe conscious? I believe it is. Yet the question and answer remains the same, "Why?"
Alot of the arguments stem from the realms of quantum physics and Vedic philosophy. People, including myself, often refer to the double split test in regards to many areas of quantum physics, including the idea of the universe being conscious. Recent double split test results imply the future affects the past, making our idea of time, appearing linear as in past to future, only one possible facet.
Biocentrism also suggests that time is merely a device to assist us and make sense of things. Promoters of biocentrism also perceive consciousness being able to migrate after the death of our bodies, that our consciousness is uploaded to another realm or parallel universe, indicating an afterlife.
Furthermore, some quantum physicists consider the universe to be similar to a brain; the electrical firing between brain cells is similar to the shape of expanding galaxies.
The results of the double split test, indicate a relationship between the observer and observed, questioning the reality we observe, hence biocentrism questioning if time is a concept needed by us to understand, process and learn. So I'm wondering if we are caught in time's web, due to gravity, moreover our movement around a sun. Potentially this could indicate that outside a galaxy, there is no time. Black holes create rotation also and like the one at the center of our Milky Way, keep solar systems in place. Essentially, we are living on a small cog within the gears of our galaxy.
Consciousness, which ostensibly is hard to define, implies awareness. I am conscious of others in my life, my pets and my interactions with them. So if we are consciously aware of the universe, is it fair to say that the universe is conscious of us? And does this mean the universe also needs time to make sense of things?
The curious thing about time, the past and future, not necessarily the present, is the aspect of time lag sometimes referred to as propagation delay. This is the length of time needed for a message, instruction or packet of data, to be sent from sender to receiver, or A to B. The further the distance, the longer it takes. For instance, if NASA sent a message to New Horizons, the spacecraft sent to take pictures of Pluto, they have to take into account a significant delay regarding the craft receiving the instruction. If there are no obstructions in-between, the reception is slightly quicker, as communication travels with light. If any quick response is needed by the craft, the length of time to send it has to be factored in. So messages and information are integral with time, from our perspective.
Consider this; a message only ever exists in the past. For example, as soon as I say something, that moment has gone. You receive the information from that previous moment. Now, imagine that you are 5 million kilometers away, somewhere in space. There will be a delay in you receiving the message. When you receive the message from the past, you then reply. As you reply, our earth has journeyed a day, so the response you send is from your moment which is now in the past. However, to myself it is from the future, even though it's your past. So in a sense, the future and past are interchangeable and 'two sides of the same coin.' It's a little like the light of distant stars that we see, their light has taken years to reach us. That star may have expired, but it has taken ages for us see that light fade. Therefore can we confidently say, all communication exists only in the past? So using this example, when we look at quantum physics' double split test, regardless of whether or not the photon is observed, the photon lands and communicates back to the past telling itself in which state it should use, either as a wave or particle. The past has been affected by the future and vice versa. So again it suggests that past and future are interchangeable, existing at the same time. The question that remains though is why do photons not like being observed?
One other idea that intrigues me is sonoluminescence. This is when light is generated by sound, usually in a bubble. Various gases have been used in the experiment where a bubble is created and sound is used at various frequencies to stimulate a light. The bubble appears to shrink rapidly then expand to almost bursting, and at this point photons are emitted. This process baffles scientists. They do not understand how or why it happens.
If you have ever had a bubble bath, then I'm sure you have noticed how the mix of soap and water creates the bubbles. It may sound strange but bubbles like to be together. If there is an expanse where there are no bubbles, when you place some there, they try to reach the bubbles nearby. Some clusters are happy on their own little island, but most try and find a group to join. So I'm wondering if the universe is similar.
With sonoluminescence, a medium such as water is required, a container and something that generates sound. These three requirements bring forth the light. If the universe is like a bubble and dark matter the possible medium, and sound stimulated it, then the "first light" could have been generated this way. It may well be that the universe, atoms, cells, wombs, et al are all examples of the same process. From whence the sound and container has come from would still need answering though. It may also imply other forces and energies exist outside our universe.
The multiverse theory or the idea of membranes that exist parallel to our universe may point to an answer. The membrane theorists posit that two membranes flex and if they have touched each other, then it may have created our membrane/universe. There could be any number of universes or membranes and speculation over these reflect ideas similar to string theory; the idea that vibrating strings propagate through space and interact with each other being either matter, gravity, etc at a one dimensional level. There also could be a certain amount of dimensions. Some quantum physicists consider there to be 11 dimensions.
So how does all this relate to the possibility of our universe being conscious? We observe the universe and are conscious of it, so can the opposite be said and be true?
I've come to realise that everything is impermanent except the creative flow of the universe. People call this various names according to belief. I am part of this flow. We all change and are part of this change. Some of us don't realise this, sharing a delusion. Quantum physics is slowly realising this as well. Science is gradually proving what the ancients thought thousands of years ago, without the aid of technology. So, although we have changed as the human race; although the world has evolved over thousands of years; although the heavens have seen suns die and born, the creative instinct of the universe has been permanent. It is as if it is conscious and a constant.
The 'first light' of the universe carries a message, possibly created by sound, as in sonoluminescence. We communicate using radio, which is a form of light. So I believe that the universe is indeed conscious and that it communicates. In our little galaxy, time helps us filter the message and understand it. The message is the same in the future as it is in the past. Even more interestingly though is that it is two way communication; it speaks to us and we speak to it, this permanent, creative force.
Here is what I think occurred at the inception of our universe. Two membranes rippled and touched each other. Where they touched, a little of each membrane stuck to each other, forming a bubble. The vibrations of the two membranes stirred photons in to existence, as in sonoluminescence. The universe expanded, then retracted and began to expand again. As it did so, light emerged, photons dispersed and interacted with the sea of quantessence. This sea is an unknown quantity, dark energy and dark matter. Gases and elements formed as the bubble flexed between expansion and retraction. When light came in to being, not only did it help create, it also had a vibration, a message, "live." At this point there were many vibrations and time was created from one of the vibrations emitted by the 'first light.' This vibration was gravity and it began to gather momentum. The vibrational wave resonated outwards and as they travelled, gathered mass from the elements they passed. With mass it slowed down and formed galaxies. Each rotation of each galaxy began to form its own vibration, its own resonance. The sea of quantessence is a medium, like the water used in sonoluminescence. The sea is moving due to its nature, being the same or similar to the membranes. It flexes and moves. And like waves of a sea, grinding shell and stone in to sand, the sea of quantessence does the same with galaxies in our universe. Gravity may attract galaxies to one another, but if a wave of quantessence is approaching, it will push them apart.
In my opinion, our universe is like a fluid and moves as such, rippling like water in a bottle. I also suspect that universes are created by ours flexing against other universes / membranes. It also suggests we may have universes within our own. As for the constituents of the sea of quantessence, I believe it is made of the same thing that is at the heart of every particle, as yet an unknown, undiscovered property which is neither mass, energy or otherwise, yet it is in everything.
Therefore, I believe that all things have a vibration which is a form of communication. Furthermore, this is an indication of consciousness. We have come from this quantessence and it is in us and everything. It enables us to communicate between each other. It also retains information, such as our memories and consciousness that are uploaded when we experience corporeal death. Hence, when we die, our consciousness shifts from this bodily experience to being with the consciousness of the universe. Due to lack of mass it is not restricted by the constraints of time.
This process of creation is inherent in all things and can be represented at many levels, such as the way a cell forms, how a galaxy forms, how a child forms in a womb, how a cell knows what type of cell it is. The memory of creation is downloaded to every thing. The message is, "Live." Plus, we can communicate with it. This is more than likely how faith works; communication between two or more conscious entities seeking to create, change and heal. The communication is not confounded by time, as described earlier, and this is most likely why when you are involved in an act of faith, if you believe and know it will happen, it will indeed happen.
Is the universe conscious? I believe it is. Yet the question and answer remains the same, "Why?"
Friday, 24 July 2015
The Silence
To find the silence, practice the 3 stages of meditation:
Become an observer of your thoughts.
Become an observer of your emotions.
Become an observer of just being.
In each step, do not judge and assess the thoughts, feelings and being. Eventually, you will find the silence. Here the bubble around you, the 'I,' will dissolve. You will find peace and discover how all things are connected, the at-one-ness, the bridge between here and there. You will have reached out and touched the silence.
The silence is full of noise; the chattering of birds, the wind in the trees, the water over pebbles or rocks, the hustle and bustle of people racing around; the thunder after the lightning, the footsteps of a child, the purr of a cat, the crackle of a fire, the rain on the window. All sound comes from an immutable source, the silence.
The silence is peaceful. It is a place within you and around you..
It is one thing to find the silence, but another to carry it with you, as you walk the journey of life.
It is like a candle that is lit, then the flame is shared by lighting another candle. It is one light, the same light yet on all candles. It is duty to light the unlit candles by sharing the light, that is the silence.
Become an observer of your thoughts.
Become an observer of your emotions.
Become an observer of just being.
In each step, do not judge and assess the thoughts, feelings and being. Eventually, you will find the silence. Here the bubble around you, the 'I,' will dissolve. You will find peace and discover how all things are connected, the at-one-ness, the bridge between here and there. You will have reached out and touched the silence.
The silence is full of noise; the chattering of birds, the wind in the trees, the water over pebbles or rocks, the hustle and bustle of people racing around; the thunder after the lightning, the footsteps of a child, the purr of a cat, the crackle of a fire, the rain on the window. All sound comes from an immutable source, the silence.
The silence is peaceful. It is a place within you and around you..
It is one thing to find the silence, but another to carry it with you, as you walk the journey of life.
It is like a candle that is lit, then the flame is shared by lighting another candle. It is one light, the same light yet on all candles. It is duty to light the unlit candles by sharing the light, that is the silence.
Wednesday, 8 July 2015
Future in the past tense
What if the future is actually the past? When we look at the universe, is what we consider the past, the beginning, actually the future? Is our perception of time as human beings unique when actually time behaves differently?
Deepak Chopra recently suggested that cells retain a conscious memory which is picked up by new cells so they know what to do. He explains this by explaining how often various cells replace themselves. He suggests that when a cell, such as skin cell dies it is replaced by a new skin cell which wonders what it is. "What am I? What did my father, grandfather do?" And Deepak thinks the conscious memory of the grandfather, or father, cell is passed on to the new cell so it knows what it is and what to do. It's an interesting idea but, if time operates differently, as I suggest, maybe the cell is telling the grandfather cell, "This is is what you did, this is what you were."
If this is the case, is birth actually death? Is the question of what happens after death and where do we go actually from whence did I come? This may indicate we come from 'nothing' (an unknown state) into this state and when we die, we actually become part of someone else. The rules seem to reverse.
A flower in bloom is its birth, retiring to a seed. A grain of sand is the beginning which collects other sand particles to become a pebble. A view is not received by the eye but projected. Rain does not fall down, it climbs up. The beginning of the universe is actually our end.
Everything would be turned on its head.
If we look at the example of the flower, the seed doesn't come first but the plant. Yet is this not the case anyway? The flower starts tall and shrinks to a seed. The seed has not fallen to the ground but jumped up to be part of the initial flower.
So, is this the case? Or is time as we perceive it linear from past to future? Does gravity and the orbit of the planets our solar system follow one direction and the universe follow another idea of time?
With the double split test, the photons hit the target either as particle or wave. After realizing, that when scientists observed, the photon changed state accordingly to reach the target, the scientists didn't observe the photon and used a laser to act as the second barrier, and set it to randomly choose when to 'raise' the barrier. The test was recorded without human observation, until afterwards when they watched the recording. What they found was, basically, the photon appeared to know when the laser barrier was going to be used, or not used, and changed state accordingly, even though the laser was choosing when to 'raise' the barrier at random! So they wondered how it knew when the laser would randomly choose to activate. What they deduced was that the future outcome influenced the past, so the photon knew which state to be in, due to it knowing when the second barrier would be used.
This may sound odd, but when I came across Deepak Chopra's article, it seemed to make sense; when a cell dies it is replaced by a new cell which wonders what it is. "What am I? And what did 'grandfather' do?" And the conscious memory of the 'grandfather cell' is passed on to the new cell, so it knows what it is and what to do. Moreover, the consciousness passes from cell a to b. To reach the next cell, it has to know that it is coming back, or know the memory is moving forward aware that it's dying.
Deepak does not go in to reincarnation as such, and I (and only in my opinion) do not believe in reincarnation. I do believe in something happening when we die and the migration of the soul though. I personally believe in each soul/person being unique, and also each individual being an expression of the universe, as we are all made from the same things and part of the universe, not separate from it.
So, in my eye, memories, or consciousness, could potentially be downloaded, so to speak.
As I write this, I am pondering how we know certain things: when we are born, how do we know how to breathe? Science may explain how, but why and how do we know we need to breathe? How do we know to open our eyes? How do we know we will need them? Natural selection may explain why we have eyes, and why some animals have them in certain positions, but how do we know that we need them. Is the answer as Deepak suggests? Has the being downloaded the necessary information to know what it needs? Is it because it knows the future, the end and knows what it needs to do to get to that final destination, like the photon?
Or is it due to our perception of time being unique? Does time's arrow shoot straight from past to future? Or is it only this way for us as we are caught in gravity's web?
All these things are to take out for a cup of tea, on a warm sunny, autumn day, in March. Biscuits optional
Deepak Chopra recently suggested that cells retain a conscious memory which is picked up by new cells so they know what to do. He explains this by explaining how often various cells replace themselves. He suggests that when a cell, such as skin cell dies it is replaced by a new skin cell which wonders what it is. "What am I? What did my father, grandfather do?" And Deepak thinks the conscious memory of the grandfather, or father, cell is passed on to the new cell so it knows what it is and what to do. It's an interesting idea but, if time operates differently, as I suggest, maybe the cell is telling the grandfather cell, "This is is what you did, this is what you were."
If this is the case, is birth actually death? Is the question of what happens after death and where do we go actually from whence did I come? This may indicate we come from 'nothing' (an unknown state) into this state and when we die, we actually become part of someone else. The rules seem to reverse.
A flower in bloom is its birth, retiring to a seed. A grain of sand is the beginning which collects other sand particles to become a pebble. A view is not received by the eye but projected. Rain does not fall down, it climbs up. The beginning of the universe is actually our end.
Everything would be turned on its head.
If we look at the example of the flower, the seed doesn't come first but the plant. Yet is this not the case anyway? The flower starts tall and shrinks to a seed. The seed has not fallen to the ground but jumped up to be part of the initial flower.
So, is this the case? Or is time as we perceive it linear from past to future? Does gravity and the orbit of the planets our solar system follow one direction and the universe follow another idea of time?
With the double split test, the photons hit the target either as particle or wave. After realizing, that when scientists observed, the photon changed state accordingly to reach the target, the scientists didn't observe the photon and used a laser to act as the second barrier, and set it to randomly choose when to 'raise' the barrier. The test was recorded without human observation, until afterwards when they watched the recording. What they found was, basically, the photon appeared to know when the laser barrier was going to be used, or not used, and changed state accordingly, even though the laser was choosing when to 'raise' the barrier at random! So they wondered how it knew when the laser would randomly choose to activate. What they deduced was that the future outcome influenced the past, so the photon knew which state to be in, due to it knowing when the second barrier would be used.
This may sound odd, but when I came across Deepak Chopra's article, it seemed to make sense; when a cell dies it is replaced by a new cell which wonders what it is. "What am I? And what did 'grandfather' do?" And the conscious memory of the 'grandfather cell' is passed on to the new cell, so it knows what it is and what to do. Moreover, the consciousness passes from cell a to b. To reach the next cell, it has to know that it is coming back, or know the memory is moving forward aware that it's dying.
Deepak does not go in to reincarnation as such, and I (and only in my opinion) do not believe in reincarnation. I do believe in something happening when we die and the migration of the soul though. I personally believe in each soul/person being unique, and also each individual being an expression of the universe, as we are all made from the same things and part of the universe, not separate from it.
So, in my eye, memories, or consciousness, could potentially be downloaded, so to speak.
As I write this, I am pondering how we know certain things: when we are born, how do we know how to breathe? Science may explain how, but why and how do we know we need to breathe? How do we know to open our eyes? How do we know we will need them? Natural selection may explain why we have eyes, and why some animals have them in certain positions, but how do we know that we need them. Is the answer as Deepak suggests? Has the being downloaded the necessary information to know what it needs? Is it because it knows the future, the end and knows what it needs to do to get to that final destination, like the photon?
Or is it due to our perception of time being unique? Does time's arrow shoot straight from past to future? Or is it only this way for us as we are caught in gravity's web?
All these things are to take out for a cup of tea, on a warm sunny, autumn day, in March. Biscuits optional
Forgiveness
Why forgive when I can't forget?
Why should I forgive?
What they did was unforgivable!
So why forgive someone? The one point I will stress straight away is that I'm not talking about 'spiritual' or 'religious' aspects of forgiveness. I'm going to look at the psychological aspects of forgiveness.
Firstly, no one is asking you to forget. Secondly, it's up to you to forgive, no one can make you. However, forgiveness has many psychological benefits for it helps brings closure, helps you come to terms with what happened, can bring reconciliation, helps you to find peace and can help you move forward from an event.
Forgiveness is something that people often say they have done before they have processed the mental work necessary. It's also a necessary part of grieving process, when we accept what's happened and realise we can't change it. [For grieving, please see article on 'mourning'.]
It is easy to say that you forgive someone, but harder to live that forgiveness. This is especially the case when you know or live with the person. Human nature means we tend to remember experiences & incidents and recall them when similar events arise; it's part of how we learn. However, how we handle our response is another thing that is learnt, hence people tending to say they forgive before mentally processing the forgiveness journey. It's a little like those who repeat positive affirmations; the more you tell yourself that you're a strong, positive person, the more you believe it and live like it.
The act of forgiveness, as previously mentioned, helps us come to a state of peace and accepting that it happened to you. It can once and for all put the subject to bed. It releases you from the incident's grasp, alleviates your mental state, and grants you a sense of control.
If you imagine that every wrong doing done to you was a stone, place them in a backpack and carry it, how heavy would it feel? Do you want that emotional weight weighing you down? One way of alighting that weight is to remove it and its power over you. Yes, by not forgiving, the event/person is under the control of the incident/offender. To release the control it has over you, take control and release it.
As mentioned before, the mental journey you undertake is part of the forgiveness. We can do this by accepting and acknowledging our feelings, emotions and the event. [I deal with this in a previous article called, 'Mourning'.] We may not be able to undo the act carried out, nor forget it, but we can move beyond it.
When you come back from holiday, you unpack your bags and do the laundry. You then go about getting into your normal routine. This is a bit like forgiveness. You don't forget the holiday, and you unpack the baggage and give it a good wash
Why should I forgive?
What they did was unforgivable!
So why forgive someone? The one point I will stress straight away is that I'm not talking about 'spiritual' or 'religious' aspects of forgiveness. I'm going to look at the psychological aspects of forgiveness.
Firstly, no one is asking you to forget. Secondly, it's up to you to forgive, no one can make you. However, forgiveness has many psychological benefits for it helps brings closure, helps you come to terms with what happened, can bring reconciliation, helps you to find peace and can help you move forward from an event.
Forgiveness is something that people often say they have done before they have processed the mental work necessary. It's also a necessary part of grieving process, when we accept what's happened and realise we can't change it. [For grieving, please see article on 'mourning'.]
It is easy to say that you forgive someone, but harder to live that forgiveness. This is especially the case when you know or live with the person. Human nature means we tend to remember experiences & incidents and recall them when similar events arise; it's part of how we learn. However, how we handle our response is another thing that is learnt, hence people tending to say they forgive before mentally processing the forgiveness journey. It's a little like those who repeat positive affirmations; the more you tell yourself that you're a strong, positive person, the more you believe it and live like it.
The act of forgiveness, as previously mentioned, helps us come to a state of peace and accepting that it happened to you. It can once and for all put the subject to bed. It releases you from the incident's grasp, alleviates your mental state, and grants you a sense of control.
If you imagine that every wrong doing done to you was a stone, place them in a backpack and carry it, how heavy would it feel? Do you want that emotional weight weighing you down? One way of alighting that weight is to remove it and its power over you. Yes, by not forgiving, the event/person is under the control of the incident/offender. To release the control it has over you, take control and release it.
As mentioned before, the mental journey you undertake is part of the forgiveness. We can do this by accepting and acknowledging our feelings, emotions and the event. [I deal with this in a previous article called, 'Mourning'.] We may not be able to undo the act carried out, nor forget it, but we can move beyond it.
When you come back from holiday, you unpack your bags and do the laundry. You then go about getting into your normal routine. This is a bit like forgiveness. You don't forget the holiday, and you unpack the baggage and give it a good wash
Tuesday, 7 July 2015
Mourning
When we hear the word mourning, we tend to think about bereavement, death, but it is also linked to any loss or change. We may have moved house, had a child leave home, changed job, experienced a break up in a loving relationship, as well as having suffered the loss of a loved one. So mourning is a process we go through regarding any change or loss.
At one time, I was in the armed forces and when I left, it took me ages to get over it. Why? Because until someone told me I was mourning, I didn't realise. Then the healing began. Once I recognised the state I was in I could move through it. Everyone has their own unique point of realisation and there's no fixed timescale for the healing either. It takes as long as it takes.
Grief manifests itself in many ways. There is regret, remorse, sadness, anger, catastrophiszing, and depression. These are all expressions of grief. Sometimes we cannot recognise what emotions we are experiencing, so need help with this from a friend, a listening ear and sometimes professional help. Being able to recognise the emotion is helpful and to realise that this is a manifestation of your grief, your mourning, is integral.
To move through mourning, we need to recognise and acknowledge the trigger, such as bereavement, change of lifestyle, break up of a relationship, etc. Once we acknowledge this, we begin to recognise how we feel. Do you feel angry? Sad? Happy? Depressed? There are no right or wrong answers. Acknowledge your feelings. Explore why you feel the way you do. Talk to someone, a friend, a stranger, a doctor or counsellor. By doing this you you are moving through the mourning.
Next is accepting what has happened, that it cannot be undone. It is a hard thing and can be intensely difficult to accept that the event occurred. At this point, we wish we had a time machine to undo what has been done. So accepting the event is integral and like I said, the most difficult stage of mourning. Once you accept that it's happened, you are almost there, almost through the mourning.
After accepting what has happened, it's time to carry on with everyday things. This is easier said than done. Little things can trigger emotions, memories and mental pictures. Be aware that the most unlikely scenario can stir up the memories and emotions. As you continue your journey through life, you will never forget what occurred but you will become more at peace with it.
There's no prescription that can heal. There's no thing you can change. The mourning process is what it is. Some people take a while to process mourning, whereas others are relatively swift. So try to remember;
Recognise that you're mourning
Explore & Acknowledge your feelings
Accept what happened
Continue with life
Take as long as you need
It's difficult. Seek help if you need it. Acknowledge the change has happened. By not doing this, you just shelve it till later. Mourning needs to be dealt with. So take the time to move through it.
These words seem so easy to read, so easy to write, but mourning is a hard process to go through. I'm not saying it's easy, I just know it's something you have to go through, just as I have
At one time, I was in the armed forces and when I left, it took me ages to get over it. Why? Because until someone told me I was mourning, I didn't realise. Then the healing began. Once I recognised the state I was in I could move through it. Everyone has their own unique point of realisation and there's no fixed timescale for the healing either. It takes as long as it takes.
Grief manifests itself in many ways. There is regret, remorse, sadness, anger, catastrophiszing, and depression. These are all expressions of grief. Sometimes we cannot recognise what emotions we are experiencing, so need help with this from a friend, a listening ear and sometimes professional help. Being able to recognise the emotion is helpful and to realise that this is a manifestation of your grief, your mourning, is integral.
To move through mourning, we need to recognise and acknowledge the trigger, such as bereavement, change of lifestyle, break up of a relationship, etc. Once we acknowledge this, we begin to recognise how we feel. Do you feel angry? Sad? Happy? Depressed? There are no right or wrong answers. Acknowledge your feelings. Explore why you feel the way you do. Talk to someone, a friend, a stranger, a doctor or counsellor. By doing this you you are moving through the mourning.
Next is accepting what has happened, that it cannot be undone. It is a hard thing and can be intensely difficult to accept that the event occurred. At this point, we wish we had a time machine to undo what has been done. So accepting the event is integral and like I said, the most difficult stage of mourning. Once you accept that it's happened, you are almost there, almost through the mourning.
After accepting what has happened, it's time to carry on with everyday things. This is easier said than done. Little things can trigger emotions, memories and mental pictures. Be aware that the most unlikely scenario can stir up the memories and emotions. As you continue your journey through life, you will never forget what occurred but you will become more at peace with it.
There's no prescription that can heal. There's no thing you can change. The mourning process is what it is. Some people take a while to process mourning, whereas others are relatively swift. So try to remember;
Recognise that you're mourning
Explore & Acknowledge your feelings
Accept what happened
Continue with life
Take as long as you need
It's difficult. Seek help if you need it. Acknowledge the change has happened. By not doing this, you just shelve it till later. Mourning needs to be dealt with. So take the time to move through it.
These words seem so easy to read, so easy to write, but mourning is a hard process to go through. I'm not saying it's easy, I just know it's something you have to go through, just as I have
Anger
In any situation we can be faced with a person who is angry and taking it out on you. From experience, I have found that the person who is confronting me is actually angry about something else, yet it's manifesting itself in another way. So, I ride out the initial wave of anger and let them say what they feel the need to say. Then, I break down and repeat back to them the points they've raised. As I try to reach a resolution, I begin a conversation. Throughout the dialogue, I collect additional information which can often be revealing.
One time, a lady I was speaking to was complaining about a minor issue, but through conversation, I discerned that her handbag had been stolen. She had lost her purse which contained money, bank cards, etc. and priceless photographs of her family, some of whom had died. Hence, she needed her issue dealing with, as well as needing to express her emotional state regarding a) the theft & b) moving through the bereavement process. I did not offer advice but listened.
The need to be heard is a very strong need in humans. This requires active listening, not simply hearing what's said and glossing over it. And curiously the listener is frequently someone that they do not know. I personally think this is due to the way the afflicted person perceives the people they know; they presuppose the reactions and answers, and know how they will react. Therefore, speaking to someone who they don't know gives the opportunity to hear a fresh response, one that is not presupposed, not expected.
So next time someone sounds off at you, try to listen, get to the heart of the problem. You don't have to give advice, but actively listen so they feel heard, that someone has taken the time to listen to what's going on in their heart. Reach deeper and listen to the heart, not the anger.
One time, a lady I was speaking to was complaining about a minor issue, but through conversation, I discerned that her handbag had been stolen. She had lost her purse which contained money, bank cards, etc. and priceless photographs of her family, some of whom had died. Hence, she needed her issue dealing with, as well as needing to express her emotional state regarding a) the theft & b) moving through the bereavement process. I did not offer advice but listened.
The need to be heard is a very strong need in humans. This requires active listening, not simply hearing what's said and glossing over it. And curiously the listener is frequently someone that they do not know. I personally think this is due to the way the afflicted person perceives the people they know; they presuppose the reactions and answers, and know how they will react. Therefore, speaking to someone who they don't know gives the opportunity to hear a fresh response, one that is not presupposed, not expected.
So next time someone sounds off at you, try to listen, get to the heart of the problem. You don't have to give advice, but actively listen so they feel heard, that someone has taken the time to listen to what's going on in their heart. Reach deeper and listen to the heart, not the anger.
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