"We all live within the same illusion and are, in our own way and in our own time, trying to understand the truth behind it all. Some may not be looking at the moment or even in this particular life, but ultimately we will all wake up from the dream and remember who we really are. Ultimately, we will all become one..."
This question of the origin of the universe has been on my mind more than any other in my life and the pursuit of an answer to this question is the reason I write an existential blog. I truly wish there were more individuals in the world who pondered this great mystery.
In this video philosopher Jim Holt starts his talk by asking the question, "Why does the universe exist?", and everyone laughs. Unfortunately, I think that type of response to some of life's bigger questions is a fairly common thing, as it seems we have all taught ourselves not to think too much about those things. We even convince ourselves in many cases that questions of that nature are ridiculous questions to ask, perhaps to protect ourselves from the fear of knowing or the fear of how that might potentially change the way we live and think about our lives and how we perceive our reality.
In truth though, my whole life I don't think I've ever been able to NOT think about this question because it seems so extremely crucial to our existence, so it's always truly baffled me that anyone could go through an entire lifetime without, at least at some point, contemplating this question as well. I believe it's not only perhaps the most important question we can ask ourselves as living, breathing, members of this fantastical universe, but quite possibly the only real question there is to ask...
"To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. - Lao Tzu"
Today I awoke with a clarity of vision, an awareness of mind and a deep appreciation for everything that I have and everyone that I know. This new awareness inspired me to make this meme. Hope you like it... :)
Almost 2 years ago today I walked out on my job in rejection of all the systems of control that we live under and I haven't looked back since. In that time I've learned so much about the world and had my eyes opened to so many things that I don't think I could've seen had I still been plugging along as usual within the societal framework of illusory reality that we humans have manufactured for ourselves and cling to in this existence. I've cultivated a great respect and love for nature and for all the living creatures that inhabit the natural world. I've rediscovered my artistic creativity and found some new talents that I didn't even know I had. Most importantly though, I've started doing with my life the things that I want to do and reclaimed my mind "out of the hands of the cultural engineers who want want to turn me into a half baked moron, consuming all this trash," as Terence McKenna put it.
There is a silent war going on in the world...a war over your mind and "the powers that be" have gone to great effort to understand what reality is because in that knowledge there is power. The power to control the world and the consciousness of anyone and everyone, but especially those who are not even aware that such a battle is even going on. Those who empower themselves by simply paying attention, however, will not be so easily swayed. They will see this coming from miles away and they will not only be ready, but they will have the wisdom to consider such an attempt as no more than an insult to their intelligence as they too become creators of this reality themselves and begin shaping before them the world that they want to see, rather than the desperate, fear fueled, brain washing that we're spoon fed daily by society, the media and our culture.
Empower yourself! Break out of the box that's been containing you since birth. Do your own thing and be your own you. This is your life and yours alone, so live it your way and don't let anything or anyone in this whole entire world tell you anything different. You're here to create something uniquely you...something that's never been done before. You have all the greatness of the universe within you and you'll never know just how much that's true until you begin rejecting the formulas of life that others have laid out for you. Life is a much more splendorous thing than just whether or not you get a degree in this or that...or whether or not you climb to the top of your profession...or whether or not your credit score is improving. These are illusions for your mind, put there to distract you from your true divine nature, but you don't have to participate in that game. Those things have no more worth, and will create no more beauty in your life, than a musical instrument would to a person devoid of their five senses, but we're told that they're important...that these things are crucial and necessary. Well, I say that if we're going to do everything that the world tells us we should do, then there's really no point to us living this life. Truly, if that's the case, they might as well have not even given us a name at birth, but instead just have given us a number...because that's what we are to those who would control us...just a number. That's why it's up to each one of us to decide if we're happy being just another number or if we want to wake up from that dream and start informing ourselves about just how much of our lives we're living and just how much of our lives have already been designated for us to live...
Life is an adventure and unfortunately one that many people might not even be aware that they're on. To those who have had this wakening revelation though, the world can sometimes seem like a very lonely place, as you step back and watch the surging flow of people all around you, moving subsconsciously about their day, perhaps unaware of the infinite beauty of the reality around them. We all live within the same web of illusion, so it is unlikely that anyone sees the full picture of reality, but every once in a while you can look into the eyes of someone and see the sheer limitless, endless, wonder of the whole universe and know that they too have embarked upon the same self discovering journey of finding out exactly what it means to be alive and why every second of our existence in this life is a thing to be enjoyed...
"The Matrix is a system, Neo. That system is our enemy. But when you’re inside, you look around, what do you see? Businessmen, teachers, lawyers, carpenters. The very minds of the people we are trying to save. But until we do, these people are still a part of that system and that makes them our enemy. You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inert, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it." - Morpheus
Reality is merely an illusion and we all live in this "Matrix" of illusion that Morpheus was referring to everyday of our lives. Ignorance to the truth of reality is the problem and the only solution to this problem is to begin to awaken your mind and set yourself on the path of "The One".
Here are the 5 main things you can do to start following the path to true enlightenment according to the "Matrix" trilogy, the documentary "Philosophy And The Matrix: Return To The Source" and the philosophers throughout time who inspired it:
1)The superman rejects all of the previously established constructs of systems of good and bad and what you're told that you're supposed to do. "The One" will use his own will to do what he wants regardless of what the world says or thinks. - According to the great philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.
2) Free yourself of the attachments to singular individuals, platonic or intimate. This includes romantic and sexual encounters. "The One" will learn to love all the same and not raise any one person above the others. - Neo fails at this by holding Trinity up above all others, but the TRULY enlightened individual will not.
3) Let go of the idea that anything in the future will continue to be like the past. Anything is possible because the limits of the past have only been true up until now. All we know so far is that which was, but that which was can always be changed.
- According to the philosopher David Hume.
4) You must die to the ego in order to attain true enlightenment, immortality and a union with the world and with the divine.
5) Once the spirit has been reconnected with the divine then "the matrix" itself begins to dissolve and the spirit of "The One" will revert to it's natural expressions of light and peace. This individual will then be able to help realign all the dimensions of human existence: body, mind and spirit.
It should be noted that we are all, in a sense, "The One". We all live within the same illusion and are, in our own way and in our own time, trying to understand the truth behind it all. Some may not be looking at the moment or even in this particular life, but ultimately we will all wake up from the dream and remember who we really are. Ultimately, we will all become "The One"...
For A MORE "VISUAL" LOOK AT ALL THIS, CHECK OUT:
Philosophy And The Matrix: Return To The Source - Documentary
This is probably true for everyone. I don't think that they were talking about opening our eyes for the first time here by becoming a spiritual person or becoming more "enlightened" in this life or opening our eyes to really anything in THIS reality. No. This and every other seemingly tangible universe IS "the dream world" and to attain the kind of understanding that would truly open our eyes in this way would mean a complete separation from the physical realms all together and an instant ascension into infinitely higher vibrational planes of existence.
I've been thinking back recently to a trip I took last year to see the Mayan ruins of Mexico and Guatemala. I've always been fascinated with the magic of the region and with Mayan culture, beliefs, architecture, creation myth, etc. This has been particularly true as we near the end of the Mayan long count calendar; an intricate system of time keeping which spans the 5,125 years from August 11, 3114 BC to the winter solstice on December 21, 2012 AD.
Many translations say that the Mayans predicted the end date of the calendar to be the end of a great world age. In fact, it seems the Mayans thought that at the end of this 5,125 year cycle we would enter what they called "The Time of No Time"; a period which would bring with it phenomenal changes and transformation on the earth. These changes, they believed, would propel us into a great evolutionary period on this planet, which would carry our world into a time of new beginnings and deep spiritual growth.
When thinking to myself about all the mind blowing structures that I was privileged enough to experience at each of the ancient sites, I was reminded of just how much of a feeling ofawe and reverence, as well as a deep reflection upon one's own spiritual nature, that each of these spectacular monuments seemed to command. This was a defining experience which planted the seed within me to find more peace and harmony within myself, as well as letting go of fear, that I might one day come to understand more the true nature of existence and reality. Many of these concepts, I feel, have lead me to a place of comprehending, that the road to enlightenment is more than just a quest for personal knowledge. It's about learning compassion and coming back with all that you've learned, with a burning desire to share with other's what following that call within your heart has taught you.
This burning call to action, that all of us experience at one time or another in our lives, got me thinking about the book, "The Hero With A Thousand Faces" by Joseph Campbell. In the book he introduces the concept that all the great journeys in our lives that make epic stories, help us achieve difficult goals and even perhaps lead us down the path of ultimately becoming better people, unwaveringly follow the same progression of events, which he called "The Hero's Journey". Fascinated with this concept, I started researching more about the hero's path, as it no doubt mirrors the path of one whose goal is to seek true inner peace and enlightenment. This can be seen here in this short clip from the fascinating documentary, "Return To The Source: Philosophy And The Matrix", where they briefly discuss Joseph Campbell and "The Hero's Journey", through Neo's path to enlightenment, in "The Matrix" movie.
Now, looking more closely at these steps as a process of spiritual illumination, I began seeing instant parallels with the enlightened figures of the past, such as Jesus or The Buddha, for instance. In both cases, their lives seem to almost precisely mirror this process in perfect sequence. Particularly, the story of The Buddha's life, I think. I've been looking pretty deeply into Buddhism lately and have been completely fascinated with the life of The Buddha, as it is such an inspiring story of giving up everything that feeds "the self" in order to attain a completely pure state of love and compassion for all that is, as well as the obstacles that one must face along the way.
As far as my own "Hero's Journey" is concerned, I have most certainly experienced "The Ordinary World" & I have many times heard "The Call To Adventure", of which I have many times followed. Regarding, the particular call towards deepening my own level of enlightenment, however, I have definitely experienced "Refusal of the Call" more times than I think anyone would care to admit. Perhaps, that phase of the journey though, is by nature, designed to ensnare most any one of us, if only for awhile. I'm not sure I have specifically had my "Meeting With The Mentor" yet, although I have become quite inspired the last few years by the writings, documentaries, talks and teachings of many different spiritual masters and intellectuals advocating the exploration and development of consciousness, compassion and love, as well as refining our ability to perceive who and what we are beyond the veil of the physical world. I've hardly "Crossed the First Threshold" by making some minor changes recently towards helping myself refocus my energy in the direction of this goal. Though, it seems those "minor changes" have already presented me with some rather major "Tests, Allies & Enemies" to be regarded.
So, I am pretty far from my goals in this endeavor. I suppose though, enlightenment, is probably the most trying goal a person can set for themselves in this life, but, then again, I do like to make life difficult. Nonetheless, after many years of deliberation & "refusal", I have embarked on this journey; not quite a "hero" yet, but it's a start and I imagine every hero's story begins somewhere.
I had recently taken a couple of camping trips into the wilderness to sort of get away from it all & reconnect with nature. It was refreshing to take in the natural environment & get away from my computer & cell phone for a change. The first thing I noticed was the silence. Not just the silence of being out of the city, but the complete & utter silence from my phone. No more calls. No more texts. No more Facebook updates buzzing my pocket every 5 seconds. It was clear to me immediately how much I didn't really need it.
On my last trip, while gazing at this beautiful river running through the forest, I began to examine my life & just how I'd been spending my time the last few years. I started to realize just how dependent I had allowed myself to become on Facebook in particular. This revelation sort of left a deep pit in my stomach as I thought about all the hours I'd spent uploading, tagging, commenting & writing perhaps somewhat hollow posts, in an effort to avoid the somewhat frequent snickers that often arose from attempting anything philosophical. It seems people aren't generally really looking to hear your ideas on Facebook as much as the social scoop, the goings on.
All at once, I could see just how jacked into the internet "matrix" I had become & how Facebook had been this invisible force that sat on my shoulders day after day, frequently beckoning me to log on, as if whispering in my ear to go and see what was happening in the virtual world. It became clear to me that I was actually really tired of having to do that just to know what was happening with people. I started thinking about what life was like before social networks(Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, etc.) and seemed to remember life having more of a natural ebb & flow; an existence not governed by anything but one's own exploratory nature & the natural course of daily experiences.
Now it seems, not just for myself, but for many of the people that I've had the privilege of knowing, that social platforms are becoming the ultimate medium for planning nearly all of life's daily encounters. I mean, I've rarely known what was going on for some time, except what Facebook seemed to be telling me & this phenomenon doesn't seem to be showing any signs of slowing. Virtually every branch of my family has joined Facebook to date. Even my grandmother seems to have become somewhat obsessed with Facebook games. It seems to be a phenomenon that has become so far-reaching, for millions & millions of people, the world over & much like the matrix of this illusory, quantum, universe we live in...it's all around us...and it's growing.
So, in an effort to get back to the basics & simplify my life; to reconnect with nature & my spiritual side; I shut down my long time running, heavily invested in, Facebook account & let me tell you...it feels good! :)
