Thoughts on consciousness

We are part nature part consciousness which allows us to detetmine  our destiny despite the laws that govern the material world.

 Laws of nature serve their purpose in a material context but there is a seperate dimension from which we observe everything.

We observe ourselves in a material dimension. Thus we observe our life as we observe our death from some other placce.

We observe both from within and from without for we are surrounded by consciousness that has no bounds.

Our consciousness is probably not contained by the brain which merely processesses information in relation to a temporary material state of being.

Consciousness like the universe is an evolving entity in its own right.

Wisdom of Einstein

[I do not] carry such information in my mind since it is readily available in books. ...The value of a college education is not the learning of many facts but the training of the mind to think.

Try and penetrate with our limited means the secrets of nature and you will find that, behind all the discernible concatenations, there remains something subtle, intangible and inexplicable. Veneration for this force beyond anything that we can comprehend is my religion. To that extent I am, in point of fact, religious.

Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding. You cannot subjugate a nation forcibly unless you wipe out every man, woman, and child. Unless you wish to use such drastic measures, you must find a way of settling your disputes without resort to arms.

The nature of Nature

The universal nature has no external space; but the wondrous part of her art is that though she has circumscribed herself, everything which is within her which appears to decay and to grow old and to be useless she changes into herself, and again makes other new things from these very same, so that she requires neither substance from without nor wants a place into which she may cast that which decays. She is content then with her own space, and her own matter, and her own art.

Marcus Aurelius

Playing God with the weather

For those who think that the extreme weather conditions, drought in the USA, floods in China, Japan, UK and elsewhere are attributable solely to gobal warming, think again.

Scientists and Governments in their arrogance and ignorance are under the illusion that they can treat nature as their own personal plaything. They see themselves as separate and above nature when in reality we are a collection of virtually indiscernible molecules in an infinite universe of molecules. Unless we live in harmony with nature, nature will destroy us.

Weather systems are so dynamic, complex and powerful it is impossible to calculate all the possible permutations that could occur as a result of manipulating them. There is no way of knowing with any certainty the consequences of altering patterns of rainfall in one place on another place. We cannot possibly compute the effect on atmospheric conditions, plant life, soil conditions, bacteria, health and disease by altering what has taken nature billions of years to create. The arrogance of those who so casually and carelessly play God with nature is so mind boggling it defies description.

It must be stopped and those responsible called to account. We are not nor ever can separate ourselves from that which we are a part. It is up to us to fall in line with nature in order to ensure our survival, not the other way around which can only end badly for us.

Quite simply, we do not have a choice but to live in harmony with nature. We must change our ways not the weather. If those that lead us do not understand this simple truth, they understand nothing.

Searching for the nature of God

The next big question that needs resolving is the nature or form of the creator. I do not pretend to know who or what God is. I claim only to have reflected upon the question deeply for almost longer than I care to remember. The following are therefore merely my reflections in written form.

The image of a wise old man with a white beard in the sky is of a God made in our image. That is highly improbable as as I am sure most would agree. Therefore if there is a God we must search for a more plausible understanding that somehow ties in with the reality we perceive and our limited understanding of science as well as the insights of ancient and modern mystics.

In brief the only answer I can come up with is that the universe and everything in it is derived from a source of energy. Without it nothing would exist. I have to believe if there were a God he/she/it would have to be in some way, shape or form a source of energy, perhaps the source of energy from which everything emerged. If this were so this source or force would have to be conscious and intelligent, perhaps the source of all consciousness. This energy the source of consciousness would be the driving force of everything both visible and invisible. From it would emerge all the forces that combine to create the visible and invisible universe. Einstein said that if there are laws (of physics) then logically there must be a law maker. These laws are encoded in the molecules that make up the universe and everything in it.

The universe is itself illusory. The molecules from which everything is made are 99% empty space yet the objects we see appear solid. Scientists tell us that if the solid matter contained in every human on Earth were collected and combined it would be no larger than a sugar cube! These are mind boggling facts that are almost beyond our comprehension. In essence we see objectivity where in reality there is only empty space. It's almost as though someone or something has painted a picture on a blank canvas; only the canvas is emptiness. I have never seen a painting materialise out of thin air. A painting requires an artist and his paints. Furthermore the artist must possess a consciousness that enables him or her to envisage the image he wishes to create. Above all he needs energy to undertake his task. This is I think a good analogy because it encompasses the necessary functions of the creative process.

For it to work though we need some evidence of the nature of consciousness. What is it? Is it a function of the mind or is it an external force that is visibly imbued in the fabric of the universe itself? To try and answer this question I have read up on experiments that indicate that plants and water possess consciousness. Plants, it is claimed have a higher level of conscious than some lower levels of insects and animals. Like plants, water apparently responds consciously to positive and negative frequency stimulation as do we humans. Interestingly we are ourselves largely composed of water as are plants. If this is true then there is a strong possibility we will discover consciousness at some level everywhere and in everything in the universe. Indeed the entire universe may well be a conscious entity. It is therefore not beyond the bounds of reason that the universe is a manifestation of consciousness and that consciousness is what we call God. As we are discovering, everything appears to be interconnected to everything else. This interconnection indicates that there is no objective separation of galaxies planets, plants or other elements such as water or ourselves. In which case the whole universe is an active and reactive single conscious entity where everything is connected to everything else.

In other word the entire universe is the manifestation of it's creator, the entity or force we call "God".

This explanation of the nature and form of God is I believe one that is believable. It is that of the artist, the grand designer rather than one occupied by the petty detail of our personal lives. It is nevertheless no less comforting because I do believe the words, "God is love" is at the heart of this consciousness. There is a good argument to be made for this hypothesis but that must be for another time. Suffice it to say that when one acts out of love the world becomes a much brighter place. There is enormous comfort and hope in this vision of God. If we follow the path of enlightened love we can raise our levels of consciousness and become part of the blissful and boundless joy that such a state can bring. If not we walk blindly and joylessly  on a path of darkness. These appear to be self evident,  fundamental, eternal  and inescapable truths, the only real truths that really exist. This is the truth of God in my humble view.

Lastly, I have never believed that the universe spontaneously self combusted into existence from a state of nothingness. A state of nothingness is a contradiction in terms. If it existed it would be something. It is therefore an impossibllity. This being the case there can never have been a beginning nor can there be an ending. There is just an eternal state of being and this state of being is in constant evolution. This concept defies the understanding of science which must have a beginning and an end to everything and that is why science continually finds itself going down blind alleys. They have as yet failed to understand that if God exists he/she/it is the science they study. If this is right, God is the ultimate law maker, the artist par excellence.

Glorious cascade of Wisteria

Sometimes words alone cannot describe the beauty of nature!