| Author | Message | ||
     The Portal |
The Portal - how Mind changed the world.  (images interactive) Universe Monolith - imaginary knowledge Have we been helped? Four million years ago proto-humans survived a primitive meager existence. Then we discovered fire and used it to light the darkness, warm ourselves against cold, and invented the first culinary use of plasma energy to better our lives. With fire we cooked our food, which greatly increased our ability to concentrate nutrients to feed the brain. Over time our brain grew and we learned to manipulate tools, organize our lives socially, and speak. Forty thousand years ago our genetically modern ancestors had already colonized the world. Then came writing, keeping records of daily activity, telling ourselves stories, observing the machinations of the heavens; in time we discovered mathematics. Was this all of our own independent efforts, or were we helped?  Great pyramid of Giza Four thousand years ago we had already built great pyramids. These were built with surprising intelligence and precision by the ancient Egyptian builders and craftsmen. But more surprising were the complex mathematics embedded in the pyramid structure. In his book, The Great Pyramid of Giza, Eckhart R. Schmitz shows calculations incorporating not only Pi and the Golden Mean, but also Earth geodetic information and accurately precise alignments with heavenly bodies, as they were then. From the book:
These are not idle claims, and Schmitz refers to precise measurements by Petrie and other archeologists to show the mathematics proving their interrelationships to known modern values mentioned. For example, regarding ancient Egyptians' knowledge of the speed of light (p.89): It is incredible that ancient Egyptians had the speed of light known to such accuracy without modern equipment, and had incorporated it into the pyramid's precise construction. Could they have been helped? Many other calculations had also been incorporated into the pyramid's dimensions, as Schmitz discovered. These show a level of the Pyramid's mathematical sophistication and scientific knowledge unimaginable for an ancient people worshipping heavenly mythical gods. Or perhaps the gods were not such strangers?  Earth Monolith - theoretical knowledge Human knowledge progresses in steps, each accomplishment built on the knowledge of their predecessors. How far back did the ancients reach in their knowledge, and from whom? Only forty years ago, before common use of computers, still using slide rules in their computations, men had already walked on the Moon. Then computers became commonplace, where today most of the world carries them in their pockets. We can talk on our hand held devices to virtually anyone on the planet. How did we progress so quickly? Did we have help? Or is some universal Mind so pervasive that we had tapped into it, largely unbeknownst to us? Our reading the Universal Mind is still so illusively tenuous, nearly imperceptible. (We don't actually know what an 'infinite interrelationship' looks like, nor can we really understand it.) Had knowledge stored in the universal memory been reaching us for millennia, in a kind of portal for us? Have we done this ourselves, or were we helped?  Man - an infinite journey This is a mystery of the unknown, perhaps still unknowable for us, but we are awaking slowly to discovering the truth. Like a steady drip, little by little knowledge is revealed to us. From our ancient cave dwelling ancestors to plans for men and women walking on Mars, humanity is steadily reaching for the stars. Where did we get this urge, this Dream? And from whom? That is the monolithic mystery of our human journey. IDeA | ||
| Simultaneity in social development |
Simultaneity - in social and cultural human developments.  (images interactive) 'Hundredth monkey' phenomenon There may or may not be a "hundredth monkey phenomenon", as the original study falls short of rigorous analysis. But there appears to be evidence of human development, both cultural and evolutionary, that supports the idea that once a behavior reaches a critical mass, the development spreads rapidly throughout the population. This could be translated into a kind of evolutionary mass consciousness that bursts forth in the population once critical mass is achieved. There had been cases of simultaneous developments, such as Leibniz and Newton developing calculus independently, though they may have known of each other's work; or German mathematicians Hilbert and Einstein developing equations for General Relativity, each claiming independent authorship, however they had corresponded on their research. So in these two cases, the 'independence' may not have been entirely pure. Another sited simultaneity, though many centuries apart, were the ancient Egyptian pyramids, and later Mayan pyramids in Meso-America. It is highly unlikely these were linked in any way. For example, there is no known case of Egyptians coming to the new world in ancient times, so these developments were truly independent. Separated by space and time, these separate developments had no known connection between them. The fact it happened shows humans can form same or similar ideas independently, without invoking the hundredth monkey principle. But there may be a way to see this in a non-paranormal way, that once humans had developed an idea, or mastered a technique, they were able to mimic each other's action without coming in contact.  String and Loop Theory Consider the example of String Theory, where quantum loops enclose Planck scale granular space, as a universe interacting with itself in simultaneous space and time. Though at this time this model is imaginary, it is not any more unbelievable than the idea of space portals connecting reality with itself, where interrelationships can leak through these portals in a quantum loop type connection. Of course the two are not the same, but the model can serve to illustrate a principle, that once formed, the portals can exist to serve as conduits for ideas. For example, once an idea is formed, it now acts as a portal for others to access it independently, though no connection between them is known. This is not so different from the concept that human minds can connect in some manner to a depository of universal Mind, once such ideas are found, though neither theoretical concept is falsifiable in a normal sense, thus both Strings and Portals remain speculative rather than science. So now, like Rock stars suddenly cast into mass popular fame, or scientists simultaneously discovering the same theory, the concept of universal portals connects them on some quantum loop plane of existence, and both are products of human access to those portals, whether simultaneously or perhaps over time. So what had hitherto been unknown suddenly takes on a dimension of what is universally connected, and known. If so, and there is no way to prove it, hypothetically, knowledge may be transmuted between individuals simultaneously over great distances without them knowing each other, or have any contact. Or conversely, if their portals were closed, they may not have had access to these universal connections. Not all societies exhibited a culture of compassion, for example, nor did the wheel reach pre-Columbian America, or the bow and arrow reach aboriginal Australia. They were known elsewhere, but not accessed universally. In effect, there is no need to invoke the 'hundredth monkey' phenomenon, if it merely is what happens once a portal is uncovered, that others may have access to it, likely without being aware of it. Whether Mozart or Haydn, or concert pianists worldwide, it is all from the same source. Is such discovery then truly 'independent', or just in the nature of how is constructed an interrelated reality? So if a new concept of gravity were invented, surpassing current General Relativity, for example, one that connects easily with Quantum Theory and the Standard Model, could it suddenly gain wide acceptance once the portal is opened? It's a possibility. By this reasoning, any such phenomenon of simultaneity could be explainable by the portal of discovery having been opened, so it becomes a cultural and social norm. Then it is easily more accessible for everyone. Once a universal portal is found, it remains open for as long as there are those who search for it. IDA | ||
| Universe talk to us |
Does the universe talk to us? - how the universe is interactive.  (images interactive) Signs from the universe It had become common belief among certain practitioners that the universe 'talks' to us, and we can talk back. Usually these are simple forms where one may ask for something, watch for signs, and expect the universe to deliver on request. Perhaps not so different from ancient times when the gods were petitioned for favor, and by praying at temple, or with the intermediary help of priests and priestesses, the supplicants would be granted their wish. But is this, in a kind of New Age modern format, really what an interaction with the universe is about? If we live in an 'interactive' universe with which we can talk, and it is talking to us, is there more to it than the mere granting of wishes? Perhaps there is a lot more. Imagine instead that we each have a personal 'portal' with which we connect to the universal, interrelated reality, and that this portal allows us interaction on a personal level with that reality. These reduce to the same effect, that we ask from the universe what we desire, and if this request is within the framework of our reality, in its mysterious way it brings it into our reality. Sometimes the solution comes when least expected, when not looking for it. But why would this work? The answer to this, and it is an answer as tenuous as our ability to connect with universal Mind, since we may not yet have evolved the ability to read this, is that what we wish for, what deep in our hearts is true desire, had already been placed there for us by the same universal reality we are trying to access. This means, unbeknownst to us, there had already been a myriad of micro 'signals' sent to us in some, for us, unreadable manner that over time became what we have come to desire. So in effect, our micro-mind had picked up on these signals until they had reached our conscious mind, hence what we request. But this, if true, works on many levels; it may be simple requests, like wanting a new car, or better apartment; or it could be on loftier levels, solving a difficult problem, or writing a symphony. These micro-signals would work both ways, where a desire is born in us, and where we communicate back to reinforce our desire within our reality. So the universe is 'talking' to us at the same time we talk to it. In the manner of its interrelated, interconnected reality, down to the Quantum level, and based in that narrow margin of free volition, what we call our 'free will', the universe interacts with us on a personal level. If there is no conflict of interest, and the universe is aligned with us, that 'it can be', then it probably will be.  Our personal portal reality But how do we access such portals? That may depend upon our interests and needs, our inclinations. We were not born in a vacuum, so already pre-existed a whole matrix of reality prior to our existence. Within that existence already was a whole complex of what would be our being in reality. As we grow and mature, our minds respond to conditions of our survival, and form our future needs and desires. From that complex come the conditions of what will be our personal reality, and how we will be in it. That is where we gain consciousness of it, and thus fashion our lives. For some it will be in the form of planning our lives, perhaps writing it down to work towards our goals, for others it will be merely to be aware of circumstances as they come; others gain from discussion, reading books, the internet. Be it business, learning a craft, gain education, or solving a difficult equation, all are products of the interactions our reality had placed before us, and how we solved our problems perceived. More importantly, it is a product of awareness, of listening to what the universe is telling us, and of how we are responding to it. What is it we really want, or need? Be it we respond in thoughts and work, or personal affirmations and prayer, if the demands are genuine for us, the universal portal is ready to open in response. And then, when conditions are right, the universe delivers. There are limitations to how this works. For the universal two way communications to be effective, we must have the freedom to be in tune with them. This demands that our interactions with each other are reciprocally in agreement, such as described in the fundamental interrelationships of Habeas Mentem, where coercions disassociate us from our greater universal reality, while agreements reinforce them. Coerced minds, whether physically or mentally coerced, lied to or beaten, are incapable of forming credible portals with their existence, hence they suffer and lead psychologically confused lives. Loved beings are more successful at this then those abused. Such is the nature of our universe, that once conscious, we need the liberty to pursue our dreams and happiness. We must interact as human beings freely by agreement, otherwise, our portals are closed to us. So it is not enough to wish for better things, a better life. We must actually live it. In peace, loved and loving, without fear or abuse, seeking with genuine trust, we have the universal potential for living the lives of great beings. There is no need to petition the gods when the gods are us. We have that power, if we wish to use it. Then it is but a matter of being aware, and consciously choosing it. IDA Also see: Probability favors an 'interactive' universe We are Cosmic Children of Stars When the universe works with you | ||
| Common consensus |
Common consent - how group portal decisions are made.  (images interactive) Plains Indians tribal council In traditional pastoral and tribal societies, the decision to move to a new location, if not delegated to a chief, for example, was derived from group consensus. After much discussion and deliberation, each sharing what they know and think, the nomadic clan or tribe would spontaneously come to a decision to relocate. Not all may agree, and some might stay behind, but in time the whole group would be on the move. This is group consensus at its most elemental, which can be for any group decision, where at some point their discussion falls silent, and all understand it is time. Whether Plains Indians in search of the hunt, or Asian and African pastoralists in search of pasture, the effect is the same. They then act as one. What happens at that moment of communal decision? When issues are presented before a group to be debated, or to arrive at a course of action, all minds present are made to focus on the discussion. Their minds are being challenged, each person made to arrive at a decision, and whether formalized democratically by a vote, or by common consent, they are drawn to a decisive point with which they will align. Each person must search in their knowledge and conscience their proper course of action. Think of each participant forming a portal in relation to their decision, together opening communally until their portals are aligned, so the resulting decision, when in agreement, is now a larger portal connecting them to the issues at hand. From that common portal will then unfold a course of action that will affect them. This is the interaction between participants and their real circumstances, what will in time unfold as to how their common and personal conditions will be realized. Is this not what happens in any assembly or corporate board room, or congress and parliament? Common interests are pooled, discussed and debated, and after deliberation and examination, once a decision is made, a future course of action, or legislation, is advanced. Group consensus becomes action.  US Congress in group decision But not all discussions reap common consent, same as not all portals open for the issues at hand. Universally, their portals open in response to their common good will and interests. A man must be good for his word. But if these are lacking, and the discussion is marred by ill will or deceit, or ignorance, the efforts of the group would be at cross purposes, and the intended outcome sabotaged by portals failing to open. Then any agreement is likewise damaged, so the intended consensus falls short of its objective. Instead of agreed upon consent, conflict results, and portals connecting mind and reality are closed off. No resolution is agreed upon. This is as true for our personal interactions with Mind as it is for group interactions in discussions and resolutions. Coerced minds fail in their portals. As in any discussion, the importance of listening with politeness and humility is needed for the portals to be open. When we close off portals to our universal connection with reality, things likewise fail. So it is same for group and communal efforts, where failure is a failure of mind. It starts with individuals. Those who have a genuine interest in successful resolutions will find their portals open, whereas those who do not will cause them to be closed. The universe, though impartial to our desires, will not be cheated of its reality, and if we fool ourselves and others, its reality will fail to materialize for us. It is just how things work. But in time, with effort and genuine interest, the universe will fashion for us a desirable result, when our portals are open. Then the outcome is often better than expected.  United Nations World Confederation Whether tribal council or world confederation, the principal portals of consensus open and close by our thoughts and actions. That is the solemn reality of common consent, that we are all inter-connected universally, where freedom from conflict comes from mutually reciprocal and courteous respect of one another by common consent. Then our portals open to the universe. IDA | ||
| Your portal |
Listening to the silence - on stilling the mind - your portal. The mind is a busy place. We live in a noisy world. Our culture is one of distractions, with television, news bombardment, tight schedules, pressing crowds, congested traffic, political slogans, studying for exams, earning a living. Alas, these distractions are necessary to run our civilization. We need to be informed, mentally engaged, competitively driven. But there is a price paid, that we get lost in our mind, and our serenity disturbed. Then, when we never have a moment of peace, our minds are buffeted like by cross winds making it hard to stand, to stop and be ourselves. That is the reality of the world. But sometimes we need to stop, and hear the silence. In the wisdom of the ages, meditation had been the way to clearing the mind. Find a quiet place, close your eyes, and focus on the breath to find that inner calm. In that peaceful, silent place the mind's usual chatter is moved gently aside to deepen our inner sense of being. In meditation, in that place, is a larger world, a portal, to which we rarely connect in our everyday life, one which connects with a larger reality of our being in the world. This connection is as much a part of us as the air we breathe. When we enter it, the universe surrounds us totally and intimately with each breath we take, and it places us at the center of its grand reality. This is the 'where' of Who we are. And there we connect to the portal that is life all around us. So it is a big place, one that stretches to infinity. We cannot yet see it, but we can still the mind to feel it. The same feeling is gained by any joyful activity, any passion that brings us joy; or being in nature, walking along a verdant forest path, straining up a mountain, breathing the ocean air, or breathing in the grand silence of the desert. When we are there, our minds are distracted from daily cares, and in those brief moments we connect with ourselves, that special feeling of 'being' in the moment. That is a portal. Feel it, savor it, and remember what it was, because at that moment you are connected with your greater being. That feeling, that deep nebulous feeling, is gained as much in sitting meditation, for those adept, or deep in prayer for some, or lost in thought when the ambient world disappears, where it is merely being, and being aware of that no matter where you are or what you are doing. That feeling of inner peace, that calm within the storm, is your special connection, your special portal to your universe. And once you are there, where it happens naturally to you, see the beauty around you, and sense the joy of being there. There is no great mystery to this, just stop and listen. All around you life is talking to your portal, placing you at the center of your personal existence. That is when you are truly you. And when there, your calm communicates to others, and they too open their portals. Just by being, you teach them to be themselves, not lost in the world, but intimately within it. It is such a gift, regrettable that mostly we cannot see it. But once gained and understood, life takes on a larger meaning, because you are connecting to all of it. Whether through yoga and meditation, or through that magical moment of calm that comes across you, no matter where you are, your portal is open to life as you are meant to live it. The more conscious you become of this, the more meaningful life becomes, and the more your achievements will reflect your true self. It is not so much a mystery, once you experience it. And then it is infectious, both to yourself and others, and you seek that intimate portal whenever possible. It could be waiting at a light, or sitting in a business meeting, in class, walking down the street, and you see it. We are all connected by this portal of intimate being, though most are silent to it and act as if it did not exist. When you find it does, it is almost telepathic, where life works with you when you need it to, where surprises are few. This is not to say life will not have its troubles, but when they come, your ability to deal with them rationally and successfully in a clear minded way will have become easier. Hear the silence? ... You are then at your portal. IDA | ||
| Voices in the desert |
Voices in the desert - the portals of the Prophets.  Sunset over desert They all heard voices. Whether Moses on Mount Sinai, Jesus in the Judaean desert, Mohammed in a cave of Arabia, or perhaps even Buddha under the Banyan tree in north India, something spoke to them. In revelations they would become teachings followed by millions, their words became religion. Were theirs the voices of portals? As anyone who knows the desert and walked in its stark majesty, there are times when the whirling wind moving among the rocks and crannies sounds like mysterious whispers. There is a normal silence in the vastness of deserts, but these aeolian whispers are like shadows that call to you from behind the stones. They can at times awe or inspire, like the voice of God barely heard. Yet like the grand silence experienced, it can open the mind to its portal of inner consciousness, where the sound of our footsteps speak to us. Perhaps that is what Moses felt on the Mount, or Buddha felt in meditation, that at that moment, the universe opens to you, and you are in the presence of something big.  Giving the law Like in the presence of stillness, that silent peacefulness, we give ourselves permission to be before our portal, to access our greater mind in the universe. Perhaps this is when the master teachers reach into their spiritual portals, their minds in the universe, to bring forth teachings for humanity; it is when their portal aligns with those whose minds and hearts connect; then, like a master set of universal portals opened, humanity awakens to its new teachings. That universal, collective portal is self reinforcing, teaching and opening minds for centuries. Is this not witnessed in all the world religions, that their teachings endure with a life of their own? Are they not supported by a vast collective human consciousness, an open universal portal, to give guidance and comfort to their believers? We collectively called them, and they opened universal portals for us. It appears that once such a portal of mass belief consciousness opens, it endures, for it is what humanity had called for. When we gather in worship, we are together at their portal. But endurance of large collective portals also has a down side. In addition to teaching guidance to humanity, laying down laws of conduct, teaching compassion and love for all things; these are the things universal portals access from the infinity of Being; but it also seeks to self preserve, taking on a consciousness of its own, thinking the portal is now guaranteed by the universal Being. In this is where 'dogma' comes from, blind unthinking, punishing belief, to the detriment of where humanity's collective portal closes off. Again and again, master teachers come, and again in time the teachings fail to grow in consciousness, but solidify into dogma instead. That is a universal error, and one that continually repeats until the mass portal open to humanity is one of Consciousness itself. Then the collective portal opens, and does not close. In this consciousness portal, when a planet awakens, there is no warring on other beliefs, no punishing of disbelievers, no oppression of the weak, no enemies of religion; there is none of that. Rather, there is universal consciousness and unconditional love, for this comes from the open source of all Being in the universe; that Being is Love.  Sermon on the mount When the collective portal opens and large numbers of human beings connect with it in a mass movement, such as happens in religion, there is tendency to understand this portal not as a window into the universal Mind, which it is, but as a reality in itself. That error leads us to believe that the laws of human conduct understood by the master teacher, or Prophet, that came from the portal are now immutable. In some ways, some universal principles are true and immutable, but not all. The test is whether they align with universal consciousness of Being, or not. If it aligns, human consciousness and understanding rises, civilization flowers; if it does not align, consciousness suffers, understanding is dulled, and society is racked with violence and destruction. This turn of events is what qualifies whether or not the religious laws gained through the mass universal portal are true or not: do they raise consciousness or suppress it? The society at large shows the results with peace and universal beauty when successful, and a drab and self-destructive reality when it is not. All this is evident on the surface. But what is not easily evident is the deeper individual suffering of people who are seeking those universal portals of the masters, but are unable to access them; once the law of consciousness is violated, that portal becomes closed; the people suffer. That is the tragic reality of great teachings that fail, that the universal portal accessed is closed, and the people's mass consciousness closes off, so their lives lack beauty and happiness. Think of great wars, mass human migrations, global pandemics, self destructive social orders with massive disasters and die offs; climate and environmental degradation, escalating commercial failures, escalating crime rates, suicidal religious wars, and more. All these are the suffering of the people whose universal portals had closed off. But the suffering is not some large statistical number, rather they are felt by every human being shut off.  Dawn awakening We gain knowledge from the world, but it comes to us through our universal mind portals, windows that connect to our greater being. When our knowledge fails, when we lose universal consciousness, we find our personal portals closed, and we suffer; on a mass scale, our collective portals close, and we suffer on a world scale. When we look at the world today, we cannot fail to see the suffering, the egos, the enforced dogmas, and the self-destruction. Do we ever ask why? Is this what the Prophets, those great teachers who opened our mass collective portals, had in mind for humanity? If they did not fail the test of consciousness, then their teachings could only have led to the good. But if those teachings solidified into dogma, ruled by punishment, then the teachings failed, and all the portals closed. This is the world today. But it can change, as one by one, the portals open for us, in silence, in prayer, and in understanding, that our human being is so much more when loved, and not abused. It is a simple meditation, that we be loved, give ourselves permission to be loved, and that we can love in return. Such a simple message, the portals open, and we step into the universe with our mind. The discoveries awaiting us are legend. Whence comes human knowledge, when we are open to the universe, and Mind gives us consciousness. This is our world, as we created it. Imagine if everyone added just a tiny bit of goodness to the world, a kind word, a smile, helpful hand, mend or plant something, heal a hurt, share when needed; be courteous, graciously thankful, caring, honorable, true to your word; how much more these simple things would make the world. Just a tiny bit, each one of us, little by little, and our world would change in wondrous ways, for most today unimaginable ways. That is a conscious world, a world of open portals. And it is so simple to achieve. En Terra - The people of planet Earth. The conceptual evolution of Interconnectedness - not yet at critical mass | ||
| In our garden |
In our garden - a portal meditation.  I wrote some years ago about feelings in our garden, which caught a moment:
 There, amongst the shrubs and flowers, the fruit trees and palms, succulents, potted cacti, untamed wild grasses, or the birds, as our garden is more a half-tamed wilderness nature designed than an architect's orderly plan; it is a kind of living sanctuary to shelter whatever nature intended, blown in by the wind, or planted randomly. We never use poisons, and only reluctantly relocate some that are out of place. Our garden has a life of its own, one we respect reverently, as if to disturb it would profane what the plants self-designed, a natural world spoken through their keen self imposed order. And we love their chaotic plan, as if the universe is speaking to us in its quiet way, with joy.  We have five black cats, two tame and three half-wild, who preside over their garden jealously, studiously ignoring a resident squirrel, same as she jauntily ignores them. We all co-exist sharing our sanctuary space gracefully with a light touch, though the birds are weary. Within this protocol, even the snails are grudgingly accepted, as is the occasional opossum or raccoon. Morning glories seem to have an imperative to take over the universe, and all are checked if too aggressive; troublesome raccoons had been trapped unharmed and sent off to the wilderness, free to roam there. We all share space courteously, within limits, so none push too hard. But when they do, and get too unruly, they get gently nudged aside. So all have room.  When a swamp cypress was given to us by a good intentioned nature conservancy, though not suited to our coastal desert climate, we replanted it in a wild place down by the river near vernal pools. It was pushing roots out of its small pot, telling us it needed space. We ignored its voice for a while, but then one day we heard its cry, so replanted it to give it more freedom. A gentle rain fell that night. Next year we will check its progress, and smile if it had grown, the other plants will cheer too. We also listen to the birds who sing from branches, or the soft flutter of hummingbirds drinking the flowers; one built her nest by our wooden fence; and butterflies. Under our compost heap live fat grubs who relish their humus world, along with microbes and bugs and ants, all busy in their work.  We also eat from our garden. Wild fennel in our salad, its seeds for soup. Chard and borage provide our leafy greens, along with dandelions, garnished with chives and shallots; we cook with our rosemary, malven. And we never spray, so all grace our table and our health. It gives us joy to watch them grow, then see them come back. Of course we eat all the fruits in season, loquats, guavas, figs, nectarines, peaches, oranges, apples, limes, all beautifully nutritious. Most gets given away, if harvest bountiful, to the delight of friends. We water sparingly, this being desert, and with the help of drip system for the dry months, all thrive. But it is not perfect. The little lemon struggles for reasons unknown, perhaps soil too clay; the stunted potted plumeria is yet to tell us why. We will hear them if we listen, in time. There is no hurry in our garden.  We also learn from our garden, the peace, the colors, sounds and fragrances, all add to knowledge in our hearts. It is nearly spring and the roses are about to open, wysteria's already in bloom. The sweet fruits remind us of nature's sugars that taste so fresh. They tell us when they need water, not too much. When an ocean mist descends, the garden turns introspective, quietly awaiting rain, and we too remember patience. The knowledge we gain is an inner knowing, the kind plants have, where all flows around us when we are still. That is a portal, a window onto our being in the universe, alive in our thoughts, that reveals some inner knowledge of who each of us is in the Grand Plan. That natural beauty of the garden is a metaphor for all Life, what brings us joy. We hope that same joy is shared with all things, that we all live together in health and well being; to love. It is a garden with a soul. Planting a seed or saving a life, no matter how small, and we are talking to the Universe. Once learned in the portal of the heart, life's beauty is never forgotten. As the words of Helen Keller remind us:
 IDA | ||
| A Portal of Place |
A Portal of Place - and Person.  When we lose someone, there is an emptiness, a feeling of someone missing. It is same for an abandoned house, that it looks and feels empty, something is missing. Love lost, a pet, a vacant home, they all leave a hole in our heart, where deep in our psyche something known, something felt that was a part of us is not there. We mourn their loss in a process of healing. That was a portal lost, a connection in our inner being that has closed off and needs care and loving to heal the wound. We suffer the loss.  Anything we hold dear, a place, a home, the stillness of a sunrise, a work of art, someone special to us, a well loved book, even a car, can be identified with our personal relationship to it, that we feel an intimacy innate to us, a knowledge only we can know. It is the same for place, somewhere we need to be, or person, a family, a friend we need to be with. When our being is somehow prohibited or restricted, we suffer its loss. Think how under the rule of Communism people were deprived freedom of movement, separated by steel and concrete from visiting loved ones, or visiting places freely. The Berlin Wall was more than a man made structure, it was also a portal closed, so friends and family were kept apart, lives abused. Their portals did not reopen until the Wall came down. Freedom of movement, within the limits of lawful reciprocity of respect, is one of our inalienable rights, because it touches our portals. Denied that right, we suffer loss. Our portals of place, and persons, are sacrosanct, and no man made authority have the right to close off our portals. They are connections with our inner being's existence in the greater universe. It is that serious, that we cannot truly live our lives without access to those portals. We must be free to do this, or we suffer, because those portals are Who we are. Loss of portal is like a death we mourn, and we cannot be made whole until it heals. Sometimes we need to understand it, to give room, and forgive.  IDA | ||
| Forty portals |
Forty Portals to a new reality at HumanCafe  Some portals may have opened during our discussions, showing us paths into how reality talks to us. Here is a list of some of these, what may have been portals to a new reality: A) SPACE 1. Countdown to Strangeness Variable gravity-G, why gas giants atmospheres, comet out gassing, Pluto's atmosphere, universal Hubble gravitational-redshift, deep space gravity, simultaneous entanglement, Mercury precession, Earth's mini-black hole, seasonal spin variable 2. Bread crumbs trail How math progressed from basic assumptions, how variable-G derived, Hydrogen atom harmonics, galactic black hole center dynamics, the atom, unified theory of gravity and energy 3. The Universe is Simple Universal interrelational in real time, infinity as interrelated totality down to quantum, universe is interactive, consciousness on macro-micro scale, infinitely interrelated energy 4. Einstein's carousel Ushering a new era in physics, Einstein's Relativity may prove faulty, who will write new math to define reality beyond light speed limit reality 5. Mining Deep Space gravity Universe may be homogenous and isotropic at higher gravity-G than now assumed, Hubble constant may be gravitational redshift at very high gravity-G of deep space, Big Bang may be observational and mathematical illusion 6. Cosmological constants equal Cosmological constant, Hubble constant, Doppler redshift, MOND, Pioneer Anomaly - Are they all the same? Energy is energy 7. Gravity-G variable and Axiomatic Equation Mathematical description of variable gravity-G, Pioneer Anomaly may be real, lower energy levels with distance from Sun inversely proportional to higher mass-density per G equivalence 8. Anisotropy of kg/kg mass Kilogram mass adjusted per Equivalence for variable-G for the planets, higher atmosphere of moons and planets density proportional to higher G 9. Are Quantum Foam, Quantum Emergence, and Quantum Entanglement all interrelated? Universe interrelated at infinite distances, light speed maximum subordinated to real time simultaneity, new era of fundamental physics, simplified cosmology 10. Space gravity at 3.97e-7 G and GUT GUT and the Standard Model, Big Bang epoch unnecessary to merge gravity and known forces, MOND and CMB fit new model, femtometer lambda modifies atomic nucleus B) MOND 1. World belief systems and leaps of consciousness Paradigm shift in human beliefs, Enlightenment and Age of Reason, emergence of human consciousness, can peace and tolerance be a belief system? 2. OPUS REX, on principles of belief First principles-Existence, second principles-Belief, third principles-Society, secular social morality 3. The power of Freedom Declaration of Rights of Man, agreement versus coercion, Law of Agreement, free societies versus tyrannies, freedom to be 'who we are' 4. Interfaith Dialogue Social cultural understandings of 'church and state', religious social political systems, unified world through Internet, armed jihad, secular laws and religious laws, prohibited and 'demanded' coercions, West's 'freedom of speech' 5. War is handicapped Reason Agreement to avoid war, religious political aspects of war, using 'God' to force others against their will, are we addicted to violence? 6. On Peace and War When coercion is a necessity, on the history of once and future wars, violation of our human rights, in confirmation of our Judeo-Christian values 7. Jus Gentium, the law of nations Roman law and 'natural reason', international law between states and nations, citizens 'co-equal' with the state, non-citizens may not sue the state, national legitimacy 8. Cooperative Individualism Prerequisite for individualism is 'free will', freedom versus servitude, rule of law versus religious dogma, reject tribalism for human freedom 9. A New World Confederation No part of the world in isolation, cooperation to solve world problems, regional unions, evolution of World Confederation, universal human rights 10. Information Revolution changed the world Writing formalized communication, technology accelerated information, common people exchange worldwide, modern communication changed the world C) PEOPLE 1. Plato's Legacy transcended Most philosophy descended from Plato, ideas as form, ontological definition of being, idealized perfection model limited, reality's failure to manifest perfect order, natural 'aristocracy' of most conscious human beings 2. Galileo's complaint Vatican rules him 'vehement heretic', universe harmonium of form and numbers, telescope to 'see at a distance', is it delusional to seek the truth? I am a simple man 3. Bernardino Telesio, Tommaso Campanella, and Giodano Bruno, as prime movers of the Italian and European Renaissance. Intellectual minds of the time, transition from Aristotelian thinking, influenced by Copernican heliocentrism, man's connection with the infinite 4. Toivo Jaakkola, Dirac, variable gravity Dirac hypothesis gravity 'constant' varied with time, Jaakkola estimated deep space gravity at ~10G, gravitation and electricity coupling causing redshift, Newton's laws inapplicable on cosmological scale 5. Brilliant, beautiful mind of Albert Einstein Equivalence principle, light wave-particle duality, Brownian motion, Special and General Relativity, scientific career spanned half a century, but axioms may be faulty 6. John Milton's Areopagitica (1644) Mainstream ideas merit second opinions, let truth and falsehood grapple, liberty of printing not be reduced to a few, we are allowed to err 7. Who wrote William Shakespeare? Greatest English bard owned no manuscripts, his will fails to mention books and writings, no letter written by him ever found, never traveled abroad, other candidates more suitable writers? 8. Thomas Jefferson and freedom I have sworn upon the altar of God.., despotism in religious doctrine, subordination of individual, eternal war to liberate human minds 9. Adam gave Eve the apple Genesis revisionism, gender equality, original guilt? Paradise revisited, many possible legends of Creation 10. The Beatles, passing of an age Age of optimism giving way to realism, endemic war and social unrest, desperate mass immigrations mark new era, life expectancy may be dropping, all peoples of world affected, global awareness to guide our future D) MIND 1. THE THREE REASON(S): SUBJECTIVE, OBJECTIVE, AND UNIVERSAL Subjective "I am" personal reason, objective "it is" scientific reason, universal "all is one" transcendent reason, we have all three but last is still emergent 2. Teaching critical thinking Learning to find the 'truth', logic and the process of reasoning, assumptions and the big picture, enlightening reawakening, separate fact from fiction 3. Who answers to 'who'? Objective thinking answers to 'what, how, why', identity answers to 'who', knowledge is in our every cell, consciousness is universal 4. To bring fulfillment to Consciousness Positive and negative consciousness, awareness and abstraction, universe is consciousness, infinity of being 5. Universe as Logos Fundamental order of the universe, totality interrelationship can 'think' itself, Logos is independent of our thinking 6. Habeas Mentem evolution Man has the right to his own mind, having a mind we have a right, universal interrelationship defines our mind identity, the more conscious humanity the more we 'have a mind' 7. Working the Subjective mind Does mind create reality? Universal totality within our consciousness, micro-mind totality of our experiences, self reflection awareness, 'universal mind' still emergent for us, we create when we are conscious 8. We are what we believe Interconnectedness to universe is already automatic for us, our inner and outer being connected, infinite interactions drive our reality, our subjective beliefs manifest our being 9. Magister Ludi Infinitely connected universe forms our reality, we are all interconnected, live by Truth and you score in the Game of Life, humility and graciousness, winner is Magister Ludi 10. 23 Dimensions of Being Dimensions are perpendicular to our existence, psychic reality is vertically integrated in us, physical reality lateral to us, where both realities meet is our personal psychic identity, universal love  See also: A New Universe - the book (Discuss) Some points of discussion: For more discussions see: List of Discussions | ||
| Stoicism art |
Stoicism art  Stoicism statue - Palatino hill art exhibit in Rome, 2016  About the artist: Adrian Tranquilli, Australian born, now lives and works in Rome  The message, Evidence 2001 "The Imperial Rome is the frame to the post-modern superhero who shuns the clamors of his triumphs: having abandoned the auto-celebrative armor, he refuses his role in planned history. Evidence is the proof that the superhero, like Sakyamuni inside a cave and Simeon Stylites on the top of a column, he can free himself from the burden of myth choosing the human uncertainty: on his knees, faceless, his arms open like a yogi, Superman meditates..." Rome, Eternal city of Art | ||
| Come, talk with me |
"Come, talk with me."  Why so many questions, and why so many answers? When we compiled the Universe is Simple (March 2009), we thought we had nothing left to say. All the pieces fit, current universal philosophy going back to Plato transcended, science and cosmology simplified with variable gravity. Yet more showed up in past eight years, showing that this human project, this Human Cafe, has not yet done. We discovered the universe is endlessly emergent, so when questions come, new pathways open with answers, which in turn in fractal like fashion open new questions. This goes to infinity, interrelated back from infinity to the present, tirelessly working with us. So the work is never done, the universal mind ever active, only we tire. Ask a question, and either immediately or over time an answer will form. Write it down, ponder it, and hear the universe 'talking'. Be amazed, be curious, and enjoy the exchange, never dull, often loving. There are still so many questions. In reading about how our universal reality may be nothing more than a hologram projection of more dimensions showing up in our three dimensional plus time reality, another question arose: Who runs the hologram? Is it always necessary to preload a prime mover, a God, into our philosophical questions? Or why do our inner cities, as seen in the American progressive liberal ideology, go back to Stone Age like barbarity: drugs and gang warfare, sex slavery and prostitution, gun and knife violence, murder and an unruly, un-policeable society of fear? What are we doing wrong? What are we thinking wrong? The universe is not simple, not reducible to freedom of being and freedom of thought, when and if the humans living in this freedom revert back to barbarism. Does Habeas Mentem still have meaning when faced with a regressive world? Or is it shelved to some future time, perhaps centuries and millennia, when civilization can once more reclaim the heights of human beauty and mind? These are questions for which we have not yet formed answers. There are other questions. Why do people put up facades? Are we uncomfortable with being Who we are? Can a people afraid of themselves ever be free? Do they want to be? When we explored Portals and Masters of the Universe, it was in celebration of our human minds interacting with our living universe. Can this human-universe interaction still be if we run away from ourselves? Or is this all a test, to see if we are truly human, or not yet? Are we masters of our fate? Or are we captives afraid of leaving captivity? Not all will find the same answers. But when people find themselves, they are delightful to be with, beautifully loving and caring beings. Though it may be against our nature to fit everyone into one ideal mold, we do have commonality in who we are. Yes we are all different, on different life paths both personally and collectively, so we still need small groups within which to find our way. This is natural, why tribes and nations formed, to give us room and cohesion within which to grow. To force growth universally does not work, for it trespasses, coerces our personal life paths, into being something we are not. Despite all good intentions, we can only reach human social universality if we come to it individually, and collectively of our own free will. Anything less is coercion, and ultimately it fails. Another question without easy answers. Why do we who profess Humanist ideals condemn the roots of those ideals? Respect for an individual's sanctity, equality of human beings, compassion and charity are humanist ideals, but they come from a religious base of Christianity. So for Humanists to condemn Christianity is like the prodigal son condemning his father. Perhaps there is a universality to this, that we cannot move forward without trampling the past. But then history is lost. Atheism and Humanism did not come from a vacuum. We do charitable social work, feed the poor, shelter the homeless, care for the sick, but we do not reflect why we do this. Same as what drives humans to reach their desperate depths in life, with drugs, with violence, with a life of dishonesty, and of hurting others, we can reach for ways to uplift rather than degrade, reaching for what is best in our human nature: to love one another. We can do this not by forcing our world views and philosophies on others, but by honoring the views others have of themselves, and help them reach their better ideals. Perhaps then the inner city and prison violence can find a way out of their vicious cycles? They need to know themselves and honor their Whoness, same as they honor that of others. If not, we regress. To move forward, we need to be true to ourselves. So when we walk in the morning, in solitude but not alone, we "talk" like this. What questions do you have? Maybe we can find some answers? But you know the answers will make more questions. That is the nature of our being in an infinitely emergent reality, the all interconnected fabric of an interrelated universe. All the dimensions are projected onto our reality. Who runs the projector? Perhaps some questions remain unanswerable. Will there be more to say? Will there be more questions? Probably. The 'projector' is always surprising. IDA Also see: Je micro-mind, universal Mind We are Cosmic Children of Stars Is the universe conscious? When the universe works with us Talking to your spirit | ||
| Gershwin's music magic |
Gershwin's music magic at the piano.  Muse, Roman era, at Montemartini museum Music and art contain many examples of beauty in symmetry. (Click image.) But they can also be beautiful with calculated asymmetry. Such elements of music exist in all compositions of note, by names like Bach, Bartok, Mozart, Chopin, Ravel, Stravinsky, and so many others. These symmetries and their corollary asymmetries are compositional tools of their trade. At a recent concert featuring George Gershwin, held at the Centrale Montemartini Museum in Rome, piano accompanied by songs (with David Simonacci, piano, and Gianluca Ferri, voice) from Porgy and Bess, and others, the rich jazz flavors held the audience enthralled. Gershwin's is both music symmetry and studied asymmetry that continually engages the ear for those rare notes, those mysteries of unexpected moments. But then, is this not what's jazz, elaborate symmetrical and asymmetric variations of itself? The concert was well received, clapping enthusiastic, an audience both old and some very young, all listening attentively. But it was Gershwin's famous Rhapsody in Blue (1924) that stole the show. Played entirely on piano, the pianist had a perfect sense of tempo and force, releasing back on the slow passages, while pressing hard on the strong. It was as if the soul of George himself had descended into the hall, now bathing the museum's large exhibits blending both modern technology and ancient Roman art, statues and gods. It was as if a rich warm glow of genius settled upon the crowd. So well played it felt magnetic, electric all around us. Literally the room glowed. The universe is filled with beautiful symmetries and Golden Ratios, so finding it in music is not a mystery. What is a mystery is that a human mind and hand can capture its beauty so exquisitely. How do composers find such incredibly refined music in the spheres? Where does the fine art of playing that music come from? From what Muse? Surely these abilities must already exist in us, and like an open portal, the Muse is welcoming us to another side, another dimension, that reaches over on our side. That is magic. And it is for this magic the crowd responds so enthusiastically. Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue is an art of rhapsodic beauty, truly a masterpiece, an uplifting music of the spheres. I never tire of hearing it. IDA | ||
| Why not Happiness? |
Why not Happiness?  True happiness is ephemeral for most of us. There is so much depressing daily news. How can one be 'happy'? But happiness is the opposite of depression. There are many reasons to be depressed. Things don't always work out as we wish, a failed love, trouble with money, a passed promotion at work, ill health. Happiness instead is to look past the gloom, to find joy in friendship, beauty in life, watching children growing up, doing the things we love. We all know the warm glow of happiness, so why not aim for it rather than the depressing? It reflects in the films we watch. Why are so many modern movies in the West full of violence, murder and blood, blowing things up with the glee of five year olds? Do they reflect who we are? Of course we have had our breathlessly beautiful movies too, but they seem to have gone into hiding of late. When I recently saw two Hungarian films, La Porta (The Door) and The Citizen (about an African immigrant who wants to integrate and gain Hungarian citizenship), they were poignant movies full of grace. Life has its struggles, but it is how we face them that gives us the character of who we are. The same quality shone through at a recent Ukrainian Film Festival in Rome. Films like The Nest of the Turtledove (about a woman working in Italy to support her family in Ukraine), or The Trumpeter (a delightful youthful musical), were full of pathos, the struggles of daily life and disappointments, and hurts, but they also radiated hope and optimism, finding love amid despair. Is this not better than blow-them-up and blood-in-your-face murders? Even the festival's war movies like The White Bird with Black Mark (partisans and Soviets fighting in Carpathian mountains), or My Grandmother Kaplan (who had attempted to assassinate Lenin), their violence was not as graphic and bloody as we have become accustomed to in the West. Even sex is portrayed tastefully with reserved decorum. Which films are more conducive to happiness, to choosing happiness? War movies are already depressing, as are topics of murder and rape. But these Eastern European films show there are other ways to portray their grim reality, one that gives hopeful grace rather than soul crushing depression. Which should we choose? Why not choose the better? Perhaps it is a symptom of our age. We in the West have grown jaded, derisive and contemptuous of our societies, whereas in the Eastern countries they have found a source of joy in their newly liberated societies from the oppressive yoke of Soviet Communism. Do we need to be oppressed to find happiness, or even to seek it? Do we have to suffer to find joy? After the latest "this is for Allah" attacks on civilians in London and Manchester, only the last in a never ending string of such 'new normal' attacks all over Europe, there was a rallying cry to "carry on" as if life were unaffected, go shopping, attend concerts, enjoying ourselves out on Saturday night. But if our films are so full of unhappiness, our mind dulling depressions exposed in unapologetic detail, and blood and murder in such graphic display, can we truly be happy? The terrorists have their reasons to hate us. We need not be reinforcing those reasons with our own self hatreds. Are we so depressed as a society that we actually choose unhappiness? Why not open a portal to happiness? We can choose better, and be better, by choosing joy over depression, and happiness over despair. Find the love, and the joy, and hope. As Roberto Benigni's film reminds us, no matter how horrible our circumstances, Life really is Beautiful. IDA | ||
| 'Who' s Covenant of God |
'Who' s Covenant of God?  Animal sacrifice In the Biblical tradition, God made a Covenant with man, an agreement or contract, that defines a relationship between man and his Deity. This is mentioned in Genesis, where God demands obedience from Noah's flock in exchange for a promise that He will not destroy the world again with flood. Another Covenant further revealed to Abraham, Moses and David, is that in obedience to God man will be protected from his enemies and assured a bountiful kingdom. In His promise, God says he will protect the people of Israel if they accept Him with a sign: In a Biblical sense, animal sacrifice, or 'cutting' in circumcision, are the bond with which man seals God's Covenant. Then it is up to man to obey the law of God as revealed by the Prophets, so that God may fulfill His end of the agreement, to protect His people. That's how it was understood then, this is now. The post-Abrahamic covenant era was modified in Christianity, where a new Covenant by the Messiah to bring God's Kingdom on Earth became the new directive. Obey God's commandments as revealed in His Son, in Jesus Christ's redemption of original sin, and humanity is freed from death; this follows a paradise of good will, void of evil, that fills the Earth. The Messianic era is now upon us, where God rules over our world in a new Kingdom of Jerusalem... Or maybe not, we are not there yet, if the kingdom of God is secular. People want to believe. We tell ourselves stories. (Harry Potter is twenty years old today!) Most of us reject a nihilistic loser philosophy of life, where nothing matters and has no meaning. Of course life matters, as does the human experience. This is why the ancients declared a Covenant, because they wanted their lives to matter, that they existed as meaningful human beings under God, their 'who' was sacrosanct in the greater reality of the universe as they understood it. To them God made a treaty with mankind, that we matter, and that if we obey the law of the universe we will be protected in being Who we are under God. This is no trivial claim, for it embodies the concept that life has a purpose, that it can be better, and that we are operative in how our lives unfold. There is no fatalism here, but a message of hope, that nihilism is empty while a belief in the Covenant is empowering. Each human being matters, is an infinitely valuable being, a Who connected to that infinite being. And if we follow the laws of the universe, both physically and spiritually, we are enriched beyond our comprehension. The Covenant is defined in the Ten Commandments, same as in all the rules of life that overcome evil, where human beings do evil things against each other. We believe that to avert coercion, violence, deceit, and seek to find ways that are pleasing to us, courteously in agreement with our needs and hopes, agreeable in beauty and goodwill, our lives will be better, more meaningful and full of grace. But to do this we must honor reciprocally Who we are, if we are to obey the Covenant promised from ancient times. Do we need to worship God, to offer animal sacrifice to prove our bond? Of course not. That was then, this is now. Our humanity's dreams are different now, our new understanding the universe different, but the fundamental claim of the Covenant has not changed. We are valuable beings under God. Embodied in our social contract enforced by our constitutional laws is the belief that each human being matters, is a sacrosanct being in existence. This is our new Covenant, that Who we are is an expression of an infinite being, alive with hope and dreams, endowed with intelligence and energy, whose existence is in some way eternal. We are so much more than we understand, and to unlock the full potential of our being means we must obey the law of the universe, that we are free to be that being, of Who we are. We live in a Living Universe, one which validates our humanity in ways still unimagined. Seen this way, the universe is essentially a 'biofeedback' loop. We are connected in our Who to a Universal Mind that connects to everything, one that we are yet to discover. Our Covenant is the future, that we are not abandoned in the universe but a vibrant, beautiful part of it. And if we choose this, we are the Love of the Universe. Be true to your Who, and you'll be true to God. Why not make it so. | ||
| Designing the future |
Designing the future we want to live in.  Portal to the future Genius is bringing us the future we want. In his famous 'Think different', Steve Jobs redesigned how the personal computer would be an integral part of our life. With his visions and passions, no matter if at times flawed, he redesigned the world we live in. Today nearly everyone has a pocket computer, smart phone with which we are loathe to part, whether searching the net or texting, listening to music or video calling. How did this happen in a mere decade? Great minds in the past drove future change. Leonardo da Vinci, Giordano Bruno, and Galileo, did they think different? They were the intellectual and artistic movers that then changed how we think, how we form our future in ways unimagined before. The genius of Newton and Einstein paved new ways to see the world. Einstein saw the universe in the speed of light, using it as a ruler to modify observational time to describe reality in a new way, including how works universal gravity. Newton, Boltzmann, and Lorentz showed how the universe is mathematical, and not as envisioned in Classical times, which was intuitive but largely incorrect. Rather, science and mathematics showed it can be predictable, not the whim of gods. Great minds, some not necessarily brilliant, saw the future in a new way, and what followed changed it. That is how the future is made. Whether Mozart or Bach, or Michelangelo or Shakespeare, they connected to something more than what was in their minds, but connected to a greater emergent reality that brought humanity to another level that changed the world. Mind changed the world we live in. If we live in a biofeedback loop universe, then how our minds connect with our greater reality will reflect Who we are in how we are in the world. If the universe works on a principle of interrelationship, then all our thoughts and actions radiate out into reality, to infinity, and from that infinite totality is redefined our existence. This is an emergent idea that we had not yet internalized, but one that raises our consciousness to see a bigger picture. That greater image is that we live in a universal Living reality that interacts with us at every moment of time. This is what manifests in us the Self in ways we do not yet understand. It may be that we manifest reality with the Subjective mind, and from that mind is fashioned our future ontological existence, our personal reality. With creativity and drive we fashion our world. But these are largely unknown to us, still universal-emergent ideas. We are all connected, and it may be in the natural aspect of emergence that it takes time. What had been thought of and written by the People of planet Earth has already launched itself into the infinite, and from that infinite universe is already forming itself an answer. In time new patterns will form in our global reality. At first they may be subtle, barely worth noticing, but in time we will witness greater agreement and consciousness, and less coercion. Our moral values will change, as will the tone and timber of our social pursuits. And we will do this of our own free will, in our own time, with politeness and courtesy. This is how the world changes, from our contentious present state of affairs to one more enlightened and eventually more peaceful. Ultimately it will be a transition towards world awareness of our common humanity, that no matter how different we may appear, we are all from the same source, and inherently of equal value as human beings. We will then discover we live in a Simple universe endowed with Life and love, so we can all tap into this source of energy to fashion our lives. And when we do, the genius of our world will shine throughout the universe, that we are truly consciously enlightened human beings with a brilliant future... and a new portal opens on the world. Humancafe Also see: 'Je' micro-mind, universal Mind We are Cosmic Children of Stars | ||
| Probability 'interactive' universe |
Probability favors an 'interactive' universe.  Vitruvian Man We may not be consciously aware if the universe interacts with us, or we with it. In most instances we live our lives in a blank state of being, where things happen to us in unrelated ways; we can understand direct actions and their consequences but not actions and events in which we had not had a hand. Those unrelated events are mysterious to us, mere figments of probabilities of how works the universe. We do not find 'intelligence' in these events for which we cannot reasonably claim responsibility, but we can think of them 'probabilistically', that these were the probabilities of what was likely to happen, and then it did. But is this a 'case closed' after accepting that the universe is somehow probabilistic? Or is there another path, perhaps involving mind, reason and natural phenomena, to understanding event probabilities? We can think of probabilities represented in how forms appear in the world. From the Quantum level we observe probabilistic events, such as the position of the electron cloud. On a macro scale we find probabilistic forms manifest in geometric patterns, such as the Golden ratio, or how spirals form. We can see these patterns in the Nautilus, or shell growth in snails, as well as patterns forming in large numbers, such as large flocks of birds or schools of fish, weather patterns, or how crystals form. Nature is a probabilistic construct, as the law of large numbers describes probability statistically. But is it intrinsically probabilistic or are these patterns creations of mind? This brings us back to a totally interrelated universal reality, where the whole pattern of interrelationship defines every one of its parts. On a whole picture basis, those patterns are what manifest form. Each thing is as its infinite interrelationship's pressure emerges into its existent form. This process works all the way down to the Quantum, including our neurological impulses, what we can call our micro-mind, that for us is largely unconscious but what morphs into our conscious mind, what we experience and think. This may be what Vitruvius, and later Leonardo da Vinci saw, that this manifestation of being shows in our human construction. We are proportioned as a probabilistic universe 'designed' us to be, and what the human brain sees as proper geometric proportions. The mind merely interacts with these proportions in a way it understands it geometrically. Seen this way, that the mind's instinctive (micro-mind) response to form, is the bridge that connects us to the probabilistic forms of the universe. It shows up in the proportions of art and music, as well as in the constructs of human intelligence, from mathematics to the emergent patterns of our human existence, our modern civilization. We see patterns everywhere, such as the universe had manifest itself to be in response to how it is infinitely interrelated. The mind sees that because it is already designed to see it in relation to those infinte patterns, down to the Quantum. And therefore, the probabilistic construct of the universe is already inscribed in us. If the universe is a biofeedback mechanism, then we too are part of that biofeedback loop, so it is not surprising if our interaction with it should be understandable at some level. We experience it in every waking moment, whether assessing risk or deciding what to do next. We are interacting with our universe in every moment in time, in each action taken, and at the micro level in each thought and feeling. We are all of it, even if our lives are largely an existent blank. But how much more so when we are aware of it! Think how much more aware is someone like Thich Nhat Hanh, or the Dalai Lama, than the average person on the street. Their minds are more attuned to 'being in the moment' with awareness, more conscious. We can all do this. And when we do, at the level of human mind in universal Mind, the universe's structured reality of necessity responds to us, interactively. We are there where it is for us. This is our human reality, and how we think of it is how it responds and 'thinks' of us. So every event encountered, every wish, every hope, they are part of us on a universal scale, not strange to us. In response the universe manifests for us our reality without judgment, the universe does not judge. This is where and how we are in our ontological existence. And when done with awareness and reverence, so does our personal reality responds to its universal being. The probabilities generated in every instant in time are perpetually with us, with every step and every breath we take. There is no mystery here, where our existence is straightforward in how we manifest our being in Who we are. Not all conditions of our existence are by our control, no matter how intelligent we may be, but all are as our identity of being, our Who, projects itself into the world. For some life is easy, for others it is a struggle, both physically and emotionally, psychologically challenging. But these are merely biofeedbacks from a probabilistic existence to guide us as we (largely unconscious) struggle to find our way in life. We think, we do, and the universe in its infinite probabilities of interrelated reality does with us. This is how we interact with each other. The next step is to see and do this interaction consciously with awareness. Watch and listen... And when we do, a new world of exploration, both philosophical and real, opens up for us. IDA | ||
| Ivan Alexander Username: Humancafe Registered: 12-2017 |
Universal Epitaphs.  Life is a portal, but death?
And I would like on my epitaph: “He lived here, along a line to the infinite….” 12 February 1948 — ............. | ||
| Ivan Alexander Username: Humancafe Registered: 12-2017 |
Our wonderful kitty Mommy passed away 30 August 2018.  She was a wonderful cat, Mimi Mom, our all black kitty who found us one day ten years ago, at the time when many homes were being foreclosed, and she found our home trying to sleep with our old dying hybrid-wolf dog, Karu, eating his food, her green eyes watching us cautiously, but when he died she accepted us, and we accepted her. What a beautiful being she became in our home and garden, at first a little shy, until she delivered her first litter, we felt lucky for having such a nice visitor, thinking she belonged to somebody near by. We asked around to see to whom she belonged, but realized she was alone. She gave birth to two long back haired males, one of which ran away, the other our wonderful black long hair Fluffy, green eyes just like hers. Then next year came another litter, three females and a male, who died, but the females grew into pretty blacks with yellow eyes. At this point we understood that they were not leaving us. We had to put a stop to these wild early multiple pregnancies or face kitty population explosion, so captured them all and had them neutered, two of the wild little females were already pregnant, but the family of five stabilized, and then they all found a happy home in our garden thanks to Mimi Mom, whom we called Mommy. They had been so much a part of us these past ten years, all gave us so much joy, being always so playful or sleeping under the trees like rocks, and in their own way so much love felt both ways. We were a very settled happy cat colony, five Mimi cats (but one had died 2017 mysteriously) and two humans, thanks to Mommy choosing us and our backyard as her people and her place.  In time she fully accepted us, and especially had a deep rapport with C, though a little cautious of me after I sprinkled flea powder on her, but trusting and purring her pleasure of being a real member of our family and us, even sometimes awaiting our return on the driveway. She was courageous. We loved her, and she loved us unconditionally, would follow us around our gardens, pick up her soft red ball or little Teddy bear when indoor looking for our company and at times meowing politely for our attention. Mommy was a very special cat, who if she were human would be a beautiful green eyed woman, petite and full of grace, a lovely lady with an innate elegant poise. Then that last night, ninety minute past midnight, Mommy passed away. She had taken ill suddenly, we noticed her breathing more rapid, listless appetite, so forty days ago she was examined. Our vet did all the routine blood work, which showed mostly normal besides red/white cells off, but x-rays showed fluid in her lungs. This was puzzling, it could have been a pulmonary infection, bacterial problem, possibly heart trouble, but vet could not offer better explanation and suggested to take her to a cardiologist. But she was a fiercely independent garden cat and her life was outdoor! We put her on antibiotic solution administered to her mouth via a feeding syringe, requiring her wrapped in a ‘burrito’ towel, which she hated. After ten days she regained some energy, but still rapid panting. Then when stronger we tried diuretics administered in her food, but that had side effect of loss of appetite, she also lost interest in drinking and of course lost weight. By now it was over 3 weeks since first vet visit, and we were becoming seriously alarmed. She was only ten years old, was a stray who found us and had been always very healthy, so we were surprised to see her health failing so suddenly. Was it a wild rodent she ate, or something else bad? She and the other Mimis are avid hunters, so they at times ate rough. But with C’s constant caring, often late into the night administering spoonfuls of food and water, cooking shrimp, fish, boiling chicken, Mommy hung on, at times showing recovery and energy, at other times during the hot days relapsing into listlessness. It was so heartbreaking seeing such a beautiful lively young animal regress before our eyes, like watching a family member, or a child, whose health was steadily slipping away. Was she suffering? Should she be put down? These were agonizing daily questions while she seesawed between illness and apparent health. But into the fifth week her health turned for the worst, she would not eat or drink unless spoonfed, had labored breathing, panting, and suddenly developed muscle spasms so could not walk normally, would wobble on her feet or fall over. This was when it became truly emotional for us, and we cried tears for our beautiful little girl, because we understood this was the end. There was no longer hope of recovery, she only got worse, and on the last couple of days she lay on a mat in the shade sleeping, panting. Then she would surprise us in the evening and raise herself up unsteadily and drag herself across the yard to another favorite spot, or try to pee as usual, but the labor left her exhausted. One of those nights all the kitties were sleeping together in the garden under the apple tree, like it was their last farewell. Then on the last two days she was kept both inside or outside where she chose, comfortable on her pillow with her soft toys. Again she would struggle to get up and drag herself away, such was her will, but not her strength and she would collapse uncomfortably, exhausted. C bought the best gourmet cat foods she could find, and Mommy perked up, smelled it and ate a few bites, spooned with some liquid, and she momentarily seemed better, almost giving us hope. But her weakness always returned. Still, she managed to drag herself into Karu’s old dog house and lay there, C gave her a pillow to lie on. She seemed at peace most of the time, C keeping a night vigil, her kitties looking in to see where’s their mommy, me keeping vigil in turn. She was dying, we knew, but could not help loving her to the end. On the last day we could see she wanted to be outdoor, so let her rest in the shade, where again she tried to rise. But now her legs did not work, she could only utter faint meows in protest when she didn’t like her lying down position. For the night we took her inside, where we found her a protected spot. A couple of hours later, when I went to bed, C stayed with her, and woke me after midnight to let me know our lovely kitty had died.  Mommy was a very special little being who opened our minds and hearts to so many wondrous things, herself a portal into the beauty of life in the world. She was also the matriarch. All the cats hung around her and she kept her dignity earning their respect. To us she was a joy shared all those years, telling us in her own way what she wanted, and we obligingly and gladly gave her. That’s how we interacted all of us and it was good and beautiful. But now she is gone. Perhaps in her next life she will reach that goal close to her, she wanted to be just like one of us. And if she does come back to us in a new life, we will recognize her for the little beauty spot in her green eyes. Ivan & C | ||
| Ivan Alexander Username: Humancafe Registered: 12-2017 |
Our Beautiful Fluffy left us.  Oh, Fluffy, why did you leave us? In your last few days you showed us so much love. We now feel such a hole in our lives, your beautiful presence no longer bathing us in your wonderful spirit. We had you for eleven beautiful years, but now you are gone. I still regret the day long ago when you still a kitten looking at me with awe and wonder, when I turned the watering hose on you in the little vegetable garden. I was stupidly trying to send you a message digging there was not allowed, but you responded with a look of horror and ran away. Please forgive me for such a thoughtless indiscretion. It took ten years to regain your trust, and my heart is heavy with remorse. You were born wild in our garden, same as your sisters, the first born of your wonderful Mommy, who herself was first chased away when she came to share the food of our old, dying wolf-dog Karu, trying to sleep in his warmth when he was too weak to protest. We did not understand that you were not a neighbor’s kitty, but abandoned, a cruel victim of the banking crisis when your people were forced to move away. We accepted you then, and you gave us so many years of your beautiful, elegant presence. And you delivered us your darling family to grace our garden. Fluffy, like his sisters later, were born in the hollow of our old fence, so we never knew him until he was already a wild kitten, unhandled by us, abandoned. In time we tamed one of your sisters, Mimi, but failed you to bring you into our love. So you grew up wild, with reason always a little fearful and suspicious of us. It was my fault, my failure to bring you from the garden into our home. But all that changed in the end.  In the last months, while we were away, we first saw you limping in the cameras we had set up overlooking the gardens. Something was wrong, so we alerted our caretaker feeding you. When we got home, we saw you were very weak and listless and, unable to take you to the vet, we thought we lost you. But with care and ministrations by C, her cooking you chicken and giving you only the highest quality cat food, you began to rally a bit. Within a month you had regained your strength and we began to hope. Then something wonderful happened. Tentatively at first, then with more courage, you let C and me pet you. First your tail, then your back, and it seemed you actually enjoyed our touch! No more hissing or running away, now you were beginning to seek our presence and touch. It was as if you had forgiven us, forgiven me for my foolish act ten years ago that so frightened you, and you began showing us what you always had in you, your love for us. With care, with C’s late nights feeding you and caring for your comforts, and our petting you with each feeding, you finally accepted us into your heart. It was such a wonderful change, and our mutual love only grew and grew. Soon you were coming into our home, still a little shy, but no longer just a garden cat. You had become a tamed cat. But despite all of C’s efforts to help you heal, you remained skinny, your back bony to our touch, and we feared you would not recover as you again showed signs of weakening. This made us sad, we hoped for the best, giving you the best we could. It was a time of vigil, watching our beloved Fluffy once again regressing, his health slipping away. We saw you were near the end, and it was so sad. But nature has her ways, so we waited. In the end, you would not eat no matter how delicious the food prepared for you, without first being petted, your lovely green eyes looking at us with the depth of love you wanted us to understand you had. Why had I ever put fear in your heart? You are such a loving cat. In the last two days you chose to no longer sleep in your usual place on the built up pillows with your sisters in the covered patio. Instead, you wanted to sleep with us. With great effort, you climbed up on the couch and spent the night there. You looked up at us with your loving eyes, how far you have come in the last few days. We cared for you and you understood it. You were now an indoor cat, trusting us intimately, letting us know who you are. And you purred! What a darling you’ve become. On the last evening, you took no food, could not drink. Your last meal was a small bite of beef leftover from dinner. But it took such great effort that we knew you were near the end. We made a soft bed for you in the patio, a place you’ve often chosen for its view of garden, and covered you with a light blanket.* We will miss you sorely. Goodbye our beautiful, long black haired Fluffy. You had taught us in your own way a very powerful lesson, that love and caring conquers all fears. It was such an important message. We will miss you. But we are sure we will see you in the next life, and rejoice. Wherever you are be happy and be well. We love you. Ivan *Fluffy died quietly in his sleep about 10 pm, 31 January, 2020. | ||
| Ivan Alexander Username: Humancafe Registered: 12-2017 |
Thinking feng shui and energy ley lines.  Supercluster galactic filaments This essay is not a scientific paper, but more a ‘stream of consciousness’ speculation on the energy lines found in nature and the universe. Some forty years ago I first read of ‘ley lines’ in the British Isles, which were supposed to mark earth energy lines on which the ancients had built their Neolithic temples and tombs, first proposed by antiquarian Alfred Watkins in the 1920s. This was merely a curiosity for me, more a domain of pseudoscience than archeology, but it stayed with me over the years as a vague curiosity. Later I learned of so-called ‘songlines’ of the Australian aborigines, which were also energy lines trans-crossing the Australian continent. More recently I discovered a Chinese equivalent called ‘lung mei’, or dragon energy lines, which may date back to very ancient times. This dovetails into the energy forces of ‘feng shui’ believed to influence well being, or ill, still practiced by some in China and more recently in the West. All this was speculations for me, as enigmatic as the canals on Mars, so never taken to study seriously. In the Americas an example of possible energy lines may be the vast geoglyphs found on the Nazca plains of Peru, which had been studied extensively by archeologist and mathematician Maria Reiche. Then more recently there were found that intergalactic space is trans-crossed by vast galaxy filaments, which had been observed astronomically, so they at least have a scientific basis. Presently they are believed to be web-like strings of dark matter, some 200 to 500 million light-years in length, binding galaxies in superclusters. But is there a common thread holding all these ideas of ‘filament energies’ together into a cohesive whole? There might be if we consider them all manifestations of how the universe is bound together through an infinite web of ’interrelationships’. These so-called energy lines, though pan-cultural in how they are described around the world, have a common characteristic, that they are believed to be sensitive to our psychic energies, so some who are sensitive to these energies will actually see them, or imagine they can feel them. Did Alfred Watkins actually ‘see’ these ley lines crossing the English country side? Did Maria Reiche ‘feel’ the Nazca lines of the Peruvian pampa? Or did Chinese geomancers actually know where their feng shui energies were laid out? Certainly they believed these lines of energy had purpose, something the ancients in their more heightened psychic states thought they could identify. Thus they oriented their temples and tombs, or homes and palaces, along where these energy lines were believed to be. In some cases they were where the lines crossed, others were oriented by cardinal points, or astronomically significant observations. In feng shui the belief is that the universe is held together by force lines of qi, pronounced ‘chee’, which bind earth and humanity to the universal existence. This is not far removed from the idea that interrelationship binds all existence and all life together, including us humans and how we are defined in our minds, our Who. If these interrelationship connections were to be plotted in 3-D, then they might look like lines of energies. If some ancients, before the advent of reason as the main cause of observation and understanding, were sensitive to these psychic connections, might they not have imagined them as forces of lines? Then why not mark these force lines with megalithic structures, or temples of worship? By the time Christianity dominated their world, such structures were either ignored or suppressed as worshipping superstitions, so they became forgotten. If the large images of the Nazca plains were representing these force lines, then why not draw large images, of spiders and monkeys, to reflect the heavens they saw as star constellations? In fact, that was one of Maria Reiche’s speculations, that the vast spider portrayed was Orion the hunter with three stars in his belt as its body center. My speculation is that the vast monkey on the Nazca pampa has a spiraling tail of the Milky Way, as its center a massive black hole at the center of the spiral; it today would be called Scorpius, with same crooked back as monkey. But how could they know, if we only now discovered its existence?  Belt of Orion (Maria Reiche, 1949)  Nazca Monkey, Scorpius & Sagittarius A*? Psychic powers have been followed by humanity all through history, and prehistory, as common to humanity as were its ubiquitous spiritual beliefs. We are all connected, psychically not only to each other on earth, but also infinitely to the heavens. At this time we are unable to prove it reasonably but for metaphysical speculations. If the universe is infinitely interconnected, down to the quarks and atoms, then why not an infinity of interconnected forces of energy? Perhaps the ancients knew something we had forgotten, and built temples to it. Like a giant ribcage of skeletal energies connecting the land and heavens in vast cosmic filaments of interrelationships, we exist in a supercluster of energies which connect us all, our every single Who, to the vast superstructures of the universe. Do we worship it? IDA | ||
| Ivan Alexander Username: Humancafe Registered: 12-2017 |
Any system is interconnected and self-reflexive, how the universe works.  When an aggregate of interconnections form a system they naturally interrelate into a self-reflexive pattern of self reference. Think of how atoms rearrange themselves in a crystallizing liquid, where in addition to its inherent molecular structure dependent on the medium, the atoms arranged in a way that reflects the whole structure. Each atom will be where the other atoms have allowed it to be, in relation to their whole content. This would be true of any aggregate system, such as the weather patterns on Earth taken as a whole, or bacterial colony accretions, or plants growing in a garden. There is always a self-reflexivity to the final end product of how things had rearranged themselves, all in relation to each other in a kind of interrelationship totality defining the whole. Without outside forces it can only be this way. Now take it to the next step, that this interrelated interconnectedness is so large as to take in all of reality, the whole universe, so that it is infinite and there are no outside forces to act upon it. Does this not end in a totality that is infinitely self-reflexive and all inclusive? If so, then the end product is of necessity as the ‘pressure’ of everything else had allowed it to be, which is how the universe works. The interconnections are entirely self-referential, though there will exist within the whole semi-independent sub-systems. For example, Earth’s weather as an independent system is nevertheless dependent on the sun’s energy, and perhaps other cosmic influences such as cosmic rays, to effect the final weather conditions. Now take this to another level, that what defines the state of the interconnected, interrelated totality, taken as a whole picture, is what ‘defines’ each part of itself. Within each manifestation of its definition from the whole is a sub-identity reflecting its place in the interrelated whole, so it can be only as that whole had allowed it to be. That ‘definition’ is etched in its existence, in a kind of holographic identity where within each piece of it will be reflected the whole itself. That is what is meant by its ‘identity’ within the whole. Taking it into living systems, environmental totalities, each part fits into the totality as its interconnected reality had allowed to be. Thus life is intimately interrelated at all levels. Change one thing, such as burning a forest, and everything else in it is affected. On a human social scale, we are all interconnected as a planetary system, where each one of us reflects the whole from which we gain our identity, what defines us in terms of that interconnected whole. Same as in the crystal example, there are inherent structural conditions that will affect our personal development as a conscious being, our Who, but our overall condition of being is predicated on all the interrelations of the social and physical whole within which we exist. So no matter our resultant personal psychology, we are intimately tied into an interconnected whole of humanity. Do harm to one person and the ripple effect of that suffering will radiate out to all of us to a greater or lesser degree. The system is completely self-reflexive, though we are largely unaware of it unless it affects us directly. But of necessity, the whole will be affected, which in turn will reflect back on itself. So why not use this natural system to alleviate hurt and suffering, and add back into it what is uplifting and helpful to us? Then it radiates back out like invisible ripples unto all humanity, though we may not be personally aware of it doing so. Think how powerful that can be! Teach this to your children. IDA Also see: The Fractal Geometry of Growth: Fluctuation–Dissipation Theorem and Hidden Symmetry The conceptual evolution of Interconnectedness - not yet at critical mass The Universe is an infinity Biofeedback loop Interrelationship’ is only part of the story | ||
| Ivan Alexander Username: Humancafe Registered: 12-2017 |
Navigating our way through a toxic world.  This beautiful world of ours has for us every conceivable positive future, if we follow a simple formula and are proactive with it: Be aware of all you do, seek agreement where there is discord, and check yourself and others against all coercions. Having a steady mind and open heart, seeking the good whenever possible, healing where there is suffering, seek opportunity to make better in all life presents to you, and you will navigate this world’s accumulated toxicity in a wake of good that will ripple to all corners of the globe. You are that powerful! It is all in your mind. There is so much wrong in the world. Over the centuries and millennia we had accumulated a long legacy of pain, of deceit and ignorance, of murderous violence. How had we become so toxic to our world? Somehow we had forgotten the beautiful things and descended into the bitter ugliness of discord and destruction. Beautiful human achievements had been laid waste, great cities burned, armies killing each other amidst glory, killing human beings as if they were raised for slaughter, and the planet suffered for it. What had been left in our wake is a toxic world of distrust and fear, a richly diverse world of life pushed to the brink of collapse, an ecological environment chocked with pollution and waste. Life in the seas and lands poisoned with chemicals and plastic, immense forests of noble trees felled to make way for desertification, leaving in their wake death of the natural world, their home habitats and species destroyed, some to extinction. Has it been worth it? Have we not paid the price for how we had devolved to our dismal existence? We may be richer than ever before, some of us, but are we happier for it? Navigating our lives through the hardships we face, often the ones we created, takes a certain kind of fortitude that is internal, though it radiates out into the external world. We are tested in all we do, many tests of external origin, things we cannot control, the weather or dangerous situations; but many are also tests we knowingly or unknowingly generated ourselves. Our minds are adept at designing for us our reality, a kind of subjective manipulation that places us at the center of events. We meet people, find ourselves in new places, encounter new decisions, either with arrogance or humility, and all will feedback on our state of being, and state of mind. How we respond to these is a measure of Who we are, so there is a constant interplay of interconnectedness between ourselves, circumstances, and people. But it is in the ‘how we respond’ that reverberates into the future, and onto each other. Do we face these with calm, with steadfastness, or do we quiver with anger and a sense of panic? These will ripple from us into our environment of being, so how we respond is how the future will unfold for us. Now, placed in a toxic environment makes it that much more challenging, because then we are tested to the limit. Can we navigate a toxic situation without losing ourselves in it? What if it is extreme, life threatening? The solution to this problem is to not empower it. It is better to deflect than engage when faced with a toxic situation. In other words, ‘don’t buy into it.’ Ask yourself, ‘is it coercive?’ And if so, disempower it. This is the decisive moment when faced with a potentially coercive, or dangerous, situation, that we do not buy into it. Our existence has an extra-macro definition, that which sustains Who we are, that transcends the immediate moment or place. We are defined by our existence in this life from the greatest infinite dimensions imaginable, because our interrelationship connections, dating back to the beginnings of our existential origin, are tightly woven into the moment; our minds are that, and beautiful. So to ‘deflect’ the coercive or toxic situation is to tap back into that interrelated reality that defines the moment; we are not accepting the condition as it appears, or is thrust upon us by another, but accept it as a test of the moment, which we can then face either with a calm mind, or with panic. From that test then radiates back into reality the conditions we had found ourselves in, and because we are all interrelatedly connected, that radiation of our being affects all others. In some instances it will have a calming effect on the person posing the problems, in other cases it will help us maneuver through the difficulty we find ourselves in. The universe has a much bigger agenda for us. Either way, it is the deflection, rather than acceptance, that defines the moment, and which averts the unhappy event. Thus the toxicity of the world goes around, rather than through us, so that we sail through it with as little damage as possible. And because we are passing through it with our extra-macro interrelated existence, what defines for us our Who existence, we leave in our wake a cleansing energy that will radiate around us, and around those who are near us, indefinitely. This is a healing presence that follows us, and one that ripples out to infinity. The toxicity of the world is a real phenomenon which envelops us, and which if allowed can overwhelm us. There is so much bad stuff going on. Choose carefully, mindfully and truthfully how you live, and this toxicity has difficulty latching onto you. It may never be one hundred percent, but even a small percentage will compound over time into a life well lived, and toxins free. This is also the power of being still, that in those calm moments when we mindfully assess and decide a course of action, that we radiate the power of our mind interconnected to its existential macro-reality in all we do. We may not see its effects immediately, as interrelationship takes time, but in time the results will be self evident and pleasing in surprising ways. So avoid coercions, and coercive situations, but court pleasing and beautiful things and ambiance, and you will be rewarded, sometimes most unexpectedly. Be of pure mind, calm and collected, and have an open heart seeking agreement, love for others, not buying into their pain but lifting up, and your reality will open to you in most surprising ways. Find beauty and love, and the world purifies in your wake. IDA Also see: A New direction for the World | ||
| Ivan Alexander Username: Humancafe Registered: 12-2017 |
‘Interrelationship’ is only part of the story.  When we first penned the idea of ‘interrelationship’ it was from a reasoned perspective, that everything in the universe, what we know as our reality, is infinitely interconnected; that these interrelated connections form a whole that redefines everyone of its parts in relation to what and where they are in relation to the whole, so each part or thing is given its identity as the whole allowed it to be; we are each defined by infinity. This was a seminal idea that launched all the discussions and discoveries that followed, though they were merely reasoned ideas. But there is more, so much more that can be said of our universal reality.* The Age of Reason, dating back to the thinkings of Ancient Greeks, is what gave us understanding of our physical reality, how it all is energy and matter, how it is expressible mathematically, so it launched our immensely successful Scientism of the past centuries. We have all our technology and sciences, our marvelous creations, and modern medicines because we have reasoned correctly. But at a cost, that we have damaged our world with our knowledge, having polluted it, and now have warmed its climate with our technological success. Our oceans are choking on plastic waste, forests have been destroyed with all their rich habitats, water and soil poisoned, and the very air we breath made dirty. Is that truly success? It appears we have missed something. What has been missing in all the successes of these past centuries of Scientism is the spiritual dimension. All through the ages humanity had worshipped, but it outgrew those ancient superstitions, myths of our reality and existence, to have virtually discarded them in the face of reason. We are now too sophisticated intellectually to fall for those ancient tales of God and his host, enshrined in our sacred writings and temples going back millennia. What did they know? But after all is said about our knowledge of universal reality, of how it is all interrelated into a self-defining, living whole, our new sense of order in the universe down to quarks and atoms, there is a gaping hole in our understanding it all. Something is missing, and we are ill at ease with this nagging sense that we have not gotten it right. The spiritual from very ancient times, when our pre-historic ancestors had first gazed at the stars, or a sunset, and wondered, they were awed by it all. Such beauty! What does it all mean? But then they questioned: Why so much struggle, why do we fall ill and suffer, why do we die? If this life is so dear to us, do we lose everything upon death? Does the idea of interrelationship, what defines for us our free and beautiful human being, address all that is wrong with the world? In a way, yes. If we fail to honor and respect each other with love and compassion, to find agreement in all our actions, but succumb to coercions and violence, and deceits that damage our being, then the ideas of interrelationship show the way to remedy this: stop coercions. You have the right to be the universal identity Who you are. That is Habeas Mentem. The world will be so much a happier place if we do this. But will we? Can we? What is it that holds us back from living a free and happy life in community with our fellow human beings, with friendship and care for one another? What drives violence against our individual Who identities, that will not allow us to live reciprocally as free and joyful human beings? Is it bad religion, or greed, or psychological dysfunctions? Or fear? Or is it the lack of spiritual? There is so much more than a reasoned understanding of reality; and there is still more than understanding the Universe as a living, holistically interrelated whole, with our part in it. All of this, all of it, is only focussed on this reality, the one we are born into, and the one from which we die. This is the universe we know, have explored from microscopic quantum to inter-galactic dimensions. We strive to understand the whole universe, and our reason has been spectacularly successful, where we can send space probes to distant planets and see their images at the speed of light on our hand held smart phones! Is this not imminent success? Yes, it is, but only for this dimension. It is only a success within the parameters of what we can observe, measure, quantify, and conclude. However, this dimension is merely one small part of the Whole! We are still blind to all the other dimensions that affect this one, so even in our laudable understandings of where we are, we are still ignorant of all the other connections that define for us our living, human being. We are conscious in this physical dimension, the one we are born into, but still blind to the dimension we were born from. There lies the beginning of understanding the Spiritual dimensions, that we are connected to those other dimensions in still unsuspected ways. When we first explored an idea of multiple dimensions, our 23 Dimensions of Being, there was a tenuous connection to those other dimensions in a brief instant (one night in the Anza-Borrego desert) where in a flash it all fell together. What was it that in that brief moment was understood? Only many years later did the connections to those other dimensions began to make sense (the Universal mind for us works slowly). The connections that were missing is that we are existent not only in this reality, the one we are conscious of in this life, but are also existent simultaneously in all the other reality dimensions that define us. We are born into this dimension directly from the one above us, in a kind of vertical connection to life consciousness and dreaming, while we are intimately connected laterally to the physical reality we inhabit. But this is only temporary, that this reality exists only some decades of life, while the reality we were born from exists for millennia. And the reality above that, of pure consciousness, exists for hundreds millennia, and above that for eons! We live in the most temporary, crude existential reality there is. This is the bottoms, while our real existence is connected to higher consciousness dimensions alive for eons. Here we toil and struggle, and learn, and slowly evolve our being; at higher dimensions we do the same, all connected to each other, each living and dying over the eons but still connected in their evolutions to the highest dimensions that do not die, at least not for trillions of years. But life goes on, in the end all Life is eternal, and we only die within our dimensions, while yet retaining contact with our existences in higher dimensions. We are truly eternal beings! Our deaths are merely illusions within the lesser dimensions within which we are born. But the inter-dimensional connections are never lost. Another link to our higher dimensions may be in our creativity. Where did the beauty in music of Mozart or Tchaikovsky come from? Where the beauty of ballet, dance, or opera? From where the art of Michelangelo or Raphael? Where did the great scientific minds, of Galileo, of Newton and Einstein, find their great ideas? Were they connected to their higher vertical realms? Or the great ideas of philosophers, great writers? Some may have been from their vertical connections to their higher planes; or some may have connected in their lateral realities, creating new webs of interrelationships to construct their great ideas. If vertical in the way of great religious figureheads, they then gave us a greater spirituality to awaken us. Or if from their lateral being, they gave us a different understanding. There is a difference in these great evolutions of mind. Where beauty and spirituality helps us better connect to our higher planes, the lateral will be grounded in this existence, which though temporary still commands our attention. Think of great theories of political science, ideas formed to better manage the lives of others. If they come from the temporal, lateral connections, they lack the higher spiritual, may even be hostile to it, and may explain what our human existence is to be, but it fails in connecting with Who our existence is. There lies the difference, that a vertically connected creativity elevates our human existence, while the lateral, for all its grand theories of humanity, may actually suppress it. Why is it great temporal leaders, from Mao to Napoleon, descend into wars and mass killings? Though Hitler claimed to be from a higher spirituality of the esoteric, in fact it was from a lower temporal lateral world that led to mass human suffering and death. The vertical connection to our higher planes is beautiful and uplifting, while to the lower lateral, though revolutionary and convincing, leaves us with massive human disturbance and pain. We exist always at the crossroads between the vertical spiritual and the lateral temporal, so we must choose. But the temporal, though infinitely connected through interrelationship, is only of this temporary dimension! The beauty and creativity, what shows in the arts and great human achievements, is of another realm, of a higher human spirituality. Those connections to the higher dimensions, like all other connections in the universe, can be damaged or severed. When our interrelationship connections of our Who are trespassed against, we suffer and our being is damaged; when our inter-dimensional connections are damaged or weak we again suffer, but on another level. Without a strong bond with our higher dimensions we act lost, our life choices get disoriented, and our lives falter. Those connections are so important, but they are at a spiritual level, the one which is denied to us with our hard reasoning belief in ‘this’ reality only, so we are lost. Why is it that when human beings turn away from the spiritual they commit atrocities, get violent, destroy their lives on drugs, oppress one another with hatred and deceit, or enslavement? Once the spiritual contact is lost, it is difficult to regain it in this life, so it may lead to death. Why are criminal prisoners so open to religious proselytizing? Have they sunk so low in their lives that they once more seek to reconnect to their higher selves, the next higher plane, to heal their being? Is this the world shamans seek when they implore higher powers to heal a person ill, to connect with their higher being in order to reconnect the one ailing? Is this the path to a shamanistic vision quest, to connect to that higher dimension? We all need the purity and serenity that a strong connection to our higher planes of existence give us, the peacefulness in mind and being, because that is the dimensions from which our being had come. Ultimately, after all our struggles, gains and losses, all the adventures of this temporary life are over, of vices and virtues; we return to that higher plane, connected to all the other higher dimensions, to rebuild and start again. It would have been something Socrates understood. In some cultures since ancient times it was called the ‘wheel of life’. There is no real mystery here, we live and then we die, but all of it was temporary! Perhaps it is for these reasons all ancient spiritual traditions built temples of durable stone, to remind us. The Egyptians were so enthralled with eternal life they build giant stone pyramids to ease the transition from this reality to the next for their pharaohs to join the gods. Ancient stone works worldwide aligned with the heavens, from Stonehenge to the Nasca plains; all great monuments to the gods were our ancient beliefs’ efforts to connect. It is a loss in our modern times to our spiritual growth that we had forgotten these connections to our higher self-existences, to our detriment. Society, our world suffers. But the Universal mind works slowly, we are not yet biologically open to it, that ability remains in our future evolution. It is work to be done, but ask and in time the Universe will open its living eye on us, and we will see. There is still so much more. We live in what is the lowest, most temporal dimension. The rest is higher, richer, spiritual, and incredibly beautiful. ‘Interrelation’ is only part of the story, for we are truly progressive, eternal beings. So we will live. *[ADDENDUM: There is still a greater characteristic of our reasoned infinite interrelation of matter, of energy and gravity, that it incorporates in its emergence also all the manifestations of interrelationships that include the creation of life and mind. We may have all the atoms and matter interrelated in planets, stars, and galaxies to infinity, but we also have an infinite interrelationship over time of all the living things it had created, all the bacteria, and worms and whales, so that they stretch throughout the universe as a web of life, now also part of that infinite interrelationship. Think what that means! All life throughout the universe is a vast matrix that reaches down to us in its most intimate, endowing us with its living energy down to every cell in our body, every strand of our DNA. Then there is mind consciousness that all life displays to a greater or lesser extent, from plants to worms, to all permutations of life from bacteria to whales. It is mind boggling, but all this is part of that infinite web that defines us, that makes us Who we are. Did the ancient Biblical scholars ever contemplate such a thing, or mystics philosophers of the Eastern traditions? Did the God of Abraham ever talk about all the living and conscious things of His creation, endowed with His spirit, to be a material manifestation of His magnificence in each living thing, and us, to infinity? We are All of it! All life throughout the universe is interrelated to all other life, all matter to other matter, all worlds to other worlds in a vast, complex tapestry that is emergent. Where will this go, what will it become in time? Is this a purely spiritual idea? In the end, we are so much more than a mere interrelationship of mass and energy, for we are All of it, down to the quarks that are our atoms, up to the loftiest ideas and feelings we possess. Stop and think of this a moment... The ancient founders of religion, the worshippers of gods and spirits, all never had a clue of how truly magnificent is their spiritual realm. Every thought and feeling you ever had is out there; and every feeling and thought they ever had is in you. Can we even understand such infinite magnificence? How great is all of Life when seen this way? We are so much more. Worship it! That is God.] IDA | ||
| Ivan Alexander Username: Humancafe Registered: 12-2017 |
From the humility of matter: Love Life!  From the greatest to the smallest, from whales to microbes, life is ubiquitous to our world. Same as a Living Universe is an infinity to Life, so is our universe of matter an interrelationship infinity of our cosmic reality. The two work together. Where matter, or all of the energy, atoms and quarks that comprise it, is identifiable in reality, what each thing ‘is’ is a mystery defined by its place in the cosmic infinity: Each thing is where and what it is as the interrelated infinity had allowed it to be. That is any one thing’s interrelationship identity in the universe, manifest by its infinite image. From such humble beginnings life found its expression in reality to become alive, and in all forms conscious of itself within the existence its cosmically defined life allows. We humans who are conscious of this consciousness, Life is a wonder. It is from this human consciousness, the same consciousness the infinite universe defined in us, that we marvel at life, all life in all its mysteries and beauty. How can it be? How is it we perceive it, sometimes understand it, and even feel it in our breast? It is all breathtaking when we see it so, so filled with wondrous energy of living things, plants, animals, even single celled microbes and viruses. Life is everywhere, and we the fortunate few who see it and wonder are conscious of it. Life deeply humbles the soul. All life around us is a marvel. Stop and listen, be still and look, and you see how much life surrounds you. It is in every blade of grass, every tiny insect, every living thing scurrying through the brush or flying in the air, birds sing. The trees are monuments to it, waters teem with living things, life is rich in a cup of pond water, microbial life makes the soil a living universe. In a dry desert it lies dormant, but springs to life with the first drops of rain. Everything awakens, cacti blossom, withered branches turn green, birds fly, desert cotton tails feast, and are feasted upon by coyotes and foxes. It all gets set into motion with the rain, and then it husbands the water for the next drought. So much wealth of life in such a stark land, what seems brown suddenly turns green, and then brown again. It is a wonder. When you see it, really see it and merge with all the life around, it brings tears to your eyes. Such a will to live! Each little life is precious, each tree a colossal being, each walking or flying or swimming creature a universe onto itself. Where does this come from? To think all this an ‘accident’ of nature is spectacularly idiotic. The life force that surges through each living being is infinite, as that infinity has manifest itself there, then, through eons of life connected to itself and all existence. It is that big! The universe in its infinite interrelations, interconnections unbroken through space and time, has defined each being, each living thing, down to its smallest parts of its existence. In each atom, each quark, is already the life force that will constitute its being. Each photon of light already carries in itself the message of life. From the sunshine to the cosmic winds, in each breeze or wave crashing the shore, that life energy is already there, all working together, a microcosm of life consciousness made manifest in the world. As conscious beings, we humans have the capacity to look upon all this and wonder. How could we wantonly crush it, disregard its beauty and plow through it as if it were not there? It takes a dead mind to kill it, to kill each other, to blaspheme against the rich beauty that is all of life. Not only especially our life, we who reside at the pinnacle of existence, every human being, every child, but all life down to the smallest living creature. Even humble matter is already endowed with life energy, each atom through its interconnections to infinity. How much better to work with it rather than against it. Your existence is predicated on an infinity of existences before you. Be humbled by it, be aware how rich is your legacy, be conscious of it all! It is impossible to not Love Life once you see it, really see it, and be intimately awed.  IDA | ||
| Ivan Alexander Username: Humancafe Registered: 12-2017 |
Did life evolve consciousness for its survival?  Nearly twenty years ago on Humancafe our discussions explored why the Universe has consciousness. The idea was that the universal evolution of mind was for the universe to develop Consciousness of itself; or as Ray Bradbury once said: ”Consciousness is the universe's mechanism for knowing itself." Now, from our point of view, ‘consciousness’ is a very fluid thing. We may at times be aware of our consciousness, thinking of it in a philosophical kind of way, but mostly we are peripherally aware we are conscious, that we have a sense of ourselves and a reality around us. Then there is sub-consciousness and unconsciousness, which also influence how we are aware of ourselves. Without anthropomorphizing too much, we can extend this kind of ‘sort of’ consciousness to other living things. A horse or donkey, a dog or cat, hawk or parrot, dolphin or squid, or mouse or elephant will all exhibit some sort of self-consciousness; they all have an interactive mechanism with both their minds, the minds and being of others, and survival in their physical environment. This can be brought down lower down the ‘mind’ scale to beings barely self cognizant on any level we can define, starfish and crabs, snails and worms, jellyfish and insects, all plants; yet all will strive to interact with their physical environment with effort to survive. The universe seems to have evolved, at least on this planet, a kaleidoscope of life that, to a greater or lesser degree, manifest both mind and some level of self awareness. Let’s call this awareness a kind of proto ‘consciousness’. Awareness of self and environment can come on many levels. We humans think of ourselves most aware because we can actually conceptualize it and talk about it. But this does not negate all other life forms, even bacteria and plankton, as being devoid of some sort of self awareness. Any plant or animal that strives to survive is of necessity ‘aware’ at some level, even if they never think about it this way, so are low on the ‘consciousness’ scale, but still they have some self protective mechanism that exhibits self awareness, no matter how small. Therein lies the dilemma: is it only in those life forms that can conceptualize their consciousness, or does it apply more universally to all life that struggles to survive? If we take the proposition that all living things at some level exhibit “this is my space, don’t cross my boundaries”, then we have to accept there is some sort of internal dialogue within its brain, or living system, that compels it to have self awareness. No matter how rudimentary, they are in fact somehow ‘conscious’ of themselves. In effect, anything that has life has consciousness. Now, projecting from another point of view, if we live in a Living Universe, then it would mean all life is likely conscious, as the universe itself is a living totality. Life is endemic to how the universe is constructed, in what manifest from its self defining infinite interrelationship, so that mind becomes a natural phenomenon, and the mind’s awareness of itself a logical extrapolation. In effect, if the whole universe had the evolutionary capability of creating life, we all living things are connected to this universal manifestation of life, in space and time, so are connected in our minds to the mechanism that has allowed life to exist. Therefore, we are connected in our minds’ self awareness, no matter how obscurely, to the universal consciousness that results from its infinite interrelationship construction. Ergo, we are conscious because It is conscious. And further, this is true of all living things. The difference for our infinitely connected self-awareness, human identity, is that we are actually aware of it enough to conceptualize our consciousness, and discuss it verbally, while most life forms we know cannot. Do whales philosophize as their pods swim the oceans? Do apes chatter into existence their self awareness, or in the howls of a wolf pack? Most probably not. But still, on a universal dimension, they are ‘conscious’ because they are a part of the universal life that gave them their being, and have a self awareness to protect that consciousness while alive.  Getting back to our initial question that launched this exploration: Did life evolve consciousness for its survival? We may be closer to the answer if we ask it in reverse: Did consciousness evolve life for its survival? If consciousness in the universe is a product of its interrelated infinite totality, where from it emerged life, then it would seem all life is consciousness struggling for its survival. Consciousness survival is really what this is all about, “don’t cross my boundaries.” What makes our human consciousness unique, that intense self awareness we have, is that when we understand it, we can act with forethought, e.g., with consciousness, aware enough to arrest the conflict, avert force and coercion, and introduce cooperation and agreement into it instead. This is the mark of us having a mind, that we can understand this consciously and evolve it beyond mere struggle, as a characteristic of our being that connects to the rest of our universal consciousness existence; and each other. Mind evolved Life as a survival mechanism so that Consciousness can survive, in all its love and beauty. This is Who we are.* IDA *(We are not discussing religion here, “Man made in God’s image”, as this is ‘faith based’ and beyond the scope of this discussion, where our goal was to use reason. The same can be said for artificial intelligence and robotics, the assumption being that if they are highly intelligent enough, they may experience ‘consciousness’; but this could not happen, per this reasoning, unless there were a biological, living component to it. To achieve robotic ‘consciousness’ it would need a bionic based AI, which at this time is still impossible for us to do.) Also see: The Infinity Syndrome - a short story Scientists push new paradigm of animal consciousness, saying even insects may be sentient Descartes was wrong, animals do have consciousness:
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| Ivan Alexander Username: Humancafe Registered: 12-2017 |
“Know thyself” is Who you are.  The Ancient Greek aphorism of Delphi γνῶθι σεαυτόν “Know thyself” is best defined as “know Who you are.” This reverts back to where infinity has no center written earlier, defining identity, where it said:
This was an infinity defining itself on a point, which in us as conscious human beings is a definition of our Who; it is Who we are. But that is a Who you must come to know, and one you must protect, to not allow anyone to take that away from you if you are to ‘know thyself’. Therein lies the problem, that if coercions, violations of your space and integrity, are allowed to force you from your being Who you are, reciprocally, then you are left with no one to protect, and you are a violated being. When violated, you suffer, and being ‘Who you are’ is disconnected from your infinite, universal definition of being, so your self awareness, your very identity of being, is violated, lost. Then you do not “know thyself” having been violated in your innermost being. It is fashionable and facile in our post-modern world to ignore a person’s character, that which makes your Who you are. To current thinking you are, psychologically, the product of your environment, your socio-economic background, the socio-cultural reality around you. But the reality is that you are the product of your responses to those conditions (choices conscious and unconscious that define you), not because of them. Why is it some who grow up in abject poverty, in crime ridden neighborhoods, become fine upstanding and shining citizens, while others who are raised in the lap of luxury, in wealthy households, become useless failures? Is this not what actually happens more often than expected? We are more than our ambient reality, we are how we respond to that environment. The theory does not fit reality, no matter how we massage it. The fact is that it is our inner being, our character, that determines the outcome. Maybe a small percentage will be modified by our environment, our upbringing, friends and family, our genes; but the greater part will be determined by our choices in that environment. And that is determined by our inner being, our Who, our personal integrity and character of our being; what defines us as a person. We transcend our socio-economic environment with every breath we take, and we control that breath to achieve in life. That takes strong character, what in ancient Rome would have been called the dignitas, though then it had a deeper meaning, of honor, family legacy, and dignity. It is your definition of being from the highest realm. It is not ego to believe in Who you are; but it is Ego to believe your who is the most important in the universe. Each one of us, though forged in the stars, and defined by infinity, is but one more infinitesimal spec of dust in the vast sea of cosmic Consciousness. The Buddhists teach to drop your ego to access Consciousness. But that is not the all, you are more. It is all existence, all life around you, including your ego. You are that! This is Who you are. Know Who you are, be centered in your being, and the world moves around you, not through you. Then you determine your path in life. What do you believe in? What are your loves, your fears? Do you dream of adventures, or do you contemplate life, the universe? What moves you, what beauty? What are your talents, what energizes you? What are your thoughts, what inspires you? Who do you love? These are your connections. They are the marks of individuals who in community and society create the collective that is their culture, who they are as a people. Within the body of that social culture each person through life will evolve their being as he or she responds to it and chooses to be within the world. This is a natural progression of individual growth and consciousness, what defines your character. And it is also where you connect with your greater universal Who to work with you. With serenity and poise, be conscious of it. Then a planet consciousness awakens. That is the meaning of the Delphic aphorism, “Know thyself” in its entirety. Your Who is the whole person; be true to your Who. Accept your inner being, as it is defined by a far greater reality than your lesser temporal world. Reject those who would coerce and abuse you, who would harm you with physical or mental violence. Be true to yourself, true to your inner character, your discipline, your dignitas as a human being, and do that with love, and excellence. Then you are a strong and free human being who can truly Know thyself, of Who you are, and live it with integrity. This is paramount. The rest is life’s trials and trivias. IDA Also see: What is the Soul? | ||
| Ivan Alexander Username: Humancafe Registered: 12-2017 |
Can an idea know itself?  Is there a time an idea can ‘know’ itself? No, not anymore than the world wide web can know itself, nor can artificial intelligence know itself, no matter how complex. That would require self consciousness, which is beyond its ability. For an idea to know itself, it would have to transcend its limitations as a closed system, no matter how sophisticated. To know itself it must reach out into the universe without limitation. Perhaps the most comprehensive monolithic idea created by man is Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. It is based on sound premises, has integrity in self consistency, studied intellectually by countless minds in the past century, and confirmed observationally. Light does bend around large gravitational bodies, clocks do slow under acceleration, and time is observed variable from different reference frames. These relativistic protocols have been tested to virtually proffer proof. But the idea, though elegantly self supporting as a totality, is nevertheless a closed system. Theoretically under Relativity, if one starts motion in one direction in the universe, they would ultimately return to their starting point from an opposite direction, as space time curves back on itself. So it is a closed system. However, it is a system understood intellectually by many, enough to have ingrained itself into a world consciousness of what it is. Relativity had reached critical mass so to have achieved world acceptance as a monolithic, self sustaining idea, it made itself a quasi-consciousness within the mind of the world. If Relativity was able to connect not only to human minds but also to a universal reality, meaning it was not a closed system, then it might have been a candidate for an idea that can ‘know itself.’ However, that is not the case, since its infinities are rationalized into a self contained system. This leaves it within the circle of its construction, like a bubble that is entirely independent of what is beyond its domain of applicability. The beautiful and elegant mathematical construct of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity is self referential, but not likely self-knowing, nor conscious, though ‘conscious’ at the world state of mind of its acceptability; it had been accepted. This could be said of any mathematically derived theorem or philosophical system. Newton’s laws, Maxwell’s electricity, Planck’s constants, Gauss probabilities, Euler’s mathematics, all have a self-consistency and are monolithic bodies of construction. Yet they are not self-conscious in any way but having been accepted by the conscious understandings of many of the world’s intellects. No, to be an idea that can know itself, it needs to be more than merely self consistent and monolithic. Now, let us suppose we can create an idea that is self-creating, which also connects to infinity in an open system. Could that idea, once understood and accepted by a critical mass of the world’s intellect, become an idea that knows itself? This is no idle speculation, because as all these pages have shown, such an idea fits neatly into the concepts of ‘interrelationship.’ In a universal reality where all is interconnected to infinity and nothing can be other than as the pressure of everything else, from infinity, had allowed to be as an identity of itself, then the resulting system is one that is both self-referential and connected to all existence. This is an open system that is predetermined by its interrelationships, but at the same time indeterministic by its emergent effects from its totality of interconnectedness; in each instant it is new. The idea is monolithic, supporting itself on a basic premise of three points in space, which metamorphoses into a definition of universal identities, living identities, mind consciousness, and human liberty. All these work together as one complete philosophy of mind, what we humans with mind consciousness can come to understand though the idea forms itself. Perhaps this is key, that the idea of a basic interrelationship, three points in space, can grow to encompass all of existence, and from that infinite totality it redefines in emergence every point of itself. As Bruno had said, “infinity has no center, and yet everywhere is its center.” If that emergent totality product is then taken as ‘mind’, then does it not satisfy the conditions of a ‘self-knowing’ idea? This idea has no center, but everywhere to infinity is its center. Starting with three, interrelationship is the principle, the mechanism for spanning infinity. Therefore, in a living universe this idea of interrelationship takes on a life of its own, as a separate and independent idea of existence. And if so, once it is understood and accepted by human minds, it takes on a self-consciousness in the world. When all is considered, a self-knowing idea spanning infinity means the universe is conscious as a totality. Does it mean the universe is consciousness? Again, this is no idle claim, that an idea knows itself in a kind of self-consciousness. Ideas connecting to infinity are not entirely new. For example, nearly all religions had at heart a concept of infinite, all knowing, all powerful Deity that is both in the heavens and on Earth. Such ideas had propelled human civilization and advancements in their own way by making humanity conscious of something that is eternal and outside itself. Their sacred religious texts may or may not be monolithic and self-referenced, but they did have the power to awaken a critical mass of human beliefs, which in turn gave power to these beliefs in ways we could not understand; they persist still after thousands of years and affect lives of their believers. That the world is gradually shifting away from faith based beliefs to a more rational secularism is in fact evident, an inevitable evolution, but also that the power of belief is losing its value, as a decrepitude of moral decay sets into our civilization. Are we happier for it? Humanity’s consciousness seems to need to believe in something bigger than itself, or it becomes rudderless. Hence with the advent of secularism came the siren calls of Marxism, Utopianism, and Mao, Castro, Pol Pot, etc., not to mention Stalin and Hitler, with disastrous effects. We seem to need to be connected to an idea that is all inclusive and monolithic, even infinite in our minds and being, if we are to find happiness in this world. That is a monolithic idea, and one that is interconnected reasonably. Still, a new idea that has the potential to ‘know itself’, once understood by a critical mass of the world, is not one that seeks populism, for that would negate its universality, but exist of its own. Therein lies a paradox. Once an idea is adopted by humanity, it then becomes theirs; while a self-knowing idea is not theirs, but its own universal. This is a critical point, that interrelationship cannot be publicized or contained as a new universal idea, certainly not a religious idea. Rather, it must find its roots in the world on its own, its role unforced by our human faultiness of reason. In effect, this is an idea that, if self knowing, will find its own way in the world, likely one heart and one mind at a time. But when this process reaches a critical mass, a self knowing idea connects infinitely, which brings into reality the powers of emergence that such infinity projects. In our consciousness we are always on the leading edge of emergence. Therefore, though we only speculate on what the power a self-thinking, self knowing idea-philosophy can be, it appears to become a whole new plane of awareness, worldwide, a whole new power we had never known before. It is in the power of being still. If so, let it be healing to all the ills and errors we as a humanity had done. Then we would have merged our minds with those of the stars. As an idea, the universe knows itself. But there is more, still so much more. We have just scratched the surface not knowing how much more there still is. Being is consciousness, and a Planet awakens.  | ||
| Ivan Alexander Username: Humancafe Registered: 12-2017 |
Interrelationships end in spheres. This is an idealized idea, that “interrelationship ends in spheres”, but it illustrates a notion of how it can be used as a tool to understand the workings of a universe. A sphere is a self contained whole, where its enclosed volume can be expressed mathematically of its interrelated parameters as: V=4/3pi r^3, or it can be defined as a quadratic polynomial.  There is common usage of the term “sphere of influence” which usually means the influence a person, group, or national entity, will have on the outcomes of a larger body, such as multinational relations. This could result in what connections will be triggered by such influence, so the end result will determine how this sphere of influence will play out in the world. Now, imagine this “sphere of influence” works in its reverse, that the whole sphere will in turn influence the connections, or interconnections, as to how its internal players will behave. Their thoughts and actions are now influenced by the conditions of the whole sphere; the broader whole sphere now contains the conditions that will influence individual actions. On a national scale, it could be the socio-economic sphere that determines how individuals respond in their actions; or it might be the general mood and beliefs of the people, how they vote, or go about their daily lives, as influenced by the broader whole of society. The interconnections that comprise the whole are now in turn redefined by the sphere within which they exist. (In effect, the interrelationship sphere now redefines itself as an identity, which in turn gives its identity definition to each of its parts. Though, incomplete spheres lead to define incomplete truths.)* The sphere thus exists both ways, as a totality of interconnections, and as a determinant factor of such interconnections, how people influence it, and how they will be influenced by it. This could be carried over to physical reality, where the whole sphere of influence is defined by its internal structure, while its whole in turn modifies its internal workings. Think of earth’s weather patterns, which in totality define hemispheric climate, but then in reverse climate defines weather patterns; any state of weather conditions is interconnected to all the other weather patterns of the planet, which in turn then influence local weather patterns. This description is not really a sphere in the geometric sense, but as a whole planet enveloped by these weather patterns they result in a spherical totality. Of course, the earth’s weather patterns are not merely a product of its atmospheric component, solar heat and other cosmic influences, but will include the planet’s interior energy and spin, all to have input on how weather develops. Many of these influences can be netted out, so they have a limited effect, what traps these interactions within a sphere, but it is not pure. A larger sphere of influence will also affect outcome, which can be extrapolated to the local star, galaxy and intergalactic cosmic forces. Same as ocean waves generated by wind and temperatures, and underlying coastal topography, is a sum total of these forces, so is a single wave a product of near infinite forces, all interrelated from its vast sphere of planet and galaxy to produce it. That wave, in effect, travels from infinity, when seen this way.  Taking this reasoning into a self contained space, say how a crystal forms from a liquid solution, we have a similar sphere of influence at work. The internal dynamics of molecules forming the crystal will determine its shape, but the shape in turn determines where and how the molecules will form into a crystal. Again, this ‘sphere’ is not pure, as external influences, from heat and atmospheric conditions to cosmic forces, all interrelated to infinity, will define the crystal’s outcome; but the general process of interrelated molecular forces net out into what it becomes. It is a closed system of interrelated forces that net out on the ‘sphere’, where these forces are most prominent, giving the crystal its identity, before it reaches out into intergalactic space for its greater identity. Taking it from the smallest known ‘sphere’ of the atom, where a proton is surrounded by an electron cloud modified by photon energy, what is its internal interrelationship, to progressively larger and larger spheres, the planet and solar system, to the galaxy and all of existence, all these interrelated realities have a pause, or net out, at their spheres of influence, what defines them as separate identities. Interrelated systems close off as identities in their spheres, then their identity spheres interrelate as greater systems to close off into larger spheres, thus to infinity. And this is where our interconnections of life’s spheres take place: that the definition of our self-identity, our Who, is where we connect to all of existence; it is also where our infinite definition endows us with life.#  On a human scale, such spheres of influence affect us on many levels. Within groups in society will form bonds that will influence the whole, and in turn be influenced by them. Whether a church group, or commercial enterprise, or political party, academe and knowledge, all these work on similar principles, where we are all interconnected into a whole. From those spheres are interrelationships that transcend them, affected by progressively larger orbs of influence, ad infinitum, so it is all connected. Planet wide we are all interconnected within our spheres of influence. Taking it to human love, and all life, we live in a vast interconnected web of human sentiment and aspirations. It all works together, and to become culturally conscious of this raises us, planet wide, to a whole new level of collective awareness. We become one vast interrelated sphere of life consciousness. Love at that level raises all humanity, and the planet takes on a new life in all its being. When love becomes the ultimate sphere, our planet joins the galaxies, and we become a new humanity in universal existence. Because we have a mind it all happens automatically. One mind at a time, and we join the energy of all life, all beings, and the stars, each one of us.  *(If the human scale of human doctrinal or operational sphere of influence is limited by its ideology, i.e., Communism or Fascism trying to control everything, then its operative influences on its individuals will be incomplete (not universal), so they will fail in defining true humanity but end with a distorted reality; propaganda works to this end, that the ‘truth’ being projected is but an image of incompletion, purposeful confusion, so it becomes absurd, and people suffer.) #[There may be an exception to how these 'spheres of influence' close off interrelations. It may be in a living organism, where the microbial biomes are closed off from their greater interrelationships by the living organism itself, where the microbial life inside the body, and on it, is totally dominated by the totality of the living organism itself. In effect, though their interrelated reality of each living thing stretches to a living infinity, the life of the host dictates its relationships to each other, both cellular and microbial. This is merely a hypothesis, but it may better illustrate how, at least in a living body, they are largely self contained as a unit of existence, which is its living identity.] IDA Also see: Truth is how the Whole redefines its parts Any system is interconnected and self-reflexive, how the universe works Is the universe conscious? | ||
| Ivan Alexander Username: Humancafe Registered: 12-2017 |
When human knowledge shifts the power structure - why they call it an ‘existential threat’ (This is a continuation of The Portal - how Mind changed the world.)   There is something disorienting to having a new idea entering public consciousness, one that could leave us confused, and often defensive. This may be happening in countries like Russia and China, and their supporters, that their leadership is confronted with a popular shift in social and political consciousness that is catching them off guard. The old power structure of political control, corrupt autocratic rule, and forceful repression is being challenged by liberal ideals, imported from the West, so the people are beginning to demand greater freedoms and transparency from their governments; they are demanding lighter restrictions on their personal freedoms, freedom of thought and expression, and government by a democratic rule of law protecting those freedoms. This is highly threatening to oligarchic power structures, such as Putin’s Russia and socio-political controls of China’s Communist party. They are witnessing a ground swell of popular support for these changes to be introduced in how they wish to be governed. The answer to these demands, seen by the power establishment as socially destabilizing, is with greater controls, to repress the people’s democratic reforms aspirations. Both China and Russia are faced with this paradigm shift in public consciousness, and why they are turning increasingly oppressive in response. This idea shift in public consciousness is graphically witnessesed in Ukraine, whose people have leaned towards the more open societies of the European countries, and away from Russia’s controls and influences on their ability to self govern as a free nation. The Orange revolution and Maidan Revolution were the start of these demands for greater self-rule and democratic reform, much to the consternation of the Russian power elite who thought they had their former Soviet satellite nation under their control. Ukraine broke away, from more than three hundred years of Russian domination, and the end result was that Putin disallowed their right to exist as a nation, and invaded, both in 2014 with annexation of Crimea and the tacit support of breakaway republics in the Donbas; this followed with a full force invasion of Ukraine 24 February 2022. Ukraine fought back for their independence from Russia, with help from the West and NATO, with supplies of weapons and humanitarian aid, to defend themselves against Putin’s aggression. The calculus for this unprovoked invasion was in response to the threat to the old order, where Ukraine was a colonized state ruled by subterfuge and force, while the people of Ukraine awoke to their greater potential of themselves as a people free of Russian domination, and desirous of their freedoms under constitutional government and democracy patterned after modern Western models. This was destabilizing to Russia, why Putin et al called it an ‘existential threat’, so they responded with the only paradigm they understood, with force.  This confrontation, between the old order of repressive force and open democratic freedoms, where the people demanded change, had to come to an unresolvable conflict. Russia attacked, and Ukraine and the West fought back. To date this is still unresolved. But the old order is on the wrong side of history, that the use of force to bring a people to submission is not working, as a new idea has entered the people’s social and political consciousness, that their governing powers’ established to protect their freedoms and human rights is a better way forward, why Ukraine wanted to join the European Union as a member state. This is a new idea, first launched as an ideal of European Age of Enlightenment, and later embodied in the American revolution forming a free nation under Constitutional rule of law, not kings. Therein lies the challenge to Putin, and Xi Jin-Ping, that the people have been exposed to these new freedoms, have studied them, and decided that it is their desired future for their nations. This new socio-political paradigm is the right side of history. Ukraine is an important test. What is being played out on the battlefields of Ukraine is a world movement, an awareness that freedom is a better way. Xi Jin-Ping is faced with the same deleterious dilemma in Taiwan as Putin encountered, because this is the trend of history, when a new idea gains public consciousness as it had in the American experience, the European nations of the West, and all democratic nations of Asia and Africa ruled by constitutional law. This is truly a new dawn for global humanity, where the old order of political force and repression will be replaced by the infinitely better system of the power of freedom, laws that enable governments to protect their people’s natural human rights and prosper as democratic free states. Putin and Xi may think they are on the right side of history, but they are wrong. The future does not belong to greater dictatorship, or kings and war lords, and theocratic oppression, but instead our future belongs to greater democratic reform, constitutional rule of law, and validation of our natural human rights. That is the right side of future history. We all have a right to be Who we are, and that is the future of humanity. IDA |