Commentary and Philosophy Non-Fiction posted September 15, 2023 |
Mind Expansion
Eternal Life Means Endless
by Cogitator
From the moment of conception, a remarkable journey begins. The merging of genetic material between sperm and an ovum sets the stage for the creation of our physical bodies. This knowledge is inherent, a fundamental part of our existence, guiding our body's development and its interactions with the environment. Our DNA carries the instructions to shape us into our adult selves.
This innate knowledge isn't unique to humans; it permeates all organic life. An acorn possesses the blueprint to become a towering oak tree, while a fertilized eagle egg instinctively knows how to soar the skies. This inherent wisdom is pure and unadulterated, containing the essence of truth. It's a universal characteristic, shared by all living organisms.
In essence, self-education is the process of uncovering what we inherently are. Our DNA not only carries the legacy of our ancestral history but also serves as a foundation upon which we build our understanding of the world, evolving with each generation. For a deeper exploration of this concept, Michel Foucault's "Archaeology of Knowledge" is a valuable resource.
"The Archaeology of Knowledge" is a book written by French philosopher and historian Michel Foucault, first published in 1969. In this work, Foucault presents a unique approach to understanding the history of ideas and knowledge. The central theme of the book is the idea that traditional historical narratives and methods do not adequately capture the development of knowledge. Instead, Foucault suggests that we should treat knowledge as an archaeological site that can be excavated to reveal the underlying structures and discourses that have shaped it.
Foucault argues that traditional historical accounts tend to focus on the lives of individual thinkers or major intellectual movements, which he believes obscures the broader patterns and systems of knowledge production. He proposes a method of analysis that involves examining the "statements" or discourses that emerge within various fields of knowledge and how these statements are governed by rules, conditions of possibility, and systems of exclusion. By analyzing the rules that govern the formation of knowledge, one can better understand how different forms of knowledge emerge and change over time.
Overall, "The Archaeology of Knowledge" challenges conventional historical approaches and encourages readers to adopt a more structural and systematic perspective when studying the history of ideas and knowledge. Foucault's work has had a profound impact on fields such as philosophy, sociology, and cultural studies, influencing scholars to reconsider how knowledge is produced, classified, and understood.
We can liken our innate knowledge to a computer's Operating System (OS), which defines its environment and communication capabilities. Just as an OS enables a computer to learn by adding new applications (apps) to its base knowledge, our innate awareness provides a foundation upon which we build our understanding of the world.
In both living beings and computers, the process fundamentally boils down to Input, Process, and Output. This triad mirrors the concept of evolution, as everything in the universe undergoes transformation. We absorb input, process it through our minds, and produce new outputs in response.
Our brains play a pivotal role in this process, serving as neutral organs within the larger organism of humanity. The individual mind, which evaluates and judges systematic information, is the realm of the human ego.
Just as computers rely on peripherals like readers, keyboards, and screens for communication, we rely on our five physical senses and our innate common sense. What we do with the input we receive becomes a process, a program, or an application of knowledge.
In the realm of computers, the Central Processing Unit (CPU) processes knowledge. Similarly, in humans, our bicameral brain analyzes information, from emotions to logic, until decisions are reached. It's the ability to identify, evaluate, compare, and decide that leads to action. Unlike most organic life forms, humans excel at creating diverse applications to serve various purposes, ranging from greed to love.
In the early stages of life, human babies require nurturing and care. The first 18-24 months are typically a joyful time for both parents and child. During this period, babies accumulate a foundation of experiences, akin to a sponge absorbing knowledge. Their cries for hunger or discomfort trigger parental attention, reinforcing the Pavlovian response. At this stage, every experience shapes their future feelings and perceptions, fostering a sense of happiness and well-being.
But how do babies know when they're hungry or soiled? Their Operating System holds the answer. Two fundamental aspects are hard-coded into this system: Balance and Sequence. It monitors and maintains bodily functions, ensuring homeostasis—the state of equilibrium. From heartbeats to temperature regulation, this knowledge is passed down from our ancestors, supplying us with the essentials for survival.
As social animals, we perceive and navigate our environment through our physical senses. Parents provide love, guidance, and play as we grow, primarily experienced through sight, touch, smell, and taste. Hearing requires language to be effective. The transition to walking and talking marks the onset of parenting.
Communication occurs through energy waves, encompassing both digital and analog aspects. Think of a digit as a pixel (quantity) and the pixel's quality as analogous. Our bicameral brain serves as an AM/FM radio receiver with the tuner firmly embedded in the Corpus Callosum. Whenever an organism senses an imbalance, the brain is taxed, prompting some action within the imagined framework of time, space, and circumstances.
Living unfolds exclusively in the here and now, but it's the combinations of circumstances that often perplex us.
When the sperm and ovum commence their journey toward forming a human, they abide by the laws of nature, untouched by societal influences. It's akin to an angelic state. Until a child reaches the Age of Reason, they remain susceptible to societal conditioning, often manifesting as the "terrible twos."
Training children can be a challenging endeavor, while true education holds the key to enlightenment. "Educe," meaning to bring out or extract, perfectly encapsulates the natural purpose of a child—to understand oneself. Training, on the other hand, involves downloading artificial sequences of thoughts to address manufactured imbalances. The CPU can replicate any human thought pattern using zeroes and ones.
Indoctrination, brainwashing, and governance have contributed to our current dystopia.
A thought is a cycle of energy waves seeking connections within Groupthink, forming bonds through harmony, synchronization, and conditions.
In our beings, we house two minds: the natural mind, encompassing all-knowing perfection, and the mind crafted through human experiences, which shapes our personality or ego. Unfortunately, the ego-mind is often the source of turmoil on our planet.
Why do we engage in inner conflicts about our true desires? Why do we blame external influences for our creations? We must realize that our thoughts shape our perception of "reality." The human ego is the only entity capable of both lying and accepting falsehoods as truth—a trait not found in other known life forms.
As we develop within our environment, we encounter obstacles imposed by culture, parental figures, teachers, and peers. "NO" becomes one of the first words we learn, and as we approach the Age of Reason, we've heard it countless times. Unfortunately, what we're expected to know often has nothing to do with genuine self-education.
Society expects us to assimilate its designated "apps" that dictate behaviors others anticipate from us. We're bombarded with propaganda, indoctrination, deception, domestication, and outright falsehoods, all aimed at making us "fit in."
During our formative years, false beliefs and values permeate our minds, creating a foundation of false knowledge upon which we base future decisions. Genuine self-education necessitates identifying these elements and subjecting them to the scrutiny of truth.
Gender roles further complicate matters. We're all born with Yin and Yang tendencies that seek alignment with incoming communication. Our human form embodies both male and female capabilities, defined by the left and right hemispheres of our brains. But how do we utilize this inherent duality?
The term "personality" originates from "persona," meaning "mask." The ego dons this mask to protect itself and preserve its existence. However, the ego must ultimately yield to allow the authentic "us" to emerge—the "anima" of Carl Jung. The underlying truth of our being often causes suffering within these personalities.
The ongoing education of the ego is often referred to as "schooling." From birth, the truth is present, yet it becomes overshadowed by thoughts that lack veracity. Mandatory "education" merely serves to install societal apps in our children, often leading to the creation of wage slaves.
Consciousness is a remarkable facet of our existence. We are here, and the moment is now. From this vantage point, we set in motion what we consider the grand spectacle of "human life." Yet, how often do we fully grasp the significance of this realization? Sadly, many remain automatons, acting upon the thoughts of others.
Awareness and imagination serve as potent tools for transforming our lives. Most of us seek continuous improvement, yearning for peace of mind—to be free from worry, regret, fear, and judgment, and to bask in the beauty of creation and love. Other desires often prove frivolous and inconsequential.
The Heart Sutra offers profound insight into our nature, delving into the five skandhas—one for form and four for the mind. These skandhas manifest in us as cravings and attachments to our imagined realities, giving rise to the ego-self.
In summary, the Heart Sutra emphasizes the concept of "emptiness" (Sunyata) and the understanding that all phenomena lack inherent existence. It teaches that the five skandhas (form, sensation, perception, mental formations, and consciousness) are empty of independent existence, and therefore, they are not separate from each other. The sutra also asserts that by realizing this emptiness and transcending attachment to the material world, one can attain enlightenment and relieve suffering.
It's evident that we possess varying levels of understanding. Some are primarily focused on basic needs like survival and security, leaving little room for contemplation on a mountain's side. However, literacy empowers thinking individuals to distinguish truth from falsehood.
When the ego constructs value and belief systems to make decisions and later discovers the fallibility of these systems, it must confront its ignorance. Truth can challenge self-worth, leading the ego to resist by rejecting the truth. It strives to maintain control, becoming argumentative when confronted by the "real" self, often resorting to cognitive dissonance to evade the shame of ignorance.
Truth requires no excuses.
Belief, by contrast, is an assumption or opinion, inherently partial and often subjective. In our universe, there is no separation between any elements. Everything is interconnected, making it impossible for any imagined deity to be apart from the whole. Consequently, the human ego is the source of much suffering and evil, placing its desires above the universal spirit and causing imbalance by assigning value to stimuli, when all things possess equal value. Recognizing this fact enables us to create the world we aspire to inhabit, as the ego's inherent selfishness must be subdued for true peace to prevail.
Descartes' famous phrase, "Cogito, ergo sum," which translates to "I think; therefore, I am," captures only part of the human experience. Our feelings and senses also play a vital role in our thinking process. We think about what we feel, generating new thoughts when we experience them. Sadly, many in society are hypnotized into performing unnatural acts, often serving corporate interests, their thoughts influenced by external forces without their awareness.
Our center of life and awareness resides in the Here and Now. From this point, we project thoughts through our bodies and receive their echoes, shaping our human reality. Each idea is a Big Bang that continuously expands until connections cease.
While our ego's limited observations may never grasp the totality of existence, it possesses the capacity to imagine beyond what it can perceive. Hence, the desire to believe in a benevolent "god" that rewards with eternal life in a glorious "heaven." Curiously, this desire persists despite our inherent connection to heaven and our eternal existence. Some, unfortunately, persist in creating a living hell on Earth.
The universal operating system is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent—an unseen and formless force. It's a force that religious egos anthropomorphize in their quest for understanding. Nothing unnatural or supernatural exists; these terms serve only to mask ignorance or lack of comprehension.
How absurd it would be to gain awareness of life only to lose it. Consciousness serves a purpose, and logic demands continuity. Therefore, we must gather knowledge about our divinity during our human existence, moving forward in a transformed and transcendent manner. We are akin to caterpillars, poised to become butterflies.
Accepting that we are all created perfectly in a spiritual sense allows us to recognize the irrelevance of the ego's desires. Human beings stand no higher or lower than any other part of creation. The ego's cravings for greed, power, lust, competition, and more tarnish the heaven we inhabit.
Mother Earth provides the resources to construct our bodies, yet we often mistreat her. We must increase our awareness of our actions and take steps to cleanse our home. We don't require oil to survive; we need water instead of atomic bombs for protection. Love, not possessions, should be our focus, as we truly own nothing. It's time to awaken from our hypnotic state and reclaim our capacity for independent thought.
Eternal life isn't tied to the human body; it is a facet of existence itself. By envisioning heaven on Earth, we have the power to manifest it. Life owns us, not the other way around.
From the moment of conception, a remarkable journey begins. The merging of genetic material between sperm and an ovum sets the stage for the creation of our physical bodies. This knowledge is inherent, a fundamental part of our existence, guiding our body's development and its interactions with the environment. Our DNA carries the instructions to shape us into our adult selves.
This innate knowledge isn't unique to humans; it permeates all organic life. An acorn possesses the blueprint to become a towering oak tree, while a fertilized eagle egg instinctively knows how to soar the skies. This inherent wisdom is pure and unadulterated, containing the essence of truth. It's a universal characteristic, shared by all living organisms.
In essence, self-education is the process of uncovering what we inherently are. Our DNA not only carries the legacy of our ancestral history but also serves as a foundation upon which we build our understanding of the world, evolving with each generation. For a deeper exploration of this concept, Michel Foucault's "Archaeology of Knowledge" is a valuable resource.
"The Archaeology of Knowledge" is a book written by French philosopher and historian Michel Foucault, first published in 1969. In this work, Foucault presents a unique approach to understanding the history of ideas and knowledge. The central theme of the book is the idea that traditional historical narratives and methods do not adequately capture the development of knowledge. Instead, Foucault suggests that we should treat knowledge as an archaeological site that can be excavated to reveal the underlying structures and discourses that have shaped it.
Foucault argues that traditional historical accounts tend to focus on the lives of individual thinkers or major intellectual movements, which he believes obscures the broader patterns and systems of knowledge production. He proposes a method of analysis that involves examining the "statements" or discourses that emerge within various fields of knowledge and how these statements are governed by rules, conditions of possibility, and systems of exclusion. By analyzing the rules that govern the formation of knowledge, one can better understand how different forms of knowledge emerge and change over time.
Overall, "The Archaeology of Knowledge" challenges conventional historical approaches and encourages readers to adopt a more structural and systematic perspective when studying the history of ideas and knowledge. Foucault's work has had a profound impact on fields such as philosophy, sociology, and cultural studies, influencing scholars to reconsider how knowledge is produced, classified, and understood.
We can liken our innate knowledge to a computer's Operating System (OS), which defines its environment and communication capabilities. Just as an OS enables a computer to learn by adding new applications (apps) to its base knowledge, our innate awareness provides a foundation upon which we build our understanding of the world.
In both living beings and computers, the process fundamentally boils down to Input, Process, and Output. This triad mirrors the concept of evolution, as everything in the universe undergoes transformation. We absorb input, process it through our minds, and produce new outputs in response.
Our brains play a pivotal role in this process, serving as neutral organs within the larger organism of humanity. The individual mind, which evaluates and judges systematic information, is the realm of the human ego.
Just as computers rely on peripherals like readers, keyboards, and screens for communication, we rely on our five physical senses and our innate common sense. What we do with the input we receive becomes a process, a program, or an application of knowledge.
In the realm of computers, the Central Processing Unit (CPU) processes knowledge. Similarly, in humans, our bicameral brain analyzes information, from emotions to logic, until decisions are reached. It's the ability to identify, evaluate, compare, and decide that leads to action. Unlike most organic life forms, humans excel at creating diverse applications to serve various purposes, ranging from greed to love.
In the early stages of life, human babies require nurturing and care. The first 18-24 months are typically a joyful time for both parents and child. During this period, babies accumulate a foundation of experiences, akin to a sponge absorbing knowledge. Their cries for hunger or discomfort trigger parental attention, reinforcing the Pavlovian response. At this stage, every experience shapes their future feelings and perceptions, fostering a sense of happiness and well-being.
But how do babies know when they're hungry or soiled? Their Operating System holds the answer. Two fundamental aspects are hard-coded into this system: Balance and Sequence. It monitors and maintains bodily functions, ensuring homeostasis—the state of equilibrium. From heartbeats to temperature regulation, this knowledge is passed down from our ancestors, supplying us with the essentials for survival.
As social animals, we perceive and navigate our environment through our physical senses. Parents provide love, guidance, and play as we grow, primarily experienced through sight, touch, smell, and taste. Hearing requires language to be effective. The transition to walking and talking marks the onset of parenting.
Communication occurs through energy waves, encompassing both digital and analog aspects. Think of a digit as a pixel (quantity) and the pixel's quality as analogous. Our bicameral brain serves as an AM/FM radio receiver with the tuner firmly embedded in the Corpus Callosum. Whenever an organism senses an imbalance, the brain is taxed, prompting some action within the imagined framework of time, space, and circumstances.
Living unfolds exclusively in the here and now, but it's the combinations of circumstances that often perplex us.
When the sperm and ovum commence their journey toward forming a human, they abide by the laws of nature, untouched by societal influences. It's akin to an angelic state. Until a child reaches the Age of Reason, they remain susceptible to societal conditioning, often manifesting as the "terrible twos."
Training children can be a challenging endeavor, while true education holds the key to enlightenment. "Educe," meaning to bring out or extract, perfectly encapsulates the natural purpose of a child—to understand oneself. Training, on the other hand, involves downloading artificial sequences of thoughts to address manufactured imbalances. The CPU can replicate any human thought pattern using zeroes and ones.
Indoctrination, brainwashing, and governance have contributed to our current dystopia.
A thought is a cycle of energy waves seeking connections within Groupthink, forming bonds through harmony, synchronization, and conditions.
In our beings, we house two minds: the natural mind, encompassing all-knowing perfection, and the mind crafted through human experiences, which shapes our personality or ego. Unfortunately, the ego-mind is often the source of turmoil on our planet.
Why do we engage in inner conflicts about our true desires? Why do we blame external influences for our creations? We must realize that our thoughts shape our perception of "reality." The human ego is the only entity capable of both lying and accepting falsehoods as truth—a trait not found in other known life forms.
As we develop within our environment, we encounter obstacles imposed by culture, parental figures, teachers, and peers. "NO" becomes one of the first words we learn, and as we approach the Age of Reason, we've heard it countless times. Unfortunately, what we're expected to know often has nothing to do with genuine self-education.
Society expects us to assimilate its designated "apps" that dictate behaviors others anticipate from us. We're bombarded with propaganda, indoctrination, deception, domestication, and outright falsehoods, all aimed at making us "fit in."
During our formative years, false beliefs and values permeate our minds, creating a foundation of false knowledge upon which we base future decisions. Genuine self-education necessitates identifying these elements and subjecting them to the scrutiny of truth.
Gender roles further complicate matters. We're all born with Yin and Yang tendencies that seek alignment with incoming communication. Our human form embodies both male and female capabilities, defined by the left and right hemispheres of our brains. But how do we utilize this inherent duality?
The term "personality" originates from "persona," meaning "mask." The ego dons this mask to protect itself and preserve its existence. However, the ego must ultimately yield to allow the authentic "us" to emerge—the "anima" of Carl Jung. The underlying truth of our being often causes suffering within these personalities.
The ongoing education of the ego is often referred to as "schooling." From birth, the truth is present, yet it becomes overshadowed by thoughts that lack veracity. Mandatory "education" merely serves to install societal apps in our children, often leading to the creation of wage slaves.
Consciousness is a remarkable facet of our existence. We are here, and the moment is now. From this vantage point, we set in motion what we consider the grand spectacle of "human life." Yet, how often do we fully grasp the significance of this realization? Sadly, many remain automatons, acting upon the thoughts of others.
Awareness and imagination serve as potent tools for transforming our lives. Most of us seek continuous improvement, yearning for peace of mind—to be free from worry, regret, fear, and judgment, and to bask in the beauty of creation and love. Other desires often prove frivolous and inconsequential.
The Heart Sutra offers profound insight into our nature, delving into the five skandhas—one for form and four for the mind. These skandhas manifest in us as cravings and attachments to our imagined realities, giving rise to the ego-self.
In summary, the Heart Sutra emphasizes the concept of "emptiness" (Sunyata) and the understanding that all phenomena lack inherent existence. It teaches that the five skandhas (form, sensation, perception, mental formations, and consciousness) are empty of independent existence, and therefore, they are not separate from each other. The sutra also asserts that by realizing this emptiness and transcending attachment to the material world, one can attain enlightenment and relieve suffering.
It's evident that we possess varying levels of understanding. Some are primarily focused on basic needs like survival and security, leaving little room for contemplation on a mountain's side. However, literacy empowers thinking individuals to distinguish truth from falsehood.
When the ego constructs value and belief systems to make decisions and later discovers the fallibility of these systems, it must confront its ignorance. Truth can challenge self-worth, leading the ego to resist by rejecting the truth. It strives to maintain control, becoming argumentative when confronted by the "real" self, often resorting to cognitive dissonance to evade the shame of ignorance.
Truth requires no excuses.
Belief, by contrast, is an assumption or opinion, inherently partial and often subjective. In our universe, there is no separation between any elements. Everything is interconnected, making it impossible for any imagined deity to be apart from the whole. Consequently, the human ego is the source of much suffering and evil, placing its desires above the universal spirit and causing imbalance by assigning value to stimuli, when all things possess equal value. Recognizing this fact enables us to create the world we aspire to inhabit, as the ego's inherent selfishness must be subdued for true peace to prevail.
Descartes' famous phrase, "Cogito, ergo sum," which translates to "I think; therefore, I am," captures only part of the human experience. Our feelings and senses also play a vital role in our thinking process. We think about what we feel, generating new thoughts when we experience them. Sadly, many in society are hypnotized into performing unnatural acts, often serving corporate interests, their thoughts influenced by external forces without their awareness.
Our center of life and awareness resides in the Here and Now. From this point, we project thoughts through our bodies and receive their echoes, shaping our human reality. Each idea is a Big Bang that continuously expands until connections cease.
While our ego's limited observations may never grasp the totality of existence, it possesses the capacity to imagine beyond what it can perceive. Hence, the desire to believe in a benevolent "god" that rewards with eternal life in a glorious "heaven." Curiously, this desire persists despite our inherent connection to heaven and our eternal existence. Some, unfortunately, persist in creating a living hell on Earth.
The universal operating system is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent—an unseen and formless force. It's a force that religious egos anthropomorphize in their quest for understanding. Nothing unnatural or supernatural exists; these terms serve only to mask ignorance or lack of comprehension.
How absurd it would be to gain awareness of life only to lose it. Consciousness serves a purpose, and logic demands continuity. Therefore, we must gather knowledge about our divinity during our human existence, moving forward in a transformed and transcendent manner. We are akin to caterpillars, poised to become butterflies.
Accepting that we are all created perfectly in a spiritual sense allows us to recognize the irrelevance of the ego's desires. Human beings stand no higher or lower than any other part of creation. The ego's cravings for greed, power, lust, competition, and more tarnish the heaven we inhabit.
Mother Earth provides the resources to construct our bodies, yet we often mistreat her. We must increase our awareness of our actions and take steps to cleanse our home. We don't require oil to survive; we need water instead of atomic bombs for protection. Love, not possessions, should be our focus, as we truly own nothing. It's time to awaken from our hypnotic state and reclaim our capacity for independent thought.
Eternal life isn't tied to the human body; it is a facet of existence itself. By envisioning heaven on Earth, we have the power to manifest it. Life owns us, not the other way around.
The most important takeaway from this piece is to enjoy your vacation on Earth.
Artwork by avmurray at FanArtReview.com
© Copyright 2024. Cogitator All rights reserved.
Cogitator has granted FanStory.com, its affiliates and its syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.