Maybe it's not a secret, but it might as well be if nobody can see it. Like most Western kids, growing up I was exposed to the writings of the Hebrew Prophets in Sunday school. These days It's hard to get away from the modern Prophets, Channelers, Seers, Extra Terrestrial messengers, Gurus, etc. etc. etc. It seems that at least half of all the TV shows or movies has at least one of them as a character. I'm not saying it isn't real. I'm not saying it is real. But I have made an observation that I would like to discuss.
Who are they talking to anyway? Messages that are assumed to come from the spiritual realm or from extra terrestrial entities have a certain focus, a focus that is alien to the Western mind. We assume that the entity is speaking to the prophet, and through the prophet, to us. Or rather to me, the individual one of a kind unique me. It is a personal message that each of us, as an individual, should heed and put in practice in our own inimitable way. Except, I don't think that is the intent of the message at all. The message is not 'mine'. The message is 'ours'. They are not communicating to each of us. They are speaking to the one of us that is all of us. They are speaking to the individual species of man, not the individuals that comprise it. They are speaking to the collective mind of man, not any one individual mind.
How do I know? Maybe I don't. But here is what gives me a clue. Take, for example, that statement "As within, so without". I don't know who said it first, but it's being used as a new agey statement that refers to creating your own reality. As preached it says that first you develop in you consciousness what you are to be and then that magically manifests itself as your physical reality. Except that those who have tried that have seldom seen the intended results. Maybe they just did it wrong. Or maybe the message was all wrong to begin with.
But wait. Back up a minute and see the messages from the perspective of the collective. If we look at history as an example, the ideas prevalent in the collective mind of mankind as a whole , our species mind, have indeed played themselves out and manifested as our present physical reality. Any one of us changing our mind, elevating our consciousness, has no measurable effect on our world until a critical mass develops that changes the mind of mankind itself. Once a collective mindset exists, that is what our species becomes, and the world forms itself like a cocoon around it to nurture, or destroy, that reality.
It seems to me that the message is clear. We will live or die, as one. That is the seed that I plant in our collective conscious. I hope that our species is mindful of that.
Who are they talking to anyway? Messages that are assumed to come from the spiritual realm or from extra terrestrial entities have a certain focus, a focus that is alien to the Western mind. We assume that the entity is speaking to the prophet, and through the prophet, to us. Or rather to me, the individual one of a kind unique me. It is a personal message that each of us, as an individual, should heed and put in practice in our own inimitable way. Except, I don't think that is the intent of the message at all. The message is not 'mine'. The message is 'ours'. They are not communicating to each of us. They are speaking to the one of us that is all of us. They are speaking to the individual species of man, not the individuals that comprise it. They are speaking to the collective mind of man, not any one individual mind.
How do I know? Maybe I don't. But here is what gives me a clue. Take, for example, that statement "As within, so without". I don't know who said it first, but it's being used as a new agey statement that refers to creating your own reality. As preached it says that first you develop in you consciousness what you are to be and then that magically manifests itself as your physical reality. Except that those who have tried that have seldom seen the intended results. Maybe they just did it wrong. Or maybe the message was all wrong to begin with.
But wait. Back up a minute and see the messages from the perspective of the collective. If we look at history as an example, the ideas prevalent in the collective mind of mankind as a whole , our species mind, have indeed played themselves out and manifested as our present physical reality. Any one of us changing our mind, elevating our consciousness, has no measurable effect on our world until a critical mass develops that changes the mind of mankind itself. Once a collective mindset exists, that is what our species becomes, and the world forms itself like a cocoon around it to nurture, or destroy, that reality.
It seems to me that the message is clear. We will live or die, as one. That is the seed that I plant in our collective conscious. I hope that our species is mindful of that.
08/05: Dangerous New Law?
It is sad, and sometimes deadly, when hate speech is used on the internet, usually by teens, directed at teens. But is it time to put them in prison? Not! This appears to be another law that criminalizes typical teenage behavior. These kids need parenting, and maybe therapy, but not prison.
In an overly broad and easily abused new law Congresswoman Linda Sanchez is exhibiting a naive approach to legislation. I hope I don't go to jail for posting this.
Bill H.R. 1966 says:
(a) Whoever transmits in interstate or foreign commerce any communication, with the intent to coerce, intimidate, harass or cause substantial emotional distress to a person, using electronic means to support severe, repeated and hostile behavior, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.
(b) As used in this section —
(1) the term ‘communication’ means the electronic transmission, between or among points specified by the user, of information of the user’s choosing, without change in the form or content of the information as sent and received; and
(2) the term ‘electronic means’ means any equipment dependent on electrical power to access an information service, including e-mail, instant messaging, blogs, websites, telephones and text messages.
In an overly broad and easily abused new law Congresswoman Linda Sanchez is exhibiting a naive approach to legislation. I hope I don't go to jail for posting this.
Bill H.R. 1966 says:
(a) Whoever transmits in interstate or foreign commerce any communication, with the intent to coerce, intimidate, harass or cause substantial emotional distress to a person, using electronic means to support severe, repeated and hostile behavior, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.
(b) As used in this section —
(1) the term ‘communication’ means the electronic transmission, between or among points specified by the user, of information of the user’s choosing, without change in the form or content of the information as sent and received; and
(2) the term ‘electronic means’ means any equipment dependent on electrical power to access an information service, including e-mail, instant messaging, blogs, websites, telephones and text messages.
07/05: IT'S ALL ABOUT BALANCE
Anthrovolution:
It's all about balance.
We will always be caught between the two biological imperatives - the individual and the collective. Too far in the individual direction and the collective collapses, resulting in extinction. Too far the other way and we all become worker drones feeding the mindless collective. Somewhere in the middle is the sweet spot - and it is always moving.
The American experiment has been to carefully focus the power of the collective (the people) through a few individuals to effectively leverage that power for the good of all. It's a tricky balance.
David:
It is not clear to me that it has ever been 'balanced'. From the beginning, those in power and/or having wealth have used and amended the system to gain more. The masses go along with the hard work and self sacrifice for the 'American Dream', which provides huge profits and benefits for those in power and/or already wealthy. A small percentage of people do actually 'succeed' at having their had work and sacrifice 'pay off' in material ways, but arguably having as much to do about luck combined with their hard work and sacrifice. The vast, vast majority do not rise above or change their stars, but they see enough 'winners' to continue to believe.
Strikes me to be more like the 'balance' between gamblers and the House. The gamblers are free to gamble or not, to sacrifice their labor/money or not in hopes of a win. The House always wins over the long haul. But to keep it going, the House must maintain and adjust the system to insure that enough gamblers win to keep the 'dream' alive.
Anthrovolution:
Consider the rope walker. His life depends on finding a balance. Once found, it is immediately gone, and must be continuously found again.
The problem with the American system is not that selfish men turn evil when entrusted with the power of the collective. That is a given. The problem is when us worker drones stop watching, relax, and abdicate our necessary duty as part of the process, and instead eat donuts and coffee and wait for the prosperity to magically find us.
David: Good point. It is much more a natural process .. evolutionary .. than some kind of grand conspiracy being orchestrated by the 'House'. Gotta be part of the process if there is going to be any natural pressure for change, accommodation, adaptation, etc.
Anthrovolution: The great danger is that our window of opportunity is narrow. We can if we want too let the system stay unbalanced. Mother Nature, however, will eventually bring it to a homeostatic condition. Her tool? Extinction!
We humans have a tradition of spending our life in the quest for meaning, the meaning of life, and just about when we are getting it all figured out, we die. What if, however, we find our meaning of life and we are not dead yet? Is there any purpose for staying in this existence if we have already found the ultimate answer? I certainly hope so, because that is what has happened to me. Of course, your meaning of life may not be the same as my meaning of life. I'm assuming that there may be more than one definition. For what it's worth, here is mine.
If you are going to use the word meaning to define something, then you should start out defining meaning. Here is what the dictionary says:
1. what is intended to be, or actually is, expressed or indicated; signification; import: the three meanings of a word.
2. the end, purpose, or significance of something: What is the meaning of life? What is the meaning of this intrusion?
For my purposes I use definition number 2, and I also ask the question where and how. Where, in what dimension, does meaning reside and how does it manifest? Meaning is an attribute that we attach to something, and that something is a thought, our thought about something. Thoughts can only 'exist' in the dimension of mind. Thoughts have no 'physical' existence in the physical (space-time) world. You can't see them, touch them or pick them up with your hands and play with them. You can manifest a thought, realize it, make it real, by taking some action. But that is not the thought. It is the manifestation of the thought. A thought can only exist in the mind and the attribute of meaning can only exist there as well. Meaning manifests in the dimension of mind.
Lets say we attach 'spring time' to 'apple blossom'. If we tell a friend "the apples trees are in bloom" then the friend may respond "Ah, that 'means' it is spring time". This occurs because both you and your friend have attached the 'meaning' of 'spring time' to the thought of 'apple blossom'.
Going deeper, you can attach 'purpose' and 'significance' to a thought. When contemplating the thought of 'my children' you may think 'my children give my life meaning'. By this you 'mean' they give your life purpose and significance. The 'value' of your life is enhanced by the existence of your children. But again, all this exists only in your mind, and in the minds of those with whom you communicates these thoughts. Meaning is an attribute of a thought, and is itself a thought, a thought about a thought.
Going even deeper, what then gives meaning to life itself. God? If God gives a meaning to life, which 'means' attaching a purpose and significance to life, then that thought exists in the mind of God. Does that 'mean' that those thoughts in the mind of God also exist in your mind? Well, no. There is no evidence that God makes you think certain thoughts or prevents you from thinking certain other thoughts. There is ample evidence that the thoughts in our minds have nothing at all to do with thoughts that may exist in the mind of God. We may not even think that any such entity as God even exists. You are a creature of free will and any attributes of meaning in Gods mind will only exist in your mind if you choose to agree with God that they should. Whoa! Think about that. The meaning of life exists in your thoughts only when you agree that it should. The meaning of life exists in your thoughts when you, and you alone, allow it to.
What does that 'mean'. It 'means' that the meaning of life is whatever you choose for it to be.
Still looking for the meaning of life. Then simply decide on what you 'think' it should be and - voila - there it is.
Of course it would be better if we, collectively, chose a good meaning for life and all agreed on it. But that is a subject for another blog. :)
If you are going to use the word meaning to define something, then you should start out defining meaning. Here is what the dictionary says:
1. what is intended to be, or actually is, expressed or indicated; signification; import: the three meanings of a word.
2. the end, purpose, or significance of something: What is the meaning of life? What is the meaning of this intrusion?
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1).
Random House, Inc.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/meaning
(accessed: April 04, 2009).
Random House, Inc.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/meaning
(accessed: April 04, 2009).
For my purposes I use definition number 2, and I also ask the question where and how. Where, in what dimension, does meaning reside and how does it manifest? Meaning is an attribute that we attach to something, and that something is a thought, our thought about something. Thoughts can only 'exist' in the dimension of mind. Thoughts have no 'physical' existence in the physical (space-time) world. You can't see them, touch them or pick them up with your hands and play with them. You can manifest a thought, realize it, make it real, by taking some action. But that is not the thought. It is the manifestation of the thought. A thought can only exist in the mind and the attribute of meaning can only exist there as well. Meaning manifests in the dimension of mind.
Lets say we attach 'spring time' to 'apple blossom'. If we tell a friend "the apples trees are in bloom" then the friend may respond "Ah, that 'means' it is spring time". This occurs because both you and your friend have attached the 'meaning' of 'spring time' to the thought of 'apple blossom'.
Going deeper, you can attach 'purpose' and 'significance' to a thought. When contemplating the thought of 'my children' you may think 'my children give my life meaning'. By this you 'mean' they give your life purpose and significance. The 'value' of your life is enhanced by the existence of your children. But again, all this exists only in your mind, and in the minds of those with whom you communicates these thoughts. Meaning is an attribute of a thought, and is itself a thought, a thought about a thought.
Going even deeper, what then gives meaning to life itself. God? If God gives a meaning to life, which 'means' attaching a purpose and significance to life, then that thought exists in the mind of God. Does that 'mean' that those thoughts in the mind of God also exist in your mind? Well, no. There is no evidence that God makes you think certain thoughts or prevents you from thinking certain other thoughts. There is ample evidence that the thoughts in our minds have nothing at all to do with thoughts that may exist in the mind of God. We may not even think that any such entity as God even exists. You are a creature of free will and any attributes of meaning in Gods mind will only exist in your mind if you choose to agree with God that they should. Whoa! Think about that. The meaning of life exists in your thoughts only when you agree that it should. The meaning of life exists in your thoughts when you, and you alone, allow it to.
What does that 'mean'. It 'means' that the meaning of life is whatever you choose for it to be.
Still looking for the meaning of life. Then simply decide on what you 'think' it should be and - voila - there it is.
Of course it would be better if we, collectively, chose a good meaning for life and all agreed on it. But that is a subject for another blog. :)
I'm pretending to be an author. I have written a couple of books and a number of short stories. Here is one of the short stores.
By Gary Brandt
Copyright 2008 by Gary Brandt.
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this story may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Over The Edge Press, 809 W Riordan Rd Ste 100 #405, Flagstaff, AZ 86001
e-mail otep@overtheedgepress.com
www.overtheedgepress.com
Alannah stands quietly at the bus stop.The bus has arrived but has not yet descended to the platform level so the travelers must wait for it to get into the loading position. The other travelers are impatient but Alannah is content to wait. She is secretly hoping that the bus will be late, even hoping that she will miss it. It has been almost fifteen years since the great awakening, but Alannah is stuck, caught in a no-womans land between the past and the future, unable to move in either direction. Sherina, Alannahs supervisor at the all night diner, arranged for Alannah to take some time off for reconstitution therapy. It is a popular therapy for those who get stuck in a temporal dead zone, as it is called. Alannah is excited at the prospect of discovering her past and is hopeful it will launch her into the future. Being stuck is like living the same day over and over and over again, coming from nowhere and going nowhere. Excited as Alannah is, she is also apprehensive. Getting unstuck is frightening. You never know what you are going to find. What if you find that you are someone that you will hate? Alannah wonders if maybe it would be better not to know.
Alannahs Awakening
Stuck Between Tick and Tock
Stuck Between Tick and Tock
By Gary Brandt
Copyright 2008 by Gary Brandt.
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this story may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Over The Edge Press, 809 W Riordan Rd Ste 100 #405, Flagstaff, AZ 86001
e-mail otep@overtheedgepress.com
www.overtheedgepress.com
Alannah stands quietly at the bus stop.The bus has arrived but has not yet descended to the platform level so the travelers must wait for it to get into the loading position. The other travelers are impatient but Alannah is content to wait. She is secretly hoping that the bus will be late, even hoping that she will miss it. It has been almost fifteen years since the great awakening, but Alannah is stuck, caught in a no-womans land between the past and the future, unable to move in either direction. Sherina, Alannahs supervisor at the all night diner, arranged for Alannah to take some time off for reconstitution therapy. It is a popular therapy for those who get stuck in a temporal dead zone, as it is called. Alannah is excited at the prospect of discovering her past and is hopeful it will launch her into the future. Being stuck is like living the same day over and over and over again, coming from nowhere and going nowhere. Excited as Alannah is, she is also apprehensive. Getting unstuck is frightening. You never know what you are going to find. What if you find that you are someone that you will hate? Alannah wonders if maybe it would be better not to know.
I’m pretending to be an author. I have written a couple of books and a number of short stories. Here is one of the short stores.
Copyright 2008
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this story may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Over The Edge Press, 809 W Riordan Rd Ste 100 #405, Flagstaff, AZ 86001
e-mail otep@overtheedgepress.com
www.overtheedgepress.com
Alannah stands quietly at the bus stop. It has only been a few days since Alannah stood here, stuck in her temporal dead zone, without a past, and a future that will be only a re-run of yesterday. Now the dull doe eyed non-seeing eyes of yesterday are bright with excitement, delightfully scanning a landscape that is full of potential adventure. Today Alannah will return to the little clinic past the edge of the city for a follow up review regarding her reconstitution therapy. That was such a fearful day, but now, Alannah is excited to return.
The Sins of Elina
By Gary Brandt
By Gary Brandt
Copyright 2008
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this story may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Over The Edge Press, 809 W Riordan Rd Ste 100 #405, Flagstaff, AZ 86001
e-mail otep@overtheedgepress.com
www.overtheedgepress.com
Alannah stands quietly at the bus stop. It has only been a few days since Alannah stood here, stuck in her temporal dead zone, without a past, and a future that will be only a re-run of yesterday. Now the dull doe eyed non-seeing eyes of yesterday are bright with excitement, delightfully scanning a landscape that is full of potential adventure. Today Alannah will return to the little clinic past the edge of the city for a follow up review regarding her reconstitution therapy. That was such a fearful day, but now, Alannah is excited to return.
