We, of the highest consciousness and of the most versatile form, so far as we know, reside as the ultimate being in this rarefied realm—as we are the most fortuitous creatures that the universe has ever wrought; in fact, we ARE the universe come to life—necessarily from a long line of many fortunate accidents.
With all due respect Austin, I think we are the lowest consciousness ever created. Name another life form on Earth that is in the process of self destruction. Highest you say? Mankind is so low it's killing itself, its home called Earth, and unfortunately everything else. Are you conscious of that?
= MJA
PS: Please don't take this personal, your not the only one!
I very much liked your essay or poem Austin, "The Meadows of Heaven", especially I liked the part when you said: "We are the universe come to life." Yes, I regard each person a living universe which has personal dignity, rights and obligations towards the whole of the universe. Each person carries great responsibility and if possible, he or she should use his or her potentials for the good to the whole of the universe.
Unfortunately, sometimes humankind does not properly use its potentials for the good but creates havoc and harm, even to the environment as MJA points out. May be I would not quite accept the statement that "..we are the lowest consciousness ever created," but I do think there can and must be a great improvement in humankind's behaviour and thinking if we want to create a peaceful and secure environment for all creatures of the universe.
Your mentioned in your poem Austin, "-other -whereas, junkyard universes litter the omniscape in every direction-". I like to restrict my thinking to the only universe that I can experience and observe and leave all the other hypothetical universes to there own fate. I think we depart from the realm of physical science if we start speculating about other possible universes. I feel physical science should be based on facts and mathematical and reasonable or logical deduction or induction from the facts we can observe. A good logical statement should be remembered: "What is gratuitously assumed or stated can be gratuitously denied." If we gratuitously assume that all these other universes exist, than we can also gratuitously say they are just phantoms, or just ideas with no existences. If they do not exist, why bother with them?
I like the words: "So, then, hail and good fortune, fine fellows", and I would agree with these words: "..we are surely still in our infancy." I feel the human evolutionary process has just begun when viewed from the time table of the universal evolutionary process. Humankind has just discovered its consciousness and it is developing its potentials. We are still in the process of humanizing our own planet earth. But after we have harmonize and achieve reasonable world peace and security, we can look forward to the humanization of outer space and eventually even our solar system and beyond. We all have to pool our knowledge, talents and resources for an unending humanization process of the universe.
True, we don’t need other universes, for ours is random enough to demonstrate our luck. Certainly random bad luck arrives, as well, such as Hittler’s conception, but “bad” has a way of eventually losing out.
MJA,
Even if some or many squander their existence, it is still on offer for the remainder—ever those who advance the human race, albeit it still in its childhood.
Those who are evil may have been brainwashed or have various mental defects beyond their control—brains are far from perfect. The central nervous system still sends out thousands-of-years-old messages, like flight or fight. Our existence in these more modern times is but an instant.
Too little serotonin, due to genetics, wrong food, or lack of exercise places the older, more primitive portion in control. People then fall for their very own thoughts as gospel and behave poorly. Some realize this later; some never can. All person are not created or raised equally.
To much dopamine causes endless novelty seeking and risky behavior.
A low standing heart rate reduces the anxiety that should come with criminal behavior (usually combined with the above two conditions).
As part and parcel of the organic world, we are necessarily electrochemical beings and nature knows neither good nor bad except how they could be used for continued survival.
We survived, partly, because of our violent abilities, not in spite of them, and partly, through cooperation. All things mix together.
Fear can be turned inside out (of public speaking, say) into the excitement of the event. The beast in us can lead to a zest for life, etc.
Certainly, though, drug users, drinkers, gamblers, sports nuts, grouches, war mongers, quarrelers, users, and all those types mostly eventually come to ruin, even some to regret.
Learning bad stuff can be a dangerous thing. Learning actually rewires the brain, grooving it. Many never forget how to ride a bike, or, unfortunately, how to commit crimes.
Thoughts turn into words, thence into actions and finally into one’s character.
There is a whole spectrum of behavior. Such is the price of the freedom and opportunity presented by being human.
There is something called higher consciousness, a slight misnomer, because it is really the brain’s learning and doing, but that’s what it is called:
The three lower consciousnesses that are
Obsessed with the securing of objects,
With the chasing of sensations, and with
Power/control will never ever be enough.
There are NO actions of people that can
Justify our becoming irritable
Angry, fearful, jealous or anxious if
We give them our unconditional love.
If we don’t accept the unacceptable,
Then we lower our level of consciousness
Our response will mirror their uptightness—
Which can spread the bad moods onto others.
Stress is the difference between what we
Expect to happen and what really happens—
Especially when we put our needs ahead
Of other’s, oft resulting in needless anger.
When we converse with ourselves, it is our
Higher Consciousness—our larger brain
That questions our lower consciousness
Impulses toward securing, sensation, and power.
Conscious Awareness, which can but witness,
Is a safe haven from which to observe
The drama of our lives playing in our minds,
Granting us a sobering distance from it.
From a safe subjective place that’s free of fear,
Our soul, our conscious awareness, can witness
The strange thoughts and emotions that surface
On the mind, sent by the subconscious brain.
Putting ourselves in the place of others
When hurtful things are done to us,
Expands our consciousness, compassion, and love
Since we can come to know why they did it.
When we converse with ourselves, it is our
Higher Consciousness—our Conscious Awareness
Or I, that questions our lower consciousness
Impulses toward securing, sensation, and power.
Seeing the big picture of life and its stages
And connections lets one not get annoyed, say,
At being cut off in traffic, for s/he
May be old, learning, lost, growing, or angry.
We have the power to restrain ourselves
From tactlessness in private, just as we
Can usually do in public, unless
We spend time excusing instead of trying.
Putting the needs of others ahead of
Our own produces the byproduct of
Happiness and reduces stress, for we
No longer have unrealistic expectations.
The right to act ends where others begin;
There is no excuse—zilch—for tactlessness.
For if done, it causes damage, surely
Bringing down yourself and the others, too.
Choose what is good for everyone, not just you,
After careful philosophic thought,
Then do it, even though your natural
Inclination may be not to do it.
Why does anything have to be 'higher' or 'lower'? Is 'red' higher than 'pink'? We can be more aware of 'red' than we are of 'pink', but does that make 'red' any 'higher', or just another part of the spectrum?
There is what there is, and there are consequences to every action, regardless of how 'humans' describe them. We can go the route of self-destruction, and it will not be of much concern to anything other than ourselves. Or, we can go the route of trying to understand our surroundings more thoroughly, so that we may continue to exist among them, and as parts of them.
If people could actually see that they are the Planet, they would feel less like destroying it/themselves. And superficially pretending to 'see' is actually worse, as it seriously stunts the possibility of further Real 'sight', thus Real action to change...
pif.
__________________ People look after the things they have affection for. It is thus essential that we learn to have affection for the planet that sustains us.
"The sense of threat from every quarter of what is known as the Establishment – which is to say, of modern civilization – is not altogether a put-on or an act for many of these young folk, but an actual condition of soul. The break-off is real, and what is being bombed and blown up outside are actual symbols of interior fears." - Joseph Campbell
Why does anything have to be 'higher' or 'lower'? Is 'red' higher than 'pink'? We can be more aware of 'red' than we are of 'pink', but does that make 'red' any 'higher', or just another part of the spectrum?
There is what there is, and there are consequences to every action, regardless of how 'humans' describe them. We can go the route of self-destruction, and it will not be of much concern to anything other than ourselves. Or, we can go the route of trying to understand our surroundings more thoroughly, so that we may continue to exist among them, and as parts of them.
If people could actually see that they are the Planet, they would feel less like destroying it/themselves. And superficially pretending to 'see' is actually worse, as it seriously stunts the possibility of further Real 'sight', thus Real action to change...
I like what you said Austin: "..but 'bad' has a way of eventually losing out!" I strongly believe in the continuous evolutionary process of the universe and this include humankind. To me, humanity is slowly evolving towards a better existence as we improve in knowledge, skills, abilities and this process includes all fields of human experiences the physical, the rational, the social and the transcendental. As we come more aware of our own abilities, dignities and responsibilities, I feel, we will better be able to form peaceful communities and help each others to live better lives in security and harmonies. This in turn will encourage the evolutionary process of all creatures that inhabit our beautiful universe.
This, I feel, is in line with what you were saying Pif, "If people could actually see that they are the Planet, they would feel less like to destroying it / themselves." I feel, it is only when people start to realize and to appreciate that they all have a basic equality as MJA seem to be saying, dignity and responsibility to themselves and to all creatures that inhabit the universe, that we will have hope and an opportunity of improving our lot.
While all creatures have a basic equality and dignity, it is also quite obvious that some are endowed with more intelligence, abilities, gifts, talents. But this is not something to be misused to dominate and oppress others, rather it should be used to benefit all. I will never be able to compose music as Hern Wolfgang Mozart, but I am so grateful to him of sharing us with his talents to make our lives a little bit more enjoyable. So also, I feel, humanity should be eternally grateful to our great thinkers, theologians, artists, teachers, doctors and scientists in the past who through their efforts were able to teach us so much and make our lives so much more bearable.
I just feel that the only solution is to be Real. Reality is Real, and we are not in compliance with the greater Nature that IS Nature itself. We currently think we are in some way 'superior' to other parts of existence, and no matter how much we learn to 'see', it will not make us 'superior' in any way, shape or form.
The only thing we need to be 'better' than, is our current selves.
pif.
__________________ People look after the things they have affection for. It is thus essential that we learn to have affection for the planet that sustains us.
"The sense of threat from every quarter of what is known as the Establishment – which is to say, of modern civilization – is not altogether a put-on or an act for many of these young folk, but an actual condition of soul. The break-off is real, and what is being bombed and blown up outside are actual symbols of interior fears." - Joseph Campbell
Leaving the question of superiority, I agree with you that we have to "better" or improve ourselves in every way. I feel we certainly can do that by learning and by listening to those who have acquired a more profound insight into reality than we have. One of these persons, I believe, was Albert Einstein who discovered the laws of relativity. May I continue from above with a brief history of scientific understanding of our beautiful universe.
4. ALBERT EINSTEIN.
The next great revolution in the understanding of the universe came in the early twentieth century. Since the time of Newton there had been tremendous scientific developments and discoveries. However, it was Albert Einstein (1879-1955) who was able to discover the laws of relativity which altered the very concept of the nature of the physical world. The idea had always been that time was always constant and that it was independent from the speed of an object. Einstein showed that time, length and the mass of an object depended on the speed of an object relative to another object. The faster an object moved, its time and length would decrease and its mass would increase. What was constant was the speed of light in a vacuum and no physical object could move as fast as the speed of light. He showed that every object was relative to one another depending on its speed. This meant that every moving object was in constant relative motion in regard to all other objects in the universe.
The principle that affects time according to Einstein’s special relativity theory, is known as time dilation. It states that the intervals of time are not absolute but are relative to the motion of the observer. This means that for a moving object its time element is affected depending on its velocity relative to an another object in the same frame of reference. This would mean that if an massive object could move with the speed of light, the relative time of the object would be zero. This idea to Einstein, would be impossible and thus he concluded that no massive object can move at the speed of light.
According to the Lorentz-Fitzgerald contraction, which is another consequence of Einstein’s special relativity theory, the length of an object moving relative from another, seems to decrease according to the speed of the moving object. This law of length contraction shows that if a massive object could move at the speed of light its length would become zero or it would become invisible to the beholder.
The third relativity law that affects a moving object is known as relativistic mass. This is the mass of a moving object as it is measured by someone who is in the same frame of reference as the moving object. The mass seems to increase as its speed is increased, relative to the observer. It can thus be deduced from this formula, that no massive object that has rest mass, can move at the speed of light otherwise its mass would be infinite which is obviously impossible.
I just like to add to our brief historical review of the work of Albert Einstein:
The important insight into the nature of physical reality which were discovered by Einstein meant that the Newtonian laws of motion where not absolutely correct. They would still be useful for objects that moved at relatively slow speeds compared with the speed of light and for this purpose they are still being applied. But Newtonian laws of motion would be insufficient when the speed of the object came near to the speed of light. Objects moving near the speed of light were governed by Einstein’s law of special relativity. These laws predicted certain phenomena in nature which can and have often been scientifically verified. These laws are regarded today as the fundamental laws of modern physics.
One of Einstein’s predictions of the special relativity laws was that the light coming from distant stars, when passing the sun is slightly bent. This was shown to be true and it means that electro-magnetic radiation or light energy is affected by gravity.
Einstein was also able to work out his famous equation that showed the relationship of mass and energy:
E = M c^2
Energy is equal to the mass of an object times the square of the speed of light. Einstein was able to show the link between matter and energy and thus with light and with electromagnetic radiation. This great insight of the nature of physical reality of Einstein led to the discovery of atomic and nuclear power which has shaped modern society.
In his general theory of relativity, Einstein tried to apply his great insight of relativity to the universe. He noted that all objects were in constant relative motion to each other and since mass could be turned into energy, energy could also become mass. He also pointed out that the kinetic and gravitational mass are equivalent and that space and time are connected forming a space-time continuum.
In his early model of the universe which he held to be static, he predicted a universal constant force known as the cosmological constant that opposed gravitation. Later he rejected this idea and he accepted the theory that the universe could possibly be expanding or contracting.
Einstein’s general theory of relativity gave rise to many new general relativity theories of the universe which are very popular today. The common element of these theories, known as the big bang theory, states that the universe began from a singularity. After its beginning the universe expanded to our present dimension and it is still expanding. In order to explain various scientific problems, the theories varied. Some of these theories talk about an inflation soon after the beginning, or describe the universe in terms of a bubble or bubbles, string, strings or super string. They talk seriously about worm-holes, magnetic monopole wormhole, parallel and evolving universes.
In my brief review of the historical development of the physical understanding of the universe, let me just say a few words on:
5. The QUANTUM THEORY.
The scientist Max Planck (1858-1947) proposed, in 1900, that electro-magnetic radiation or energy, can only be emitted or absorbed in definite units, which he called quanta. It was Einstein, however, who first proposed that electro-magnetic radiation which included light, could be made up of individual particles known as photons. Scientists were able to work out the Planck’s constant which is a fundamental constant in nature that relates the energy of a photon to its frequency.
E = f h
where (f) is the frequency and (h) is the Planck constant. This formula relates the particle of a quantum entity to its wave nature. It was Einstein who was able to explain, in 1905, the photo-electric effect that showed that photons had momentum and could be described in terms of particle-like quanta.
E = p c
where (p) is the term for momentum and (c) is the speed of light in a vacuum. This means that light or photons consist of quanta particles that at the same time, have a wave nature and a particle nature. These insights were the key steps that led to the development of the quantum theory.
The physicist Richard Feynman(1918-198 talked about the central mystery of quantum mechanics which is that quanta entities have both wave and particle properties. They seem to travel as waves but depart and arrive as particles. They seem to exist in a special frame of reference where the quantum particles enjoy instantaneous communication even when they are widely separated.
Werner Heisenberg(1901-1976) discovered a property of quantum mechanics in 1920 that is known as the uncertainty principle. This principle states that there exists an intrinsic uncertainty in nature that prevents us knowing simultaneously the exact position and momentum of a quantum particle.
This principle has been applied to all objects in the universe and some have even tried to apply it to energy and time. Quantum uncertainty according to some theorists, allows the temporary creation of electron-positron pairs and other particle and anti-particle pairs to appear. Stephen Hawking (1942- ) talks about black-holes radiating or giving out energies that is known as the Hawking radiation.
Some theorists even seem to say that due to this quantum uncertainty which allows the temporary creation of bubbles out of nothing, could be the origin of the universe. They talk about a monopole universe or a universe that exists inside a single magnetic monopole that was produced by inflation after the temporary creation of a bubble. All these theories describe what is known as a “free lunch universe” because they all hold that the universe came out of nothing due to a quantum or vacuum fluctuation.
Re: The eternal evolving universe. 
talked about the central mystery of quantum mechanics which is that quanta entities have both wave and particle properties. They seem to travel as waves but depart and arrive as particles. They seem to exist in a special frame of reference where the quantum particles enjoy instantaneous communication even when they are widely separated. 
Linear Mode
