Is present an illusion?

Tuesday, November 6th, 2012

I’ve been asking myself this question for a long time now. All these gurus talk about being in the Present. You know, Eckhart Tolle, Anthony Robbins, Robert Anthony and even Buddhism. They say that in order to be healthy and happy you have to fully embrace the present moment.

Some people live in the past. That means they constantly think of the good (or bad) times they had when they were younger. It also means that they hold on to grudges for longer. In other words, the present is not good enough and future non-existent for them. They can’t be ever happy unless they go back in time.

Others meanwhile, live for the future. Some of them always seem cheerful and expectant of some good thing happening soon. That soon may never come but they are still happy. They don’t dwell on the past and may not learn from their mistakes. On the other end of this scale there are also some future-living people that constantly worry about the future. They try to foresee every obstacle (most are never even encountered) and can’t get to sleep because of worry that they may have missed something. These people can’t be happy either. They live in fear.

So the gurus say that you have to live in the present. Past is gone and there’s not much you can do about it. Future has many possible paths and there’s no guarantee that the one you’re on is the one you chose.

Now, let’s take a look at the Present. But what is that elusive Present?

My definition is that the Present is where Past meets the Future. It is this tiny little fleeting point in time. In fact it is so tiny that it doesn’t really exist. Think about it. Right now. By the time you’ve thought about it it’s already moved on into the past. In fact, by the time you decide to think about it, it’s gone. You just can’t pinpoint it. How long does it last? A second, millisecond, microsecond? No, it just doesn’t last at all.

So it logically follows that the Present does not exist. It’s an illusion. Therefore, how can you live in the present if there is no such thing? It’s only Past and Future.

Or maybe, and that’s a worrying maybe, it’s the other way around. Maybe there’s no past and no future just everlasting Now. Maybe it’s all in our minds. A trick that our minds play on us.

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Who made who?

Sunday, November 4th, 2012

Did god make us, or did we make god?

This question has been on human minds for millenia.

What we put energy in (believe) grows. It grows in the other dimension – dimension of thought, astral plane or whatever. Hence if we constantly believe in something, that something will get stronger. At some stage, if enough people believe in it, it may actually cross the boundaries between dimensions, and have influence on the material dimension. Just look at the extent of the fanaticism some people will go to. All because they believe in something.

Quoting  Jesus, “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”

So, it looks like people knew of this phenomenon for some time now. Furthermore, investigating ancient mythology, gods need our belief, or energy. This was certainly true in ancient Greek culture where people were under the impression that gods’ power diminished when people stopped believing in them. Also,  in Kabbalah, god needs us as much as we need him/her.

Back to my original question, did god make us, or did we make up a god? By imagining some being and feeding it energy (our belief, worship, contemplation etc) we made it real (in a sense). To answer the question, we are both one and the same – we can’t separate ourselves from god. We just got ourselves lost in this game, and forgot where we come from. A good game is one that makes you think it’s real, an ultimate illusion, and this one certainly fits the bill.

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We are all made of stars

Tuesday, October 9th, 2012

Everything on earth is made up of molecules that in turn are made up of atoms, or elements. The nuclear reaction inside the core of a star burns hydrogen to produce some heavier versions of hydrogen, then helium. It is a complicated process and takes the whole life cycle of the star to produce even heavier elements. For example, lithium is produced in brown dwarfs and carbon takes place in a set of nuclear fusion reactions inside massive stars.

Our bodies are made up from the same elements. It is not wrong to think that stars made the basic building blocks of our bodies. Then, a master craftsman arranged them in a special way that the elements function together for some purpose, just like in Minecraft you can craft staff from other elements. Now the master craftsman and his like can inhabit the bodies to play the game.

However, let’s not forget where we come from. The Sun is our closest star. The Sun gives life to all living creatures on earth including us. Without it, nothing would be alive. Think about it. Plants and other creatures like phytoplankton, rely on the sunlight for the photosynthesis process to make them grow. These plants make or become food for animals, and humans. Animals are also food for other animals that are higher up in the food chain – this includes humans who consider themselves right on top of the food chain. Looking back through the food chain, we are still “eating” sunlight, or depending on it for life.

So the Sun not only gave us the bodies, but also nourishes and sustains them. Without sunlight, our bodies would not make vitamin D. The Sun could be a highly intelligent and altruistic entity. It does not discriminate about who gets its life-giving energy. It shines on good and evil without judgement. The ancients were not wrong by worshiping the Sun.

Having said that, I now realise that it was not just the ancients. I have been born and raised as a Catholic but have been worshiping the Sun all my life. So are billions of others, without even realising it. Every time they pray and say Amen at the end they give worship to the Egyptian sun-god Amun, which was also sometimes spelled Amen.

As you can see, you’re not just a mortal human. You’re made of the same stuff as the planet earth and made by the stars. I’m sure the ancients knew all this…

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On top of the world

Tuesday, October 2nd, 2012

Isn’t it amazing how the world is made so that everyone is always on top of it? Doesn’t that just make you feel great?

Te earth is round and the gravity is pulling downwards – towards the centre of the earth. Therefore, up is out from the surface towards the sky and in all directions radiating from the centre. No matter where you are, you’re always on top of the world. (The only way someone else could be higher than you, is if they were directly above you.)

This phenomenon can be viewed in a couple of different ways. One of them being that this world gives everyone the same chance. Everyone has the same opportunities.

Another way to view this phenomenon is that there is only one spirit. The same spirit is within each and every one of us on this planet. Deep down, on the spiritual level, we are all one and the same. So, if I am on top of the world, it follows that so are you, and so is everyone else. It can’t be otherwise.

Just remember this concept next time you’re feeling down and pick yourself right up.

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Stress relief

Tuesday, September 18th, 2012

These days just about everything demands our attention. Here’s a typical day disected. You try to concentrate on work, then something distracts you. Then you’re feeling hungry and think about food. Your friend calls with the latest gossip and you’ve forgotten about food. Kids come in yelling and fighting with each other. After sorting the kids, you’re back to food. Then you remember about work and the looming deadline. Your partner comes in with their problems of the day. And so on, you get the drift.

At the end of the day you feel drained. You reach for a glass of wine (or something stronger) claiming it calms your nerves. You end up going to sleep feeling guilty that this or that hasn’t been done. Does this sound familiar?

There are infinite number of things that our minds have to worry about. This is contributing to the epidemic of stress related health issues. More and more people are either self-medicating or reaching for prescription drugs. There is however, a simple way to deal with stress.

We know that there is a conscious and subconscious mind. The conscious mind processes new information and learns new things. The subconscious mind takes care of repetitive stuff so that the conscious mind is free to focus on whatever we choose. Imagine how hard it would be if we had to consciously think about breathing, heart beating, digesting and so on. We would not have time to work or enjoy ourselves. Anything new done a few times becomes automatic – that’s the beauty and power of the subconscious mind. Take bike riding as an example. Once you learn it, you won’t forget it.

So what does the subconscious mind have to do with stress? Simply, let it solve your problems for you. How? By letting it. Once you stop forcing stuff with your conscious mind, you let the subconscious do its magic – do what it was designed to do. Very often it has done it before. You may not realise it at the time, but some problems are similar to others and some solutions are similar to others. Furthermore, problem solving in general can be pushed to the subconscious and done effortlessly. Think about it – no more stress!

You can practice this by thinking nothing, or meditating. When you don’t think, all the competing worries get equal share of your time – nothing. Some people suggest that the mind is like a radio tuner and station at the same time. Then we are all broadcasting our thoughts, but only when you quiet your mind you can hear anyone else’s thoughts. And chances are that others have had the same issues as you. So by tuning in to their thoughts there is possibility of obtaining the solution stress free.

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