Time travel

A classic question is: Can time travel exist without mucking up the present? Or, can the the past be changed, even if you exist in the present? These are interesting questions that tends to make the muck even muckier. Mucky or not, lets see if there are some productive thoughts...

Time lines are really tied to the position of the observer. For instance, time lines in the past seems to be closer together that time in the present. Time goes fast or slow depending upon how busy or interested we are in a project. Or, In a bit more esoteric vein, Einstein shows how time is compressed or expanded depending upon how fast the observer or traveler is moving. In addition, meditative states exist where time doesn’t seem to exist.

It is the meditative perspective that interests me.

Whenever a certain meditative elevation is reached, a profound sense oneness exists. Everything in the universe is touchable instantaneously. This creates a perspective that time is nonexistent. In fact, at least for me, the only movement that I notice is an expansion of awareness.

The bottom line for me fits into the category of I don’t give a never mind about the physical aspects concerning time travel. The reason is that timeless sojourners in meditation are real to me. Who is to say that the meditative awareness is not real and the consciousness awareness is only apparent?

Indeed, there are very useful meditative techniques that look at the past, change it and then move into the future without being encumbered by the past perspective.

Now if there was only a way to test time travel in the physical, conscious world...

What do you think?

Sam

All pervasive practicality.

Most of the time I think about practicality as being tied to a process or a decision. For instance, it is more practical to wash under one arm with the opposite hand. Or, as the ancient warriors found through trial and error, that the proper order is to conquer, have a good time, pillage, and then burn. Any other order doesn’t work as well. (Please excuse the silliness, but you get the idea...)

I like being practical. When I’m ready to do something I like to produce something that has value. Being practical is good. However, There is an infinite number of things to do and there is a large number of ways to get any one thing done. Which way is the best? Which way is the most practical?

The best and most practical way to get anything done is to participate in all pervasive practicality.

All pervasive practicality has to do with awareness. The greater your awareness, the better the chance you have at coming up with a practical solution to a problem. Here is an example:

Lets say you are flipping a house (completely remodeling it for sale) and the house needs lots of work. Normally the most practical way to get it done is to paint last. However, how about painting first. There would be no need to mask off trim and windows. You could get a big spray gun and then just stand in the center of the room and spray everywhere. Next, change out the windows and then paint the trim and last, put in the carpet. Yes there are holes in that process depending on the exact situation, but you get the idea. The use of greater awareness gets the job done and the net result is the same as the tried and true practical way.

If greater awareness is used in the decision making process, the result is better practicality.

You know the saying that if you teach people to fish other that to just give them fish, the problem of hunger is solved. (Or something like that.) Using all pervasive practicality through greater awareness is not fishy. It is simply much more efficient, let alone more practical. You no longer need to learn a whole bunch of practical ways to accomplish whatever. All you need is greater awareness.

All pervasive practicality is letting greater awareness permeate all your decision making processes. It is free of charge.

A blog entry on increasing your awareness is sometime in the future...

What do you think?

Sam

Sparse blogging

Hi,

Sorry for the sparse blogging but just got back from Friesland where Anne Claire and I gave a 5 day workshop, then off to 10 days of classes, workshops, etc. in New York and California. Will resume when I reach Oregon and the comfort of my motorhome, Matilda.

Sam

Some thoughts about knowing the answer.

If you are convinced that you know the answer, you have unhappily stopped learning.

That sounds like a pretty deterministic statement but it does have a softer side. Its softer side has to do with fulfillment. Let me describe my thinking...

I find that I go through a series of steps or mental positions whenever I start pursuing a new interest. I’ve listed my rendering of the steps below. The steps may seem a bit categorical but, in reality, the amount of time I spend in each step is quite variable and can be anywhere from a second to years. They are:

1. Discover a new interest...
2. Determine the subjects value through research...
3. Discuss the subject and formulate a conclusion...
4. Defend the conclusion through argument...
5. Decide that there is more to learn...
6. Discard your conclusion...
7. Draw a sense of fulfillment from your expanding knowledge...

Each of these steps is important. How far I get down the list has a lot to say about how happy I am. It is easy to get stuck at step 4, thereby making it difficult to expand my knowledge. Another word for that is stubbornness. I know this because I have been there an embarrassingly large number of times. I also know that when I (really) get to step 5 then a new world of knowledge opens up for me. I am able to go beyond an older way of thinking into something more expansive and creative. I can honestly say that when I am being stubborn I am not happy. In fact, I would go further to say that I have never seen a stubborn person that is happy.

The traditional topics that seem to promulgate invariant or stubborn stances are:

• Religion
• Politics
• Authority
• Family
• Moola

Note that the above list comes from my experiences. Yours may be different and that’s good. However, the point is that all of the above has a stated or implied purpose seated in helping to create a better life. So why do we belligerently declare, debate and defend our position about them? Well, I guess it is because we are not really sure about the value of our position.

Perhaps our position really isn’t creating a more fulfilling life. Perhaps we really want to move beyond our current position to something that has greater value for us that creates fulfillment. Movement implies change. Change in a thinking pattern requires that we go beyond what we know into a thought pattern that is open and receptive to a change of mind.

When we are open to mental expansion our stubborn tendency goes away. We are far more open to changing our mind and no longer have a need to defend our position. When we are no longer argumentative we are happier. When we are happy we have a good go at fulfillment.

The bottom line is that when we no longer are convinced that we have the answer we have become open to fulfillment. There is no limit to what we can learn, nor is there a limit on fulfillment. Being a know-it-all is not a happy thing!

What do you think?

Sam

Undesirable emotions as catalysts

Catalyst a figurative definition: A Person or thing that precipitates an event.

I’m a firm believer that anything that happens in my life is there for a reason. I’ve also
noticed that many things that happen to me eventually precipitate some sort of action. This seems particularly true when what is happening involves what I would call an undesirable emotion such as anger or being judgemental.

In other words, undesirable emotions are catalysts for activity. I know that it doesn’t always initially seem that way but when I step back from the situation and with a bit patience, the catalectic action becomes obvious to me. Eventually I will get off my duff and do something that changes the emotion.

Here is my (incomplete) list of some undesirable emotions and their catalytic result.

• Gilt doesn’t bring something back, but it is a catalyst to move on.
• Anger creates imbalance, but it is a catalyst to get you off your duff.
• Apathy creates nothing, but it is a catalyst to regroup.
• Preaching is not really followed, but it is a catalyst to tune up your beliefs.
• Judgement creates separation, but it is a catalyst for better understanding.
• Stealing creates poverty, but it is a catalyst to understand responsibility.

Does this mean that undesirable emotions are good? I don’t think so. However, it seems that they are a universal tool that helps push us on a more productive path. The key is to cultivate harmony and not to get use to undesirable emotions. After all, fulfillment and happiness certainly are lots more fun! :-)

Undesirable emotions however, eventually create balance. The amount of time it takes is a free will choice.

What do you think?

Sam